Heroes, Heroines, and the Holy Spirit

I want to be a hero. I love the story lines of the unassuming and unnoticed guy who is capable of tackling any obstacle in order to save the day. Even better, these heroes usually have a hot to quite hot girl who plays a significant role in their heroism. She's often in trouble and he, just as often, seems to be in the right place at the right time. She's often the only one who knows his true identity, making the bond between hero and hottie even stronger. She's often the motivation behind his greatest triumphs--one glimpse of her in need is all he needs to crank up the hero-juice just enough to once again be the hero.

Wait a minute...who's the hero again? Is it the guy smashing up the town with the villians, or is it the girl who is motivating him? Something I had failed to see before, is how the girl in the hero's life is actually his hero--or rather, his heroine. This stood out to me as I watched the Incredible Hulk. When Dr. Elizabeth Ross jumped on the Hulk during Mr. Blue's antidote party, I was jealous. She put her life on the line in an attempt to save Bruce, and I thought--"I want that." I don't just want someone to save...I want someone who will save me too. I wish I had a girl who had my back: track me down in the rain, give me some cash for a bus ride, and buy me some purple stretchy pants. Well, I could do without the pants...but the point is, I realized that as much as I want to be a hero, I want to have a hero.

Then it struck me...I do have someone who plays that role in my life. It's not a hottie, however. It's the Holy Spirit. If I'm looking for a hero, I have to look no further than the part of the triune God who lives inside of me. As believers, we have the Holy Spirit living in us. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? (I Cor 6:19). I act like I don't know this--far too often for being a veteran believer. When am I going to stop looking for someone to save me and start looking to the One who already has? When am I going to realize that everything I need or want can be supplied by the Source that lives within me? Whenever I do, I'm confident that I will find the true satisfaction--the true salvation--for which I've always craved.

There is a Hero living inside of me... If I latch on to that reality, there is nothing worthwhile that I won't be able to do, and there is nothing that I will crave but loving Him more and bringing Him glory.

(Let the Spirit) Pull Yourself Up by Your Bootstraps

This is the only thing I want to find out from you: did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? Galatians 3:2-3

I love the way Paul breaks this down. No true believer thinks that he was saved by anything other than faith in Christ. Yet, when it comes to growing and maturing in our Christian walks, so many of us rely on our own efforts. It's foolish to think that even though we begin our spritual walk by the Spirit that we would be able to sustain it by any of the "good" that we do.

We need to go through each day in the power of the Spirit. This is how we grow...this is how we live powerfully in obedience to our Lord. Paul goes on to say in Galatians 5:16 that if you "walk by the Spirit...you will not carry out the desire of the flesh."

Trying to get an area of your spiritual life on track? Give up trying and give it over to God. If He has the power to save us, He has the power to perfect us.

Either Or

Galatians 1:10

For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bond-servant of Christ.

I want to be a servant of Christ, but this passage makes it clear that it is not possible to be a servant of Christ while still trying to please men. Wow. I know being a people-pleaser is not a good thing, but I hadn't seen it as being in direct competition with my ability to serve Christ until this morning.

I think this realization will help me when as I look for opportunities to share my faith. Holding back in conversation is a means of trying to please people and that holds me back from being a true servant of Christ.

"God, You know how much I am struggling with proclaiming the Gospel to those around me. Thank you for showing me what's really at stake. I want to serve You, and my fear of people is keeping me from doing that adequately. I come before you too weak to do this on my own. But I know from 2 Cor. 12:10 that "when I am weak I am strong" in You. Empower me to be the man I need to be for Your glory. Amen."

Being IN STEP

Galatians 5:22-24 "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit"

I especially liked the last part, which reminds me a life with desire/and my passions crucified, and with proper fruit of the Spirit HAS TO BE IN STEP WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT. This just reinforces the desperate must for us to stay in the scripture and prayer, and to spend consistent daily time with God. We MUST stay in step w/ him! So discipline up!

Before and After

Nehemiah 2:8 And the king granted them to me because the good hand of my God was on me.

Remember this guy? Good old Nehemiah. I remember one of the nuggets of that book was Nehemiah's constant willingness to give God the cred. When I read his words in v.8 (and similar words in v.18), it seems legit. However, when I often hear rappers or athletes saying the same things after a recent success, it seems a little...less than legit. What's the difference?

I think the difference is what happens before. We see in Nehemiah 2:4 that when faced with a chance to request help from the king for rebuilding Jerusalem, he paused and went to God in prayer before he went into action. Then the king said to me, "What would you request?" So I prayed to the God of heaven (Nehemiah 2:4). It was natural for Nehemiah to give God credit after a success because he had actually gone to God for help before he entered the playing field.

What about me? Am I simply paying lip service to God when something good happens, or am I setting myself up to legitimately give God the glory in everything I do? I need to pay more attention to the "before" so I can more appropriately give God the glory "after".

EZEKIEL: Connecting to Intencity

Ezekiel 36: 24-26 - "For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh."

So we learned last night to pray intercessorily for compassion/desire for the poor. In Ezekiel, God promises to take away our heart of stone and give us a fleshly, feeling heart. We need to believe the Lord for this. Also, God promises to cleanse our diseased thinking and impurities. He gives us continually/daily a new heart and a new spirit. Do you believe that today you are really a NEW PERSON spiritually in Christ? We need to. . .what holds us back? Disbelief, shame, fear? Lord, my prayer is that today you remove all impurities and idols from me literally, and give me a heart of flesh. May your love invade my heart in a new way today. In Jesus name, Amen.

Language Lesson

This Sunday, April 20th, Todd was talking about Isaiah 53. As he was teaching I noticed a peculiarity. Every time Jesus suffering and death was discussed it was in the past tense. These prophecies were talking about a man who was to appear 300 years in the future, but his death and payment for sins were being discussed as though they already happened.
In addition, any positive connotation had a present tense. Verse 10: he will see his offspring and prolong his days. Verse 11: ..he will see the light of life...my righteous servant will justify.
I wonder why that is? Is it because God isn't bound by time? Did they write in that manner because an event that was to happen in the future, to their eyes, had already taken place in God's eyes? If that is so, then they too were offered the gift of salvation through grace. As hard as it is for us to grasp the concept of someone dying in our past to save us from sins we are now committing, how much harder would it be to say, 'There is someone coming in the future who has already paid for my current sins.'

Putting Flesh on Christ (aka- My circumstance is not unique)

Hebrews 10-18: In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering. Both the one who makes men holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them (us) brothers. He says, "I will declare your name to my brothers; in the presence of the congregation I will sing your praises."And again, "I will put my trust in him."And again he says, "Here am I, and the children God has given me."
Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham's descendants. For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. 18Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted."

First off, vs18 is one of my memory verses and really encapsulates the truth that Jesus really understands what I go through! It's faulty thinking to believe that culture and time have changed so much that Jesus can't relate. Clearly Jesus knows our nature and specifically helps us! Not only did God love us so much to give us eternal life, but he made his son suffer temptations (vs18) and be completely human in every way (16) so that Jesus would be able to minister to us perfectly as our High Priest! No longer can we think God can't SPECIFICALLY minister to us, because he was made human in everyway, he's been there, and more importantly he will provide the way out.

Mental confusion

I have found that if I sit down to do a little quite time and my mind is too cluttered or frantic to grasp onto the words I'm reading, I probably need to read a bit more. Today, for instance, I'm trying to read 1 John 2:24-25. The verses themselves just flow over me like water, not taking hold and no understanding being presented. See, it's even hard to express how nothing is taking hold.
So I do when I don't grasp the verses I'm reading, I read the surrounding verses. A little context might shed enlightenment. But still no knowledge.
More time and prayer is all I can do. Hopefully God will calm my mind and share with me the truth He has for me to learn.

It's all about Faith and Reconcillia-che!

I was in Acts 15 today, and several points worth sharing came to mind:

#1 Acts 15:9, talking to the jews about God's view of the gentiles, Peter said: "He made no distinction between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith."
Simply this is a great reminder that our faith in God purifies our hearts and is a large part of the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:1-2). Lord, purify our hearts today from any wrong thinking!

#2 The Power of God's Reconciliation Acts15:36-40 "Some time later Paul said to Barnabas, "Let us go back and visit the brothers in all the towns where we preached the word of the Lord and see how they are doing." Barnabas wanted to take John, also called Mark, with them, but Paul did not think it wise to take him, because he had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in the work. They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus, but Paul chose Silas and left, commended by the brothers to the grace of the Lord."

Though Paul was upset and didn't want John Mark to come, by the time he was in prison in Cyprus during his last days, he wrote in 2Tim4:11 "Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry."
God clearly healed the upset Paul felt; God worked and grew Mark from deserter to useful instrument. God is the God of the 2nd thru the 1millioneth chance! And no matter how we mess up he will prune us and grow us if we let him. God is truly our reconciler and redeemer in every sense of the word!

Inquiring Minds Want to Know...

First off, thanks to Jamie for the admonish to take a moment during the day and share what God is teaching me. Usually when I hit the blog, I make it more complex than it needs to be--do I have just the right verse, a clever title, a strong finish? Forget it. What God is doing in my life is good enough material...I don't have to be all USA Today about it. Now on to what God is doing in my life:

I Kings 22: 4-7
So he asked Jehoshaphat, "Will you go with me to fight against Ramoth Gilead?" Jehoshaphat replied to the king of Israel, "I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses." But Jehoshaphat also said to the king of Israel, "First seek the counsel of the LORD."

So the king of Israel brought together the prophets—about four hundred men—and asked them, "Shall I go to war against Ramoth Gilead, or shall I refrain?" "Go," they answered, "for the Lord will give it into the king's hand."

But Jehoshaphat asked, "Is there not a prophet of the LORD here whom we can inquire of?"


What God taught me this morning in the middle of my trek through Kings is that I should seek His will above all else in making my job decision. Like the King of Israel, I've been seeking input from all sorts of people who have been very encouraging. However, I need to be more like Jehoshaphat, the King of Judah, and be persistent about seeking the Lord's will for my decision. I also find myself falling into the world's mentality of trying to pick the "best" job--the right opportunity, the easiest schedule, the most coin, etc.

All the pro-con lists in the world don't matter: I need to be where I can do the most to honor God. I believe He will lead me to that place if I earnestly, persistently ask Him to show me His will. So that's what I'm doing this morning: inquiring of the Lord as to where He would have me be employed.

Thoughts on 2 Cor:3-10

"We put no stumbling block in anyone's path, so that our ministry will not be discredited. Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses; in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger;
In purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love; in truthful speech and in the power of God;
with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left; through glory and dishonor, bad report and good report; genuine, yet regarded as impostors; known, yet regarded as unknown; dying, and yet we live on; beaten, and yet not killed; sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything."

Such a great passage! We have many obstacles we are called to overcome/endure: troubles, hardships, distresses, riots, beatings, sleepless nights, hunger. Some are more realistic for us today, and some are certainly harder to endure than others, yet let us not place stumbling blocks in anyone elses path on account of our own sufferings, but rather let us overcome these obstacles thru Christ! "Our weapons of righteousness" show God's truth amidst the world's circumstances: honor admist dishonor, good report though the world reports badly of us; rejoicing admist reasons to be sorrowful, having everything though the world would tell us otherwise, etc. Let us live to the truth of Christ today and continue to rejoice in our riches in Christ, and the realization that we truly possess everything!

Kill me now... no, wait.

I Kings 19:4 But he himself [Elijah] went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree; and he requested for himself that he might die, and said, "It is enough; now, O LORD, take my life, for I am not better than my fathers."

Sometimes when things are tough, I'll flippantly think "I'd be better off if I were dead." That attitude is not suicidal, but based in the reality of what lies behind the grave for me as a believer. Some days, I'd rather be in heaven that putting up with crap on earth. I guess I'm in good company, because Paul seemed to feel this same way:

For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. But if I am to live on in the flesh, this will mean fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which to choose. But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better (Philippians 1:21-23).

However, today as I read the account of Elijah running from Jezebel it struck me what an affront this escapist attitude is to God's plan for my life and His ability to see me through whatever lies ahead. Instead of wishing for an easy way out, I should reflect on what God has planned for my life. I need to change my worldview from self-focused to Christ-focused. Not only will this help keep me at peace during the worst of times, but it will enable me glorify God no matter the circumstance. It looks like my good company came to this same realization:

yet to remain on in the flesh is more necessary for your sake. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy in the faith, so that your proud confidence in me may abound in Christ Jesus through my coming to you again. (Philippians 1:24-26).

FATHOM THIS! Trust me you will want to!

Written by Jone Erickson Tada, and found in Joshua Harris' (boy meets girl) this story of the cross is going to rock your world . . .
“On your back with you. One raises a mallet to sink in the spike. But the soldier’s heart must continue pumping as he readies the prisoner’s wrist. Someone must sustain the soldier’s life minute by minute for no man has this power on his own. Who supplies breath to his lungs? Who gives energy to his cells? Who holds molecules together? Only by the son do “all things hold together” (col 1:17). The victim wills that the soldier live on. He grants the warrior’s continued existence. The man swings.
As the man swings, the son recalls how he and the father first designed the medial nerve of the human forearm – the sensations it would be capable of. The design proves flawless – the nerves perform exquisitely. “Up you” - they lift the cross. God is on display in his underwear and can scarcely breathe.
But these pains are a MERE WARM up to his other and growing dread. He begins to feel a foreign sensation. Somewhere during this day an unearthly foul odor began to waft, not around his nose, but around his heart. He feels dirt. Human wickedness starts to crawl upon his spotless being – the living excrement from our souls. The apple of his Father’s eye turns brown with rot. His father! He must face his Father like this…
From heaven the father now rouses himself like a lion disturbed, shakes his mane, and roars against the shriveling remnant of a man hanging on a cross. Never has the son seen the father look at him so…never felt even the least of his hot breath. But the roar shakes the unseen worlds and darkens the visible sky. The son does not recognize these eyes…
Son of Man – Why have you behaved so? You cave cheated, lusted, stolen, gossiped, murdered, envied, hated, lied. You have cursed, robbed, overspent, overeaten, fornicated, disobeyed, embezzled and blasphemed. Oh the duties you have shirked, the children you have abandoned! Who has ever so ignored the poor, so played the coward, so belittled my name. What a self-righteous, pitiful drunk – you , who molest young boys, peddle killer drugs, travel in cliques, and mock your parents. Who gave you the boldness to rig elections, foment revolutions, torture animals, and worship demons. Does the list never end? Splitting families, raping virgins, filming pornography, accepting bribes…perfected terrorist tactics, founded false religions,, traded in slaves…I Hate, loathe these things in you. Disgust for everything about you consumes me, can you not feel my wrath??
Of course the son is innocent. He is blamelessness itself. The fathers knows this. But the divine pair have an agreement, and the unthinkable must now take place. Jesus will be treated as if PERSONALLY responsible for every sin ever committed.
Jesus cries…Father, father…why have you forsaken me?? The father rejected the son whom he loved. The father accepted is sacrifice for sin and was satisfied. The rescue was accomplished."

Cleaning House

Isaiah 31:7 For in that day every man will cast away his silver idols and his gold idols, which your sinful hands have made for you as a sin.

For me, today was one of those "in that day[s]", in that I took some steps towards casting away some of the idols in my life. The idols I dealt with today were family and conflict avoidance.

I've mentioned at SG for a few weeks that I'm considering a GI trip later this year. However, I had yet to break the news to my parents. My immediate family is very much a stay-close-to-home type of family. None of us have been outside of North America. Even when we ventured out of the States to Montreal for an Expos game, we didn't stay in Canada after the game--"let's just get back to Plattsburgh." So the news of my interest in a 2-week trip to Southeast Asia is sure going to be a shocker. Through Todd's current sermon series, I realized that my reluctance to move forward on this trip for fear of family concerns was nothing more than idolizing my family--putting them on the throne in place of God.

Through the wise counsel of one of the First Light guys this morning, I realized that a big part of my reluctance to tell my family was conflict avoidance. True, true. I go to great lengths to avoid conflict in all areas of my life, and I found myself doing it here again. To put the brakes on pursuing this trip because I'm not willing to face a little conflict with my parents suddenly looked and sounded a lot like idolizing the lack of conflict (and you know what they say about things that look and sound like ducks...). I was making peace the driving force in my life--not the Prince of Peace.

So, tonight--with much prayer and anticipation--I cleared away the idols and told my parents all about the trip. You know what? Worrying about it was much worse than actually doing something about it! They took it well. They asked all the questions I thought they would ask, but they never challenged my desire to go or tried to talk me out of it. Though I was willing to face conflict as a means of putting that idol away, in the end, there wasn't any conflict! Praise be to God. A small but powerful example to me that when God comes first, everything else really does fall into place.

Confessions of a Serial Idolator

I've been a Christian for over a quarter of a century, and I've never had a sermon pinpoint my overarching problem like Todd's did on Monday night. Slowly over the past few years, I've realized how idolatry has creeped into my life. Even more recently, I've begun to see the detrimental effects of idolatry on my life--past and present. But never have I ever thought of the term "serial idolator"; and rarely have I felt a term fit me so precisely.

I was the guy he was talking about who overcame one idolatry only to fall into another. In my life, the most striking example was my recent overcoming of idolatry to a major sin only to become an idolator of the pursuit of purity. Don't get me wrong--I'm still riding shotgun on the purity bandwagon. However, I realize that much of the first two years that I have been free from the pattern of habitual sin were spent putting purity on the throne at the expense of asking God to move over a little. What a shame. I missed the obvious point that when God comes first, everything else falls nicely into place.

As tough as it is to see my faults laid wide open in front of me, it's comforting to finally see what's behind the struggles I've felt so often. I'm so excited to be able to combat feelings of emptiness, confusion, and burning desire by asking God to take His rightful place on the throne of my life and fill me completely. As a serial idolator, I've already had several chances to practice this just since Monday night.

I Cor 10:14 Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry.

Fatalities and God's Mercy

My quiet time today was in Acts 5:1-12 and I mulled over the story of Ananias and Saphira:
"Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property. With his wife's full knowledge he kept back part of the money for himself, but brought the rest and put it at the apostles' feet.
Then Peter said, "Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? Didn't it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn't the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied to men but to God."
When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died. And great fear seized all who heard what had happened.Then the young men came forward, wrapped up his body, and carried him out and buried him.
About three hours later his wife came in, not knowing what had happened.Peter asked her, "Tell me, is this the price you and Ananias got for the land?" "Yes," she said, "that is the price." Peter said to her, "How could you agree to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look! The feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out also." At that moment she fell down at his feet and died. Then the young men came in and, finding her dead, carried her out and buried her beside her husband. Great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events."

At first glance, I struggled alot with this story: "Why so harsh God? Surely you didn't have to kill these two it doesn't seem fair" or thoughts like that. . but when I really get down to it, it's the FEAR I feel toward this story that bugs me. "Have I ever been dishonest with God?" The answer alarmingly over the course of my life is yes. I've often quickly decided my own will and made it God's for my life. I've often lied but just a little bit, to get my way, then not claimed that as sin. I've often as Ananias & Saph. did, have been greedy and 'kept back' my own money, time, etc. and yet claimed not to in front of others and God. It was surely not wrong for Ananias to keep part of it, but his decision to be dishonest about keeping it, that was his fatal sin. How are we in honesty before God? As the Acts church was forming it seems very plausible that God used this tragic couple to "set an example" to remind them/us to fear him and to dissuade a pattern of dishonesty from developing in the area of giving. Let us take away a renewed reverence to fear God and remember that all sin is fatal! May we be willing to continually seek out and confess/surrender away areas in our lives of dishonesty so that he not use us "to set an example"! Praise God with awe, reverence, and in gratitude for sparing us the full consequences of our sin! Amen.

Tidbit from Psalms 103

I was reading through the promises of Psalms 103 today. It's an amazing chapter but today I focused specifically on103:11-13 where we're reminded of some great promises for those who reverently fear him:
For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him;

Praise God for height(heavens/great is his love), width (sin/ seperated east as from west), & depth (of his compassion for us)! May we grow in knowing God in each of these dimensions today!

All quiet on the western front

In times of stress, we yearn for things to settle down--to become "normal" again.

But what do we do when things are normal? Is it a state of life a kin to tumbleweed blowing through a dusty western town? Do we just wait for the next big stressor? Do we live it up while we have the chance? Do we worry about what's around the corner? Do we get ancy when we can't even see the corner yet?

As I read I Kings 4 today, these thoughts came to mind because everything seemed "normal" for King Solomon. He had everything he wanted from a material standpoint, he was the world's wisest man, he had 1,000 special someones (seems like a dumb idea for the world's wisest man, but I won't judge...), he was king of a united kingdom, and there was peace in all the land around him. Given the usual OT stories of bloodshed and dissension, things seemed unnormally "normal."

In some ways, my life feels pretty "normal" now. Sure, I have 1,000 less special someones in my life than Solomon, but on the whole, things are calm and all seems to be well. Now what do I do? God laid it on my heart this morning to take advantage of this downtime to get things in order. I felt convicted not to just rest easy and "check-out" since life seems to be on auto-pilot.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not advocating a burning-the-candle-at-both-ends kind of lifestyle...that's exactly what I'm trying to discipline myself against! However, I do not want to be lulled to sleep during this period of my life. I don't know what's around the corner, but I want to be prepared for what God has for me. I want to be actively involved in seeking Him, edifying others, and preparing myself for whatever lies ahead. That way, when it's go-time, I'm all systems go!

Silence and Incense

My quiet time today was from Rev 8. This is when the Lamb breaks the 7th seal and the 7 angels w/ trumpets are about to blow their horns and all the tribulations are about to go down! It's interesting what happens first: vs 1 says "When he opened the seventh seal,there was silence in heaven for about half an hour." Kinda like the silence before the storm, preparation for the trials and tribulations to come. Then in vs.3-4 a great picture of how our prayers reach God: Another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all the saints, on the golden altar before the throne. The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of the saints, went up before God from the angel's hand. This is a beautiful picture of how our prayers are literally an offering to God! Our prayers reach God, they don't fall on deaf ears. They much like incense are a fragrant offering to him!

Who knew boating could change your life?

I got a little reading in today for Luke 5&6 for small group. In reading the beginning of Chap.5, I was impressed with Simon's reverence and faith.

-In vs. 5, see how Simon fought through his tiredness to obey: Simon answered, "Master, we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets."

-In vs. 8, Simon Peter shows immediate reverence to who Jesus is: When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus' knees and said, "Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!"

-Finally in vs 11, Simon and his brother show complete faith and "pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.

Great encouragement here, if Simon had let his will get in the way he would have missed out on this life changing experience! Lord, help us to die to our selfish nature, and live selflessly, please continue to grow us in reverence and faithful obedience. Help us to pull our boats up and leave everything and follow you everyday! In Jesus name, AMEN!

There W [Spoiler warning!]

2 Corinthians 10:5b "take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ"

As I walked away from one of the oddest, darkest, most complex movies I've ever seen, the scene that chilled me the most was a man renouncing his "faith". All of the other physical and emotional violence that was part of the movie paled in comparison. Moments after the minister repeatedly shouted "God is a superstition" for the sake of financial gain, he expresses a bitterness that reminded me of Peter after his three-fold denial of Christ.

I can't begin to decipher the layers of meanings in that film--perhaps the minister was a sham the whole time and the bitter outburst was a last-ditch effort to scrape up a few bucks from his nemesis. Nonetheless, the thought that I took captive tonight was the sheer horror of denying my God. To me, this is the most tragic thing I could ever do in my life. By God's grace, I trust that my relationship with Him is strong enough that I would never verbally turn my back on my Lord--no matter what is at stake. But what about my actions? What volumes do they speak about my relationship to God?

Presentation is Everything!

Jude 24-25:
'To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy— to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.'

So no secret here, I often mentally beat myself up. I constantly (ie daily, ie moment by moment) need to be reminded that I'm not ever going to be 'fixed' and that I need to rest in Jesus MERCY. His mercy is beautifully described here in Jude. NOT ONLY is Jesus able to 'keep me from falling' into sin, BUT he also 'presents' me before God as a perfect piece of himself, AND not only does he present me, but he does so with 'great joy'! Imagine yourself w/ all your shortcomings and issues, being presented to God as a trophy of Jesus, and Jesus doing so proudly with great joy! THAT MY FRIENDS is the amazing mercy and grace we have tapped into when we accepted Jesus, and may we continually be reminded of the 'joyful trophy' we are as believers in Christ.

For You Know I Have PLANS for You

Jeremiah 29:11 (New International Version)

11 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

I'm reading through Jeremiah this month and happened to be meditating on this verse this morning. We've heard this verse many times before and we all know it. But how fervently do we really believe it? God doesn't have "dreams" for us to experience joy. He has PLANS. God doesn't have "goals" for us to live fulfilled lives. He has PLANS. God doesn't have "hopes" that our lives will turn out well. He has PLANS. God is not some cosmic well-wisher, His word promises a plan for each of us, individually, with only our best interests in mind. So let us not lose heart when difficulty comes. He knows what's best for us. And faithful submission to Him and His call for our lives will only bring us more joy along the journey.

Victims

I really didn't want to read the story of David and Bathsheba this morning. Of all the stories in the Bible, I think that's the one that's most troubling to me. It's partly the heinous nature of the sin path that David goes down: lust, adultery, deceiving, murder. How could a man after God's own heart do this? It's partly the closeness with which I can associate with David's actions: I know all to well about being up when I shouldn't, looking where I shouldn't, acting in ways I shouldn't act, and doing everything in my power to keep it a secret. Who knows what else I would've been capable of doing had not God kept opportunity for other sins outside my reach. The story sends chills down my spine...or maybe up my spine, whichever is worse...

So as I approached the dreaded story this morning on my path through the life of David, I prayed for God to show me something unique--a different take on the all-too-familiar storyline. As I read, it began to strike me how awful all of this must have been for Bathsheeba. First she gets ogled by a "peeping Dave", then she is summoned to be "had" by the king. I can't help but think that in this culture, she basically had no choice but to do the king's bidding--if so, this is not just adultery, but rape. To make the bad memory last a lifetime, she ends up pregnant as a result of David's "conquest." After this, her husband comes back to the area, but she doesn't get to spend any time with him because his focus is doing his job as a commander in the army. Right or wrong on Uriah's part, it had to be tough on her to have her husband so close yet so far at a time when she really needed him. Soon after this, she learns of her husband's death. To add the final insult to injury, David--the man who caused all of this pain for her--takes her as another one of his many wives. What do I know...maybe this was actually a good thing for her to be taken in by the king. However, I can't help but think it would only cause her more pain to not be able to escape from the man who mistreated her and had her husband killed to cover it up--to now be his legal property.

For once, when I read this passage in II Samuel 11, my mind was not on David and his sin...but on Bathsheba and her suffering. Every sin has it's victims. They may not be as obvious as the victims in this Bible story, but sin always has it's victims. This is definitely something for me to keep in mind when desire comes knocking at the door of my flesh. Am I willing to victimize someone for the sake of my pleasures? For God's glory and for the sake of all the Bathsheba's out there, I hope not.

Who do you worship for?

Sometimes a passage of scripture intersects life in such a way as to create a blog. This morning's reading out of 2 Samuel 6 contained an interesting little spat between David and his wife. It's hard to tell exactly what's going on: was David's wife mad at him, embarrassed by him, jealous of him? Either way, in verse 20, she accuses him of doing something for "the maidens" (OT for hotties), but David's response in verse 21 was "it was [for] the Lord."

I'm not about to jump in and take sides in this domestic dispute, but the words of David really stood out to me as profound. They came back in my mind as I worshipped tonight at Frontline. In spite of being an introvert with a slim to quite slim dating resume, I still like the maidens. I have a constantly updated "list" of girls in my mind that I am interested in--even if it's a complete stranger or someone who is totally out of my league. This can often be a distraction as my "girldar" is tracking who is where or picking up a target in close proximity at Frontline. So it's in this setting that David's words came back to me... "it was [for] the Lord."

Is my worship for the Lord? Or is it for the girl two rows over? My focus when I'm at church--whether it's worshiping or listening or fellowshiping--needs to be for the Lord. If I can make David's words my internal motto, the distracting maidens won't keep me from worshipping Him fully, listening intently, or fellowshiping genuinely. Thanks for the good word, David!

P.S. I'm pretty sure "fellowshiping" is not a word, but it fits so nice!

Can I praise Him in the storm?

Providentially, I stumbled upon Psalm 57 yesterday. I was just looking for a quick Psalm to read before bed, but it turns out that it's a Psalm David wrote while hiding from Saul in a cave. Having just read through this passage in my trek through I Samuel (chapters 23 and 24), it meant so much more to me. I had a better sense of what a desperate time this was for David. He was deep in the midst of running for his life from his own king and father-in-law, Saul.

The first 6 verses of this Psalm illustrate the danger that David was in as he hid Osama-like in a cave with Saul and his men in hot pursuit. Yet, in the midst of this danger and uncertainty here was this amazing Psalm of praise in v. 7-11:
My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast; I will sing and make music.
Awake, my soul! Awake, harp and lyre! I will awaken the dawn.
I will praise You, O Lord, among the nations; I will sing of You among the peoples.
For great is Your love, reaching to the heavens; Your faithfulness reaches to the skies.
Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let Your glory be over all the earth.

I was really struck by the fact that David was able to praise God in the midst of such a distressing time. It reminded me of the Casting Crowns song, Praise You in This Storm (http://www.myspace.com/castingcrowns), and it made me wonder how well I do that.

My storms are minor compared to David's, yet praise is often the farthest thing from my mind in the midst of a bad day. Maybe if that were different--maybe if my instinctive reaction to problems was praise--my experience in the midst of life's storms would be different. Maybe then I wouldn't wallow in self-pity and unhappiness, but focus on His will and be content no matter how fierce the weather.

JC the HP=FOREVA'!

Hebrews 7:23 -end of chapter:
There were many priests under the old system, for death prevented them from remaining in office. But because Jesus lives forever, his priesthood lasts forever. Therefore he is able, once and forever, to save those who come to God through him. He lives forever to intercede with God on their behalf.
He is the kind of high priest we need because he is holy and blameless, unstained by sin. He has been set apart from sinners and has been given the highest place of honor in heaven. Unlike those other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices every day. They did this for their own sins first and then for the sins of the people. But Jesus did this once for all when he offered himself as the sacrifice for the people’s sins. The law appointed high priests who were limited by human weakness. But after the law was given, God appointed his Son with an oath, and his Son has been made the perfect High Priest forever.

For me this was a refreshing look at Jesus, atleast the High Priest part of him! It's comforting to visualize him in heaven literally interceding for me. What a High Priest! Psalms 110 speaks of God's oath about Jesus eternal High Priesthood. Praise him for his great love!

New Year's Day meets Groundhog Day

I love New Year's Day: sleeping in late, college football all day long...wait, that sounds like pretty much every Saturday in the fall... I guess the real reason that I love New Year's Day is the fresh start: new calendar, new tax year, new resolutions, etc. Now that I'm out of school, my year no longer revolves around a semester calendar. January 1st is the starting point of my internal calendar--a clean slate. It's a fresh feeling that I wish I could take enjoy every day of the year.

When it comes to the spiritual part of my life--the most important part--it is possible to experience the fresh feeling of a clean slate every day. My sins and failures don't begin to pile up on January 1st and finally get erased the following December 31st. No, every day--every moment--I can experience the fresh start of a new spiritual year thanks to God's forgiveness. Because every day is January 1st in Christ, there's no need for clever spiritual resolutions at the start of a new calendar year. The only resolution I need is to live every day in the light of newness that God so graciously provides.

Lamentations 3:22-24
Through the LORD’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.