Violent Freedom

The freedom that Jesus offers is violent to our lives, yet freeing for our souls. Our lives will not stay the same and neither will our souls. They will be truly free. Notice Lyrics from the bridge of Third Day's song "Who I am" -
"And I know that you want to change me
Want to rearrange the way I feel inside
Yes, I've heard that you take
The broken hearts of lonely souls
And make all things right"

Beautifully spoken and my heart has witnessed it's truth. - TQ

Fasting

"Fasting is not about food it is about seeking. And in your seeking it is not about finding the answers to life's questions, it is about finding life. And when you find life, you will notice it looks exactly like Jesus because he is life." - TQ

Raw thoughts: To Wait and then to move.

Good things might come to those who wait
Not to those who wait to late
We got to go for all we know

-Just the Two of Us - Grover Washington, Jr.

So Joshua said to the Israelites: "How long will you wait before you begin to take possession of the land that the LORD, the God of your fathers, has given you?

-Joshua 18:3

Today I sit right in the middle of 40 days of waiting. I have heard all different kinds ideas about what to do in this period of time. So I will wait until I can go for what I know.

Raw thoughts - Don't be Silent

Psalms 83:1
1 O God, do not keep silent;
be not quiet, O God, be not still.

As my family and I are in a period of waiting on the Lord to tell us what he would like the next chapter of our lives to look like. I find consolation in the the words of the Psalmist. He has the courage to ask God to speak and to no longer be silent. For the purpose of showing outsiders that God is with his people and he is God overall.

So Father, I ask the same request to the psalm writer. Please do not be silent. We are openly waiting on you because we only want to do what you would be doing and I believe there are others waiting to see what you will do. Overcome the unknowns our our future with your prescence.

In the name of Jesus - May it be as written.

My family's prayer and new song "Waiting"

Lord, we are waiting
For you to speak
Lord, we are waiting
Waiting in peace.

Chorus 1
You never let us down
never let us down
I know that you never will


Lord, We are certain
That you will catch us
Catch us when we fall
So Lord we are waiting


Verse 2
Lord, we are waiting
For you to point the way.
And our feet so ready
Just lead the way

Chorus 2
We know you have plans
Plans not to harm
But to prosper your children
So we won’t be alarmed
Oh no Oh no
So we are waiting


Bridge

Those who wait on the Lord
He will renew their strength
Those who wait on the Lord
They will run and not grow weary
Those who wait on the Lord
They will mount up on eagles
mount up on eagles

So we are waiting


All rights reserved by Tquan Moore
Copyright 2007

When God Shows Up

Tonight I went to Husky's, the restaurant nearest to our church, to celebrate the baptism of a student. As I was leaving, I met a man in the parking lot. His name is Tony. I met Tony because he was asking me for some financial help to get his car fixed. I talked with him and we got a bit of cash to help get his car serviced. As we talked God showed up.

Tony began to tell me about his tough time over the past two years since finishing his prison sentence. He shared with me how people would tell him that he should go and be productive in society but he is finding that society doesn't want to take a risk on him. It is as if society no longer sees Tony as a person who needs help, it sees him just as a liability. Interestingly enough, in the midst of that tough setting, God showed up. God always picks the best times to come on the scene. Tonight, He chose to show up in Tony's desperation. This man who is just trying to make ends meet didn't see much hope for the ends getting together any time soon. As I looked into this desperate man's eyes, I saw God.

Tony needed hope for the future and since I didn't have a job in my back pocket, we sought hope together. We prayed. We asked God to provide and encourage. And when the amen was said I met a man who was broken and in need. You may think I am talking about Tony but I am not. I am talking about me. I once read that a man who was helping an ex-con said to him, " The only difference between you and me is that I didn't get caught." You see, like the man I just quoted, I was realizing I am no different than Tony. Tony was in need tonight and his neediness helped me to recall how frequently I am in need. This recollection was highlighted as I got back into my car that was just fixed today because God provided for me the payment I could not afford to pay for on my own. (Again, God knows how to show up.) I realized that, though the world doesn't see it, I am no less broken or in need of God's provision and encouragement than Tony.

Thank-you Lord for showing up and reminding me of my brokenness and my neediness. It keeps me grounded. May the abundance your grace cover Tony in all his areas of need. In the name of Jesus. My heart says, "Yes!" (Translation: ...name of Jesus, Amen)

Note to the reader:
By the way, If you know of anyone willing to give Tony a chance just respond to this blog. Thanks. Being transformed daily.

Transformation Series: The Desire to Transcend

As far back as I can remember, I have aspired to do something that, at the time, I was unable to do. Before I knew you needed a license to drive I wanted to win races like 'Speed Racer'. When I got my first radio, I began to imagine singing before crowds of people. While in college I began to believe that I was supposed to be part of something great for God and I am still reaching for whatever he has is store. I don't know if you are one of those dreamers like me who sees something out there that seems beyond you, but you find that the only acceptable action for you is to reach it anyway. I wonder what brings us to dream beyond ourselves like this. Some may think that this is just youthful naivety, but I think it is something written into our DNA. I take that back. It is not just in our DNA. It is in something deeper. I believe it is written on our very souls.

I wonder if the caterpillar deals with this. Think about it for moment. If you could get into the mind of a caterpillar, what do you think would drive it to seek flight? I wonder if a caterpillar is born among its other caterpillar brothers and sisters and begins to go about its life finding leaves for food, crawling up trees and flowers, and trying to keep from being eaten by the early worm. It is an existence that probably seems like a good one, from his perspective. It seems manageable and not too bad of a life as long as you've got food on a branch near you.Okay there is the potential of some bird of prey, like the terrible pigeon, that could end your life in one swoop but that does keeps things interesting. What is it that takes the caterpillar beyond its ground level life and causes it to gaze to the heavens and picture being up there? I wonder if this dream doesn't begin to develop until it sees/imagines the possibility for it. Imagine what it might be like for the caterpillar to see a butterfly for the first time. Does its heart pound? Does it stop it munching away at the leaf and drop its jaw? I don't know. I don't know if they are oblivious to their metamorphic destiny or whether they were taught as little larvae that one day they would soar the skies above them. Either way I believe if they ever got to see a butterfly fluttering by then something would be stirred in their heart.

When I get to see dreams lived out, it inspires the dormant dreamer in me. I remember seeing Star Wars and desiring to be a noble hero like a Jedi. But more than the lives lived out on the silver screen, real life people have inspired me to dream. My father inspired me to be a leader, as I watched him lead men under him in rank. My youth minister inspired me to join God in transforming lives, by joining God in my life's transformation. I am inspired to hold on to the God, because I have seen my mother stubbornly (in a good way) hold on to God when despair was pound on her hearts door. There is something about the dreamers reaching for the stars that helps me to believe that the stars can be touched. These dream pioneers don't even need to successful they just need to keep reaching.

There where a band of ordinary men who became dreamers because they believed in the one who makes the deepest dreams of our hearts come true. Those followers of Jesus believed in him. Now listen to how Jesus sets them up to dream beyond themselves.

John 14:11-13

Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves. I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father.

"...Greater things than these..." Wow! Talk about transcending yourself. Jesus did amazing things and so did his followers. They healed the sick, cast out demons and raised the dead and because they continued to be fishers of men and followed a dream that transcended them, they changed the world. Those men are butterflies to this caterpillar.

To all butterflies fly high and to all the caterpillars look up.

Raw Thoughts: Standing without a Platform

Note to the reader: This is not about wrong or right or about persuasion of any kind. This is about openness and the sharing of my journey with you. May you be blessed as you read.

Well, I have had a sabbatical and I am back at the office for about five more weeks until I reach my last day. I have been in the office for one week so far and it has probably been one of the hardest weeks of my career. When I left back in December I knew that the the youth ministry was in capable hands and I was absolutely right. When I got back things were moving very well. Events were happening, groups of people were getting involved and there was even an excitement at our youth staff meeting that I hadn't seen in a while. Things were moving right along...without me.

Have you ever been faced with watching the world move without you? It is a humbling experience (and I know I need a bit of humility). I excepted things to be going well without me. I even hoped for it, but experiencing it is an altogether different thing. I came back to a place that I at one time was an integral part of. Now I am trying to figure out how to fit in. The experience is like one of those cartoons (probably Road Runner fits best ) where the character is standing on a platform, limb or plank that is precariously hanging over a cliff. Then the plank that the character is standing on gets yanked from under his feet and he looks at the audience as if to say, 'This is going to hurt.' and plummets to the ground beneath him. You see what I am finding is that the thing that I was standing on, my job, calling, vocation, whatever you want to call it, is gone. And with it being yanked from under my feet I find myself plummeting through a myriad of emotions and thoughts in the whole process.

Doubt is one of the first things that I have been facing. Like a neon sign that flashes at your window at night while you are trying to sleep, doubt seems to annoyingly make himself glaringly apparent when you are trying to have some peace or get some rest. There are doubts about whether I have been useful or not. Doubts concerning if there is anything that I have to offer the world in the future. Doubts concerning convictions that stand on. Doubts seem to be springing up every where like weeds and they can be very unsettling.

Being alone is another thing that I am facing. I don't mean like 'I wish I had a love interest' alone. I mean like I am wearing a scarlet letter and I want to get away alone. My letter is 'L'. It stands for the guy who is leaving us. So, I find myself wanting to isolate myself to hide my letter. I want to dodge questions about the future, and wanting to get away and figure out the answers to those questions. I find myself wondering if I am the only one who has ever felt like this but I don't want to ask. And thereby as I try to hide my letter I end up fulfilling what the letter stands for. I end up leaving, even while physically being present.

Anger is another one of those emotions that I find myself experiencing. I find myself angry at those who don't agree with me. Wishing they would have done...(whatever I thought best) and thinking I'll show them them when I... ( and I come up with a marvelous scenario where I prove them all wrong in grand fashion). Then I get angry at myself for not being above these petty thoughts concerning those who think differently than me. Ye Ha! This ride gets better the further you drop, huh? (Can you smell the sarcasm emanating from your computer screen?)

There are probably more emotions that I am falling through but I am tired of writing and it is kind of late. So what happens when I get to the bottom? Will that be the end of me? What will I land on? Where will I find myself? The answers to these questions can't be found in a job or new location to pitch my tent. I am talking about something a bit more personal. I want to know where will I land. When the cartoon character previously mentioned finally finishes his descent, he tends to land on something solid. My hope is to land on something solid, as well. I am hoping the that solid thing I land on is my Lord. You see the neat thing about the cartoon character who goes through the fall is that, eventhough the fall is scary and sometimes very rough on the way down and the landing can sometimes be met with pain, he always gets up after he finds solid ground.

Lord, please be the solid ground where I can stand after my platform is gone and through the fall. In the powerful name of Jesus. Amen.

Transformation: Becoming Myself

On a Thursday evening in October during one of my typical calls to one of my best friends on the planet I became unraveled. I don't really know what brought it on but I do know that it was intense. That evening, as I do for all my conversations with my friend, I took a look at my life and when I looked at it this time, I was filled with frustration. I was frustrated because when I looked at my life I saw a bunch of unfulfilled goals. I don't mean unfulfilled goals like forgetting to take out the trash, but big life transforming goals. I was frustrated with the progress that I had made with my battle to have pure eyes, and I was frustrated with my closeness to God. Now don't misunderstand or try to judge how bad it is. The degree to how good or bad it is, is unimportant. The important piece was that I looked at my life and I found that I was not as far along as I felt that I should be. I felt like I had been working on these things for years and barely had scratched the surface of being who I was meant to be. Understand I was not trying to do any remodeling of my life, I was just trying to live it as I am designed to live it. It was like I had been cleaning my office of trash for a week only to find that I had replaced the old trash with new trash. So, instead of being able to see my office, all that was visible was the mess. And just like the trash in my office, it became apparent to me that I was covered with my mess.

So there you have it, I am a mess. This is not some 'let me show you how holy and humble I am by calling myself a mess' mess. No, It was a very real gut wrenching, tears flowing, snot running mess that I had found myself in. I was completely frustrated and helpless to alleviate the problem. You see I had already tried everything I knew to try. I had tried spiritual disciplines, accountability partners, web monitoring, confession and more. With all my best efforts I would look at myself and still find a filthy mess. Don't get me wrong I am not saying that the things that I tried are bad. On the contrary, I think they are extremely helpful. I even recommend them. The problem was not the things that I was trying. The problem was me. Give a pig a water hose to clean itself and it will make mud to wallow in. The water is not the issue it is the pig. So, I found myself helpless. I had tools I could use but no ability and sometimes there was even a desire to do the things that would let me truly experience the abundant life that God has in store for me. I found myself truly helpless. I was exhausted and frustrated, like a man in the desert who is looking for water but all he can find are mirages.

So, I spoke to my friend about my mess and my frustration and he suggested that we pray. So, we began to pray and then something happened to me. It was something new. No, I didn't see an angel or anything like that but I believe the Spirit of God guided my prayer. My typical prayer in a time like this would be to address issues of frustration. An example would be 'God make me more disciplined' or 'God, purify my eyes.' but I found that those things weren't the deepest desires of my heart. These were my desires but not the deepest desires. The deeper desire was that he would, 'Get close enough to me to get messy while being with me'. I just wanted God to be close. Like a child who wants his father or mother to hold them when he gets a 'boo-boo' on his knee and somehow that makes things better, I just wanted God to be near enough for me to feel him. I needed more than tools or skills to overcome. I needed the one who overcomes. Thank-you Spirit.

Here is something that I am learning concerning what happens when we ask God to come near to our messy selves: He likes to make good out of our messes. Recall Genesis 1:1-4. The earth was formless and empty (translation: the earth was a mess, a big shapeless mess) and God came hovered over the mess and began to change it. He created light and where there had been mess, now there was beautiful good light. This continued for six days until he was done. Each day he took the mess and created something good. I believe that is what God is doing in you and me. When the time is right he will hover over the mess of our lives and make something good. Notice that he will come and hover over our mess. A word of caution though, it is likely that when he comes and does his good work it will be a radical change but rest assured the change will be good. In the last month,God has been working me over and surfacing the me underneath the mess. He is making me good. I will share more about this in future posts. May God be near us all and may we all become the selves that he has created us to be.

Transition

Eleven years ago in June 1995. God placed me and my wife here at West Houston church of Christ. Now he is releasing us from the ministry here to a place that he will make known later. At the elders’ initiation and my mutual agreement, we have determined that the vision paths that we have will lead down different paths in the kingdom of God.

Therefore, thanks to the graciousness of our elders, my plan is to take a month long sabbatical to seek God concerning the details of plans for me and family’s future. The sabbatical will last from December 10^th – January 10^th and then to I plan finish my duties as a youth minister on staff on February 25^th.

My dear church family, my love for you runs deep. You have watched me grow up. You have always welcomed and cared for us. You were there when we struggled through three years of waiting to have children and you have loved my family as if they were your own. My prayer for you is that you grow in deep relationship with God and each other and that you will make disciples of Christ as you are transformed in the your relationship with God and each other.

I want you to know that I love you and entrust you to God. Many times when a minister leaves a church many wonder and speculate as to the reasons. Please don’t do this. It will only grieve my spirit and I believe it will grieve God’s as well. The elders here love me and I love them and we both love you dearly and desire what it is best for you. Even though the visions that we have are leading us into different paths, there is no bitterness, anger or strife - just different paths. God calls each of us to where he will lead and no matter where we are or where we go God ultimately is directing all.

Please feel free to speak to myself or any of the elders with questions that you may have. I love you with the amazing love that I have received from Christ.

Transformation Series: Word

Words can produce so much change. Consider Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. who spoke of a dream that has been changing the culture of the United States of America ever since. Consider Hitler who, through his words, convinced a nation that they were superior to the rest of the human race and left a blemish on mankind forever. With words men are inspired to give their lives in battle. With words children become the people that they believe that they can become. With words women change their names to be the same as some young man as they plan to spend their lives with.

Why is it that words can produce such change? It seems pretty random to me. Let me explain. The process of speaking goes something like this- air that is stored up in your lungs get pushed out and that air passes over muscles in your throat called vocal cords. These vocal cords tighten and loosen to create distinct sounds. We call these sounds words. Generally these sounds carry meaning. For example: Say this phrase (Make sure to run the sounds together like a sentence) 'Ay em gud lukin.' Now smile. Did you catch it? If you didn't, then read it again. What I asked you to read is not a sentence in the English language. Yet, hopefully as you sounded the phrase out it meant something to you. You should have heard yourself say, 'I am good looking' (By the way, I hope it made you smile. I am sure it is true.)

My point is this, what you heard/said meant something to you. Whether you believe the phrase you spoke or not, it meant something. It affected your thinking even if it were on only for a moment. It changed your thinking from whatever you were thinking about to whatever you thought about the phrase. How do words do that? Why do the words 'I love you' cause my daughter to light up everytime she hears them? Why is it that while I was in school, when students said my nose was too big, I would look in the mirror and think I am ugly because I have a big nose?Here is the reason - It is because words carry meaning and things that have meaning infiltrate our hearts and minds and things that infiltrate our hearts and minds shape our belief and then once we believe something, then we do as we believe. (Side note: We don't always do what we claim to believe but we always act is agreement with what we believe.)

It is likely that you hear thousands of words a day. Some things you hear are true, some are false. Some things you hear encourage, some things discourage. My daughter believes she is a princess, because I tell her she is (and so does Disney by the way). Those words affect how she carries herself. Now imagine if we always spoke words of love, truth, encouragement and hope. What do you think that would do to the people around us? I think it would help them become more of who they were created to be. Will you tap on someone’s heart and mind with words of love, encouragement and truth?

To those of you who care to join this movement of transformation, I ask you to speak words of life to people. Jesus was said to have had the words of life. Speak words that refresh and build up. Do not speak words of death. Do not speak words that make people weary and tear them down. Your words will help produce the transformation in people that they long for. Will your words help them be the people they were meant to be or will it destroy even the very hope of becoming who they were meant to be? You decide every time you open your mouth. Transformation is on the tip of your tongue.

The Transformation Series: The Call

Do you remember when all that you wanted to do was be big? My eldest daughter is almost three and she has a list of things that she looks forward to doing when she gets 'big'. This list includes buckling a seat belt all by herself, being able to tie her shoes, going to school, (I'd better cherish this one while it last) being a mommy and much more. My daughter is envisioning her potential. Potential – Do you remember that word in school? School is where I remember it from. My teachers used to write about potential on my progress reports. They would say, "Tquan is so bright and has such great potential. If he would just apply himself then..." and you know the rest. Potential is a word that carries so much weight and hope all at the same time. Our potential is the untapped part of us. My potential is my dormant self that has not awakened from its slumber. It is a part of us that, many times, we don't even know how to reach until someone helps us.

My daughter often says confidently, "I do that when I big,” referring to some future achievement she envisions. Even though her tone says confidence, she still looks at me as if to say 'Right?' She wants some confirmation of this hope that she has, because it is hard for her to believe it without someone else affirming her vision of her future. Why is it so hard for us to see what we could be? I really don't know. There are probably a plethora (I like that word) of reasons. But I do know that everyone that I know who is stretching to reach their full potential can point to people who are being instrumental in their transformation. There are no flowers that blossom without help from the sun, rain and soil.

So I write this to call to action all those that would be the sun, rain and soil for would be blossoming flowers. There is a massive shortage of those who would give of themselves to help someone else to become the truest version of them self. How do I know of this short fall? I say there is a shortage because I see many who are frustrated at this desire to have something more than what they have, but they are not knowing how to grab hold of it. I see families who don't really know what is like to live in peace with each other because they can't even visualize that potential reality. I see church goers who really wish that they were sold out Christ followers, but they don’t know how to get out of the rut of pew sitting. Many just need someone who will walk along side them and encourage them to take each next step to becoming fully who they were meant to be.

Here is my call. Will you be poured out like rain on a person who is withered by life? Will you be like sunshine on someone who has only felt the cold of a harsh world? Will you give of yourself to nurture someone else’s growth, like the soil gives nutrients to the flower? As one who is seeing much untapped potential around me, I ask, with piercing eyes, deep conviction and a sincere heart, will will join me in this movement of transformation?

This is not a movement driven by any institution, constitution or other organized entity. No, this is one man with a passion for the world around him, calling others who share that same passion to turn their passion into action and be poured out for the community of people around them. Will you join his movement? Your world needs you. And frankly, if this resonates in you, then you need to do this. You need it just to live up to your full potential. Consider yourself rained on.

May God give us grace, power and success through his Spirit and may the world be a transformed place because of it.

The Mirror

I sit here at the computer with a mirror in front of me and as I look directly into it you may think I see myself. Sadly, that is not what I see, at least not this time. I see what I have been taught to see. I see misplaced hairs, blemishes, acne, gray hairs that peek out from my beard like flags of conquest and the redness of tired eyes. Then there have been other times after a good bit of primping and touch-up work to my face and hair, a hero appears in my mirror and he has it all together. He has the coolness of Shaft, the integrity of Superman, the intelligence of Einstein and the wit of your favorite talk show host. Yet this picture is still not me. Why is that I (and maybe others of you who are reading this) have so many differing views of the same person that I see in the mirror everyday? Maybe it is because we have been taught a faulty way to look in the mirror and see ourselves.

Let me explain with a story. I once saw a yard that was filled with wild flowers. When I looked, I saw what looked like just a bunch a blossoming weeds that had completely swallowed up this yard, especially when seen next to one of those subdivision manicured "yard of the month" lawns. Now, If my daughter were to lay eyes on that wild flower monstrosity. She would say something like, 'Look at the pretty flowers, Daddy.' My daughter sees the beauty in the wild flowers because she has not received the Homeowners Associations letters that say you can not let your yard grow wildly. I, on the other hand, have learned very well what a good yard looks like. It is one that doesn't embarrass the neighbors or make other people fear the loss of value to their homes. It has evenly cut yards with beautiful symmetrical flower beds and absolutely no weeds. Can you see where I am headed? I have been taught to look at yards based on a communal standard. The home owners, neighbors, parents, and even I have set the standard. So now I look with a comparative lens at each yard I see, as opposed to taking the yard for what it is.

In the same way I believe that, at times, I see myself through a comparative lens, comparing myself to one person or another and I thereby judge myself based on this standard that has been handed down to me. This leaves me feeling at times like I am on the top of the world and other times like I am on the bottom of the manure pile.

So what do I do? Do I just accept this standard that leaves me feeling up or down at any given moment, do I just chunk the mirror to never consider what I look like or could there be another standard?

I want to explore that latter option. Let's look at this other standard. My Father (I mean my heavenly one) says he doesn't see people like we do. He looks at the heart. When he described David he described him as a "man after his own heart." Was David perfect? No. But he was seeking to know God and striving to be like him. We are made in God's image. I believe God sees us as that. Yet, we have blemishes, faults or sin (to use more religious language) that taints the image that we have been made in. Here is the thing about a blemish. It may change my appearance but it doesn't change me.

So here is what I am suggesting, when we look at ourselves we should look through the lens of how God has created us. This means when I look in that mirror again I will see myself ... but I will still see blemishes. Remember Isaiah in Chapter 6 of his book, he sees God (the standard) and says, 'Whoa, I am unraveled because I have unclean lips.' Our natural response in the face of perfection is to recognize our imperfections. You may say, "Well, how does that help? We are in the same position we were in when we had the communal standard." Then I would reply, 'Not exactly.' If we look at the mirror through God's standard then we see the image of God in us. Yes, it has blemishes but we see the image of God instead of just seeing the blemishes. Then a beautiful thing occurs when we realize that we were meant to be blemish free. We turn to God (we confess our sin) and he begins to give us a complete makeover. Isaiah's makeover came when a hot coal from God's altar was placed on his lips to clean them. After we recognize our blemishes and turn to God, then as time passes and we allow God to work he removes our blemishes and we begin to experience who we were created to be. We experience the fullness of God dwelling in us.

Don't get rid of the mirror. Get a new standard so you can see clearly into it. Then turn to Jesus and enjoy becoming who you are.

The whole earth is full of His glory

"Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty;
the whole earth is full of his glory." Isaiah

I was reading in a book by Rob Bell last night and he brought up the idea that God is always around and we are the ones that are missing him at times. So I read the passage in Isaiah 6 and here is the imagery....

God, himself, is seated high and exalted on his throne. There are six winged creatures that with four of the wings they shield their eyes and their feet and with other two they fly. Then as they speak their voices shake the doorpost and the threshold of the very temple of God. Isaiah is taken back at the scene and assumes he is toast because his imperfections are being consumed by the perfection the Lord of host who is right in front of him. While all of this great scene is going on, the seraphs (the six winged creatures) say, "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory." How do these beings who are in the very prescence of God, in their praise, leave this temple and the Most Holy place where God would dwell and speak of the whole earth? I suppose that they can say, " the whole earth" because they have eyes to see, with great clarity, how God's glory burst past the walls of the Most Holy Place, past outer courts of the temple, through Jerusalem, beyond Judah, out of the middle east, past the oceans and engulfs the world,

They see it as clearly as I can see my hands typing this blog. I want eyes like that. Eyes that can recognize everywhere God's glory is. How peaceful a person can be when they see the glory of the Lord everywhere. I want eyes like that.

I want to see His glory in the homeless man who is bothering people for change. I want see him in the storm before the rainbow. I want to recognize him in the beautiful and the ugly. I want to see like Jesus did when the town whore came and interrupted a highly respectful meal with her tears and perfume. (see Luke 7) The Pharisees saw a whore, an inconvenience, and shame. Jesus saw a woman created in the image of God and living it out by placing perfume on him and cleaning his feet with her tears. How beautiful God's glory is.

I want to see clearly , like Jesus did. I want my vision to be swallowed up in God glory.

Give us sight Lord

In the name of Jesus