you’re really not marketing this properly. March 13, 2011
Posted by highofseventyfive in documenting life, theology.Tags: communication, end times, family radio, God, marketing
add a comment
So, I’m reading this website, FamilyRadio because of the billboards on the highway in Philadelphia that read the world will end on May 21, 2011. These people are extremely confident, and use all sorts of interesting “logic” to explain their prediction. Some of it is quite humorous, such as this quote,
However, God wrote it in such a way that it could not be understood until the world was almost at its end. Remember, understanding comes only from the Lord Jesus Christ, as we read in Luke 24:45: “Then opened He their understanding, that they might understand the Scriptures.” This explains why the Bible is written in such complex and difficult-to- understand language. It is one reason why Christ spoke in parables, even as we read in Mark 4:34: “But without a parable spake He not unto them.”
Or, maybe, its hard to understand because its written in ridiculous syntax with words no one uses. spake? heareth? ye, shall, travail? oy. heareth is coming up with a red squiggle under it. its not even a word according to this spell check. The Bible isn’t written in complexity and difficult to understand language. God longs to connect with us, for us to hear what He has to say. God would not communicate in a way that is cryptic and leaves us flailing to understand. He uses the way we communicate. Words, spoken, during an oral tradition, and written. Jesus says to have faith like a child, not like a theologian. (it is true that Jesus spoke in parables, however it was in order to weed out those who didn’t care to listen, NOT so that it was impossible to understand.)
And just a note to end-of-the-world fanatics. You might get more people to believe you if you didn’t have a 90-year old spokesperson and use the King James Version. You sound like lunatics. Use the NIV, wear plastic-rimmed glasses and a plaid shirt, and have a twitter account, a blog, and listen to Hillsong. There is a greater chance people would believe your frantic plea. Not that I’m really suggesting you should do that. Its just, you’re really not marketing this properly.
don’t comment on this post if you don’t know me or if you’re some fanatic because i will remove it. however, if you have any thoughts about the latest end times campaign and some of the things happening in our world around us, i’d be happy to dialogue about it. its a bit confusing for me, i’ll admit.
freedom July 2, 2010
Posted by highofseventyfive in profound thoughts, theology.Tags: christianity, freedom, God, government, independence
add a comment
why is America FREE? why do we have freedom? freedom of speech. freedom to practice religion, and separation of church and state. freedom to do just about anything you want.
Well, you see, this freedom that we Americans so deeply treasure, was founded on the idea that all peoples of this country would be of self-regulating faith. Meaning this: The luxury of freedom would exist only because people were able to to govern their own hearts based on a moral standard of Christianity. We could be free, with way less rules than dictatorships or communist countries, frankly—because we weren’t barbarians. Think about it. If people were living under the authority and divine law of God, there would be much less need for government/civil mediation.
In the same way a fish is (more) free in water, so we were meant to be free. (A fish, while restricted to the environment that it thrives in, is more free than, say, if it were to jump out of the water. While the fish is free to go anywhere, jumping out of the water leads to its death. So, restricting itself to water, means its free to swim and live to its fullest and purist potential.
Humans, restricted by the moral compass of our hearts under the Law of God, allows us to be (more) us.
This can be clearly understood in many quotes from our founding fathers, of how this country was meant to operate.
A few examples:
–Founder James Otis
When a man’s will and pleasure is his only rule and guide, what safety can there be either or him or against him but in the point of a sword?
along the same lines, Robert Winthrop–
Men, in a word, must neccesarily be controlled either by a power within them or by a power without them; either by the Word of God or by the strong arm of man; either by the Bible or by the bayonet.
John Witherspoon–
Virtue and piety are inseparably connected; then to promote true religion is the best and most effectual way of making a virtuous and regular people. Love to God and love to man is the substance of religion; when these prevail, civil laws will have little do.
According to Jefferson, Christian principles, unlike those of other religions, went beyond merely addressing and attempting to regulate or restrain outward behavior. Consider murder as an example: civil law prohibits it; how can Christianity contribute anything more? Unlike civil statues, Christianity address murder before it occurs–while it is still only a thought in the heart, (Matthew 5:22-28). Civil laws cannot address the heart, which is the actual seat of violence and of all crime.
Benjamin Franklin–
Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters.
The Founders understood that self-governing nations are built upon self-governing individuals, and personal self-government is achieved only be adherence to moral and religious principles. In fact, they believed that our form of government, despite its worthy documents, was insufficient for governing immoral or irreligious citizens. As President John Adams proclaimed:
We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion…Our Constitution was made only for amoral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.
Proverbs 29:2 When the godly are in authority, the people rejoice. But when the wicked are in power, they groan.
Today, because we see “freedom” from a completely different view point, things have been going downhill. While we boast of freedom to practice whichever religion you please, the foundation of our country was still meant to function on Christian principles. When everyone tries so hard to take God out of everything, that in itself is picking apart and destroying the very establishment that allows you to be free to practice your religion and not believe in God.
People v. Ruggles 1811
Whatever strikes at the root of Christianity tends manifestly to the dissolution of civil government…because it tends to corrupt the morals of the people, and to destroy good order…Offenses against religion and morality…strike at the root of moral obligation and weaken the security of the social ties.
Something I struggle with understanding is, if the country was founded for freedom’s sake, to be out from under the oppressive hand of big church government (England) what does that mean for us now? We set out to establish probably one of the greatest ideas of all time. Is it backfiring? What is the Christian’s role in our country? Do we fight to preserve the original intent? Or do we take liberty at its most loose definition and let everything slide?
Thoughts (mature and thoughtful ones) welcome.
Quotes taken from Original Intent- The Courts, the Constitution, & Religion by David Barton
Instant gratification culture- John 17:3 December 7, 2009
Posted by highofseventyfive in theology.Tags: eternal life, God, hope, intervarsity, Jesus, talk, vision
add a comment
this is my talk wednesday night at large group at Rider.
its written more as notes for me as I talk, so its not very paragraph-y or anything. enjoy it if you are reading this.
John 17:3 “Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.”
Engaging Our Instant Gratification Culture:
Everyone wants it now.
Gimme gimme gimme. Download it now, don’t wait, quick, access all the time.
Internet on your phone.
Order something and then don’t even wait to get it delivered, go pick it up yourself.
I can’t wait! Go see it at midnight!
Get there at 4 am!
Perhaps there’s a golden nugget in our greedy and impatient culture. Something we can learn and a tool we can use to relate to our friends. Let me explain.
These are the questions we are going to ask, and hopefully answer:
What is eternal life? What is this knowing God? When is eternal life? Why is this totally awesome?
1- What is eternal life?
John 4:13-1413Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
John 5:2424“I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.
John 5:39-4039You diligently study[a] the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, 40yet you refuse to come to me to have life.
John 6:5454Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.
John 11:2626and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
Do we believe this? All the things we’ve talked about heaven and eternal life being, can we wrap our mind around it? Can our friends wrap their minds around it? And so far Jesus hasn’t really said too much when asked about eternal life, except ways of getting it.
John 17:3 Now this is eternal life: That they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.
Ah! So Jesus actually gives us a simple answer. What is it? Eternal life is Knowing God. We could say that the most basic definition of eternal life is communion with God through Jesus.
2- What is this knowing God?
The knowing talked about here is not facts and numbers.
Read John 5:39-40
God doesn’t want us to just know facts, but to know Him intimately.
not like filling out a survey, or guessing the right answers.
not about knowing a few key facts so you aren’t embarrassed when put on the spot.
about knowing God personally, intimately, and all the time!
Knowing God is experiencing God. the word “know” used there, is the same word used men knew their wives in bed. That’s the closeness we’re talking about here.
Our Western definition of knowing is heavily tied with intellect. However, again, the knowing meant here refers more to living it, and experience. Living and experiencing.
Think about a tornado. We can go on wikipedia, on the internet, watch videos, learn in books, talk about it in science class, see the effects of one on the news, etc. You all can say you know what a tornado is. But think about being IN a tornado. Has anyone lived in the Midwest? Too bad Eric isn’t here. Think about what a difference it is to say you know what a tornado is, after living through one? Oh, you sure do KNOW what a tornado is! Right?
How is it possible to know God? All through the Bible we see repeatedly how man is ignorant of God. Our ignorance and our sin keep us separated from Him and we don’t know Him. So how do we know him? Through Jesus. Apart from Jesus you could kinda know God, as an angry judge, you could know His wrath. But only Jesus provides a way for communion with God.
John 14:66Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Also through the Holy Spirit-
Ephesians 1:1717I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit[a] of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.
3- When is it? It’s happening now! Eternal life is a present experience. If our basic definition of eternal life is communion with God, we know that communion with God begins immediately when a person puts their faith in Jesus.
So, if eternal life = knowing God and
knowing God = experiencing God and
we can experience and know God NOW,
then eternal life= now!
Eternal life has nothing to do with time.
4- Why is this totally awesome? I hope you are already able to make that connection yourself. Well, for one thing, it gives us great hope! No matter what happens to us during this life, we are in relationship with God, the creator and king of the universe. and we are experiencing His power and hope.
Ephesians 1:18-19 I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19and his incomparably great power for us who believe.
Every day our eyes can be enlightened to the ways God works, because we’re already experiencing eternal life. Sometimes when I’m in a bad mood, I just remind myself that I’m already living! It causes us re-evaluate the way we live our lives, doesn’t it?
Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.
5- Apply it to the vision:
First things first. Are WE living this hope? Are we experiencing eternal life now? What might have to change in our habits or attitudes?
How can we extend this hope to our friends? We already know that our friends have a rough time considering spending “forever and ever” playing a harp on a cloud. They aren’t even sure if heaven really exists! They can’t see giving up their here and now lives, for something later that sounds awfully boring. And quite honestly our friends aren’t thinking about dying. We’re 20-something, and we’re invincible, ya know?
Understanding that we who are in relationship with Christ, are living eternally now, can bring hope. Everyone wants things now. Gimme gimme gimme. Instant gratification culture. Download it now, don’t wait, quick, access all the time.
We don’t have to offer a hope that is only for the future (although there is plenty to look forward to). We can also offer hope for today, now. God can be found. God can be experienced. True life can be lived.
Have you asked any of your friends lately if they want to know God? Chances are, they would say yes. Chances are they would say that they would like to know God, but aren’t sure how, or didn’t know they could. They might say they have felt empty or that there was something missing. This is your chance to show them that a radical life is available to them.
What does that mean for our actions on campus? How would living eternally now, change the things we did? How would it inspire us to see more of the campus renewed, in right relationship with God, and bringing more of the kingdom to earth, now?
I’m not sure if you’ve heard this before, but even if you have, I listen to it all the time. It’s a poem written during a prayer time, in England. Anyone heard of the 24-7 prayer movement? A guy wrote it in a prayer room. Someone else copied it down because they were so inspired. Now, its recorded, and the author of this vision was tracked down, and he wrote a book. He started a movement where there are places that have constant prayer going on, all over the world. To me, this is what living eternal life now, is all about. Check it out.
my transformative story November 4, 2009
Posted by highofseventyfive in Design, profound thoughts, theology.Tags: copy-paste, create new, God, gospel, transformation
1 comment so far
whats better? to copy paste or to make something new?
if you asked an artist, or a composer, what would their response be? copying someone else’ ideas and stamping them as your own is wrong. and just not creative. i’d see some fingers wagging in disapproval at that one.
think about the first day of every class you’ve ever taken. whats on the syllabus? “don’t plagiarize”. or what? they’ll expel you!
Main Entry: pla·gia·rizePronunciation: \ˈplā-jə-ˌrīz also -jē-ə-\Function: verbto steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one’s own : use (another’s production) without crediting the source
if you decided to copy paste an article from wikipedia and plop it at the beginning of your essay, a teacher wouldn’t get too far before they got suspicious, and maybe just went ahead and gave you a big fat F. instead, they want you to be able to say in your own words, to take the information all around you, and make it your own, otherwise, it is inauthentic.
i’ve seen this theme played out in my life. growing up, i copy-pasted social cues, cultural ideas, and faith beliefs from whatever I saw around me. Whether it was Oprah, or going to church every now and then, or what I was exposed to during holidays. But I didn’t see anything wrong with it, because the people I saw seemed to be doing the same thing. No one lived out the stuff they were teaching or learning, except maybe those really Holy people, but instead just plopped things onto their lives and went around doing whatever they pleased.
One day two people came to tell me about their faith. They asked me all sorts of questions, and I knew the answers mostly. They didn’t seem to believe me (consider that a copy-paste life doesn’t always resonate as being genuine) and so they shared the story of Jesus. They told me that he came and lived as a man because He had compassion on us, and longed for us to be in a relationship with Him. Each and every one of us. They talked about how we weren’t good enough to be with God in heaven because no matter how much we try, we sin and aren’t perfect. They said that Jesus came and died as a sacrifice, and came back to life, defeating death (the only person to ever do that mind you). After this we could trust that God really did this and hang out with God the way we hang out with our friends or people that we love. That was the only way to be in Heaven, and the question that really struck me was, “would Jesus be able to say I knew Him, when I die?”
Right then and there I committed to being in a relationship with this Jesus guy, to learn more about him, find out what it meant to follow Him. It was so compelling, how much He loved us!
What’s neat about this, is that instead of copy-pasting this new set of ideas or cravings on top of my old self, God cut out the old, and put in something new. Think about it, if you suddenly got an epiphany while writing your essay, and start to actually write it yourself, but you didn’t delete the plagiarized part from before, the teacher wouldn’t even get that far! Big Fat “F”. The only way to be new, would be to cut out the old. I wanted to be new, I wanted it to be for real, for it to be MY story and not someone else’. I needed to stop copy-pasting, and actually make it my own.
instead of copy-pasting this new set of ideas or cravings on top of my old self, God cut out the old, and put in something new.
In 2 Corinthians 5:17 it says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come”. This couldn’t explain it better!
So, as an artist, and as a person genuinely seeking to live life as authentically as possible, I’ve found its better to create new than to copy-paste.
What does it look like that God made me new? He changed my heart. It says he takes out your heart of stone and gives you a heart of flesh. Meaning, He’s going to give you a heart that wants to love Him back.
One way He did this, was to open my eyes to new ways of looking at the things in my life. For instance; all through high school i had this verocious appetite for music. my friends and i would discover new bands like you brush your teeth. ALL the time! (i hope, ew, you don’t? you’re gross!) But I would just download it, or we’d burn it from each other, never buy it. While I think this issue is quite minimal, for me, it was more about my heart, than about the action. My heart was greedy, gluttonous, to have everything I wanted, without any consequences. More, more more. and with shortcuts. tax fraud, stealing clothes, cheating on a test, are all ways to get the end result without having to do anything hard, without giving up anything you already have to get it. God helped me see that this was counter to the way He wanted my heart to be as I followed Him. And so he changed my appetite for music! I started wanting music a little less. I also decided to start buying CD’s instead. Now, I do spend a decent amount of money on CD’s, but the way I view music, and money even, has changed dramatically. God didn’t change who I was necessarily. He didn’t change my passion and inkling for indie bands that no one’s ever heard of. But He did change the way I look at acquiring them, and what those things really meant to me. Does this make sense? I mean, thats just one little example.
Moral of the story, if you’re copy-pasting in your life; just plopping faith, or all sorts of beliefs, on top of who you are, people are going to be able to tell. They’re going to know you’re confused, they’re going to question why you don’t practice what you preach. That’s what people call a hypocrite. and actually, according to merriam webster, the only kind of hypocrite is a religious one! verrrry interesting, look!
hypocrite:
a person who puts on a false appearance of virtue or religion
a person who acts in contradiction to his or her stated beliefs or feelings
make faith your own. because what’s neat is, God cuts out the old, and creates a new life in you, that can live forever, who can talk with Him, and participate in the divine nature and things in His kingdom.
Yep, that’s my story, and I’m stickin’ to it!
baseball. its kind of like religion. October 29, 2009
Posted by highofseventyfive in just thoughts.Tags: faith, God, phillies, religion, yankees
1 comment so far
baseball. its kind of like religion. and its kind of more like religion than religion is. i’ll explain.
now that the yankees and the phillies are in the world series, its been really interesting here in Central New Jersey (yes it does exist). As I walked my dog this morning, there were signs in windows, “go phillies!” At work, everyone talked about it. Two brothers came in, one wearing a phillies jersey, the other wearing a yankees jersey.
I find it interesting, that my parents spent last night clapping and whooping and hollering in delight at a band of grown men in tight pants swinging sticks at balls. (nothing against baseball) they clapped and clapped and their hearts were captured by every pitch, every swing, every catch. and yet, its just some guys, getting paid WAY too much, to play a game. How come my parents, when confronted with faith, pale and become quiet? Why doesn’t the fact that Jesus came to bring life (eternal life!) and a chance to be with the God who created everything, who created them, loves us with an unending passion– bring that sort of joy, instead a sour face and listless, “well that’s good for you”? Why?
Why is it that baseball brings out people’s allegiances, the way ash wednesday does? (on ash wednesday, you find out who all the religious people are, because their foreheads are marked with an ash cross, if they were religious enough to go church that day). Suddenly, you see who the Phillies and Yankees fans are, because they wear the jerseys, and earrings, and all sorts of fan gear. They hang up posters in their windows so everyone knows who they support, who they believe in, to win the games, who they feel to be superior to all others.
And somehow, everyone’s okay with that! Sure, there’s friendly rivalry, and some people might get a little annoying with their fanaticism, but at the end of the day, both teams’ fans are respected by the others’. Two brothers can stand in line together for coffee with opposing jerseys on, and can still get along. You can say you’re a fan, and no one turns you away, or says you’re weird, or asks you to stop pushing their team on you. No one finds it offensive that you voice your opinion of your favorite team from your window or shopfront or with what you wear. No one asks you to take down the posters or stop wearing the jerseys or take the sticker off your car because it bothers them.
What if religion was like that? What if everyone was so jovial about faith in God? What if Christians wore their faith on their shirts and had it on the tips of their tongues? What if God was the topic at the coffee shop, at the checkout counter, and the bank? What if people were actively engaged in their faith, so that they could easily say, “so how bout church on sunday?” instead of “so how bout that game last night?” What if families spent their nights together reading and learning about how exciting God was? What if we cheered like we do at sports, about what God was doing in the world?
“People in Philly, it seems like it doesn’t matter if sports fans or not, they know what’s going on,”
“POWER AND GLORY” trumpeted the front page headline in the Philadelphia Inquirer.
And why can’t Christians have as much confidence, knowing that victory is already won? The Phillies fans do:
“it seemed like overconfident fans were already planning a victory parade.”
Well I can tell you one thing; it wouldn’t go over well. The Christians would be told to shove it, to shut up, to stop “pushing their Bible in people’s faces”. And so yeah, I don’t wonder why people don’t cheer like at sporting events, or bring up God like the weather in public places.
Because faith is “personal”. Therefore we shouldn’t bring it up, unless we are sure that the people around us believe it too. Is that logical?? A Phillies fan, who eats, sleeps, and breathes the team, only has that on his mind the day after a great game. It comes up naturally, bubbling out of him, because he can’t help but be excited and proud of “his” team. In the same way, a Christian eats, sleeps and breathes faith, because its his identity. Its all of who he is, and so naturally, the things God’s doing in his life, the things he’s learning, should bubble up. Yet that is seen as being a fanatic, or a bible thumper, or just plain old offensive. What if I went up to a Yankees fan and said, “please stop talking to me about the Yankees, because I don’t believe they should win the world series”. No, that would be ridiculous. Maybe I really don’t think the yankees stand a chance, but i’m not going to make the other person shut up or leave me alone. I’ll politely listen to their reasons, or their apologies for the players who didn’t do as well as they should have, and that will be that.
i just think its odd how pointless little things in life, and not just baseball, are totally okay to flaunt. and yet faith, which should be the most important thing to us since it drives our being, it relates to our creator, and how we function in our daily lives, is totally taboo.
so, hey religion, i wish you were more like baseball. baseball is exciting, it unites people, and its a topic that everyone seems to enjoy talking about, even if they aren’t a really big fan.
and hey baseball, i wish you would be less like a religion. stop consuming so much time and energy from people.
and hey God, show some more people how great You are, how captivating You are, and how much we need You.
The Missionary’s Predestined Purpose September 22, 2009
Posted by highofseventyfive in profound thoughts, theology.Tags: Bible, God, missions, MUFHS, philosophy, purpose, sin
add a comment
The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me; your love, O LORD, endures forever–do not abandon the works of your hands. Psalm 138:8
September 20//
So, every, single, time i open up My Utmost for His Highest, it blows me away. it is either so terribly convicting, challenging, and compelling– or the very thing I need. (haha, i know those should actually be the SAME, but lemme explain) so some days i open it, and the thing i learn is new and challenging, and i think about it the entire day, which is really how a good devotional should be. its powerful and lets the Word carry on in my day. and then other days, I feel as if God is meeting me just where I’m at. Bringing the thing i need to hear in that moment. Today was one of those “ahah!” moments.
Today’s devo was about missions, and purpose. (ha!) I will type it here:
The first thing that happens after we recognize our election by God in Christ Jesus is the destruction of our preconceived ideas, our narrow-minded thinking, and all of our other allegiances–we are turned solely into servants of God’s own purpose. The entire human race was created to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever. Sin has diverted the human race onto another course, but it has not altered God’s purpose to the slightest degree. And when we are born again we are brought into the realization of God’s great purpose for hte human race, namely, that He created us for Himself. This realization of our election by God is the most joyful on earth, and we must learn to rely on this tremendous creative purpose of God. The first thing God will do is force is the interests of the whole world through the channel of our hearts. The love of God, and even His very nature, is introduced into us. And we see the nature of Almighty God purely focused in John 3:16– “for God so loved the world…”
We must continually keep our soul open to the fact of God’s creative purpose, and never confuse or cloud it with our intentions. If we do, God will have to force our intentions aside no matter how much it may hurt. A missionary is created for the purpose of being God’s servant, one in whom God is glorified. once we realize that it is through the salvation of Jesus Christ that we are made perfectly fit for the purpose of God, we will understand why Jesus Christ is so strict and relentless in His demands. He demands absolute righteousness from His servants, because He has put into them the very nature of God.
Beware lest you forget God’s purpose for your life.
Okay. So, WOW. is this not all the things I’ve been pondering the past week or so? YAH.
And, to add something to this, I just was talking to a student in the library at tcnj. (yes i’m at tcnj right now) and He said how the world’s lies have hidden or warped our process of discovering and following out our purpose. YES. you are right mr. atheist jewish frat guy! “The entire human race was created to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever. Sin has diverted the human race onto another course, but it has not altered God’s purpose to the slightest degree.”
the following are VERY loosely quoted scripture. with no context. so i dont claim they really have anything to do with this, it just sounds good for now.
The purposes of a man’s heart are deep waters, but a man of understanding draws them out.– Proverbs 20:5 It takes alot of “soul-searching” and a communication with God to “discover” your purpose. Aside from our delegated purpose as humans as a whole- to glorify and enjoy God.
Therefore, in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail.- Acts 5:38
They have one purpose and will give their power and authority to the beast.- Revelation 17:13
BUT, God does want to be known, and wants his purpose to be known to us. And through that, our purpose too. It sure is muddled by the things of the world, but he wants us to know it.
Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath.-Hebrews 6:17
Summary: We must continually keep our soul open to the fact of God’s creative purpose, and never confuse or cloud it with our intentions. If we do, God will have to force our intentions aside no matter how much it may hurt.
The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me September 18, 2009
Posted by highofseventyfive in profound thoughts, theology.Tags: Bible, fulfill, God, Jesus, life meaning, purpose, sovereignty, theology
1 comment so far
cool illustration from an artist click the pic
I’m going to continue my study of Purpose, with some verses containing the word purpose in them. This is kind of a faulty way of going about it, because the word purpose could probably just happen to be there in NIV translation, so I will hopefully look up some other translations in the process.
New King Jimmy is in italics
Psalm 57:2—I cry out to God Most High,
to God, who fulfills {his purpose} for me.
who performs all things for me
Psalm 138:8— The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me;
your love, O LORD, endures forever—
do not abandon the works of your hands.
The LORD will perfect that which concerns me; (NLT) The Lord will work out his plans for my life
Proverbs 19:21— Many are the plans in a man’s heart,
but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails.
Nevertheless the LORD’s counsel—that will stand
Proverbs 20:5— The purposes of a man’s heart are deep waters,
but a man of understanding draws them out.
Counsel in the heart of man is like deep water,
But a man of understanding will draw it out.
Romans 9:21—Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use?
Does not the potter have power over the clay, from the same lump to make one vessel for honor and another for dishonor?
Philippians 2:13—for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.
do for His good pleasure
2 Thessalonians 1:11—With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may count you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may fulfill every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith.
and fulfill all the good pleasure of His goodness and the work of faith with power
2 Timothy 2:21—If a man cleanses himself from the latter, he will be an instrument for noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work.
vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work.
So it looks like some other terms for purpose(s) are:
all things; that which concerns me; plan for my life; counsel; honor; good pleasure; good works
i’d love to find out what the hebrew/greek words used in each case are. they are probably different. i don’t have esword on my mac.
These few verses show the sovereignty of God, that His purposes for us, are purposed BY him, FOR him, and He will actually FULFILL them! What good news (!)
- who fulfills {his purpose} for me
- The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me;
- for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.
- by his power he may fulfill every good purpose
Also, He chooses our purpose. What would it look like to discover you have been made from common use–humble purposes, rather than noble?
Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden. One of you will say to me: “Then why does God still blame us? For who resists his will?” But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? “Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this?’ “ Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use?
I think it would look pretty awesome, all considering: 2 Corinthians 4:7-11 says, But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body.
Next time: Time to GET DEEP!
The purposes of the human heart are deep waters,
but those who have insight draw them out.
purpose: to put, place September 16, 2009
Posted by highofseventyfive in Uncategorized.Tags: faith, God, growing up, humans, life, philosophy, post grad, purpose, reason, thinking
add a comment
Q. What is the chief end of man?
A. Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.
last night, elizabeth brought up an excellent point. Jesus didn’t do anything “worthwhile”, or, he didn’t start his ministry, until he was 30.
huh, doesn’t that take the pressure off quit a bit? i mean, here i am 22, graduated college, and all of a sudden i expect to be making great change in the world, having a job with health insurance, paying my college loans, finding a place to live, start having “purpose”. well? we’re so antsy these days, with no patience for the things God has stored up for us. The pressure from the world to leave college and become a fully-realized purposeful person is seemingly insurmountable.
how do I know that my super duper awesome mind boggling purpose isn’t until I’m 30? or 82? or that i’ve already had it? (how bout THEM apples). apparently my only job is what it says in
Romans 8:28, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. 29For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.
Romans 12:2, “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this word, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is– his good, pleasing and perfect will.”
a quick study on Purpose:
[Middle English purpos, from Anglo-Norman, from purposer, to intend : pur-, forth (from Latin prō-; see pro-1) + poser, to put; see pose1.]
Purpose is the cognitive awareness in cause and effect linking for achieving a goal in a given system, whether human or machine. Purpose serves to change the state of conditions in a given environment, usually to one with a perceived better set of conditions or parameters from the previous state. This change is the motivation that serves the focus of control and goal orientation.
“There is a fundamental human need for guiding ideals that give meaning to our actions”, states Roger Fisher. Renowned psychiatrist Victor Frankl’s premise is that ‘man’s search for meaning’ is the primary motivation of his life. He speaks of the ‘will to meaning’ as opposed to Freud’s’ ‘will to pleasure’ and Friedrich Nietzsche’s ‘will to power’.
First attested in c
.1290, from earl Old French porpos “aim, intention”, purpose is related to from porposer “to put forth,” from Vulgar Latin corruption of por- “forth” (Latin pro- “forth”) and Old French poser “to put, place”.[1] Purpose is related to the term pose used from 1374 as to “put in a certain position,” or “suggest, propose, suppose, assume,” a term use in Late Latin debating (c.300–c.700) from pausare “to halt, rest, pause”.[2]
[Middle English purpos, from Anglo-Norman, from purposer, to intend : pur-, forth (from Latin prō-; see pro-1) + poser, to put; see pose1.]
(make one of these! its from Wordle)
so if the word purpose could also mean: aim, intention, put forth, to put, place, put in a certain position, suggest, propose, suppose, assume, halt, rest, pause. This forces us to ask a few questions.
can you acquire purpose? can you earn or ask for it? or must it be delegated, designated? is it an action or just a state of being? does there need to be an achievable goal to have it? Is a purpose the same as a reason? it seems like, purpose is doled out like the newspapers are thrown on your driveway. It is put there, then, and only then, does purpose exist. So someone has to do the putting. We put purpose into something for a reason. We say, “well the purpose of what i’m doing is to _____”, or “my purpose is to ______”. There is a reason, an aim, a goal, that gives something enough value to consider it purpose. To consider that something was MADE to achieve this goal, really is just because of the placement of its value upon it. It is set, rested, placed, paused, at the place it needs to be.
We can give purpose to light switches, guitars, and processes like evaporation, but that is because we can see both the beginning and the end. And really, even that could be subjective. The purpose of a guitar for me, is to be played, to make music. The purpose of it for someone else might be to smash it at a rock show.
We have decided that it is reasonable to conclude that the purpose of evaporation is to get water back in the sky, so it can more easily travel by the wind, to somewhere else, to rain and water the ground. But the only reason we can say that, is because we watched water come down, go back up, and come back down again. We see it keeping a cycle going, and keeping life on our planet.
I don’t think that we can give ourselves purpose. I think our job is to discover our already pre-determined purpose. Can you do enough good things to earn purpose? I guess so; you could win enough votes to run an office; You could see a need, and invent yourself into the solution. But still, in order to actually obtain purpose, it needs to be acknowledged or approved of, by some higher or other source.
Is purpose only purpose if a clear goal is within vision? Can something be purposeless? In my thinking, nothing can be without purpose, because God is a god of order. Everything has purpose. We have purpose. Our ultimate purpose, as far as I can tell from the Bible, is to glorify God and be in relationship with Him. This is the aim and intention suggested and put forth by God. He has placed value in us. Our mini-purposes are many and constant. I think what gets in the way is, reason. What is the reason that we must glorify God? Why must we be in relation with Him? Why? And so we confuse purpose and reason, and feel that we need a reason to have a purpose.
Reason: Reason, cause, motive are terms for a circumstance (or circumstances) which brings about or explains certain results. A reason is an explanation of a situation or circumstance which made certain results seem possible or appropriate: The reason for the robbery was the victim’s display of his money. The cause is the way in which the circumstances produce the effect, that is, make a specific action seem necessary or desirable: The cause was the robber’s extreme need of money. A motive is the hope, desire, or other force which starts the action (or an action) in an attempt to produce specific results: The motive was to get money to buy food for his family.
“Purpose serves to change the state of conditions in a given environment”. Our purpose is to love God, but God is never-changing. So, loving God must actually mean not change in Him, but in us and our environment. Funny! Our purpose seemingly for someone else, is actually for us! Now, don’t loop that around and say our purpose then is for ourselves. That is where the world has gone completely wacky. But, if God intends for us to love Him, and receive His love, that is in turn transformative. And since there is only one end of the equation to be changed, loving God changes us. Our purpose is to start to match God, not only in “image” but in totality (heart, character, virtue, holiness). God knows what is best for us, because He created us, and put forth our purpose. To match him, to reflect him, to pour him out, is to glorify him.
Q. What is the chief end of man?
A. Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.
comments welcome.
purpose: to put, place September 16, 2009
Posted by highofseventyfive in profound thoughts, theology.Tags: God, human, life, meaning, philosophy, purpose, reason
3 comments
Q. What is the chief end of man?
A. Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.
last night, elizabeth brought up an excellent point. Jesus didn’t do anything “worthwhile”, or, he didn’t start his ministry, until he was 30.
huh, doesn’t that take the pressure off quit a bit? i mean, here i am 22, graduated college, and all of a sudden i expect to be making great change in the world, having a job with health insurance, paying my college loans, finding a place to live, start having “purpose”. well? we’re so antsy these days, with no patience for the things God has stored up for us. The pressure from the world to leave college and become a fully-realized purposeful person is seemingly insurmountable.
how do I know that my super duper awesome mind boggling purpose isn’t until I’m 30? or 82? or that i’ve already had it? (how bout THEM apples). apparently my only job is what it says in
Romans 8:28, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. 29For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.
Romans 12:2, “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this word, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is– his good, pleasing and perfect will.”
a quick study on Purpose:
[Middle English purpos, from Anglo-Norman, from purposer, to intend : pur-, forth (from Latin prō-; see pro-1) + poser, to put; see pose1.]
Purpose is the cognitive awareness in cause and effect linking for achieving a goal in a given system, whether human or machine. Purpose serves to change the state of conditions in a given environment, usually to one with a perceived better set of conditions or parameters from the previous state. This change is the motivation that serves the focus of control and goal orientation.
“There is a fundamental human need for guiding ideals that give meaning to our actions”, states Roger Fisher. Renowned psychiatrist Victor Frankl’s premise is that ‘man’s search for meaning’ is the primary motivation of his life. He speaks of the ‘will to meaning’ as opposed to Freud’s’ ‘will to pleasure’ and Friedrich Nietzsche’s ‘will to power’.
First attested in c.1290, from earl Old French porpos “aim, intention”, purpose is related to from porposer “to put forth,” from Vulgar Latin corruption of por- “forth” (Latin pro- “forth”) and Old French poser “to put, place”.[1] Purpose is related to the term pose used from 1374 as to “put in a certain position,” or “suggest, propose, suppose, assume,” a term use in Late Latin debating (c.300–c.700) from pausare “to halt, rest, pause”.[2]
[Middle English purpos, from Anglo-Norman, from purposer, to intend : pur-, forth (from Latin prō-; see pro-1) + poser, to put; see pose1.]
(make one of these! its from Wordle)
so if the word purpose could also mean: aim, intention, put forth, to put, place, put in a certain position, suggest, propose, suppose, assume, halt, rest, pause. This forces us to ask a few questions.
can you acquire purpose? can you earn or ask for it? or must it be delegated, designated? is it an action or just a state of being? does there need to be an achievable goal to have it? Is a purpose the same as a reason? it seems like, purpose is doled out like the newspapers are thrown on your driveway. It is put there, then, and only then, does purpose exist. So someone has to do the putting. We put purpose into something for a reason. We say, “well the purpose of what i’m doing is to _____”, or “my purpose is to ______”. There is a reason, an aim, a goal, that gives something enough value to consider it purpose. To consider that something was MADE to achieve this goal, really is just because of the placement of its value upon it. It is set, rested, placed, paused, at the place it needs to be.
We can give purpose to light switches, guitars, and processes like evaporation, but that is because we can see both the beginning and the end. And really, even that could be subjective. The purpose of a guitar for me, is to be played, to make music. The purpose of it for someone else might be to smash it at a rock show.
We have decided that it is reasonable to conclude that the purpose of evaporation is to get water back in the sky, so it can more easily travel by the wind, to somewhere else, to rain and water the ground. But the only reason we can say that, is because we watched water come down, go back up, and come back down again. We see it keeping a cycle going, and keeping life on our planet.
I don’t think that we can give ourselves purpose. I think our job is to discover our already pre-determined purpose. Can you do enough good things to earn purpose? I guess so; you could win enough votes to run an office; You could see a need, and invent yourself into the solution. But still, in order to actually obtain purpose, it needs to be acknowledged or approved of, by some higher or other source.
Is purpose only purpose if a clear goal is within vision? Can something be purposeless? In my thinking, nothing can be without purpose, because God is a god of order. Everything has purpose. We have purpose. Our ultimate purpose, as far as I can tell from the Bible, is to glorify God and be in relationship with Him. This is the aim and intention suggested and put forth by God. He has placed value in us. Our mini-purposes are many and constant. I think what gets in the way is, reason. What is the reason that we must glorify God? Why must we be in relation with Him? Why? And so we confuse purpose and reason, and feel that we need a reason to have a purpose.
Reason: Reason, cause, motive are terms for a circumstance (or circumstances) which brings about or explains certain results. A reason is an explanation of a situation or circumstance which made certain results seem possible or appropriate: The reason for the robbery was the victim’s display of his money. The cause is the way in which the circumstances produce the effect, that is, make a specific action seem necessary or desirable: The cause was the robber’s extreme need of money. A motive is the hope, desire, or other force which starts the action (or an action) in an attempt to produce specific results: The motive was to get money to buy food for his family.
“Purpose serves to change the state of conditions in a given environment”. Our purpose is to love God, but God is never-changing. So, loving God must actually mean not change in Him, but in us and our environment. Funny! Our purpose seemingly for someone else, is actually for us! Now, don’t loop that around and say our purpose then is for ourselves. That is where the world has gone completely wacky. But, if God intends for us to love Him, and receive His love, that is in turn transformative. And since there is only one end of the equation to be changed, loving God changes us. Our purpose is to start to match God, not only in “image” but in totality (heart, character, virtue, holiness). God knows what is best for us, because He created us, and put forth our purpose. To match him, to reflect him, to pour him out, is to glorify him.
Q. What is the chief end of man?
A. Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.
comments welcome.
a season of decisions. September 9, 2009
Posted by highofseventyfive in documenting life.Tags: campus ministry, decision making, dirt cups, freelance, God, intervarsity, job interviews, logo design
add a comment
So, God’s doing some neat stuff. I’m slowly regaining some stability- emotionally speaking.
schedule wise, and job wise, its a rollercoaster. but check this out:
so, last tuesday, i had an interview at Life Celebrations. On my way home, I get a phone call from the Creative Group- i have a freelance job for a 20-30 hour project, an hour away, starting thursday. i scramble to get my schedule changed around at Rita’s, and take off for thursday, friday, tuesday and wednesday (monday being labor day and all).
So I go to the job at East West Connection thursday and friday. friday after work i go right over to revelation generation, conveniently 10 minutes apart from each other. However, friday the boss tells me I worked too fast, and so they needed some time for the other employee to catch up before i was needed again. so now they tell me not til the following thursday or friday.. so here i took off tuesday and wednesday, and now have nothing to do. and also, i am already scheduled at rita’s for hte following week and have no idea which days they need me, so i can’t even switch my schedule yet.
and i’m also working random shifts at rita’s still (which is GOOD!)
in the meanwhile of all that hubbub, today, Life Celebrations calls me back, for a second interview! and what do you know, since i have wednesday conviently blank, i can go! so back i go to Life Celebrations for a second interview and a sit-in type day to see how the work flow is for a designer there.
its probably a piece of cake, as far as i can tell.
and its funny, because at this point in the day, after thinking about it so much, i feel like i already have the job. i can’t start thinking that way at all. i have to go, (heck i don’t even know what they are offering me pay-wise), and just be there on a second interview.
On top of all this, Rider is starting back up, and their NSO (new student outreach) is this week. Tonight was the dirt social, where they gave away free dirt cups (pudding/oreos/worms) and asked people to fill out a survey. Tomorrow they will follow up on people and have their first large group m of the semester.
After this was over, I went to Tiffany’s art small group at TCNJ. it was good i went. i think i will try to be there and maybe even help her lead it. i will have to talk to LV.
this is definitely a season for decision making! and the youth group wants me to help out tuesday nights too, but i’m not sure if i can really commit to that.
and all this is really pending on having this job the regular 9-5 or whatever. if this doesn’t come through, i’m back to the drawing board, looking to work just about anywhere, and taking random hours, which could mean my extra things are different.
i also need time to work on Central’s new logo, which has gone through quite a few variations now, due to committee overload– bleh! see this: The Perils of Design By Committee
oh well time for bed.
