Understanding Life

The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.
~1 Corinthians 2: 14

One of the most amazing parts of living the Christian life is experiencing joy and sorrow from a position of faith. I know that life is more fulfilling for me than for the average person, not because I'm any more talented, any more wealthy, but because I'm looking at life through goggles from God. In such a small act of submission, my willingness to open my life to the Lord allowed a completely new world of existence.

Material possessions, personal goals, and relationships all look so different once God's Spirit is revealing to me worthy pursuits. The flip side of this tells me that people are going to look on many of my comments and decisions as odd. As the transformation in my life progresses, I know that my biggest challenge is to see opportunities for love and ministry in the eyes of those who most frustrate me. May I stay away from gossip and focus on relationship guided by the gift of spiritual discernment.

Peace God's Way

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

~John 14: 27

I will never cease to be amazed at the poignancy of God's actions. This verse and the accompanying message by Mr. Chambers matches up incredibly with the topic of conversation last night as my wife and I fell into sleep. I'm sure there are statistical probabilities on this occurrence in my life, but for me it is yet another way to identify the presence of a faithful God caring about my life.

Mr. Chambers states: "As long as we try to serve two masters, ourselves and God, there will be difficulties combined with doubt and confusion." The peace we receive from checking everything off our list for the day is nice, but not to be confused with the peace of existence that comes from the Lord.

I may control my list.
I will never control my life.

Lord that we may execute on the simple things: Wake. Die to myself. Live excellence for you. Be thankful. Worship. Share.

Getting to Here

Occasionally, I look back at my life and find it hard to believe that I'm sitting where I am at this moment. Not that the steps are hard to comprehend if I take the time to break it down, but when I try to look at the whole, I am overwhelmed by the idea of it all. The existence of a person is such a miraculous thing. To think that my complicated little story is just one of billions that have and will exist in time and that God has been an intimate component to every story blows my mind.

15He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. 17He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. 19For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 20and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.

~Colosians 1: 15 - 20

Dang. Holding it all together. All together. I get overwhelmed by a couple good ideas, imagine the glory of seeing all creation as a whole outside the realm of time and space. People, the Church, reconciliation, sacrifice.

Dang.

How Good am I at Loving?

"Love is the overflowing result of one person in true fellowship with another."
~Oswald Chambers

How much time to I spend developing "...true fellowship...?" Yikes, how convicting. I tell my wife I love her every day, but it has been a while since I have pursued her with the idea of creating a true fellowship... How much more seldom with my Lord? I'm afraid many relationships follow this same trap.

I have a thought bouncing through my head: Pursuit creates valadity in our minds. I think we can pursue someone or something for two main reasons:

1. We think we need that person/thing. It would seem the pursuit effort is compounded when the person/thing is just a little hard to attain-there is likely a bit of selfishness involved in this one, but also the excitement of romance, or
   
2. We understand that a continual pursuit is required for excellence at anything. We continue the effort-not for the pride of conquering, not so we can pridefully say we've attained, but so we can look back at the entire journey and believe we understand the Word telling us: "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward." ~Colossians 3 23-24
   

Having these ideas in my head is much easier than acting them out in my life. Mr. Chambers talked of the effect these things have on personality. He describes personality as the characteristic mark of the inner, spiritual man. What a great test. What are the loves of my life (and what order should they fall into)?

1. God
2. My Wife
3. My children
4. My extended family
5. Friends
6. Work/Hobbies

Can I honestly say my personality--my thoughtless, characteristic traits reflect a pursuit of the items on this list-in this priority? Am I able to honestly answer this question? Mr. Chambers would say we can't answer such a loaded question. Since God is the only one able to fully understand the depths of our personality, there is only one place-one way to measure something so vast: Our Life vs. The Word.

A Godly pursuit of excellence involves understanding how my personality (willingness to give pursuit) and priorities match up against the Word of God. I must make note of the areas that disagree, and I must beseech God for His help in understanding and changing these areas.

One last great quote from Mr. Chambers that sums up so much of this internal dialog of mine:

"Once your rights to yourself are surrendered to God, your true personal nature begins responding to God immediately."

Pride and Individuality

24Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.

~Matthew 16: 24-25

It seems pride and individuality go hand in hand in my life. Every time I catch myself thinking of myself as a different sort, or too much of a non-servant leader, my prideful ways become almost disgusting. These are the times I am most likely to curse in laughing camaraderie, jest on someone else's behalf, pass a tasty bit of gossip, or perhaps let my eyes linger longer than they ought.

Since the time of Adam, we've struggled to understand our right place as one of the created and not the Creator. What a simple root of so much sin.

Lord, every day that I might love you more than myself.

Meeting Opposition With Delight

33"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."

~John 16: 33

It sounds good, but is it visible in my life? In taking this scripture to heart, I must believe that a struggle has taken place and Jesus has emerged the victor.

Why have I then spent so many days in the same struggle? I swear I have been in a similar fight with the world innumerable times... and have rarely emerged victorious by myself. I, like the disciples, struggle to separate myself from the world that I might truly believe.

Wake. Die to myself. Hear the call of the Spirit. Answer. Have peace. Delight in opposition. Worship. Show Christ to the world. Be thankful. Sleep.

Wake. Die to myself...


It really doesn't seem like it should be too difficult, but that second one is a doosy...

A Simple, Beautiful Message

"If in preaching the gospel you substitute your knowledge of the way of salvation for confidence in the power of the gospel, you hinder people from getting to reality."

~Oswald Chambers

Since I am so often caught up in myself, it would be hard to quantify the number of times that I/Me/We have gotten in the way of God's work. More times than I care to admit or think about, the simple, beautiful message of salvation has undoubtedly been convoluted by me seasoning things with learned observations.

At least in my life, nowhere is the friction between let go/let God more apparent than in my intellectual thoughts. The same abilities and habits that enable success in the material world form roadblocks when it comes to simply and clearly communicating the Gospel message.

We all sin. None of us measure up to the standard of a wholly righteous God. We deserve eternal punishment. A perfect, sinless substitute for our punishment was offered by God in His son Jesus Christ. We have freedom to choose. If we think about it, there is no other choice but that of Jesus Christ.

Now.... if I can only stay out of the way...

Testing the Spirits

1Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.
~1 John: 1 - 3

How many people do I know that claim a belief in God, but waffle on the topic of Jesus Christ? In many ways, Christ is the truest delineation for much of the madness surrounding us. So much of what we are constantly striving for is a reflection for our desire to have structure and surety in life.

Christ is surety... Christ is confidence.

As much as I hate to admit it, I work better when I am directed and tasked. Although I value myself as a creative individual, the wisdom of structure has been revealed to me slowly but surely through repeated late night cram sessions-completed projects that are good, but not great simply because I did not have the freedom to be as creative as possible. Through my discipline to plan and structure, I receive creative freedom. I should put that in front of my face more often.

It seems Christianity/Spirituality is much the same. Once I posess and understand the truth of Christ in front of me, I have freedom to live a spiritual life instead of simply seeking spirituality. Life has many different types of journeys, but if our entire existence is spent searching for spirituality, we have missed an important opportunity-perhaps the most important opportunity-the chance to serve in complete confidence and surety. How good to know that what I am doing with my life is a reflection of the Holy Spirit's influence. I don't have to wonder if I'm in the right place.

So good to write out answers to prayer in a journal to the Lord.

Madly in Love with My Lord

8I am a stranger to my brothers,
an alien to my own mother's sons;

9for zeal for your house consumes me,
and the insults of those who insult you fall on me.
~Psalm 69: 8 - 9

What must happen for my life to reflect a zealous attitude... not for my house, my things, my toys, but for His house? In a passage wrought with passion, David, a man after God's own heart (1 Samuel 13:13-14) speaks thoughts freely and openly. His hatred for those who defile the Lord's possessions is clear. I suppose these thoughts are recorded simply for us to know that David was human-the same feelings of love for our God, could very easily be flipped to hatred of man owing to humanity's fickleness.

In a life colored with extreme swings of fortune, the one steady feeling David exuded was a passionate love of his Lord; could someone say the same of me? Were I to die right now, would I be remembered as a "nice guy," or a man who passionately loved his Lord? The answer in my heart troubles me. I have been extreme in many things through my life, but the one thing I haven't done well is to love my Lord in an extreme way.

My wonderful wife and I pondered this question last night. Most of us have a sense that we were created for relationship (Genesis 2:18). What makes us fall in love? The list we spoke of seems a good starting point: initial physical attraction, common interests, a tantalizing question of acceptance, perceived character... and the list goes on and on. It seems our societal comforts have hidden many of the needs that so clearly illuminate the need for God's love that was so apparent to David.

Should we have less comfort that we may know our Lord? This ideas colors many bizarre traditions through the church's history. I'm not sure what to do with the thoughts. Offering thanksgiving (Psalm 69:30-31)seems the most logical starting point, but there is more to this...

Love of The World

15Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world. 17The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.

1 John 2: 15-17

A love of the world is perhaps the biggest thing standing between my God and I. If life has shown us some measure of successes and comforts, too easily we simply attribute these blessings as a product of our unique interaction with the world-our influence...

Most of our life's educational practices and institutions revolve around the myth that we control our own destiny. Self-image, goal-setting, counseling... Empowerment is the name of the game. There are merits to many of the ideas encapsulated by a humanist point of view, but contrary to the ultimate conclusion, experience teaches us the most empowered person will still conclude life crying out for the missing piece.

Lord, even though the world surrounds us with wonderful things and ideas, all originating from you, help me to see through the smoke and choose to love the Creator in lieu of the created.

Not My Own

19Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.

~1 Corinthians 6:19 - 20

"God divides the private life of His saints and makes it a highway for the world on one hand and for Himself on the other."

~Oswald Chambers


The submission of ourselves as an open vessel for the Lord is so incredibly scary. To imagine that I may be turned upside down at any moment and all my contents spilled to the world is the true reality of my life. Especially in today's world, there really is no such thing as a secret.

In thinking about my life as a highway, perhaps secrecy is one of Satan's most successful lies. Since the time of Adam, humanity has fostered the misbelief that occasionally our accountability stops at the end of own tortured capacity for secrecy. The grim reality, spoken through volumes of tabloids and much of the daily news, is that secrecy truly is an illusion.

What would I do if all of my thoughts, history, and motivations were aired to the world right now at this instant?

Would I feel freedom....fright.....shame....

Lord, I praise you that you are all knowing... and yet you still love me. Father, please help me know in my heart that your love is all that matters. Grant me freedom in you that my life might be a highway for your work.

The Difficulties of Living Through Shame

And my attitude as a saved and sanctified soul is that of profound, humble holiness (there is no such thing as proud holiness). It is a holiness based on agonizing repentance, a sense of inexpressible shame and degradation, and also on the amazing realization that the love of God demonstrated itself to me while I cared nothing about Him.

~Oswald Chambers

Yesterday evening, the Lord blessed me with a landmark discussion with some of my closest loved ones. The conversation began innocently and superficially as most conversations with family do. The question that seemed to turn the tide was when I asked whether each person knew for sure they were going to heaven. The variety of doubt expressed revealed a limited understanding of grace and forgiveness. It broke my heart, but encouraged me that the idea could be discussed in such a group.

The evening closed with my father and I alone, talking about why hating sin and loving the sinner was so difficult. I realized that if hating a person for his/her viewpoints is possible in a man, grace will never be understood. Seeing each living thing in the Universe as a perfect creation from God doesn't leave much room for hate. Just as one can pass judgment and resent a person for their viewpoints, he will likely internalize that very attitude upon himself. It is this simple creation of guilt that bars so many from accepting what is so freely given. Lord please lift the veil.

My Right to Myself

"The nature of sin is not immorality and wrongdoing, but the nature of self-realization which leads us to say, "I am my own god." This nature may exhibit itself in proper morality or in improper immorality, but it always has a common basis— my claim to my right to myself." ~Oswald Chambers

Oswald continues this fascinating discussion by pointing out the drastically different way that Christ approached people. Christ intimately knew the heart, the nature of a man-He had no care for whether the man lived moral or if a woman happened to live immorally.

Can I live this way? Can I cast off my appreciation for clean, starched shirts, nice shoes, good eye contact and a command of the English language as a large tools in my measurement of a man? Watch the life of Jesus. I suppose the man never looked anywhere but the eyes. I am sure he had a way of pulling out all of your stops with just one look. When a person knows you inside and out, its impossible to build a facade. May I see the face of Jesus in all the people I interact with today. May my vulnerability and integrity in Christ be so close to the surface that others are disarmed and refreshed with a little peak of the amazing gift the Holy Spirit has landed in us.

Understanding Worship

"5 Why are you downcast, O my soul?
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise him,
my Savior and 6 my God.
My ^[c] soul is downcast within me;
therefore I will remember you
from the land of the Jordan,
the heights of Hermon—from Mount Mizar.

7 Deep calls to deep
in the roar of your waterfalls;
all your waves and breakers
have swept over me."

~Psalm 42:5-7

Deep calls to deep. Although the phrase is well-worn in today's church and society, the profound nature of the statement hasn't tarnished. As a man for whom creation is a poignant illustration of God's hand, I have always enjoyed photography, art and video.

I published a collection of links that for now has only one link (on the right, underneath the previous posts). What an interesting commentary on the worship tendencies of humanity. Very seldom do we attempt to take pictures of things that we care little for, and even less seldom would we go through the trouble of uploading those images to a blog. In watching this continually evolving, never repeating commentary on the passions of the technological world, I have been granted a new insight to worship and the hearts of those nameless faces surrounding me every waking hour.

I long to have worship such a part of my being that my depth is constantly in communion with my Creator. My mind is taken to a childhood memory of trying to get to the bottom of the community swimming pool. A willingness to let go of everything around me, exhale the air from my lungs, and sweep my hands upward suddenly plunged me into the deep with a graceful ease. A place that not everyone goes, and a new understanding of the world.

What am I holding on to in my everyday life? What things seem as important as the air to my lungs? Why am I inhibited in letting go of everything and prostrating myself before my God? May God grant us a boldness in approaching the throne every chance we get.

Eliminating the Ordinary

"...Consequently, Paul conceived of his life's task not simply as planting seeds of faith but also as producing strong, mature and fruitful Christians. His purpose was accomplished only when people were well on their way to maturity in Christ."
~Philip Towner

Living a life grounded on the future assurance (hope) that faith in Christ brings should have nothing ordinary about it. Now that I've said that, does it pass the acid test of being proven in my own life? The truth is probably seventy-thrirty to the positive. I have an inordinate fear of being totally ordinary.

I abhorr the idea of living out my days circling to my work from a tiny plot of ground in suburbia. Surrounded by societies' success stories, I would steadily upgrade cars and homes until I was old enough to draw my 401k. Regarded with respect and a bit of fear by those at work, my job history would be littered with moments where my success trumped the needs of those around me.

Barf. The challenge in front of many of us is belief/hope/assurance that a life of servanthood and relational effort will pay off bigger than any sustained type-A effort. What do I have to do today to separate my life from the ordinary in my spot on the planet?

God's Attention

Do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven
—Luke 10:20

All that our Lord gives His attention to in a person’s life is that person’s relationship with God— something of great value to His Father.
~Oswald Chambers

Taking the above passage and thougts to heart has implications that extend far beyond just my own little universe. How does this look corporately? Would my church, the statements made from the pulpit, and the expended energy of all those people change?

I hope not. While this topic may not be presented this simply all the time, I think that our biggest temptation is to think that God lives in the details of our actions--because this is where we live. For me, to focus on my relationship with God--my conversations, my gifts, my praises--is a very freeing feeling and helps to cut through the myriad of "good" things vying for my attention.

The Cycle of Sin

13When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; 14but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. 15Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.

16Don't be deceived, my dear brothers. 17Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. 18He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.

~James 1:13-18

Last night at small group we were led into a great discussion of the reality of cyclical or repeated sin. If honest, most of us struggle or have struggled with an area of our lives that has been a source of angst time after time. When contemplating the passage above, I must constantly realize that the main reason I continue to struggle is my own evil desire. If there is an area of my life that is not honoring to God, it is too easy for me to simply repent again and again.

The Word tells me that my sin is coming from within me. This seems obvious, but when I am in that moment of truth, feeling the pull to go off in a destructive direction and I easily rationalize my fears away, I have started too late.

Beating big, repeating sin is not just about giving the obvious thorn in our flesh to Christ. For me it has been continually searching out the small, seemingly insignificant slips that ultimately give Satan an opportunity to tempt me with my obvious weaknesses.

May we continually be on a hunt for those little areas to give away to God.

Is there room?

"People today are crying out for the Son of God to be put to death. There is no room here for God’s Son right now— no room for quiet, holy fellowship and oneness with the Father."
~Oswald Chambers


A flurry of thoughts with the statement above as their theme has been swimming in my head recently. How often have I or a member of my family said, "...we don't have time for......"?

What do we make time for? I make time for work... lots of it. I make time for my daughter (when I don't have to work). I make time for my wife (everytime our relationship feels strained and desperately in need of a fix-up). On Sundays I fit church in, and once a week we have small group. My logic is faulted.

Why can't I start with the things of God and work backwards from that point? Perhaps I cannot completely rearrange my life's schedule, but I can always work on my life's priorities. If I am more concious about it, much of my ministry for the day should have been completed while at work. Would I then come home energized instead of drained?

Lord that I would hold you up as my priority and let the world filter into the overflow of your mercies....

The Nature of Worship

"But his delight is in the Law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night..."
~Psalm 1:2

The image of meditation is a strong one for me. My wife needles me fairly regularly about my inability to multi-task. I don't think meditation is about multi-tasking, it is about creating focus...

Our society is driven so much by concepts of immediate gratification and constant communication that we easily lose sight of the value stemming from meditation. Our Lord demonstrated time and time again a wonderful balance between meeting the relational needs of people and meeting His relational needs with His father.

I've begun to understand that our time seeking God out, whether in prayer or in His Word, is another way to richly worship the Lord in a focused way. Last night our small group gathered and after reading Psalm 1, proceded to individually paint in reaction to the passage (this was all organized by my wife, a former art teacher). Our time was so rich. There was something magical about the Holy Spirit's presence in the group. The worldly quality of the artwork was varied, but the spiritual quality of the art was awesome. Each person willingly talked through the ideas represented in their work testitfying to the power of meditation in stripping our preconceived notions, inhibitions, and self-conciousness in an act of worship.

The Importance of People

In an amazing summarization of his thoughts and notes, today's Oswald Chambers reading is so relevant to my own life. Although I struggle with many aspects of the Christian walk, the idea of disillusionment is a place that the Lord has truly blessed me.

In that often untraceable way that God uses, somewhere I became able to look at the world expecting nothing from people. Understanding the results of our sin nature and the repercussions throughout humanity from the first fall, a life lived without contant expectations is a life lived in freedom. There are obviously times when we are caught up in it all, and marriage is a dangerous playground for these unbalanced expectations. Preconceived notions about what he or she should be like often cause heartache. The ability of two people to love one another without expectation seems to be a difficult undertaking. Both parties are likely often willing, but without practice and communication, finding moments of mutual disillusionment is a difficult thing.

What an awesome prayer. Lord that I may have freedom to live without expectations, love deeply in an unconditional way, and that my love might prompt focused prayer for my heart and the hearts of those around me for guided change...

Right Being....

The only thing that exceeds right-doing is right-being.
~Oswald Chambers


This truth must be one of the harder concepts to swallow as a human being. Our sense of worth is so closely tied to the opinions of others that we naturally strain towards a life of right-doing. Is it possible to measure right-being in a human? If character is who we are when no one is looking, then our inner-most motivations, our truest indicator of our willingness to sacrifice is invisible to the world at its root level. The idea that I must continually strive, continually die to myself, continually put myself aside only to have a changed inner heart- and not the respect, praise and adoration of the world is a difficult idea-half the time...

There are moments when this inner purity and peace are the only things that seem worth chasing, and I must learn to recognize what allows these moments to happen. When I have truly let Christ into my being, his tendencies will seem the most natural thing in the world-if I haven't conciously given up myself, I will fit in much better to society and continue to wonder what character really looks like.

Scars

24And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. 25Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. ~Hebrews 10: 24-25

When I was in college, the teachings of one of my religion professors dramatically affected all of our lives through his disdain of "happy Christians." As the son of his families only Holocaust survivors, he had heard his entire life about how hard and unfair this world can be. Many times I walked out of his classroom feeling that I really didn't understand what it was to be a Christian. In fact, I think that his teaching really helped me change my definition of spiritual maturity.

Without fire, it is impossible to temper a piece of iron. I know that it is probably possible to have a good understanding of Christ without experiencing trials, but if we are truly seeking out relationships with the hurting and lonely, there is no way to make it through life without scars.

I'm going to have scars. My small group and my Christian friends have such a magical way of reflecting the glory realized in sacrifice. Thank you guys.

Loving What God Loves...

"My son, do not forget my teaching,
but keep my commands in your heart..."
~Proverbs 3:1


Some of the memories of my Christian walk seem tainted by moments of self-loathing after I had slipped into a time of self-centered personal gratification. I think we all have times when we are disapointed and Satan somehow magnifies the gulf that exists between Our Lord and ourselves.

Trying to understand God--really attempting to empathize with Him has been a powerful experience for me. I have seen my hunger for the Word increase, my attraction to sin decrease and my victory over addictive behavior wane.

As a man, the hardest thing about desiring God's heart is the disturbing nakedness that results as the relationship grows. Everything in my flesh tells me that I'm good enough, that the rest of the world should just accept me for who I am... but deep in my heart, I long to be that man that the Lord looks upon as one worthy of showcasing. As communion with the Lord grows deeper, vulnerabilities and gaps in my faith life seem ever larger. In the end, I am comforted by the knowledge that I am not the first:

This experience of our attention being directed to our concentration of personal sin is true in everyone’s life, from the greatest of saints to the worst of sinners. When a person first begins climbing the ladder of experience, he might say, "I don’t know where I’ve gone wrong," but the Spirit of God will point out some definite and specific thing to him. The effect of Isaiah’s vision of the holiness of the Lord was the directing of his attention to the fact that he was "a man of unclean lips." "He touched my mouth with it, and said: ’Behold, this has touched your lips; your iniquity is taken away, and your sin purged’ " ( Isaiah 6:7 ). The cleansing fire had to be applied where the sin had been concentrated.
~Oswald Chambers

Amen.

Grace.... And Change

God loves us just the way we are, but God loves us too much to leave us that way.

This simple truth was reiterated at this weekends service. Amidst the speaking of three different people, the reality of how God feels about each one of us was expressed incredibly well. Through grace, God sees us as perfect up to this point, but much like the artist who has learned a new trick, sees so many ways that we could be improved.

I love the idea that God is the ultimate perfectionist. I would be so content to continue on in my little happy place (and most likely backslide from time to time). My willingness to even think this helps me to understand how easily I forget the underpinnings of grace. If I think my life is good, and I don't have to be open for carving and molding, then I have just insulted Christ on the cross. Lord may I never forget the price that was paid that I might be a work of art continually in process.

A Royal Priesthood

"But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light."

~1 Peter 2:9


I'm having one of those days where the idea of me being a royal priest seems farfetched if not outright repulsive. I must allow myself to realize that I am daily called out of darkness into His wonderful light. The idea that the Lord can repeatedly offer such an amazing position really should give me hope... in fact there is nothing from God that says I cannot step into this relationship with Him at any time, no matter how rediculous the thoughts swimming through my head concerning unworthiness.

The idea of belonging to God should absorb more of my attention and effort. In the past, being part of a team, with a clearly defined goal and mission has always brought the best from me. I know the Lord has given us a mission and a goal, but for some reason I'm not comprehending it enough for it to inspire the best of my devotion, discipline and efforts.

What will it take to get to a place where the goal is all I a think of, and my life is a mosaic of relationships and adventures all lending texture and color to the big picture of living as one of God's chosen...?

Prayer for Friends

This week has seen our family shift gears as my wife has been caring for the daughter of one of our acquaintances. My normal gym routine has been shed to allow she and our daughter to be out the door by 6:30am.

I have loved reading the short, timely, and very thoughtful daily entries of Oswald Chambers. Out of one verse, so much meaning can be gleaned if we are willing to allocate our precious time toward understanding the depths of truth contained in the Word.

In my normal schedule, I have been reading through the book of Job, so today's entry seemed very appropriate. How many times have I run through life, trying desperately to figure out my priorities in Christ while I willingly ignore the needs of those closest to me.

Sometimes I think that I could likely make a life out of simply interceding for those closest to me. Prayer for family and friends would take on so much depth if I would let myself go to the places where I know that I'll be uncomfortable, but that my prayer and intentions would be the most raw... the most real... May I submit to the prompting of the spirit and live today in intercession for the people that have shaped me into who I am.

Serving because we are...

The entry for Oswald Chambers today causes a tremendous dose of spiritual reality to descend upon my work-weary senses.

What does discipleship mean to me? It is a battle against my nature to believe that if I'm not doing it (discipleship) than I am failing. What I must understand is that discipleship must become a thoughtless demonstration that I am aligned with my father's will... something that just happens.

A struggle always erupts concerning my effort to follow Christ. I am a man of extremes, and my mind swings like a pendulum between 401k's, college funds, and a life of utter abandonment to material things.