truthhungry?

Everything Is Holy

2007-01-14T04:51:00.000-08:00

"The earth is the Lord's and everything in it." Psalm 24:1

I have been thinking about this verse lately, and have been challenged in the way I look at the world. As Christians we tend to think of things in the world as good or bad, light and dark, black and white. We see the symbol of the Cross as good, and we see the pentagram as evil. We see trees as beautiful creations of God, but we see the marijuana plant as something that should be torn out of the ground. We dress in bright colors, and see those who wear too much black as probably having something wrong with them. We listen to uplifting music because it reminds us of God, but avoid dark-sounding music which is sad or angry, thinking darkness is not of God.

"The earth is the Lord's and everything in it."

In Genesis it explains that God created EVERYTHING and called it good. And so I think that everything is holy! Everything is clean and good, until we ruin it. Evil cannot be attributed to a thing. Evil comes from personalities (demons and humans) only. The world is not black and white. Everything is white, until we taint it with our own evil.

In Tolkien's classic, 'The Silmarillion', Illuvatar (who is a parallel of God) created the world through his great themes of music (much like God created the world with words), but Melkor (a parallel of the devil) started to sing his own tunes. Illuvatar created the seas, and then Melkor created (or thought he did) fire. And when the two met, great clouds were formed, and rain first fell on the earth. But all this was according to Illuvatar's design. Illuvatar then said something interesting to Melkor: "And thou, Melkor, shalt see that no theme may be played that hath not its uttermost source in me, nor can any alter the music in my despite. For he that attempteth this shall prove but mine instrument in the devising of things more wonderful, which he himself hath not imagined."

Everything on this earth has its uttermost source in God. The pentagram, which we shun as a symbol of evil, was thought of by God (who created all color and shape) long before the Pagans stole it. The marijuana plant was created by God, and he called it good. How dare we dub anything he created as evil? Dark themes of music, dark colors, they all come from God, and they all express different facets of his infinite character.

There is nothing new under the sun which does not have its uttermost source in God. Musicians who 'create' music are simply arranging, in their own way, the notes and sounds which God caused to be. Even those musicians who are in fact evil, and worship idols, even they are using the holy things God created.

"God owns all those calf's, he owns all those hills!" - Woven Hand

Of course we can take anything and use it for evil purposes. We take the beautiful, holy things that God created and we worship them. We must see the difference though. Nothing (besides humans and demons) are innately evil. And everything is redeemable.

As I walk through the streets of the red-light district, I know that the ground that I walk on is holy. God is as present there, amongst his creation, as he is anywhere.

By the way, I think we should take the pentagram back!

Remember, "everything is yours, and you are of Christ." - 1 Cor 3

SPF

Just How Hungry Are You?

2006-12-23T00:16:00.000-08:00

Last night as I lay in bed, I thought about where I am in my relationship with God over the last month, and honestly, I felt rather disappointed and let down. I found that I feel rather dull, bored, uninspired, and like I haven't grown much. But I constantly let God know how I hunger for him, how much I long for a greater depth. Why isn't he taking me deeper?

I was pondering this, thinking what else can I do but crave more? Hunger and thirst... I shall be filled. As long as I passionately want more, God will give more.

Well God spoke fairly clearly right as I those thoughts passed through, and he said, "What are you setting your mind on?" Meaning, how often are you actually pursuing me? How much of the day do you spend dwelling on my character and my ways? How long do you spend seeking to understand my word? When is the last time you seriously pressed into prayer and sought my heart?

Of course there is more to it. Knock and the door will be opened to you, I was forgetting to do the knocking. It is not enough to hunger and to thirst for righteousness. It's not enough to mourn and weep over my sin. It all starts with a deep hunger inside, yes. But to know God, it takes actively setting time apart, and consistently seeking him. It takes action and discipline. It's work.

How silly of me, I learned that on my DTS.

God, I pray you would help me turn my hunger to good use in seeking you. My actions don't always portray this deep desire I say that I have. Teach me discipline and consistency, Lord, in pursuing your heart and your ways. Give me a greater love for studying your word! I really do hunger and thirst for more of you, thank you that you know my heart better even than I do. Take me higher!

SPF

Jesus, what?!

2006-10-26T02:47:00.001-07:00

I've noticed lately how much I avoid reading what Jesus said in the bible. The guy is just too deep! I often can't figure out half of what he says. I much prefer the writings of Paul which seem much more elaborate, but at least understandable. So I've been challenged lately to dig deeper into those red letters. I know that there are treasures in there if only you can figure them out!

In Matthew 5, Jesus says:

14"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 15Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.

That makes sense, we missionaries use that verse all the time. Let your light shine before others that they might see what God has done in your life!

But then, in Matthew 6 Jesus says:

1"Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. 2"So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. 3But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Woah. So first I am supposed to show off my 'goodness' for everyone to see and give glory to God, but then I am supposed to keep everyone from seeing my 'goodness' so that God who sees what is done in secret will reward me! I'm feeling a bit of confusion now.

How do these two messages reconcile?

Well I guess its all about the heart. That's what Jesus was trying to say the whole time, that its not so much about what you do, but about the state of your heart!

The more time you spend with God, the more you worship him with your life, the more your light will shine and others will be drawn to it! This is good... But if your motivation is no longer to honor God, but to do things 'for God' and impress others with your holiness, then you have missed the point.

In Rick Joyner's "The Final Quest", after spending time worshiping the Lord, he notices that his armor is shining radiantly, along with the armor of all the others on the mountain who were worshiping along side him. The glory from their armor was so great that it began to light up the whole mountain, and those still in captivity saw from far off and were drawn towards it.

But the problem with the shining armor was that the glare made it very difficult for the soldiers to see the attack the enemy was mounting. Pride was on the move. A friend told me about "Satan Syndrome". Lucifer became so enamored of his own glory, instead of focusing on the source of that gory, and this is what caused his fall.

So the key to all this, and what Jesus was explaining, is humility! The soldiers who were wise covered their shining armor with a drab cloak, which shielded their own eyes from their own glory! It made them invisible to the onslaught of pride. Those who didn't put on the cloak ended up back in the enemies camp.

Ok. So maybe Jesus does make sense if you spend some time thinking.

SPF

Separation Of Church & State

2006-08-29T12:36:00.000-07:00

CNN: Rep. Harris: Church-state separation 'a lie'

I am not endorsing this representative, but I would like to say that in many ways she is absolutely right! Our understanding of the separation of church and state is very inaccurate! What our founding fathers intended, and the reason they left Europe in the first place, was that government would not have a say in the area of religion, NOT the other way around!

Of COURSE religion should play a part in government. Of COURSE peoples' beliefs and convictions should play a major role in how they govern themselves! This is what she was saying when she referred to it as being a 'lie'.

This common idea that believers should play no role in politics is so absurd, even an atheist must admit that if he himself wants to have any input in the government. It is our JOB to tell the government how they should govern us! We MUST involve our beliefs and convictions, whether we are Christians or atheists!

SPF

Truthhungry? Relaunched

2006-08-29T10:02:00.000-07:00

Well, I've decided to recontinue my blog, but I will be focusing less on apologetics and more on life issues I think!

SPF