Do you ever ask God why this happens or that happens to you? When you go through trials and you feel stressed because of it, you feel abandoned, left to rot....
Heres a little story that i received through an email
A daughter is telling her Mother how everything is going wrong, she's failing algebra, her boyfriend broke up with her and her best friend is moving away.
Meanwhile, her Mother is baking a cake and asks her daughter if she would like a snack, and the daughter says, 'Absolutely Mom, I love your cake.'
'Here, have some cooking oil,' her Mother offers.
'Yuck' says her daughter.
'How about a couple raw eggs?' 'Gross, Mom!'
'Would you like some flour then? Or maybe baking soda?'
'Mom, those are all yucky!'
To which the mother replies: 'Yes , all those things seem bad all by themselves. But when they are put together in the right way, they make a wonderfully delicious cake! '
God works the same way. Many times we wonder why He would let us go through such bad and difficult times. But God knows that when He puts these things all in His order, they always work for good! We just have to trust Him and, eventually, they will all make something wonderful!
Believe it or not... all these things that are happening to you that you think is very negative, and horrible is all part of the smaller picture. God definitely has a bigger picture, a bigger purpose in store for you no matter how low things go.
" In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will." Ephesians 1:11
All God asks is for you to believe in him, to follow him, to obey his commands to 1) love God and 2)love your neighbour
"... i ask that we love one another. And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands." 2 john 5-6
And when i say that all God asks is for you to believe him, im not saying all you have to do is say ..."yup.. i think God exists" or "i go to church, that means God i know God exists" or "i know every single bible story so i know what Jesus did and I know God exists".
If you think about it, even the demons that were mentioned in the bible knew that God exists (James 2:19)
So what does knowing God mean? Knowing God means reading the bible, setting some time out of your busy life to do your devotions, follow God's commands.. love others like Jesus did and just KNOW GOD on an intimate level.. search for God, Taste and SEE that the Lord is good (Psalm 34:8) Did I master all these things... by all means.. NO!..like i said in an earlier Blog.. im playing this game with unlimited levels and im like at level 10.. I still have a million mountains to climb!
Why am i telling you that Knowing God is important? Because if you don't know God.. you wont be able to see the bigger picture... you wont be able to see that all the negative things are small things that are trying to build you up to be ready for something on a bigger scale.. Dont believe me? even the bible says so
" The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the spirit of God for they are foolishness to him and he cannot understand them because they are spiritually discerned. " 1 Cor 2: 14
So this is an encouragement to all of you... don't sweat the low times..because in the end, God will use all those small yucky, tasteless ingredients and bake you up a HUGE, delicious Cake (which I wouldn't mind having a slice of a cake right now) .. also search for God as best as you can so you can understand why I enjoy writing these blogs... even if its 2 30 in the morning - You re gonna have to just trust me on this one.... i guarantee it will be worth it!
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
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hi :) I'm not christian but thanks for this post, it makes these lows of future uncertainties suddenly quite bearable and alright ^^.. it also makes me better able to see the beauty of life surrounding me again when before shrouds of stress, worries, and feelings of inadequacies blocked my vision :)
ReplyDeleteI have been following your blogs and I have decided to take up God's word. The question is, how do I know what level I'm at? You said you are at level 10 but I think I'm probably around 25-30? Anyway I think I've almost reached my level cap.. so yeah cheers
ReplyDeleteFuckk DAT, im lvl 100 soo yeahh I win
ReplyDeleteI like the story...very good analogy to how negatives in life are sometimes necessary in order to truly appreciate the beauty of the bigger picture.
ReplyDeleteto the previous commenter. Unlimited levels alrite. im probably over 4 trillion rite now, Jay's at 10 trillion. but thats besides the point. God said seek and you will find, so give it a try. start asking ppl about God, and i guarantee that, even if your still unsure in the end, you will have a burning desire to know more.
ReplyDeleteDear anonymous,
ReplyDeleteHow do you know that there are only 100 levels in this game? It is certainly alarming to assume that God can be contained to merely 100 levels. How is God then any greater than man?
If you picked up God's word and reached level "100" I'd like to bring you back to 1 Corinthians 2. You probably know this one. no? The game doesn't end at level 100 my friend. It is far beyond that.
1 Corinthians 2: 6-16
We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. No, we speak of God's secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. 8None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. However, as it is written:
"No eye has seen,
no ear has heard,
no mind has conceived
what God has prepared for those who love him"but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit.
The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man's spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words. The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man's judgment:
"For who has known the mind of the Lord
that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.
As a Christian, I know that we are only human and subject to failures and struggles as well. God did not promise us an easy life, but eventually an eternal and worthwhile life walking in light, goodness, and love. Thank goodness Isaiah 40 reminds us THERE IS HOPE in this game we may never seem to win.
Isaiah 40: 28-31
Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.
He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.
Ain't about the level dude... bigger picture.. we still dont know anything... we can only come up with theories about how things work or how things come about... if you wanna talk me im pretty sure you know how to contact me one way or another
ReplyDeleteHAHA if it was just to get up to lvl 100, life would be so easy... but anyways bigger picture, we dont know a lot of things about this world and we dont know a lot of things about God.. all we can do is search and when the times right we'll get to taste and see that the lord is good... if you wanna chat it up.. you know where to find me...whoever you are
ReplyDeletePeople believe in god because we are afraid to be alone in this world, it's a defense mechanism. Simply human psychology.
ReplyDeleteI dont know about you, but there is no way all the beauty on Earth was created by random chance, when you look at the stars out at night with no lights.. theres no way that those just happen to form on its own... If you look into our Very DNA... theres no way by random chance there are so many mechanisms to repair it when get damaged... even evolution... its just an observation, its a science theres place for faith in evolution because its just something that people have seen through fossils and other organisms... All the things that happen in your life.. when you look at all these things.. how can you not think that theres a God out there... people dont believe in God because they are afraid of the unknown, because human nature fears the unknown... i think that because are afraid of believe that theres a God because we honestly dont know much about God.. thats where faith comes in.. and trust me when i say that God's work is not just some fantasy, its not just stories.. its reality.. except our hearts are so hardened that we Choose not to see God
ReplyDeleteSo your telling me people fear god because they fear the unknown... so therefore god is unknown. How can you therefore claim YOU know so much about god.
ReplyDeletehaha i never said i knew a lot about God... like i said.. im like level 10 in a game with unlimited levels.. I only know what has been taught through the bible... and last time i checked.. no one was able to disprove the bible. But do you not think there is a higher power out there? To me.. that higher power is God
ReplyDeleteNo, why do we have to assume that there is a higher power, just because things seem like they were created with every little intricate detail in mind doesn't mean we have to fallaciously believe that someone higher had to have created it, in fact evolution is the most parsimonious theory to take, the theory of god just asks more questions. Now you tell me which is more reasonable to believe given both cannot be disproved.
ReplyDeleteA super-powered god that only exists in a single book passed down 2000 years ago or centuries of empirical evidence and research dedicated to finding out the truth about the world.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteIf you choose not to believe.. then thats your choice.. i wont judge... btw the new testament came about around 2000 ago.. but the Old testament has been around longer than you think. Theres only so much that evidence can give you in terms of answers, as for Christianity, thats where faith comes in... im not gonna go around to force you to believe or anything...
ReplyDeleteThe man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the spirit of God for they are foolishness to him and he cannot understand them because they are spiritually discerned. " 1 Cor 2: 14
and so i will pray for you that you will one day see God at work in your life... enjoy!
This is another anonymous.
ReplyDelete@ Jason, if you really think about it, according to the Bible, God did bring things together out of no where. Can we call this Big Bang? Maybe.
@Anonymous, philosophically, you can't disprove God. Because even when you try to disprove the existence of God, you basically is saying there there IS something to disprove. Though I'd bring this up b/c your statement:
"So your telling me people fear god because they fear the unknown... so therefore god is unknown. How can you therefore claim YOU know so much about god."
Sounded like (example): All man likes coffee. Socrates is a man. Therefore Socrates likes coffee.
@ Jason, wow you're so patient lol
ReplyDelete@ anonymous
"No, why do we have to assume that there is a higher power, just because things seem like they were created with every little intricate detail in mind doesn't mean we have to fallaciously believe that someone higher had to have created it, in fact evolution is the most parsimonious theory to take, the theory of god just asks more questions. Now you tell me which is more reasonable to believe given both cannot be disproved."
^ it's erroneous to say that evolution is something to "believe" in. the theories of evolution are indeed just descriptions of observable biological phenomena and do not serve in ANY way to disprove the theories of creation. likewise, the theories of creation do not undermine any observations of 'evolution' in progress. it's a common misconception to associate the two as true contradictions of one another.. because they stand separate. One is a scientific observation, the other is of religion and faith.
Engaging in debates about the existence of a higher being while wielding the sword of evolutionary theories against creationist theories (just as trying to say that evolution is 'false' on creationist grounds) is rather foolish and only shows of ignorance on both subject matters. It's irritating to see these two constantly dance with each other in debates on the existence of 'God' when in reality, neither disproves the other, and it only fuels more cynicism for the opposing side - cynicism that is wholly unjustifiable and unmerited.
People are going to believe whatever they want to believe, there's not really a need to question or try to demean someone else's faith. Also, personally, though I as well believe that 'religion' in and of itself is a man made infrastructure (and perhaps did stem largely from fear), it doesn't mean I automatically think that there is no such thing as a higher being. It just simply implies that while I don't agree with many religious practices out there I can still maintain an appreciation of things unexplainable as perhaps a consequence of something grander than we can imagine. I'd peg someone as rather dull if he/she did not see something wondrous about life and our existence.
I find great beauty in the theories of science and those of faith, and in my lifetime, it'd be rather exquisite to see them come together as one.
- your friendly atheist
Quoting the bible and take it word for word is a dumb thing to do. You realize it's a translation right?
ReplyDeleteHave you ever seen subtitles? They are never accurate. They may give you the gist, or the idea, but never a word for word account of exact meaning.
Taking the bible and using it as a word for word quote is quite dumb, because it isn't even the original writer's words but rather some guy who translated it.
so... what are you suggesting?
ReplyDeleteHello to anonymous:
ReplyDelete"Quoting the bible and take it word for word is a dumb thing to do. You realize it's a translation right?"
If you have some time, take some time to watch this by Voddie Baucham. I think there's a total of 5 clips. The first 2 can help explain what you're wondering. Feel free to watch the whole thing =)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5wlJQrqyTw