I was watching the backstory to the song Shaken by Hawk Nelson on youtube. Near the end of the story, Jason (the lead singer) said "millions of dollars have been poured into this [earthquake relief of Haiti] but a million dollars doesn't move rubble and thousands of pounds of rock."
I could write a thousand words about how deeply that statement affects me and makes me reflect upon my own choices and life, but I won't. I'll just leave you with this:
What are you personally doing to remove the rubble from the lives of those around you?
22 April 2011
21 April 2011
My Hero
Growing up, I had a younger sister just far enough away in age that I found her not worth my time. Not in a "I'm better than you" way, but the typical "I'm 5, you're still a baby, I don't like you yet" way. I also had a brother close enough in age, and facial features, that we could lie and say we were fraternal twins. These were the two that I grew up with, but neither were my heros or one I confided in. That role belonged to my eldest brother.
He was 13 years older than myself and, from my perspective, he was an infallible savior. He didn't grow up with me, but somehow my brother captivated my attention. Whatever he did, I wanted to do, no matter how improbable or illogical. Whatever he thought, I tended to think. Wherever he went, whatever he experienced, I always felt the need to follow. I knew he would never steer me wrong. And as I grew in stature and wisdom, I realized he was someone I could go to for advice on real world situations.
Last weekend, he and I were driving back to our hometown from Louisville. We had driven separately, as we had come from two different parts of the state, and naturally I followed behind him on the way back. During the two hour drive, there was a treacherous rainstorm that we ran head-on into. At times, I could see nothing at all, for all of the rain pounding so hard on my windshield. The only thing I could do was barely make out the outline of his car in front of me. Whenever he switched lanes, I switched lanes; whenever he braked, I braked; when he increased speed, I did the same. I knew that as long as I did exactly as my brother silently instructed, I would be safe. I would get home just fine, whether I could see anything else or not.
I thought about all of this as we neared our city and the rain eased up. The worst was over, we were safe, and all was well. I thought about how the way I loved, trusted, and sought wisdom from my brother was exactly how God wanted me to chase after Him. God wants my complete affections. He wants me to follow Him with the same trusting faith I have in my brother. He wants me to fully know that if I follow Him and His law of Love, that I'll come out of the storm perfectly safe. He wants my silly stories, my mess-ups, my broken-hearts, my laughter, my thoughts. He wants to share on my adventures, to be my guide, to be my wisdom, to be my Savior. My God wants me. Passionately, unreservedly, unrelentingly. It's so crazy to me that as much as I adore my brother, God's affections for me are so much greater.
My brother taught me to be a leader, to be a social chameleon, to be facetious. He loves me even when I do terrible things. He picks me up when I cry. He guides me out of messes. But how much more so does my God want to be that driving force in my life? I love God, I really do, but sometimes, I fail to put Him where He belongs in my life.
Yahweh, thank You so much for my brother and all he's taught me and done for me. I've been so blessed to know him. But Adonai, please forgive me for, at times, putting him on the pedestal where only You belong. Continue to show me what it means to follow You wholeheartedly and without reservations. Take this life and heart and break them until they resemble something that looks more like the heart You desire. I love You.
He was 13 years older than myself and, from my perspective, he was an infallible savior. He didn't grow up with me, but somehow my brother captivated my attention. Whatever he did, I wanted to do, no matter how improbable or illogical. Whatever he thought, I tended to think. Wherever he went, whatever he experienced, I always felt the need to follow. I knew he would never steer me wrong. And as I grew in stature and wisdom, I realized he was someone I could go to for advice on real world situations.
Last weekend, he and I were driving back to our hometown from Louisville. We had driven separately, as we had come from two different parts of the state, and naturally I followed behind him on the way back. During the two hour drive, there was a treacherous rainstorm that we ran head-on into. At times, I could see nothing at all, for all of the rain pounding so hard on my windshield. The only thing I could do was barely make out the outline of his car in front of me. Whenever he switched lanes, I switched lanes; whenever he braked, I braked; when he increased speed, I did the same. I knew that as long as I did exactly as my brother silently instructed, I would be safe. I would get home just fine, whether I could see anything else or not.
I thought about all of this as we neared our city and the rain eased up. The worst was over, we were safe, and all was well. I thought about how the way I loved, trusted, and sought wisdom from my brother was exactly how God wanted me to chase after Him. God wants my complete affections. He wants me to follow Him with the same trusting faith I have in my brother. He wants me to fully know that if I follow Him and His law of Love, that I'll come out of the storm perfectly safe. He wants my silly stories, my mess-ups, my broken-hearts, my laughter, my thoughts. He wants to share on my adventures, to be my guide, to be my wisdom, to be my Savior. My God wants me. Passionately, unreservedly, unrelentingly. It's so crazy to me that as much as I adore my brother, God's affections for me are so much greater.
My brother taught me to be a leader, to be a social chameleon, to be facetious. He loves me even when I do terrible things. He picks me up when I cry. He guides me out of messes. But how much more so does my God want to be that driving force in my life? I love God, I really do, but sometimes, I fail to put Him where He belongs in my life.
Yahweh, thank You so much for my brother and all he's taught me and done for me. I've been so blessed to know him. But Adonai, please forgive me for, at times, putting him on the pedestal where only You belong. Continue to show me what it means to follow You wholeheartedly and without reservations. Take this life and heart and break them until they resemble something that looks more like the heart You desire. I love You.
10 April 2011
Why Do I Believe in God? A few reasons...
First and foremost, I have my own personal interactions with God. I feel like the rest of my blogs give way to that.
Secondly, there's the existence of the universe itself. Way back when, people used to think that the universe had always just existed; however, Einstein developed a theory, the theory of relativity, which concludes that the universe had a beginning, a starting point. Now, even Einstein had issues with this, along with other scientists of his day. They tested and retested this theory, yearning for a flaw in the equation, but none was ever found. More recently, confirming this theory, is the use of the Hubble Telescope. We can actually see the universe expanding. To sum this reason up: if the universe is constantly expanding from one point and had a beginning, something had to create it. Something outside of the universe. According to science, things don't just exist without a cause. This usually begets the question, "By this logic, who created God?" To me, this is the wrong question. By our own scientific reasoning, we state that everything that has a beginning needs a cause, not that everything needs a cause.
Thirdly, there's how our universe is just so perfectly in place. If our earth's axis weren't at its precise degrees, no life. If it were too close to the sun, no life. If it were too far away, no life. If the force of gravity were to change by one part in ten billion billion billion relative to the total range of the strengths of the four forces of nature, no life. If the neutrons that make up our very being were not exactly 1.001 times the mass of the proton, no life would be possible. Honestly, I could go on for days, but basically what it sums up to is: the laws and physical constants that govern all the matter in the universe appear to be precisely balanced and finely tuned for life to occur and flourish. What's even more crazy is that all these things are not dependent upon one another. Everything could be just so perfect, save one, and it would ruin the possibility for life. I was doing some research and found that there are at least 2 dozen characteristics that must be "just so" for life on this earth alone to even be remotely possible. Examples: correct mass; being orbited by a large moon, having a magnetic field; manifesting an oxygen-rich atmosphere; orbiting a main sequence G2 dwarf star; and being in the correct location in the galactic habitable zone. Aw, man, it's crazy how perfect our world is. How could it all be just so precise and deliberate by chance? Something had to create it with purpose and knowledge.
My final reason, though not scientific I feel should still be mentioned, is our morally good universe. First, on what basis is something considered good and evil? Did it just arise out of no where from the Big Bang? Honestly, no one believes that morality emerged out of physical explosions. Second, I feel it's important to point out that morals and values are different from etiquette. Think not? What if there were a culture where men kept females as slaves and beat and raped them at will? We'd all be morally outraged, right? Right. We know that murder, rape, bigotry, and racism are really objectively wrong, regardless of traditions, customs, or preferences. But where's the intrinsic sense of right and wrong come from? If we didn't invent it and it is beyond culture and politics, and we can never escape it, what's it's source? As a Christian, I have a solid basis for objective moral values (and they are objective, not relative) - God, who is divine, transcendent, and supreme. Goodness flows from God; moral values are created by Him, and only discovered by humans. This is not to say that atheists and the like cannot recognize and live by a generally moral life. Surely they can. But recognizing something and even living by it does not mean that one has a real basis for it.
God doesn't really force Himself on anyone, but He has left His fingerprints all over the world and universe for us to find. Jesus says, "keep on seeking, and you will find." Matthew 7:7
Secondly, there's the existence of the universe itself. Way back when, people used to think that the universe had always just existed; however, Einstein developed a theory, the theory of relativity, which concludes that the universe had a beginning, a starting point. Now, even Einstein had issues with this, along with other scientists of his day. They tested and retested this theory, yearning for a flaw in the equation, but none was ever found. More recently, confirming this theory, is the use of the Hubble Telescope. We can actually see the universe expanding. To sum this reason up: if the universe is constantly expanding from one point and had a beginning, something had to create it. Something outside of the universe. According to science, things don't just exist without a cause. This usually begets the question, "By this logic, who created God?" To me, this is the wrong question. By our own scientific reasoning, we state that everything that has a beginning needs a cause, not that everything needs a cause.
Thirdly, there's how our universe is just so perfectly in place. If our earth's axis weren't at its precise degrees, no life. If it were too close to the sun, no life. If it were too far away, no life. If the force of gravity were to change by one part in ten billion billion billion relative to the total range of the strengths of the four forces of nature, no life. If the neutrons that make up our very being were not exactly 1.001 times the mass of the proton, no life would be possible. Honestly, I could go on for days, but basically what it sums up to is: the laws and physical constants that govern all the matter in the universe appear to be precisely balanced and finely tuned for life to occur and flourish. What's even more crazy is that all these things are not dependent upon one another. Everything could be just so perfect, save one, and it would ruin the possibility for life. I was doing some research and found that there are at least 2 dozen characteristics that must be "just so" for life on this earth alone to even be remotely possible. Examples: correct mass; being orbited by a large moon, having a magnetic field; manifesting an oxygen-rich atmosphere; orbiting a main sequence G2 dwarf star; and being in the correct location in the galactic habitable zone. Aw, man, it's crazy how perfect our world is. How could it all be just so precise and deliberate by chance? Something had to create it with purpose and knowledge.
My final reason, though not scientific I feel should still be mentioned, is our morally good universe. First, on what basis is something considered good and evil? Did it just arise out of no where from the Big Bang? Honestly, no one believes that morality emerged out of physical explosions. Second, I feel it's important to point out that morals and values are different from etiquette. Think not? What if there were a culture where men kept females as slaves and beat and raped them at will? We'd all be morally outraged, right? Right. We know that murder, rape, bigotry, and racism are really objectively wrong, regardless of traditions, customs, or preferences. But where's the intrinsic sense of right and wrong come from? If we didn't invent it and it is beyond culture and politics, and we can never escape it, what's it's source? As a Christian, I have a solid basis for objective moral values (and they are objective, not relative) - God, who is divine, transcendent, and supreme. Goodness flows from God; moral values are created by Him, and only discovered by humans. This is not to say that atheists and the like cannot recognize and live by a generally moral life. Surely they can. But recognizing something and even living by it does not mean that one has a real basis for it.
God doesn't really force Himself on anyone, but He has left His fingerprints all over the world and universe for us to find. Jesus says, "keep on seeking, and you will find." Matthew 7:7
09 April 2011
Hands and Feet
In a previous post, I wrote of my broken heart. I longed to do something, anything, if it meant I could help a kid somewhere in the world who was suffering in some way. This past week, on April 5th, I got to.
Thousands of people across America participated in "A Day with No Shoes" sponsored by the Toms company. The point of this is: go without shoes; people ask why; you tell them about Toms and what they do. What DO they do? If you buy shoes from them, they send one pair of shoes to a shoeless child for each pair you buy. So my campus, and hundreds others all over the country, raised awareness. I know for a fact that thousands of children are soon going to have a new pair of shoes to protect their feet because of our awareness promotion. I feel elated that I got to do something so seemingly insignificant that will impact people in a way I'll never understand fully.
However, as elated and heartwarming as my gesture made me feel at the time, I began to think about it. Yeah, I went a day without shoes, but it was easy. The point of the day was to put ourselves in their positions and see what it felt like. I couldn't. How can I when I know that if at any time I wanted to stop this 24-hour vow, I could? As it turns out, this wasn't the answer to my broken heart. I don't just want to send a child shoes, whom I'll never meet. I want to go; I want to see their faces as I hand them the shoes myself. I want to go to a place, give them MY own shoes, and take their place. I want to know what it's really like to be like them, where I don't have a choice. That road will be hard, but what pathway to a lesson, love, or true desire of the heart is ever easy?
I've been blessed all my life, even in my struggles, whether I realize it or not. I've been halfway to Hell and back, but I've been blessed all along the way. I really don't know what it's like to live like the kids I want to help and love. I want to know.
I have a heart for the children of third world countries, but that's not to say I care any less for the poor children of my own country. I seek out those children too. Every kid deserves the chance to have their basic needs met and to be healthy and happy and loved.
God, give comfort to the little ones in this world tonight. The ones who suffer and hunger and thirst. The ones who I will never get to show Your love to. The ones who think their lives are meaningless. Show Yourself, Your love, Your hope, Your truth.
Dad, thanks for the blessings You have given me and the resources to do something about the injustice I see around me. And thanks for Jesus and His love for me.
Thousands of people across America participated in "A Day with No Shoes" sponsored by the Toms company. The point of this is: go without shoes; people ask why; you tell them about Toms and what they do. What DO they do? If you buy shoes from them, they send one pair of shoes to a shoeless child for each pair you buy. So my campus, and hundreds others all over the country, raised awareness. I know for a fact that thousands of children are soon going to have a new pair of shoes to protect their feet because of our awareness promotion. I feel elated that I got to do something so seemingly insignificant that will impact people in a way I'll never understand fully.
However, as elated and heartwarming as my gesture made me feel at the time, I began to think about it. Yeah, I went a day without shoes, but it was easy. The point of the day was to put ourselves in their positions and see what it felt like. I couldn't. How can I when I know that if at any time I wanted to stop this 24-hour vow, I could? As it turns out, this wasn't the answer to my broken heart. I don't just want to send a child shoes, whom I'll never meet. I want to go; I want to see their faces as I hand them the shoes myself. I want to go to a place, give them MY own shoes, and take their place. I want to know what it's really like to be like them, where I don't have a choice. That road will be hard, but what pathway to a lesson, love, or true desire of the heart is ever easy?
I've been blessed all my life, even in my struggles, whether I realize it or not. I've been halfway to Hell and back, but I've been blessed all along the way. I really don't know what it's like to live like the kids I want to help and love. I want to know.
I have a heart for the children of third world countries, but that's not to say I care any less for the poor children of my own country. I seek out those children too. Every kid deserves the chance to have their basic needs met and to be healthy and happy and loved.
God, give comfort to the little ones in this world tonight. The ones who suffer and hunger and thirst. The ones who I will never get to show Your love to. The ones who think their lives are meaningless. Show Yourself, Your love, Your hope, Your truth.
Dad, thanks for the blessings You have given me and the resources to do something about the injustice I see around me. And thanks for Jesus and His love for me.
02 April 2011
Tornado of the Soul
Mind racing.
Ideas swirling.
No real thought.
It's all a chaotic whirlwind.
How long will my words fail me?
Concepts.
Theories.
Theology.
It all tornado's around within me.
Here comes the rain of drowsiness.
It threaten's to drown all contemplations, should they resist.
Reluctantly, they obey
Giving full reign to the storm brewing within.
In time the tempest subsides
And waves of rest wash upon my shores.
Ideas swirling.
No real thought.
It's all a chaotic whirlwind.
How long will my words fail me?
Concepts.
Theories.
Theology.
It all tornado's around within me.
Here comes the rain of drowsiness.
It threaten's to drown all contemplations, should they resist.
Reluctantly, they obey
Giving full reign to the storm brewing within.
In time the tempest subsides
And waves of rest wash upon my shores.
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