It has been a while

Sorry, no posts in a while. However, as I was reading something this morning and was debating on emailing it out, I felt like I was supposed to post it. I was reading, "My Utmost for His Highest" by Oswald Chambers and the one for today, February the 29th really spoke to me. Here it is:

What Do You Want The Lord to Do for You?
’What do you want Me to do for you?’ He said, ’Lord, that I may receive my sight’ —Luke 18:4

Is there something in your life that not only disturbs you, but makes you a disturbance to others? If so, it is always something you cannot handle yourself. "Then those who went before warned him that he should be quiet; but he cried out all the more . . ." ( Luke 18:39 ). Be persistent with your disturbance until you get face to face with the Lord Himself. Don’t deify common sense. To sit calmly by, instead of creating a disturbance, serves only to deify our common sense. When Jesus asks what we want Him to do for us about the incredible problem that is confronting us, remember that He doesn’t work in commonsense ways, but only in supernatural ways.

Look at how we limit the Lord by only remembering what we have allowed Him to do for us in the past. We say, "I always failed there, and I always will." Consequently, we don’t ask for what we want. Instead, we think, "It is ridiculous to ask God to do this." If it is an impossibility, it is the very thing for which we have to ask. If it is not an impossible thing, it is not a real disturbance. And God will do what is absolutely impossible.

This man received his sight. But the most impossible thing for you is to be so closely identified with the Lord that there is literally nothing of your old life remaining. God will do it if you will ask Him. But you have to come to the point of believing Him to be almighty. We find faith by not only believing what Jesus says, but, even more, by trusting Jesus Himself. If we only look at what He says, we will never believe. Once we see Jesus, the impossible things He does in our lives become as natural as breathing. The agony we suffer is only the result of the deliberate shallowness of our own heart. We won’t believe; we won’ t let go by severing the line that secures the boat to the shore— we prefer to worry.

That last sentence is the kicker for me, because it really does describe me. Anytime I get confronted by something that I cannot control, my first reaction is to worry and to doubt and to let unbelief come rushing in.

Lord, please help me today to trust you in all things that I face and to not worry or doubt.

Happy Birthday!

It has been a while since I have blogged - what a fitting day to post. Today is my soul mate's birthday. She truly means the world to me and I know that she is a gift from God. I praise His name for her and I thank Him for her right now.

Happy Birthday Jenn. I love you and I hope today is very special for you!

Thanks

I really appreciate all the prayers for my family. Brooks is doing great - no problems at all with the ears or the adenoids. He was up and running the afternoon after his surgery.

Also, my marathon went well - I finished! That is good I guess. I ran 4:25 and finished 457 out of like 800, so I was pleased. Also the team I run with - Team 413 - we had the best Mercedes Expo we have ever had and there were quite a few shirts on the course - check out the links on the right to visit our website. Thanks again for praying - it really means a lot.

This morning

Good morning. I would like to ask all of you that read this to pray this morning for my son Brooks. He is having his adenoids taken out and tubes put in again. I know this is a very common and easy surgery, but anytime the doctors have to put your child to sleep there is a little fear that creeps in. I would appreciate you lifting him up as well as any of the doctors, nurses, or staff that will be involved. Also please pray that this will take care of all the problems he has been having with ear infections. One other thing; please pray that once he gets up this morning he will understand why he cannot have anything to eat or drink (hard for a 3 year old!).
I really do thank you for taking the time to pray. Have a blessed day!

Great Opportunities

Had a awesome morning yesterday and I did not take the opportunity to post until now. After a great Bible study, I got to work and met with 2 of my brothers here at work. One of the brothers has been going through a lot and we had the privilege to pray with him. The incredible part was knowing that this was a new start for him.

Now I know what I am saying is not rocket science and I know that probably all one people that read my blog already know what I am fixing to say; but, here it is anyway. If you are breathing right now, today is a new day. Right now is a new moment. What are we going to do with it? I am choosing to praise the Lord and to seek out His glory! I was listening to Third Day on the way into work, having a little church, and the song was "Take My Life":

How many times have I turned away
The number is the same as the sand on the shore
But every time You've taken me back
And now I pray You do it once more.

Chorus:
Please take from me my life
When I don't have the strength
to give it away to You Jesus

How many times have I turned away
The number is the same as the stars in the sky
But every time You've taken me back
And now I pray You do it tonight.

I am asking the Lord to please take my life from me right now and to live a life surrendered and sold out to Him today. I hope you will join me!

Tough Decisions

One of my closest brothers, a brother I love dearly, had a very tough decision to make, and he allowed me to be involved in this decision. We took the time to pray over it together and separately and the Lord gave us an answer, one that we both knew came from the Him. Now, why do I put this in a blog? I do this because as we strive to walk with the Lord, and as we try to see more of His glory, this is things we have to do. Pray together and walk together. Build each other up and support each other - this is the Aaron and Hur model.
What is the Aaron and Hur model? Well I am glad you asked! Exodus 17:8-13 states:

8Then Amalek came and fought against Israel at Rephidim.

9So Moses said to Joshua, "Choose men for us and go out, fight against Amalek Tomorrow I will station myself on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand."

10Joshua did as Moses told him, and fought against Amalek; and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill.

11So it came about when Moses held his hand up, that Israel prevailed, and when he let his hand down, Amalek prevailed.

12But Moses' hands were heavy. Then they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it; and Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side and one on the other. Thus his hands were steady until the sun set.

13So Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.

Verse 12 to me is what it is all about. A brother has a need, and he cannot bear it himself, so other brothers come alongside him and help him until he can stand on his own again. We all need to know that we can call on other believers to hold our arms up when we are too tired to continue on the journey or when we have a need that we want someone else to pray over with us. Once we seek the Lord, He will answer; and in the case of my dear brother, the Lord did just that! Praise the Lord!

Prayer

Good morning. I know there are a lot of needs right now. I heard of a family yesterday with a little baby that is not doing well at all and a father that is in his darkest times of faith. I heard of a family that lost a child. I know each of us has needs right now and God wants to hear from us about them. Take the time right now to pray for someone else. It does not have to be long or drawn out and you don't have to have all the right words to say. Just talk to the Lord about someone else right now.

I was listening to a sermon the other day and the pastor talked about the Prayer of St. Patrick. I am going to post it here now:

The Prayer of St. Patrick

"I arise today
Through the strength of heaven;
Light of the sun,
Splendor of fire,
Speed of lightning,
Swiftness of the wind,
Depth of the sea,
Stability of the earth,
Firmness of the rock.

I arise today
Through God's strength to pilot me;
God's might to uphold me,
God's wisdom to guide me,
God's eye to look before me,
God's ear to hear me,
God's word to speak for me,
God's hand to guard me,
God's way to lie before me,
God's shield to protect me,
God's hosts to save me
Afar and a near,
Alone or in a multitude.

Christ shield me today
Against wounding
Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,
Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down,
Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,
Christ in the eye that sees me,
Christ in the ear that hears me.

I arise today
Through the mighty strength
Of the Lord of creation."

Take a look at the bold part. How awesome is that! Let's live like that today. Have a blessed day following the Lord.

Who is it about?

Sitting in Bible study this morning, we were going over Gal. 3:1-5 and wow are these some awesome verses. These verses along with 1 Cor. 2 really pumped me up! To know that it is all about God and not about me is incredible. I knew this, but to have it reminded to me is just what I needed.
God started this work in me and He will complete it - all that is required of me is obedience. He does not need me, He wants me and craves me to spend time with Him. My service to Him does not save me, it should be done out of love and worship. He gives us the Holy Spirit so that we can know Him more! Think about all the things the Holy Spirit does (this list is by no means complete):

Intercedes for us (prays for us when we don't know what or how to pray)
He is the source of our salvation
He convicts us of sin
Draws us into submission of Christ
Lets us know the mind of God
He indwells us and regenerates us
Baptizes us and gifts us
Secures and separates us from sin
Gives us intimate relationship with God
He illuminates scripture - literally makes it come alive to us
He glorifies Christ to us
He guides us in God's will
He ministers to us through other believers
He carries our burdens and gives us strength

How awesome are these things! Anytime we are feeling beat down or lazy or complacent,
if we would think about these things our walks would be so much stronger and our love for the Lord would be so much more - people would see more of Christ and less of us!

Call to Prayer

Good morning. Today is a very short post. Today I am asking everyone that reads this to pray. I know there are a ton of different needs and all of you have things to pray for. So pray! Ask the Lord to reveal through His Spirit what to pray for. I have a couple of things that I am asking prayer for:

1) Today is the anniversary of the little boy, Chase, that killed himself. Please pray for his family and the students and teachers that have been affected by this. (This includes my wife, Jennifer).
2) Please pray for my wife's family - the Wilder's. There are a lot of needs here and God is aware of all of them.

I am also praying that I become more urgent and desperate in my prayers as I hope each of you are. God bless you and remember that because of Jesus, He has already covered everything!He knows our hearts and our desires, He just wants us to have relationship with Him. How incredibly awesome is that!

Continuation

I have not been able to move on from yesterday as far as what the Lord is telling me and showing me. I know the majority of guys I am talking to feel the same way. If we make it all about Him and not about us, how much better will we be! If we truly become desperate for the Lord, realizing that He truly craves to spend time with us and have a relationship with us, I know our relationship with Him will prosper. I just have to become desperate for Him and know that spending time with Him is all about survival! If I don't do it, I am doomed!

To be desperate. How is this defined? One definition of desperate is:

showing extreme urgency or intensity especially because of great need or desire.

Can I say that I am desperate about the Lord. I wish I could, but desperation does not describe my relationship with Him. To be honest, here are some words that describe me - complacent, lazy, relaxed, satisfied, safe. I don't want these words to describe me anymore. It is time to become urgent, adventurous, daring, in a relentless pursuit, and desperate for Him! I know over the last few posts there has been some repetition, but as I typed when I started this post, this is where the Lord has me right now. I hope this is helping at least one other person and their walk, but if not so what! The Lord is stretching me and growing me and since it is all about my relationship with Him, this is what I have to start focusing on.

Desperation

Good morning. Early this morning I listened to a message from David Platt who is the pastor of The Church at Brook Hills. It dealt with being desperate for the Spirit of God. This was a royal thumping for me, and that is putting it mildly. I realized I am not desperate for the Spirit of God, and therefore I do not pray with a sense of desperation or urgency. He read from 1 Corinthians chapter 2. I challenge you to listen to this message. It truly brought me to tears to realize how much time I have wasted. Praise the Lord for a new day! Praise His name for forgiveness and for allowing me another chance. I pray for the Holiness of Christ and for Him to make me authentic before Him. I pray for Him to make me desperate for the Spirit of God so that I may truly know the Glory of God.

Here is a link to the message - beware, it is not to be taken lightly! It is the one entitled "Desperate Prayer" dated 1/13/08. Just copy and paste this link into your browser.

http://www.brookhills.org/media/page_audio_chrono_2008.htm

Snow

Good morning! We got snow over the weekend and it was awesome. It was the first time Will and Brooks got to see and play in the snow and what a fun weekend. Of course, I had to go and run in the snow.
While running, the Lord reminded me of a couple of things (things I know, but still needed to be reminded of). It was really starting to snow and come down hard, and I was noticing how everything was turning white with the snow covering. Everything was covering up - all the dirt, rocks, trees, etc. The Lord reminded me that this is His love for me. His blood covers me and makes me white! How incredible of a reminder is this. He loves me enough to erase all of my junk and make me pure in his sight. When God looks at me, he does not see me He sees Jesus. As Galatians 2:20 says:

I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.

How incredible is this! Christ lives in me! I am covered with His blood and I am white as snow. Praise the Lord!

Timing

Good morning. It seems to me that the Lord has all the right timing. I know what some of you are saying right now - time out, I want to get through this thing faster than the Lord is taking me; or, I am ready for a new thing, yet God still has me in an old thing. I understand those sentiments, as a lot of the times I feel the same way. Yet, I still feel the Lord has all the right timing. We know that His timing is perfect, and thankfully some of the times we are able to see it once we come out the back side of something. However, you may be in something right now where not only do you not see His timing, you may be having a hard time seeing Him.

The Lord has really been teaching me lately about His grace, relationship with Him, and being prepared for the everyday all out warfare of this Christian life. This morning, while reading a little daily devotional from John Eldridge, His timing showed up again. Here is the devotional:

"It was to the most religious people of his time that Jesus spoke his strongest warnings about a loss of heart.

It is tragic for any person to lose touch with the life of their heart but especially so for those of us who once heard the call in our heart and recognized it as the voice of Jesus of Nazareth. We may remember him inviting us to a life of beauty, intimacy, and adventure that we thought was lost. For others of us, when he called, it felt for the first time in our lives as if our heart had finally found a home. We responded in faith, in hope, and in love and began the journey we call the Christian life. Each day seemed a new adventure as we rediscovered the world with God by our side.

But for many of us, the waves of first love ebbed away in the whirlwind of Christian service and activity, and we began to lose the Romance. Our faith began to feel more like a series of problems that needed to be solved or principles that had to be mastered before we could finally enter into the abundant life promised us by Christ. We moved our spiritual life into the outer world of activity, and internally we drifted. We sensed that something was wrong, and we perhaps tried to fix it—by tinkering with our outer life. We tried the latest spiritual fad, or a new church, or simply redoubled our commitment to make faith work. Still, we found ourselves weary, jaded, or simply bored. Others of us immersed ourselves in busyness without really asking where all the activity was headed. At one point in my own spiritual pilgrimage, I stopped to ask myself this question: “What is it that I am supposed to be doing to live the spiritual life in any way that is both truthful and passionately alive?” "

It is all about the passion and relationship we have with Jesus. Tie this in with what I wrote yesterday about needing to spend time with Him in order to survive - God shows His timing again! It is not about what church you go to, what programs you are in, how much you give to the church, or how often you go to church. No, it is all about Him. Loving Him with all of me and not losing heart when things don't seem to be going my way. I have to believe, that as a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ, He loves me and He will never leave me or forsake me no matter what I am walking through right now. It is the best of any relationship I could ever hope to have.

All I can say is WOW!

The Lord told me what to write yesterday - then I read the next chapter in Wild at Heart and all I can say is wow. The way He continues to teach me is absolutely amazing. I understand more now than ever that I am in a war. To tell on myself a little, I have really been struggling getting up in the morning to run as well as struggling in my prayer life and in my "quiet time". I have been battling feeling tired all the time, and have even been feeling more lazy than I probably ever have. Now with what the Lord is teaching me, I really believe this is an attack. This morning on the way into work, I prayed in the name of Jesus Christ and I asked for Him to take away this feeling and to help me get up and get moving in the mornings.

This past year since I had a foot injury, my running has not been what it used to be. I was unable to run for about 2 months and I lost all of the training and running endurance I had built up. Since then (and I have never really voiced this), I have really been battling fatigue/laziness/discipline in all areas of my life. Let me rephrase, it has been battling me, but I have been kind of sitting back and taking it. Well as of this morning, not anymore! I have confessed it and I am battling back. I am battling back on the time I spend with the Lord as well. I love what John Eldridge said in Wild at Heart:

"But if you saw your life as a great battle and you knew you needed time with God for your very survival, you would do it. Maybe not perfectly - nobody ever does and that's not the point anyway - but you would have a reason to seek Him. We give a half-hearted attempt at the spiritual disciplines when the only reason we have is that we "ought" to. But we'll find a way to make it work when we are convinced we're history if we don't. Time with God each day is not about academic study or getting through a certain amount of Scripture or any of that. It's about connecting with God. We've got to keep those lines of communication open, so use whatever helps. Sometimes I'll listen to music; other times I'll read Scripture or a passage from a book; often I will journal; maybe I'll go for a run; then there are days when all I need is silence and solitude and the rising sun. The point us simply to do whatever brings me back to my heart and the heart of God."

Wow! How awesome is that. The struggles with discipline are a direct attack on my heart and now I am fighting back like I described yesterday (dying to self, putting on the armor, taking up my cross, etc). I hope this all helps someone else, but to be honest I know the Lord is speaking directly to me!

Warfare

Good morning. Yesterday morning at Bible study and then again last night while talking with my little brother and then again on the way into work this morning, the Lord reminded me of something. This is not something new or something that we do not know about, but it is always nice to be reminded. Why do I as a believer and follower of Jesus Christ expect life to be easy or relaxed when I should be expecting war? When we are following Jesus, we are going to get bombarded by an enemy that as 1 Peter 5:8 says:

"Be of sober spirit, be on the alert Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour."

We are commanded to be alert. Also as Paul tells us in Ephesians 6:11,

"Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil."

This is a command and is something we need to do daily. We also have an enemy in our flesh, our old man, that we are warring with as well and Paul tells us in Galatians 2:20 that we have been crucified with Christ,

"I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me."

We are new creatures in Christ that are in an all out war. We have to prepare ourselves each day, die to ourselves, and live and fight for Christ.

In Luke 9:23, Jesus taught us:
"And He was saying to them all, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me."

Why don't I do this? Why do I whine and complain when I have financial problems, church problems, personal problems, etc? I feel it is because I am not ready for the war. I have to be prepared and expect the war. I also have to take a proactive approach by daily taking up my cross, daily putting on armor, and daily denying or dying to myself. So for me, this means I have to quit being lazy and get to work!

Where I am

Good morning. Last night was a tough night. This whole what to do for church thing came to a head last night. It seems that right now my ministry seems to be with men (which I love). Carrying this over to women and children, I have not had any kind of clear leading on what to do or how to do it (or even if that is what my ministry is supposed to be). I was talking with my wife last night and I allowed satan to creep into our conversation on churches and on where I see my ministry. I got frustrated about what I want - selfishness. I ask forgiveness for that and now I am back to trying to do what God wants. I want to see my family grow. We are visiting a new church on Sunday to begin the pursuit of where God wants us as a family.

Does this mean no "house church" as I started this journey with. For now it does mean that, but it also means some new things as God continues the molding/cutting away process. Allowing some time to pass is a good thing. Meeting with brothers and hearing their hearts is a good thing. For now, I am putting on hold anything I have been trying to do in regards to a family community group. What I am picking up is going to be more focused on the men, as I believe if the men are reached and are discipled and are growing, families will benefit.

As I have stated in many past posts, I am just trying to be obedient to God and what He wants for me. Being a part of 2 great men's small groups, I am learning and hearing more about what men want and need as followers of Christ. I want to get some men together very soon to discuss this some more. I have met with small pockets of men over some food (some food has been good, some not so good but the fellowship has always been great), and these meetings along with the finer focus the Lord has been and will continue to give me is causing some incredible excitement. I am not just talking about Bible study - I am talking about camping trips, dinners, football games, etc. - then bringing along unbelievers to show them Christ and truly what it means to follow him (discipleship). I know I am starting to ramble, but I am excited about this. Through talking with my wife last night and listening to her and what the Lord is telling me, I really believe this is what the Lord has been trying to tell me. For me the focus will be on getting men to understand the calling on our lives and to walk together to get where the Lord wants us to be. It,s still all about community, because if this is done right it will still benefit the entire family!

Continually

One of my brothers in Christ emailed me this morning and his email hit me between the eyes. We are in a small group together and have been brothers now for around 4 years I guess. I have sat around the campfire with him, and rafted the Ocoee with him. Shared hard times and great times. He knows more than most about this strange and wonderful journey we are on and where the Lord has me right now. We talked some yesterday about the attacks we are under and what we can do to proactively fight back (some of the things we need to do continually). The Lord really spoke to him and now the Lord has spoken through him to me. I will copy part of his email here now for everyone to read so that everyone can get an idea of where the Lord is taking us - and yes I am very excited about it!

"And the trigger that created this encounter was the emphasis on the word daily. That, my friend, is the piece I've have been missing about church. God, our Creator and Master of the Universe wants us heart, soul, mind and body -- daily, hourly, "minutely." As a society, most of us -- and me for most of my life -- are only willing to give Him an hour or two a week on Sunday morning. But what were those in the first Century (and the ancients) told to do?

-- "These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up." Deuteronomy 6:6-7
-- Sacrifices were made daily.
-- We are to ask for our daily bread. (Matt. 6:11)
-- "Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens." (Psalm 68:19)
-- "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me." Luke 9:23
-- "They devoted themselves to the apostles teaching and to the fellowhip, to the breaking of bread and to prayer...All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. The Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved." Acts 2:42-47
-- "So the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers." Acts 16:5
-- "But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness." Hebrews 3:13

Pray continually. Worship continually. Meet continually. Teach continually. Crucify the old man continually. Put on the armor of God continually. Take up our cross continually. Encourage continually. Praise continually. Love continually.

How have we missed something so simple? How did we reach the point that we believe God would be happy with one or two hours a week, when He rightfully expects ALL, everything, every moment, every day?

There is a Spiritual hunger we are all feeling. As of yet, we can't get enough. I believe that the Spirit is trying to get us to remember what we as a society have forgotten. Worship isn't on Sunday. It is always. It is every moment. And once we get a taste of that, once our Spirit awakens us to join the continual work and worship of God and the fellowship of the Body of Christ, how could we not be frustrated and how could we possibly find contentment with a group of people who believe it is "normal" to worship Him for one hour a week?

The modern church definitely has its place and its role in God's kingdom. If it did not, He would have destroyed it a long time ago. I personally believe that It is the portal, the gate, the door between the world and the Kingdom of God. But we as the church have forgotten that there is an entire world beyond that door (the Kingdom and the body of Christ), and we linger in the "foyer" (the church building) instead of enjoying the wonder and majesty of living in the Kingdom in the continual presence of God and His Son."

Wow! How is that! This is the community and the church (remember not building but people) I have been talking about and dreaming about for a while now. We are commanded to do these things continually and like the verses said, daily. In order to do this, we have to walk, hurt, love, and live where each other is and then point each other continually to the Lord. This is church, this is what I am craving and that the Lord is showing and developing in me.

Worship

What are you going to worship today? We were created to worship. Think about that......We were created to worship the Lord. What are you going to worship today?

There are many days where I don't feel like worshiping God. These are days where I am too focused on me or my problems or those around me. So for me, I know how to worship. I am a great worshiper. However, I do not seem to be that great at consistent worship of the Lord of All.

Real quick, what does worship mean? Dictionary.com defines it as:
noun
1. reverent honor and homage paid to God or a sacred personage, or to any object regarded as sacred.
2. formal or ceremonious rendering of such honor and homage: They attended worship this morning.
3. adoring reverence or regard: excessive worship of business success.
4. the object of adoring reverence or regard.
5. (initial capital letter) British. a title of honor used in addressing or mentioning certain magistrates and others of high rank or station (usually prec. by Your, His, or Her).
–verb (used with object)
6. to render religious reverence and homage to.
7. to feel an adoring reverence or regard for (any person or thing).
–verb (used without object)
8. to render religious reverence and homage, as to a deity.
9. to attend services of divine worship.
10. to feel an adoring reverence or regard.

Worship can be a noun or a verb. That is a lot of definitions, but for me I think worship is what we honor - what we spend time thinking about and placing importance on. We are probably all great worshipers of something (sports, families, problems, job, even church). How do we become great worshipers of God? I think it takes effort , time, and a lot of focus. Whatever we are focusing on seems to be what we worship (at least this is true for me). Also, we need to remember that when we put anything in front of God, meaning we are worshiping anything other than Him, we are practicing idolatry. I pray today that my focus is on the Lord and therefore my worship will be of the Lord.

Lord please make me less in my own eyes and increase You so that You are all that I see and worship. Please forgive me for worshiping anything other than You.

Justified

On Monday mornings I am involved in a great men's small group. We have been meeting for several years and we go through different books of the Bible verse by verse. It has been incredible for me to be a part of and I have learned a tremendous amount of information. I will probably leave a book off, but here are the books we have done so far: Philippians, James, 1 Peter, 2 Peter, 3 Peter, Luke, Daniel, and we are currently in Galatians. We have been studying Paul and Galatians for a month or so now, and yesterday morning we go to some key verses where Paul introduces some very key concepts that he bases the rest of his writings on. More than likely, Galatians was the first book that Paul wrote (and remember he wrote a huge portion of the New Testament). In chapter 2:16-21 here is what he wrote:

16nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified.

17"But if, while seeking to be justified in Christ, we ourselves have also been found sinners, is Christ then a minister of sin? May it never be!

18"For if I rebuild what I have once destroyed, I prove myself to be a transgressor.

19"For through the Law I died to the Law, so that I might live to God.

20"I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.

21"I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly."

These are some incredible verses to spend time on - dive in and read them. He talks about the law and faith. The concept that seems to be most important to me to grab onto is mentioned 5 times in these verses. It is the idea of justification - specifically justification by faith alone. Not legalism, not a faith by works system, but God's grace alone (the reason Jesus died). So what is justification? I will borrow John Macarthur's definition:
"It is the good news that sinful men and women can be brought into the acceptance of God, not because of their works, but simply through faith in Jesus Christ...to justify is to declare someone not guilty, innocent, righteous. In the Bible, justification refers to God's free and gracious act by which He puts a sinner right with Him, forgiving him/her, pardoning him/her and accepting him/her not on the basis of anything that sinner does but solely on the basis of the perfect work of Jesus Christ."
Wow! This is what saving grace is all about. It is not about me! The opposite of justified is condemned. Jesus declared me innocent when I was as guilty as OJ Simpson or Charles Manson! If I accept Him as my Lord and Saviour, I am justified! Not because of anything I can do, but because of what Jesus did! I am a fellow heir of the throne - adopted into the family with all access solely because of how much God loved me and the work that His Son Jesus Christ did. That is love.

Amazing

God is amazing. I know I am not telling you anything you do not already know, but He continues to show Himself. I met for lunch with a very close brother yesterday and we had some great fellowship time. Once we got to talking, the subject of church of course came up. He is somewhat familiar with this journey I have been on, so we started laying out some things that we feel church needs to be. It is so cool how God continues to teach and show me all of this from a lot of different directions - that is the amazing part. I am not saying that there are not churches that are doing some or all of these things - I just know that a lot of the people I am talking to are missing some or all of these things in their church experience. There is a hunger from a lot of believers and followers of Jesus that I have not seen before. For those of you that read this crazy thing I type regularly know I do not pretend to know anything about anything, but I do hear what people are telling me. Church for a lot of us has become a building, so I personally know a lot of people that are not involved in a church right now. They may go to a building, but church is missing. So this list is by no means all inclusive and I may add more to it (or you can) - but here is what church is becoming for me as I grow closer to a lot of you:

Desire, true Worship of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and the God of all, community (truly living life together, walking through it hand and hand), bring your crap (don't try to hide it but true transparency), discipleship (not giving a list of rules and saying good luck, but truly teaching what it means to be a man or a woman of God), evangelism (loving the world enough to die for the world the way Jesus did), relevant teaching (not the 3 point warm fuzzy preaching), teaching our kids that they have what it takes to make it (this is a whole other area, but the youth need us to be consistent, and to stand up for Christ), truly loving our neighbors.

I know there is a lot more, but for now that is what I have. I know that there are many families that feel the same and as I posted a few posts ago I am going to be in touch personally very soon. Please let me know if you are interested in at least a together with other families so we can kick all of this around and talk some about it. On the verge.....

One of the keys to community

How many of us tell someone we will pray for them and don't do it? How many do it one time then forget about it? Wow am I guilty of this. I firmly believe that one of the keys to developing this community of believers is to be praying for each other on a regular basis. Is it not incredible to learn from someone that they have been and continue to be praying for you over something! Think about it this way - that person is spending time in front of the Lord of All and is taking time to mention and remember you.
Therefore, the challenge for today and from now on is to pray for each other - remember each other. If someone asks you to pray for them, do not forget about it. Before you get done praying ask the Lord to remind you of the people that need prayer. He will do it for sure. Take the time today to lift up a fellow believer. This will start to develop the community we have been talking about.

Failing

Good morning! As I was on my way into work this morning after a while away (yes it was hard to get up - dark and very cold) and then once I got to work, several things hit me at once. It seems that a lot of the time I feel like I am going through the motions of this Christianity thing. I know I have typed over and over about it is a relationship. I just know that any of the relationships I have where I do not talk to the other person do not seem to work - they wither and die away. However, the relationships I invest in work and thrive. I want my relationship with Jesus to thrive. I am tired of just going through motions just to go through them - I want my relationship with Jesus to matter to me more than it has been. I am putting this out for everyone because I have a feeling I am not alone in this. I am also putting this out so that anyone that wants to can join me in this. So here is the prayer I am praying as I type:

Lord Jesus, I need you. I know you are here and I know you desire for me to walk and talk with you a lot more than I have been. I ask you to please forgive me for taking you for granted and forgive me for abusing your grace and mercy. I want to walk with you in a way I never have. I want to crave to spend time with you and I cannot do this without you. I ask that you allow the Holy Spirit to blow through me and clean me out right now. I think of the words that Keith Green wrote in the song "Rushing Wind" and I pray them right now:

Rushing wind blow through this temple,
Blowing out the dust within,
Come and breathe you breath upon me,
I've been born again.
Holy spirit, I surrender, take me where you want to go,
Plant me by your living water,
Plant me deep so I can grow.
Jesus, you're the one, who sets my spirit free,
Use me lord, glorify, your holy name through me.
Separate me from this world lord.
Sanctify my life for you.
Daily change me to your image,
Help me bear good fruit.
Every day you're drawing closer.
Trials come to test my faith.
But when all is said and done lord,
You know, it was worth the wait.
Jesus, you're the one, who set my spirit free,
Use me lord, glorify, your holy name through me.
Rushing wind blow through this temple,
Blowing out the dust within,
Come and breathe you breath upon me,
For I've been born again.

Lord I seek to start this right now. Please help me as I desire to walk with you. I love you and I surrender all of me and anything that is in the way to you right now. I ask this in your most Holy name - the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

If anyone cares to join me on this great! If not great! This is about me and the Lord. I felt like sharing it just in case anyone else feels like I do. Have a blessed day.

2008

Well Happy New Year! 2008 is here and wow did last year go fast or what? I do not do the whole new year resolution thing due to everyday the Lord gives us is a new day. However, since today is a new day in a new year it seems fitting to start the new year on the right foot. This means serving the Lord and loving Him with all of me. This also means being there for all of my "neighbors" and loving them with all of me as well. I pray each of you that reads this blog will also step up to this challenge.
It seems everywhere I am turning right now I am hearing more and more about community and relationship over religion. I am so excited about this year and about what the Lord is going to do. He blessed me and my family and friends so much last year in so many different ways. I want this year to be lived more together with these friends and family and develop this community that the Lord desires us to have. Here is the update where I am on the whole supplemental house church (as I am calling it for now). I have talked with a lot of different people and received a lot of information. I am thinking that for now I am going to get anyone that is at least interested in this community and in this idea together to talk all of this over. I am not asking anyone to join anything, I just want to get some people I love together and get some more input on what you feel you are missing or need more of in this whole journey we are on. A couple of things I need - prayer and more prayer! Also I need someone that has a larger home or larger area where we could have a get together to please let me know. I want to have this get together before the end of this month as I do not want to sit and let this time pass. I will fill you in more, but please let me know if you are at least interested in coming to this get together to hear where I feel this is going, but also to give input on where you want it to go. We will see where the Lord takes us! I will also be in touch with you to let you know where I am on this and to let you know when this meeting will be. Again, Happy New year!