In My Own Words

Thinking and reflecting and praying on yesterday's post, and some questions from you and others that followed.....it is a difficult thing to understand, why He had to die, why can't God accept us as we are.....and here is what I came up with:

God is 100% pure, 100% goodness, 100% love.    If you have something that pure, can you add even 0.0000000000001 % of bad and it maintain it's purity, it's goodness?  No.  And if you multiply that by the billions of peoples from the beginning of time, that 0.0000000001% becomes like 10% or maybe 25% or maybe higher.

This is why we cannot go to Heaven. We would "contaminate" God's purity and goodness and love.  We are sinful by nature.  If you throw one rotten apple into a basket of good ones, does it become good?  No, it causes the others to rot.   How can God allow ANY sin into Heaven??  Even the sin of "well, I just borrowed it, really"---when you take someone's pencil without asking....yes, something that small, something that is really only 0.0000000000001% sinful, bad or evil.... separates us from God.  He cannot risk being "contaminated" even with that small amount of "bad".

The only way we can enter Heaven and be with Him is if we are forgiven and "cleansed" of our sins.  And what "cleanses" us is the Blood of Jesus Christ.

But why did he have to suffer so greatly??  Well, even if all of us only commit "little sins", like stealing a piece of candy, telling a little lie.......combine that with the billions of peoples that have ever lived, and that really really adds up!!    But of course many of us don't just commit "little" sins.  We hurt others with our words, we gossip about others, we tell lies---alot, we disobey our parents, we do not put God first in our lives.....that's ALOT of sinning!!  And even though we may think, "well its not like I killed anyone", all those sins world wide and through out history really add up!

So Christ had to suffer.....ALOT...to pay the debt for all that sin.  It is like you did something wrong and need to be spanked when you were a little kid.  Does that mean your parents don't love you?  No, they do.  And God loves us, but we need to be punished.  And as He is about to punish us, Jesus steps in and says, "Please, Father, punish me instead."   Now THAT is how much Jesus loves us....

So where your 'little" sins may only deserve one thorn of his crown pressed into His scalp, all the billions of us add up our sins and cause him to have to be scourged, beaten, kicked, spit on, cursed and crucified. That is the debt of all our combined sins.

Now, do you appreciate it??  I mean, here Jesus comes in and says "Punish me instead".  and what do you do with that?? Do you laugh and say, "Hey, better him than me!" and continue to sin?  Or do you accept this awesome gift, appreciate it, humble yourself and say "Thank you".  And be redeemed and re-born with this gift?  (and your "prize" for choice B is:   Eternal Life in Heaven---however, your "prize" for choice A is:  separation from God in Death, otherwise known as Hell)

Think about it....pray about it.....become new in Christ.

Popularity.....

Proverbs 18:24 () 24 A man of many companions may come to ruin,but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. #Bible http://mydailybible.org/dv/esv/2013-03-22.htm

Happy St. Patrick's Day

This is the American Holiday in which everyone wears green and parties!

Here is what it says on History.com:

St. Patrick's Day is celebrated on March 17, the saint's religious feast day and the anniversary of his death in the fifth century. The Irish have observed this day as a religious holiday for over 1,000 years. On St. Patrick's Day, which falls during the Christian season of Lent, Irish families would traditionally attend church in the morning and celebrate in the afternoon. Lenten prohibitions against the consumption of meat were waived and people would dance, drink and feast--on the traditional meal of Irish bacon and cabbage.

A Religious Holiday??

Hard to see that with all the parades and parties!!

So first---Who is St. Patrick?

According to Catholic.org, 

He was born to roman parents in 5th century Great Britain and when he was about 14 was kidnapped and sold into slavery in Ireland to herd and tend sheep.

Ireland at this time was the land of druids and pagans, but Patrick was a Christian.

While being held captive he would pray to God, and he wrote these words:

"The love of God and his fear grew in me more and more, as did the faith, and my soul was rosed, so that, in a single day, I have said as many as a hundred prayers and in the night, nearly the same." "I prayed in the woods and on the mountain, even before dawn. I felt no hurt from the snow or ice or rain."

When he was 20 God spoke to him in a dream telling him to escape by the Coast, which he did and he returned to Great Britain.

Back home he studied to become a priest, and then later became a bishop.

He would dream that the people of Ireland calling to him:  "We beg you, holy youth, to come and walk among us once more."

He returned to Ireland and preached and converted many entire kingdoms to Christianity.  He preached for 40 years and performed many miracles.  He lived in poverty and suffered greatly and he died March 17, 461.

There are many legends surrounding St. Patrick, such as how he used the shamrock's three leaves to explain the Holy Trinity.  

You can learn more at:  History.com and Catholic.org

So it is interesting....how this annual Christian celebration is today, rarely recognized for its Christian roots.

In other words, 

How did This:

Become This??

Thank You, Lord

Heard this Prayer today from Michel Quoist and wanted to share:

Thank you Lord, thank you.

Thank you for all the gifts that you have given me today,
Thank you for all I have seen, heard, received.

Thank you for the water that woke me up, the soap that smells good, the toothpaste that refreshes.
Thank you for the clothes that protect me, for their color and their cut.
Thank you for the newspaper so faithfully there, for the comics (my
morning smile), for the report of useful meetings, for justice done and for big games won.
Thank you for the street-cleaning truck and the men who run it, for their morning shouts and all the early noises.
Thank you for my work, my tools, my efforts.
Thank you for the metal in my hands, for the whine of the steel biting into it, for the satisfied look of the supervisor and the load of finished pieces.
Thank you for Jim who lent me his file, for Danny who game me a cigarette, for Charlie who held the door for me.
Thank you for the welcoming street that led me there, for the shop windows, for the cars, for the passers-by, for all the life that flowed swiftly between the windowed walls of the houses.

Thank you for the food that sustained me, for the glass of beer that refreshed me.
Thank you for the car that meekly took me where I wanted to be, for the gas that made it go, for the wind that caressed my face and for the trees that nodded to me on the way.

Thank you for the boy I watched playing on the sidewalk opposite.
Thank you for his roller-skates and for his comical face when he fell.
Thank you for the morning greetings I received, and for all the smiles.
Thank you for the mother who welcomes me at home, for her tactful affection, for her silent presence.
Thank you for the roof that shelters me, for the lamp that lights me, for the radio that plays, for the news, for music and singing.
Thank you for the bunch of flowers, so pretty on my table.

Thank you for the tranquil night.
Thank you for the stars.
Thank you for the silence.

Thank you for the time you have given me.
Thank you for life.
Thank you for grace.

Thank you for being there, Lord.
Thank you for listening to me, for taking me seriously, for gathering my gifts in your hands to offer them to your Father.
Thank you, Lord.
Thank you.

-Michel Quoist, “Prayers”

Everything is a gift from God, even the smallest things, and it’s the sum of these gifts that makes a life beautiful or sad, depending on how we use them.

God is ETERNAL

2 Peter 3:8 () 8 But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. #Bible http://mydailybible.org/dv/esv/2013-03-15.htm

In an earlier post I said the Bible tells us God is Eternal quoting John 1:1..here is another verse that reminds us this is so...

Daily devotional

Mark 11:25 () 25 And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. #Bible http://mydailybible.org/dv/esv/2013-03-13.htm

Who Created God?

This is an argument often presented to Christians by non-believers.   I was listening to a pod-cast devotional by Dr. John Lennox (University of Oxford) on this topic and he made some very interesting points!

Atheists look to Science to say that all things were created by chance / random events.  Like Evolution.  That there is no creator, but just random events dictated by natural laws that caused certain atoms to come together in the correct way over a LONG period of time and viola!  You have a Tiggerkat!

And as much as one might agree that a Tiggerkat is the very peak of Evolution  (haha!) when you really, REALLY think about it........well, it just feels wrong.  Randomness??  Not even remotely possible.

Soooooooo...Dr. Lennox tells this story to illustrate this point

First he says simply this:  Turn the Question around..........

The Atheist asks----You say you are created by God, well then, who created Him?

You can say--- You say you are created by the Universe, well then, who created it?

See, this isn't really saying the same thing.  We know God to be Eternal, the primary source of all things, and thus not created, but always being.   AND we know that the Universe is NOT eternal, that it was formed / created in an event called the Big Bang.  

Then Dr. Lennox tells this example.....Say you walk down to the beach, and in the sand you see the first 3 letters of your name.....wouldn't you make the hypothesis that some intelligent,  higher being (ie, a human) created it?

And yet, if we look at DNA, with its greater than a billion codons..........that are in perfect order to spell out the genetic map of all things........that, THAT, THAAATTT...is supposed to be Random???

Seems to me it takes a greater Faith to believe in No God than it takes to believe IN God..........

So, who created God??

The Bible tells us, John 1:1 "In the Beginning WAS the Word"  not the word was created, or came to be but WAS--as in always-- Eternal.

Priorities

I have gotten too caught up in other things and have neglected this blog.....I began feeling uninspired and then realized it is because I am not spending enough time in God's word.  I have prayed to get my head back on straight and renew my commitment to this blog, because what can be more important in my life right now than spreading God's word?

So I have set a goal to post every week, twice a week if I can.

I pray this blog is a blessing to you and that you get enjoyment from it and hopefully learn from it  and find a new way of thinking about things!   I appreciate ANY feedback / comments, especially from those of you who may be "on the fence"....If God can use me to bring you closer to Him, what greater thing could there be?  

And if you are a Believer who can bring a friend to this blog who is maybe not so sure, what a great gift that would be!  To me for getting a new viewer, and if they come to believe, how great a friend are you?!

Remember how Jesus said in the parable of the lost sheep how He celebrates every lost sheep that returns to  Him, even greater than those who never strayed.

Some Cuties

What is your favorite bible story and why?

I love the story of Joseph...besides being a great story what strikes me the most is his time in jail for a crime he did not commit....because (1) it tells us to keep faithful even in the worst of times and (2) sometimes God allows bad things to happen as part of His plan for bestowing a great blessing upon us.

See,  had he not been in jail and met the pharoah's servant then he would never have met the pharoah and become 2nd in command of Egypt and devise a plan that saved 1000's of lives including Israelites.

So...what is your favorite story amd why?

Why do we look to our friends for Affirmation?

What is affirmation?

It is when we look to others to tell us we are _____ enough.
(fill in the blank with such things as: good, smart, pretty, popular, etc)

Many kids today (and actually in all generations) are troubled. We are worried about what others are thinking about us.  We are worried about being weird and drawing attention to ourselves.   We can get so occupied with this that we can actually worry ourselves sick!

Literally!

So I've been wondering.   

Why are we "programmed" like this?   

Why would God put this notion in  us that we are driven to be accepted by others.  

We don't want to be center of attention necessarily, 

but we want everyone to think we are cool, beautiful, smart, funny, popular, etc.

1. 

So why do we have this desire to be accepted by others?  

And why do we worry so much that we are not accepted.  

Why do we care so much?

I think we are misdirecting this desire to be accepted when we look to others.

Instead of focusing on getting acceptance from others....

I think we are meant to focus this desire for acceptance to 

God.  

God has a Perfect Love for Us

And He wants to share it with you.

If you let him

I promise you, it will fill that void you feel in your heart.

Never, ever,ever forget this:

YOU are worthy of his love.

He doesn't care about who is

 most popular

the smartest

the prettiest

He loves YOU 

EXACTLY AS YOU ARE.

See, I think we are meant to be driven to be accepted by Him and  Him alone.

 So Remember:

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