The other night I was walking back to my room and looked toward the sky to see a very tremendous sight. The moon shinning in all its glory, yet even then something wasn’t quite right. The clouds and haze had covered it just enough that the light peaked few, but all will still fuzzy. Now this may sound a little Odd, but at the moment I stopped and my jaw dropped, That has been how the world has been for me and in everyone’s lives so much and especially for me recently.
So what am I saying exactly? Well there are so many directions this concept can go, but the main one that applies to everyone is that we see God’s Glory through the stories and writings in the bible, in the people we see, and the world he created, but still we can’t quite get it; Were still a little off or things maybe are just a little fuzzy. We don’t have all the fine details and everyone will never agree on every point.
But we can all see the light, and most would agree that it’s really there and not a figment of our imagination.
But he called us to be a light so that his light might shine on earth, yet we are all separate, and with numbers comes strength. So when we come together as a Christian body we not only are worshiping, but we are also reflecting the very thing God shows us. We reflect a body of light one that is not all completely the same and maybe a little blurry on some thing, but people should not be able to overlook the light. They have the option of ignoring or not accepting it, but if the light is not being shown then we have to ask why?
Why can no one see the light, why can we as a body not even see the light?
We spend enough time looking at ourselves and making sure we look presentable in the Earthly realm, but how often do we look to the spiritual? When was the last time we compared our spiritual lives and activities with what the spiritual world calls for; once a day? Week? Month? Maybe even year or years? And yet God calls you to keep our minds on that continually.
So next time you look in a mirror or the son just stop think, am I going the right direction?
When was the last time I focused more on spiritual perception than earthly? And I’ll admit I fall into this trap over and over, yet with a group of believers tied together with the common bonds of Christ and the bible as a guide we should together build a strong light one that does begin to resemble the spiritual realm and then, will we truly begin to make progress towards accomplishing our goal of spending eternity with our Father in the beautiful mansion he has prepared for us in a land of Paradise.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Proud to be Different
We were all made different; to act different, have different talents. Then why do we all try to be the same? It has been the worlds curse to us to dictate the culture and many beliefs the world holds as truth. We were all made in the Image of God, yet we all are different and for good reason. We are also called to be different, to stand out from the world and to be a shining light of hope and eternal happiness.
In Ezekiel we read about the many strange doings of the prophet and how he not only made the point and explained things, he also stood out. But he did not just stand out because of who he was he went out of his way to have people as him what the purpose for what he was doing.
So when was the last time someone asked you, what are you doing? How many times to we just blow it off and say nothing. This is our chance to explain whom we are, to create a deeper relationship and to be the shining light. Now that doesn’t mean run around and act stupid and then shove your beliefs down other’s throats, and that also doesn’t mean stand on the corner of the street and scream about the final judgment and how all sinners and need repentance.
It also does not mean you have to make that many changes. You may have to be slightly more outgoing or ignore normal traditions of the world you’ve been influenced by (which in a few years will be completely different, just look at how fast clothing styles come and go!) But it means you have a talent. You have something or things that you can use to show a light even just a glimpse to the world.
I’ve recently changed to a belief not to hide the gift God has given me for art. I know I’m not the best and I never will be, but I have a gift for using it and making it appealing to others. I can sit for hours and work alone or on a crowded street, and it everyday helps strengthen my love and passion for what I Love and have adored and what I feel I was made for.
Now the question is how to use it? What do I do when I’ve discovered my gift? Or how do I start to begin learning to look?
They’re is no one way or correct way to reach a use for a particular use of a gift one can use, But there is a wrong way. The wrong way is: A) to not use it at all and B) not give god the glory.
But how do we use it? How can you not see is really the question. It will be something you love anyway and you will want to participate and use it in some way or another. It may not come to you over night or even in a week or two, but over time it will be revealed to you, it is something to think, pray, and meditate about. But in the mean time do whatever you can to cultivate and grow your gift to something great to show God’s glory and power.
I do not know where this training will lead me. I do not know how I will influence or use this gift as a light, but I do know I will not ignore it. I will leave it to him, do as much as I can with it and see where it and my heart takes me and where God guides me.
So don’t sit back, be a Christian and do what your called, find your gift by trying everything (and it can always change with time) find something you love and use it. Whether its art, music, writing, teaching, speaking, listening, encouragement, even if your good at babysitting or serving food you can still be used in God’s service. We were not all created equal or the same, but different; and these difference should be acknowledged and capitalized on to spread the light.
We have all been given something special from God to use, so lets use it!
In Ezekiel we read about the many strange doings of the prophet and how he not only made the point and explained things, he also stood out. But he did not just stand out because of who he was he went out of his way to have people as him what the purpose for what he was doing.
So when was the last time someone asked you, what are you doing? How many times to we just blow it off and say nothing. This is our chance to explain whom we are, to create a deeper relationship and to be the shining light. Now that doesn’t mean run around and act stupid and then shove your beliefs down other’s throats, and that also doesn’t mean stand on the corner of the street and scream about the final judgment and how all sinners and need repentance.
It also does not mean you have to make that many changes. You may have to be slightly more outgoing or ignore normal traditions of the world you’ve been influenced by (which in a few years will be completely different, just look at how fast clothing styles come and go!) But it means you have a talent. You have something or things that you can use to show a light even just a glimpse to the world.
I’ve recently changed to a belief not to hide the gift God has given me for art. I know I’m not the best and I never will be, but I have a gift for using it and making it appealing to others. I can sit for hours and work alone or on a crowded street, and it everyday helps strengthen my love and passion for what I Love and have adored and what I feel I was made for.
Now the question is how to use it? What do I do when I’ve discovered my gift? Or how do I start to begin learning to look?
They’re is no one way or correct way to reach a use for a particular use of a gift one can use, But there is a wrong way. The wrong way is: A) to not use it at all and B) not give god the glory.
But how do we use it? How can you not see is really the question. It will be something you love anyway and you will want to participate and use it in some way or another. It may not come to you over night or even in a week or two, but over time it will be revealed to you, it is something to think, pray, and meditate about. But in the mean time do whatever you can to cultivate and grow your gift to something great to show God’s glory and power.
I do not know where this training will lead me. I do not know how I will influence or use this gift as a light, but I do know I will not ignore it. I will leave it to him, do as much as I can with it and see where it and my heart takes me and where God guides me.
So don’t sit back, be a Christian and do what your called, find your gift by trying everything (and it can always change with time) find something you love and use it. Whether its art, music, writing, teaching, speaking, listening, encouragement, even if your good at babysitting or serving food you can still be used in God’s service. We were not all created equal or the same, but different; and these difference should be acknowledged and capitalized on to spread the light.
We have all been given something special from God to use, so lets use it!
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Can You Live Without…?
10On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, 11and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all. 12When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, "Woman, you are set free from your infirmity." 13Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God.
Luke 13:10-13 NIV
Have you ever play a sport and the coach tells you or everyone practices with his or her weak hand? Does he tell you that to make fun of you or just for kicks? No everyone knows that to be good you have to be able to use both your left and right, so you can use both on the court or field.
Have any of you been forced to maybe not use a limb (arm, leg, etc…) maybe broken it or something along those lines? Was it your strong or weak hand?
Well recently I fractured the radius on my dominant arm, which cause me to change many routines and do things in different ways. It cause a lot of problems at first, and still does from time to time, but you learn to overcome and do things differently without using your arm. Now I didn’t have to have a sling or anything and I could still use it to maybe write and draw with after a few days, but it has started to help me truly understand this verse and another that I’ll get to in a second.
Jesus has the power to Heal, to bring back your life, as you know it. Now I know my arm will heal soon, but it still makes it tough in the mean time. Jesus could just say a word and it would be healed… We need to rely on him for healing, but we also need to be patient an dlet him work in his own time. And in the mean time maybe I’ll learn something or see something in a different way.
But it has also made me think about other things…
7"Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to sin! Such things must come, but woe to the man through whom they come! 8If your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire. 9And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.
Matthew 18:7-9 NIV
Self-sacrifice is something Jesus also called us to. We have to be willing to tear away anything that will hinder us from his way weather it’s our dominate hand or leg, our tongue, family, TV, or even friends…
To me, my dominant hand is my whole livelihood for the rest of my life. Being an art major loosing my right arm could have serious consequences, but it may also have a better outcome if something were to happen to it. I may be able to spend my time doing something more important or do something better with my left hand who knows. We have to be willing to give up anything, and leave the decisions to him and make the best of every situation.
As Christians we have to keep our minds open and our heart focused and with him we accomplish anything and everything and without we will do nothing but hinder those trying.
Be a child, one of God. Focus not on the past, the future, but the present, and hold nothing back.
2He called a little child and had him stand among them. 3And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
5"And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me. 6But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.
Matthew 18: 2-6 NIV
Luke 13:10-13 NIV
Have you ever play a sport and the coach tells you or everyone practices with his or her weak hand? Does he tell you that to make fun of you or just for kicks? No everyone knows that to be good you have to be able to use both your left and right, so you can use both on the court or field.
Have any of you been forced to maybe not use a limb (arm, leg, etc…) maybe broken it or something along those lines? Was it your strong or weak hand?
Well recently I fractured the radius on my dominant arm, which cause me to change many routines and do things in different ways. It cause a lot of problems at first, and still does from time to time, but you learn to overcome and do things differently without using your arm. Now I didn’t have to have a sling or anything and I could still use it to maybe write and draw with after a few days, but it has started to help me truly understand this verse and another that I’ll get to in a second.
Jesus has the power to Heal, to bring back your life, as you know it. Now I know my arm will heal soon, but it still makes it tough in the mean time. Jesus could just say a word and it would be healed… We need to rely on him for healing, but we also need to be patient an dlet him work in his own time. And in the mean time maybe I’ll learn something or see something in a different way.
But it has also made me think about other things…
7"Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to sin! Such things must come, but woe to the man through whom they come! 8If your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire. 9And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.
Matthew 18:7-9 NIV
Self-sacrifice is something Jesus also called us to. We have to be willing to tear away anything that will hinder us from his way weather it’s our dominate hand or leg, our tongue, family, TV, or even friends…
To me, my dominant hand is my whole livelihood for the rest of my life. Being an art major loosing my right arm could have serious consequences, but it may also have a better outcome if something were to happen to it. I may be able to spend my time doing something more important or do something better with my left hand who knows. We have to be willing to give up anything, and leave the decisions to him and make the best of every situation.
As Christians we have to keep our minds open and our heart focused and with him we accomplish anything and everything and without we will do nothing but hinder those trying.
Be a child, one of God. Focus not on the past, the future, but the present, and hold nothing back.
2He called a little child and had him stand among them. 3And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
5"And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me. 6But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.
Matthew 18: 2-6 NIV
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Which Way is UP?
Some times the world feels far away, sometimes you feel it up close and personal. Right now I have had little time to sit and reflect, little time to spend looking and seeing the spiritual or even stopping to breathe.
This has been a trying week or two, so many decisions, work to be done, tests, projects, and answers to be decided. The work is nowhere close to concluding, but I need to breathe. I need to stop and breathe in and reflect and see what value I’m getting from these few days, this work?
I’m meeting new people, making friendships, learning, and I feel something reaching deeper. Paul speaks of growing stronger in trials and trying times, I feel this may not be as intense or trying as things he faced, but even now I can feel a closeness closing in; now that I can see, breathe, hold.
I’ve been wondering and no answers are coming, I’ve been pointing up and screaming inside for answers and peace, I feel like a psalmist in which all answers remain unseen. But then I remember on one of Rob Bell’s Nooma videos I saw so long ago, one of complete silence and words. I’m reminded that silence can speak louder than words, and that sometimes we need to be quiet to hear God. Patience is the key to understanding, but sometimes we also need to be assertive.
Abraham asked God to save Lot and his family from destruction in Sodom and Gomorrah. And He didn’t stop once he continued, and eventually they all escaped the wrath poured out on Sodom (besides lot’s wife turned into a pillar of salt).
So I’m saying I don’t know which way is up! I don’t know where I’m going, what I should do, where I’m heading. I’m calling for answers to find the narrow path set before me. I need a light to get brighter, a path to start coming to view and stop treading the dangerous dark waters. Maybe this is calling for trust in him? Maybe it’s reminding me that I’m not in control? But I think I’ve hit a turning point, a point where I need to find the light, direction.
Maybe I can discover which way is up!
This has been a trying week or two, so many decisions, work to be done, tests, projects, and answers to be decided. The work is nowhere close to concluding, but I need to breathe. I need to stop and breathe in and reflect and see what value I’m getting from these few days, this work?
I’m meeting new people, making friendships, learning, and I feel something reaching deeper. Paul speaks of growing stronger in trials and trying times, I feel this may not be as intense or trying as things he faced, but even now I can feel a closeness closing in; now that I can see, breathe, hold.
I’ve been wondering and no answers are coming, I’ve been pointing up and screaming inside for answers and peace, I feel like a psalmist in which all answers remain unseen. But then I remember on one of Rob Bell’s Nooma videos I saw so long ago, one of complete silence and words. I’m reminded that silence can speak louder than words, and that sometimes we need to be quiet to hear God. Patience is the key to understanding, but sometimes we also need to be assertive.
Abraham asked God to save Lot and his family from destruction in Sodom and Gomorrah. And He didn’t stop once he continued, and eventually they all escaped the wrath poured out on Sodom (besides lot’s wife turned into a pillar of salt).
So I’m saying I don’t know which way is up! I don’t know where I’m going, what I should do, where I’m heading. I’m calling for answers to find the narrow path set before me. I need a light to get brighter, a path to start coming to view and stop treading the dangerous dark waters. Maybe this is calling for trust in him? Maybe it’s reminding me that I’m not in control? But I think I’ve hit a turning point, a point where I need to find the light, direction.
Maybe I can discover which way is up!
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
He Went That A ‘Way
Raindrops keep falling on my head… yes it’s raining outside! And having to be in it has just reminded me of my last post and looking to the sky to see God’s glory. But the rain also showed me something else.
We can’t completely focus on the sky and outside ourselves. He has never left us; he’s in the world right now he is in the chair your sitting in, the trees outside, and even the worlds and the computer your looking at now; but most of all he’s in your hair, your hands, your feet, your nose, your mind, your elbows, your armpits, and your heart. He’s in everything. We can sit and see god’s creations all around us. We can sit and watch the sky above us move and change, but we can also look in the mirror and see God’s likeness. We can see beauty, tenderness, and compassion. We can see careful craftsmanship and a Love for us his sons and daughters.
We can look around and see God in some many people in so many ways that it’s astonishing to think He can be so creative, and perfect and yet we can all be so different. It’s also amazing how you can look at yourself and even if there are things you don’t like or aren’t please with, they make you who you are, who God made and loves. Maybe you have freckles or a mole on your neck, or you’re bald and you don’t like being that way, but maybe God wanted you that way, not everyone can look exactly how they want, or we’d all look very similar, and I believe diversity is a Gift from God. And the little things we perhaps don’t like can also teach us that were not perfect, that’s why were human, but we die to this world and then it’s not our human bodies that really matter anyway, it’s the spiritual wellbeing that is the most important. And you are unique and have a special gift that no one else has that you can use to share your spiritual wellbeing, to those still worried if his or her hair looks perfect.
So sit and stare at the sky, take in his beauty, but when the rains start coming down don’t forget to look inside and rejoice in being different and unique, because God lives inside of you, not just all around you.
We can’t completely focus on the sky and outside ourselves. He has never left us; he’s in the world right now he is in the chair your sitting in, the trees outside, and even the worlds and the computer your looking at now; but most of all he’s in your hair, your hands, your feet, your nose, your mind, your elbows, your armpits, and your heart. He’s in everything. We can sit and see god’s creations all around us. We can sit and watch the sky above us move and change, but we can also look in the mirror and see God’s likeness. We can see beauty, tenderness, and compassion. We can see careful craftsmanship and a Love for us his sons and daughters.
We can look around and see God in some many people in so many ways that it’s astonishing to think He can be so creative, and perfect and yet we can all be so different. It’s also amazing how you can look at yourself and even if there are things you don’t like or aren’t please with, they make you who you are, who God made and loves. Maybe you have freckles or a mole on your neck, or you’re bald and you don’t like being that way, but maybe God wanted you that way, not everyone can look exactly how they want, or we’d all look very similar, and I believe diversity is a Gift from God. And the little things we perhaps don’t like can also teach us that were not perfect, that’s why were human, but we die to this world and then it’s not our human bodies that really matter anyway, it’s the spiritual wellbeing that is the most important. And you are unique and have a special gift that no one else has that you can use to share your spiritual wellbeing, to those still worried if his or her hair looks perfect.
So sit and stare at the sky, take in his beauty, but when the rains start coming down don’t forget to look inside and rejoice in being different and unique, because God lives inside of you, not just all around you.
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