Tag / God’s Nature

by Greg

The Story of Creation

I have been wanting to intentionally, methodically read through the Old Testament again recently, and somehow chose today to start that process. I almost started in a book other than Genesis, but decided, how can you not start there?

I’m glad I did.

I noticed a few things in what I read that I wanted to write out here.

First, I noticed that there was an order to things. There was definitely a process to the story. From formless and void to separating the waters. From separating water from water (which is pretty interesting) to separating water from land. Then the lights: sun, moon & stars. Then plants, animals – also in a sequence – and then finally, people. There was an order.

Why did he do that? Why didn’t he just—POOF—make everything? How did he choose the order? Did one thing build on the other? Was each step part of his original blue print? Is God such an artist that he was even just “making it up” as he goes? Could he have been that spontaneous? Was he simply enjoying the process?

Who can know? Not I. But the fact that he built one thing upon another stuck out to me. Maybe not the way I would have done it. (But, thankfully, I’m not God.)

Then God said, “Let the land sprout with vegetation—every sort of seed-bearing plant, and trees that grow seed-bearing fruit. These seeds will then produce the kinds of plants and trees from which they came.” And that is what happened. The land produced vegetation—all sorts of seed-bearing plants, and trees with seed-bearing fruit. Their seeds produced plants and trees of the same kind. And God saw that it was good.

This was another cool thing I noticed. Not only did he make stuff, he made it so that the stuff could make stuff. Amazing. We can’t really imagine infusing life into anything, especially from nothing… but he infused so much life, and such a pattern, that the life he created could also re-create. Plants, fish, birds, animals, even people. He built in the ability to reproduce “of the same kind.” That really should be amazing, I think. Perhaps we’re so used to it—it’s just how it is—but, really… it is astounding.

Jesus did say, “I am the Life.”

Mostly, I noticed that God is incredible, and I hope to see him more in the pages of the Old Testament again, through the slightly dimmer vision of those who knew him before he was fully revealed in Jesus. We’re pretty lucky in that regard. Jesus – the full representation of God – made himself known, and after defeating sin, and death, and shame by dying on the cross, he got back up and lives with us today. Here. Now.

In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word.
Hebrews 1:1-3

by Greg

Made Me Smile…

Kirstie's Signature
On a lighter note, on my way home to my family yesterday afternoon (from my work that morning) I spotted a piece of paper with some drawings our five-year-old had made sometime earlier that week. I smiled at their amorphous cuteness. Fun to see what her mind and tiny hands had created.

But then I spotted her signature. Somehow, my heart welled with emotion and my smile got even bigger. (It is again as I type this.) There was something about the little dot over the “i”, and the backwards letters. The determination and pride with which they were applied to her creation, yet the beautiful, innocent simplicity in them. It was just perfect and made me so love that I get to be her Daddy. 🙂

Made me wonder if that’s how our Daddy feels when he sees our creations? Does he love to see the creations of his creations? They aren’t always spectacular, but they are unique and a piece of who we are. Doesn’t have to be art… can be anything we do or say perhaps. But is bears our signature.

And I just bet it does make him smile.

by Greg

Asking Because We’re Loved

Remember a little while ago, I posted some thoughts regarding asking God for things, even though we might know or trust that he knows the best option or outcome anyway? I am still chewing on that, to be sure, because the more I get to know our Father, the more I trust his love for me and his way superior wisdom (not to mention much better vantage point).

This morning I was thinking more about what we ask God for and had a couple more thoughts to add. This past weekend, we were looking at Paul’s prayer and how he asked for stuff we don’t usually pray for. We like to pray for healing and other physical things (monetary needs, jobs, places to live, food to eat, etc.) Paul asked God to give the church inner strength, an understanding of just how amazingly loved by God they are, and by that to be filled with the fullness of life that comes from God. Notably, he didn’t ask for healing, provisions, or freedom from persecution. He asked that they would know Jesus more.

And, I may have mentioned this before, but it bears repeating, in Jesus “model prayer” (his reply to, “Master, teach us how to pray”) neither did he pray for healing – only for “daily bread”.

But what perhaps “clicked” today for me was that, even though Jesus didn’t necessarily ask God for it, and Paul did not, what we see Jesus doing is tons of healing. A majority of the stories we have from Jesus’ life on the planet involve some sort of healing. (And sometimes we see him asking his Father to bring that healing, but often he just healed.)

Why the discrepancy? Why wouldn’t Jesus model that in his “How To Pray” prayer? Why didn’t Paul ask for that for the Ephesians? I think maybe that there are “better” things than healing, at times, but in the end, God loves us… and he listens to us. He really does. When Jesus saw the people who were hurting and were asking for healing, maybe he knew of some way they could “grow” spiritually – that “inner strength” Paul asked for the Ephesians to receive – but when he was asked, he gave.

I know that as a dad – and certainly a flawed dad – I can be swayed by my kids’ askings. Even if perhaps there is a “better” option. Not always, of course. But sometimes. And I wonder if sometimes God forgoes the long range “best” to just say a short term, “I love you.” Could that be? Does that mean he is choosing an inferior option? Doesn’t that lessen him? Only if love is a lesser choice. I think he’d argue that it is not.

Much of this is just off-the-cuff ramblings from some thoughts I am still processing. It’s been a strange season lately. Lots of major illness and other things to ask God to heal, restore, renew. I am doing that. (And actually, so is he. Some very positive – if only short term? – happenings in response to our askings.) So, thanks for reading along, and I very much welcome your thoughts on “prayer” and the balance between asking him for what we long for, what we think is best, and trusting the love of our amazing Father, whom we know loves us, and knows “best.”

It’s an interesting journey, is it not?

by Greg

I’m Praying For You

Recently I have been asked to pray for people a lot. Or, just offered to. A lot of crazy things going on. Friends losing jobs, dealing with tumors and cancers, relationship turmoil, and even just people caught in a mess of their own poor choices.

I am certainly not immune. I have felt tired, spent, exhausted, and overwhelmed by much of life for the past 8 or 9 months. There are certainly bright spots, and, as the song goes, “All of the way, my Savior leads me,” but life is just not always sunshine and lollipops. (Like, for example, the $600 auto repair bill I just got…)

Through it all, however, I want to, and do ask God to “fix stuff” in life. But I have found that this is the hardest thing for me to do with Him. Not that I don’t think he listens, or answers, prayer… I know he does. I even wrote a song about it.

I also have no problem talking with God. I love him, and know he loves me. So we chat often about many things. Everything. Even if it’s not polished up all nice and shiny for him. Because I know he loves me.

That is the part that is not making sense for me. Every time I ask God for something – be it for me, or for someone else – I eventually (usually quickly) come to the point where I say something like, “But if you have a better idea, I want what you want.” Every time. Which always makes me think, “So why am I asking you?” It’s not that I am unwilling to ask… that’s why I do ask. What is it that won’t let me ask for something without a qualifier?

Best I can figure, it’s because I have come to know my Father, and completely trust him. I know first, that he loves me completely and his plans for me are to “prosper me, and not to harm me.” I totally get that. And I trust that. Completely. So whenever I ask for something, I always realize, “You know… I am only looking at this from my perspective… you probably know something much bigger-picture. If I am asking for something that is not the best, then I want what you want!”

Does this negate the need to pray for stuff in your life, and for other people? I don’t think so. There are examples of believers praying for the life circumstances of themselves and other believers. It’s not bad. And maybe it’s just good in that we are refocusing ourselves, remembering from whom we receive “every good and perfect gift.” I still wonder though if there is something in this that I am not quite understanding.

I’m sure there is. 🙂 And I’m certain that my Father will lead me into it, and beyond.

by Greg

Power

I am just a little bit afraid right now. As I type this, I am sitting on my porch in the middle of either the remnants of, or the after effects of hurricane Ike. Mind you, I live in western New York state. Hurricanes don’t usually affect us much more than a long, steady soaking.

It’s really amazing. I was writing an article for my Buffalo Bills site and kept hearing things falling outside. I remembered it was going to be windy, but didn’t realize the magnitude. I checked in on it every once in a while, but wanted to finish my article tonight, and head to bed.

As I was turning stuff off to head to bed, the sound of the wind blowing through the leaves picked up. Perhaps because I was shutting things down, or perhaps it really was picking up. Either way, I was drawn to it. I just wanted to sit on the porch and observe this amazing power that was sweeping over us.

When I first sat down, the leaves of the trees were swirling and swaying and thrusting back and forth like crazy. The sound was just amazing. So loud. I could see the effects of the wind in the trees right above me (we have several very large trees on our property) and in the distance, in our neighbors’ yards across the way.

Either way it was impressive.

I noticed that I actually began humming a tune from the Chris Tomlin CD we recently purchased, “Hello Love”. The lyric goes something like the old hymn, “Holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, early in the morning we will sing…” I thought that was cool, and sort of odd. Certainly made sense that my brain would automatically pull that from the file. We all learn that bigness, and huge, visible power are equated with God. His majesty is awesome and terrifying. “Holy, holy, we bow down before Thee…” Sitting in the middle of this storm, it made sense to feel that, and to feel this tension that still quickens my pulse.

But almost in the same instant that I involuntarily sang that song, I also contemplated the way that I have come to know the One who made the wind. I know him as my Father. As the One who calls me his friend, his son. While he is still the same in his divine superiority to me, my relationship with him is different than it was a five or ten years ago, when I might have understood him more in a position of unworthiness and fear and trembling.

The image that comes to mind is that of my own children. In the middle of a heated moment, I can be fairly terrifying to them. Either because of my anger (which I wish was less directed at them) or because of their guilt and wrong-doing… either way, there is a “healthy” fear. I’m way bigger than they are. And I am the “law”, the “judge” and “jury”. Their fate rests in my hands. I am always surprised at how even when I am angered by something they have done, they can still stand right in front of me, not afraid of what might happen to them… and sometimes even reach out for a genuine, comforting hug.

It should not surprise me, though. The reason that I do not feel the need to confirm my fear of my Father is because he continues to reveal to me the depth of his love for me. And the more I understand his love for me, the more I can trust myself near him. Even if he is holy, awesome, terrifying, mighty, powerful, and all of those big, scary words.

His love – and my relationship to it – trumps the fear that I might otherwise have.

Another thought that comes to mind as I still am awed by this crazy display of “power” all around me (probably 30-40 mph gusts!) is the time when God to revealed himself to Elijah. Elijah was depressed, and God wanted to show him who he was, and how he works, so he said, “Go out and stand before me on the mountain.”

Here’s the section from 1 Kings:

“Go out and stand before me on the mountain,” the LORD told him. And as Elijah stood there, the LORD passed by, and a mighty windstorm hit the mountain. It was such a terrible blast that the rocks were torn loose, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake there was a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire there was the sound of a gentle whisper.
1 Kings 19:11-12

God was not in the things we think he would be in. He wasn’t in the stuff that we consider “powerful.” He was in the whisper. I don’t think Elijah still got in, because he just asked God the same thing. I’m certain that we still “don’t get it” because we keep thinking that God is distant, awe-inspiring (in the celestial, humongous way) and to be feared.

But who fears a whisper?

We don’t. Perhaps we should. There are plenty of references to people fearing God. And of course there are reasons to… until you know him. And then, even though there may be moments… when you really think about it, all you want to do is get a genuine, comforting hug from the One whom some would fear.

We see power very differently. I’m still in awe of this display of power tonight. This wind can knock down very large limbs. It already has. I’ll have some clean up to do tomorrow. I could definitely be hurt by flying, falling, heavy objects. There is reason to fear. (Though I am safely under the overhang of my porch…)

But as I learn to trust my Father, based on daily life lived with him, I do not fear him as I once may have. My fear has been “cast out” by his perfect love. And that love continues to deepen. I will never understand it fully, but the more I do, the more I can sit calmly in the presence of the Mighty, Fearsome, Terrifying Lord of Lords.

His power is not in his display of grandiose showmanship (though that can be cool!), but rather in his love for me, and his choosing to serve rather than be served. (Like we see Jesus doing for his disciples.)

I certainly don’t have any definitive answers. But these are my thoughts, in the middle of a wind storm, this late summer night.

by Greg

Content

The past three weeks – maybe four – have been mostly a blur. I’ve been sleeping even less than normal, and been working much more than normal … and yet, there is a strange contentment like I have not recently known.

For quite sometime, financial pressures have been slowly bearing down on us, threatening to completely crush us. Well, at one point early this month, it seemed they would. We were at the end, literally, of every financial rope. We really didn’t know what to do.

So, I decided to try this online package that was only $499.95 that promised I could be making $600,000.00/week in just three short steps! The first week, my check was only $4537.84, but the second week, it tripled to $12,450.32! Now I’m getting checks for over $50,000/week!!! It worked for me, and I can share all my secrets with you in my online resource, “Everything I know about making money online, and why it will work for you!” – at a discounted rate for all GregsHead.net readers – only $399.95!!! So act now!

No. I didn’t do that. But I was tempted to… 🙂

See, what really happened was I just let go. I already knew that stuff is just stuff, and if we even lost all of it, we’d still be OK. Life would go on. It would be different, but it would go on. I had been holding on so tight that when the money didn’t come in, and “God didn’t provide” I would just borrow more money (usually with credit cards) to pay for what we obviously “needed.”

What I have come to learn (really, again) is that God gives us what we need. And if we don’t have what we “need”, then we don’t need it. (Note: I want to say “probably don’t need it” there, but I am really learning that I don’t need the probably!) The key to the whole things is contentment. Content with what we have, and trusting that God will provide our “daily bread.”

And he has.

Seriously, since we decided to just live on what we have – and have not used any credit cards in any way since then, probably four weeks – we have had everything we needed. I have been working many more hours (because I have always had the work, but never had the time to do it… hoping this extra work time is just to dig out of the hole we are currently in!) and so that has helped, but beyond that, there has been the generosity of some friends, as well as funny little moments along the way.

Like this one:

Last Monday, after paying some bills, buying some food… we literally had just a few dollars left. Jen’s parents had just gotten home from a three-week vacation tour, and were coming to see the grandkids and give us a chance to go out for our summer anniversary (the day we decided to get married, July 16). I really, really wanted to take Jen to Red Robin as she has been wanting to do that for a very long time, but the cost was definitely prohibitive! So, with no money, we just weren’t going to be able to do it. Unless… God wanted to give that to us. So, Jen asked him.

Not too long after Jen asked our Dad for enough money to go to Red Robin that night, I got an IM from a friend who I do some web work for… he needed a hosting account, ASAP. 🙂 So, I told him what it would cost, sent him the invoice, and he paid right away (and he paid a ridiculous bonus amount as well!) I told Jen, and she told me excitedly, “I asked God to do that!!“

How awesome is that? 🙂

So, the point is not “don’t use credit cards, just ask God for money for fancy date-night cuisine.” The point is that we have found such contentment living on what we have. We are still in a pretty big financial hole, but God keeps providing, and giving us ideas I think, and we are listening and happily enjoying what God gives us – rather than going ahead of him, as I think we were before, to things he had not yet given us. Even things like food, gas, etc. Now if we don’t have the cash, we don’t get it.

And we have not been wanting. (Which is partially due to God’s provision, and partially due to our contentment. Both working together.)

He really does love us, and take care of us. We know that, and we are getting to see it even closer and more clearly every day now. Honestly, though I don’t like the financial pressure of where we are, and can’t wait to pay off this debt, I hope that we will always be able to see so clearly how God provides – daily – for exactly what we need.

It’s a fantastic place to be!

“Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.”
Matt 6:34 (MSG)

by Greg

Unique

For some reason I am often reminded that God made me unique. I’m a bit differenter than your average Joe. I mean, first off, my name’s not even Joe. So, I’m different already.

But, as I’m sure I’ve mentioned here before, a friend of mine used to call me the “Curve Wrecker” because I was never what I was “supposed” to be.

And, another proof that I am different is that I’m totally OK with that. 🙂

Tonight as I was driving I noticed three boys playing together, hanging out, and I noticed that they all had the same hair. The longish, curly, sort of unkempt hair that all of their other friends have too. It’s an epidemic!

But that made me think, why are we so afraid to be unique? What is this compulsion to be like everyone else? I really have never understood it. I just am who I am. Maybe that’s different from you, or maybe it’s different from all of you… but it’s just who I am. Why would I try to change that just so I wouldn’t be different?

Talking with Jen about this later we remembered that young kids can be brutal when someone is different. Usually a difference from the group is made fun of right away – and often. Uniqueness is not tolerated. And yeah, that does make sense why you wouldn’t want to be different. Who likes to be made fun of?

But I guess that’s where love comes in. Where you’re loved for who you are. Loved by parents, by God, by siblings, grandparents, even friends. It starts with our adoptive Father, who loves us completely, and shows us what love is… but it’s modeled by other people who genuinely love us. Maybe I had that more (from my parents and family) when I was growing up? I definitely know it now, and God continues to show me more and more just how much he really loves me … and you 🙂

So if you’re feeling weird tonight, or too different from everyone else… consider that a good thing. There’s no one else who is like you. You are one of a kind, and you’re that way because God made you that way. I’m pretty sure I can say that. But I am sure that I can say he loves you completely that way. And that’s the most important thing… and what makes it OK to be unique.

So enjoy your uniqueness just like I have learned to, you weirdo! 🙂

by Greg

Pondering

There are a few things that I am currently pondering regarding life with God and his church. I thought I’d just jot them down here, in a sort of short hand way. Perhaps you are pondering them as well and might add to my ponderings, but really I am putting them down here to look back later and see what I was pondering in 2008. 🙂

  • Worship:
    Do we need to publicly and corporately set God apart from all else, with or without musical aid?
  • Evangelism:
    Should I have more of an urgent desire to help people know they are loved by their Father?
  • Praying:
    With other people, I mean. How do I make an ongoing conversation with God easily flow into conversation with other believers – and my family.
  • Communion:
    It’s important to some people. Really important. But to me, just meaningless. Does it matter? How?

The things I am beginning to understand more: (and usually write about here)

  • Freedom:
    For me, and giving freedom to others.
  • Grace:
    For me, and treating other people with grace.
  • God’s love:
    Again, for me, and learning to give that to others.
  • Reality of God’s presence:
    Learning to live with Jesus every day.
  • Who Jesus is:
    The Word of God, my brother, God in flesh, “watching” him interact with people in the stories of the gospels

When I look at those lists, the first one mostly just seems silly, but to many people – including me for much of my life perhaps? – they are not silly but almost essential. Funny how perspective changes. Who knows the lists might change again after a while. They might be completely different. We’ll see.

by Greg

Hear The Angels Sing

We have heard a LOT of Christmas music lately. I’m sure you are feeling the same way. I do still love it, but it’s definitely getting close to time to shelve it for another eleven months or so.

It’s not all bad, though. One song off of Steven Curtis Chapman’s second Christmas album, All I Want For Christmas, caught my attention this week.

It wasn’t so much a lyric, as the way it was sung.

I believe the song was It Came Upon a Midnight Clear. It was sung with a nice gentle feel to it. And, at one point, Steven sings just lightly, “Hear the angels sing Hallelujah, Christ the Savior is born.” Those are words you usually associate with giant booming voices and big, majestic fanfare. But in this song, the words were sung almost at a whisper, almost as a lullaby for the newborn baby.

It got me thinking. Maybe that’s how it was? We think it should be fanfare and trumpets and “kingly”. But if you’ll recall, the King of the universe stepped into our lives as a baby, born to ordinary folk, in a tiny town in the middle of nowhere. He was born in a stable. He was… born, period. He didn’t have to go through that, either.

But he did.

The simplicity of the first Christmas is a clue that God does not do things the way we think he should. And we’re (way) better off for it.

Enjoy your gifts today, giving and receiving. Enjoy time with family and friends. Enjoy the great food. Enjoy the Christmas cookies! But most of all, enjoy knowing that you are so completely loved by the One who has everything. He didn’t just become a man so he could die the death of a criminal… he wanted to live like us, so he could know us even better. All the way from birth. As a commoner.

That’s what you mean to him. That first Christmas day, and this one.

Merry Christmas. 🙂

by Greg

Remote Control = God?

I remember when I was a kid, one of the coolest things in the world was remote control cars. I mean, you could make it go… even though you weren’t touching it! How cool is that?!?

Well, last night I noticed that remote control is still one of the coolest things.

I was walking away from our vehicle and needed to lock it as I was going out of sight of it, and all I had to do was press a button on the little key fob and … voila! It was locked! Like magic!

When I was able to do that, I realized that remote control is a bit like being God. You can manipulate things outside of yourself, like magic. (I know… it’s not magic, but… it looks like it is!) Whether it’s a toy car, or a boat, or a plane… or a real car that you can lock, unlock, or even start! You say it, or click it, or whatever… and it happens!

And there’s so much like that these days! The whole world is going wireless. Cell phones, GPS thingies, satellite radio, key fobs, Wi-Fi computers and other devices… everything is wireless. On our home network, I can log into Jen’s computer from my laptop, and send files from there to my computer in the office… without being on either computer! I can even do a “screen sharing” thing where I can use other computers as if I were right in front of it. I can print stuff in the office from any computer… WIRELESSLY.

We have some pretty amazing powers these days… 🙂

So, just a little observation. I still believe the next computer interface (probably Mac OS X 10.6) will be a spoken interface. So not only will things be “remote control”, but we will speak and it will happen.

And Greg said, “Let there be e-mail” … and there was e-mail.

Weird. 🙂