Have you ever looked at your life and wondered what the point of it all was? I believe that we, as humans, are incapable of fully comprehending this fact. Life, in itself, is simply too beautiful to behold and understand in this physical sense. I do, however, believe that it has a specific order, individualized for every single person on this planet that was set about and pre-composed by a loving and powerful God.
If you have never seen the movie August Rush, I'd highly recommend it. It's one of those movies that inspires to the point that when you see it you recommend it to everyone you know. The film goes through the story of young Evan Taylor, orphan and musical prodigy, as he tries to find his family through music. It's not an easy search of course, the plot is full of deceptions and people pulling him away from his future. The end result, however, was worth every trial. If you haven't seen it yet, I'd recommend you see it before you read this post all the way through as I'm bound to give spoilers and I don't want to ruin it for anyone.
Throughout the movie, as Evan struggles to find his parents, he's constantly pulled away from his endeavors by "Wizard", a man who formerly had helped him, but then only wanted him for his own selfish desires. It's the same way with us in our walks with God - there are people who want to pull us away. I believe very firmly, however, that God is right there behind us, urging us to go forward and follow our dreams. He pursues us even while we pursue him, just as Lyla pursues Evan throughout the movie. And when everything is said and done and our journey is over, I believe that God is waiting to wrap us in his arms and welcome us home.
A lot of times in life we get focused on the "here and now" and forget to look at the big picture. It isn't a bad thing, necessarily, but it can make us lose sight of the fact that God has a plan. We get so focused on the individual successes and failures that we don't look at the culmination of those events. The struggles in life make you ashamed of who you were to the point that you never stop and see how who you were helped define who you are. Even while we lose sight of this, I firmly believe that God has this all under control. Every decision we make in life, whether good or bad, is under his control. God is writing a symphony with your life and there are no stray notes. Whether or not you feel like your life is meaningful in this world, it is to God - He makes no mistakes.
I believe that when we die, there will be this moment when we stand before God and he asks us how we lived for him and we will have to give an account for our actions. Matthew 12:36 says, "But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken." I think there may be more to it though. I think, for those who follow Him, that there will be a moment where God shows us what He did. When He shows us our lives and this symphony that He wrote before we were even born. I believe that there will be a moment and tells us how every trial we went through played into this symphony - from every thought to every major decision that changed the face of our lives. Each one was a note or key change in God' symphony.
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Monday, March 26, 2012
Superman: The Man of Steel - A Gateway To Your Past
Just about everybody knows who superman is - the tights, boots, cape and hidden identity are practically a cultural marker for an entire generation. But how does this apply to your past? More importantly, how does it apply to your future?
This blog isn't so much about Superman as it is about his nickname: The man of steel. As humans, we have a strong desire to be safe and secure. We surround ourselves with things that can make us comfortable and secure in life so that when things get hard we won't have anything to worry about. When we have kids, the infamous vow, "I'll never let anything happen to you" comes out. We have a strong desire to live a life of comfort and luxury, where nothing bad can touch us. Ironically, though, it rarely happens. Throughout our lives, it seems we go through struggle after struggle, heartbreak after heartbreak and sometimes it takes a long time before we can get to a place where we can feel safe. We live in a world that is full of divorce, crime, poverty, and death and that in itself makes life exceedingly difficult at times.
It's so easy when things get hard to shut yourself down to God and people because we have this sort of bifocal vision issue. We always look at the close reality that says, "Life Sucks" and we don't look at the larger picture that encompasses your past, present, and future.
Think about the hardest substance you can think of - whether it's steel, obsidian, stone, diamond, or anything else. Now think of how it came to be that way. Steel is first mined, then refined by being melted down and smote to whatever shape it's needed to be in. Obsidian is the result of violent volcanic eruptions that cause massive amounts of devastation. Stone is slowly layed down over hundreds of years and compressed until it's solid. Diamonds are formed in the mantle of the earth and pushed up through deep source eruptions (info from http://geology.com/articles/diamonds-from-coal/). What do all of these have in common? Every single one of these required stress, work, and trials to make. It's the same with people! John 16:33 says, "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. " The trials in life help form us into the people God wants us to be! Life is going to be difficult, it's going to have problems that seem unfixable. The important thing is this: The verse doesn't end there and neither does the story! The end of verse 33 says, " But take heart! I have overcome the world." God knew when he created you that you were going to go through a lot of trials. He engineered them specifically for you! You are where you are because God knew that was what would turn you into the person He wanted you to be.
Think about some of the problems you've had in your life. What changed because of it? A huge thing nowadays is debt and not having money. When you get to a place where you aren't in debt, aren't you more careful about your money? It's a huge part of the reason that we make mistakes - so we can learn from them! The next time you feel tempted or that the circumstances you are going through in life are hard or are some sort of punishment, rather than ask God why he is doing this to you, ask Him what He wants you to learn? I can almost guarantee your outlook on the problem and help you to overcome it. At the end of the day, there's always a new morning if you can hold out long enough to see it.
This blog isn't so much about Superman as it is about his nickname: The man of steel. As humans, we have a strong desire to be safe and secure. We surround ourselves with things that can make us comfortable and secure in life so that when things get hard we won't have anything to worry about. When we have kids, the infamous vow, "I'll never let anything happen to you" comes out. We have a strong desire to live a life of comfort and luxury, where nothing bad can touch us. Ironically, though, it rarely happens. Throughout our lives, it seems we go through struggle after struggle, heartbreak after heartbreak and sometimes it takes a long time before we can get to a place where we can feel safe. We live in a world that is full of divorce, crime, poverty, and death and that in itself makes life exceedingly difficult at times.
It's so easy when things get hard to shut yourself down to God and people because we have this sort of bifocal vision issue. We always look at the close reality that says, "Life Sucks" and we don't look at the larger picture that encompasses your past, present, and future.
Think about the hardest substance you can think of - whether it's steel, obsidian, stone, diamond, or anything else. Now think of how it came to be that way. Steel is first mined, then refined by being melted down and smote to whatever shape it's needed to be in. Obsidian is the result of violent volcanic eruptions that cause massive amounts of devastation. Stone is slowly layed down over hundreds of years and compressed until it's solid. Diamonds are formed in the mantle of the earth and pushed up through deep source eruptions (info from http://geology.com/articles/diamonds-from-coal/). What do all of these have in common? Every single one of these required stress, work, and trials to make. It's the same with people! John 16:33 says, "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. " The trials in life help form us into the people God wants us to be! Life is going to be difficult, it's going to have problems that seem unfixable. The important thing is this: The verse doesn't end there and neither does the story! The end of verse 33 says, " But take heart! I have overcome the world." God knew when he created you that you were going to go through a lot of trials. He engineered them specifically for you! You are where you are because God knew that was what would turn you into the person He wanted you to be.
Think about some of the problems you've had in your life. What changed because of it? A huge thing nowadays is debt and not having money. When you get to a place where you aren't in debt, aren't you more careful about your money? It's a huge part of the reason that we make mistakes - so we can learn from them! The next time you feel tempted or that the circumstances you are going through in life are hard or are some sort of punishment, rather than ask God why he is doing this to you, ask Him what He wants you to learn? I can almost guarantee your outlook on the problem and help you to overcome it. At the end of the day, there's always a new morning if you can hold out long enough to see it.
Monday, March 19, 2012
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone: Living With the Mark
Over spring break, I decided to watch Harry Potter for the first time. It wasn't bad, and I was left with some interesting connections. I love the last scene when Harry and Dumbledore are discussing the fight with Voldemort - It really creates a visual perspective of some of the fighting we do every day.
Do you remember that scene? During the fight, Harry grabs Voldemort's arm and it turns to ash and blows away. He then grabs his face with the same effect. Dumbledore explains the situation like this:
----
Dumbledore: Harry, do you know why Professor Quirrell couldn't bear to have you touch him?
[Harry shakes his head]
Dumbledore: It was because of your mother. She sacrificed herself for you, and that kind of act leaves a mark.
[Harry reaches up to touch his scar]
Dumbledore: No, no. This kind of mark cannot be seen. It lives in your very skin.
Harry: What is it?
Dumbledore: Love, Harry. Love.
---- (Thanks to imdb.com for the quote) ----
The same thing is true with us! Did you ever think about that? Jesus gave his life so that you could live in freedom from sin! That's why the devil wants to hurt you so much! John 10:10 says, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy[....]" In this verse, it is generally understood that the "thief" is in fact the devil. He wants nothing more for us than to get us to lose our faith and lose hope That's why it's so hard to live in Christ - every time we take a step toward Him, the devil tries to push us back. That's why it's so important to continue fighting for your faith. James 4:7 says, "Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." This doesn't simply mean to sit in a corner with your hands over your head begging him to leave you alone, even though sometimes it feels like that's all we can do. The word resist in the original greek (αντισταθούν) means literally to withstand or stand up. We need to be firm in our knowledge of the scripture and ready to oppose the devil! We need to have our armor on at all times and ready for ambush!
My last point is this: This line talks about the fact that Harry was marked because of the love of his mother. It's easy to take that and not glean anything from it because we lose sight of another simple truth: we are marked by the love of our Father! Revelation 7:3 says, ""Do not harm the land or the sea or the trees until we put a seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God."" It's an idea that was extremely prevalent in Tim LaHaye's left behind series. It was manifested physically to the Christians in the end times as a thumb print on their forehead. I think it's already there - only on a spiritual level. The Devil knows whose we are and it makes him mad! That's why he wants to destroy you!
Never forget that you are marked by God's love - it's one of your greatest qualities and weapons. It's one of the coolest things about being a Christian, but something that's very easy to forget. The devil wants us to have no hope, that's why that thought isn't always on our minds. It's too easy to fight knowing that the love of the King is written right on us. Keep that in your mind today as you go through life and see if that changes how well you fight today.
Do you remember that scene? During the fight, Harry grabs Voldemort's arm and it turns to ash and blows away. He then grabs his face with the same effect. Dumbledore explains the situation like this:
----
Dumbledore: Harry, do you know why Professor Quirrell couldn't bear to have you touch him?
[Harry shakes his head]
Dumbledore: It was because of your mother. She sacrificed herself for you, and that kind of act leaves a mark.
[Harry reaches up to touch his scar]
Dumbledore: No, no. This kind of mark cannot be seen. It lives in your very skin.
Harry: What is it?
Dumbledore: Love, Harry. Love.
---- (Thanks to imdb.com for the quote) ----
The same thing is true with us! Did you ever think about that? Jesus gave his life so that you could live in freedom from sin! That's why the devil wants to hurt you so much! John 10:10 says, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy[....]" In this verse, it is generally understood that the "thief" is in fact the devil. He wants nothing more for us than to get us to lose our faith and lose hope That's why it's so hard to live in Christ - every time we take a step toward Him, the devil tries to push us back. That's why it's so important to continue fighting for your faith. James 4:7 says, "Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." This doesn't simply mean to sit in a corner with your hands over your head begging him to leave you alone, even though sometimes it feels like that's all we can do. The word resist in the original greek (αντισταθούν) means literally to withstand or stand up. We need to be firm in our knowledge of the scripture and ready to oppose the devil! We need to have our armor on at all times and ready for ambush!
My last point is this: This line talks about the fact that Harry was marked because of the love of his mother. It's easy to take that and not glean anything from it because we lose sight of another simple truth: we are marked by the love of our Father! Revelation 7:3 says, ""Do not harm the land or the sea or the trees until we put a seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God."" It's an idea that was extremely prevalent in Tim LaHaye's left behind series. It was manifested physically to the Christians in the end times as a thumb print on their forehead. I think it's already there - only on a spiritual level. The Devil knows whose we are and it makes him mad! That's why he wants to destroy you!
Never forget that you are marked by God's love - it's one of your greatest qualities and weapons. It's one of the coolest things about being a Christian, but something that's very easy to forget. The devil wants us to have no hope, that's why that thought isn't always on our minds. It's too easy to fight knowing that the love of the King is written right on us. Keep that in your mind today as you go through life and see if that changes how well you fight today.
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