Walking Tanks Are Too Legit.

(but they fall down a lot)

There are few science fiction worlds that have the scope of imagination and creativity of Star Wars.  George Lucas' juggernaut has long reaching tentacles* into every facet of pop culture.  Even if you don't like or have never seen Star Wars, you have certainly been exposed to it. 

It really is no secret ... I am a Science Fiction fan.  It is one of my absolute favorite genres (of books, of video games, of movies, etc) and Star Wars is often revisited time and time again.  And, of course, my influence (and good taste) has rubbed off on my kiddos, who have seen the three original episodes of Star Wars more than their mom (who has her on blog) and quite possibly more than me.

This post is to share with you two videos from YouTube paying homage to the popularity of Star Wars.  (If I had a feature on my blog about "What's Cool on YouTube" these would both subjectively qualify).

First) This parody of Jay-Z and Alicia Keys "Empire State of Mind" by collegehumor.com.







Second) This Lego Animation Summary of the original three episodes.



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*see what I did there?

An Easy Bible Study in John

I have hidden your Word in my heart,
that I might not sin against you.
Psalm 119:11

Reading the Bible can be a daunting task.  When it comes to reading, picking up a great novel or reading my blog is so much easier.

Where to begin reading the Bible is only slightly less daunting.  Genesis (first book of the Old Testament) and Matthew (first book of the New Testament) are seemingly good places to start.  Randomly opening the Bible and reading where ever the pages lay can be fun and confusing.  Or following a reading plan can be helpful for those of us that need more direction. (I try to follow the LJRP.)

But if reading the Bible can be daunting, then studying the Bible can be intimidating.  Reading is one thing, understanding is something completely different.  Many of us feel ill-equipped to "study" the Bible let alone "understand" it.  So in an effort to be helpful, here is an easy Bible Study in John.

Jesus said, "I am ... " B.S. (Bible Study)

John is the fourth book in the New Testament of the Bible and is one of the Gospels.  Where the gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke focus more on the humanity of Jesus, the gospel of John focuses more on the divinity of Jesus.

But first ... What is the significance of "I AM"?
In Exodus, the angel of the LORD appeared to Moses in flames of fire from within a bush, and God said, "I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you.' " (Exodus 3:14).  The Hebrew word for "AM" is hayah, which has many meanings like "to become", "to be", and "to exist".  It is used in the verb pattern: qal, which is the "simple" or "casual" use of the word (hayah).

Mathew Henry's Commentary offers this good explanation of Exodus 3:14:

This explains his name Jehovah, and signifies, that he is self-existent; he has his being of himself, and has no dependence upon any other and that he is eternal and unchangeable, and always the same, yesterday, today, and for ever; he will be what he will be and what he is.

As John is relaying the divinity of Jesus he is linking Jesus' expressions of who He is to the cultural understanding of who God said He is.  In fact, John tells of an encounter between some Jews and Jesus where it doesn't get much clearer (John 8:53-58):

53 Are you greater than our father Abraham? He died, and so did the prophets. Who do you think you are?"

54 Jesus replied, "If I glorify myself, my glory means nothing. My Father, whom you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies me. 55 Though you do not know him, I know him. If I said I did not, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and keep his word. 56 Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad."
57 "You are not yet fifty years old," the Jews said to him, "and you have seen Abraham!"
58 "I tell you the truth," Jesus answered, "before Abraham was born, I am!"

The Greek for "I am" is ego eimi used in the present tense meaning "to be", "to exist" or "to happen". Jesus not only claimed that He was greater than their father Abraham, but also used their language* and understanding of God to emphasize His identity.  They were so upset at His audacity to make such claims, they picked up stones to stone him. 

And now second ... Jesus said, "I AM ..." **
With the above in mind, we can understand John's purpose to parallel Jesus' claims about himself with the very nature of God himself.

As you read what Jesus said about himself (below), keep these questions in mind:

• What is Jesus claiming?
• What are the implications?
• Which one is the easiest for you to accept?
• Which one is the hardest for you to accept?

(You can Ctrl-Click on the scripture links to open a new window to read the verse in context)

I am the bread of life ... Your forefathers ate the manna in the desert, yet they died.  But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat and not die. (John 6:28-59)

I am the light of the world ... Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. (John 8:12-20)

I am the gate ... whoever enters through me will be saved.  He will come in and go out, and find pasture. (John 10:1-18)

I am the good shepherd ... The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. (John 10:1-18)

I am the resurrection and the life ... He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. (John 11:17-32)

I am the way, and the truth, and the life ... No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:4-11)

I am the true vine ... He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. (John 15:1-8)


You may remember some or all of these statements made by Jesus.  I think you will find this can make for a quick and easy Bible study in John.  Print this out and read one of the above passages a day for the next week (there are seven).  As you read, you may find you have other questions like:  What does a shepherd have to do with me? Or, what is the resurrection Jesus is talking about?  If you do, you can go to a great resource sight StudyLight.org, or leave me your question in the comments.


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*Note: Aramaic was the common tongue in Israel in Jesus' time.  The earliest transcripts of the New Testament are the Greek conveyance of Jesus' words.

**John relates over 60 statements and conversations where Jesus uses the phrase "I am".  You can click on this search at BlueLetterBible.com to read them.  They include, "I am not alone", "I am from above", "I am not of this world", and "I am going away".  The seven more known ones (included in this article) relate more to Jesus' claim of His identity.

It Was My Mom's Fault ...

When I was a baby, my mom didn't cut my hair.  As I recall, when I asked about past photos, my mom "loved" my long curly blond hair and didn't cut it until I was well past 2 years old.

"Mr. and Mrs. Halverson, you must be so proud to have another baby girl."

Now, as a parent, I acknowledge a parent's right to "parent" their children.  If my mom was proud of her baby BOY's long flowing locks, who am I to criticize?  I don't necessarily feel "scarred" by the fact I had long hair.  However, in the years that came after, my attempts at long curly hair was never received with the same adoration.

It wasn't meant to be.

Somewhere in me, however, was a longing to once again make my mom proud.  But if I was no longer able to do it myself, then what were my options?

Sorry Micah ... It was my Mom's fault.

When Caleb was born, I emphatically told my wife (who has her own blog) we were not cutting his hair.  After a short time though, it became apparent his hair was too "coarse" to "flow".  Then we had two girls.  And though I emphatically told my wife we were not cutting their hair, it was never quite the same.  Then we had Micah.

And although my wife emphatically told me that 3 years old was quite long enough, I feel "complete" knowing that I made my mom proud.  (You were proud weren't you mom?)

My Circumstances Don't Define Me

Many of us have had an "interesting" past couple of years.  We have had to change our habits and make adjustments in our life styles.  And it feels like there is no end in sight.

(calm down ... I'm not gonna say, "Consider it a pure joy ... ")

There are many different ways to respond to your circumstances.  And people around us can have suggestions on how we should respond to our circumstances.  It seems much easier to see an obvious solution to someone else's problems, than to recognize one for ourselves.

I was reminded recently of Naomi, from the book of Ruth in the Bible.  Naomi was the wife of Elimelech.  There was a famine in Israel, and Elimelech elected to move his family to Moab.  While in Moab, Elimelech dies, Naomi's sons marry Moabite women (Ruth and Orpah) and then her sons also die.  Naomi decides to return to her home and encourages her daughter-in-laws to return to theirs saying, "No, my daughters; for it is harder for me than for you, for the hand of the LORD has gone forth against me." [Ruth 1:13], but Ruth stays with Naomi.

William Blake (1795) - Naomi entreating Ruth and Orpah to return to the land of Moab

The circumstances of Naomi (which means, "pleasant; agreeable; my sweet" in Hebrew) were:  She had experienced a famine, was taken from her home, and lost her husband and only sons.  Her conclusion was that God was against her.  In fact, when she got back to her homeland,

She said to them, "Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. "I went out full, but the LORD has brought me back empty. Why do you call me Naomi, since the LORD has witnessed against me and the Almighty has afflicted me?" [Ruth 1:20,21]

Naomi allowed her circumstances to define her to the point of changing her name.  Mara means bitter.  Don't get me wrong, those circumstances are pretty rough.  But sometimes we get so focused inward, we can no longer see outward.  Or we are so caught up with the tree, we can't see the forest.  The story continues, that Ruth is "redeemed" by her husband's kinsman, Boaz and becomes the mother of Obed, who becomes the father of Jesse, who becomes the father of David ... King David whom Jesus is descended from.

How many times have we gone through a hard circumstance only to look back on it with a different perspective than when we were "in" it?  I am certainly not perfect, but I try hard not to let my circumstances define me.  Could you imagine if I asked you to start calling me "Bitter" or "Frustrated" or "Ican'tbelievetheydidthatthingagain!"?

I control what I control

and I go with the flow

'cause that's how I roll

and now you know.  What!?

::prayer:: Lord, help me remember that you are in control of all things and win or lose I will praise you ::endprayer::

Faith Should Be Like ...

Faith should be like .... sitting in a chair.

You have all sat down at some point.  Do you find that you give much thought about the process?  Every once in awhile, perhaps before sitting in grandma's old wicker chair, you may ease your weight into place.  But by far, most of us kerplump our backsides into a chair with the utmost confidence that the designer engineered the chair with it's purpose in mind.

I suppose, if you are like me, you have broken a chair (or two) after sitting in it (usually because I was tipping back).  But I have never said, "I will not sit again!"

Don't you suppose that our faith should be the same?  That we should be able to, with confidence, sit down? Or, if we break a chair, to sit again?

It is no wonder my legs get so tired sometimes.