Spring and summer litter the ground, orange and brown, whispering crisply under my feet of bitter cold days breaking the dawn. The trees stand naked and thin, prepared now for a slumber that will bring quiet dreams of warm green tans and the soft caress of an azure sky.

Haven't posted in forever. I hope I will again soon.

God and black holes are alike in at least one way; you wouldn't know either existed unless someone who actually understood the math told you so. Have you ever seen either? So why is it so easy to unquestioningly believe in one and not the other? Well...I think it's because a black hole demands no response. - Shawn Freeman June 2010

When you plan, plan thoroughly. Don't forget that the jump includes the down.

-Shawn Freeman (April 2010)

Typically, the problem in coming up with something original and worth saying is that we often don't really have anything to say. Words are coming out, but there isn't any content. Always exercise patience, and when you actually have something to say, refine it to is purest form. And then there's Facebook...

- Shawn Freeman (April 2010)

In these times I find culture a far more honest and reliable course of study than science, particularly as it regards origins. At least we can admit that a cultural foundation can be understood in different ways and might actually be flawed.

Some bad decisions lead to sin, others simply to stupid. I promise you this though, they're ALL well intentioned. In this truth lies the most bitter irony of all.

- Shawn Freeman (March 2010)

Clearly "everyone" means all people. Of course, depending on the context, it could mean everyone in the room or everyone in the state or everyone in this church or that church.

When reading passages of scripture such as Hebrews 2:9, this is basically the question most commonly being explored; who is "everyone", often devolving into an Armenian or Calvinistic debat.

I started thinking about this today and what struck me is that what Jesus has done was done for all those under his authority, which is to say for ALL of mankind. EVERY LIVING CREATURE from yesterday, today and tomorrow. He did this because He is king of all things and everyone, whether they acknowledge that or not.

Really look at what Hebrews is saying in chapter 2:

Now in putting everything in subjection to him, he left nothing outside his control. At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him. But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. [emphasis mine]

Too often people will to quote that last part "...taste death for everyone", and discuss it ad nauseum, but completely ignore what the text is saying about His place and authority over them.

If you cling to the fact that He died for ALL men, then you must recognize that you are a member of His kingdom. Inherently, this means that what He said is undeniably true and not open to debate; no one will go to the Father except through Him.

The Bible is His authoritative Word to us, as is evidenced in His own testimony. It specifically means that not all roads lead to Jesus. Not all paths lead to the Father.

I would suggest that the question "what does everyone mean?" isn't the best question to pursue. Everyone is everyone.

The better question is "What does that mean to everyone?"

A brother in Christ corrected me the other day, admonishing me with Proverbs 26:17 after I'd brought up my thoughts on a conversation he'd had with another brother.

My first reaction was prideful; "I know I'm right. I was admonishing him. How dare he turn it back to me. Man, this guy is full of himself."

Then I thought about it some more, a little later on; "Ok, maybe he had a point. I'm still sure I'm right somewhere though. He's not 100% right."

God hasn't let it drop, however. I caught myself doing almost EXACTLY the same thing with someone else just a day later!

It's extremly interesting to me how God paused the second conversation just as I got started. He cut the call for just a couple of minutes immediately after I nailed my coffin on the subject.

That pause made me realize what I was doing and how dead on the earlier rebuke was. Praise God!

The result was that I immediately repented, called back, confessed what I found myself doing and apologized.

I wish I could take it all back but I can't. I also called and apologized to my other brother in Christ (involved in the second incident I began discussing) for butting in where I had no business, even though he had no idea what I'd done. (I hope that's not too confusing to follow.)

I say all this by no means to pat myself on the back. For from it, I'm ashamed of myself.

I say all this because I've just been reading Colossians and got so jazzed that I had to post the understanding that I've gained from it all.

Check it out:
Paul says in Col 2:2,3 that it's our goal to attain ALL of the wealth in Christ.

Basically, there is an account with an unlimited balance. We have full access to it, when we learn and know and live according to the truth of the Gospel; that is, Christ.

The funds in that account allow us to live in complete freedom, totally debt free; Everything always paid in full.

While engaged in my sin of meddling in other peoples affairs, I voluntarily cut off my access to that account and immediately began accumulating debt, as it were. I'm not saying that my salvation was in jeopardy, mind you, just that I was becoming a slave to sin once more, after having been so graciously freed from it.

By admonishing me and helping to free me from my sinful behavior, dwelling in dishonest behavior as opposed to dwelling in the truth, my brother did the equavalent of handing me a HUGE sum of gold in which to pay off the debt that I'd been accumulating.

He wasn't giving me the back of his hand, he was handing me his wallet!

I'm even more humbled now.

I thank the Lord for brothers and sisters in Christ that are willing to stand bold in his Word and admonish on Love.