Objectively Optimistic

Sorry I haven't been posting recently but things have been busy lately. I am printing a 3 ft by 4 ft poster tomorrow so I hope that goes well. Anyways ...

I find this is the hardest things to do. To be objectively optimistic. I guess first I should describe what I mean by that. This is a sort of frame of mind that you are optimistic that everything will work out. Optimistic that people are good people and that they will do the right thing, that I will do the right thing. But it is not a blind optimism, that if sufficient evidence is shown that things will not work out, or people are not who they should be, I will be objective about the situation, and but being optimistic(not unrealistic). Whether this is finding a solution, changing my attitudes, or asking God for help.

The question then becomes what is sufficient evidence?

Anyways that is my 2 cents, hope your week is going good!!

Matthew: Chapter 6

Matthew: Chapter 6
16 "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat (or drink), or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds in the sky; they do not sow or reap, they gather nothing into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are not you more important than they? Can any of you by worrying add a single moment to your life-span? 17 Why are you anxious about clothes? Learn from the way the wild flowers grow. They do not work or spin. But I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was clothed like one of them. 18 If God so clothes the grass of the field, which grows today and is thrown into the oven tomorrow, will he not much more provide for you, O you of little faith? So do not worry and say, 'What are we to eat?' or 'What are we to drink?' or 'What are we to wear?' All these things the pagans seek. Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom (of God) and his righteousness, 19 and all these things will be given you besides. Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself. Sufficient for a day is its own evil.

I used to think that I was the only one that struggled with the many issues that surround life. I then came to a point where I understood the world by saying we all struggle with the same things. I soon realized the fallacy of that statement. I am currently at the stage where I realize we all have our own unique set of struggles that are our own. They may overlap in areas but together they are unique.

The first statement leaves us all alone. The second statement believes that we can solve our problems together, which I believe has it's place, the last statement shows our need for God.

Silence or Speak

Ecclesiastes 3:7b (NKJV) "A time to keep silence, And a time to speak;"

This is a difficult balance to accomplish. If you haven't figured out one of my dreams is to learn how to find this balance. I find many times we are silent when we should speak. I find that many of our problems are rooted in our silence. Things like struggles, joy, and problems should be said because many people struggle and when we are silent we think we struggle alone. Many people are joyful but don't share it, God's goodness I think should be shared. Sometimes it is our misconceptions of other peoples words or actions that pull us apart, and other times I talk to much and don't listen to what people are trying to tell me. The problem is it is hard because I worry what other people think about me. I worry because I am not sure about the consequences of saying things (or silence), and this worry drains my energy. I believe that Satan many times revels in our silence. This is where I am learning to trust God, and say it is all yours anyways.

So God this is a prayer for myself and everyone,
that we would learn how to keep our silence when it is needed,
and learn to speak when we need to speak.
God bless us,
God lead us.

Galatians 6:2-3 (NKJV)
"Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself."

Trusting God

Chapter 13

1 And as he went out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, Teacher, see what wonderful stones and buildings!
2 Jesus said to him, Do you see these great buildings? there shall not be one stone left upon another, that shall not be thrown down.
3 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives across from the temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked him privately,
4 Tell us, when shall these things be? and what will be the sign that all these things are about to be fulfilled?
5 And Jesus said to them, Take heed lest any man deceive you:
6 For many will come in my name, saying, I am he; and shall deceive many.
7 And when you hear of wars and rumours of wars, do not be troubled: for such things must happen; but the end is not yet.
8 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be earthquakes in various places, and there shall be famines: these are the beginnings of birth pains.

I find many times people use these verses to convince people buy gold, stock pile food ... and the rest. To convince people that the world is going to end right away. The truth is that Jesus is saying that everything will fall apart. But the question becomes where do we put our trust. I find that sometimes we use this to envision a future where we forget all ties to the world and go live in the mountains, but look closely does Jesus draw that conclusion anywhere. If you think about it buying gold, ammunition, food, etc. really is the transferring this trust in the system to a trust in my ability to prepare myself. Is that what Jesus intended? I don't believe so. I believe that Jesus wants us to trust him. So what does that mean, what does trusting Jesus look like? And that I believe is the million dollar question.

Up Close

Matthew 9:13 "But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy and not sacrifice.' For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance"

Matthew 12:7 "But if you had known what this means, 'I desire mercy and not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the guiltless"

Jesus is quoting Hosea 6:6

The religious leaders of the time focused on sacrifice. If you read the passages around these verses the the Pharisees are telling Jesus that he and is followers are not following the "rules." They were not making "sacrifices". The were using condemning Jesus because he healed on the sabbath, because his disciples threshed wheat and eat it on the sabbath. This can be translated into how we quickly point out all the areas where other people are not following God. Who would you say is not following Jesus and why?

Jesus offers this radically different idea where the greatest commandment is to love God. The rules are not our salvation but they become important to the person or community as we learn to love, and as we are lead by the holy spirit. I think this is what Hosea is saying, he is crying out for to God because he wants mercy and not rules to set straight wrongs. Hosea feels the weight because no one can live according to the rules that God has set in place. This is exactly why Jesus came to offer us mercy instead of sacrifices.

This leads me to think about what we teach people, are we teaching people to follow rules or to love God? I think many times we teach people rules because it is so much easier to do.

Monday

So these are report writing days for me and it doesn't excite me to write more here but here are some resent thoughts.

Check out Bradley Hathaway http://www.myspace.com/bradleyhathaway. He is a little far out there but I think he says some important things. Like in the song "Samuel" he talks about being loved for no other reason than being.

Second thought that came up in a bible study I was a part of. That Jesus believes in us that we can follow him ie. do what he did. But it is crucial that we understand that it is not because of what we are capable of, but because of what he has done for us and what he offers us. (catch that it's not about us)

Anyways maybe I will expand on a later blog, but yah enjoy the picture and hope you have a good Tuesday.

Wild Flowers

I was looking though my posts that I have not published and I wondered why this one was never published. So I publish this one today.

1 Thessalonians 5:15-18
15 See that no one repays another with evil for evil; but always seek that which is good, both for yourselves, and for all men.
16 Rejoice always.
17 Pray without ceasing.
18 In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.

This past year "Pray without ceasing" has been brought home to me. It seems to be the most important thing to me.

Trust

Mark 6:49+50 NKJV
"And when they saw Him walking on the sea, they supposed it was a gost, and cried out;for they all saw Him and were troubled. But immediately He talked with them and said to them, 'Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.'"

Proverbs 3:5+6 NKJV
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths."

As Christians we trust neither in our own understanding, or the understanding of the world, but trust the Lord with our whole heart. How often do we trust humans when we should be trusting God? How often do we accept things we hear as true but ignore what God says?

So God I trust you to lead me,
I trust you to take care of me,
So God lets walk on water that'd be cool.

Collaborative effort.

Where do I go from here?

This is one of my favorite things to do in the city, riding my bike with little traffic.
Today something clicked, and so it was a great day.
"It is the Lord Christ you are serving"
Picture like this I wish I had a better camera where I can adjust the shutter speed, but then I wouldn't take this picture because I would be afraid that that I would break it lol.

I got this verse from a friend "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving." Colossians 3:23-24

So God teach me to serve you.

A good song by Branden Heath wait and see

Transparency 2

To the past(and others involved),
that I really only representations were used to talk.
It was really done for me five months ago, but completely done 2 months ago.
The only reason that I came around again is to see how people are doing, and I will probably come around again and leave my web markings on your statistics. To the person that made a fool of me a couple of times. God is as integral to me as the blood in my veins. I offer you God but we both know that answer. Yes you have to looks but it was never about that for me, and now not knowing what I know I'm glad it never was.

To the very attractive possible future
that I would love to know.
I stumble at my english, I am strange and do stupid things sometimes, I know.
The only consolation I have for myself is
Romans 8:12-14 (The Message) "So don't you see that we don't owe this old do-it-yourself life one red cent. There's nothing in it for us, nothing at all. The best thing to do is give it a decent burial and get on with your new life. God's Spirit beckons. There are things to do and places to go!"
I saw my past straight in the eyes and I am so thankful for God for protecting me all these years and it was really only God even though I had no idea why (At the time I was quite frustrated by it).

To the present (third parties)
It's to bad that this effects life, and this blog but I guess it has to. To finish it up I am thinking about posting transparency 3, it's been in the works for awhile. We'll see.