Have you ever had an experience where your random thoughts coalesce around a bigger thought or idea? Well, that is what I am ruminating on right now. My 4 X 10 white board in my office at work (I do this on breaks and at lunch)is full of what appear to be random ideas, concepts, verses, and such. My task now is to decipher the larger meanings. What is it that ties them all together? Here are a few of the components on my white board: The Barbarian Sheep (see prior posting), Serving Him by Serving You, the chorus form Lifesong by Casting Crowns, Joshua 1, Proverbs 3:5-6, 1 Peter 3, a meta-narrative for the entire Bible (similar to the Why God? postings).
The reason I share this is in part to ask "How is God talking to you?" These thoughts come from Scripture, music, books, studies, and other people. You see God talks to us in a variety of ways. Now don't misunderstand me, I am not say that all these are divine revelation, this I reserve only for Scripture, however, I am saying that God more specifically the Holy Spirit can use a variety of ways to teach us more about who God is and how we should live our lives in a way that honors and glorifies Him.
In Lifesong the chorus has this line: "I want to sign Your name at the end of this day Knowing that my heart was true..." This is how I want to live. I want to know that at the end of day God would be proud of who I lived it.
24 February 2008
21 February 2008
Why God? pt 3
To continue thinking about the restoration process...
Through people like Noah, Abraham and David God's plan flowed. Though the Law and the prophets we can see the restoration process unfold. Though out the Old Testament we see restoration and redemption through the sacrifices and the keeping of the Law. When the people drew near to God, there were blessings, when the people fell away there were consequences. The prophets foretold of the Messiah, the one who was coming as the fulfillment of the the law. We see the restoration process completed in the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
It is through Christ that our sins are washed away. It is through Christ that our relationship with God is restored. It is through Christ that we are set free.
Why God? Because He cared enough that He sent His Son to die on the cross so that you I and might have a restored relationship with the creator of universe.
Through people like Noah, Abraham and David God's plan flowed. Though the Law and the prophets we can see the restoration process unfold. Though out the Old Testament we see restoration and redemption through the sacrifices and the keeping of the Law. When the people drew near to God, there were blessings, when the people fell away there were consequences. The prophets foretold of the Messiah, the one who was coming as the fulfillment of the the law. We see the restoration process completed in the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
It is through Christ that our sins are washed away. It is through Christ that our relationship with God is restored. It is through Christ that we are set free.
Why God? Because He cared enough that He sent His Son to die on the cross so that you I and might have a restored relationship with the creator of universe.
19 February 2008
Stupid Sheep or Barbarian Sheep?
I responded to a post from the blog by Eagle Brook Church Men's Pastor Josh Kesler with regards to a stupid sheep he saw. He ask me to follow up so here with go with my first thoughts.
In his illustration Josh talked about this poor stupid sheep whose head got stuck in a fence trying to reach something better. Great illustration and 100% right. It goes along with the current sermon series at the church also. I looked at it from a slightly different perspective. As you may or may not know we can all look at an event and come away with sightly or even vastly different perceptions of the event (what a great movie theme, oh wait it is coming out in a week or two).
My vantage point is influenced by my recent rereading and discussion around the book The Barbarian Way by Erwin McManus. You see in Josh's illustration I didn't see a stupid sheep looking for something better, no what I saw as a barbarian sheep looking to break out the conformity of the pen and do something greater. You see we can be that barbarian sheep, we can step out of the confines and safety of the "our pen" (what every your pen is) and serve God in a great an mighty way. You see it is not about us, rather it is about doing the will of God regardless of the danger, regardless of the sacrifice, regardless of the cost. What did Jesus say, come and follow me when it is convenient, after the big game, when you have a spare moment? No Jesus told us to take up our cross and follow. Don't ask questions, don't make excuses, simple follow me. I would love to say that this is who I am, 100% on board, but that would be a lie. It is something I am working towards, something that I believe in. You see I would rather be know for how I serve God and others, that for what I know.
In his illustration Josh talked about this poor stupid sheep whose head got stuck in a fence trying to reach something better. Great illustration and 100% right. It goes along with the current sermon series at the church also. I looked at it from a slightly different perspective. As you may or may not know we can all look at an event and come away with sightly or even vastly different perceptions of the event (what a great movie theme, oh wait it is coming out in a week or two).
My vantage point is influenced by my recent rereading and discussion around the book The Barbarian Way by Erwin McManus. You see in Josh's illustration I didn't see a stupid sheep looking for something better, no what I saw as a barbarian sheep looking to break out the conformity of the pen and do something greater. You see we can be that barbarian sheep, we can step out of the confines and safety of the "our pen" (what every your pen is) and serve God in a great an mighty way. You see it is not about us, rather it is about doing the will of God regardless of the danger, regardless of the sacrifice, regardless of the cost. What did Jesus say, come and follow me when it is convenient, after the big game, when you have a spare moment? No Jesus told us to take up our cross and follow. Don't ask questions, don't make excuses, simple follow me. I would love to say that this is who I am, 100% on board, but that would be a lie. It is something I am working towards, something that I believe in. You see I would rather be know for how I serve God and others, that for what I know.
Why God pt 2
Picking up from the last post, Why God?, because He made the effort for restorations...
You see after creation came a life of communion with God. In Eden, Adam and Eve, had a close intimate relationship with God, their creator. This, I believe, is why God created us, for an intimate, personal relationship. However, Satan, one of God's other created being, stepped in and disrupted the relationship. In Eden, there weren't many rules but one clearly stated boundary was to not eat of the fruit from the tree. We failed sin was introduced into God's perfect creation. Sin resulted in a separation between God the creator and his creation, you and I. God could have walk away at that point and said enough, be gone from me. However, that is not what God did, rather, we see from Genesis on through the rest of the Bible, that God has in fact a plan to restore the lost relationship.
Why God? Because He is concerned about our relationship with Him.
More on this later...
You see after creation came a life of communion with God. In Eden, Adam and Eve, had a close intimate relationship with God, their creator. This, I believe, is why God created us, for an intimate, personal relationship. However, Satan, one of God's other created being, stepped in and disrupted the relationship. In Eden, there weren't many rules but one clearly stated boundary was to not eat of the fruit from the tree. We failed sin was introduced into God's perfect creation. Sin resulted in a separation between God the creator and his creation, you and I. God could have walk away at that point and said enough, be gone from me. However, that is not what God did, rather, we see from Genesis on through the rest of the Bible, that God has in fact a plan to restore the lost relationship.
Why God? Because He is concerned about our relationship with Him.
More on this later...
16 February 2008
Why God pt 1
Why God? This is a question with a multitude of layers. So here is my attempt at one of the layers.
The Bible begin "In the beginning God..." This is a great answer, Why God? because God was at the beginning. This then raises a question I don't have an answer for, where did God come from? But then again this is a question that needs to be raised regardless of how you believe things came into being. Can something be created from nothing? There has to be a beginning and I trust in what the Bible says, "In the beginning God..." So what did God do in the beginning, He created. I am a product of a God who was from the beginning Creator of all things. We see this unfold thought out the first couple of chapters of Genesis. He created the sky and the earth, plants and animals, sun, moon and stars, and then he created us. Why God? Because he is our creator.
More to come.....
The Bible begin "In the beginning God..." This is a great answer, Why God? because God was at the beginning. This then raises a question I don't have an answer for, where did God come from? But then again this is a question that needs to be raised regardless of how you believe things came into being. Can something be created from nothing? There has to be a beginning and I trust in what the Bible says, "In the beginning God..." So what did God do in the beginning, He created. I am a product of a God who was from the beginning Creator of all things. We see this unfold thought out the first couple of chapters of Genesis. He created the sky and the earth, plants and animals, sun, moon and stars, and then he created us. Why God? Because he is our creator.
More to come.....
13 February 2008
A nagging question "Why God?"
Have you ever had a question that just kind of nags at you? The question that I have is "Why God?" Now I wish I could tell you what exactly this question means, but I haven't unpacked it enough yet. I began to ruminate on this question a couple of days ago and this morning as I awoke it was the first thing I started to ponder. It is odd to have to unpack the meaning of a question before you can answer it. I would enjoy to hear from other about this question. It could be addressed on a variety of levels. I can see that it will take a bit of pondering, so this is where I will be heading in this blog and my times of pondering for the next little while.
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