Against The Doctrine of the Wretched Human.

In my life I have been bombarded with two different ideas of humanity. The one of the world that views man is in a way perfect and without need of a god. The constant worship of the individual, the imagination, the power. This is obscenely wrong. There is the opposite view as well, held by many Christians, that man is so filthy, worthless, and undesirable, that our mere existence is a miracle. I find this a little stupid.

There is this ongoing hatred for Adam and Eve for their fall into sin, which has so plagued us since then. I am obliged however to thank God for Adam and Eve, and to be thankful for that sin that gave us need of a redeemer, Jesus Christ. Without sin, we could not be reconciled, and therefore in my opinion, have a working and walking relationship with God. We love him more because we were without him. It is often said that we are unworthy to praise God, but does God find us unworthy? If he did, would we be able to praise him?

Someone stop me if I am spouting heresy: but I really think that if man sucked so bad, Jesus wouldn't have been one. Now don't mistake me here, I know I am not perfect and I never will be, and neither will anyone I know this side of glory. And yes, we are in need of a savior. But God thought we were so vile, would he have sent a savior in the first place?

Ponder that, friends. I want to hear your thoughts.

Mere Scribbles On a Page.

Sitting at the desk, I see clouds dancing on the sky;
They fly right by,
Without a care or a frown.
So I smile at them,
But they don't smile back.
Eyes on the prize they fly.

Tears in my eyes I smile at the sun.
Whether its from brightness or sadness, you or I will never know.
The sun smiles back
Until clouds fly right by.
Oh well. I'm blind anyway.

I sing with the birds for a while
But they keep changing keys.
Dancing on the leaves they sing a song I cannot know,
So I look for a smile from the sun.
But alas, he has gone on to bring joy to someone else.

The moon is here instead
Gently crying back at me.
The clouds only magnify her joy and sorrow.
The stars sing a song, this time I sing along.
Their dance is as old as the sky itself.

The trees clap there knotted hands
To a rhythm they never knew.
They sway in peace and solitude.

Someday I will be no more.
The sun will still smile at the clouds,
The birds will always sing their harmonies,
Dissonant with the rest of humanity;
The moon will shed a tear,
But she won't know that I'm not here.

But I know where I go, I can sing,
I can dance.
I can sit with my Father,
My eternal Father,
As he tells stories to me on his lap.

Wisdom and Intelligence.

I just found out that every day my great grandmother prays that I will be wise and intelligent. That is probably the most appropriate thing anyone has ever prayed for me. How cool is that!

Observing.

I feel like lately I have just been watching myself live, not really living, like a boring documentary. How in the world did that happen?

More Than A Class. A Test.

Doubt has crept in and made its home right beside faith, where it should be. I've been asked questions in an academic setting that have affected me on a spiritual level. I had previously thought that God would give me all the answers I wanted to know, "Ask and it shall be given." But now I wonder if I have been somehow egotistical in my endeavors. Who am I to know the wiles of God? Am I wrong in wanting to know answers? Now some are easy, you just have to read and not get your own ideas in the way. Others, however, are completely unanswerable. Like why do bad things happen? OMG how am I supposed to get that one? Job never really figured that one out. Burdens from the past have crept upon me. I am reminded of dark times full of false teachings. He thought he knew everything too. My faith is strong, my relationship still growing, but I've come off the mountain and entered the valley. Pray for me.

Disappointment Leads to Preperation.

God answers prayer. That's a fact. But he often answers NO. Whether we like it or not. This happened recently with yours trully. I asked God to either confirm something in my life, or release it. So a month of earnest prayer later, he released me from it. It hurt, it hurt REAL bad. But it was worth it. Now have I COMPLETELY let go yet? Unfortunately no. But things take time. What is AMAZING is how God removes the bad, and replaces it with the good. In my case, it all happened within a weekend. Now I am ready to prepare myself for what God has in store.

Its not about me anymore.

Capital J

Joy. True limitless, mind boggling Joy has been promised to all those that enter into the kingdom of Heaven. Joy beyond the grandest possible understanding. PROMISED to us IN WRITING. Yet most people (myself included) look in the wrong places for minor, fragile, perishing pleasures that never have, do not now, nor ever will add up to the outstanding Joy that comes in and through knowing Jesus Christ.

Example #1: Money
Fiscal prosperity is nice. We all like money. Not all of us are rich but we sure do wish we were. But what about spiritual richness? Wealth of holiness? Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ said that if we give up earthly belongings, and distractions, we will store up TREASURES IN HEAVEN. TREASURES!!!!!!!!!! For what doth it gaineth a man to inherit the whole entire blooming world, and lose his very own soul?

Example #2: Relationships
God has better lovers in mind for us than porn stars. UM HELLOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!! How do you expect to find the woman of your dreams that God has planned for you, if the only thing you can associate a beautiful woman with is sex??? God wants better for you than a computer screen or a DVD. (I am saying this as much for myself as for anyone else who might struggle with this.) I want THE wife that GOD planned for me from the beginning of time. I never want to settle for anything less than Gods perfect will. NOT TO MENTION that THE BIBLE SAYS to stay away from even a hint of sexual immorality, BECAUSE it will TRAP you (like a bear trap snappin your legs into pieces.......:) Sexual immorality includes: Lustful thoughts, pornography, homosexuality ect... So stay away from it, SO THAT you can get BETTER love than you have ever known. End of story.

Example #3: Decisions
Q: How many of us have ever made a mistake? .......................................................................................................................................................
........................................................................................................................................................................
A: ALL OF US!

Ok now that we know that, lets remember that GOD has never, is not now, nor ever will make a mistake. SOOO if we put our faith and trust in him, and prayerfully make decisions based on what we know to be the will of God, we should pretty much be right. Right? UNLESS we do something out of his will to mess ourselves up. Its an easy thing to SAY but it is week old caf cookies hard to do. I'm trying though, and I hope you are too.

Joy, guys and gals, is a thing IMPOSSIBLE to find on our own on this earth. BUT Joy in and through Jesus is so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so reachable. I hope you find that Joy. Because even now as I write this I become excited about what God wants to do in you, and with you, and through you.

May the JOY of the Lord be with you.