October 25, 2011
August 19, 2011
April 3, 2011
What's In My Head Today....
I was watching an interview not too long ago--a man was questioning Rob Bell about his new book--and one thing the interviewer kept asking really made me angry. The man asked, repeatedly, "Either God is all powerful and doesn't care about anything happening in the world, or God cares, but he can't do anything about it." This statement really pissed me off.
Either God is all powerful and doesn't care. Shocking to me. Shocking that people would look around the world and think that God doesn't care. When the stars come out each night, or you witness the changes of the seasons, the birth of a baby, or you stand in the presence of true love and happiness...how can you say that God doesn't care? Do bad things happen? Yes. Is there ugliness in this world? So much ugliness that sometimes we lose sight of the beauty? Yes. But that's hardly God's fault. That's OUR fault.
God cares, but he can't do anything about it. Okay. Seriously? The God who CREATED the universe. The God who took dust and MADE man. The God who sacrificed it all. Really? God's not just some pansy hanging out in the sky thinking, "Oh my. Look at how the little tiny creatures I made out of nothing are just destroying each other. Too bad I can't do anything about it." God's NOT weak because bad things happen int he world. God is loving because he allows us to have a choice and still sticks around even when we mess things up!
God doesn't step in and change things all the time because God created us for the purpose of communion with him. He didn't create us to be robots who'd run around doing things because he programmed or forced us to do them. He doesn't want slaves who serve him because they have to. He wants his beautiful creation to respond to him out of love. We are given free choice. Just like I can choose whether or not I want to love a person in my life, I can choose whether or not I want to love God. When I choose God, I choose well. Simple as that.
Every single one of us has made a bad choice. We've made bad choices that affect us, affect people around us, and affect the world. We make bad choices, and unfortunately EVERYONE has to live with the consequences. That doesn't make God unloving. It's the opposite. God loves us SO much, he allows us to make choices for ourselves. That doesn't mean that he isn't truly grieved sometimes by the choices we make. I don't think God ever turns away from pain or sorrow. I believe every time something tragic happens, God is right there--grieving and being present. But he will never step in to rob us of our will. We make choices. And we deal with the consequences of those choices.
God is all powerful, all caring, and DOES intervene in the world. But he also allows us to act on our own--not because He's weak or unfeeling towards the world--but because he loves us.
I was speaking with a friend who is reading a book about the nature of God--and there were two lines that really struck her that she shared with me. Those lines also struck me--and I'd like to share them with you.
God is more concerned with our Holiness than our Happiness. God is more concerned with our Character than our comfort.
Bad things happen because we live in a fallen world. God doesn't stop all the sadness, horror, war, and death because they are the consequences of the world's sinfulness--not because he's weak or uncaring. God WANTS us to be happy! He wants us to live lives of joy and blessing! But that doesn't mean that he's going to remove every horror, injustice, sadness, or tragedy in the world. We must deal with the choices that the world has made....in the middle of it all, though, He's still there. He's present, he's real and he's concerned about you and me. He wants us to be happy, but he wants us to be holy first. Real life isn't about warm fuzzies and perfect ease. It's about the people God is shaping us into--people who reflect his holiness. He's more concerned that we live lives of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control than he is that we are rich, have 7 houses, and not a care in the world. God wants goodness for us. But he wants us to be holy even more. He's more concerned about my heart--about my choice to love him--than he is about how happy I am.
It's the same with our comfort. Never once in the Bible does it say, HEY! Want an easy life?? Want to get everything you could ever imagine without ever having to experience a single heartache? Yeah. No. It definitely does NOT say that. In fact, ALL over the New Testament especially, Jesus and the apostles say, "Whoa guys, this is ROUGH. Life is HARD. People WILL hate you. But it's worth it." Did you know that out of the 12 disciples (post Judas) ELEVEN of them were martyred? And the twelfth? John was sent to an island where he lived out his life in exile. Not such a great life for the men who started the Christian church. But it was worth it. They were willing to die for Christ, because it was true. God never promised us comfort--but he promises that the tough experiences in our life will build character and draw us closer to him.
God's NOT weak. God's NOT uncaring. God IS so loving that he allows each and every one of us to make the choice as to what sort of person we want to be. God WILL use the situations in our lives--good or bad--to mold us into the people he desires us to be--full of his holiness and his character. We just have to choose it.
Either God is all powerful and doesn't care. Shocking to me. Shocking that people would look around the world and think that God doesn't care. When the stars come out each night, or you witness the changes of the seasons, the birth of a baby, or you stand in the presence of true love and happiness...how can you say that God doesn't care? Do bad things happen? Yes. Is there ugliness in this world? So much ugliness that sometimes we lose sight of the beauty? Yes. But that's hardly God's fault. That's OUR fault.
God cares, but he can't do anything about it. Okay. Seriously? The God who CREATED the universe. The God who took dust and MADE man. The God who sacrificed it all. Really? God's not just some pansy hanging out in the sky thinking, "Oh my. Look at how the little tiny creatures I made out of nothing are just destroying each other. Too bad I can't do anything about it." God's NOT weak because bad things happen int he world. God is loving because he allows us to have a choice and still sticks around even when we mess things up!
God doesn't step in and change things all the time because God created us for the purpose of communion with him. He didn't create us to be robots who'd run around doing things because he programmed or forced us to do them. He doesn't want slaves who serve him because they have to. He wants his beautiful creation to respond to him out of love. We are given free choice. Just like I can choose whether or not I want to love a person in my life, I can choose whether or not I want to love God. When I choose God, I choose well. Simple as that.
Every single one of us has made a bad choice. We've made bad choices that affect us, affect people around us, and affect the world. We make bad choices, and unfortunately EVERYONE has to live with the consequences. That doesn't make God unloving. It's the opposite. God loves us SO much, he allows us to make choices for ourselves. That doesn't mean that he isn't truly grieved sometimes by the choices we make. I don't think God ever turns away from pain or sorrow. I believe every time something tragic happens, God is right there--grieving and being present. But he will never step in to rob us of our will. We make choices. And we deal with the consequences of those choices.
God is all powerful, all caring, and DOES intervene in the world. But he also allows us to act on our own--not because He's weak or unfeeling towards the world--but because he loves us.
I was speaking with a friend who is reading a book about the nature of God--and there were two lines that really struck her that she shared with me. Those lines also struck me--and I'd like to share them with you.
God is more concerned with our Holiness than our Happiness. God is more concerned with our Character than our comfort.
Bad things happen because we live in a fallen world. God doesn't stop all the sadness, horror, war, and death because they are the consequences of the world's sinfulness--not because he's weak or uncaring. God WANTS us to be happy! He wants us to live lives of joy and blessing! But that doesn't mean that he's going to remove every horror, injustice, sadness, or tragedy in the world. We must deal with the choices that the world has made....in the middle of it all, though, He's still there. He's present, he's real and he's concerned about you and me. He wants us to be happy, but he wants us to be holy first. Real life isn't about warm fuzzies and perfect ease. It's about the people God is shaping us into--people who reflect his holiness. He's more concerned that we live lives of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control than he is that we are rich, have 7 houses, and not a care in the world. God wants goodness for us. But he wants us to be holy even more. He's more concerned about my heart--about my choice to love him--than he is about how happy I am.
It's the same with our comfort. Never once in the Bible does it say, HEY! Want an easy life?? Want to get everything you could ever imagine without ever having to experience a single heartache? Yeah. No. It definitely does NOT say that. In fact, ALL over the New Testament especially, Jesus and the apostles say, "Whoa guys, this is ROUGH. Life is HARD. People WILL hate you. But it's worth it." Did you know that out of the 12 disciples (post Judas) ELEVEN of them were martyred? And the twelfth? John was sent to an island where he lived out his life in exile. Not such a great life for the men who started the Christian church. But it was worth it. They were willing to die for Christ, because it was true. God never promised us comfort--but he promises that the tough experiences in our life will build character and draw us closer to him.
God's NOT weak. God's NOT uncaring. God IS so loving that he allows each and every one of us to make the choice as to what sort of person we want to be. God WILL use the situations in our lives--good or bad--to mold us into the people he desires us to be--full of his holiness and his character. We just have to choose it.
April 1, 2011
Happy April
Hello dear friends! There's a new March Newsletter out! If you'd like to be on mailing list, let me know :)
March 15, 2011
I'm Legal (ish)
Well, that was an adventure. London was awesome--got to see a friend who works for Young Life there, go to see all the touristy wonders, got to go to Hillsong London--loads of fun! I really enjoyed London, despite the chilly weather.
When I got to the airport in the UK, I was nervous. I had heard horror stories of how people were held there because they weren't technically legal in the country they were going to. But do you know, God is so awesome. I didn't even have to go through passport control. Not one person looked at my passport (which, honestly, seems a little sketchy to me). I walked from security straight to my gate. I'm not sure why, but it was a HUGE relief.
When I got to Portugal, João was waiting for me to clear customs. We walked up to the counter, handed the man our passports and held our breath. He did ask me when I was leaving Europe, to which I replied that I was in the process of renewing my residency. He said, "Oh, okay," stamped my passport, and I walked through.
Such a ridiculously amazing blessing. I had been so stressed and worried, and God totally came through. And while I do breathe a sigh of relief, the SEF ordeal ain't over just yet!
I have another appointment at SEF on Thursday morning. I will be legal in Portugal for another three months, but after that, I have the same issue again!
The consulate in America is telling me that I should go through SEF to get my visa because if I send everything to them, they'll just send it on to SEF for approval anyway! But SEF is saying that I cannot apply for a visa here--I have to do it from non-Portuguese territory. I thought, hey, what if I go to Spain? Can I apply from Spain? The answer to that--at least at this point--is a big, fat no. Apparently, I have to apply for the visa from the consulate closest to where I have residency. Which, in this case, would be The Portuguese Consulate in Newark, NJ.
Sigh, to go to America, while I'd welcome seeing my family--I do miss them--would be a huge hassle. I can't really afford the plane ticket, I'd have to take time off from work and from my responsibilities here...it's, well, a pain in the you-know-what!
I'll keep you updated...but in the meantime, please pray. Please pray that God, yet again, makes a way where there seems to be no way.
Love,
Ariel
When I got to the airport in the UK, I was nervous. I had heard horror stories of how people were held there because they weren't technically legal in the country they were going to. But do you know, God is so awesome. I didn't even have to go through passport control. Not one person looked at my passport (which, honestly, seems a little sketchy to me). I walked from security straight to my gate. I'm not sure why, but it was a HUGE relief.
When I got to Portugal, João was waiting for me to clear customs. We walked up to the counter, handed the man our passports and held our breath. He did ask me when I was leaving Europe, to which I replied that I was in the process of renewing my residency. He said, "Oh, okay," stamped my passport, and I walked through.
Such a ridiculously amazing blessing. I had been so stressed and worried, and God totally came through. And while I do breathe a sigh of relief, the SEF ordeal ain't over just yet!
I have another appointment at SEF on Thursday morning. I will be legal in Portugal for another three months, but after that, I have the same issue again!
The consulate in America is telling me that I should go through SEF to get my visa because if I send everything to them, they'll just send it on to SEF for approval anyway! But SEF is saying that I cannot apply for a visa here--I have to do it from non-Portuguese territory. I thought, hey, what if I go to Spain? Can I apply from Spain? The answer to that--at least at this point--is a big, fat no. Apparently, I have to apply for the visa from the consulate closest to where I have residency. Which, in this case, would be The Portuguese Consulate in Newark, NJ.
Sigh, to go to America, while I'd welcome seeing my family--I do miss them--would be a huge hassle. I can't really afford the plane ticket, I'd have to take time off from work and from my responsibilities here...it's, well, a pain in the you-know-what!
I'll keep you updated...but in the meantime, please pray. Please pray that God, yet again, makes a way where there seems to be no way.
Love,
Ariel
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