Eric has been working on our Consumed Ministries web page. He still has a bit of work to do, but go ahead and check it out. Thoughts or suggestions?

Consumed’s website: www.consumedministries.com

Macie Virginia Miller was born at 6:22 p.m. on October 18. She and Gretchen are doing fine. Dad is pretty jacked up about the whole thing as are Tori & Isabelle. Thanks for your prayers.

“The one whom I bow to only knows to whom I bow.” — C.S. Lewis

“You are indescribable. You are beyond expression. I run out of words for you. I can’t think that high.” — So High – A song sung by Candi Pearson

“Oh the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments and his paths beyond tracing out! Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor? Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him? For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen.” – Paul

“Language can be a window through which one glimpses God, but never a box in which God can be contained.” — Brian McLaren

I love this quote by McLaren because it speaks so powerfully! Why do we (finite human beings) have this innate desire to rationally describe all there is to know of God? Why do we want to cut Him up and place Him into ten neatly organized packages? Why do we want to figure God out by saying He works a certain way in a certain time? Last time I checked, He was God, right? He can basically do whatever He wants?

Language is important… vitally important actually. But they are just words. Words from created beings of The Creator. I’m not speaking of God’s Words recorded of Himself in Scripture such as love, holy, faithful, compassionate, peaceful, etc. I’m talking about the words not found in Scripture we have made up as descriptive terms of God. The best we can try and describe our creator kind of words. You’ve heard of them — omnipresent, omniscience, omnipotent, and dare I even say “Trinity” (yep, never recorded in Scripture). I mean who hasn’t scratched their heads when God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit (The Trinity) were described to them as an egg? Are these words wrong? Do I reject them? No I do not. But, as McLaren says, they are simply words given to allow us a glimpse into all God is. I hate the fact that sometimes we come across as if God somehow fits only into these parameters. That somehow because our minds are not fully capable of understanding all there is to know of God, we try to squish him down to some kind of feeble human level of understanding.

The thing is…if God is someone I can control, understand, and manipulate, I’ll pass on knowing Him. I am drawn to God because of his wonder, mystery, and greatness. I love the idea that I can try my darness to know all there is to know about Him for the rest of my physical life and wouldn’t begin to scratch the surface of all He is. He is far greater than my biggest thought! I want to regain the mystery of God. I pray I will know Him more each day, but never believe I know everything about Him.

Friday morning I was together with fellow followers of Jesus that have a heart for the students at Normandale Community College. Those in the room represented Campus Crusade, Consumed Ministries, and Intervarsity Student Fellowship. As we prayed, those in the room began to cry out to God to do unbelievable, amazing things at Normandale. As they prayed, God told me something. He said, “Jamie, you used to pray like this.” These words were crashed down on me because I knew they were true. Somewhere along the line I stopped asking God to do the impossible. My faith has become too realistic!

I remember times of prayer where I cried out to God to blow my mind with his power. I remember sitting in a room with Glenn & Jane Amos, Mark & Tara Chapman, Dan Shearer, and a few others as we pleaded with God to work in the hearts and lives of college students in Northeast PA. I believed He would act and astonish us with His power.

I remember when I took literally the words of Jesus when He said:

“I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.”

Friday was a wake-up call for me. A wake-up call to begin dreaming again. Dreaming the impossible for this earth. Believing God’s Kingdom can come to earth. Believing His will for earth will be done as it is in Heaven. Maybe more importantly for me, I believe God will use me to carry out this mission…no matter how impossible and unrealistic that is.