I'm not sure what direction this post is going to take, so bear with me as I stumble my way through this.
I just finished reading the book of Revelation for the first time today. I had a strange, yet hard to define feeling come upon me as I finished the last chapter. I'm still not sure what that feeling was but it was something I haven't felt before. It was almost like seeing the future... like knowing what was to come. I guess that makes sense, trusting that the Bible is God's word does imply that the events outlined in Revelation are going to happen.
Maybe that is it, maybe that's what that bizarre feeling was... a feeling of foreknowledge. A feeling that I didn't know when these things were going to happen, I didn't know exactly what was going to happen, but I knew that it was going to happen. Strange feeling for sure.
Along the same lines, I think I experienced this feeling while at our Younglife Prayer Overnight over the past weekend. It's a pretty special time where about 900 Younglife leaders from all over the state of Virginia come together to fast and pray and worship. As about 900 of us were singing songs proclaiming God's glory, I stopped for a second and just listened to the thundering chorus around me. It was something awesome. It's not often I've had the privilege of worshiping in a room packed shoulder to shoulder with nearly a thousand fellow believers.
I think that was just a tiny glimpse of what John saw in Revelation 19. He writes, "After this I heard what seemed to be the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, crying out..."
900 people isn't really a great multitude but I will tell you it was something special. I hate how much the word awesome is overused but in the true sense of the word... it was something awesome.
Monday, January 31, 2011
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Mountains, walls, other large objects...
It's a good thing I'm reading a book because otherwise I don't think I'd have anything to write about.
Regardless, I'm still reading Too Busy Not To Pray by Bill Hybels which if you haven't read yet, you need to, it's that good. In one of his chapters, Hybels writes about God's ability to answer prayer. It's elementary. We pray, God hears, God answers... how hard is that?
Apparently, it's really hard.
I don't know about you anonymous reader, but I have a hard time praying for big things because I don't think God can do it. Maybe I don't verbalize that, maybe it's not even a conscious thought, but I think deep down I believe he can't do it.
Where do I get the idea that something is "too big" for God?
What kind of nonsense is that?
I was watching a program on the Science Channel the other night (yeah I know, I'm awesome) and it was an episode of Steven Hawking's Into The Universe. In this particular episode, they were discussing the vastness of the universe and how unimaginably big it is. While I was watching this, I began to think about how small I really am. I began to think about how small some of my problems really are.
I realized how big God really is.
Hybels writes a particular section on how we need to stop focusing on the mountains in our life. When I encounter an obstacle or a struggle, I often forget about God and focus on the problem. I stress out. I think about it 24/7. It's all I see. His encouragement is to step out of the shadow of the mountain and look at God. Look at how big he is. Look at how able he is.
When we focus on God, we believe that he is able to move that mountain. When we focus on the mountain, we believe that it will never move.
Another example of this is the famous Battle of Jericho (Joshua 6). Joshua is instructed by God to surround the city and blast the walls with trumpets for seven days. I for one would be pretty skeptical. I would see those huge stone walls and think, "Well, this is not going to work." Instead, Joshua saw God. He saw his ability to tear down those walls. He knew how big his God is.
In case you were wondering, "the observable universe is a sphere with a diameter of about 546,700,000,000,000,000,000,000 miles" (Wikipedia). That's pretty big.
Regardless, I'm still reading Too Busy Not To Pray by Bill Hybels which if you haven't read yet, you need to, it's that good. In one of his chapters, Hybels writes about God's ability to answer prayer. It's elementary. We pray, God hears, God answers... how hard is that?
Apparently, it's really hard.
I don't know about you anonymous reader, but I have a hard time praying for big things because I don't think God can do it. Maybe I don't verbalize that, maybe it's not even a conscious thought, but I think deep down I believe he can't do it.
Where do I get the idea that something is "too big" for God?
What kind of nonsense is that?
I was watching a program on the Science Channel the other night (yeah I know, I'm awesome) and it was an episode of Steven Hawking's Into The Universe. In this particular episode, they were discussing the vastness of the universe and how unimaginably big it is. While I was watching this, I began to think about how small I really am. I began to think about how small some of my problems really are.
I realized how big God really is.
Hybels writes a particular section on how we need to stop focusing on the mountains in our life. When I encounter an obstacle or a struggle, I often forget about God and focus on the problem. I stress out. I think about it 24/7. It's all I see. His encouragement is to step out of the shadow of the mountain and look at God. Look at how big he is. Look at how able he is.
When we focus on God, we believe that he is able to move that mountain. When we focus on the mountain, we believe that it will never move.
Another example of this is the famous Battle of Jericho (Joshua 6). Joshua is instructed by God to surround the city and blast the walls with trumpets for seven days. I for one would be pretty skeptical. I would see those huge stone walls and think, "Well, this is not going to work." Instead, Joshua saw God. He saw his ability to tear down those walls. He knew how big his God is.
In case you were wondering, "the observable universe is a sphere with a diameter of about 546,700,000,000,000,000,000,000 miles" (Wikipedia). That's pretty big.
Monday, January 10, 2011
Busy as a beaver...
I for one never understood that statement.
What makes a beaver busier than any other animal? I guess it's just alliteration that makes it so popular, but still, busy as a bee, busy as badger, busy as a black bird... there's other options.
Regardless of that pointless tangent, I write to say that I have been rather busy. You'd think with 3 weeks of no classes, no homework, no readings (required), and no projects I'd find some time to write a measly little blog post. And that my friend, is where you would be wrong.
I've visited friends, I've slept in till noon, I've played basketball, I've played Starcraft 2, I've watched movies, I've traveled, I've sat on the couch, and I've read.
The things I've read are what I'm most interested with sharing. I bought a Kindle with some of my Christmas money and then bought a couple books for it. The first one I bought is called Too Busy Not to Pray by Bill Hybels. I figured it would be the perfect book for me, a man who thinks he is always too busy, to read.
This book has been just what the doctor ordered. I'm only seven or so chapters in, but I've already made some pretty big life changes as far as my prayer life goes. I quickly realized how superficial I am when it comes to praying. It is so easy for me to do. I often just don't pray, but when I do, I often just breeze through it without much thought. This book has really opened my eyes to the power of (and need for) prayer.
Most days, I start off by praying something like, "Father, be with me today as I do... x, y, and z." How silly is that? God tells us multiple times in his Word that he is with us always. Hybels says to instead, try praying, "Father, make me aware of your presence..." How much more effective and necessary is that!?
This book is loaded with little bits of application that have already began to take root in my life. I'm excited to keep reading and keep learning how to become a better pray-er.
I encourage you, if you are looking for something to read, to read this book. I encourage you, if you are not looking for something to read, to read this book. It's no secret that prayer is a powerful tool that God has given us (just read Acts). Knowing how to use it effectively is the key.
What makes a beaver busier than any other animal? I guess it's just alliteration that makes it so popular, but still, busy as a bee, busy as badger, busy as a black bird... there's other options.
Regardless of that pointless tangent, I write to say that I have been rather busy. You'd think with 3 weeks of no classes, no homework, no readings (required), and no projects I'd find some time to write a measly little blog post. And that my friend, is where you would be wrong.
I've visited friends, I've slept in till noon, I've played basketball, I've played Starcraft 2, I've watched movies, I've traveled, I've sat on the couch, and I've read.
The things I've read are what I'm most interested with sharing. I bought a Kindle with some of my Christmas money and then bought a couple books for it. The first one I bought is called Too Busy Not to Pray by Bill Hybels. I figured it would be the perfect book for me, a man who thinks he is always too busy, to read.
This book has been just what the doctor ordered. I'm only seven or so chapters in, but I've already made some pretty big life changes as far as my prayer life goes. I quickly realized how superficial I am when it comes to praying. It is so easy for me to do. I often just don't pray, but when I do, I often just breeze through it without much thought. This book has really opened my eyes to the power of (and need for) prayer.
Most days, I start off by praying something like, "Father, be with me today as I do... x, y, and z." How silly is that? God tells us multiple times in his Word that he is with us always. Hybels says to instead, try praying, "Father, make me aware of your presence..." How much more effective and necessary is that!?
This book is loaded with little bits of application that have already began to take root in my life. I'm excited to keep reading and keep learning how to become a better pray-er.
I encourage you, if you are looking for something to read, to read this book. I encourage you, if you are not looking for something to read, to read this book. It's no secret that prayer is a powerful tool that God has given us (just read Acts). Knowing how to use it effectively is the key.
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