Filed under: Uncategorized
This will not be novel thought, but one that I needed reminding of. I have read in more than one book, though I do not remember where, about being mindful of the fact that our current state is not the natural one. I was reminded of just that as I read Psalm 148 today. As all creation is commanded to praise God by doing what it intrinsically does, with the Psalm being closed out by a call for mankind to praise God with all that we have.
While we live as broken individuals in a broken world, we must remember that we are just that, broken. This is not who we were created to be. Regardless of how far we have come in sanctification and holiness, we are not in the shape that we were made to be in. When we forget about brokenness, it can seem like the unnatural thing to do is to worship God. Our broken flesh fights against this worship, but we have to remember that the flesh is not the most natural thing about us.
That which is most natural in us is that which is most holy in us, that which is most like God. When we keep perspective straight, we can be encouraged and strengthened toward worshipping by realizing that it is natural. When we become more like Christ, we become more ourselves, for there is truer since of ourselves than we have yet to know.
Join with the rest of creation. Do the most natural thing. Worship God.
Filed under: The Bible
Psalm 147:11 – the LORD delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love.
If hope is a confident expectation for future events based on the promises of God, which are only worth our trust because of the character of God, then the perfect object of our hope can only be the unfailing love of God.
We are told in Proverbs 13:12 that, “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.” To hope and have that hope spoiled is devastation to the human heart. On the other hand, a hope that finds fulfillment is alive and growing, offering shaded comfort and nourishment for the soul. When allow ourselves to hope in things that are not the perfect love of God, we set ourselves up for hurt, for a chronic spiritual belly ache. All other objects of our hope have potential to spoil and remain incomplete.
Unfailing love is the perfect match for a hopeful heart. How joyful could it be to wake each day with all of our confident expectations set squarely on the event that God might love me? Our hearts might explode if we truly learned this principle farther down than our heads. If my expectation was simply to be loved by God, there would be much thrill in finding that His love is far greater than I had hoped it might be in quality, quantity, and perseverance. Each day I could have my expectation met and surpassed by the only love that is large enough o swallow up my whole life and all its issues.
God, help me hope in Your love as I awake this week.
Filed under: Uncategorized
I am in class all week discussing Strategic Church Development through Discipleship and Evangelism. In English, we are talking about the teaching or education ministry of the church. While I have heard many different ideas about church style and strategy, many of which I disagree with, I find it to be a providential coincidence that this class came into my life during a season in which I am teaching and praying our students through a couple of series about spiritual maturity.
I have been strongly impressed as of the last couple of months that students need to quit having truth watered down for them to the point that it is no longer challenging. As crazy as this will sound, it seems that students not only need to have challenging truths taught them, but that somewhere deep down they actually want to be challenged. Students are longing for something with substance. Last week I issued a week long challenge related to media intake. In all honesty I was really unsure of how well, if at all, it would be received. I was pleasantly surprised in the next couple of days as multiple students approached me and spoke of the commitments they had made to accept the challenge.
As I continue in student ministry, I pray that I would not fail to challenge. I pray that my teaching clearly presents not just information, but Biblical principles that demand response. I hope that the adults of the Church 10 years from now are more spiritually mature, specifically in the Biblical arena. That maturity starts with me, now.
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Filed under: Uncategorized
Tonight we continued our discussion of what the Kingdom of God is all about. I have been looking forward to this series for a while. The Biblical discussion of the Kingdom is not a clear cut and dry one. No 4 week series, or year long series for that matter, can express the fullness of the message. But, tonight as we focused in on the King of the Kingdom, things went to a new place it seeemed. While there is no doubt that God speaks to so many different areas of our lives, it is amazing how much focus invades our worship when we shine light squarely on the person and character of God. I have not had this much awareness of the joy of Christ filling me in a long time. Praise Him!
3 confessions of trust in Christ tonight. All glory and fame to our King, Jesus. May His kingdom come and his will be done now in our lives as it will one day in fullness.
Much love
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Filed under: Random
What would I find if I strived again for former fields of freedom?
If I remembered anew how to sit still and be moved?
A pauper, what if I re-encountered the King of Love?
What if I was powered by Power?
How intimate can it be, Kingdom transcendance?
My efforts find your illumination still eclipsed.
Recieve me, bring me in.
Knowledge, discipline.
Discipline, knowledge.
Passionate commitment.
Embrace.
Much love
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Filed under: Random
I now own a Waffle House visor. You just can’t beat that. It was way too easy for me to set up my retirement account over the phone today. Seriously, 5 minutes or less. Scary. Kidz Worship got off to a great start yesterday. I pray that it makes a lasting impact in the lives of children and families in our community. I like the new excercise bike. I am fired up about January and the discussions about the Kingdom that we will have on Wednesday nights. My wife still has a better score than I do at brick breaker, and it is killing me. Old friends are great. I love my job. My wife is hot. Why do I keep having flat tires? I wish there were more hours in a day. I wish I could read more. Will the Cubs bust the postseason funk this year? Will McElroy start at QB? My small group has been a great addition to my life this year. Pillowtop mattress covers are the stuff.
Much love
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So, I’m back. I realize that my lengthy absence removes me from the ranks of the serious bloggers like Blake and Casey. But, please forgive.
Lately, I have been thinking a lot about my favorite song lyrics and why they matter to me. I thought it might be cool if some of you would share your favorite lyrics (presuming that anybody ever actually reads this that is). Here are a few of mine.
“grace has amnesia but never forgets my name” – Prairie Dance Club
“You see the depths of my heart and You love me the same” – Chris Tomlin
“Heaven forbid familiarity keep us from the majesty reality” – Shane and Shane
“I wish You were here” – Incubus
“it’s all about those words over numbers, unencumbered, numbered words” – Jason Mraz
“I”m farther, farther from myself, when I’m next to You, when I run to You” – Pillar
“don’t be a wave that crashes from that sea of discontent” – Seven Mary Three
“there is nothing I can do but belong to you” – Ben Johnson
“maybe you’ll get what you wanted, maybe you’ll stumble upon it, everything you’ve ever wanted, in a permanent state” – Coldplay
“love will lead us, alright, love will lead us, she will lead us. it’s in the air we breathe tonight. love will lead us, she will lead us” – Live
“find me here, speak to me. i want to feel you. i need to hear you” – Lifehouse
“i’m on fire when you’re near me, i’m on fire when you speak” – Switchfoot
“blessed are the shallow, depths they’ll never find. there seems to be some comfort in rooms i try to hide. the rose could never lie about the love it brings. i could never promise to be any of those things. if i was not so weak, if i was not so cold, if i was not so scared of being broken and growing old, i would be frail” – Jars of Clay
“belief is a beautiful honor, but makes for the heaviest sword” – John Mayer
“light will guide you home, and ignite your bones, and i will try to fix you” – Coldplay
“maybe you’re gonna be the one that saves me, and after all you’re my wonderwall” – Oasis
I think that does it for now. I’m sure there are more, maybe for another post one day. Tell me your favorites. Much love.
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I have no doubt that our culture overuses and misuses the word hope. We say that we hope that our team will win, that too much ice cream late at night will not keep us on the toilet all night (maybe that is just me), or that we will be prosperous in our financial lives. We say hope, but often times we mean wish.
Over the last few years my heart, and therefore my study, has returned to Biblical hope. While my understanding and appreciation for what Biblical hope truly is has definitely grown, I must admit that I still do not have as firm of a grip on this truth as I wish that I did. This definition is no doubt incredibly narrow, but it has become the working definition of hope for me at the moment. Hope is a confident expectation that an event will occur, based on the promises, and therefore, the character of God.
With that in mind…
1 Peter 1:13 – Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Our hope is to be fully focused on the grace that will come with the return of Jesus. Here is the question that has come up in my thinking several times that I have not been able to put to rest. If our hope is to be fully in this one thing, is it then inappropriate to say that we hope for things even if they are holy and are desires placed in our hearts by God himself? And a related question, how does the big hope talked about in this verse tie to the small hopes?
These questions have returned to my mind as I have gone through the preparatory period of my life, and am now transitioning into full time ministry. (disclaimer: From here on out I will use the term hope to describe my longing to serve in a full time capacity. If indeed the answer is that this is inappropriate, please forgive me.)
I hoped from the time that I was 18 that I would serve God vocationally. At 18, I was not in a place circumstancially that would have allowed for it, so it was a hope aimed at a time down the road. As time passed, this hope grew stronger, and eventually I finished college and arrived at a place in life where my circumstances would allow me to hope for present ministry employment. For three and a half years or so, I have been working in other fields, hoping each day that a ministry opportunity would come. For those of you who have been in the state of called but not yet serving, you know the burning of the heart that takes place.
As of this week, I am full time ministry (and cranked up about it by the way). So now, that which was once hope is no longer. Hope quits being hope when the thing hoped for comes to be.
I tell my story so that I can illustrate my question. I hoped for the fulfillment of God’s call on my life. That hope was based in my assurance that it was Him that called me, and that He would bring about what He had called for. A God honoring desire, based on God’s call.
So, what do you think? Comment and let me know. I have asked several believers and church leaders my two questions above, and have yet to walk away with what I felt was really an answer. I would love to see a conversation take place here that could help clarify my thinking and vocabulary.
Regardless of my story being one of hope or some other wording and truth, I must say that God has brought about what I longed for, and though I realize tough days and situations will come about in ministry, I am now fulfilled in my work. It feels awesome. Hold on if you are in the place of hoping.
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Psalm 40:1 – I waited paitently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry. (ESV)
The greatest characteristic I have felt God molding into my life over the last few years is that of patience. I have known that I was called to ministry since I was 18. I am now 25. For those of you who have spent significant amounts of time pursuing vocations that are not tied to your dreams, you know the anxieties that can come in those days. I often have questioned whether God had actually called my heart or if I had simply gotten tied up in emotions. Over the last few years, there have been many times that I wondered what age would be the one that I would be no longer any good for student ministry. I figured if I made it too far I might have to resign to a career in the business world. In all of this, God has taught me patience.
The patience that I speak of is not the kind needed when you are waiting on your dog to hurry up and do some work as you are attempting to walk him/her. I still often struggle with this type of “momentary patience”. What I have learned is a life patience. God has stretched my heart to believe moreso in his timing. Also, learning to be patient with circumstances has increased the value I lay on each individual day. When you realize that you have no clue what might or might not be coming in 6 months or 6 weeks, it makes you also realize that you have very little idea about what is around the corner for the next day.
I have learned to pursue each day as if it is the only chance to make a difference that I might have, whether that was sitting in an office or leading worship on a stage. Life patience leads to being fulfilled in God where you are at. I remember the night that I realized in a time of prayer that if I could not be pleased with God and joyful about life in the current circumstances then I would not be able to be any moreso regardless of circumstancial changes. It was a life changing truth for me.
Love is patient. Let us be patient with God. His hand is sometimes hard to find in our individual days, but His heart is always revealed. His heart is always good.
Much Love.
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You have likely already heard the news, but I figure it is time to share in a public format that I HAVE A NEW JOB!
Beginning January 13, I will be the Youth Pastor at Hayden First Baptist Church. I honestly do not think I could be more excited than I am. The past couple years of searching for the right ministry position has most definitely had its moments of discouragment and frustration, but the certainty that this opportunity is the one for me makes every bit of waiting, praying, crying, and begging worth it.
There is a great sense of honor and humility that has come over me as I continue to prepare to serve God and others in a full time occupation. To be trusted with such a responsibility takes me to my knees and brings a smile to my face all at the same time.
So, I use this opportunity to publicly agree with God that he is the giver of every good and perfect gift. I have learned that the gift is so incredibly sweet when the focus is on the giver. Let me also say a word of thanks to all of you who have prayed for me for months, weeks, and years. Please share in my excitement and gratitude to God.
I hope to use my next several posts (hopefully in the next week or so) to discuss some truths that God has used the prepatory period in my life to teach me (or write on my heart by means of drilling through my concrete head). It has been a wild ride for my heart, but I would not trade it for anything in the world.
Much love.
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