Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Will, heaven, and earth.

Here is something that completely hit me today...
"thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven"

That is so powerful, because it shows us how we should be thinking.

Yet the world we live in is so much the opposite of that. So backwards. I've heard (hell, I used to say) things like "i dont think God would send someone good to hell, I dont think hitler deserves to go to heaven." I've also heard things like "God wouldn't hate this" or "He wouldn't have anything against that."

Well, how do you know? Did you ask him? The way most of the world things nowadays is this way, and just let it sink in for a minute...
"my will be done, on heaven as it is on earth"
Wow! In general, people think they can dictate what God does or doesn't like; how He can or can't act; what he would or wouldn't do...

And yet God Himself said that our righteousness is as filthy rags to Him.

more on that later...

Saturday, December 26, 2009

Jesus lived, Jesus wept, Jesus died...

Throughout the ages, people has screamed at God, they're souls cried out to Him, "Where are you? Can you even see us? Who do you think you are, you have no idea whats going on down here! You can't see what I'm seeing, you can't feel what I'm feeling, you don't experience what I experience!"

But during Jesus' time, there was a hush in the bible. An almost serene quietness as creation in all its glory and pain held its breath as it experienced God entering the world as a human.

A baby boy, screaming for his mothers warmth and milk.
A little boy learning to crawl, walk, speak, potty.
A teenager going through the hormonal changes, maybe pimples, boredom, learning the customs.
A young man learning a trade, banging his thumb with a hammer, learning one step at a time.
An adult experiencing grief at a death of a friend, pain at the journey of a nation, the joy of watching children.
A man wronged, cheated, hurt, betrayed, tortured, and executed.

The God of the universe became human, and we no longer have an out by screaming at Him our frustration at His lack of empathy. Out of love for us he became one of us, so he could experience what we experience, hurt like we hurt, see like we see, love like we love, grieve like we grieve, and die like we die.

He came back to life, and because He is God, he is outside of time. That means he still knows exactly how we feel, exactly what we experience, exactly how we ache, exactly how we cry, exactly how we struggle and tire. All the time.

Jesus died for you? Jesus lived for you!

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Where do we live?

If I were living in Indonesia, how would things be different?
Would I still watch as many movies as I do?
What would I do with my days? Would I be studying? Working?

Where do we live that we can spend so  much time doing nothing? Why do we think we have the right to waste this time that we have?

Sunday, December 20, 2009

The kindness of not so strangers...

I don't know about you, but I get a little more embarrased when someone I know does something nice for me, than if it was a stranger. I think to myself, "would I do that for someone else?" I also think, "why do I deserve this?"

I guess it doesn't matter whether I deserve it or not, it was offered out of generosity. Last Tuesday I was at Tony's house for homegroup, a man I've only ever said hello to before that night. I non-chalantly mentioned that I'd started a new business, and next thing I know I'm on the phone to one of his friends talking about his website. At the end of the night he took a whole bunch of business cards for me. What a blessing.

Today Loraine offered to make me a home cooked meal. I didnt know what to say. The Moultons envited me to Christmas lunch, and so did the Joiners.

As I look back over 2009, I can see a lot of times when those people around me where there for me when I needed a shoulder to lean on and an ear to listen. The kindness of strangers is all well and good, but its those that are closer to you that are the real blessings.