Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Hope...Rest!

Imagine if the universe had a personality...what if the universe, as big and infinite as it is, could think and talk? What if it had eyes and those eyes had life in them?
[ I'm not on drugs, bear with me :) ]

Think about the largest animals on earth...think about the devastating, unforgiving natural disasters on earth. What if you tried to control that stuff? Think you could? Think you can make a hurricane bow down to you? 

How unforgiving, massive, and devastating is the universe, then? What if it had a vendetta or a chip on its shoulder and it was out to get us? And what if it was your job to stand up to the universe and tell it chill out?

I don't care how strong you are, go stand in front of a tornado and tell it to bow down! Good luck...tornado don't care! 

No matter how great my "kingdom" is here on earth, the sea will never submit to me (Luke 8:25). 

Never in my lifetime, will the universe bow down to me. 

Not only does Jesus control the universe and hold it together (as if that's not enough!), the universe bows to him!

Y'all, here is hope: 
This same Jesus is the one that breathed life into your individual personality.
The same Jesus that created love and laughter and cool breezes...he same Jesus that offers life in the midst of a chaotic world (John 10:10). The same Jesus that chose to give us every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places (Ephesians 1:3-4)...I don't even know the extent of what that means but it gives me hope! 

Seriously, when life gets chaotic, where else am I gonna go? What else is gonna hold me together and stand me up? Even the seas and storms bow down to Jesus. This I can rest in! 




Monday, July 7, 2014

Hope and Creativity

Consider this:

- God created chicken to taste so great...isn't that wild? Would you have ever thought to look at a chicken and say, "man I bet that's some good eatin right there!"? Or even seen a pig wallowing in the mud and said to yourself, "I bet if I ate the backside of that thing, it would be delicious!"

- Have you ever noticed (of course you have) that when we see/hear something funny, happy, or exciting it triggers an involuntary movement of the muscles in our faces so that we smile and laugh? 

- When you get a cut or scratch, your blood clots on its own to stop the bleeding.

- There is no way the amazing feeling of a cool breeze running through your hair and skin is merely an accident!

-God knew that one day, man would mush up peanuts and grapes and spread them on bread...I'd be willing to bet that He said, "man I can't wait for them to discover the deliciousness of peanut butter and jelly!" 

- Hot water is somehow therapeutic and can sometimes get down to my soul...doesn't have to be, but it is!

- The roasting of the fruit of the coffea tree doesn't have to produce a glorious, brown nectar (coffee)...but it does!

- There has never been an identical sunset...ultimate artistry!

- The ostrich is a bird that can't fly but can outrun most of its predators....really? That one's just for kicks :)

- You are physically capable of performing this very complex process of reading...crazy, right?

- The Bible says that the hairs on our heads are numbered...sounds elementary, but really?

- When the tiny muscles inside of a cicada were created, God knew he was making a beautiful evening chorus for us here in the South.

[This is the God of the Bible who has made all of the promises you've always heard...]

Isn't it cool to think about how the Creator of the universe created things a specific way so that they would work for your good and his glory simultaneously? 

THIS I can rest in...THIS is what can sustain me when I'm not who I thought I was or when my own self-built "kingdom" crumbles. I don't know about you, but for me, believing that God is who he says he is is essential to believing his promises of sustainment, peace, rest, joy, etc...

How can you share hope with a broken world if you don't know what you hope in?