Jesus was Homeless

The love of money is what ruins the world. Many people today are consumed with a disease know as, Materialism. People are constantly thinking that in order to be happy they must obtain a lot of money and buy material possessions. However, this is very untrue. We need family and friends to be happy. We need good, healthy relationships to be happy. Above all we need God to be happy. We are living in a very lost world and that seriously needs to change.
About a month and a half ago I went down to Columbus to help homeless people with my youth group. As I was driving down there all I could think of was how badly I wanted to go home. I though about what these homeless people would be like and I found that I already had my own preconceived notions of them. I thought they were dirty, disgusting bums who didn’t care enough to do anything with their lives. I turned out to be very wrong. I met with these people and they were amazing. I found that we had much in common and they were extremely loving and caring. You may be asking yourself, “Why is this being brought up when this essay is supposed to be about how the world has become ruined by the love of money?” Well, these people helped me to really believe that material possessions aren’t important. Those people had literally nothing except for one thing; God. They had God. Even though they had no homes, raggedy clothing, and hardly any food, they still had amazing love for God. Love for God that I wish I had. They taught me a lot and I can’t thank them enough.
It says in the Bible that we are to not love the world or the things in it (1 John 2:15). So what is everybody getting so confused about? It is clearly stated in the Bible that we are not to love the world, but we are, however, to put our faith and love in God. In other words, we shouldn’t allow material possessions run our lives. Letting one’s life revolve around buying useless possessions is a very bad thing. They’re just filling some kind of void in their life. They’re allowing something come before God. Don’t get me wrong, everyone is guilty of being materialistic at one time or another, even myself, but I’m trying to leave the mindset of loving money. Perhaps more people in the world should also take this approach.
I’m not trying to say that people who live this way are completely terrible. I’m sure that a lot of them have great hearts and are capable of so much more than living materialistically. I don’t hate money. Money is a necessity. Yes, I think that it is. We need monay to eat, buy clothing, pay bills. But even though it may be needed in some aspects of our lives, that doesn’t mean that we are to love it. Our world is extremely greedy and self-centered. We only seem to want to make ourselves happy and the way we do it is through shopping for unneeded items. The item that is truly needed is God. God will show us how to live our lives tha way that they are meant to live an more. He’ll help us see the world for what it truly is. He’ll help us to change. And best of all, He’ll never stop loving us.
I no longer care about my cell phones condition. I’m fine with having a phone that is five years old and is not in the best condition. I no longer care about my Ipod. It’s broken. I have no headphones for it. It.s the first one ever made. I have become a relatively cheap person who searches for bargains wherever I go shopping for something I need. I have an idea. Let’s sell the things we don’t need, get rid of the mindset we’re stuck in, and rethink our way of life. Let’s live as if we were homeless. After all, Jesus was homeless.

Hope

I have been struggling a lot lately with this. I have been dealing with some stuff that is really getting to me and i have come to find that I have no hope. I don't see anything ending for me but what i do see is me being stuck in a rut the rest of my life. I'm angry. I'm sad. I'm scared. I qnt to find peace in my life. I want to have hope. My prayers this past week have mostly been about God giving me hope. Have I been seeing any results? sometimes, yes. occasionally i feel really happy and as if everything is going to be okay. But usually that isn't the case. I need to grow. I want to grow. But i feel like i'm doing something wrong. I feel like i'm holding back from God. I feel like i'm not being honest with Him. Maybe i'm not even being honest with myself.
I'm not walking away from Him. However, I find mysekf questioning more than I ever have before. I know He loves me. I love Him. I know He cares. But sometimes I don't feel His presence'
I don't really know what I was trying to say in this blog except, anyone ho happens to read this, please pray for me. To find peace and to have hope.

I GOT ACCEPTED TO THE NAZ!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am soooooo happy!!!
PRAISE GOD!!!!
I can't wait to call MVNU my home for the next four years!!!
at least im pretty positive it will be my home.
i'm also considering cedarville.
but i don't own enough khakis.
=(

For in Him all things were created...

"The son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he ie the head of the body; the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross."
Colossians 1:15-20

At youth group, wednesday night, we read this scripture together in small groups. as we were reading it, something kind of stuck out to me (the part in bold, which is also the title of this blog.)
and why did it stick out to me?? because it doesn't necessarily seem to make any sense. I mean, yes we can see all of the GOOD thing being created through Jesus, but what about the bad things? like hate, violence, racism, etc... if everything was created through Him, then does that mean that discrimination was created through Him as well? it's a pretty big question. I can't see it happening. Jesus is amazing and nothing bad can be said about Him. Good came from him. I have never read anywhere in the bible where Jesus made a racial slur, or made a discriminating comment against someone less then he. He healed the blind, he healed lepers, he hung out with the worst of the worst. So how cen EVERYTHING be created through Him? hm...
i'm rather stumped.

I HATE ALCOHOL!!!!!

IT SUCKS BUTT!!!!!!!!

one of my cats died.

=(

im saaadd.

Obama is not the Anti-Christ

I have not found where it says this in the Bible anywhere.

if it's there, then someone please tell me where.

otherwise, stop misusing God's word.

he's our new president. get used to it.

never take anything for granted.

many people were partying this past saturday night but i wasn't at all. instead of participating in the cliche aspect of halloween, i rode down to columbus with part of my youth group to Fruit of the Vine Ministries to help out the homeless.i was extremely nervous the whole way down there. It was because i was scared of the homeless people, but i was afraid of my reaction. i've ever been exposed to stuff like that. i've never seen a homeless people, let alone speak to them.i got down there, we unloaded our donations of clothing and suplies, and we were given instructions on how to go about with the night. after a circle of prayer, we left.our first stop was pretty awkward. i didn't really talk that much because of my nerves. but thank God someone introduced me to one of the men who was there. His name is Dan and he is amazing. he was so sick, and yet extremely joyful. he has nothing, and yet he was so happy to see us and to speak with us. he has merca. he has no way to take care of himself due to the fact that he has no health insurance. i hate america.the second stop was at someone's house. they have a home, but they have a hard time affording food. so we gave them food.the third stop, i met a man named darryl. he came and got all of the things that he needed, but the main thing that he was wanting was a bible. he went on to tell a friend and i about how he loved God and wasn't afraid to say it. that amazes me. someone who is homeless, and basically has nothing, still loves God so much. it's truly amazing. i don't even know if i'd be able to do that. i'd probably lose hope and give up. but he didn't. i admire him greatly for that.only one person showed up to the third stop, but that one person was great. he asked for some food and clothing and we gave it to him. some of us proceeded to pray with him and it was great to see that.the last stop was probably where i really saw what was happening. there was a man named "forty." he was apparently a vietnam war veteran. he had to sell his house so he was able to bury his wife after her passing. and now he's on the street.it was hard talking to him.it was hard to see the bottle of liquor on the ground at that place.it was hard seeing a 17 month old girl pushing a shopping cart.i'm not writing all of this to exploit these peoples lives or myself for being a part of this. i'm writing this because we need to start caring.we have sooo much and some people have absolutely nothing. i cannot tell you how much i learned because i learned so much. these people aren't the stereotypical homeless people that are portrayed in movies. they are great people. they are wise people. they are loving people.before i went to this i was under the impression that all homeless people were dirty, disguting, mean drunks, but that isn't the case. i can learn a great deal from these people and i did. if you're a christian then please pray for these people.these people are amazing and i am very honored to call them my friends.

"Flock"

It has been calculated that each copy of the Gutenburg Bible required the skins of 300 sheep.
I can see them squeezed into the holding pen behind the stone building where the printing press is housed.
All of them squirming around to find a little room and looking so much alike it would be nearly impossible to count them.
And there is no telling which one of them will carry the news that the Lord is a Shepherd, one of the few things they already know.
- Billy Collins

please pray for him

a friend of mine is going through a divorce.
im sad for him.
and he told me that he isn't a christian.
i think that if he were he would find comfort.
in God.
he could go to God for help and possibly feel a bit better about the situation.
i constantly turn to God during my time of need.
it's good to have that.
i want him to be happy.
so.....please pray for him.

Jason Schneiderman is my favorite poet...

Jason Schneiderman is now my favorite poet ever to live i must say. Here are a few of his amazing poems. You may not like him, but i seriously wish that I had his style of writing.
AMAZING!


Charlie Brown in a Well
At the bottom of the well
my round head is no longer



funny. I can not see the
zig zag on my shirt or



even the yellow. I touch the
single hair on my head



and hope that it never falls out





A Story about Nutrition
Her womb was barren, and it made them sad,
but in the Nursery outside their local Giant



they saw a bag that said 'fertilizer'
and they believed it. They were happy,



parents-to-be, bought the largest bag,
and drove home faster than usual.



She wasn't pregnant yet,
so they hefted the weight upstairs



to the master bedroom together,
where he filled the bed with the rich black soil



and she climbed into the bed
and he buried her, tamping the earth
around her naked body.



He said nothing as she lay there,
but he was haunted by a childhood experiment
where he had watered plain earth, no seeds,



and things grew out of it,
slender, green, parentless shoots
born of the earth.



When at last she swelled up,
he remained silent,
did not voice his distress



that he might not be responsible,
and when she bore their child,
he smiled at her, and looked away.





Hydration
It started around the same time
she'd gotten kidney stones for the first time,
this obsession with water
and her belief in its importance.


It became the source of all problems physical:
headaches, exhaustion, indigestion, constipation...
Her research was ruthless and thorough.
All things pointed to water,



to multiple glasses of water
and the wait for the relief
hydration would bring.



We became connoisseurs of water,
keeping bottles in the car
and filters in the fridge



We bought backpacks and hip flasks,
boy scout canteens and leather bladders



until it had consumed us
and we couldn't get through the day



without twelve glasses each
and we couldn't go anywhere

without a bathroom in sight,
and when we turned to her

to ask, what now? She was gone.
Drifted away.

And none of us had noticed.

I Love You and All You Have Made
The flowers are shocking on our shell shocked block, where everything is your doing—the garden plot you wrested from the concrete with jackhammers and bordered with cinderblock, the soil you carted home in the wheelbarrow, the bulbs I helped you pick, the jasmine you ordered on-line, the rose bushes you brought home on the bus. I've always marveled at your passion for plants—the custom made boxes on Fifty-seventh Street, the hanging baskets on South Portland, the way that the plants grow for you, the way that the cuttings hang on for you, yearsat a time. The only plant I ever did well with was a Ficus Tree named Charlie who would only grow in my room, and I still believe it was because he loved me. Some days I flatter myself to think that I'm one of your flowers. Some days I flatter myself to think I'm not.

MVNU application essay...

I believe that I am a kind, ambitious person who strives to be more and more like Christ everyday. That is one of the main reasons that I want the Christian emphasis and environment offered at Mount Vernon Nazarene University. I want a place where I can grow in my faith and I believe that MVNU is the place where I can do that. Another reason that I am applying to MVNU, is because of the many opportunities that are given. I want to study abroad and go on mission trips. I want to be given great academic classes that will prepare me for my major. I want to maintain a healthy, Christian lifestyle by abiding by the understandable rules and participating in campus ministries. The list goes on and on. I have no doubt that MVNU can truly be my home for the next four or more years. I want to meet people that I can become great, life-long friends with, and professors that I will get to know personally. MVNU is the place for me. There are many possibilities that I am considering as a career. An English teacher, a youth pastor, a counselor, and much more. I think that MVNU will help to prepare me for any, and all career possibilities that I am interested in pursuing. I intend on being a part of every aspect of the MVNU environment. I will uphold my studies, pursue my want to be like Christ, and give all that I can to service my community. I am interested in Christ, growing, and building new relationships. My home is at MVNU. Thank you very much for your consideration.

Where is God?

Yeaterday I went to MVNU and I had the pleasure of sitting in on a Christian Theology class. During this class people were sharing their thoughts on how we can prove that God exists and though I was not able to talk, due to the fact that I am not a student there, I so badly wanted to join in the discussion.
At one point a student raised his hand and spoke of God and His prescence during hurricane Katrina. He said that God was present there and, to my surprise, I disagreed. I wasn't sure. I don't necessarily believe that God was there. I cannot tell you how many times I've asked myself the question, "Where's God?"
Where was God during the holocaust?
Where was God during the Columbine shooting?
Where is God during all of these natural disasters that continue to occur?
Where. Is. God?
I don't see really Him. All I really see is hurt and pain in all of those scenarios, I don't really see the love of God.
Seeing these examples helps me bring up personal examples of my own life...
Where was God when my Uncle, who was my hero, died?
Where was God when I was drinking all the time and destroying my life?
Where was God when I was hurting my lungs with cigarettes?
Where was God when I wanted to kill myself?
The more and more I think about this the angrier and more hopeless I get. But then I realize that God is waiting. He's waiting for me to come to Him. I was able to go to Him for comfort when my uncle died, and I was able to overcome drinking, smoking, and suicide because He helped me. He is always there, He's just waiting for us to find Him.
So, in the end, I don't have an answer for the first questions I posed. Is God there? maybe. But even if He weren't, I believe that He loves His children and that His heart is breaking everytime He sees us in pain or hurting.
Do I feel helpless and hopeless and have the suspicion that God has forgotten about me or doesn't care? Yes.
But I'm learning that everything is going to get better and that I need to trust in my father, and have hope.

I may've confused whoever decides to read this but it's kinda hard to explain. Maybe we should get together and talk about it. Maybe that'll be easier. I enjoy discussion.

2 Months!!!

today is two months since I have had a cigarette.





hells yeah!

disappointed...

i went up to Hope College this weekend and it wasn't what i wanted it to be. I wanted to fall in love with that school. some of my best friends really like that school and i wanted to be able to go to college with my best friends. But it didn't feel right. It didn't feel very Christ centered even tho it's a Christian college. yes it is a very prestigous college but that's not what i'm looking for. I want a place where i can grow in my faith. I want a place where i can study the bible with my friends and pray with them. I dont want to find my friend in his dorm room playing video games. it would be better to find him reading the Word. i want to enjoy chapel. love it. it was weird at Hope. I loved seeing everyone there voluntarily and raising their hands to God but it just wasn't right. i need a place to call home. i want a place where classes teaching about Jesus and the Bible are required. I want a place with rules that will help me keep a Christian life. I want a place where i can make a difference. that is not Hope. hopefully I'll get into the Naz or Cedarville. oh geeze...

Benjamin needs to listen...

So I went to church this morning and I enjoyed it very much.

I need to start listening more. not only to God but to other people. Sometimes people need to just let it all out and i want to be the kind of person who will be there for ANYONE and will listen to what they have to say. I want to be a shoulder that they can cry on. And I want the same for me. Sometimes i just need to vent and I am so thankful that I have people in my life who are willing to just hear me out and give me advice when it's needed. I am so thankful for that.
I also beleve that I need to just hear God's voice. I waste so much time with technology and other distractions, and I don't pay much attention to God. I need to just listen to Him. I want the answers. I want to hear Him.

so church is amazing and I am so thankful that God has led me there. Praise Him.

benny b

Philippians 2:2-11

2make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose.
3Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves
4Do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.
5Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus
6who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped
7but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.
8Being found in the appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
9For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name,
10so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Lie

I feel like a lie.
Like one of those deep, intellectual lies that are swept underneath the rug.
I feel like its not my fault. Like it's someone elses fault that I'm like this.
I feel like a failure.
Like i'll never amount to any good especially when it comes to the predominance in rural, knox county ohio.
I feel like i'm not going to be saved.
That it'll never stop.
I'll keep moving on only to be stopped in my tracks by this lie of lies, this hate of hate in my heart.
Deep hate.
I feel alone.
Im alone in this world of hey you's and everpopular telephone converstations.
Notice me please.
Help me please.
Save me. Please.

hmm...

i wonder what college i should go to...
and what should i major in??


i wish God would tell me...NOW!

maybe im not listening hard enough.

maybe i know exactly what he wants me to do but i don't want to go through with it.

hmm...

1 MONTH!!!!!

everyone.........i have an announcement to make:




IT HAS BEEN ONE WHOLE FREAKING MONTH SINCE I HAVE HAD A CIGARETTE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AMAZING!!!!!



tis my news. and i am very happy about it. thank you to everyone who has helped me through it and who continue to do so. i am very thanful for all of you. and i'd like to give a HUGE shoutout to God. because if it weren't for Him I would probably be smoking still. I love God. I love everyone who has been there for me. Thank you.

Nicotines hard to kick kids. so dont start!

God's Timing

It's rather difficult to understand God's timing. I mean, I really love God and I try every day to revolve my life aroung Him. I only wish that my parents were the same way. They aren't christians. It's sad. I am the only christian in my household. I am trying to be a light to my family, and i am continually praying for them but nothing seems t be happening. I want my parents to be like the people from my church. The people whom I admire greatly. I know that I shouldn't be disappointed with the life that God gave me but sometimes I am. I wish that my parents loved Jesus. I want my parents to come to church everytime theres a service, i want us to say grace at the dinner table before we eat, i want to be able to study the bible with them, i want my parents to pray with me before we go to sleep. but right now thats not happening. i love my parents to death and im scared for them. I want to be able to go to heaven and be reunited with them but as of right now i don't think thats going to happen. I feel like my prayers are a waste and i don't understand why God can't find them now. why do i have to keep waiting for them to come around and accept christ? if only God could work a little faster...

The Hills

Watch the new episode of "The Hills" that premiered last night on MTV.
That's pretty much my life story.

benny.b

do you ever feel unworthy??

i was saved when i was in my second semester of eighth grade. at that time i began reading the bible, praying daily, and i even went to church a few times. but back then, i think my christianity was more of an obligation. ofcourse i loved Jesus, but I did all of those things because i felt obligated. and as time went by it got worse. I felt that the bible was the most boring book ever created and i ran through my prayers so fast because i was more worried about sleeping than praising God. i felt obligated to pray. i felt obligated to read the Word. I did all of those things because i felt that i had to. then this past year it all changed. I started going to church regularly, and i got to the point where i loved talking to God and reading His Word. I love it! i've changed so much about myself and it's all because of Him helping me through everything. i have found a STRONG love for God. an unconditional love for God. and then i think, "how can He love me?" im sure this is every Christians question. i dont get how He can though. I feel like i dont measure up. like i cant be one of His children. like i shouldnt be. im not the greatest peron and by no means am i perfect. i sin...a lot. but whenever i willfully sin i feel so discouraged and i feel like instead of running to God for help i have to hide my hurt and shame from him. i feel like even though it says in the bible that God will never allow me to be tempted more than I can handle, its never going to end. im never going to escape the temptation of the world that causes me to sin. its hard to control ones thoughts, and actions. atleast for me it is. so yes, i love God so much and im never going to stop loving him, but its hard to see Him loving me. not because He is a bad god who is incapable of love, but because I don't see how anyone could.

best friendless...:(

i have come upon some rather depressing news. I ,benjamin betscher, am best-friendless. and why is that you may ask? because i apparently am a bad friend. im a bad friend for telling him that his girlfriend is a liar and that she doesn't love him. i'm a bad friend for caring about him and being there when he calls. im a bad friend for telling him that i care and that she doesn't. im a bad friend for being there for him to fall back on. who would honestly choose their "girlfriend" over their best friends who know him very well? their girlfriend who would be bright and shining only a few hours after the breakup. their girlfriend who would be txting another guy and telling him that shes single. the kind of guy who is naive would do this. someone blinded by love. someone who wanted everything to be easy.
I wish that i would've found out this news by the person who said it. not his messenger. i wish that i weren't being ignored. that i weren't being treated this way. that i weren't feeling this way.
i hate him. i wish that i had never met him. but i care. i care about the way he feels. i care about this friendship and the good times we've had. i care enough to keep this going. to not always have the feeling of, "I want to give up." i love him and i don't want it to be over. i love him but i hate him. and now its ending. and what can i do? say goodbye, watch him fall apart, and turn around when he comes crawling back.