Free Music from Tquan Moore

Do you like free music? Get it here. Select songs from TQ's debut album and new demo "Dreamer's Prayer"

Quote of the Day:

Getting reconnected with old friends is like finding money your pocket. They are always with you but you are reminded how valuable they are when you see them again.

Receiving God's love like the ground receives rain.

Here is something that I have been learning lately. I have a hard time fully accepting grace. There are things that I have read and heard about how God loves me so much and how he looks at me with as his son who he very proud of. I just have a hard time fully accepting this at times. It is not that I don't accept God's love at all, because in my head "I know" he loves me. It is like this. I know that the Aurora Borealis is beautiful but I have really experience it? I have not seen it with my own eyes, heard the silence in the Arctic as the the colors dance in the sky or felt cold on my face as I was amazed by it. You see there is a difference between knowing the beauty of something like the Aurora Borealis and fully taking in  the varied aspects of its beauty.

Don't  misunderstand. I believe God loves me. He has shown me over and over again. So, that fact that he loves me is not really in question, but somewhere Satan has done a good job deceiving me, so that it has become hard to experience this in my heart.  It is crazy because I know his love to be true, I have taught his love to be true and have seen others receive the benefits of his love. But still, trying take it in to where I know that neither my good deeds or my bad deeds change his love for me has been difficult.  I am so used to being evaluated and/or 'loved' (by myself and others) based on my abilities or lack there of. 

So, this is my prayer to God today. God, I know that you love me. You have shown it over and over again through you what you have done for me. So, help to the feel and know your love more deeply and to take it in completely. I want to receive your love like the ground receives the rain. I want know how high, how wide and how deep is the love that you have for me. Let your love rain fall on this barren land.  In Jesus name, amen.

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.

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.

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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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.”

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"