So, I had been putting off blogging about the 5th and 6th chapters in Searching For God Knows What because they were really hard chapters to read. They seemed to go nowhere, as some chapters do with Donald Miller. It was hard to pull anything from them except for two things.
In chapter 5, Miller talks about how being naked is the point of Genesis 2 &3. This is the focus on Adam and Eve in these chapters. Miller talks about how Moses makes it a point to highlight this because they were naked and felt no shame. He then goes on to talk about how he's very insecure when he's naked (and, no doubt, most everyone is insecure when nude. I sure am!). He talks about how Adam and Eve weren't insecure because their focus was on God. God was the source of all their security. They didn't know what being apart from God was like. Their lives were in unison with the Father's. However, once the relationship was broken because of their sin, they knew it immediately. They became insecure about their bodies, so God had to give them clothing. This explains why we're always "covering up" our insecurities. We don't want anyone to see us "naked," so to speak.
In chapter 6, he elaborates on this idea of a relationship being broken. He says that we are now deformed and warlike creatures that cause pain to one another because Satan first caused us pain. He said that the only peaceful and innocent kingdom to ever be attacked was God's kingdom long ago at Creation. Now, our souls are deformed like the bodies of the children born after the Chernobyl accident in the 80's. There's really no way to make the deformity go away except by God's grace. Even then, the influences of the world keep trying to get us to become deformed again.
He also goes into a discourse on spiritual warfare, which is something I found quite interesting. The only place I've ever really heard spiritual warfare discussed was in the super conservative, charismatic church of my childhood. But he says that we are at war, not with one another, but with spiritual forces that are trying to destroy us. However, we have a trump card. You see, Jesus himself is interceding at the right hand of the Father for us; the Trinity is on our side! We can draw confidence from the Lord's strength. The Word of God is our weapon. So many times, we look at the Bible as the cosmic self-help book, when in reality, it is our Sword! Every word is written to draw us closer to the God who loves us and protect us from the Devil who hates us.
10.27.2007
10.19.2007
TreeBeard and God
What does God look like to you? Is he some old man up in the sky? Is he ready to zap you with a lightning bolt if you screw up? Is he just some supremely benevolent being that wants nothing more than for you to be happy?
What if God was more like TreeBeard (the ent from Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers)? This is what Donald Miller describes God as in chapter 3. To Miller, God has oak trees for feet and a quiet voice that sounds like the whisper of the wind through a forest. What he's really trying to say is that God is so totally other that we cannot even begin to imagine what God is like. This otherness deserves our fear. Yes, terror would be the correct form of fear in this case.
If we look at Aslan in The Chronicles of Narnia, we see a lion who is described as terrible and untame, yet good. There is a sense of fear (but not dread) that one should have when thinking about God. Because of God's otherness, we have a certain amount of fear for the One who created the universe. However, because of His goodness, we do not dread Him. When we misrepresent God, we are doing Him a huge disservice. We show the world a bad picture of who God really is. He is more than a system of beliefs to make you feel better. He's a living and active Being. When we truly find God, we will find the value we have; the value for which we look to other people. Miller says it like this, "It seems like, if you really knew the God who understands the physics of our existence, you would operate a little more cautiously, a little more compassionately, a little less like you are the center of the universe." When you find God's love, you will find the value of yourself and truly love others enough to die for them.
In chapter 4, Miller makes some a huge assertion. Basically, he says that systematic theology is totally null outside the relationship context with God. You may present the ideas of God, but they make no sense outside of the emotional connection with God. He says that if figures like Paul, John, and Moses were to look at our systematic theology books, they would probably say, "Well, it's technically true; it just isn't meaningful." Truth is living and complex. You can't break it down into a simple format. It must be discovered instead of presented, sought out instead of handed on a silver platter. One might provide opportunity for truth to be found, but should never just give it up. It is too precious a commodity for that. Am I saying that we shouldn't tell people the Good News? To quote Paul, by no means! We should present the truth with no expectation of response. It is totally up to a person to seek it out. Only then will the truth become meaningful to the person. We should approach the Bible in a less narcissistic way, looking for Christ in every verse rather than ourselves as Kathleen Norris describes of the study habits of Benedictine Monks in The Cloister Walk.
What if God was more like TreeBeard (the ent from Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers)? This is what Donald Miller describes God as in chapter 3. To Miller, God has oak trees for feet and a quiet voice that sounds like the whisper of the wind through a forest. What he's really trying to say is that God is so totally other that we cannot even begin to imagine what God is like. This otherness deserves our fear. Yes, terror would be the correct form of fear in this case.
If we look at Aslan in The Chronicles of Narnia, we see a lion who is described as terrible and untame, yet good. There is a sense of fear (but not dread) that one should have when thinking about God. Because of God's otherness, we have a certain amount of fear for the One who created the universe. However, because of His goodness, we do not dread Him. When we misrepresent God, we are doing Him a huge disservice. We show the world a bad picture of who God really is. He is more than a system of beliefs to make you feel better. He's a living and active Being. When we truly find God, we will find the value we have; the value for which we look to other people. Miller says it like this, "It seems like, if you really knew the God who understands the physics of our existence, you would operate a little more cautiously, a little more compassionately, a little less like you are the center of the universe." When you find God's love, you will find the value of yourself and truly love others enough to die for them.
In chapter 4, Miller makes some a huge assertion. Basically, he says that systematic theology is totally null outside the relationship context with God. You may present the ideas of God, but they make no sense outside of the emotional connection with God. He says that if figures like Paul, John, and Moses were to look at our systematic theology books, they would probably say, "Well, it's technically true; it just isn't meaningful." Truth is living and complex. You can't break it down into a simple format. It must be discovered instead of presented, sought out instead of handed on a silver platter. One might provide opportunity for truth to be found, but should never just give it up. It is too precious a commodity for that. Am I saying that we shouldn't tell people the Good News? To quote Paul, by no means! We should present the truth with no expectation of response. It is totally up to a person to seek it out. Only then will the truth become meaningful to the person. We should approach the Bible in a less narcissistic way, looking for Christ in every verse rather than ourselves as Kathleen Norris describes of the study habits of Benedictine Monks in The Cloister Walk.
10.18.2007
The Florida Syndicate
Again, I'm terrible at this blogging thing.
I had a great opportunity to visit my fiance this weekend in sunny Miami, FL. It was a great time of relaxing and enjoying each other. We went to the beach, watched the sunrise, ate sushi, watched about 5 movies, ate Nicaraguan food, and cooked a whole lot of good stuff. It was a wonderful weekend.
I like Florida, but not Miami. It's too busy. There are too many people always on the go. I did enjoy going about 2 miles from His House and seeing cows in the city. That was funny. I liked Dania Beach. That's where we went on Friday and watched the sunrise on Monday. It was quiet and peaceful.
I'm so in love with Jessica. She's such an awesome woman with a huge heart and great faith. I'm so blessed to have her. Some days I'm so ready to get married, and some days I'm not sure. It's not that I have cold feet; I just wonder if I'm ready for this responsibility. Maybe I won't ever really be ready for it. Maybe it's just one of those things where I'll have to trust God to shape me. "Love her like Christ loves the church and gave himself up for her," Paul says. That's a lofty goal. I hope I can get there for real.
I read some more in Searching For God Knows What. I'll probably blog about that tomorrow then blog on Monday or Tuesday about chapters 5 & 6.
I had a great opportunity to visit my fiance this weekend in sunny Miami, FL. It was a great time of relaxing and enjoying each other. We went to the beach, watched the sunrise, ate sushi, watched about 5 movies, ate Nicaraguan food, and cooked a whole lot of good stuff. It was a wonderful weekend.
I like Florida, but not Miami. It's too busy. There are too many people always on the go. I did enjoy going about 2 miles from His House and seeing cows in the city. That was funny. I liked Dania Beach. That's where we went on Friday and watched the sunrise on Monday. It was quiet and peaceful.
I'm so in love with Jessica. She's such an awesome woman with a huge heart and great faith. I'm so blessed to have her. Some days I'm so ready to get married, and some days I'm not sure. It's not that I have cold feet; I just wonder if I'm ready for this responsibility. Maybe I won't ever really be ready for it. Maybe it's just one of those things where I'll have to trust God to shape me. "Love her like Christ loves the church and gave himself up for her," Paul says. That's a lofty goal. I hope I can get there for real.
I read some more in Searching For God Knows What. I'll probably blog about that tomorrow then blog on Monday or Tuesday about chapters 5 & 6.
10.09.2007
Terrible yet Beautiful
So, I'm absolutely terrible at updating my blog. Perhaps this is why people do not frequently leave comments. Erin said it best, "I don't post frequently enough. I don't post about enough current topics. I seem to be more of a drive-by blogger." Well, now I have a reason to post more.
I'm currently reading Searching For God Knows What by Donald Miller with some of the senior guys in youth group. He's an author I respect a lot. He makes Christianity refreshing in a way. So many times, we get caught up in our own spirituality that we forget Christianity is a communal thing. We can grown by the thoughts, ideas, and experiences of other people. Miller brings his own experiences to the table, making you laugh and think at the same time.
His first chapter is great! He talks about how formulas don't work for Christianity. You can't put your relationship with God in a formulaic pattern anymore than your relationship with your best friend, wife, parents, siblings, etc. How many times do we do that, though? How often do we try to "self-help" our way into spirituality and Christianity? A relationship with God takes more time than just three, four, six, or twelve steps. It's takes all our time. I think that's why Brother Lawrence was so right in practicing the presence of God. When you're always aware of God's presence, then you get to know Him better. Duh!
The second chapter goes along very well with number one. When you have a formula god, you have a simple god. You have a simple god, he only exists to validate you,. In other words, your god moves according to your agenda instead of you moving according to God's. However, when questions come (like the questions in the WHY> series here at NCBC), your simple, self-justifying god falls apart. This god is an imposter of the real God just like (as Miller puts it) all the department store Santas were, to him, imposters of the "real" one when he was a child. No wonder so many people who say they believed in God but turned away. They were worshiping an idol, a sham, a simple god. Maybe this god is related to our God, but limited by the characteristics of the Living God that you like. We don't serve a Buffet God from whom you can pick and choose what characteristics you like or make you feel good. You simply create an imposter that is easily "debunked" when you start to really seek.
That's what makes the Living God so beautiful. He's kind of like a Hobbit. You can spend years with Him, but He'll always still surprise you.
"The god who cares so much about getting rich must not have treasures stored up in heaven, and the god so concerned with getting even must not have very much patience, and the god who cares so much about the West must really hate the rest of the world, and that doesn't sound like a very good god to me." Searching For God Knows What, pp. 28-29
The Tank is out...
I'm currently reading Searching For God Knows What by Donald Miller with some of the senior guys in youth group. He's an author I respect a lot. He makes Christianity refreshing in a way. So many times, we get caught up in our own spirituality that we forget Christianity is a communal thing. We can grown by the thoughts, ideas, and experiences of other people. Miller brings his own experiences to the table, making you laugh and think at the same time.
His first chapter is great! He talks about how formulas don't work for Christianity. You can't put your relationship with God in a formulaic pattern anymore than your relationship with your best friend, wife, parents, siblings, etc. How many times do we do that, though? How often do we try to "self-help" our way into spirituality and Christianity? A relationship with God takes more time than just three, four, six, or twelve steps. It's takes all our time. I think that's why Brother Lawrence was so right in practicing the presence of God. When you're always aware of God's presence, then you get to know Him better. Duh!
The second chapter goes along very well with number one. When you have a formula god, you have a simple god. You have a simple god, he only exists to validate you,. In other words, your god moves according to your agenda instead of you moving according to God's. However, when questions come (like the questions in the WHY> series here at NCBC), your simple, self-justifying god falls apart. This god is an imposter of the real God just like (as Miller puts it) all the department store Santas were, to him, imposters of the "real" one when he was a child. No wonder so many people who say they believed in God but turned away. They were worshiping an idol, a sham, a simple god. Maybe this god is related to our God, but limited by the characteristics of the Living God that you like. We don't serve a Buffet God from whom you can pick and choose what characteristics you like or make you feel good. You simply create an imposter that is easily "debunked" when you start to really seek.
That's what makes the Living God so beautiful. He's kind of like a Hobbit. You can spend years with Him, but He'll always still surprise you.
"The god who cares so much about getting rich must not have treasures stored up in heaven, and the god so concerned with getting even must not have very much patience, and the god who cares so much about the West must really hate the rest of the world, and that doesn't sound like a very good god to me." Searching For God Knows What, pp. 28-29
The Tank is out...
9.14.2007
What it REALLY means to be!
So, I am infatuated with one Clive Staples Lewis. What a great author! The 9 books of his that I have read (All 7 Narnia books, Mere Christianity, and The Problem of Pain) have been phenomenal. Lewis has a way to make you critically think then blows your mind out of the water!
I just recently finished The Problem of Pain. It was an eye-opening book, and I'll admit, I had my problems with it. Lewis brings into play his old-earth creation theories and talks some about his evolutionary creationist thoughts. However, it doesn't take away from the book at all. As I text messaged a friend last night, "I love how Lewis writes final chapters that make up for any craziness or confusion from the rest of the book." The last chapters of The Chronicles of Narnia series, Mere Christianity, and The Problem of Pain all deal with a single truth: What it REALLY means to be. Simply put, what are we really supposed to be? And he does a remarkable job at sharing his theories on it.
In The Chronicles of Narnia, the children are exposed to a new Narnia that looks the same old one. However, the world is more vibrant, more alive than the old world was. They find that they can do things there that they could never have done before. They find themselves to be truer selves.
In Mere Christianity, Lewis talks about The New Man. This idea is based on what Jesus said about losing your life to find it. When we submit ourselves to Christ, we find who we truly are. We find our very essence, our very being. Though we cannot experience that totally on this side of life, we can get a taste of it. But when we make it to Heaven, we will taste it for real and forever.
In The Problem of Pain, he says that each are created differently the same way keys are created differently. We have uniqueness to ourselves because who we are fits Heaven in a particular way. "Heaven was not made for us, we were made for it." God loves each of us differently because of our differences. He loves us with the same intensity, but in tremendously different ways. And when we find ourselves face-to-face with the Creator, we will experience Paradise once again. We will forever be in this cycle (or dance, as Lewis says) of us submitting ourselves to God and God showing us who we are more clearly. We will be humanity in Heaven. It sounds confusing, but it is a beautiful picture he paints. It's much better than his description of Hell, in which a person becomes what was left of a soul: a self-centered will and uncontrollable passions eternally excluded from humanity.
How encouraging it is to think that when I get to Heaven I will know who I really am. I may find clues as to who I really am on earth as I submit myself to Christ more and more, and pain may even exist because of this, but someday I will know me and you will know you in a way we could never know ourselves before. We will be given tablets of stone with our new secret names, which only the individual and the Father will know. We are each keys, as Lewis puts it, that unlock a different door in the mansion with many rooms. When those rooms are unlocked, we will know humanity and we will know God!
Hallelujah!
I just recently finished The Problem of Pain. It was an eye-opening book, and I'll admit, I had my problems with it. Lewis brings into play his old-earth creation theories and talks some about his evolutionary creationist thoughts. However, it doesn't take away from the book at all. As I text messaged a friend last night, "I love how Lewis writes final chapters that make up for any craziness or confusion from the rest of the book." The last chapters of The Chronicles of Narnia series, Mere Christianity, and The Problem of Pain all deal with a single truth: What it REALLY means to be. Simply put, what are we really supposed to be? And he does a remarkable job at sharing his theories on it.
In The Chronicles of Narnia, the children are exposed to a new Narnia that looks the same old one. However, the world is more vibrant, more alive than the old world was. They find that they can do things there that they could never have done before. They find themselves to be truer selves.
In Mere Christianity, Lewis talks about The New Man. This idea is based on what Jesus said about losing your life to find it. When we submit ourselves to Christ, we find who we truly are. We find our very essence, our very being. Though we cannot experience that totally on this side of life, we can get a taste of it. But when we make it to Heaven, we will taste it for real and forever.
In The Problem of Pain, he says that each are created differently the same way keys are created differently. We have uniqueness to ourselves because who we are fits Heaven in a particular way. "Heaven was not made for us, we were made for it." God loves each of us differently because of our differences. He loves us with the same intensity, but in tremendously different ways. And when we find ourselves face-to-face with the Creator, we will experience Paradise once again. We will forever be in this cycle (or dance, as Lewis says) of us submitting ourselves to God and God showing us who we are more clearly. We will be humanity in Heaven. It sounds confusing, but it is a beautiful picture he paints. It's much better than his description of Hell, in which a person becomes what was left of a soul: a self-centered will and uncontrollable passions eternally excluded from humanity.
How encouraging it is to think that when I get to Heaven I will know who I really am. I may find clues as to who I really am on earth as I submit myself to Christ more and more, and pain may even exist because of this, but someday I will know me and you will know you in a way we could never know ourselves before. We will be given tablets of stone with our new secret names, which only the individual and the Father will know. We are each keys, as Lewis puts it, that unlock a different door in the mansion with many rooms. When those rooms are unlocked, we will know humanity and we will know God!
Hallelujah!
8.24.2007
Lack of Profundity
Well, I really don't have anything profound to write about today. Last week was probably one of the busiest weeks of the whole summer. I had a lot on my plate. The week started out with Mess Fest, which is our big outreach for middle school. We have stations for the students to get crazy messy. After that, we give the gospel presentation relating the mess they have on them to sin. Later that week, we decided to overhaul the senior high room. We gave it the feel of the Merge conference we had attended earlier this summer. The chairs are all in a round with the band back in one corner. Finally, the week ended with the lock-in and canoe trip. It was really fun canoeing down a river after getting very little sleep.
I did learn about putting on events like these. They take so much work! There are so many things that go into pulling off trips like this, and these guys are perfect to learn from. Even though Mark and I almost got kicked out of Home Depot AND Aldi's, we were still able to pull off a great event. And, Mark Eades did a fabulous job with Mess Fest. So many people went into pulling it off, and he did a great job organizing it.
I did commit an act of piracy. While on the canoe trip, I decided it would be a good idea to jump from my canoe of three people into a canoe of two. I had the other two guys in my canoe paddle hard to the first two-person canoe we came upon. They came alongside it, grabbed the side, and I jumped into the canoe. Later, I decided that I would tip the canoe I had jumped into. Oh, it was fun!
I also had the privilege of having dinner with the Hann's. Now, when I say Hann's, I mean Matt and Emily. Emily's mom works in the office here, and they had a reception for the people in Iowa who couldn't make it to Huntington for the wedding. Anyway, we went to Panera and talked about life. It helped ease my depression a little.
Well, only 6 days until I get to see that beautiful girl named Jessica. It's about time. That's all I've got to say. I'm just ready for it...
I did learn about putting on events like these. They take so much work! There are so many things that go into pulling off trips like this, and these guys are perfect to learn from. Even though Mark and I almost got kicked out of Home Depot AND Aldi's, we were still able to pull off a great event. And, Mark Eades did a fabulous job with Mess Fest. So many people went into pulling it off, and he did a great job organizing it.
I did commit an act of piracy. While on the canoe trip, I decided it would be a good idea to jump from my canoe of three people into a canoe of two. I had the other two guys in my canoe paddle hard to the first two-person canoe we came upon. They came alongside it, grabbed the side, and I jumped into the canoe. Later, I decided that I would tip the canoe I had jumped into. Oh, it was fun!
I also had the privilege of having dinner with the Hann's. Now, when I say Hann's, I mean Matt and Emily. Emily's mom works in the office here, and they had a reception for the people in Iowa who couldn't make it to Huntington for the wedding. Anyway, we went to Panera and talked about life. It helped ease my depression a little.
Well, only 6 days until I get to see that beautiful girl named Jessica. It's about time. That's all I've got to say. I'm just ready for it...
8.07.2007
Remix
So, it would seem that sometimes I don't even take my own advice. Looking back at the post labeled "Across Mexican Deserts," I see that I wrote a lot about relying on God. Wow, have I been lazy! I haven't been relying on God like I should. Wouldn't you know it, my life did become moot. I was unguarded by the Holy Spirit and allowed myself to make some bad choices and break some promises. For that, I am truly sorry.
It's interesting how some of us go through cycles of trusting God, relying on ourselves, getting into trouble, then coming back to God. I feel like the nation of Israel during the period of the Judges. They would trust God, rely on themselves, get into trouble, then find themselves back at God. It's not a good way to live, but it happens sometimes. Hopefully, with my focus on God, I won't have to live in the cycle.
It's interesting how some of us go through cycles of trusting God, relying on ourselves, getting into trouble, then coming back to God. I feel like the nation of Israel during the period of the Judges. They would trust God, rely on themselves, get into trouble, then find themselves back at God. It's not a good way to live, but it happens sometimes. Hopefully, with my focus on God, I won't have to live in the cycle.
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