Abundant

Today I got to sing about the most important thing ever in the history of the world. It really rocked, and I counted it as a privelage just to utter those words. It almost made a dear friend of mine cry just thinking about it. It made me dance. I think eventually she started dancing too.

Overwhelmed

That's one word.

Selah

Although he [Christ] was a son, he learned obedience through the things
he suffered.

Hebrews 5:8 (NET)

Safe?

Who said anything about safe? 'Course he isn't safe. But he's good.

-C.S. Lewis

Whatever doesn't kill you...

only makes you stronger.

Well, my comic relief episode finally came to a close today. It only
took eleven days! The funny thing is, God opened it with a miracle, and
He closed it with a miracle. In the process of that whole episode He
answered a bigger prayer that I had prayed a while ago. Amazing. So
through one seemingly isolated and insignificant event God performed at
least three miracles. Yep, that's what they were, not whatever you
call those things that happen by "chance." Read my friend's post
on the echthros: http://thousandpounds.blogspot.com.

I am thinking it's a sign

I am thinking it's a sign
that the freckles in our eyes are mirror images
and when we kiss they're perfectly aligned
And I have to speculate
that God himself did make
us into corresponding shapes
like puzzle pieces from the clay

It's true, it may seem like a stretch
but its thoughts like this that catch
my troubled head when you're away
when I am missing you to death
when you are out there on the road
for several weeks of shows
and when you scan the radio
I hope this song will guide you home

they will see us waving from such great heights,
"come down now", they'll say
but everything looks perfect from far away,
"come down now", but we'll stay...

Ben Gibbard

Pray...

because you want to be a part of the miracle.

Whited Sepulcher Theology

There's a lot of what I like to call "virtue preaching" going
around these days. Virtue preaching is when a preacher gets up and tells
his audience to stop doing something, start doing something, or both.
It's always very basic; typically involves things like "stop
stealing," or "stop lusting," or "start praying more," or
"start going to church." As you can see, they're usually things
that nobody can disagree with. Occasionally you'll get the "girls
shouldn't wear pants" message or "mixed swimming is of the
devil" message, but for the sake of this argument we'll forget
those propositions. There is, however, a very subtle problem with this
popular method of preaching. I'll lay it out for you. Let's say
we're doing a message on making excuses. Immediately everyone is
thinking about Moses at the burning bush so we'll choose that as our
main text. Typically these messages are predictable as well. You're
audience will have the proposition and three points figured out by the
end of the introduction. This is a good thing. It means everyone will
get it. In our message, we'll read the text and give our proposition,
"Stop making excuses." We will then proceed with out first point,
followed by a story and continue that pattern through to the conclusion.
Then at the end we will again tell everyone to stop making excuses. You
have an invitation. Everyone raises their hand. Everyone comes forward.
You're feeling good about yourself. You just got a crowd of a few
thousand to stop making excuses. Congratulations. Guess what you just
created. A few thousand Pharisees. If you remember anything about your
Bible, Jesus wasn't particularly fond of these people. What went
wrong? Didn't we have good intentions? Didn't we preach the Word? Of
course we had good intentions, and of course we preached out of the
Bible. We just missed the point of it, that's all. What we should have
done however is tell people there's a reason Moses made his excuse.
It's because he didn't believe that God would keep His promise that
Israel would be delivered from Egypt. This is where we start with our
message. That's the point of the passage. This approach deals with the
heart. The other deals with externals. Paul David Tripp would call it
"fruit stapling." We don't want to have any part in this, for
ourselves or for others. Jesus dealt with the heart in His sermon on the
mount. In fact, His entire ministry was and still is keyed in on this
one thing. He wants to change lives from the inside out. Let's start
participating in this beautiful plan.

Consummation of an Epiphany

For a while now I've been contemplating this idea of the "sin nature." What sparked my interest in this topic was a book I read a while back entitled "Tired of Trying to Measure." Life changing, let me tell you. Everyone needs to read that book. In it, the author puts forward the idea that we, as believers, do not have a sin nature. Now being a good fundamentalist this came at first as near heresy to me! So I decided to search it out. The first verse I went to was Galatians 2:20, "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me." After reading that one and all of Romans, I pretty much had no choice but to agree that our sin nature has been nailed to the cross. But then I had to answer the obvious question that all my friends kept asking me that I didn't really have a good answer for. That question, of course, was, "Why do we still sin?" In a book entitled "Changed into His Image" the author tells us we sin because "we possess within us a clone of Satan's own nature" (pg 36). Now this doesn't seem to make sense biblically*or even logically for that matter. How can there be Satan and Christ living in us at the same time? Almost sounds a little bit like a good angel/bad angel situation huh? So what is the answer? Well fortunately Peter makes it very clear to us in his second letter. He tells us, "For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust." When I read that today I was so pumped. It's really neat how the term "sin nature" is never once spoken of about believers. However in this passage we are told that we partake in the divine nature! So why do we sin? According to the passage, I think it's because we don't believe God's promises. He has promised us that we are dead to sin. He has promised us that we will have victory in our lives. When we have faith in these promises we start seeing the things listed in verses 5-7 come to fruition. We cannot try harder at doing these things. It must all start with faith in God and His promises (Hebrews 11:6). Sin, however, comes when we doubt Him. That's why Peter says in verse 9 of chapter 1, "For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins." Think about that. That list just before verse 9 isn't a burden. It's freeing because all we have to do is have faith in God and those things will manifest themselves. As the chapter continues Peter keeps urging his audience to remember that one thing. And if you forget, then chapter 2 is the result*and it's not a pretty sight.

Mmmm but what a freeing thought*I can now confidently say that I am a new creation because of what Christ has done for me. This is a bold statement so I believe I must clarify something. I also realize that I am infinitely weak. It is so easy for me to follow after my own human desires. But Christ understands that weakness because He was human Himself and had the same desires that we have. However, He was infinitely stronger than us, and thus completely without sin. Have I said anything wrong here? This is what the Bible says, and I have no choice but to hang on for dear life to these promises. Peter states the consequences for not doing this. I'd rather not go down that path.

Boldness

The day the LORD delivered the Amorites over to the Israelites, Joshua prayed to the LORD before Israel:
"O sun, stand still over Gibeon!
O moon, over the valley of Aijalon!"
The sun stood still and the moon stood motionless while the nation took vengeance on its enemies. The event is recorded in the Scroll of the Upright One. The sun stood motionless in the middle of the sky and did not set for about a full day. There has not been a day like it before or since. The LORD obeyed a man, for the LORD fought for Israel!

Joshua 10:12-14 (NET)

Ok so a friend of mine told me to read Joshua* wow* Seriously, that's what my soul is doing right now. What an intensely amazing book! About a month ago I realized something about prayer; we're supposed to do it the way God tells us to do it the Bible*novel idea, I know. But I never really understood what James meant when he told us to ask in faith without doubting. Or what the writer of Hebrews meant when he told us to come boldly before the throne of grace to receive mercy and find grace whenever we need help. I suppose I just always assumed that since God was so big that I should ask softly and politely and hope for the best. And if it doesn't work out? Oh well, better luck next time. But now I know just a little better. I remember that night literally yelling at God to keep the promises that He has made to me. Joshua did this on an infinitely greater scale. The LORD obeyed him because He had promised Joshua that Canaan would be his. In order for God to keep that promise, Joshua knew he needed more daylight. So he asked for it; it was the most impossible thing ever done in the history of world. I sat pondering what that would have been like. Imagine the fear that must have been placed in the hearts of their enemies when they saw that the sun had stopped for Joshua. It reminds me of The Return of the King when the orcs thought they had the victory and then their spirits just instantly sank the moment the Ring was consumed by the fire. Joshua's prayer was a bold command before the Lord*one that he had every right to make because his desires were in line with the Lord's desires (Psalm 37:4). This is how I want to pray now. But I'm still pretty sorry at it. I still have to battle with the doubts in my heart. But I must believe that God will do what I ask Him because, as long as I am truly delighting myself in the Lord, He will give it to me. And if He doesn't give it to me it's because I'm not delighting in the Lord in some area of my life. Also we must pray courageously. Pray for the impossible. Pray for the terrifying. God will answer us. He has promised us that He will. Stay tuned for the next Joshua musing. I can tell that there is some pretty good stuff coming up here.

Bitter Sweet

Well it's official! I am now through with Mefistofele... And all I got
was this lousy t-shirt...

Degradation of Society and Culture

bluegrass....

Comic Relief

God has been whispering to me lately, and I could kinda hear it, but
it's been thin. That, of course, has all been my fault. I just
haven't sat down for more than two seconds to "be still" and
listen to it. Then yesterday He did. It was something so small;
something so unimportant. It really had nothing to do with the "big
picture" of my life. I'm once again drawn back to the "X-Files."
In that series there were episodes that really contributed to the major
running plot as a whole. Those were the exciting, intense ones. Then
there were those that didn't really have much to do with anything.
It's almost as if they were inserted just for the sake of comic
relief. Such is the case in my little episode yesterday. God wanted me
to laugh yesterday, and He did that by bringing me into a place of Holy
Mystery. On the outside I was jumping up and down, but on the inside I
was saying, "Whoa, yeah He's certainly right there along side of
me!" God's seemingly little doing there was meant to settle me down
and hear His ever present, gentle, voice. I don't think God's voice
is ever thin. Sometimes we make it that way by not being still; that's
all our doing, not God's. His whispering is just that, a whisper, not
a yell. It's gentle, but there's no mistake that it's there. It
makes its presence known. We just need to eliminate all distractions for
a moment and listen to it.

Comfort

Sometimes He does. Sometimes He whispers. But He is always there.

So...

I have a girlfriend now. Yep, that's right. Her name is Mefistofele.
I've been doing a lot with her lately. But I think she's just using me.
I have a feeling we're going to break up at the end of next week. It's
probably a good thing though. She's really wearing me out.

More faith musings...

The entire lifetime of Enoch was three hundred and sixty-five years.
Enoch walked with God; and then he disappeared, because God took him
away.

Genesis 5:23-24

I've often pondered that familiar passage. As a child I used to think
that was a really neat story. The tales of men who never saw death were
always most intriguing-- probably because I heard them so frequently. I
guess, as a child, there's something mystical about those stories. It's
kind of like a real life occurrence of the "X-Files" (of which I was a
huge fan by the way). For me, the intrigue was in the two words: "he
disappeared." But nowadays, that's not enough for my INTJ mind. For a
couple months now I have from time to time revisited that same story in
my mind. Today it was brought to my attention by a greatly-needed,
well-timed chapel message. Whenever it comes to mind I always ask
myself, "What kind of faith does it take to do that?" Faith, sadly
enough, is often somewhat of an impossibility for me. Or maybe it's just
characteristic of all children of God-- we just don't often readily
admit it. So here I am, admitting that I have very little faith and at
times no faith at all. I think it's because I want my faith to be
mystical. I want it to be huge faith, that moves mountains, that uproots
trees. Not just this mustard seed faith Jesus kept talking about. How is
that going to accomplish the impossible? But then we look at Enoch's
life and see how simple it was for him and how simple it can and should
be for us. "Enoch walked with God" the verse says. There's nothing
mystical about that. In fact, it's so ridiculously practical. He didn't
all of a sudden hear a message, go down the aisle, and experience some
existential, Keswick life-altering decision that landed him directly on
cloud nine. No, he just had simple faith in his supreme God for the day
he was in. The verse doesn't say he ran to God, or one day was able to
meet God. He just walked with God. How often do I, after times of
victory and immense, seemingly unshakeable walking with God in an
instant just stop walking? It's times like those I feel like God is
playing the game where your older sister has a piece of candy, holds it
behind her back, and tells you to guess which one it's in. It's times
like those I feel like I chose God's "empty hand" and missed out on His
blessing, or even worse-- stepped outside of His will. I'll bet Elijah
felt the same way. He destroys all the prophets of Baal and this thought
enters into his mind: "Wow I've accomplished nothing. I'm the only one
left loyal to God." So he tells it to Him. And God responds to him in a
quiet, gentle whisper, "It's ok, I've got 7,000 more that love Me." I
think Elijah wanted something mystical, something huge like God gave him
on Mount Carmel. But God simply told him that 7,000 will get the job
done. I do the same thing. God does something amazing, something divine
in my life; He let's all the pieces of my life fall right into place.
Then other times, usually right after the victory, He whispers. I
don't know what makes God do and what makes Him whisper. Sometimes
it's much easier to figure out later on; sometimes it's not. But
this is just the way the Christian life is. We are going to have times
of weakness. Enoch probably did, and we know Elijah did. But, they both
had happy endings. And I'm confident we will too.

Place of Holy Mystery #1

Read Luke 7. This is where God performs His miracles for me.

New "Fruits"

Faith, love, hope, grace-- these are what the Christian life is all
about. Intangibles, very abstract things. But for some reason that's not
good enough for us. We want tangibles, something seen. So we make up our
own "fruits of the spirit." Notices the little "s"--it's not the Spirit.
It's another spirit. The spirit of self righteousness. But remember,
even though we are in Christ, any of our "righteousness" done in our own
strength are grease stained rags in the sight of God.

The fruits of the Spirit come from walking with God. The new "fruits"
of your spirit come from walking by yourself. Don't mistake the two.

Joy in the Journey

God's grace has rocked this life. I've been doing a lot of reflecting
over the past few weeks--something I never did much of in earlier years.
But it's been so amazing to see the impossibly beautiful path God has
led me through up to this very point. Maybe this is "Till We Have Faces"
theology--maybe it's all experience. But I don't see a problem with
that. Each of us has his own story. That's the way God made us. He's not
just the God of the Bible--He's the God of today. And what's more, He
wants us to learn from today as well as the Bible. So looking back, I
see all the baggage I accumulated, all the times Satan thought he had
the victory in my life. I see it's all been a process, a beautiful
process (I'm on a beauty kick if you couldn't already tell. I hope it
lasts.) that has been painful, but also perfect. I tried to liken it to
this metaphor a while back: I was this deep-rooted, mud-covered,
thick-barked, stump that God effortlessly pulled from the ground and
said to it, "I'm going to make something out of you for My pleasure."
The soothing part was the cleaning. It felt good. That lasted for about
a year. Then God started working on that bark. That was the painful
part. He's been peeling it off for the past 3 years. And now He's come
to this point--where He's ready to start widdling away. But I think
that's a terrible metaphor since I'm not in the least bit a poetic soul.
So I'm assuming that it just won't make sense to the rest of the world.
However, that's the best I can do right now. Right now I'm at the point
where it's hard for me not praise God for the impossible circumstances
that have taken place in my life. It's all been connected. Kind of
reminds me "Signs"--"Everything happens for a reason." It's something we
can't get away from as good Christians. But do we really believe it?
That, our lives are part of this web of interrelated events each
specifically planned out by God with his or her needs in mind. I am
convinced that everything does happen for a reason. Even the minutest of
events--such as me going to a Nickel Creek concert which led to Sara
Watkins staring at me which led to an unhealthy obsession for a stupid
band which led to me wasting $300 on a trip to see my friends in
Greenville which led to me coming to the end of myself on the 11 hour
drive home which led to a whole slew of other events. And the thing is,
the chain starts way before that and ends way beyond that and continues
to this day. That's part of the "wonder and wildness to life." Us seeing
our needs met in the most absurd of ways. It has most undoubtedly shed a
whole new light on my walk--past, present, and future. The promise of
God that the very hairs on my head are numbered is real for me. He is
working in my life, personally--and it's for my good, and He will keep
working until it reaches its perfect consummation. I cling to this
promise.