9.30.2012

God is everywhere

I went to the same church as last week today. I can tell you without doubt that I feel God's love there.

I've been more and more aware of His work in the world. I'm moved to tears often, and in strange ways. It's an interesting perspective shift, when you look around and consider - everyone is God's child. God loves everyone, and is with everyone, even if they don't know it.

As I waited for lunch today, I noticed a family of four come into the restaurant. I was sitting at a table for four near the front, and decided to move to a smaller table for two. A very simple gesture. The man came over to my table and said thank you for freeing up the table. An equally small gesture. However, there is so much power behind both. Perhaps God wasn't directly behind either side of that interaction. I am however, absolutely convinced that God was at least indirectly behind both acts. It is His love, compassion, and kindness that moves the good in the world.

I'm beginning to realize that I will never be able to praise Him enough, but I will never stop trying.

9.23.2012

purpose of church?

I attended a church today. All in all it was pretty good. I think having the mindset that this is for me helped a lot. It also helped to know that God was with me. I met some kind people and ran into a friend from high school. That was very cool. If you are reading this Cory, thanks so much for making me feel welcome!

As I'm driving to my moms house after the service I'm thinking to myself - church isn't for God. God is everything. God needs nothing. Church is for us. It's for you, it's for me. Most of all it's for us. I've not read a ton of scripture and plan on doing some reading about the purpose of church, but that aside I think I've got some basic concepts down.

As a friend has taught me recently - it's not until your church reaches out and supports you that you really realize how much it means. Thank you Ryan! Having time to worship is great, having time to study is great, but both of those things can be done (and perhaps should be done) anytime. Having a sense of community with people who share the same belief - that Jesus is Lord and Savior - is an awesome thing. All that you have to do is reach out and connect with those people. They are EVERYWHERE!

The church I went to accepted me with open arms. People were friendly, and most of all I felt God's love. Casey had me watch a video on worship recently, and it was with this in mind that I attended these services. I'm not big on loud contemporary Christian music - but with an open heart and mind it wasn't so bad. I sang along with the songs where I could, and I felt good about it.

God loves everyone of us without any reciprocation. That means you don't have to go to church, you don't have to worship, you don't have to tithe. You simply have to accept Him. There is no other deal on earth like it. I'd encourage everyone to pick up the bible and give it a shot - with an open heart and an open mind. It has opened up an entirely new world to me.

9.22.2012

Friends...

FYI - I've invited a couple of people I'm very close to as authors here. You'll see who posts what, so there won't be confusion as to the author. We're still discussing plans on what and how to communicate. Hopefully you find it all engaging!

9.19.2012

Walk with God

I've heard and read the phrase - walked with God - a few times. I rolled this around in my head for awhile, and decided what it meant to me personally.

When I pray (not every time, but most times) I can feel God's presence. I'm aware of, and can commune with Him. Sometimes this can take some effort, especially if I'm distracted or frustrated.

I believe that if we truly follow His word, fully and with our entire being, we can commune with him all the time. To me this is 'walking with God'. He is always there loving us, but are we always loving Him? Are we always doing as He wants?

I hope someday that I can truly learn to live as He wants me to.

9.17.2012

New perspective

Allright, now at this point I have no doubts. I'm totally going to keep this thing going.

I'm excited about what I'm learning and I want to share it. If you don't like it you don't have to read it, so it's not like I'm pushing anything on anyone.

That being said check this out! I had a lot of questions about how things worked in the old testament vs the new testament. What the coming of Christ changed and how. And man, this article was so much more than I was looking for.

http://bible.org/article/mosaic-law-its-function-and-purpose-new-testament

Also - I just bought a strongs concordance with hebrew greek and aramaic dictionaries. That thing could keep someone going for ages.

PSS - Watching "The Case for Christ" on Netflix. Was pretty good, but I think I need to read the book as well. If you are pursuing knowledge, check it out!

9.16.2012

Fear

So I've been talking to friends, and praying about this blog. I have fears about publicly publishing this part of my life.

I'm not sure where this will go from here.

I will share the following:

I prayed and I asked for guidance assistance and help, and I received it. After much thought, debate, and thinking about all the experiences in my life, I decided to acknowledge my heart. My heart tells me Jesus is real. Jesus loves me. Jesus forgives me, and will always be there for me. He IS my Lord and my salvation. I will do my best to give my life to Him.

9.14.2012

brief update

Matthew 7:7 (NIV1984)

Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.

Be calm, be still, be quiet. Pray with an open heart and an open mind.

9.13.2012

finis

So sorry to disappoint anyone who is actually reading this. I've decided this journey is best pursued in private.

Thanks,
J

9.09.2012

Faith

I fell asleep the other night thinking about faith and what it is. At first my thought was, faith is a belief in something that cannot be proved. Then I thought perhaps it means belief in something that hasn't been proved.

As I talk to more people about God and the bible, I'm becoming more comfortable with faith based solely on the bible.

I'm becoming comfortable with the idea that the bible can be written by man and still be the Word of God. I'm becoming ok with the idea that the bible is true, that it actually represents the words of men written thousands of years ago, and that is has not been modified in any way that creates a gross error in translation.

I think the leap of faith here would simply be that the bible is the Word of God. I think we can reasonably prove that it is or is not an accurate translation of what was originally written. I think we can do the research to determine whether or not it was written within a certain range of times.

I'm running on the assumption that the bible I'm reading today (KJV and NIV) is a fair and accurate translation of the same documents written in the Old Testament and New Testaments. I'm also assuming that the estimates about when they were written are basically correct. 

This means I now have to decide if the words are true and accurate representations of reality as perceived by the writers. Since I haven't read it all, I can't really judge at this point. I can tell you that if they are true, some truly fantastic things have occurred. Unbelievable things. I'm not going to let that stop my investigation.

On the chance that God is real, and that he loves us all, I think everyone owes it to themselves to at least read the bible once with an open heart and mind. I'm one of the most analytical and stubborn people I know. I've never been more open to His word.

Thanks to everyone that is accompanying me on this journey.

9.07.2012

Baseline...

The title shows the engineer in me. Based on some conversations I've had with people I figured I needed to set some basic info down.

I currently am not sure if God exists. I'm not opposed to it but I have no strong reasons to believe.

I'm taking the bible as my only path to God. I'm assuming it's His Word. I'm assuming it is complete and is exactly as he would have it. I'm assuming I cannot pick and choose, and that some of it is His and some of it is not. I don't see a happy middle ground here. If He is infallible then it must be whole and completely His.

My goal here is to understand what the bible tells me. To understand it's context and value. To understand why people follow Christ.

Someone asked me, do you want to believe? Do you want to have faith? I would love to believe that there is a God that cares about me. That loves me unconditionally. I would love to believe that there is more than this physical existence I know about.

I am not doing this to provoke anyone. I'm not doing it to attack anyone. I do it from a motive of understanding and desire.

I love the engaging conversations I've had with friends and followers of Christ.

I'm going to try to come up with a list of concrete goals and questions that I'm seeking. So far this has been free form, but with all the questions I'm getting asked I think a little organization might be useful.

I have a few goals regarding this blog. I'd like to communicate my progress. I'd like a place to reflect, and be held accountable by others regarding my progress. I'd like a forum where people can challenge me and show me things I may be missing. I can't do this alone. I know there are many people who have experience and knowledge I lack. And finally, perhaps someone else who has the same questions will read and find value here.

J

9.04.2012

First book read

Figured I'd let everyone know the books I'm reading...

Is the Bible True... Really?

A dialogue on skepticism, evidence, and truth.

by: Josh McDowell and Dave Sterrett

This definitely covered some topics that concerned me, and I really liked the explanations given. It was however a pretty light dusting of those topics and at a very high level. I'd recommend this as a brief discussion on the bible and it's value.

Wow...

For those of you that contacted me thanks much! Again, the outpouring of support is great. I will absolutely count on others to help me out here. People and their personal experiences are very inspiring. I look forward to reaching out to others with questions.

I realize this is ultimately about a personal relationship with God, but to get there I need help and I know I can get it.

Thanks!
J

9.03.2012

Introduction

So I've finally decided to completely delve into christianity. I was raised Christian Scientist and then as I reached my teen years I just kinda ignored it all. Primarily because my grandmother was the one that took me to church all the time.

I've recently fallen in love with an amazing woman that is completely devoted to christianity, and specifically Jesus. This has prompted me to examine my own beliefs. I've decided I have to read the bible as a first step. Sure, I've read parts here and there, but never with the goal of understanding it's message or value.

Quite a few people have shared some books with me on religion and faith. My intent is to read them all, but the backlog is growing. If I get some recommendations here I will consider them, but I'll prioritize my friend's and family's recommendations for now.

My intent is to be forthright and honest with myself and any readers I manage to pick up.

Where I'm at now is that the old testament God is much more wrathful, jealous, and vengeful than I ever imagined. I'd heard it said, but now that I've actually read it I know what it means. I'm finding it challenging to feel that He is someone I can get behind. I'll definitely need to read these chapters again to discover the reasoning behind the wrath.

I can tell you that the outpouring of support and willingness of people to listen and answer questions is awesome. I've always felt organized religion was "dirty". I'm not sure that has changed much. I have been introduced to the idea of following Jesus and his teachings and I'm much more into that. Every church I've attempted to go to recently (past year) has been flashy and boisterous. I'm used to a solemn serene church for worship. My "concepts" of church and faith do not fit well with electric guitars, amps, spotlights, and huge LCD screens.

My biggest issues are (off the top of my head right now):

  • Why believe the bible?
  • I don't believe God plays an active role in our world (really interested on what the bible says about this).
  • What is important to God regarding faith? (i.e. can i be baptist, lutheran, mormon, catholic, etc)
I'll commit to weekly updates - and I'll shoot for Sunday. Hopefully that doesn't count as work on the Sabbath. :D

J