I was hoping to have my next post be the wrap up of my blogs on The Lord's Prayer, however I could not pass up this chance to talk about today.
Today I turned 23. Its weird to see it in writing. However, today I have been reminded how much I am loved.
Lately I have not felt that as much. I am my father's son, and expressing emotions is not a strength of mine. I find too that I don't allow myself to get as close to people because it means that I have to start expressing that more with them as that happens. I use jokes and humor to prevent things from getting serious and building more substantial relationships.
It does not mean though that I do not love my friends, for I do, very much so. And today, with all the warm wishes I received I was made certain that the feeling is very much reciprocated.
Furthermore I was able to spend time with my friend Matt today. Matt is one of my oldest friends. I've known him since I was about 4. I actually remember the day we met. Might be my oldest vivid memory. Anyways, we had some beers and smoked some cigars he had bought and talked of the incredible things God is doing. It is incredible to look back on the things Matt and I have been through, the different phases in life we went through, and where we are today. And no matter how much time passes between our meetings it is always like no time has passed at all.
Tonight Matt shared with me a bit of what his life has been like lately; going to Hawaii and Thailand, what God has been teaching him, and the work he has been able to do for the kingdom, as well as some ideas for the future. One thing that Matt kept bringing up tonight though was finding his identity in Christ, and that really struck me. Is that where I find my identity?
There are so many different things that we can use to find our identity: careers, friends, romantic relationships, partying, etc. And not all these things are bad, but what I am concerned with is whether my primary identity is found in Christ. Am I a math teacher who likes Christ or a Christ-centered laborer who teaches math? I really feel more like the former than the latter all to often, but I pray that that will start to change.
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Prayerful Consideration: Pt. 3, Give us this day our daily bread
Christ's next line, "Give us this day our daily bread" is one that calls for our dependence on God to provide for us. Bread is the most simple, most basic food. The choice of bread seems to imply that we are asking not just for food, but for all our basic needs. Bread is not fancy or extravagant, so it would seem that we are asking God to provide within our own needs.
God has done this in a few fun ways lately.
A few weeks ago I had an empty gas tank and no money to fill it. I had to be in Fostoria in 50 minutes to sub. God provided in the form of a hungry friend who needed me to get him some pancake mix, who in exchange filled my tank.
Also, lately I have had many other great friends offer to buy me a meal with out any questions asked.
There is also Renhill paying me part of my first paycheck early, allowing me to pay for my car insurance.
It would seem that God simply providing is a tremendous blessing, and somewhat miraculous. I think God likes to wait for opportunities like the above to remind us of just how good He is. Although I may have been close sometimes, I never was without my basic needs. God is good, and he certainly has provided me with "daily bread" all my life.
Next time, "Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil."
God has done this in a few fun ways lately.
A few weeks ago I had an empty gas tank and no money to fill it. I had to be in Fostoria in 50 minutes to sub. God provided in the form of a hungry friend who needed me to get him some pancake mix, who in exchange filled my tank.
Also, lately I have had many other great friends offer to buy me a meal with out any questions asked.
There is also Renhill paying me part of my first paycheck early, allowing me to pay for my car insurance.
It would seem that God simply providing is a tremendous blessing, and somewhat miraculous. I think God likes to wait for opportunities like the above to remind us of just how good He is. Although I may have been close sometimes, I never was without my basic needs. God is good, and he certainly has provided me with "daily bread" all my life.
Next time, "Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil."
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Prayerful Consideration: Pt. 2, Your Kingdom Come, Your Will be Done
Your Kingdom Come- There will be a day when Christ returns and God's Kingdom will come to this Earth. Its going to be pretty freaking sweet, so why not pray for it to come sooner? I cannot begin to imagine all the great things that will come as a consequence of that, but it will be a pretty exciting event.
Your Will Be Done- This may be one of the hardest parts, at least for me. Sure, who can argue that God's will is not good? Its great. In fact, its the best. The very best. However, there is one distinct flaw to God's will: it isn't mine. I have some ideas for my life, and they seem pretty good to me. So do I really want God's will for my life, or just as much as it fits in MY plan. Saying, "Your will be done" means so much more than, "God, do the good things you have in mind." It means, "God I give up all my plans for yours. If ours happen to line up, that is cool, but if not, well I'm down with that too."
On Earth as it is in Heaven- God rules Heaven supremely. This part seems to reiterate the ideas from early. May Earth be like Heaven. May your kingdom be here. May you rule it supremely. May your will be done here.
I think though that it goes a bit further than this. In heaven all give praise and glory to God. "On Earth as it is in Heaven" is also a call for us to act as if we are in Heaven. It is a call for us to give all glory to God. Furthermore it is a cry for God to move in the hearts of all men so that they may praise him as well. It is asking that God save the world.
The hardest part of this whole section is that it call to give up ourselves for God's will. We know that it is good, and furthermore best, but it means giving all the power in our life to God. It seems like there is no better place to put our trust, but that still does not make it easy.
Perhaps an easier way to do this would be to pray, "God make my will reflect your own."
Cheers,
Nathan
Next time: "Give us this day our Daily Bread"
Your Will Be Done- This may be one of the hardest parts, at least for me. Sure, who can argue that God's will is not good? Its great. In fact, its the best. The very best. However, there is one distinct flaw to God's will: it isn't mine. I have some ideas for my life, and they seem pretty good to me. So do I really want God's will for my life, or just as much as it fits in MY plan. Saying, "Your will be done" means so much more than, "God, do the good things you have in mind." It means, "God I give up all my plans for yours. If ours happen to line up, that is cool, but if not, well I'm down with that too."
On Earth as it is in Heaven- God rules Heaven supremely. This part seems to reiterate the ideas from early. May Earth be like Heaven. May your kingdom be here. May you rule it supremely. May your will be done here.
I think though that it goes a bit further than this. In heaven all give praise and glory to God. "On Earth as it is in Heaven" is also a call for us to act as if we are in Heaven. It is a call for us to give all glory to God. Furthermore it is a cry for God to move in the hearts of all men so that they may praise him as well. It is asking that God save the world.
The hardest part of this whole section is that it call to give up ourselves for God's will. We know that it is good, and furthermore best, but it means giving all the power in our life to God. It seems like there is no better place to put our trust, but that still does not make it easy.
Perhaps an easier way to do this would be to pray, "God make my will reflect your own."
Cheers,
Nathan
Next time: "Give us this day our Daily Bread"
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Prayerful Consideration: Pt. 1, Our Father in Heaven, Hallowed be your name
I've decided to dedicate my next few entries on my thoughts on prayer. Praying is something I've struggled with on and off for years, and so hopefully as I gather my thoughts and reflect on the Lord's Prayer I can come to some insight as to why I struggle with prayer, as well as what to do about resolving this issue.
I chose to look at the Lord's prayer for two reasons. The first being that it seems to cover most, if not all, of the areas we pray about. The second, it is the example Jesus gives us on how to pray. So lets begin...
Our Father- We begin by addressing God as Father. I am certain that Christ was very intentional with his choice here of Father. There are many things we could say, such as Lord, God, Savior, Provider, etc., however Jesus choose the title that perhaps has the most intimate meaning. The one that puts the emphasis on God's closeness to and care for us, as well as our dependency on Him.
Think back to when you were a child. Provided you did not have a deadbeat dad, who did not think that their dad was the coolest, strongest man ever? I recall having debates with other school kids about whose dad could beat up whose. Our fathers provided for us and protected us, and even more so, they knew us intimately and cared deeply about us. When sad or hurt, they were there to comfort us. Even the scratch of his mustache when he kissed you was something cherished. It is precisely this kind of relationship, this viewpoint, this mindset of God that Christ is calling us to at the beginning of the prayer.
in Heaven- God, like Heaven, which he rules, is set apart and holy. I don't have much more to say on that.
Hallowed be your name- Now that we have established who God is, our first interaction is to praise his name. So often we take the gifts and glories of God for granted and fail to praise him for all the wonders He has done. It is easy to treat God like a genie, just saying, "God give me this." From there it is easy to get upset when God says, "No." Christ, however has us begin with thanksgiving and praise.
By starting your prayers with praise it reminds us of the goodness of God. It draws us back to how much He loves us and takes care of us, even when we do not get what we ask for. Furthermore it makes it harder to be upset with God, and better prepares our hearts to ask for the things that matter, and put aside selfish requests.
So, someone who is struggling with the discipline of prayer might practice just periodically thanking God throughout the day. Its very simple (as you can see from my last blog) and very refreshing, and you don't even need to ask for anything as you pray this way. This is something I have been practicing myself, and I encourage others to try the same. If it does nothing else for us, at least we are talking to God.
Cheers,
Nathan
Next time: Your Kingdom Come, Your Will Be Done.
I chose to look at the Lord's prayer for two reasons. The first being that it seems to cover most, if not all, of the areas we pray about. The second, it is the example Jesus gives us on how to pray. So lets begin...
Our Father- We begin by addressing God as Father. I am certain that Christ was very intentional with his choice here of Father. There are many things we could say, such as Lord, God, Savior, Provider, etc., however Jesus choose the title that perhaps has the most intimate meaning. The one that puts the emphasis on God's closeness to and care for us, as well as our dependency on Him.
Think back to when you were a child. Provided you did not have a deadbeat dad, who did not think that their dad was the coolest, strongest man ever? I recall having debates with other school kids about whose dad could beat up whose. Our fathers provided for us and protected us, and even more so, they knew us intimately and cared deeply about us. When sad or hurt, they were there to comfort us. Even the scratch of his mustache when he kissed you was something cherished. It is precisely this kind of relationship, this viewpoint, this mindset of God that Christ is calling us to at the beginning of the prayer.
in Heaven- God, like Heaven, which he rules, is set apart and holy. I don't have much more to say on that.
Hallowed be your name- Now that we have established who God is, our first interaction is to praise his name. So often we take the gifts and glories of God for granted and fail to praise him for all the wonders He has done. It is easy to treat God like a genie, just saying, "God give me this." From there it is easy to get upset when God says, "No." Christ, however has us begin with thanksgiving and praise.
By starting your prayers with praise it reminds us of the goodness of God. It draws us back to how much He loves us and takes care of us, even when we do not get what we ask for. Furthermore it makes it harder to be upset with God, and better prepares our hearts to ask for the things that matter, and put aside selfish requests.
So, someone who is struggling with the discipline of prayer might practice just periodically thanking God throughout the day. Its very simple (as you can see from my last blog) and very refreshing, and you don't even need to ask for anything as you pray this way. This is something I have been practicing myself, and I encourage others to try the same. If it does nothing else for us, at least we are talking to God.
Cheers,
Nathan
Next time: Your Kingdom Come, Your Will Be Done.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Rekindling an old passion
I love Cavs basketball.
I'm a terrible fan. I rarely know when games are on and rely heavily on my roommate and my sister to keep me updated with what is going on. However, when I do get to catch a game it is simply, and absolutely wonderful. Top it off with a cold beer (in this case a blueberry oatmeal stout from Buffalo Bill's Brewery) and a game of PIG with my roommate on our home-made-living-room hoop (even though I lost), and that makes for a pretty sweet end to a pretty tiring day.
Speaking of refreshing things, here are some other things that I have been enjoying lately.
Monday night lifegroup
Tuesday night man group
Wednesday Action Panther Time
Conversations with Chris Helgeson
Time with Adam Lerma
Erica Reese telling me to suck her dick
Being back in Fotroit
Having a job
Aurgasm
Walking around town with my ipod
Blogging
Warm weather
How close it is to disc golf season
The Season Podcast
Figuring out different stats for Katie Barnett's test
Having so much to be thankful for
God is so wonderfully, so awesomely, so perfectly good.
Cheers,
Nathan
Monday, March 1, 2010
Eat! Drink! And do homework!
With the exception of making salsa one day, and baby sitting Robby another, I have been unemployed all semester until today. I finally have started subbing, and I can finally make some money. However that means that I cannot go to Steve's class on John anymore, at least not unless I don't have work on any given Tuesday. However, I did do the homework for his class (for once) and I wanted to share my thoughts.
Reflections on John 2:1-11
Christ's first miracle; turning water into wine. He take jars ordinarily used for cerimonial washing, has them filled with water, but when the servants go to draw from the pots they instead find wine. And not only that, but the greatest wine of the night. Furthermore the amount of wine was ridiculous.
Math Time!
6 pots each holding 20-30 gallons.
1 gallon is 128oz.
1 gallon contains 25.6 5oz. servings
Therefore Jesus produced in the range of 3072-4608 glasses of wine.
To put that into some more perspective, that would be enough to make all of McDonald Hall think twice before driving.
So whats this all mean?
According to Steve, and even more credibly, the ESV study bible, wine is used as a metaphor for joy. So here is Christ, bringing us the greatest, and seemingly endless joy. But what is he providing it in, but in making us clean and right with God. Pretty simple, right?
My friend Chris also pointed out to me that it was the bridegroom's responsibility to provide the wine. In this story the wine runs dry, and Christ then provides more and better wine than they had to begin with. Things of this world cannot provide like Christ does for us, and will not last either. Christ is the perfect bridegroom, and he will always provide.
Cheers!
Reflections on John 2:1-11
Christ's first miracle; turning water into wine. He take jars ordinarily used for cerimonial washing, has them filled with water, but when the servants go to draw from the pots they instead find wine. And not only that, but the greatest wine of the night. Furthermore the amount of wine was ridiculous.
Math Time!
6 pots each holding 20-30 gallons.
1 gallon is 128oz.
1 gallon contains 25.6 5oz. servings
Therefore Jesus produced in the range of 3072-4608 glasses of wine.
To put that into some more perspective, that would be enough to make all of McDonald Hall think twice before driving.
So whats this all mean?
According to Steve, and even more credibly, the ESV study bible, wine is used as a metaphor for joy. So here is Christ, bringing us the greatest, and seemingly endless joy. But what is he providing it in, but in making us clean and right with God. Pretty simple, right?
My friend Chris also pointed out to me that it was the bridegroom's responsibility to provide the wine. In this story the wine runs dry, and Christ then provides more and better wine than they had to begin with. Things of this world cannot provide like Christ does for us, and will not last either. Christ is the perfect bridegroom, and he will always provide.
Cheers!
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