Love. Outrageous, ridiculous, amazing Love.

Hey guys, I just want you to think about one thing right now. Love. God's love to be exact. Just think about it for a second. After this, I'm almost positive you'll be saying the exact same thing I do whenever it really hits me, and that is, "How can I not be laughing with joy and screaming this Love out for all the world to hear?" Okay, so here we go.

We have this guy, his name is God, Yaweh if you want to be technical. He also goes by Jehovah, father, El Shadai, deliverer, friend, confidant, and many other things. Anyway, so we have God. He is huge. He is mammoth. He is so big tat we can not even begin to comprehend him. he is, in fact, infinite. We are finite beings, we are restricted in time and space, God isn't. He is outside of that. He is bigger than that. He friggen created it for crying out loud. On top of creating time, he created the universe, and not just the milky way. It created light years upon light years worth of space. We, at the grand scheme things, are small, insignificant specks in this universe, being catapulted around a big burning ball of fire year in and year out by the earth. How can we matter at all? It's because God made us, and Loves us. Friggen A, God made us and loves us. I'm literally shaking right now with joy at just that thought. But there is more. We, as a creation, decided, "Phht. eff God. We don't need him. We'll do it our way. We know what's best for us anyway. We are significant because we are on this earth. We are significant because of ourselves." Not because what God did, no, our big heads are too big for that. we are too selfish and get too wrapped up in what we're doing for ourselves, that we miss what God is doing. So, we have this great creator, who created time and space itself, and also created us to have a relationship with him, because he loves his creation so fricken much. Then we, the insignificant looking specks that we are, decided that we don't need him anymore. (This next bit I kind of touched on last time I wrote) Then, does he decide, "Phhht eff humans. I don't need them. I have time and space and the angels and pretty much everything I could ever want or need here at my very beckon and call."? heck no he doesn't. He decides, "No, I love my creation. They are mine. I will always love them no matter what they do. They are mine. I will bring them back to me. I will turn their eyes back to me." Enter Jesus. He comes to the world, God incarnate. God decides that he is going to personally come down to earth, as another insignificant looking speck, and actually breath and walk among us. He actually prayed for humanity. He shared meals with humanity. He laughed and cried with humanity. Above all, he loved Humanity. Then, there came a time where humans decided it was a good idea to kill God because they didn't like what He had to say. It was too personal. It was attacking their own selfish desires and wants. Does God decide, "Phht, whatever. I came down to walk and talk with you and show you how cool I am in the flesh and you still want to kill me? Later suckers."? Nope, he goes up on that cross and he dies. To show us his great love. He died to conquer death and show us the way of life. Through that death he immortalized his Love in such a way that it has turned countless eyes back to him, and countless more are yet to turn their eyes to Him still.

Now here comes the interesting part. Jesus came for the weak, the weary, the cold hearted, the thief and the criminal, the murderer, the priest, the young child, the wealthy lord, the kings of the nations, and so many  more. Jesus came for both the bad and the good. All because he loves us all, so freaking outrageously. There is no precedent for this amount of love. To put it in terms that really hit home. God came and died for me, and you, and the pastor down the street, and the con-man, and the rapist, and the pedophiles. He came for the drug dealers, the perfect house wife, the heroine addicts, the church goers. He even come and died for the likes of Hitler, and Stalin, and all of the other fear/war/death mongering dictators of our age, as well as ages past. He came and died simply because He Loves every single one of us and wants us to turn our eyes back to him. Fricken Hitler man! He came and died and rose again for Fricken Hitler. God Loves Hitler! It doesn't matter what we do. God loves us, and has grace enough for us.Freaking outrageous right? That's just the beginning though.

(If you haven't picked up that alot of this is my own personal theology yet then you should now. I say this because I want you to know that this is simply how I feel. You might not think the same way. That is alright. We all experience God differently. Don't take my word for truth. look into this stuff yourself, and really dig into what you believe about God. Figure out your own theologies.)

When our time comes and we are lifted into God's courts to be with him forever, we will be also in the presence of all the other believers from history. Abraham, Moses, Zacheus. But beyond that, We will be able to worship God, at least I hope, with brothers and sisters in Christ like Hitler, who have lived lives of fear and death. (see, my own theology is coming out now.) Jesus came to the earth and conquered death. If he conquered death, how then could death prevent salvation? I don't think that God was kidding when he said he came to redeem the entire world. I don't think the bible is kidding when it says every single knee shall bow and every single tongue shall confess that Jesus is Lord. If that's the case, then Jesus is so loving and so merciful and so fricken powerful, that he can redeem the likes of Hitler. Holy freaking crap?
That is some freaking outrageous love.

Guys, Love is what it is all about. God's love for us is so great. It stretches across the cosmos beyond time and space, and reaches into the very depths of darkness where it seems no light will ever shine. Guys, God loves us.

The question and the solution...some profanity included...

Today I woke up and knew it was a bad day. I was tired. Today was one of those days where you simply want to lie in bed all day and forget the world exists. I walked out into the brisk november morning and wished I could just get away from everything. I turned on some good old Heath Mcnease as background noise...I didn't really want to feel like worshiping God though. Today all I could think of was just how fucked up our world is. We talked today in our Judaism class about Abortion and Euthanasia. All I could think about was the division that our world naturally makes within itself. Who's right, who's wrong. Yesterday I was saying the exact same thing regarding gay marriage. All I could think about this morning was the fact that this world is full of destruction, violence, debauchery, and death. I want nothing to do with this world. This morning I was pissed off. I didn't want to be here any more. I just wanted to pack my bags and live in a cabin on a mountain by myself for eternity. All I wanted was for God to come down in His heavenly light and whisk the sin and death within this corrupted world away, once and for all. I still want that. I will always want that. I so desire the "New Jerusalem" as Revelation puts it. I want to live, finally, in a world where sin and death is no more. Not even a memory, it is completely and utterly abolished. Never to return again. Humanity living in harmony with God, like I said in the first post, oh so long ago. On my 20 minute walk back from class this morning I was thinking and brooding upon these things when I realized, "Have I given up on the world?" How can I? God himself didn't give up on the world. He could have just decided to leave and build a new garden of Eden and a new Adam as soon as the old one decided it was a good idea to eat the fruit. He could have decided to utterly wipe every single human being off of the face of the earth with the flood, but he didn't. He kept with us. He chose Noah to go on and continue humanity's existence. Above all else, he gave us Jesus. His son, to come and live in this world with us. Among us. For us. He died FOR US. He rose, FOR US. We are still supposed to love in His name, to care for others in His name, and sow seeds of joy in His name, all because He has not given up on us yet. How then, can I sit and wallow in my own shit? God still Loves us and wishes the best for us. We need to continue to sow seeds of joy and love. We need to continue furthering His kingdom here on earth. That day will come when sin will be no more. Let us not be discouraged by the fact that there is so much shit in the world. Instead, let us become energized by the holy spirit, as we continue to do God's good work. There is still abundant life and joy to be had. Let us live it to the full. All for God's wonderful and kingly Glory. Amen. (imagine that period at the end was plunked with excessive force)

I'm such a lazy-bones

Hey, It's been a very very very very long time since I last posted, least a ways it feels as such. I guess a month or so is a long time, but for me it feels like it's been so much longer than that. When last I left you I was struggling with the fact that I am an idolater, and so is most of the world...okay, all of it. Since then, as only Will Ferrel can put it, "I'm in a glass case of emotion!" click here for clip...okay, so maybe I am not quite as bad off as Ron Burgundy, after all, he did just loose his puppy, but still, I feel like I have been on such a roller coaster lately. I have experienced the highest heights of looking out over the Scottish hills, sitting by the water of Cardiff Bay, felt the true joy of worshiping God, experienced the baptism of 9 sisters and brothers in Christ, felt the energy from that, as well as the absolute lowest lows. I have been broken, brought low, humbled beyond belief. I have cried out with all of my essence. Crying for help and guidance, seeking some sort of semblance to the life that I'm living. It feels as if I am broken in two. One part of me is light. A lover of God, a reveler of joy and peace and love. The other side is darkness. A hideous creature that lies out of sight. It destroys, it corrupts, and it discourages. It is controlling and revels in debauchery and sinfulness. All this to say, I'm not exactly sure what is going on totally any particular day. I am just going through each day as it comes my way, and all the while trying to hold on to God as best I can. On top of that, the semester is coming to a close and I am eagerly awaiting my return trip home to PA. Good ol' PA. Maybe it's the fact that I don't feel very connected to a community of faith. I definitely miss my friends and family. But I think that it is God working in me. I feel growth coming through this. I think that it is God changing me, morphing me, and molding me into the man that he wants me to be. The future is coming fast, and God is preparing me for that. He is getting me ready for the challenges to come. After all, the most growth comes in the deep water of life. It is in the times where we are most challenged that we grow the most. So if you are currently experiencing some sort of challenge, whether it is idolatry, selfishness, loneliness, or any other affect of the human disorder, have hope. God is standing there, Jesus at his right hand, guiding us to Him, to His house, and into His arms. He is working in us. Helping us to grow. Sure you may look upon hardship and feel distrust and disgust at God for letting it happen to you, but that is taking a negative approach to the situation. God gives us hope in all circumstances. No matter what, there is always a positive side to what is going on. I leave you with that. :D

Also, I have been listening to this song and it is super duper good. It is talking about the end of time. It is a song from an album that is completely based off of C.S Lewis books. It's real good. You. The song is called "The World's Last Night", by Heath Mcnease. The album is called "The Weight of Glory" which can be downloaded here off of Noisetrade.com or on bandcamp. get it. It's all good