I can't take credit for the idea behind this blog post. I actually heard it on the radio, but it struck me as something cool that I wanted to share.

I've been following an old Bible school friend on Facebook with great interest. Since our Bible school days, he's changed his belief system quite a bit and now calls himself an "agnostic". I put that in quotes because an agnostic is someone who says that they don't really know what they believe, whereas this friend of mine is starting to turn into more of an atheist. It seems like every day He has a new quote on His wall about why believing in God is misguided and foolish.

The other day, I responded to one of his posts with a couple of reasons why I believe in God. I was hoping to be able to open a dialogue, but instead I received what I think was intended as an intellectual beat down. Some other folks who agree with my "agnostic" friend jumped on me my response like moths to a flame. They were bringing up a host of objections to my belief, including quotes by Carl Sagan and references to Quantum Physics. It seemed like they were trying to drown me in a sea of knowledge and show me that my flimsy belief would not float. Basically they were saying, "we are smarter than you and we don't believe in God, so neither should you."

Now, I do not argue with the fact that these guys have a lot of brains. I myself don't do much armchair reading on Quantum Theory. But simply being smart doesn't mean that you can write off the idea of an almighty God, because part of being truly smart means having the wisdom to admit that there are things you don't know.

I'm going to be really generous and say that the guys who tried to out think me on Facebook are so sharp that they posses 1% of all the knowledge available in the universe. I mean everything, all details of history, the number of stars that exist, every scientific discovery ever made...all of it. And these guys know 1% of that (in theory). That would be pretty amazing! I would not want to go toe to toe with someone like that in any kind of debate. Think of the knowledge that would flow from a person like that! But guess what, there is still another 99% to learn!

In all reality, probably the smartest person on the planet only knows .000000000000000001% of all the available knowledge in the universe. There is simply too much for one person or even a whole group of people to know! If that is the case, how can anyone say for sure that God does not exist! Isn't it possible that in the 99.99999% of knowledge that we don't know, there is room for a God who has a plan and purpose that we might not understand completely? How arrogant would you have to be to say that you have obtained all the knowledge in the universe and are 100% sure that there is no room for a creator?

I'm not saying that I can prove God's existence, because I don't think that is possible either. After all, the tiny fraction of knowledge I possess is not enough to even begin that undertaking. But I can at least admit that there are many things we don't understand as limited human beings. And if God does exist and is truly almighty, He is under no obligation to explain Himself to us. He is so far above our understanding that our finite human minds cannot even comprehend Him. So is it really "smart" and "intellectual" to deny the existence of God? Judge for yourself.

Last Sunday in church I shared about my natural tendency to be shy and introverted. It was almost comical to see the looks on faces when I shared that. After all, it's kind of ironic to declare how shy you are in the middle of a public talk to a large group! Many folks told me afterward that they don't see that characteristic in me at all. My favorite reaction probably came from Craig Boone who shook my hand and said "You! Shy! Yeah Right!". I had to smile because his comment shows just how much God has worked on me and transformed me in the last few years.

It still totally blows my mind that the Lord has placed me where I am today! He has me preaching and teaching in front of public groups, counseling teens and adults, and doing things that were way outside my comfort zone only a few years ago! What an amazing testimony to what God can do with someone who wants to be totally submitted to Him!

Now I'm certainly not saying that I am a perfect example because i am sooooooooooooo far from perfect (as any of my close friends or family can certainly attest!). And I'm also not saying I have arrived at my spiritual destination because I quite frequently stop and/or take steps backwards! But the point is that God has made progress in me, and it is all His doing, not my own!

God has brought me to the place where I have a real love for people rather than a desire to run from them. He has given me a burden for the lost so that I seek out witnessing opportunities instead of dodging them. He has made me want to reach outside my comfort zone and be challenged. These are not things that were originally written into my emotional or psychological DNA. But as I have tried to surrender myself to the Lord, He has been working on me.

I love the verse in 2 Corinthians 4:7 that says: "But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us". That's what we all are, jars of clay. Chipped pottery. Cracked pots if you will. We don't have much to offer on our own, but when God gets His hands on us, He fills us with some pretty amazing stuff! When we submit to Him, we get to watch as He pours out His glory through us. That's how a shy guy like me can actually be used by God in the lives of others! It's not me that does anything special, but God through me!

I hope you desire this for your own life. It doesn't matter what your weaknesses or failures are, if you submit to God and let Him use you, you will be amazed at what happens! One day you will wake up and think "How in the world did I get here!" and the answer will be, "God brought me!".

Here is a link to a great song that explores this topic. It's a pretty powerful concept that God wants to use us to share His glory with the world! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DxaR2sR9dD0

Time had an interesting article this week about the so called missing link dubbed "Ardi". http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1992115,00.html?xid=rss-topstories

There was also an article about Ardi in the Sun Journal yesterday, on the back page.

Some scientists have now called all the hype around this discovery "overblown". Further investigation of the fossil evidence has led some to doubt that Ardi could even be related to the human species. Funny how so called solid evidence for evolution can sometimes turn out to be so flimsy. I love how time and investigation always seem to back up what God has already told us. I think I'll keep my faith right where it is, on something solid and unchanging.

Hey everyone! I'm overdue for a post so I felt I should write something thought provoking and insightful. Unfortunately I can't think of anything too profound, so I guess I'll just share my thoughts on the Series Finale of my all time favorite T.V. show, "Lost"! Don't worry, I've got a little something for those of you who aren't losties as well!

This past Sunday, we ended an incredible busy day by going over to the Hall's for our weekly Lost party. This one was bittersweet, as Sunday night was the final episode in the series. My wife and I have followed the show all the way through, and it's been a fun thing to share with each other. So while it was a lot of fun to watch the last episode together, we were a little bit sad to see it end.

As soon as the finale was over, there was almost instantaneous response online. Some fans loved how the series wrapped up, others hated it, and some were in the middle. It's been interesting to hear all the different takes people have had on the show.

One of the most common discussions I have seen has been the idea that the writers spent too much time on the character development and not enough time unraveling all of the mysteries the show is famous for. One of my Facebook friends expressed this when he posted a comment that went something like this: "If you loved the characters, the finale was awesome, if you wanted more answers, it was awful!" I think he did a good job of analyzing the 2 major reactions to the show.

While I can understand why someone would want a few more specific answers about the mysterious island, I tend to lean more on the "loved the characters" side of things. To me, the series was all about the characters, their personal journeys, and the lessons they learned along the way. So I absolutely loved the way the Finale brought many of the main characters back together and gave their struggles and triumphs in life meaning. I was very satisfied with the way the writers weaved the personal stories of these characters together and gave us closure. Of course, that is just my humble opinion and you are more that welcome to differ from my analysis. But that's the way i feel about it.

Now, as promised, here is how this applies to folks who aren't into Lost. As I was thinking about these 2 major responses to the Finale of Lost, it struck me that we can have the same reactions in our relationship to God. Many times, we simply want God to provide us with all the answers. We want everything to make sense and we want to know exactly why He did certain things. Many people reject God because He doesn't provide them with the answers they think they so desperately need. But if you only want answers from God you are missing the point.

It's the connection with Him that is really important. God is so far above our understanding and does not need to share with us all the reasons for everything He does. Sometimes He lets us in on the plan so we can glorify Him and see Him at work, but we will probably never understand it all! The important thing is that we have a relationship with Him! When we have this relationship, it's okay that we don't totally understand things because we are secure in Him. We need to learn to trust Him with the mysteries of the universe and just enjoy hanging out with Him!

That's my 2 cents anyway.

Last night I had a great conversation with a brother in the Lord that really challenged me. He doesn't go to Bean's Corner, so He was asking me how things were going in my ministry at church. Suddenly he asked me, "so what book of the Bible are you in?". At first I misunderstood and thought he was asking about what I've been teaching in youth group or preaching on Sundays, but I finally got it and realized that He meant my personal time with God.

Thankfully, in the past couple of days I have been starting the book of Philippians, so I actually had an answer for Him. He also asked me what some of my favorite scriptures were, and since many of my favorite verses are in Philippians they were fresh in my mind. So we had a nice talk about what the Lord has been teaching us in our personal devotional times.

Now that's all well and good, but how many times have I been totally unprepared for a question like that? How many days have I felt rushed or busy and not spent much or any time with the Lord? I know on some days I would have had to stumble through the answer to my friend's question, trying to call to mind a verse or two that I had read the previous week.

Can you imagine if I treated my relationship with my wife in that way? Let's say that you see me on a Sunday morning and ask me, "So Nate, how are you and your wife doing?" and I respond with "I dunno, I mean, I haven't really talked with my wife this week, but last week we had a great conversation!". That would give you a clue that we didn't have a very close, functioning relationship!

Yet how many times do we treat our relationship with Jesus that way? Whether my friend knows it or not, He convicted me and reminded me of the fact that my faith is a relationship with a person! And like any other relationship, it needs time invested into it in order to grow and deepen. I can't be satisfied that I connected with God last week at some point, I need to connect with Him every day!

How about you? If I asked you "What book of the Bible are you reading?" would you have an answer? Would you be able to talk about what God has been revealing about Himself in your time with Him? Or would you have to come up with a nice sounding answer to shut me up? Are you connecting with Him every day? Am I?