A Year With God, day 9 of 366

In an episode of the TV show Numb3rs, Charlie Epps talks about an equation-- or some mathmatical thing like that-- that describes the pattern of petals spiraling in a flower.

That makes me stop and think about the patters in the world.  The bare limbs of an apply tree in winter are like the patterns of a river system running through a mountain range, which in turn looks like the pattern of blood vessels in the human body, or veins in a leaf.

The planets orbiting the sun remind me of a diagram of a molecule from Chemistry class.  The spiral of DNA is like the spiral of the solar system.

There are patterns in nature, which means there is order in nature, because there are rules that govern how things go together.  How can there be laws and patterns and order, unless there is something . . . or someone that put them in place?

A Year With God, Day 8 of 366

Proverbs 31: 10-31 talks about the wife of noble character.  It says her husband should have complete faith in her, then goes on to describe the tasks she completes, how she chooses wool and flax, which she later weaves into garments and sells them.  She rises early in the morning, managing her familiy and those that work for her.  She buys and sells fields, and grows things on them.

She works hard, she trades and makes a profit.  She help the poor.  She sees to it that her family is well cared for, that they have heat in the winter, and warm blankets for their beds.  She is wise and teaches those who listen to her.  She is loved and respected by her children and husband.

It ends by saying she should be praised at the city gates.  As I recall, the city gates is where the important men of the city sat, the judges and prominent business men.  What a sign of respect it must be, to be spoken of there.

This is a far cry from the 'barefoot and pregnant' view of women that is sometimes still prevalent.  Women are given respect in the old testament, and scorn as well, each as her actions deserve.  I am not sure where the concept of women as second class citizens came from, but I do not see it as biblical.  Women have the ability to influence men, whether consciously as Eve influenced Adam to eat the fruit, or unknowingly, as when David saw Bathsheba bathing and decided he wanted her.

Old testament women could serve as Judges.  They could kill important men.  They aided the spies sent by Israel when they returned to the promised land.  There are many strong women described in the old testament.  We should not discount their part in the Bible merely because they are women.

A Year With God, Day 7 of 366

Well, I have managed to post every day for a week . .  one down 51 or so to go.  Lacking any more in depth ideas, I found another random verse that caught my eye:

Ezekiel 8:12

He said to me, "Son of man, have you seen what the elders of the house of Israel are doing in the darkness, each at the shrine of his own idol?  They say, 'The Lord does not see us; the Lord has forsaken the land.'"

My first thought, as I read this, was that this is rather the opposite of the verse I read last night.  God is always with us, which is a comforting thought, as I said last night.  But God is always with us, and sees the sins we try to hide, not as comforting a thought for tonight.

But this verse speaks specifically about the elders of the house of Israel, meaning, perhaps,  the elders at the temple, or maybe the elders in government.  And so I see this as a warning to those in power.  There is a temptation to think that because one has power, that one can hide one's sins from public view.

But we know that this is untrue.  Sooner or later, the scandal always comes out. And God always knows what's going on, no matter how we try to hide it.

So, if I sin, and then I try to hide that sin, does my sin double?  I think of Adam and Eve, hiding in the garden after eating the fruit.  I think of Cain, who slew Abel and then hid his body.  Or David who sent Bathsheba's husband into battle so he could claim her for himself.

It must be something in human nature, to try to hide our imperfections.  The first impulse of Adam and Eve after realizing right from wrong, was to hide their nakedness.

But God sees through our clothes and our lies and the things we do to fool ourselves into thinking we always do right.  So the challenge then, is to admit our sins and mistakes, openly, and with God's help, do our best to correct them, and to not repeat them.

A Year With God, Day 6 of 366

I had an idea earlier today of what I wanted to write in today's post.  But it pretty much vanished from my mind, and what I remember of it didn't sound so great, after all.  so I randomly opened my Bible:

Revelation 4:8

"Holy, holy, holy

is the Lord God Almighty,

who was, and is, and is to come."

That is the second half of the verse, but that's what caught my eye.  The thing that struck me about it is that God is always there. He has always been there, and He will always be there.  That's a mind-boggling concept, when I think about it.

But at the same time, I find it comforting to know that no matter what else changes, or who might come and go in my life, God will always be there, and God never changes.

That is more consistency than I will ever find anywhere else on earth.  We move from city to city--from apartment to house, then across the country and back to an apartment again.  Jobs are found and then lost again.  Pets pass away, people drift apart . . . even churches go through times of change and their members sometimes leave.

Life is rather scary at the moment.  I am living day to day, with the help of family and friends.  But knowing that God is there, that he loves me and wants what is best for me, is a great comfort, even at times when I am fighting off panic.  Or perhaps especially at those times.

God should be the rock upon which we build our lives, because God is the one thing in the universe we can really really rely on to always be there, solid and unchanging.

A Year With God, Day 5 of 366

“In the absence of any other proof, the thumb alone would convince me of God’s existence.”
Sir Isaac Newton.

I have always been fascinated by this quote.  And the more I think about it, the more I realize it's true.  The thumb is a remarkable creation.  Just looking at my thumb and watching it move in response to my will, without my having to think about it . .  what a feat that is. 

So here are some more observations about the thumg:

The thumb is what separates us from the animals.  Opposable thumbs give us the ability to grip tools, which allows us to build things.

A person can be identified by his or her thumbprint.  Think about that, the imprint of maybe a square inch of skin, out of the entirity of someone's body is enough to identify him or her.

You can use your thumb to signal many things-- Approvale (thumbs up), Disappoval (thumbs down), the kill-it gesture (thumb across the throat), you can indicate direction, you can flag down a ride using only your thumb.  You can use your thumb to work the controls of a video game console, or an electric wheel chair.

God works miracles in big ways, but He also works in small ways, too.  As evidence, I give you-- the thumb.

A Year With God, Day 4 of 366

Today, I started thinking about Judas.

He sold Jesus out for 30 pieces of silver, and is often referred to as if he were the ultimate sinner.  I find him rather sad, actually.

He probably thought, 'Oh, well if I don't tell the Romans where Jesus is, someone else will.  It's not as if He is trying to hide or anything.'

And I imagine he also had the idea that Jesus would miraculously escape capture.  He'd seen Jesus perform many miracles, after all-- healing the sick, feeding the hungry, walking on water, even raising the dead.  Judas might even have thought that Jesus could argue his way out of any charges.  Jesus did have a way with words, and he knew the Bible like no one else (even though this was technically before the Bible existed).

So Judas told the Roman soldiers where to find Jesus, and Jesus was arrested, tried and ultimately crucified.  And afterwards, Judas bought a field with his thirty pieces of silver, and hanged himself out of guilt and fear.

I have heard it said that Judas went to Hell for betraying Jesus.  I don't think that's entirely accurate.

It says in Ephesians 4:30, 'Do not grieve the Holy Spirit.'  It is said that doing so is the only unforgivable sin.  What grieves the Holy Spirit is the failure to believe in God's power.

I do believe Judas grieved the Holy Spirit, not by his betrayal of Jesus, but by his failure to believe that it could be part of God's plan, by his failure to turn away from his sin of betrayal.

Peter denied knowing Jesus three times, but he was turned back from that denial, and later spoke boldly on Jesus' behalf.  Paul persecuted Christians and even stood  watching as Stephen was stoned, making him an accessory to murder, if not a murderer in deed.   And he repented, and became a great advocate for the very Christians he once persecuted.

So, what is the difference between these two men and Judas?  They were turned from their sin by a pretty serious sign from God. 
Perhaps Judas received such a sign and ignored it.  Perhaps he gave up before God sent him a sign, which is a very sad sign indeed.  Perhaps Judas couldn't face the other disciples. 

I think, though, that he somehow thought he'd messed up God's plan.  What a strange mixture of despair and hubris that must be-- to think that a mere human could counter all the omnipotent power of God.  The ironic thing about it is, if Jesus had not been betrayed, then he would not have been arrested and crucified, which provided the sacrifice to blot out every one's sin.

By doing so, he proved himself more doubting than Thomas, and that is what would send him to hell, not the betrayal itself.

And yet, if Judas had not betrayed Jesus, I know that God would have brought things about another way.  Someone else might have betrayed him, or the soldiers might have just run across Jesus randomly in the street one day.

I think that destiny is not so much God controlling what we do, but rather God knowing what we will do in advance.  Is it really fate, if it would have happened any way?

Perhaps, before he took that final step, Judas asked for forgiveness, just as the thief on the cross beside Jesus.  If he did so, I am confident that he was forgiven and I will see him in Heaven someday.

I hope that is the case, because God will forgive even the worst offenses, and that is comforting to me, as I know my own sinful heart.

A year with God, Day 3 of 366

There is a concept that Heaven is full of people with halos and wings and harps, sitting on clouds in white robes, plucking their harps and maybe chanting or humming.

I don't think that's what Heaven is like at all.  \

Jesus says, "In my Father's house there are many rooms."

To me, 'many rooms' means that everyone in Heaven will have a place to be his or her self.  There is room for all of us to be what we can be.  There will be kitchens for those that love to cook, and orchestras for those that love to play music, and sports arenas for those who love to play sports and those who love to watch sports.

If God went to all the trouble of creating the world, and each person that lives in it, and giving each of us different skills and interests and abilities, how is it logical to assume that He would want Heaven to be full of identical people all doing exactly the same thing, day after day for eternity?

If we praise God with every act we do, then Heaven can be full of praise of a million different kinds.

What will make Heaven Heaven is that we will truly be able to interact without anger or fear or hurt feelings.  There might still be disagreements, but without the kind of anger and irritation that leads to fights and wars.

One philosopher might say, "God is like a tree."
Another might say, "No, God is like a river!"
And Jesus will come up behind them and laugh and say, "God is like both."
And the philosophers will think about it, and nod and laugh.

Heaven will be a place where we can learn to be anything and everything we have ever dreamed of being.  We will not be constrained by lack of ability or lack of time.  I could spend a thousand years learning about physics, and another thousand learning to play the piano.  Becaue to me, learning is a joy, and joy is a gift from God.

Most of all, Heaven will be full of more opportunities to praise God and learn about Him that we could ever imagine here on earth.