NBA Predictions

So long for going to bed early. How can I go to bed with EJ, Kenny, Charles and C-Webb every Thursday night? So yeah its a little late on the predictions, but take my word for it. These were my thoughts during the offseason.

The elite teams in the East are as follows: Boston,Clevland,Orlando.
Orlando lost the finals, but the loss of Hedo hurts them a ton. I love Vince, but he doesn't fit their style as well, and doens't create the mismatch problems Hedo and Rashard Lewis do. Look for Lewis' numbers to decline as a result. I still see last year as kinda fluky for them, even though Superman is still tough.

Cleveland added Shaq and Anthony Parker, but I still dont think they did enough to improve their team. They lost twice to the Lakers int he regular season, and really struggled against Orlando. As similar as the scripts for LBJ and MJ with their early struggles against tough teams, the script breaks here, and LBJ loses in the conf. finals, and goes to NY/NJ next year.

Boston is the team to beat. KG was hurt last year, and they added Sheed. Rondo is a player who can go off and carry a team (See last year against the Bulls). As long as they are healthy, they are the pick to win the East, but they will need to add depth to the bench (not that Marbury was any good though)

The Lakers are still tops in the West with the Spurs challenging. I still think the Spurs are just a little too old, and you can depend on Manu for 82 games, so their road to the postseason will always be tough.

I like the Lakers to repeat, simply beacuse of the addition of Artest will give them the fire to not let up. He is a winner, despite his past antics. He plays the game hard and wants to win.

My Bobcats, ahh my beloved Bobcats. It's really hard to see them doing well this year. Without Raja Bell for 4 months, they will really struggle on guarding elite 2 guards. I think they regress this year, Augustin takes over for Felton, They trade Wallace for youth, and start all over under Brown. I'll say 30-34 wins.

Teams on the Rise: Oklahoma City, San Antonio, Philadelphia, Phoenix (playoffs for sure)
Teams on decline: Orlando, New Orleans Golden State, Indiana, Miami

Hear ye hear ye...who's calling you?

After a long hiatus off of blogger world, I'm back. I just got back from Atlanta for a support raising conference with Campus Crusade. It was a refreshing time to meet with friends and talk about our experiences in the past 2 months.

We had to have our presentations of how we would ask a potential supporter to come on our ministry team recorded and critiqued. My critique was suprrising. I wish it had been all about making sure my posture was good (it wasn't), lack of mumbling (I did), and direct eye contact. However, my critique had to do with how unconvincing I sounded in my own calling of why I want to work with Campus Crusade.

Talk about a shot in the gut. Sometimes I felt if there had been a Mr. Crusade contest at UNC I would've won. I went to all the meetings and was very active in college, so how could anyone question my calling to an organization that helped me grow in my relationship with God?

I knew what this meant. Deep soul-searching for the motivations for what I am doing. I am not looking forward to it, but it made me see a few thigns about myself regarding my calling.

The first is that my calling to Crusade, and ministry in general, is hugely based on the amount of success that ministry has. As I was studying some of the examples in the Bible of people who were called, I asked myself, "If I didn't see any fruit in ministry, would I still want to pour my life to serving in this capacity?" Sadly, I believe the answer is no. My ministry is driven by success, positive results. I see this in how I respond when people choose not tos upport my ministry. I get angry with them. I judge their spirituality (sorry to those of you who this is true of, I am just being honest). I see them as being "all bad" if they don't support me and "all good" angelic beings sent from the good Lord if they do.

What does this mean? Support raising and ministry (and life) is really all about me. If I can PRODUCE a product that reaps benefits to me and those around me, I am content and satisfied. If not, I am angry, desiring success that other ministers have, and feel like a disappointment.

I've always heard that it's very tempting to make ministry about me and what I can produce, but it has hit me square in the chest. Would I really be ok if nobody came to Christ, nobody believed me, nobody liked me, nobody reaped any seen benefit of my labor? The answer is No. But I am asking God to change this. To make me more like Christ in that he did the will of His Father more than of his own desires. Jesus was tempted in every way yet without sin. He was tempted to be a God of showmanship by Satan (Matthew 4), yet he regarded the will of the Father more than his own will.

I want to be driven by the voice and word of my heavenly father, not by selfish ambition to make more of me. After all, I have been crucified with Christ, therefore I no longer live.. and my body is a temple of the Lord, I've been bought with a price...

I need continual confirmation of my calling, because I do believe I have been called by God to this ministry. Yet if I take my eyes of what he's done for me through the gospel, and what his word says, I will be distracted into making ministry about me, rather than Him.

Suggested reading "In the name of Jesus" by Henri Nouwen

Just a good ole NFL prediction attempt

Rather than saying "I thought the Titans would be awesome this year," in December, I decided I put would my predictions for the upcoming NFL season on my blog. So that you can make fun of me if I pick to Oakland to win the division (they won't) or the Lions to go 0-16 again (they won't).

AFC East
1. New England 11-5
2. Buffalo 7-9
3. Miami 7-9
4. NY Jets 4-12

AFC North
1. Pittsburgh 12-4
2. Baltimore 11-5
3. Cincinnati 8-8
4. Cleveland 3-13

AFC South
1. Houston 10-6
2. Indianpolis 10-6
3. Jacksonville 7-9
4. Tennessee 6-10

AFC West
1. San Diego 11-5
2. Kansas City 8-8
3. Oakland 6-10
4. Denver 5-11

AFC Prognosis

New England is back, but their defense is getting older and the loss of Seymour hurts them a ton on the line. Brady will be back, but not enough to get back to the Super Bowl.

I am high on San Diego this year b/c I think Rivers proved himself last year as an elite quarterback (it pains me to say as a Tar Heel fan, that but its true).

My sleeper pick is Houston to win the South via a tiebreaker. I am a huge fan of Matt Schuab if he can stay healthy, and with Mario Williams' 12 sacks last year, he's proving that the Texans D is no slouch (what is this a Wolfpack shoutout day?)

Nevertheless, I like San Diego and New England to meet again in the AFC title game and SD to take the title.

NFC East
1. NY Giants
2. Philly
3. Dallas
4. Washington

NFC North
1. Minnesota
2. Chicago
3. Green Bay
4. Detroit

NFC South
1. New Orleans
2. Atlanta
3. Tampa Bay
4. Carolina

NFC West
1. Seattle
2. San Fransisco
3. Arizona
4. St. Louis

As a rule of thumb, I am a huge fan of the Super Bowl appearance let down. Arizona had a great run last year, but teams will be gunning for them next year. I think teams overlooked them last year when New England killed them right before the playoffs, which led to their improbable run. (Did I mention Larry Fitz is on the cover of Madden?) SF is my pick to surprise teams this season. Nobody is talking about QB Sean Hill, but I think he could be this year's version of Chad Pennington. This team will just miss the playoffs, but watch out for them next year with Michael Crabtree.

The same is true of Carolina. The South always has a new division winner each year, and the Saints will be back this year. I like Atlanta, but I think teams just overlooked them last year. They'll have a harder schedule, but should still be a wild card team.

The Bears should contend in the North, but their defense is overrated. Cutler will help a ton, but their D got shredded by AP, and more importantly through the air. I think they will just miss out on the playoffs again.

The Giants haven't done anything to lose ground in the NFC East, although I really like McNabb and the Eagles if he stays healthy.

I'll take the Saints this year against SD, b/c there are rarely any patterns in Super Bowl picks. I like the Chargers to win it all b/c they will have an easy road.

A great sermon I just have to blog about

whats up blogger world...I'm back from Colorado, in Cary,NC with my folks and brother. It's nice being back, and having a full pantry to raid.

I just listened to a sermon by Andy Stanley in the series "Go Fish" that really struck a cord with me. It's the second sermon of the series titled "Why fish?" Please give it 38 minutes, here's a few reasons why I liked it so much.

1. Andy clearly communicates why culture dislikes Christians sharing their faith.
- I found it so interesting that the story of Acts 4:1-22 refelects how today's culture sees Christians. They say, just take out Jesus, believe whatever you want, but just don't TELL anyone about it. Non-believers today are more tolerant of religions than ever, however, when any one view is pressed against someone, they feel pushed away, because that doesn't fit into the overall view of the real religion of our culture, which is tolerance. If your view shows a level of intolerance, you can't have a seat at the table. The high priests didn't mind that Peter and John were believers, or even that they healed a blind man. They were perplexed and frustrated because they were preaching a message of "salvation under one name."
2. Peter and John's boldness was to what they had seen.
Jesus was a historical person. He wasn't just an experience that some people had and others didn't. He really walked on the earth, and really died, and really rose again. Peter and John's testimony is rooted in history, which is why they are so bold in the face of oppression. Religions rooted in experience or an unreliable testimony is faulty(Mormanism, scientology, other cults immeidately come to mind). The testimony of the believers, the fact that they would risk their lives and die for Jesus shows that Christ really did live, and the people that truly followed him were transformed by his love and teachings.

The one thing I didn't like, is that Stanley just uses this appeal of attesting to what we've seen and heard to share our faith. He repeatedly said that our doctrine "might not be good", or that we might not understand all of it at the moment, and that's fine, especially seeing that Peter and John were fisherman. But the Christian faith is a rational faith for the skeptic. It has just as much validity to the intellectual as it does the common man like Peter and John. There must be balance in this, and we do need to learn doctrine, have sufficient responses to the tough questions about Christianity.

Still, Stanley says that salvation must be explained, and that it is not intuitive. This is so true. Nobody comes to the conclusion of Jesus dying for all sins on their own. You may believe God exists on your own, but the gospel of Jesus is not necessairly logical. Its foolishness to some and a stumbling block to others. But if it is only explained on testimony of changed lives, the minds of people will not be satisfied. As Christians, we must have a balanced presentation of a changed live through a testimony, as well as the appeal to the intellectual questions. Not all of those questions can or will be answered, but we must be ready to share the reasoning for our faith.


I see that we must speak the truth to people that don't know Christ. But I knew that before. This message helped me see how we appeal to people. We do evangelism and love our neighbor because God has done a great work in our lives, and redeemed us from sin. For us not to speak would be foolish and selfish. We must attest to the history of Jesus, but also do it with love and humility. If only put the message of Christ lumped together with all other religions, then we have not portrayed him rightly.

I still have more thoughts on this, but this is all for now..

Finding worldview in Dave Matthews

I noticed a few trends of what many people value from the lyrics of newest Dave Matthews CD “Big Whiskey and the Groo Grux King.” The song “Lying in the Hands of God.” I really like the song, but the lyrics are what first jumped out at me. The chorus reads, “Save your sermons, for someone that's afraid to love, I'll be right here, lying in the hands of God.” DMB holds an agnostic view of God, that is he is real, but they are not sure who or where he is. This song seems to equate God's values with love. Based on the chorus, it seems he's tired of hearing sermons and being lectured on perhaps how to love, or what someone should be or should do. Rather, the value that he clings to is love. 

The message is, if you love anything and everything, then you are in the hands of God and you can live peacefully. I really like that his desire is to love people. Paul says “faith, hope and love, but the greatest of these is love.” (1 Cor 13:13). The difference from the Christian worldview is that we are to love God with all our heart, soul and mind. The second commandment is like it, to love our brothers as we would love our selves. To really be “lying in the hands of God,” is to have peace with God. Because Christ substitutes his righteousness in our place, we can have peace with God (Romans 5:1). This is the only way. (John 14:6)

I think another point that Christians should disagree with is the fact that love itself is worshipped higher than anything else in the DMB worldview. Unbelievers love creation more than the love the creator. (Romans 1:24-27) This is idolatry. Yes, God is love (1 John), but if we even just worship one part of God over the complete divinity and glory of God, we rob him of his rightful glory.

This song captures that God loves those who love. And this is true. He desires compassion and mercy. But if this is all that God is and wants, then we rob God of his other attributes; his omniscience, omnipotence, his redemptive work, his forgiveness, mercy, grace, the riches that are to come, his wisdom, his suffering..etc..

I think many people agree with this song's world view and they believe that if they just volunteer a lot, work hard in class, treat people with hospitality and kindness, that they are at peace with God. Yet the unbelievers' sin screams louder over these good things. To have peace with God, someone must pay for our sins we've committed against him.

Part 2 later..regarding Family Guy

NBA Finals Musings

Whomever said that the Cavs/Lakers dream series would be the only thing worth watching- they are wrong. This finals has been entertaining, and the Magic actually have a chance of beating the Lakers (they won't). But the Cavs would have no business with the Lakers.

1. The Magic are a legit powerhouse in the East, and are here to stay. With Dwight "make me my own vitamin water commercial" Howard anchoring the middle and Hedo and Lewis bombing threes, they'll have the youthfulness and dominant player necessary to win the East yearly. The Cavs and Celtics better upgrade their teams, or else they won't taste the Finals anytime soon.

2. Rafter Alston is better than Jameer Nelson. I can't stand the analysts who declare that the magic is Jameer Nelson's team. They say this only because he was an all-star this year before getting hurt. But this is Superman's team. You could put the little annoying kid from the Lebron/Kobe commercials at point guard, and he'd get 10 and 7 every night. Alston isn't as good a shooter, but Skip to my Lou has the "Cota Flota" in the lane that is lethal. He's the better player in the playoffs and overall.

3. Kobe has the same demeanor on the court as MJ.

I know I know I know. "Does that mean he's better than MJ?" No. Not yet. And probably won't ever be. He'll always have had more talented teams than MJ. But on the court, he keeps calm even when they are down. He drives to the basket late in games to get to the line (b/c he knows he'll get the calls). He knows when to take over a game, and knows how to out work and outsmart great defenders (see Shane Battier and even Michael Pietrus). The Black Mamba isn't eh best player in the game (that'd be LeBron), but mentally he kills teams in the 4th quarter, and thats why I'd rather have him on my team than LeBron.

I hope Catherine Zeta Jones knocks on my door and asks me for a phone make-over. That'd make these finals even better!

Already but not yet (Part 2)

2  Corinthians 3:18 " And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit." 

1. “Are being transformed” - Process in santification. Piper says that beholding this glory changes us and heals us. This verse gives me great comfort, because there is no timetable on this. I don't have to be made perfect in certain areas of my walk with Christ today, yet we are to “be holy as he is holy” (1 Peter 1:13-14). This is an interesting twist. I am being made into Christ's character in process, and he is patient with me. Yet, I am still to strive for holiness- which is perfection that I can not attain. So many times I find myself discouraged that I am not holy and never will be. This is the frustration and beauty of God's grace. Although I am to press toward the mark (Phil 3:14), when I fall, he is patient and does not let me go.

2. “Into the same image”- Transformed into the very nature of Christ. Not that we would be equal with God in ability or his divinity, but his nature and character in obedience to the Father. What a thought, that I am being transformed into the same image and character of God himself through the power of his Spirit! This is truly a gift of God, only by his grace.

3. “One degree of glory to another”...This will one day be perfected in heaven, when our glorified bodies will be shown...I'm not sure what this one means...but it shows that we won't become like the image we strive in an instant. It takes time.

   I love that this verse doesn't mean that I have to do much. We grow in community, naked and unashamed, beholding the glory of Christ and that changes us. My role is the behold the glory of Christ in a way where I am not ashamed, hidden, or fearful- for the Spirit gives freedom but the letter gives death. God takes care of the rest and changes us into his image. But we must realize these things to grow.  

Already but not yet (Part 1)

“And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.” 2 Corinthians 3:18

These are merely observations about this verse. So if you find theological fault, let me know, we'll get some cokes and talk it out.

1. “We all”- Community. This isn't just to an individual person, but this is to be done with the body of Christ. Those who have an “unveiled face”( v17.) We see this in Paul's other writings as well, that knowing God comes in community. See Ephesians 3:18...”may comprehend with all the saints,what is the breadth, and length height and depth and to know the love of Christ.” It is with ALL the saints that knowing the love of Christ is in full effect, because those who are in Christ are one body and in one spirit.

2. “With unveiled face” My first thought about unveiled face was how we appear to God as naked before him. Chapter 3 talks of how the Spirit brings freedom. If we have the Spirit, there is no need for the veil (like Moses needed). We are to grow together, naked and unashamed of our past because they have been forgiven and forgotten by God. If we cover up our sins, or say we do not have sin, we can not grow (See 1 John 1:7-2:2) But “unveiled” is beautiful in the sight of God when Christ is with us, because we are free as we were in the Garden. Adam and Eve were naked and without shame in the garden, and ever since the moment they sinned, mankind has been covering himself up before God. But now, in Christ alone, there needs to be no guilt, fear or shame before God because he pardons our sin.

3. “Beholding the glory of the Lord”...This one jumps out at me. The reason I don't grow in Christ is simple because I don't put him at the forefront of my mind and my life. I find things associated with my Lord to put in the center; campus ministries, church, making relationships with non-believers, loving my neighbor, serving...and these are good things. But they are not simply beholding God's glory. John Piper makes an interesting point in his book “Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ”. He makes the point that redemption, adoption, forgiveness and justification are all things God does that point to something greater- his glory. (John 17:24)...The more I “behold” or put forth God's glory in my life, the more I will grow. The more I see the most glorious thing, the death and resurrection on the cross, the more like Christ I become (Philippians 3:10)

   I confess that I put so many things God has created as more important in my life rather than the creator himself. I think of how Jesus asked Peter “do you love me?” as the way of bringing him back into the ministry. It wasn't “Peter will you lead my church?, or Peter will you not make that mistake again?...” it was about loving God and making that the center of his life.

Crazy Love

So for my birthday I got a little nutty at the Christian book store and dropped 60 bucks. But so far its been well worth it. I just finished reading "Crazy Love" by Francis Chan. I also bought the DVD, and would love to use it in a small group setting.

Chan challenges American Christianity and its response to the love of Christ and the call to be his disciple. He comes down hard on lukewarm Christians in chapter 5, which was a very convicting chapter. He then lists the opposite of lukewarm in his chapter labeled "obsessed" and that those who love Jesus are obsessed with him and his kingdom.

It reminded me a lot of "Don't waste your life" by John Piper, in its similar style of writing which is more like a conversation, and also in its simple yet "get up off your ass motivation to go do something in response to God's love."

To be quite honest, when reading the book, it was more discouraging to me. I realized how little I demonstrate my love for Christ. Sure, I know the verses, do ministry events, but the question of "Do I love Jesus, and if I do, what I am doing about it?" continued to come up in my mind. 

So much of my life is lived in Christian freedom, yet I feel that it quenches the spirit so often. I serve myself more than Christ, take more from others than give, and use my talents to glorify my name and not my Savior's.

Overall its a great read. It'll make you squirm, yet its still a tough book to put down. 

A new song

Psalm 40:3: "He put a new song in my mouth a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the LORD."

I've been thinking about this psalm a lot over the past few weeks. It's most likely because the song "40" by U2 has been circling in and around my ears for the past month (Buy it on iTunes). David waits for the Lord, and He hears him and answers him. God puts a new song in his mouth, a new heart that has recieved grace and been rescued from his destruction.

So how does David respond? With a new song, a praise to the one who rescued him. My question is this, "what is the song of my heart, and what is on the tip of my tongue when I talk, my thoughts and motivation for when I work, for how I play?"

Recently, the song on my heart has not been one that rejoices in the LORD. It is a complaint about the slow process of finding a job. It's impatience with events in my life not going the way I expected them too. It's a bitter song that gets angry at God for not doing the things that I want him to do. It's anxiety because although I know I don't have control over these things, I still believe I do, and I hate God for it.

I desperately want control over all the things I can't control. Yet it was God who rescued me from the pit, and it was me who called out for his help! So many times I want God to call down to me, and for me to rescue myself from his plan. Talk about not believing in the sovereignty of God!

What oozes out of you when life throws you things you can't control? Do you talk more harshly, become apathetic in work, lose motivation for seeking God? I do. But I am learning to remember who I am and where I've come from. C.S. Lewis said that people don't need as much instruction as they do reminders.

I need reminders of how God has rescued me from the slavery of sin and put me into his eternal inheritance out of his mercy. Beleiving this is a moment by moment choice that I must make each day, and how well I do this in many ways determines the song of my heart.

"But now in Christ Jesu you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ." - Ephesians 2:13

Nothing Left to Lose

"For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it." Luke 9:24

Jesus gives a pretty radical statement here. He says that surrendering your life to Him is the only way to save your life. By holding on and clutching control of your life to fulfill desires of selfish ambition, money, notoriety, and satisfaction from others ultimately leads to losing your life.

This is the idea of God's grace. That God has bought us back even while we were still helpless sinners who couldn't love him. He saved us from our sin, and brought us new life. Now, there is nothing left to lose. Because our life is hidden in Christ (Gal. 2:20), we are free to live as agents of God's love and grace to others. Because Jesus has paid our penalty, and given us new life (2 Cor 5:14-21), we are now able to live in obedience to him.

Needtobreathe's lyric says "We've got nothing else to live for, nothing left to lose." Surely you can take this a number of ways. Here is my thought on this. This could pertain to our right standing, or righteousness before God. Because of Jesus' substitution for me on the cross, I have no need to strive and attain my own righteousness. Jesus' righteousness before has been imputed to me (sorry for the theological words). For those in Christ, we have no more need to seek perfection, to attain God's favor, for we already have it.

Ergo, in our lives, we have nothing left to lose. The first question that arises is, "So does that mean I can do whatever I want whenever I want?" The answer is No. (Rom. 6). But we are free to live in grace according to the Word of God. We are free from the law and the curse of sin, and are now under grace.

I want my life to be continually reminded of how God's grace has freed me from the curse of sin, and how I am now free.

"For we are a fragrance of Christ to God amont those who are being saved and among those who are perishing." 2 Corinthians 2:15.

First blog- about hockey?

Allow myself to introduce myself to the blogging world. I thought it would be cool to write some thoughts down to let the world know my every thought. So I thought I'd write my first blog post about something really on my mind.
Hockey?

I couldn't get over how the Carolina Hurricanes won game 7 last night in dramatic fashion. I saw most of the series, but not all of it. Game 7 and game 4 were two of the best hockey finishes I've ever seen, much less conclusions to any sporting event.
Now I know, you might say..."Really Matt? Seriously Matt? Hockey? Nobody talks about hockey. My intramural water polo game has more excitement than hockey."

And you'd be absolutely right. But this is playoff hockey. And this is the Carolina Hurricanes.

There are two points to be made: One is that playoff hockey is highly entertaining because of the energy and desperation displayed. I mean come on, did you see how that defenseman kept the puck in the blue line by diving for it? It kept the play alive, and allowed the Canes to tie the game. So don't give me this hockey is boring baloney, (or bologna, you pick).

Secondly, North Carolina fans better start appreciating the Canes. When they make the playoffs, it is magical. I'm amazed at how many facebook statuses changed last night with love for the Canes. Yeah, I don't remember hearing from you since the 2006 Cup run.
They have a superstar that nobody will hear of because he plays in Raleigh, Eric Staal was fantastic throughout the series. The sad part is people in North Carolina are probably more familiar with Erik Cole for his horribly done "click it or ticket" public service announcment advertisement. Ugh, just give me Smoky the Bear, or McGruff the crime dog, and I'll listen to your PSA.

This series against New Jersey was one of the best overall series'. You had defense (Marty Brodeur's 1-0 shutout in game 5), game 4's game-winner with 0.2 seconds left, and then of course 2 goals in 11 seconds in game 7.

Depending on if the Celtics-Bulls goes 7 games, it's the best series over the last month in sports.
Eh? You dont think so eh? (Uh-oh, Canadian speech alert, means I should get my America on- Sweet Tea, NASCAR and BBQ)