Raise the Roof

So many gathered that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. Some men came, bringing to him a paralytic, carried by four of them. Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus and, after digging through it, lowered the mat the paralyzed man was lying on. - Mark 2:2-4

A few Sundays ago God really impressed this passage on my heart. I happened to end up teaching part of a bible class when the teacher had to suddenly leave. As we were discussing the story a few things came to my attention and convicted me to my core.

The scenario goes like this: Jesus is in town. People have heard him teach and seen him heal the sick therefore, Jesus is drawing a crowd where ever he goes. He stops at a home and begins to teach and a crowd gathers. A large crowd gathers. I assume that some get there first and get front row seats, while others rush to grab the best vantage point to take in the Rabbi's teaching and to watch his miracles. People are now pressed against each other, the room has grown warm due to body heat and now people are having to stand outside and peek through windows to see and hear Jesus. A few friends of a paralyzed man, determine that they are going to get there friend to Jesus for healing. They quickly realize that the crowd is not sympathetic to the fact that they are carrying a paralyzed man and trying to get him to see Jesus for healing. I can only imagine how difficult it was to carry their friend from wherever he was to the place where they had heard that Jesus was teaching and when they finally make it there, they can't get in. So, they get the idea to tear apart the roof and lower their friend through the roof in front of Jesus.bJesus sees them, forgives their sins and heals the man, so that he can walk.

This is an amazing story with several great points to take in. Such as

1. The men loved their paralyzed friend enough to bring him to Jesus.

2. Jesus not only heals him but forgives them of their sin. (Complete healing)

3. The crowd did not let the paralyzed man through for healing.

And more

The thing that grabbed my attention was a question. The question was "What was the difference between the people in the crowd standing at the window of the house and the friends climbing on the roof and getting there friend in front of Jesus?" There may be many answers to this question but the thing that stood out in my mind was that the men helping their friend would not be content with their position on the outer edge of the crowd. They had to get closer for healing. I believe that at some level each person in the crowd settled for the spot that had.

What convicted soul was the truth that I am a part of the crowd. It is like have settled with the idea that if I can see Jesus and hear him, then that is close enough. I don't think I should be comfortable watching Jesus from a distance, even though I can see and hear him. I want to strive to be right in front of Jesus to receive the healing that he has for me. I don't remember too many times that I (figuratively) raised the roof of a house to get to Jesus. Most of the time I am content to watch Jesus from the outside peeking in through a window. I want to be the kind of person who will do whatever it takes to be right in front of Jesus. I need Jesus just as much as the paralyzed man.

Will you be my best friend? Pleeaassee!

My blog seems like it could be titled "What God teaches me through my daughters" because it seems that lately all I write about is what I learned through watching them. So staying true to form, here we go again.

According to my wife, The other day my four year old was out in the backyard sitting in a fresh patch of new grass, where she frequently chooses to play, she looked up toward the sky and says "God, will you be my best friend? Please, please, pleeaassee!" Now, my wife and I have seen this kind of best friend request from our little girl several times recently. She has asked for BFF status and used her BFF potential as a bargaining chip several times in the past month. Yet, we have never seen her ask God to be her best friend. And if this wasn't enough of a Kodak Moment, my four year old looks up at the sky and responds, "Ok." It was as if God smiled down at her and said, "You bet I will be your best friend and it will most definitely be forever."

When God says that he is your friend, he means it. He speaks with his friends face to face, he let's them in on his plans, when his friends are discouraged he whispers words of encouragement to them. Have you ever thought of asking God to be your friend? Don't send him a Facebook friend request. Make it a bit more personal. Look up and say, "God, will you be my best friend? Please, please, pleeaassee!" and find out what his response will be. I think you might be pleasantly surprised.

Lose something

Recently my eldest daughter, Cady, lost a tooth. I don't know if you remember losing a tooth but it is a really exciting thing for a child. You may be thinking, "Of course it is exciting, because of the whole tooth fairy thing." but around here we don't do the tooth fairy. Even though, there was no promise of a philanthropic mystical being to sneak in and share her wealth while my daughter was sleeping, she still had great excitement about losing her tooth. She was actually losing a bone in her body and she was excited. Aside from children being excited about losing a tooth, I assume that the only other person excited about losing a bone from his body was Adam. You know that when you turn in a "rib" and get an "Eve", that's not a bad deal. It seems that Cady is just excited to be on the dental journey that requires the gain and loss of teeth. There seems to be this wonder in the loosening of the tooth, curiosity of when it will being fully gone and then the anticipation of a new tooth to come. It is absolutely exhilarating to her.

Jesus invites/demands (Matt 10:37-39) that we lose our lives if we are to follow him. Yes, I realize that what I gain is far more valuable than what I lose, but sometimes my attitude about losing my life is not so rosy. What I would like is to have excitement about losing my life because it is part of the greater adventure of following Christ. I would like to have excitement about where following him will lead me next, curiosity of when I will fully lose this life and an anticipation of the life that I now have in him and the one that is coming. Hopefully, I will live in the the excitement of losing this life.

Have you looked behind your oven?

A raw macaroni elbow, cooked noodles from soup, a pill, a rubber band, Grumpy (from Snow White), several dust elephants (the small ones are bunnies and these were much bigger), all of these items were found behind our oven today as I went to clean up the soup that I had spilled. All of these item have piled up over time.

Also, I saw a friend today who said that he wasn't that tight with Jesus anymore. I asked him about it and I could tell right away, that he was ready to leave that conversation. What my friend was doing was dropping things behind his "oven" to be dealt with later. The problem is that those things that we hide behind our ovens grow. They grow from dust bunnies to elephants or worse.

God is ready to gently clean up things if we let him. The earlier that we let him at those things that are behind our oven the better.

I Can Pour My Own Cereal

The other day may eldest child, Cady, who is almost 6 years old made an interesting statement while we were at the dinner table. She stated rather confidently that when she turns six she will be able to take care of herself. My wife had a I gave a out a surprised, "Oh really!" and asked Cady to explain why she thought that she could take care of herself when she turned six. She replied to that question by saying "Well, I can pour my own cereal." and I will add that does not include pouring her own milk without spilling it.

It is amazing the confidence that we can have when we gain knowledge, talent, position, and/or resources. When we gain these, we can forget where these things came from, and we can forget our limitations. These past couple of years have reminded me that God gives me daily bread. That is he takes care of me every moment of every day. Sometimes he allows me to use my own strength to satisfy some daily needs, but I am reminded that if I have strength or resources it is only because God has give them to me.

Take note of the passage below, where the the nation of Israel is warned to remember God when the have prosperity.

Deuteronomy 8:10-14
When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the LORD your God for the good land he has given you. Be careful that you do not forget the LORD your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day. Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, then your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

Pouring our own cereal is fine, but let's remember who gave us the cereal, the strength to pour it and who will even give us help to pour our milk when we need that.

A New Way of Accounting.

Dependence on the God is such a beautiful thing, because within dependence our spiritual vision is sharpened and we are able to appreciate, with the vividness of HD, the great love of God for his children. But it seems that in times of prosperity, independence sets in and we forget that we must rely on the Father. So, while enjoying the luxurious life we tend to slip further away from the "Giver of Life".

So what is the remedy of the our human tendency to slip away from our Father's provision in times of prosperity? I propose a new way of accounting. Instead of counting how deep our pockets go, lets count how deep our relationship with the Father is. If we, his children, live luxuriously in his love then the first temptation to turn to independence will feel like throwing away the very air we breathe. Go ahead, try not to breathing for a while. If you try it, then you will find that you will always come back gasping for the very air you tried to live with out. Let's try a new way of accounting and learn where the true luxurious life comes from, because anything else will leave us gasping for our Father.

Glory be to ... Who?

"After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: "Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you." -  John 17:1

Often, when people find out that I am a musician several have asked, "Are you famous?" to which I answer with a smile, "If you have to ask then that means the answer is no." It seems that one of things things that people want to know or wish for me is fame. And I suppose that is cool and I believe it comes from a heart to bless me. The issue I have with fame is that most often it seems to be used in such a self serving way. An entertainer, athlete, public official or whoever, can use that notoriety to glorify themselves, make money, get that next job, etc When this happens it leaves a really bad taste in my mouth. Jesus, as usual, turns things upside down. He uses his fame, power and position for the purpose of putting the spotlight back on his Father. For every entertainer some amount of fame is part of the package. For me I pray for the ability and desire to use any fame I receive the highlight my Father in heaven.

It this important?

Conversation between my wife (W) and eldest child (EC)

EC - Momma, What is this? (Looking at a brown smudge on her finger)

W - I don't know. Where did you get it?

EC - From my ear. 

W - Oh, That's ear wax.

EC - (with a slight it of uneasiness in her voice) Is it important?

My wife and I laughed about that conversation for a while. What a good question? Is it important? I wonder how many things that I just let go or hold on to without asking God the question, "Is it important?" How many passing thoughts about someone have I missed because I haven't asked, "Is it important?" How many times have I held on to a wrong done to me without asking, "Is it important?" Life on this earth is only so long. I really want to make the most of what I experience here. My God, please give me the humility to ask you, "Is it important"

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Living on a prayer

Last Tuesday, I was in Austin and found this sign on the side of the road. Which certainly looked like the handy work of a homeless person. "Living on a prayer. Please Help" I was taken back by the sign enough that I took it home. I read the sign and I thought, "Now isn't that true of all of us." Take these events from the last week.  A couple that I know well continue to struggle with a painful illness that is said to have no cure, a friend just found out he has some form of lymphatic cancer, my daughter was sick with a 105 fever today and was taken to the emergency room, the finances are tighter than "under armour", the car is acting funny, and I have a friend who is working through suicidal thoughts. We are all living on a prayer and we need help in every aspect of our lives. To my unknown sign making friend, Thank- you for reminding me that my life is lived on a prayer.

Trading up

Today was a early morning. I have a friend that I meet, so that we can talk and pray. So I got up and took a shower and after the shower I find that my youngest daughter has left the coziness of her bed traded it for the comfort of sleeping with mom. My children tend to do this often. Therefore, the sight of my daughter in our bed was not a surprise but this morning I noticed something different. (Probably, because I was a bit more coherent than usual at that time of morning.) What I noticed was that she is making a trade. My youngest likes her bed just fine. It is just her size, it is the top bunk, it has all of her favorite stuffed animals and even her name is one the wall in her room. You would think that would be more than enough to cause her to hunker down and only come out for food, but there there is just something about resting with mom and dad. Eventhough, with mom and dad, there is no top bunk, no stuffed animals, no name on the wall and there is no room, I believe my daughters see this as trading up. As if there is no comfort like the comfort of resting with mom and dad. Here is a realization. I don't trade up enough. Sometimes, I am so comfortable with 'my bed' (literally and figuratively) that I don't trade up to be with my father. My daughters especially the youngest seem to rest the most soundly when they sleep with us. Maybe I will rest better as well when I go to my Father. "Come to me all who are tired and I will give you rest." - Jesus

“Wake up, I will show you how to die better”

“Wake-up, I will show you how to die better” – Cady Moore

 

I am driving and I hear my two girls playing in the back seat. Cady, my oldest child, is always the architect of the games that she and her sister, Cianna, play together. So hearing Cady tell Cianna how she should play a game is very common. But this time the  phrase above rang out in my mind for days. “Wake up, I will show you how to die better.” Out of her young mouth came this phrase so deep rich meaning and meaning on multiple levels depending on your perspective.

 

What stood out to me was that Cady knew that Cianna had to wake up (out of her pretend death) to learn Cady’s better way to die. When someone dies there life is what is looked at to determine if they died well. Surely, you have those who in a moment give themselves in a heroic/sacrificial death at times but I would suggest that even in those cases it was living in a life that was awake with purpose, meaning, and value that would was the seed that flowered into their heroic/sacrificial death. A good death is determined by the life that preceded it. When we are sleeping through life that is a death in itself. So friends, if you find me sleeping life away, please wake me up so that I can die better.

My Dad is bigger than your Dad!

O Lord, our Lord, your majestic name fills the earth! Your glory is higher than the heavens. You have taught children and infants to tell of your strength, silencing your enemies and all who oppose you. - Psalms 8:1-2

Have you ever seen kids playing the "My Dad is bigger than your Dad game?" You know that game where one says,"My Dad is bigger than yours" and other child remarks, "Nuh uh! My Dad can lift a million pounds!" and then the first child says "My Dad knows how to shoot a bazooka!" Then the other says, "My Dad is as strong as Superman" and the other says, "My Dad is made of Kryptonite!" This back and forth goes on and on until one runs out of ideas. Well, I get the sense that we play that game with our fears. When fears say, "There no way God can get you out this financial mess' will we say, "Nuh uh! My God owns everything in the world". Then when fear says, "You have have messed this up too badly, things will never be the same" will we say, "No way, His mercy is prepared fresh every day." And will we go on and on until fear has nothing left to say?

Leaving the Church?

An interesting thought came to me after finishing my taxes the other night. I began to think about that phrase "He/She/They left the church". No, doing my taxes did not make me lose my religion and I don't think the phrase and my taxes have any correlation. (Though I know there are all kinds of jokes forming right now but that is okay too:) Anyway, that phrase "He is leaving the church" is one of those phrases generally used to say someone stopped meeting with a body of believers at a certain church location. Then after the phrase has been spoken, there are generally looks of disapproval, worry and sadness and maybe rightly so given each particular circumstance. But one phrase I don't often hearing anyone saying is, "He/She/They left Christ." This seems to be the weightier of the two phrases. Now, I am not saying that these two phrases mean the same because they don't. What I am wondering is, if I always think in terms of someone leaving the church, have I missed a crucial paradigm that Christ is the center of focus. He is the center even above our gatherings together on Sunday mornings. I wonder if the commonality of the '...leaving the church" phrase  and the lack of the "...leaving Christ" phrase exposes some off-centeredness in our thinking.  Understand me, I am not saying anything about attendance to the gathering of the body of Christ. I am wondering if our statements are exposing our focus. I want to be clear on the most important things. And whether someone is following Christ or not is on the top of my list. I want to peer through the clutter and see where Christ is and then continually point others to him. If that means reconsidering when I use certain phrases then so be it.

Death to life. The spiritual order of things.

"Listen carefully: Unless a grain of wheat is buried in the ground, dead to the world, it is never any more than a grain of wheat. But if it is buried, it sprouts and reproduces itself many times over. In the same way, anyone who holds on to life just as it is destroys that life. But if you let it go, reckless in your love, you'll have it forever, real and eternal." - Jesus The Message 

Today is Easter and the topic I most often I hear about at easter is Jesus' sacrifice and resurrection. This is always a powerful message, but today I am intrigued by Jesus' invitation to join him in his death, so that life can be attained. Death tends to bring out fear in most of us but Jesus says without dying we miss life. I suppose that the pain of sacrifice and the unknown of death is the reason it strikes so much fear in us. Death seems so final. Yet according to Jesus the death or sacrifice of the life that we live now is the door that opens us to real living. I don't begin to claim to understand all of this but I what I do know is the thing that pushes me to hold on to this life is my fear of losing it. So, I wonder if I live a life dominated by the fear of losing it, is that really living anyway. It seems that a true life of freedom can only be found in the ability to freely give up the life we have now, then our fear of losing this life won't keep us from the one promised by God. 

Forecasting High Winds

"The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit." John 3:8

The last few days in Houston, where I live, have been a kind of breezy. We have opened the windows in our house and enjoyed the experiencing cool breeze. You can hear the whistle of the wind passing through the house, every now and then the wind slams a door shut when no one is near it and when I look outside I see big strong tree limbs being moved back and forth. It is obvious the wind has been doing it's thing. I have never seen it come or go, but I have seen what it does and I surely have felt it.

I have wondered at times if people see the Spirit in my life. Do they hear the sound of the Spirit in my voice, do they see my heart being open with love for people and closed to things that promote hate, and do they see my limbs move with the actions of peace, patience and joy? I believe this is what Jesus is saying it will be like for those born of the Spirit. May our spiritual forecast call for high winds.

Money is not life.

Daily Bible Verse - 

Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. This too is meaningless.

Ecclesiastes 5:10

The other day I was thinking about money. I mean I was thinking about the actually bills, coins, shiny (precious) metals and sparkly rocks (jewels) and I wondered when did paper, metal and rocks ever become so valuable to us. I don't know the history of money making but I do know that because of the value we place on it, we are able to trade it for things that our bodies need to live. Ex. water/food, clothing, and shelter. Try living without any one of these. So money is a means to and end. It is not end in and of itself. So, why do we fall in love with it so often. Loving money is misplaced. Loving money is overvaluing money. It would be like me falling in love with my wife's clothing. She looks great in it, but I am taken by the fashion of it, the designs and the feeling of her clothing. The clothing is there to adorn my wife, not the other way around. Money is not life, it doesn't produce life and to spend all of our energy trying to attain it so that we might live is a waste of life. Turn to the Giver of life and he will provide things you need to really live.

Message in a Diaper

Al-righty!  Today, I am changing my daughter's diaper and it was one if those everywhere diapers. You know, everywhere the diaper is you don't want to be. So, I am changing this impressively filled diaper and I get through it as usual. I clean my daughter up and dispose of the air pollutant. Then I go to sanitize myself and I notice a brown spot on my pants. Awwwww Maaaannn! That feeling of utter grossness totally covered me like a body bag. So, I commenced to deep cleansing so that I can be whole again. 

 I wonder what it was like for Jesus when he was carrying the full weight of our sin/filth. Did he smell it? Was it a feeling of utter grossness? It surely covered him like a body bag. Yet, he rose whole, new, and alive. Completely holy, sanitized and with power to cleanse others. Thank-you Jesus for getting filthy to cleanse us.

Need Fixing Again

While at the drive through today, My daughter asked me a question about something and as I was moving the car so she could get a better view. I ended up hitting a pole and damaging my rear view mirror. This is second time damage has been done to our rear view mirror. So, I got out got some duct tape put temporary fix on until I can take the car to our mechanic. 

My walk with God is similar to this incident in that I go along doing the best I can, then I get distracted by the world and sin hits me. The next thing I know I get my spiritual duct tape to hold things together but it never really fixes the issue. Until I go to the Father with my brokenness, I will never be healed of my self-inflicted wounds. "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:9 and "God's loyal love couldn't have run out, his merciful love couldn't have dried up. They're created new every morning. How great your faithfulness! I'm sticking with God (I say it over and over). He's all I've got left. (The message) Thank-you, God!

Good gift?

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. James 1:17

You ever received one of those gifts that when you opened it you thought, Oh...wow. Thanks? Well, I received one of those gifts once from my wife. A shirt and a pairs of shoes. When I first received them, especially the shoes, I thought I probably wont use these much. Today, I use them both frequently, especially the shoes. It was until later that I experienced the value of these gifts. Sometimes God gives us gifts that we can't appreciate. Sometimes the gifts are wrapped in hardship but if we hold on to the gift then after a while we might find ourselves really enjoying the gift. He always gives good gifts.

Securities

“…He (God) is my refuge, my savior, the one who saves me from violence.” 2 Samuel 22:3

A typical thing that occurs in my home is that in the middle of the night one of my girls will wake up scared from a bad dream or can’t sleep and they come into the room to find some security in Daddy's or Mommy’s arms. Children seem to know where safety can be found. Along the line in my ‘growing up’ I seem to frequently forget where my security comes from. I have “securities” or at least that is what my financial institutions call them. I have a security system on my home, which tends to be more of a nuisance than a help at times. Also, I have ‘bootstraps’. You know, the kind that I can pull myself up by when life gets me down. But I think one of the straps broke a few months back when my car wouldn’t start. Are you getting the picture? Somewhere in there, I lose sight of where my refuge and salvation really comes from. Father, when I am in the dark hours of life, may I see clearly enough to turn to you for security. In Jesus name, Amen.

Rest easy. God is watching.

I lay down and slept, yet I woke up in safety, for the Lord was watching over me. Psalm 3:5

King David writes this as he is fleeing for his life from his son Absalom, who has orchestrated a coup against him. So, David takes all of his court and they run for their lives. Out of this comes what we just read. David says, he rested during this. I have a hard time resting when a few things around the house go undone. I assume that if a family member were trying to kill me, that rest would be hard to come by. But David says, ‘he slept and woke up in safety because God was watching over him.’ Which causes me to ask myself, “Do I believe in God’s watchful protection enough to rest when times are the hardest?” I am not talking about sleep to escape the problems but I am talking about rest, that reminds me that I am under God’s watchful eye. I got a lot of room grow here. May we all rest under God’s watchful eye.

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Good Fruit Filling

March 30, 2009 Daily Bible Verse

"No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thornbushes, or grapes from briers. The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks."

Luke 6:43-45

We recently had to get my oldest daughter a new lunch box. I say ‘had to’ because the old one grew a forest full of mold in it. We (mostly me) didn’t take the leftovers out of the lunch box before we began traveling for spring break and poof ‘Chia’ lunch box was created. (Think Chia Pets) What is inside a container is a big deal. According to Jesus as recorded by Luke, the our actions and the words we say are an out growth of what is in our hearts. So, this leads me to think about what is in my heart. Is there anger, bitterness, and envy or is there love, joy, peace, patience and the like. There is only one way for our hearts to be filled with good things. Let’s hand our hearts to God so that he can fill them up with the stuff that produces good fruit. Good fruit filling is what we need. (Ok, that last line was cheezy)

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A Spiritual Workout

My wife asks me the other day, “How can joy be strength?” Which I thought was a good question. ‘The joy of the Lord will be my strength’ is a song Ihave sung and a verse that I have read for years. I sang it with excitement but it is one of those things that if you would have asked me about, then it would have taken some stumbling around in my mind to come up with... “ Uh, I am not sure”. With that said, this is my best shot right now. In Hebrew 12:1-3 it states that Jesus for the Joy put in front of him endured the cross. There seems to be something about going through hardship and knowing that once you get through it everything will be just right, knowing that the when the is over more than you can imagine will be accomplished, and knowing that if you see this through, then the world will be different. I believe those thoughts brought Jesus joy and with that joy in his heart it gave him the strength to bear the sin of all mankind and the death that would pay for it. God has given us all a picture of great joy that is to come with him? Let that joy be the workout the strengthens your spiritual muscles.


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How beautiful is unity

Daily Bible verse
How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity!
Psalm 133:1

In John 17 Jesus prays that we may all be one as he and the Father are one. Unity these something about it that truly makes my heart leap there are few things as beautiful as unity. It is also an active testimony that Jesus came from God. The song and this video seems to give a glimpse of unity in a way that few things that I have experienced have. All the different people, instruments, and dialects all singing about peace and unity. It makes my heart leap every time. I hope you enjoy. Click the link to watch the You tube video



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Fill up your hope tank.

Encouragement is the fuel for the car called Hope. Recently, I have had people give all kinds of support, verbal, financial, spiritual and even their mere presence. I feel so much more hopeful than I did maybe a week or two ago. Not a lot has changed except that I have received great support from my friends.

But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness. Heb. 3:13

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Congestion

Most people who live in Houston are familiar with congestion and I am not even talking about traffic. I am talking about allergen instigated nasal congestion. You know, the kind where try to breathe  with all your might and you take in less oxygen than a flea. Well, the last few days nasal congestion has been my plight. As I sit here feeling like there is a brick stuck in my nose and trying to come up with the thought of the day, I find myself thinking about my bills, my coffee shop gig tonight, the Conversant Life contest, my kids, my wife, the dog’s health, the phone calls that need to be made etc, etc, etc. My mind is congested just like my nasal passages. Maybe that is why God says ‘Be Still and know that I am God’. He says stop and focus on knowing one thing – “I am God.” I believe this practice may act like a decongestant for our mind and spirit. It clears the way for us breathe in God’s Spirit. Stop and breathe deeply of the Lord.

 

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Need a little Support?

So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill. As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. When Moses' hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset. So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword. Exodus 17:10-13>

Have you ever set out to do something significant and as you worked to see it through, you became tired, discouraged, and/or frustrated? It is at times like these that we need ‘Aarons and Hurs’ in our lives to supports us and lift up our weary, discouraged and frustrated hearts. Lately, I have been supported be several people. Many of you reading this have been a great support to me. Thank-you. May we all be like Aaron and Hur to each other. In this way the kingdom of God will see its enemies defeated.


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In Between

In the story where Jesus is walking on the water and Peter comes out to him, we see the faith of Peter when he says, ‘Lord, if it is you tell me to come out on the water and I will’ and then we see Pete’s faith waiver after he has walked on the sea for a while. His faith brought him far enough away from the boat that he wasn’t swimming back and he had not yet reached Jesus. He was in between. While he was in between is when he noticed the waves and wind. The time in between is probably the hardest for us all to navigate. If we find ourselves in between, then it means that we, like Peter, had enough faith to initially step out siply based on Jesus’ word. It seems that when we are walking according to what Jesus has told us, then this is when the real hardship comes. It’s when the finances dry up, someone gets sick, or things just aren’t going as planned and we can’t see answers to those problems. When we notice the storm and wonder how we will get through it, then we have taken our eyes off of the very one who is the answer to the storm. Let’s stick to the faith the got us out of the boat in the first place and anticipate Jesus being the answer to the difficulties while we are “in between.”

Unwrap your gift and use it!

What then shall we say, brothers? When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church. 1 Corinthians 14:26

When Paul writes to the church in Corinth he shares with all of them the best ways to use their gifts to encourage the church. For many years, I have not considered using my spiritual gifts to encourage the body when we met together, unless my name was written on the program for the day or I had some title like minister, Senior pastor, preacher, etc. I get the sense that Paul is inviting the whole body to be ready to be used by God when the church gathers. Are you ready to be used by God when the church meets? Have you been given a revelation, or word of instruction, tongue or interpretation or maybe some other gift that may give the church strength? Seek God about how to use it. At least, we should start looking for God to use us regardless of our title. Here is a title that you can take with you every where – child of God. That is title enough to be used by God at any given time. Unwrap your gift and use it!


Please vote for my song "Don't Stop Praising"

Wondering about that thing you did last summer ... or in last 5 minutes.

The LORD is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love. Psalms 145:8

Are you wondering about that bad thing you did the other day? Are wondering if the man upstairs is angry with you? Have you turned to him to see if everything is okay? He is gracious. Are you wondering if he is about to blow his top? He is slow to anger. Are wondering if he looks down on you or thinks less of you? He is rich in love.

Please for vote my song "Don't Stop Praising"

Wait!

But those who wait upon God get fresh strength.
They spread their wings and soar like eagles,
They run and don't get tired,
they walk and don't lag behind. Isa. 40:31 (The Message)

This has always been a encouraging verse to me, because of the fresh strength, soaring and etc. Today, I am noticing the part about waiting. Notice the strength, the soaring and extra energy are conditional on the wait. If you are in a waiting period, like I am, the waiting can seem unbearable but there is hope. See the waiting as labor pains before the birth or as the climb before the view on the mountain peak. Consider this, if times are hard and you are staying your own devices to wait on the Lord’s plan then hope is coming, fresh strength is coming, glorious flight is coming and energy is on the way.

Please vote for my song "Don't Stop Praising"

Whose child are you?

How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure. 1 John 3:1-3

Do you remember that movie, “The Princess Bride?” There was a character in the movie named Indigo Montoya. His whole being was based on his identity, as an orphaned child. He went around trying to avenge his father’s death by looking for the six fingered man who killed his Father. He had even prepared a monologue for the six fingered man, which stated, “Hello, My named is Indigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.” Everything centered around this identity. Who we think we are directs our actions as well. According to John, if we believe that we are children of God, then we try to purify ourselves just as God is pure. Frankly, I need to believe more fully in my identity as a child of God. I believe that I will find myself living more fully for my Father in heaven.

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Hope that does not disappoint.

And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love. 

Romans 5:5

It is NCAA Basketball tournament time and many teams will go out to play with confidence that they will win the whole thing. They have this hope for a myriad of reasons. Maybe they have hope because of great practices, a good coach, exceptional players, good luck charms, you name it. Many have hope but only one will walk away with a hope that has does not disappoint them. According to Paul (the apostle), our hope of being saved from death to abundant life is sure because of the demonstration of God’s love through his giving us his Spirit and placing his love in our hearts. By the way, love never fails. Paul said that as well. Our hope does not disappoint because it is supported by a love the never fails, from a God who never stops loving.

Seek with all your heart.

When you seek me with all of your heart you will find me. Deut. 4:29 Recently I had a time of seeking God where it felt like I just could not connect and I was wondering where he was. I felt like I really needed him and he was not coming around. On the next day I thought about the passage mentioned earlier. Then I reviewed my time of seeking him. When I did this, I realized that I was seeking God, with worries on my heart and fear about the future on my mind. These worries and fears were taking up space in my heart. So all my heart was not engaged in seeking God. When I really break it down, I wasn’t seeking God I was seeking relief. I was seeking a pain killer, not God. Maybe, that is why I thought God was so distant. If I had found relief, I may have mistaken the relief for God. 

Oh Lord, teach me to seek you with every part of heart. In Jesus name, Amen

Other items

East to West

He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west. Psalm 103:12

Many of you know the song by Casting Crowns “East to West” it just speaks to me every time. So I thought I would put the lyrics down for you.

Here I am Lord and I'm drowning
In your sea of forgetfulness
The chains of yesterday surround me
I yearn for peace and rest
I don't want to end up where you found me
And it echoes in my mind
Keeps me awake tonight

I know you've cast my sins as far
As the East is from the West
And I stand before you now
As though I've never sinned but today
I feel like I'm just one mistake away
From you leaving me this way

Chorus
Jesus can you show me
Just how far the East is from the West
Cause I can't bear to see the man I've been
Come rising up in me again
In the arms of your mercy I find rest
Cause you know just how far the East is from the West
From one scar[r]ed hand to the other

I start the day the war begins
Endless reminding of my sin
Time and time again
Your Truth is drowned out by the storm I'm in
Today I feel like I'm just one mistake away
From you leaving me this way

Chorus

I know you've washed me white
Turned my darkness into light
I need your peace to get me through
To get me through this night
I can't live by what I feel
But by the truth your word reveals
I'm not holding on to you
But your holding on to me
Your holding on to me

Chorus



Please vote for my song "Don't Stop Praising"

Satisfied?

When the service/love you give is reward in and of itself, then the deepest levels of satisfaction maybe experienced. I am learning that the gifts that I get to give my music, attention, time, heart should not be things done to receive appreciation, fame or riches but they are ways to express the wonderful life that I have been given. When I already have abundant life, why would I need more than that life to be satisfied with living?

Other topics-
I have enter a song in a contest and I would love your vote.

There is no better place than ...

There is no better place to be than right in the middle of God’s will. Understand this, His will is not always easy but it is best. So,
“Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” - Heb 12:2 I believe when Jesus is our perspective, then the truth of God’s will becomes clear. Jesus through his obedience to God’s will saved us all and sat down at God’s side. I wonder who God might save/rescue through us and where he might place us when we have completely lived out his will in our lives.

Other topics-
I have enter a song in a contest and I would love your vote.

Let's make the world better.

"What man is a man who does not make the world better."- Balian of Ibelin from the movie ‘Kingdom of Heaven’. Today, let’s see if we can make a our world better. Show a little kindness to the cashier at the store. Be a bit more patient with your spouse. Start on that idea that will benefit many but may cost you a lot. Or even, pick up some trash. If we are not making the world better, what are we doing? Let’s make it better together.


Other topics-
I have enter a song in a contest and I would love your vote.

What springs from hope?

This entry was instigated by a discussion posted at the website listed below. Join the conversation. 

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2332534059

What springs from hope? What are the byproducts of having hope in Heaven?

I believe there a many things that arise from the hope of heaven and even more things arise from our hope in a Father who loves us beyond our comprehension. The thing that seems to stir in me when I am full of hope in God is peaceful confidence. Here is what I mean by peaceful confidence. Imagine you and a friend are waiting by a Starbucks in the mall to be picked up by your Dad and taken home. You are supposed to be picked up at 8pm. 8pm rolls around and Dad is not there to pick you up. 8:15 comes and your friend with you begins to get nervous and asks you if your Dad is coming. You calmly assure your friend saying, "He is coming. He always comes." 8:30 rolls around and your friend insists that you give him a call. But you left your phone at home and your friend's phone is dead due to excessive texting. So you tell your friend, “Don’t worry. He is coming. He always comes." 8:45 comes and another friend sees you and says that his mom will take you both home. To which you calmly respond, "My Dad is coming. He always comes." Your friend is not convinced by your words and bails on you, leaving you alone at the mall. 9:00 rolls around and mall security notices that you have been waiting for a while and offers to call your Dad for you. He calls and the phone goes directly to voice mail. You leave a message for your Father telling where you are and that you know he is coming and you will wait for him. 9:15 comes and the malls security asks you to wait outside. So they can lock up the mall. The area of town is not the safest but you calmly sit and wait. 9:30 comes and some people looking for trouble approach you to take your money and to do you harm. You calmly tell them your Father is coming and they look around and laugh, because they see no one. 

At this point in the story it doesn't matter isf the Father shows or not. My point has been made. You have shown that you have hope by displaying a peaceful confidence that says, "My Father is coming. He always comes" 

But to continue the story... as the thugs prepare to take your money, a deep and very authoritative voice calls out and suggests they rethink their actions before things get ugly. The voice is coming from your Dad. He has arrived. As you wonder why he wasn't there to pick you up at 8pm your Father explains. He tells you that the note that was left for him, by your friend who bailed on you, listed the wrong Starbucks as the pick up spot. Then after waiting and looking around you Father used all the battery on his phone trying to call you and all the Starbucks in town and finally after having no luck finding you he drove to each Starbucks before he was able find you. 

Those who are hopeful peacefully wait on God with the certainty that "He is coming. He always comes.