Evolution and God?
Evolution and God?
One of the most controversial subjects is evolution… Evolution is a change in living organisms that change over time. (I sound smart don’t I) That is the definition in simple terms. I’m taking “Intro to Biology” right now and there of course has been a couple classes devoted to evolution. The part of evolution I have a hard time with is the part where scientist say they have proven we have evolved from a chimpanzee like animal over millions and millions years. First off, it is a total contradiction to the scripture, that I put my total belief in. I believe that the word of God is the ultimate truth. So when looking at the evidence in our text books it does make me wonder… Now stay with me on this. ( Remember I believe God made man and is the ultimate creator of our universe)
This are just some thoughts I’m throwing out there… I’m not a scientist, and DO NOT pretend to be one. So after thinking on this quite a bit, what if to populate the world God did allow some humans to evolve from chimpanzee like species. He made Adam and Eve, who then had Cain and Abel. Cain was sent to the land of Nod (Gen. 4:16-18) and it says he conceived with a wife. Who was his wife? His sister? There isn’t really a clear picture of where the other humans came from.
Could it be that God created Adam and Eve, and then allowed evolution to occur. Then allowed the scientist to find the facts, but instead of making it about God and what his plan could have been, they turned it into “See there is no God”. When all along God’s plan was just to show us what happened to populate the rest of the world. The scientist have proven this evolution with the chimpanzee like species happened in Africa (its a theory obviously). But what if that is how God planned to populate the world?
I know you may be thinking I lost my mind. But it makes you think. After watching Louie Giglio video How Great is Our God. (I HIGHLY recommend watching). God is SOOO big. As humans sometimes we have such a narrow view. God is so much more then what we all try to define him as.
Being raised in church sometimes makes our view very narrow and unchangeable. When in fact God is changing us all the time, If we allow him to. I have had a narrow view of God when I was younger. (i know I know I’m still a baby at -almost- 26 : p ) I do not want to put God in a box. I want to learn about him, know him, try to be/do what he created me for.
Here is another thing, why are the chimpanzee’s still not evolving? When did ‘natural selection’ just stop with the evolution with chimps? See there are so many questions. Obviously my first reaction is because God didn’t need chimps to change into humans, the world is populated with humans now =)
Why can not science and God go together? God created all the things we study in science. The way our bodies work, plants grow, animals grow and breed… so MANY things. I know the concept of coming from ‘monkey’s’ is not appealing by any means, but God created Adam from dirt of the ground.
God spoke the UNIVERSE into existence? There were no planets, day and night, humans, or even chimpanzee’s lol .. God SPOKE them into existence.
Either all the proof they have found is fake and its a conspiracy…. or evolution really happened. I choose to think if it did, it just show how diverse God is.
These are just some thoughts. I know there isn’t any mention of evolution in the bible. I have NO scripture to back this. So I’m not saying BELIEVE THIS , just what I had on my mind.
Also a side note, Darwin is created the theory of evolution and researched the theory of natural selection. At the very mention of this some Christians become irate. But if you think about it, lets say natural selection happens… ok. God had to have created the cells, alleles, organisms to act in this way of selection or “survival of the fittest”. To me everything we have studied, I relate it straight back to God.
I know and believe EVERYTHING begins and end with our heavenly father. He is the creator of man and our existence. I praise him for his greatness!
His Glory
1 Chronicles 16:24-25
24 Tell of His glory among the nations,
His wonderful deeds among all the peoples.
25 For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised;
He also is to be feared above all gods.
Words escape me when I try to explain how God has moved mountains in our life. I remember not to long ago sitting with some of the most wonderful women talking over Exodus 14, when God says he hardened Pharaoh’s heart against the Israelites so that HIS GLORY is on display…
Ex. 14:3-4 MSG: “Pharaoh will think, ‘The Israelites are lost; they’re confused. The wilderness has closed in on them.’ Then I’ll make Pharaoh’s heart stubborn again and he’ll chase after them. And I’ll use Pharaoh and his army to put my Glory on display. Then the Egyptians will realize that I am God.”
We need to realize its not about us, but about him. Moses was not glorified, Pharaoh was not glorified, But it was GOD that was going to be glorified… and to show just some of his power he split a body of water so that the Israelites got to safety. Of course even as much as God provided, saved, protected, loved the Israelites they still complained.. Thats a whole different blog =)
My point in writing all this is that I want to testify in how great GOD is! I want all glory to go to him as I testify about his wonderful love…
Josh and I have been pushed as a couple and individually this summer. In every trial and circumstance God was there providing. We remained faithful and putting God first… and every step we took he was already there. He has met and is meeting our needs.
Josh has a full time job now, close to our apartment. Full Benefits. Good pay. Not only did he receive this job, but he was employed at two part time jobs when he was hired at this one. So 3 jobs, 3 , when the jobs in our country are scarce…the fact that he had 3 at one time, just makes me sit in amazement at our God.
ALL the GLORY goest to HIM! So how can I NOT share of his goodness??
Everyday he is doing something in our lives, everyday he lets us wake up, everyday he supplies our needs, everyday he is there! I pray that God would show me him, not to let any opportunity slip by with out me being able to give him all the GLORY!
Focus on him, get out the word of God and just let it pour in. There were times when anxiousness was almost consuming me, so I started just reciting scripture. It is the word of God and so powerful, its a gift from God to us… treasure it. Let it build you up. the Holy Spirit will just pour into you.
My cup overflows…
Weeble, Wobble and They Don’t Fall Down
Weeble, Wobble and They Don’t Fall Down…. that is exactly how I have felt over the last couple months. Gaining my footing and staying firm only to be knocked back the other way. Life is like that sometimes. Different situations have been ‘weebling’ and ‘wobbling’ all over the place. To where I have been just exhausted. Not really able to put my feelings into words. I’ve struggled with such different emotions-depression, frustration, jealousy, anger, self-pity… Now I say struggled because even at times when I thought I was going to drown in each of these emotions God brought me back. There were, and I know still will be times, when I had/have no words to pray, I just sat there speaking to God in my heart. Maybe I’m too hard on myself sometimes and sometimes not hard enough. Weeble, Wobble. I’ll admit, through this storm that I’m going through I have given in to sinful behavior. Being jealous and then avoiding that person, letting bitter set up. Thats a dangerous thing, because before you know it your mad at the person, having hard feelings toward them… This person has done nothing against you. Yep, I’m guilty. But the Holy Spirit quickly, very quickly convicted my spirit. And again I repented. I believe I’ve repented more over the past couple months then I ever have. #1 Because I recognize my sin, I recognize this is not what God has called me to be. #2 I recognize that if I continue this sinful adittude, HOW is Gods glory going to be able to be put on display?
Weeble. Wobble… This has been my life. If you know me really well, you know that I thrive in order, no chaos, stability.. So living in a weeble wobble is WAY out of my comfort zone. During my weeble wobbles the Holy Spirit has been showing me things about myself, some not so pretty things, then some things that are pleasing to God. Then on the other hand this situation has answered a prayer I’ve been praying.
*Warning another confession* Smile. I have been praying for something in particular. God has been working on it, I can see change. Well in one of my weeble wobble moments my flesh one me over momentarily… I allowed my negative attitude to squelch something. Holy Spirit again convicted me, I was in tears when the Holy Spirit opened my eyes to my actions. I asked for forgiveness. Again. Isn’t that great how we are forgiven as many times we ask with a true repentive heart? How that blesses my soul, makes me grin from ear to ear. God loves us so much.
Is the storm over? No, however, as I go through it I’m seeing change inside, outside and to a special person I share my life with. I know this is going down as a testimony to Gods greatness. He is on time. He is forgiving. He is the beginning. He is the ending. He is all time champion. He is love. He is… everything.
So if your in a weeble wobble storm, Know God is at the beginning, the middle, and at the end of that storm. Allow the Holy Spirit to show you what the purpose might be for this storm…Is it painful, yes… Is it hard, yes.. But the end is worth it all. Jeremiah talks about how God knew us BEFORE we were in our mothers womb! He says also in Jeremiah that he has GREAT PLANS for you and I! So God knows each weeble and wobble…
Listen, be still and KNOW HE IS GOD….
Even though I weeble and wobble, I know the Lord loves me. He sees my heart. A heart that is hungry for him…
Is Jesus impressed with me?
The title of this I’m sure might raise some eye brows. But let me explain. “Sitting at his feet” this morning, the Lord showed me a story I’ve heard before. I felt led to read Luke 7:11. So I did.. This is what it says
8For I also am a man [daily] subject to authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, Go, and he goes; and to another, Come, and he comes; and to my bond servant, Do this, and he does it.
So, obviously I was puzzled. Lord, are you telling me I will become rich and have servants? (Just kidding).. So I pondered on it a minute. I then decided to review the popular story of the centurion’s servant who was sick.
In Luke 7:1-10 it talks about the centurion’s story…
1AFTER JESUS had finished all that He had to say in the hearing of the people [on the mountain], He entered Capernaum.
2Now a centurion had a bond servant who was held in honor and highly valued by him, who was sick and at the point of death.
3And when the centurion heard of Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders to Him, requesting Him to come and make his bond servant well.
4And when they reached Jesus, they begged Him earnestly, saying, He is worthy that You should do this for him,
5For he loves our nation and he built us our synagogue [at his own expense].
6And Jesus went with them. But when He was not far from the house, the centurion sent [some] friends to Him, saying, Lord, do not trouble [Yourself], for I am not [a]sufficiently worthy to have You come under my roof;
7Neither did I consider myself worthy to come to You. But [just] speak a word, and my servant boy will be healed.
8For I also am a man [daily] subject to authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, Go, and he goes; and to another, Come, and he comes; and to my bond servant, Do this, and he does it.
9Now when Jesus heard this, He marveled at him, and He turned and said to the crowd that followed Him, I tell you, not even in [all] Israel have I found such great faith [as this].
10And when the messengers who had been sent returned to the house, they found the bond servant [b]who had been ill quite well again.
Now that you have read let me continue explaining the title of this blog..First off everything is to his glory not mine.. After reading this story over and over (yeah over and over), I’m asking God what are you showing me Lord? Why am I not getting this? The Lord reminded me of something that our associate Pastor , Sharon, said Sunday morning…God wants us to be still (Psalms 46:10) So I.. Shut up… *smile* The Lord showed me V9… 9Now when Jesus heard this, He marveled at him, and He turned and said to the crowd that followed Him, I tell you, not even in [all] Israel have I found such great faith [as this]. JESUS WAS MARVELED! …Now lets look at how Marveled is defined… marveled: Be filled with wonder or astonishment: & astonished is defined as: Surprise or impress (someone) greatly JESUS was impressed with centurion’s faith. Centurion (The commander of a century in the ancient Roman army) understood power because who he was, which is where V8 came in… *LIGHTBULB* Now I understand… Centurion could relate to someone of power, but made it clear that his power and position was nothing compared to Jesus (verse 6)… He knew that that all Jesus had to do was say one word and the servant would be healed, there was no need to even be with the sick servant. So my question to myself was, Is Jesus impressed with me? Or am I just living this Christian life mediocre. Is my faith big or small… Do I need the Lord to plant a flashy sign in my face, have some message in the clouds before I TRUST him and have FAITH in what I have asked, and trust that what he does in my life works toward the glory of him? I’m a work in progress, but I believe my lesson from this story to me personally is I hear God saying… I GOT THIS! SO NOW I ASK YOU DO YOU FEEL JESUS IS IMPRESSED WITH YOU? Its definitely something that made me think?
Am I laying myself aside?
So, these scriptures in Ephesians have been on my heart. Paul wrote some heavy duty things on our behavior as Christians, and gave us some clear instruction on what God expects out of us. I’m reading in chapter 4 of Ephesians… Verse 17 it talks about about affirming (1. To declare positively or firmly; maintain to be true.2. To support or uphold the validity of; confirm.) yourself to the Lord. So I must maintain to be true to Christ. In verse 18 it goes into more depth of what we should not be doing… Verse 18 talks about being darkened in our understanding. ——> so blinded by our sin<——— , Excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, b.c of the hardness of their heart…. Verse 19 they (sinners) have become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity and with greediness…Verse 20 BUT YOU DID NOT LEARN CHRIST IN THIS WAY——-> so as a Christian we know the truth, we have heard the message of Christ, so why are we living like someone who is ignorant to what Christ ask of us. What is Paul saying Christ is asking of us?? Well that’s where Verse 21 picks up….
For today lets think about our life. Have I allowed myself to be blinded by my sin, voluntarraly acting ignorant to the Life God wants WITH me.. Or have I let him slip to the sidelines… where he waits just for you and I to call his name….
Until tomorrow….
So, I’m not super woman…
Has it really been almost four months since the women’s retreat. I will never be able to put into words how God ministered to me at the women’s retreat. There has been many storms in the couple years. As talked about on the retreat, God brought me out of the cave just as he did for David when he wrote the 23rd Psalm, I am new. I am a new person. As others around me know, almost a year ago I had a breakdown. Because of my never ending mission of making sure everyone else ok, I didn’t deal with my own emotion or process anything that had happened to me. I won’t go into details publicly, but there were wounds. After counseling and processing events in my life, I started to gain strength. With each step, tear, panic attack God walked with me. He held me, gave me peace, and help me process my feelings. So when I went to the retreat I was walking the path of healing but wondering at the changed inside of me. As I listened to our guest speaker at the retreat, God revealed some of his purpose of that dark time.
Now we go into 2011, its scary. I won’t lie. Just as the enemy does he tries to embark fear onto our lives. To cause us to be paralyzed in doing what God has called us to do, to question what we hold dear to our hearts. I deal with anxiety on an every day basis. If you have anxiety or have a loved one that struggles with it you know its not an easy thing. Some times you can’t make heads or tail of anything. I’m not writing this to get sympathy but to maybe give some one hope that with Christ all things are possible (Phil 4:13) because he gives us that strength. With out him we are nothing, can do nothing, can overcome nothing… He alone is the answer to your turmoil, anguish, hurt, and sorrow. He has been mine. When I can hardly stand to open my eyes to face another day God gives me the strength.
The brutal truth of it all is there are days when we are weak… when we do not want to see, talk, interact with anyone or anything. Even as Christians we face hard times, we are not promised a bed of roses… the difference is that as Christians we have a God that protects us, that gives us strength to fight the attacks of our mind, body, and soul.
I’m going to feed scripture into my self everyday. To get the word in me, so that Christ comes out in my words and actions. I want to grow closer to GOd then ever before. The hunger in my soul is constantly on my mind… I’m feeling this pull to constantly be in prayer, worship, communion with God… This is definitely going to be a awesome year!
Starting today I’m going to break down Eph. 4:20-32… There is alot of instruction in these scriptures. I just feel led to study them. I’m going to try and post everyday with what I learn.
Some of you may or may not know. But Josh and I want a family. A baby is something both of our hearts desire. We know the Lord has a plan. So if you just be in prayer with us about that.
Until tomorrow…
Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
1 Peter 5:7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. What a scripture. I decided to write a pre-retreat blog :smile: Because I sit here tonight making sure that I have packed everything, reminded Josh of 100+ things, lol. There are some definite things that are weighing heavy on my heart. Some things only God and Josh know. As I read a blog of a friend God brought some things to my mind about this past year. I don’t think words could be said, typed, or written to totally explain what I have been through this year. One of the most painful is having to face things I have expertise in keeping WWWAAYY down. Which is not healthy. I know this. But in helping everyone else (my own decision “Mrs. Fix-it”) I forgot to deal with some of my emotions. If you have read my previous blog, I went into a little more depth about what I went through in the beginning of this year. It was a very dark place. I have and am still learning to cast my anxiety on him. As I prepare my mind and heart for this retreat I realize there are things that I need to get rid of. I have hurts from some of the closest people to me, but I know that God has a plan, and that he can turn this hurt around somehow for his Glory! So looking forward to writing a post-retreat blog! I know Jesus is going to change me!!
NEW DAY
Today marks a new season for me. I’m sitting here at my new job. My first day back to work since the end of Jan. God never ceases to amaze me.. My new job is working at my home church in the office. I LOVE office work. I enjoy it very much. This year has been such a growing year for me. I have been to my darkest point and God reached down and pulled me out. I’ve noticed change in me. God has changed me. My mind is transforming. I’m realizing for the first time that my plans are not going to work. I need to stop fighting to complete the plans that I have, be still and know that HE is GOD! Many know I was saved at 3yrs old. I can remember excepting Christ into my heart in my Sunday school room. So that makes me going after Christ for about 21 years.. WOW! What a number.. I have been through so much, seen so much, loved, been hurt… EACH and EVERY time God taught, loved, and scolded me.. I said all that to say this. This year has been the most difficult in my 24 yrs. But he brought me out! Even as the enemy tried to attack my mind last night. I went to prayer, reciting scripture. I had great rest! Today is a day of rejoicing!! Its a miracle that I got out of my house, its a miracle I am actually WORKING!! Something I didn’t know if I was going to be able to do again!! HE IS SO GOOD!! Thank you Jesus for all you have done! WHOO HOO!! Hallelujah!! We worship you for who are!!
NEW DAY
Today marks a new season for me. I’m sitting here at my new job. My first day back to work since the end of Jan. God never ceases to amaze me.. My new job is working at my home church in the office. I LOVE office work. I enjoy it very much. This year has been such a growing year for me. I have been to my darkest point and God reached down and pulled me out. I’ve noticed change in me. God has changed me. My mind is transforming. I’m realizing for the first time that my plans are not going to work. I need to stop fighting to complete the plans that I have, be still and know that HE is GOD! Many know I was saved at 3yrs old. I can remember excepting Christ into my heart in my Sunday school room. So that makes me going after Christ for about 21 years.. WOW! What a number.. I have been through so much, seen so much, loved, been hurt… EACH and EVERY time God taught, loved, and scolded me.. I said all that to say this. This year has been the most difficult in my 24 yrs. But he brought me out! Even as the enemy tried to attack my mind last night. I went to prayer, reciting scripture. I had great rest! Today is a day of rejoicing!! Its a miracle that I got out of my house, its a miracle I am actually WORKING!! Something I didn’t know if I was going to be able to do again!! HE IS SO GOOD!! Thank you Jesus for all you have done! WHOO HOO!! Hallelujah!! We worship you for who are!!
