tacks are for maps
"Has this world been so kind that you should leave with regret? There are better things ahead than any we leave behind." C.S. Lewis
03 September 2010
you knew it was coming...
I've moved! From now on, I'll be writing at ted-bradley.blogspot.com. Thanks for coming along for the ride.
01 September 2010
Back to Blogging
After a month off of the internet, reading through the most of the Bible (still have to finish Revelation), and generally not writing, I've come back to Tacks Are For Maps to continue putting my thoughts to digital paper.
It is possible that I might switch over to Wordpress, but for now I remain faithful to Blogger. I'm busy writing about what God has taught me over the past two months, I'll post as soon as my writing is worthy of reading.
It is possible that I might switch over to Wordpress, but for now I remain faithful to Blogger. I'm busy writing about what God has taught me over the past two months, I'll post as soon as my writing is worthy of reading.
02 July 2010
Where I Am
June was spent on the coast of Virginia, participating in the 2010 National NCFCA Tournament and lounging on the beaches of southern California.
July will be spent almost completely offline, reading the Bible in a month, reading a ton of other great books, working on my character, and pursuing God's will for my life. If you think of it, pray for me.
I'll tell you all about it when I get back online. Until then, pursue God. Life is short!
July will be spent almost completely offline, reading the Bible in a month, reading a ton of other great books, working on my character, and pursuing God's will for my life. If you think of it, pray for me.
I'll tell you all about it when I get back online. Until then, pursue God. Life is short!
28 May 2010
Customer #2
It was about 1:30 and I had spent the last 3 hours helping little old ladies out to their cars or hand counting empty cans of beer because our bottle room machines had all crashed on the same day. The rain was drizzling, I was wet, cold, hungry, and exhausted.
At that moment, I made a vow to myself that I would go out of my way to be extra friendly to the next two customers that I helped to their cars.
Customer #1 was the bazillionth little old lady of the day, but I smiled extra hard and made conversation all the way out to the parking lot. God had a great way of encouraging me, because this little old lady was driving the 2009 Ford Mustang GT Convertible, bright red, of course. She told me all about how great of a car it was, which I already knew, but I listened anyway. I laughed on my way back to the building.
Customer #2 was one of those old men we usually avoid at the grocery store, or anywhere else we meet them for that matter. He was in a wheelchair, obviously physically breaking down, and definitely not that concerned about personal hygiene. I grabbed his two gallons of milk and followed him out to his truck. A Marines sticker was slapped on his bumper, so I decided to make some light conversation, just to say to myself that I'd been extra friendly.
"You were a Marine?"
"Yes I was."
"Did you fight in any wars?"
"Vietnam."
"Was it hell like they say?"
"Yes it was. But it wasn't like World War II, where the soldiers came back as heroes. When I came home, people didn't care about us."
"So you gave your life for your country and they didn't care?"
"Yes."
Then this guy proceeded to tell me about the hell of war. I won't go into the details of what I learned about Veitnam for those five minutes, but it was not pretty. He told me of things that happened that he has never forgotten. And then he paused:
"And when I came home, no one even respected us."
"Well sir, I respect you."
He started to tear up, so I turned to go.
"Thank you, son."
"No problem sir, have a great day."
"You too. You too."
As I think about it now, I almost cry like he almost did. Think about it: He put his life on the line for a country that hated him for what he was doing. He watched his buddies die for that same country and those same people. Then he came home and no one gave him a heroes welcome. Now he goes to the store, gets his gas pumped at the same gas station, and goes to church, maybe. And now he's old and falling apart, and people are still avoiding him.
I'm happy that I got to be the one person that gave him a sliver of the respect he deserves.
At that moment, I made a vow to myself that I would go out of my way to be extra friendly to the next two customers that I helped to their cars.
Customer #1 was the bazillionth little old lady of the day, but I smiled extra hard and made conversation all the way out to the parking lot. God had a great way of encouraging me, because this little old lady was driving the 2009 Ford Mustang GT Convertible, bright red, of course. She told me all about how great of a car it was, which I already knew, but I listened anyway. I laughed on my way back to the building.
Customer #2 was one of those old men we usually avoid at the grocery store, or anywhere else we meet them for that matter. He was in a wheelchair, obviously physically breaking down, and definitely not that concerned about personal hygiene. I grabbed his two gallons of milk and followed him out to his truck. A Marines sticker was slapped on his bumper, so I decided to make some light conversation, just to say to myself that I'd been extra friendly.
"You were a Marine?"
"Yes I was."
"Did you fight in any wars?"
"Vietnam."
"Was it hell like they say?"
"Yes it was. But it wasn't like World War II, where the soldiers came back as heroes. When I came home, people didn't care about us."
"So you gave your life for your country and they didn't care?"
"Yes."
Then this guy proceeded to tell me about the hell of war. I won't go into the details of what I learned about Veitnam for those five minutes, but it was not pretty. He told me of things that happened that he has never forgotten. And then he paused:
"And when I came home, no one even respected us."
"Well sir, I respect you."
He started to tear up, so I turned to go.
"Thank you, son."
"No problem sir, have a great day."
"You too. You too."
As I think about it now, I almost cry like he almost did. Think about it: He put his life on the line for a country that hated him for what he was doing. He watched his buddies die for that same country and those same people. Then he came home and no one gave him a heroes welcome. Now he goes to the store, gets his gas pumped at the same gas station, and goes to church, maybe. And now he's old and falling apart, and people are still avoiding him.
I'm happy that I got to be the one person that gave him a sliver of the respect he deserves.
20 May 2010
Following Jesus
On most Sundays, I attend two different church services at two different churches. Both are always great, with convicting sermons and God-honoring worship. But this last Sunday, something happened that I really love. The two different sermons tied together in my mind and complemented each other! It was awesome; I'll show you what I mean.
At Mt. Hood HoFCC, Mr. Garvey preached a sermon on Matthew 7:24-27.
The main idea of Mr. Garvey's sermon was that we need to build a solid foundation. We cannot sit on the fence. We either build our life on Jesus and follow Him, or we build our life on this world and follow our flesh, the world, and the devil.
But Mr. Garvey also pointed out that Jesus clearly says that tests will come into our life. That is why our life has to be built upon the rock! If there were no tests, we would not need such a firm foundation.
I walked away from that sermon realizing I needed to build my life upon Jesus Christ and that building my life on Him means obeying what He tells me to do so that my life will last. As D. Martyn Lloyd Jones said:
That evening at reGeneration, Taylor Reavely preached a sermon on 1st Peter 2:13-25.
Taylor's main point in this sermon was that we should honor and submit to everyone, for the Lord's sake. We don't submit and honor people because we like it, or because we are even necessarily going to be rewarded. We are to honor everyone because that is what Jesus tells us to do.
But Taylor also pointed out that we will suffer unjustly if we really submit to everyone for Jesus' sake. There will be pain and suffering in obedience. However, we are still to follow our Shepherd where He leads us!
These two sermons tied together beautifully I believe, because they both had the same underlying theme. As Christians, we are to follow and obey Jesus no matter what the cost. Jesus guarantees us pain and suffering and tribulation and "unjust suffering" and "storms." Remember, He tells the disciples that if "they (they being the world)hated me, they will hate you."
To follow Jesus means to follow Him no matter what. But if we build our life on the rock, if we obey Him, we will stand the test. We will be able to join with Paul in 2nd Timothy 4:7-8a saying:
At Mt. Hood HoFCC, Mr. Garvey preached a sermon on Matthew 7:24-27.
Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.
The main idea of Mr. Garvey's sermon was that we need to build a solid foundation. We cannot sit on the fence. We either build our life on Jesus and follow Him, or we build our life on this world and follow our flesh, the world, and the devil.
But Mr. Garvey also pointed out that Jesus clearly says that tests will come into our life. That is why our life has to be built upon the rock! If there were no tests, we would not need such a firm foundation.
I walked away from that sermon realizing I needed to build my life upon Jesus Christ and that building my life on Him means obeying what He tells me to do so that my life will last. As D. Martyn Lloyd Jones said:
Our Lord says that everything we build in this world, everything that we are relying upon... is going to be subjected to tests.
That evening at reGeneration, Taylor Reavely preached a sermon on 1st Peter 2:13-25.
Be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor. Servants, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle but also to the unjust. For this is a gracious thing, when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly. For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God... For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
Taylor's main point in this sermon was that we should honor and submit to everyone, for the Lord's sake. We don't submit and honor people because we like it, or because we are even necessarily going to be rewarded. We are to honor everyone because that is what Jesus tells us to do.
But Taylor also pointed out that we will suffer unjustly if we really submit to everyone for Jesus' sake. There will be pain and suffering in obedience. However, we are still to follow our Shepherd where He leads us!
These two sermons tied together beautifully I believe, because they both had the same underlying theme. As Christians, we are to follow and obey Jesus no matter what the cost. Jesus guarantees us pain and suffering and tribulation and "unjust suffering" and "storms." Remember, He tells the disciples that if "they (they being the world)hated me, they will hate you."
To follow Jesus means to follow Him no matter what. But if we build our life on the rock, if we obey Him, we will stand the test. We will be able to join with Paul in 2nd Timothy 4:7-8a saying:
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness...
14 May 2010
Why Do You Believe The Bible?
David Knopp gave us 15 minutes to write down our reasons for belief in the Bible. Normally, this wouldn't be challenging, because there are lots of nice, cookie-cutter reasons why we believe in the Bible. I balked at the assignment because I know David to be a certified cookie-cutter mangler.
So I wracked my brain, trying to figure out why I really, truly, deep-down-inside believed the Bible to be the words of God. I'll lay out the reasons I gave so you can get the full appreciation of how David responded.
Minor reasons for why I believe the Bible:
1. Historical Accuracy. The Bible matches up with other historical accounts.
2. Alternatives Are Flawed. The other spiritual holy books fall apart under scrutiny while the Bible has never been proven to have a single flaw.
3. Synthesis of Scripture. The entirety of the Bible tells one continuous, fluid story of God's redemptive plan for His creatures to bring Him glory.
Major reasons for why I believe the Bible:
1. Faith
2. Personal Experience
What was interesting to me as we went around the group reading our answers, was that I found myself laughing inside at all the answers that went like this: "I believe in God therefore I read the Bible because I believe it is the inspired words of God." It just seemed like the ultimate "cookie-cutter" response. I was much more inclined to agree with my buddy Ethan's response that the Bible lined up with all other historical accounts because that seemed to be (and was) the intelligent answer.
But after a long, engaging discussion about proving the Bible to be accurate I realized something very simple, yet profound. In a world that denies the existence of a spiritual realm, the Bible is just like any other book. The only way to explain or understand the significance of the Bible is if you do believe in the spiritual, in the supernatural.
Once we become open to the existence of a spirit side of our world, we then realize that the Bible becomes so much more than a historically accurate collection of Hebrew and Greek writing. Suddenly, the Bible becomes something to be feared and respected, because it is what it claims to be, which is the very out-breathing of an all-powerful, universe-creating God.
And it was then that I knew why I believed the Bible.
So I wracked my brain, trying to figure out why I really, truly, deep-down-inside believed the Bible to be the words of God. I'll lay out the reasons I gave so you can get the full appreciation of how David responded.
Minor reasons for why I believe the Bible:
1. Historical Accuracy. The Bible matches up with other historical accounts.
2. Alternatives Are Flawed. The other spiritual holy books fall apart under scrutiny while the Bible has never been proven to have a single flaw.
3. Synthesis of Scripture. The entirety of the Bible tells one continuous, fluid story of God's redemptive plan for His creatures to bring Him glory.
Major reasons for why I believe the Bible:
1. Faith
2. Personal Experience
What was interesting to me as we went around the group reading our answers, was that I found myself laughing inside at all the answers that went like this: "I believe in God therefore I read the Bible because I believe it is the inspired words of God." It just seemed like the ultimate "cookie-cutter" response. I was much more inclined to agree with my buddy Ethan's response that the Bible lined up with all other historical accounts because that seemed to be (and was) the intelligent answer.
But after a long, engaging discussion about proving the Bible to be accurate I realized something very simple, yet profound. In a world that denies the existence of a spiritual realm, the Bible is just like any other book. The only way to explain or understand the significance of the Bible is if you do believe in the spiritual, in the supernatural.
Once we become open to the existence of a spirit side of our world, we then realize that the Bible becomes so much more than a historically accurate collection of Hebrew and Greek writing. Suddenly, the Bible becomes something to be feared and respected, because it is what it claims to be, which is the very out-breathing of an all-powerful, universe-creating God.
And it was then that I knew why I believed the Bible.
11 May 2010
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)