Showing posts with label Blog Name. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Blog Name. Show all posts

Friday, May 4, 2012

When God Is Good

Turns out a lot of what I write about is spurred from social networks. If you have Christian friends on Facebook, you have no doubt seen them get excited about something that has happened and end the status or post with "God is sooooo good!" And they are right: God is a good God. But this ending proclamation is much less prevalent if someone isn't happy. Have we forgotten He is good because of our circumstances?

First of all, I don't think this is the case with any true follower of Christ. If someone has a basic truthful understanding of God, he or she should know that He is good, otherwise He is not worthy of our praise. If you remain unconvinced, consider Psalm 34:8, 100:5, and 25:8, to name a few. The God of the Bible is good, and worthy of constant, continuous worship.

But how, then, do we consider our trials and calamities? One base to lay down is that He is in control of everything, or sovereign. A good illustration is in Acts 17:25 (I'll focus on the last half), which says "(God) himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything." There is a difference here that should be noted between life, the start of a person's time on Earth, and breath, the continuation of that with each inhale and exhale. This means God not only gives someone life, but continues that life himself, and not in a passive manner (Isaiah 42:5 uses the word "gives" in terms of this breath, a very active word). Now think of the implications of the term "all mankind." He not only extends a purposeful life to His children, but to everyone who walks the earth. From you to me to heroes to villains, anyone who is alive is not "left" alive, but He literally keeps them alive. Therefore, God gives life and sustains it purposefully of all who are on the earth. A God this sovereign must have a plan then, if He's to be good.

My personal favorite proof of this plan in the Bible is the story of Joseph (the one with the Technicolor dream coat). As a brief overview, he was beaten within an inch of his life by his own brothers, who then threw him into a well and sold him into slavery. While a slave he was accused of trying to rape his master's wife and, despite being innocent, imprisoned. Eventually he was brought out of prison to interpret Pharaoh's dreams, with God's power, and because of the interpretations, a famine was foretold and the country could prepare, even to the point of helping others. We see in Genesis 50, Joseph's brothers apologizing to him, and his response is one that may shock us. "As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today." (v 20) Joseph was not allowed to go through these trials and calamities for no reason, nor was the saving of people's lives a passive after thought. God meant it, in His good and perfect will (Romans 12:2).

Note, this is not an accurate reenactment.

We do not usually have the privilege of seeing this plan from the vantage point of a recounting of events in the Bible, nor do we usually see it while we're in the midst of our trials and calamities. But we trust that He is good, and that He is in control. We have faith in our God's goodness in times of happiness and times of sorrow because He is sovereign and for those who love Him all things work together for good (Romans 8:28). Thus, He is worthy of praise all the time.

If you never knew the meaning of my blog's name, it is derived from Luke 19, when the Pharisees criticize Jesus for letting his disciples shout in praise. "He answered, 'I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.'" (Luke 19:40) Christ followers should keep in mind that God is good all the time, and always worth of praise. Don't let the stones speak: fill the air with praise so they don't need to.

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Let's Kick It, Kids

Let me start by saying I am super excited for this summer. Let me continue by saying "hey. What's up? Thanks for reading this blog post, btw. You're killer."

So you may be thinking "Garrett, you're so web2.0 with this blogger account. But why are you doing it?"
Good question. To which I say "Friend, I want you to be able to keep track of me this summer while I'm out and about with Move (ciy.com/move) and know everything God is doing in and through me. It'll be a stellar ride, and I wish you could be here with me, but this trendy little blog will have to do." You'll end up noticing that I will post things I learn, things I do, things I see others do, things about God.

To start, I'd like to explain the title of this blog. I was going to do something catchy and witty like "Garrett on the Move." (Get it, because the name of the events I'll be helping with is "Move??") But I just read this passage from a little book named Luke about Jesus' triumphant entry, as the ESV titles put it, in verses 28-40. Jesus responded to some Pharisees' criticism of his followers praising God by saying "I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out."
That freaked me out a little. That's how awesome God is and how worthy of praise he is. Intimate objects will sing his praise if we don't. But I don't want to let that happen! I want to praise God and not need those stones to speak at all. That's my plan for the summer, folks. I want to give God the glory he deserves with how I live, speak, everything I do, all of it and me.


So let's kick it, kids. Don't let the stones speak.