Here with Me by Everyday Sunday
You said that You hold the earth and moon
And I know that the morning bows to You
So when the water rushes over me
You'll be there to pull me from the deep
I believe that You are
Everything You say You are
I will follow You forever
Even if I'm standing in the fire
I believe, I believe and I have seen
I believe, I believe You're here with me
You said that Your light would chase the dark
Your love for me was written in the scars
So if I'm feeling paralyzed with fear
I know that You'll never leave me stranded here
I wanna be where You are
You carried me this far
I fell in love with a worship song but as you can tell I have already emphasized "Standing in the Fire". It is a good heartfelt worship and reminds me of 3 guys, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. These guys were at a point in life were many advisors to the King tried to indirectly kill people. The King set up a command that whoever does not worship the Golden Idols would be put into a blazing furnace. Its an awesome story so I rather you read it then I spoil it.
Daniel 3:9-30 They said to King Nebuchadnezzar, "O king, live forever! 10 You have issued a decree, O king, that everyone who hears the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes and all kinds of music must fall down and worship the image of gold, 11 and that whoever does not fall down and worship will be thrown into a blazing furnace. 12 But there are some Jews whom you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon—Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego—who pay no attention to you, O king. They neither serve your gods nor worship the image of gold you have set up."
13 Furious with rage, Nebuchadnezzar summoned Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. So these men were brought before the king, 14 and Nebuchadnezzar said to them, "Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the image of gold I have set up? 15 Now when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes and all kinds of music, if you are ready to fall down and worship the image I made, very good. But if you do not worship it, you will be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace. Then what god will be able to rescue you from my hand?"
16 Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. 17 If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. 18 But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up."
19 Then Nebuchadnezzar was furious with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and his attitude toward them changed. He ordered the furnace heated seven times hotter than usual 20 and commanded some of the strongest soldiers in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and throw them into the blazing furnace. 21 So these men, wearing their robes, trousers, turbans and other clothes, were bound and thrown into the blazing furnace. 22 The king's command was so urgent and the furnace so hot that the flames of the fire killed the soldiers who took up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, 23 and these three men, firmly tied, fell into the blazing furnace.
24 Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers, "Weren't there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?"
They replied, "Certainly, O king."
25 He said, "Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods."
26 Nebuchadnezzar then approached the opening of the blazing furnace and shouted, "Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!"
So Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came out of the fire, 27 and the satraps, prefects, governors and royal advisers crowded around them. They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of their heads singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them.
28 Then Nebuchadnezzar said, "Praise be to the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and rescued his servants! They trusted in him and defied the king's command and were willing to give up their lives rather than serve or worship any god except their own God. 29 Therefore I decree that the people of any nation or language who say anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego be cut into pieces and their houses be turned into piles of rubble, for no other god can save in this way."
30 Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the province of Babylon.
Many of my friends have been talking about Faith following government or faith versus Government and I think this is a good example as well as most of what happens in Daniel(a prophet who follows God faithfully and through his actions helps people find God and serves as a high government official). Government is definitely suppose to be follow as many people will start quoting Romans 13. Romans does a good job about living in faith but I think Daniel gives a good perspective of when we are not suppose to follow laws by Government, when it directly conflicts with the laws and commands God gives us. These man are faithful to follow God even threatened with burning in a Furnace. That faith amazed me and why I liked this song so much. It reminded me to go back and just reflect on this story. The fourth man is unknown but speculated to be an angel or even Christ himself, alas I do not know but definitely God's work is there when men thrown into this furnace walk around like nothing is happening. Any Christian should be able to want that faith, unwavering so much that people are amazed by our faithfulness and devotion to our cause they must find out what it is all about.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
When the World Crumbles is Hope Left?
Hearing crying and slamming on the door, I knock on the bathroom door and ask if she is okay. She comes out crying and asks how could someone go on with a lie for two years and mess with her emotions in such a way. As I try to hug her tears away she goes on about how he took everything from her, since they shared their lives together all this time and now he says he was a fake. She asks me:
"How am I suppose to have hope?"
I couldn't give an answer to her. At least not on that made sense at the time. I know my hope is in Christ I do not understand how there is any hope in any other thing. That is not something I could tell someone who had disbelief in God. The best secular answer I could come up with was live today and hope tomorrow is better. That is still very depressing when given thought to for a long time. God had something for me the next day at church. Pastor Nate (http://naterhoads.wordpress.com/author/naterhoads/) had a message from Ecclesiastes. It taught me of this same message that life is very hard, bleak and even with faith life is still confusing. I left some to my own thoughts but never the less Pastor Nate teaches from a heart after God.
Ecclesiastes 1:1-111 The words of the Teacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem:
2 "Meaningless! Meaningless!"
says the Teacher.
"Utterly meaningless!
Everything is meaningless."
3 What does man gain from all his labor
at which he toils under the sun?
4 Generations come and generations go,
but the earth remains forever.
5 The sun rises and the sun sets,
and hurries back to where it rises.
6 The wind blows to the south
and turns to the north;
round and round it goes,
ever returning on its course.
7 All streams flow into the sea,
yet the sea is never full.
To the place the streams come from,
there they return again.
8 All things are wearisome,
more than one can say.
The eye never has enough of seeing,
nor the ear its fill of hearing.
9 What has been will be again,
what has been done will be done again;
there is nothing new under the sun.
10 Is there anything of which one can say,
"Look! This is something new"?
It was here already, long ago;
it was here before our time.
11 There is no remembrance of men of old,
and even those who are yet to come
will not be remembered
by those who follow.
How are we suppose to go on when everything becomes routine, the same, mundane, and boring? We look for something new on the horizon but it just leads us back to the same discontent we had before. Even if we find love, have a family or whatever, are we remembered? I can honestly say that my ancestors are not something on my mind usually. Is that remembrance that even my offspring's offspring will not even remember me and of all the history books we read, how many millions were just recorded as a statistic in death or population? Is that anyway we want to be remembered? If we have trouble understanding love and human emotions toward each other as she had then how are we suppose to have faith in even each other in this life? This is very bleak to have this pessimistic view. She even said with all this hurt she tried to find sources to have her stop thinking about him or thinking in this way mentioned. Is it nothing short of what this says:
"All streams flow into the sea,
yet the sea is never full.
To the place the streams come from,
there they return again."
We are like a sea, always needing to be filled with something constantly. The streams are like the silencers we put on life trying to stop us from thinking in that depressing mood. In my life that stream is obvious sometimes, I would say it was upgrading my car, farming achievements in some game, savings, education, seeking a love life, and friends. Do we always leave satisfied from anything we do? I know I do but the victory does not last long in my accomplishments. It comes down to I won't be remembered, and just forgotten. The other reason I highlight this verse of Streams flowing into the Sea because it also reminds me of a favorite passage in which Jesus talks to a Samaritan lady.
John 4:13-20 "Jesus 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."
15The woman said to him, "Sir, give me this water so that I won't get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water."
16He told her, "Go, call your husband and come back."
17"I have no husband," she replied.
Jesus said to her, "You are right when you say you have no husband. 18The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true."
19"Sir," the woman said, "I can see that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.
This story also relates back to the girl's story in a way about wanting love and hope. I still can't answer her original question clearly in a secular matter instead I can only offer this. Jesus was not scared to search our hearts. When we make friends we usually stay safe asking education, career, family, friends, and stuff. Jesus talks to us in a different way. He might come up and ask what are we struggling with or directly confront our fears. Its hard for us to understand how he did not do this in judgement because thats all we use to measure each other.
Jesus spoke directly to this woman's needs, that being the feeling of being loved. She had 5 husbands yet was living with a new guy whom she was not married too. Those past husband and current men could be compared to being the streams into her sea yet never fulfilling what she was really seeking in life. Yet Jesus comes now as a promise to be really what she is seeking, and to think she was probably joking when she said, "Sir, give me this water so that I won't get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water." That kind of water is the Amazing Love and Hope that can only come from the creator. An encounter with Jesus is something that penetrates to the deepest part of our soul, because to him there is no way to "measure up" or judge to a standard. Our schooling, possessions, friends, family, or career does not make us who we are deep down. Jesus is Hope for something better whether we understand it now or not.
"How am I suppose to have hope?"
I couldn't give an answer to her. At least not on that made sense at the time. I know my hope is in Christ I do not understand how there is any hope in any other thing. That is not something I could tell someone who had disbelief in God. The best secular answer I could come up with was live today and hope tomorrow is better. That is still very depressing when given thought to for a long time. God had something for me the next day at church. Pastor Nate (http://naterhoads.wordpress.com/author/naterhoads/) had a message from Ecclesiastes. It taught me of this same message that life is very hard, bleak and even with faith life is still confusing. I left some to my own thoughts but never the less Pastor Nate teaches from a heart after God.
Ecclesiastes 1:1-111 The words of the Teacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem:
2 "Meaningless! Meaningless!"
says the Teacher.
"Utterly meaningless!
Everything is meaningless."
3 What does man gain from all his labor
at which he toils under the sun?
4 Generations come and generations go,
but the earth remains forever.
5 The sun rises and the sun sets,
and hurries back to where it rises.
6 The wind blows to the south
and turns to the north;
round and round it goes,
ever returning on its course.
7 All streams flow into the sea,
yet the sea is never full.
To the place the streams come from,
there they return again.
8 All things are wearisome,
more than one can say.
The eye never has enough of seeing,
nor the ear its fill of hearing.
9 What has been will be again,
what has been done will be done again;
there is nothing new under the sun.
10 Is there anything of which one can say,
"Look! This is something new"?
It was here already, long ago;
it was here before our time.
11 There is no remembrance of men of old,
and even those who are yet to come
will not be remembered
by those who follow.
How are we suppose to go on when everything becomes routine, the same, mundane, and boring? We look for something new on the horizon but it just leads us back to the same discontent we had before. Even if we find love, have a family or whatever, are we remembered? I can honestly say that my ancestors are not something on my mind usually. Is that remembrance that even my offspring's offspring will not even remember me and of all the history books we read, how many millions were just recorded as a statistic in death or population? Is that anyway we want to be remembered? If we have trouble understanding love and human emotions toward each other as she had then how are we suppose to have faith in even each other in this life? This is very bleak to have this pessimistic view. She even said with all this hurt she tried to find sources to have her stop thinking about him or thinking in this way mentioned. Is it nothing short of what this says:
"All streams flow into the sea,
yet the sea is never full.
To the place the streams come from,
there they return again."
We are like a sea, always needing to be filled with something constantly. The streams are like the silencers we put on life trying to stop us from thinking in that depressing mood. In my life that stream is obvious sometimes, I would say it was upgrading my car, farming achievements in some game, savings, education, seeking a love life, and friends. Do we always leave satisfied from anything we do? I know I do but the victory does not last long in my accomplishments. It comes down to I won't be remembered, and just forgotten. The other reason I highlight this verse of Streams flowing into the Sea because it also reminds me of a favorite passage in which Jesus talks to a Samaritan lady.
John 4:13-20 "Jesus 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."
15The woman said to him, "Sir, give me this water so that I won't get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water."
16He told her, "Go, call your husband and come back."
17"I have no husband," she replied.
Jesus said to her, "You are right when you say you have no husband. 18The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true."
19"Sir," the woman said, "I can see that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.
This story also relates back to the girl's story in a way about wanting love and hope. I still can't answer her original question clearly in a secular matter instead I can only offer this. Jesus was not scared to search our hearts. When we make friends we usually stay safe asking education, career, family, friends, and stuff. Jesus talks to us in a different way. He might come up and ask what are we struggling with or directly confront our fears. Its hard for us to understand how he did not do this in judgement because thats all we use to measure each other.
Jesus spoke directly to this woman's needs, that being the feeling of being loved. She had 5 husbands yet was living with a new guy whom she was not married too. Those past husband and current men could be compared to being the streams into her sea yet never fulfilling what she was really seeking in life. Yet Jesus comes now as a promise to be really what she is seeking, and to think she was probably joking when she said, "Sir, give me this water so that I won't get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water." That kind of water is the Amazing Love and Hope that can only come from the creator. An encounter with Jesus is something that penetrates to the deepest part of our soul, because to him there is no way to "measure up" or judge to a standard. Our schooling, possessions, friends, family, or career does not make us who we are deep down. Jesus is Hope for something better whether we understand it now or not.
Friday, July 2, 2010
Constant Heartbreak since the Fall
Genesis 3:6-13 "When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.
8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the LORD God called to the man, "Where are you?"
10 He answered, "I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid."
11 And he said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?"
12 The man said, "The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it."
13 Then the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?"
The woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate.""
The Garden of Eden was a place in God's presence. In his love, and all the joy that comes from knowing and being able to talk with your creator. Adam had to have talks while walking with God around the garden. Naked yes but what are clothes when we don't know we are naked. The Garden was a place were God's love was tied to humans closely and very intimately. Nothing exists such as rape, jealousy, hate, confusion, and any other problems you could think of basically. In the presence of God we have security and do not have to worry about such things. I think that its not stressed enough what actually happens here in Genesis.
"I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid."
As Adam hid in his newly made Garment's he feared God. Have you ever wondered why Adam would fear God now though? I mean all God showed to Adam was love and one command. Adam did not know what lying was, what death was, or what insecurity was prior to that one fruit, all he knew about really was the love he recieved from God. That was until he ate the fruit.The fruit gave him knowledge of uncertainty sort of. He went from having the amazing love of God to nothing. He knew that he had betrayed God, something new to him, and was not sure that God would still love him at all. Its quite sad to think of this unlimited love instantly cut off because of one bite.
"The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it."
It also starts where we shove the blame to someone else or try to disassociate from negative situations. I mention before talking to a guy that I was able to cast aside looks, since we were faceless to each other, to be a friend to the guy who had great loss. I wished that I was able to treat someone in life like that. At face value seeing a person as a person not that they are ugly or beautiful, and I know I am very guilty of this bias I have. Its something trained to us and a part of us since the fall. I bet we can all remember someone in grade school, middle school, or high school that we made fun of, if we didn't make fun of them, we were not able to make friends with them because we did not want the association to them. Why would we make friends with him and risk the chance of being made fun of? I noticed at the end of High School that many of those barriers were breaking down between everyone and where talking a bunch more. It was still very superficial still, and I am sure we still wouldn't hang out with those previously mentioned "undesirables." Back to Adam's new found fear though when all these things were new.
If Adam had been able to see all that God had done, and all the love he could offer, with this new knowledge, Adam's imagination could run wild with scenarios of what God might do to him. Adam points blame to Eve. God questions the woman and gets the story of deceit. The man seems to forget one part about his story though. Now you can see that when sin was introduced it was quite a slippery slope. Blame, Lying, Half-Truths, Jealousy, Confusion. Its not like Eve was alone to be deceived, "She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it." WHO WAS WITH HER! WHO WAS WITH HER! The man knew about what God said about the fruit yet he let her go onto it, for he was curious too. I don't think his original plan was that she would be a scapegoat. Scheming minds work fast when they are saving their own skin, Adam surely figured God would not cut of his love if the woman was the cause.
God made us for him to love and for us to love him. This was all fine and dandy till the fall. The hugest part why out of the many various people I have meet and talk to have some sort of trouble or some sort of heartache weighing on them. It has been so long since the fall that we still feel and want that connection to our creator, whether we choose to believe it or not. We can try to hid it in other items or relationships but I think we only poorly simulate what we really call for inside and thats the love from God. Its not only humans that want that connection again. God is surely heartbroken too. That even God close to the fall already had his ideas set for the redeeming power of Jesus to be given to us, and all the stories and history to help us understand more. God didn't make us robots though, and we choose that fruit the first time, and he gives us the choice again in the end for us to choose the lamb's sacrifice to enter into his love again.
John 14:6 "Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the LORD God called to the man, "Where are you?"
10 He answered, "I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid."
11 And he said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?"
12 The man said, "The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it."
13 Then the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?"
The woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate.""
The Garden of Eden was a place in God's presence. In his love, and all the joy that comes from knowing and being able to talk with your creator. Adam had to have talks while walking with God around the garden. Naked yes but what are clothes when we don't know we are naked. The Garden was a place were God's love was tied to humans closely and very intimately. Nothing exists such as rape, jealousy, hate, confusion, and any other problems you could think of basically. In the presence of God we have security and do not have to worry about such things. I think that its not stressed enough what actually happens here in Genesis.
"I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid."
As Adam hid in his newly made Garment's he feared God. Have you ever wondered why Adam would fear God now though? I mean all God showed to Adam was love and one command. Adam did not know what lying was, what death was, or what insecurity was prior to that one fruit, all he knew about really was the love he recieved from God. That was until he ate the fruit.The fruit gave him knowledge of uncertainty sort of. He went from having the amazing love of God to nothing. He knew that he had betrayed God, something new to him, and was not sure that God would still love him at all. Its quite sad to think of this unlimited love instantly cut off because of one bite.
"The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it."
It also starts where we shove the blame to someone else or try to disassociate from negative situations. I mention before talking to a guy that I was able to cast aside looks, since we were faceless to each other, to be a friend to the guy who had great loss. I wished that I was able to treat someone in life like that. At face value seeing a person as a person not that they are ugly or beautiful, and I know I am very guilty of this bias I have. Its something trained to us and a part of us since the fall. I bet we can all remember someone in grade school, middle school, or high school that we made fun of, if we didn't make fun of them, we were not able to make friends with them because we did not want the association to them. Why would we make friends with him and risk the chance of being made fun of? I noticed at the end of High School that many of those barriers were breaking down between everyone and where talking a bunch more. It was still very superficial still, and I am sure we still wouldn't hang out with those previously mentioned "undesirables." Back to Adam's new found fear though when all these things were new.
If Adam had been able to see all that God had done, and all the love he could offer, with this new knowledge, Adam's imagination could run wild with scenarios of what God might do to him. Adam points blame to Eve. God questions the woman and gets the story of deceit. The man seems to forget one part about his story though. Now you can see that when sin was introduced it was quite a slippery slope. Blame, Lying, Half-Truths, Jealousy, Confusion. Its not like Eve was alone to be deceived, "She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it." WHO WAS WITH HER! WHO WAS WITH HER! The man knew about what God said about the fruit yet he let her go onto it, for he was curious too. I don't think his original plan was that she would be a scapegoat. Scheming minds work fast when they are saving their own skin, Adam surely figured God would not cut of his love if the woman was the cause.
God made us for him to love and for us to love him. This was all fine and dandy till the fall. The hugest part why out of the many various people I have meet and talk to have some sort of trouble or some sort of heartache weighing on them. It has been so long since the fall that we still feel and want that connection to our creator, whether we choose to believe it or not. We can try to hid it in other items or relationships but I think we only poorly simulate what we really call for inside and thats the love from God. Its not only humans that want that connection again. God is surely heartbroken too. That even God close to the fall already had his ideas set for the redeeming power of Jesus to be given to us, and all the stories and history to help us understand more. God didn't make us robots though, and we choose that fruit the first time, and he gives us the choice again in the end for us to choose the lamb's sacrifice to enter into his love again.
John 14:6 "Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
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