chaoticSoul

Alive Again - Matt Maher

2010-04-05T10:27:00.000-05:00

I woke up in darkness
Surrounded by silence oh where
Where have I gone
I woke to reality
Losing its grip on me oh where
Where have I gone
'Cause I can see the light
Before I see the sunrise

You called and You shouted
Broke through my deafness
Now I'm breathing in and breathing out
I'm alive again
You shattered my darkness
Washed away my blindness
Now I'm breathing in and breathing out
I'm alive again

Late have I loved You
You waited for me I searched for You
What took me so long
I was looking outside
As if love would ever want to hide
I'm finding I was wrong
'Cause I feel the wind before it hits my skin

You called and You shouted
Broke through my deafness
Now I'm breathing in and breathing out
I'm alive again
You shattered my darkness
Washed away my blindness
Now I'm breathing in and breathing out
I'm alive again

I'm alive again
'Cause I want You
Yes I want You
I need You and I'll do whatever I have to
Just to get through
'Cause I love You
Yeah I love You

You called and You shouted
Broke through my deafness
Now I'm breathing in and breathing out
I'm alive again
You shattered my darkness
Washed away my blindness
Now I'm breathing in and breathing out
I'm alive again

Level 15

2009-06-22T11:09:00.002-05:00

Super Summer.

Coming back from the mountain top I am reflected on all that has occurred in the past week. Jon Randles spoke this week and the Justin Cofield Band led worship and most of all God dwelt among His people. I love how God spoke through Randles and kicked my butt all week long. I never realized how unintentional about being a Believer I have been and I am still broken about it. I came to the saving knowledge of Christ at a young age and was called to the ministry of Christ 10 years ago. Life has not been easy with a lot of personal heartaches shaping me into who I am right now at this moment. But even that is a cop-out.. There are a lot of people in this world who have lost more than I ever will and they find a way to bless God and others in the midst of destruction and pain. And yet the biggest tragedy is that I have been a casual Christian for most of my life. And if you are reading this there is a big chance you are the same way right now. No more. I pray that I will never slump back into that pathetic existence. Harsh? maybe... But then I wonder what is the point of all this? Why are we here trying? I have one verse for you and you may not like this one...

Romans 8:29
"For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers."

A majority of the time we all get hung up on the first part of this verse with the word "predestined". I challenge you to not get hooked there this time althougth that is an important peice but to look past it now.. look at the phrase "to be conformed to the image of His Son" how beautifully written is it.
The reason we go to church is because we have a faith in Christ Jesus the Son of the Living Most High God. The problem therein is that the object of faith and the supreme point to it is not salvation. Most of us if we are honest, recognize the need for a Savior and accept and believe in Christ and then stop. We then sing songs about how He is mighty to save and how great our Savior is and rightly so. Don't get me wrong here, Jesus is our Savior and He is holy and just but most of us just see Him as our Savior when in truth that is just the doorway to our relationship with Him. He is soo much more than just our Savior. He is the Healer, Rebuilder, Rewarder, Alpha, Omega, Destroyer, Judge, King, Friend, Almighty God and the list continues.. But it is just too easy to call Him Savior and we feel not close enough to call Him God. That is why the extent of our relationship occurs when we need something or feel convicted of sin. I'm telling you know that Jesus is wanting more from us. He desires to be close and most of the time all we give Him is our lip service.
The purpose of faith is not salvation but rather to be conformed to be like Christ. What does this look like? I've only seen in in a few people to be honest. They are the people that you want to be around. They shine when there is no light. They are addicting. They shine the character and love of Christ which usually means they are around the people we try to stay away from. They reach people in ways that I desire greatly to. They are relational and positive and they are intentional in doing so. The purpose of faith is not so we can become converts to a religion and believe that one hour of congregational worship and teaching will suffice for a week. No, the purpose of faith is so that we can become more like Christ.
So be intentional, relational, and positive. Be a Dangerous Disciple and not another Casual Christian.

Let me leave you with this thought.. what is your Number One in life right now? What is it that you give most of your time to?

It is Finished - Death By Love -

2009-04-07T15:28:00.003-05:00

It's finished.
A phrase that has been said in many different languages and meaning different things. This phrase has stood its ground in many ways and been declared in victory and in defeat. Right now at this very moment, I am dwelling on it's earliest use and undoubtedly it's most powerful declaration.
I wrapped up my reading of Mark Driscoll's "Death By Love" this morning and still each page of the beautifully written book ring out at me and pierce at the heart of my self-proclaimed righteousness.
Each of us deserve the very worst. We deserve Hell and yet we expect Heaven and continue to live like Hell. I have run across a few individuals who say that they can't believe in a God that sends people to Hell. They believe that by thinking that our Almighty God sends people to Hell they can justify their actions and beliefs and continue to live apart from God. The problem with this is that their view on humanity and God is flawed. God does not send anyone to Hell but rather we have chosen Hell for ourselves at the moment we enter this world. We are sinners at the very core and nature of who we are because of our first parents. Therefore, we are all sinners by nature and choice. Look at Ephesians 2:1-3

"And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind."

Thankfully, the next word in Scripture is a wonderful word! Verse 4 through 9:

"But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ— by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast."

You see it is that God in His almighty wisdom and kindness and compassion sent His perfect Son to us so that sinful nature and desires would be forever defeated and we could live a holy life with Him.
The crucifixion of our Savior was the most horrifying imagery this world has seen. A body so torn and broken even beyond the point of recognition - hung by nails. Evey prophetic word and vision had come to pass about Him... Words on a page that were written hundreds of years before He came to this Earth were now fulfilled. His body may have been broken but no bone was cracked. His blood ran out of Him but He never gave up. He was marred and spit at and stripped of dignity and finally with His last breath, He said "It is finished." Sin has been defeated and man's wickedness could be taken away by an everlasting righteousness. His sufferings were now over; both in body and in soul. The work of man's salvation and redemption was now complete and accomplished. What is important for us to realize is that He gave Himself to die. No one forced Him. No one made Him lay His arms to be nailed. No one could ever force the Son of the Most High God to die but rather He alone gave Himself away to be the price for our sin. His life was freely given up on that cross. Surely this is the Son of God. The greatest gift and sacrifice was made. A death by love.

Death By Love

2009-03-10T11:24:00.005-05:00

For the past couple of weeks I have been reading "Death By Love" by Mark Driscoll (http://theresurgence.com/md_blog). In this book Mark has brought together several stories of times when he has met with and counseled various people with different backgrounds. I've decided to do a review of what I have read and encountered in this powerful and provocative book. I know that provocative is a strange word to use when describing a book written by a Christian pastor but that is just what this book is and is meant for. We'll get into that here in a minute. What happens is there are people that Mark has encountered and talked to and these are his letters to them describing their wickedness and boldly calling them out in their sin and then presenting the cross of Jesus as the way for forgiveness and repentance. I've grown up inside the baptist church and in the baptist way of thinking about Scripture and Jesus and all things "religion". Thankfully in my experiences with church work and ministering I have seen God do amazing and wonderful things. Through the saving power of our Savior I been ransomed from religion and now serve the true King who is Jesus Christ. One of the men that Pastor Mark speaks to is a man who goes to church when the doors are open, is married and has two children, serves in his church. Here is what Mark writes about David,

"David is, by the standard of most people, a "good" Christian guy. He shows up on time to his job every day and does what his employer asks of him. He comes home every night to eat dinner with his wife and children. He pays his bills on time every month. He cuts his grass every week and maintains his home like a good neighbor should. He eats healthy food, avoids tobacco and alcohol, and exercises daily. He goes to church every Sunday without fail and even serves in his church faithfully. He gives 10 percent of his income to God. He votes Republican, pays his taxes, and thinks abortion and gay marriage are both sinful acts. By his own admission, he grew up in a Christian home, made a personal decision to be a Christian while in elementary school, and has been a moral, God-fearing, self-disciplined person his entire life.
... Yet his wife and children live miserable lives under his leadership. He is a controlling, insecure man who governs his family at a distance with rules instead of relationships. Subsequently he is a distant and passionless Christian, husband, and father. To make matters worse, he is also incredibly self-righteous because he does not truly see himself as a sinner; rather, he sees himself as a mature Christian who avoids certain sins. He conveniently overlooks the fact that he does few things that flow out of love for God. He rarely reads his Bible, prays, serves anyone, or repents of any personal sin... His religious life has no need for God, but only need for God's rules.
One thing is for sure - he has no functional understanding of the gospel of Jesus Christ and, subsequently, no idea how someone can be seen as righteous before a holy and righteous God."

Mark continues from there to write David a letter hopefully getting across not only that God calls sinners to repent of their unrighteousness, but religious people like him to repent of their righteousness.
We tend to lose sight of the true Gospel and replace it with a gospel of righteousness and feel-good tactics aimed at getting more people through our doors. But did Christ die for our preferences or our righteous piety? I dare to say LOUDLY.. NO! We have established a law of righteousness that is the exact opposite of the true Gospel. The righteousness of the law is basically idolatry. We idolize our "Sunday Best", our programs and schedules, our time spent in the church (because please forbid it that we spend more than an hour singing and listening to the Word of God), our seat that we have sat in for the past 6 years and now someone else is sitting there, our songs that we sing that make us feel good about worshiping, our feel-good sermons because we don't want to feel bad about ourselves. Maybe you noticed the trend in that last rant... "our"

Paul writes this in Philippians 3,
"What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith."

When will God be tired of hearing our heartless songs and our mediocre worship for the hour we gather together every week? When will He judge each of us for what is in our hearts and not by what we just say? When will we finally understand that church and Christianity is not about us?! It is about our loving and just Father who sent His only son as a substitute for all our wickedness and evil so that we might spend eternity with him. He bore his body to tremendous pain and suffered a horrifying death upon a cross. The pain was soo much that a word had to be created just to describe it.. excruciating. And then days later in all of His glory Christ defeated death and sin forever as He came back to life. It is this that defeats righteousness gained by the law and it is belief in the death and Resurrection that rescues us from our preferences and religion. You must see that religion leaves no room for relationships. Religion is what spurs idolatry because once religion takes you over then you desire to be bound by the rules and regulations and are consumed with obeying them because that is what you think will save you from eternal damnation in Hell. But it is religion that says that God will not love you until you obey His rules enough to earn His love. Driscoll says that is like him telling his five children that if they obey his rules for the next year then he'll be their daddy. Religion says that it is about what you do and not about what Jesus has done. Religion is about what you are getting from God and not about getting God Himself. Religion is about punishment through hardships and not about purifying discipline.
It's now time that you let go of your religion and grasp ahold of the only way to enter the Kingdom of God - faith in the one true King Jesus Christ who through His death demonstrated true love.

The Brave

2009-02-10T08:40:00.002-06:00

Putting on a strong and brave face gets tiring. You can withstand soo much and take a lot of hurt and beating but eventually people will start to see beyond the rough exterior and into the reality of who you really are - what you're really feeling - the real me. A daily routine becomes this infatuation with pleasing the balance of this world as if we are supposed to do what we do repeatedly for 365 (or 364) days a year. Eventually we all realize that we have become conformers. Freedom is a word we like to throw around especially as Americans but are we truly free from the confines of this world? I say indeed not. Yes- it is Christ who sets us free but most of us will not let go. We wont let go of our pasts or our thinking or our preferences. And when this bombardment of pain and hurt falls on us we shudder and hide because that is what we know.
It is the picture of surrender that scares us. Because our culture is so very caught up in being the best and the strongest we comform to that way of thinking ourselves, at least I do. The idea of standing on our own two feet and being able to take anything this world can throw at us seems more appealing than being seen as vulnerable. That is why when we do fall, we fall hard and rarely stand right back up. Our foundation is built on not who Jesus is but on who we are. And it continues to be this big circle that we tumble around in until we can see clearly.

The clear vision of life comes when we are the weakest and finally are able to hear the truth instead of the old familiar lies. Finally we can feel the power of the hands that created the universe from the largest stars to the smallest grains of life. To understand the sovereignty of the One who made the lame walk and the dumb talk and opened blinded eyes to see. To realize that the sun rises on His time and yet He knows our deepest desperate need. (BDW) To know that we don't have to prove a thing to anyone because Jesus is the One who is saving us and we don't have to do this alone. That is God's truth. And no matter how far we want to run we can't get away from it or Him.

I know that with each personal stuggle that I am facing right now I don't have to be soo tough and I don't need to work soo hard to be strong enough. I am nothing without the love of my Savior. He is with me. He knows what I am going through. He sees what is in store for me in the future. So my faith is in Him. He is everything I'll ever truly need.

- so that none would boast -

2008-12-01T09:29:00.004-06:00

Thanksgiving is a wonderful time to realize our true blessings. The things we are thankful for can be a variety of things. For example, if you are in my shoes I am thankful for my supportive family and the various expressions of support. I am thankful for my friends. They are few but the ones I have are very dear to me and we share a love that reaches beyond mere friendship. I am thankful for my church. For my congregation that is supportive and God seeking. Their hunger for the Gospel strengthens me. I am thankful for all my kids at the church who never fail to surprise me with new and exciting ways of sometimes getting in trouble. I am thankful for my dear friends William and Zac and their families who are my partners in ministry and my support group. I am thankful for my dog because living alone is hard and having a companion even though he doesn't talk is helpful. And then I am thankful for my education, car, food, etc... I know all this seems sappy and not relevant to you the reader but I can not stress the importance of this next part enough. Of all these things that I am thankful for I would rather lose all of it than ever be without my faith, hope, and love in Christ. Paul puts it this way:

"We rely on what Christ Jesus has done for us. We put no confidence in human effort, though I could have confidence in my own effort if anyone could. Indeed, if others have reason for confidence in their own efforts, I have even more!
I was circumcised when I was eight days old. I am a pure-blooded citizen of Israel and a member of the tribe of Benjamin—a real Hebrew if there ever was one! I was a member of the Pharisees, who demand the strictest obedience to the Jewish law. I was so zealous that I harshly persecuted the church. And as for righteousness, I obeyed the law without fault.
I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith. I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death, so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead!
I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us."

Philippians 3:3-14

If we are to boast then let us boast in the cross and in things of God. Let our preferences die with our worldly selves. Let our immaturity dissipate with the morning fog. Let our anger be checked and our hate be replaced with love. But most of all, let our pride and our boasts wither away like a branch removed from a vine.

Where's Your Sign?

2008-11-17T10:21:00.003-06:00

Now that the election has passed us for almost two weeks I am reflecting on the day of and days leading up to it. If you are like most Americans it wasn't hard to find people out on the street corner or on the steps of a city hall holding up a sign proclaiming their support for a prospective official. Some would even go so far to make their sign about a foot bigger than the opposing supporter's sign. Let's face it.. we live in a culture that loves a good fight. The sad part about it is that elections occur almost every year and you will see people standing outside in every sort of weather protesting and proclaiming who they think will do the best in an elected office. They will yell, scream, dance, wave, make cookies that for some reason resemble the official they plan to vote for, and even shave their heads with only the candidates name remaining just to get the word out.
Yet we live every day with a daily knowledge that Christ is alive and working and wants to be everyone's King and Savior and we keep it to ourselves. The greatest truth and the most powerful message is less likely to be heard than a political ad or colorful sign. We hide it.. "let the church handle that".. we encounter soo many people every day whether it is in a hallway or an aisle at the grocery store and we pass on the opportunity of showing our sign.
So where's your sign at? Do they know who you support? Are you telling people that Christ is alive and is in the business of saving people? Where is the sign that proclaims that the only true HOPE resides in the cross of Christ Jesus our God? Where's your sign?

Spurgeon

2008-11-13T11:06:00.000-06:00

“Many hearers lose much blessing through criticizing too much, and meditating too little; and many more incur great sin by calumniating those who live for the good of others. True pastors have enough of care and travail without being burdened by undeserved and useless fault-finding. We have something better to do than to be for ever answering every malignant or frivolous slander which is set afloat to injure us….there are tender, loving spirits who feel the trial very keenly, and are sadly hindered in brave service by cruel assaults. The rougher and stronger among us laugh at those who ridicule us, but upon others the effect is very sorrowful…

As ministers we are very far from being perfect, but many of us are doing our best, and we are grieved that the minds of our people should be more directed to our personal imperfections than to our divine message….

Filled with the same spirit of contrariety, the men of this world still depreciate the ministers whom God sends them and profess that they would gladly listen if different preachers could be found. Nothing can please them, their cavils are dealt out with heedless universality. Cephas is too blunt, Apollos is too flowery, Paul is too argumentative, Timothy is too young, James is too severe, John is too gentle…

Well then, let each servant of God tell his message in his own way. To his own Master he shall stand or fall…

Judge the preacher if you like, but do remember that there is something better to be done than that, namely, to get all the good you can out of him, and pray his Master to put more good into him.” -Charles Spurgeon

Flawed Theoogy (P.U.S.H.)

2008-11-13T09:57:00.002-06:00

I’m going to take the next couple of posts to talk about and hopefully discuss flawed theology.

Let’s start with the theology behind P.U.S.H. (Pray Until Something Happens). Now for those of us that thrive on acronyms, at first look this would be a great starting point for a theology based on prayer. However, what happens when nothing happens? How do we show content when our basis for prayer is that something should happen if we continue to pray for it? Realizing that here are some people and maybe a lot of people who have their hearts and their minds in tune with God’s will that are actually praying for the right things, I am speaking of those of us who continue to pray for the Porsche that is supposed to be parked in the driveway when we wake up or the extra million dollars that is supposed to manifest itself in our bank accounts over the weekend. All great things that yours truly would not complain about happening and things that certainly God can accomplish but what would He gain from it? Where’s the glory going?

How about praying for a disease to go away? When that disease doesn’t go away are we shocked and walk away from the faith and from God? Yeah sometimes we do. Sometimes we blame ourselves for not praying loud enough and most of the time we blame God for not answering. “Where is God?” Maybe you’ve heard this.. “Well if God is soo good…” Maybe just maybe there is a greater purpose behind things that we just don’t see. This is easy to say in a time of peace but when hardship falls on us our grief and despair can easily cloud the “big picture”. Remember that God doesn’t cause sickness and illness but He can and most of the time does work through it.

P.U.S.H. is a flawed theology because nothing happening is just as common of an answer as something happening. It probably should be P.U. T.W.E.A.C.R. (Pray Until The World Ends And Christ Returns) but it’s hard to fit that on a bracelet.

Truth

2008-11-05T10:09:00.002-06:00

Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you. For he is God's servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God's servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience. This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God's servants, who give their full time to governing. Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.
Romans 13: 1-7

10 Truths That Will Live On

1. The Bible will still have all the answers.

2. Prayer will still work.

3. The Holy Spirit will still move.

4. God will still inhabit the praises of His people.

5. There will still be God-anointed preaching.

6. There will still be singing of praise to God.

7. God will still pour out blessings to His people.

8. There will still be room at the Cross.

9. Jesus will still love you.

10. Jesus will still save the lost when they come to Him.

... anger

2008-10-21T18:20:00.002-05:00

Sometimes the Devil just knows when to kick, claw, punch, and throw you off the cliff at the exact moment you are most vulnerable and it hits hard. Lately I have been having those moments and I have tried to resist the best I can but I continue to fall short of comfort and freedom. I know that what has been happening is not any one individual attacking me but the Evil One distracting and bringing me down. All I ask is for your prayers as I continue to seek my Father through this and call on Him to defeat him that comes against me.

The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen. - 2 Timothy 4:18

Obviously, I’m not trying to win the approval of people, but of God. If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ’s servant. - Galatians 1:10

...echoes...

2008-09-23T20:27:00.004-05:00

When is the appropriate place in time that we start to be more than echoes of who we are meant to be? One of many definitions of an echo is a repetition or imitation. Maybe taking the other definition is more appropriate.. a remnant. But to say that we are an echo would insist that we were once the people that we should be or made to be. But that is just not so.. we have fallen short of the glory and the original mold.
On the other hand, maybe we are all echoes of the people we were when we first believed. When we first saw the Light and embraced Him. When we first forsook all that we had and claimed to be for the great journey. Somewhere between the pages of time and existence we forgot how we felt when Christ entered our lives and the Holy Spirit began that incredible transformation in us. I can faintly remember feeling The Spirit's embrace and change. The point where the old had disappeared and the new person emerged victorious because of the cross.
What happened? Have I gone so far only to realize that I am but an echo and a shadow of my self? It is the human problem. Correction... one of the human problems! Sin of course is THE human problem but beyond that it is the urge and desire to be more and if relying on ourselves we only turn to find out that we have fallen again.
The father of lies is here to distract and accuse and also lead us to believe that we have to be more than an echo of who we were or trying to be...
Galatians 3:10-14
But those who depend on the law to make them right with God are under his curse, for the Scriptures say, “Cursed is everyone who does not observe and obey all the commands that are written in God’s Book of the Law.” So it is clear that no one can be made right with God by trying to keep the law. For the Scriptures say, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.” This way of faith is very different from the way of law, which says, “It is through obeying the law that a person has life.”
But Christ has rescued us from the curse pronounced by the law. When he was hung on the cross, he took upon himself the curse for our wrongdoing. For it is written in the Scriptures, “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.” Through Christ Jesus, God has blessed the Gentiles with the same blessing he promised to Abraham, so that we who are believers might receive the promised Holy Spirit through faith.

We don't have to be more. It is because Christ has redeemed us and saved us from the evil one and his deception that we can let go of this relentless feeling of self loathing and finally be rid of being an echo of ourselves but in turn be an echo of Christ Jesus.

To be a Christian is to be His echoes...

Gospel of Hope - Gospel of Love

2008-08-25T21:38:00.002-05:00

I have written about a Gospel of strength and passion, conviction and justification. A Gospel that offends and changes. This type of writing is meant to wake up the sleeping and the weak. Hopefully giving strength and vision for change. But now I turn to the desperate and the despondent. Those without hope and a clear vision for the future. Our Savior and our God is a God of love and hope and grace and mercy. The Scripture is full of examples of times when the Gospel was tough and convicting. But there are also times and examples of God's love and mercy. He has come to seek and save that which was lost. See all of us were lost. We all turned out backs on God. We broke communication and treated Him as though we didn't need Him. Only to realize the truth later in life.. that the goal and the journey and the pursuit of happiness is not only to find God but to find Him and still be searching for Him.
That is paradise.
I think that we all at times are ourselves despondent.. that is we feel without hope. At times even we who are Believers can get that way but only because we tend to forget that it is not our dreams and desires or especially our plans that fail that cause us to lose hope but it is more like our tendency to forget that God has a better way and a better plan for us that causes us to give up on hope. However, hope is not a frailty or a sense of comfort only in times of trouble. Hope is an neverending, everlasting, life-affirming gift. A gift that if we choose to accept it, lasts in the good times and in the not-so-good times. Hope stems from this Gospel that we speak of. Hope stems from the promise of a Savior. Hope grows with the anticipation of salvation. Hope is synonymous with the cross. It is the thread of the Gospel of Christ. Salvation that springs up from the ground with the resurrection of our Lord and Savior! This Gospel is a Gospel of Love - a Gospel of Peace.

Offensive Word of God

2008-08-19T11:04:00.002-05:00

Philippians's 2:9-11 says this,
"Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."

For years the church has been afraid and dreading the phone call of a parishioner who was offended by something that was spoken from the pulpit. This has in turn caused many preachers and teachers to refrain from the hard truths and teachings because it is not the popular thing to say. Most churches today are handing out the sugar-coated Bible lesson and leaving people with what they want to hear in order to make them feel better. It is a truth that is both unfortunate and devastating. Another problem is that those preachers who are teaching and proclaiming the truths that are hard to hear for some are being fired or shunned.
So where in lies the problem? Who is to be blamed for this common thread?
All of us is the answer you are looking for. That is right.. all of us.
The pastors for allowing ourselves to be compromised and content with pleasing people instead of God. (Galatians 1:10) Newsflash... Hell is a real place and people will go there unless there is a belief and relationship with Jesus Christ... HELL IS REAL but so is Heaven! Do not allow yourself to be brought down by fear and anxiety over a job or popularity. We have a message and we can not back down, give up, or let up in its proclamation.
Now for everyone else.. have you noticed a popular trend in the ranks of the clergy? There less of us everyday. More and more members of the clergy are being fired and beaten down by those in the church who get offended by the truth of the Gospel. Newsflash.. The Gospel is offensive... its design is to be offended in a way that will bring those who are lost back into the graces of God our Father. The name of Jesus is offensive. It is probably the most..sorry.. it IS the most offensive name in the world. It is at the name of Jesus that sinners shudder and demons flee. It is at the name of Jesus that people find refuge and rest and change.
I am reminded of the passage in John 6 verses 53 -69. Jesus is teaching and he knows and hears some grumbling by his disciples (all of them not just the Twelve). He turns and says "Does this offend you? What if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before! The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life. Yet there are some of you who do not believe." At that point many of His disciples turned and left Him and Jesus turns to the Twelve and says, "You do not want to leave too, do you?" Then Simon Peter speaks, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God."
Jesus spoke words that were offensive to even those who were following Him. His Word is truth and in that truth is eternal life. We can not afford to sugar coat it anymore. We can't back down and we dare not let up.
I am thankful for those in our churches that truly desire life-change and believe the Word of God. I am truly thankful for the church that supports and encourages its pastors, like my church.

my King

2008-07-17T10:21:00.003-05:00

For the past several years I have been studying extensively the dynamics of the local church. What makes people walk off the street and into the well-known, mostly doubled, doors of the local sanctuary. Those doors are a symbol of hope and peace and comfort and love for most people who walk through them but for others it is a constant reminder of failure and despise and a feeling of not being "good enough". Why is that do you suppose? Why would a stranger to the church view the opening doors to God's house a symbol of rejection? Your church may be a loving and caring church with God-fearing individuals and that probably has nothing to do with the perception of a stranger to the church. There are probably many reasons for this but I just want to focus on one.

What is your perception of Jesus?

Yes I'm sure you are sitting there thinking that this is a simple question and you are thumbing through your book full of Sunday School answers written by a 1960's southern baptist preacher but take into consideration that many believers have failed to fully realize who Jesus Christ actually is. In fact, stats show that some believers are uncertain as to Christ's divinity. I would venture out to say that more than half of Christian Believers are uncertain as to the divine nature of Jesus Christ. That is to say that they don't fully believe that Jesus was, is, and will always be God. Is this their fault? No, not really. Those who I would blame are those who educate in the manner of Christianity. People like pastors, and Sunday school teachers. People like Christian professors and Christian activists. People like me. I feel like we have failed our people. For what seems like centuries, we have bypassed the nature of Christ because it seems too complicated. For that I am sorry. Deeply sorry and troubled. The first century church knew who this Jesus is. They knew Him, saw Him, and believed Him. He was their King. Well nothing has changed folks. We still preach and teach and pray and worship to the same God as our forefathers did. But sometimes the Jesus we see is the Jesus that we all saw hanging on the wall of our Sunday School room with the long flowing hair and rich blue eyes with not a blemish or stain on His face. Beginning to see that image again? Mark Driscoll, the author of Vintage Jesus, proclaims that image as the lobotomized Lord. Not meaning to be sacrilegious or offensive in anyway to our Savior but rather to wake us up. Our King was not the pretty boy walking down the road with a lamb in His arms every day. No, He was the man who probably wore cut-off sleeved shirts with mud and clay and wood chips carrying a toolbox. He was probably muscular and dirty with BROWN EYES. Crazy gesture.. I know.. But my King was and is a powerful King. He was righteous and holy. When He spoke He spoke with power and demand. So much that even at the whisper of His name demons shook in fear and trepidation. Even the elements obeyed His command. He was, is, and will always be God. That is my King. So why do we have the tendency to turn away strangers from our doors? When we as Believers in the Way, Truth, and Life finally grasp a hold of who Jesus is we shed our unwillingness and our the light that shines through us will be addicting and relentless and that light will grab a hold of those on the outside and beckon them inside.
To know Him and find Him and yet still be looking for Him is everything.

Chapman Tragedy

2008-05-21T22:23:00.002-05:00

Tonight we as a community of Believers in Christ's Church join together and mourn the tragedy of the loss of little Maria Chapman. It is very likely that this post will never reach the eyes of the Chapman family but my personal thoughts and prayers are with you all. My words are feeble and mere but the arms of the Father are strong enough. We love you and may our God comfort you.

Posting Comments

2008-05-21T09:06:00.001-05:00

I have now opened comments to everyone. You may now comment on any post you would like to. Please keep them respectful and clean. Thank you and happy blogging!

The Wind and the Waves

2008-05-17T23:53:00.003-05:00

A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, "Teacher, don't you care if we drown?"
He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, "Quiet! Be still!" Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.
He said to his disciples, "Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?"
They were terrified and asked each other, "Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!" Mark 4: 37-41

I must have read these words hundreds of times and they bring new meaning to me still. How amazing to be witness to the power and majesty of the King of Creation. Even the elements hang onto His every breath. The winds move at His command and the rains flow at His thought. When each furious squall builds up and threatens to plunge us into an abyss of sorrow and darkness and we find ourselves enveloped in over our heads, something happens. The King stands up and with three words calms the storm. But the other lesson here is faith-based. Even when the storm was at it's peak, Jesus was still asleep in the boat. It was when the disciples feared themselves to be at the point of death did they forget who was on the same boat. We will never be in a situation that we will ever need to fear... anything. Now that is a lot to just say. But who is this King that even the winds and the waves obey Him?

Weird Mood

2008-05-13T22:48:00.002-05:00

So this is going to be a weird post. It is Tuesday night at 10:49 pm. Today I have finished my last full-time semester of college. I registered for my last 8 hours which will conclude in July and forever be the end of my bachelor's education. Now I am sitting at home thinking... and all that can come to my mind is an old song...

I've dealt with my ghosts and I've faced all my demons
Finally content with a past I regret
I've found you find strength in your moments of weakness
For once I'm at peace with myself
I've been burdened with blame, trapped in the past for too long
I'm movin' on
I'm movin' on
At last I can see life has been patiently waiting for me
And I know there's no guarantees, but I'm not alone
There comes a time in everyone's life
When all you can see are the years passing by
And I have made up my mind that those days are gone

weird mood

No Ordinary Love

2008-05-08T09:38:00.002-05:00

It goes on and on and on. It never sleeps, never dies, never slows, never hides, never contradicts. It never has conditions, never expects anything in return, and never fails. This is not an ordinary love that might fade away into the hate that this world so cruelly offers. No, this love is an everlasting love. It is a sacrificial love. It always shies through the darkness, always comforts, always perseveres, always wins, always stands in the midst of corruption, and always breathes life back into the hurting. I refuse to believe that this love can not be be shown by you and me. I refuse to believe that we can not learn from it or learn how to apply it or use it. The love that has been ever so lavished upon us as children of an Almighty God who sees all and hears all and knows all and yet still loves you and me is abounding and is the forever kind of love. This is not an ordinary love. It is not something that we always see from each other. But we should. There is no reason why we should not mimic the love that is shown to us daily. In that love there is mercy and grace and forgiveness and righteousness. In that love there is healing for the hurt and it is the antidote for the sick. No this certainly is not an ordinary love.

Your Love is Strong - Confession #2

2008-04-14T09:47:00.002-05:00

Sometimes I feel incredibly lonely. The feeling of loneliness is a powerful and sorrowful emotion and can be a dangerous place to be. Although I have moved around 600 miles from my nearest family member this emotion is not caused by that. Rather sometimes I feel like this because I allow myself to dwell on being single and living alone. Truth is I love living alone and yes I can't wait to be with the one God has set before me but it is not top priority in my life. I have made some awesome friends down here in Port A - people that I respect and hold in high esteem - people that I trust. The title of this post is "Your Love is Strong". Reason being is that although we may feel far away and apart and lonely sometimes we can rest and know that God loves us and that love is strong. If you are lonely and I mean really lonely then please talk to someone about it. Freedom from the pain of loneliness is found in the strong arms of God who loves each of us.

Two Faces

2008-04-09T09:46:00.002-05:00

If you checked your news this morning you might see an article of an Indian baby girl who was born with craniofacial duplication. Now if you look at those words carefully it isn't hard to see what it means. The baby's name is Lali. Except for her ears, all of Lali's facial features are duplicated -- she has two noses, two pairs of lips and two pairs of eyes. She appears to be a healthy infant otherwise. Reading the story and watching video footage I was reminded by God how we too tend to have two faces. Now we don't literally have any facial deformities but in the sense of who we are it is not that uncommon for a Christian believer to be one person in church and around other believers and then a totally different person elsewhere. Now please understand I am not using this baby's deformity as a platform or anything but seeing the symbolism there.

If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. - John 15:19

Read this verse carefully. Now ask yourself these questions:

Does the world hate me?
Do I act like the world when I am in the world and then act differently when I am with Believers?
Am I afraid of being hated?

Jesus talks about his a few times and He even tells us to not be fearful of the world because He has overcome it already. Another verse I leave you with today is this:

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. - Romans 12:2

New Post

2008-04-03T23:53:00.002-05:00

So I have literally been terrified of that button that says "New Post" for the past few weeks! I suppose a part of me just didn't want to click the button for fear of visibility. What do I mean by visibility? Well I think I will save that for a different post.
So for the past two weeks I have started umpiring for the little league baseball and softball. Tonight I had two games back to back and I am exhausted from it. The last game was a girls softball game for the older girls and I have to tell you, I thought that I might need to run to my truck after it was over in total fear of the losing team's fan base! SOOO... this post will be about losing.
As a Burch I hate losing. I hate it soo much that if I had the choice of giving up food for 40 days or losing in a game, I would starve. But of course if I starved from my food ban I would be losing pounds and there you have losing again! In ministry you don't always win. When I say "win" I mean that sometimes you fail at doing ministry. And you know what... it's ok! Losing has a funny way of bringing out the worst in us and it is how we handle ourselves that shows our true character on and off the field. So regardless if you are in ministry or something with your work doesn't go as planned or maybe you are in disagreement with the head umpire in a little league softball game, handle your attitude and demeanor with dignity.

More "Confessions..." coming soon.

Confessions of a Pastor #1

2008-02-26T09:51:00.002-06:00

I Have a Pathetic Prayer Life.

And so it begins...
Wondering how to start this whole series on this blog I couldn't figure out how to start. I suppose the best way to do it is like taking off a band-aid... slow and painful! From the beginning of my Christian walk I have always been told that my prayer life has to be strong and what's worse is that I believed the people that told me that. Truth is God doesn't care how great your prayers are just that you do communicate with Him. I often catch myself going into shallow and hollow prayers and I have to stop and remind myself that God deserves better. One of the things that I have been challenged by in the past few weeks is to make my prayers true and from the heart. As church goers we have learned how to cover up what we truly feel with ritualistic words. If you actually listened to yourself pray most of us would find that we use words that we would never use in our conversations with others. What I have been doing lately is telling God how I actually feel in the words that I am thinking of. I originally had that sense that God needed to hear the "holy words" when in all actuality He can take what I really mean to say. He invites me to be honest in my prayers. For the past (some odd) years of my life I have turned myself into a pharisee on the street corner, praying as if I was praying to the people around me and not to the God who loves and cares for me enough that He wants my words and my feelings and my heart felt emotions in my conversations with Him. We need to stop putting emphasis on religious praying and start telling people that God desires the truth when we pray. We don't have to doctor up our words because we think God will hear them better that way. We have to stop thinking about prayer as a ritualistic event that we do. Stop being afraid of prayer. Stop being afraid of saying the wrong things or asking for the wrong things. I honestly can say that the first time I actually prayed a truthful and honest prayer was when one of my best friends in the world was suffering from a tumor. I stopped and I prayed to God and honestly asked Him why and told Him that I think it was unfair. I confessed that I loved Him deeply and that I know I could never understand His ways and thoughts but I just wanted her to feel better. Being honest in prayer makes prayer worth doing. I am not saying that God doesn't listen to every prayer or that He answers or doesn't answer based on a grade scale of prayers but I am saying that if you want a meaningful prayer life then be creative and open and honest with the God who loves you. Remember that prayer is communicating with God and like all great conversations there is a time to speak and a time to listen. From one amateur pray-er to another... happy praying.

Pressure

2008-02-20T00:04:00.002-06:00

So after being pressured about my writing and the need to read it I have decided (on my own) to write again. For the past couple of weeks I have been reading through Craig Groeschel's book Confessions of a Pastor and I have to say that I relate to him on so many levels and with so many of his points. Being in ministry is one of the toughest jobs and responsibilities that a person will have. I know that sounds ridiculous but to be responsible for helping someone on their journey through the Christian faith is a heavy burden to have. Ministers as a whole are subject to more criticism and hatefulness than a lot of other professions. We all have to face the challenge that everyone is different and everyone has an opinion and everyone wants to tell you their opinion! Starting out in ministry as a boy on a guitar playing music for a youth group I can remember not wanting to even hear anyone's opinion on what I was doing. I was doing it and I was doing it my way! Six years later I find myself wanting to revert back to that mentality but I know that I am not doing this my way and if I ever find myself doing this "my way" then I know that have failed or fallen off that beaten path. For the next few post I will be making some of my own confessions and going through those on here. Reading last week I stumbled on a passage that Craig had written down and I will leave you with us until my next post.
"Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ." Galatians 1:10

Tears of the Saints

2007-12-18T09:00:00.000-06:00

This past Sunday we had an emphasis on missions in India. It went quite well amidst all of our activities that day. I have done some missions work in different areas of the world nothing too extensive regrettably. I've done some work with the homeless, some with habitat for humanity, I took a quick trip to Romania's Transylvania, and I have also done some heartbreaking work with individuals who were facing impossible situations without the Father. One thing I am constantly reminded of though is the places that we don't go or possibly can't go. How many tears of our brothers and sisters worldwide go unnoticed? Just because we believe them to already be "Christians" we have the unfortunate habit of passing them by and reaching out to the lost. A lot of times we just focus on being like Jesus which is exactly what we need to be doing but we have this idea that Jesus only saved the lost while He was on earth but that is just half of what He did and taught. " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." Matt. 22:37-40
Even John 15:3 speaks about love, "There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends."
There are brother and sisters whose tears are shed daily because they just need someone to help lift them up when they are beaten down. Let us not forget them this Christmas and New Years or may I submit to you that we not forget them ever... We all have points in our life where we are beaten down and sometimes dragged through our sorrow and pain. Let's not be naive and think that we are the only ones...
The tears of the saints are falling down... All you have to do is look beyond the ordinary and into the obvious.

chaos

2007-12-10T21:30:00.000-06:00

Please pray for my attitude and charisma as I see God planning big things for us and our church but I can feel Lucifer trying to pull us down. We will prevail as long as we keep our sights on what God has in store.

Baptist in the Media

2007-12-06T07:49:00.000-06:00

WOW.... in case you missed it... Richard Land with the Southern Baptist Convention was on Good Morning America on ABC with radio host and Mormon, Glenn Beck. In response to presidential candidate Mitt Romney's speech where he claimed to be not campaign as a religious figure and states that no candidate should. Problem is, he is a devout Mormon. What was important about this conversation was Diane Sawyer in her own way was trying to stir up some controversy and she asked Richard Land he he believed Mormons to be Christians. Without hesitation he said, "No I do not." In the media in the past we have had leaders who have said they were Christians receive the same type of questions and answer in a less than desirable way. Take a note of this because because it should help as an example to us. The Bible says that Jesus is the only way to heaven. Be careful with other religions outside of Christianity because the Jesus they talk about is probably not the same Jesus of the Bible. Our Jesus died and rose again. Our Jesus walked on water. Our Jesus was sinless. Our Jesus is God.

My President

2007-12-05T09:41:00.000-06:00

Good morning all you fellow web surfers!
I wasn't going to post anything about his because I know that everyone has an opinion on the subject. However, I just can't stand this anymore.
Coming up on 8 years ago we as a nation elected a man to the highest position that can be elected to in the free world. He has served our country with integrity and morality which is more than I can say for some of our past presidents. But for some reason they (critics) place our most immoral presidents on a higher pedestal than our current president. Yes the economy is in bad shape, that's a no brainer but what people refuse to see is that George Bush has kept America safe since 2001 and without almost no choice has entered us into an impossible war where no one will win. You have seen pictures from that war for the past several years but the ones you've seen are the ones the media presents and I hate to be the one to tell you, the media doesn't always show the entire picture. I know...shocking. That office that he sits in almost every day holds the power to wage war, destroy nations, protect the innocent, provide aid to the helpless and that office leads the largest world power since Rome. I could not begin to imagine the stress and the toll that job takes on any man (or woman...) That fact of the matter is folks, he is our President. The Bible speaks of respecting and honoring our leaders. I believe that God has placed him in that office for the time he has been there on purpose and who am I to question God. Yes, George's health is declining and he ages more each day but WHO WOULDN"T? I am saying this because I know that I would not want that job, I can barely handle the job God has put me in but He sustains me and helps me to persevere. Next time you think about this I want you to imagine yourself in that position and try... really try to imagine the power and stress that comes with it. Honor our leaders because they are there for a reason. What astounds me is that George Bush has all of these things to do... you know... running the country... and yet he always makes the time to worship the same God that you and I do. Don't criticize him... pray for him.

baptism of a chaotic soul

2007-11-28T10:06:00.000-06:00

For centuries Christian brothers and sisters have been divided on the issue of baptism. Does baptism result in salvation? Is baptism for believers or children? We may never join together in agreement on this subject but one thing is for certain.. there are many people who are in our churches who are still confused about the nature of baptism. So I will outline what I have come to believe about baptism. The Bible says that whomever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved (Acts 2:21). Notice that it doesn't say whomever is baptized will be saved. I believe that baptism is a visible sign of a sacred thing. It is an outward proclamation of what has happened on the inward.
The World Council of Churches says that Baptism is the sign of new life through Jesus Christ. It unites the one baptized with Christ and with his people. Baptism is participation in Christ’s death and resurrection; a washing away of sin; a new birth; an enlightenment by Christ; a reclothing in Christ; a renewal by the Spirit; the experience of salvation from the flood; an exodus from bondage and a liberation into a new humanity in which barriers of division whether of sex or race or social status are transcended. The images are many but the reality is one. Baptism is the outward sign of what happened inside.

God-Love

2007-11-25T23:51:00.000-06:00

So for the past several years my best friend Eric and I would sit down whenever we could and watch Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. Year after year, episode after life-changing episode I am still deeply moved to the core of my being by this show. Tonight they aired their newest episode which was a two parter in where they helped their 100th family.
Each episode of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition is self-contained and features a race against time on a project that would ordinarily take at least four months to achieve, involving a team of designers, contractors and several hundred workers who have just seven days to totally rebuild an entire house -- every single room, plus the exterior and landscaping. Each episode begins with team leader Ty Pennington's now-famous "Good morning!" wake-up call, when he, along with the other designers, surprises the unsuspecting family with news that their home has been chosen to receive a makeover. Then viewers witness not only the unbelievable transformation of the house, but during the final and emotional reveal, they see how the home makeover has impacted the lives of the deserving families.
The 100th family is a family of 9 with one on the way. Now you may say "Wow how about a little self control and responsibility" but I will be quick to tell you to hold your tongue and keep it to yourself. The original family was a family of 6 including mom and dad. Tragically the family lost their dad in a horrific car accident leaving them alone. When mom decided to start dating again she began a relationship with a man which turned out to be an abuser and he abused the kids mom. She had the courage to stop that relationship but things escalated and the ex boyfriend shot and killed both the mom and her boyfriend at the time who was staying at their house to try and keep them all safe. The four kids now alone were taken and adopted by their aunt who was very close to their mom and now live with her and her husband and family. This event was only 4 months ago and they feel the effects every day. They live in a crowded 3 bedroom home with 7 growing kids. Needless to say they are running out of room.
This show choose to help this family and I will be the first to admit that I tear up when I witness the life-change that happens on this show. Hearing their stories and seeing their eyes light up with hope stirs my inner-most being. That is God-love. Giving selflessly to others in need is something that is not seen very often anymore in our world.
If you haven't seen this show I would greatly urge you to watch it or tiVo it or DVR it or just plain record it because in the short hour that they give you you will see true God-love from these wonderful people.
"We can't cure cancer, we can't bring the dead back, but we can put 2 X 4s together and shingle the roof and give somebody a warm place to sleep at night and that's what we know how to do and that's what we do." Paul

Thankful

2007-11-21T21:59:00.000-06:00

As I was driving back up to Dallas yesterday I had some time to think and reflect on my past few years. They say that the college years are the best of your life and I surely hope not. I can honestly look anyone in the eyes and tell them that my life for the past four years have been rampaged with pain, anger, sorrow, betrayal, loss, and death. I honestly do not understand why my time in college was so difficult but I can say without missing a beat that I am truly grateful for the lessons and experience gained from those lessons. As I have now left the DFW area to live down at the coast I recognize that I have just had the best year of my life so far. I am so blessed. My best friends are moving on with life and one of them actually has a little girl who is daddy's little girl. I have a great family and my job situation could not have turned out better. Yes there will be trials and tribulations to come but that is to be expected as a Christian Believer. It is Jesus who says "In this godless world you will continue to experience difficulties. But take heart! I've conquered the world." Of the things that I am thankful for I am most definitely most thankful for the cross. Knowing that Christ Jesus willingly chose to sacrifice Himself on the cross so that I may live in eternal fellowship with Him gives me strength beyond understanding and courage to match. I am thankful for You Jesus my Savior!

Politics

2007-11-15T08:10:00.000-06:00

Let me preface my post by saying that I will not officially endorse any candidate in his or her race for the white house office. I believe like many Christians do and/or should that we should vote for the issues and not the candidate. Now on to the beefy part of this post. Many of you know that in the past couple weeks Pat Robertson has come out and officially endorsed former mayor Rudy Guiliani for President. Now every man and woman has their God given right to vote for whomever they so choose but this presidential election coming up in now less than a year will probably one of the most important elections in the past century. My former mentor has posted on his site and you can go there by clicking on "Keith's Corner" to the right or you can go straight to what we read by clicking randyalcorn.blogspot.com. I want to encourage you who may read my blog to fully be aware of what you are voting on because for example if you intend on voting for Rudy Guiliani be aware that he has publicly said that he is in favor of legalized abortion. WHAT? Sorry I think that just passed over most Christian republicans... in FAVOR of legalized abortions. Meaning that he would like to see a nationwide law proclaiming abortion as legal and an "ok" thing to do. This, as you may have your own personal opinions on it, is not ok and is Biblically wrong. yeah, I said it, BIBLICALLY WRONG. If we are to proclaim that we are christians then we must accept the fact that that term, Christian, means that we are Christ-followers. If you say that then stand up for what the Bible says. God's Word is a double-edged sword and we have to start using it. Rudy Guiliani is not the only candidate in the presidential race who is pro-choice so this post isn't just about him but this recent event might have just served as the catalyst of Christian reactions to the upcoming election. So this is a call for those of you who read my blog to stand up and be counted because the time is drawing near when the line between political parties and (let's just say it) EVIL will become blurred. Vote for the issues not the person.

chaoticSoul

2007-11-12T15:40:00.001-06:00

Well starting a new blog is never easy unless you have something very pressing to shout out. I don't. I wanted to create a place where I can write out my thoughts and learnings from the past week of studying through different books and diving into the Word. I think this would be the most excellent way to do that.
Notice the italicized words there... the most excellent way... the only time I have ever seen those words put in that order has been by the Apostle Paul.
In 1 Corinthians 12-14, Paul is writing to the church in Corinth and explaining the gifts of God that we call today spiritual gifts. He is telling them (and us) that there are many gifts inside the church just as there are many parts of a body. Not all of us can be apostles, teachers, healers, prophets or the gift of speaking in unknown languages so we should then desire to have the most helpful gifts. Paul then goes on in chapter 13 to explain what the greatest thing that we should strive to have and set before ourselves as the ultimate goal. Love. Such a strange little word with enough power behind it that it causes men to wage war or turn the most revered man into a crazed dog with his tail waging earger for more attention. Love is the greatest of the series Paul puts forth, "Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love." Love is the most excellent way. It's origin comes straight from the Almighty God and was shown completely on the cross by His Son Christ our Lord.
"There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends." - John 15:13