Feels like coming home

You know sometimes when you hear christian apologist arguments it seems that they are trying to convince people that honestly do not believe there is a God that there is in fact one.  Sorry Emily, I know that was a very wordy sentence.  I love you.  Anyway, one day maybe I will be able to be more concise.  My point is this...Every single human being knows that there is a God.  As I've heard preachers say 'in your heart of hearts you know.'  That is not an oversimplification of a complex matter.  It is just as true as every other line in Scripture that we all as christians hold to.  Every coherent man and woman knows that there is a God.  Forgive me for being brutally honest here,but it has been too long since I have studied my Bible.  Today I opened up and read the first couple of chapters of Romans.  Listen to this........"For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.  For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them."  (Romans 1: 18-19) 

It goes on to explain how He has shown it to them, but that last statement is enough to see that God has shown all people that He is here.  If I am reading this right, this means everyone.  Chapter 2 explains how gentiles, (that is everyone who were not jews at that time and now) have this knowledge as well even without the law.  Paul through God's inspiration is arguing that even those who have not heard of the God of the Bible know that there is a God.  

In the verses quoted above he says that men suppress the truth by their unrighteousness.  The truth is there but they don't like it, so they press it down deeper and deeper and harden their hearts more and more.  The opposite could be true: that is that they could acknowledge the truth and seek God and He would give them the light they need to come to the gospel.  

I don't want to get away from my main point.  When you tell someone, when hopefully I tell someone here in the next few days about Jesus, we need not worry that they genuinely do not believe there is a God.  They know He exists.  You do not have to worry about that.  As you begin to tell them they will either begin to be drawn to the message and feel like they are coming back home to their wonderful Father that they knew was there all along but didn't want to be with, or they will harden their heart to the God that they know exists but don't want to follow.  Now I do believe christian apologetics have their place.  Sometimes we need to be re-taught the things we already know, and so many lies are flying around us all the time it is good for christian scientists to prove what we already know.  It is true we all know it.  Whether we only know Him as a Being that is out there or as our Heavenly Father, He is here.

I'll leave you with these verses.

Thanks, 

Ryan

"For His invisible attributes, namely, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made.  So they are without excuse.  For although they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks to Him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their hearts were darkened.  Claming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles."  (Romans 1:20-23)

Thanks Jody

So I was talking to a good friend of mine about the topic that I have been writing about lately on these last few notes.  (Facebook notes)  He brought up the a theologian and philosopher that I had never read or heard of before. (Saint Anselm) Anyway I looked up some of what he thought and found it very interesting. He was argued that existence precedes essence. I read a little of what he thought about it and I also read some others that disagreed with him and some that agreed. Most of the arguments were centered around the existence of God. If any of this interests you just google Anselm and you will get a ton of information about him. However, the most interesting couple of sentences that I read on the website were found in conclusion of the arguments. After listing several philosophers for and against the existence of God, the conductor finishes like this

"Classical theism states that God is omnipotent, omniscient, and morally perfect. Ontological arguments, both old and revised, have also assumed this explicitly or implicitly. Many philosophers are skeptical about the underlying assumption, as described by Leibniz, "that this idea of the all-great or all-perfect being is possible and implies no contradiction."
For example, moral perfection is thought to imply being both perfectly merciful and perfectly just. But these two properties seem to contradict each other. To be perfectly just is always to give every person exactly what he deserves. But to be perfectly merciful is to give at least a person less punishment than he deserves. If so, then a being cannot be perfectly just and perfectly merciful.[30]"

The argument above is a sound one. God can not be perfectly just if he is allows any of the ones deserving punishment to go free while punishing others. He can not be a just judge if He allows anyone deserving punishment to go free. This is where the wonderful truth of Jesus comes in. 'At the foot of the cross, where justice and mercy meet.' This is the absolute 
divider between the God of the Bible and the god of all others. No other religion shows a god of absolute justice and unconditional love. Search it out. You will find none. 
I'll finish with one of my favorite songs

How deep the Father's love for us,
How vast beyond all measure
That He should give His only Son
To make a wretch His treasure

How great the pain of searing loss,
The Father turns His face away
As wounds which mar the chosen One,
Bring many sons to glory

Behold the Man upon a cross,
My sin upon His shoulders
Ashamed I hear my mocing voice,
Call out among the scoffers

It was my sin that helf Him there
Until it was accomplished
His dying breath has brought me life
I knoww that it is finished

I will not boast in anything
No gifts, no power, no wisdom
But I will boast inJesus Christ
His death and resurrection

Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom

Thanks for reading,
Ryan

Education

"Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself."

John Dewey

How many folks would enjoy school more and teachers teach better and parents free themselves from guilt and children enjoy learning if we looked at education a little more like this.  Now there are certainly some things that I disagree with that John Dewey believed about education, but the quote above gets the essence of what I believe we are definitely missing in public schools and could be missing in many private schools.  

Ashes for Beauty

In talking to people, even very sincere Christians, I have found that we all have a hard time with the eternality of things.  We have a hard time with thinking of deserving hell for eternity.  Now I can't dive off into that right now, but try this out for a different angle.  Can you imagine feeling at home in a place of utter beauty and holiness where Jesus lives with His Father and the Holy Spirit, if it were not for the cross.  Honestly, I feel like Peter felt when he saw how awesome and holy Jesus was.  He said, "Go away from me Lord.  I am a sinful man."  If I'm dead honest, the eternality of things doesn't settle well for me all the time, but feeling comfortable in heaven with my sin is absolutely unthinkable.  I can't imagine it.  One thing I am certain of is that I don't deserve real Beauty.  I am not fit for a place like heaven, and I feel deep within my heart that I will go on forever somewhere.  So my only hope is that Jesus took my place of darkness and ugliness.  Without that, any hope of going to heaven when I leave this earth is gone.  I am certain.  Jesus is the only way.

Ryan 

Temples 'In Wait'

You know if I'm honest I have a hard time loving everyone I meet, but I shouldn't.  In fact, sometimes I have a hard time loving those that are the closest to me.  When I am unloving it is a sure sign of the fact that I have lost sight of God's love for me.  It is still there, but just not within my awareness like it ought to be.  Sometimes I feel especially aware of how blessed I really am and usually at the same time how much I don't deserve it.  This is one of those times.  This is not being over humble.  We sometimes think that people who think that they don't deserve anything good are being false humble; I pray I'm not.  I'm just aware that the love I've been given wasn't deserved or earned.  When God awakens my senses to where they ought to be is when I feel like this.  This state of being is not depressing though, and that may sound very weird.  I feel the most free to love when I don't go around thinking of my deserving love back.  When I realize that I am loved by this Awesome Creator who made all things and knows all things about me then I am free to really love people around me.  This is the state I think Jesus describes when He tells us that if someone sues us and takes our tunic (like a jacket) to give him our cloak (like a shirt) as well, or when He tells us to not turn away someone who borrows from us.  He also tells us to have dinners and make sure to invite folks that you know can not pay you back.  Some how for so long I have reshaped these verses to fit the my own American view.  I have quoted this many times almost as if it is a Bible verse.  'Give a man a fish you feed him for a day, teach him to fish you feed him the rest of his life.'  Well that has some wisdom in it, but it should not reshape the plain meaning of the verses I just quoted.  Well this is not the direction I planned on going with this post.  

The original idea I wanted to type about was the fact that every person that I come in contact with is either a temple of God or a temple 'in wait of God'.  Christians are the temples that God dwells in on earth, but people living today that are not yet Christians are just as valuable temples as those already occupied by God today.  The difference is not in the temple, but in the God who dwells in them.  Something very serious for me to think about is the fact that I have two beautiful little temples 'in wait' looking at their father and mother to show them in the next few years Who it is who made them and is waiting to move in and live with them.   I pray that God would help me and all of us see where our value comes from, and that it is not from within ourselves, but from the one who created us.  I think that if I really was aware of that all the time I would love people in ways that would make them want the source of my love.  It is becoming clearer and clearer to me that I can not escape this command to love others as myself and that this type of love goes hand in hand with loving the Lord my God with all my strength, soul, and mind.  I am always a little timid at typing stuff like this, because it puts the bulls eye on me.  One way I am always attacked when I sin is by being reminded of what I have said or typed or written to others and fail to do myself.  Nevertheless, the truth is the truth.  My standing does not make it stand.  It stands apart from me and without me.  

At any rate, it is the most exciting thing in the world to think about loving people with Jesus type love.  I hope my actions will begin to express my ideals more and more.

God bless yall,

Ryan

Just wanted to say

I just wanted to say that I have been convicted of my attitude lately.  It has reflected especially in the last two posts.  I'm not saying that I necessarily disagree with what I said, but I was not close to God when I typed either of them and it shows I think.  I am very aware again that its is not just what you say or type for that matter but the way in which you do as well.  I have wasted enough time on these trivial matters that will not be present in heaven for sure.  I read a wonderful devotional the other day that has been hanging around in my heart.  The thing that stood out to me and has been very precious and encouraging when I think about is this: we never sin and it only be ours anymore.  Every time I sin it placed on the Lord Jesus, or rather was placed there before the foundation of the world.  Even before I was aware of His love for me this was true.  "For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly." (Romans 5:6)

The argument that God would be just to send us to hell even if He had not sent His own Son to die for us has never been a consideration to God, since He had determined to have Jesus die for us before the foundation of the world.  Sin has always, when rightly seen cost God much more than us.  Without saying much more, I am sorry for anyone that has come possibly searching for life and found only a fading argument in the last two posts.  That is not to say that arguing is all bad, but I feel compelled to say that I know my attitude was wrong and I'm sure it came across.  There is a beautiful reality of a living Saviour that I would like to get back to.  He loves us all.  Do you know that?  I doubt it sometimes, but it remains true.  He loves us.  Ain't that awesome!  

"He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world." (1 John 2:2)

A Tribute To The David Crowder Band

If you can't tell already by the numerous David Crowder Band songs I have on my blog, I am a huge David Crowder Band fan.  I love their music.  I think their music is such a refreshing reminder that not all of what is new is shallow.  Not that all 'shallow' music is wrong, but in a day where lyrics are often said to be overlooked for a good beat, it is nice to see a band that I believe has both awesome music and possibly even more awesome lyrics.  Before I start, I must warn you that I may not be able to control myself once I get started.  Anyway here I go.

 Just a couple years ago they put out a CD called "A Collision."  I can honestly let the CD play from 1 to 22 and never want to skip to the next song.  I don't know if they meant to or not, but the CD progresses it seems from our first call to worship to the great entrance into the new Jerusalem.  Before I get off on all twenty two songs, I would like to highlight one.  It is one of the two songs that actually became popular on 88.5 the local christian station.  I can't recall the actual song title.  I think it is 'Wholly Yours,' but I could be wrong.  Here are the opening lines.....

I am full of earth
You are heaven’s worth
I am stained with dirt, prone to depravity
You are everything that is bright and clean
The antonym of me
You are divinity
But a certain sign of grace is this
From the broken earth flowers come up 
Pushing through the dirt

You are holy, holy, holy
All heaven cries “Holy, holy God”
You are holy, holy, holy
I want to be holy like You are

You are everything that is bright and clean
And You’re covering me with Your majesty
And the truest sign of grace was this
From wounded hands redemption fell down
Liberating man
But the harder I try the more clearly can I feel
The depth of our fall and the weight of it all
And so this might could be the most impossible thing
Your grandness in me making me clean

Glory, hallelujah
Glory, glory, hallelujah
So here I am, all of me
Finally everything
Wholly, wholly, wholly
I am wholly, wholly
I am wholly, wholly, wholly
Yours

I hope you are as blessed by this as I have been.

Thanks again,

Rya