apollo 8

i'm leaving for germany tomorrow.
i'm not prepared, but i've never been more ready.
see you when i get back.

i need to watch "planet earth."

the last two nights my dad and i have been watching a discovery channel series called "when we left earth."
it's awesome.

you can't really convey with words how crazy it is that we sent people up there.

and beyond that,
how astonishing the universe is.

maybe it's just me...
but i have to say the best part
wasn't the first spaceship sent up
or the first man on the moon
or anything like that.

the most captivating moment
was this picture (or what the picture is of rather)
and the response of the men who saw it.

















listen to what they had to say about this...

(how frustrating! that it usually takes something like going to the moon and seeing this for the first time to stun us and draw out this response...)

proverbs 30:4

last weekend our family went to florida.
we spent a day at universal studios and two days at the main disney parks.
on the last day before coming home we dropped by downtown disney for a bit and made a side trip to st. augustine.

when we first got to the beach i read one of my bible passages for the day.
i realized i was reading through it without really taking in what it was saying, so i had to go back and start over.

i was reminded how slow and feebleminded i can be. :)
sometimes it takes a minute to realize you're being spoken to.

all in all

do you see the church as the fullness of an infinite God?


you are my strength when i am weak, you are the treasure that i seek,
you are my all in all.
seeking you as a precious jewel, Lord to give up I'd be a fool,
you are my all in all.

Jesus, lamb of God worthy is your name.
Jesus, lamb of God worthy is your name.

taking my sin, my cross, my shame. rising again, i praise your name,
you are my all in all.
when i fall down you pick me up. when I am dry you fill my cup,
you are my all in all.

Jesus, lamb of God worthy is your name.
Jesus, lamb of God worthy is your name.


ever sing this song?
it's a good one :)
we should sing old school songs like this more often

but anyways...

i always found the phrase "all in all" to be sort of funny.
what do you think?

well
i came upon it the other day
in Ephesians 1:23
and found that NIV had a great translation...
"everything in every way"

so that's what it means...
"you are my all in all"
"God is my everything
in every way."

that sounds about right...


well, in this verse it was talking about something a bit different though.

it says that the church, the body, is "the fullness of Him of fills all in all."

so there's a God who fills EVERYTHING in EVERY way,
and the church
is
this FULLNESS.

that's crazy. :)

do you see the church as the fullness of an infinite God?
refresh yourself now...
when i say church i'm talking about the people
not the institution.

think about it
like right now, for just a minute...


if you don't think it is,
you probably looked at the ways the church fails to represent God.

now, let's not jump the gun.
let's not even think about who, why, or what the problem is...

let's just ask ourselves...
in what ways am i not letting God fill all of
me.

ascension day

wow
Ascension Day
40 days after the resurrection. (Acts 1:3)
It's this Thursday!
anyone have good celebration ideas? :)

has anyone else thought of this before? Ascension Day?
i sure haven't

but why not?!
in fact, if i only got to choose one "holy-day"
i'd take this.
forget Christmas and Easter.

that God would become a man
is an astonishing miracle.

that God would die to give me (us) life,
that God would, on top of that, defeat death,
is twice as absurd. and twice the miracle.

that God would ascend to heaven after these things,
that is, God would sit down on his rightful throne
as King
is...

logical?
not so unexpected perhaps?
it really isn't a miracle.
He's freaking God!
of course he would do that.

well,
i suppose it's this... expectation of ours
which causes us to downplay things.

because while it may not be so absurd,
i think it's safe to say that this is the
BIGGEST
thing he could ever do.

it's the most important.
it's the whole point, you know?



okay, this may sound a little funny,
but sometimes i start thinking...
even if God never came to earth,
even if he never died for us,
even if he never rose from the dead,
he still deserves our praise
our worship
our lives.

why?

for one,
he made us.

on top of that,
he is just plain worthy of it
-for who he IS
and for the things he has DONE.

methinks there's a lot of complicated theology in all this,
but don't worry about it.
the point of what i'm saying
is that
God is GOD.

as one of his disciples,
i don't love and serve and follow him
just because
he loved me first.
i do those things because he is God.
this is why you serve a King.

if he is a King as loving as God, then that's incredible!
if he rules such a wonderful Kingdom, that's great!

now, if the Rightful King
is a bad king,
perhaps you would choose to rebel.

BUT
it does not change the fact that
he
IS the Rightful King.
And as such, he is the rightful recipient
of your service, your loyalty, your life.

dear reader, this is how a monarchy works.
do you understand?
because this is how things are.
to quote the great theologian, Bob Dylan: you gotta serve somebody.

you are part of some kingdom. and kingdoms have kings.
and YOU are subject to one.

in this world, you can practically break everything down into just two kingdoms.
YOU get to decide (for now) which one you will subject yourself to.

first is what we'll call "the kingdom of darkness"
and generally we name Satan as the king of this.
second is "the kingdom of heaven"
it is the kingdom of God.
(Colossians 1:13 is a quick picture of this)

God created the world. it is his kingdom.
but we committed treason in subjecting ourselves to the kingdom of darkness and its ruler.

nevertheless,
God is the original, true, Rightful King.
(the ENTIRE reason that Jesus came was to usher [back] in his kingdom, and to let as many people know about it as possible so that they could join him. Matthew 4:17)

it's pivotal that you understand this before we move on...



so
why Ascension Day?

read Luke 24:50-52 real quick...
"When he had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, he lifted up his hands and blessed them. While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven. Then they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy."
(there, now you have no excuse not to)

why are they happy?
when Jesus was around they were pretty content.
then he died. and things got pretty depressing.
then he's back alive! with them again!
and now...
he's leaving?
after just 40 days
but there's not a single tear shed
in fact, it seems like they're happier than ever.
why?

now look at Daniel 7:9-14
(i'll summarize the first bit)
first we get a picture of God's throne. (it's pretty cool :))
next we see a beast, Satan, slain and destroyed.
then in verses 13 and 14...

"In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed."

so there's this "son of man."
a man.
he approaches God. comes into God's presence.

do you see what he is given? (sound anything like Matthew 28:18?)
Authority
Glory
Sovereign Power
Everlasting Dominion
a Kingdom
people worship him

it's Jesus!

at first glance, it sounds like something from end times.
but this is where Jesus is brought TO God.
this is a picture of what is happening AFTER that bit from Luke 24.

THIS
is what happens when Jesus ascends to heaven.

now whether or not it has "already" happened i don't quite understand.
it's not important.
God exists outside of time, so it probably doesn't work that way anyways. :)
so yes, it's already happened. it's happening right now too. and it's going to happen tomorrow.


THE POINT
is that Jesus
is now the King.
Jesus is Lord.

this is HUGE
this is EVERYTHING

Can you think of the last time God ruled as king of the earth?
Eden.
Is there anything to make us think his kingdom will be any different now?

he descended to earth
-giving us a picture of the King and his kingdom!
"Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father." (John 14:9)

he died for us and defeated death
-giving us access to the King and his kingdom!
"For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves." Colossians 1:13

and now...
Jesus has ascended to heaven.
the Rightful King has returned to power.

Happy Ascension Day

holy sonnet 15

by John Donne

Wilt thou love God as he thee? then digest,
My soul, this wholesome meditation,
How God the Spirit, by angels waited on
In heaven, doth make His temple in thy breast.
The Father having begot a Son most blest,
And still begetting—for he ne'er begun—
Hath deign'd to choose thee by adoption,
Co-heir to His glory, and Sabbath' endless rest.
And as a robb'd man, which by search doth find
His stolen stuff sold, must lose or buy it again,
The Sun of glory came down, and was slain,
Us whom He had made, and Satan stole, to unbind.
'Twas much, that man was made like God before,
But, that God should be made like man, much more.

father love

read these lyrics, it's the end of the song.
as you do picture a child and a father.
(real ones mind you. i don't mean that in some religious metaphoric whatever kind of way)

"The Stand"-by Hillsong United

So what can I say
What can I do
But offer this heart O God
Completely to You

So I'll walk upon salvation
Your Spirit alive in me
This life to declare Your promise
My soul now to stand

So I'll stand
With arms high and heart abandoned
In awe of the One who gave it all

So I'll stand
My soul Lord to You surrendered
All I am is Yours

Show me Your heart
Show me Your way
Show me Your glory

so this week was excellent. especially tuesday. I started volunteering at Sheltering Arms. a day care/preschool for less wealthy people's children basically. i'll let you look that up on your own if you're confused. basically i spent 3 hours playing with 4/5 year olds.

it was wonderful :)
It made my entire day perfect.
It definitely helped me be focused on God.
And definitely made me more in love with him.

And of course that night at Navs before getting to his message, Donnie pointed out some lyrics in the song we finished with...
the one I just showed you
he emphasized:
"So I'll stand
With arms high and heart abandoned
In awe of the One who gave it all"

He pointed out the way that paints a picture of a little child reaching up then being held close by their parent. How their heart is abandoned to their dad/mom.
He said he loves being a father because it's the best way ever to understand God's love for us. He tried to describe what it's like to have your daughter or son in your arms. Their heart abandoned, surrendered.

And I thought... wow. That sounds just like this morning. Sounds like the same feeling when you simply make a kid smile or laugh. Or when they hold your hand.
So... how much more if it's your own child!
And if they're completely abandoned to you, in your arms.

And apparently that's just a reflection of God's love.
What's the real thing like!?
...

(I'm glad our emotions are so limited. Otherwise we would surely explode.)

random things

goodness
long week
just been living it a day at a time

a few random things


i've been told something like this by two different people in the last... 2 months, i guess

"You're safe to be around because you don't demand much. People around you can often expect to be challenged, since you're willing to hold them to high standards, but you're sensitive to their weak spots and you'll support them when they're broken."

interesting

i wonder if people who don't know me well feel that way around/about me?
(whether they realize it or not)

finding a balance of challenging and understanding is tough


at the beginning of Thanksgiving break I went to a concert with my brother
mewithoutYou, Thrice, and Brand New

goodness
people worship their bands
or their music
or their lifestyle associated with their music
or just going to such concerts

it made me sad that they value something so... shallow?
something so...
lame, to be honest
compared to God :)

and on the other side it made me excited about my God
how big he is
and i don't mean in size really
when you see people absolutely adoring a man on a stage
and think of a moment that you were absolutely worshiping God
...
that man sure does seem very... human
weak, small, insignificant

yes that's the word
God is significant

"significant" doesn't begin to describe the significance, of course
but trying any harder...
maybe writing it in all caps, bold, italics, the biggest font
maybe adding some adverbs like really or super
would just be foolish
i'm just going to call him significant
and leave it at that

the slightly larger font is just to make it grab your attention, by the way
if i mess with the size or font of a word then pay attention
there's generally something important about it
(not to say the others aren't)

sea in a fish

A fish swims through the sea
while the sea is, in a certain sense, contained within the fish!
Oh, what am I to think of what the writing of a thousand life times could not explain
if all the forest trees were pens and all the oceans, ink?
{more mewithoutYou}

how insignificant is a fish in the sea?
aren't there trillions of fish?
yet the ocean is so big that there are vast places of just water

you are a fish
and the sea is God's love

do you swim in such great love?

but the second line gets the exclamation point!

the ocean is not contained in a fish
that's preposterous.
that's like something they'd tell you when you're doing quantum physics or nuclear chemistry

and yet
all that love
in me

sounds absurd
but you know it's true
or at least it could be

you know those illustrations they give in church?
you're a glass and God's a pitcher and he fills you up so much you overflow

how cute

please realize that to suggest God's love is like a pitcher of water is a sad disproportion
granted it's hard to bring the ocean inside to make a point
i guess they can't really do that

but that's the point!

and please realize that to suggest God fills you up so that water starts trickling over the side
is also a sad disproportion

no no
it would be more correct to throw the cup in the ocean

you
insignificant fish
can swim in a big ocean

and the ocean can be contained inside of you


and now...
it makes sense to say that in all their lifetimes
1000 people
with all the pens and paper in the world
could not begin to explain or grasp that