When I am weak

I'm not liking this. I'm not liking being told I can't do something. Whenever I've been told "You can't" to me that's a challenge not a deceleration. I was told I was physically unable to learn Hebrew due to language aphasia. Guess what I did? Yeah. I learned it. Spent hours working on it. But I did it. When I was told that I couldn't win against Apollo Creed, guess what I did? Wait, that's Rocky.

But now that I've been sick for the last month, I've been told I can't push myself to hard. That I can't lift weights. I can't go all ape poopy on my heavy bag. I can't even jump rope. I said watch me and guess what happened? I nearly passed out. This walking pneumonia is one big bad word.

So, I have to accept my weakness. Which I hate. I really do. I mean, c'mon, I have to actually admit that I cannot do something! You gotta be kidding me? I can't do something? I've always been able to do what I put my mind to. Yet, this one time, I can't. And it bugs the frak out of me, to tell the truth.

So, what do I do? I think of these words from Paul who had a thorn in his side that wouldn't come out. He begged and begged for it to come out and it didn't. Then Jesus said to him

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." 2 Corinthians 12:9

So, I will live in this weakness. For when I am weak then is He strong. Now, I just gotta keep telling myself that over and over again. I have to stop. And admit I can't do something. I need to stop and trust that Jesus will do what he said he would. He is the Great Physician so why can't use medication to heal me. So, I must rest and wait. I'll maybe get my geek on with reading some Full Metal Alchemist. That might work.

What about you? What weakness/es are you struggling with right now?

Don't Even Blink

What is fear? It's worrying about the unknown. It's not wanting to take steps forward because you don't know what will happen if you make the decision. It's being worried that as soon as you blink that angel in the corner who looks like it is weeping will attack you and steal all your potential life energy sending you decades into the past.

Okay, that last one is a reference to the totally freaky Weeping Angels from Dr. Who. The weeping angels are an alien race who only exist outside of recognition. If they are being looked at they do not exist. And so, they instead are stone statues who are non-existent. But as soon as you look away, as soon as you blink, the move and move quickly. This Dr. Who monster taps into that fear of what you see out of the corner of your eye. This monster taps into that fear of the unknown and the unseen.

Not only that, but this monster doesn't just take your life, it takes what you could have been. If you were to live for 80 more years, then this monster kills you by sending you back 80 years in the past and living off of what you would have been 80 years in the future. This monster taps into the fear we have about what we want to be and what we could be and eats it up.

Fear can make us do one of two things: 1) Runaway in abject terror trying to find your happy place or 2) use that fear to fuel you into action. The weeping angels forces you to focus. To focus on the fear and not let it over take you. To focus on what makes you want to flee in terror and instead stand firm, staring it down. With the weeping angels, you have to face your fears or die.

To be healthy, to be physically, emotionally and spiritually healthy, you need to face your fears. To stare them down and allow them to fuel you in moving forward.

You have a fear of failure and so you don't try to exercise. You have a fear of failure and so you don't pursue that relationship with someone you care about. You fear failure and don't even want to try to enter into God's presence. You fear rejection and don't want to even approach God through Christ. If everyone else has rejected you so will God you think. Or you fear rejection of family and friends as you step forward in faith to serve.

To run away from fear is to allow fear to win. You become a traitor to yourself, turning from what will benefit you and running away. Turn fear into a tool to allow you to step forward in faith, to step forward in making yourself healthier, to make yourself grow in the Spirit, to make yourself Grow in the knowledge of Jesus and God. To make yourself healthier mind, body and soul.

Driving through the Empire

"Ouch."

This is the final line of dialogue from The Empire Strikes Back. Now, I must warn you that there might be spoilers here if you haven't seen The Empire Strikes Back. And if you actually haven't seen the movie, go grab the nearest geek and asked to borrow his/her pre-1997 DVD of it. Or just wait until September when Lucas re-re-releases them on BluRay. You know that every fanboy and fangirl will buy their overpriced copy...and yes, I will too probably.

Sorry, back to what I was writing...yes, "ouch." These four letter pretty much sum up the entire movie. From the pain of war to seeing Lando wearing clothes straight out of Hahn's closet. Seriously, check it out in the final scenes, he's wearing Hahn Solo's outfit. Creepy.

The whole movie is about pain. The pain of losing, the pain of the past, the pain of getting your hand chopped off by a lightsaber while dangling very precariously off a ledge. The Empire Strikes Back is all about pain, loss and struggle. And it is all summed up in the word "ouch."

Now, many who saw Empire back in the day were struck at just how hopeless the ending of the movie seemed. Hahn was frozen in carbenite, Lando took off in the Millennium Falcon, and the Rebels were scattered all over the galaxy.

Yet, during this time of trial and struggle, Luke had Yoda walking him through his training as a Jedi. He had a teacher who taught him how to focus, how to concentrate, how to fight and how to escape. This training is what Luke leaned upon when he fought Darth Vader, whom he learned (*spoiler*) was his father.

Now, I'm not comparing Jesus to Yoda what soever. But, in order for Luke to be healthy, he needed a trainer, a teacher to walk with him (and sometimes on Luke's back hitting him) to endure and to understand and to learn. During a time of temptation, Yoda talked Luke through it.

When going through our own Empire Strikes Back, we have our teacher, savior and friend, Jesus, walking with us through it. He is talking with us through tough and dark times. We have one who is greater than Yoda, who died for us so that we might have life. And he teaches us what it means to be a follower of Jesus.

Remember this, yes, Empire Strikes Back is bleak, but there is The Return of the Jedi. We need to drive through the hurts, the pains, the struggles of our own life, of our own Empire in order to make it to The Return of the Jedi. Jesus will walk you through this and bring you safely to the other side.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me. Psalm 23:4

I am...an overcomer

What's your name?

What're you called?

What do you call yourself? Honestly, I've been called it all. Fat. Lazy. Stupid. Behemoth. Big Guy. Fatso. And that's when I was in elementary school. Some by schoolmates but some by my teachers. And I believed them too.

Later on in my life I was called other names. Stubborn. Persistent. Self Determined. Tenacious. Driven. These sounded cooler to me so I believed them too.

But none of these are the names which I like being called. There is only one name I like being called and that is one of Christian.

I have overcome a lot in the last few years. I've overcome weighing over 400lbs. I've overcome a stint in the hospital due to a bad interaction with high blood pressure meds. I've struggled through dyslexia and other learning disabilities. I've worked hard through seminary learning Hebrew and Greek. I've overcome health issues. But I still had my old names. I had what other people called me. And then I was given a new name--Over-comer.

So many things seem to get in our way when trying to do our best. So many things get in our way that keep us from being healthy--physically, emotionally and spiritually. And they seem like they'll always be in the way, stopping us from coming before God.

And then I hear these words

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. Romans 8:37

What're you called now? Is it getting in your way of, well, everything? Do you feel beaten up like that guy up there? Do you feel pushed around by things in this life?

You can be a conqueror over it all. You can be an overcomer. Heck, you can be more than an over-comer. Now what's standing in your way?

Do you want to be an overcomer? What do you need to work past? What can Jesus help you work past to be more than a conqueror, more than an overcomer?

RPG Blog post +10

The other night, out of no where, I actually had this thought come through my head: I wonder what armor class King David had.

Now, I must admit, I've never really played any Roll Playing Games (RPGs). I tried here and there but apparently sarcasm towards the DM isn't something you want to use if you want your character to stay alive (DM: "You must use the net of capturing to bind the enemy." Me: "Then what, the Sword of cutting to finish him off or the toaster of toasting to make him breakfast?" Yeah, didn't last long in high school...college didn't work either). But I did laugh my head off one day at the mall when I saw a dude wearing a shirt that read "Invisibility Shirt +10"

RPGs take us into another world. A world run by kinds and queens or with family clans fighting to stay alive or to a place where valor, honor and courage still live though still flawed. They are places of visions, of mystery, and a place of rules.

Some time back, I was helping someone look for a Bible who had never had one before. He said he was told to get the book of Luke. He was shocked when I informed him that the Bible had 66 books. After he realized they were short books put into one compilation (You know, like they do with story arcs in X-men), he wanted to know more. I told him about the New Testament which contained stories of Jesus and letters from Paul along with God's assurance of safety found in Revelation. He then asked about the Old Testament. "Well," I said smiling, "that's where all the sex and violence is at." He starred at me blankly and said "In the bible?"

Yep. Sex and violence in the Bible. You have warrior kings, you have men and women who fight hard and viciously (One lady named Jael drove a tent stake through a dude's head. They Ladies also are awesome in this book). You have men who speak in riddles and see visions. One of these men was surrounded by chariots of fire and was taken up in flames.

Now, King David, that dude was great. He was a warrior class character. High armor classification. Huge charisma rating. It was as if everything was +20 for him and he rolled it every time. Slaying a giant with a tiny stone in one turn. An amazing tactician in the battle field. But he was also flawed. And he is very real.

Now, when it comes to Jesus, there is no + anything. He didn't need anything, he was it. He was it all. I always had to roll the dice, but the DM, who knew the journey, who knew what was coming next, acted and did what was needed based upon the journey written.

In the Old Testament, we have the sex and violence and flawed humanity. In the New Testament, we have Jesus, the most powerful, strong, amazing person ever who humbly denied it all. To get to the level of Jesus, we'd have to roll +bajillion, which will never happen. No matter how you roll the dice, it'll never happen. But with him, there's no need to do so. He's taken it all upon himself. Died and is raised to life..and not as a zombie either! But more powerful like when Gandalf came back.

Strength and valor and the Journey are there. They exist. They are real. The greatest Journey you can ever go on requires no dice, no DM but Jesus. He can lead you to an amazing Journey n one could ever make up.

What is your journey?

The Maquis 6

I still find it interesting that a German TV news program actually some how mistook a Photoshopped picture of a Star Trek emblem of a fictional terrorist group for the real Navy SEAL emblem. It used to be "fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me." But in this case it's "fool me once and-it's-posted-all-over-the-internet-and-shown-on-the-FOX-news-website" Of course, you can tell that it's pretty menacing with the bat'leths surrounding the skull of a Klingon. Totally looks like a Navy SEAL emblem of the 21st Century and not of the 23rd.

But, hey, it's what they were looking for, wasn't it? I mean, they were looking for a menacing emblem that showed the strength, veracity and honor that the Navy SEALS are known for. So, some geek with Photoshop know-how put this together and while looking for something, they found this. It was what they were looking for. And they found it.

The same is true in health. I'm struggling with this myself. If I'm looking for it, I'll find it eventually. If I'm looking for nothing, if I'm looking for a no guidance, if I'm looking for no reason to lift, then I'll find it each time. If I'm looking for something that'll make me loose ten pounds in a week and will make me look like those people on the TV and I find the miracle product that does it all, of course I'm going to get it. It's the answer to what I'm looking for.

Paul says it really nicely

For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 1 Timothy 4:3

Are you turning towards the things that'll answer what you want to hear? Or are you seeking answers from somewhere that'll tell you the truth even if you don't want to hear it? What's your goal? Where do you want to go form here?

I like how Craig Groeschel says it in his book Chawzon, "Everyone will wind up somewhere but not everyone will get there on purpose."

What are you seeking? Is it to get ripped and look all cool this summer? Then forget it. Go to a different blog. Are you looking to be healthy because it's important to you? Then keep reading. I'm going to fail. I have failed at times. But I keep getting back up and moving forward. How's that Cake song go?

Because he's racing and pacing and plotting the course, He's fighting and biting and riding on his horse. He's going the distance.

Where are you going? What are you searching for? Don't just listen to anyone, especially those who tell you what you want to hear. Listen to what the truth is and follow the Truth towards what is right and healthy. I'm still working on it.

The last gasp of Data--A Lenten Meditation

Nine years ago or so Star Trek: Nemesis, the last Star Trek: TNG movies, came out--to poor reception. Roger Ebert said that while he was watching the movie, he realized that the franchise had run out of gas. Rotten Tomatoes has only given it 37% positive rating. It only raked in $43,254,409 and was beaten in the box office by a J Lo movie (all according to Wikipedia that is)

Oddly enough, Nemesis is one of my favorite Star Trek movies. It is right behind Star Trek IV and First Contact. The reason why is because of the final scenes. It is the final scenes that stick so vividly in my mind.

Picard and Data have a bond. It stems back to the Battle of Wolf 359 where Data did not give up saving Picard after he was assimilated by the Borg. In First Contact, Data is captured by the Borg Queen and Picard stops at nothing to rescue Data.

So why is this all important?

In Nemesis, Picard willingly takes a one way trip to the Romulan War Bird housing his clone, Schizon, who is bent on killing Picard. Picard knows that he must do this to save his people, his ship, his friends. Data, the android who so desired to be human, learns of Picard's intentions. And so, in pure sci-fi-is-it-sentient-or-not fashion, Data proves his humanity in giving his life to save Picard's.

There is a scene at the end where Data leaves the safety of the Enterprise, flies through space itself and enters the chaotic world of the War Bird. He enters in and saves Picard, giving up his own life to do so. Data's first and last breathe as a person was to give his life for another.

Today is Good Friday, the day that Jesus hung upon the cross. Thinking of that scene from Nemesis, I keep thinking of Jesus here on earth.

Jesus proved his humanity by willing to give up his own life for ours. Jesus leaves the safety of being in perfect triune community with the Father and the Holy Spirit, enters into our chaotic world and gives his life to save ours.

It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love. John 13:1

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. 1 John 3:16

I'm a spiritual musclehead and I am a geek. I find the touch of the divine in the attempt to look at the possible. The story of humanity is one reflected in battles of Yavin Prime, at the Battle of Wolf 359, along the Plains of Mordor and the halls of Hogwarts. They are mere reflects of the truth. The Truth incarnate, that Friday afternoon, breathed his last, said "it is finished" and gave up his Spirit so that we would be saved.

Today is Friday, but Sunday's coming soon.

Scratch and Spit--A Lenten Meditation?

What is it about being a guy? We're supposed to be rugged and strong and protective yet at the same time be sensitive, have a feminine side and be mind readers. We're supposed to be able to work hard and provide and at the same time be good husbands, father's, crazy uncles and the knight in shinning armor all at once.

I remember back in the early '90s when Robin Hood: Men in Tights came out. It was a joke about how in the early Robin Hood movies, they all wore tights (tight tights!). And then, in the movie, there was a dance scene about how the men wearing the tights were manly men and that they were secure in their masculinity. At the same time they showed off some spunk and sass.

I've been thinking about this the last few days since my Rocky IV post. You compliment a guy by insulting him. Guys are most happy when they aren't talking with each other but sitting in some deer blind, sitting by a lake with a pole in hand, or just scratching and spitting (not each other though). There's something caveman abut us that we genetically revel in and need.

In a nutshell, I really think men are hard wired to go out, slay the mammoth, drag it back home to be cooked, then hang around drinking grog or klah or whatever cavemen drank telling the events of what happened in ways in which they never did.

Is this an honest, true way of looking at it or is there another way?

Easter's on Sunday. Do guys even go to church? Is it too girly? Or if they do, do they even participate or just sit in the back waiting for there to be coffee and cookies afterward?

What does it mean to be a guy ten years into the 21st century? And anyway.. would Jesus be seen as a girly man by today's standards or as some he-man cool guy? Or something in between?

Disappointment--A Lenten meditation

I'm disappointed. I recently bought a new workout book I was looking forward to. It's based off of the Strength Training Anatomy book I've been using now for the last year or so. It's called The Strength Training Anatomy Workout book. It was supposed to have various workouts for sports, for fitness training, etc. I was excited because I thought that maybe I could take some of these workout ideas for football and change up my routine a bit.

I was very disappointed with the book. Why? Well, for one, I put a lot of stock into it I think. I saw it as my savior to a new workout routine. I was ready for it. I was excited to get it. And when I opened it up and started reading it, it wasn't what I was expecting at all.

Unlike Strength Training Anatomy, this version didn't have the science and calisthenics as the other. Not only that, but most of the workouts were given to be done at home with various rubber bands. Unlike Strength Training Anatomy, it didn't give as many variations to use.

This wasn't what I wanted. This wasn't what I was expecting.

As I've been preaching through our Lenten series at church, I've begun to see how many people were disappointed with Jesus. They wanted him to be something he wasn't. People wanted him to be some great conquering king. Some amazing miracle worker who could make all things new. Yet, he came for one reason only--to die on the cross. He died upon the cross to bring us back to God. There aren't any other variations. There isn't any other way.

Recently, I downloaded an app for my phone from JEFIT. It's to the point. It tells you what needs to be done for each exercise. It walks you through what needs to be done. Though it's a great app, there's no real frills about it. It does what it says it will do.

Now, I'm not comparing Jesus to an app for my cellphone, but think about it this way. Jesus came. He said that the son of man will be betrayed into the hands of the enemy so that scripture will be fulfilled. He said that he came to save us from sin, to be the ultimate sacrifice. He did what he said he would.

So many times, we're disappointed with what is happening around us. We're good people, why can't we be happy for once. Or, many Christians think "We're Christians, why aren't we happy." For some people, this drives them away. For others, this makes them act happy when they ain't.

Jesus didn't come to give us happiness, he came to make us right before God. He came to give us comfort in life and in death, not happiness. He came to give life, not a nice house and a sweet ride.

Are you disappointed with Jesus? Why is that? Can there be a change in how you see him that will change your disappointment into comfort?

Giving up

Some time back I wrote a post about what I do when I get anxious--I work out, I go at it with my punching bag, I walk or I munch junk food. It's too blasted cold out right now to go for a walk, my bag is still not up and so that leaves me with two alternatives--munch or work out. Guess what I've been doing? Yeah. Not good.

Why anxiety? Well, a week and a half back my wife was in a bad car accident. God was with her. His hand kept her safe. She rear ended a snow plow going 75 miles an hour and didn't hit the breaks, at all. The car is totaled. And my wife literally got out and walked away. No bones broken. Only shaken up a bit and sore. He hands are pretty cut up right now from the glass. This last Sunday she made an observation. She said that she realized that at that moment, in between her seeing the plow and hitting it, she envisioned God's hand going between her and the snow plow. She said that she looked at her hands. The backs of her hands are cut up from the glass. She realized that God's hands were cut for her. She then thought of the nails that pierced Jesus' hands. The nails pounded into his flesh that hung him upon the cross to die for her sins. And she started crying. She was saved.

Today is Ash Wednesday, the first day of a season called Lent. Lent is a time to focus and ponder on Jesus' sacrifice on the cross, his dying so that we may live. During this time people give things up. Why? So that they can set aside those things that entangle them and that they can focus on Christ's sacrifice for them. On those hands that were pounded through with nails, cut to save a life--the life of my wife.

And for that, I'm eternally thankful.

What will I give up so that I may focus on the great thing that was done for my wife and for myself and for my children? I haven't thought about it yet.

Maybe I should.

FORD Tough-- Part 4 Daily dying and rising

For some reason, my pickup keeps dying and rising. Almost daily it felt like. It'd die on my. I'd bring it into Grant, my mechanic, and then it's get back to working again. Only to die and rise again. Grant is an amazing mechanic and honestly, I want to see if I can take lessons from him on how to take care of my pick up.

Each time people ask me about my pick up, I keep having to admit that the blasted thing is younger than me and in need of repair. The engine's good. Don't get me wrong. The engine itself is in good working order, it's the seals and gaskets that are breaking down. Looking at the engine, it looks amazing, but it's what's on the inside I can't always see.

I've been talking about being FORD tough with FORD standing for "Fix or Repair Daily." (you can check out parts 1,2,and 3 if you'd like)Part of being FORD tough is acknowledging the need to constantly be fixed or repaired daily. Now here is how we can be fixed and repaired daily.

Step 1: Know that you can't do it yourself. Unless you're like the most perfect mechanic in the world and can just wave your hand and make it all fixed, then there's no way you can fix it yourself. No Haynes book in the world will help you. You need to rely on something else.

Step 2: Ask for help. There is the perfect mechanic (and no, it's not Grant, though he's good). Only the perfect healer can heal, only the one True Mechanic can fix and repair you. Come to Him for help. And be willing to receive his help.

Step 3: Be willing and ready to be repaired daily.

So, how can we do step 3? Stop hanging on, loose your life to gain it.

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. Matthew 16:24-25

This is where some might get mad at me. It's more than just being good. It's more than just being strong willed, more than just standing firm against all odds, more than just having true grit, more than just being willing to take a beating. It's one thing to lay your life down for a cause for the greater good. Commendable, yes, but that's not being FORD tough. To be FORD tough is to not hang onto your life, but to give it up to Jesus instead to use it. And that is the hardest thing.

To be FORD tough, to live a life of being fixed or repaired daily means giving yourself completely and fully over to the One True Mechanic, the One True Physician, Jesus (yes, I said it) and then and only then can you truly be fixed or repaired daily.

If you've done this, given yourself over then be willing to daily stop hanging on to your old self, the past mistakes, the mess-ups, the cracking seals and gaskets, and daily allow the One True Mechanic to repair you.

If you haven't...come, be repaired daily...

FORD tough--Part 3 Picking it up

You ever have it where you're just so blasted tired. I am right now. Been a busy few weeks. I haven't been to the gym since Thursday. I've had WAY too much pizza (of course, can you ever have TOO much pizza?) and way too many sweets (and yes, you CAN have way too many sweets). For me, being healthy is a daily thing. It's a daily choice I have to make. Some days I'm better at it than others. Recently, I've been pretty bad at it (ate half a container of Pillsbury Cream Chocolate frosting..good yes, but went straight to my thighs). But it's a daily thing. Some days are better than others, but you have to move forward each time at it. Each day get up and move forward. Each day pick yourself up out of bed, lift up your body, and take those steps forward to be healthy. And it's so stinkin' hard!

On days like this, I so don't want to be FORD tough. On days like this, I so don't want to even think about being fixed or repaired daily. Just give me a root beer, a chili dog, and some football or even the Blackhawks and I'll be okay. Let me watch The Good, the Bad and the Ugly or even some cool Jackie Chan flick, (I'd even go for Bulletproof Monk right now) and just peal me off the couch at the end of the day. That'd be so great..right?

I mean, I try. I try hard. I do my best.

And then I think of these words:

There is do or do not, there is no try.

Thank. You. Yoda.Spiritually (and yes, this is Spiritual Musclehead) I think it's the same thing. No, I know it's the same thing. We need to be fixed and repaired daily. Part 1 and Part 2 looked at the reasons why. And it ain't pretty to say the least. But it's true.

Now, this is where you might disagree with me, and feel free to, but just listen anyway:

Jesus is the way to be repaired. Jesus says that if we want to be repaired daily, we need to follow him. What does this look like?

"If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever looses his life for me and for the gospel will save it." Mark 8:34-35

Duuuuuuuuuddde... that's some tough stuff.

So, do you really want to be repaired daily? It's a daily commitment to do this. There is do or do not, there is no try. Do you want to be repaired daily and made closer to God in the process?

What do you think it looks like to do this daily?

FORD Tough--Part 1 Finding the Problem

My brother recently told me that Ford stood for "Fix or repair daily." This is in reference to my pickup's last two issues (for my further whining, please click here and here). I'm starting to wonder if he's correct. On Facebook, I even posted this idea of Ford meaning "fix or repair daily" and I had a lot of Ford-haters comment on it (yeah, you know who you are!)Now, I'm not a Ford-hater. In fact, I don't pick one type of pick-up over the other at all. But I at least want a working one.

Now, this got me to thinking. This being a blog called Spiritual Musclehead and all, I wanted to dive a bit deeper into this. In order to fix or repair something, you need to know what the problem is in the first place. If you're oil's leaking, just putting more oil in it every other day isn't going to fix the problem, just alleviate the symptoms for a while. You need to find the deeper problem.

What about us? What about us human beings. I think we need to be fixed and repaired daily to tell the truth. I'm not okay. That's for sure. Everyone who knows me knows that as much. And to tell the truth, I really think that we're all not okay in one way or another.

So, you need to be fixed and repaired. Why? I have a one word answer for you but you're not going to like it: Sin. There, I said it. I know. I don't like that word either.

Let me ask you this though: If you're leaking oil something fierce in your engine, would you keep driving it like everything was okay? Or would you want to have it fixed? In fact, if you say that the oil leaking is going to cause an engine problem, that works for you, but I'm fine just pouring more oil in it. Are you deceiving yourself? If you keep doing it, yes, you can go for a while, but eventually the engine will fail (this is from experience--blew out an engine because of this. Huge stinking hole in it too..not pretty)

So, what do we do? Be fixed and repaired daily. Problem: oil leak. Solution: fix it.
Problem: Sin. Solution: Be repaired

Problem and solution:

If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives...But if anyone obeys Jesus’ word, God’s love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did. (1 John 1:7-10, 2:5)

So what does it mean to confess? And confess what?