Christmas Thoughts

So, since the last time I blogged, I've turned another year "wiser" ;) (see what I did there? hehe). And it's currently Christmas day! I'm trusting. I'm trusting that everything in my life is taking me where I can bring God glory. I'm trusting that even when I'm scared, that God is in full-control of all around me. I'm trusting that no matter what happens, I won't compromise my relationship with my heavenly Father - the same Father whose Son's birth and purpose is being especially celebrated this very day!:)

The Gateway

Pride. The "gateway" sin. Or at least David would believe so by the end of this night:

He wasn't exactly the type of man you would call quick tempered, but unfortunately, too often in his life, he managed to hurt others with his words and deeds. "Why?" he asked himself. He just gotten out of a long argument with his grandfather...an hour long argument about his lifestyle. It didn't matter that he'd followed the laws of the household. What mattered was he didn't live the same life that his family had chosen.

"I won't do this anymore!" he shouted to God. Rationally, he knew that it wasn't God's fault, and deeper still - he knew he had no problem with God. His problem lay with himself.

"No. It's not my fault. You hear me??? He brought it up, he bashed my choices, my life, my beliefs, he all but told me that I need to start over! I won't back down this time! I can't always be the "weakling" or the "coward" or the "good guy"...it's not fair. I don't deserve this again."

He stood waiting.

"Well? Aren't you going to tell me that I'm wrong?" he said sarcastically, hating himself for treating and talking to God the way he was.

"I'm sorry" said David aloud. "Really I am. I didn't mean to be so spiteful and mean, but my prid...."

Pride comes before the fall.

The voice resonated in David's brain. He froze. "Is that you Lord?" he whispered.

Silence was his only response.

And then, he collapsed, exhausted from his fighting, frustration, and pride.



"You will do it more David, you'll do it for as long as you draw breath. Fault doesn't change your reaction - mercy, grace, and forgiveness. And of course it works that way, in My world, my son. Don't you see, you're not a weakling or coward for choosing to fight your Pride and your justifications.

I died for sins I didn't commit. I came in human form, a form I didn't "deserve". I chose to take what was dished - am I weak, afraid, cowardly or wrong? Where were you, my son? Where were you when I created the galaxies, stars, planets, earth, sea, and sky? Where were you? You don't deserve it...you deserve nothing, yet have been given everything. It isn't fair...but you've been given forgiveness for all your sins anyway. You want justification...and you've received justification through the death of my son. Your pride is hurt, what pride? What have you done without me? Name one thing, my son. Name one good thing you've done without MY help? Pride? It is not of Me, toss it aside. Apologize for using your words and actions to tear down. Instead, build up others. And take all that is given as your lot. Not because you're a nobody...but because you're MY child...a child of a King, God, and savior...that was the servant of all. Can you follow Me, my child. I'll give you the strength for today."

David woke from his dream in a cold sweat. It was the middle of the night, but sleep had been eluding him...he knew why too....

He had known that he had no right to react the way he did, but it was so easy to not want to care. Unfortunately, he wasn't going to be able to sleep tonight until he'd taken this to his Savior. He knew that it was already forgiven, but the cause of the problem hadn't been taken. Like pulling out the weed, but leaving the roots...if he was going to live the life that he'd been called to live - he couldn't let any pride, frustration, or selfishness live. It was time to die again. Every day, the call to die to himself must be answered. Every day, Jesus must become his reason, his strength, his role-model.

David stepped out of bed and got to his knees, "Jesus, I'm sorry. So sorry. Of anybody, you're the one I hurt the most.... You're right, I don't have the "right" to let anything phase me. I haven't been tortured and killed for sins that I didn't commit...only You Lord. Only You. I know that I'm washed white as snow, but help me to live it out in my daily walk with you. Give me a strength that doesn't exist in me otherwise. Give me love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. For against these things, you've told me, there is no law. I love you Lord. Let me live it today! I'm a sinner, saved and striving for Your will. Thank you. Amen"

David felt peace overtake him for the first time in many hours. He now realized that his dream was much more than it seemed...and knew that he could sleep well - for now his cares and life were back where they belonged...in the arms of his Father. He love on his grandfather more tomorrow, now that he could face his pride and cast it away. "Goodnight Pride, I won't be seeing you tomorrow." David smiled at the thought, as he slowly faded into a restful and meaningful sleep. He would renew himself day by day. If his calling was till he last drew breath, then he'd fight the good fight...zzzzzzzzz.

After he awoke of course.

From The Inside Out

Apostle of the Gentiles

Paul found himself standing in the "great" city of Athens. Admittedly, this wasn't his first day here, but even so he couldn't help but take things in anew. He knew that most would stand in awe of the marble architecture that surrounded him. In fact, he would have had to agree that to the earthly eye - it was indeed a marvelous sight to behold. But he also saw another level of things that the inhabitants of this city seemed to have missed. God, his Lord, the Christ had no place in this place. Especially here at Mars Hill, the local amphitheater.

He had felt the frustration building up inside of him all morning, as he tried reasoning with the the local Jews and God-fearing Gentiles. He had spent his time in the marketplace for the last two days, and the synagogue all of this one...still it seemed few were willing to hear the Gospel, the good news of the risen Messiah.

But now, Paul the Apostle, found himself standing in front of a crowd of philosophers, both Epicureans and Stoics. Now he found himself standing in front of a crowd of doubters, both Jew and Gentile. Now he found himself standing in front of a crowd of worshipers, of both idols and self. Now was the time to speak. He felt God's Spirit come over him, calming and preparing.




So Paul, standing before the council, addressed them:

“Men of Athens, I notice that you are very religious in every way, for as I was walking along I saw your many shrines. And one of your altars had this inscription on it: ‘To an Unknown God.’ This God, whom you worship without knowing, is the one I’m telling you about.

“He is the God who made the world and everything in it. Since he is Lord of heaven and earth, he doesn’t live in man-made temples, and human hands can’t serve his needs—for he has no needs. He himself gives life and breath to everything, and he satisfies every need. From one man he created all the nations throughout the whole earth. He decided beforehand when they should rise and fall, and he determined their boundaries.

“His purpose was for the nations to seek after God and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him—though he is not far from any one of us. For in him we live and move and exist. As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’ And since this is true, we shouldn’t think of God as an idol designed by craftsmen from gold or silver or stone.

“God overlooked people’s ignorance about these things in earlier times, but now he commands everyone everywhere to repent of their sins and turn to him. For he has set a day for judging the world with justice by the man he has appointed, and he proved to everyone who this is by raising him from the dead.”



When the crowd had finished hearing what he had to say about the resurrection of the dead, some laughed in contempt, but others said to him, “We want to hear more about this later.”

Paul knew that his discussion with them was over, but was encouraged nonetheless - for some came up to him afterwards - ready to become believers. Among them was a man who had seemed quite intrigued earlier, Dionysius(a member of the council), a woman named Damaris, and others with them. "Thank You Lord!" he prayed. He knew not to fear what he couldn't control, he had done the planting - perhaps, in time, an even larger harvest would take place from this crowd of pleasure seekers and deniers.

He still remembered the remarks being made about him as he had spoken. "What is the babbling fool trying to say?" Others stating, "Is he a believer in other foreign gods?" But he knew the truth. He, the persecutor of the Christians, was now a part of Christ's body and was God's representative to the gentiles. The apostle of the the gentiles, that was his label - one that he'd bear willingly for God's Kingdom. He knew it was time to prepare for his trip to Corinth, but he understood that his charge to make disciples meant that at least some time would be spent with Dionysius and the others - preparing them for the rough, but meaningful and beautiful road of giving everything in this life to the One who gave life all meaning anyway - Jesus Christ - Savior, King, and Lord of All.

These are the Days of Elijah

1 Kings chapters 18 and 19 have just spoken volumes to me about...well God's faithfulness.

From God's power being revealed by the sarcastic and confident Prophet....

From the decision to flee when things got rough....

From the voice of God only being heard in the stillness of life....

From Elijah's false belief that he was the only one left of God's faithful....

In all these things, lessons can be learned in my life and yours. Elijah, a man who saw God's power in ways we can't even begin to fathom - but in ways that we rarely fathom - though God is still the same God, was able to hit the full spectrum of "human" emotions...and still be used by God in his doubts, fears, and lack of understanding. We don't always see it, just like Elijah, but as God pointed out in chapter 19...we're not in it alone. God is being followed. And we are being supported...we must never forget that God is bigger than our perspective. His is the only perspective that matters anyways! :D Thank you Lord for reminding me about Elijah!

Satan,

I am sick and tired of seeing and hearing those that I care about believing that they aren't - *fill in the blank with whatever word they need to believe about themselves*.

Get out of their thoughts, dreams, decisions, and lives. And that goes for your flunkies too. In the name of Jesus Christ. Get away from my Father's family. Now.

My Heart - Christ's Home

Disclaimer: This is probably the longest blog post I've posted in my 5 years of blogging. It's a short story - Not my own - that I read long ago, and have read many times since. Often we make the mistake of not giving Christ our everything. He has part of us, but does He consume us? Can we allow Him to have free reign over all parts of our lives, relationships, decisions, beliefs, and dreams? If you choose to take this on in pieces, chapters if you will, then I should have divided this easily enough for you to do so. Regardless, I hope it reminds you as much as it does me...Christ deserves our all. :)







In Paul's epistle to the Ephesians, we find these words: "That [God] would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith" (Eph 3:16). Or, as another has translated, "that Christ may settle down and be at home in your hearts by faith."

Without question, one of the most remarkable Christian doctrines is that Jesus Christ himself through the presence of the Holy Spirit will actually enter a heart, settle down and be at home there. Christ will make the human heart his abode.

Our Lord said to his disciples, "If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him" (John 14:23). It was difficult for them to understand what he was saying. How was it possible for him to make his abode with them in this sense?

It is interesting that our Lord used the same word here that he gave them in the first of the 14th chapter of John: "I go to prepare a place for you...that where I am, you may be also." Our Lord was promising his disciples that, just as he was going to heaven to prepare a place for them and would welcome them one day, now it would be possible for them to prepare a place for him in their hearts and he would come and make his abode with them.

They could not understand this. How could it be?

Then came Pentecost. The Spirit of the living Christ was given to the church and they understood. God did not dwell in Herod's temple in Jerusalem! God did not dwell in a temple made with hands; but now, through the miracle of the outpoured Spirit, God would dwell in human hearts. The body of the believer would be the temple of the living God and the human heart would be the home of Jesus Christ. It is difficult for me to think of a higher privilege than to make for Christ a home in my heart, to welcome, to serve, to please, to fellowship with him there.






My Heart - Christ's Home


One evening that I shall never forget, I invited him into my heart. What an entrance he made! It was not a spectacular emotional thing, but very real. It was at the very center of my life. He came into the darkness of my heart and turned on the light. He built a fire in the cold hearth and banished the chill. He started music where there had been stillness and he filled the emptiness with his own wonderful loving fellowship. I have never regretted opening the door to Christ and I never will-- not into eternity!

This, of course, is the first step in making the heart Christ's home. He has said, "Behold I stand at the door and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me" (Rev. 3:20). If you are interested in making your life an abode of the living God, let me encourage you to invite Christ into your heart and he will surely come.

After Christ entered my heart and in the joy of that new-found relationship, I said to him, "Lord, I want this heart of mine to be yours. I want to have you settle down here and be perfectly at home. Everything I have belongs to you. Let me show you around and introduce you to the various features of the home that you may be more comfortable and that we may have fuller fellowship together." He was very glad to come, of course, and happier still to be given a place in the heart.






THE LIBRARY

The first room was the study -- the library. Let us call it the study of the mind. Now in my home this room of the mind is a very small room with very thick walls. But it is an important room. In a sense, it is the control room of the house. He entered with me and looked around at the books in the bookcase, the magazines upon the table, the pictures on the wall. As I followed his gaze I became uncomfortable. Strangely enough, I had not felt badly about this before, but now that he was there looking at these things I was embarrassed. There were some books there that his eyes were too pure to behold. There was a lot of trash and literature on the table that a Christian had no business reading and as for the pictures on the wall -- the imaginations and thoughts of the mind-- these were shameful.

I turned to him and said, "Master, I know that this room needs a radical alteration. Will you help me make it what it ought to be-- to bring every thought into captivity to you?"

"Surely!" he said. "Gladly will I help you. That is one reason I am here. First of all, take all the things that you are reading and seeing which are not helpful, pure, good and true, and throw them out! Now put on the empty shelves the books of the Bible. Fill the library with scriptures and meditate on them day and night. As for the pictures on the wall, you will have difficulty controlling these images, but here is an aid." He gave me a full sized picture of himself. "Hang this centrally," he said, "on the wall of the mind." I did and I have discovered through the years that when my thoughts are centered upon Christ himself, his purity and power cause impure imaginations to retreat. So he has helped me to bring my thoughts into captivity.

May I suggest to you if you have difficulty in this little room of the mind, that you bring Christ in there. Pack it full with the Word of God, meditate upon it and keep before it ever the immediate presence of the Lord Jesus.






THE DINING ROOM

From the study we went to the dining room, the room of appetites and desires. Now this was a very large room. I spent a good deal of time in the dining room and much effort in satisfying my wants.

I said to him, "This is a very commodious room and I am quite sure you will be pleased with what we serve here."

He seated himself at the table with me and asked, "What is on the menu for dinner?"

"Well," I said, "my favorite dishes: old bones, corn husks, sour cabbage, leeks, onions and garlic right out of Egypt." There were the things I liked -- worldly fare. I suppose there was nothing radically wrong in any particular item, but it was not the food that should satisfy the life of a real Christian. When the food was placed before him, he said nothing about it. However, I observed that he did not eat it, and I said to him, somewhat disturbed, "Savior, you don't care for the food that is placed before you? What is the trouble?"

He answered, "I have meat to eat that you know not of. My meat is to do the will of him that sent me." He looked at me again and said, "if you want food that really satisfies you, seek the will of the Father, not your own pleasures, not your own desires, not your own satisfaction. Seek to please me, and that food will satisfy you." And there about the table he gave me a taste of doing God's will. What a flavor! There is no food like it in all the world. It alone satisfies. Everything else is dissatisfying in the end.

Now if Christ is in your heart, and I trust he is, what kind of food are you serving him and what kind of food are you eating yourself? Are you living for the lust of the flesh and the pride of life-- selfishly? Or are you choosing God's will for your meat and drink?






THE DRAWING ROOM

We walked next into the drawing room. This room was rather intimate and comfortable. I liked it. It had a fireplace, overstuffed chairs, a bookcase, sofa and a quiet atmosphere.

He also seemed pleased with it. He said, "This is indeed a delightful room. Let us come here often. It is secluded and quiet and we can have fellowship together."

Well, naturally, as a young Christian I was thrilled. I could not think of anything I would rather do than have a few minutes apart with Christ in intimate comradeship.

He promised, "I will be here every morning early. Meet with me here and we will start the day together." So, morning after morning, I would come downstairs to the drawing room and he would take a book of the Bible from the bookcase. He would open it and then we would read together. He would tell me of its riches and unfold to me its truth. He would make my heart warm as he revealed his love and grace towards me. They were wonderful hours together. In fact, we called the dining room the "withdrawing room." It was a period when we had our quiet time together.

But little by little, under the pressure of many responsibilities, this time began to be shortened. Why, I don't know, but I thought I was just too busy to spend time with Christ. This was not intentional, you understand; it just happened that way. Finally, not only was the time shortened, but I began to miss a day now and then. It was examination time at the university. Then it was some other urgent emergency. I would miss it two days in a row and often more.

I remember one morning when I was in a hurry, rushing down the steps, eager to be on my way.

As I passed the drawing room, the door was ajar. Looking in I saw a fire in the fireplace and the Lord sitting there. Suddenly in dismay, I thought to myself, "He was my guest. I had invited him into my heart! He had come as Lord of my home. And yet here I am neglecting him." I turned and went in. With downcast glance I said, "Blessed Master, forgive me. Have you been here all these mornings?"

"Yes," he said, "I told you I would be here every morning to meet with you." Then I was even more ashamed. He had been faithful in spite of my faithlessness. I asked his forgiveness and he readily forgave me as he does when we are truly penitent.

He said, "The trouble with you is this: You have been thinking of the quiet time, of the Bible study and prayer time, as a factor in your own spiritual progress, but you have forgotten that this hour means something to me also. Remember, I love you. I have redeemed you at a great cost. I desire your fellowship. Now," he said, "do not neglect this hour if only for my sake. Whatever else may be your desire, remember I want your fellowship!"

You know, the truth that Christ wants my fellowship, that he loves me, wants me to be with him, wants to be with me and waits for me, has done more to transform my quiet time with God than any other single fact. Don't let Christ wait alone in the drawing room of your heart, but every day find some time when, with the Word of God and in prayer, you may fellowship with him.







THE WORKSHOP

Before long he asked, "Do you have a workshop in your home?" Down in the basement of the home of my heart I had a workbench and some equipment, but I was not doing much with it. Once in a while I would go down and fuss around with a few little gadgets, but I wasn't producing anything worthwhile.

I led him down there.

He looked over the workbench and what little talents and skills I had. He said, "This is quite well furnished. What are you producing with your life for the Kingdom of God?" He looked at one or two of the little toys that I had thrown together on the bench and he held one up to me. "Are these little toys all that you are producing in your Christian life?"

"Well," I said, "Lord, that is the best I can do. I know it isn't much and I really want to do more, but after all, I have no skill or strength."

"Would you like to do better?" he asked.

"Certainly," I replied.

"All right. Let me have your hands. Now relax in me and let my Spirit work through you. I know you are unskilled and clumsy and awkward, but the Spirit is the Master-worker and if he controls your hands and your heart he will work through you." And so, stepping around behind me and putting his great, strong hands over mine, controlling the tools with his skillful fingers, he began to work through me.

There's much more that I must still learn and I am very far from satisfied with the product that is being turned out, but I do know that whatever has been produced for God has been through his strong hand and through the power of his Spirit in me.

Do not become discouraged because you cannot do much for God. Your ability is not the fundamental condition. It is he who is controlling your fingers and upon whom you are relying. Give your talents and gifts to God and he will do things with them that will surprise you.







THE RUMPUS ROOM

I remember the time he inquired about the playroom. I was hoping he would not ask me about that. There were certain associations and friendships, activities and amusements that I wanted to keep for myself. I did not think Christ would enjoy them or approve of them so I evaded the question.

But there came an evening when I was leaving to join some companions -- I was in college at the time -- and as I was about to cross the threshold, he stopped me with a glance. "Are you going out?"

I answered, "Yes."

"Good," he said, "I would like to go with you."

"Oh," I replied rather awkwardly. "I don't think, Lord, that you would really want to go with us. Let's go out tomorrow night. Tomorrow night we will go to prayer meeting, but tonight I have another appointment."

He said, "That's all right. Only I thought when I came into your home we were going to do everything together. We were going to be partners. I want you to know that I am willing to go with you."

"Well," I said, "we will go some place together tomorrow night."

But that evening I spent some miserable hours. I felt wretched. What kind of friend was I to Christ, when I was deliberately leaving him out of my associations, doing things and going places that I knew very well he would not enjoy? When I returned that evening, there was a light in his room and I went up to talk it over with him. I said, "Lord, I have learned my lesson. I cannot have a good time without you. We will do everything together from now on."

Then we went down into the rumpus room of the house and he transformed it. He brought into life real joy, real happiness, real satisfaction, real friendship. Laughter and music have been ringing in the house ever since.






THE BEDROOM

One day when we were in my bedroom, he asked me about the picture next to my bed.

“That’s a picture of my girlfriend,” I told him. Although I knew my relationship with my girlfriend was a good one, I felt funny talking with him about it. She and I were struggling with some issues and I didn’t want to discuss them with him. I tried to change the subject.

But Jesus must have known what I was thinking. “You are beginning to question my teaching on sex, aren’t you? That sexual relations are only for those who are joined in the covenant of marriage? You’re feeling that I may be asking something unnatural, if not impossible, for you. You’re afraid my will on this will limit the full enjoyment of life and love. Isn’t that true?”

“Yes,” I confessed.

“Then listen carefully to what I am saying,” he continued. “I forbid adultery and premarital sex, not because sex is bad but because it is good. Beyond the physical ecstasy it is a means of bonding two lives in deepening love. It has the creative power to bring human life into being. Sex is powerful. Used properly, sex has tremendous potential for good. Used improperly, it destroys the good. For this reason, God intends it to be expressed only within the commitment of a loving life partnership. There is far more to love than just sex.”

“Let me help you in your relationship with the opposite sex. If you should fail, and feel shame and guilt, know I still love you and will remain with you. Talk to me about it! Acknowledge the wrong! Take steps to avoid it happening again! Rely on my strength to keep you from falling and to lead you into a relationship of love in marriage where two truly become one in me.”






THE HALL CLOSET

There is just one more matter that I might share with you. One day I found him waiting for me at the door. There was an arresting look in his eye. He said to me as I entered, "There is a peculiar odor in the house. There is something dead around here. It's upstairs. I think it is in the hall closet." As soon as he said the words, I knew what he was talking about. Yes, there was a small hall closet behind lock and key I had one or two little personal things that I did not want anybody to know about and certainly I did not want Christ to see. I knew they were dead and rotting things. And yet I loved them, and I wanted them so for myself that I was afraid to admit they were there. I went up the stairs with him and as we mounted, the odor became stronger and stronger. He pointed at the door and said, "It's in there! Some dead thing!"

I was angry. That's the only way I can put it. I had given him access to the library, the dining room, the drawing room, the workshop, the rumpus room, and now he was asking me about a little two-by-four closet. I said inwardly, "This is too much. I am not going to give him the key."

"Well," he said, reading my thoughts, "if you think I am going to stay up here on the second floor with this odor, you are mistaken. I will take my bed out on the back porch. I'm certainly not going to put up with that." And I saw him start down the stairs.

When you have come to know and love Christ, the worst thing that can happen to you is to sense his fellowship retreating from you. I had to surrender. "I'll give you the key," I said sadly, "but you'll have to open the closet. You'll have to clean it out. I haven't the strength to do it."

"I know," he said. "I know you haven't. Just give me the key. Just authorize me to take care of that closet and I will." So, with trembling fingers I passed the key over to him. He took it from my hand, walked over to the door, opened it, entered it, took out all the putrefying stuff that was rotting there and threw it away. Then he cleansed the closet, painted it, fixed it up, doing it all in a moment's time. Oh, what victory and release to have that dead thing out of my life!






TRANSFERRING THE TITLE

Then a thought came to me. I said to myself, "I have been trying to keep this heart of mine clear for Christ. I start on one room and no sooner have I cleaned that then another room is dirty. I begin on the second room and the first room becomes dusty again. I am so tired and weary trying to maintain a clean heart and an obedient life. I just am not up to it!" So I ventured a question: "Lord, is there any chance that you would take over the responsibility of the whole house and operate it for me and with me just as you did that closet? Would you take the responsibility to keep my heart what it ought to be and my life where it ought to be?"

I could see his face lighten up as he replied, "Certainly, that is what I came to do. You can not be a victorious Christian in your own strength. That is impossible. Let me do it through you and for you. That is the way. But," he added slowly, "I am not owner of this house. I am just a guest. I have no authority to proceed since the property is not mine."

I saw it in a minute and dropping to my knees, I said, "Lord, you have been a guest, and I have been the host. From now on I am going to be the servant. You are going to be the Lord." Running as fast as I could to the strong box, I took out the title deed to the house describing its assets and liabilities, its situation and condition. Then returning to him, I eagerly signed it over to belong to him alone for time and eternity. "Here," I said, "here it is, all that I am and have forever. Now you run the house. I'll just remain with you as houseboy and friend."

He took my life that day and I can give you my word, there is no better way to live the Christian life. He knows how to keep it in shape and deep peace settles down on the soul. May Christ settle down and be at home in your heart as Lord of all.

Why?

The battle cry resounds in all of our hearts...but are we afraid to answer it? Why?

Do we only believe that the rich can help the poor? Why?

Do we only believe that the educated can teach us? Why?

Do we only believe that the other nations need missionaries? Why?

Do we only believe that our nation needs missionaries? Why?

Do we only believe that we can help others if we graduate? Why?

Do we only believe that we are truly helping others if we live in their same conditions? Why?

Do we only believe that we can't help others if we live in their same conditions? Why?

Do we believe that we have fallen short of our purpose? Why?

Do we believe that it's too late? Why?

Do we believe that we made a mistake? Why?

Do we believe that we have it all together? Why?

Do we believe that things are worth lying for? Why?

Do we believe that we should live for joy? Why?

Do we believe that we should live for pain? Why?

Do we believe that we should look a certain way? Why?

Do we believe that we should act a certain way? Why?

Do we believe that Jesus is our savior? Why?

Do we act like we believe it...in the way we live, laugh, love, hope, dream, trust, lead, teach, preach, talk, move, think, fight, submit, heal, break, hurt, pursue, sing, breathe, feel, and pray? Why?

Each of us have a unique calling from God. We are asked to respond to His battle cry...some follow through standing...some through falling. Some follow through teaching, others through following. Some follow through giving everything, some through maintaining to give that way. Some follow through seeking a relationship, some through avoiding one. Some follow through PHD's and education, some through no academic learning of any kind. Some follow through charging in front and center, some through working behind the scenes. Some follow through passions, some through a lack there of. Some follow through discipline, some follow through a lack there of. Some follow through waiting, some through acting instantly.

The point that needs to be grasped here is this:

Why? Only God knows an individual's heart. If God tells someone else to do things that we don't understand or intend on doing, would we truly know? If God wants us to be His missionaries to "all the world"...wouldn't it make sense that in the grand scheme some missionaries would be local and some foreign. If God wants us to reach "all people" wouldn't he have some educated and non-educated followers? Wouldn't He use the rich that love Him and the poor that love Him?

Our way of thinking is dangerous. God's is downright uncompromisable. With God all things are possible. Remember? So if God is in OUR hearts - shouldn't we believe in others when no one else does? If God is in OUR hearts - shouldn't we KNOW that pain will come, YET rejoice in it? If God is in OUR hearts - shouldn't ALL things work for OUR good? If God is in OUR hearts - shouldn't we be OPPOSED to the world's view of truth? If God is in OUR hearts - shouldn't we shine even when NOBODY else does? If God is in OUR hearts - isn't EVERY day worth being joyful over?

If God is in OUR hearts - shouldn't we be dancing and grinning and ready to praise Him for SAVING us for ETERNITY with Him in the ONLY REALITY that REALLY MATTERS AT ALL - God's.

The Battle cry has been sounded. Will you fight the voices in your head that aren't of God? God CAN use the good and bad, the right choices you've made thus far and the wrong ones, the lifestyles of a Mother Teresa, a Saul-turned Paul, or a you. Will you let Him? Or will you listen to Satan tell you how to keep living a life that God has "given" you?

Why?

That's My King!

That's MY King!!! :)

Reality

Nicole sat in the library, working on her homework. It was just another day, or so she thought. As the rain pattered upon the roof, she had the desire to look outside the nearest window. As she did, she saw a rainbow - what she didn't know is that this rainbow was more than a sign of God's promise...it was much, much more....

Nicole found herself standing in the middle of beautiful brick streets, with the brightest of stars shining above her in the night sky. "Where am I?" she whispered into the night.

You are where you're supposed to be.

"Who said that?" she replied, still trying to find the source of the strange but somehow comforting voice. Silence was the only response that she received.

She slowly walked down the street, gazing at the rows of buildings, Gothic Revival in style, that looked as if they had been made by the most skilled of architects. She felt as those she was back in the Victorian Era. She laughed silently to herself, realizing that she was completely relaxed, completely happy. She didn't want to wake up from this dream. She just stood there...marveling. She thought back to the voice, to his statement. She didn't belong here, did she? It was too good to be true...

All of a sudden the voice spoke to her again, "Life is what you make it. This is my gift to you Nicole. You don't ever have to go back if you don't want to."

A thrill rushed through her body, but she still needed an answer....

"Please, tell me who you are." Nicole said again.

As she waited for a response, she saw a great lion approaching her calmly, majestically. And though she knew she was supposed to be afraid, she only felt peace in this place.

And from the lion's mouth, the voice spoke again, "I am Aslan, the King and Lord of the realm, and many others. And I've known all along what your heart's desire was...and I gave it to you for a reason. This is your reality, it won't fade, it won't break...it is a part of you, as am I. That is my gift to you my daughter, my beloved."

Nicole smiled, sometimes too good to be true is true after all! :)

Don't Give Up

2 Corinthians 1:3 ~ "He is the source of every mercy and the God who comforts us."

More like falling in Love

Jesus, I need You. I won't, can't, settle for less than You being my everything. You are my foundation. You are my reason. I fall more in love with You every moment that I spend with You...may it always be that way. If I hurt You, I'm sorry. If I fight You, please forgive me. I am every hurt, pain, and sin that You bore...but You, my Savior, You love me anyway. This heart, my heart, may it always beat for You Lord. May I live for You. May I laugh for You. May I die for You. It was falling in love with You that brought the change in me! :) You have swept me off my feet....

When

When God is in control, it's easy to trust. When it's easy to trust, it's easy to relax. When it's easy to relax, it's easy to appreciate. When it's easy to appreciate, it's easy to be thankful. When it's easy to be thankful, it's easy to realize that God is the cause. When it's God's Who's the cause, it must be reality...because God is always in control. Just sayin ;)

With the Eyes of Barnabas

This is taken from Jesus Freaks - Revolutionaries. It got me thinking a lot tonight:

"Don't be a fool, Joses. The man is a murderer and a spy! He only wants to come to us so that he can gather names to give to the council and bring us all to trial as he did Stephen. He will stop at nothing to see us all executed. No, we cannot let him come here, no matter what he claims. Brother Barnabas, we know you mean well as always, but you must see the reason in protecting ourselves. We cannot let Saul come to meet with us. Brother Peter, I turn to your leadership as always in this matter; please tell Barnabas that we would be exposing ourselves to unnecessary risk.

Peter looked from the speaker to Joses, whom the members of the first church had nicknamed Barnabas, the "son of consolation," because of his constant encouragement to the brethren. Barnabas looked troubled by the words, but Peter could tell he wasn't finished pleading his case. "Brother Barnabas, you have something else to add?"

"Only that I know the change that came to my life from accepting Jesus as the Messiah. And I know the change that came to your life, Brother Peter. And yours, Brother Isaac, and the change that came to the rest of you here today. Didn't Jesus preach that all who call upon His name would be saved? Well, Saul has called on that name. He also met with the risen Jesus on the road to Damascus. I know the man who held the coats of those who stoned Stephen as we stood by helplessly, and I know the man who reasoned with the Jewish Brethren and Greeks in Damascus that Jesus is the Messiah. He is the same man on the outside, but not the same man on the inside. Saul is no longer a persecutor, but a brother in Christ. In fact, he left Damascus in fear for his own life because of the boldness of his testimony. What good is Jesus' sacrifice and Stephen's forgiveness of those who killed him if we cannot look past the flesh of a man and accept what Jesus has done to change his heart?"

Those in the room grew quiet for a moment, then Peter spoke for all of them. "As always, Barnabas, your words have spoken straight to my heart. I cannot refute fellowship to any who will call upon His name, as Jesus himself said He would not. Can any of the rest of you?"

As Peter looked around the room, no eyes met his gaze, but many nodded their heads in agreement with him. They knew the danger of rejecting Jesus' words was greater than any threat to their lives.

It was in such a way that Saul, who was destined to become Paul the apostle, was admitted as a brother to the church in Jerusalem by Barnabas, "the encourager."

Barnabas continued to travel with and encourage Saul for some time after that. They journeyed together to Antioch in Syria, where they taught and argued the cause of Christ so well that the members of the church in Antioch were the first to call themselves "Christians". He also supported Paul as he returned to Jerusalem to persuade the brethren there that Christianity was not to be a sect of Judaism - following all the laws of the Old Testament and just adding Jesus - but it was a transformation of their covenant with God into something new through Christ, surpassing the law to a life in the Spirit made possible by Jesus' death and resurrection.

Barnabas was such an eloquent speaker and preached with such passion and convincing doctrine that he was the chosen speaker over Paul on their first missionary journey. However, when God began to bring Paul to the forefront, Barnabas the encourager took the lesser place without complaint. He was not worried about position as much as seeing the call of God being fulfilled in Paul's life.

John Mark, Barnabas's nephew, had deserted Paul and Barnabas on their first missionary journey when things looked like they were getting rough, but he repented and asked to go along with them on their second journey to the north. Paul refused to let him come along because of his earlier desertion, but Barnabas stuck with John Mark much as he had stuck with Paul before the brethren in Jerusalem years earlier.

Thus Barnabas and Paul went separate ways, Paul took Silas and headed to Syria and Cilicia, and Barnabas and John Mark went to Cyprus. Barnabas eventually encouraged John Mark to travel with Peter.

Being originally from Cyprus, Barnabas stayed on there preaching Christ to all who came across his path. Such a following rose up that he fell into contention with a Jewish sorcerer who was losing business because the things Barnabas taught freed the people from their fear of him and what his "magic" could do to them. Because of this, the sorcerer stirred the non-Christians of the city against Barnabas. They soon falsely accused Barnabas of some crime and had him thrown into prison.

When a time was set for Barnabas to come before a judge in Salamina, fearing the judge would discover his innocence and release him, a mob led by the sorcerer raided the jail, put a rope around Barnabas's neck, dragged him outside the city, and burned him."



Barnabas was not swayed by the views of the mainstream. When everyone else flowed idly with the currents of fear or popular opinion, he took his paddle in hand and fought hard to get their boat back into God's flow of love and acceptance, even if he was the only one paddling. He judged people by the confessions of their hearts and how they lined up with the Word of God, not by their past or what they looked like. Where others saw a lost cause or an enemy, Barnabas saw great potential and a brother or sister in the Lord that needed the support of an encourager. He stood by those others rejected, and by doing so he helped them to realize greater things in their own lives than he did in his own.

In a world where self-promotion seems to be a key to success, there are not many like Barnabas. How many of us would be willing to help those around us go on to accomplish greater things than we do ourselves or befriend the unpopular because they claim they belong to Christ?

God claims YOU, if you've claimed Him. Do NOT believe otherwise. You are loved, and just like Barnabas saw great potential in those that others didn't (and was right!)...God sees great potential in YOU. Anything in your head, heart, or soul that says otherwise is from Satan. Not Jesus. Be loved, Be forgiven, Be accepted, Be redeemed, and above all - Be sure of who you are in Christ - His Child, His Beloved, His All-in-All. :)





Now you can have sincere love for each other as brothers and sisters because you were cleansed from your sins when you accepted the truth of the Good News. So see to it that you really do love each other intensely with all your hearts. ~ 1 Peter 1:22

Enough is Enough!

Satan,

We need to talk. Here's the thing, I haven't been able to be myself in a few days...3 to be exact...and well, when I am - it's been a constant battle against self. And I'm really weak right now, frustrated that I've given you any ground at all lately. I've been hurting, tired, frustrated and even scared. It's like fighting you everyday, but always feeling like I'm barely holding, or worse - Losing ground! Don't you know that you're not supposed to have power over me? Better yet, don't I know it?!? After all, I've been praying against this very thing since it started. I know the cause isn't anything or anyone here, it's the demons you sent to take places in my life....

So tell your flunkies to get away from here. Now.

Better yet, allow me:

"Demons, there is a clearing of my heart, mind and soul in this moment. A clearing of my eyes. I see you now, and I recognize the part you've had in me. It seems you like to keep coming back to finish what you started years and years ago....

But I recognize something more now...I know you no longer have a hold on me anymore! You, my uninvited "friends", are scabs that have just fallen from a sore. I have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ, and I claim that cleansing now.

I was born for this "New Life"...you were just hoping I wouldn't claim it weren't you? Well I do! I won't live for the demons in my life. I see you - selfishness, bitterness, pride, hurt, fear, lust, tyranny, hate, doubt, pain, lies, anger, frustration, gossip, and the rest of you that I don't recognize on sight. I banish all of you, in the power of Christ. And in Christ alone! I, a child of the Most High, brother of Jesus the Nazarene, Possessor of The Holy Spirit, Saint in the battle the rages daily...with the Authority of my Savior, Jesus Christ, give you place in my life and heart no more! Be gone!

I see you all! But I see them too! God's angels, and I recognize them too - Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, Self-control, Humility, Forgiveness, Healing, Courage, Modesty, Benevolence, Faith, Truth, and the rest of His Heavenly Host! :D

I've started this letter to let you know how much power you had over me...and how I resented it. But now, I thank you for it! Because I needed to feel overwhelmed, I needed to be disgruntled, I needed to struggle with your forces. Why? Simple, because I needed to realize that it was you, Beelzebub, that was attacking my mind. God has already beat you. :) You have no power over me, except what I give you :) You have failed oh dark ones, I am a son of the light. Flawed yet Holy. Sinner yet Saint. Fallen but Redeemed!

I will still encounter pains, but I'll embrace those pains. I would not barter them for any earthly pleasure. All the delights of sense, heart, or intellect, with which you could once have tempted me, even the delights of virtue itself, now seem in comparison to the half nauseous attractions of a raddled harlot would seem to a man who hears that his true beloved whom he has loved all his life and whom he had believed to be dead is alive and even now at his door! I am caught up in a world where pain and pleasure take on the transfinite values and all our knowledge is dismayed. I guess you could say that I've been reintroduced to the inexplicable ;) And I like it!!! :)

Thank you demons! I know where I've been, where I am, and where I'm going! I will be a better friend, brother, and man. Not by my strength, but through my flaws! I will forgive, forget, and love my neighbors and my enemies. I will recognize the presence of darkness, and seek my strength in the giver of light! My God is the God who saves! He is Mighty to Save!

Thanks for your time satan ;)

Never Yours,

Daniel

*ROUND TWO STARTS NOW! (and I read the ending already ;)*

:)

Only in You

I can only move, when I move in You.

I can only breathe, when I breathe in You.

I can only rest, when I rest in You.

I can only choose, when I choose in You.

I can only surrender, when I surrender in You.

I can only succeed, when I succeed in You.

I can only laugh, when I laugh in You.

I can only love, when I love in You.

I can only trust, when I trust in You.

I can only hope, when I hope in You.

I can only stand, when I stand in You.

I can only be strong, when I'm strong in You.

I can only be humble, when I'm humble in You.

I can only show courage, when I show courage in You.

I can only do right, when I do right in You.

I can only believe, when I believe in You.

I can only have faith, when I have faith in You.

I can only stop thinking of You....well that day will NEVER come.

I can be all things good, but only in You. Only in You, can I let Your will be done. So, Abba, let Your will be done, always. If it costs me something, or everything. If I gain the world, or lose it. If i live or if I die. I will obey. Only in You. Only in You. Can I truly be myself.

Light Up the Sky

Indescribable

God never gives up. :)

When Joseph was dropped into a pit by his own brothers, God didn't give up.

When Moses said, "Here I am, send Aaron," God didn't give up.

When the delivered Israelites wanted Egyptian slavery instead of milk and honey, God didn't give up.

When Peter worshiped Him at the supper and cursed Him at the fire, He didn't give up.

When I rejected His truth and said, "I'll never believe in You," He didn't give up.

Though I make mistakes everyday, He never, ever, gives up on me.

And when my hands fastened the divine hands to a cross with spikes, it wasn't the soldiers who held the hands of Jesus steady. It was God who held them steady. God, who would give up His only son before He'd give up on you and me.

"God's business is putting things right." Psalm 11:7 MSG

Jesus, You are ridiculously INDESCRIBABLE! God, I don't deserve you! Thank God, literally, that none of us get what we deserve! :D

Grace

If I learned one thing in life it's this: There's Only Grace...I won't sing Matthew West in this moment...maybe later ;)

(The Message, Romans 5)

"By entering through faith into what God has always wanted to do for us—set us right with him, make us fit for him—we have it all together with God because of our Master Jesus. And that's not all: We throw open our doors to God and discover at the same moment that he has already thrown open his door to us. We find ourselves standing where we always hoped we might stand—out in the wide open spaces of God's grace and glory, standing tall and shouting our praise.

There's more to come: We continue to shout our praise even when we're hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next. In alert expectancy such as this, we're never left feeling shortchanged. Quite the contrary—we can't round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit!

Christ arrives right on time to make this happen. He didn't, and doesn't, wait for us to get ready. He presented himself for this sacrificial death when we were far too weak and rebellious to do anything to get ourselves ready. And even if we hadn't been so weak, we wouldn't have known what to do anyway. We can understand someone dying for a person worth dying for, and we can understand how someone good and noble could inspire us to selfless sacrifice. But God put his love on the line for us by offering his Son in sacrificial death while we were of no use whatever to him.

Now that we are set right with God by means of this sacrificial death, the consummate blood sacrifice, there is no longer a question of being at odds with God in any way. If, when we were at our worst, we were put on friendly terms with God by the sacrificial death of his Son, now that we're at our best, just think of how our lives will expand and deepen by means of his resurrection life! Now that we have actually received this amazing friendship with God, we are no longer content to simply say it in plodding prose. We sing and shout our praises to God through Jesus, the Messiah!"


I'm a sinner, and regardless of anything that ANYBODY believes...there will never be a day in my life that I get it all right. Just reading the words above...that's why I believe. That's why I will run the race to the best of my abilities. That's why I must die to myself daily, because of that kind of Love. A love that nobody in this world can compete with...a love that though the thought humbles us...we still can't fully comprehend it. Only God loves us like that. Only God can fill the God-sized void in our hearts. Only God can use that which is broken, and then make it new.

I remember vividly the choices I made to deny God. There was even a time, 6 years ago, where I told Him that I'd rather go to Hell than to go to a place that was run in a system like His...

I can't never take those words back.

I meant them at the time.

But no longer....

Sunday my pastor spoke about forgiveness. And all I could think about was the fact that I don't deserve it. I guess that's the point, after all...none of us do. He mentioned that grace was a gift. Romans 5 is a part of that promise to us. I can't take back what I said, but I can live for Him now. I can't change my past, but I will change my future. I can't be good enough, smart enough, kind enough, patient enough, trusting enough, wise enough, or strong enough, by my own merit.

Praise God for Jesus! :)

Tonight, I look back on everything that has brought me here. And I say to Satan, all that's happened was in God's hands. And all that will happen is in God hands! My life is so blessed and I can't stop smiling at how amazing it is! :) But even if God said to me, "Daniel, it's time to break you, again." My response would finally be, "Lord, I trust you. It's not safe, I might get hurt, but I know that You love me and that everything that You do is, ultimately, for my good. So I guess what I what I'm saying to You is that...Your will be done."

Praise God when it rains, and when it shines :)

But don't think that doesn't mean that I won't be beaming when it's shining! :D

Bowfire!

Adventure

It's the weekend! Well, close enough to qualify anyway.

I have a confession to make. I really, really want to be somewhere else right now....

I desire to be a cowboy, out riding into the sunset. I desire to be a bard, playing across the land. I desire to be a hero, standing against the onset of evil. I desire to be a wanderer, roaming the hills of Europe. I desire to be...for the moment...somebody else.

I suppose I should clarify, I don't really mean this...it's a thought that just needs sleep to pass. I LOVE my life. I always will! It's a gift from God, and I'm blessed beyond belief. And if I wanted to take this point a step farther, since I've been back from Fort Worth, I'm a new man, with a new found faith. A new passion, joy, and trust. In other words, I'm SOO glad to be where I am. I wouldn't trade the people in my life for the world!

....I just...I really want an Adventure that takes everything in me to complete! I want a challenge that leaves me exhausted, but satisfied...knowing I overcame! I want to look evil in the face and challenge it head on! Is it sad to know that being a real man is about what's on the inside, not the outside...and yet still feel the need to measure up? To desire to know that I could be a William Wallace from Braveheart? Mr. Darcy from Pride and Prejudice? Maximus from Gladiator? Luke from Star Wars? Aragorn from Lord of the Rings? Peter from Narnia? Moses, Gideon, Samuel, Daniel, Elijah!

But you don't judge by appearance. You judge the heart of a man. Lord bring me back to the place I need to be, it's all about you...and not about me. It's about my heart and not my stature, help me to seek you...through tears and laughter! I know these thoughts won't consume me, but I still request that You teach me to see. That my desires should be on one thing alone, ending my life knowing that Your light in me shown!

Wind Waker Unplugged

This made me smile :)

Commit and Rest

It's late, almost two in the morning. But I can't go to sleep without focusing on an idea that's been in my head all day and night. I've been reading in Galatians and that has been a very good thing!

The sky is black. The world is asleep and dreaming. But the day is coming....

The stillness of the dawn will be replaced by the by the busy pace of the human race. The refuge of the early morning will be invaded by decisions to be made and deadlines to be met.

In those hours I will be exposed to the day's demands. It is now that I must make a choice. Because of Calvary, because of His price, I'm free to choose. And so I do.

I Choose Love...

No occasion in life justifies hatred; no injustice warrants bitterness. I choose love. Today I will love God and the people that He puts in my path.

I Choose Joy...

I will keep God's joy in my heart. God is bigger than circumstance. I will refuse the temptation of being cynical...I will refuse to see people as anything less than human being, created by God. I will refuse to see any problem as less than an opportunity to see God.

I Choose Peace...

I will live forgiven. I will forgive so that I may live.

I Choose Patience...

I will overlook the inconveniences of the world. Instead of cursing the one who takes my place, I'll invite him to do so. Rather than complain that the wait is too long, I will thank God for the moment to pray. Instead of clinching my fist at new assignments, I will face them with joy and courage.

I Choose Kindness...

"I will be kind to the poor, for they are alone. Kind to the rich, for they are afraid. And kind to the unkind, for such is how God has treated me."

I Choose Goodness...

I will go without anything I need before I receive it dishonestly. I will before I boast in anything but Christ. For He is the only thing that's good in me. I will confess before I accuse. I will choose goodness.

I Choose Faithfulness...

Today I will keep my promises. Those that trust me will not regret their trust. My friends will not question my word. My parents, siblings and friends won't question my love. I will meet the needs of those that need me.

I Choose Gentleness...

Nothing is won by force, not permanently anyways. I choose to be gentle. "If I raise my voice may it be only in praise. If I clench my fist may it be only in prayer. If I make a demand, may it be only of myself."

I Choose Self-Control...

I am a spiritual being...everything is spiritual.
"After this body is dead, my spirit will soar. I refuse to let what will rot, rule the eternal. I choose self-control. I will be drunk only by joy. I will be impassioned only by my faith. I will be influenced only by God. I will be taught only by Christ." I choose self-control.


The Fruits of the Spirit. To these I commit my day. If I succeed I will give thanks. If I fail, I will seek His grace. And now, as at the end of this day...I will place my head on my pillow and rest. In God alone.

Audience Of One

...let it find within me, a heart that beats to praise You!

Stand to Fall

I've been sitting in the chapel for the last hour. Trying to find the words for a tune that's been in my heart all day. They came, I listened and now I can haunt this church with my singing :) lstm. I think I'm going to title it: Stand to Fall



I've spent my whole life searching, for what...I don't really know.
I've spent my whole life striving, to be the kind of man who would go.
Yes, I've spent plenty years believing, that I could never follow Your call.
No, I can't believe I was so foolish, it's time to stand...which means it's time to fall....

And I fall, to my knees, it's the only place that I want to be!
And I fall, upon this ground, God I sense Your Spirit...it's all around!

'Cause in weakness, You are my strength! In my shame, You're my victory!
And In my sin, I know I'm redeemed! In my pain, you've caused me to sing!

And I fall, to my knees, it's the only place that I want to be!
And I fall, upon this ground, God I sense Your Spirit...it's all around!

'Cause in weakness, You are my strength! In my shame, You're my victory!
And In my sin, I know I'm redeemed! In my pain, you've caused me to sing!

I've given most of my heart, for the things of this earth.
I've given most of my heart, so I could fill up my hurts.
Yes, I've spent plenty years believing, that I could never follow Your call.
No, I can't believe i was so foolish, it's time to stand...which means it's time to fall....

And I fall, to my knees, it's the only place that I want to be!
And I fall, upon this ground, God I sense Your Spirit...it's all around!

'Cause in weakness, You are my strength! In my shame, You're my victory!
And In my sin, I know I'm redeemed! In my pain, you've caused me to sing!

And I fall, to my knees, it's the only place that I want to be!
And I fall, upon this ground, God I sense Your Spirit...it's all around!

'Cause in weakness, You are my strength! In my shame, You're my victory!
And In my sin, I know I'm redeemed! In my pain, you've caused me to sing!

I've been offered a choice, to respond to His love.
I've been totally washed, yes cleansed by His blood.
Yes, I've spent plenty of years believing, but now Lord I'll respond to your call!
No, I won't deny that I was so foolish, but I'll take my stand! Lord, I'll take my fall!

And I fall, to my knees, it's the only place that I want to be!
And I fall, upon this ground, God I sense Your Spirit...it's all around!

'Cause in weakness, You are my strength! In my shame, You're my victory!
And In my sin, I know I'm redeemed! In my pain, you've caused me to sing!

And I fall, to my knees, it's the only place that I want to be!
And I fall, upon this ground, God I sense Your Spirit...it's all around!

'Cause in weakness, You are my strength! In my shame, You're my victory!
And In my sin, I know I'm redeemed! In my pain, you've caused me to sing!

Jesus I fall, to my knees, You're the only one that I'll ever need!
Jesus I fall, upon this ground, I need Your Spirit...Lord Your mercy abounds....

:)

Father, how I love you. I've spent two-thirds of my life ignoring and rejecting you. I've spent the remainder hurting you...time and time again. I've sinned every day of my life.

And how do you repay me?

With a Grace beyond my imagination. With forgiveness that just isn't fair. With love that I rejected and don't deserve. I'm so unworthy...so well, messed up.

And yet, I've been given everything! There are no blessings I deserve, yet I am blessed beyond all I could imagine.

If ever someone deserved all the Love, Praise, Faith, Hope, Trust, Laughter, Dedication, Determination, Will-Power, Knowledge, Skills, Talents, Time, and Everything else that's within this body...this Spirit...it's You Lord. It's only You!


I just saw the movie, What If?, with my mom! It's incredible. And honestly, Camp Rock two kind of made me laugh too... (My sisters made me watch...but I suppose I'm glad they did ;) lstm. God is so good! ~ Understatement of the Century.

To God Alone

Follow the link, apparently it prefers running directly from Youtube. But it's worth it!

Such a Beautiful picture of how God works....

I will bring Praise!

Desert Song. That's the song that has been running through my head ever since this morning.

"...I will bring praise, I will bring praise, no weapon formed against me shall remain!"

I've never had so much inner peace as I've had since Fort Worth.

The inner peace comes when something else is traded for it though...my desire to be in control. Something I could never bring myself to give up. And then it clicked! All I had to do was realize that it took MORE control to not be in control than I had in being in control did.

A paradox. My favorites :)

If you've ever wondered why I adamantly believe in God with every fiber of my being...it's seriously because of His incredible use of paradoxes and constant confusion that He leads me through. Only God Himself could and would exist in such a way as to turn my world upside-down...and make me realize something about that upside-down world...I never really cared for it at all, all I ever wanted was Him. It made too much sense, and I've never looked back. Besides, I realized at the time, if I can understand God's perspective...then God is not really God anyway, is He?

My thoughts are not your thoughts. My ways are not your ways.

I wanted to save the world. I couldn't. I wanted life to be about me. It isn't. I wanted to be physically strong. It wasn't me. I wanted to be the best. I'm not. I wanted to understand. I don't. I wanted to seem wise. Should a truly wise person desire to "appear" wise? No. In the end, everything in my life has always been summed up by two words:

I wanted

Now I want to want Him. Now I'm scared to keep asking Him to take me all the way...but I'm even more afraid not to ask....

God has given me innumerable chances, and keeps on going.

Am I messed up? Yep. Am I ready? Nope. Am I okay with following a God who says: "I'll show you your next steps...but for now...only one step at a time." Why yes, yes I am.

If all I ever had from today on out was all this world could throw...I wouldn't hesitate to still follow You my Lord...where every You ask me, I'll go. For you alone, are my solid ground. My peace is found in You. My Jesus how I trust the peace, for the peace of God stands true!

Something Beautiful

I love the meaning and heart behind this song :)

Dedication - Samwise Chambers

I'm dedicating this post to Sam Chambers, a solid Christian brother and dear friend. Let it not be said that I forget to dedicate on time Master Samwise ;)


So anyways, I was speaking to Sam earlier today, catching up, since I hadn't spoken to him since he'd moved out. And, in our conversation, he mentioned that he had been thinking about how the greatest calling we had in each of our lives is to be a...servant. Wow, in my head I know this...but having it stated out loud seems to give it even more power and significance :)


Sam, since I've met you, I've looked up to you.

You're willing to be compassionate, sincere, and to show your emotions. Yet you are a man's man and are not afraid to take risks or to stand up for what you believe is right. There are very few renaissance men left, and not a large number of cowboys or gentleman either...yet you've managed to combine the three. I love you and Heather both, and know beyond a shadow of a doubt that yours is a relationship that is God-honoring. I count it an honor and privilege to stand beside you as your brother in Christ. And I'll always be willing to back you up, even to the gates of Hell and back, if that's where you needed me! I praise God for friends like you good sir! A servant and a leader, a fighter and a healer, and doer and a dreamer...may these be the qualities that you always embody. God be with you.

Your Brother,

Daniel

Submission

Submission can be a dangerous word. Submitting to someone is very serious. Submitting is difficult, period.

And yet, it's the only hope our marriage to Christ has.

Don't get me wrong, I don't use the word, submission, lightly...and I don't use it in a negative light, though I'm sure it can be seen by some that way.

The word submit doesn't appear much in scripture. But it does appear in the letter to the Ephesians (in chapter 5:21). "Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ."

To submit means, "to place yourself under something, to give allegiance, to tend to the needs of, to be responsive."

Part of being called to follow Christ is following His example, His sacrifice, His giving His life for ours. In layman's terms, people are worth dying for.

That's right, I said it and meant it, people are worth dying for.

One of my favorite Disney movies is Hercules. There's this part that always touches my heart the most it's a moment where Hercules jumps into the "river of death" to free the soul of the girl that he loves. Admittedly he doesn't die, but he had been willing to die for her. And we are called to an even higher standard, an even greater love...we aren't just called to die for those we love the most....

And I know that I'm not the only one that stirs in moments like that, like the scene in Hercules...why are those moments so powerful? Because we know it to be true. And when we see it happen, it awakens a strength in our hearts too.

Jesus said that there was no greater love a person could have than to lay down their life for another. So if we know that's true...than we can and do agree that people are worth dying for.


Off topic aren't we Daniel?

Nope. Because dying to ourselves in no different than dying a physical death...both mean letting go.

Die to yourself so that other people can live.

Admittedly, the verses in Ephesians 5 that I'm looking at start explaining that the wife must submit to her husband. But it continues on to state that husbands should love their wives in the same way that Christ loved the church...and gave himself up for her.

Tracking with me yet?

Christ's "headship" comes from his giving himself up for the church, his bride, us.

His sacrifice.

His surrender.

His willingness to give himself away for her. For you. For me.

His death.

Jesus is ultimate example of Submission. One word: Crucifixion

So ultimately, whatever authority the word "head" carries with it is rooted in the sacrifice of Christ, and therefore the sacrifice of each of us that believe we are over or above anyone else.

This is one of the reasons why I love Jesus so much. He's so...well...full of paradoxes. :)


When we wait for someone to submit to us...we are actually failing to lead. We start to believe we are strong leaders, but in reality we are weak and misguided. True leadership and responsibility requires us to surrender what we want from someone...even if we lose what we wanted.

Can you surrender your desires, wants, and plans for someone else?

In a relationship between husband and wife, can he die to his need to be in control and do whatever it takes to serve her, to make sure she has everything she needs. For that would be dying to himself so that she could live. Btw, Fireproof is an excellent movie that shows the true meaning of learning to submit in love....

"But Daniel...I'm not married...stop bringing up scenarios that don't apply..."

Wrong. Each of us is the bride of Christ. So we've already been the recipient of this love, this submission.

And in the same way, each of us lives a life as a "husband" figure, at least metaphorically. Every one of us will at some point in one of our relationships...be some sort of "head". And in that moment, can we die...so they can live?

Think about your closest friendships. The ones that have been through the fire. How often do you ask who's in charge? Hopefully never. Over time you've built up trust and love and power and control are irrelevant. When we start mutually submitting to each other...being in charge no longer matters.

And now, the last paradox of the night. I have a ring that I wear, it has a Scripture/ poetic phrase written in Hebrew on it. The phrase?

"I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine."
I wear the ring to remind me of one very important thing:

Nobody belongs to themself. I don't belong to me, I belong to God and to those that I care for. I therefore must willingly die to myself everyday...so that those that God has put in my life can live their lives the way they've been called to.

Submission and death lead to power and life.

Don't Quit

God has gifted you, don't waste it. "Who's next?" :)

That Name

I can't get in her head! I've lost my control!

No, it's not my fault...It's the saints...and the Host...they're guarding her!

That's not true! I was right there! I sat on her shoulder...

Yes, she believed every word, and was starting to act on them!

I used her past against her. Guilt, regret, hurt, shame, doubt...

Yes! I used each of those as well.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I was so close!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

One of the saints prayed with her...I couldn't stay....I lost my grip....

She's in fellowship with "Him" again, I......

We tried!

The angels guard her now, the saints are aware of me...I...I'm finished....

That name. That name. So much power...that Name......it's just not fair....that name...








"I love you for you, not for what you have done or what you will become."

"Do You Trust Me?"

Today is the second Monday in my commitment to take a day of rest. And I'm quite looking forward to a lack of contact and phone calls. Don't get me wrong, it's not that I don't enjoy talking to each of my friends throughout a day...it's the feeling of trust that I have to put into not making a day about anything "constructive".

I use the quotation marks to point out the fact that resting in God is one of the most constructive things any of us can do. It's just that it's something I'm still learning to do.

Today, Sunday I mean, was an incredible day. I woke up to a text from a friend, a psalm reminding me to trust in God, not in self. Then I did my daily reading with my Life Journal and the verses for the day were Jeremiah 29:11-13:

"For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me."

And as if that were not enough, I looked at my calendar once I got in the car to go to church, the quote of the day was: "Whenever you're not finding it easy to trust God...that's when you need to trust in Him the most."

I felt ecstatic, you see I have been praying for the last 4 days for God to teach me to trust in Him. And this morning, when I woke up, I decided to state that I would go where He leads and wouldn't hesitate, but I asked Him to show me the way. He did, 3 times in a period of 30 minutes, He reminded me of power that moves mountains, but took it even further.

His response to my asking to learn how to trust Him: Trust Me Daniel, I've got plans for your life. Keep praying and seeking, you will be used by Me if you are willing to open yourself up to trusting Me again."

My faith has been different since the Trip to Fort Worth, I didn't plan it that way. And honestly, I didn't ask for it either. But God knew what I was lacking, and He's determined that I lay everything else down as "not important" compared to Him. And all I can do is smile and say, "I finally get it!"

I've started a 90 day read-through of the entire Bible, at the challenge of one of my friends. At first I was afraid I couldn't maintain the schedule, but now I realize that I'm loving it. There are definitely hard days, but I told God that I could do it. How did He repay me? Matt came to me, 4 days after committing to the challenge (again with the #4). He's asked me to teach every Sunday evening for the next 12 weeks! I can't wait :)

I've made the correlation. And I'm an idiot for not figuring it out sooner...God wants us to let go...before we are given to. He wants us to drop, to receive. He wants us to take a step of faith, for Him to prove that we should trust Him.

It's time to go to bed, and it's time for me to ask God to take me a step farther. I'm learning how to trust His will and plans...now I want to learn how to have the faith that moves mountains, it's a comin :)

My son, do you trust Me?

Yes Father, with all my heart! :)

Remember the Titans

I'm currently watching Remember the Titans in my room. It's one of my favorite movies, probably because I can't watch it without remembering that the best things in life are worth fighting for.

"All right, now, I don't want them to gain *another yard!* * You blitz... all... night!* If they cross the line of scrimmage, I'm gonna take every last one of you out! You make sure they remember, *forever*, the night they played the Titans!"




I have been called in life to stand for one thing and one thing alone, my Savior.

"But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus--the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God." ~ Acts 20:24

Sometimes I fear that I won't have the strength to hold the "line" against the Enemy. And then I remember, there are others holding this "defensive line" with me. And Christ tells me that my work is not done, I can't lose focus or take my eyes of each day's "God-incidences".

If I've learned one thing in my life, it's this:

Trust in God's plan, no matter what, good or bad, pain or peace, God is still in control and will not ask you to make a "play" that you aren't supposed to make. Remember the Titans.

Season

My day is just now coming to an end. I'm exhausted, I haven't even done everything I should have done today.... But I will trust in one thing and one thing alone, I have a endless source of strength and peace. And He's the reason for the season...the season known as life.

What Do I Know Of Holy?

One of my friends shared this song with me recently, while I was explaining how little I feared God...something I've regretted heavily. But regrets aren't bad...if they lead us to make things right...if they spur us on! And that's exactly what I'm going to start doing :)

Today is the start of me slowing down once a week, I've discovered that it's hard to hear God when my "schedule" interferes...isn't that sad? He's God, and I can't even give Him a portion of the time that He's given me on this earth. Wow, talk about arrogance on my part, or perhaps stupidity anyway. Two traits that I'm not proud of.


Anyways, I love this song, it's my heart and prayer. I value relationships with those I care about and love, but only for the last year have I truly started treating my Savior like that. And though He has my heart as His permanent captive, I want to give Him my reverence, belief in miracles, passion, thoughts, dreams, and life as well.

So this is my prayer today, whatever else comes my way in life I'll be flexible and listen to Your calling...but may I never be flexible where you fit in my heart Lord. You are my Alpha and Omega, my purpose and the only one that can save a wretch like me. I won't treat that lightly. And should I ever falter in that, do whatever you have to do to bring me back, no matter the cost.

After all, what do I know of Holy?

Ronan Keating - I Hope You Dance

All you have to do... is Listen

"Listen. Can you hear it? The music. I can hear it everywhere. In the wind... in the air... in the light. It's all around us. All you have to do is open yourself up. All you have to do... is listen." ~ August Rush



"You know what music is? God's little reminder that there's something else besides us in this universe, a harmonic connection between all living beings, every where, even the stars." ~ August Rush





Tonight, it all fits. Everything good and everything bad, they all lead me to only one thing: Jesus, how I need you.


The music in my life, is God. The love in my life, is God. The peace with whatever the future holds, is God. The joy that overflows inside of me, is God. All that really matters, is God.

"Looking back, I see the lead of Love!"


Keep your dream alive...dreamin is how the strong survive, once upon a time in New York City!

Everyday when you're walking down the street...everybody that you meet has an original point of view...

Lead me with strong hands, stand up when I can't. Don't leave me, hungry for love, chasing things...but what about us? Show me, you're willing to fight...

Ruin my life, the plans that I've made. Ruin desires for my own selfish gains! Destroy the idols that have taken Your place! Till it's You alone I live for, You alone I live for!

She looked this way, I thought I saw, and when we touched she didn't shudder at my paw. No it can't be, I'll just ignore...but then she's never looked at me that way before....

You've got the limo out front...


I used to roll the dice. Feel the fear in my enemy's eyes...Listen as the crowd would sing: Now the old king is dead! Long live the king!


Everybody look left, everybody look right, everywhere you look...I'm standing spotlight!

For what it's worth, it was worth all the while. It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right. I hope you had the time of your life.

Sometimes ignorance rings true. But hope is not in what I know. It's not in me, it's in You, it's in You.

"...but with God all things are possible." ~Matthew 19:26


I'll be singing all night I'm afraid :)

"And even though I'm walking through the valley of the shadow, I will hold tight to the hand of Him whose love will comfort me..."