I'm going to title this after I write it, mainly because I don't know what I'm going to write/blog about right now.
Ok, I got it.
So I've been reading this book lately called Velvet Elvis. It is written by Rob Bell, who is a pastor at a church called Mars Hill (I'm pretty sure) and has written other books and made some video Bible study things too. So anyway, in this book he is just spilling some of his thoughts about Christianity and what it means to be a Christian and what Christian faith looks like.
One of the points he just made was that Christian faith is like a trampoline - it isn't rigid, but has room to flex and bend. Trampolines work by getting on them and jumping on them and doing things that may not be entirely safe, but you don't experience a trampoline by standing next to it and talking about it. Also, the springs in a trampoline help it to work, but without any one spring it would still work. Springs are like specific beliefs about Jesus/God/Bible and that sort of thing.
For example, he said that he once heard someone say that if the earth/universe was not created in 6 24-hour days, then none of the Bible is true and Jesus didn't live or die on the cross. He says that is more like a brick wall; when you take out one piece, the rest of it crumbles down too.
So anyway, with the trampoline idea, he says that part of having faith is also having doubts. Having doubts isn't a bad thing, and asking questions isn't a bad thing. Asking questions means you acknowledge that you don't have all the answers, and you are having to look outside yourself for help in some way. He also says that through asking questions we should come to truth, and since God is truth, it is good to ask questions. He clarifies this by saying that 'questions' doesn't mean things like "Can God make a rock so big that even He couldn't lift it?" (CS Lewis would reply that nonsense remains nonsense even if you try to put God in it.)
Rob Bell says that the kind of questions we should be asking are the ones that come from our hurts, our confusion, our wonder about God. They should be real, things that either we want to know about God or we don't understand about God or are keeping us from getting to know God. Something like that.
And I think that is a good point. There isn't anything wrong with asking questions, and by asking questions, we keep moving in our relationship with God and with others. You can't have a discussion without a question (or at least a starting question). And since God is truth, and God doesn't have any boundaries or limits or whatever, our questions usually lead to more questions (this is Rob Bell's point, not mine).
So yeah...I want to try to ask more questions. I haven't been doing that lately, I think. I haven't been wrestling with ideas about God and the world and the universe and life and what it looks like to live in a way that shows love to God and shows love to other people..
and that takes me to the song, "Live Like That" which I think I have posted the lyrics to somewhere on here.
Jude (1:)20-21- But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.
Tuesday, October 1, 2013
Wednesday, September 11, 2013
Passion!
This is basically me typing down some things I wrote down from a Campus Church event I went to at UNL. The speaker was (apparently) talking about passion, and what it means to live with passion. So here it is:
Rarely is passion detached from sacrifice.
What you do now will affect you later in life.
Passion usually starts with a decision that involves action.
Engaging in your passion means you will encounter resistance.
When is the last time your faith cost you? With passion comes a cost.
God doesn't do random. You were designed with purpose and passion.
The life you want will always cost you something.
What will/would be said of you?
Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. (I think that is in James somewhere.)
Passion - money can represent passion.
Passion is required to pursue God and do His work.
Passion doesn't just happen, it is a choice.
Passion is contagious, and it can be negative.
Things happen that we don't understand or want, but they shape us.
Passion in our culture is rare.
When we look back [on our lives], what will we see?
We often don't live up to the potential (the passion) we have from God.
And here is the set of verses I wrote down:
Acts 16:22-34 - The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten with rods. After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully. When he received these orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks. About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose. The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped. But Paul shouted, “Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!” The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.” Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his household were baptized. The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God—he and his whole household.
Rarely is passion detached from sacrifice.
What you do now will affect you later in life.
Passion usually starts with a decision that involves action.
Engaging in your passion means you will encounter resistance.
When is the last time your faith cost you? With passion comes a cost.
God doesn't do random. You were designed with purpose and passion.
The life you want will always cost you something.
What will/would be said of you?
Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. (I think that is in James somewhere.)
Passion - money can represent passion.
Passion is required to pursue God and do His work.
Passion doesn't just happen, it is a choice.
Passion is contagious, and it can be negative.
Things happen that we don't understand or want, but they shape us.
Passion in our culture is rare.
When we look back [on our lives], what will we see?
We often don't live up to the potential (the passion) we have from God.
And here is the set of verses I wrote down:
Acts 16:22-34 - The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten with rods. After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully. When he received these orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks. About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose. The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped. But Paul shouted, “Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!” The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.” Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his household were baptized. The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God—he and his whole household.
Thursday, September 5, 2013
Free Music (v. 1)
Hey, so I had this idea the other day. I know of some websites where you can get some pretty neat free music every now and then (or pretty regularly if you want) and I want to share some of that with whoever reads this blog.
So here is the first post. First off, there is this website called iTickets. They have a free song every week, and each song seems to be available for about 2 weeks before you can't download it anymore. You have to sign up to the website to get the free songs, but it is an easy process and they don't send you emails except to tell you when new music is available and/or when there is an event/concert in your area. The site seems to be focused on Christian music, and you can see the free songs here. (Both links should open in a new window.)
Next is NoiseTrade. They have a ton of music available for free, and you can even send a tip to the artist if you like their music. There is also an option to share an album/song/artist from Facebook or Twitter, which is kinda handy. NoiseTrade has music available for a limited amount of time, but there doesn't seem to be any set limit or date on anything (as far as I can tell). Again, you have to sign up to the website, but it is pretty straightforward and they don't spam or share your email address except when you download music. Then they may share your email with the artist that you downloaded. For today, I'll give a list of the music that I got by showing you the artists' pages:
http://www.noisetrade.com/griffinhouse
http://noisetrade.com/eisley
http://noisetrade.com/gro
http://www.noisetrade.com/heathmcnease
http://www.noisetrade.com/bronzeradioreturn
NoiseTrade also has audio books available from time to time, so if you want to listen to a book you can do that too.
And I think I'm going to call that good for today. I hope you are doing well. Stay healthy!
Psalm 150:1- Praise the Lord. Praise God in His sanctuary; praise Him in His mighty heavens.
So here is the first post. First off, there is this website called iTickets. They have a free song every week, and each song seems to be available for about 2 weeks before you can't download it anymore. You have to sign up to the website to get the free songs, but it is an easy process and they don't send you emails except to tell you when new music is available and/or when there is an event/concert in your area. The site seems to be focused on Christian music, and you can see the free songs here. (Both links should open in a new window.)
Next is NoiseTrade. They have a ton of music available for free, and you can even send a tip to the artist if you like their music. There is also an option to share an album/song/artist from Facebook or Twitter, which is kinda handy. NoiseTrade has music available for a limited amount of time, but there doesn't seem to be any set limit or date on anything (as far as I can tell). Again, you have to sign up to the website, but it is pretty straightforward and they don't spam or share your email address except when you download music. Then they may share your email with the artist that you downloaded. For today, I'll give a list of the music that I got by showing you the artists' pages:
http://www.noisetrade.com/griffinhouse
http://noisetrade.com/eisley
http://noisetrade.com/gro
http://www.noisetrade.com/heathmcnease
http://www.noisetrade.com/bronzeradioreturn
NoiseTrade also has audio books available from time to time, so if you want to listen to a book you can do that too.
And I think I'm going to call that good for today. I hope you are doing well. Stay healthy!
Psalm 150:1- Praise the Lord. Praise God in His sanctuary; praise Him in His mighty heavens.
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