thanks

"So the administrators and the satraps went as a group to the king and said: 'O King Darius, live forever! The royal administrators, prefects, satraps, advisers and governors have all agreed that the king should issue an edict and enforce the decree that anyone who prays to any god or man during the next thirty days, except to you, O king, shall be thrown into the lions' den. Now, O king, issue the decree and put it in writing so that it cannot be altered—in accordance with the laws of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be repealed.' So King Darius put the decree in writing.

Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before."


Why is it that I am not thankful enough when living in a free country (which is my own)? Here Daniel is, already exiled from his home country, under intense scrutiny and he's giving thanks. Wait, he just found out that prayer to anyone other than King Darius would result in death by carnivorous lions. And he's still giving thanks. To recap, he's giving thanks, even though he's an exile, and even though it may cost him his life.

You see, I forget that Ephesians 5 says to give thanks for for "everything." Literally, everything. There isn't a lot of wiggle room in that word. I mean, certainly there are things that seem to lend nothing to the idea of thankfulness, but I think the idea is that we realize that God has a plan for us that is better than anything that we can come up with.

God has given me more than I could ever deserve. Do I know why? No. But today, and everyday, thanking Him for that grace will be something I do more often.

the profundity of simplicity.

"All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us."
~J.R.R. Tolkien.



Some of the most profound statements in life are expressed in the most simple forms.

here are some others to ponder:

"Love your neighbor as yourself."
-Jesus

"I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life."
-Jesus

"Love God, and do what you will."
-St. Augustine

i am not, but i know I AM

"And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth."
~John 1:14


I just started reading Louie Giglio's book i am not, but i know I AM, and was reminded of this passage from earlier this year when Mark talked about it at CRU. The more i read that sentence, the more and more i realize just how intense it is.

The Word. It stands for everything about Jesus: His character; His purpose; His attributes. But do you see and? Jesus didn't just exist in heaven with all those things. On top of His love, His grace, His truth, His mercy, His kindness...and. And means action. It means that the Son of God left the riches of Heaven to put on skin. He is not a god represented by ideologies and human thought, and the reason why is that He is and He became. He is the only God, and the reason why is that He is the only God who has represented Himself--through Himself--in the human form which He created after Himself.

And. The second one is just as cool. Not only did He come, but He dwelt. He took up residence on the earth He created. On the earth in a tiny corner of a tiny galaxy in a tiny corner of an infinitesimal universe. On the earth filled with a bunch of iamnots who often think much more of ourselves than we ought.

I cannot, nor will I ever be able to grasp this. God dwelt among us. He did it so that you and i could know Him personally. Personally! He dwelt among those He created and thus among those who hated Him. And yet the very reason He left heaven was to die for the very people who hated Him. He came to show grace. And because He shows grace, He gives us the truth. The truth is that He came to give us life. And not only life, but life abundant and full!

do you know the God who created you?