Category Archive: Jaime Nava

Mashing Buttons

By Jaime Nava –

There was this game I remember playing on the SNES. It’s called “Out of This World.” The art in it was fun to watch, and the story was interesting. You were this guy that ended up on an alien world. Captured by aliens, you try to break free. There is no English spoken, as the game goes on, so the player is as clueless as the character being played. There’s this one scene where you end up in an alien tank. There’re no instructions. There’s no clue as to what you’re supposed to do, so you just try everything. You just mash down on the buttons hoping something will happen. The game expects that kind of reaction, and eventually you create enough havoc to save yourself. It’s cleverly done.

Continue reading →

Don’t Feed The Trolls

By Jaime Nava –

What Is An Internet Troll?

I remember sitting in a chatroom on AOL back in the day when AOL had chatrooms  (Do they still? I don’t know). The computer would make its loud dial up squeals and the wide world of chatrooms was at my fingertips. You could pick a username of any stripe. You could join a plethora of chatrooms. I recall one occasion where I joined the French speaking room. I didn’t know French (and still don’t). I remember grabbing a shampoo bottle from the bathroom with the directions for washing one’s hair. It was in French. So I typed out the directions in this French chat room. People found themselves rather unhappy at my intrusion. It fueled my delight. This, ladies and gentlemen, is an internet troll.

Continue reading →

The Church Will Suffer, and I’m Okay with That

By Jaime Nava –

The United States feels like it’s in a tail spin, at least to me. More than likely, I think the next president will be a goon. Subjective morality has become the local truth which is no truth at all without absolute truth. Socialism is the glimmer in the eye of so many millennials now. We’re setting ourselves up for the same wall that Germany and Russia ran into. First, we’ll try to be great one last time only to get kicked in the nuts as a nation. Next, we’ll sulk and blame the old ways for all the troubles. Following that will be a leader who promises to send us to greatness. He’ll do this with total control because the people want him to have it. With each and every step, the church will be relegated to a room, then a corner, then finally kicked out.

Continue reading →

Post-Christian?

By Jaime Nava –

America has been considered a Christian nation for quite some time. It’s considered that because of the number of Christians who are here and the values they hold, not because everyone here is automatically converted. People have been saying for years that America is becoming or has become a post-Christian nation. What do they mean by that? Usually, it means that there are fewer people going to church in the US or that attendance is down. Those things are true. Attendance across all denominations is dropping.

Continue reading →

Confession and Confession

By Jaime Nava –

As a pastor and sinner, there’s an unspeakable privilege in the office I’m called to. God’s Word comes through my unclean lips. Each week, we commune on the body and blood of Christ in the bread and wine because the promise was spoken. The Words of Jesus echoed once again for sinners to hear, see, and taste forgiveness. To be able to place eternal life into people’s mouths is something I am certainly not worthy of. Despite that, here I am doing what the congregation called me to do. And I’m not alone. The people, those I shepherd for the Good Shepherd, go out into the world. They speak forgiveness to each other. They unlock the heavenly gifts of life by letting wrongs go.

Continue reading →

Culture of Grover

By Jaime Nava –

Do you know your short, fuzzy pal, Grover? He’s the blue monster from Sesame Street. When he is caped, he is also known as Super Grover and even Super Grover two-point-oh. Grover has a trait in all his appearances. You see, he thinks he knows something when in actuality, he doesn’t. For example, he wears a professor’s garb, calls himself professor Grover, and wants to tell you about one of nature’s wonders: mailboxes! No, trees! (He’s corrected by Cameron Diaz). In one episode, Grover is the Music Monster, and he breaks down crying because he has to admit that he knows nothing and that he’s a sham. He had been trying to lead everyone into thinking he was a musical expert. Grover is the self-deluded non-expert who makes claims that are true because he says they are. It is rare for Grover to repent.

Continue reading →

The VR Invasion

By Jaime Nava –

A couple years ago, Google introduced a piece of cardboard with a couple lenses. You had to cut the cardboard, insert the lenses, fold it together, and voila! You had virtual reality (VR). Well, you had to stick your phone into the headset as well. With the motion tracking and camera on the headset, Google provided a cheap way for people to experience virtual reality. The idea of a virtual reality headset made with something as cheap as cardboard seemed silly to a lot of people. In reality, it was an appetizer for the feast of VR to come.

Continue reading →

ET Buried to Be Forgotten

By Jaime Nava –

A couple years ago, archaeologists unearthed something unexpected in New Mexico. There was a legend of items buried within a landfill that had many hoping they were the ones to find it. It was in 2014 that the hunt for an urban legend proved fruitful. What was found? E.T. It wasn’t the actual Reese’s loving alien, but rather a video game that had been released in 1983. Some claim that it was one of the worst games ever made.

Continue reading →

The Church Market

By Jaime Nava –

Reading a fellow writer’s recent post got me thinking. There’s a lot of Christian denominations to choose from. I say Christian because God’s Word is presented in a Trinitarian way with Jesus Christ as dying for sins. So whether Lutheran, Anglican, Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Pentecostal, Revival-oriented (i.e. most non-denoms), or what have you, there are Christians present in those places because God’s Word doesn’t return void. The Jesus they preach is the same that Christendom has always preached: the God-man (100% both), who is the second person of the Three-In-One, died for our sins. Cool. Preach Jesus. Even so, denominations differ. Emphases are placed on different things. What’s the big deal? Let’s consider our American history.

Continue reading →

Work Hard, Play Harder

By Jaime Nava –

As a kid, I walked to school. I started with my mom in kindergarten and walked to school all the way to my senior year in high school. Once I got to school, the bell would ring and we’d get to work. Of course, as a kid, I just wanted to be done and go have fun. Recess and lunch were nice, but it was when school was out that the fun happened. And Summer. Oh sweet glorious summer. I’d burn my feet on the street going to the local market to buy twenty-five cent candy. I’d play until the street lights came on.

From an early age, I was taught that you work hard from nine to five. I was also taught that you play harder when you’re out.

Continue reading →