For the last several years while building the Mission House as well as fitting into the culture and climate of the D.R. I have also delved deeper into studies of why things work the way they do in the world looking at these things from an old Biblical perspective. The study of Apologetics has been around for many years, even going back before Christianity itself was birthed early in the first century. For those of you who know about apologetics I will commend you.
If you don't know about Apologetics I can tell you it is not a study on how to apologize for being a Christian.
Apologetics is a somewhat little used area of base philosophy that looks at all aspects of creation within the physical world as well as the spiritual world and attempts to explain "God" throughout the results we perceive and or experience.
Let me say this another way...this is the proof that God leaves behind in everything He does. Apologetics roots out the proof through deductive reasoning, logic, philosophy and just plain old common sense.
Scripture tells us that we should be able to talk to anyone that asks us why we believe what we believe. What is the truth behind our belief and why? 1 Peter 3:15 states implicitly this, "but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a
defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that
is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence" NASB
Apologetics does exactly this.
There are apologetic studies in virtually every field of science and philosophy known to man today.
Some are extremely confusing and require a lot of study in order to make sense of and others are fairly easy to get your head around.
The thing to consider here is that this area of study I believe is important for the believer who may need to build up his Faith in God. It is important for the person who doesn't necessarily doubt his belief in Jesus but may have questions that are coming at you all the time.
Let us consider a few questions that are always used by atheists as ammunition against Christianity and the existence of God therefore.
One of the biggest doubts and hardest topics of them all is the question of evil. For centuries non-believers and believers alike have stated "How can a good God allow evil to reign in the world like it does?" The ramifications of individual situations with respect to this question are far reaching. One individual who loves and believes God can go through horrific events like war or maybe even a close family dying through tragedy. These events can cause Faith to waiver and many individuals can come to a point where they might just stop believing that there really is God in their lives.
Happens all the time. So how are those involved in these events deal with the evil that comes upon them? Where was God when they were crying out?
Let's look briefly at a couple of things here...we can have two perspectives for pairing a good God with evil in the world: either logically or through probability.
Logically it does not follow that God exists alongside evil simply because if you state logically the following, if God exists then evil cannot exist
since evil exists then God does not exist
But this logical statement in fact holds no basis for an argument. Atheists will assume that because God has no use for evil that logically He cannot exist. We simply do not know what God is doing with evil from a moralistic point of view. We have neither the intellect nor understanding of God's use of evil for the world.
We react based on what we see and experience, but God knows the outcomes of all of these things in advance and in the future. We of course want to try to understand and sometimes the answer is not so obvious. Take for example, a dying child with Leukemia....many of us can relate and maybe some of us have experienced this kind of tragedy that can be perceived as evil from God. But is it really?
Frankly, from a logical point of view, it would appear that God is evil.
Let me continue with another perspective, probability shows that it is more likely that God exists in our lives and world and universe simply because of all the rest of the evidence which supports His existence. Take for example, The Big Bang. Scientists all over the world now believe almost unanimously that everything came into being from a singular event some time ago and all that you see on this world and in our ever expanding universe came from nothing. Before this event there had to be nothing, not even time...everything began at this one point in time. With a gigantic explosion that produced all the matter, all the energy, all the planets and stars and then life on earth.
All of the known laws of science that man understands today all point toward this singular event.
The atheists and agnostic communities have no answer for this. The atheist position prior to this discovery had been that the universe had always existed and that over these eons of years, life and therefore humanity has evolved out of the matter around. It actually makes sense until the realization of the truth of how our universe began is taken into account...from a singularity. We know this now to be true because we can actually see the billions of stars and planets moving away from a singular point...extrapolating backwards means you come to a point when all the matter in the universe was in one place and something caused it to explode and begin to expand away from this one point in space. Of course science does not yet have an answer for what caused this "Big Bang" and even if science can discover what was the cause, it can never answer the question of why? Science is cold, science is fact and science is unremorseful. God is the only answer that can justify the conditions of life and the universe as we know it today.
Let's look into another bit of science that man has not yet figured out, a conundrum if you will. This little problem of DNA. This is the nail in the coffin of all atheism and yet they still deny the truth.
DNA is the most amazing building block of life necessary and contained within all living matter on earth. DNA is the common thread that runs throughout life and still remains a mystery to science.
Man has been able to decipher the DNA code that forms life, made simply of a handful of simple proteins that contains the information necessary in building cellular material in an organism. Unfortunately science has yet to discover how any of this could have arisen from a pool of historic pond sludge which may have contained the necessary elements required for life.
The fact is this, the more we come to understand all the necessary components required for even constructing a single cell organism the probability of this even occurring by chance become exponential, somewhere in the neighborhood of 1 in 10^40000. This is for only one single cell occurring by chance! The same odds are necessary for lipids and simple carbohydrates necessary for life to happen. Now we are talking exponential impossibilities! There is simply far too much complexity in all of life right from the building blocks of amino acids in DNA to the irreducible complexity of an eyeball in all living creatures that raises questions against macro-evolution.
This complexity is not random and in fact far too consistent and similar within life of all forms not to rule out the presence of some intelligent design. Bottom line, you cannot get the level of information required in all of the DNA and cellular bodies that make up a human and not avoid the mathematical impossibility of randomness as the answer. We are not an accident. I may not understand all the processes that go into the science of DNA and genetic sequencing but I can do the math.
Atheists can and likely will continue to debate that God exists, because that is what they do. I understand they think they are fighting for an independence of self. I get that, I mean we all love to think that we did something or achieved a greatness on our own without any kind of divine intervention or help. I'll give you an example...I am a chef and I know how to make the most amazing prime rib roast...starting with a beautiful cut of aged Angus Rib Roast moving through a series of steps involving seasoning, tying up the roast so it does not fall apart in the oven, then roasting at the right temperature for the exact time necessary to produce the most rich, succulent, mouth watering slice of heaven you will ever taste. A hint of garlic, distinct flavor of Rosemary and pepper, the saltiness of the rich gravy alongside the perfectly roasted Herb crusted Baby Red Potatoes. All of this nestled on a plate beside fresh steamed asparagus seasoned with lemon butter. Who's hungry now?
I described only a tiny talent available to any of us and all of us if we put our minds to it to learn something. The point is this, as humans we have the ability to learn anything another human can do or think of. That is uncanny. Think about it...someone thought about and built a boat to sail across the ocean and discover this island...I can do that too, if I learn how. Someone thought and built a craft that can escape the earth's gravity and sail off into deep space to land on the moon and Mars...I can do that, if I learn how. Someone thought and built a device to see into the tiniest organisms to see how they are put together and how those building blocks are used to build the material which makes up the organism! I can do that...if I learn how.
The greatest apologetic reason we have available to us for the reasoning behind whether or not God is real is right here. In us. Now I am not going to open up a debate as to how old the earth is and whether or not you are a young earth believer or old earth believer is beside the point. Is it possible the earth could be older than the Bible says it is? Yes I suppose because we are not sure, but it is also possible that God made it to look as old as it is...after all He is God right? He can do anything right? Here's the point, we just don't know, but this we do know. Humanity is the most complex organism around today: the most sentient, intelligent and capable of many great things, achievements, abilities, talents, etcetera...the list is endless. Humanity only appeared a few years ago relative to the age of all things we see and know now...or did we? I am going to go back to the math problem I started with about life existing. Science has a problem...a problem that is growing bigger and bigger and more complex every time they discover another bit of information that defines us, that defines life. Each tiny little discovery adds another dimension of mathematical improbability to the equation of life...an already impossibly small probability of chance that even one single celled organism could have been formed by accident...let alone the multi-billioned cell creature, that can reason, and design and build and learn and communicate like we do. And all of us almost 7 billion now having got to this level of intellect in less than 10,000 years! But it gets worse folks...someone designed and built the tower of Babel! Someone designed and built the Great Pyramids! Someone designed and built a great big boat and filled it with animals a long time ago! That was over 3000 years ago folks. Actually I must correct myself...it was God who designed the ark and told Noah how to build it...but Noah still built it! Oh, I guess I can't use that one because the atheists and agnostics require proof.
How can the atheists deny their own existence? How can atheists stare blankly at the masterpiece of humanity and deny that the artist is greater than any one of us? Or all of us put together?
I am sorry...I do not have the faith to be an atheist. I would have to deny everything that even science has discovered and put together about life and our existence.
But no matter how much proof we can throw at them about what God has built in our own universe and in our own complex bodies, they will never understand until they get out of their own way and let God reveal himself directly to them one at a time. No man or woman will ever convince another that God exists through anything we can say or do. But we might plant a seed in their lives. Me might get them to ask the same questions as I did...and those questions will start them on a journey seeking truth...and then they will find God. So that's it then...we must continue to speak the truth about what we believe when we are given the opportunity. Once we have a believer coming to us with questions about God it is our directive if you will to make them disciples once God has revealed himself and they believe. It is God who does the work in any individual, not us doing the work in them. It is only God who reveals himself inside the believer.
My prayer is this quite simply, "If you are asking the same questions as I am, "How is this possible? Why are we here? What is life all about?" Then you can do one of two things. Believe the evidence or deny the evidence. I pray that you believe. God already told us what He did, "For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother's womb. 14I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well.…Psalm 139:13
Never doubt for a second who made you, no matter how much people through the evil question at you...no matter how much evil you see around you. I know it's hard, I see the same thing you all are seeing. But I cannot deny Him, and I don't claim to know why He allows so much evil to continue. But folks know this, we live in a fractured world, full of fallen people, and I choose to believe in God who has made me not because the math tells me so, that's the obvious stuff. I choose to believe Him because He chose me first...and that's amazing.
In Love
Showing posts with label Musings. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Musings. Show all posts
Thursday, May 8, 2014
Wednesday, May 7, 2014
Open Letter To Man
I don't claim to know much about women, but I know enough about what I see going on around me in the lives of other couples and there are some striking similarities and differences between relationships that work and those that don't. Now don't get me wrong, I don't have all the answers here about women and I want to make it clear that the following suggestions are just that...they are suggestions to man that I know will work if you want to have an amazing relationship with your wife.
I married my bride almost 14 years ago now and I can honestly tell you that I love her more today than the day I wed her. We have come to a point where I can see when I do certain things for her every day, I see her react in very different ways every time. I will state categorically that I do not suggest to any man that these things will guarantee your marriage better success, but I do know they work for me. Let me explain a few key points to my brothers first.
I believe if each of us men are truly honest and ask ourselves why we got married in the first place I am sure the responses would vary from guy to guy but overall we could assume men married for Love most of all...I mean really, what else could there be?
Most every guy I know goes through the same process of courtship while developing a relationship that turns into marriage; we use the usual tactics to woo our loves; poetry, song, wine, gifts, flowers, and dates galore. Now of course some of us guys are better at wooing than others and I believe (my opinion) it is our attitude toward our significant other that determines how our marriage life grows.
Most of us men usually stop our courtship routine once we have settled into a routine with our new bride, complacency settles in, we begin to move into a state of simply co-existing. Life becomes mundane, even routine from day to day. I firmly believe that we must be intentional in keeping our relationships strong just as we were intentional in developing the relationship when we first met our lady love.
This can be difficult for some men to continue over the long course of a relationship, simply because most men are selfish, takers for themselves instead of givers to others. Of course the camp of men will strongly disagree with some of these statements, but I challenge these men to look at your own results with your relationship with your spouse or girlfriend and compare your results to what you do for you over what you do for her. Quite simply it boils down to this:
Do you give to yourself more than you give to her on a daily basis?
Now I'm not talking about giving in to her every little whim and whimper. I am talking about creating an air of surprise in your relationship on a daily basis. This involves putting your spouse before you. Men must break the routine that settles in their lives and go back to courting her like you did when you met.
These little things go a long way:
Bring her coffee each morning, even coffee in bed!
Compliment her often, tell her you love her, tell her she is beautiful. I tell my wife she is a blessing to me all the time.
What puts a smile on her face? Each of us knows exactly what makes her happy: Happy wife, happy life!
Encourage her when she is doubtful or afraid, she is looking to us to be strong in the family and if we do not lead then she will be forced to. This alone will cause strife in your life with her.
Get up and help her with dinner, and then with the cleanup; just because you are king of your castle does not mean you get to have her as a slave.
Make her breakfast or dinner or lunch...cook anything from time to time! Every man has a meal he can prepare well and if you don't then learn one!
Raise your children to be respectful of her, they will mimic and copy you; the way you treat your spouse is the way they will treat her. If your children are disrespectful and argumentative with their mother it is because they see it with you. If you have children who are estranged with their mother and or you it is possibly because it started first with you and the way you treated your spouse. They learned it from you! It is a man's responsibility to lead in his house, yes your wife is your partner and your equal but the ultimate authority in the house falls on a man's shoulders. She will begin to despise you if she has to make all the decisions for the house.
Talk to your wife every day, tell her you love her every day.
Open the car door for her, more than once a year!
Introduce your wife to new people before you start into any conversation. If your wife has to introduce herself to anyone in your presence you have already slipped up.
Defend your wife if any man slights her in or out of your presence. If she has to defend herself, she of course will, but it is your job to do this and she will respect you more if you protect her from slander. Of course, she must also keep a civil tongue and not bring strife upon the family through a disrespectful tongue.
Never let the sun go down on your anger with her. She deserves our ear. Her responsibilities as wife, and mother are great. Stop trying to solve her problems, many times she only wants us to listen!
Take your wife on a date...more than once a year! There are 365 days in the year...that means you have 365 daily opportunities to impress her!
Ultimately each man has to look at his own life and decide if he is doing enough to keep his relationship fresh and exciting with his wife. Look honestly at what you do for her and stop expecting her to do anything for you. Trust me when I say this to you: If you give more than you expect to receive then you are doing a good thing.
If you expect her to be your hand maiden and sex slave just because you think you deserve it then you have missed the point entirely. This mentality will only bring you strife and sorrow in your relationship for this is not respectful.
Look at what you have in your possessions. If you treat her less than you treat your truck, you have missed the point of relationship. Do you not think she knows you love your truck more than her?
Finally this admonishment to my fellow man,
Love her, she is your gift from God, your blessing. If you see her as anything else, go back to that time when you first met her. Look at her again with new eyes and never forget why God has put you together. Get out of your own way and live your life together as God intended.
In Love
Mike
I married my bride almost 14 years ago now and I can honestly tell you that I love her more today than the day I wed her. We have come to a point where I can see when I do certain things for her every day, I see her react in very different ways every time. I will state categorically that I do not suggest to any man that these things will guarantee your marriage better success, but I do know they work for me. Let me explain a few key points to my brothers first.
I believe if each of us men are truly honest and ask ourselves why we got married in the first place I am sure the responses would vary from guy to guy but overall we could assume men married for Love most of all...I mean really, what else could there be?
Most every guy I know goes through the same process of courtship while developing a relationship that turns into marriage; we use the usual tactics to woo our loves; poetry, song, wine, gifts, flowers, and dates galore. Now of course some of us guys are better at wooing than others and I believe (my opinion) it is our attitude toward our significant other that determines how our marriage life grows.
Most of us men usually stop our courtship routine once we have settled into a routine with our new bride, complacency settles in, we begin to move into a state of simply co-existing. Life becomes mundane, even routine from day to day. I firmly believe that we must be intentional in keeping our relationships strong just as we were intentional in developing the relationship when we first met our lady love.
This can be difficult for some men to continue over the long course of a relationship, simply because most men are selfish, takers for themselves instead of givers to others. Of course the camp of men will strongly disagree with some of these statements, but I challenge these men to look at your own results with your relationship with your spouse or girlfriend and compare your results to what you do for you over what you do for her. Quite simply it boils down to this:
Do you give to yourself more than you give to her on a daily basis?
Now I'm not talking about giving in to her every little whim and whimper. I am talking about creating an air of surprise in your relationship on a daily basis. This involves putting your spouse before you. Men must break the routine that settles in their lives and go back to courting her like you did when you met.
These little things go a long way:
Bring her coffee each morning, even coffee in bed!
Compliment her often, tell her you love her, tell her she is beautiful. I tell my wife she is a blessing to me all the time.
What puts a smile on her face? Each of us knows exactly what makes her happy: Happy wife, happy life!
Encourage her when she is doubtful or afraid, she is looking to us to be strong in the family and if we do not lead then she will be forced to. This alone will cause strife in your life with her.
Get up and help her with dinner, and then with the cleanup; just because you are king of your castle does not mean you get to have her as a slave.
Make her breakfast or dinner or lunch...cook anything from time to time! Every man has a meal he can prepare well and if you don't then learn one!
Raise your children to be respectful of her, they will mimic and copy you; the way you treat your spouse is the way they will treat her. If your children are disrespectful and argumentative with their mother it is because they see it with you. If you have children who are estranged with their mother and or you it is possibly because it started first with you and the way you treated your spouse. They learned it from you! It is a man's responsibility to lead in his house, yes your wife is your partner and your equal but the ultimate authority in the house falls on a man's shoulders. She will begin to despise you if she has to make all the decisions for the house.
Talk to your wife every day, tell her you love her every day.
Open the car door for her, more than once a year!
Introduce your wife to new people before you start into any conversation. If your wife has to introduce herself to anyone in your presence you have already slipped up.
Defend your wife if any man slights her in or out of your presence. If she has to defend herself, she of course will, but it is your job to do this and she will respect you more if you protect her from slander. Of course, she must also keep a civil tongue and not bring strife upon the family through a disrespectful tongue.
Never let the sun go down on your anger with her. She deserves our ear. Her responsibilities as wife, and mother are great. Stop trying to solve her problems, many times she only wants us to listen!
Take your wife on a date...more than once a year! There are 365 days in the year...that means you have 365 daily opportunities to impress her!
Ultimately each man has to look at his own life and decide if he is doing enough to keep his relationship fresh and exciting with his wife. Look honestly at what you do for her and stop expecting her to do anything for you. Trust me when I say this to you: If you give more than you expect to receive then you are doing a good thing.
If you expect her to be your hand maiden and sex slave just because you think you deserve it then you have missed the point entirely. This mentality will only bring you strife and sorrow in your relationship for this is not respectful.
Look at what you have in your possessions. If you treat her less than you treat your truck, you have missed the point of relationship. Do you not think she knows you love your truck more than her?
Finally this admonishment to my fellow man,
Love her, she is your gift from God, your blessing. If you see her as anything else, go back to that time when you first met her. Look at her again with new eyes and never forget why God has put you together. Get out of your own way and live your life together as God intended.
In Love
Mike
Saturday, April 5, 2014
Choices...
So it has been a while since I last posted; of late I must confess we have been busy doing the things which God has called us to do here in the Dominican Republic. Since February Laura and I have now completed more than five weeks of teams. At times the Mission House was at capacity of 15 people or near there; each team receiving top notch accommodations and meals each day. We feel totally blessed having come this far on our Dominican journey to see the fulfillment of this dream.
God is good, let me tell you. With more teams to come in the year ahead and even bookings into 2015 we see the blessings at hand God has given us. I also know that our work here in the D.R. will have other aspects of Ministry to come.
There is still a burden laid on my heart for the lack of peace many people have in their lives for one reason or another. I feel a genuine compassion towards the issues of life people around us have to endure. As we continue to grow and learn here in the D.R. I find that God has placed opportunity at hand, people we never expected come to us almost daily with the burdens of life. Invariably we see a similarity with their problems and our trials we have already walked through. The counseling becomes evident. Most are unsaved, our new community of neighbors and friends, although our new Christian family on the island also presents opportunity to show how we walk with the Lord. Very simply and without a lot of effort, through our living and loving of the Lord, those around us see God through us. Whenever they come, whatever they say, we can only direct them to our choices made with God in mind. Incredibly, many of them come with questions, or they dump their burdens out in front of us seeking answers. Other times we are just an ear that listens or a shoulder to lean on. What I find interesting is that we don't seek out these people. When we meet new folks, I sense that they are seeking, no not necessarily seeking Mike and Laura...they have no idea what they are seeking. I know they have questions, burdens, griefs and trials and so do they, but they also have within them a desire to be free from these burdens and problems. God built us this way, to seek Him, to trust His ways; and when we follow Him, He carries us through the trials and onto calmer waters. The trouble is this though, even if you are a Christian and believe, we do not necessarily take all of our burdens to Him for help. We try and solve them in our own way, with our strength, with our perceived solutions. Ironically when our problems don't get solved we then turn and blame God for not being there in our lives. I've seen this with people in my own life, I am sure you also know others who do the same, maybe even you. We must continue to strive to build our relationship with Him daily so that we can then become more proficient at working through the trials, with His help! I know this sounds trite or even impossible in many situations, but the truth is many times we get ourselves into messes or trials by the things we have done without God! Our decisions lead us into trouble more often than not, especially when we make those decisions without God! Can you see the point? If you don't know Him, you are constantly falling into trial with one thing or another! Don't get me wrong here; I love life and living it, and I don't always make the right decisions, but this is a truth: when I make decisions with God's will in mind, peace always reigns in my life. That does not mean I do not have trial through those decisions, but I do have the peace of God that carries me through it! When I choose against His will, trial endures, conflict ensues. If each of us is really honest with what is going on in our lives whether we know the Lord or not, we still know the difference between right and wrong. We know which way we should go...and we know which way we should not. What happens after is always a result of the choices we made, good or bad. We have no business blaming God for the mess we find ourselves in after we do what we do! You can pick any example from life here; simply insert the choice into the formula and look at the result you created. God gets far too much blame for our trials and too little credit for our blessings. When things go wrong we blame Him, when things go right, we praise ourselves. How hypocritical are we?
Everyone of us is on a journey through life; if you know God then your journey should involve more of Him; if you don't know God, well then your journey is very much a roll of the dice isn't it? I want to make the point here because I see too many walking into walls time and time again fighting the same battles again and again when the answer is staring them in the face. I realize that it takes time to understand our walk with the Lord each day and that we must be mindful of where others are in their walk as well; no two of us are in the same place as the other with the Lord. I don't have all the answers, nor am I expected to, but I do know this: every time I lean on God, for my life, for my direction, for my choices, He always blesses me with the results. When I lean on my own authority, there is always some kind of mess that comes out of it; today I can say I have fewer and fewer messes.
Ultimately each of us has the choice to make, Follow Him?, or Follow Me?
As for Mike, he will never go back to the world and seek advice: The world is lost folks, the world has no answers. If you see the same thing I do then you can only come to one solution....choose God.
Don't be afraid...you know He's right
Just choose.
Have Faith, get to know Him and He will show you a better way.
I believe it does not matter what you do, if you look to God before every step, you will see greater purpose for your life. You will see God's will for yourself. You will see your life impacting the lives of others. That is purpose.
That is truth.
That my friends is why we are alive.
Blessings
God is good, let me tell you. With more teams to come in the year ahead and even bookings into 2015 we see the blessings at hand God has given us. I also know that our work here in the D.R. will have other aspects of Ministry to come.
There is still a burden laid on my heart for the lack of peace many people have in their lives for one reason or another. I feel a genuine compassion towards the issues of life people around us have to endure. As we continue to grow and learn here in the D.R. I find that God has placed opportunity at hand, people we never expected come to us almost daily with the burdens of life. Invariably we see a similarity with their problems and our trials we have already walked through. The counseling becomes evident. Most are unsaved, our new community of neighbors and friends, although our new Christian family on the island also presents opportunity to show how we walk with the Lord. Very simply and without a lot of effort, through our living and loving of the Lord, those around us see God through us. Whenever they come, whatever they say, we can only direct them to our choices made with God in mind. Incredibly, many of them come with questions, or they dump their burdens out in front of us seeking answers. Other times we are just an ear that listens or a shoulder to lean on. What I find interesting is that we don't seek out these people. When we meet new folks, I sense that they are seeking, no not necessarily seeking Mike and Laura...they have no idea what they are seeking. I know they have questions, burdens, griefs and trials and so do they, but they also have within them a desire to be free from these burdens and problems. God built us this way, to seek Him, to trust His ways; and when we follow Him, He carries us through the trials and onto calmer waters. The trouble is this though, even if you are a Christian and believe, we do not necessarily take all of our burdens to Him for help. We try and solve them in our own way, with our strength, with our perceived solutions. Ironically when our problems don't get solved we then turn and blame God for not being there in our lives. I've seen this with people in my own life, I am sure you also know others who do the same, maybe even you. We must continue to strive to build our relationship with Him daily so that we can then become more proficient at working through the trials, with His help! I know this sounds trite or even impossible in many situations, but the truth is many times we get ourselves into messes or trials by the things we have done without God! Our decisions lead us into trouble more often than not, especially when we make those decisions without God! Can you see the point? If you don't know Him, you are constantly falling into trial with one thing or another! Don't get me wrong here; I love life and living it, and I don't always make the right decisions, but this is a truth: when I make decisions with God's will in mind, peace always reigns in my life. That does not mean I do not have trial through those decisions, but I do have the peace of God that carries me through it! When I choose against His will, trial endures, conflict ensues. If each of us is really honest with what is going on in our lives whether we know the Lord or not, we still know the difference between right and wrong. We know which way we should go...and we know which way we should not. What happens after is always a result of the choices we made, good or bad. We have no business blaming God for the mess we find ourselves in after we do what we do! You can pick any example from life here; simply insert the choice into the formula and look at the result you created. God gets far too much blame for our trials and too little credit for our blessings. When things go wrong we blame Him, when things go right, we praise ourselves. How hypocritical are we?
Everyone of us is on a journey through life; if you know God then your journey should involve more of Him; if you don't know God, well then your journey is very much a roll of the dice isn't it? I want to make the point here because I see too many walking into walls time and time again fighting the same battles again and again when the answer is staring them in the face. I realize that it takes time to understand our walk with the Lord each day and that we must be mindful of where others are in their walk as well; no two of us are in the same place as the other with the Lord. I don't have all the answers, nor am I expected to, but I do know this: every time I lean on God, for my life, for my direction, for my choices, He always blesses me with the results. When I lean on my own authority, there is always some kind of mess that comes out of it; today I can say I have fewer and fewer messes.
Ultimately each of us has the choice to make, Follow Him?, or Follow Me?
As for Mike, he will never go back to the world and seek advice: The world is lost folks, the world has no answers. If you see the same thing I do then you can only come to one solution....choose God.
Don't be afraid...you know He's right
Just choose.
Have Faith, get to know Him and He will show you a better way.
I believe it does not matter what you do, if you look to God before every step, you will see greater purpose for your life. You will see God's will for yourself. You will see your life impacting the lives of others. That is purpose.
That is truth.
That my friends is why we are alive.
Blessings
Wednesday, November 13, 2013
Patience...
I've known for a long time now, since right around the time I was saved and began to know the Lord and who He is in my life that I would have to write about this topic one day. I have continually prayed to God for the ability to understand His patient nature, His enduring capacity for tolerance with this people He created...created for a purpose. Through the years, and let's keep this in perspective...I'm far from there yet....I've been seeking what God says about patience in the Bible. Invariably and depending on the translation we see the word 59 times in the New Testament. Patience is not used directly in the Old Testament but translations from the Hebrew bring various synonyms of the word; different words are used which show a similar context in the translation, "hupomone and makrothumia translate as suffering or waiting as a determination of the will and not simply under necessity. They also mean endurance and continuance or even steadfastness, even long suffering.
Sometimes it is difficult to understand why we must endure or have patience with anything that seems to try us, but Paul confirms that we must as he even calls God in Romans 15:5 "...the God of patience and consolation..."
He calls us in this manner to be patient, and like-minded with each other in Christ Jesus so that with one voice and one accord we glorify God the Father of our Lord Jesus.
This means we are to be like God and "have patience" with each other, as He is patient with us to grant us mercy and then grace as we take on the Christ-like nature of our Lord. Then we understand how in His infinite patience once we see Jesus for who He is and what He sacrificed by the will of the Father, it is then through Jesus, who can sympathize with our trials and temptations that we can approach God. "Let us therefore draw near with boldness unto the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy, and may find grace to help us in time of need." Heb 4:16.
You see, there need be no fear of God and the conviction that you feel for the sin you have committed. Of course we must repent of our wrongdoing as our conviction compels us. Then we should see the results in our lives as we are renewing our souls or our "psuche" which is the Greek word used here meaning our mind, will and emotions.
It is our soul, our mind, will and emotions that requires a changing or renewing in order to bring about the desired purpose God has for each of our lives.
Jesus spoke very clearly when he said "Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword." Matt 10:34. The sword of course is the Word of God, the Word of course is the Son, Jesus Christ. "For the Word of God is living and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." Heb 4:12.
All of this ties together neatly into the Bible that we understand as Truth, patience therefore becoming a root fundamental process in each of our lives. Patience in allowing our minds and therefore our souls to become renewed with the Word of God. Patience to have the continuance of steadfastness of our Christ-like love and governance in our lives. That through the continual application of trust and endurance through our trials we can be assured we will have the victory in our lives. This will ultimately show us the purpose for each of our lives.
We must strive to take hold of our minds, our souls, and allow the Word which has been in-grafted into our hearts given to us by God, "Therefore put away all filthiness and extreme wickedness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls." James 1:21.
It is through this patience, this enduring and our trust in knowing we are moving from faith to faith, using that control of patience in our lives.
"By your Patience, possess your souls." Luke 21:19.
Patience people...its a journey this life in Christ. Ultimately a destination, but then we're talking about heaven now...and that's a whole new blog!
Blessings
Mike
Sometimes it is difficult to understand why we must endure or have patience with anything that seems to try us, but Paul confirms that we must as he even calls God in Romans 15:5 "...the God of patience and consolation..."
He calls us in this manner to be patient, and like-minded with each other in Christ Jesus so that with one voice and one accord we glorify God the Father of our Lord Jesus.
This means we are to be like God and "have patience" with each other, as He is patient with us to grant us mercy and then grace as we take on the Christ-like nature of our Lord. Then we understand how in His infinite patience once we see Jesus for who He is and what He sacrificed by the will of the Father, it is then through Jesus, who can sympathize with our trials and temptations that we can approach God. "Let us therefore draw near with boldness unto the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy, and may find grace to help us in time of need." Heb 4:16.
You see, there need be no fear of God and the conviction that you feel for the sin you have committed. Of course we must repent of our wrongdoing as our conviction compels us. Then we should see the results in our lives as we are renewing our souls or our "psuche" which is the Greek word used here meaning our mind, will and emotions.
It is our soul, our mind, will and emotions that requires a changing or renewing in order to bring about the desired purpose God has for each of our lives.
Jesus spoke very clearly when he said "Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword." Matt 10:34. The sword of course is the Word of God, the Word of course is the Son, Jesus Christ. "For the Word of God is living and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." Heb 4:12.
All of this ties together neatly into the Bible that we understand as Truth, patience therefore becoming a root fundamental process in each of our lives. Patience in allowing our minds and therefore our souls to become renewed with the Word of God. Patience to have the continuance of steadfastness of our Christ-like love and governance in our lives. That through the continual application of trust and endurance through our trials we can be assured we will have the victory in our lives. This will ultimately show us the purpose for each of our lives.
We must strive to take hold of our minds, our souls, and allow the Word which has been in-grafted into our hearts given to us by God, "Therefore put away all filthiness and extreme wickedness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls." James 1:21.
It is through this patience, this enduring and our trust in knowing we are moving from faith to faith, using that control of patience in our lives.
"By your Patience, possess your souls." Luke 21:19.
Patience people...its a journey this life in Christ. Ultimately a destination, but then we're talking about heaven now...and that's a whole new blog!
Blessings
Mike
Monday, November 11, 2013
The Real God Market (7)
This time of year always seems to be a period of musing for me as we draw closer to the Season of Joy, I mean that is Christmas. Recently there has been a lot of hype in the media about how we should respect other groups on our celebratory methods of this important season. We need to be mindful (in their opinion) that the Word Christmas is offensive to many of these minority groups that have established their own cultures within our communities. Now I've never been one to stand on my soapbox and shout back at the world, (not too much) but there has been a quiet revolution overtaking all of our foundational societies in the past 150 years or so and as North Americans and Canadians, we have allowed it to happen. Both of our countries Canada and the US of A were founded on solid Christian biblical principles. Formed out of the blood and ashes of our forefathers as they stood against oppression and gave us the freedom we all now enjoy.
I say this, what a bunch of hypocrites we have become to bow down to these crying minorities and impale our foundational ideals on this spike we have planted in the ground. Slowly but surely we have rolled over and fallen out of the bed to allow one group after another establish a place of rest on our pillows.
While I'm all for community and open relationship for refugees and war torn nations needing assistance from our governments, I do not agree with this sacrifice Christians have unwillingly placed upon the fire in our own cities that God has built for all of us. And while you may not agree entirely with how you came to be or why, if you sit down and look at your own roots of your very existence, I am absolutely positive you will find a fore-father or mother who followed foundational Christian principles in their lives.
Christmas has always been about the celebration of the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. At least until recent years. Now the focus seems to be on consumerism rather than God. The world has created a new god around this time of year and most of us Christians are as guilty as the next guy when it comes to failing badly at Christmas. It is incredible to me how many people are dragged into this new belief that you have to "gift" your way into developing your children. Don't get me wrong, I am not a grinch! I love the Christmas season, for what it is! Not for what it has become!
Here are some consumer stats that just might blow your mind: Many of you know about the annual shopping phenomenon that occurs each year after the American Thanksgiving day, commonly known as "Black Friday" Well the one day sale has now become almost a month-long frenzy of consumerism which runs not until Christmas day but fully a week past!
In the US alone 2011 spending topped out at just over 52 billion dollars for the four day weekend beginning on Nov 25 Thursday through to Sunday. Over 50% of that spending was on credit card! The people never even had the money to buy these "Sale" items! Last year for 2012 the sales topped out for the same weekend at just under $60 billion, an incredible 13% increase in spending, again more than half of the purchases on credit card! The stats are even more astounding for the next month moving right through Christmas and into the new year...all in the name of Christmas!
What is wrong with this picture?
Is it wrong to want to buy a gift for your child at this special time of year? Have we changed our focus on what we are doing at this time of year? Have we replaced our "Reason for the Season" with another?
Some of you are probably thinking "What business is it of yours that you can tell me what to spend my money on at Christmas"? or even "Who do you think you are, that I should listen to you?"
Frankly I pray you do give at this time of year, for it is written, "In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.'" Acts 20:35 ESV. But look at the context here, give to the weak! We have replaced our giving to the weak with giving to ourselves, even when we don't need it!
Hear me out and please don't kill the messenger, for I am sure all of us from time to time feel exactly the same way I do about this frantic time of year that this Season of Christmas is becoming. We all sit and watch the same news broadcasts each year of the massive crowds of consumers who end up fighting each other for this gift or that gift in a dog-eat-dog event at the local Wal-Mart. Shaking our heads at the absolute stupidity of these people, some of whom have actually died during these events during "Black Friday" sales! Have we gone mad as a society!
This is not the "Reason for the Season" and my plea is very simple.
If you still believe in a Truth, a very real "Reason for the Season" then embrace that Truth before you join the world in this lie again this year. For each year that we give in to this new doctrine of consumerism we surely replace our former belief of the Truth for our lives.
" I will praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, and my soul knows it very well." Psalm 139:14 NASB
We are humanity, we are not depraved animals that kill each other over a bone...or are we?
My prayer is that we all remember this when someone says to us "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas".
I for one will reply "Bless you and Merry Christmas!"
In love
Michael
I say this, what a bunch of hypocrites we have become to bow down to these crying minorities and impale our foundational ideals on this spike we have planted in the ground. Slowly but surely we have rolled over and fallen out of the bed to allow one group after another establish a place of rest on our pillows.
While I'm all for community and open relationship for refugees and war torn nations needing assistance from our governments, I do not agree with this sacrifice Christians have unwillingly placed upon the fire in our own cities that God has built for all of us. And while you may not agree entirely with how you came to be or why, if you sit down and look at your own roots of your very existence, I am absolutely positive you will find a fore-father or mother who followed foundational Christian principles in their lives.
Christmas has always been about the celebration of the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. At least until recent years. Now the focus seems to be on consumerism rather than God. The world has created a new god around this time of year and most of us Christians are as guilty as the next guy when it comes to failing badly at Christmas. It is incredible to me how many people are dragged into this new belief that you have to "gift" your way into developing your children. Don't get me wrong, I am not a grinch! I love the Christmas season, for what it is! Not for what it has become!
Here are some consumer stats that just might blow your mind: Many of you know about the annual shopping phenomenon that occurs each year after the American Thanksgiving day, commonly known as "Black Friday" Well the one day sale has now become almost a month-long frenzy of consumerism which runs not until Christmas day but fully a week past!
In the US alone 2011 spending topped out at just over 52 billion dollars for the four day weekend beginning on Nov 25 Thursday through to Sunday. Over 50% of that spending was on credit card! The people never even had the money to buy these "Sale" items! Last year for 2012 the sales topped out for the same weekend at just under $60 billion, an incredible 13% increase in spending, again more than half of the purchases on credit card! The stats are even more astounding for the next month moving right through Christmas and into the new year...all in the name of Christmas!
What is wrong with this picture?
Is it wrong to want to buy a gift for your child at this special time of year? Have we changed our focus on what we are doing at this time of year? Have we replaced our "Reason for the Season" with another?
Some of you are probably thinking "What business is it of yours that you can tell me what to spend my money on at Christmas"? or even "Who do you think you are, that I should listen to you?"
Frankly I pray you do give at this time of year, for it is written, "In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.'" Acts 20:35 ESV. But look at the context here, give to the weak! We have replaced our giving to the weak with giving to ourselves, even when we don't need it!
Hear me out and please don't kill the messenger, for I am sure all of us from time to time feel exactly the same way I do about this frantic time of year that this Season of Christmas is becoming. We all sit and watch the same news broadcasts each year of the massive crowds of consumers who end up fighting each other for this gift or that gift in a dog-eat-dog event at the local Wal-Mart. Shaking our heads at the absolute stupidity of these people, some of whom have actually died during these events during "Black Friday" sales! Have we gone mad as a society!
This is not the "Reason for the Season" and my plea is very simple.
If you still believe in a Truth, a very real "Reason for the Season" then embrace that Truth before you join the world in this lie again this year. For each year that we give in to this new doctrine of consumerism we surely replace our former belief of the Truth for our lives.
" I will praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, and my soul knows it very well." Psalm 139:14 NASB
We are humanity, we are not depraved animals that kill each other over a bone...or are we?
My prayer is that we all remember this when someone says to us "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas".
I for one will reply "Bless you and Merry Christmas!"
In love
Michael
Monday, September 30, 2013
Manifest Power, Manifest Glory
The past few weeks this summer has found our area of the North Coast enduring some of the most intense storms never before seen by anyone. Many of the locals are shocked and astounded when these severe storms pass over, dropping what seems like an endless deluge of rain amidst the incessant and very close lightning. Many areas report lightning strikes which result in tremendous damage to rooftops, trees and a large amount of electrical equipment. I have heard of many who have had blown up televisions, modems, computers, radios, light bulbs, inversors, and so-on. During the last storm two nights ago, we watched and listened for more than two hours as the storm raged and slowly passed over the sea. We were fortunate as we unplugged almost all of our electrical devices in case a strike came near or a surge worked through into the house; it did not. After it all we all wandered out into the yard to survey the results, a new lake had formed beside the house and pool area which frames the right of our property. The lake was slowly draining through a new creek along the property. This drained down into a larger lake on the property next to us. Our swimming pool gained almost six inches of rainwater in just about two hours.
This is where my mind begins to turn and whirl with the questions most of us take for granted. So I started to do some research on storms, thunderstorms in particular. Some startling facts:
An average storm covers an area of about 15 square miles, some are larger of course. Each storm contains on average about 275 million gallons of water. In one inch of rain falling on one square mile of land, there is 17.5 million gallons of water. This is equal to the weight of a locomotive whith 40 loaded boxcars.
So lets do some math! (they told me there would be no math...)
The NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmosheric Administration) reports that at any given time there can be over 40,000 storms occurring over the earth each day. Every day.
This means that just in storms there is approximately 11 x 10^12.million gallons of water floating around the globe trapped inside these storm formations. We know that a gallon of water weighs 10 lbs, in the US it only weighs 8.3 lbs. We will use the Imperial standard here so the math is easier.
Then we can assume there is approximately 1.1 x 10^14 million lbs of water in these storms each day.
Lets show this longhand: 110,000,000,000,000 million lbs of water. Or 110 Trillion lbs of water floating in the air and then coming down each and every day of the year! I hope somebody checks my math!
Put your head around that for just a minute, This is only the amount of water that we can see in the storms! Floating with seemingly little effort across our skies as we go about our busy little lives.
I would like you all to put this question to yourselves: Who can do all this everyday, and not break a sweat?
There is only one. He does all of this each day for you...take heed to His Manifest Power, His Manifest Glory. There is none other. He is God.
Marvel in awe at His Manifest Presence, for He exists in all that is created.
None of this in your world is an accident, all was caused to be, created for a purpose.
If you believe anything else then you believe a lie, a deception if you will. Just do the math people, it is really very easy...
Mike
This is where my mind begins to turn and whirl with the questions most of us take for granted. So I started to do some research on storms, thunderstorms in particular. Some startling facts:
An average storm covers an area of about 15 square miles, some are larger of course. Each storm contains on average about 275 million gallons of water. In one inch of rain falling on one square mile of land, there is 17.5 million gallons of water. This is equal to the weight of a locomotive whith 40 loaded boxcars.
So lets do some math! (they told me there would be no math...)
The NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmosheric Administration) reports that at any given time there can be over 40,000 storms occurring over the earth each day. Every day.
This means that just in storms there is approximately 11 x 10^12.million gallons of water floating around the globe trapped inside these storm formations. We know that a gallon of water weighs 10 lbs, in the US it only weighs 8.3 lbs. We will use the Imperial standard here so the math is easier.
Then we can assume there is approximately 1.1 x 10^14 million lbs of water in these storms each day.
Lets show this longhand: 110,000,000,000,000 million lbs of water. Or 110 Trillion lbs of water floating in the air and then coming down each and every day of the year! I hope somebody checks my math!
Put your head around that for just a minute, This is only the amount of water that we can see in the storms! Floating with seemingly little effort across our skies as we go about our busy little lives.
I would like you all to put this question to yourselves: Who can do all this everyday, and not break a sweat?
There is only one. He does all of this each day for you...take heed to His Manifest Power, His Manifest Glory. There is none other. He is God.
Marvel in awe at His Manifest Presence, for He exists in all that is created.
None of this in your world is an accident, all was caused to be, created for a purpose.
If you believe anything else then you believe a lie, a deception if you will. Just do the math people, it is really very easy...
Mike
Saturday, September 21, 2013
Where did I put those Goggles?
Just got back from the hospital a while ago: had to have a metal fragment removed from my cornea after I accidentally installed it there while cutting steel. All kidding aside, the pain was tremendous and it was all I could do to keep from punching the doctor while she worked on my poor eye. All of this ordeal of course got me thinking: how could a little piece of metal, (I mean you could hardly see it, barely a spec embedded in the cornea of my eye, just above the pupil), cause so much pain to a grown man?
Well that's the irony of the whole thing isn't it? The pain for me was a strong reminder of just what it is that I have and what it is I am supposed to do. Life...and Life more abundant!
Yes I know not much of a revelation but hear me out for just a minute. I want to give you a rationale for this small ordeal I am enduring right now and why. The most obvious message within all of this of course is"Where are his safety goggles...dummie?" Well, like every man I will tell you "I don't need them, I'm tough! Just dig out the spec so I can get back to work!"
But then, that's just my pride getting in the way of the truth.
Aah, that's the ticket. Pride got in the way. Or did it? It is possible that I simply forgot to put on the safety goggles that I knew where in my toolbox. Or could it be that I chose not to put them on instead? Opting out for the faster route, skipping the all important step of protecting my eyes and moving right on to the business at hand; cutting steel, regardless of the outcome or damage during the course of.
I hope some of you see where I am going with this: the extra result was not what I expected. Oh sure, I got the steel cut for the project I was working on, but ended up with some unintended consequences as well!
Seems like life is full of that isn't it? I mean speaking of course about my life, not yours. Choosing to do what I know is right with anything always gets me the result I am looking for. The outcome invariably changes a bit whenever I shortcut the method of operation somehow. I might get the results I am looking for even if I do shortcut the process, but I always have extra results as well, most times unwelcome results!
My eye is just a tiny example of what can go wrong when you do not do things right. The pain, as intense as it is, is only a small reminder of the pain that can be inflicted on a life when wrong decisions are made.
So what am I trying to rationalize here? Could it be that I am faced daily with many decisions that God allows me to make because He has given me the gift of choice? Or is it more likely that I am only choosing based on my moral foundation, that given me from my family, my raising, my heritage, my common sense?
Aah, the philosophy of it all!
Two camps available to each and every one of us: Choose to live for God.
Choose to live for me.
In a nutshell, is this what it comes down to, me or God?
Well, frankly...yes. When I choose to live for me, there are always results from the decisions that I have to make each day that I may not necessarily expect; or want! Just think about it for a second. When you have made decisions that only build your little kingdom, your life, have there been people hurt by your decisions? Is there collateral damage for your selfish choices? Building the kingdom of me is selfish, greedy and has little to no concern for others. Unless of course you have something I want, then I might pay attention to you a little more! Most of us live our lives in the kingdom of me, creating tiny kingdom bubbles around us that we control; we decide who we talk too, associate with, give assistance too. Take a look at your own life right now, are you living comfortably in your created little kingdom? Is your routine so familiar that you need not think about anything going on in the world? When things happen in the world, are they so far removed from your senses that you respond with abject boredom or even disbelief? What focuses your attention? Is it the newest iphone just come out on the market? Or is it the newest year of that Toyota Tundra that just won truck of the year again? Is your kingdom growing from within, with physical stuff that you "need"?
Don't get me wrong, I know we need to live with things in order to make life easier, after-all man-kind is very inventive, having developed technology to a level never before seen! But what turns your head in your life? Are you focused on the stuff more than others?
When I choose to live for God, and live by His guiding statutes, then my decisions always result without unintended consequence. When my decisions fall in line with the Word of God, I hurt no-one. Invariably I am living my life in service of others building up the Kingdom of God and not mine: doing good, sharing my gifts, teaching and leading others to do the same. The Word gives me life, and life more abundant! Ironically, when I choose to live for God, He blesses me with more than I could have imagined!
The fact is, life is hard...and I put it to you this way.
I would rather have a life without unintended consequences. Don't get me wrong, I still make the wrong decisions some time, a lot of the time. But I believe I am on the right track, each day the Lord shows up with a blessing for me, an opportunity to make the right decision and build His Kingdom through the work He has given us to do. I hope and pray you make similar choices in each of your lives, choices without unintended consequences.
Now where did I put those goggles?
Blessings
Mike
Well that's the irony of the whole thing isn't it? The pain for me was a strong reminder of just what it is that I have and what it is I am supposed to do. Life...and Life more abundant!
Yes I know not much of a revelation but hear me out for just a minute. I want to give you a rationale for this small ordeal I am enduring right now and why. The most obvious message within all of this of course is"Where are his safety goggles...dummie?" Well, like every man I will tell you "I don't need them, I'm tough! Just dig out the spec so I can get back to work!"
But then, that's just my pride getting in the way of the truth.
Aah, that's the ticket. Pride got in the way. Or did it? It is possible that I simply forgot to put on the safety goggles that I knew where in my toolbox. Or could it be that I chose not to put them on instead? Opting out for the faster route, skipping the all important step of protecting my eyes and moving right on to the business at hand; cutting steel, regardless of the outcome or damage during the course of.
I hope some of you see where I am going with this: the extra result was not what I expected. Oh sure, I got the steel cut for the project I was working on, but ended up with some unintended consequences as well!
Seems like life is full of that isn't it? I mean speaking of course about my life, not yours. Choosing to do what I know is right with anything always gets me the result I am looking for. The outcome invariably changes a bit whenever I shortcut the method of operation somehow. I might get the results I am looking for even if I do shortcut the process, but I always have extra results as well, most times unwelcome results!
My eye is just a tiny example of what can go wrong when you do not do things right. The pain, as intense as it is, is only a small reminder of the pain that can be inflicted on a life when wrong decisions are made.
So what am I trying to rationalize here? Could it be that I am faced daily with many decisions that God allows me to make because He has given me the gift of choice? Or is it more likely that I am only choosing based on my moral foundation, that given me from my family, my raising, my heritage, my common sense?
Aah, the philosophy of it all!
Two camps available to each and every one of us: Choose to live for God.
Choose to live for me.
In a nutshell, is this what it comes down to, me or God?
Well, frankly...yes. When I choose to live for me, there are always results from the decisions that I have to make each day that I may not necessarily expect; or want! Just think about it for a second. When you have made decisions that only build your little kingdom, your life, have there been people hurt by your decisions? Is there collateral damage for your selfish choices? Building the kingdom of me is selfish, greedy and has little to no concern for others. Unless of course you have something I want, then I might pay attention to you a little more! Most of us live our lives in the kingdom of me, creating tiny kingdom bubbles around us that we control; we decide who we talk too, associate with, give assistance too. Take a look at your own life right now, are you living comfortably in your created little kingdom? Is your routine so familiar that you need not think about anything going on in the world? When things happen in the world, are they so far removed from your senses that you respond with abject boredom or even disbelief? What focuses your attention? Is it the newest iphone just come out on the market? Or is it the newest year of that Toyota Tundra that just won truck of the year again? Is your kingdom growing from within, with physical stuff that you "need"?
Don't get me wrong, I know we need to live with things in order to make life easier, after-all man-kind is very inventive, having developed technology to a level never before seen! But what turns your head in your life? Are you focused on the stuff more than others?
When I choose to live for God, and live by His guiding statutes, then my decisions always result without unintended consequence. When my decisions fall in line with the Word of God, I hurt no-one. Invariably I am living my life in service of others building up the Kingdom of God and not mine: doing good, sharing my gifts, teaching and leading others to do the same. The Word gives me life, and life more abundant! Ironically, when I choose to live for God, He blesses me with more than I could have imagined!
The fact is, life is hard...and I put it to you this way.
I would rather have a life without unintended consequences. Don't get me wrong, I still make the wrong decisions some time, a lot of the time. But I believe I am on the right track, each day the Lord shows up with a blessing for me, an opportunity to make the right decision and build His Kingdom through the work He has given us to do. I hope and pray you make similar choices in each of your lives, choices without unintended consequences.
Now where did I put those goggles?
Blessings
Mike
Saturday, July 20, 2013
Changed for Good...or is it Changed for God?
I have been looking for a title for another blog and only just recently I watched several people within the last Mission Team experience this "change" I think is worth exploring.
Laura and I had the privilege of providing accommodations and meals for the team from Nova Scotia last week at Rio Vista. Twelve people from all walks of life visited the Dominican Republic for a week of diverse Mission Field work. The team was involved in the construction of a replacement house for a poor widow in a nearby village; this consisted of moving concrete blocks, mixing cement for mortar, and building the walls of the new house. For three days the team labored, first in the downpour of a tropical storm, and then in the heat of the tropical sun. For many of the team, this was the first opportunity to give in this manner, building something for someone who could only hope to have a new home; having neither the resources or the ability to accomplish this task.
Throughout the process of the construction we viewed "changing" individuals returning to the Guest House each night; tired and dirty, but pleased with the progress for the construction. By the end of the third day the little house was finished. The team was elated and each night during the debrief of the days activities, many expressed how they felt about the work they were doing. Several on the team stated emphatically that it would be difficult to say goodbye to the people in the village they were working. Many of these people had worked alongside the team, volunteering their own time and labor to help the team build this house. Touched they were by the willingness of many in the village to help them; even the children wanted to pitch in and offer a hand in the project. Several eyes were opened as some on the team saw humanity from a different perspective. Looking now at humanity from the inside out, they could see what drives community, what builds a village, what supports those who cannot support themselves...compassion.
What is this compassion that pulls on the hearts of those who have never seen this before? Many of these team members, to be fair, have grown up in a world far removed from the trials of the third world. The trials where even finding water that wont kill you is a daily concern. Now this does not mean that we never experience trials where we live, however, many of the basic things of life are seriously taken for granted back home. Things like water, electricity, food, and shelter.
Let's understand this, humanity is the only species on the earth which can express compassion in this manner; the only species whose own hearts and minds are filled with agony when we see others suffer. Each of us knows inwardly that we must do something whenever we are exposed to this level of suffering, we must get involved and offer at least a hand or a shoulder to cry on. The root of this is very obvious to those of us who have seen the Mission Field up close and personal for any length of time. This compassion that has driven us and now will drive the members of the Mission Team from Nova Scotia comes directly from the heart of God; "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them." Eph 2:10
This is where the rubber meets the road, we are a created being, made by God, with all of His attributes, "in His image" Gen 1:26. This includes His heart, His compassion to all of His creation, especially His children: us. Once you have felt the heart of God; through His compassion to others; then therefore are you "changed for good". Or rather should I say..."Changed for God."
Of course we all still have a choice: we could go back to our mindless lives, existing for nothing except ourselves in what appears to be a "dog-eat-dog" world. Or we can accept the truth of the matter and realize that each of us was born, no, created for a purpose.
When you boil it all down, casting aside everything that does not matter, everything that does not show compassion, giving for the sake of others who have not; at the very base of all is compassion, which essentially is love. Within that love is the God who created us.
Yes I believe we witnessed several people this past week who were "Changed for God" Touched so deeply by the imprinted compassion of God on their hearts; changed for good for the rest of their lives.
I pray they choose wisely.
Blessings
Michael
Laura and I had the privilege of providing accommodations and meals for the team from Nova Scotia last week at Rio Vista. Twelve people from all walks of life visited the Dominican Republic for a week of diverse Mission Field work. The team was involved in the construction of a replacement house for a poor widow in a nearby village; this consisted of moving concrete blocks, mixing cement for mortar, and building the walls of the new house. For three days the team labored, first in the downpour of a tropical storm, and then in the heat of the tropical sun. For many of the team, this was the first opportunity to give in this manner, building something for someone who could only hope to have a new home; having neither the resources or the ability to accomplish this task.
Throughout the process of the construction we viewed "changing" individuals returning to the Guest House each night; tired and dirty, but pleased with the progress for the construction. By the end of the third day the little house was finished. The team was elated and each night during the debrief of the days activities, many expressed how they felt about the work they were doing. Several on the team stated emphatically that it would be difficult to say goodbye to the people in the village they were working. Many of these people had worked alongside the team, volunteering their own time and labor to help the team build this house. Touched they were by the willingness of many in the village to help them; even the children wanted to pitch in and offer a hand in the project. Several eyes were opened as some on the team saw humanity from a different perspective. Looking now at humanity from the inside out, they could see what drives community, what builds a village, what supports those who cannot support themselves...compassion.
What is this compassion that pulls on the hearts of those who have never seen this before? Many of these team members, to be fair, have grown up in a world far removed from the trials of the third world. The trials where even finding water that wont kill you is a daily concern. Now this does not mean that we never experience trials where we live, however, many of the basic things of life are seriously taken for granted back home. Things like water, electricity, food, and shelter.
Let's understand this, humanity is the only species on the earth which can express compassion in this manner; the only species whose own hearts and minds are filled with agony when we see others suffer. Each of us knows inwardly that we must do something whenever we are exposed to this level of suffering, we must get involved and offer at least a hand or a shoulder to cry on. The root of this is very obvious to those of us who have seen the Mission Field up close and personal for any length of time. This compassion that has driven us and now will drive the members of the Mission Team from Nova Scotia comes directly from the heart of God; "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them." Eph 2:10
This is where the rubber meets the road, we are a created being, made by God, with all of His attributes, "in His image" Gen 1:26. This includes His heart, His compassion to all of His creation, especially His children: us. Once you have felt the heart of God; through His compassion to others; then therefore are you "changed for good". Or rather should I say..."Changed for God."
Of course we all still have a choice: we could go back to our mindless lives, existing for nothing except ourselves in what appears to be a "dog-eat-dog" world. Or we can accept the truth of the matter and realize that each of us was born, no, created for a purpose.
When you boil it all down, casting aside everything that does not matter, everything that does not show compassion, giving for the sake of others who have not; at the very base of all is compassion, which essentially is love. Within that love is the God who created us.
Yes I believe we witnessed several people this past week who were "Changed for God" Touched so deeply by the imprinted compassion of God on their hearts; changed for good for the rest of their lives.
I pray they choose wisely.
Blessings
Michael
Thursday, June 13, 2013
In the Eye of the Storm
Recently, Pastor Goodman spoke to the church regarding our perfect center, with respect to what we revolve our lives around and base our life around. I wrote this blog 2 more than 2 years ago and I wanted to re-post this message as it speaks affirmation to me about his message about Jesus for all of us. Only slightly edited from the original post to reflect current events, be blessed.
How many of us can accurately say that we can live daily within our own respective bubbles, surrounded by our immediate world, but never see the perspective of what it is we are supposed to be doing? Think about it for just a minute...take a moment to look at your daily grind and try and step out of it for just a minute to visualize you as you go through each day. What are the things you do that make you shake your own head? Are you angry or short with those in your life? Are you trapped by a consuming addiction that tears holes in your life? Do you find you have little patience for others? Are there things going on daily that cause you to be distracted from the tasks most important? What are those tasks? Do you have all the tools to complete those tasks?
In most of our lives we tend to think we are the only ones who are enduring problems, especially when the problem is occurring; however, whatever they may be; we believe that we must be the only one who is in a storm.
Now of course we realize that not all of us are in storms all of the time. Storms of life come and go and there are times when you are in calm seas and no trials are coming at you.
This is a perspective I like to refer to as being in the Eye of the Storm. Like a hurricane, life can produce tremendous storm and winds with rain and sometimes even floods. These I liken to the problems that all of us can go through from time to time. At other times we find ourselves sailing through calm waters and clear skies, when life is good and all things seem to be going our way. In the eye of a hurricane, meteorologists constantly observe a calm pattern within the storm. Sometimes this "eye" is very large and other times it can be very small; with the intensity of the storm raging all around the eye.
Couple of points here: How often do you find yourself in the storm compared to how often you are in the eye?
Do you actively try and stay in the eye of the storm, or do you just drift along with the current, eventually ending up back in the storm?
Many times the storms of our lives of course are likely a result of the choices we make daily, choices that cause un-intended consequences for our lives; the repercussions for our decisions. I believe equally so, the choices we make also allow us to ride calmly through the eye of a storm.
So we can liken the eye of the storm as a perfect center for our lives, the place where we can sail along smoothly, at times we may veer off course and sail into choppy waters, but if we know where the perfect center is then we can find our way back to smoother waters.
Of course I am likening each of our lives to what the scriptures tell us to look for. That we must first seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Matt 6:33
These "things" referring to everything you need to live!
This is inherently the root of many of the problems that plague us; at any time we can represent one or two of three possible kingdoms, the Kingdom of God, the Kingdom of darkness, or the kingdom of self. Yes, we can and many of us do, operate in any or all of these kingdoms, but most likely we are operating in the kingdom of self. Surprisingly, the decisions we make in our own kingdom can look very similar to the kingdom of darkness
Let's be honest with ourselves here, even if we believe in God, we can create habits and go through life still making decisions on our own counsel. The problem with trusting our own guidance is that if we are making decisions that only feed my kingdom and not the Kingdom of God, we can create religion and even false idols in our lives that lead us into storms.
This is a small example: When we seek "things" in our lives that we think we need, or simply cannot live without, we can easily move into making decisions from the kingdom of self. In effect, this is covetousness, boiled down, we want because we see that others have. This is a potentially gray area folks, and I know we all want to be comfortable and of course God wants us to be happy and be able to provide for our families, right? This is only an example, just be careful when you are faced with these decisions that can cause you to be burdened with more debt.
Let's look at this as the church, and expand the example to involve the body of Christ. The ramifications are now very visible. When the people of the body of Christ burden themselves with mountains of things, and create debt filled idols, the entire church is now saddled with the burden. The available resources of God can so easily be wasted on useless projects or things that only bring glory to ourselves and not God. This is the warning.
If what we are doing, is tying up our time, resources and wealth in building up ourselves, we cannot possibly be available to God when He calls us out. We cannot "go" and "make disciples" when we are working two jobs and paying down three credit cards after all the Black Friday sales!
Listen people, I am just as guilty as the next believer when it comes to falling into this trap, and I know I can be tempted when it comes to buying that big Tundra truck! But, I refrain because I know the debt will burden me with a storm that I create! You may think the God wants you to have that "fill in the blank" but if you cannot afford it or you have to create a debt to get it, then it cannot possibly be God's will for you. He would never cause you to become burdened through His provision of anything! His provision always comes without strings, without burden! That's grace.
Please, folks...hear my heart on this: The body of Christ is far more effective at reaching and helping people when we ourselves are not burdened with the cares of the world. This is the whole point of Mathew 6:33. We cannot do what we should do as Christians, if we are saddled by the cares of the world, and when we try, we will struggle. When this happens we will always choose to do only what our time, and resources allow us to do.
Of course this is a process, first seeing who Jesus is, what He has done for you, and what He can do for you after you know Him. All of this works hand in hand as we go through each day of our lives...trusting that God brought us into the world and therefore He will keep us and provide for us.
Sometimes the storms of life are unavoidable, sometimes they are just too big to sail around. But know this, you do not have to continue to weather the storms alone; seek the Lord and His wisdom and He will guide you to the perfect center; the eye of the storm; the calming seas and His calming presence. Choose not the cares of the world, for the world is in the winds of the storm. Only in the perfect center will you sail smoothly. Within that center is the Lord, and He will endue you with wisdom, focus and direction for your life.
You only need to choose...
Blessings
Mike
How many of us can accurately say that we can live daily within our own respective bubbles, surrounded by our immediate world, but never see the perspective of what it is we are supposed to be doing? Think about it for just a minute...take a moment to look at your daily grind and try and step out of it for just a minute to visualize you as you go through each day. What are the things you do that make you shake your own head? Are you angry or short with those in your life? Are you trapped by a consuming addiction that tears holes in your life? Do you find you have little patience for others? Are there things going on daily that cause you to be distracted from the tasks most important? What are those tasks? Do you have all the tools to complete those tasks?
In most of our lives we tend to think we are the only ones who are enduring problems, especially when the problem is occurring; however, whatever they may be; we believe that we must be the only one who is in a storm.
Now of course we realize that not all of us are in storms all of the time. Storms of life come and go and there are times when you are in calm seas and no trials are coming at you.
This is a perspective I like to refer to as being in the Eye of the Storm. Like a hurricane, life can produce tremendous storm and winds with rain and sometimes even floods. These I liken to the problems that all of us can go through from time to time. At other times we find ourselves sailing through calm waters and clear skies, when life is good and all things seem to be going our way. In the eye of a hurricane, meteorologists constantly observe a calm pattern within the storm. Sometimes this "eye" is very large and other times it can be very small; with the intensity of the storm raging all around the eye.
Couple of points here: How often do you find yourself in the storm compared to how often you are in the eye?
Do you actively try and stay in the eye of the storm, or do you just drift along with the current, eventually ending up back in the storm?
Many times the storms of our lives of course are likely a result of the choices we make daily, choices that cause un-intended consequences for our lives; the repercussions for our decisions. I believe equally so, the choices we make also allow us to ride calmly through the eye of a storm.
So we can liken the eye of the storm as a perfect center for our lives, the place where we can sail along smoothly, at times we may veer off course and sail into choppy waters, but if we know where the perfect center is then we can find our way back to smoother waters.
Of course I am likening each of our lives to what the scriptures tell us to look for. That we must first seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Matt 6:33
These "things" referring to everything you need to live!
This is inherently the root of many of the problems that plague us; at any time we can represent one or two of three possible kingdoms, the Kingdom of God, the Kingdom of darkness, or the kingdom of self. Yes, we can and many of us do, operate in any or all of these kingdoms, but most likely we are operating in the kingdom of self. Surprisingly, the decisions we make in our own kingdom can look very similar to the kingdom of darkness
Let's be honest with ourselves here, even if we believe in God, we can create habits and go through life still making decisions on our own counsel. The problem with trusting our own guidance is that if we are making decisions that only feed my kingdom and not the Kingdom of God, we can create religion and even false idols in our lives that lead us into storms.
This is a small example: When we seek "things" in our lives that we think we need, or simply cannot live without, we can easily move into making decisions from the kingdom of self. In effect, this is covetousness, boiled down, we want because we see that others have. This is a potentially gray area folks, and I know we all want to be comfortable and of course God wants us to be happy and be able to provide for our families, right? This is only an example, just be careful when you are faced with these decisions that can cause you to be burdened with more debt.
Let's look at this as the church, and expand the example to involve the body of Christ. The ramifications are now very visible. When the people of the body of Christ burden themselves with mountains of things, and create debt filled idols, the entire church is now saddled with the burden. The available resources of God can so easily be wasted on useless projects or things that only bring glory to ourselves and not God. This is the warning.
If what we are doing, is tying up our time, resources and wealth in building up ourselves, we cannot possibly be available to God when He calls us out. We cannot "go" and "make disciples" when we are working two jobs and paying down three credit cards after all the Black Friday sales!
Listen people, I am just as guilty as the next believer when it comes to falling into this trap, and I know I can be tempted when it comes to buying that big Tundra truck! But, I refrain because I know the debt will burden me with a storm that I create! You may think the God wants you to have that "fill in the blank" but if you cannot afford it or you have to create a debt to get it, then it cannot possibly be God's will for you. He would never cause you to become burdened through His provision of anything! His provision always comes without strings, without burden! That's grace.
Please, folks...hear my heart on this: The body of Christ is far more effective at reaching and helping people when we ourselves are not burdened with the cares of the world. This is the whole point of Mathew 6:33. We cannot do what we should do as Christians, if we are saddled by the cares of the world, and when we try, we will struggle. When this happens we will always choose to do only what our time, and resources allow us to do.
Of course this is a process, first seeing who Jesus is, what He has done for you, and what He can do for you after you know Him. All of this works hand in hand as we go through each day of our lives...trusting that God brought us into the world and therefore He will keep us and provide for us.
Sometimes the storms of life are unavoidable, sometimes they are just too big to sail around. But know this, you do not have to continue to weather the storms alone; seek the Lord and His wisdom and He will guide you to the perfect center; the eye of the storm; the calming seas and His calming presence. Choose not the cares of the world, for the world is in the winds of the storm. Only in the perfect center will you sail smoothly. Within that center is the Lord, and He will endue you with wisdom, focus and direction for your life.
You only need to choose...
Blessings
Mike
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
What is the Measure of a Man?
This is an age old question that has been asked probably since the beginning of knowledge. However, the question cannot be answered without perspective, without an understanding of when mankind began. The almost endless debate will undoubtedly continue even after many proofs have been brought forward, discussed, argued over and then cast aside simply because of unbelief. Unbelief that we have all been created for a purpose, that each life has meaning and direction. The tragedy occurs when those who cannot wrap their minds around the thought of having a creator who has a purpose for mankind, blindly stand in defiance of the truth and will even seek other fantastical ideas in order to give themselves satisfaction for their lives. Too many have forgotten the past or have failed to look at the vast amounts of information gathered in libraries and universities that point mankind back toward a creator. The simple fact is that in the face of all the information mankind has created to fit his theories of evolution or the age of all things, there stands a consistent yet pervasive line of control weaving throughout our known timeline of existence. This line indicates that something is behind the scenes moving our environment in order to give us the world we as mankind can exist in and help to develop. Upon that line is an unprecedented number of believers who followed the precepts handed down by God from generation to generation. Sure there have been many who have fallen off of the line as they walked through life, even leading others astray as they fell.
There is also only one written authority that parallels the line from beginning to present day; The Bible. Of all the ancient writings that archaeology has uncovered, only the Bible remains the oldest and most consistent, verified manuscript, with proven documented events from our history. Other writings of course exist, but none to the graphic extent of the Bible. No other genealogy from any other nation at any other time has ever been written. The History of the Bible is pervasive from almost the beginning of mankind, with some of the writings dating back over three thousand years.
The non-believing world of today has stated that science will discover the true reasons behind the creation of everything and soon we will know why it all began. Simply because the rules of physics and mathematics are pure and can not change, therefore they have always existed. Ironically, the deeper man delves into the inner and outer workings of life and the universe, the more complex are the discoveries. This complexity is creating a mathematical problem for the "accidental creation" theorists. Science has looked deep into our own body only to discover we have so many working, moving parts, all working together in perfect harmony that the odds of our having come to being by "Accident" is a mathematical impossibility.
Science has already proven mathematically that the universe we live in and all that surrounds us cannot exist the way it does given the vast amounts of evidence pointing toward the creation a long time ago. That said they are all still speculating about ages of all things; it has been "assumed" that our world and our universe must be exceedingly old because it is so vast and rates of expansion create a large timeline for all things in the universe. However, these same scientists have also not answered the question of why all things exist. How did it all start and if it was a start as they surmise, then there must be a purpose to all of it. Science has also been unable to answer the question of why our relatively "short" existence as mankind on the earth has shown to be the most intelligent, creative, sentient species to have ever existed; that we know of. These same scientists cannot fit the evolution of man into the relatively large window of evolution, (origin of the species) given all the existing evidence so far. Mankind appears to have suddenly developed no more than 10,000 years ago; there of course are anomalies in this timeline, but suffice to say that there is simply not enough evidence to have man existing longer than this small period of time. There is no evidence of man running around on the earth forming himself into communities and building things prior to this point in history. Moreover, the development of language and writings appear at almost exactly the same time, with little to no evidence of development from no communication to immense vocabularies and differing types of language. All this in 10,00 years or less? This begs a huge philosophical question, "Mankind evolved from a beast unable to form words and communicate into the great thinker that he is today in the smallest evolutionary window compared to the age of all things?" This is essentially what stands between belief in a creator and belief in life having no purpose.
There then stands only two points of view, creation by a creator for a purpose, or existence by accident, we are just a chance happening.
There are no other choices in our short history: Mankind had suddenly appeared and assumed the top position on the ladder of life on earth when it is just as likely (mathematically) that any other species could have done so. However, mankind is so much further advanced than any other species, our own evolution stands as an anomaly to the very theories of man. We just don't fit the mold of evolution; we measure up much higher than anything else we know or have ever known.
So this is the question then," What is your measure?" "Why are you here?" "What do you believe?"
Why are so many opposed to seeking the truth for themselves to find purpose in their lives?
I believe that many are afraid to seek the truth, for knowing the absolute truth means we are not number one in each of our lives, for if we were created for a purpose, then something is bigger than we are: a lot bigger. Fear drives mankind into assuming he is on the top of the food chain, life becomes dog-eat-dog, we seek to become king of our world as we know it. Belief is what it is, you can choose to believe whatever you want, but if your belief leads you to a life with no purpose having come from an accidental beginning, a chance occurrence then I believe you are not looking at all the evidence. You are simply following the crowd, you are a lemming if you will. Doomed to live a life with no direction, no purpose, no fulfillment because you are following a lie. Ironically, those who are following the lie will say that I am following a lie; that there is no evidence of God in the world. They would say. "How can you believe in a God that allows so many of His people to suffer?" The fact of the matter is that all who are born will live and then die, how we choose to do so is what causes suffering. God also chooses indiscriminately whom He will take, both believer and non-believer, both child and adult. Yes I believe in a God that allows mankind to suffer, because that very same God also blesses me with life, and life more abundantly.
There is hope though, for the Measure of Man is to seek the Truth. When you seek the Truth you will find God. Once you understand then you will see your purpose; to deny the Truth is to deny yourself, of your very existence, of your very real purpose.
Blessings
Mike
There is also only one written authority that parallels the line from beginning to present day; The Bible. Of all the ancient writings that archaeology has uncovered, only the Bible remains the oldest and most consistent, verified manuscript, with proven documented events from our history. Other writings of course exist, but none to the graphic extent of the Bible. No other genealogy from any other nation at any other time has ever been written. The History of the Bible is pervasive from almost the beginning of mankind, with some of the writings dating back over three thousand years.
The non-believing world of today has stated that science will discover the true reasons behind the creation of everything and soon we will know why it all began. Simply because the rules of physics and mathematics are pure and can not change, therefore they have always existed. Ironically, the deeper man delves into the inner and outer workings of life and the universe, the more complex are the discoveries. This complexity is creating a mathematical problem for the "accidental creation" theorists. Science has looked deep into our own body only to discover we have so many working, moving parts, all working together in perfect harmony that the odds of our having come to being by "Accident" is a mathematical impossibility.
Science has already proven mathematically that the universe we live in and all that surrounds us cannot exist the way it does given the vast amounts of evidence pointing toward the creation a long time ago. That said they are all still speculating about ages of all things; it has been "assumed" that our world and our universe must be exceedingly old because it is so vast and rates of expansion create a large timeline for all things in the universe. However, these same scientists have also not answered the question of why all things exist. How did it all start and if it was a start as they surmise, then there must be a purpose to all of it. Science has also been unable to answer the question of why our relatively "short" existence as mankind on the earth has shown to be the most intelligent, creative, sentient species to have ever existed; that we know of. These same scientists cannot fit the evolution of man into the relatively large window of evolution, (origin of the species) given all the existing evidence so far. Mankind appears to have suddenly developed no more than 10,000 years ago; there of course are anomalies in this timeline, but suffice to say that there is simply not enough evidence to have man existing longer than this small period of time. There is no evidence of man running around on the earth forming himself into communities and building things prior to this point in history. Moreover, the development of language and writings appear at almost exactly the same time, with little to no evidence of development from no communication to immense vocabularies and differing types of language. All this in 10,00 years or less? This begs a huge philosophical question, "Mankind evolved from a beast unable to form words and communicate into the great thinker that he is today in the smallest evolutionary window compared to the age of all things?" This is essentially what stands between belief in a creator and belief in life having no purpose.
There then stands only two points of view, creation by a creator for a purpose, or existence by accident, we are just a chance happening.
There are no other choices in our short history: Mankind had suddenly appeared and assumed the top position on the ladder of life on earth when it is just as likely (mathematically) that any other species could have done so. However, mankind is so much further advanced than any other species, our own evolution stands as an anomaly to the very theories of man. We just don't fit the mold of evolution; we measure up much higher than anything else we know or have ever known.
So this is the question then," What is your measure?" "Why are you here?" "What do you believe?"
Why are so many opposed to seeking the truth for themselves to find purpose in their lives?
I believe that many are afraid to seek the truth, for knowing the absolute truth means we are not number one in each of our lives, for if we were created for a purpose, then something is bigger than we are: a lot bigger. Fear drives mankind into assuming he is on the top of the food chain, life becomes dog-eat-dog, we seek to become king of our world as we know it. Belief is what it is, you can choose to believe whatever you want, but if your belief leads you to a life with no purpose having come from an accidental beginning, a chance occurrence then I believe you are not looking at all the evidence. You are simply following the crowd, you are a lemming if you will. Doomed to live a life with no direction, no purpose, no fulfillment because you are following a lie. Ironically, those who are following the lie will say that I am following a lie; that there is no evidence of God in the world. They would say. "How can you believe in a God that allows so many of His people to suffer?" The fact of the matter is that all who are born will live and then die, how we choose to do so is what causes suffering. God also chooses indiscriminately whom He will take, both believer and non-believer, both child and adult. Yes I believe in a God that allows mankind to suffer, because that very same God also blesses me with life, and life more abundantly.
There is hope though, for the Measure of Man is to seek the Truth. When you seek the Truth you will find God. Once you understand then you will see your purpose; to deny the Truth is to deny yourself, of your very existence, of your very real purpose.
Blessings
Mike
Saturday, December 29, 2012
A Beautiful Beginning
One of the first things Laura and I noticed about the property we have built the guest house upon was the intense noise we immediately heard. It was the unmistakeable sounds of God. The day was hot when we first viewed the property in August of 2011, a hot, still day with nary a breeze to cool us. As we made out way onto the large plot of land which consisted of 9 parcels all nicely subdivided and ready for the builder, we could sense an overwhelming presence. It was an easy decision. We chose the most level of two lots side by side and entered into agreement with God; His will be done.
16 months later with the first stage of Rio Vista Mission House almost complete, we still sit in peaceful wonder each morning as He blesses us with His noise. His creation glistens in the morning light, everything coated in a thin but distinct layer of moisture, truly God's way of providing for all the little creatures that live in the trees and brush which completely surrounds our little enclave. The towering Caoba trees, some of which are over 200 years old, filter the light of the rising sun each day.
The bright globe sends beams of yellow light through the leaves and dances through the thousands of water laden spider webs in the nearby bushes. The first sounds of His creation reaches our ears as the birds of the sky begin their ceaseless twittering and whistling; I don't think I have ever seen an unhappy bird here.
Fully an hour we sit and watch and listen to the orchestra play, the Maestro in full control as He continually adds more and more to the convoluted and yet extremely intricate rhapsody of life. All of these things work together, only most of us take all of His creation entirely for granted, expecting that trees are just trees, plants are just plants, bugs and creeping things are better left unseen.
Each day we truly appreciate the splendor and noise of God's creation, for this is the noise that He meant all of us to hear, and then understand, and finally to give thanks.
In a few days we will all enter a New Year, a new page in our stories; how much time will you spend in the presence of the Lord in the year to come, or the following years? "Be still and know that I am God" All of creation around us shouts to humanity of the glory of God, a deafening roar from the sheer size of it all; created for us to enjoy, growing around us for each of us to explore. My God does not need to be proven for His existence for pointing out the obvious is entirely ridiculous. If you didn't know it already, your standing in it.
Our prayer for you in the coming year is that it be a prosperous year, full of blessings as you also promise to watch and listen more intentionally to the noise of God around your lives. If you find it difficult where you are because your lives are just "too busy", take a break from it, venture out into the sunlight and find a place where you too can hear the noise; and then bask in it.
So deafening, words hardly do Him any justice.
Bendiciones
Mike and Laura
16 months later with the first stage of Rio Vista Mission House almost complete, we still sit in peaceful wonder each morning as He blesses us with His noise. His creation glistens in the morning light, everything coated in a thin but distinct layer of moisture, truly God's way of providing for all the little creatures that live in the trees and brush which completely surrounds our little enclave. The towering Caoba trees, some of which are over 200 years old, filter the light of the rising sun each day.
The bright globe sends beams of yellow light through the leaves and dances through the thousands of water laden spider webs in the nearby bushes. The first sounds of His creation reaches our ears as the birds of the sky begin their ceaseless twittering and whistling; I don't think I have ever seen an unhappy bird here.
Fully an hour we sit and watch and listen to the orchestra play, the Maestro in full control as He continually adds more and more to the convoluted and yet extremely intricate rhapsody of life. All of these things work together, only most of us take all of His creation entirely for granted, expecting that trees are just trees, plants are just plants, bugs and creeping things are better left unseen.
Each day we truly appreciate the splendor and noise of God's creation, for this is the noise that He meant all of us to hear, and then understand, and finally to give thanks.
In a few days we will all enter a New Year, a new page in our stories; how much time will you spend in the presence of the Lord in the year to come, or the following years? "Be still and know that I am God" All of creation around us shouts to humanity of the glory of God, a deafening roar from the sheer size of it all; created for us to enjoy, growing around us for each of us to explore. My God does not need to be proven for His existence for pointing out the obvious is entirely ridiculous. If you didn't know it already, your standing in it.
Our prayer for you in the coming year is that it be a prosperous year, full of blessings as you also promise to watch and listen more intentionally to the noise of God around your lives. If you find it difficult where you are because your lives are just "too busy", take a break from it, venture out into the sunlight and find a place where you too can hear the noise; and then bask in it.
So deafening, words hardly do Him any justice.
Bendiciones
Mike and Laura
Sunday, November 11, 2012
Uncommon Valor
Hi everyone!
This has been on my heart for some time now and I think it is simply because the definition of Valor is so simple: Great Bravery
Combined these two words give us by definition:
A rare great bravery.
So just what makes "Uncommon Valor"?
Of course Hollywood gives it a definition as a bunch of mercenaries who journey back to Vietnam to rescue lost sons and fellow soldiers in in a film with Gene Hackman, Patrick Swayze, and a few other guys who show "Uncommon Valor" as they proceed into enemy territory and face an opposing army of bad guys with many guns and grenades. Of course they win in the end and rescue a couple of soldiers who were held prisoner against all odds, but not after exacting a tremendous amount of destruction and death upon the enemy; proving that this is "Uncommon Valor!" The title of the movie could have just as easily said "Uncommon Courage" or "The Strong Few". I guess "Uncommon Valor" sounds much more cool. Hollywood depicts "Uncommon Valor" as substance derived from the brotherhood of soldiers and never leaving one behind as the pervasive theme.
This view of course will get you a great "B" movie, but I think there is more to this.
There is another way to look at Uncommon Valor and I suspect that all of us already have this valuable characteristic we can use for each of our lives simply because not using it would mean a life that would miss what God intended for each of His children. So why is it that so many fail when it comes to using this Uncommon Valor? Is there something about this characteristic that seems to dwell inside us that is elusive to some yet readily available to others?
My perspective has to come from what I have seen with my own eyes, for I believe seeing is truly believing. The Word of God tells us to have Courage and Strength, which are synonomous words for Valor. Whether the word in the Bible is courage or courageous or even strong and strength (depending on the translation) we are instructed many times to use this quality for our lives as it is essential to overcome trials.
1 Cor 16:13-14
13 Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong.
NIV
Many of the writers of the Bible continually use these words as if the ability to use courage or be courageous is already contained within us. This inner courage or strength quality is somehow imprinted onto our souls right from birth, therefore it is inherent all the time; but what is the trigger that enables the characteristic to flourish?
The Apostle Paul talks about this "strength" within us as definitive within God, who's Spirit resides within us; and that it is by trusting in the Spirit of God in us through our trials that we become better at our lives.
2 Cor 12:7-10
7 And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. 8 Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. 9 And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
NKJV
So let me clarify this scripture, Paul tells us that strength is of the Lord and that this strength
is perfected during our trials. But we must use the Lord's strength through the trial in order to become stronger individuals.
However, Jesus said "My Grace is sufficient... for My Strength is made perfect in weakness." So then, what is Grace?
Rom 5:15-17
15 But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, (Adam) how much more did God's grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! 16 Again, the gift of God is not like the result of the one man's sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. 17 For by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.
NIV
It is the the knowledge that His strength is the Grace He gives us when we first turn to Him! That Grace is the gift of Salvation with Him! That with that Grace we are internally "empowered" with His Strength! This of course is the Holy Spirit, who now after our choice to accept Jesus, continually intercedes for us during our trials. It is when we tap into the power of the Holy Spirit within us that we can become triumphant through our trials by overcoming the trials we face with the Lord!
This has been on my heart for some time now and I think it is simply because the definition of Valor is so simple: Great Bravery
Combined these two words give us by definition:
A rare great bravery.
So just what makes "Uncommon Valor"?
Of course Hollywood gives it a definition as a bunch of mercenaries who journey back to Vietnam to rescue lost sons and fellow soldiers in in a film with Gene Hackman, Patrick Swayze, and a few other guys who show "Uncommon Valor" as they proceed into enemy territory and face an opposing army of bad guys with many guns and grenades. Of course they win in the end and rescue a couple of soldiers who were held prisoner against all odds, but not after exacting a tremendous amount of destruction and death upon the enemy; proving that this is "Uncommon Valor!" The title of the movie could have just as easily said "Uncommon Courage" or "The Strong Few". I guess "Uncommon Valor" sounds much more cool. Hollywood depicts "Uncommon Valor" as substance derived from the brotherhood of soldiers and never leaving one behind as the pervasive theme.
This view of course will get you a great "B" movie, but I think there is more to this.
There is another way to look at Uncommon Valor and I suspect that all of us already have this valuable characteristic we can use for each of our lives simply because not using it would mean a life that would miss what God intended for each of His children. So why is it that so many fail when it comes to using this Uncommon Valor? Is there something about this characteristic that seems to dwell inside us that is elusive to some yet readily available to others?
My perspective has to come from what I have seen with my own eyes, for I believe seeing is truly believing. The Word of God tells us to have Courage and Strength, which are synonomous words for Valor. Whether the word in the Bible is courage or courageous or even strong and strength (depending on the translation) we are instructed many times to use this quality for our lives as it is essential to overcome trials.
1 Cor 16:13-14
13 Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong.
NIV
Many of the writers of the Bible continually use these words as if the ability to use courage or be courageous is already contained within us. This inner courage or strength quality is somehow imprinted onto our souls right from birth, therefore it is inherent all the time; but what is the trigger that enables the characteristic to flourish?
The Apostle Paul talks about this "strength" within us as definitive within God, who's Spirit resides within us; and that it is by trusting in the Spirit of God in us through our trials that we become better at our lives.
2 Cor 12:7-10
7 And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. 8 Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. 9 And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
NKJV
So let me clarify this scripture, Paul tells us that strength is of the Lord and that this strength
is perfected during our trials. But we must use the Lord's strength through the trial in order to become stronger individuals.
However, Jesus said "My Grace is sufficient... for My Strength is made perfect in weakness." So then, what is Grace?
Rom 5:15-17
15 But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, (Adam) how much more did God's grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! 16 Again, the gift of God is not like the result of the one man's sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. 17 For by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.
NIV
It is the the knowledge that His strength is the Grace He gives us when we first turn to Him! That Grace is the gift of Salvation with Him! That with that Grace we are internally "empowered" with His Strength! This of course is the Holy Spirit, who now after our choice to accept Jesus, continually intercedes for us during our trials. It is when we tap into the power of the Holy Spirit within us that we can become triumphant through our trials by overcoming the trials we face with the Lord!
So, Grace extended to man from Jesus is Salvation and forgiveness for all of our sins. But you must believe first, then Grace can be given, but believe and it will be given. This then is the hope we all have for our lives. Once you receive this Grace you need not live in fear of any trial for with Grace we can live the potential lives we were meant to.
Walking through your life without having the Grace of Salvation causes us to falter and stumble when we encounter opposition or situations that give us fear. You need to know that the lack of using the courage we have already been given means we may never find what it is God has for each of us and the lives we have been given to live. Each of us is confronted daily with trial and challenge and too many run and hide from challenge because we fail to use the courage God gave us to begin with.
Paul tells us very clearly, that we must have the Grace of God (which is the hope of Jesus) in us in order to overcome these trials. That the Grace of Jesus, our Lord is sufficient and with it, by accepting Him, you can overcome all trials.
Now none of this explains why some can have powerful strength and courage while others cower in fear. What is it that represses the courage in each of us? It started with the first man and woman,
"Gen 3:6-10
6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.
8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the LORD God called to the man, "Where are you?"
10 He answered, "I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid."
NIV
Sin first entered mankind when Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, fear captured their hearts and took over their minds. They fell victim to the consequence of the new sin in their lives and allowed the shame of their sin to control their actions. Embarrassed and afraid for their actions and what the Lord might do to them, they hid from Him. Of course the banishment from Eden and the subsequent journey of mankind to today has been up and down for all people; born into the sin of Adam and now having to suffer the consequences of the sin. Fear is a consequence of sin, when we sin, either by choice or inadvertently, we sometimes condemn ourselves to shame and embarrasment. Just as Satan lured Eve to the sin, the same exists for each of us. When we sin Satan laughs gleefully as we fumble through our lives afraid of everything and anything.
Paul tells us very clearly, that we must have the Grace of God (which is the hope of Jesus) in us in order to overcome these trials. That the Grace of Jesus, our Lord is sufficient and with it, by accepting Him, you can overcome all trials.
Now none of this explains why some can have powerful strength and courage while others cower in fear. What is it that represses the courage in each of us? It started with the first man and woman,
"Gen 3:6-10
6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.
8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the LORD God called to the man, "Where are you?"
10 He answered, "I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid."
NIV
Sin first entered mankind when Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, fear captured their hearts and took over their minds. They fell victim to the consequence of the new sin in their lives and allowed the shame of their sin to control their actions. Embarrassed and afraid for their actions and what the Lord might do to them, they hid from Him. Of course the banishment from Eden and the subsequent journey of mankind to today has been up and down for all people; born into the sin of Adam and now having to suffer the consequences of the sin. Fear is a consequence of sin, when we sin, either by choice or inadvertently, we sometimes condemn ourselves to shame and embarrasment. Just as Satan lured Eve to the sin, the same exists for each of us. When we sin Satan laughs gleefully as we fumble through our lives afraid of everything and anything.
It makes perfect sense when you look at your life from this perspective. How will you know what you should do with your life? Too many complain about their trials and are too afraid to stand and face them, or are beaten down so much they cannot take it anymore. Many just turn and run thinking it is easier to run away and hide, hoping you won't have to deal with them. When in fact it is through the trial that we endure, by using the courage and strength of God within us that we become ever stronger. Daily overcoming with God creates stronger people, stronger community, and a stronger world!
Every time we run and hide from the trial we are accepting a lie that we cannot overcome it, the lie that says we don't have the strength to overcome the trial, the lie that cannot come from God but comes directly from His enemy. Satan is mankind's enemy and I will give him credence anymore, not now, not ever; neither should you.
So this is it, this is where the rubber meets the road for mankind; how many will continue to hide in fear because they lack the faith to trust their inner courage and how many will go through their trials with courage and strength, bearing witness to the truth as you overcome.
Let us totally understand this Courage, this Strength, this Uncommon Valor; it is not Uncommon at all; for it is the Grace of God that we are given this gift.
All have it available to them, few choose to see it today; just look around you at the fallen world, full of fearful people. Afraid of their own shadows.
Don't be afraid anymore, for you have the choice to take on the strength of the Lord within you, to be able to use the courage you have been given; if only you would only believe.
John 3:18
18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.
NIV
Believe, receive the Grace of Salvation and with it the power of the Spirit of God in you, face your trials, endure and overcome, and be changed from within for the rest of your life.
So there you have it, only with the Spirit of God can you really overcome all your adversities, don't believe that stuff you see on T.V. about courage and valor; that's just Hollywood.
18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.
NIV
Believe, receive the Grace of Salvation and with it the power of the Spirit of God in you, face your trials, endure and overcome, and be changed from within for the rest of your life.
So there you have it, only with the Spirit of God can you really overcome all your adversities, don't believe that stuff you see on T.V. about courage and valor; that's just Hollywood.
Bendiciones
Michael
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
We are so small....
In the big picture of the History of the world, each of us could feasibly consider that we could not possibly play a significant part in the whole scheme of things. A little perspective is required here:
-you are one person alive in a sea of over 7 Billion other people on earth
-since the dawn of recorded mankind science estimates that over 110 Billion people have lived and died since creation, more or less, I am not sure if this is right as it is only an assumption based on the age of fossil discoveries
-our planet is one planet in our solar system that is part of a larger system we call the Milky Way. This system is only a part of a much larger Universe which surrounds our system. The Milky Way in perspective contains millions of stars similar to our sun and likely those stars have planets that rotate around them. This creates a huge potential number of planets in the known Universe. Moreover, other systems of planets exist in our visible Universe besides the Milky Way. This means we are part of a system which contains literally billions of stars and planets, not to mention the uncountable numbers of satellites and moons.
So what is my point?
Science today has tried to speculate as to how everything was formed, in doing so man has also speculated as to how we came to be alive; as in how everything came alive! But folks this is the kicker:
The one thing science and mathematics cannot tell anyone of us is "Why?" anything was created at all.
You see the scientists have formulated many hypothesis over time using visible evidence of the Universe and mathematics and then proposed many theories. The most popular theory today is that our Universe and all that is in it are a result of some cosmic accident over 14 Billion years ago that set in motion the expanding of the known Universe and then the random creation of planets and stars; the "Big Bang". With the then random start of life from lifelessness, and the subsequent expansion of life and progress of the development of higher order species evolving from single cell organisms into humanity and a million different species of life so different from each other it still boggles the mind.
Now if you believe that everything is here around us, on our planet, in our solar system, in our Universe is the result of a cosmic accident you still have no answer as to "Why?" anything happened at all! Think about it, what can cause a giant spark to happen in a big empty space of nothing,(which by the way defies all logic and known laws of physics surrounding fire). Even then after this "Big Bang" happens which was caused by nothing and with nothing for no purpose other than to expand a bunch of nothing into a whole bunch of planets and stars which a spinning around and around each other for millions of years growing farther apart with no end in sight. Really? I mean Really?
Interesting point here, some of these scientists and physicists are beginning to look at the evidence and are also seeing the problem they have created with the theory. I'll explain...The theory states that everything started way back when with some sort of massive explosion, some form of spontaneous combustion of an unbelievably large pile of all the elements needed to create everything. The Big Bang Theory estimates that all the stuff that makes up our Universe existed at some point as a large pile of matter, unformed and non-responsive to any of the known laws of physics (This is just a guess of course) Then something, caused the explosion which forced all the matter in the Universe to expand away from this one central point in space, expanding away, forming into planets and stars, moons and satellites, rivers and oceans, amoebas and elephants, dogs and cats, people and chimps.
I have a headache.
This is what happens when man falls away from the truth, he creates such a complicated lie and continues to build on it so that by the end of the story (I'm sure we are not there yet) it sounds like science fiction instead of truth.
There of course is another theory.
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Genesis 1:1
The evidence for this is right within each of us, after all, there is no other species running around trying to figure out how all of this came about. Only man has the ability to reason out details which God himself has exposed to us for us to discern. Our fathers all trusted God since the dawn of recorded History. Oh sure, many of our fathers never even walked the path of God trusting Him to guide their lives, this is evidenced by the destructive nature of mankind. Our History is still vibrating with the cataclysmic nature of our wars and battles between ourselves, usually over nothing but pride or greed. Today some of us have continued to stray so far away from God and His truths that we would believe a lie created by ourselves and compound that lie generation after generation with more speculation as to how we came to be. Only to get to discover that your lie has a flaw..."Something had to create all the elements that make up the Universe?"
I like my theory better....much easier, not simple mind you....you should try it.
Go ahead...I dare you.
Michael
-you are one person alive in a sea of over 7 Billion other people on earth
-since the dawn of recorded mankind science estimates that over 110 Billion people have lived and died since creation, more or less, I am not sure if this is right as it is only an assumption based on the age of fossil discoveries
-our planet is one planet in our solar system that is part of a larger system we call the Milky Way. This system is only a part of a much larger Universe which surrounds our system. The Milky Way in perspective contains millions of stars similar to our sun and likely those stars have planets that rotate around them. This creates a huge potential number of planets in the known Universe. Moreover, other systems of planets exist in our visible Universe besides the Milky Way. This means we are part of a system which contains literally billions of stars and planets, not to mention the uncountable numbers of satellites and moons.
So what is my point?
Science today has tried to speculate as to how everything was formed, in doing so man has also speculated as to how we came to be alive; as in how everything came alive! But folks this is the kicker:
The one thing science and mathematics cannot tell anyone of us is "Why?" anything was created at all.
You see the scientists have formulated many hypothesis over time using visible evidence of the Universe and mathematics and then proposed many theories. The most popular theory today is that our Universe and all that is in it are a result of some cosmic accident over 14 Billion years ago that set in motion the expanding of the known Universe and then the random creation of planets and stars; the "Big Bang". With the then random start of life from lifelessness, and the subsequent expansion of life and progress of the development of higher order species evolving from single cell organisms into humanity and a million different species of life so different from each other it still boggles the mind.
Now if you believe that everything is here around us, on our planet, in our solar system, in our Universe is the result of a cosmic accident you still have no answer as to "Why?" anything happened at all! Think about it, what can cause a giant spark to happen in a big empty space of nothing,(which by the way defies all logic and known laws of physics surrounding fire). Even then after this "Big Bang" happens which was caused by nothing and with nothing for no purpose other than to expand a bunch of nothing into a whole bunch of planets and stars which a spinning around and around each other for millions of years growing farther apart with no end in sight. Really? I mean Really?
Interesting point here, some of these scientists and physicists are beginning to look at the evidence and are also seeing the problem they have created with the theory. I'll explain...The theory states that everything started way back when with some sort of massive explosion, some form of spontaneous combustion of an unbelievably large pile of all the elements needed to create everything. The Big Bang Theory estimates that all the stuff that makes up our Universe existed at some point as a large pile of matter, unformed and non-responsive to any of the known laws of physics (This is just a guess of course) Then something, caused the explosion which forced all the matter in the Universe to expand away from this one central point in space, expanding away, forming into planets and stars, moons and satellites, rivers and oceans, amoebas and elephants, dogs and cats, people and chimps.
I have a headache.
This is what happens when man falls away from the truth, he creates such a complicated lie and continues to build on it so that by the end of the story (I'm sure we are not there yet) it sounds like science fiction instead of truth.
There of course is another theory.
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Genesis 1:1
The evidence for this is right within each of us, after all, there is no other species running around trying to figure out how all of this came about. Only man has the ability to reason out details which God himself has exposed to us for us to discern. Our fathers all trusted God since the dawn of recorded History. Oh sure, many of our fathers never even walked the path of God trusting Him to guide their lives, this is evidenced by the destructive nature of mankind. Our History is still vibrating with the cataclysmic nature of our wars and battles between ourselves, usually over nothing but pride or greed. Today some of us have continued to stray so far away from God and His truths that we would believe a lie created by ourselves and compound that lie generation after generation with more speculation as to how we came to be. Only to get to discover that your lie has a flaw..."Something had to create all the elements that make up the Universe?"
I like my theory better....much easier, not simple mind you....you should try it.
Go ahead...I dare you.
Michael
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
What am I doing here?
A few weeks ago I posted a blog that detailed some of the people we are helping as we continue to build our Mission Guest House in Sosua. Last night it happened again.
While working at 3 Amigos, a good customer of ours came in again after a brief time away. Most of our customers are transient as they may live in other countries but travel back and forth to the D.R. for work.
In this case this man is Canadian but was born in Haiti 50 years ago to the parents of Missionaries who worked with the poor for over 30 years in that country. Turns out this fellow is also a Christian having been raised up to trust God with his life. For the past few years he and his wife have been bringing teams down to the island to work in a big city on the North Coast of Haiti. Cap Haitien is not far from us, about 6 hours by car and is almost 200,000 people; most of whom are extremely poor.
But this is not the story I want to tell you about. Although the work he and his wife are doing is good and provides better standards of life for many, the story today is about a more personal sacrifice he and his family have made.
Last night, this man whom I hardly know other than our kindred Spirit of God, shared with me the events of the past six weeks. His son of only 27 years suddenly passed away in Canada late in July. After a police investigation and subsequent autopsy it was determined a "natural" death. Meanwhile the parents had now buried their son, and without answers from the authorities as to what happened, tried to pick up their lives.
As I listened to this man share his story about his son, I was overwhelmed with the sense of love and concern he had for all of those affected by this seemingly senseless death of a young man. His concern was stated emphatically that he cared only for his immediate family; his wife, ex-wife, other sons and relatives who did not all have a solid footing in God.
I have also experienced close death in my family but I have never lost my son, which I would feel would be extremely close and absolutely unfair. So what grounds a person into accepting this tragedy? How is it that some can cope and others flee towards medication or worse yet; place the blame entirely on God?
The fact is more than 250,000 people die each and every day all over the world. These statistics are real, most of them dying from natural causes, but many die with question marks attached to them.
Too many people have queried, "Why did you take my son God?" "Why my wife Lord?" "Why me?"
This is probably the toughest subject to deal with from a perspective of Faith, but I have to give it a go because I do not believe in coincidence. God places people in your path for a reason, either they are there to feed into your life or you are there to feed into their's. One or the other.
This is probably one of the most debated topics about God ever since man began dying.
It is very difficult to put in perspective if you do not know God, if you do not have a foundation in how He operates with us as His children. Because we know this truth, "And we know that God makes all things work together for good for those who love God, for those who are called according to His purpose." (Rom 8:28) NKJV
I fully realize the difficulty of losing a loved family member, having lost my father last year. I do understand that losing your first-born son could be worse, that just maybe it might hurt a bit more. I propose to you that although it seems unfair to you at the time, you should not blame God for "taking" what you loved, the son you raised or the daughter you cherished. This is a truth for each of us who is born; we will live, then we will die.
The real tragedy occurs when people do not accept this axiom of truth about our lives and begin to destroy their own lives as a result of losing a loved one.
You may not all believe in God today, but I would suggest to you that if you find yourself in the same shoes as this man who shared with me about his loss, look at the life that was in your son or daughter. Celebrate the life that was, mourn for a time, for Jesus tells us we will be comforted. (Matt 5:4) NIV
I hope and pray that none of you who read this would ever have to endure the loss of your son or daughter. As the saying goes, There except by the grace of God go I.
I pray that your foundations are grounded in the Faith of the truth, that you would trust Him to live your lives to the fullest so that when the inevitable end comes for the flesh to die you might be ready to see.
None of knows how long we are given to live for this is also a truth of God,
James 4:14
14 whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.
NKJV
Laura and I are nothing special to what we believe we have been called to do here in the D.R. We have simply come as we are, trusting that we might be used mightily to give some people any reason to see the good of God for our lives. It is almost daily that someone new comes into our lives and all we do is listen to them as they pour out their hearts and hurts in front of perfect strangers.
But are we really strangers? Are we so far apart from each other that many do not have someone to share our hurts and concerns with?
The community of mankind is supposed to be like this, the Kingdom of God is bearing one another's burdens when we can. But the greatest truth to Faith is trusting Jesus as He tells us,
Matt 11:28-30
28 "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."
NIV
While working at 3 Amigos, a good customer of ours came in again after a brief time away. Most of our customers are transient as they may live in other countries but travel back and forth to the D.R. for work.
In this case this man is Canadian but was born in Haiti 50 years ago to the parents of Missionaries who worked with the poor for over 30 years in that country. Turns out this fellow is also a Christian having been raised up to trust God with his life. For the past few years he and his wife have been bringing teams down to the island to work in a big city on the North Coast of Haiti. Cap Haitien is not far from us, about 6 hours by car and is almost 200,000 people; most of whom are extremely poor.
But this is not the story I want to tell you about. Although the work he and his wife are doing is good and provides better standards of life for many, the story today is about a more personal sacrifice he and his family have made.
Last night, this man whom I hardly know other than our kindred Spirit of God, shared with me the events of the past six weeks. His son of only 27 years suddenly passed away in Canada late in July. After a police investigation and subsequent autopsy it was determined a "natural" death. Meanwhile the parents had now buried their son, and without answers from the authorities as to what happened, tried to pick up their lives.
As I listened to this man share his story about his son, I was overwhelmed with the sense of love and concern he had for all of those affected by this seemingly senseless death of a young man. His concern was stated emphatically that he cared only for his immediate family; his wife, ex-wife, other sons and relatives who did not all have a solid footing in God.
I have also experienced close death in my family but I have never lost my son, which I would feel would be extremely close and absolutely unfair. So what grounds a person into accepting this tragedy? How is it that some can cope and others flee towards medication or worse yet; place the blame entirely on God?
The fact is more than 250,000 people die each and every day all over the world. These statistics are real, most of them dying from natural causes, but many die with question marks attached to them.
Too many people have queried, "Why did you take my son God?" "Why my wife Lord?" "Why me?"
This is probably the toughest subject to deal with from a perspective of Faith, but I have to give it a go because I do not believe in coincidence. God places people in your path for a reason, either they are there to feed into your life or you are there to feed into their's. One or the other.
This is probably one of the most debated topics about God ever since man began dying.
It is very difficult to put in perspective if you do not know God, if you do not have a foundation in how He operates with us as His children. Because we know this truth, "And we know that God makes all things work together for good for those who love God, for those who are called according to His purpose." (Rom 8:28) NKJV
I fully realize the difficulty of losing a loved family member, having lost my father last year. I do understand that losing your first-born son could be worse, that just maybe it might hurt a bit more. I propose to you that although it seems unfair to you at the time, you should not blame God for "taking" what you loved, the son you raised or the daughter you cherished. This is a truth for each of us who is born; we will live, then we will die.
The real tragedy occurs when people do not accept this axiom of truth about our lives and begin to destroy their own lives as a result of losing a loved one.
You may not all believe in God today, but I would suggest to you that if you find yourself in the same shoes as this man who shared with me about his loss, look at the life that was in your son or daughter. Celebrate the life that was, mourn for a time, for Jesus tells us we will be comforted. (Matt 5:4) NIV
I hope and pray that none of you who read this would ever have to endure the loss of your son or daughter. As the saying goes, There except by the grace of God go I.
I pray that your foundations are grounded in the Faith of the truth, that you would trust Him to live your lives to the fullest so that when the inevitable end comes for the flesh to die you might be ready to see.
None of knows how long we are given to live for this is also a truth of God,
James 4:14
14 whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.
NKJV
Laura and I are nothing special to what we believe we have been called to do here in the D.R. We have simply come as we are, trusting that we might be used mightily to give some people any reason to see the good of God for our lives. It is almost daily that someone new comes into our lives and all we do is listen to them as they pour out their hearts and hurts in front of perfect strangers.
But are we really strangers? Are we so far apart from each other that many do not have someone to share our hurts and concerns with?
The community of mankind is supposed to be like this, the Kingdom of God is bearing one another's burdens when we can. But the greatest truth to Faith is trusting Jesus as He tells us,
Matt 11:28-30
28 "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."
NIV
Bless you all
Michael
Sunday, August 12, 2012
The Real God Market (4) The Indomitable Spirit
Greetings all again from the sunny D.R!
Indomitable Spirit: a spirit that cannot be subdued or overcome...Urban Dictionary
Two days ago I took my wife to the airport and put her on a plane bound for home. She returned home to be with our oldest daughter who is set to give birth to our first grandchild! Truly a momentous occasion for any family for the gift of a child is a blessing we are expected to enjoy; to celebrate as best we can with all the circumstances of our busy lives getting put on hold when birth occurs. At least for most of us.
While the gift of the birth of a child is a gift to the parents who conceived the child it is interesting to note that within that conception reigns a furious debate over just what it is that causes life to start. You see today scientific advancements have allowed man to look deep into the inner happenings of cellular development of all kinds of animals including humans but something mysterious still eludes the scientists.
WHAT starts the life of an animal or human and for that matter WHY?
Scientists have recently viewed cellular development of embryos with the aid of strong microscopes, and in "real Time" as it happens and they still have no answer as to What causes life to occur.
They speculate that the combination of the thousands upon thousands of cells forming in different ways and are triggered into development by many other factors, far too many factors for the average person to get their head around. But even as the scientists watch all this happen right in front of their eyes, they do not know why the heart begins to beat in our bodies. They cannot scientifically figure out what starts the life of an embryo. We know this because science cannot create life in the lab for surely they are trying.
Of course believers know the answer but we need not consume our lives with trying to understand the HOW.
Mainstream science has classically demonstrated the conundrum of trying to prove that all life is a product of one accident after another, and that we are the result of course of millions of years of evolution as one prior species develops into the next. Through scientific investigation man has determined that the odds of life today, in any form, whether it be a simple plant to the complex human, these odds are so astronomically impossible that there has to be something behind it all. Something has to be manipulating the experiment in order for life to have occurred. Science has shown that Mathematics cannot be incorrect, therefore their solution of the creation of life to be an accident is mathematically impossible. However the scientists of today are not yet ready to abandon their theories yet, for to abandon them would mean they would have to admit that God definitively exists. Or at least something like God.
Do any of you see the irony here?
Life is a gift, the life of a child conceived by parents is a blessing. But each parent provides only the physical evidence required to start life, the two cells that come together and join in a miracle that even science has no answer for. Once those first two cells join and begin to double and double again, the point where life enters is an equally bigger mystery. Somewhere between conception and the first heartbeat a greater thing is applied; something bigger than science can explain. Bigger because Spirit is infinite, without form, and without time. It has to be Spirit because man has already examined and determined all the chemicals, all the amino acids that make up DNA, all the chromosomes of DNA that determine hair color, height, eye color, skin color and shoe size for that matter. The trigger is still missing from science. There are no wires connected to each embryo to some invisible minute battery inside every mother that somehow "jump-starts" the heart.
Life happens because God touches each embryo with His Indomitable Spirit, His Spirit that He places inside each one of us; His Spirit that touches everything alive in our world around us; His Spirit that then stays only with humanity after life begins. We know this because humans are the only sentient species on the earth, the only species that can reason and produce results from reason. His Spirit stays within because this is the only way God can talk to us, through His Spirit within us.
C'mon you scientists, when are you going to admit that there is no solution other than God? The Philosophy of Logic dictates that there can only be one solution to life, because even logic dictates that all life starts in some way, but it all starts!
Rest assured that science will likely continue to ignore the obvious truth and press on looking for the needle in the hay stack. As for me and my family, we will enjoy the blessing that God has given us in the gift of our grand-daughter. Liliko Geyer/McMullen will be born soon, (Due on August 16, 2012) and will already be filled with the Indomitable Spirit of God within her. May the Indomitable Spirit continue to inspire her, encourage her and empower her to be all that God has willed for her; for this is the truth of WHY we have life, since the Indomitable Spirit of God has most certainly touched all of us first, for you are alive with the same Indomitable Spirit as well.
Abuelo Michael
Indomitable Spirit: a spirit that cannot be subdued or overcome...Urban Dictionary
Two days ago I took my wife to the airport and put her on a plane bound for home. She returned home to be with our oldest daughter who is set to give birth to our first grandchild! Truly a momentous occasion for any family for the gift of a child is a blessing we are expected to enjoy; to celebrate as best we can with all the circumstances of our busy lives getting put on hold when birth occurs. At least for most of us.
While the gift of the birth of a child is a gift to the parents who conceived the child it is interesting to note that within that conception reigns a furious debate over just what it is that causes life to start. You see today scientific advancements have allowed man to look deep into the inner happenings of cellular development of all kinds of animals including humans but something mysterious still eludes the scientists.
WHAT starts the life of an animal or human and for that matter WHY?
Scientists have recently viewed cellular development of embryos with the aid of strong microscopes, and in "real Time" as it happens and they still have no answer as to What causes life to occur.
They speculate that the combination of the thousands upon thousands of cells forming in different ways and are triggered into development by many other factors, far too many factors for the average person to get their head around. But even as the scientists watch all this happen right in front of their eyes, they do not know why the heart begins to beat in our bodies. They cannot scientifically figure out what starts the life of an embryo. We know this because science cannot create life in the lab for surely they are trying.
Of course believers know the answer but we need not consume our lives with trying to understand the HOW.
Mainstream science has classically demonstrated the conundrum of trying to prove that all life is a product of one accident after another, and that we are the result of course of millions of years of evolution as one prior species develops into the next. Through scientific investigation man has determined that the odds of life today, in any form, whether it be a simple plant to the complex human, these odds are so astronomically impossible that there has to be something behind it all. Something has to be manipulating the experiment in order for life to have occurred. Science has shown that Mathematics cannot be incorrect, therefore their solution of the creation of life to be an accident is mathematically impossible. However the scientists of today are not yet ready to abandon their theories yet, for to abandon them would mean they would have to admit that God definitively exists. Or at least something like God.
Do any of you see the irony here?
Life is a gift, the life of a child conceived by parents is a blessing. But each parent provides only the physical evidence required to start life, the two cells that come together and join in a miracle that even science has no answer for. Once those first two cells join and begin to double and double again, the point where life enters is an equally bigger mystery. Somewhere between conception and the first heartbeat a greater thing is applied; something bigger than science can explain. Bigger because Spirit is infinite, without form, and without time. It has to be Spirit because man has already examined and determined all the chemicals, all the amino acids that make up DNA, all the chromosomes of DNA that determine hair color, height, eye color, skin color and shoe size for that matter. The trigger is still missing from science. There are no wires connected to each embryo to some invisible minute battery inside every mother that somehow "jump-starts" the heart.
Life happens because God touches each embryo with His Indomitable Spirit, His Spirit that He places inside each one of us; His Spirit that touches everything alive in our world around us; His Spirit that then stays only with humanity after life begins. We know this because humans are the only sentient species on the earth, the only species that can reason and produce results from reason. His Spirit stays within because this is the only way God can talk to us, through His Spirit within us.
C'mon you scientists, when are you going to admit that there is no solution other than God? The Philosophy of Logic dictates that there can only be one solution to life, because even logic dictates that all life starts in some way, but it all starts!
Rest assured that science will likely continue to ignore the obvious truth and press on looking for the needle in the hay stack. As for me and my family, we will enjoy the blessing that God has given us in the gift of our grand-daughter. Liliko Geyer/McMullen will be born soon, (Due on August 16, 2012) and will already be filled with the Indomitable Spirit of God within her. May the Indomitable Spirit continue to inspire her, encourage her and empower her to be all that God has willed for her; for this is the truth of WHY we have life, since the Indomitable Spirit of God has most certainly touched all of us first, for you are alive with the same Indomitable Spirit as well.
Abuelo Michael
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