Philosophy

Is pain good, or is God's good so good and so pervasive that it uses all things for good?

Existing is better than not existing.
If you were to imagine the greatest being possible, but it did not exist, then by definition it would not be the greatest being possible. God MUST exist because God is all good and existing is better than not existing.

Which is more real? The concept of the chair, or the chair?

God is pure good. God is pure glory. God is pure justice. God is pure might. ... I was asked tonight whether, when it comes down to it, I follow God for His might and glory? or if I follow Him because He is good.
"If, somehow, you could see heaven and the devil was there, and God was in Hell, would you follow God (because He is good)?" (This leaves out the debate as to what "heaven" and "hell" are - are they places? Or are they the complete presence or absence of God?)
[I think, by the way, that the answer I am coming up with is that I follow Him because He is ALL of them. While I can't wrap my brain around it (due to my humanity (gasp, right?! ;P )), I don't have to choose which of those attributes is why I ultimately follow Him. His goodness CAN'T be separated from His love which CAN'T be separated from His justice which CAN'T be separated from His glory. He is, by definition, all of all of them (and so many more) all the time, at the sametime, and they are not mutually exclusive. Why must I force God into a box of what I can understand in my humanity? Why can't I choose to accept the understanding that I cannot understand God and move forward?]



It is all philosophical discussion. My night included (along with general fun and awesomeness) one of the most intense philosophical discussions I have ever had.
I know at least one person in the room was frustrated because "it doesn't ultimately matter." No, it does not ultimately matter why we follow God, but that we follow God. Yes, you can live your life running hard after God without mulling over and debating the philosophical issues.

But.

There in intrigue in philosophy. There is beauty in philosophy.
And more importantly, God reveals Himself to people whose minds work like mine through things like philosophy.
My brain hurts. I honestly kind of feel like it's exploding. And through that, God is drawing me to Himself: His greatness and His ultimate-ness are an aspect of why I love Him and what draws me to Him. The fact that I cannot understand and that all the philosophers of our age, the ages before, and the ages to come cannot explain or understand it all... it serves to point me to God. There MUST be something over it. It cannot be without something that comprehends it. People believe evolution because they can wrap their minds around it. Therefore, it "exits" in their worlds. Chairs exist in our world because we can wrap our minds around them. Orthopedic knees exist in our world because we can wrap our minds around them. In our world because we understand.
So if we cannot understand, we must be part of a greater existance which does understand.


When my brain is exploding, it shows me the God I serve. His power and wisdom are put on display for me to stand in awe.
I worship Him because He makes sense of my world.
I worship Him because He makes a world of which I cannot make sense.

Creativity

So this is an assignment I just did today and turned in for one of my classes... but it was nearly making me cry as I wrote it... so I thought I'd post it. :)

Why should I be creative? This is a question that every student of creativity does or should ask. There is no point in studying something if I do not know how it will benefit my life. So what is the point? The point is that God created me to be me as part of a bigger world.

God created. My goal in life is to become more like my God and Father. When God made me in His image, that means that He instilled in me the ability to create. He gave me the ability to make beauty out of chaos. So since my goal is to become more like Him, how can I not practice the gift He gave me of creativity? I choose creativity because it reflects my Creator– Father God.

God created me to be me. God did not make me someone else. When God put my specific set of talents and dreams together into the person that is me, He did so for a reason and He did not make me as a repeat of someone else or someone else as a repeat of me. This means that I am unique. I am special. Without me, there would be a gap in God’s created world; He made me to fill that hole. I am to use my creative endeavors and my ability to be different or think in a different light to serve His purposes. I choose creativity because my Creator made me to fill a specific purpose.

God created me to be me as part of a bigger world. News flash: there are more people than just me in this world! When God created me to be unique, He also created all of the other people in His world to be unique. My giftings are not only particular to me, and they not only fill a special place, but that place touches specific lives. By using my creative and unique abilities, I can touch the other lives in the corner of the world where He put me. I choose creativity because embracing it through my abilities can change my corner of the world for Him.

As I pursue a life which will embrace who God made me to be, it will include being creative in my everyday life. While my everyday life may not always include taking photos or pouring Latte Art, it will include opportunities for me to search out the best way for me to go about a specific task or fulfilling a specific need. My perspective will be different than the girl’s next door. This is the meaning of creativity and this is why I need to be creative: because God created me to be me as part of a bigger world.

 

Power of a Prayer

I don't know if you knew it, but I am incredibly blessed. Last year, I came to school and met two new friends who lived in my dorm room. I have never met such beautiful, encouraging, sweet, Godly girls. One of them, in particular, ministered to me simply because she loved me. She was sweet, incredibly sarcastic and ridiculous, and would even holler out the window at the moon every night. She brought such a positive energy to the room. My other roommate, in particular, challenged me to dig for what I believe, showed me that I'm not too young to stand up for what I believe, courageously faced the difficult questions with me.
In my room, there was never a fight. We never had so much as a disagreement. We had more laughs and love than in any other period of time in my life up to that point. Before I came to college, I was told that rooming would be hard, that I would not have roommates who I could get along with.
But my mom prayed. The moms of both of my roommates prayed. They prayed for a year before we came, specifically about our room. I've never heard of another room like ours. Their prayers were answered.

This year, my RA and I meet regularly for times of encouragement and prayer. That woman has more passion to reach her world than I have seen in a long time. Last year we were in a small prayer group together with two other ladies pursuing Christ. Every week, my heart was touched. One week, in particular, they spoke truth into my life and told me that I would get through the trials and I would emerge triumphant, because of Christ. They prayed for me. I left that night leaving the weight of my world at the foot of the Cross. This year, we continue to meet. She speaks truth into my life and every day that I beg my Father to touch my hurting heart, she writes me a note telling me that I matter or she finds me on campus and gives me the biggest hug I'll get all week.

Tonight, I was meeting new friends in the suite across from me. We got to discussing real-life issues like slavery and sex trafficking. When the night was ending and we were all headed back to our rooms, someone said simply "hey. We've been discussing some hard things. Can we pray before we all go?"
So we stopped. We prayed.
More than one of us was in tears. We pleaded, we implored. We waged a war against the enemy and against the forces of darkness.

What do we know of the power of a prayer!? My GOD and my ABBA FATHER is the ALL-POWERFUL Creator of the UNIVERSE!
He answers my prayers for little things. He speaks truth into my life when I am hurting and half-mindedly utter a prayer asking for assurance. When five of us gather together, in one voice, in one accord, what do we know of the power we unleash??

If we truly began to understand the power we can access, how would our world change? What could we accomplish? How many lives would change?

What do we know of the power of a prayer?!