Something I Don't Understand...

Hello.

This is something that has been bothering me for quite some time: Why do people say "F" God? Especially atheists? It's just something I don't understand.  I mean, we push God out of our lives consistently, we don't ask for help, we tell Him we can do it ourselves.  So, God graciously gives us what we want.  Then when something bad happens, suddenly it's God's fault and He should have done something for us.  I mean isn't He supposed to always be there for us??  That would be like me working on a project and someone offers there help.  I say, "No I've got this. I don't need any help." I eventually finish that project, start and finish another one, and am working on a completely different one, when something goes wrong.  I turn to the person who asked me if I wanted help 2-3 projects ago and say, "What the heck?? Where were you?? I needed your help!" Just a wee bit ridiculous if you ask me.

I especially don't understand why atheists say it.  According to Dictionary.reference.com the definition of an atheist is: "A person who does not believe in God or gods." By saying "F" God, they are inadvertently claiming that there is in fact a God who has at least some power and control over how things turn out. So they are disclaiming their own beliefs. It just doesn't make sense to me!

That's all I've got. I just had to get it out there.

Good or Evil God?...

Hello.

So it has definitely been awhile. I apologize profusely. I feel like this one needs more work, but I promised I would post this one a long time ago, so it should probably go up.

I was asked these questions a while ago by some friends: “If God is all good, then why is there evil?”, “If there is evil, and God created everything, then did He create evil?”, “If God knows what is going to happen in our lives, is it really free will?”, and “If God knows what is going to happen in our lives before we’re born, then why would He let someone be made who was destined for hell?”

The first two questions (If God is all good, then why is there evil? And if there is evil, and God created everything, then did he create evil?) are kind of hand-in-hand. The first question you have to ask yourself concerning these two questions is: Does evil exist? Is it its own unit or is it just a lack of good? Does cold exist or is it just a lack of heat?

For those scientists out there, the answer to the latter would be, cold does not exist. It is merely the absence of heat. We use the word “cold” to describe the absence of heat that we feel. Just as a “vacuum” is not a “thing” but a word to describe the absence of…everything...we use the word “evil” to describe the absence of good.

God created everything “good”. He even said, “It is good,” at the end of every day of creation.

“God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.

Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.” – Genesis 1:31-2:1 (NIV)

God created each of us with free will. We have the choice to be good or bad and to love or hate. When we choose to love God, it is so much more special to him than if we were all created to just love him with no options. God put the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the garden of Eden with the one rule that Adam and Eve could eat of any tree except that one. Adam and Eve were given the option to obey God and love him, or to disobey him and do whatever they pleased. They chose to disobey. For someone to be truly “free”, they have to have choice. To make Adam and Eve really free, they had to have options and the choice to obey or disobey, hence why he put the tree in the garden in the first place.

In the cmspin.com article by Saraiah Faith Gracie, “Did God Create Evil,” it states that because all of God’s creation was declared to be good, evil did not come into this world as a product of creation. However, it did exist from the beginning, as a choice within the ability for created beings to make decisions. As Saraiah said in her column, “Because of this, it could be said that while God did not create evil itself, what He did create was the potential for evil.” Evil existed merely by freedom of choice.

That leads to a question of “Why would God even permit the mere possibility for evil to exist?” In reality, if God had not created freedom of choice, humans, as well as angels, would serve him because we would have been nothing more than mindless beings that followed him like sad puppies. We would trail after him, not because we loved and honored him, but because we would not have had the aptitude to do anything else (http://www.cmspin.com).

Free will leads into the next two questions (If God knows what is going to happen in our lives, is it really free will? And if God knows what is going to happen in our lives before we are born, then why would he let someone be made who was destined for hell?) which also go hand-in-hand.

An idea I read somewhere said that just because one knows what is going to happen doesn’t mean that free will is then gone; if you put a bowl of ice cream in front of a child and a bowl of vegetables, you know which one the child is going to choose, but that child still has the free will to pick whichever one he/she wants. Just because God knows you are going to put on your black shirt instead of your red one, doesn’t mean it still isn’t free will for you; and if He knows you are going to lie to your boss today instead of just telling him/her the truth, doesn’t mean it still isn’t free will. God is outside of time. He is there before you are born, he saw what you will do tomorrow both before and after it happens, and he can watch you in the present make that decision. One thought I have had is that God being all knowing means that he knows every single choice you can make in an instant, and he knows what will happen with each and every single choice you make, he knows every possible outcome (again that is just a thought that tumbles through my mind occasionally). Knowing these things though, he knows what the possible outcomes are, but he knows the ones you will make, thus being able to fulfill the dire need for his son to die on the cross for us, because of the way peoples’ choices turned out.

As I said earlier, God is outside of time. He created time, why should he be confined to it? To ask about God in a specific tense is to confine him to time. Just because he knows the future does not mean he controlled how you turned out. My pastor created an interesting image (that I am going to attempt to recreate) of our linear time and God being completely outside of it:

God can be at any point and see in any direction of time, while we are constantly in a single, forward motion of time. We can not understand anything but a forward motion in time. We can not comprehend never being confined to a single moment.

Christianity...

Hello.

So I really want to say this to someone someday, but knowing people these days have short attention spans, I am not sure I will ever be able to...

When someone asks me what my religion is, I would love to reply:

I am a Christian, but it's not really a religion...more of a way of life.

I am absolutely in love with a man who died a horrific death, just to save me.

I adore a man who suffered heinously, just to give me freedom.

I worship a man who defeated the grave, just so that someday I may overcome death as well.

Words cannot express my exaltation for this perfect lamb, Son of Man, my rock, my deliverer, savior, and hero.

Since many people will not sit to listen to me say this, I thought it would do better on my blog.

Project 4:4

Hello.

So if you have seen my Facebook then you know that my church is going through the Bible in one year, in chronological order. I am excited, I am participating, and I am loving it. It is a new adventure for me; and I love adventures (a lot).

Everyday, starting from Genesis 1:1 on January 1st, we read 5 pages a day. I started out a little behind since I was sharing the Bible with both my parents and sometimes didn't know where the Bible ended up (which my house isn't that big, so I don't know how I lose things so easily sometimes), but I was about 2 weeks behind at one point. But! I am now caught up because my parents bought me my own chronologically ordered Bible so I always know where it is. Everyday, Pastor Mark Ashton puts up "daily accelerators" that talk about the 5 pages we just read and go more in depth (http://cccomaha.org/blogs/project44/category/daily-accelerators/). I have found these to be extremely helpful.

I must say that within 1 week I noticed a complete change in my attitude, my happiness, my thoughts, my actions, and well everything. Today we just finished the book of Genesis and it has been extremely awesome. I've got a pattern down for my day, so I know and remember (key word being remember) when to read my Bible. I dwell in thoughts quite a bit, usually very sad ones, but I have noticed that by reading my Bible everyday, I pray more, and I don't dwell on sad things anymore. I am so much more happy and positive during the day.

I read my Bible right before I go to bed. I have found this best for me because well...I have a wild imagination and I let the smallest sounds in my room scare me (yes...I am still scared of something getting me in the night...yes I am 21). I hate darkness and I hate big spaces (hence why I have the smallest bedroom in the house, painted a wonderfully bright blue and green!). Back to my imagination....with it being so wild and out-of-control, I tend to not be able to fall asleep so well most nights. Since I have started reading my Bible right before I go to bed, my mind is more at ease, I feel so much more peaceful, and I fear nothing because my mind is completely focused on God. I fall asleep much quicker now and it's wonderful.

"The Lord is my light and my salvation-whom shall I fear?

The Lord is the stronghold of my life-of whom shall I be afraid?

When the wicked advance against me to devour me,

it is my enemies and my foes who will stumble and fall.

Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear;

though war break out against me, even then I will be confident."

Psalm 27:1-3

Letting Go...

Hello.

Letting go is hard. Usually I'm very good at letting go, but when you hurt, letting go is hard. I have been holding on to some things for way too long and when there are no customers at work, or I can't sleep, I sit there and dwell on these things. It makes my heart hurt. I don't know why I keep thinking these things because a lot of these people (actually almost all) are not in my life anymore. I know it's unhealthy, but it is like a magnet or those light things that attract flies in restaurants and whatnot. I want to let it all go...I just can't. And it's not that I haven't forgiven these people (to there knowledge or not), but I have. I just can't stop thinking about it all and why people would say and do those things to another person. It just hurts. Then I hurt because of it. And I know my mom said that these people have long forgotten whatever it is you're holding on to and so now the only person it's hurting anymore is you and the only person with the burden is you (we were actually talking about someone else and what he was holding on to, but I carried it over to my situation), but it still lingers in my mind, unable to die.

Lord, just give me peace.

Happy Birthday, MOM!

Saaaayyyy whhhaaaatttt???? I'm 30 min early for my mom's birthday! But...November 5th....a great day to celebrate an amazing woman. She's the best. Ever.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOM!

Steve Jobs...

#1-It's been a long time since I posted anything on this blog. I apologize.

B-I know this is a little bit of time after Steve Jobs' death, but it's just been on my mind...

An article was in our Omaha newspaper shortly after his death (as I'm sure it was in many cities' newspapers across the US). One thing that caught my attention was a little piece that said after asking his pastor, at the age of 13, if God knew there was poverty and hunger in the world (I am taking this from memory because I am sure my dad has already recycled that paper so it is not verbatim) and hearing his pastor's response, he never returned to church since then. I was saddened by that, as I am whenever I hear of a brother or sister in Christ walking away from Jesus.

But as I continued to think about it, I wondered...did Steve Jobs ever donate to charity? Did he ever give his millions or billions of dollars to someone who could really use it? I looked up that sort of thing and many people criticized him for never donating to charity, some suggested maybe he donated anonymously, and some said that him creating jobs through Pixar, Apple and creating items to make our lives easier was charity enough.

Then I thought about something I read in a book (I believe it was "The Case for Christ (or Faith) but I'm not 100% sure) that the question was asked, "How can God be so good if he just lets poverty and starvation happen here on Earth?" The responder said, "1st thing, since we've been shaking our puny fists at God saying we're gonna do it our way...that's just what God has let us do, it's our choice to run this Earth our own way. 2nd thing, that being said, can't God ask you the same question? If we're so worried about poverty and starvation, then why don't we do anything about it?"

So if Steve Jobs was so worried about poverty and famine and all things bad, I sure hope he didn't just sit there and blame God and then do nothing on his own with his billions of dollars.