Tag: faith

Tea and a pen in hand

James HoganLeave a comment

And a lovely Thursday night to you all!! It’s approaching the time when I should be going to bed…but no, writing a bit would be *far* more fun! Tonight is the first night I’ve had by myself in quite some time…and that’s not a bad thing, but a little rest and relaxation is most definitely appreciated!! And so you may be wondering what I’ve been up to these past few days…but before I get to that, time for a little announcement. I have my USA return date…April 4th it will be! And sadly there won’t be any time to visit Florida, but I WILL have an approximately six hour layover in Houston! So any of you in Houston that have a few spare hours that day…just saying. Oh and wait a second. I never mentioned where I’m going, did I? Well, Oklahoma City it is! At least…for a few months. Apparently on May 2nd I’ll be receiving word on where my more “permanent” assignment is. But it’s a bit odd…a few months ago I was thinking that I was definitely looking forward to being back in the States…but now that I have my departure date, I feel strangely sad. Or maybe not so strange! Just thinking about leaving Aberdeen now…and not leaving the city, really, but the people. I mean, sure – I’ll miss the sweet narrow streets of Aberdeen embracing me close and the way the sun sets through the perfectly blue northern sky and the chill air’s touch on my cheek and the twinkling of the morning star as I drive in to work…and being reminded every time I step outdoors of the beauty of the earth that the LORD has made…but that is not all. And see, I’m trying to postpone my sorrow at leaving by not writing about what I’ll miss the most. I’ll miss the friends that the Lord my God has given me here…the church so providentially placed before me…the late nights and the early mornings and the coffee conversations and the cinema moments and the wonder and joy at sharing my life with such dear friends…Aiysha in her many distracting ways(I’m pretty confident in saying that we’ve had some pretty radically awesome conversations..)…Steven in his total awesomeness(we may have far too much fun together, but is that a bad thing, hm??? Oh God’s blessed me with his friendship)…Anna in her sweet intensity and joy(oh but we have a glorious time discussing the goodness of the Lord together….that He would bless such fallen ones as us!!)..and well…I could keep going, but it would take a while to get through everyone! Just know this – God is good. And He has blessed me exceedingly. As always. And then…well my church. Gilc is a place filled with people longing to glorify God and teaching the Word and reaching out to Aberdeen around…and it is beautiful. A place where the truth is preached mightily(went through the first half of Jeremiah 7 last Sunday evening. Yeah. That was a bit intense…Jeremiah was told to stop praying for the people…because God would not hear him, for His people had abandoned Him for that which does not save and for gods which do not move and for things which do not satisfy. And so the God of the universe prepares His wrath. Although his patience is exceedingly great, it will not last forever. And..yeah). A place where our glorious Jesus Christ is exalted.

And new paragraph time, neh? Because I did intend for this to be an actual update of what I’ve been up to lately…and I’ve failed miserably at that and instead turned it into random musings! But, I should stop thinking about leaving Aberdeen, since I have a good month and a half before I have to go! And that time will be spent glorifying the Lord, I so declare. And enjoying His goodness!

And now I have very little energy left for writing(or rather, little desire…since my writing muse has been used up on the previous! And my emotions are spent…), so it appears that the afore promised update will be a bit…er, short. ANYWAYS. Last Friday night, went down with some of the guys to Arbroath, where we were having our Gilc Young Adult Weekend Away trip, huzzah!! We started off having a good dinner together(must have been about 30-40 of us? I’m rubbish with estimating head counts) and then playing some intense challenge-type games. We were all in teams and each competed in separate tasks. Mine was to roll marbles across a table trying to catch the sticky tape at the end. Yeah. It’s harder than it sounds. Anyway, my team fell behind quickly, but came back to make it 3rd(out of 8 teams). Good show. And after that, a few of us stayed up for a while talking and chilling…

Next day, I meant to get up early! Alas, this did not happen, but made it down to the dining room for breakfast(the food all week was ridiculously good. Seriously. For Sunday dinner we had roast beef, potatoes, vegetables, Yorkshire puddings…cobbler…ice cream…and that was just one meal) and then later saw Steven and Anna! They couldn’t come the night before because of work so was most glad to see them arrive. We then had our first seminar…and to save time, I’ll try not to give you a blow-by-blow account of his teaching, but it was a most encouraging and exhorting time of realizing how important theology is to our walk with Christ(a good theology is critical in three areas…our sanctification, our service towards others, and our worship – yeah, that pretty much covers everything). Later that day, a bunch of us went on a walk along the coast of the North Sea…and oh it was beautiful. I can’t really describe it…other than to say that looking at the sea lap up to the cliffs below our feet as the clouds descended upon the distant horizon in splendor…I could have spent all afternoon sitting on the edge of the cliffs watching the sea(me and Steven climbed down to the edge to the great chagrin of some of the girls there…) but alas, I was with a group and so had to rejoin the party soon enough..

And walking back along the coast as the sun began to set and making sweet conversation with Anna, praying mightily and rejoicing in the goodness of the Lord. That’s a pretty good afternoon, no? After getting back to the conference center, Anna owned me in ping-pong(yes, I will admit it. 21-14, 21-18 I believe. Ow) That evening was more fun times engaging in costume hilarity(the theme was “Farm”. I was wearing my Iowa Hawkeye jersey shirt. Get it? Iowa? Farm? Yes? Yes) and more games. Stayed up late again…got some pool in and more talking. The next Sunday morning was our last breakfast together…then worship service time! And finally we all had to make our way home. If you’ll notice, I accelerated near the end there, but be assured that there was much more awesomeness than I’m revealing here!!

And now we come to Sunday afternoon, where we got back home to Aberdeen about 4pm or so. Made it to Gilc for evening service(for the aforementioned Jeremiah sermon of sobering intensity) and rejoicing with my fellow brothers and sisters(sidenote – read Psalm 130 that morning..sang it in the evening…oh God is awesome!)…and then me and Aiysha hung out for a bit(first time we’d seen each other in ages!!). The next day I was quite exhausted(work was tough, I’ll admit. My body cried for sleep). But Monday night did I sleep? Of course not!! When do I ever listen to my body, anyway? Steven came over for some Unit-watching action(Unit = an amazingly awesome special ops Army squad show. How did I miss out on this one??). Steven has the German version but thankfully we’re able to hear it in English. Anyways, we finished Season 1 on Monday and started in on Season 2, all the while enjoying some classic chicken caesar salad action…

So Tuesday night did I go to bed early? Of course not, once again! I think I mentioned this in my previous entry, but me and Aiysha hit up the cinema that night. Wednesday night was my weekly Starbucks dinner night(and by dinner I mean coffee. Shhh) and then worship/study/prayer at Gilc! We went over Romans 8:22-39. Just saying, Romans 8-11(particularly 8) have been some of my favorite chapters EVER these past few months(one of these days I’ll have to actually write up a mini-essay on that chapter..)…and so yet again, my Father continues to bless me. It was a glorious night.

And tonight? I rest. Can I write more? I can. Should I write more? Hm…if I actually want sleep, maybe not! Do you all want me to write more?? (No answer required)

But as I sip my mint chocolate tea and ponder on my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ…I can’t help but give glory. And I think I shall do a bit more of that in the privacy of my own head apart from this coldly glaring computer screen.

Love y’all.

The eye of the sea

James HoganLeave a comment

Mmmm…sipping some perfectly lovely mint-chocolate tea right now and feeling slightly sleepy, but I couldn’t resist writing a few words(and since I’m hearing my bed call my name, it will indeed be only a few!). Today, returned to Aberdeen after a totally awesome week in Florida!! I wish I had the time to truly do it justice, but alas for my tired state(flew from Tampa to Detroit to Amsterdam to Aberdeen last night and so didn’t quite get much sleep). Truly though, just let me say one thing(actually no, two things): firstly, I have pretty much the best family in the world. Secondly, God is awesome.

And while one week isn’t really the ideal length of time to spend at home…we made the most of the time, what with continuing our annual Mini-Golf Tournament of Champions tradition and eating like royalty(roast turkey, potatoes, stuffing, asparagus, fettucine alfredo, shrimp, lots of salad, chicken parmigiana, chocolate sheet cake…just the tip of the iceberg) and playing cards and ping-pong (which got stylishly interfered with by our resident kitten troublemakers, Caroline and Julia) and relaxing in the joy of each other’s company and watching Jack Bauer dominate it up in a ’24’ marathon(Season 3 – but we didn’t get to the finale before I left ahhhh!!!) and singing together and staying up late talking about random things with the sisters and making known the goodness of the Lord and going out to lunch far too much(TGI Friday’s with Mom, Panera with Katharyn, TGI Friday’s with Laura, Chili’s with Maryanne, Five Guys with Dad…yes, I told you I ate bad. Shh, no telling. But it was so worth it just to get the time to talk with everyone..) and catching up with friends(and seeing friends’ new baby – Gloria!! David and Dream, y’all are indeed most blessed of our Father!) and oh I just don’t know how to properly convey the joy of the blessings of the Lord which He has bestowed on me and my family! And while my prayers for them will not lessen as the distance between us increases, may my love for them increase all the more! And all of you that aren’t my family, don’t worry, I love you too. Always.

And as for me, it is not that late, but I fear my wits are fleeing me, begging me to rest my eyes and drift away to the land of my dreams before I pour out my whole mind like a waterfall into the deep… First though, I will finish my tea.

A glimmer, nay, a star

James HoganLeave a comment

And you were dead in your trespasses
and sins, in which you
formerly walked according to the
course of this world, according to the
prince of the power of the air, of the
spirit that is now working in the sons
of disobedience. Among them we too
all formerly lived in the lusts of our
flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh
and of the mind, and were by nature
children of wrath, even as the rest.
But God, being rich in mercy, because
of His great love with which He
loved us, even when we were dead
in our transgressions, made us alive
together with Christ(by grace you have
been saved), and raised us up with
Him, and seated us with Him in the
heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so
that in the ages to come He might show
the surpassing riches of His grace in
kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
-Ephesians 2:1-7

I was going to end that sooner, but two things prevented me. Firstly, it’s just so beautiful I couldn’t find a good stopping place…and secondly, because the sentence itself didn’t stop. Oh Pauline sentences, how I love thee.

Seriously, such a gorgeous passage, is it not? And two of the most amazing and heart-stopping and enlivening and lovely and starkly beautiful words of all time…”But God.” And hope bursts into glorious bloom, life eternal. This passage is one of my favorites, so I don’t know why I’m trying to unnecessarily validate these verses with my pitiful words, but I just can’t help marveling at the amazingness of God’s most gracious love and compassion towards such desperately wicked men and women…oh what a joy that springs from my heart, abounding towards the God whose love abounds still more! And I think this passage may (subconsciously) be the pattern towards which all my gasps of poetry tend to slip into –

darkness, expanding and vicious and cold blackness and
the depths of deepest despair and when all is lost and
man is
lost in a storm of whirling shadows and
torn in pieces by the knife that was his own and
rotting in the grave so eagerly dug and
drinking the depths of the debt that is owed and
wavering in glazed reality and
on his knees in hopeless emptiness and
on his face in stark weariness and
letting go of the last that could be done and then
light.
Light forever.
Glorious Almighty God.
Light and love and God Himself,
the pinnacle of infinity that the universe strains to grasp.
Oh glorious Lord!
And overwhelmed in joy and overcome by love
and soaking in the blood of the Lamb that was slain,
she is
dancing in the spotless grace,
singing in the newborn praise,
seeing with adoring gaze,
feeling the more perfect rays,
and now she quivers and says,
Oh I love how can I not?
When by His blood I am bought?
He loved me first,
oh those glorious words,
He loves me!

…and that’s what happens when I let my mind stray and wander and ponder the incomprehensible fact that…the Almighty God of the Universe loved me. How else can I respond but by saying…’Oh I love how can I not?’ I love my Father so. Oh I love Him!!!! If my tears could but grace His feet, I would weep for being so close to Him…my Lord and my God, I love Him so!!!!

Peppermint sprig

James HoganLeave a comment

It’s a lovely Aberdeen morning! I so much love being able to sit inside by the window with my coffee, staying toasty warm…and looking outside to see the clouds gently float by in the cornflower blue sky…

And I suppose you all wouldn’t mind a minor update, right? Right?? Honestly, not too much to report, except that all is well and I’m learning that a scarf and gloves are very nice to have. Oh yeah, and it sort of snowed this past weekend. In October!! When we were getting ready to leave for work this past Wednesday, Uche looked out the window and said, “It’s snowing.” I didn’t really believe him at first…until I looked outside. And yes, it was definitely snowing. Warm enough that it was a pretty wet snow, but snow nonetheless. The snow only stayed on the ground until noon, when the sun melted it all away…but now we’ll see if this early snow is a sign of a crazy winter to come.

Oh and had a couple sweet nights this past week at church – Wednesday night was Bible study/prayer time, which was of course sweet(talking about Hannah’s prayer in 1 Samuel 1), but the best part was the praying at the end and then talking with some new friends until we figured out we were the last people left(standing outside in the not-quite-bitter cold). Good times!! And Thursday night was game night at the church, which involved much crazy quiz games and running around and human Pictionary…and generally all-around smashing times.

Now it’s the weekend and I’m so far having a relaxing Saturday morning(soon to be noon!) and getting ready to walk down Union Street in a few minutes. Probably going to check the used book shops and see if they have any good books in! And I am displeased – the sky’s starting to cloud up a bit…looking like it may become overcast. Oh well, I won’t complain…because it’s not raining. Yet.

And because it’s been a little while since I’ve posted a top songs list…here we go! Except this time, you get two for the price of one!! I’ve decided that, since I’ve always talked about which hymns/worship songs are in my top five, but never actually defined that list, I probably have seven top five hymns. And that’s just bad math. So…hymns top five – count ’em down! (And before you start castigating me for the order I have these in, the order is very fluid and subject to change…so no whingeing allowed):

5. Amazing Grace – This is an all time classic and deservedly so. Every time I sing it, I feel overwhelmed with joy. How can I not?? Sidenote: the inclusion of this music in Star Trek II made the movie all the better. True story. And I feel I have another hymn that may actually be number five in place of this one…but I can’t think of it, so Amazing Grace gets this spot.

Amazing grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me…
I once was lost but now am found,
Was blind but now I see.

4. Be Thou My Vision – A beautiful prayer to the King of Kings, rightly focusing on our Lord. Oh how I love singing this…I sadly realized I did not have a copy of this on my iTunes, so I just found a Jars of Clay version recently, a cause for great rejoicing!

Be Thou my vision, O Lord of my heart;
Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art.
Thou my best thought, by day or by night,
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.

3. And Can it Be(Amazing Love) – Whenever I see we’re going to sing this song at church, my heart skips a beat. One of the most lovely songs depicting salvation. EVER. When I sing it, my mind joyfully remembers and rejoices in what Jesus our Lord has done for me!!

And can it be that I should gain
an interest in the Savior’s blood!
Died he for me? who caused his pain!
For me? who him to death pursued?
Amazing love! How can it be
that thou, my God, shouldst die for me?
Amazing love! How can it be
that thou, my God, shouldst die for me?

2. Holy Holy Holy – This has long been one of my favorites, probably longer than any other song on this list. And for good reason. It oh so majestically reminds me of the Lord God Almighty to whom all glory and majesty and dominion and power belongs. I can’t describe it…except that I love it. If you want to hear it, youtube the Keith Green version of it. I love hearing the passion in his voice(another recent iTunes addition). Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty!!

Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!
Early in the morning our song shall rise to Thee;
Holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty!
God in three Persons, blessed Trinity!

1. Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing – And here we come to number one. This song became my number one favorite song of all time one Sunday morning at Creekside Community Church, freshman year at UF. Singing it and being reminded of Jesus who saved me by his glorious grace, and his grace alone!! And that despite my sins and slips and failures…He holds me still. I love it so.

O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be!
Let Thy goodness, like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to Thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.

Honorable mention: Hallelujah Chorus – really, I LOVE singing this, especially in a MASSIVE group of people…alas, it is not often done, so I’m not including it. But one of my favorite experiences of all time was singing this purely God-praising/glorifying/worshiping song in a group of ~300 people. Amazing. A very picture and faint image of heaven.

And there we go. To summarize:
5. Amazing Grace
4. Be Thou My vision
3. And Can it Be?
2. Holy, Holy, Holy
1. Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing

YES.

And don’t worry, since I decided that an epic two-cookie post has been far too long in coming, that’s not all the music we have for today. But before I finish the musical program for today, just wanted to muse a bit over…life, the universe and everything? No, not quite. Well, at least not today. But wanted to talk a bit(really, I will try to be brief!) on the subject of marriage. And yes, I know, I am most definitely not married, so take all my words with several grains of salt. But I’ve been for some reason bombarded lately by discussions and messages on marriage(whether it be the recent sermon series at church or the blog topic at several blogs I read or talking to my good friends), and so that’s been on my mind more often than not lately. Whether that’s a good thing or not, I leave to you. Well actually, it’s not bad as long as I don’t overly focus on it to the detriment of my walk with the Lord and seeking after His face. And I talk about it little enough on here, I felt I’d share these thoughts. And now that my long-winded(really, did you expect anything else?) introduction is coming to a middle, just consider these words and feel very free to correct or rebuke me! And encouraging words are always nice too!

Anyways, I was talking to my flatmate Uche this morning, and were(for some reason!) talking about the extravagances of weddings. Apparently, some things never change, from America to Scotland to Nigeria. But as we were discussing this, it struck both of us that the strong emphasis on the wedding is sometimes to the detriment of the actual marriage! Some people will go deeply in debt to put on an impressive wedding and then a year later, the divorce papers are filed. Truly, truly tragic. But why are the weddings so important? We do want to celebrate the two becoming one flesh, yes. And there’s nothing wrong with joyful celebrations! But I feel that sometimes a wedding is seen as an event, something that is an epic event in and of itself. Oftentimes(I will not admit to this!), we dream of “the wedding” and all the pageantry that is so involved. Why do we do this, when the wedding day is gone in the blink of an eye.

Rather, as a man and a woman come together, their focus and goal should be a marriage and life together. That is forever(well, sort of). Instead of spending all our pre-marriage time pondering and looking towards a celebration, let us look towards a life of oneness and unity! A life of serving each other! I wrote down a good quote from a sermon at my church a few weeks past…I’m sure it won’t be foreign to any of you: “Love is a willful decision of giving one self to another”. I love that. I won’t be spending a multitude of words talking about the nature of love(I think I’ve done that before anyways), but is that not beautiful?? We shouldn’t be looking towards marriage as something that will satisfy our needs or make us happier or fill an emptiness in our souls. Should I be thinking that a woman will answer my heart’s deepest longings? Absolutely not! (And neither should a woman think that of a man. Um, yeah, we men are definitely not all that) We should be looking to our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ first and foremost. As we pursue Christ, we will see that we can serve as He served. And that marriage is one of the best opportunities to serve that will ever come along. Or so I’m told. In marriage, love is serving and loving and encouraging and correcting and feeding and sacrificing. And the foundation of that is our love in and of Christ. True that? Yes.

Now I’m trying to remember what my point is(that’s the problem when I semi-stream-of-consciousness-write…*scrolls back to top of page* Ah yes) But if I really wanted to talk about marriage and all the intricacies and beauties therein, it would take more words than I have. I might possibly discover the word limit on livejournal. But marriage is a man and woman coming together as one. A man will love his wife above himself. Whoa. And marriage is a picture of Christ and His church and the amazing love that is the very cornerstone of that relationship! Marriage is a man and a woman truly loving each other, every second of every day, and seeking to use their oneness as a vehicle to serve and love others, whether they be in the Church or not. That. Is. Beautiful. And yes, yes, I know it very often doesn’t look like that. But that’s what we(who are married, or may one day) should be striving after. Let’s strive, yo? Sweet.

And now that I’ve either thoroughly bored you(please don’t tell me though) or underwhelmed you(don’t tell me that either) or encouraged and uplifted you(you can tell me that!!)…time for our musical postlude.

Just made a new mix-CD…well actually, a mix-iTunes playlist. Once I get some CDs, I’ll burn it. BUT, this will give you an idea of my current favs. Also, I sort of cheated…I have a rule I made for myself: one song per group. Yeah, couldn’t do that this time. Nightwish and Muse both ended up with two. Oops. Also, if this list doesn’t convince you of my weird crazy eclectic music taste…yeah, nothing will.

Now presenting…Granite Realism

1. Wildfire – Sonata Arctica
2. Slaying the Dreamer – Nightwish
3. Holy Thunderforce – Rhapsody
4. Showbiz – Muse
5. Fireflies – Owl City
6. Far Away – Ingrid Michaelson
7. Ballad of Bilbo Baggins – Leonard Nimoy
8. Please don’t Leave Me – Pink
9. Alejandro – Lady GaGa
10. Fix You – Coldplay
11. Just – Radiohead
12. Unnatural Selection – Muse
13. May It Be – Enya
14. Girl Named Tennessee – Needtobreathe
15. Sleeping Sun – Nightwish
16. Be Thou My Vision – Jars of Clay
17. Savannah – Relient K
18. Holy, Holy, Holy – Keith Green

It’s been real, y’all. It’s been fun. But, it’s time for this party to come to an end. I did say this was a two-cookie post. I lied. Three-cookie post. I made peanut butter cookies recently…if you read this all, you can claim ’em. Rock on, y’all!!

apple orchards

James HoganLeave a comment

I really want an apple pie right now. All hot and delicious and full of apple slices drenched in sugary goodness in a nice delicious crust…along with a cold glass of milk. Yes? Yes. Made by dad(the filling) and mom(the crust), specifically. Of course, this is now sadly impossible as they are thousands of miles away. Well maybe come Christmas time, this will be remedied. Until then, I will just have to dream…

And now that my craving for apple pie has increased exponentially after writing that, I will try to switch topics gracefully…by saying that it is a beautiful day here!! I am very happy that despite a week of mostly rain and wind and cold gloominess, Aberdeen has decided to reward us with a gorgeously sunny and refreshing Saturday! And of course, anthropomorphizing Aberdeen is foolish…I really want to thank God, for this is indeed the day that He has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it!!

And this has been a delightfully busy and hectic week! This week I think I’ve become fully immersed in my new job, as I had no lack of tasks to complete, from compiling quoting process maps to engaging the rest of the staff to form a comprehensive picture of affairs here. We have a consultant coming over from the States next week, so we’ve been prepping for that this week, as next week should be even crazier! But then, do you really want to hear about Cameron Drilling affairs? Probably not, so I’ll refrain.

But last night was not business, but pleasure! A couple from church invited me to their place for dinner last night, so me and my roommate went over(rewind – did I mention I now have a flatmate? He’s from Nigeria, and this is his first time out of the country! So it is most fun to use my lofty status as three-week resident of Scotland to show him around the city and introduce him to our crazy Western ways; he’s pretty awesome) – we left straight from work and through the driving rain and terrible traffic(Houston-esque, almost) I drove(wait, rewind again – did I also mention that Cameron hired me a car? Well they did – a Nissan Note – and so yesterday was my first day driving through Aberdeen! In the rain. And traffic. On the other side of the road. I’m still here!) to their house right near the University of Aberdeen. And wow, that was…an interesting sentence. Anyways, Josh and Emily have a lovely family(daughter Rebecca, son Luke) and they made taco salad for us! They’re actually from Texas(what!) and he’s here getting his doctorate in theology, particularly in regards to the doctrine of the Trinity and the view of the Trinity throughout church history and how that has been changing the past 200 years. Oh yeah, we got a little theologically nerdy. Anyways, it was simply an amazingly awesome night hanging out with them and relaxing and communing in the goodness of the Lord!! Afterwards me and Uche(my flatmate) drove back through the considerably more empty roads to our flat. Following that we had an ASDAs adventure to get him a phone so he could call his family(which he did – success!) and I called back home and got to talk to Laura for the first time in a while – hurrah! Finally, we made it home and sleep beckoned…I woke up this morning to hear Uche vacuuming our flat – see, I told you he’s awesome!

Ok, while I’ve been writing this, me and this woman two tables over from me(here at Starbucks) keep making eye contact. I’m not sure if she’s just intrigued at my furious tapping away or what.

ANYWAYS, I really need to get going soon, as later this afternoon is castle time! But a little sidetour first…

This morning I was walking to Starbucks enjoying the beautiful morning when a woman stopped me(old enough to be my grandmother, if not my great-grandmother!) holding out a tract, saying something about “the future kingdom”. I’m thinking, “Oh, she must be a Christian, yay!” So I mention that I follow Christ. She sort of brushes that off, which I find only a tad odd, and then ask me if I’m waiting for the coming kingdom. I enthusiastically agree and at this point she points me to a verse somewhere in John about Jesus pointing the way to God. John 3:17 maybe? Anyways, I make a remark affirming that, saying also, “And Jesus is God!” at which point she says, “Well, no, he isn’t…”

screeching halt

I had to drastically revise my approach at this point from friendly encourager to wary combatant. I responded to her heretical statement by saying, “Actually, He is God.” At which point we got into a nice little debate, with her pulling out what I assume are all the classic Jesus-is-not-God passages, starting with Colossians(why is it telling me Colossians is spelled wrong – hmph) 1. I think when I rebutted this by telling her what firstborn meant in the Greek, she may have begun to re-evaluate her opinion of me as a soft target. Anyways, I’m not going to recount our whole conversation except that I urged her to read John, as the whole purpose of that testimony is to put forth Jesus as God!! She denied that with some silly out-of-context verses, tried to reproach me on the illogical nature of the Trinity(1+1+1 can’t equal 1!) and eventually we parted ways. I think I would put our mini-debate as a draw, simply because neither of us were even slightly budging and I failed to pull out the ace verse of John 1:1. Oh why oh why did I not remember that until ten minutes later???

Anyways, the point of this whole recount isn’t to prove my theological acuity, because most assuredly, I felt like I was stumbling around….any good words I did say were of the Spirit. But I just wanted to express my sadness over her words and my acute anger at her denial of Jesus’ very divine nature as God Himself. I think this cut me the deepest, that someone would deny Christ as God, and then I think of all those every day who deny Christ. And I weep. And then I think of my own denials of Christ every day, even though I know Him!! And I weep bitterly. Oh for the lost ones of this world! I cannot wait for the day when faith truly shall be sight and He comes on the clouds for every eye to see Him. Every heart will be pierced and all will know Jesus as Lord. King of kings and Lord of Lords is His name. Amen and Amen!! Come Lord Jesus!

In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God, and
the Word was God. He was in the
beginning with God. All things came
into being through Him, and apart from
Him nothing came into being that has
come into being. In Him was life, and
the life was the Light of men. The
Light shines in the darkness, and the
darkness did not comprehend it.

Some of the most beautiful words ever penned. Bar none.

Grace and peace be with y’all this most glorious day!

James HoganLeave a comment

So just got back from a sweet weekend in Tampa!!! Admittedly, it was bracketed by crazy car adventures(car breaking down in rain + impending flight + me hitchhiking to airport + car being impounded = just a little stress and anxiety. I do NOT like allowing myself to be overwhelmed by worry or uncertainty, but this weekend cut it a little close. But now I have regained my car and I *believe* it’s fixed, bar a slightly alarming rattle in my compressor flywheel. And I have been affirmed in my conviction that I have two of the most awesome friends in the world…Alex driving to check for my car on the beltway at 3 in the morning…and Will helping me rescue and fix my car today. I gotta say, I feel so blessed to know that I have friends who have my back! God is good, INDEED. And thus ends the longest parenthetical thought of all time.), and now I have totally lost my train of thought. *scans back to top of parentheses* Ah yes. The weekend of Tampa and family awesomeness!! Full of the *whole* family together again and taking naps on the couch and late night talks with the sisters and lasagna of amazing awesomeness and Spades tournament with the fam and just loving my family!!! And of course, I did see some other people(including Dream and David, enjoying delicious ice cream and more delicious conversation! And I got to have lunch at Steve and Vickie’s, enjoying hamburgers and beans and encouraging words. And I got my Christmas(ok, a little late) present from them – this awesome handmade blown-glass alligator head. It is AMAZING. If you are in Houston, come over and you can see it. And Gary and Janet came over on Sunday night and again, I am constantly reassured of the amazing blessings of the LORD in the people he surrounds me with. Ah it is too much for someone as silly as I!!) And seriously, these parentheses have got to stop! I am henceforth banning myself from using them for…the rest of this entry.

I have now decided it’s time for dinner. And I’m binging on Snow Patrol on the moment, and I’m not quite sure if that’s a good thing or not. It’s chill enough to be relaxing, but romance-tinged enough to be slightly dangerous to the emotions. Like I’ve said before, music can be a most wonderful and perilous creation!

And now I take my leave. Before I do though, let me share what has been most encouraging these past few days:

Therefore humble yourselves
under the mighty hand of God,
that He may exalt you at the proper time,
casting all our anxiety on Him,
because He cares for you.
1 Peter 5:6-7

He cares for you. How awesome is that?

Peace be to you all!

James HoganLeave a comment

Now one of the Pharisees was requesting Him to dine with him, and
He entered the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. And there
was a woman in the city who was a sinner; and when she learned that He
was reclining at the table in the Pharisee’s house, she brought an
alabaster vial of perfume, and standing behind Him at His feet, weeping,
she began to wet His feet with her tears, and kept wiping them with the
hair of her head, and kissing His feet and anointing them with the
perfume. Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he said
to himself, “If this man were a prophet He would know who and what sort
of person this woman is who is touching Him, that she is a sinner.”
And Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And
he replied, “Say it, Teacher.”
“A moneylender had two debtors: one owed five hundred denarii, and the
other fifty. When they were unable to repay, he graciously forgave them
both. So which of them will love him more?” Simon answered and said,
“I suppose the one whom he forgave more.” And He said to him, “You have
judged correctly.” Turning toward the woman, He said to Simon, “Do you
see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet,
but she has wet My feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You
gave Me no kiss; but she, since the time I came in, has not ceased to kiss
My feet. You did not anoint My head with oil, but she anointed My feet
with perfume. For this reason I say to you, her sins, which are many,
have been forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little,
loves little.” Then He said to her, “Your sins have been forgiven.”
Those who were reclining at the table with Him began to say to themselves,
“Who is this man who even forgives sins?” And He said to the woman,
“Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
-Luke 8:36-50

I cannot say anything to add to the beauty of these words. But oh how these words have touched my heart! I ask myself, how much have I been forgiven? And the answer is clear. I have been forgiven…everything. Oh how great is my love for my Saviour!! If only I were in His presence and could kiss His feet. If only I could kneel and hug his feet to myself! Oh I would cry for love! I have sinned much. I have sinned completely. And I have been forgiven much. I have been forgiven completely. Oh the beauty! Oh I could weep!

James HoganLeave a comment

Well, I wanted to post a nice long entry, but alas, I am leaving for a camping trip in less than twenty minutes! I was enjoying my coffee and bacon and buried in reading and…well, sort of lost track of time. And now it’s past 12:30. Oops. Well, suffice it to say that this past week has been pretty ridiculous(and I really want to post an entry soon detailing my adventures in California with Katharyn!) and this weekend is set to be pretty spectacular! Because finally, I will be hiking in the wilds of Texas. When(if) I return, I’ll let you all know what the wilderness of Texas is like. And now, on to the meat of this post…I was going to post this in my other(theological/serious/one-I-never-post-in) blog, but thought that I may as well post it here.

And so today, on the day that we remember as the day that Christ died for us, what do we say? Can we say truly that as Christ died, so we died to sin? Can we say that as Christ lived, we live His life by His Holy Spirit? Sometimes it is so hard to live in this lost world – it yet spins, but groans with every revolution, awaiting with eagerness the return of the King. And as we live in this world, we remember that we are to live renouncing the things hidden because of shame(2 Cor 4:2) and to live by the grace so abundantly given to us by our God the Father! And now, for what do we wait? Our hope is in the LORD!(Psalm 39:7). Let us live with the passion of Christ, forsaking the beguiling pleasures of this world and cling to the feet of Jesus! Let us live with the sorrow of Christ, weeping over the desolation of those who know Him not!(Matt. 24:37-39) Let us live with Christ!! And indeed, we do, because Christ died that we may yet live. He, who knew no sin, died that we may know the righteousness of God. He, who committed no sin, died with the sins of the world upon his shoulders that we may be freed from the bondage of hell! He, who was the perfect and spotless Lamb, was slain by His Father that we may be priests forever, to our LORD and God! Christ alone is our righteousness! Christ alone is our passion! To Him be all the glory and all majesty and all power and authority, from now to the day of eternity! May we look to the heavens and see Him standing at the right Hand of the Almighty, robed in glory and power!! As we groan and falter in this bleeding world, let us look into the Holy of Holies and see the very Son of God! As the wrath of God was poured upon Jesus, so the treasuries of heaven were poured upon us! Our lives were bought with a price, the very blood of Christ. And so we love Him. Because He first loved us!!!!!

James HoganLeave a comment

I am overwhelmed by the goodness of the Lord
and of his faithfulness to his chosen ones.
There is truly no One greater than He who
provides so richly for his children and
puts His hand of protection upon
all those who seek His face.

How great is His lovingkindness!
Higher than the heavens and
wider than the east is from the west
is the love of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Oh, I am so undeservedly blessed
by the love of our most Holy Father.

Truly…those words are from my heart because today I’ve felt a flood of emotions. While I’m quite excited(!!) to be coming back to Florida soon, I’ve realized how much I’ve been blessed this summer. I remember getting ready to come to Texas and having no idea what this summer would be like. And indeed, I was a little nervous coming to Houston and not knowing anyone at all. I wondered if I’d be able to find a good church and good friends. But really, why did I doubt?? Where was my faith?? Because God is a good Father, He has blessed me so much more than I could have thought or imagined. He has given me a good church(Bethel w000t!)in which to worship and be blessed by the preaching of the Word. He has given me friends whom I could both encourage and be encouraged by. He has given me people who have welcomed me into their homes and ministered to me every Sunday. He has given me so much.

This was my last Sunday at church and I don’t really get emotional that often, but I felt that way today. Knowing it would be a long time(if even in this life) that I saw all of these people again…I think if I were the crying sort, I would have cried. I’m just so thankful to the God who despite all my wickedness and sinfulness and rebellion…who chooses to bless me as a beloved son. I am indeed blessed. Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!!