Why don't we know what worship is?
The same reason a pot doesn't know what holding a plant is.
The God who made us made us to worship him as a potter makes a pot to hold a plant. The fundamental difference is that our God tells us why we are and how to be and gives us a choice as to whether or not we are going to accept the fact that we are. The truth is this: all of creation is worshipping, no exceptions.
We are called to be one body. In fact, when Jesus prayed for us, that was his prayer.
"...that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you."
God made everything. All of it. He made stars, mountains, trees, rabbits, slugs, rocks, water, and a few other things. It wasn't enough. So he made you. Creation didn't glorify Him quite the way he wanted it to, so he made you! My mind is blown by my existence. When I look at a person, I see a person. When I look at nature, my breath is taken from me. God doesn't see things like this. When he sees the stars and plants he loves them, but not even close to the way he loves us! The fact that he made us after them is proof that they weren't enough and that we are wanted and loved. This tells me two things-
1. People matter way more than I thought they did.
2. God must find his work a million times more beautiful than I do, for he knows how much work it took, so for me to see it and be silenced by it, makes me wonder how much he must be into it. So much that I can't imagine it. So with that, and the fact that He loves humanity much more than the rest of it, I am blown away. I am not capable of comprehending love as it truly is.
The closest I have come to this love is when I am talking to him, rather, when He talks to me. I saw my daughter in my mind during a prayer earlyer this year. I have never cried so hard. I am tearing up right now as I type this because I have Never seen anything even close to her beauty. She was so vulnerable and so perfect and so cute. I can't imagine something more precious and perfect. Something so wonderfully made that it could never ever do anything to keep me from loving it. My life is not the same because I am already doing and avoiding things for her sake. God must see us like this. He loves us so much that he will (and did) give up anything and everything for us. I am humbled. I am so humbled. I often wonder if he can actually see all of me because if he really could, why would he love this? But now I know.
We were made to worship. We were made to be loved. We were made to be one body, giving and receiving love from one father. Do it. Use your life to love as He does. There's only one way to possibly do it- Jesus Christ the Lord and Savior.
There is one body and one Spirit- just as you were called to one hope when you were called-one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all.
Ephesians 4:4-6
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Led by the Spirit
I have been incredibly distressed for the past week or so over an issue with a girl. To be honest, I have never in my life felt pain or guilt or stress to this degree. I hate who I have been in this time, as it is not who I am. I have been short with and at times quite rude to the people I love and I have basically pushed all people out of my life. I don't say this in hopes of receiving comfort from those of you who are reading this, but to set up the story I'm about to tell.
My life has been rough and I haven't slept in quite some time.
Last night I laid awake, just like every other night this week. As I stared at the ceiling I thought about who I am and who I am supposed to be and how different those two people are. I thought about the person I am emotionally murdering and the reasons for it. I don't know if I actually prayed. I said words and meant them, but I think I was talking to myself or perhaps the fan more than anyone or anything else. As four o'clock came around I developed a strong urge to get out of bed and go to the second story, west wing of my dorms. It was as if someone was pulling me with a rope off of my bed. Naturally, I resisted and stayed. As four thirty came about I felt it again, this time with a violent tug. I prayed. It was then that it became very clear that I needed to go. I said to God, " If this is nothing, I'm going to be very disappointed." (As if I had something better to do.) I crawled out of bed, put on my sweet robe, grabbed my bible, and made my way down the stairs. The hall was empty(rightfully so, at this point it was four forty five.) so I said to God, " Whelp, weak. I'm going to bed." My legs disagreed. I tried to go to my room but my legs proceeded down the second west hallway. As the opposite end of the hall grew nearer I began to hear a faint music. It was coming from the commons room, so I went for it. In the room I found a boy, my age, sitting on the couch.
Normally I wouldn't think anything of this, but all of the normal people were asleep.
I said hi and introduced myself and he did the same. I told him the significance of my presence in his commons room and he smiled. We began to open up and find that we were in exactly the same boat. He described a situation with a girl that was almost exactly the same as mine. I am not going to address any facts about the situations for the girls' identities sake. We bonded and prayed and bonded some more. I could go on about our dialogue, but it's irrelevant.
What is relevant is that I have a new brother,
that I am with God again,
and last night at five thirty I fell asleep.
My life has been rough and I haven't slept in quite some time.
Last night I laid awake, just like every other night this week. As I stared at the ceiling I thought about who I am and who I am supposed to be and how different those two people are. I thought about the person I am emotionally murdering and the reasons for it. I don't know if I actually prayed. I said words and meant them, but I think I was talking to myself or perhaps the fan more than anyone or anything else. As four o'clock came around I developed a strong urge to get out of bed and go to the second story, west wing of my dorms. It was as if someone was pulling me with a rope off of my bed. Naturally, I resisted and stayed. As four thirty came about I felt it again, this time with a violent tug. I prayed. It was then that it became very clear that I needed to go. I said to God, " If this is nothing, I'm going to be very disappointed." (As if I had something better to do.) I crawled out of bed, put on my sweet robe, grabbed my bible, and made my way down the stairs. The hall was empty(rightfully so, at this point it was four forty five.) so I said to God, " Whelp, weak. I'm going to bed." My legs disagreed. I tried to go to my room but my legs proceeded down the second west hallway. As the opposite end of the hall grew nearer I began to hear a faint music. It was coming from the commons room, so I went for it. In the room I found a boy, my age, sitting on the couch.
Normally I wouldn't think anything of this, but all of the normal people were asleep.
I said hi and introduced myself and he did the same. I told him the significance of my presence in his commons room and he smiled. We began to open up and find that we were in exactly the same boat. He described a situation with a girl that was almost exactly the same as mine. I am not going to address any facts about the situations for the girls' identities sake. We bonded and prayed and bonded some more. I could go on about our dialogue, but it's irrelevant.
What is relevant is that I have a new brother,
that I am with God again,
and last night at five thirty I fell asleep.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Faith
"Obviously, I used to say, a sane man accepts or rejects any statement, not because he wants to or does not want to, but because the evidence seems to him good or bad. If he were mistaken about the goodness or badness of the evidence, that wold not mean he was a bad man, but only that he was not very clever. And if he thought the evidence bad but tried to force himself to believe in spite of it, that would be merely stupid."
-C.S. Lewis
(Mere Christianity book 3 ch.11)
Lewis goes on to discuss the fact that the human thought process isn't governed by reason and therefore, the assumption that truth today is truth tomorrow, is rooted in ignorance. Faith is weird, we talk about it in church more than anything else, yet none of us know what it is. It could be as simple as the belief in the existence of something, but I think that the call for faith in Christ is deeper. Faith is, according to Paul, a virtue; it is active and vital.
If you were to ask me about my "faith" last week I would have told you that it was lacking. Last week was bad and therefore I felt like I was distanced from God. As a result, my "faith" was shaken. This is foolishness! Faith thrives, in fact, it only exists wen it is tested. A huge part of my faith is the fact that God is with me always, even when I'm not with Him. If the times are bad, focus on this truth, focus on the fact that strength comes with the belief in what is unseen. Of course I believe in trees, I see them every second of every day. But to believe in my God who is above all things and is too glorious for my eyes and heart to see is faith. To see that He is bigger than everything I have ever thought or imagined combined is faith. To see that, though He is big, He is inside of each and every persons eyes is faith. Faith is justified craziness. I don't know what it is, but I like to think that I have it. As I sat down to write this, I had a constant train of thought. But as I leave, I'm scattered and confused. I'm okay with that. I just read over it and man, this text is so unproductive. I'm sorry if this wasted any of your time. I am posting it simply to stimulate a thought. Try to figure out what faith is.
-C.S. Lewis
(Mere Christianity book 3 ch.11)
Lewis goes on to discuss the fact that the human thought process isn't governed by reason and therefore, the assumption that truth today is truth tomorrow, is rooted in ignorance. Faith is weird, we talk about it in church more than anything else, yet none of us know what it is. It could be as simple as the belief in the existence of something, but I think that the call for faith in Christ is deeper. Faith is, according to Paul, a virtue; it is active and vital.
If you were to ask me about my "faith" last week I would have told you that it was lacking. Last week was bad and therefore I felt like I was distanced from God. As a result, my "faith" was shaken. This is foolishness! Faith thrives, in fact, it only exists wen it is tested. A huge part of my faith is the fact that God is with me always, even when I'm not with Him. If the times are bad, focus on this truth, focus on the fact that strength comes with the belief in what is unseen. Of course I believe in trees, I see them every second of every day. But to believe in my God who is above all things and is too glorious for my eyes and heart to see is faith. To see that He is bigger than everything I have ever thought or imagined combined is faith. To see that, though He is big, He is inside of each and every persons eyes is faith. Faith is justified craziness. I don't know what it is, but I like to think that I have it. As I sat down to write this, I had a constant train of thought. But as I leave, I'm scattered and confused. I'm okay with that. I just read over it and man, this text is so unproductive. I'm sorry if this wasted any of your time. I am posting it simply to stimulate a thought. Try to figure out what faith is.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
The Female Figure. (Or lack there of...)
I am so freakin tired of girls trying to be beautiful at the cost of their beauty. I am sick of seeing new photo posts of girls half naked and desperate for attention. I am sick of seeing beautiful girls who feel so bad about themselves that they have to change every aspect of their appearance on a daily basis, desperately trying to receive a compliment. I am sick of hearing guys talk about girls as if they were pretty cars.(Don't think that I am pointing fingers because I am guilty.) Truthfully, many girls these days are turning into cars. Cars are made by man to be enjoyed by man. Girls were made by God to be enjoyed by man, but with today's culture, things are changing. The definition of a "hot" girl now is NOT what it should be. Many guys, due to the pollution pornography is emitting, want a girl with circular, firm, fake boobs and with leathered brown skin and smelly perfume and a blank stare. Guys have created/adopted an image that is false. She might as well be a hunk of metal, an object created by man for his enjoyment. Girls- you aren't exactly helping, the hostility among girls can be beyond my imagination. I hate seeing the way girls will tear other ones down.
I can't stand the fact that girls are jeopardizing their beauty to become this product of societal expectation.
The girls in the magazines aren't beautiful. They are air brushed, plastic, computer-edited creations. They are not real. Why do real girls try to be fake ones?! All parties are guilty.( Girls and guys.) Come on people! Let's stop putting on blinders. Let's open our eyes to real beauty and real truth. Let's not let the world decide what we should look like. I am tired of the impact this issue has on every single person I know. I am praying hard for change. My god listens. Let's let Him use us! Be real.
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