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Tag: ruslan

Ruslan on Schooling

“As Christians, we cannot have a victim mentality. We cannot go out and look for things to be persecuted by. That is not helpful nor is it healthy.”

@ruslankd from a reaction video in response to an interview by Allie Stuckey with Kirk Cameron on the topic of homeschooling.

Phew – ok that byline was a MOUTHFUL! 😅 Sorry there’s a lot of parts there.

It’s funny, in watching the video I didn’t have a strong reaction to the topic of homeschooling (I’ll share my thoughts on that below) but rather how we engage with topics as Christians. I’m not of the mind that Christians shouldn’t talk about politics but I do feel like we need to go about it in a better way.

There are Christians facing persecution today, right now, in real time. I just don’t think it’s all of us, all the time, about everything. Schooling is one of those topics. Are there bad actors in the school system? Yes FOR SURE. But I don’t think we can attribute the extreme problems to those bad actors to the school system at large. Nor should we look down on the parents that had to deal with those bad actors and chose a different schooling path. I love Dr. Crenshaw’s quote, “we need to have better conversations” and describing the public school system as “grooming” our kids isn’t a better conversation. Let’s not be goofy and hyperbolic in our discussions. We can stand firm in our beliefs and add to the conversation without needing to demonize those that disagree with us.

I have a lot more to say but these captions can only be so long. 🤦🏻‍♂️

My thoughts on homeschooling? I’ve found from being exposed to ALL of the different types of schooling (public, private, military, home, unschooling, etc) it really seems like a family by family or even kid by kid decision. I don’t think it’s helpful to demonize the school system because a lot of people have a lot of different experiences there and I think the same goes for homeschooling. I’d support whatever works best for your family and your children. We’re all just trying to do our best out here and a little grace goes a long way.

Transformation Requires Effort

“Transformation requires effort.” @ruslankd

Ruslan packed a ton of information in his video “The Truth About Self Control, Will Power and Discipline.” Although it’s framed in the context of overcoming addiction, the words work just as well in my opinion for a great multitude of problems we face. As Christians we honor Jesus for all He has done and is doing but that doesn’t mean we don’t have work to do down here. And the little things we do consistently every single day lay the groundwork for massive transformation over the long haul.

Some of the stuff here is simple but so life-changing. Did you know that a third of Americans don’t get enough sleep? The recommendation is at least 7 hours and I know I play with that line frequently. I know for certain if I get less than 6 hours of sleep; my diet choices the next day are going to be terrible. What other choices will be impacted though? Will I be short with my wife or kids? Will I play more video games instead of doing the work here that I feel could be honoring to God? Ruslan makes the point that getting enough sleep is one of those habits that could have ripple effects across a whole multitude of decisions you make.

That fruit that’s talked about in Galations 5:22 doesn’t come for free. The preceding verses have a lot of verbs from what I can tell. Granted, there’s a lot of talk about unity but I wonder how many more of us would not be provoked to anger and bitterness if we actually got enough sleep? 🤔

Sometimes it’s the simple things.

Stop Quoting that Verse!

“It’s not what the scripture is saying, it’s out of context. We do this to justify our own opinion and to take the judgmental and selfish bias in our own mind and impose it on other people.” 

Roy Dockery

Wooooooooo boy. I found so much of this video to be insightful and it changes my mind and approach on the verse 1 Thessalonians 5:22. Ruslan hosted a video with a few other pastors called “Stop Quoting that Verse” and this is my new favorite series on YouTube! All four of them bring great insight and open the Word in a way that’s exploratory and convicting. 

This quote stuck out at my in particular because I’ve certainly been guilty of this. There was a time when I was a “raw food vegan” – you can already see the legalism and judgement because of the “raw food” designation – and I used the Bible as the explanation for why I ate that way. Not only was the diet awful, I feel like it turned me into an awful person. Being a person who looks down on other people for their eating choices is not a healthy place to be. Using the Bible to justify it is just an extra special portion of awful on top of that. If the scriptures are being used in a prideful way, if it’s being used not in humility but to put someone in a lower position that yourself, you might need to check your own heart and why it is you’re doing what you’re doing. 

Check out the post on my site to see the video – my friend, it’ll be a hour well spent. 🙌

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Ruslan KD and Mannywellz

Up until today I didn’t know “narcigesis” was a real thing. Honestly I probably couldn’t have properly described “exegesis.”

I’ve found in running this account and drawing all these images that there are a lot of people with a lot of different experiences out there inside and outside of the Kingdom. In speaking plainly, I’ve found myself seeking more and more whether my opinions are actually rooted in God’s design or if they are a construction of my environment. This weekend I found @ruslankd channel and I really appreciated being able to listen to different people talk about issues from a personal level.

This video in particular featured @mannywellz speaking about what his life is like in America, what it’s like to be in the DACA program, and some of the problems people are facing in Nigeria like SARS. Honestly, I thought it was the SARS virus and I was 100% wrong. 

This quote from Ruslan stuck out to me though because it reminded me to look at this situation not as an American citizen but as a child of God – guided by scripture and not my preconceived notions and ideas. 

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