Self-proclaiming Truth

I was just reminded that God is Self-proclaiming. He does not need our arguments to make His truth seem real. It is awesome to know that He is not in the business of hiding things from anyone who wants to know. Just one glance and you will see and know that He is alive and well.

Don't get angry......you know your Mom is real

I was talking to a young man today at school, and we were on the subject of the reality of God.  I asked a few of them standing there if they thought that there was a God.  One boy said that he was agnostic and another one said that he knew there was a God and that it ticked him off to hear people say that there is not.  He said that he didn't like to talk to people about the subject because it got him ticked off when others said that there was not a God or that they didn't believe in Jesus.  So I was thinking....... if someone walked up to you and said, "hey you know that your Mom is not real," would that make you mad?  It may concern you that the person may be out of touch with reality, but I don't think it would make you mad.  Well, is God not as real as our Mothers?  If we say that He is indeed as real as our Mothers, then anger should not be an emotion that arises within us if we hear someone say that there is no God.  I could be completely judgmental here but, I think that many folks get angry at the person who says there is no God, because of their own insecurity.  Maybe this is a stretch, but if we see the argument of whether God is real or not as mostly a battle of being of the right opinion, then it would certainly make us angry if we hear someone saying that they don't believe He's real.  But if we know He is real, then we have no need to be angry.  We should be very concerned, but not angry.  We know that everyone knows in their heart that there is a God if we believe the Bible, so let us be patient with the ones we come in contact with that use "there is no God" as a smoke screen to continue in there own way.  We all used many smoke screens to hide our rebellion at one point in our life too.  Maybe we should all pause and let the reality of God sink in.  Lord help me.  I need to the most.

Get Up!

I was talking to Mr. Glen, a good friend and father so-to-speak in the faith a while back, and I remember him saying that if we could hear the Holy Spirit audibly, we would hear him say "Get Up!" on a regular basis.  I guess I think about things in a weird way sometimes.  Its crazy how I get to things in my thought process at times.  I was just sitting here thinking about how I feel contradictory sometimes by some of the things that I like.  Some of the things I like are not normally in the same camps; like football and poetry.  Well that got me to thinking about the football players and coaches on my team right now.  That lead me to the rest of this post.  I struggle quite often with the guilt of my past sins and failures.  I have to look many folks in the eye all the time who have saw me do things and say things not in sink with my profession of Christ.  In all of my failures I am reminded however of what Mr. Glen told me, and what the Bible says......if we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness, and there is therefore no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus.  He convicts me and disciplines me as a loving father does his children, but He has paid the price for my debt.  To be sure there is another voice that I have to fight telling me that He hasn't forgiven me and that He doesn't love me anymore now that I have done it again, but all the while the Holy Spirit is saying...."Get up! Get up!  Because I love you!

In one of the Rocky movies Rocky is getting beat pretty bad and he falls down.  He lays there for a while and he can't hardly move.  Then he hears Mickey his trainer scream at him, "Get up! Get up you son of #####, cause Mickey loves ya."  Now I am not trying to equate Mickey with Jesus, but if we can find the strength to get up when a human that we love and admire so much encourages us, how much more would we if we let it sink in and thought often about the fact that God is there in the middle of our biggest falls and He is not only convicting our hearts but also trying to encourage us to get back up because He loves us!

Thanks for reading again,

Ryan

Psychology=Reality?

I am not planning on this being a long post, but I could get carried away.  Anyway as the title implies I have a lot of questions about psychology and its current descriptions of what reality actually is for its patients.  Before I go any further I think this is a super sensitive subject for a lot of folks so I will keep that in mind as I go on.  In the following paragraph I will try to explain why I have some questions with many psychological theories.  This will not be a complete explanation of what I think, but it will I think show you why I question.

Today we have grown so accustomed to listening to 'professionals' that I think we may second-guess our own reasoning.  This is not the only question but it is definitely one big one.  Psychology is a soft science, meaning that it can not be examined completely by the scientific method.  For years and years people have not had near as many labels and seemed to have made i at least as good if not better than our current generation with its many labels.  One of two things is true about the last statement.  Either people have new 'disorders' that have not always been around or they have always had these 'disorders' but no one called them that.  Or there is a third option actually; that psychologists have conveyed a reality to people that is not real.  To be sure it may have some aspects of reality, but the cause of the 'disorder' if you will is not really the cause.  Another question I have is a little more subjective, but I worry that if I believed wholeheartedly in psychology then I may begin to believe that the emotional problems that I have sometimes and the bad attitude that I have sometimes and the lack of attention that I have sometimes may in fact be out of my control anyway.  That type of thinking to me is one of the biggest crippling effects that psychological labels can do.

Now for some arguments I have in defense of psychology.  There seems to be some physical causes that can mess with a person's emotions.  One pretty common experience I can think of for a lot of women to some degree or another is post-partum depression.  It has been proven that having a baby messes with the hormone levels in mothers.  Hormone levels mess with a person's feelings, so that they feel depressed or irritated or a whole host of other unwanted emotions.  This varies from person to person but I do think it is physically caused.  

Once again I am just being honest about a lot of questions I have.  I respect a heck of a lot of folks that do not agree with me.  I also know from experience that it sucks horribly bad to be depressed for a long period of time.  I am just asking questions.

Anyway, I will finish by sharing something that may give a little insight into what I believe is missing from the psychological viewpoint.  Emily dealt with some post-partum depression after each of the babies.  She is pretty open about it, so I don't think she would mind me saying.  In talking to her this is how she describes the experience.  She said that it was like her brain was having thoughts and her body having feelings that she didn't want them to have, but in the middle of all that she was telling herself, "Emily you shouldn't feel this way.........."  She would continue by telling herself what was reality.  I love my baby.  God is here.  Hopefully, she would say, Ryan loves me.  But you get the point.  Its as if there really is something else beyond this physical body.  Of course I think this is the truth that is missing in the psychological viewpoint.  If the Bible is correct, we are not all just a bunch of bones, organs, flesh, and chemicals.  Yet most psychology does not take into account that we are anything more than just that.....flesh, bones, organs, and chemicals.  

Hopefully I'll be able to type some more on this at another time.  I would love any comments that could show me something I am missing.

Ryan

Life is not that simple

I was just reading a blog post from a guy I have been reading a little lately.  He was sharing how when he was little and throughout the rest of his life he related to this sad intro song that had a little dog all by himself just walking alone.  He went on to explain some of why he thinks he felt a connection with the little lonely dog when he first saw it when he was about 5 or 6.  He finished by writing that we ought to make sure we reach out to someone today, (especially little kids).  You see, he had some rough things happen when he was little and he had a really tough time communicating his words which added to the misery.  He felt, even as a little 5 year old boy, all alone.  We are so quick to judge that someone just needs to get over things that we avoid real issues that hurt people badly.  We present cookie-cutter concepts that attempt to fix all without really getting into the uncomfortable parts of relationships with people.  We are so quick to say "no one has an excuse, I had a rough upbringing and I still learned how to live responsibly."  Maybe the reason is that we never have really dealt with the hard issues and therefore don't have any really close relationships with anyone.  We just live a life of self-protection which inevitably leads to numbness.  

I'm not looking down my nose here either.  There are many many days that I avoid talking to some people because I know it might get uncomfortable, and I would just rather chill out in my numb little mood for the day.  But here's a wake up call.  Many of the people you and I avoid are hurting and need desperately for someone to care.  When we do this we at least for the moment bring to the forefront of their conscience what they no down deep, that God really does care about them too.  God works through people loving people.  Of course this hits another spot in my heart now that I have children.  Garrison is almost 2 and he will soon be a little 5 year old, and if I try I can imagine him sitting there watching a little lonely dog walk by himself and think that he is pretty much like him.  That's where it hurts.  People, especially little ones need to be loved uncomfortably.  Anyone that has ever really loved someone else knows that at times it just downright awkward to be there for someone.  Its awkward but it is needed.  God help us go love some people this week, especially little kids.

Ryan

Lord help us be more than trees

I am so convicted tonight of my need to feel.  We are called worship in spirit and in truth.  It is not either or.  It is both.  Help us Lord worship You.  

Let the following lyrics sink deep into your heart.  We were created to enjoy Him.

Once again these lyrics are by the David Crowder Band.

Lyrics to God Of Creation :
It’s the way Your stars shine
Sometimes so bright that I swear I could hear
It’s the way Your moonlight
Falls on this mountain lake so clear and
It’s the way Your sunshine
Paints Your evening sky and 
It’s the way Your rain falls
To sing me to sleep at night and
I fall, I fall into You

CHORUS
God of creation
Take my breath away
God of the heavens
In this very space

It’s the way You lead me
The way we walk by Your waters still and
It’s the way You hold me
The way You’ve felt all that I feel and
It’s the way You touch me
The way You know when 
It’s needed most
It’s the way You form Your words
On my heart while I rest in You 
Carry me away

CHORUS

You enter suddenly
And I am lost again
Inside the majesty
Oh, I am lost again
And you come suddenly
‘Cause I am lost again
Inside the mystery,
Oh, I am lost again
Inside the majesty
Inside the mystery

I hope these words have blessed you,

Ryan

Beautiful God

Here is a beautiful song about Jesus and His awesome love that draws us. 

The lyrics are by the David Crowder Band

Lyrics to You're Everything :
You’re everything
I could want
That I could need
If I could see
You want me 
Could I believe
‘Cause You’re perfectly
All I want
And all I need
If I could just feel Your touch
Could I be free

Why do You shine so?
Can a blind man see?
Why do you call?
Why do You beckon me?
Can the deaf hear
The voice of love?
Would You have me come?
Can the cripple run?
Are You the one?

CHORUS 
To raise me up from this grave
Touch my tongue and then I’ll sing
Heal my limbs then joyfully I’ll run to You

You’re everything
I could want
That I could need
And I can just
Feel Your touch
And I can’t breathe

Look how You shine so
The blind can see
And how you call
How You beckon me
The deaf hear
The voice of love
You bid me come 
And the cripple run
You’re the one

CHORUS 

‘Cause You’re everything

And I’m alive and I’ll sing
And I’m alive and I’m free…

You should look the song up and listen to it.  It is beautiful.

Ryan