So maybe you didn't catch Apple's latest release: the NEW MacBook Air. Now some of you may remember the "old" MacBook Air from the '08 original release (the first Mac to feature the "unibody" aluminum enclosure that's Mac-standard now).
So what's the big deal? You may be wondering. The big deal is that this Air is even lighter and more functional than it's predecessor. Oh, and it's about $400 cheaper. Apple addressed a few of the bigger issues with the previous Air (only 1 USB slot, so-so battery-life, poor graphics processor, price) and then released this new one with the following slogan: "the future of the notebook."
One of their biggest moves with the Air is eliminating a physical Solid-State Hard-Drive and instead simply putting the sticks of "Solid-State" onto the logic board (like they do with the iPod, iPhone, & iPad). Although this now creates a problem if you ever wanted to "upgrade" you hard-drive capacity, it makes it possible for the Air to be even lighter, even more efficient and even smaller (all things Apple, and I'd say the "general public", want).
One detail that was brought to my attention was the simple fact that the white MacBook is $999 (2.4GHz core2duo, 2GB RAM, 250GB HDD, 320M NVIDIA integrated video, 13" screen) and 4.7lbs. Where as $999 with the Air gets you (1.4GHz core2duo, 2GB RAM, 64GB SSD, 230M NVIDIA integrated graphics 11" screen) and 2.3lbs. and for a mere $200 more you get 128GB of hard drive space, same weight.
So for $1199 you can get pretty much the same thing, with a 50% weight reduction.
My BIGGEST warning to those who are looking into buying an Air is this: do NOT buy it if you're planning on it being your only computer. If you're the proud owner of an iMac, MacMini or the mighty MacPro, why wouldn't this be your next notebook computer?? But if you're like the majority of people out there, your notebook is your ONLY computer.
Apple's boldest move is what they're REALLY trying to do. They're telling us, "if you buy ALL of our products (iMac, iPhone, iPod Nano, MacBook Air, iPad, AppleTV, TimeCapaule, MobileMe) you'll be set." This is a bold statement, but I honestly believe that they're right. But only if you're willing to make the investment (and meet the criteria for the use of all of it).
All of Apple's products work beautifully and harmoniously with each other. No other brand's products work as well together as Apple's. This is the biggest appeal of their hidden claim that "you should buy all of their products and your life will just be better, easier, simpler, more connected, more in sync."
The most difficult obstacle is "changing your lifestyle" (at least digitally). It means having a Mac desktop at home, it means having & utilizing MobileMe to it's fullest capacity (calendars, contacts, 10GB of data all in a virtual "cloud" accessible anywhere on all of your devices), it means an iPhone, it means a TimeCapsule. Set that all up and you then have a final decision to make. MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iPad. For the average mobile computer user, I would suggest you go Air, simply because of the weight and ease of functionality once you have everything else I mentioned setup. For a more robust user I'd say keep buying those MacBook Pros. You need powerful computing on-the-go. Then there's me, lover of "new" gadgets, willing to take a chance, love that "cool" factor. Went with the iPad (no notebook of any kind).
The iPad for me is what I've been waiting for with mobile technology. It's almost like an extension of my arm (much like my iPhone is an extension of my hand). It does just enough for what I use mobile computing for, and allows for just the right "work-arounds" for those moments when you may just need the capabilities of a desktop (iWork for iPad, LogMeIn Ignition, etc.).
I also have an idea that the iPad isn't for people older than 30, or at least for people that haven't grown up in the age of "iPod" & touch interface. Those of us that have probably love everything Apple does, and appreciate their products, flaws and all. Well, at least I know I do.
So what am I really trying to say here? "I love the iPad?" "Buy a MacBook Air?" I guess I'm really trying to say, "know who you are and your computing needs/style and then mount up and buy it."
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Convicted; Not Condemned
Most days I find myself wondering why He created beings with the ability to do wrong against Himself. From an earthly perspective all I think is, "but how do you control the situation if it gets out of hand?" "What if these beings you've created just go nuts and rebel and never return to you?"
The more anyone thinks about this concept of creating anything in your own image, as well as love and admiration and praise and what it all really means when it's done out of forced will or choice we begin to get a glimpse into "why".
What is fascinating is that God is always greater than us. God is always going to be able to control the situation because nothing is, was or will ever be greater than Him.
What got me thinking about all of this is the current passage in Jeremiah I'm reading: chapter 5.
In it, God talks about our fallenness.
"How can I pardon you? Your children have forsaken me and have sworn by those who are no gods. When I fed them to the full, they committed adultery and trooped to the houses of whores. They were well-fed, lusty stallions, each neighing for his neighbor's wife. Shall I not punish them for these things? declares the Lord; and shall I not avenge myself on a nation such as this?" ~Jeremiah 5:7-9
What gets me is the end: "Shall I not punish them for these things? ... and shall I not avenge myself on a nation such as this?" Reading that I try to put myself in God's shoes. Say you have a friend that you love and care for, and they are completely unthankful. Completely ignore your love and selflessness and take all you give and then move on to the next thing that will give them what they desire. Leaving you completely alone and unappreciated.
All I am left with is, "heck yea God! You are totally just in Your punishment and You deserve to avenge Yourself."
Then I stop dead in my words. I'm the child that has forsaken God. Maybe not every second of every day; but at times, moments, days in my life I have said, "sorry God, but You're not enough."
Even if you're not a Christian, not a believer in God (or anything spiritual or supernatural). You've said "no" to God. You've turned your back on what millions of people believe to be your Creator.
We are so blessed to have Jesus! A blessing sent from God to reunite us with Him. To take away all of the wrongs that we have done. A sacrifice to end all sacrifices. A love greater than we will ever know in this life on earth.
God sending His one and only son to earth to be murdered and sacrificed so that God's punishment can be wiped away. So that God can still be a just God. So that Jesus could take our place in His death on a cross. We are loved.
Awhile back I purchased a t-shirt from a company called "Not of This World". It says "CONVICTED" on the front, with a pattern of handcuffs. On the back it says "NOT CONDEMNED". I believe this explains our condition. Convicted, and rightfully so. Not wrongfully accused or convicted but RIGHTFULLY so. But our sentence was carried out by someone else. Someone that was able to take on our sentence (as well as the sentences of everyone else in the world) and come out the other side.
We have been convicted, but we are not condemned.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Jesus and Food
So I've been reading this book, "Crazy Love" by Francis Chan. Amazing book. What I find so inspiring about it is that Francis has you pause several times within the book and check out some online content that he has posted on a website designed for the book. He also has you pause and read the Bible. It's really interesting. He has scripture throughout the book backing up what he says, but I'm in chapter 5 and I was just instructed to put the book down, open my Bible and read a book from the Gospel (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John). Haha, and Courtney wonders why it's been taking me so long to read this book :-P.
Anyway, I'm reading Mark (as noted by my last post). I just read chapter 6 verse 30-44 and then chapter 8 verse 1-10.
Jesus feeds 5,000 and then 4,000. I mean, I'm keeping in mind that these are probably just estimations ... I mean, I doubt that the disciples were handing out comment cards and small pencils while Jesus was teaching and collected them in baskets at the end and counted them up so they could see how many people they fed. But I do bet they had a good sense for numbers and that 5,000 and 4,000 are at least close. Even if anything, they say that Jesus fed a whole lot of people ... with 5 loaves and 2 fish and then 7 loaves and a few small fish. So with 12 loaves of bread (of which I don't really know the sizing ... I'm sure they weren't like a loaf of Wonder Bread, but I bet it was something similar to that) and then maybe 5 fish (I'm noting "a few" as 2-4, as "a couple" is 2 and "several" is 4-6) Jesus fed roughly 9,000 people.
It is easy for me to pass-up these miracles. I mean, I've learned about them since I was a little kid. That Jesus took some loaves of bread and some fish, said a blessing and broke it all up and fed thousands of people with it. So it doesn't really seem like a big deal. But after being a college student, after being "on my own" for a bit, it is clear that this act is INSPIRING.
What's wild about what Jesus does is that He does it because He's been teaching for so long and thousands are still there listening and learning (being the good soil that the sowers seeds fall upon). He wants them to have a positive experience and knows that as sinful human-beings we suffer from hunger. So He decides that He's gonna be inspiring and after He gets done with His teachings He feeds them. No cost to them. Nothing fancy, bread and fish, but food enough to be "satisfied," (it says this in both Mark 6:42 and 8:8). They even had left-overs.
... did they just throw away the left-overs? They don't really explain that ... 'though I feel that's not the important part.
Miracles.
They're out there.
They happen.
Stand in awe of them.
Jesus rocks my world.
Anyway, I'm reading Mark (as noted by my last post). I just read chapter 6 verse 30-44 and then chapter 8 verse 1-10.
Jesus feeds 5,000 and then 4,000. I mean, I'm keeping in mind that these are probably just estimations ... I mean, I doubt that the disciples were handing out comment cards and small pencils while Jesus was teaching and collected them in baskets at the end and counted them up so they could see how many people they fed. But I do bet they had a good sense for numbers and that 5,000 and 4,000 are at least close. Even if anything, they say that Jesus fed a whole lot of people ... with 5 loaves and 2 fish and then 7 loaves and a few small fish. So with 12 loaves of bread (of which I don't really know the sizing ... I'm sure they weren't like a loaf of Wonder Bread, but I bet it was something similar to that) and then maybe 5 fish (I'm noting "a few" as 2-4, as "a couple" is 2 and "several" is 4-6) Jesus fed roughly 9,000 people.
It is easy for me to pass-up these miracles. I mean, I've learned about them since I was a little kid. That Jesus took some loaves of bread and some fish, said a blessing and broke it all up and fed thousands of people with it. So it doesn't really seem like a big deal. But after being a college student, after being "on my own" for a bit, it is clear that this act is INSPIRING.
What's wild about what Jesus does is that He does it because He's been teaching for so long and thousands are still there listening and learning (being the good soil that the sowers seeds fall upon). He wants them to have a positive experience and knows that as sinful human-beings we suffer from hunger. So He decides that He's gonna be inspiring and after He gets done with His teachings He feeds them. No cost to them. Nothing fancy, bread and fish, but food enough to be "satisfied," (it says this in both Mark 6:42 and 8:8). They even had left-overs.
... did they just throw away the left-overs? They don't really explain that ... 'though I feel that's not the important part.
Miracles.
They're out there.
They happen.
Stand in awe of them.
Jesus rocks my world.
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Parable of the Sower
So in the book of Mark (chapter 4 ... the beginning) Jesus tells this parable. To me, it is one of the most memorable parables He tells. He tells of a sower that is sowing seeds. Some seeds fall on this walkway where birds came and ate it. Some seeds fall on rocky soil and sprout up but don't have roots so they wither and die. Some seeds fall in with thorns so when the seeds grow the thorns kill what little chance the seeds had. Finally some seeds fall on some really good soil. We're talking Miracle Grow here. Growing high, strong, etc.
When He's telling this parable He is with his disciples in a HUGE crowd. He literally stops right there with, some seeds falling on good soil, and then concludes with "he who has ears to hear, let him hear."
Done.
So, cryptic story about some guy throwing seeds around wherever he wants and then tells us where they fell and what happens to the seeds growth there.
Now, some of us have read on in the book of Mark and Jesus goes on to explain this parable in GREAT detail. I believe it is one of the only times He does this. What's interesting is that He explains is after the crowd leaves, and when He is alone with His disciples and "those around Him." But Mark explicitly tells us that He is "alone."
Why? Why does Jesus not explain Himself to the massive crowd? Doesn't He know that most of them didn't get the parable? They didn't know that the seed represented the Word of God, the Truth, Jesus. They didn't know that the "good soil" was those who take the Word of God and cultivate it, grow in it, chase after it, believe it and do it. They didn't know that the rest of the examples represent those who don't quite get the Gospel or don't even want to hear it. They didn't know that you don't want to be anything else but the "good soil" as a Christian.
Doesn't Jesus know that if He had explained it to everyone that there would have been more people that would have followed Him and His teachings? Or would there have been?
I believe Jesus was doing what He always did. He was doing exactly what the parable said.
He spread some seed. Wherever. Among different hearts and different minds. Different people. Then, when He was along, He waited for those who really wanted to understand, to ask. He didn't volunteer the answers, but once someone asked He was all over it. He gave them the deep meaning. Gave them some insight as to what His parables are all about, and did exactly what the parable said. Some of His words feel among people who didn't want to hear what he had to say. Some people heard it, but didn't understand it, and didn't care to understand it. Some people heard it, thought they understood it, but didn't ask Jesus what is really meant, so they got lost in it.
Finally, there were those who heard it, either thought they understood it or didn't understand it, but came to Jesus. Asked Him to clarity, and He did.
"he who has ears to hear, let him hear."
When He's telling this parable He is with his disciples in a HUGE crowd. He literally stops right there with, some seeds falling on good soil, and then concludes with "he who has ears to hear, let him hear."
Done.
So, cryptic story about some guy throwing seeds around wherever he wants and then tells us where they fell and what happens to the seeds growth there.
Now, some of us have read on in the book of Mark and Jesus goes on to explain this parable in GREAT detail. I believe it is one of the only times He does this. What's interesting is that He explains is after the crowd leaves, and when He is alone with His disciples and "those around Him." But Mark explicitly tells us that He is "alone."
Why? Why does Jesus not explain Himself to the massive crowd? Doesn't He know that most of them didn't get the parable? They didn't know that the seed represented the Word of God, the Truth, Jesus. They didn't know that the "good soil" was those who take the Word of God and cultivate it, grow in it, chase after it, believe it and do it. They didn't know that the rest of the examples represent those who don't quite get the Gospel or don't even want to hear it. They didn't know that you don't want to be anything else but the "good soil" as a Christian.
Doesn't Jesus know that if He had explained it to everyone that there would have been more people that would have followed Him and His teachings? Or would there have been?
I believe Jesus was doing what He always did. He was doing exactly what the parable said.
He spread some seed. Wherever. Among different hearts and different minds. Different people. Then, when He was along, He waited for those who really wanted to understand, to ask. He didn't volunteer the answers, but once someone asked He was all over it. He gave them the deep meaning. Gave them some insight as to what His parables are all about, and did exactly what the parable said. Some of His words feel among people who didn't want to hear what he had to say. Some people heard it, but didn't understand it, and didn't care to understand it. Some people heard it, thought they understood it, but didn't ask Jesus what is really meant, so they got lost in it.
Finally, there were those who heard it, either thought they understood it or didn't understand it, but came to Jesus. Asked Him to clarity, and He did.
"he who has ears to hear, let him hear."
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Passion and How Much We Really Want
So lately I've been doing a lot of reading and watching. Reading of blogs like "Stuff Christians Like" and books like "The Bible". Watching of sermons from Francis Chan and movies like "Fireproof."
To begin (just to get this out of the way), "Fireproof" was simply amazing. I was completely blown away by everything the movie is.
There is bravery (the main character is a fireman ... that should seem somewhat apparent hopefully), deep past pain, passion, love, hate, near-death experiences, a conversion of someone going from death to life (i.e. the main character becoming a Christian!!!), father/son healing, mother/son healing, spiritual battles, purity battles, funny jokes, community, solitude ... okay, I could go on forever analyzing this movie (which will probably be tomorrow's post).
And yes, I did watch this with my fiancée (which, if you are dating or engaged or married, PLEASE watch this movie not only in general, but with your significant other. It will probably change your relationship for the best).
Anyway, to continue with my point, I've been watching and reading a lot lately. And it's all been able to point me into the same area. Philippians 3:2-11 (go ahead, click on the link and read that passage before you read on, because I'm going to write in the assumption that you've read the passage from here on out).
Paul is talking to a church in Philippi that was part of his ministry team. They supported him when he came there to share the Gospel with them and continued to support him as he went on.
Here he is talking to them about not having confidence in the flesh or anything that your physical human body is able or capable of. "Don't rely on yourself and what you can do," is basically what he's getting at. He then goes on to tell them that if they think they're amazing and have done "it all" that he, Paul, has done more than they can imagine. That he has the most reason to have confidence in the flesh.
Then he goes on to list it all in a very, "I am amazing" fashion. But the kicker is that after he lists it all off, he says that he counts it all as loss. That he counts it as "rubbish" according to the ESV (verse 8). Now, Francis Chan was talking about this verse in one of his many video podcasts that I watch/listen to on my drive home from work, and he said that the word "rubbish" is actually the Greek "scubala", which is only used ONCE in the Bible. It basically means animal excrements. Which is .... wow, Paul is saying that he counts everything that's amazing about who he is, the stuff that we all look up to Paul about, he counts as .... dog crap. Insane.
Okay, then he goes on to say that he finds his identity in Christ, deeply seeks to know Him more, the power of His resurrection more and attain the resurrection of the dead (in essence, heaven and praising God forever in eternity in our new heavenly bodies).
BUT he throws something in the middle that I left out on purpose, because it is the thing that strikes me the most. Pauls says that he wants to,"share his (Jesus') sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead."
...
So Paul is soooo sold out for Jesus and hardcore about eternally praising God in heaven, that he would share in Jesus' sufferings and become like Him in death (meaning death on the cross). So that no matter what he may attain the resurrection from the dead.
How do we live out our own lives? Do we really live like everything that makes us amazing in this world is utter crap? Do we live like we would do whatever it took to attain eternity with God in heaven? Suffer? Die a horriffic death? Become a servant in everyway?
I know my answers to most of those questions are a resounding no. I desperately need this passage to give myself a heart-check on how serrious I am about this "Christian thing." They said it best in "Fireproof" when Krik Cameron's friend asked him, "Because you can't be half in and say 'you're in,' you gotta be all in."
I cannot be half in. You cannot be half in. Christianity is not a lukewarm decision. You are either on fire or you are ice-cold, but you cannot be undecided or a Christian on Sunday and Wednesday. Being a Christian is NOT part of your life. It IS your life. Life it.
To begin (just to get this out of the way), "Fireproof" was simply amazing. I was completely blown away by everything the movie is.
--------------------Caution!! Spoiler Alert!!!--------------------
There is bravery (the main character is a fireman ... that should seem somewhat apparent hopefully), deep past pain, passion, love, hate, near-death experiences, a conversion of someone going from death to life (i.e. the main character becoming a Christian!!!), father/son healing, mother/son healing, spiritual battles, purity battles, funny jokes, community, solitude ... okay, I could go on forever analyzing this movie (which will probably be tomorrow's post).
And yes, I did watch this with my fiancée (which, if you are dating or engaged or married, PLEASE watch this movie not only in general, but with your significant other. It will probably change your relationship for the best).
Anyway, to continue with my point, I've been watching and reading a lot lately. And it's all been able to point me into the same area. Philippians 3:2-11 (go ahead, click on the link and read that passage before you read on, because I'm going to write in the assumption that you've read the passage from here on out).
Paul is talking to a church in Philippi that was part of his ministry team. They supported him when he came there to share the Gospel with them and continued to support him as he went on.
Here he is talking to them about not having confidence in the flesh or anything that your physical human body is able or capable of. "Don't rely on yourself and what you can do," is basically what he's getting at. He then goes on to tell them that if they think they're amazing and have done "it all" that he, Paul, has done more than they can imagine. That he has the most reason to have confidence in the flesh.
Then he goes on to list it all in a very, "I am amazing" fashion. But the kicker is that after he lists it all off, he says that he counts it all as loss. That he counts it as "rubbish" according to the ESV (verse 8). Now, Francis Chan was talking about this verse in one of his many video podcasts that I watch/listen to on my drive home from work, and he said that the word "rubbish" is actually the Greek "scubala", which is only used ONCE in the Bible. It basically means animal excrements. Which is .... wow, Paul is saying that he counts everything that's amazing about who he is, the stuff that we all look up to Paul about, he counts as .... dog crap. Insane.
Okay, then he goes on to say that he finds his identity in Christ, deeply seeks to know Him more, the power of His resurrection more and attain the resurrection of the dead (in essence, heaven and praising God forever in eternity in our new heavenly bodies).
BUT he throws something in the middle that I left out on purpose, because it is the thing that strikes me the most. Pauls says that he wants to,"share his (Jesus') sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead."
...
So Paul is soooo sold out for Jesus and hardcore about eternally praising God in heaven, that he would share in Jesus' sufferings and become like Him in death (meaning death on the cross). So that no matter what he may attain the resurrection from the dead.
How do we live out our own lives? Do we really live like everything that makes us amazing in this world is utter crap? Do we live like we would do whatever it took to attain eternity with God in heaven? Suffer? Die a horriffic death? Become a servant in everyway?
I know my answers to most of those questions are a resounding no. I desperately need this passage to give myself a heart-check on how serrious I am about this "Christian thing." They said it best in "Fireproof" when Krik Cameron's friend asked him, "Because you can't be half in and say 'you're in,' you gotta be all in."
I cannot be half in. You cannot be half in. Christianity is not a lukewarm decision. You are either on fire or you are ice-cold, but you cannot be undecided or a Christian on Sunday and Wednesday. Being a Christian is NOT part of your life. It IS your life. Life it.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Tech' & The World We Live In
So here I am. In a very familiar situation. At a Starbucks, listening to Leeland, decaf Americano w/skim milk in my hand, and my Bible and journal out like I'm a soldier cleaning his gun (which is how it feels. Yea I'm super "BA").
The only difference today is that I have been "forced" to post this from my iPod Touch (not itouch like everyone loves to call it ... I don't call your TiVo a Tevoh or TV-Recorder thingy, just as an FYI).
How interesting is this technological world we all live in. Not only can we not stay disconnected to the internet for more than an hour, but we continually find more ways for us to do so. Laptops, iPods, iPhones, cell phones, etc. I think even at my old dentist's office (before I started going to the "adult" dentist aka when i turned 18) you could go surf the web while you waited. That is a bit much.
Think about this the next time you go out. If you were desperate to send an email, how long would it take you, without using your own stuff, to send one out? It would take me 8 minutes to drive to the nearest Best Buy and get the job done.
I know we all seem dependent on our Blackberry and our iPhone, but take 24 hours and fast from it all. Take a Saturday or a Sunday (if you're in the working world) or any day of the week (for the students out there) and leave it all at home. Cell phone, iPod, laptop ... pager? (who still uses those??), and take a break. Bring your Bible and a notebook or journal along instead and spend some inward time with the Lord.
Honestly it will change your week. And eventually, as we all begin to change our routine to include less "me" time and more God time, we'll find ourselves better off in every way than we were.
The only difference today is that I have been "forced" to post this from my iPod Touch (not itouch like everyone loves to call it ... I don't call your TiVo a Tevoh or TV-Recorder thingy, just as an FYI).
How interesting is this technological world we all live in. Not only can we not stay disconnected to the internet for more than an hour, but we continually find more ways for us to do so. Laptops, iPods, iPhones, cell phones, etc. I think even at my old dentist's office (before I started going to the "adult" dentist aka when i turned 18) you could go surf the web while you waited. That is a bit much.
Think about this the next time you go out. If you were desperate to send an email, how long would it take you, without using your own stuff, to send one out? It would take me 8 minutes to drive to the nearest Best Buy and get the job done.
I know we all seem dependent on our Blackberry and our iPhone, but take 24 hours and fast from it all. Take a Saturday or a Sunday (if you're in the working world) or any day of the week (for the students out there) and leave it all at home. Cell phone, iPod, laptop ... pager? (who still uses those??), and take a break. Bring your Bible and a notebook or journal along instead and spend some inward time with the Lord.
Honestly it will change your week. And eventually, as we all begin to change our routine to include less "me" time and more God time, we'll find ourselves better off in every way than we were.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Super Powers
So I just got done watching "Push" at the theater. I enjoyed the movie a lot and recommend it to anyone who loves a good superhero movie that involves beating up the bad guy, uncovering a secret plot and people doing supernatural things usually involving their hands.
After the movie was done all I could think to myself was, "why do we as a society love anything that has to do with super powers?" Especially after my fiancée asked me the standard question, "if you could have a power from the movie, what would it be?" Now there was a group of characters in the movie that could put a thought, idea, memory or even life events into your head-memory and make you believe that it was real. Naturally that's what I chose because it seemed the most hardcore and, well, my flesh was all over it.
Honestly, there is this evil coniving part of you that thinks, "well, if I could make everyone do whatever I wanted, then everything would be amazing, because clearly I know best."
It just struck at the core of human existence for me. Adam and Eve. Me. You. Everyone. We all think at some point in our lives that we know better than God. That Our way, is the best way. It's ironic really, that as a Christian I know that God knows best. He is the creator of everything. He has been around forever (literally). He is also the knower of everything. In that, He knows what was, what is and what will be. Meaning that He knows best. So since I have created nothing (except for maybe a few sand-castles, a handful of computers and some arts and crafts), have been alive for a grand-total of 23 years and 8 months (almost to the day ... my birthday is on the 23rd) and I only know in part since I am only a flawed human (1 Corinthians 13:9, check it out).
Then why and how can I ever think for a second that I know best or even better than God. It's the same thing as a teenager thinking that they know better than their parents. Honestly, I know I'm only 23, but I know now that my parents did know better than me growing up, and that in instances even now they still know better than I do (that's a different subject for a different day (obediance vs. respect for parents)).
We should all take a lesson from Adam and Eve and be reminded of it frequently. Our sinful nature began with the idea that we knew better than God. And we paid dearly for it. But God in His ultimate love for us allowed for us a way to return into His presence. Jesus Christ coming down from Heaven, living among us as a man. Dying on the cross a sinless man in order to take the place of the entire sins of the world (past, present and future). And rasing from the DEAD with a new heavenly body and ascending into heaven to prepare a place for us.
God's love is everlasting, amazing and intense. We will never know better than Him and the best thing we could ever do with our lives is to give them up completely to His will and let God lead our lives completely.
After the movie was done all I could think to myself was, "why do we as a society love anything that has to do with super powers?" Especially after my fiancée asked me the standard question, "if you could have a power from the movie, what would it be?" Now there was a group of characters in the movie that could put a thought, idea, memory or even life events into your head-memory and make you believe that it was real. Naturally that's what I chose because it seemed the most hardcore and, well, my flesh was all over it.
Honestly, there is this evil coniving part of you that thinks, "well, if I could make everyone do whatever I wanted, then everything would be amazing, because clearly I know best."
It just struck at the core of human existence for me. Adam and Eve. Me. You. Everyone. We all think at some point in our lives that we know better than God. That Our way, is the best way. It's ironic really, that as a Christian I know that God knows best. He is the creator of everything. He has been around forever (literally). He is also the knower of everything. In that, He knows what was, what is and what will be. Meaning that He knows best. So since I have created nothing (except for maybe a few sand-castles, a handful of computers and some arts and crafts), have been alive for a grand-total of 23 years and 8 months (almost to the day ... my birthday is on the 23rd) and I only know in part since I am only a flawed human (1 Corinthians 13:9, check it out).
Then why and how can I ever think for a second that I know best or even better than God. It's the same thing as a teenager thinking that they know better than their parents. Honestly, I know I'm only 23, but I know now that my parents did know better than me growing up, and that in instances even now they still know better than I do (that's a different subject for a different day (obediance vs. respect for parents)).
We should all take a lesson from Adam and Eve and be reminded of it frequently. Our sinful nature began with the idea that we knew better than God. And we paid dearly for it. But God in His ultimate love for us allowed for us a way to return into His presence. Jesus Christ coming down from Heaven, living among us as a man. Dying on the cross a sinless man in order to take the place of the entire sins of the world (past, present and future). And rasing from the DEAD with a new heavenly body and ascending into heaven to prepare a place for us.
God's love is everlasting, amazing and intense. We will never know better than Him and the best thing we could ever do with our lives is to give them up completely to His will and let God lead our lives completely.
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