“According to the Gospels, it wasn’t the ‘resuscitation’ of a corpse which convinced them (Jesus’ disciples) that Jesus was God incarnate; it was the Resurrection of a man who had already embodied the kingdom of God – its love, teachings, and power – during his life. It was the Resurection of a man who had already made astounding claims for Himself. And it was the Resurrection of a man who never did henceforth die. If Jesus had later died, the whole thing would have fallen to pieces. But He didn’t. He ascended to heaven.” – Dr. Gregory A. Boyd (pg. 114- “Letters From a Skeptic”)

Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Hallelujah!

 

Happy Easter everyone!

Before you continue, if you haven’t read these yet, do it. This is part of a series and it will help you to know what’s going on.

 

Part I
Part II
Part III
Part IV
Part V
Part VI
Part VII

 

Now that I knew it was over between Tesia and I for good, I began to focus a bit on God; but not the obedience aspect of God- more of like questioning, persistent blaming, searching, and distrusting. I was in the wilderness for sure- the only thing to do was wander while hungering and thirsting for more of God and the surprising answers he was giving me. I quickly found that the more I blamed God, the more I realized my faults in my life. The more I questioned God, the more questions I had for myself. The more I was searching, the more I would find. The more I distrusted, God would open my eyes to what he was doing behind the scenes.

That’s what happens when you’re in the wilderness. You reflect and you learn. It’s lonely in the wilderness. It’s bitter, it’s nasty, it’s cruel, and it all-around sucks… but… the growth one receives from being in the wilderness makes it all worth while.

I had my time to grow because I had all of my distractions out of the way. No more school, no more girlfriend, no more responsibilities- so, I got my old job back, working as a sales associate for the Movie Gallery, and got a second job at our theater too. From there, my cousin Travis, my long-time friend Jairus, my brother Kel, and I all rented a house. Here, we had many theological discussions and we all grew a little. Everyone in that house played guitar, so I picked that up too, just to give myself a hobby. I also found a love in going to the local bars to talk to all the drunks about Jesus. It’s amazing, the emotions that come out of a person when he’s drunk…

At this time, I realized the four most important things to me: Music, Movies, Community, and God; but I was very anti-church (if you look way back in my archives, you can find some of my anti-church blogs). It wasn’t so much that I was anti-church as much as I was anti-going-to-church. I fully agreed with being a part of the body of Christ- I’ve grown so much since those days.

 

Every now and again, Tesia and I would talk to each other. Sometimes she’d call me. Sometimes she’d IM me. Sometimes she’d come over. Sometimes we’d find ourselves at a mutual friends house- but we were cool with one another. Sometimes she’d ask me if I still loved her. At that time, I was confused about my feelings for her, so I would tell her no- that she ruined everything that could have been.

Sometimes, I’d get messages on facebook from Tesia’s new fiance, telling me that I need to back off of her because she has no interest in me- and that I was beginning to freak her out. I thought this was funny, considering I was never the one to come to her.

One day, Tesia and I were at a mutual friend’s house. She told me that Sean (her fiance) told her that he was gay. She didn’t know what to do.
Tesia was still my best friend, despite what she did to me, so I did the only thing I could do- comfort her. There were numerous times she tried to make out with me that night- but I wouldn’t have it. “As long as you and Sean are still together, I won’t cross that boundary.”

2 days later, she called me and told me that everything between her and Sean was ok- and that I probably shouldn’t talk to her anymore. I was pissed, but I realized I had to move on. So, once again, I stopped talking to her.

She went to India that summer. I found her, once again, trying to get a hold of me through IM. I told her then that maybe I still loved her some- I even proposed to her— because she asked me to… but she declined and said she is already getting married to Sean.

I didn’t like Sean. Well- I did, but I didn’t. I liked him out of sheer pity- because no one liked him. I tried to give him the benefit of the doubt, but all my friends hated him. All of Tesia’s friends hated him too, as well as her family. People would always assure me that they couldn’t see Tesia and Sean lasting. It hurts me to see people who are so misunderstood, so Tesia told me that I should hang out with him one day. I tried, but it couldn’t work out. But, while Tesia was in India, I ran into him and a friend of his at the movie theater in town where I worked. He was talking to a man named Victor, a burn-out hippy who was walking across America promoting his mission- World Peace Through Marijuana. There, they were having a discussion about marriage- Victor, being against marriage, but for love. Sean told him that his only reason for wanting to marry Tesia was for tax purposes. Naturally, this set off an alarm in my head. After Victor had went on his own way, Sean and I were talking and he mentioned Tesia’s mom, Diane…. something about how she didn’t like him… and then, without thinking, he made the comment, “You sure dodged a bullet there, Jimmy!” That infuriated me, but I held it in… until I got home, where Tesia would be IMing me.

When she did, I told her about everything Sean had told me- and how much it upset me. It upset her too, and she talked to Sean, but he said that it was a misunderstanding… She wanted to believe Sean, so she did.

I was there… I know that there was no misunderstanding…

So I lost any respect for Sean that I once had. I didn’t care what he thought of me anymore… I didn’t care if I’d hurt him… and if I wanted Tesia back, I would get her back…
All the while, when Tesia was in India, she would tell me time and time again that we would end up together in the end… no matter how much she would fight it, we would end up together because… well… we go together… Exactly how it all would happen, was beyond the both of us.

Come again for Part IX

I don’t know why some memories stick with you while others fade into the gray matter of your brain. For instance, I remember in 5th grade, I was sitting in Sunday school. I don’t know what the lesson was on, and I don’t have any particular memory of that day, but I remember one thing that was brought up.

“What is the one unforgivable sin that Jesus mentions?” asked the Sunday school teacher.

I had no idea that there was such thing as an unforgivable sin.

Multiple students answered, “Being gay!”

My teacher looked confused and said, “No… It’s blasphemy of the Holy Spirit.”

“But you said last week that people who are gay will go to hell” a young girl in class responded.

I don’t remember anything from there. All I remember is the teacher trying to explain what he meant. It’s a good thing I wasn’t there the Sunday before, otherwise, I too would have been a little more confused. But that was the first time I had ever heard about homosexuality being a sin.

A couple years later, I was hanging out with the youth group at my church for a discussion. The topic my youth leader brought up was the murder of Matthew Shepherd. We were talking about what our role as Christians should be in this situation, as well as the traditional Christian view of homosexuality, with a little bit of my youth leader’s thoughts mixed in. He concluded that a person can not control who he or she is attracted to. He continued that it isn’t the homosexual attraction that is the sin, but the lifestyle.
That made sense to me.

Now, this is a topic that I don’t like to discuss because there isn’t anything that I would say that won’t be misconstrued, misinterpreted, or misunderstood by someone. And then, there are those who may just flat out disagree with me… no matter what, my thoughts, understandings, and interpretations will make me a good guy to some and a bad guy to others. But I’m satisfied with the idea that I don’t have to have all the answers. I’ll leave that to God.

Before I go any further, I have to say that I am not legitimizing any sin. I have a strong ground against all sin, but I’ve also learned to behave appropriately while approaching such topics. Secondly, I’d like to add that no matter what I say, at least understand three things:

1. I believe that homosexuality is a sin. Since it is a sin, I take this subject seriously.
2. Jesus Christ loves everybody- no matter what sin you are caught in.
3. I don’t believe homosexuality should be elevated above any other sin.

Stay with me…

I don’t know why “homosexuality” has become the go-to topic when it comes to sinful lifestyles. It really doesn’t seem fair to me. Greed is a more prominent sin in our culture- as well as alcoholism, hatred, rage, envy, gluttony, selfishness… the list can go on. The thing is, we are all guilty of sin, sinful desires, and sinful actions. We can’t escape temptation. But the good news, is that Christ died for us so our sins would be covered in his blood- his purity. When God sees a man or woman covered in the blood of Christ, he doesn’t see a sinner. He sees a new creation. When God sees a man or woman trapped in sin, he sees one of his children stuck in a flooding well, only the child refuses to reach his or her arms up to be saved.

Stay with me still…

From a Christian standpoint, though many of us do try to justify our sins, most of the time, there is something within us that isn’t at peace. It could be something that is very indistinct or it could be something completely obvious and apparent, but we try to put it off in denial. No one wants to think their “small sins” will make them guilty enough to experience hell. All this is to say that most of us unjustly try to legitimize our sinful behavior, yet, in many cases, no one in the church says a thing.

Coming back to the issue of homosexuality-
It is natural for a person who is trapped in this sin to try to legitimize it. That is between the person and God to work out- because no amount of hounding, complaining, and threats of the fires of hell will sway a person’s image of who the person thinks he or she is.

God does a great work in us- and only He will save us from ourselves.

All of this talk though, about how being a homosexual is an automatic one-way ticket to hell is ludicrous to me. It seems to me that there are other sins out there that are doing more harm than homosexuality. This isn’t to say that I think any particular sin is greater than another, but I am saying that a gay person is only doing harm to himself or herself. The preaching of the “prosperity gospel”, on the other hand, does so much damage to the entire church. Many people suffer. The poor, the wealthy, the greedy, the envious, the proud, the idolaters- all these people fall victim to this… yet… a homosexual, regardless of what he or she believes about Christ is automatically going to hell because of this one sin? I don’t think so. I think it’s more complicated than that.

A few months ago, there were many reports of gay bullying. Many gay teenagers committed suicide after being picked on day in and day out for days, weeks, months, and years. Many of these kids believed that God made a mistake when He made them. Many of these kids had to deal with Christians telling them that they were going to hell. One can only imagine the kind of torment a person goes through when you can’t exactly walk a mile in their moccasins. And then, there are those that are dealing with this today… there are people being persecuted… and some are being persecuted by Christian hands and Christian mouths.

So, do I think these kids went to hell because they were gay? Only God knows for sure, but my guess is no. If I know anything about God, it’s that he loves us, even when we were yet sinners. He knows persecution and he despises it, so he stands for those who are persecuted. He is with those who are being tortured. He listens to those who cry out to him, asking Him if he made a mistake when he created them. He cries when assaults are done in His name.

I don’t have all the answers… and for a good reason, but know that God is just and God is loving. Only He knows the heart.

 

I love Palm Sunday because it reminds me of why I embrace the Heavenly Kingdom over the governments of this world. Our world tells us to desire power, money, nobility, and the like. They tell us to bring peace through force. But Christ represented His majesty by becoming the last- a humble, poor, servant. He brought peace by love- loving his neighbors, his enemies, his friends, and family- loving the whole world.

Jesus came into Jerusalem riding on the colt of a donkey- not a powerful, beautiful white stallion (not yet anyway). What example was he setting? What kind of king puts himself as low as the beggars, the lepers, the prostitutes, and the tax collectors? And this man says he’s God?

Ah, but of course, he came to show us how to live! If you are first, become the last! If you are the greatest, become the least! If you are being served, become a servant! This is what the kingdom of heaven is all about. This is what God wants from us- to be generous, loving, hospitable, humble, obedient, and peaceful. This is what it is to be a child of God. What an upside down way of thinking… but what could possibly work better for humanity?

Hey!

My wife t_sheffield is doing an “Ask Me Anything” vlog soon! Go ask her some questions. She’s way more interesting than me!

 

www.xanga.com/t_sheffield

 

I love the Mortal Kombat games. I always have. I grew up on them. Video games aren’t my forte, so naturally, I sucked at MK, but I never got tired of at least trying to beat my brothers in a battle to the death.

So, when I heard they wanted to reboot the movies a year ago, I was excited. The first movie was ok, but at least entertaining, while MK: Annihilation was a complete disgrace to the franchise, as well as movies in general. Knowing this, I didn’t feel the movies did justice to the games. I knew that a new movie is just what this game franchise was in desperate need of, and I couldn’t wait till it finally came out. Only, it wouldn’t be a movie. It would be a web series. 10 episodes, each between 7-10 minutes long.

Well, I’m excited because as of Tuesday, the first episode of the web series was released. Ladies and Gentlemen, for your viewing pleasure, I present to you, Mortal Kombat: Legacy- Episode 1. (Note- this show is violent- if you can’t handle it, please don’t watch it)

Enjoy!

 

Sorry I had to do this in segments.

 

 

I’ll get Part II up as soon as I can!

I’ve done a few of these, but I feel like doing another one… I love allowing everyone the opportunity to get to know me and what I think.

So, if you have any questions you’d like to ask me, feel free. If I have enough questions, I’ll post the answers in a video. If I don’t, I’ll just write a separate blog post.

Have an awesome day!

Follow me on twitter! www.twitter.com/jimmy_mallory