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99 Thoughts on the Creator

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    99 oughts on the Creator

    Unexpected Encounters With Our Artistic God

    2013 Jason Ostrander

    group.com

    simplyyouthministry.com

    All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner

    whatsoever without prior written permission from the publisher, except where

    noted in the text and in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles

    and reviews. For information, visit group.com/customer-support/permissions.

    Credits

    Author: Jason OstranderExecutive Developer: Jason Ostrander

    Chief Creative O cer: Joani Schultz

    Editor: Rob Cunningham

    Cover Art and Production: Veronica Preston

    Scripture quotations are from e Holy Bible, English Standard Version (ESV),

    copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

    Used by permission. All rights reserved.

    ISBN 978-1-4707-0844-3

    10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12

    Printed in the United States of America.

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    99THOUGHTSON THECREATOR

    To Calu, Liam, and Jams...

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    99THOUGHTSON THECREATOR

    FOREWORD

    Far too many people live without considering what Godhas created or how it reects the very character of the

    creator. ey fail to have meaningful encounters with Gods

    creation to contemplate what he has brought into being.

    Creation itself should drive us to God and closer to him.

    Our technology often keeps us away; instead of being

    drawn to God, we are drawn into our own little world.

    In 99 oughts on the Creator, Jason Ostrander takes us on

    a journey with bite-size insights that help us to observe,

    know, and appreciate our awesome God through his

    creation and through his creative character. Its a marvelous

    spiritual journey that will create a thirst in you to love andknow the Creator.

    Jason Ostrander has been a close friend and featured

    speaker at the Creation Festival for years. He is always

    challenging people in a creative way to love and serve the

    Master. Our name incorporates the word creation becausefrom the very start in 1979, we wanted youth who attend

    the festival to experience it in the beauty of Gods creation

    and to become a new creation in Christ.

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    I urge you to break out of the four walls of your room, step

    away from your technologies, and start to explore these 99

    oughts on the Creator. You will nd new vistas of loving

    and knowing our awesome creator God.

    Rev. Dr. Harry L. Thomas Jr.

    Co-Founder, Creation Festivals

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    99THOUGHTSON THECREATOR

    TABLE OF CONTENTS

    Introduction ....................................................................... i

    Section 1: God as Artist (Thoughts #1-57) ...................... 1God as Painter ................................................................... 3

    God as Filmmaker ........................................................... 13

    God as Photographer ...................................................... 19

    God as Sculptor ............................................................... 25God as Writer/Author ..................................................... 33

    God as Composer/Musician ............................................ 43

    God as Communicator .................................................... 50

    Section 2: God as Builder (Thoughts #58-81)..............61

    God as Architect ............................................................. 63God as a Creative ............................................................ 68

    God as Designer .............................................................. 71

    God as Contractor ........................................................... 77

    God as Worker ................................................................ 80

    God as Preservationist ..................................................... 83

    Section 3: God as Farmer (Thoughts #82-99) ............ 87God as Cultivator ............................................................ 89

    God as Shepherd ............................................................. 93

    God as Weather-Giver .................................................... 99

    God as Laborer .............................................................. 103

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    99THOUGHTSON THECREATOR

    INTRODUCTION

    I grew up in the church, and when I was a young boy thepicture of God in my head was always that of an old man

    reclining on a cloud holding a remote control. Every once in

    a while he would push a button on that remote and things

    would be brought to life.

    Im not quite sure how that image was formed for mebutI do know that it is eerily similar to the understanding that

    a lot of people have about God: that he didnt do anything;

    rather it all just happened because he snapped his ngers, or

    he just thought about it and it appeared. Whatever the case,

    they think Gods role was passive, not active.

    While I cant even pretend to know exactly how God

    created, we nd plenty of clues in the Scriptures that help

    us to see God as an active participant in his creation. In

    other words, God was moving things around, forming

    things with his hands, breathing things into being, and

    pushing up crops for his people. God was not only involvedin his creation; he was passionately connected to the beauty

    of it all.

    Now the picture of God in my head is one of an artist

    forming mountain ranges out of clay, or a director sitting

    in his chair calling for the birds to sing and the sun to

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    enter stage left, or an engineer with his sleeves rolled up

    measuring out galaxies on graph paper as he sits over his

    drafting table. I even view him as a farmer, the one who

    toils day and night watching over the animals in his care orlaboring over the harvest.

    Obviously theres no one way to view our creator God, but I

    hope that the following pages will give you a perspective of

    God that you never had before.

    Enjoy the connection time with our truly artistic Creator!

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    GOD ASARTIST

    thoughts 1-57

    1

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    99THOUGHTSON THECREATOR3

    THOUGHT #1

    Colossians 1:16For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth,

    visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers orauthoritiesall things were created through him and for him.

    Main thoughtAnyone who practices art will have a working knowledge

    and appreciation of great art. Likewise God has not only

    created all things through himself, but for himself.

    ApplicationOften artists will become deeply inspired by what they

    are working on. Grab a notebook or a canvas and paint

    something that inspires you, and then hang it on your

    wall to experience what it is like to have made somethingthrough you and for you.

    GOD AS PAINTER

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    4

    THOUGHT #2

    Psalm 8:3-8When I look at your heavens, the work of your ngers, the moonand the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you

    are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?

    Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings

    and crowned him with glory and honor. You have given him

    dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all thingsunder his feet, all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the eld,

    the birds of the heavens, and the sh of the sea, whatever passes

    along the paths of the seas.

    Main thought

    e beauty of painting is that you can decide what goeswhere. Our view of creation is dened by what God

    thought about the best place for the moon and the stars,

    and all the other elements of creation.

    ApplicationOn the next page, draw or paint something that representsa beautiful landscape. Why did you choose to draw it that

    way? Why did you put things where you put them?

    GOD AS ARTIST

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    6

    THOUGHT #3

    Isaiah 44:24us says the Lord, your Redeemer, who formed you from the

    womb: I am the Lord, who made all things, who alone stretched

    out the heavens, who spread out the earth by myself.

    Main thoughtHow do you think God created the heavens? e writer of

    Isaiah describes it as being stretched across the sky.

    Applicationere is a beautiful thought in God stretching out the

    heavens for usunveiling it as far as the eye can see.

    Imagine what it would look like for God to do this. What

    type of imagery does it bring to mind? Is it like a canvas

    being stretched over a frame for all to see, or do you

    envision it some other way?

    GOD AS ARTIST

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    Painter. Photographer. Builder. Sculptor. Filmmaker.

    Architect. Writer. Designer. Musician. Farmer.

    Each of those words describes a characteristic of God and a

    reflection of what he passionately loves doing. You see, God is a

    creativeits what he does and who he is. God loves to create,

    and he loves his creation: the birds, the mountains, the rivers, the

    stars. And you.

    99 Thoughts on the Creatorexamines different traits of our

    astoundingly creative God and brings things down to a human

    understanding by considering God as an artist, a builder, and

    a farmer.

    As you read through the pages of this book, youll be challenged

    to think of God differently, to appreciate his artistic and inventive

    power more deeply, and to see how you were designed to express

    those same creative attributes in your own life.

    BE INSPIRED TO CREATE, BUILD, EXPRESS, AND DESIGN BY THE

    ONE WHO STARTED IT ALL.

    Printed in the U.S.A.

    ISBN 978-1-4707-0844-3

    Religion/Christian Ministry/Youth

    JASON OSTRANDER leads the Simply Youth Ministry team at Group

    Publishing in Loveland, Colorado, where he lives with his wife, Calu,

    and two boys, Liam and Jams. Jason previously served as the NationalYouth Director for the Christian and Missionary Alliance, as well as the

    Director for Envision Culture. Jason is a well-traveled speaker

    and filmmaker, and hes the author of 99 Questions Jesus Asked.

    9 781470 708443


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