We were meant to Live for soo much more...

While He lived on earth, anticipating death, Jesus cried out in pain and wept in sorrow as He offered up priestly prayers t God. Because He honored God, God answered Him. Though He was God's Son, He learned trusting-obedience by what He suffered, just as we do.
Hebrews 5: 7-8

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

THE ATTRIBUTES OF GOD - VOLUME 1 - A.W. TOZER

Excerpt from Chapter 1 of A.W. Tozer's book "The Attributes of God - Volume 1 -

Pg.5 -6 –

The poet says, “One God, one Majesty. There is no God but Thee. Unbounded, unextended unity.”

For a long time I wondered why he said, “unbounded, enextended unity”; then I realized he meant that God doesn’t extend into space; God contains space. C.S. Lewis said that if you could think of a sheet of paper infinitely extended in all directions, and if you took a pencil and made a line one inch long on it, that would be time. When you started to push your pencil it was the beginning of time and when you lifted it off the paper it was the end of time. And all around, infinitely extended in all directions, is God. That’s a good illustration.
If there were a point where God stopped, then God wouldn’t be perfect. For instance, if God knew almost everything, but not quite everything, then God wouldn’t be perfect in knowledge. His understanding wouldn’t be infinite, as it says in Psalm 147:5.

Let us take all that can be know – past, present, and future, spiritual, psychic and physical – everywhere throughout the universe. And let us say God knows all of it except one percent – He knows ninety-nine percent of all that can be known. I’d be embarrassed to go to heaven and look into the face of a God that didn’t know everything. He has to know it all or I can’t worship Him. I can’t worship that which is not perfect.

FRIENDSHIP; THE FOUR LOVES; C.S. LEWIS

I thought this an amazing powerful quote from Lewis that has to do about the Love of Friendship.

"Those who have nothing can share nothing; those who are going nowhere can have no fellow-travelers."

I like this because it is true. If you think about it for a minute, you will see what he is saying.

This makes the mere thought of friendship really quite a fragile and delicate thing. While friendship is share maybe between just a few people, three, four, maybe five, maybe more, it is quite a sacred thing over just simple acquaintances or even companionship as Lewis puts it.

LOVE PART 2

I am reading THE FOUR LOVES by C.S. Lewis, for quite some time now, and only on page 35. But running across this passage I have shared here, I think it really clear on what one of the principles of love really means. Now in the first chapter of this book, and the sections I’m reading, Lewis talks about the love of ones country. I think though that it can really be applied to life in general, the underlying principle.

C.S. Lewis writes in his book, THE FOUR LOVES, pg. 34-Lewis starts this section with introducing some words from Kipling,
“It was unfair to Kipling, who knew – wonderfully, for so homeless a man – what the love of home can mean. But the lines, in isolation, can be taken to sum up the thing. They run:

If England was what England seems
‘Ow quick we’d drop ‘er. But she ain’t!

Love never spoke that way. It is like loving your children only ‘if they’re good’, your wife only while she keeps her looks, your husband only so long as he is famous and successful. ‘No man,’ said one of the Greeks, ‘loves his city because it is great, but because it is his.’ A man who really loves his country will love her in her RUIN and DEGENERATION – “England, with all thy faults, I love thee still.” She will be to him ‘a poor thing but mine own’. He may think her good and great, when she is not, because he loves her…

I like this because when you, when I, think of love, the first thing that comes to mind is 1 Cor. 13: 4-8 –

4Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant,
5does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered,
6does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth;
7bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
8Love never fails…

So when I read that little snippet from Lewis, I saw the greatness of Love in this picture, even if it is about ones love for country. After Kipling’s words, Lewis writes ‘Love never spoke that way.’ It is true. True love does not drop something just because it becomes tarnished, because someone is not perfect. Just as Lewis wrote ‘it is like loving your children only ‘if they’re good’, your wife only while she keeps her looks, your husband only so long as he is famous and successful.’

Love is a commitment.
Love is a conscious choice.
Love is a promise to someone.
Love is a life style.
Love is patient,
Love is kind,
Love does not brag and is not arrogant,
Love does not act unbecomingly,
Love does not seek its own,
Love is not provoked,
Love does not take into account a wrong suffered,
Love does not rejoice in unrighteousness,
Love rejoices in the truth,
Love bears all things,
Love believes all things,
Love hopes all things,
Love endures all things.
Love never fails.

Love will never ultimately turn anyone away; instead love will reach out to people. True love will seek to help those who need help. True love is about giving one self to another person, in what ever form that may be, which there are many, as you have just read the list, which you can even probably come up with some more ideas.
I just pray that the love that we possess is the love that GOD has breathed into us, that GOD has instilled within us, and that we will use that Love and the Truth of GOD to reach all people, to help all people, and to correct all people, whether those people are people inside or outside of the Church.
Yes, there are those who we need to correct that exist within the Church, the Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing, but we need to correct them in a Godly loving way.
As well, we must make sure that we are correct in doing so, we must make sure that we to aren’t wrong in our acquisition (I hope this word is correct in this setting) about that person. We must make sure that we take the plank out of our own eye before we can remove the speck of dust from someone else’s eye. Matt 7:1-6.

I AM A SINNER

Matthew 5:48, to sum it up, says we have a “God-created Identity.”

God, in Genesis 1:26-28 says, “Let Us make human beings in our image, make them reflecting our nature so they can be responsible for the fish in the sea, the birds in the air, the cattle, and yes, Earth itself, and every animal that moves on the face of the Earth. God created human beings; He created them godlike, reflecting God’s nature. He created them male and female. God blessed them.
Prosper! Reproduce! Fill Earth! Take Charge!”

2:7 – God formed man out of the dirt from the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life. The man came alive – a living soul.

2:18 – God said, “It’s not good for man to be alone; I’ll make him a helper, a companion.”

2:21-22 – God put the man into a deep sleep. As he slept He removed one of his ribs and replaced it with flesh. God then used the rib He had taken from man to make woman and presented her to the man.”

Thus it all starts. As you read here, we are nothing more than a created being formed by God, to reflect God’s nature, and that alone is quite a bit. To be a created person is one thing. To be a created person to reflect God’s nature, is another thing, it is huge. It means that our life must in some way try to reflect, represent, who God is, His nature. When thinking about this, it boggles my mind to think how hard this truly is because I am a sinner.

I AM A SINNER!
It is impossible to truly be like God!
It is impossible to truly be like Jesus!
I AM A SINNER!
God is perfect!
God is the creator of the Universe!
Jesus is God’s one and only begotten Son!
Jesus is perfect!
To say I can be like Jesus, can I truly say that?
I am not perfect!
Jesus is Perfect!
Jesus never sinned once!
Most importantly, God, and Jesus, is perfect!
I AM A SINNER!

It is very clear when Jesus says, “This is how much God loves the world; He gave His Son, His one and only son. And this is why: so no one need be destroyed. John 3:16”

Jesus also tells us after this, very clearly again, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father apart from me. If you really knew me, you would know my father as well. From now on, you do know Him. You’ve even seen Him.”

We are all sinners, whether you want to accept that or not, it is true; we are all sinners!

Through one man, Adam, sin entered into all of creation. Since Adam sinned the first time, it has been in motion ever since, for all of history, up to today, except for in one person.

Jesus!
God’s Son!
His One and Only Begotten!
Just as you have read, Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life!
Period!
That’s it!
One Way!
One Way Only!
No Exceptions!

There has never been, nor will there ever be, any other way to our Father in Heaven except through Jesus Christ, Our Savior.

The only way to learn is to study!
The only way to study is to learn to read!
The only way to pass a test is by gaining knowledge about what the test of over!
The only way to win a game is by hard practice and determination!
The only way to get from point A to point B is through know the directions!
The only way to know the correct directions is by knowing how to read (again)!
The only way from an eternity in hell to an eternity in heaven is by knowing the right path to travel down, and that path is the path God shows us in the bible, the path Jesus traveled, the path that leads us directly to the cross!

Luke 9:23-27 – Then he told them what they could expect for themselves: "Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You're not in the driver's seat—I am. Don't run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I'll show you how. Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to finding yourself, your true self. What good would it do to get everything you want and lose you, the real you? If any of you is embarrassed with me and the way I'm leading you, know that the Son of Man will be far more embarrassed with you when he arrives in all his splendor in company with the Father and the holy angels. This isn't, you realize, pie in the sky by and by. Some who have taken their stand right here are going to see it happen, see with their own eyes the kingdom of God." The Message

Luke 9:23-27 – And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.
"For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it.
"For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world, and loses or forfeits himself?
"For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His glory, and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.
"But I say to you truthfully, there are some of those standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God." NASB

Through Jesus alone can we get to heaven!
Fully believing and Bible message God has given us!
Fully believing that Jesus died on the cross!
All of it!
Every word that is in the Bible!
New Testament and Old Testament!
Fully believing that we can do nothing alone!
Alone means being cut off from all things!
Being cut off from all things would in turn mean being cut off from God!
God is the creator!
Nothing can be alone from God!

God sent His One and Only Begotten Son so that we could be redeemed. He was the perfect sacrificial sacrifice. He was the blood that needed to be spilled to purify the earth. He was the sacrifice that was needed to clear our debt, our sin. God keeps no record of our past sin. He has given us a clean slate to start from.

I AM A SINNER!
I NEED GOD!
I NEED JESUS!

Romans 3:23 – For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

Romans 5:8 – But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 6:23 – For the wages of sin is death, but the free figt of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 3!
Romans!
Read all of Romans!
Real the entire Bible!
Read with passion!
Zeal!
Expectation to be changed!
The Bible is Life Changing!

I CANNOT DO THIS ALONE!
YOU CANNOT DO THIS ALONE!
NO ONE CAN DO THIS ALONE!
NO ONE CAN DO THIS APART FROM GOD!
NO ONE CAN DO THIS APART FROM JESUS!
NO ONE CAN DO THIS APART FROM THE CROSS!
WE CANNOT TAKE THE CROSS OUT OF THE EQUATION!
WE CANNOT TAKE THE CROSS OUT OF THE CHURCH!

WE ARE ALL SINNERS!

Saturday, March 20, 2010

Seeing GOD

It seems as I walk through my days, regardless of where I am, on a more regular basis than not, that I don't always see a lot of GOD in the people that surround me. I sometimes wonder why that is to a large degree, and other times I just brush it off as though it is normal. But is it normal to not see GOD at times wherever we are?

I believe to a large degree that GOD will make Himself apparent more so than at other times. And it sounds funny as I read this myself because I possess the knowledge that GOD is actually truly present everywhere at all times. However, it is ourselves who are the ones preventing ourselves from really noticing that GOD is present at the moment.

What are we truly focused on throughout our days? Are we focusing on seeing GOD and expecting GOD at every moment of the day, or are we focused on and worrying about our grades in school, what our boss is going to say to us the next time we go to work, whether or not we can pay the bills on time this month, whether we have enough food to last through the week, whether or not we have the latest and greatest, what our clothes look like? What are you truly focusing on?

I have read recently in several books, not just the bible, that more so than not, people find more joy and truth out of spending time with homeless people who live in the streets of the downtown area of large cities such as Philadelphia and Atlanta. This extends as well through any city that you find yourself being in at the moment. The truth that comes from the conversations of these people and the relationships are unmatched. The conversations are unadulterated. As stated by Shane Claiborne in his book IRRESISTIBLE REVOLUTION one young girl they met on the street said that when she grows up she wants to go to a grocery store so she can give out food to all the hungry people. These peoples stories tell of living life with the homeless people, being their friends. They gained more from their time in the streets than in the class room or with their rich friends. JESUS DID THIS AS WELL. JESUS LIVED WITH THE DESTITUTE. JESUS GOT DIRTY. WHEN ARE WE GOING TO GET DIRTY?

HEBREWS 13: 1-2 - STAY ON GOOD TERMS WTIH EACH OTHER, HELD TOGETHER BY LOVE. BE READY WITH A MEAL OR A BED WHEN IT'S NEEDED. WHY, SOME HAVE EXTENDED HOSPITALITY TO ANGELS WITHOUT EVER KNOWING IT!

Friday, March 19, 2010

BLOGGER HTML

So after much toiling and research, I have just figured out in a small way to start customizing my blog page how I myself want to see my page. I have just figured out how to add pages, which is small and insignificant, however, along with pages, I have just learned how to add the horizontal link/ title navigation bar under the page header. This is the fist HTML I have ever tried and attempted to do. I have successfully managed to win over this feat. I hope to keep getting more into the HTML editing of my page over time and the customization of my page to have the look and feel that I want it to have.

Sunday, March 7, 2010

What's Holding You Back

What is it that's holding people back? What is it that's preventing them from letting go?
I realize that some people are married, may have a little bit of debt; even though, what's holding you back from where you really want to go, what you really want to do?
We cannot let people be the predictors of our future, our future is our own. If you're married, you have then two of you to make it that much more possible. We cannot and should not let material possessions stop us from leaving if we want to leave. We much live our lives, we only have a short while to do it in. We must take the hand of the one we truly love and run away and live life together in that love, regardless of where it is and what it looks like. It doesn't matter if it is right down the street from the rest of our families, in the neighboring state or on the other side of the globe.
My main point of all o this is that we cannot allow anything, at all, whatever from it is in, hold us back, prevent us from letting go, especially if it is just ourselves.
And, if you're thinking, and worrying, about money, don't! There is always a way to make money to support yourselves, to cover what needs covered. Don't worry.
Don't worry, don't let anybody/ thing hold you back; pursue your passion with undignified zeal.