Greek Mythology and the Unknown God

   For those of you who do not know I like learning new things. One topic that has always interested me, other than God and the Bible, is Greek Mythology. I don’t believe any of the stories are true, though some of them may be based off of true stories. I like to read the stories because most of them are entertaining. Some of them can get a little strange and creepy; but throughout my study I discovered there are a lot of similarities between Greek Mythology stories and the Bible.

   In the Bible the first human, Adam, is created out of dust of the ground. And then God breaths the breath of life into him (Genesis 2:7). In Greek Mythology a Titan named Prometheus was at a river and created humans out of wet clay, or the ground. Some stories say the Prometheus then breathed the breath of life into the humans.

   The final example, which I am going to give you, of how the Bible and Greek Mythology are similar is the fall of man. In the Bible a serpent (Satan) goes to Eve and tempts her to eat of the fruit of the tree of life (Genesis 3). He tells her that if she does eat of the fruit she will be like God, who has knowledge of right and wrong. Then Eve eats of the tree and so does Adam. Sin enters the world and now God must be separate from man. Adam and Eve are forced to leave the Garden of Eden. However, even in this time of failure, there is still hope. In Genesis 3:15 God says to the serpent (Satan) “I will cause hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head and you will strike his heel.” This is alluding to the coming of Jesus. Satan may have the upper hand now; and will tempt humans, or strike their heel. But, some day an offspring of Eve will strike the head of Satan. That offspring is Jesus. And, that is where our hope is.

   In Greek Mythology the story of the fall of man is very similar. There was a Titan named Epimetheus who was not too smart. His brother, Prometheus got on Zeus’ (the king of the gods) bad side. Prometheus warned his brother not to accept any gifts from the gods because of this. Epimetheus did okay for a while. But, one day the gods created a woman named Pandora. She became Epimetheus’ wife. The gods offered the couple a wedding present. The present was a box, which the gods told the couple that they must never open it. But, Pandora was created to be curious. So, you guessed it, Pandora opened the box. When she did all of these evil spirts came out and spread across the world. But, one good spirit stayed in the box. That spirit was hope. No matter how bad things got humans still were able to hope that things would get better.

   Now, you may be wondering why I am telling you the similarities between the Bible and Greek stories. It is to either teach, or remind, you about a lesson Paul has already taught everyone. Nowadays not many people, if any, believe in the Greek gods. But, in Bible times there were people who did worship them. Paul went to Athens (where they worshiped many idols, probably Greek gods) and began preaching about the gospel. Some philosophers heard Paul and brought him to the high council where he told them about God. He said they had been worshiping this unknown god. Paul said he knew who the God was. “He is the God who made the world and everything in it.” Paul introduced the gospel to these people in a way they would understand. And, there were some who became believers that day (Acts 17:16-34).

   This is an important lesson for us. We may try to reach non-believers but we may not know anything about them or their religions. Paul did his research before he preached to them. He knew what these people believed in and then found the best way to relate the gospel to them. Isn’t that what we should be doing today? We need to care, and learn about others before we can truly create a relationship and reach them. That may mean we need to research other religions and find commonalities between their religion and the Bible.

   So, are you learning new things every day in order to grow and spread the gospel? Are you reaching out to others and getting to know them?

   Psalm 96:3, 2 Timothy 3:16, Matthew 28:19

Lessons From Footloose at Donegal High School

   Last night I enjoyed watching Donegal High School’s performance of Footloose. The cast and crew did a great job and while watching it I realized there are a lot of lessons we can learn from this show.

   The whole story is basically about people going against the church/the town council’s law that rock and roll and dancing is forbidden. This seems really bad, but is it? I’ve said time and time again that anything can be used to glorify God. Dancing and music can be used to glorify God. Now, some people do not glorify God through dancing and music. But, that does not change the fact that these things can be used to glorify God. Just look at Sight and Sound or Christian Music.

   Also the church in this story, mainly Reverend Shaw Moore, took it upon themselves to make rules that are not God’s rules. Those rules were not found in the Bible. It does not say “thou shalt not dance” in the Bible. Now, I’m all for rules of prevention like Eve saying they could not touch the tree, even though God only said you may not eat of the tree. But, that does not mean that dance should be eliminated completely. Dance and music is a good way to relieve stress and express yourself. The reverend just could not see that part of it though. And he had a fairly good reason why he did not like dancing but you will have to see the musical to find that out.

   Finally, in this performance, the church is painted as judgmental and it is true that sometimes we are judgmental. But, that is all society sees about the church. They think that we are judgmental hypocrites. The only way to get past that is to be kind to others. I’m not saying that we should not keep others accountable. But, we need to take a hard look at ourselves before we say to someone else you should not be doing that. We cannot think we are perfect because we are not. Thankfully we have a savior who is perfect, who can take away our sins. That’s what we need to focus on.

   So, do you realize that everything can be used to glorify God? Are you ever tempted to make rules that are not God’s rules? Are you quick to judge others before you check yourself?

   1 Corinthians 10:31, Matthew 7:1-5, Galatians 6:1-5

   Shout out to those in the Donegal High School performance of Footloose (especially Dr. Frisbee, Elsa, and Ten ;). There is one more performance Sunday March 12 at 2 pm. I encourage those of you who can make it to come out.

You Could be a Hero

   “No one sits with him, he doesn’t fit in, But we feel like we do when we make fun of him, Cause you want to belong, do you go along? Cause his pain is the price paid for you to belong, It’s not like you hate him or want him to die, But maybe he goes home and thinks suicide.” These are lyrics to Superchick’s song Hero (Link).

   Since 1999 the suicide rate has increased in the United States. And we wonder why this is? Well, if one thinks about it, it isn’t that difficult to see why. We live in a very individualistic culture. It has become every man for himself. But, is that how it should be?

   Let’s go to the authority on everything: the Word of God. Philippians 2:4 says “let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.” John 13:34-35 says “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” There are many more verses I could point out in order to prove that God wants us to help each other, but I will not go into that right now.

   Instead I am going to leave off with a quick story. Once when I was very young, like in high school, I went to a camp with my family. There was a new family there with a boy my age. He kept asking to hang out with me. But I did not want to be his girlfriend, which was kind of what he was insinuating. I asked my brother to stay with me at all times. My brother and this guy actually ended up being pretty good friends. At the end of the week this guy asked to get a picture with me using his phone. I had my brother get in the picture with me. I could have handled the situation much better because I avoided this guy rather than hearing him out. Later I found out from a friend that he tried to commit suicide around Christmas.

   I could have done something. I could have followed Philippians 2:4 and John 13:34-35. I could have looked out for this guy and been a friend to him, but I didn’t and I wasn’t. I believe that that situation happened for a reason. I could have done things differently, but then I would not have learned a valuable lesson. I would not have learned that every day choices I make impact others whether I know it or not. I would not have learned that I can be a “hero” to others.

   So, do you love others no matter who they are? Are you following God’s word? Are you thinking about the choices you make every day? Are you a hero?

   1 John 4:19-21, Philippians 2:4, John 13:34

   Suicide Facts: http://www.economist.com/blogs/graphicdetail/2016/04/daily-chart-20

The Justice of Judgement Vs. The Gift of Grace

   Imagine you enter a courtroom. At first you wonder why you are here. You go to sit down in one of the chairs but the bailiff comes and puts you on the stand. You wonder why he would take you there and tell him you have done nothing wrong. The judge comes in and, after you are sworn in, he asks you “why should you be set free?” You say you “haven’t done anything wrong.” But, the judge asks you again “why should you be set free?”

   You rub your head and figure you should play along. You begin to list off some of your accomplishments. Some of those may be you volunteered many places, you gave money to charities, you were kind to animals, and so on. The judge says “so you should be set free because you did those things?” You nod your head and say “yes.”

   The judge then asks you “why shouldn’t you be set free?” You shrug your shoulders because you cannot think of anything. The judge then lists off your short comings. Those may be you lied many times, gossiped, stole something, or many other things. Then he asks you “should you be let go for doing these things?” You do not answer. The judge asks you to wait and the bailiff takes you off the stand.

   Another man comes in the room. The bailiff puts him on the stand; and, after being sworn in, the judge asks the man “why should you be set free?” The man replies “I should not be set free.” The judge says “why shouldn’t you be set free?” The man looks down “I am a sinner. I am a liar, thief, and a murderer. I do not deserve life.” You wonder what is going to happen to this man. The judge looks at a list that was on his podium. Suddenly the man on the stand burns bright and his suit turns white. The judge says to the man “you have been set free because you have been washed clean by the blood of the lamb.” The man is taken off the stand.

   The bailiff takes you back up to the stand. Then the judge asks you “now, do you deserve to be set free?”
   Many people have the idea that if they do more good than bad they will get into heaven. Meanwhile, in the Bible it clearly states that there is only one way to heaven. And, that is through knowing Jesus Christ as your personal savior. If you do not know him one day you will be at the throne of judgement. Then it doesn't matter how much good you have done because God is holy and blameless; and anyone that is not blameless (in other words those who have sinned) will not be in heaven unless they have put their faith in Jesus Christ. 

   So, what would you have said at the beginning of this story when the judge asked you: “why do you deserve to be set free?” Would you have figured out any reason why you should not have been set free? Are you focused too much on what you, or others, have done wrong rather than the grace by which we are all set free? Do you know if you are washed clean by the blood of Jesus Christ?

   Isaiah 1:18, Isaiah 53:5, Matthew 7:21-23, John 3:16

Why I Decided to Become a Teacher

   “Teaching is the one profession that creates all other professions” (unknown). Some of you may know that I went to college to learn how to teach the young minds of this world. Most of you do not know the conversations I hold with others who ask me different questions about my profession. So, I am writing this to inform you of some of the questions and conversations I have had over the past four-five years.

   Question 1: What are you going to college for?

      Me: I am going to be a teacher in elementary schools.

      To this I typically get one of three answers: “oh that’s nice,” “wow I could not do that so 

        more power to you,” or “good luck with those kids.”

   Question 2: “What school districts have you taught in so far?”

      Me: “Lancaster Country Christian School, Manheim Township (public school), The 

        School District of Lancaster (public, city school), Maytown Community Nursery 

        School (Christian school), and Donegal Intermediate School.”

      The typical answer here is the person totally skips over the other schools and says: 

        “Wow, those School District of Lancaster kids must give you a really hard time.” 

        Every once in a while people will just say “that’s nice,” or “I went to [insert school 

        name here].”

   Question 3: “Where do you want to teach when you get out of school?”

      Me: “I don’t really know. I will go where God calls me; but, if I had a choice, part of me 

        wants to teach at a Christian school. That way I can teach others about God directly. 

        But, the other part of me wants to go back to Donegal (the public school that I grew up 

        in).”

      At this point the person may say something like “that’s nice.” Or, “it is great that you 

        want to teach others about God.” But one answer that I specifically remember was: 

        “oh, don’t go back to Donegal. The district doesn’t pay well and the kids are horrible.”

   I’ve had more conversations about teaching but these are the main questions and answers that come into all of the conversations. All of these questions made me think about the whole reason I got into teaching in the first place. It is true I had people tell me that I was good at teaching before I went to college; but you cannot just be “good” at teaching in order to be a teacher.

   To me teaching is more of an art than a science. For the past four years I have made more lesson plans than I can count, talked about differentiated instruction (Definition here) out the wazoo, and gotten to know more acronyms and planning things to teaching than I can even remember. That is the science part of teaching and it is important. But, if you are a teacher and all you know is how to plan I can guarantee you will not make it far in the classroom.

   Children are not cut and dry. People are not the same. I mean, just look it up in the Bible. God made us all unique. That's why I don't like it when people say "those city kids must give you a hard time." Sure some days it is hard. But those kids still deserve to learn. They didn't chose where they lived or who their parents are. But teachers can choose to make an impact on their lives.

   A good teacher knows that she cannot teach all children in the same way. A good teacher will cater to student needs. That’s not an easy task; but I won’t get too far into that because there are some other points I want to make in this blog. I just want you to think about how many students you had in your classroom when you were younger. And think about the best way you learn. Is the way you learned different from the way one of your friends learned?

   One reason I decided to become a teacher is because I had great teachers who cared. These teachers worked hard day and night in order to make sure every student learned to the best of their ability. If you are a teacher you did not get into teaching for the money. Because, they honestly don’t make that much money. In fact, if you think about it they should make more because they are shaping the future. But I won’t go into that right now.

   The main reason I got into teaching is because I wanted to change the world. I want to help others. I want every child to feel loved and cared for. And, I want every child to be able to learn to the best of their ability. God has given us all the great responsibility of leading others, being a role model, and training children to walk with him. We need to love others even when it is hard.

   That is exactly why I decided to become a teacher even though it is one of the hardest professions that I know. I know I will get headaches in the future. I mean, I am getting them right now and I’m not even in the classroom all day. But, I know that when I see that “ah ha” moment, when I get a present, a hug, a compliment, or see their smiling faces it will all be worth it.

   This week I encourage you to think about the teachers you had. It doesn’t matter whether or not you thought they were a good or a bad teacher. I want you to thank God that you were able to get an education even if it was hard. I encourage you to thank God that you had teachers who cared enough to work overtime in order to help you learn more. And, if you happen to have any way to contact your teachers, can be current or past, I encourage you to just say thank you to them.

   Titus 2:7-8, Proverbs 22:6, 1 peter 4:10

Speaking Up

   Picture this you are a teacher and you are about to work with a small group. You sit down with the students and start working. Suddenly you see it. On one of the students, you see your worst nightmare: a runny nose. Snot begins to fall down the student’s face and you can barely look at the student. You tell the student to go get a tissue but five minutes later his nose is running again.

   This was my experience during student teaching many times. And, it got me sick many times. Along with being sick, people said I lost my voice as well. It seemed like I did, but I do not think I did.

   According to Dictionary.com voice is “the faculty or power of uttering sounds through the mouth by the controlled expulsion of air.” It is true that when most people hear the word voice they thing about talking. But, when I hear voice I also think of other forms of communication. For example, let’s say I had no voice right now. I may not be able to speak right now but I can still communicate.

   Another definition of voice is “expression in spoken or written words, or by other means.” See, while I was sick I still needed to communicate with my family and my teachers. How did I do this? Well, I did it by writing, having someone talk for me, or by using hand motions or sign language. I did not lose my voice; I lost the ability to talk.

   Why am I telling you all of this? I am telling you this because no matter if you have lost your voice or not you can still communicate with others. It is our job, as Christians, to share the good news. Even if we feel like we have lost our voice literally, or just in culture, we still need to spread the gospel. Nowadays it seems like it is hard for Christians to have a voice in culture because it is so far gone. But, we cannot stop trying. We were put on this earth to reflect God’s glory. If we do not use our voices for him then we are not following him. And, the very rocks will cry out if we do not.

   So, have you been using your voice to reflect God’s glory? Do you feel as if you have lost your voice at all in society? What can you do to get your voice back?

   1 Peter 3:15-16, Romans 1:16, Luke 19:37-40

The Greatest Love

   While I was student teaching at Lancaster County Christian School every day they have a verse of the day. On Valentine’s Day the verse was John 15:13 which says “greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends(some translations say brother).” Because I was working with first graders, I figured I would need to discuss this verse a little more.

   I asked the students what they thought this verse meant. They said it was talking about love but they could not get much more out of it. I decided to flesh out the verse a little more. I started off with saying we use the word love a lot. We say “I love cheese curls,” and “I love my mom.” Is that the same kind of love? They said yes and no. We did a bit of a history lesson and I told them that the Bible was written in many languages, one of them was Greek. In Greek there are five different words for love.

   I said do you love your brother/sister? Some students said yes, others said no. I then went into would you die for your brother? Many students said no.

   Next we talked about the greatest commandment and the second greatest commandment. We are to love God and love others. I talked about to love others we need to be nice to them and forgive them.

We then discussed what Jesus did for us. Jesus had agape love for us (back to the Greek words). His love for us was unconditional. Jesus forgave us of our sins and took away our guilt. He was willing to die for us before we were even on this earth. While we may not be willing to die for our family members or a complete stranger, Jesus was. This got the students thinking about what love really is.

   Why am I telling you all of this? It is because I want you to think about if you really know what love is. So many songs are written about love. But, many people do not actually know what love is. Real love isn’t the love you have for cheese curls or temporary things. Real love is unconditional. I should not have to buy someone’s love and, if I do, then that person will never really love me.

   Also, though we may never be asked to lay down our lives for anyone we need to think about what Jesus would do. As we grow in Christ we must stop thinking about the things of this world and start thinking about eternity. What can we do to help others in eternity? We can follow the Great Commission and love others by saving them from death. We need to tell others the good news so that none may perish but that all would feel the love of Jesus and have eternal life.

   So, do you actually know what love is? Are you willing to show others the unconditional love that Christ has shown us?

   Mark 12:29-31, Luke 6:35, Matthew 28:16-20