Thursday, November 29, 2012

True Identity

"Put aside the ranger.  Become who you were born to be."  These are the words Lord Elrond says to Aragorn when he gives him Anduril, the sword forged from the broken sword Narsil.  Aragorn is the heir of King Isildur of Gondor, the man who cut the Ring of Power from Sauron's hand but was not strong enough to destroy it.  Fearing that he will fall to the same weakness, Aragorn has many doubts about claiming his throne in Gondor.  For a long time his true identity was hidden and he was simply Strider, a mysterious ranger from the North.  But Elrond knows he has the strength to unite the people of Middle Earth and he believes in him.  Aragorn listens to Elrond and takes the sword and eventually becomes the King of Gondor.  He overcomes his fears and his past and he truly does become who he was born to be.  

      This is such a beautiful picture of me and God. He can see my full potential and he knows who I am born to be.  He has given me his word as my sword and he's saying to me, "Put aside all the sin and fear!  Your identity is not in the past, it is in Jesus.  Take my word and go fight for me.  Become who I created you to be!"  It doesn't matter what I have done because Jesus died for me and God loves me and He wants to see me become who He knows I can be.
      
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come."
2 Corinthians 5:17

Thursday, November 8, 2012

The Second Law of Thermodynamics vs. Evolution

      The second law of thermodynamics is that everything is wearing out.  For example, candles burn out, rooms get easily messy but not easily clean, and living things grow older and eventually die.  The only way for life to still happen is that there has to be an outside energy source and something inside to absorb the energy.  The outside source is the sun and the absorbers are green plants.  Without both of these the earth wouldn't be able to go on for long. 
      Evolutionists believe that everything is evolving into something better and that the world is progressing.  Being able to believe in Evolution and accept the second law of thermodynamics doesn't seem possible.  For evolution to be true, the world had and has to be constantly in progress and getting better.  This theory simply cannot go hand-in-hand with the second law of thermodynamics.  So if someone says they believe in both, they are either not thinking correctly, they don't fully understand one or the other, or they are being deceived. 

Thursday, October 25, 2012

God's Glory Through my Weakness

      It is so easy to get discouraged in my walk with the Lord.  I set goals for myself and when I fail to achieve them I feel like a loser.  I go to bed some nights and set my alarm early enough that I can get a lot of time for my quiet time in befors I start my day.  But when it goes off in the mornings I hit the snooze until the last minute.  Then the next night I think, "Tomorrow morning I WILL get up the first time the alarm goes off."  Morning rolls around, and the snooze button is overused yet again.  Every day I regret not getting up the first time I hear my alarm.  Sometimes I try putting the alarm on the other side of my room, forcing me to get out of bed to turn it off.  Still, I find myself back in bed.  It is an ongoing cycle that I am convinced I can't change on my own.  John 15:5 says: "I am the vine; you are the branches.  If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing."  Without Jesus I can do absolutely nothing.  How, then can I expect to be able to do something if I'm trying to do it by myself?  Matthew 19:26 says: "Jesus looked at them and said, 'With man this is impossble, but with God all things are possible."'  I can have hope because of this verse.  I know that I can't do anything without God, but with him, that is another story altogether.  Nothing is impossible with God!  He can do anything!  2 Corinthians 12:9 says: "But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficiant for you, for my power is made perfect in your weakness.'  Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weakness, so that Christ's power may rest on me."  So when I feel like I'm failing, I need to remember that I can't do it by myself and I need to ask God for help, and when he helps me, I can boast in it and give him all the glory.
     

Thursday, October 11, 2012

Essay: Hebrews 11:1

I am sure that someday, there will be a new Heaven and a new Earth and I can't wait for that day.  I am sure that it will be more glorious than I imagine.  Heaven will be more amazing than I could ever comprehend with my small brain.  But, even though I don't know what to expect, I am hopeful because I know Jesus will be there and it will be beyond what words can describe.  I hope for the unknown of Heaven.
      I am certain that there is wind.  I don't see it as itself, but I do see the effects of it.  There is proof everywhere that wind exists, even though nobody can see it.  When trees wave and my hair whips in my face, I have no doubt that the wind is the cause of that.  
      Similarly, I can't see God face-to-face, but I do see the effects of Him in many ways.  He is evident throughout all creation. I see Him in sunsets and sunrises over the horse pasture.  He is the greatest artists and He paints His masterpieces across the sky all the time.  I see Him at work in mine and other people's lives: answering prayers, being a comforter and friend, and being there when we need Him.  He is always with me and I know I can trust Him.  I can't see Him, but I'm certain He's there.

Friday, October 5, 2012

Essay on U.S. Embassy attacks

      The United States should not send financial aid to anybody who attacked our Embassies.  To attack a U.S. Embassy is to attack U.S. territory and that is an act of war.  It does not make sense to send money to countries that have committed an act of war against us because they can use it to buy more weapons and more supplies for their cause.
      This is especially true because of how much debt we have.  We are sending borrowed money to countries that have attacked us and our national debt is climbing daily.  How can this possibly make sense to anybody?  Since the debt is constantly increasing we should be searching for every possibly way to save money; not sending it to nations who have proved they want to destroy us by attacking our Embassies.
      Perhaps the government thinks that sending financial aid will help keep the peace.  that is not true in many cases.  There is nothing we can do to make some countries not hate us (for example, the nation of Iran).  Things may stay peaceful for a little while, as they play innocent, meanwhile, collecting money from the U.S. but then possibly strike with weapons that we have provided for them.  
      If there is no hope for there to be peace, then it is not logical to send any type of aid to them because they will just us it against us.


Monday, October 1, 2012

Ode to Autumn

You, autumn, are unpredictable.  
In the mornings your air is frigid and crisp
but the temperature often rises as the day unfolds.
You welcome cider and doughnuts and sweatshirts.
You bring beautiful warm colors to all the trees.
You even bring amazing smells.
You are ideal for riding horses in the leaf-covered woods.
I just wish you went right to spring and we didn't have to suffer through the worst 4 months EVER. (aka winter)

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

An Average Morning

 It's another beautiful morning that God has made
and as I walk toward the fog-covered barn
I am met by the anxiously waiting cats
because they know it is my hand that gives them food
They walk alongside me as I head to the barn
Nicki meets me there and we do our job
We feed the donkey, llama, goats, and bunnies
Then we climb in the trusty old barn truck
and loudly move on to our next task
As we come over the hill I look in the distance
There are 39 majestic animals waiting for us
 They watch expectantly as we pull up and get out
I go to the hay barn and slowly open the huge door
As I step in I see bales stacked so high
and I am engulfed with the sweet smell of hay
Nicki and I load up the tractor with 8 bales
and she starts it up and we head out
As I open the gates many eager faces look our way
I hop on the tractor and start dropping flakes
and watch as the horses eat it all up
We finish and put the tractor back in the barn
then it's back to the trusty old truck
I look out and see many satisfied creatures munching away

 And I think how lucky I am to do this every day
And I thank God for giving me the desire of my heart


Monday, September 17, 2012

Leading Worship

It is the first of many times that I will lead in worship
I feel a mixture of excitement and nervousness
and I am ready to see what God is going to do
I hear the electric guitar begin with the perfect notes
and I hear all the instruments join in at the perfect time
Then I look and see many cheerful faces
and I know they are ready to sing and dance
We play and sing with all our hearts 
until the music comes to an end
I now feel content and overjoyed
because my team has done it's most important job
We have led people to worship the one true God