Christmas in the eyes of a child and missed loved ones

With just two days till Christmas morning, a question rings in my head.  Are we as grown ups, still seeing Christmas through the eyes of a child?  Are we still awed by the beauty of the lights, and the beauty of the reality that peace on earth is no longer a distant dream but is within our reach through Jesus Christ.  I watch my children and their eyes sparkle at the lights, and they sparkle at the wonder of Santa Clause and the gifts, and I wonder have I lost the ability to imagine.  That ability that takes us beyond the confines of this reality to the reality of the heavens, to where those who have gone on before us now stand and bow before the very one whose birth we celebrate.  All of my grandparents are now with Jesus this year, and yet we have that same opportunity here and now, to be in the presence of the Messiah at Christmas.  A time when as we look at the lights and sounds of Christmas, and we enjoy the gifts and treats, these are all things for us to enjoy.  Things the Lord has allowed us the opportunity to play with in a sense, since we are His children.  May I be like my children, and continue this season to have a sense of wonder and awe at Christmas, even through the hustle and bustle of the season.  Oh and to those whom I love especially my grandfather who has been in heaven for nearly 13 years, I still love you more today than I ever did, and I cannot wait until the day we meet again in Heaven and I can show you my family and your great grandchildren who I know you would have loved a hundred times more...until then may we both enjoy Christmas in its own way one here on earth and the other in heaven around the throne of the Messiah!   May all who read this celebrate Christmas with a sense of wonder and awe like never before, because as John wrote in John 1, "The Word become flesh, and dwelt (tabernacled) among us!!"

Can't get past Mercy...Praise God!

Okay so the title may imply that I am trying get beyond "mercy".  That is the complete opposite, I am so glad that in this life we can never out run mercy.  Still going slowly through 1 Peter in my personal studies, I found myself this morning resting on the middle part of 1 Peter 1:3, According to His great mercy...  Did you ever stop to think about that small word that carries such a weight of truth with it.  Mercy is the motive behind God's granting believers eternal life...thus sharing in the very life of the Father, Son, and Spirit.   Not to put a  downer on the word, but mercy focuses on our miserable sinful position.  Thus showing the beauty of God's compassion that is shown to those who are dead in their sins and our right rebellious toward God (which by the way includes all of us).  You see this is what mercy does, it shows and illuminates, our miserable condition while grace focuses on the guilt, or sin which caused that state.  One commentator has this to say of mercy: Divine mercy takes the sinner from misery to glory (a change of condition), and divine grace takes him from guilt to acquittal (a change of position).  You see mercy flows from the Lord's infinite compassion and free, abundant, limitless mercy.  Truly, as Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 1:3, God is the Father of mercies.  May we never get past mercy instead, may it always be at the forefront of all we do, ever evident in our daily lives.  Continually being poured out into our lives as we stumble through this life, until that day when mercy will lead to what Peter later writes, the goal...the salvation of your souls.

Psalm 19 the bookend of journey for the past two years

As I sit here on the Monday before Christmas, most would think that a good devotional would be about the Christmas story.  Instead, God seems to have seen fit, to bring me to a place where I began a journey nearly two years ago.  Looking back I cannot tell you every detail of how and why many of things transpired over the past two years, but I can tell you it has been a deep and hard sanctifying process.  The beautiful part of it all is that God and Jesus have become more and more precious with each new day and each time I am able to get just a simple glimpse of His glory.  I am not going to bore you with every detail of what has taken place over these past two years, from coming to Sevier Heights, to the church plant, back to Sevier Heights...put in the middle of those times struggle, heartache, joy, happiness, peace, suffering, gladness, weeping, laughing, embracing, shunning, depression, failure, excitement, success, endurance, weak, sin, pride, emptying, but there is something that eclipses all of those things and so many more that I have been through.  That is the Cross, it overshadows and causes all these other things all worth it...and His Word is not withstanding, because that is the foundation upon which we can stand finding our peace and joy when sometimes joy and peace  seem so far away.  For you see nearly two years ago before I left Lifeway to go to Target, God took me to this passage, and this time I believe I am sitting here being reminded that this is almost like a book end to that part of my life. A new time in my life is beginning one where I simply "rest" in Christ, one where I simply "abide" in Christ...Psalm 19 starts off with the beautiful reality of God's Glory being revealed through creation and all His works!  Truly, creation does declare the Glory of God even when we don't feel like it.  But there is a second half to this chapter that is even more precious to me.  From verses 7-11, God provides a beautiful description of His love letter written to us.  I am simply going to paste the verses below, and you see if you can see the beauty of His Word...something that I have finally learned is constantly molding and transforming me.

 ⁷ The instruction of the LORD is perfect,
    reviving the soul; 
    the testimony of the LORD is trustworthy,
    making the inexperienced wise.

    ⁸ The precepts of the LORD are right,
    making the heart glad; 
    the commandment of the LORD is radiant,
    making the eyes light up.

    ⁹ The fear of the LORD is pure,
    enduring forever; 
    the ordinances of the LORD are reliable
    and altogether righteous.

    ¹⁰ They are more desirable than gold—
    than an abundance of pure gold; 
    and sweeter than honey—
    than honey dripping from the comb.

    ¹¹ In addition, Your servant is warned by them;
    there is great reward in keeping them.

Perfect, trustworthy, right, radiant, pure, reliable, righteous, better than gold, sweeter than honey, great reward...all describe the beautiful reality of the Word of God.  Oh how it has taken me two years to realize this is not a "book" to be dissected and treated as another "resource" for teaching, but instead IT IS the very thing that leads us to the source of Life, Jesus Christ, the everlasting Living Water.   So I suppose it is fitting this year is winding to a close with me returning to the place that much of my changing has taken place over the last two years.  Why two years? I dunno...why here? I dunno...Why change? Oh, that one I can answer, that I might behold His Glory working in my life to the utmost!!

Friday Morning and the Lamb of God!!

For those needing to know their Lord is faithful, our family included, I read something this morning from Isaiah 22:22-24 "22 “Then I will set the key of the house of David on his shoulder, 
When he opens no one will shut, 
When he shuts no one will open. 
23 “I will drive him like a peg in a firm place, 
And he will become a throne of glory to his father’s house.
24 So they will hang on him all the glory of his father’s house, offspring and [a]issue, all the least of vessels, from bowls to all the jars.

Although this is found in Isaiah it is a beautiful promise of the coming King, Jesus!! For Revelation 3:7 declares " 7 “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write:
He who is holy, who is true, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, and who shuts and no one opens, says this:"

The question is do we believe this? Do we believe he is able to open and close the doors that are needed and at just the right times? Are we able to believe that at even the sound of His great name the lost are saved and find their way to His cross? That all condemnation is removed? All fears are removed, sick are healed, fatherless have a Father, hope is found? All the enemy can bolster against us is nothing compared to the power of Jesus the Lamb of God! It is funny, I just heard the song from Natalie Grant "Your Great Name" yesterday afternoon...didn't realize how it would be taught to me at the very same time within a 10 hour period.


Your Great Name - Natalie Grant


This IS the truth and promises of Christmas!! Not the "things" or the trees or the decorations, although good, they pale in comparison to the beauty of falling into the arms of our Savior and knowing he will catch us no what comes our way


I Believe - Natalie Grant

(This is a re-post of a facebook devo I published)

A Desire to godliness...but persecution must follow

Paul's words of strength to Timothy - "...what persecutions I endured, and out of them all the Lord rescued me!  Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted."  Oh that our persecutions whether self inflicted or by others, these trials would reveal to us that we striving even harder to reach the foot of the cross.  It feels like a legion of Satan's army is preventing every step I take to return to my first Love, yet it is at the foot of the cross that I must return and stay.  But then when I know that I can no longer move because of the ravages of sin and this life, there is one who presses on ahead of me, destroying the enemies shackles that have been placed on my life.  From the ashes, arise no longer one who strives on his own, but instead, I cling to the power and work of Jesus Christ, and rising I look ahead.  Oh yes the enemy clamors and the flesh wants to be given another chance, but this is war.  In war there are causalities, this time though the victor is Jesus my Savior and Lord who has unbound the shackles of sin and the thoughts of what I once was.  No longer does the enemy have those to cling to, but instead the enemy must flee not because of me, but because of the power of the Spirit.  May I desire to live a godly life, and realize that through that comes persecutions and trials, oh but the splendor of God and His glory is so sweet during these times.   That I believe is the reality that it seems the Lord is teaching me.  Yes, I have a college degree and I have taught hundreds over the past 10 years of being in ministry, but there are times where we must be reminded that those things are nothing compared to sitting at the feet of our Messiah, Jesus Christ, and learning as a child, mystified and in awed, by every word that proceeds from His mouth.  His love is recapturing my heart in a way that I could have never imagined.  Oh if this world rages and if the waves of life come crashing in, no longer do I wish to stand on sand of my own making, but instead, I return humbly and with joy to the Rock of my salvation.  The Rock upon which I placed my feet some 11 years ago.  As David prayed in the Psalms, "Lord return to me the JOY of my salvation!"  I praise God that He does not leave his children alone to falter in the waves of life, but instead ushers them up in His arms so that whatever the storms may bring, we are protected by something far greater than this world has to offer.

You Might Be a Pragmatist...if...

(This is a list that was originally compiled by Travis Allen at Grace to You.)
If you see ecclesiology as a subset of missiology, you might be a pragmatist.
If you believe evangelism rather than edification is the purpose of the church, you might be a pragmatist.
If you are trying to figure out what works in evangelism and church growth, and you’re using resources less than 100 years old to answer the question, you might be a pragmatist.
If you turn to sociology and psychology rather than theology to help you understand human response, you might be a pragmatist.
If you think the feel of your church, the music you play, and what you wear makes it more/less likely for an unbeliever to believe the gospel, you might be a pragmatist.
If you are often counting your numbers (e.g., number of visitors, baptisms, and “decisions for Christ,” visitors to your website, sermon downloads, or any other countable sign of growth), you might be a pragmatist.
If you feel the need to quote your numbers to establish your credibility, you might be a pragmatist.
If you are more concerned with the opinions and comfort-level of unbelievers who visit your church than you are with the opinions of believers in your church, you might be a pragmatist.
If your church youth program is designed to accommodate and entertain young people rather than teach and confront them, you might be a pragmatist.
If the young set the tone and determine the culture of the church, you might be a pragmatist.

Gospel, Mission, and Focus

After just finishing reading Bob Clem’s book, Disciple: Getting Your Identity From Jesus, it is safe to say that it will be one of those reads that will be on the re-read list. Simply because although a short book, roughly 220 pages, it is packed with one key point after another, therefore to adequately digest the material it would be wise to go back and re-read the content slower so that a better understanding of the Biblical definition of a “disciple” will shine forth. With that very brief review of the book aside, it is the purpose of this article (and the one’s to follow), what is the Gospel Mission of the Church?
Before embarking on examining that specifically, unpacking the idea of community is important in the context of the church. This will be done in a backwards manner of sorts, first a look at the distortions that can easily overlap into the community of believers and then what a biblical model of community as developed from Scripture.
Distortion #1: Community as therapy
Little wonder there is any real change among many so-called believers in today’s society. When examined closely, the core reality is that most believers go to a small group for “therapy” from a sin habit. Now on the front end this is not a bad thing, but on the opposite end of things this can cause detrimental problems. For most this will create the “should we continue in sin, so that grace may abound?” scenario. In order to continue feeling wanted or needed in the group people will continue in their sinful state in order to have something to bring to the table, or so they think. Instead of creating an atmosphere of life change in order to image the image of Jesus in their lives, there will be a constant struggle that will see no end in sight.
Distortion #2: Community as networks
When the word networks is used, most people think of a corporation that is building a firm or a group of CEOs that meet on a regular basis to discuss how to better “network” their product. By doing so such a group is simply focusing on each other’s strengths and if and when a weakness is involved it is quickly dismissed and taken care of. Now before the accusations arise, that it is being said that the church should not network with other individuals and even other churches, that is not at all what this article is directed towards. Instead, there needs to be a caution in groups of believers that they do not always focus on one another’s strengths in order to be the perfect church or even for growth. Their weaknesses need to be brought to the forefront more often than they do simply because when the weaknesses are made more evident, reliance upon Jesus and the gospel being a life-changing agent is even more necessary in everyday life of the community.

[More to come in this series]

John Piper's Bloodlines documentary

I cannot help but feel the impact of this man's work in everything he writes or says. This documentary especially talking about bigotry and racism is very provoking yet pierces to the heart of the sin that we all I think must deal with. For it is only through the effectual working of the Grace of God in our lives can we even begin to overcome this. Even today racism and bigotry is something I and others I know have faced in ministry, because we wanted to include other ethnic groups in our churches.

Bloodlines Documentary with John Piper from Crossway on Vimeo.

Love of God by George Herbert (1593-1633)

I found this poem in my reading this morning and had to share its wonderful way it depicts the love of God and our reaction to it:

LOVE

Love bade me welcome; yet my soul drew back, Guilty of dust and sin. But quick-eyed Love, observing me grow slack From my first entrance in, Drew nearer to me, sweetly questioning, If I lack'd anything. 'A guest,' I answer'd, 'worthy to be here:' Love said, 'You shall be he.' 'I, the unkind, ungrateful? Ah, my dear, I cannot look on Thee.' Love took my hand, and smiling, did reply, 'Who made the eyes but I?' 'Truth, LORD, but I have marr'd them; let my shame Go where it doth deserve.' 'And know you not,' says Love, 'who bore the blame?' 'My dear, then I will serve.' You must sit down,' says Love, 'and taste my meat.' So I did sit and eat.

Some quotes on Surrender!

Just a few quotes that I read this week that seem fitting for some things God is doing in our lives and some friends lives:

Bonhoeffer once wrote: "When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die," but I would add that he also calls a man to live! We must identify with his risen life as much as we do his death. He is alive - now - and calls out for you to come to Him and find rest for your weariness...


The sweetness of true surrender: "I am no longer anxious about anything, as I realize that He is able to carry out His will for me. It does not matter where He places me, or how. That is for Him to consider, not me, for in the easiest positions He will give me grace, and in the most difficult ones His grace is sufficient." - Hudson Taylor

Unceasing Walking With God

Randy Sprinkle makes a good link between prayer and walking the Christian life - "Prayer is not incessant talking to God but unceasing walking with God."  As he goes on to say later prayer is more about being with God than it is just talking with God.  Both ideas seem to echo the same refrain.  Walking in the footsteps of Christ.  Which brings me to another aspect that I thought of this morning as a read over today's study.  In 2 Peter 2:21 Peter writes to a church in the middle of suffering and pain yet he writes something that today's Christian seems to forget about the intimacy in walking with Christ.  His words tell a truth that we often need in this life: "For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps."  Dr. Greg Harris writes several observations of this text that seem to give it real life.  "We must follow on His path, not concoct our own.  We are to follow, not to lead.  The emphasis is on what He did, not what we do, and it will remain that way throughout the remainder of eternity..." He goes on to point out another factor that is astonishing to me at least.  Footprints in the plural means a line of footprints, such as when a hunter follows his game.  "Footprints is a literal term, not a figurative one.  A difference exists between following in someone's footprints versus following in someone's footprints.  'To follow in someone's footsteps', means to emulate or aspire to some aspect of that person's life...Literal footprints, however, give a different emphasis.  Not only are these "footprints in general" but the footprints of Jesus."  You do not "follow upon" footprints by standing still.  You must move forward...it is more than mere knowledge of Jesus...it is experiential knowledge gained in the walk itself.  He finally says, "You will only walk upon the footprints of Jesus; you never out-walk them...You will recognize His footprints; they are the ones stained with blood, as He heads for our cross...they are the ones that have your name written all over them."
May Jesus teach us to walk!!

Darrin Patrick's Tweets - #pastorfail

I followed these tweets last night and found them very convicting.  Listen to Darrin Patrick's statements of what we shouldn't be doing or saying:
 1) "The soil is just really hard here"
 2) "I'm just not a leader, I love preaching the Bible and counseling people"
3) "I don't preach the Bible.  I preach only biblical principles for living"
4) "I don't work that hard on delivering my sermon, only on preparing my sermon"
5) "I constantly wait till Saturday night to put my sermon together"
6) "I don't pray or meditate on my sermon text, I simply study it."
7) "I always have great excuses as to why the church I serve as isn't reaching people"
8) "The sermon isn't that important anyway, we have great worship at our church"
9) "The sermon isn't that important, we have great community at this church"
10) "My job is to preach the sermon, it's the church's job to greet each other."
11) "It's the Holy Spirit's job to make all the practical applications from my rich, doctrine-heavy sermon"
12) "I spend more time on Saturday night on Twitter than I do pleading with God to use me and my feeble words on Sunday."

OUCH!!! :)

Reaching the "Bible belt"?

Well, Foothills Baptist Church, I suppose you could say, kicked off our spring/summer outreaches.  Today we spent the morning volunteering at the Townsend Festival.  For those who live in the "big" city, it is a country festival with crafts, antiques, and the old country singing.  This was one of my first times back in the outreach field in about a year, yeah I have a job and we go shopping, and to other places, but some intentional outreach felt good on the one hand, but on the other there was something that I was thinking about while sitting there watching all this down home people enjoying a beautiful day.  I read all the "Missional" books and "how to reach so and so" and well I see a theme, they all focus on urban outreach.  Most if not all of the major teachers out there are in the big cities of America, thus they have a LOT of urban area.  When they refer to "urban" they are referring to most areas in the BIG CITY that are somewhat unreached.  Anyways, their approaches are great for doing what they do, and they of course have the resources to do it.  BUT, where are the how to(s) of reaching the several miles of road that are considered country back roads?  How do you reach the people who are not from the big city but are used to working with their hands and being raised on farms and working outdoors a lot.  Of course these are my initial observations from today, so I think I may write several posts on this in the next few weeks.  Right now I am just thinking of these things, because I see no articles or writings anywhere on some practical down to earth ways of reaching these people.  Hey, I am one of sorts, and so since this is where God has put us to reach the people around here, we need to find God's will on some of the best ways to reach these people that are not "BIG" city or "Urbanized".  If you have any thoughts on these feel free to email me or facebook me some thoughts, I would love to hear what others think.

Longing and Looking for a Good King

Longing and Looking for a Good King

I ran across this blog on "The Gospel Coalition" website concerning the royal wedding, VERY good read.

youth - Matt Chandler

Youth - Matt Chandler - TGC 2011 from The Gospel Coalition on Vimeo.

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Post-Easter Resurrection Thoughts

Okay so most people think about and really dwell upon the resurrection prior to Easter and then after the "holiday" they move on to another area or thought. But something struck me this morning as I was mowing the yard. I had my head phones in and I was listening to James McDonald's sermon from Easter Sunday, "Jesus Is Alive - I See It". The question that was posed was this, "Do we see the resurrection?" Are our eyes open by the word of the Holy Spirit to allow us to behold the Lamb that was slain now standing triumphant as the Savior of all those who believe. As I was listening to this message, something jumped out at me, do we see the resurrection in everyday life? Often I will use the phrase, that we need to live the cross centered life, and oh how that is true, but there is more than that. I think we need to be focused on the entire work of God in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. His death, burial, and resurrection. It all encompasses the Gospel, without one piece the gospel would be null and void. So maybe I am looking at things a bit differently this year, and instead of enjoying Easter "day" and moving on, I am settling in and taking a long look at the beauty of the cross, and the glory in the resurrection. It should not be just a once a year moment in time, but instead it should be something we look to for every moment of our lives. For you see the death of Christ on the Cross and the Resurrection effect, not just that moment in history nearly 2000 years ago, but they effect the life of every believer and non-believer every year, every month, every day, every hour, every minute, and every second, throughout all the ages.

Sick to our stomachs of Sin!

Yeah, I know, why are you talking about "sin" again?  I mean we here enough of it right?  I would have to argue otherwise.  Sin can erode a way the foundation of so many things.  In fact, I would dare say it has eroded away the very foundation of many homes and even churches.  Yep, I said, it.  Sin has eroded away the foundation of many churches, whether it be out right sin, or apathy to it.  One way or the other sin has caused the walls to fall.  Why is this, what has happened to us as Christians that has caused us to allow such a thing so despised by God to creep into the fabric of our everyday lives and our churches?    Without beating around the bush, I would dare say it is our lack of what some have called a war-time mentality toward sin.  Or as the Geoarge Whitefield once declared to his hearers:

Our best duties are as so many splendid sins. Before you can speak peace to your heart you must not only be sick of your original and actual sin, but you must be made sick of your righteousness, of all your duties and performances. There must be a deep conviction before you can be brought out of your self-righteousness; it is the last idol taken out of our heart. The pride of our heart will not let us submit to the righteousness of Jesus Christ. But if you never felt that you had no righteousness of your own, if you never felt the deficiency of your own righteousness, you can not come to Jesus Christ.	11
But then, before you can speak peace to your souls, there is one particular sin you must be greatly troubled for, and yet I fear there are few of you think what it is; it is the reigning, the damning sin of the Christian world, and yet the Christian world seldom or never think of it.	12
And pray what is that? It is what most of you think you are not guilty of—and that is, the sin of unbelief. Before you can speak peace to your heart, you must be troubled for the unbelief of your heart. But can it be supposed that any of you are unbelievers here in this churchyard, that are born in Scotland, in a reformed country, that go to church every Sabbath? Can any of you that receive the sacrament once a year—oh, that it were administered oftener!—can it be supposed that you who had tokens for the sacrament, that you who keep up family prayer, that any of you do not believe in the Lord Jesus Christ?    (On Methods of Grace by George Whitefield)

Easy now, your entering into some personal space.  Are you saying that one of the reasons the church is losing its foundation is because of the apathy towards true Christianity, and possibly even the reality that there are a number of "Good Christians", who are not even true believers at all.  Yes, that is what I am saying, and I say that because we have forgotten what the Gospel is and means.  Yes for the most part, I would say that is the reason for our lack of understanding the Gospel. 

Remaining in His Presence

Well, it has been a few days since I last posted.  It has been a bit of a good and trying weekend, all rolled into one.  God has really been working even in the last several days, we can see His hand at work in many areas of our lives.  My wife and I continually stand amazed at the work that  the Lord is doing in us and through us.  The flip side of this is that my grandmother, the last of that generation left on my side of the family, is in her final stages of life.  My family is originally from Kentucky, and so my mother is going to have her taken back to Kentucky for the grave side service, when the time comes.  They plan on just having a simple graveside service which would last about 45 minutes to an hour, and let me remind you it is five hours just to get there from where I live.  So that is ten hours of drive time plus the two-three days of staying there, and honestly my closer is done and taken care of so for me there is no need in dragging it out any further. Some would say, how could you talk about such a thing as this without any sorrow?  Well, there is a part of me that mourns, but I believe it is overshadowed by a greater understanding about this life.  Yes, she is passing soon, but she will no longer be in that shell, she will step from this life into the presence of King Jesus.  Just like all those others who are believers who have died, they are all now in the presence of Jesus the Lion of Judah.  I say all that to bring me to something that jumped out at me this morning in my reading, listen to this verse and what it says:
Exodus 33:11 - Thus the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend.   When Moses turned again into the camp, his assistant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, would not depart from the tent. 
Without going into to much detail, remember Exodus is just that the account of Israel being brought out by the hand of Almighty God, from the slavery in Egypt.  While only a few days into their journey, the Lord commands them to camp out Mt. Sinai and there He gives the Law to Moses, what many may know as the Ten Commandments. Now the Lord had commanded Moses to bring only the chief people of Israel upon the mountain with him, and at one juncture they even dine with God. (Exodus 24:9-11)  Now the Lord at this point commands Moses to go up the rest of the way into His presence to receive the Law, and so Moses does, and the people are to remain at the base of the mountain, because the Lord had already said that anyone who tried to enter His presence would be destroyed, because as Exodus 24:17 points out that "the glory of the Lord was like a devouring fire..." (also Deuteronomy 4:24).  But go back a few verses and notice something interesting, there is a person who does come to fruition until some 40 years later, but he is mentioned briefly throughout.  Exodus 24:13 - So Moses rose with his assistant Joshua, and Moses went up into the mountain of God.  Now whether Joshua went all the way up Moses or not we are not completely sure but there is the indication that he remained on the outside of this particular occasion.  But, notice already Joshua is being drawn into the presence of the Lord.  Now after receiving all the laws for the tabernacle and such, Moses has them build the tent of meeting, and from there Moses would enter in for the people before God, and he would then come out and declare the word of the Lord to the people.  But an interesting verse stands out amongst all this grandeur of going in and out of the presence of God.
Exodus 33:11 - Thus, the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend.  When Moses turned again into the camp, his assistant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, would not depart from the tent.
Notice that phrase in the verse, his assistant Joshua the Son of Nun, a young man, would not depart from the tent.  Although Moses would in a sense come and go from the presence of the Lord, and the presence of the Lord would itself reside for a time on the tent of meeting and then be removed while Israel was traveling, every time the tent was set up no matter the period of time, Joshua, this simple assistant to Moses would not wish to remain with Moses the whole time but instead longed to remain in the presence of the Lord Almighty.  In so doing, we see later on in the opening chapter of the book of Joshua, that the Lord declares to Joshua that no man would be able to stand before him all the days of his life, and that the Lord himself would not leave or forsake him.  Joshua remained in the presence of God his whole life here upon this earth to the point that the Lord was able to use him to ultimately conquer the land of Canaan for Israel.  Joshua even as a young man, longed to remain in the presence of God, and he longed for it so much that when the cloud was lifted from the tent, he would remain in the tent until the Lord's presence returned.
It struck a cord with me that yes my grandmother is passing from this life into the presence of Jesus, but I am here and now, and I must be like Joshua and stand firm in where I know the presence of God is working in my life and around me.  I must desire and fight with all I can muster to remain in the presence of God, and not let the things of this world so easily distract me from remaining in His presence.  One vital area in our life that this is done is through prayer, prayer is the battle field upon which we lay our lives before the presence of the Lord and allow Him to fight the war that we can not win on our own.  May we be like Joshua and desire and long for the presence of the Lord. 

Friday's Findings

Culturally Contextualized or Historically Connected?
This John MacArthur's critique of a very crucial paragraph in one of the newest church planting books.  Now personally like anything, I think the book itself is good, and like many other things needs to be sifted through.  But MacArthur does give a good hard look at the "new generation" church planting.


 Not Radical Individualism
This is Darrin Patrick's reply to John MacArthur's critical statement about some of his paragraphs in his book on Church Planting.  I thought the reply gives us a good modern day example of how to men can differ the non-essentials but still honor one another in the Lord. 

What Pastors Miss About the Bible (or Why I Wrote Reverberation) - Jonathan Leeman
This seems to be a promising resources for those of us in the ministry context, because we must always remember that we need to continually keep growing.

Teach Me To Pray
This one is probably one of my favorites this week.

How To Write a Theological Paper
Yeah I know this seems like a book worm type article, but for those who are even thinking of writing, this is a great read.

As always there were others but these seemed to really be some good reads. Enjoy!

Doubt...defeated at Calvary

Doubt, is probably a word that sometimes brings to mind various definitions.   Personally, it is the idea of always doubting how something was handled, for example did the Bible study go well enough or were the right words said.  For those who are around me long enough or have been around me know this has been something I have fought.  From the outset one can see what is happening, no longer is their reliance on the Spirit of God working in us to bring us more fully into the righteousness of Christ, instead it become a self-reliance mentality that can eat away at the joy the Lord has for us in whatever ministry or place He may have us.  One may be wondering of course, "I thought we were already given the righteousness of Christ?".  That is true, in the eyes of God there is a sense in which we are already sanctified by being given a righteousness not of our own, but of Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior.  Yet the other side to that reality is that we wake up every morning, still in this sinful flesh that wishes to wage war on our spiritual lives.  Therefore, there is a progressive sanctification that is taking place daily, and this where every believer lives in some level every day.
I have to battle my doubts of "performance" with something that is greater than anything my conscience can muster up.  Because in all reality it is my conscience feeding from the flesh when these forms of doubt creep in.  But it is through progressive sanctification that I can overcome these doubts, again not by my own effort, but by allowing the Spirit to work in my life daily.  One key element though that I know has become a huge reality for me, and is often times thrust to the side as a fore thought, is living every day in light of the Calvary or the Cross of Christ.  I think often in our spiritual walks we have a tendency to move on from the Cross thinking that means we are growing spiritually.  In reality we are moving ourselves further and further away from the very thing that will crush all those self-reliant mentalities and also kill the flesh daily.  It is no wonder that in Romans 8:13 Paul tells us to mortify or "put to death" the flesh.  Because Paul knows that the moment we remove our eyes from the Cross on to some other reliance in our christian walk, doubts and other human tendencies easily creep in, thus allowing for self-condemnation and self-loathing to take place.  What is the key to keeping these things down, and progressively being sanctified every day?  It is the idea of living every day, every hour, every minute, every second, and every breath in light of the Cross of Christ.  For there is where are true righteousness is.  Not in ourselves, but in the fact that through t he cross of Christ all the wonderful promises God wishes to bestow upon His children are given through the cross, not apart from it.  That includes at the forefront the righteousness of Christ and all that comes with that.  Being freed from the bondage of sin, no longer a slave to self-doubt or self-condemnation.  Instead, remembering Romans 8:1 - "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus."  Am I saying we should not mourn over sin in our lives? No, not at all but what I am saying is that if we are living everyday in light of the Cross, then the moment we sin we take it to the cross and remember it was nailed there no longer to have dominion over us, but instead by the power of Spirit we can now have the strength to overcome any sin or stronghold that is in our life. 

"And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands.  This He set aside, nailing it to the cross." - Colossians 2:13-14
May we never move past this great truth of the gospel, and may we always keep ours daily fixed upon the Cross of Jesus Christ.
To the praise of His Glory!

Partnership in the Gospel

Philippians 1:5 - "Because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now." 

Think about that for a moment, are we partnering in the gospel?  Could this be said of us that from the first day we were justified (from our point of view), that we have persevered to continue in the proclaiming the gospel.  I know from personally experience I can say, no.  Sadly, but true.  Often, times I have fallen off the band wagon more times than I care to count, and gotten distracted by other things that looked okay (and were not necessarily wrong), but they easily distracted me from partnering in the gospel.  So today, I simply want to do a double check and make sure I have nothing hindering me from being a part of this great opportunity the Lord has given to His church, the proclamation of the Gospel.  But you know the flip side of this is very reassuring as well, that when I do fall off the band wagon, or get a bit detoured, I know that God's Word is true in what it says such as the following verse (1:6) - "For this reason, knowing that He (Lord) who began a good work in you will bring it to completion on the day of Jesus Christ."
You see every effort I muster up will fall short of meeting the goals set before me, but if I place myself in the hands of the Master, and allow Him to work in me through His Spirit there is no limit to what could happen.  Personally, this really hits home, because well, I was there several months back.  Looking back even then, the Lord was still working because on August 14, 2000, God the Father through the Lord Jesus Christ, by the convicting and regenerating power of the Holy Spirit began a good work in me, and yeah over these past 11 years there have been some hard trials and struggles, but I know that they are all being used to mold me and shape me, by the hands of the potter.  So today, I suppose I just ask you as you read this, examine yourself and ask:

• Are you partnering in the gospel like the Lord wants you to?
• Are you resting in the fact that the Lord has begun a good work you and He WILL complete it?

Just something to ponder!

Scripture Memory Booklet Resource

It is funny how God sometimes brings things back into our  lives that we sometimes forget about or have not looked at for years.  In fact this little booklet on memorization is one of those.  Dr. Andrew Davis was at the time and I believe still is the pastor of a very God glorifying church in the North Carolina Tri-city (Raleigh, Durham, and Cary) area.  With that one of the things that they began to realize was the need to internalize the Word of God in their hearts.  This is what developed from that, because so often we are not prone to really develop a plan for memorizing the Word of God, and hiding it in our hearts so that it can transform and renew us. 


Scripture Memory Booklet Free in PDF

Also to go along with that is a Verse Card Maker that is free.
Memory Verse Card Maker

The 6x6 Scripture Memory Sheet is another good resource for keeping track of your memorization and keeping it organized.

Finally, Desiring God Ministries has developed over the years an excellent memory verse program to help internalize the Word of God. 
Fighter Verse Program (It too is free, and many of the resources aforementioned were taken from this site, although Dr. Davis' booklet was taken with permission from the church's website, FBC Durham.)

I hope you can find some joy in memorizing God's Word, so that we might be conformed more into the image of Christ.   

Week ends...my heart crys to God.

Oh how I realize more and more my need for my Savior in my life.  It is like a desperate battle within, when I look at my thoughts and desires compared to what the Lord has done for me.  They can not even compare, oh the depths of his love, the vastness of his forgiveness.  How He clothes us in the un-ending righteousness of Jesus.  Jesus, the one who bore my sins upon an old rugged cross, and yet he still stands with open arms crying come to Me, My yoke is easy and My burden is light.  To fathom that he would take me just as I am...honestly, I can't because sometimes I look at myself and I see the wretchedness of my heart, but that is where the beauty of God steps in and reminds me that He no longer looks at me through the eyes of sin, but through the beautiful spotless righteousness of Jesus Christ.  Oh truly, how we need him every hour, to remind us of the beautiful gospel that is ever before us keeping us and sustaining us....every day, every hour, every minute of time until that day we stand before His throne, and even then we will still be relying upon the cross of Christ, because we will be singing, "Blessing, honor, glory, and power, unto the Lamb that was slain before the foundation of the world.  For he has redeemed us from every nation, tribe, and tongue, and made us kings and priests!!"  

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Friday's Findings!

I thought it would be neat to post a few of the top 5 or so blogs that I have read throughout the week.   Of course there are many good reads out there so this is just a taste.

1.  Keeping at it - Even when your counseling is met with disgust.
2.  Alber Mohler - "Now it is the other way around" - The moral revolution in full view
3.  Questions I Hope No One Asks: Why Doesn't God Save Everyone?
4.  John Piper - Groaning Over Grieving the Holy Spirit
5.  Clarity Not Gadgetry: Pro-Life Apologetics for the Next Generation

I hope you all enjoy the reads.  There are so many good reads out there it was hard to choose the top 5. 

Reflections from the Retreat on prayer.

When someone hears the words staff and retreat in the same sentence, often times they may cringe.  To be honest, I had never been on a real staff retreat until this past weekend, and I do not know if they are any different from other retreats.  I do know one thing though that impacted me more after the fact than I even realized.  My wife brought something to my attention today that pierced my heart.  She said she wished she could pray like we did at the retreat all the time.  What did she mean?  Well, I am glad  you asked.  Jeremy had a 30 minute prayer time designated before each of the three major planning times.  As I have written in the last few posts, time is sweet in this life, and sometimes I think we take the opportunity we have here upon this earth to pray to our Lord and Savior for granted sometimes.  My wife went a bit further and said she wished she had the time throughout every day to pray three times for 30 minutes or so to the Lord.  I have honestly been thinking about that all afternoon, and well that is why I am writing this post.  Think about it for a minute, yeah I know, time is wasting away right?  But seriously, what if we intentionally made an effort to pray to our Savior intently three times a day for 30 minutes.  We look at the life of Jesus, and more often than not, He is escaping away to a place to pray to His Father, why?  I believe it is because he realized that although he was God, he was still human too, and needed the strength of the Father to revitalize His soul, and He also knew that He needed a close relationship with the Father no matter what whether things were going good or things were going bad. 
If our Savior needed that close of a relationship, how much more do we need to spend time in prayer seeking the face of our King, and reviving our soul through His Spirit, and fellowshiping  with the Father.  That is what we were created for.  We were not created to wander around in a fast paced society of cell phones, text messaging, and emails.  But instead God designed us to walk in fellowship with other brothers and sisters in Christ, holding each other up in prayer, and talking with one another face to face.  You see there is coming a day when we will see Christ face to face and we will no longer need prayer, for we will be able to speak directly to our Savior and Lord.  Yet now we have the opportunity to commune with God in a sweet and intimate way that can only be described in silent awe, because when one has communed with God in prayer we walk away realizing we are nothing and He is everything in our lives.  We will never know that time of communion if we simply do our quick 5-10 minute prayers and think we have truly communed with God.  Now do not misunderstand me, I am not saying those prayers are not heard, but God wants us to commune with Him and He wants to speak back to us in that time, and if we do not sit and wait sometimes we miss the answers because we get swallowed up into this world's desires and struggles.  I cannot help but think of that good hymn about prayer, because it truly echos what should be our hearts cry concerning prayer:

1. Sweet hour of prayer! sweet hour of prayer!
   That calls me from a world of care,
   And bids me at my Father’s throne
   Make all my wants and wishes known.
   In seasons of distress and grief,
   My soul has often found relief,
   And oft escaped the tempter’s snare,
   By thy return, sweet hour of prayer!
2. Sweet hour of prayer! sweet hour of prayer!
   The joys I feel, the bliss I share,
   Of those whose anxious spirits burn
   With strong desires for thy return!
   With such I hasten to the place
   Where God my Savior shows His face,
   And gladly take my station there,
   And wait for thee, sweet hour of prayer!
3. Sweet hour of prayer! sweet hour of prayer!
   Thy wings shall my petition bear
   To Him whose truth and faithfulness
   Engage the waiting soul to bless.
   And since He bids me seek His face,
   Believe His Word and trust His grace,
   I’ll cast on Him my every care,
   And wait for thee, sweet hour of prayer!
4. Sweet hour of prayer! sweet hour of prayer!
   May I thy consolation share,
   Till, from Mount Pisgah’s lofty height,
   I view my home and take my flight.
   This robe of flesh I’ll drop, and rise
   To seize the everlasting prize,
   And shout, while passing through the air,
   “Farewell, farewell, sweet hour of prayer!”

Calm and quiet....a rare thing today.

It seems the Lord has been trying to teach me what it means to focus even more on Him and worry less about the stresses of the world.  This morning was no exception.  Psalm 131:2 is another verse that echoes what I continue to find throughout my readings over the past several days. 

"But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me."

Where do we find our contentment.  Sure it is easy to find contentment when things are going our way or there is no distractions in the way.  But how do we find contentment in today's rushed world with all the stresses that can continually come our way by the dozens?  Re-read the verse again.  Notice that our calmness and quiet moments do not come from just stopping everything and sitting down, but there is another important element that will help us to focus our mind to be calm and quiet as well.  Our children of course are both old enough that they have been weaned for several years, but even when they are restless or overwhelmed in their little minds, the presence of having their mother their often calms their fears and quiets their minds.   Yes, they still act like children, but their is a peace they have in knowing mommy is their.  The same is true for those of us who are believers.  Simply having the presence of God, even when we do not have all the answers to all the questions in our life, will calm and quiet our souls.  Yet there is a predicament here we often put ourselves in because we WANT more than simply God's presence.  We want all the things that may come along with knowing God.  But those things are not necessarily promised, the only thing(s) that are promised is grace and peace in the good times and in the rushed and crazy times.  As long as we remain in the presence of God that is and should be more than enough to calm our fears and quiet our souls from the stresses of this world.  The problem often comes when we not the Lord move out of that presence.  Today as the snow falls outside may we take the time to calm our souls and quiet ourselves in the presence of God.  

Running rampid...or Psalm 39

Most days I try (key word try) to read through 5 Psalms along with my other readings.  The Psalms are filled with deep truths covered in praise and adoration to the Lord.  With that being said, I was reading this morning in Psalm 39 and verse 6:

"Certainly, man walks about like a mere shadow.  Indeed, they frantically rush around in vain, gathering possessions without knowing who will get them."

If it stopped there that would be enough to show the reality we all live in today, a rushed and hurried society with little time for God or His Word.  Instead, we want want want without any regard for the will of God in our lives.  But those who are believers can rest in the following verse (Psalm 39:7):

"Now, Lord what do I wait for? My hope is in You."

Why not take today and fellowship with our Lord and Savior, in fact why not take every day and stop for just a few minutes in our rushed society and fellowship with Him, He longs to come and dine with us, all we have to do is open the door.  As Psalm 39 says several times, we are but a vapor.  Life is short so live it for the Glory of God, and if that means stopping to re-focus on Him then take the time, because truly He is our Hope!

Why...do we even need to ask why?

I am currently reading through one of four books written by a good friend of mine.  The book is The Cup and the Glory, and I was reading through the chapter entitled "The Surprise".  Near the end of the chapter, there is one phrase that seemed to leap off the page and grabbed my attention. 

Stop figuring out why.  Follow instead the Pathfinder and Forerunner of our sufferings.

Now read over that phrase one more time.  Did you catch the impact in that statement.  You may be thinking, well this isn't a very uplifting statement because it talks about suffering.  But that is exactly why it is uplifting.  You see we often view suffering as a thing that is brought about because of something we do, or in the case of believer's life because of some sin.  Yet, we often forget the words of Paul in Philippians 1:29:

"For to you it has been granted for Christ's sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake."

That is a verse I think we tend to read through and kinda skim over because we do not want the reality of it to sink into our minds and hearts.  It may be because of our lack of faith.  But whatever the reason we need to notice that suffering is part of being a believer whether we like it or not.  Yet it does not mean that we cause or sin and therefore suffering comes.  In some cases throughout the Bible, Job being an example of this, God allows the enemy to cause suffering or in the case of Peter to even sift us like wheat.  Yet, listen to what Peter says in 1 Peter 4:19:

"Therefore let those also who suffer according to the will of God entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in doing what is right."

Now back to the statement: "Stop figuring out why.  Follow instead the Pathfinder and Forerunner of our sufferings."

Ponder over that phrase a bit more and we will unpack it some more in the next few days.

A Thank You to Dr. Greg Harris, a mentor and friend in Christ.

Dr. Harris,
I know we did not get to know each other for too long, but what time I had seems to have been used by God to impact me more than anything in the world. There are many times in my life when I return in my thoughts to those times in your class where bits of nuggets were un-earthed and the beauty and majesty of God's Word took on a whole new level for me. Well, I am happy to let you know I am returning to school to finish my Master's degree, and I am also by God's graciousness being given by His hand a position with a dear friend here in Maryville, TN, who is planting a church for God's glory. I will be stepping into the Small Group Director role, so please keep me in your prayers as I begin this next "chapter" in my life and as I just re-read the chapter "The Footprints". I am reminded that Christ has gone before me in this endeavor and as 2 Peter 2:21 tells me, in following Christ there will be suffering, but nothing compared to the suffering that He took in order to was me as white as snow...Truly His footprints are blood stained and yet I long to stand strong in those footprints, knowing it is not me working in myself, but God working in me to do His will for my life, no matter where it takes me. And often times to places I least expected...
Thank you Dr. Harris for all you have done in my life, and yes, which is easier for Him to heal a lame man or forgive His sins?? :) And yes I do still long for that fourth cup...to look into the eyes of my Savior and lay my crowns before His feet, and to take that cup and drink with my Savior. Oh the glory of our salvation...

New Year Resolutions...

New Year resolutions are a thing of tradition it seems in our busy little world we live in.  I say busy little world, because it often seems we as human beings tend to become focused just on the immediate things around us.  That is often why our resolutions tend to focus on how to better ourselves physically, or how we can be more organized with ALL the things we are involved in.  Yet I wonder if those of us who are believers in Jesus Christ, would instead of adding to their resolutions instead, resolve to focus on making one thing their key focus throughout the year.  That is making much of Jesus Christ in all that we do.  Whether we eat or drink may we do it all to the glory of the Lord.  Or as one author that I enjoy reading has put it, to live the cross centered life.  Yeah this seems like an almost unattainable task to say one would like to do this every day, but I suppose that is where discipline and hard work come into play in our walk with Jesus as He leads us in ever step we should go.  May this new year bring something different in terms of resolutions one that does not focus on us but instead focuses on our need to be more like Christ in everything we do.