So I haven’t sat down to write anything in a long time. I know this is something I should make more time for, cause there is a lot I want to write about, but in a busy life it’s hard to find time. Lately though, there has been this topic on my heart and on my mind. We live in a culture that is always looking for something better. We go out and buy a new device and months later an updated, better one is coming out and we seem to feel as though we need it. What we have is not enough. Look at what has happened just in the last couple weeks with the release of the new iPhone 4s. Millions of devices have been sold already, and some of them were sold to people that had the iPhone 4 already. A few tweaks in something and all the sudden its better and we need it. We want everything we have to be better than the things we already have. Have you noticed that we seem to treat God the same way? We look for the next thing we can do that is going to be better than the last thing we did. We ask what we can do better to reach more people. We look for how we can top the church next door, or the one down the street, or the one hundreds of miles away that seem to be doing something cool. Sometimes I wonder if in our attempt to always do something better, we leave God out of the process. What if in our attempt to do the next thing, we miss out on what God is doing in the moment we are already in. Instead of trying to come up with an event or a way to reach more people, what if we asked God how we could reach the people that are already in our lives every day that we refuse to talk and share with. I don’t think there is anything wrong with trying to plan an event that will reach people, but I wonder if we use that as a way to get out of doing what we have been called to do in everyday lives. What would it look like if really asked God what He wanted us to do? Do you think He would tell us to do something bigger and better than another church? Do you think He would tell us that what we have been doing isn’t big enough for Him and we need to go back and make it better? I think we get that thought process when we don’t stop to give our plans to God and ask Him what He wants us to do. What if instead of saying “God I want to do something better than anyone else out there,” we do what Pastor Brad Reed does ask the question “God what are you already doing and how can we be a part of that?” What would it look like if we got ourselves out of the way and just trusted in Him? Instead of saying I have this great idea for how we can do things better, we stopped and prayed and said God I want my ideas to be your ideas. We set our plans and ask God to show up, instead of allowing God to set the plans and be thankful we can show up. What ever happened to “thy will be done?” When did it change and we start saying “my will be done.” When did it become about us? When did we say God please stand in the corner as I come up with a way to make you famous. He doesn’t need us to make Him famous; He has done fine doing that on His own. I don’t need bigger and better, I just need Jesus. I want whatever plans and thoughts I have to be God’s, not mine. I want to be a part of His plan to make Him famous, cause mine cannot even compare to His. I challenge everyone to start asking God how we can be a part of what he is already doing instead of asking what else we can do. Start letting Him be the one that sets the plans, and just get out of His way.
Tag Archives: Worship
Psalms of the Heart
Lately my heart has been troubled with things that I don’t understand. Thoughts and feelings have been placed on my heart that hurt. The most troubling part of all of it is that when I seek God he is silent. I spend time in prayer, reading, worshipping yet He is silent. It reminds me of a Psalm of Asaph. In psalm 77:1-4 Asaph says
I cried out to God with my voice—
To God with my voice;
And He gave ear to me.
In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord;
My hand was stretched out in the night without ceasing;
My soul refused to be comforted.
I remembered God, and was troubled;
I complained, and my spirit was overwhelmed. Selah
You hold my eyelids open;
I am so troubled that I cannot speak.
It has been a long time since I have felt that empty and alone inside. As I read the Psalms I am reminded over and over again for the silence that men like David went through. Here are just a few of the words of David
Why do You stand afar off, O LORD?
Why do You hide in times of trouble?
Psalm 10:1
How long, O LORD? Will You forget me forever?
How long will You hide Your face from me?
How long shall I take counsel in my soul,
Having sorrow in my heart daily?
Psalm 13:1-2
My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?
Why are you so far away when I groan for help?
Every day I call to you, my God, but you do not answer.
Every night you hear my voice, but I find no relief.
Psalm 22:1-2
David’s words in an odd way are comforting during this time. To think that here he is the King and described as a man seeking God’s heart, yet still had times when he just cried out for God to break the silence. To know that he felt like god was hiding from him, or abandoning him. If we are truly honest we can all say we feel that same way. But do we really do what David does in these times. After David cries out to God and asks him to break the silence, he admits that it is his own sin that has brought on the silence. Then he does something amazing. He praises God for who He is. How often do we praise God in the silent times in our lives? How often do we take responsibility for our distance from Him? God is always there wanting to have fellowship with us, but too often we don’t look at ourselves as the problem, as the reason for the distance with God. What would happen if we had a heart more like David’s and could say like he did
O God, You know my foolishness;
And my sins are not hidden from You.
Psalm 69:5
Yet when we do admit our sin what do we do with it. Often times we try to make excuses for it. We place the blame on others not on ourselves. What would life be like though if we not only accepted responsibility for our choices, but we praised God during these times?
And better yet, what if we modeled our lives after Jesus. What if we took the pain on ourselves, even if it was not ours to take on? If we stopped trying to be right, but instead laid down our lives. I want to be a man that is pleasing to God. A man that is seeking the heart of God in everything that I do. So as I man I stand here before anyone who is reading this and say, I am the reason for the pain that has been caused. And I take responsibility for the things that have happened. I want to be the one that feels the pain. If you have been hurt by me in anyway, please know that I have and will continue to ask God to take away all your pain and place in on me, to let me be the one that hurts not you. If anyone has to feel pain I want it to be me. I have been praying over the words of David when he says
Put me on trial, LORD, and cross-examine me.
Test my motives and my heart.
Psalm 26:2
So I pray that I be put on trial. I pray that my motives and heart be tested. And I pray that through the silent times, I can still praise God for who He is, and not what he Does. I pray that as a man, I take the example of Christ and take the pain on myself so that others can be free.
Keep me safe, O God,
for I have come to you for refuge.
I said to the LORD, “You are my Master!
Every good thing I have comes from you.”
What we can learn from Mary
Coming up on the Christmas season I thought I would share one of my favorite moments from the bible. It comes from the New Testament. It is the story of Mary and the angel Gabriel. It is the moment when he shows up and tells her that she is going to give birth to Jesus. As we know this is not an ordinary birth. This birth came with many trials. A virgin birth, who is going to believe that? What I love is her response when she is told what is going to happen. You can read it here in Luke 1:35-38
The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. For nothing is impossible with God.”
“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May it be to me as you have said.”
I am fully convinced that Mary had no idea what was really ahead of her. I am sure at this time she had no idea the scorn she would face, the disbelief for her being a virgin, the manger she would give birth in, or that she would have to see her son hang on a cross and die. But in that moment, she was not thinking of herself. I love her response, “I am the Lord’s servant, may it be to me as you have said.” There are a few things to point out about this moment, she believed, she was available, and she was willing. The trust she displayed in God is simply amazing. How often in our lives do we have to see the plan, the end result, the path we will take, and the trials we will face, before we trust God. What would happen if we accepted God’s plan, no matter how much sense it made. If we took every circumstance in life and said “I am the Lord’s servant, may it be to me as you have said.” I find so much inspiration in the faith of Mary here. She had enough faith in how big God is, that it didn’t matter how much sense this made, what she knew was that she was His servant and was willing to do anything He said. I want to live a life like that. I want to be able to say let it be to me as you have said, no matter what he asks of me. And not just to say it, but to rejoice in the thought of it as well. To have the same kind of joy Mary had when she rejoiced with Elizabeth and sang
Luke 1:46-55
“My soul glorifies the Lord
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has been mindful
of the humble state of his servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed,
for the Mighty One has done great things for me–
holy is his name.
His mercy extends to those who fear him,
from generation to generation.
He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;
he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
He has brought down rulers from their thrones
but has lifted up the humble.
He has filled the hungry with good things
but has sent the rich away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel,
remembering to be merciful
to Abraham and his descendants forever,
even as he said to our fathers.”
As Men we need to lead the way with this kind of heart, because as Men there is a lot we can learn from this moment in the life of Mary. We should be available and willing to submit to the will of God no matter what the circumstances may be. May we remember this every day, not just at Christmas. May the cry of our hearts be “I am the Lord’s servant, may it be to me as you have said.”
Facing our fears for Jesus
A couple years ago I met this girl. The first time I saw her I knew here was something special about her. Things I would have normally been afraid of didn’t seem to matter when I was around her. One night at a BBQ we sat down and put our feet in the pool and talked for a couple hours. It was a warm night and the water bugs (which are no different than cockroaches to me) seemed to be all over the place. Those little suckers have no fear. And well to me they seemed like they were 6 feet tall and ready to devour me. I don’t really know why, but I have always been afraid of those things. I’m pretty sure they know that too, and were just sitting there laughing at me. So I sat there with this beautiful girl by my side, and these giant man eating bugs all around me. To say I was scared would be an understatement; I was terrified for my life. Being a man though, and having this amazingly beautiful girl sitting there actually talking to me, I took my shoe and starting killing every single one of them that dared come near me. You would think after killing a few of them the others would get the hint. Well wrong, in fact I think it might have angered them, more and more kept coming, next thing you know I must have been surrounded by about a thousand of them. Well maybe I am exaggerating a little, but that’s how it felt. In those moments though I had a choice to make, get up and maybe miss out on the chance to continue this amazing conversation, or face a fear and stay right there. I choose to face the fear. I decided in that moment that this girl sitting with me was more important than a fear of these bugs. I don’t regret that night. That girl was more important than a fear of mine.
I saw a cockroach the other day and it reminded me of that night. As I sat there remembering how I was willing to face that fear for a girl I started thinking, would I face my fears for Jesus? Would I be willing to sit there and allow a fear of mine to surround me, while I stand firm for Jesus? I believe my answer to that would be yes. I hope my answer to that would be yes. I hope I would be willing to face all my fears for Jesus. I find it funny how we are willing to do things we would not normally do for another person, especially when we like that other person, yet we are not willing to go outside of our comfort zone for Jesus. We are not willing to go outside of our church groups, our church friends, and church walls for Jesus. We get so comfortable with our surroundings that we don’t go outside of them. What if Jesus was only comfortable with the Jews? What if the disciples never reached out to the people around them? Where would we be today? Jesus came to earth, went to a cross, died for OUR sins, and rose again so that all would have eternal life. Shouldn’t this be something we are going out and sharing with the world? What are we afraid of? If we really accept the promises of God, then we should not be afraid to stand up for Him. Scripture tells us not to fear.
Deuteronomy 31:6
Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the LORD your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.
Joshua 1:3,5
I promise you what I promised Moses: ‘Wherever you set foot, you will be on land I have given you … No one will be able to stand against you as long as you live. For I will be with you as I was with Moses. I will not fail you or abandon you.
1 Chronicles 28:20
David also said to Solomon his son, “Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you until all the work for the service of the temple of the LORD is finished.
Psalm 27:1
The LORD is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid?
Psalm 56:3-4
When I am afraid, I will trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can mortal man do to me?
Isaiah 41:10
So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
Isaiah 41:13
For I am the LORD, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.
Romans 8:15
For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.”
Hebrews 13:5-6
For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” So we may boldly say: “The LORD is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?”
1 Peter 3:13-14
Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened.”
1 John 4:18
There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.
Those are just a few verses that God has given us regarding fear. It seems so easy to face a fear when the end result benefits us. Shouldn’t we be more concerned though with adding to God’s kingdom? What would it look like if we faced our fears and made an impact on the kingdom for Jesus? What if we faced our fears, left our comfort zone, and went out into the world and made a difference for the kingdom. What if we were less concerned with who was our friend on face book and more concerned with who would be in heaven with us? What if we stopped asking people if they were on face book and started asking them if they were going to heaven? Why are we afraid to do that? What do we think is going to happen? Sure some people might not like us, but since when should that be a reason to stop us. Many people didn’t like Jesus, in fact they killed Him. Yet that didn’t stop him from rising again and reaching out to everyone. When are we going to start facing our fears and going out into the world and sharing the Good News? I know I am willing. Are you? What are you afraid of?
Came to my rescue
Falling on my knees in worship
Giving all I am to seek your face
Lord all I am is yours
My whole life I place in your hands
God of mercy humbled I bow down
In your presence at your throne
I called
You answered
And you came to my rescue
And I want to be where you are
My whole life I place in your hands
God of mercy humbled I bow down
In your presence at your throne
I called
You answered
And you came to my rescue
And I want to be where you are
I called
You answered
And you came to my recues
And I want to be where you are
In my life be lifted high
In our world be lifted high
In our love be lifted high
In my life be lifted high
In our world be lifted high
In our love be lifted high
I have not been able to turn this song off this past week. I am so amazed that we have god that answers our call. That reaches down from the heavens with His redeeming grace and saves us. That he would even care for someone like me is amazing. I know I don’t deserve is grace. I don’t deserve his love. But I am thankful that I have a God that loves me, regardless of my sin. I am thankful that I have a God that answered my call, a God that was waiting for my call. He rescued me from myself. From the poor choices I was making in life. I don’t know where I would be right now if He hadn’t reached down from heaven and extended His saving grace to me, after I had rejected Him so many times before. The fact that He would even care to reach down to me after everything I had done simply blows my mind. I fell to ground tonight to just worship Him and sing this song. I was on the ground in my living room, humbly before Him. I didn’t even want to get up. I wanted to stay there forever just worshipping my God. I want my whole life to be placed into His hands. This last year has been an amazing year of growth and trust. I have had to place all my trust in Him, and I don’t want anything to change. I want my God to be in complete control of life. I want to seek His face in everything I do. I want to know that when the day comes that I meet my God face to face, He looks at me and says well done good and faithful servant. I want to know that I lived my life in a way that has made an impact on His kingdom. I want to be in his presence. And I want everything I say and do to reflect that in my life. I know I am going to make some mistakes along the way, and I know that I am going to have to humbly bow down and ask for forgiveness. I have had to do this in the past and I know I will have to do this again in the future, I am not perfect, but I rest in His saving grace. I want my heart to sing out, in my life be lifted high. When I sing that out, I don’t want it to come from my head, I want it to be the anthem of my heart. I want my life to reflect the fact that He is lifted high. I want Him to be the center of everything; that nothing I would do would come from anywhere else. I want to be able to say that in my love, He is lifted high. I want to be able to love like He loves me. I want to show people that king of love. I want my heart to reflect that at all times. I give all that I am to seek His face, His love, His grace. So would you join me from the heart and sing,
In my life be lifted high
In our world be lifted high
In our love be lifted high
An Ordinary Man 