20's

As I anticipate turning 20 years old in the next few minutes, I wanted to take advantage of such a nice and round number. The following is in no particular order, save maybe the last items in the list, but none-the-less they were the first that came to mind. As you can imagine it was hard to limit these down to only 20, particularly the second list – but here they are in their rawest form:


20 favorite thoughts on God:

1. God chose me beyond the foundation of the world to demonstrate his perfect mercy.
2. God has given us the indwelling Holy Spirit to correct me in my sin and to comfort me in my doubting.
3. God was able to look at the whole world at one point in time and call it “good.” He will again call the world good when he comes to set up his reign.
4. God has given us absolute truth. There is no question and there is no loose interpretation of what it is we are called to do. God is truth.
5. God has given us the ability to see even a part of who he is.
6. God has given us purpose, direction and aim. In Christ we have perfect usefulness.
7. God has cancelled my sin - ALL OF MY SIN. God has looked on me and seen the repeated foolishness I would fall into and has still chosen to demonstrate in me a love that is perfect and forgiving in every way.
8. God is faithful to answer the prayers that are in accordance to his will. When I pray, “Lord, remind me to think of You,” He will honor that prayer and work a mighty change in my heart.
9. God has changed the natural state of sin in my heart to one that has the desire to even desire to seek Christ first.
10. God has blessed me with the family that I am in.
11. God has chosen a path for my life that is perfect in every way and I cannot foil what God has planned.
12. God has said that He will take care of every little detail. He has clothed the flowers of the field and He has given the birds places to call home and He has taken care of all my needs past, present and future.
13. God has said that His strength is made perfect in weakness. My failures and short comings are not only “ok” but they are the crux and key to Christ showing off his infinite strength.
14. God WILL receive all the glory. There is no tie, there is not second place – God is the one who will be the center and the focus in the final days.
15. God promises what pain will come. In the fact that we know the pain will come, we also know that everything is moving according to Christ’s plan.
16. God promises us personal pain the more we grow in Him. Therefore when the pruning sheers come and the trials rage – we take infinite hope that Christ is working directly in our lives. No pain like growing pain can promise such wonderful rewards.
17. God has said that He made me the exact way that he has chosen. I was not put together by factory seconds, I was not a fallen cause – I am the exact and perfect one-of-a-kind production God would have me be.
18. God has promised that as the world gets worse and worse, we are closer and closer to when Christ comes again.
19. God has told us that man is infinitely evil and therefore when men act like sinners, we derive hope from Christ and can look forward to a life incorruptible.
20. God has made me more a man after his own heart today than he did yesterday; tomorrow more than he did today; next week more than this week; next month than this month and next year more than this year – he promises to make me a man after His own heart day by day according to His perfect plan - founded before the world began.

20 favorite works of God in creation:

1. I love Clouds – the perfect transportation device for water. I love a day when the cumulous clouds are massive and crystal clear against a blue sky. I clouds when the clouds in the distance are bright, high and airy and the clouds in front are dark and jagged – promising a storm.
2. I love the sounds of rain falling through trees.
3. I love the look of a setting sun on large boulders – watching the stones catch fire and slowly smolder away.
4. I love rocks! – I love the veins in a rough piece of red stone, like veins of a beating heart - I love the many variances of jade – so green and cool. I love the smooth stones tossed about in tidal pools. I love the hidden properties of pale rocks that come to life when put in water. I love the flat rocks that skip 12 or more times across the water. I love the black rocks. I love the massive cliffs and their falling pieces that I take home. I love the smooth rocks caught in the teeth of the sharp rocks. I really like rocks!
5. I love the smell of fall – I love the smell of the leaves when they are wet and when they are dry. I love the smell of wet birch bark. I love the smell of air without pollen ☺. I love the smell of cold and crisp.
6. I love the sunrise – I love how quick the sunrise is and how powerful it is. I love instant transformation from dim to brilliant.
7. I love a silhouetted tree against a stormy sky.
8. I love the large maples leaves contrasted against the tiny Japanese maples.
9. I love the changing colors of leaves – especially the ones that are red.
10. I love the pattern of grass and ground cover – I love the uniqueness of every blade of grass and the different ways they penetrate the soil.
11. I love the leaves that lose their color in the winter and look like an x-ray on the ground.
12. I love a forest when only one tree catches all the sunlight and burns brightly in the center of dark surroundings.
13. I love the pattern of ash trees and birch trees growing up through dense foliage.
14. I love the fog – blanketing the whole valley and only letting the tallest of trees and houses to poke from the top
15. I love rows of giant poplar trees – standing so strong and then the wide and shallow upturned root systems in the wind.
16. I love life in decay – I love mushrooms poking up from long dead logs.
17. I love trees growing out of other trees – I love the rich redness of the dead tree’s soil and the vibrant color of the growing trees growing up from them. I love seven trees.
18. I love the stars and the Milky Way – I love the brightness of stars and the brightness of the moon on fields of grass.
19. I love the varieties of all the species – especially moss. I love the way moss looks and feels. I love the patterns in the moss and in the lichen. I love the lichen that grows on the rocks and the lichen that grows on the trees.
20. I love the wind – I love the wind that blows through the leaves in fall. I love the wind when standing on a peninsula out in the water. I love the wind out on the vastness of the ocean. I love the wind when it is so strong it can almost hold you up. I love the wind when it blows strong from the left and then the right alternately. I love the wind when it brings fog or sand wisping over hills. I love the wind on a ferry when it keeps you from being able to breathe. I love the wind when it grabs an old dandelion and blows it quickly out of view. I love the wind when blows against my back and I can lean against it. I love the wind when it blows through the trees and calls forth the crackling and groaning of branches.

6606

God's Law and the Brake Pedal

I encountered this practical example last Wednesday of how many of us tend to deal with our sin. When I am driving down the road and find myself going too fast, I don’t want to hit the breaks. Hitting the brakes is by far the fastest and most reliable way to again maintain the speed limit – but I don’t want to. I would like to simply let go of the accelerator and gradually coast to the correct speed limit instead of the inconvenience it would be to actually hit the brakes.

Hitting the brakes causes wear and tare on the car, it causes a violent lurch by the passengers and it shows the world that you were going too fast. However hitting the brakes is what we are told to do. If a police officer were to pull me over in the brief moments between 45 mph and 35 mph I would be no less guilty because of my “coasting complicity” to the law.

I think this is how I tend to treat my sin. I don’t want to actually stop what I am doing by violent actions that would very likely cause me discomfort or outright pain. Yet that is what I am called to do – to mortify the flesh. Where I would rather stop “promoting my sin” or “accelerating my sin” and let myself “coast” back to Christ – I am demanded to turn from my sin. When mortifying the flesh there is no “coasting” to death, there is living and not living.

In the car I may prefer to coast to compliance with the speed limit; but if I saw the child that was ready to jump into the street; the patch of ice on the deceptively sharp corner; or any of the other reasons the speed was set to that limit I would be the first to slow down – but I don’t see the reasons and therefore I don’t take the necessary action. If there is a child in the road, a low hanging branch or some other kind of obstruction we would hit the brakes with every fiber of our being.

The same is true with our sin and the law of God. We do not always see the reasons why God has set certain laws in place and therefore we ignore them. However, if we saw the people that would be hurt; the hearts that could be defrauded; or the potential lives that could be lost as a result of our violation of the clear cut law of God, we would certainly react sooner and more violently. The unfortunate part is that our lack of seeing the potential dangers does not render them any less imminent or dangerous. I need to take a more sobering view of my sin and take the drastic actions to turn from the obvious violations of God’s law before I swerve off the road and suffer the necessary and natural consequence.

VM

The new sidebar foolery is possibly not the most congruent with my blogs color scheme - yet being the latest in what might turn into a series of sidebar decorations... there it sits. I am not at this time listing the posting code for two reasons. The crux of both reasons is that I have not checked with VM ministries if they mind this sort of promotion or that I have redesigned their logo - but if you really want to have this master piece on your blog, I can get it to you privately. In the meantime, do follow the link and be reminded to pray for our fellow brothers and sisters who are put to the test every day because of their faithfulness to Christ.

P.S. I understand the graphics are a little "flashy." I will try and post a more minimalist rendition in the coming weeks.