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December 22, 2011

Revelation 15:3–4

“Great and amazing are your deeds, O Lord God the Almighty! Just and true are your ways, O King of the nations! 4 Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship you, for your righteous acts have been revealed.”

Do you ever come across a passage of scripture that just sort of stops you? Like you’re reading along, and then all of a sudden something inside of you just sort of….stalls.

I couldn’t move past this passage this morning. It stopped me.

I think it stopped me for two reasons. The first is that the general thematic elements of this passage – the all-consuming Glory of God, his power, justice, righteousness…those are all things that I REALLY BELIEVE to be true…and yet I know that I still struggle with allowing the truth of them to affect my daily living.

I don’t question God’s glory, I don’t doubt His sovereignty….and yet I still try to control things, and work for my own Glory. I still stress about money and materialism…..

And I wish I wouldn’t.

The second reason why it stopped me I think is simply because of the mental picture here. I mean we have a sea of Glass and fire, with people all around it with harps singing this song…I mean it’s such an incredible vibrant picture of worship…

And I want to be a part of it.

So Jesus this morning, I simply have stopped…and in stopping you have reminded me yet again of the depravity of my heart…of my constant need to submit the desires of the world that seem so appealing to me so that YOUR glory can become my ultimate concern. In stopping you have touched me with the beauty of the majestic worship that will take place when all is made right…and although there is still so much mystery for me surrounding those things…I can say that I really am excited to spend my eternity worshipping you…

Thanks for stopping me today.

December 15, 2011

Pr. 19:20

Listen to advice and accept instruction, that you may gain wisdom in the future.

All throughout this chapter is a call to hear, listen carefully to, and apply the wisdom that God wishes to speak to us. Now on the surface this sounds like good advice – and it is good advice. However – its SUCH good advice…we could have a tendency to write it off as common knowledge – kind of an “of COURSE I should do that” attitude.

And the problem with that…is that WISDOM doesn’t just appear out of nowhere. Before we can ever be listening to and applying wisdom in our lives, we need to have already done the work of positioning ourselves to be NEAR wisdom.

To be where Wisdom is.

Our growth in wisdom needs to be thought through and intentional. Am I surrounding myself with people who love Jesus? Am I posturing my heart in such a way that when these people are speaking to me…I’m listening? I’m seeking out wisdom?

Am I testing what I am hearing against scripture?

Am I praying that Jesus would continually shape and mold my heart?

Or…

Am I being selective as to the voices I’m listening to?

Am I only paying attention to people I agree with?

Am I not open to challenge?

Am I not really listening?

Wisdom has needs, if it is ever truly going to be applied in our hearts….and my prayer is that I would always be a man who postures myself towards wisdom, and that Gods voice, spoken to me in all the ways He chooses, would be the loudest and clearest voice I listen to.

Jesus, let it be.

November 17, 2011

2 Peter 1: 5–7

For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love.

As I read this passage of scripture – the word that really sticks out to me is “supplement.” I am called by scripture here to SUPPLEMENT my faith – with all of these virtues.

These virtues are NOT my faith, they are NOT my salvation, they are NOT my God….but they are in fact, a supplement.

An addendum.

An appendix.

Now I don’t by any means want to write these things off as unimportant…I am called here to make EVERY EFFORT to add them to my faith….however I also am struck this morning by the reality that I will sometimes DEFINE my faith by these things.

I can even go so far as to MEASURE my need to do devotions, to pray, to serve….by how well I feel like I am doing in displaying these virtues.

If I have been particuarly self-controlled lately…perhaps it is not as important that I do my devotions today.

If my brotherly affection has been somewhat lacking – maybe its time to dust off the old prayer mat…

This approach…..is problematic.

Because the reality is that what I am doing is forgetting that these attributes serve as an addition to a solid faith in Jesus. I cannot measure my faith based on them – they are EXTREMELY IMPORTANT ADDITIONS.

My faith….the REAL work of the Gospel capturing and controlling my heart – lies in my motivations. It lies in the deep parts of my heart that reveal why I am really doing what I am doing….

My faith is exposed by my willingness to love and serve with no expectation of return because I am humbled by the Grace of God….

And FROM THAT PLACE OF THANKFULNESS…I must make every effort to also add virtue, and knowledge, and self-control, and steadfastness, and godliness, and brotherly affection, and love.

Jesus – help me to be a man of faith. A man captured by the Gospel of YOUR truth…and from that point – give me strength to also be a man who displays these character attributes in such a way that I point people towards you.

November 10, 2011

1 Peter 1:3–5
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

Have you ever felt yourself starting to lose hope in Jesus?

Not that you would ever say it loud, maybe you wouldn’t even say it in your head.

I think the process of losing our hope is sneaky and gradual – its like chameleon that hides its true colors.

It looks like stress, it feels like being tired, it sounds like a sigh….

Simply put – it feels like a smaller deal then it really is.

But the reality is that deep down in our hearts…deep down in the depth of where we actually feel our deepest feelings…

We are questioning our hope.

Can we really trust God?

Is he really going to take care of me?

Could He possible care about these little details?

Stress.

Fear.

Sigh…

I have felt like this at times, the rising sense of hopelessness that leads to me feel lost and uncertain.

And yet this morning I am reminded that my inheritance is certain and beautiful. That my Hope is alive and active…undefiled and unfading.

This morning my hope feels renewed and restored.

Jesus is alive.

My hope is alive. Unfading. Unblemished. Perfect. Incapable of failure.

No need for stress.

No cause for fear.

Breathe a sigh of relief.

He is stronger.

He is better.

Jesus thank you…my heart needed this today – and I didn’t even know it. Continue to be my hope.

November 3, 2011

James 1:27 – Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.

The first thought that sticks out to me this morning – is that there is obviously more than one kind of Religion. There is religion that is pure and undefiled before God, and there is religion that is not.

Religion that is impure.

Religion that is defiled.

Religion that is disgusting.

The PURE kind of religion….the kind God loves…that is the kind of religion that VISITS orphans and widows in their affliction…and remains unstained from the world.

Visits orphans and widows.

Visits.

Not “thinks nice thoughts about orphans and widows.”

Not “gets upset when reads a newspaper article about injustice”

Not “really wishes something would be done.”

Visits.

Is in relationship with.

Pursues the abandoned in the midst of their pain.

Anything less than this – is disgusting.

Are you disgusting?

Am I disgusting?

Is our Church disgusting?

Its simply not enough to call ourselves religious and to not visit and be in relationship with and be among the orphans and the widows and the abandoned. Its not enough to really think great things about them…but not do anything.

We need to be there.

With them.

In the midst of their pain and affliction.

Are you going to them?

Or are you just thinking nice things about them? Really hoping things work out?

Is your religion disgusting?

Are you disgusting?

Are you sure?

Am I sure?

Jesus….this morning I get the sense that so much of what we call religion actually is disgusting in your sight.

Please…have mercy. And call us to greater things.

Give us the courage to be with the broken.

October 27, 2011

Have you ever felt like an opportunity to serve was right in front of you, but for whatever reason you just didn’t think it was the right time and place for you to get involved?

Money is a little tight.

Time is precious, everything just feels so busy.

I have to check with my wife.

You’ve got the wrong guy.

In his last days walking this earth Jesus takes some time, while His own death was imminent, to wrap a towel around His waist, and wash his disciples’ feet.

To serve them.

And then he follows this up by saying “You see what I have done here for you, now go and do the same for others.”

Jesus wants us to wash people’s feet.

To serve them.

Even when it seems that we are staring our own death in the face.

So then the questions is…

Whats stopping you?

What gets in the way?

Do you think feet are gross?

Do you think the people are gross?

Is it just a bad time?

Or maybe…are you making all the reasons you don’t want to serve…bigger than the God who is asking you to?

Maybe….you don’t really believe you are a servant at all.

10.00am
10.30.2011

September 22, 2011

2 Thessalonians 1:11–12

To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

This verse is like a giant mind explosion when you start to play it out.

What does it mean to made worthy of God’s calling?

What would it look like for the name of Jesus to be glorified in me?

Do you really mean EVERY resolve for good…and EVERY work of faith?

I mean realistically, how could any of us become worthy of the calling and anointing of a perfect God?

It’s such an incredible mystery because I feel like I can’t even comprehend just how deep and how perfect that calling must be…let alone create a framework to know what I must do, or who I must be in order to be worthy of it…

How do you achieve perfection? How do you complete the infinite?

You don’t.

Recently God has been teaching me about the depth of who He is…about the finite reality that is both EVERYTHING I know…and yet NOTHING when compared to his vastness. It’s hard to sometimes not feel almost depressed…because I realize how short my lifespan is…how little impact I can really make in the broad spectrum of the universe…

AND YET…

It is in this way that God is teaching me about the meaningless of life without Him. The purposelessness of living with a relationship with Jesus.

I mean if the GOSPEL IS TRUE, and JESUS REALLY IS WHO HE SAYS HE IS…then that very fact takes the meaninglessness of my life and gives it infinite purpose. It takes the nothingness of who I am and brings it inline with the divine precision by which God initiated and sustains all of creation…

And thats just getting started…thats just the first layer of truth…THIS IS BEFORE WE EVEN START TO PLAY OUT THE DETAILS…

Mind. Blown.

C.S. Lewis said that if the Gospel is true then it is of infinite importance…if it is not true…it is completely unimportant….the only thing it CANNOT BE….is of medium importance.

Jesus please continue to teach me of the manifold importance and purpose you bring me…and of the desolate wasteland that is life apart from you…I want to continually be increasing in submission to you…that by your grace you may make me worthy of your calling, and you would be glorified through me.

September 15, 2011

1 Thessalonians 1: 4–5a

For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction.

The Gospel came to them…not only in word – but in power, in the Holy Spirit, and with FULL conviction.

As a guy who spends a considerable amount of time each week thinking about, talking about, writing about, and trying to figure out how to help people understand the Gospel…

I wonder how it is that I can also be a man who can often lack conviction.

It’s not that I don’t agree with what the Gospel teaches…I would even go so far as to say that I BELIEVE most of it….

And yet – there are things that I don’t always feel convicted about when it comes to what the Gospel teaches me…

I don’t often find myself resting in a belief that says that God will be the provider of all my needs

Or that I can trust Him completely

Or that His plan for my life is the best possible plan

I don’t always feel convicted about being content in all circumstances…

Because what if God doesn’t help me?

What if He doesn’t work it out for my good?

What if He forgets? Or makes a mistake? Or our plans don’t line up?

Even as I type it…it sounds stupid.

And yet its where my heart often is….

So then of course the reality I face is that the phrase “full conviction” isn’t really an accurate descriptor of how my heart and the Gospel interact..

In fact often I don’t believe the Gospel nearly enough

And yet I believe I am chosen by God.

I believe that growth in my belief of the Gospel is the work of the Spirit inside me…

I believe that God is working in my heart…

I just want to be able to trust Him with everything…all the time.

Jesus – I really do love you. I suck at trusting you. I suck at being convicted about the truth of who You are…please continue to grow and shape me to be more like you. Help me to have the Gospel as my primary motivation.

September 8, 2011

Phil. 4:6–7

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Every now and then I come across a passage of scripture (like this one) and the first thought in my head sounds something like “Yeah sure…easier said than done.”

I mean how do you not be anxious about ANYTHING?

How do you just let the stress go?

It’s not going to help. No matter how “relaxed” I am about it..

Bankruptcy is real.

Addiction still hurts.

Unemployment still sucks.

And to be honest…even if the peace of God which surpasses all understanding DID guard my heart and mind….HOW WILL THAT PAY MY BILLS?

And as these thoughts race through my mind…I am reminded of one simple…and incredibly perspective altering truth…

Paul wrote these words…from jail.

From a Roman jail…the worst kind.

There must be a place where seemingly unconquerable odds and the fullness of hope in Christ meet.

There must be a place where no matter how dark our circumstances seem – the light of Christ is bigger, better, stronger, more beautiful.

And thats the answer.

No matter how ugly my life….Christ is beautiful.

The Gospel is beautiful.

The reality of God come to earth to save me in the midst of a mess that I CREATED….is truly beautiful.

And so when I find myself surrounded by anxiety and stress…circumstances that are absolutely crushing…

The truth for me today is…Christ is beautiful.

The truth for my neighbours….is that Christ is beautiful.

And in the face of beauty…the darkness can’t win.

As Needtobreathe says… I just want something beautiful to touch me

Jesus…I just want you to touch me.

June 23, 2011

Have you ever found yourself wondering…whether or not your life had purpose?

Are you fulfilling God’s will for your life?

How do you even know?

Do I have meaning?

What does God want from me?

What does He want…..me to do?

Because it’s all in what we do, isn’t it?

Maybe that means vocationally, maybe morally.

Relationally…

But surely we have to do something…we have to do what God wants….

Don’t we?

Maybe our purpose isn’t found in what we do…

Or how we do it.

Maybe it’s in who we do it for.

Maybe the quest isn’t for the right action…

But for understanding for what purpose any action exists at all.

Maybe we don’t need to find ways to testify to grace….

But just need to understand that every breath in and out…every step….every moment of life we have…

IS the testimony.

Maybe life itself….is grace.

What does that change?

If this were true…

How would my life look?

10.00am
06.26.2011

June 17, 2011

Human beings have babies.

This is not a new thing.

This is not revolutionary.

Parents have been having babies for centuries.

But as any dad will tell you…the first time you hold your child…YOUR child…

NO ONE….has ever felt that way before.

NO ONE….has ever understood what you now understand.

It is new.

Completely uncharted territory.

Its new…and its good.

At what point does “new” become “old?”

And at what point does “old”....become “less good?”

The Gospel is called the “Good News”

And often when people first discover the Gospel….they may tell you…

NO ONE….has ever felt that way before.

God has been saving people for eons….but THIS…is new.

The question for us today is….has the GOOD NEWS….become Old News?

And has the Old News….become less good?

How do we return to the Good News?

How do we rekindle that feeling…that newness?

Why does Church….seem routine?

Why does the GOOD NEWS….not feel quite as good as it used to?

10.00am
06.19.2011

June 9, 2011

Ps. 35:8–9 Let destruction come upon him when he does not know it! And let the net that he hid ensnare him; let him fall into it—to his destruction! Then my soul will rejoice in the LORD, exulting in his salvation.

Have you ever tried to bargain with God? I do it all the time. I try to convince him that he should do things my way – give me what I want – and then if he DOES….I will reward his performance and provision with my undying affection and devotion.

I mean…thats what God wants isn’t it?

Thats what he needs from me….right?

Often times I feel that in my effort to convince God that what I want is right – I lose sight of the heart posture that brings my to my knees in submission to His will and His plan for my life…which is where my peace ultimately lies.

But what then? I just convince myself that I should be Ok with horrible things happening all around me?

That hasn’t worked yet.

I don’t think it will ever work.

I cannot, by sheer force of will, simply convince myself to submit…the submission must be a response to a belief, the same way my fear and bargaining is a response to the belief that I know whats best for my life.

At the root of submission to Jesus….must be a belief that in my submission – I discover the BEST POSSIBLE way to live.

I have to trust and believe that Jesus loves me so much…that ONLY THE BEST OUTCOME FOR MY LIFE will be achieved.

And the truth is…I don’t.

I don’t always believe that I can trust His plan. All around my I see people suffering…dying. Sickness like Cancer and MS….Dimensia and Parkinsons.

Car accidents.

SIDS.

When does it stop…

And in my honest moments…I find myself asking…what if that was God’s story for me?

What if the Sovereign Lord of the universe….decided that I would know from first hand experience…what it is to suffer Cancer…

To experience illness….or to lose someone I love suddenly?

Do I believe that this really is the BEST POSSIBLE WAY that my life could work itself out? Do I trust that somehow the unfathomable love of the CREATOR OF THE UNIVERSE could possibly supersede the grief and pain that I would be feeling in that instant?

Not always.

Not even often.

What I typically want to do when I think of this….is bargain.

God…if you protect me from all these things….I PROMISE….I’ll be completely devoted to you forever..

Pray every day.

I need to stop doing this.

Jesus…the truth is….I don’t want to get sick. I don’t want to ever get a disease like Cancer….or MS….or Heart problems…

I don’t want to lose those closest to me.

But honestly….so much more than that….I want to know of your love in such a way that even if I did…

I know I would be OK.

I don’t want to bargain anymore. I don’t want to make any deals…I don’t want to convince you of anything…

Help me understand love. Help me understand your heart for me. Help me trust that however it is my life unfolds….

Its the best possible way.

Because you are sovereign. You are perfect. You are love.

May 26, 2011

Have you ever noticed…that nothing ever stays the same…after something else has hit it?

I mean sometimes…if you have a VERY BIG THING….that gets hit by a very tiny small thing….the change is minimal….

But its there.

Two opposing forces acting on one another….make changes happen

A baseball can only get hit so many times….because with each hit….it changes…it weakens.

The bat also….will one day break…

A knife can only be used so much…and then it must be sharpened.

And eventually too…you must buy a new sharpening stone

Even WATER splashing onto a brick wall makes a difference….if you don’t believe me…

Then why are all the rocks beside the ocean….round?

And why aren’t they round anywhere else?

The simple truth is…

When two different things collide….a change must occur.

The Gospel…is the only exception to the rule.

The Gospel never changes.

God’s truth is always true…it is the only constant anywhere on this planet…

And yet….

How often do we try to change it…

So that we can stay the same?

How often do we try to justify ourselves…and compromise the Gospel…?

Every day?

Every hour?

All the time?

The truth is that when the Gospel Collision occurs in our hearts…the only thing that will ever change…is us.

We either accept it and submit to it….

Or we reject it.

Either one changes us.

So then the question is….

What are you gonna do with the Gospel?

Because when it collides with your heart….the one thing I can assure you of is this:

You

Will NOT

Stay

The Same.

10.00am
05.29.2011

May 19, 2011

You know that feeling where you’re at the end of your rope?

When you feel like you’ve got nothing left to give?

You’re crying while watching AlarmForce commercials on TV and you almost threw your glass at the wall when you spilled water on your shirt…

That kind of overwhelmed.

Done.

What happens…when we’re ALREADY in that place….and God asks us for more?

What do we do when we’re ALREADY praying for strength…and instead we get put in a situation that demands more sacrifice?

Would God really do that to us?

Doesn’t the Bible say something like “He’ll never give you more than you can handle?”

Maybe the Gospel calls things out of us we didn’t know were there.

Maybe Jesus isn’t just about taking from us…

But maybe He understands that when we are completely at the end….we are in the perfect place to experience grace.

Maybe Exodus 14:14 means something….

The Lord will fight your battles for you….you need only to be still.

10.00am
05.22.2011

May 11, 2011

Have you ever tried to watch a 3D Movie without the glasses?

Its blurry.

Out of focus.

You can’t see things the way you were supposed to.

What do you see when you look around your neighborhood?

Your City?

People going about their lives?

A friendly neighbor, cutting his grass?

A lady comparing prices in the grocery aisle?

The mailman, cheerful as always?

What if the man with the lawn mower just lost a family member to cancer…would you know?

What if the lady in grocery store wasn’t checking prices…but deciding if she could afford any food at all?

What if the mailman was going through a divorce?

Do you know the stories of the people around you?

What if we don’t see things right?

Like the 3D movie without the glasses.

What if there was a way to view the world through a different lens…a different filter?

What would we see?

And how would what we might see affect us?

Maybe the Gospel isn’t simply a story.

But a filter to view the world through.

10.00am
05.15.2011

May 5, 2011

Have you ever felt like you were searching for meaning?

Not in the grandiose, metaphysical sense…

But in what you do each day.

A purpose for getting out of bed.

Why go to work?

Why talk to that person?

Why go to Church?

I mean seriously, why?

Whats the point?

To please God?

To satisfy the requirements?

What if it was about something more?

What if the Gospel was supposed to mean something?

To change things?

What if the Gospel was where the purpose was found?

What would that change…about your life?

About what you’re going to do right after you get up from your computer?

Maybe the Gospel is more than a story.

Maybe the Gospel is more than a phrase.

What if it was more than just something to be “shared.”

Maybe its something to live.

Maybe it changes things.

Maybe its alive.

An energy.

A motivation.

A catalyst.

10.00am
05.08.2011

April 21, 2011

I’ve always wanted to go to Australia.

I’ve read alot about the country, seen lots of pictures.

I’ve studied it, watched movies about it.

But thats only half the battle.

No matter how many things I know about Australia….I’m only halfway to really understanding it.

Because Australia has a smell that I CAN‘T Google.

Australia has a feeling that you can’t describe.

Australia has a feel that I can’t read about.

There is another half to knowing Australia.

The personal half.

The experience half.

The Other Half.

And frankly…the other Half…is the most important half.

Easter Sunday.
10.00am

April 21, 2011

There has always been a question that has bugged me on Good Friday…

Why did Jesus go through with it?

I mean I kind of know the answer….pay for our sins and all that stuff….

But what KEPT him there?

If the pain was so intense…so bad…

If it was SUCH UNIMAGINABLE TORMENT….

What was it that stopped Him from getting down off the cross?

Well the truth is this….

It Wasn’t the Nails.

7.00pm
Good Friday

April 14, 2011

Have you ever had your best laid plans fall apart?

Nothing was going as expected?

Circumstances outside of your control land you in a place….that was completely different than you thought?

Have you ever felt like you misheard God?

That if this was REALLY His plan…things should be going easier?

I mean, doesn’t God open doors for us when we are following His plan?

Maybe God this WASN‘T what God wanted me to do.

Maybe this WASN‘T where God wanted me to go.

Maybe I misunderstood.

Maybe I was wrong.

Maybe He’s been here waiting for me.

In the place of struggle.

Maybe He was here first.

10.00am
04.17.2011

April 7, 2011

John 1:6–8

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.

This story struck me this morning as I read – and it struck me because I think that if I was in John’s position, it would have been really easy for me to forget that I am NOT the light…but a man sent from God to bear witness to the light.

I cannot save people. I cannot help people.

I cannot FIX people.

I am not the light…but I have been sent to bear witness to the light.

I have been sent to point people to the light.

Its weird how this somehow in my head becomes a SECONDARY task…as in I wish I was the light…but since I’m not, I guess I’ll just take the secondary role and show people where the light is….

And yet the reality is…I only know where the light is because the light revealed Himself to me…and I am TRULY BLESSED to be called of God to be a part of showing people the true light….

So in all things I am dependent upon this LIGHT named Jesus…

And I am ALSO completely blessed and totally undeserving of what this Light named Jesus has shown me….

And yet….if I’m honest…. I never feel half as blessed as I should….and I kind of wish I was the light…

I wish I could help people. I wish I could save them.

And I wish this…not because I’m a good person….but because I want the GLORY that comes with being THE GUY.

I want to be the guy.

As long as I don’t have to suffer….or get beaten…or get crucified…or die….

I want all of the glory and none of the work…

Wow….

I am worse than I know.

And yet because of this LIGHT NAMED JESUS….I more loved than I could possible understand.

Worse than I know…more loved than I could possible imagine.

The Light is Good.

Far better than me.

I am SO GLAD that He is the light.

If you would like some help finding him…I would love to show HIM to you.

March 31, 2011

Have you ever felt like you were just spinning your wheels?

Like you were exerting so much energy…to get nowhere?

Have you ever felt like your existence was pointless?

Like there could be no possible reason that you should have to experience the circumstance you find yourself in right now?

Have you ever felt like doors were slamming in your face…

Like you were getting a lot of “No’s”

AND ALL YOU REALLY WANT IS ONE “YES” SO THAT YOU KNOW WHERE TO GO NEXT?

Isn’t it weird how the God of the Universe….seems to miss alot of details?

Doesn’t it make sense that if he knew how many hairs were on our heads…that He would be able to give us a little bit of clarity sometimes?

10.00am
04.03.2011

March 10, 2011

Did you ever notice how your effort in school depended almost entirely on how much you liked the class?

Or how much you liked the teacher?

Do you ever find yourself in situations that you hate…and you’re searching for a way to get out?

Have you ever felt that if God loved you….like REALLY loved you…there is no way he would have let THAT THING happen?

Maybe there’s a treasure amidst the pain.

Maybe there is a reason to keep going.

Maybe God is teaching.

Maybe we’re so caught up in what we don’t like…

That we’re not even looking for the lesson.

10.00 am
03.13.11

March 3, 2011

Mark 16:6

And he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him.”

There is something about this passage that has always gotten me. I LOVE the sense of triumph that I pick up in it.

“Oh you’re looking for Jesus?...yeah he’s not here. He got up. He left. He walked away.”

He was dead…but now he’s not.

Everything up to now was just promises that you didn’t know if He could fulfill…well guess what…

He did.

Its because of this passage that everything we believe became real. It is because of the fact that Jesus not only SAID he was going to rise from the dead after three days the whole time…but in fact he did.

Only JESUS could keep a promise after he had died.

I feel like the longer I walk with Jesus, the more normal this fact becomes. And in someways the “amazing-ness” of it wears off….

And the resurrection becomes routine.

And if THAT power becomes routine…what else does? What else do I cease to become amazed at?

His love for Me?

The depth from which I was saved?

His desire to work for His good through me?

I mean if I in my arrogance can allow the power of the greatest miracle in the history of the planet to become just another fact….

Truly my pride knows no bounds.

I want to stay amazed, completely shocked….at how incredible my saviour is…I want to be totally humbled by his power….

Because the resurrection is ANYTHING but routine….

Jesus I thank you that this morning you have taken away the routine-ness of the resurrection…that I find myself again amazed by the beauty of the power that you showed that day. Please keep my heart soft and humble, and may I never look upon the power of the cross as ordinary or routine….I want my heart to stay amazed by you.

February 24, 2011

Genesis 39:20–21 And Joseph’s master took him and put him into the prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined, and he was there in prison. But the LORD was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison.

I always smile when I see situations where the Bible says that God was showing someone “steadfast love”...and yet I would NOT be “soaking in the love of God” if I found myself in a similar situation.

JOSEPH WAS IN PRISON!!!

And God showed him steadfast love.

How often do I blatantly ignore the love that God is showing me in any given second simply because His loving actions dont fit the definition of the love that I would like to be experiencing at that time?

The simple truth is that God is in a constant state of showing me love and kindness….I’m ALWAYS the beneficiary of HIS LOVE AND GRACE….

And yet the times where I acknowledge it are few and far between…I so often find myself questioning why God would let things happen to me…or to others…

And yet really what I need is to be able to understand the many forms that God’s love takes…and to trust in His love towards me.

Jesus let it be…

February 17, 2011

Have you ever read the miracle stories in the Bible…

Blind people can see…

Deaf can hear….

Dead…..become alive…

And think to yourself…..“yeah right.” ?

It’s easy for them….they were right there with Jesus…

Have you ever NOT prayed for something…because you were afraid the prayer wouldn’t be answered…

And that you would look like an idiot?

Have you ever wondered why God would heal one person….while another died?

Me too.

And what I have realized..

Is that I am too big…and my God is too small.

10.00am
02.20.2011

February 10, 2011

Genesis 29:31
When the LORD saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb, but Rachel was barren.

Again I’m confronted with the reality of the will and the sovereignty of God. Jacob had a plan – and it was all working out the way he wanted to…and then….problem.

Jacob – you slept with the wrong girl.

Ok…brief conversation later, everything is straightened out and Jacob is now back on target when all of a sudden…new problem.

The wife he loves is barren, and the wife he hates is pumping out kids like there’s no tomorrow.

So what is God doing here? What is it that He is trying to construct?

While I’m sure that Jacob had no idea at the time, God was actually using the children of Leah, and the eventual sons of Rachel to form the foundation of an entire nation. From those two women came the 12 tribes of Israel…

But what does this mean for me?

This morning I’m reminded of the futility of plan making apart from God. No matter how I see my life going the simple truth is that I’m not writing the story.

I actually have no control at all.

I can fight this, I can push against it, but probably the best option is to surrender to it and to allow the Master Author to bring the details of my life together.

Because it just makes sense….that the best author in the whole universe….is going to write the best story of all time…

So why would I try to steal his pen?

Jesus – please write YOUR STORY….and for what role I am blessed to play in it…thank you.

February 3, 2011

Gen 24:58 – And they called Rebekah and said to her, “Will you go with this man?” She said, “I will go.”

It’s an interesting that has taken place here. God has provided a wife for Isaac, by sending his servant out to find her. This woman, has just agreed to go with a man she just met, to meet a guy she has never met…

And marry him.

Now culturally we don’t understand this, psychologically we think its crazy…but THEOLOGICALLY…

Its beautiful.

Its beautiful because of the simple fact that what has become so clear to this woman….is that GOD IS DOING SOMETHING….

And she wants to be a part of it.

In fact even when her parents want her to stay a few extra days, to delay the abrupt departure of their daughter with a stranger…

She says no.

I want to go.

God is doing something….and I want to be a part of it now.

I find that I can often relate to the mindset that says “God is doing something…and I want to be a part of it….eventually.”

When it works.

When it makes more sense.

When I’ve had some time to analyze the risk/reward ratio.

When I can fit it in.

But to drop everything, and just to go where God is leading…I don’t live there too often.

I like to maintain some semblance of control…some shred of comfort…

But maybe there is comfort in the chaos.

Maybe the anxiety I stir up resisting the change…is actually worse than the joy that is experienced in an unrelenting pursuit of Jesus.

Maybe its time to let go.

Jesus…help me to live recklessly – to give up everything if you call me to…to be completely surrendered to your calling.

If you are doing something…and you’re calling me to be a part of it…help me to say yes…immediately…not on my own terms.

January 27, 2011

Remember that time you did that thing with that guy?

Remember how hard you laughed?

What was his last name?

Where did he meet his wife?

Whats he struggling with?

Did you know he was struggling financially?

And that his mother had just been diagnosed with a terminal illness?

Sometimes relationships are so surface-level don’t you think?

We stand in our church buildings, a room full of people and look around realizing….these people don’t know me.

Like not REALLY.

What if we were to add intentionality to our relationships?

What if we were to add purpose?

What if there is a new level of community…that we don’t even know exists?

10.00am

01.30.2011

January 20, 2011

Have you ever wondered…why is this happening to me?

Why the pain?

Why the hurt?

Why…the suffering?

I mean wouldn’t it be easier to follow Jesus if life wasn’t so stressful?

How does Jesus expect us to focus on Him…when everything else around us….

Is just so hard.

10.00am

01.23.2011

January 13, 2011

Have you ever had your life interrupted?

Sometimes its something as simple as our children….

Other times its much more significant…

The Lunar Landing.

9/11.

Cancer.

Job loss.

What do we do when our stability is ruptured….and everything changes?

More importantly….what is God doing?

What if God is doing it on purpose…

To move us from Rebellion to Relationship.

10.00am

01.16.2011

December 30, 2010

Malachi 1:11

For from the rising of the sun to its setting my name will be great among the nations, and in every place incense will be offered to my name, and a pure offering. For my name will be great among the nations, says the LORD of hosts.

2010 has been a fun year for me and my walk with Jesus, and a significant part of the journey that He has taken me through is a realization that I have no clue just how glorious, how amazing His name is…

I mean I SAY I do…but I also know that if I look at my life, its almost as if I only want God’s glory to be magnificent at certain times in my life…and I ALSO kind of think that the level of Glory he possesses is dependent on me.

Stupid…I know…

But sometimes I try to convince myself that the sin in my life isn’t so bad….which I feel…if I understand the majesty of the Lord…I would never do.

And sometimes I look at the world and I think “If I was God…I would do this different”...which is such a ridiculous thought…but I do it…

And sometimes I look at my life and I think “that wasn’t fair…why would God put me through that…if He really loved me…He would never have done that to me..”

…As if I have a better understanding of love and fairness than the single most powerful, just and loving being in all of the universe.

The truth is…in the depths of my heart…I have a tendency to make God small…out of a desire to make myself big.

And yet Malachi’s reminder this morning was so good for me…just so you know Brian…a day will come…when MY NAME IS GLORIFIED…from the rising of the sun, to its setting, and my name WILL BE GLORIFIED…and WORSHIP WILL HAPPEN…

Just so you know Brian…all of these things around you…every passing second of every day…is inching all of creation towards the day when all it does is glorify the Lord.

And I am so thankful for this…I am so grateful for the journey God has taken me on..

And as we put the lid on 2010 and look to 2011….my prayer is simply this:

That I would see the Glory of the Lord…and KNOW in my heart…the vastness of His love and Glory.

I pray the same for you.

December 23, 2010

***Do you ever have one of those mornings, where you open your Bible to the allotted scripture that the reading guide has laid out for you and read it over 3 or 4 times and then think to yourself…“Yeah I’ve got nothin….”? That was this morning for me. HOWEVER…there has been something churning in my head all day…and so I thought I would share my reflections on that instead…hope thats alright. B.

Romans 9:1–3

I am speaking the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit— that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh.

Do you ever read a passage of scripture and then think to yourself “that MUST be some kind of exaggeration?” Earlier today I listened to a sermon by a man named Francis Chan and he asked that same question. Isn’t he exaggerating?

I mean really…

COULD I SAY THAT??

Is my heart broken with so much love…so much LOVE for the people around me…that I could honestly say

I WOULD RATHER BE CUT OFF FROM JESUS MYSELF….SO THAT YOU COULD KNOW HIM!!

I don’t think i could say it.

I don’t think my heart is broken for those I interact with….I mean I’m concerned…I may even be slightly bothered by certain lifestyle choices they may make…

But am I ABSOLUTELY DESTROYED IN MY HEART BECAUSE OF HOW MUCH I LOVE THEM?

Am I on my KNEES before God PLEADING WITH HIM to draw them to Himself?

When I think about my mother…who as far as I know died without knowing the Lord….

Why doesn’t that wreck me?

Why doesn’t that motivate me to make sure that NO OTHER MEMBER OF MY FAMILY…would have to experience the same?

Why am I not broken for people?

Why don’t I LOVE THEM?

Why don’t I have “sorrow and unceasing anguish” for the plight of their souls?

Oh God…have mercy on my heart. It’s cold and calloused. I have grown comfortable with suffering. I have come to peace with those who are lost…staying lost.

God would you wreck my heart again.

Break me for the plight of those around me.

Help me to love.

Help your CHURCH TO LOVE.

Help your saints to have tear-filled eyes again.

Help us to look around at the world…and in sheer desperation fall on our knees before you…and beg for their hearts.

May our salvation no longer a source of pride…providing nothing more than security and sense of superiority….

God we have forsaken love and mercy…in favor of comfort and mediocrity.

Jesus I’m begging you…

Break our hearts.

Help me understand unceasing anguish…

For those of you who read this…please…pray for those in your world. Right now.

I have listened to this song about 25 times today….

I pray that it would do the same thing in your heart that it has done in mine…listen to the words…they are devastating.

December 9, 2010

Mark 7:8

You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.

Every now and then I look at my life and I think to myself…why is it that I do the things that I do?

i am positive there are things that I do…that I ONLY do…because I always have.

I sometimes feel as though that this same tendency is affecting the way the church looks, feels and sounds in todays day and age.

How many things do we do simply because we always have?

How many things do we do….that just simply don’t make sense?

How many things do we do…that the Bible expressly says we shouldn’t?

I know that in my personal faith walk I have been guilty of doing, even teaching things that are simply man-made tradition, and if I were to pinpoint it even further I would say that it MOSTLY expresses itself in my relationships with those outside the church…and I guess the question I want to ask myself (and the one other person who reads this) is:

Where is the Gospel in what I’m doing right now?

What would Jesus have to say about how this is playing out?

Do I really need to correct this persons immorality to love them as Jesus did?

Do they really need to stop smoking to love Jesus?

Do they really need to stop swearing?

Would Jesus break relationship with this person simply because of the lifestyle they lead?

I guess I could ask the prostitutes he always hung out with

How many times have I been “about” things that have nothing to do with love?

How many times have I tried to force someone to come in line with what I wanted…and I left the true Gospel on the wayside?

How many times do I need to be reminded…that if a person is without Jesus they are DEAD…their immorality is a secondary issue…

How many times have I neglected the command of God to LOVE ALL PEOPLE…and in its place, placed the tradition of a self-righteous, judgemental, self-absorbed humanity…

That speaks nothing but condemnation?

Lord forgive me for those times…help me to simply love people. No matter who they are, how they talk, or what they do….help just to love.

No alterior motives.

No expectations of moral reform.

Just love.

What could we do if we dropped the expectations?

And simply loved.

I’m not sure what it would look like….but I bet this video gets close.

Enjoy.

December 2, 2010

And they found him and said to him, “Everyone is looking for you.” And he said to them, “Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also, for that is why I came out.”

So Jesus and his disciples have been hanging out and sharing the Gospel, and doing the awesome ministry that Jesus did back when he still walked as a man on this earth…and because of this he is becoming popular.

People know him.

In fact…people are looking for him.

That’s a good feeling isn’t it? To be around people we know…people who want to hang out with us, spend time with us…who would search us out…its great to feel known isn’t it?

It feels good to be around those know you….who love you…where you don’t have to put on masks…don’t have to wonder if you’ll be accepted….don’t have to hide behind yourself…

Jesus’ answer – lets go to the next towns.

The next towns…where people don’t know me yet.

The next towns…where they aren’t looking for me…in fact they might not really know anything about me at all..

The next towns.

I like being in towns that I know. I like being in towns that contain people I am friends with…people I have inside jokes with, who smile that awesome smile when they see me…the smile that says “I know you…and I just happen to like you alot too”

I like that feeling.

And yet…Jesus calls me to something more.

Jesus calls me out of my comfort…out of my “zone”....to a place where I am not known…to be among people who maybe intimidate me…

Why?

Because…in the words of Jesus…“thats why I came out”

That’s why He’s even here.

So i guess its time for me to identify my “next towns” – where can I be…where I am uncomfortable…unknown…

To simply love people…to simply share the Gospel of Love…

Because thats why He even came…

Jesus, help me to have courage and boldness to love dangerously. To surround myself with people who think and act differently not so that I can correct them…but so that I can love them.

All this for Your glory.

November 25, 2010

Psalm 141:5

Let a righteous man strike me—that is a kindness;
let him rebuke me—that is oil on my head.
My head will not refuse it,
for my prayer will still be against the deeds of evildoers.

I’m not sure if you would agree, but everything about this passage of scripture is contrary to my normal train of thought. To be completely honest – I don’t really want anyone striking me…no matter how righteous they may be.

And yet as I sit and reflect I realize…that I am so grateful for the righteous men and women in my life who have my permission, and their own strength to confront me when I need it…to rebuke me when I am out of line.

I am the kind of person who absolutely needs to have people around me who can set me straight because sometimes…I can make some pretty dumb decisions.

It never feels good to have someone call us out, it is a shot to our pride, a forceful interruption in the path that we really feel that we should be taking…

And yet it is so true that when I look back on my life I can see that more often than not…it has been those righteous people in my world who have had the courage to “strike me”....who have saved me from some serious pain.

Jesus thanks for blessing me with people who have the strength and the courage to set me straight, to speak words of truth, and who, when I push back…can push back harder. I need them, please bless them, and continue to use them to guide me to Your truth.

November 18, 2010

Ezekiel 37:11

Then he said to me: “Son of man, these bones are the people of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.’

Have you ever felt cut off?

Dried Up?

That all hope….is gone?

I have.

I wonder what Ezekiel would have been thinking and feeling as he looked out over this valley full of dry bones….maybe pity…disgust….

Or maybe, his heart broke a little bit with that sudden realization…I feel alot like they do.

In my times when I feel the most empty, I look for something, ANYTHING to fill me up again. It’s almost a weird panic that takes over and in those moments all I want is to feel better. All I want is be comforted. ALL I WANT is to know that it’s going to be OK.

And in those moments I would do ANYTHING to feel better.

Even sin.

Even search for something other than God.

Have you ever felt like me?

Have you ever realized that when our dry bones thirst…we will do anything to quench them?

And yet later on in v. 14 God says

And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the LORD; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the LORD.”

My life…comes from Jesus.

My fulfillment…is Jesus.

And in Jesus, our dry bones will never be thirsty again.

Jesus I pray – in the times when I am most dry. In the times when I feel the most alone…when all hope is gone…

Would you bring the focus of my vision back to you…would I find my complete rest…my complete satisfaction…in you.

This song was playing when I was doing my Devotions this morning…and I wanted to share it with you.

November 11, 2010

Acts 7:31–32

When Moses saw it, he was amazed at the sight, and as he drew near to look, there came the voice of the Lord: ‘I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob.’ And Moses trembled and did not dare to look.

It appears that there is a difference between experiencing something amazing…and experiencing an encounter with the living God.

Amazing things catch our attention, they make us want to draw closer, they make us want to get a closer look, to see for ourselves and explore…because our senses are intrigued, our curiosity is piqued and simply put…we are entertained.

However something happens to Moses, when he sees this amazing thing and draws closer to get a better look…he realizes that this is not simply a wonder of nature…but this is the real, powerful, sovereign living God…and all of a sudden Moses doesn’t want to look anymore…in fact he doesn’t even DARE to look.

I think that in the times when I have most meaningfully experienced what I would call a genuine encounter with God…while my heart has been touched, and my spirit encouraged by my loving and caring Father…there also is a sense in which I realize just HOW perfect He is…and how IMPERFECT I am…and there is a part of me that is humbled…quieted….and subdued.

Maybe that’s what Moses experienced here…maybe that’s what was going on…confronted with the raw power of the living God Moses suddenly, starkly realized just how unworthy he was to be in the presence of the Lord of the Universe.

Now I don’t want to sound like I am writing off the power of those amazing experiences filled with deep emotion and joy where God by His grace ministers to our souls and provides encouragement and love…but maybe what I am saying is that if we are LOOKING for those times….we can miss out on some of the most beautiful encounters with God, where we are so aware of His power….so aware of our LACK of power, and so thankful…that the perfect God of creation chooses to call us His children.

May we always seek the living God…in power, in silence, in wonder and amazement but ALWAYS for a greater sense of who He is, and who He makes us to be.

Amen.

Take some time today and remember our friends and family who have fought, still are fighting, and have died fighting for the freedom we enjoy in Canada today.

Lest we forget.

October 28, 2010

Psalm 135: 15–18

The idols of the nations are silver and gold,
the work of human hands.

They have mouths, but do not speak;
they have eyes, but do not see;

they have ears, but do not hear,
nor is there any breath in their mouths.

Those who make them become like them,
so do all who trust in them!

Idolatry is an interesting thing isn’t it? I mean – we are so desperate to fill every void in our life that we run around like crazy trying to find things from which to draw some sort of value, some sort of meaning. Some idols are easy to identify…money, popularity, relationships, material possessions, control…

Other idols are trickier to point out – probably because they look like good things. Serving other people, volunteering, being a good parent, a good friend, leading a ministry – even being a pastor…

All of these things can become idols in the heart of the one who places so much worth in those things – that they become an ultimate concern in their heart. If you idolize giving to others you may find yourself not only burnt out, drained and without any time to rest…but also you may one day realize that you NEED others…you NEED to serve them, you NEED to be helping someone because if you’re not…how do you know you matter?

If you idolize being a good parent…and your kids begin to make choices that you wish they wouldn’t…you could be devasted….so much so that you would actually question your value as a human being…

I realize in my own life that my idols…the things that are so important to me that I fight tooth and nail to have them…and begin to panic when I think I might lose them…those things…they look SO POWERFUL….and yet the truth is…that they only have as much power as I give them.

They are created by me…mere statues of silver and gold Psalm 135 says….the simple work of human hands.

I CREATE my idols…and then I worship them….which of course….doesn’t make any sense.

And even worse…in creating and worship idols…I become just like them.

Lifeless and silent, without purpose or direction…because I was created for more….I was created to worship something bigger….and all the value and meaning and worth and identity that I am trying to draw out of these things I create…

Is already mine in the power of the Cross….

I guess today my prayer is that I would build a cross….directly in my line of sight towards all my idols. That EVERYTIME I look to something other than Jesus for my value, my identity…that by the grace of God I could build a CROSS between me and that thing…to remind myself….that It CANNOT FULFILL the promise that it makes…

But the cross can.

I don’t want to build idols for myself anymore….

I want to build a cross…and stare hard at that…because the work of Jesus on the Cross…is all that matters.

October 21, 2010

Ezekiel 7:19b

…Their silver and gold are not able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the LORD…

I sometimes wonder to myself why it is that I work so hard to hoard possessions and financial security. Its not that I think its wrong to steward well, or to manage our finances in a smart way…but how do we know when we’ve taken it too far? How do I know when it is become more to me than simply “being wise?”

How do I know when I am actually looking to my money and my possessions to provide some sort of identity, some sort of meaning, some sort of….something that it was never meant to?

Because the truth is…that on the day of the wrath of the Lord….when judgment comes…all my silver…and all my gold…will not be able to deliver me.

Nothing I could ever earn or acquire will be able to do for me that which I need Jesus to do….and yet sometimes, I feel as though I ask it to…

I guess my question to myself today is simply this….is my money still just money? Or has it become more?

Jesus I don’t want to make an idol out of anything…and I want my heart and my identity to rest in you alone…please call my heart to a place where I rest in only you…the one who can deliver me.

October 14, 2010

1 Peter 2:16

Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God.

I find Peter alluding to a subtle nuance here – the thought being perhaps best outlined in this question – while we are certainly free through Christ…whose freedom is it? Whose freedom do we enjoy?

I think I need a constant reminder that while I do live in freedom…it is CHRIST‘S freedom that He has allowed me to partake in. The freedom I enjoy is not my right, it is not something I deserve, and it is certainly not something I have earned….it is a gift and a blessing in the purest form of the words.

So then how do I live my life in this freedom? Do I use it as a way to justify any decision I want to make? Do I allow myself to think that because of the freedom I have in Jesus I should be able to do anything I want, say anything I want and have anything I want? Because I am FREE??

I think far too often…that’s exactly what I think.

When the actual truth is…that in Jesus I enjoy HIS freedom from sin…so that I could be a SLAVE to His righteousness…

So then the movement of my life needs to be….a humble receiving of freedom….with an intentional movement back into a new kind of slavery.

Jesus, I am no good at this. I pray that you would keep me mindful that the freedom I enjoy in this life is not my own..but a gift to allow me to once again choose slavery…of the best kind.

Thanks for loving me through this….I need it.

December 15, 2009

What is, therefore, the task of the preacher (or the Church) today? Shall I answer – “Faith, Hope, and Love”? That sounds beautiful. But I would say – Courage. No, even that is not challenging enough to be the whole truth. Our task today is recklessness. For what we Christians lack is not psychology or literature….we lack a Holy Rage.

The recklessness that comes from the knowledge of God and humanity. The ability to rage when justice lies prostrate on the streets…and when the lie rages across the face of the earth – a holy anger about things that are wrong with the world.

To rage against the ravaging of God’s earth, and the destruction of God’s world. To rage when little children must die of hunger, when the tables of the rich are sagging with food.

To rage at the senseless killing of so many, and against the madness of the militaries. To rage at the lie that calls the threat of death and the strategy of destruction – Peace.

To rage against complacency. To restlessly seek that recklessness that will challenge and seek to change human history until it conforms with the norms of the Kingdom of God.

AND REMEMBER THAT THE SIGNS OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH HAVE ALWAYS BEEN – THE LION. THE LAMB. THE DOVE, AND THE FISH….but NEVER the Chameleon.

- Pastor Kaj Munk

July 8, 2009

Daniel 6: 14 – Then the king, when he heard these words, was much distressed and set his mind to deliver Daniel. And he labored till the sun went down to rescue him.

For those of you who know the story of Daniel and the Lion’s Den….you of course know what happens….despite the King’s best efforts, he is unable to escape the repercussions of the law that he himself established and much to his own frustration is forced to throw Daniel to the Lions, despite it being an unjust act.

It is interesting how we construct our own cages. We can work so diligently at putting into place some structure, some law, some rule, some pursuit that we ARE SO CONVINCED is a good thing, and then one day we realize that we just built our own jail.

How many times have I come to a place in my life where I have realized that my current frustration, my current feeling of being utterly trapped…is nothing more than a by-product of my own decisions.

And as King Darius found out…sometimes even the most incredible human powers cannot reverse the circumstances I have found myself in.

But at the risk of sounding somewhat cliche….when even the King can’t save me….God can.

The only solution in Darius’ mind was “STOP DANIEL FROM BEING THROWN TO THE LIONS.”

And yet in this story we can almost hear God saying…“Go ahead…I’m going to save him no matter what you do.”

Because no matter how well I have constructed my own jail…I am no match for the saving power of God.

In and amidst all the lessons that I could learn from this passage this morning, this one stands out: I need to stop relying on my own strategies and plans to save myself from whatever circumstances I face….and allow the God who saves to do what He does.

Because all Darius accomplished was waste a day of work, and lose a night of sleep….God saved Daniel all by himself.

So I guess what I’ve learned this morning is…I am nowhere near as strong as I think I am, and even my best efforts can be just spinning wheels.

But God…is the God…who saves. So maybe I need to just back out of the way, and let Him do His thing.

On My Journey,

Brian <><

July 3, 2009

Recently we celebrated Canada Day. I had the privilege of being invited to a house party being hosted by a friend of mine and so when the evening rolled around I joined about 30 other people on a really nice deck attached to a really nice house with a really nice view. We spent the evening eating, chatting, playing a few party games and having a really great time together.

As the sun grew lower and brought down with it people’s energy levels, I began to take a step back from the crowd and watch how people were interacting. Have you ever stopped to look at a gathering of people and seen the beauty in what happens? I mean gathering together is so natural for us, and yet at the same time I can’t think of a more unstable occurrence. I mean when you think about it, a bunch of different people with different stories, and in different moods gather together and allow their lives to bang in to the lives around them. It really is by all human logic a recipe for disaster…except in the midst of the chaos…is sheer beauty.

As I sat on that deck and watched people talk, laugh and share their lives, I realized how intricate of a thing our God created when He created Community. I could tell that some people were having playful, humorous conversations, I could tell that some were having serious, in depth conversations and others were just shooting the breeze…each moment in each conversation was a by-product of different people coming together and sharing their reality with others.

The crazy thing is…that if even ONE of those people in each one of those conversations had experienced a SLIGHTLY different day than they did, the ENTIRE MOMENT would have been different. Everything about how the conversations took place would have been altered, if only one person in those groups had a different experience that day.

And so now I realize…we could never, ever re-create that moment. Even if tomorrow I gathered the EXACT same people, on the EXACT same deck attached to the EXACT same house with the EXACT same view…the experience of the moment itself would have been different…completely different. Because the people would be completely different. The same people. Completely different.

Because when all boils down, every moment spent with another person is only the way it is because we allow our current stories to collide. But our CURRENT story is CONSTANTLY changing. We have good and bad days, good and bad experiences, and each time we experience something….it changes our story.

So as I close this ramble I am left asking myself one simple question, and I want to put it to you…the one person who actually reads this blog :)

The next time you sit beside the one you love….will you savor that moment? WILL YOU GLEAN EVERYTHING THAT YOU CAN FROM THAT SPECIFIC MOMENT IN TIME?

The next time you gather with your best friend, or group of friends, or at a Church service…will you BE IN THAT MOMENT AS PURELY AND COMPLETELY AS YOU CAN?

Because the truth is…you probably will sit beside that exact same person, on the exact same couch tomorrow…but the moment will be COMPLETELY different. You will probably hang out with that friend again, or with that group again. You will PROBABLY be at that Church service again…but the EXPERIENCE will never, ever be the same again.

Because both of your stories will have another page. And when the stories are constantly changing, the collisions will always have a different appearance, and the MOMENT, will never…ever be the same again.

So i guess we really do have to savor every single moment….because a moment passed is a moment gone forever.

On my journey,

Brian <><

June 3, 2009

So this blog is going to serve very little purpose other than to update the one person who reads it on my recent road trip from Edmonton to South Dakota.

So to you who reads this…here we go.

So a good friend of mine named Tim was getting married this past weekend in Madison, South Dakota, and so some of my college friends and I decided that we would drive down to SD to share in the amazing occasion with our good friend Tim.

The plan was that I would fly from Kelowna to Edmonton to meet them and then we would drive down to SD together and have a fun college reunion style road trip, share memories, create nostalgia, eat junk food, relive old inside jokes….you know all that stuff.

The plan started going awry when I got deathly sick 4 days before my flight to Edmonton….I was still quite under the weather when I landed and was making preparations to go…but nevertheless I decided that the chance to hang out with old friends and the memories that this trip was certain to create was far too valuable to pass up, so I went along….

Maybe God was trying to tell me not go…..but I didn’t listen.

So the next hitch in our plans was that the van we were borrowing from a friend was not decidedly road worthy….and it was a race against the clock to get it to the point where we could drive it for 20 hours straight and then promptly turn around and drive home….

However after a brief overhaul of the steering system (which is somewhat important) the van was ready to transport us to our dream holiday spot of Madison, SD.

About 6 hours into our trip it was time for our first stop in Saskatoon, SK. There isn’t much there…but there is in fact a McDonalds….so that was our destination of choice. I was pretty hungry but after a couple Egg McMuffins and a couple swigs of Buckley’s I was ready to tackle the next leg of our trip to Regina.

It is about here that things started to go slightly different than planned…

Upon arriving in Regina one of my friends in the van (let’s call her Kim) noticed that she was missing her purse….with all of her ID….and her passport….and her husband’s passport…all of which were needed for us to cross the border in a few hours and continue to SD….

One quick phone call to the McD’s in Saskatoon revealed the location of the missing purse….3 hours away.

So it was decided that our friend (the one we’re calling Kim) and her husband (let’s call him Brad) would drive back to Saskatoon, retrieve the purse, and come back to Regina to pick us up and then we would continue through the night to arrive in South Dakota the next morning.

7 hours, a couple cups of coffee and one extremely long card game later Kim and Brad had returned and we were back on the road….

We arrived in South Dakota slightly later than we anticipated (about 9 hours) but we were healthy, happy, and exhausted….

The wedding was great, it was so good to see our friend Tim tie the knot. His bride was stunning…the location was beautiful, and it was all around a great time.

Now for the drive home…it was relatively uneventful UNTIL we reached the amazing town of North Battleford SK….and just west of it….Bambi did NOT look both ways before crossing the street…

At 120km/h deers don’t just get hit…they get obliterated. There were pieces of deer on our van, flying over our van…and all over the highway… one dead deer….6 relatively unimpressed Young Adults, and 1 seriously mangled front end of a Windstar.

Our now crippled Van was in a safety mode that it enters after it detects a problem. This safety mode prevented it from moving out of second gear, and travelling at any speed greater than 40 km/h

Which when you are 120 km from the nearest urban center….and you have less than a quarter tank of gas…is a disappointment.

So for the next two hours we limped along the side of the highway at 40 km/h while Semi Trucks blasted past us and honked their horns in annoyance.

We stopped at the Sandpiper Motel in Maidstone, SK…this hotel is the shining star in almost every axe murderer movie you have ever seen…and sometimes the old lady housekeeper walks into the middle of your room through a secret door with out knocking.

Yes that happened.

This stunningly unpredictable trip was brought to a conclusion when the dad of one of my friends drove the 3 hours out to pick us up and brought us back to Edmonton where I had literally ONE HOUR to spare before my flight home….

And while this trip went wrong in almost every way I have to admit…..it was the time of my life.

I had a great time with my friends, I loved the spontaneity, I loved everything about it… a trip to remember.

If you made it this far, I applaud your diligence.

Journeying,

Brian <><

May 14, 2009

Ps. 98:2

The Lord made His salvation known and revealed His righteousness to the nations.

In my short amount of time spent training for and engaging in the work of ministry, I have found myself at times in various conversations surrounding this “revelation” of God to his people. From theological debates of divine revelation to highly experiential explanations of how people saw, felt, or heard from God, to churches where Pastors sit in rooms and try to find the secret mystery of helping people “find” God. The realization that I have come to is that every person, every where is on some form of a quest.

Everyone is looking for something. And sometimes we call that something “God.”

The reason I have concluded that our search is perhaps not for God is because scripture time and time again reveals to us that GOD HAS MADE HIMSELF KNOWN. Through creation, through mountains and streams and rivers and trees and through the person of Jesus Christ, God has revealed Himself to the nations.

So therefore I can only conclude that if we were REALLY looking for God, we would have found Him already. We would see Him in front of us, behind us and all around us.

Again I ask the question…what are we actually looking for?

Why is it that when scripture tells us that the trees, the mountains, the rivers, even the vary nature of created men and women SCREAM the Glory of the Living God, our response is “Nope. Thats not enough for me.”

And then begins our quest for something more.

I think the problem lies in the fact that people try to alter the truth of God to fit the image of the God that they want Him to be. People are in a quest for convenience, and a quest for a God that fits what it is that they desire. Some desire the emotional experience, the “pins and needles” feeling that sometimes comes during worship, and they will spend year after year hoping that maybe…just MAYBE it will be this worship time, this next song…that will provide them with those familiar shivers and assure them that God is real.

Truthfully I could at times have counted myself among them.

I wonder at my own ability to single out the characteristics of God that I want, and try to pretend that the other ones aren’t there. I want the comfort of God, but not the danger. I want the peace of God, but not the wrath. I want the forgiveness of God, but not the consequences. I want the relationship with God, but not the sacrifices….

Isn’t it just true that sometimes we shrink God down to make Him convenient?

So then the process is becomes this: We decide what we want, we make the necessary alterations and adjustments to God to make him what we want, and then we worship those things.

It sounds scarily like a Golden Calf to me.

Today I find myself challenged to take a step back, look at the fullness of God as He is revealed in the world around me, in the people around, and in the scriptures in front of me. When I come across something I don’t like or understand, I will submit myself to trusting that God is composed entirely of love, and for Him to act outside of His love nature is impossible, and therefore I will simply accept that God is everything. I will not reduce Him, I will not try to change Him, I will not do anything except worship Him in the fullness of who He is.

Because God has revealed Himself to the world. He is everywhere. I must therefore conclude that when I can’t find Him….

It is not God that I am looking for.

On my journey,

Brian <><

May 1, 2009

Isaiah 58:6–14

6 “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:

to loose the chains of injustice

and untie the cords of the yoke,

to set the oppressed free

and break every yoke?

7 Is it not to share your food with the hungry

and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—

when you see the naked, to clothe him,

and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?

8 Then your light will break forth like the dawn,

and your healing will quickly appear;

then your righteousness will go before you,

and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.

9 Then you will call, and the LORD will answer;

you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.

“If you do away with the yoke of oppression,

with the pointing finger and malicious talk,

10 and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry

and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,

then your light will rise in the darkness,

and your night will become like the noonday.

11 The LORD will guide you always;

he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land

and will strengthen your frame.

You will be like a well-watered garden,

like a spring whose waters never fail.

12 Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins

and will raise up the age-old foundations;

you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls,

Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.

13 “If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath

and from doing as you please on my holy day,

if you call the Sabbath a delight

and the LORD‘s holy day honorable,

and if you honor it by not going your own way

and not doing as you please or speaking idle words,

14 then you will find your joy in the LORD,

and I will cause you to ride on the heights of the land

and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob.”

The mouth of the LORD has spoken.

My heart broke as I read this… and I simply ask the question… “What do I have to do to make this a reality in my life.”

Jesus, keep breaking my heart I pray.

On my journey,

Brian <><

April 28, 2009

Isaiah 54:10

“Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,” says the LORD who has compassion on you.

Have you ever wondered what it would take to bring down a mountain? I have seen footage of people blowing up skyscrapers. It takes so much explosive, and planning and preparation. The resulting cloud of dust and debris is ridiculous, and all the men stand around after and talk about how cool that looked. Men like me watching from home wish that we were there to see it in real life because lets be honest, when you can create that much force, that much power…you can pretty much do anything.

What is interesting is when we remember that buildings, essentially are hollow inside. They are a frame of metal and bolts covered with a glorified paper mache…and now we read of God shaking mountains and leveling hills.

Which…in case you skipped that class….are solid rock. Sometimes kilometers thick.

So there you have it. God is better than people. You can turn off your computer now, there is nothing more to see.

Ok well here is the truth that I have been struck with today. Bombs and explosives are one of the single most feared forces on the planet. Yet with all the power that they have, we know that would take several of even the most powerful bombs we have ever invented to bring down Mount Everest.

Because mountains are really, really big.

And yet to God bringing down an entire mountain, or destroying hills so that it is as if they were never there is nothing. It is such a flippant discussion to him that he uses it in an ANALOGY!

To us the idea is grandiose, and the only place it could occur would be in some sort of love song or a Bruce Willis movie…but to God it is NOTHING…..

ESPECIALLY when it is compared to an even greater force….His love and compassion for His children.

God says the power required to destroy a MOUNTAIN is NOTHING compared to His love for you and me.

Is anyone like me? Do you simply have a hard time believing that? I have a HARD TIME with this truth…and yet it is the truth of God. It is the truth of life. It is the truth of relationship with a compassionate and loving father.

It is simply true.

I feel like for many of us who read a statement like this we have this visceral withdrawal…this feeling in the core of who we are that just sort of….recoils or pushes back at the statement that GOD LOVES YOU NO MATTER WHAT….why is that? Why do we recoil and revolt and resist the love of God.

Shouldn’t we want the God of the Universe to love us? I sometimes feel like I just push back on this so hard….because I don’t feel like its real. I don’t feel like it should be, or that I deserve it, or that I want it for free….I want to earn it. I want to prove myself deserving.

So today….if you are at all like me….join me at the feet of Jesus. Join me in TRYING TO SIMPLY BASK IN GOD‘S LOVE. To simply sit at the feet of the God who says that mountains will collapse before He stops loving us…..

Lets sit in the middle of our imperfection….and receive love simply because its there…

Thats my journey today.

Brian <><

April 21, 2009

Romans 3:24… ”[We] are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”

Ok it’s honesty time. I don’t believe that passage. I mean…I WANT to…I REALLY want to….and if I was asked I would say that it is ABSOLUTELY true, beyond a shadow of a doubt…so don’t get me wrong, I’m not in the middle of some sort of faith crisis.

However if I were to just get honest for a moment, and evaluate the actions and patterns by which I live my life, I would have no choice but to come to the simple and somewhat chilling conclusion that I simply don’t believe in grace.

I have no choice in stating this because I see how hard I work to win favor. I see how important it is to me that I am viewed as perfect. I strive to hide mistakes. I strategically block from sight all my imperfections. I play a life-sized chess game, always thinking a couple of moves ahead so that my reputation, my image, my EGO will not be tarnished.

I live under the conviction that I MUST WORK AS HARD AS I CAN…to perfect myself.

I have done this work under many different disguises, I have done it under the banner of “Christian Service,” I have done it in the name of “Love,” “Servanthood,” and even “ministry.”

Yet all of it betrays the same hidden inner motivation that drives me….pride.

Tim Keller observes that “people who find themselves working and striving for God’s approval don’t do it because they ARE SO COMMITTED TO THE GOSPEL…they do it because they aren’t committed enough.”

We work and strive, and push…...because we aren’t committed enough to the gospel of GRACE.

We aren’t committed enough to the Gospel of Jesus which spoke wholeness to broken people IN THEIR BROKENNESS…not in their superficial perfection.

The truth of the matter is that in EVERY person who knows Jesus is a broken heart that has been made perfect by redeeming love…and yet we hide it with a shroud of superficiality.

Now for that one person who actually reads this blog….if your starting to feel like Brian is such a downer let me say this….

This realization is one of the greatest and most joyfully freeing realization I have ever had.

Because THIS DAY….April 21, 2009 I will get on my knees before the GOD OF GRACE, and bask in my imperfection, because in that place I allow the blood of Jesus to fill every crack, patch every break, and make me truly perfect.

And then I will understand a little bit better the REDEEMING LOVE of Jesus.

If you’re ready, I encourage you to stop right now and do the same….I talked to the guys over at the internet and they said they would keep it open until you’re done.

Journeying,

Brian <><

April 14, 2009

Psalm 92:5 – “How great are your works , O Lord, how profound Your thoughts!”

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to hear the “thoughts” of God? You think about all the incredibly deep, intellectual thinkers that this world has ever known, and then realize that God gave them their intellect out of his own. The mind of God completely dwarfs anything that we could ever appreciate or comprehend.

I guess when you think about it, every time we even try to, in our own minds, understand the nature of God, we are forced by our own limited mental capacity to reduce God down something we can understand, something we can process. We call Him “Father,” yet we only understand the “Father nature” of God to a certain point…when the truth is God is infinitely more the perfect father than we could ever imagine. We call Him “Saviour” without ever knowing the depth of what His sacrifice really did for us….

Truly we cannot actually even begin to fathom the reality of who God is….

I think that C.S. Lewis said it best when he wrote this little paragraph, and titled it “A footnote to all Prayers”

Footnote to All Prayers

He whom I bow to only knows to whom I bow
When I attempt the ineffable Name, murmuring Thou,
And dream of Pheidian fancies and embrace in heart
Symbols (I know) which cannot be the thing Thou art.
Thus always, taken at their word, all prayers blaspheme
Worshipping with frail images a folk-lore dream,
And all men in their praying, self-deceived, address
The coinage of their own unquiet thoughts, unless
Thou in magnetic mercy to Thyself divert
Our arrows, aimed unskilfully, beyond desert;
And all men are idolators, crying unheard
To a deaf idol, if Thou take them at their word.

Take not, O Lord, our literal sense. Lord, in thy great
Unbroken speech our limping metaphor translate.

I think that the Psalmist made an understatement when he called the thoughts of God “profound.”

Yet today Lord, my simple prayer is that you would give me some sort of insight into your thoughts…your thoughts which are so much higher than mine…would you grant me even a sliver of your wisdom this day.

On the Journey,

Brian <><

Where's The Love?

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I guess I could ask the prostitutes he always hung out with

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