No Paved Roads to Revolution
I was on my way to work today, thinking about my future (Yes, it’s something I seem to be doing a lot more lately), and a phrase popped into my head. I don’t know if I’ve heard it somewhere before or if I just made it up… Doing a Google search for it (with quotation marks wrapped around the phrase) brought up no results, so I may have just coined it myself… Either way, it makes a lot of sense. As you may have gathered from some of my other blog posts, some of my views on God, religion, and the church would probably get me kicked out of about 90% of modern “churches” these days. I am, by definition, a heretic:
Heresy
# unorthodoxy: any opinions or doctrines at variance with the “official” or orthodox position
And I must say that my views on religion are quite unorthodox, because, frankly, the orthodox just doesn’t make sense.
All throughout my life, I’ve faced ridicule about my beliefs, because even when I was young and simply accepted anything my family told me as fact, our beliefs were somewhat strange. Now that I’m old enough to seek things out for myself, and have a deep desire to interact directly with God, my beliefs have become even more bizzare to the common church-goer. Although I’m widely respectful of other peoples’s beliefs, they are, unfortunately, not always as accepting.
What I’m trying to get at is that when you’re stepping out into “the unknown”–which is to say, anything that hasn’t come directly from the mouth of a widely-accepted figurehead of your “religion,” you’re going to face fierce opposition. Jesus did, the Apostles did, Martin Luther did, the American Colonists did, and so shall anyone else who wishes to truly exercise their freedoms of speech and religion, now or any time in the future. It’s unfamiliar territory, so there won’t be anyone there telling you that it’s “right”–except for God himself, of course–and you may stumble, you may fall, you may be pushed over. However, there’s no reason to back down, no reason to give up. Just be at peace in the fact that you’re following His footsteps, and He’s stepping in yours!
The Invisible Church
The other day my dad posted a link on Facebook that talked about a concept that had been forming in my mind for some time: What if the church became invisible? No organized mass meetings on Sunday mornings, no standing on street corners and proclaiming “God’s Message,” no ‘conventional’ witnessing to the “lost” people around us, no fire-and-brimstone “get right or get left” sermons. What if the church’s main purpose was to spread out into the secular world so that we are so deeply wrapped in every aspect of life that, through the simple process of spiritual osmosis, people come to know Him through His spirit alone, and not through the incomplete image that we have of Him and which we so poorly attempt to relay to others. Imagine how quickly, completely, and utterly God could change the entire world if we would just let Him take over and do His thing through us, without us trying to get in the way?
Conventional Church: Conventional Oven
My grandparents were down this weekend, so this Sunday morning we were just hanging out with them before church. They were going to visit another church that had sort of split off of ours, and was run by some relatives of ours. In said split, we “lost” about half of our church. I, however, choose not to see it that way. I choose to see it as we are splitting into smaller units so as to be less obvious to the world around us. How can they see us coming if we blend in?
Anyways, we were running a little late to church today, and on our way to my Oma’s (my father’s mother) house, my dad was talking to her on the phone and she sounded as if she did not want to go. So, the rest of my family stayed with her and I was sent to the church to take care of the overhead media projection. As I got here, I discovered that the mourning routine was a mess: We had no drummer, there was no official songlist ready for me, and my dad was not here to help fill in! Even so, I would not have church any other way, because a meticulously practiced and scheduled church leaves no cracks in its routine for God to slip in and do His thing. Indeed, even now as church is just beginning, I can greatly feel His presence just resting over all of us, and I don’t feel the sense of failure or urgency that I would have in the same situation five years ago, when we were twice as large and much more organized. Thank God for freedom!
When you don’t get an answer, leave a Voicemail
Many people struggle with wondering if their prayers are really heard, because they’re rarely answered in the form that people are looking for. The most common type of “prayer” I hear others pray is something along the lines of “God, something or other in my life isn’t what I want it to be. Can you fix it please?” Likewise, the least common kind prayer I hear is “Hey God, life’s good! What’s up?” When most people hear the word “prayer” they hear “something’s wrong and we’ve gotta ask got to fix it!” when the truth of the matter is that prayer is simply a conversation with our Father. Do you talk to your dad only when you need help with something? For you fathers out there, would you appreciate a son who only comes to you when he’s in trouble? That’s not very fulfulling or fun is it? God, like any good father, enjoys speaking with His children, even if it’s just about the weather. I find that when I’m in a good mood, I love to just have a conversation about what a beautiful day it is, and how thankful I am that I’m alive in a time like this. Of course, I don’t always get a response, and even if I do, it’s very rarely the type of response I would normally expect. I don’t have those “God” thoughts pop in my head all the time, nor do I hear a voice whispering in my ear. Generally, when I’m having a conversation with God, He responds to me with feelings. It’s not something I can easily explain, and I’m not even going to try, because Father communes with all of us in unique ways. How he responds to you is something you’ll have to find out for yourself. Sometimes, you may not get a response at all. This is not reason for discouragement, feelings of abandonment, or questioning whether God listens to you at all. He is omnipresent, so He does hear you. He has his own reasons for whether he responds to you, and often times He does, you just aren’t tuned to his frequency at the moment. If you don’t get an answer to your prayer, leave a voicemail. Father loves it when you talk to Him, so when you think about Him, give him a “what’s up.” Even if he doesn’t answer, you can rest assured that He’s replaying that voicemail to Himself over and over, delighting in the sound of your voice (or thoughts, or feelings, however you choose to converse with Him). Oh, and don’t worry, God’s voicemail inbox has no limit 
What Child Is This
What child is this, born to a virgin girl,
Who had already seen how his life would unfurl.
This child whose destiny, revealed years before birth,
Was to take responsibility for every sinner on Earth.
What child is this, so pure of heart,
Who never wavered for a moment from his part.
This child of whom the angels all sing,
Born as a man, destined to be a king.
What child is this, born under David’s star,
To whom wisemen and priests brought gifts from afar.
This child who was born in a manger,
The birth of a king couldn’t have been stranger.
What child is this of whom stories tell,
Who gave up his life to save us from hell.
This child who was born late in the night,
Would grow up to become a Champion of Light.
What child is this when in the darkest hour,
Broke down the gates and showed the Devil his power.
This child born to heal the human race,
Threw down the Law and clothed us in Grace.
What child is this child whom I see,
I smile at him and he beams back at me.
~12.15.2008
Andres Sapp
Evaporation
The process of Evaporation is widely known. It’s fairly simple: when water gets hot, the particles that are combined to create it (hydrogen and oxygen) separate and shoot off into the atmosphere as vapor. However, any foreign particles (salt, dirt, poison, etc) are left behind, and the water vapor is “purified.”
This process has a spiritual parallel: sometimes things in our life seem to be heating up. We seem to be losing a lot and not gaining much. Our whole world may seem to be turning upside down. Sometimes we think that we’re being punished for something we may have done in the past, but the reality is that we are being spiritually evaporated. Cleansed of all our extra “baggage,” we become free to rise above the obstacles in our path. Blown by the divine winds of destiny, we then reign upon the new land God has prepared for us.
Secret Savior
He’ll appear when least expected.
His sacrifice ensured that we’re protected.
He press through darkness all on his own,
Just so we wouldn’t walk alone.
He’s the one, my secret Savior,
His name permeates the air.
He is the One who holds all power,
He is everything, everywhere.
He’s the all-perfect lover,
This secret I’ll gladly share!
He is the King of Eternity,
The exemplification of Paternity,
In him alone, we are perfection,
Destined for Greatness before Earth’s conception.
He’s the one, my secret Savior,
His name permeates the air.
He is the One who holds all power,
He is everything, everywhere.
He’s the all-perfect lover,
This secret I’ll gladly share!
He is wholly indescribable,
Even Lucifer found him immovable,
He is the one who saved us from darkness,
The one we eternally will bless.
He’s the one, my secret Savior,
His name permeates the air.
He is the One who holds all power,
He is everything, everywhere.
He’s the all-perfect lover,
This secret I’ll gladly share!
I cannot keep this secret to myself,
I must find a way to share this wealth.
There’s just no way to keep this quiet.
I just have to shout it,
Shout it out!
Silence
What is Silence? is it the absence of sound, or the presence of peace? Does Silence ever truly exist or is it simply a myth we use to describe the state of minimal noise? Can Silence exist on Earth, where there is always a car puttering down the street, a fan whining in the house, a baby crying next door, a bird chirping in bush? Where there is the rain plopping on the ground, the wind rustling through the grass, waves crashing against the shore, thunder booming in the heavens? Is there Silence here with the beating of my heart, the microscopic electric discharge of my nerves, the crackling of the building expanding and contracting with the temperature?
Is there Silence in the heavens, where there is no air? Surely, in the heavens, there is Silence, but what about the stars of flaming hydrogen gas, or the planets with their violent storms? What of the incomprehensible radio chatter that constantly crosses the void? nay, surely Silence does not exist in this universe. Surely Silence exists only in the hearts of those who have closed themselves off to this reality where everything sounds out Glory to the breath that gave them existence. Surely none but the very least of the least believing can suppress every cry that bubbles up inside. Surely only the driest in faith can stay the flow of praise that forces its way into the mind and the heart.Surely Silence, so corroding at the soul, cannot long be tolerated before that same soul cannot help but sing. Even now, even without noise, my heart yearns for conversation with the divine, indescribable deity that saved me, and that calls Himself my friend! Even in the dark times, this light shines and roars within me.
No, there can be no silence. Silence is for those who have given up, who surrender to Fate. It’s for those who refuse to hear the good news of the All-Loving One. But even in their Silence, they will hear the cries of those who can feel that love, and their hearts will cry out. No, there can be no silence.
This Feeling
I’ve had a wierd feeling bubbling up inside of me for a few weeks now. I don’t quite understand what it is, but it’s as if my whole body is expecting something. I feel as if something huge is going to happen, something that will change the course of history. I don’t know if it’ll be good or bad, but I do have a gut feeling that it’ll be for the better. For now, I’m just going to be stuck with this feeling. My whole body is tingling in anticipation, akin to the feeling I get late Christmas Eve, but bigger. I can’t wait to see it!
God is BIG
Today in youth service at my church, we were shown a video of a sermon on how big God really is. In the video, the preacher showed numerous pictures of the universe and told of how enormous it really is. Take our galaxy for example, it holds billions of stars. It is 100,000 light years accross, which translates into about 588,000,000,000,000,000 miles (a light year is appx. 5.88 trillion miles). The same beam of light that could circle the Earth 7 times in a second would take one hundred thousand years to cross our galaxy, which is only one of hundreds of billions of galaxies in the known universe.
If our solar system was a quarter, the Milky Way Galaxy would be the North American Continent. That’s big. The space between our sun and the Earth is over 93 million miles, which is 8 light-minutes. Every second, a new star is born. The universe is always expanding at the speed of light. That means that every year, the universe gains another 5.88 trillion miles in diameter.
To think, the same God that molded the universe in his hands like clay, the same God that can hold the entire existing reality in the breadth of his hand knows us. He knows each and every single person that ever lived and that ever will by name. He has counted the hairs on their head, knows the number of molocules they are composed of, knows every single thought they’ll ever have, sees every imperfection inside of them. To think that he knows us, mere specks on the face of a planet that is a speck on the face of a solar system that is a speck on the face of a galaxy that is a speck on the face of a cluster that is a speck on the face of a mega cluster that is a speck on the face of the universe that is a speck on the hand of God. To think that he loves us with all of his enormous heart, that he lavishes us with his word that goes forth from the same mouth that spoke the universe into existence. His love is bigger than our imagination, bigger than our achievements, bigger than our lives, bigger than our failures, our imperfections, bigger than every single thing that makes up who we are.
He sent his son, confined himself into a human form, just to be among us, just to show us that there is more out there than our petty little problems, there are better things out there than focusing on our sins, to show how he loves. What a great act of love to confine himself into a human form and then die at the hands of the people he created, just to set us free so we could love him as he loves us. Truly this God is bigger than anything that may stand in our way. This God is bigger than poverty, bigger than pornography, bigger than George Bush, bigger than Obama, bigger than China, bigger than Osama Bin Laden, bigger than EVERYTHING.
God is indescribable.
