walking with God

New Blog, starting yesterday

2008-03-25T23:10:00.002-05:00

i can't promise how this is going to work out... but i have started a new blog. one i hope to update with what really resonates with my soul, worship. i'm looking forward to posting songs, ideas, song ideas, my own personal recordings & more. check it out & update your bookmarks to this link. thanks!

resonate: worship blog

-corey

for the record

2007-02-04T07:44:00.000-06:00

For the record, I'm picking the Colts today to win the Super Bowl. I don't really care who wins. I like the fact that both quarter backs are SEC guys. Have fun watching the game today!

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Also for the record, I believe in Pluto. It's Wyoming I have a problem with.

est. 1997

2007-01-26T23:25:00.000-06:00

1997, 10 years ago, would prove to be an important year in my life. That January I was in school at Faulkner looking forward to finishing my sophomore year there in Montgomery, AL. I was also in my second year interning for Howard Todd @ the Vaughn Park Church. I was 19 going on 20. That summer I would struggle with the decision to go to N.J. & intern at the Randolph Church. The church had 80 members & 10 teenagers. Influenced by Genesis 12 & Abraham's faith, I was inspired to go.

Then, that fall I would drive my blue 1980 Chevrolet Custom Deluxe pick up truck that my Pappa had given me to Nashville, TN where I would start my Junior year of college at Lipscomb. In my first 3 weeks at Lipscomb I found myself as the new intern for the College Street Church working under Johnny Markham, & I found myself trying to date the beautiful woman who would become my wife 2 years later. Every week for 2 years me & Alisha would ride together side by side to Lebanon & back to go to church at College Street. I have the best memories of those drives early on Sunday morning & the late nights on the way home on Wednesdays.

I would also meet another youth ministry major that year who was in several of my classes & would come to be one of my closest friends, a guy by the name of Jason Bybee. 10 years later, I work at the same church with Jason, I'm married to that beautiful girl (& we have a kid together!), I'm still going to Lipscomb (working on my Master's now), & I am amazed at how God has led me through my own Genesis 12 experience as God has called me & led me to places (both literally & metaphorically) that I did not know. How blessed I am. Though I have not been ultimately faithful to His calling, He has been ultimately faithful to me. The journey continues & the next destination is unclear. There is no five year plan... just a trust to follow where He leads me. And a hope that I will have the faith to follow.

Simple & Fun

2006-12-19T13:25:00.000-06:00

Here's a quick 2 part blog for the day.

The Simple part... I've only been a dad for a little over four months, but I've already figured out what I enjoy most. 2 things really. 1st, I love to make my son smile. And 2nd, I love it even more when I can make him laugh. He's just over four months old, so tickling him doesn't work yet. So any smile or laugh you get isn't a cheap one. But when it happens, it's magic. It's a simple thought, but it just reminds me how our Heavenly Father must feel. I pray today that you will be watching for those times when He is trying to get you to smile & that you will notice when He attempts to make you laugh. Rest assured, whenever you do it brings great joy to His heart, as it does the heart of any father.

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Just for fun, here are some of my current favorite links:

I have to start with blinklist. This is a great free tool to bookmark all your favorite sites. Once you Blink it, you can access your favorite web sites from anywhere, from any computer. It's cool & everyone should be into this. You can even share your blinklist!

Next, have you ever been to this web site? If you like t-shirts as much as I do, I think you'll like this fun place to shop, get fun shirt ideas, etc.

Then (& this should be no surprise) I like to keep up with my favorite musician in the world at this site. And his official site. And his label. Yes, his name is Chris Tomlin & No, he hasn't written a song I don't like.

Of course, I'll read this to keep up with the preachers. Mike Cope may have the most read blog in our brotherhood.

If you know me at all, you know I love college football. I keep up with the news as best I can at ESPNU.

For graphics, I lean heavily on iStockphoto, Church Artworks, Uthstuph, as well as some other sites for ideas & inspiration.

Of course, I'm a big fan of apple. I'm becoming a fan of flikr (a web photo hosting site), & then there are sites like BlogU that's cool to check out to get ideas for blogging & template advice.

I guess that's all for now. Adios & Merry Christmas!

Are you thirsty? Come.

2006-12-17T14:03:00.000-06:00

Here are some communion thoughts I shared after Jason's sermon on Jesus as the Messiah out of John 4.

Come, all who are thirsty, come to the waters, to the LORD, the hope of Israel, to the fountain of living water. If anyone thirsts, let him come to me & drink. For whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, "Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water. For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be your shepherd, & he will guide you to springs of living water, & God will wipe away every tear from your eyes. To the thirsty He will give water from the spring of the water of life. The Spirit & the bride say, "Come!" And let those who hear say, "Come!" Let those who are thirsty come. And let all who wish take the free gift of the water of life. Come.

As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. Deep calls to deep at the roar of your waterfalls;
all your breakers and your waves have gone over me. By day the LORD commands his steadfast love, and at night his song is with me, a prayer to the God of my life.
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.
Isaiah 55; Jeremiah 17:13; John 7:37, 38; Revelation 7:17; 21:6; 22:17; Psalm 42.

Thirsty? What I love most about the woman in John 4 is that she was thirsty. She simply came to the well. She came to Jesus. She came with all her baggage. She was the last person on the planet that the King of the Jews was supposed to have a conversation with. Yet once again our Messiah has a message in the form of humility & a heart of compassion. He reaches out to this needy soul in tenderness & care & offers this woman what she could never have hoped for.

Throughout the story of God water has played a key role. Moses struck a rock & a thirsty nation drank & was satisfied. Noah built a boat as the rain waters washed away a sinful people. On & on throughout the stories of the Bible water plays a key role in the lives of it's main characters. Moses, Joseph, Gideon, Jonah, Elijah, Paul, etc. And water is used by God as a means of purification for his people.

Jesus stands today as he stood over 2000 years ago before this woman at the well as the source of living water. Are you thirsty? Are you tired & weary from your journey. Has the weight of temptation & sin brought you down. Has the complications of life worn you out. Do you have more troubles than you can count. Are you tired? Are you weary? Are you thirsty? The message of Jesus is COME. Com & I will give you rest. Come & drink from me, the fountain of living water. Come & be refreshed, renewed, restored. His body was broken & He was betrayed so that you & I could come & drink. Jesus dies on the cross so that we could come. Just as we are. Without any need to impress him or hide our shortcomings from him. He's more concerned with who we are going to be today than who we were yesterday. He cares more about our presence than He does our perfection. And His message today is come. Today if you are thirsty, come. Come. Just as you are. Come & drink deeply. All those who are thirsty. All those who are weak. Come.

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Jesus knew that his mission was now finished, and to fulfill Scripture he said, “I am thirsty.” A jar of sour wine was sitting there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put it on a hyssop branch, and held it up to his lips. When Jesus had tasted it, he said, “It is finished!” Then he bowed his head and released his spirit.
John 19:28-34

It was the day of preparation, and the Jewish leaders didn’t want the bodies hanging there the next day, which was the Sabbath (and a very special Sabbath, because it was the Passover). So they asked Pilate to hasten their deaths by ordering that their legs be broken. Then their bodies could be taken down. So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the two men crucified with Jesus. But when they came to Jesus, they saw that he was already dead, so they didn’t break his legs. One of the soldiers, however, pierced his side with a spear, and immediately blood and water flowed out.

Jesus was thirsty & we gave him nothing to drink. Yet His life was poured out like a drink offering for our sin. A spear was thrust into His side, & from the wound flowed blood & water. Even in His death on the cross He has given us the image of what salvation looks like. It comes through blood & water. The Bible says without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sin. And we also know the power of purification that water has for those of us who believe in Jesus as the Son of God. Jesus gave His life as an offering for you, that you might have living water.

If I only had time...

2006-12-12T22:17:00.000-06:00

Well, with the new beta blogger, I've tweaked the look of this blog. Do you like the new header? You know, if I only had time, I could really get into this stuff. I mean, I get to do a little design here & there... but I think I could really get into it if I ever really had the chance. Have I said "really" enough times yet.

Backwards

2006-11-26T22:50:00.000-06:00

Temptation has been the latest topic we've been discussing in teen world at Mayfair. Our latest series entitled, "Pause: Because Everybody struggles" has been happening for the last month or so. We've gone back to the temptations of Jesus to try to figure a few things out.

I have learned a lot through this series. In particular, I continue to be drawn back to Jesus' second temptation. The temptation to test God. Satan took Jesus to the highest point of the temple & says Jump! The temptation? If Jesus jumps from the temple, angels will come to his rescue. All the priests, high priests, chief priests, religious leaders, the "who's who" of Jesus' day & time will know right then & there that Jesus is who he says he is & that Yahweh has great concern for this One. In fact, the stories might be true that when this man was baptized, a voice from heaven proclaimed, "This is My Son in Whom I AM well pleased!" (my paraphrase.) The temptation? To manipulate God to act on his behalf. To test God. To make plans & take actions & then ask God on the back end to bless those plans & actions.

How often do we do the same thing? Jump into something because it's what we want & then ask God to bless us. Ask God to intervene. If only we would start with God. If only I would start with God, with God's desires, with God's purposes in mind & ask Him what I should do to fulfill His plans. I know I'm so guilty of this. I take my "great" ideas & put them into action & ask God to bless them.

I've got it all backwards. It should all begin with God. He will bless those things He intends to happen. O that His desires would become my desires & His ways my ways. Help me Father to begin with You & let everything else go & evaporate into nothingness. And help me to be ready to go in the direction you point me in, knowing You have gone before me. Thank you, Father.

Pray for Siberia

2006-11-18T13:13:00.000-06:00

Just a quick note to ask you to pray for my good friend Jon Owen & his mission team over in Siberia today. Check out his blog to read his updates. They have an amazing opportunity to make a real difference in the lives of some precious children for the name of Christ. As they work this week to share the love of Christ with the needy, the downtrodden, the "least of these," let's join them & encourage them through prayer. As Jon says, "Jesus had a tendency to be drawn to the rejected. Pray this week for the rejected to be drawn to Jesus."

http://jonowen.blogspot.com/

Change

2006-11-07T11:30:00.000-06:00

I've ignored this blog for so long, I don't think anyone checks it anymore. That's probably a good thing. In so many things I'm consistent, & in so many other things I'm inconsistent. This is one of those things. And while I doubt that will really change, I know I should be more faithful in putting my thoughts out there. If for no other reason than the simple fact that it forces me to think. So maybe this should change.

I've never been a fan of change for the sake of change. I'm not talking about the coinage rattling around in my pocket. I mean changes in life. Not all changes are good things, but in reality many are. Mostly, I find I'm most concerned with change that affects me. And yet that is such a godless approach to life.

Change should be a God centered event. I've always loved Abraham's story. God called him to a land he did not know. A direction he had never been before. Without reason & without explanation Abraham picked up his family & all his positions & went where God led him. I've always hoped I would have that kind of faith. The faith to make a God change in my life.

This year has been a year of change. The birth of our son has been the biggest change event in our lives this year. His introduction into the world was a God event. It's been a good change.

And more change is coming our way. I hope I can embrace change the way men of faith have always embraced it. With faith & trust in God. Knowing He has something better in mind. Perhaps change is just one more tool in God's box to draw us closer to Himself. I hope so. I look forward to the journey.

4479

2006-08-11T12:42:00.000-05:00

4479. It's a number that probably doesn't mean much to anybody but me. But for me, it's significant. After the birth of our son, Will, on August 1st, the nurses put bracelets on me & Alisha that had the number 4479 printed on them. There were 3 bracelets that had this number. I had one. Alisha had one. And Will had the other. This bracelet with this number is the way that the hospital staff could quickly identify & be certain of who belongs to who. And anytime the nurses had to come & get Will or bring him back to us, they would always check our bracelets.

For me, it became the way that Will was identified as my son. 4479, he's my son. He belongs to me. It's a certainty. It's obvious. There's no doubt. He's my son. He's newborn & it may be hard to see any similarities in the way he looks. We're not sure if he looks more like mom or dad at this point. We're not sure what his personality will be like at this point. There aren't a lot of ways to tell you or show you or prove it to you. But 4479 makes it plain. He's my son.

As I thought & reflected about this simple thing, I prayed that in the same way it would be obvious, it would be plain, that I could be quickly identified as God's son to those around me. If we are the sons & daughters of God shouldn't it be obvious? Shouldn't it be easy to see? Shouldn't those around us know this about us?

2 Corinthians 1:21-22a says, "It is God who gives us, along with you, the ability to stand firm for Christ. He has commissioned us, and he has identified us as his own by placing the Holy Spirit in our hearts..."

May it be obvious to all that we are the sons & daughters of God.

Life Changes

2006-08-03T04:02:00.000-05:00

Just reflecting for a quick moment. What an eventful year so far. We went to San Francisco & San Diego for a Spring Break vacation & a YM conference in March. In May I traveled Paul's footsteps in Greece. A mission trip to Honduras in June. I got to lead worship at IMPACT, also in June. Did I mention 3 grad classes in the Spring Semester? In July my grandfather passed away. And now in August my son was born. What an abundant life God has given me & given our family. I am blessed beyond measure. I say that not boasting, as if I have anything to boast about. I can only boast in Christ & share with you what He is actively doing in my life & heart. My son Will is doing great. And Alisha is doing well too! You can check out all the latest news on the family by clicking the "Family News" link here or on the right.

It's so cool to be a dad.

A page is turned

2006-07-10T10:17:00.000-05:00

Last night a page was turned as my grandfather journeyed to his final home with the Lord. As I stood by his bedside I just kept praying that he would let go & go home to be with Jesus. His heart was so strong it just wouldn't quit beating. My Pappa has always been a physically strong man. A brick layer by trade, he was strong as an ox. In my eyes there wasn't anything he couldn't do. Last night, his breathing finally slowed & he was able to go on to his eternal home. He lived 88 years. For 58 of those years he was married to my Granny. Last night as he passed on Granny took his lifeless hand, wiped her tears away, kissed it & said goodbye. To see her love for him was amazing. And he loved her too. Always faithful & kind to her in every way. His was an example I was blessed to have.

For Pappa the story isn't over, but a page is turned. Years ago he changed our family tree by deciding to be a man of faith. Who knows who I would be or where I would be were it not for his faith that has shaped our family. I am grateful for his life & his spiritual leadership in our family. I only hope I can continue the great legacy he began.

I don't know what Heaven is like. My ideas about heaven continue to change. At one time it was a place where we would all gather at the stream of life that flows by the throne of God & we would worship for all eternity. Later, I kind of believed it was just a place of presence. Eternal existence & satisfaction found in the presence of God. Now, I kind of wonder if there's more to the story. If the adventures won't end but continue in the new heaven & new earth. If there's renewed purpose & life to be lived as the page is turned. I don't really know. And I don't know that it really matters. When John talked about Heaven in revelation he used the most elaborate terms he could come up with to express what he was seeing. My guess is that those words...streets of gold, pearly gates, etc...were still inadequate. Whatever Heaven is like I am satisfied to know & believe that we will all be there together with those that have gone before us to stand in the presence of Father God.

It's an interesting place to be in. I've never lost a loved one before. For the first time I'm experiencing death on a personal level. At the same time, my wife Alisha is 9 months pregnant with our first child. I'll be experiencing new life for the first time. We don't know if we'll have a boy or a girl. And the names are subject to change. But one thing I do know, our child will bear the name "Trevathan." And I am proud to pass on that name & that legacy to my children & to their children. A name that stands for integrity, faithfulness, service, compassion, hard work, believer in Jesus, sons & daughters of God.

Lucian Trevathan now joins a great cloud of witnesses to encourage us as we seek to live a life equal to his. A life that honored & glorified Jesus. A life that exemplified faithfulness & love. May we hold true to these things & may the legacy & the heritage of faith continue. I love you Pappa. Thank you for loving us & being the man of God you are. May we make you proud as we carry your name & the name of Christ. To God be glory. For the victory has been claimed in Christ Jesus.

and the Word became flesh

2006-05-22T23:36:00.000-05:00

It's like meeting someone for the first time that you've heard so much about. It's an amazing experience. Yesterday (it's 7:35AM on Tuesday as I type) our group was able to go to Amphipolis & Philippi. 2 places Paul visited as he took the gospel to Greece. I stood in the river where Lydia was baptized. Put my head in a jail cell in Philippi where Paul could have been imprisoned with Silas. What would it have been like to be there when the earth shook & the prisoners broke free? Actually being here & seeing it all -- it's like I'm finally able to put all the pieces together. I walked into the water in the river where Lydia, the first European Christian, was baptized. It was all I could do to keep from diving in head first. We sang a song as we stood in the new baptistry built in Lydia's honor. What a beautiful sound. We've seen ruins of ancient Christian churches. It's undeniable that the church was strong here. It's undeniable Paul's influence on so many. What an amazing impact one man had on so many for the sake of Christ. How I wish my life could have a fraction of the impact that Paul had for the name of Jesus.

Well, that's all for now. I have so little time to write & think here. I've kept a journal all along & already taken over 300 photos in 2 days. I'll look forward to sharing more with you along the way. Till then, ...

Your Canaan

2006-04-21T09:22:00.000-05:00

I love David's song in 1 Chronicles 16. As I was reading it again this week, this verse stood out to me. Verse 18 in this song says "I will give you the land of Canaan as your special possession." David is recounting all God has done in the life of Israel in thier history as he praises God for what has just happened -- the ark of the covenant which represents the presence of God had come back to the people of God to the city of God. And David praised God.

I believe in David's praise there is a wonderful truth that we too often forget. God has promised us a Canaan too. God is still in the work of delivering his people from their Egypts. And sometimes I fear we grow content with where we are in the journey. Let us not forget that there is a promised land for us. Let us not grow weary in doing good. And let us not be content with where we are spiritually. May we continue on daily with God till we top that final mountain. And then, we too, will join Daivid's chorus & sing, "Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! His faithful love endures forever." (1 Chronicles 16:34).

this guy i know...

2006-04-04T11:32:00.000-05:00

One morning I was setting up chairs in our classrooms, getting ready for Sunday. I found this written on the whiteboard in our 8th Grade girls classroom. Just kind of makes your heart smile, you know?

Faith

2006-03-30T08:35:00.000-06:00

Faith & the idea of faith is something I've struggled with for a long while now. Lately, it's been on my mind. And "coincidentally" (if you believe in that), I decided today to start reading Beth Moore's book, "Believing God." I thought I'd share with you how she opens this book.

"Faith is the way believers jump on board with God & participate in countless wonderful things He has in mind to do. Faith happens when believers believe. Faith is an action verb that invites the exhilaration of holy participation. It's about getting out there where we can feel the wind of God's Spirit blowing in our faces. It's about learning that we don't have to put down the Sword of the Spirit (the Word of God) to raise up the Shield of Faith. The way I see it, that's why God gave us two hands. If we want to live abundantly & victoriously, we must pick up both. To pick up the Sword of the Spirit without the Shield of Faith is to shrivel and dry up in the desert of legalism. To pick up the Shield of Faith without the Sword of the Spirit is to try walking by faith on quicksand."

Challenging words. I pray my faith will become action & a reality I live out every day more fully.

Did You Know?

2006-03-28T08:52:00.000-06:00

Did you know that the gigantic rope that holds the Golden Gate Bridge together, yes, the huge one you see in the photo below, is actually made up of thousands of smaller pieces of rope all intertwined together? Maybe you did know this. But did you know that if you unraveled these pieces of rope to make one long strand... in other words, if you stretched out all the smaller individual pieces of rope into one long string, you would have enough to wrap it around this planet we call earth not once, not twice, but three times! That's amazing.

It's amazing that human beings can make something like that. And I'm sure there are a number of spiritual applications we could make, a cord of three strands & all that. But to me, the most fascinating thing is that we have continually sought to do great things. The building of the Golden Gate Bridge, a great thing. Especially for it's time. And we as the human race have always sought to do & make great things. As early as the attempt to build the tower at Babel we see this inner desire to achieve greatness.

Yet, there is still a great need for a resizing to take place in our lives. We need desperately to resize our view of ourselves & our view of God. I am most amazed at God's greatness. Who is greater? There is none like Yahweh. But you know what I'm even more impressed with? And this has just really been on my heart lately. More than God's greatness I am deeply impressed by His humility. And with that in mind resizing not only occurs, but isn't greatness also redefined?

Psalm of Nick

2006-03-13T14:57:00.000-06:00

On Thursday mornings I meet with a group of teens on this side of town for coffee, prayer, etc. We've been working our way through the Psalms since January. A few weeks ago, I encouraged them to write a psalm, & even be thinking about writing songs that we could sing. One of my heroes in our youth group, a Senior named Nick, took me up on the offer & wrote the following. I was pretty amazed by his words...

A Psalm of Nick.
The Lord guides me. He shines His light onto my path so that I may see. And many times I rebuke Him, and I explore the unknown paths not made for me. Yet the Lord still shines His light for me on my path. He showers me with His never ending grace and mercy. He wakes me with His sun and rests me in His moon and stars. O how I shout to Him and praise His for the blessings He gives me and then I turn my back. But still every day, I have my sun and my starry nights. O Father! Hear my praises, as I fall to my knees and thank You for Your unconditional love, for without it I'd be a withered, dead soul and so would all of mankind. Father, please help me to keep my paths straight, and to keep my praises high, for You, Father, are the supreme, most awesome being, and I fall to my knees and lift my hands and praise Your name forever.

Seven

2006-03-07T12:36:00.001-06:00

This May will mark 7 years for me here at Mayfair. It has truly been a blessed 7 years. There are more people who deserve so much credit for me to have even be here to this point than I can name. I'm blessed to have so many who have invested in me & poured much of themselves into my life along the way. And while I can't even begin to list all these people, I thought I would list 7 quick things that I've learned throughout my short time in ministry. Don't get too excited, these probably won't change your life...but they have helped me through the years. Here they are in no particular order...

1. Don't stress.
After 7 seven years of doing this I'm definitely less stressed than I used to be. I'm pretty particular about how I like things done but I've found that at the end of the day it all works out. You can't take yourself too seriously. And it's just easier to roll with the punches sometimes. Things seldom work out like you plan them. While I still believe in putting in the work to plan & prepare, I'm better at going with the flow than I've ever been.

2. Let people help.
Honestly, I walked into a great situation following in Lee Milam's footsteps. He had put some great people in leadership places in this ministry. These people & others through the years have really blessed my life & our ministry & made it greater than anything I could have ever done on my own. I'm grateful to have so many leaders around me willing to invest themselves into what we're doing.

3. Pray for Wisdom & Mentors.
I've always prayed for 2 things since I was in Jr. High/High School. I know this will sound weird but it's true. I've always prayed for wisdom & for mentors. And I believe my life has been blessed by both. I'm not the wisest person you'll ever meet, but the LORD has led me to make some great decisions & I attribute those successes to Him. And I can't tell you were I'd be without the powerful influence of 5-6 key men who knowingly & unknowingly have been mentors to me. I'll have to write later about how they've blessed my life. I'm a strong believer in finding & having mentors in your life.

4. A great wife.
If you know her, you'll agree. Alisha has been an incredible wife to me over our seven years of marriage. It takes a special person to be the wife of a minister. And she has handled the role with grace & beauty. I'm proud of her, I love her, & I'm having a baby with her!! How cool is that? August 6 is coming up quick. Check out the Family News blog for more on that.

5. Tune-ups.
You know how a mechanic never seems to have time to work on his own car? The same can be true of ministers in the spiritual sense. I've found it imperative to take time to keep myself "filled up" so that I can continue in ministry with integrity. Here's a brief list of things I've done that have helped me.
--Read quality devotional material.
--Do something physical (i.e. hike, fish, walk the dog, run, etc.)
--Personal retreat. I did this once at Gethsemani, 1 word: Awesome.
--Conferences. Great times of refreshing.
--Personal worship time. A must.

6. Enjoy it.
The thing I love about my job (even though it's really not a job) is that I still love what I do. I make a living by God's grace doing what I would do even if I didn't get paid for it. That's just cool. I don't know how long I'll be in youth ministry, but I know it will be a long time.

7. Run with the distance in mind.
One of my mentors taught me the principle of "Begin with the end in mind." And that truly effects everything I do. From my marriage, to my ministry, to our summer mission trips, to the next class I teach, to how I live my life. I always want to do those things I'll never regret. And even when I began here at Mayfair, my desire has always been to live out my days here.

This past week Rick Warren wrote about the benefits & blessings of staying at one church for the long haul. That has always been my prayer & intention. I love the words Rick prayed, it's as if they were my own:

"Father, I'm willing to go any place in the world you want to send me. But I ask for the privilege of investing my entire life in just one location. I donÂt care where you put me, but IÂd like to stay wherever it is for the rest of my life."

home again

2006-03-06T08:39:00.000-06:00

I'm finally home from a long week at Lipscomb. I do love getting to see all my Lipscomb friends, but there's nothing more exciting than getting to come home on Friday to see my wife.

On the way home, I listened to the Passion: The Early Session 02 - EP. Have you heard it? Great new song by Tomlin, & Louie continues to rock my world. Get it from itunes asap. You won't regret it. Here's the lyrics to the new worship song by Tomlin called "Made to Worship."

You & I are made to worship, You & I are called to love
You & I are forgiven & free
When you & I embrace surrender, You & I choose to believe
You & I will see who we were meant to be

Before the day, before the light
Before the world revolved around the sun
God on high, stepped down into time and wrote the story of His love for everyone
He has filled our hearts with wonder
So that we always remember

You & I are made to worship, You & I are called to love
You & I are forgiven & free
When you & I embrace surrender, You & I choose to believe
You & I will see who we were meant to be

All we are, and all we have
Is all a gift from God that we receive
Brought to life we open up our eyes to see the majesty & glory of the king
He has filled our hearts with wonder
so that we always remember

You & I are made to worship, You & I are called to love
You & I are forgiven & free
When you & I embrace surrender, You & I choose to believe
You & I will see who we were meant to be

Even the rocks cry out, and even the heavens shout
The sound of His holy name
So let every voice sing out, let every knee bow down
He is worthy of our praise

You & I are made to worship, You & I are called to love
You & I are forgiven & free
When you & I embrace surrender, You & I choose to believe
You & I will see who we were meant to be

Subscribe!

2006-03-02T00:42:00.000-06:00

2 new things to report. First, you can now subscribe to this blog. And anytime I get around to posting, you'll know via email. Pretty cool huh? And, due to family & friends abroad wanting to see & hear more about what's going on with Alisha & I, especially now that a baby is on the way, we've started a little blog sharing our family news. You can check it out to see what's happening with us & the baby that's on the way.
Enjoy!

That's Why We Praise Him

2006-02-28T16:52:00.000-06:00

Psalm 22:3"Yet You are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel."

Israel's worship songs were both an act of remembering & an act of praise. It's amazing to me how many of Israel's songs remembered God's saving acts on their behalf. Psalm 30:11-12, Psalm 107, & Psalm 116:1-9 are great examples. Israel would be called to worship with "Hallelujah" or Praise (Hallelu) Yahweh (yah). And the call to praise the name of God would flood their memory with all the wonders God had done, all the blessings God had given, & all that God meant to them.

And when Israel worshiped, it elevated Yahweh above all other God's. So that God truly was "enthroned on the praises of Israel." Yahweh was elevated above Baal, Dagon, Marduk...above all other gods.

So too with our worship. When our worship experiences truly result in praise, God is lifted up above our gods. Above popularity, money, power, esteem, inclusion & all the rest. Or has our praise become routine. Perhaps we need to create, if even for our own personal times of worship, songs that reflect God's saving work in our lives. It is through remembering that praise is born. What is praise that is not born from experience? Cheap? Empty? Hopefully our praise can have the full meaning & call to mind all that God is in our lives as well so that the God who is worthy of praise may actually recieve praise from our lips, hearts & lives.

May Yahweh be lifted up in our praise.
Praise Him.

courage to speak

2006-02-21T07:41:00.000-06:00

This weekend our youth group went to Winterfest in Gatlinburg, TN & joined 12,000 other teens in a wonderful experience as we all grew in our relationship to Father God. The picture you see here is of my friend Taylor. Taylor is a junior in our youth group. He is a great servant who has a humble heart. There's nothing Taylor won't do for you if you ask him. He's just one of those guys that doesn't need a lot of press, doesn't require a lot of thanks or recognition. He just wants to be a servant & bless the kingdom. And he's been doing that for as long as I've known him.

I've been praying for Taylor for quite some time. For whatever reason, Taylor has been holding out to be baptized. To make that commitment to the Lord where he steps into the water & becomes a child of God. Retreats have come & gone where I've talked to Taylor, prayed for Taylor, & still nothing has happened...as far as I could see.

But this weekend was different. It was the last night at Winterfest. And they were offering an invitation. One of our adults had gotten up & positioned himself where he could see Taylor. According to him, Taylor never flinched, never moved the whole time the invitation song was being sung. But Taylor's good friend T.J. was talking to Taylor the whole time the song was going on.

After the song was over, I was a little disappointed that Taylor had not walked forward. And then to my surprise, Taylor & T.J. walk right up to me. With chins quivering & tears in there eyes. Then Taylor reached out, gave me a big bear hug & told me he wanted to get baptized.

I told him I loved him & was proud of him. People started gathering around to hug Taylor. So I stepped aside & asked T.J., "Did you get a chance to talk to Taylor this weekend about being baptized?" He said he had. I asked him what made him decide to talk to Taylor. He said, "He's my friend & I didn't want to lose him."

I later asked him what he said to Taylor during that invitation song. He said, "I asked him if he believed Jesus was the Son of God, cause that's all he needed to know,"

May we be the T.J.'s in the lives of those friends we love & don't want to lose.

A-mazing

2006-02-14T10:11:00.000-06:00

Have you seen this guy?

One of the things Alisha & I love to do together is watch American Idol. And we're no fair weather fans. We even watch these early, painful episodes where so many horrific singers are paraded in front of the judges. We just believe you have to be in all the way or not at all. So you can imagine our surprise when this smiley 18 year old cowboy stood in front of Simon, Randy & Paula & blew us away with his amazing voice.

Garet Johnson got his gold ticket & was ready to make his way to Hollywood. Singing in front of the judges was the first time he had ever sung in front of a human audience. Before, he had only sing in front of the turkey's he fed every morning. It would be the first time he would ever fly on an airplane. In fact, there were a lot of firsts for Garet.

He's nickname now is the "Crying Cowboy." Whenever they interview Garet, he's so overcome with emotion just to have this opportunity. You can see how pure his soul is. He's genuine through & through. And it's so nice to see the good guys get a chance like this.

After arriving in Hollywood, the contestants would get a tour. It's a chance to see the sites & take it all in. I was particularly touched when they took Garet's group to the beach. You see, this was his first time to see the ocean. He stood forever just looking at it. And then, fully dressed in his cowboy boots, wranglers, button down western wear hat & all...Garet began to walk into the ocean. He slapped at the waves. Laughed with joy in the splendor of it all. And he kept walking till the ocean waves washed completely over him. And he loved it.

May you too be so overwhelmed & completely amazed by the awesome love of YAHWEH.

Your unfailing love, O LORD, is as vast as the heavens;
Your faithfulness reaches beyond the clouds.
Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains,
Your justice like the ocean depths.
Psalm 36.5-6

creatures in His presence

2006-02-10T12:50:00.000-06:00

(disclaimer: sorry, i'm on this psalm kick)

it's hard for me to get my mind around Your holiness
and Your otherness
i don't know that i will ever understand who You are
Your nature & Your character are so far beyond me
and yet you come & call me by name
and still you hold my life in Your hands

we're not a people worthy of such all sustaining love
all forgiving love
we cannot pretend to deserve Your presence in our lives
Your nature & Your character, it speaks to who we are
for we are as the image of You
creation reflecting the Creator in You

creatures in You presence, calling You by name
may we all live a life that glorifies Your fame

a psalm

2006-02-07T00:18:00.000-06:00

for all the things You do & all the things you are
for all the times You hear my cry & answer when i call
creation sings Your praise, the stars they light Your way
and how i want to join the song that sings of Your great Name

to sing of Your unfailing love, Your unending grace
You are merciful & You are in this place
You are worthy of praise

everything

2006-01-24T09:25:00.000-06:00

We've been talking about the idea of treasure with our teens over the last few weeks. Coming out of Matt. 6:19-21, "where your treasure is, that's where your heart is too." So last Wednesday night I'm in Junior High kicking around some ideas with these 6th-8th graders & I asked them how much would they pay to go to Heaven? If God where to say that they could buy a ticket that would ensure them a one way trip to heaven, how much would they pay to buy that ticket? One kid says, "Everything I have!" Another says, "All the money in the world!" Which led me to ask,
"How much are you willing to give God?" One good church answer came back, "10 percent." Then one after another they started saying that they would give God everything.

So, I pushed them a little. I know. It's not fair to be this way to Jr. Highers. But after many said they would gladly give God everything, I asked them to do it. I cleared off the stage & asked them to place everything they had on the stage & that we would give it away to those in need. One girl said, I don't have anything, obviously ignoring the warm coat she was wearing, the cell phone she was carrying, the money that was in her expensive purse. I said, you guys have plently on you tonight. I pointed out some of these things, & asked them to give tonight whatever they would to God. Not much made it to the stage. A few kids, trying to be funny, began to throw some trash up on stage. Then, all of a sudden, Samantha came up. A 6th grader. And stood on the stage. Letting all of us know that she would give "everything."

"I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 18.3

heavy

2006-01-19T08:03:00.000-06:00

I love our thursday morning get togethers at Cafe Baba's. It's something I look forward to every time we do it. Mostly we hang out, talk & enjoy coffee. But we also take just a few minutes to share a verse or 2 & a prayer before the day starts. This morning we shared in Psalm 8. And we talked a lot about God's glory.

Glory has always been a difficult word for me to really get my mind around. I mean, what is it? How do we get it? How do you define it? What does it look like? What is God's glory? Now I still don't have it all figured out, but I have to say that one thing I learned in my Hebrew (language) class last semester was the meaning of glory. In Hebrew, the word means heavy, weight, or significance. So God's glory would be His weight, the sum of all the greatness that He is. It's His significance...His meaning-full-ness. So if God is significant, we are insignificant. If God is meaningful, we are meaningless. If God is infinite, we are finite. If God is heavy, we are lite. If God is great, we are small.

God's glory defines who He is in so many ways and reveals who we aren't. Psalm 8.5 says that God has crowned us with glory & honor. All that we aren't God redeems to make us who He wants us to be. He re-defines who we are by crowning us with His glory. And all that we are becomes evident in the light of His glory. Praise Him.

baby t

2006-01-12T08:11:00.001-06:00

Well, it's been killing us to keep such a big secret for so long! Alisha & I found out we were going to have a baby back in Decemeber, & we just made the big announcement last night to everyone. We're very excited! Alisha is 10 1/2 weeks along. Our due date is set for August 6th. Everything is going perfectly so far. We're thankful for that. And we're thankful for you. For all our friends & loved ones who continue to surround us, support us & love us. We humbly ask for your prayers. We'll keep you posted as the journey continues. For now, you can check out the first photo of our baby. This is only the first of many pictures to come!

i praise you

2006-01-10T10:36:00.000-06:00

O LORD, you have searched me
and you know me.
You know when I sit and when I rise;
you percieve my thoughts from afar.
You discern my going out & my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.
Before a word is on my tongue
you know it completely, O LORD.

You hem me in--behind & before;
you have laid your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain.

Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.

If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night all around me,"
even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.

For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully & wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in a secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,
your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be.

How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
Were I to count them,
they would outnumber the grains of sand.
When I awake, I am still with you.

Psalm 139.1-18, of David

For the smell of it.

2005-11-18T09:00:00.000-06:00

I like to make coffee for the smell of it.

It dawned on me this morning. I’m in a hotel room here in Nashville & for no apparent reason I started making coffee. Now we don’t have a coffee maker at home. I’m not a big coffee drinker, per se. I mean, I live mochas & lattés, frappuccino is my favorite. But just straight up black coffee…never been a big fan. This morning though – I realized why I started making coffee. I realized why every time I walk by a coffee shop in the airport, pass by it percolating in the office, come across it at restaurants & the like, it brings such a warm & comforting feeling over me.

You see growing up my father was an avid coffee drinker. I have no idea how many cups of coffee he would down in a day. But if there’s one thing that brings back to mind memories of growing up with my father, it’s the smell of Maxwell House brewing first thing in the morning. Before school, before church, on Saturdays, on holidays, coffee was a given for my dad.

In the same way, there are many things that remind me daily of my heavenly Father. The things that remind you day in & day out of His love are probably different than those things that remind me. Because He knows each of us so well I’m sure He uniquely places things in our daily lives that remind us that we have a Father who’s watching over us with love & pride.

This morning, I write this with a cup of Maxwell House sitting next to me. I’m drinking it, not particularly enjoying it. But enjoying the feeling I get of remembering & knowing my father. What has reminded you of your Father &amp; allowed you to enjoy the feeling of remembering & knowing Him?

no longer walking

2005-11-15T14:58:00.000-06:00

"From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him." John 6.66 (niv)

Hungry? Satisfied? Full? Can I get you anything? Want fries with that? What more do you want?

The thing I love about Jesus is He is always meeting people's needs. Many times those that He helps, heals, feeds, etc. don't even become believers in Him. So, it's a comfort to know Jesus is capable, able, ready & active in meeting the needs of people...even more so, meeting your needs.

Big, small. Urgent, insignificant. One thing He's good at, meeting needs.

Still, will that be enough for you?

Jesus feeds 5000, then declares to the crowd that He is the bread of life. The people wanted manna again. Not sure why. When God provided manna the first time around, all they did was complain about it. And besides that, they eventually died. Nothing special about the manna their ancestors ate. Jesus miraculously takes a little boys lunch & feeds more than 5000. Then says "I am the bread of life." And "...he who feeds on this bread will live forever."

In other words...eat, drink, live, breath Me!

And they got it. The people, the crowds, the Pahrisees, teachers of the law, scribes... they got it. Following Jesus means a total, unparalleled, uncompromising, unwaivering commitment to Jesus Christ & His purposes. It's all or nothing.

After hearing this, look at what happened. The NASB says it this way,

"As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore."

They decided they could no longer walk with Jesus. This relationship with Jesus is all about daily walking. Literally, the text reads that "they withdrew back to their own things behind." Wow. Couldn't commit to this walk with Jesus. I think this is what we might call discipleship.

Sometimes we, for a moment, withdraw back to our own things behind. But now, keep on walking with Jesus. Believe & know that He is the Holy One of God. Be Satisfied. Fulfilled. And walk on.

fingerprints...

2005-11-01T20:11:00.000-06:00

This week, as many of you know, I'm at Lipscomb taking another grad class. Being here reminds me of a lot of things. Mostly, & for a lot of different reasons, it reminds me of all the people that have had an amazing impact on my life. If you're reading this, chances are you are one of the people whose fingerprints are most clearly seen in my life to this point. And for this, I am so thankful.

It's easy for me to see the fingerprints of God in my life. It's easy because I can identify the people God has used & is using to put them there. They have faces & names & funny stories that go along with them.

From my parents who have & continue to show me what it means to be Christ-like,
to my Kindergarden teacher, Mrs Thompson (you never forget your kindergarten teacher you know!),
to those youth deacons who helped me through Jr. High,
to those older guys that let me hang out with them in Sr. High,
to the mentors & life long friends I met through college,
to the men & women who have influenced my life heavily over the past 6 years in ministry,
to the teens who I have been called to minister to who minister to me so often,
to the few who have let me be a spiritual mentor in their lives,
to my wife...words can't express how I feel about you,
to now, this point in history...it's amazing. His fingerprints are everywhere.

I see people here on campus who have had a huge impact in my story & I see people who have allowed me to have a huge impact on their story & right in the center of it all...the story was never about either of us, but about our great God. And in participating in what He's doing in His story, we get to see His fingerprints in our lives. It's a simple yet overwhelming thought & tonight I just want to stop & praise God for you.

I can't take any credit for who I am (or who "I am not" for you Louie fans) today. But I can praise our great God for the grace He has shown me & the influence He's allowed you to have in my life for His glory. And that's just what I'll do. Praise Him. Today. For you.

I Believe in Wyoming

2005-10-25T11:29:00.000-05:00

So this discussion came up on the way home from our Jr. High Fall Retreat. It all started when I told the kids on my bus that I didn't believe in Wyoming. I mean think about it. Have you ever seen a liscense plate from Wyoming? I haven't! What comes from Wyoming? Idaho is famous for potatoes. Wisconsin for cheese. Wyoming...nada, nothing comes to mind. So why should I believe in Wyoming? I've never met anyone from there. I don't know what comes from there. I've never seen a picture from there. Don't know of any reason why I should believe in Wyoming. Is it a government conspiracy? Maybe we only had 49 states but someone thought the nice round number of 50 would be better so they rounded up & made up the state of Wyoming. I don't know. The whole thing seems bizarre to me. Why should I believe in Wyoming? No one has offered me any hard evidence it is true or that it really exists.

Actually, (you know what I'm about to say) I do believe in Wyoming. No, I've never been there, never seen a liscense plate from there, don't know what comes from there. But I believe in Wyoming. The fact of the matter is I don't have to see it to believe in it. I don't have to meet someone from there to know that it is an actual place that actually exists. I believe in Wyoming for the same reason I believe in a lot of things.

And I believe in things that matter a lot more than Wyoming. I believe in God. I believe in brotherly love. I believe in serving. I believe in hope. I believe in people. I believe in things I can't explain, can't see, can't resolve, can't define, can't locate, & can't understand.

I believe in Wyoming, do you?

This is love

2005-09-29T10:49:00.000-05:00

Jesus said in John 15:12-14,

"My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command."

He said that, & I believe he meant it. But then, Jesus takes things one step farther. He not only lays down his life for his friends - for those He loves, but He lays down His life for His enemies - for those that hated Him.

I had a professor @ Lipscomb, Randy Harris, who once started class by talking about the "irritant." An irritant, he said, is an irritant because they don't know they are irritating. That's what makes them an irritant. We all know people like this & have people in our lives we just don't necessarily like. The question for us is how do we treat these people in light of the cross?

The common response is to be nice & polite to these people that we just don't naturally get along with. To be cordial to those who hurt us. Maybe to even pray for them. But Jesus went far beyond tolerating those people - He laid down his life for those who loved Him & those who didn't love Him.

It's easy for us to love those who love us. And it's easy for us to love sacrificially for those who love us. But Jesus calls us to this "next level" of Christianity, if you will. To sacrifically love those who don't love us. To lay down our lives for those who hurt us, mistreat us, & irritate us. That's the real challenge. How do we do that in real, everyday, practical ways? That's up to us to live out.

Hope in the midst of the Storm

2005-09-19T14:26:00.000-05:00

Jeremiah 51:15-19

In recent days we've witnessed great devastation. I don't have to say much to recall images you've witnessed from the newspaper, internet, & TV showing us the desructive power of this recent natural disaster called Katrina. Countless lives have been forever changed by this incredible storm.

But I wonder how many lives here at home have been & are being ravaged by the storms of life that have come. There are 3 "storm stories" I look to that give me hope when the storms of life come. Each found in Matthew. The first 2 occur with the disciples on the Sea of Galillee. In Matthew 8, Jesus is asleep in the boat. The winds & the waves are raging & the disciples wake up Jesus shouting, "Lord, save us!"

In Matthew 14, the disciples once again are in the boat in the middle of the sea when the storm comes. The disciples are terrified when they see a figure walking toward them on the water. The Jesus calls out to them & says three things.
He says, "It's alright."
"I am here."
"Do not be afraid."

2 times He has calmed the storm. In the third story, however, Jesus endures the storm for you & for me.

In Matthew 26 Jesus is in the garden. It's one incresible storm He is facing. And He's having to face it alone. 3 times He prays to His Father that this cup would pass from Him. But He yields His will to that of His Father.

2 times He calmed the storm. The third time, He endured it.

Each time Jesus was in the middle of the storm. And each time prayer was the resource that brought delieverence either from the storm, or through it.

When we face the storms of life, remember the words of Jesus when He says, "It's alright. I am here. Do not be afraid." Remember that He is always in the middle of the storm with you, & that He will see you through.

War Eagle!

2005-09-17T13:18:00.000-05:00

I'm at the game! War Eagle!

Psalm 130

2005-09-16T09:10:00.000-05:00

From the depths of despair, O LORD,
I call for Your help.
Hear my cry, O LORD.
Pay attention to my prayer.

LORD, if You kept a record of our sins,
who, O Lord, could ever survive?
But You offer forgiveness,
that we might learn to fear You.

I am counting on the LORD;
yes, I am counting on Him.
I have put my hope in His word.
I long for the Lord
more than sentries long for the dawn,
yes, more than sentries long for the dawn.

O Israel, hope in the LORD;
for with the LORD there is unfailing love
and an overflowing supply of salvation.
He himself will free Israel
from every kind of sin.

2005-09-15T08:19:00.000-05:00

Cafe baba's ~ Thursday mornings at 7am. Ask Allison what kind of coffee to eat!

Greater & Greater

2005-09-14T16:15:00.000-05:00

"He must become greater & greater, & I must become less & less." John 3:30 NLT

We've all heard this verse a thousand times, but lately it's just been on my mind. How do we live that? How is God becoming greater & greater in me? We say it on every mission trip. "It's not about me, it's about Him." But is that really true? On Sunday we sing "How great is our God" or "How Great Thou Art." But really the song we live out is "how great i am."

Everyone look at me & see what I'm doing. Let me have your attention please.

This is my struggle as much as yours. All I know today is that it takes a concerted effort to live John 3:30.

It takes a conscience effort to put others before my self.

It takes a purposeful act to do the job no one else wants to do.

It takes time, energy, & all my resources to live out John 3:30.

Ask John the Baptist. He had nothing to his name. Not a penny. No great house to show off. No fancy car or means of transportation. No brand name clothes. Nothing like that. There were a few guys that followed him & became his disciples. They bought into what he was selling. But when Jesus came along, he pointed them in His direction. And they followed Jesus. John's response, I must become less.

Today, i just want to make a decision to live John 3:30 on purpose. It won't be easy, but it should Great as I make much of You Jesus in my life. Behold, the Lamb of God.

greater|than> • part 3

2005-09-12T15:14:00.000-05:00

Let me start by saying kudos to our Senior guys who led our SH Devo last night. These guys did an outstanding job. I really appreciate this Senior class & their willingness so far to be leaders, & step up in our youth group to lead our group this year in a way that glorifies & exalts GOD!

As we begin the school year, we're talking about the greatness of God. Our theme for the next 8 weeks, greater|than>, really says it all. Psalm 135.5 says it this way: "I know the greatness of the LORD, that our LORD is greater than any other God." Our God is great. And He wants to be great in you. Because when He is great in & through your life, His name receives glory. And everything God does He does for His glory. But how do we let God be great in our lives?

Take a look at the ring nebula.

It's a beautiful picture. It's the most photographed star in the galaxy. You see the tiny star on the left, right in the center of the beautiful colorful rings? That star is dying. That's right. And in it's dying it is producing these galactic gasses & star dust that makes these beautiful colorful rings that we see. You see, it's beauty comes from it's dying. The same is true of you & I.

We are most beautiful when we die to self & self trying. Paul said I am crucified with Christ & it's not me...but Christ who lives in me. We too are most beautiful when we die to ourselves & let Christ live in us.

praying for patience

2005-09-07T20:37:00.000-05:00

I've been waiting to write about this since Sunday. It's been one of those things that's been on my mind, percalating over the past few days. I found myself praying for patience Sunday morning during communion. Not praying that God would give me patience. But that God would be patient with me. Praying for patience. I realize more & more that I am not yet who God has called me to be. I haven't arrived yet. I'm not there yet. I need God to be patient with me. I realize I'm not good at loving people. For those of you who know me well, you may find it strange for me to say that. Don't get me wrong. I love those who love me well. But what about the lady in the checkout line at Wal-Mart. What about the guy I see at the gas station. What about those I cross paths with everyday, & ignore for the most part. What is my influence on them? Am I effectively reflecting the love of God? Are people seeing the joy of the Lord in my life? I sang a song when I was growing up in Sunday school. It went like this...

He's still working on me
To make me what I ought to be
It took Him just a week to make the moon & the stars
The earth & the sky & Jupitar & Mars
How loving & patient He must be
'Cause He's still working on me.

Thank you God for not giving up on me. For being patient with me. Father, make me what you want me to be. May I reflect your love & your glory to all those around, for Your name's sake.

2005-08-23T08:34:00.000-05:00

We have a great God! Praise the one who transforms our lives into something beautiful.

greater|than> • part 2

2005-08-23T08:16:00.000-05:00

The equation solves everything. Go ahead. Try it. Fill in the blank. God is > _____. God is > my latest crisis. God is > my parents problems. God is > my worst sin. God is > my guilt & shame. God is >. Chris Tomlin writes in one of my favorite songs:

Age to age He stands, And time is in His hands;
Beginning & the End, Beginning & the End.
The Godhead three in one, Father, Spirit, Son,
The Lion & the Lamb, The Lion & the Lamb

How great is our God!
Sing with me:
How great is our God!
And all will see
How great, how great is our God!

Name above all names,
Worthy of all praise.
My heart will sing: How great is our God!

Ever wonder why the smallest things in life stress us out? Ever wonder why we sometimes feel all alone, even when surrounded by people? Ever wonder why you can't get past the one thing that is always holding you back, holding you down? I wonder if it's because we haven't really turned it over to our Great God. There's nothing you've done that He hasn't dealt with before. There's nothing you can say that will surprise Him. There's not too much you can offload onto Him or dump on Him. He won't get stressed out. He won't get tired of listening to you. You can't scare Him off. You can't run Him off. He be here for you tomorrow, & the next day, & the next day, & the next day, & the next day after that. He's a Great God. And He's Great at what He does. And He wants to do Great things in You, through You & for you. He's all about being a Great God. And in being Great in you, through you & for you He brings glory to His name. So let Him. Let Him invade your life today. Let Him be Great. He's going to be Great regardless. Let Him be > in your life. Not for you, but for Him.

epicenter

2005-08-22T08:25:00.000-05:00

So this morning I've been reading Isaiah 40 & 41. It reminds me again how "out of sorts" things are in my head. And it's a tragedy. Epicenter... know what it means? It refers to the point of the earth's surface directly above the focus of an earthquake. It's the focal point of tragedy. It's the point of origin of something that's just not right. You see, for me at least, I'm spending too much of my time & efforts trying to keep the world revolving around me. And it doesn't work that way. The world revolves around God. He is the center. He is the focal point of all that is good & perfect & right. He is the point of origin that keeps everything under His care. He needs to be the center of my life... and I need to put an end to trying to make my life the center of His attention.

"To whom will you compare me? Who is my equal?" asks the Holy One. Isaiah 40:25

"Who has done such mighty deeds, directing the affairs of the human race as each new generation marches by? It is I, the LORD, the First & the Last. I alone am He." Isaiah 41:4

greater|than>

2005-08-11T09:54:00.000-05:00

Psalm135:5
I know the greatness of the LORD--
that our Lord is greater than any other god.

greater|than>. I love the concept. It's found on virtually every page of the Bible. It's found in every story revealed to us on every page of the Bible. Every story, character, psalm, parable, sermon, prophecy, wisdom...all tell us that God is greater|than>. And not only will you discover this through everything you read in God's awesome word, I believe you'll find it to be true in your life too. God is greater|than>our problems. Our circumstances. Our situations. Our emergencies. Our sins. Our family troubles. Our limitations. Our failures. Our inadequacies. Our short comings. Our successes. Our victories. Our finest moments in life...God is greater|than> them all.

We have this misconception that God is somehow as stressed out about stuff as we are. That He's all worked up over all the things He's dealing with. And we even feel guilty sometimes handing our junk to Him to work on. And then we get this idea that there is no way God can fix this. There's no way He help here with this deal I'm dealing with. We pray, & if someone who didn't know our God were to listen in on our prayers, they would probably think that we pray to a pretty small, weak, infinitesimal God.

Read this verse again...& see if you agree with the Psalmist.

"I know the greatness of the Lord--
that our Lord is greater than any other God."

Do you know the greatness of the Lord? The next 2 verses in this psalm say,
"The LORD does whatever pleases him,
in the heavens and on the earth,
in the seas and all their depths.

He makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth;
he sends lightning with the rain
and brings out the wind from his storehouses."

You see, God's got a lot going on. He's got to keep the heavens & the earth spinning, He's got lightning, rain & wind to worry about. Not to mention the fact that He's got over 6 billion people on planet earth to deal with. Countless stars to light every night. Countless galaxies to watch over. An entire universe to oversee. And the thing is, He's not stressed out. He's not burned out. He's not overworked. He doesn't need a vacation. He's doing just fine. And the wild thing is that in-spite of all that He's got going on, He still cares deeply about what's going on in your world. And beyond that, He's capable, able, willing & wanting to get involved in your life. "The Lord does whatever pleases Him." And the cross tells me that nothing pleases Him more than knowing & loving you.

And what happens when you come to reflect a life that says God is greater|than>____? Notice the way the psalmist begins...verse 1:
Praise the LORD!
Praise the name of the LORD!
Praise him, you who serve the LORD...

Our praise & His glory is the result of His working in my life & in your life. And that's why He does what He does. For the praise of His glory. So live today in the assurance that God is greater|than>, & praise His Name, you who serve the LORD.

AFTER God's Own Heart

2005-07-26T15:37:00.000-05:00

More & more I find myself falling in love with the story of David. Mostly because it's a great story of God in which David has such an incredible part to play. You know David. He keeps sheep. Kills lions & bears...and giants. Fierce warrior. Anointed by Samuel. King of Israel. Father of Solomon. Remember Bathsheba? So he wasn't perfect. In fact, through his story we see many ups & downs. Victories & defeats. Good days & bad days. No doubt, the one passage that comes to mind for most of us when we think of David isn't something we read in Old Testament, though that's where all the great David stories are found. The number one passage that comes to mind when most of us think of David was spoken by Paul the apostle. It's found in the New Testament in Acts 13:21-23. Read it & see if you'll agree that this passage is what David is known most often for...

Acts 13:21-23 (NIV)
"After this, God gave them judges until the time of Samuel the prophet. 21Then the people asked for a king, and he gave them Saul son of Kish, of the tribe of Benjamin, who ruled forty years. 22After removing Saul, he made David their king. He testified concerning him: 'I have found David son of Jesse a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.'
23"From this man's descendants God has brought to Israel the Savior Jesus, as he promised.

A man after God's own heart. We read that & think, "Wow, I hope that after it's all said & done that I will be remembered the same way." And it's true, who wouldn't want to be remembered as a man or women after God's own heart. The question is, how? After I'm dead & gone, what about my life & the way I've lived will lead people to believe that I was a person after God's own heart.

I'd like to help you with that question, but first, consider that statement with me: "After God's own heart." That word "after" has really come alive for me as I think about this verse. After can mean a lot of things. You can be named after someone. You can follow after someone or something. After can refer to time...or after can refer to a pursuit - I want to chase or go after that. All of these meanings are a little different. But think of these meanings in the context of this verse:

“I have found David son of Jesse a man after (named after, following after, always coming after, chasing after, pursuing after) my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.”

Of all the things that could be said of me & you, I think one of the greatest is that we are people after God's own heart. We have been given His name to bear. Christian - named after Christ. He has called us to follow after Him when He said, "Follow me." We are always pursuing after Him, to gain the prize for which we were called heavenward in Christ Jesus. If you want to be known as someone after God's own heart, then follow the example of David. Not perfect, but always pursuing God. Listen to the power of after, & realize the life that God has called you to live is a life after His own heart.

Salt & Light

2005-03-14T10:39:00.000-06:00

Matthew 5:13-16 (The Message)
13 "Let me tell you why you are here. You're here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth. If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness? You've lost your usefulness and will end up in the garbage.

14"Here's another way to put it: You're here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We're going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. 15If I make you light-bearers, you don't think I'm going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I'm putting you on a light stand. 16Now that I've put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand--shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you'll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.

I remember being down at Gulf Shores one Labor Day weekend with Jason. We had a couple of boogie boards & we were riding the waves. The waves were pretty good that day at Gulf Shores. We figured out that there would be 4 or 5 small waves, then one really big one. I remember riding in one of those big waves & then trying to stand up to catch my breath. Then, out of no where, another huge wave crashed right on top of me. It took me totally under & I thought I was going to die! The under-toe held me under & slammed me against the ocean floor. My back was bruised & bleeding. And the salt water from the ocean entered every opening in my head. My ears, nose, mouth - it ran through my whole sinus system! It cleaned me out. I probably drank half the ocean!

There's no doubt that the ocean is salty. I think what Jesus might have been saying here to me & to you is that He wants us to be just like that ocean wave. Whenever people come into contact with us, there is no doubt that we are salty.

Is there any doubt that you are salty?

What about this?

I remember when my friends & I used to go in mission trips in the summer with the youth group. We used to love to pull practical jokes on each other. We had some great stories. One of the funniest was when one of my friends would wait till the lights had been out about 10-15 minutes. No one was really asleep, but our eyes were well adjusted to the dark. Then he would call out your name like he wanted to tell you something. Even though it was dark, you would still look his way, then, right when you looked his way, he would set off the flash on his camera! It would kill our eyes every time!

Have you ever had a similar experience?

There was no doubt in our minds that that light was real & bright. I think Jesus wants the same for you & me, to be pure light in a very dark world.

I was talking the other day to one of our teens who was telling me about the temptations of drugs & alcohol at her school. She told me that if she ever wanted any of that stuff, she knew right where to get it from. We live in a dark world. Jesus wants, He needs for you & me to be salt & light.

Romans 12: 2 says:
(The Message)
2 Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.

How can you be salt & light in your everyday world?

Whom have I?

2005-03-01T09:29:00.000-06:00

“Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”

I love that passage from Psalm 73. It's the prayer of a true believer; someone who is fully devoted to Yahweh. It's the prayer of the person who has chosen to leave everything & follow the Lord, as the disciples did in Luke 5:11. It's the realization in the heart of the person who seeks God with their entire being that God is All in All. He is I AM. He is. And there is nothing that can take His rightful place in our hearts & in our lives. When God is our everything, & nothing else will do. No substitue can take His place. No other idol can compete. When God is our strength & our portion, then we have come to know Him. And, we are willing to follow Him.

The price of being a follower is steep. The way is narrow. Jesus once said to His disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me."

Jesus' disciples had probably seen a man take up his cross, so they knew what it meant. When a man from one of their villages took up a cross & went off with a band of Roman soldiers, he was on a one way journey. He would not return. Taking up the cross meant the utmost in self-denial. Christ’s followers had to die to an old way of life. And Luke makes the point that it is not something that can be finished & gotten out of the way, but that it must be done daily.

I pray that today that you & I can live for God, for His fame & for His glory. Then we too can say, “Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” Psalm 73:25-26

In His Name...

2005-02-27T23:24:00.000-06:00

We hope in a lot of things. Every year I hope my Auburn Tigers will do well. Right now it's not football season, but after going 13-0 this past year I can hardly wait for next season to begin. You probably find yourself hoping for a lot of things. We hope we'll get that new car on our 16th birthday. We hope that he or she will notice us. We hope that people will like us. We hope that people won't laugh at us or make fun of us, but will accept us. We hope in a lot of things. We hope in the name of appearances. We hope in the name of popularity. We hope in the name of our own intellegence.

But you know, it's just a fact that some days are harder than others. Not every day is filled with sunshine. Sometimes it rains. That's just the way life goes. And in those moments, in those times when you look out the window & the clouds are rolling in, when you just don't feel like getting up & facing the day...in those moments, I want to remind you that there is hope. There is hope that the clouds will soon pass & the rain will soon be gone. The same Jesus that said, "Peace be still" can be the Prince of Peace in your life & quiet any storm that comes your way. There is hope. And it's in His name.

Matthew gave us a hope that is above all others. In Matthew 12:21 he tells us, that "In his name the nations will put their hope." There is no sweeter hope that we have than the hope that we have in the name of Christ. Paul tells us in Romans 10:13 that if we simply call on the name of the Lord He will come to our rescue. I belive there is power & there is hope in the name of Jesus. We call on a lot of people who are powerless to help. We rely on a lot of things that always fall short. And often times we depend on our sheer will power to overcome only what can be accomplished through the name of Christ. There is hope in His name.

Who is Jesus to you? What is his name? Maybe you call Him Lord. Maybe Healer. Perhaps Savior, Redeemer, Friend. The names Counselor, Helper, Confidant, & Forgiver may be close to your heart. In every name, in every way that you identify Christ in your life, do you hear in that name the overtones of hope? Can you see that in every situation hope is His ready offering.

Trust Jesus. Put your hope in Him. People fail you & let you down. Even those with the best of intentions will at some point disappoint you. But put your hope in His name, for He will never fail you. In His name is hope.

It's Not About Me...

2005-02-09T09:15:00.000-06:00

This morning I was already having one of those days, actually...it's been one of those weeks. I'll spare you the details, but you've been there too. You know, when it seems that things just aren't going your way. So this morning I was driving into work & having a conversation with God that I'm sure was confusing even Him. I was driving over this mountain through the fog & trying to make some analogy about how I was ready to clear the fog & move into the sunlight & for life to be the way I thought it should be. Now don't get me wrong, I have a great life. I was just having one of those moments. Then, I round the corner close to the church where I work & I see this elderly man walking his dog, & he had on a sweatshirt with a picture of his dog on it! It got me laughing. I'm sure that will be me one day. Then, I pull into the parking lot & there is this woman & her son standing by their car. They had a flat tire & were having trouble putting on the spare. So I jumped out & began to do what I could to help them. I called my dad & together we changed this lady's tire in no time. We sent them on their way & already, my day felt better.

That's when I had the not so profound revelation, more of a reminder, that this life isn't about me. The world doesn't revolve around me. The universe is not dependant on me. I am here for a much greater purpose than myself. I am here for God's glory. And I'll serve Him & play any part in His story I can. Steven Curtis said it this way in one of my favorite songs:

I want to make much of You Jesus
I want to make much of Your love
I want to live today to give You the praise that You alone are so worthy of
I want to make much of Your mercy
I want to make much of Your cross
I give You my life take it & let it be used to make much of You.

I pray that today you too will make much of Jesus in your life.

Enough

2005-01-26T13:25:00.000-06:00

When is enough enough? I love to run, and you might say I'm a fair weather runner. The exercise it provides is nice & all, but when it's cold outside...I'm just not that committed. I hate to run in the winter time. This time of year, it's just too cold. But in the summertime I love to start the day with a run. Whenever I turn the corner & begin to make my way home, I always start to get excited about that cold glass of gatoraid waiting for me in the fridge. As soon as I make it to the kitchen, I start gulping it down. The only thing is, I can't seem to get enough. The heat, the run, the exercise makes me so thirsty & I just can't get enough.

In 1 Kings 17 we find a cool story about Elijah & a widow. Elijah, the prophet, went to her as the Lord had told him, & asked her for some food & water.

You have to understand a little history here. The short of it is that there is a major famine in the land. Elijah was more or less responsible for that. He had told King Ahab that because Ahab did what was evil in the Lord's sight that it would not rain. And God was using Elijah to bring the people of Israel back to homeself. Ok, enough of the history. On to the cool part.

This widow Elijah approached told him, "I swear by the Lord that I don't have a single piece of bread in the house. I only have a handful of flour left & a little cooking oil in the bottom of the jug. I was just gathering a few sticks to cook this last meal, & then my son & I will die."

This lady was in a pretty sad situation. But Elijah reassured her. He told her to go ahead & make her last meal, but to make him a little piece of bread first. He said afterward there will still be "enough" food for her & her son.

So she did. And from then on, verse 16 says, "there was always 'enough' left in the containers, just as the Lord had promised through Elijah."

A similar thing happened with Jesus in John 6. Over 5000 people had followed Jesus to hear more of His teaching. Jesus asked his disciples where they could get food to feed the crowd. They found a little boy who had brought his lunch. Jesus then preformed a great miracle. Over 5000 people ate lunch that day off of one little boy's lunch. And there were leftovers! 12 baskets were filled with leftovers. In short, there was more than enough.

I think God shows us on every page of scripture that He is more than enough for us. Chris Tomlin says it this way in one of my favorite songs:

All of you is more than enough for
All of me for every thirst & every need
You satisfy me with your love
And all I have in you is more than enough.

We can fill our lives with a lot of things & never feel like we have enough. I hope today you will let God be Enough.

Welcome...

2005-01-24T17:42:00.000-06:00

Today I've decided to join the rest of the online world & begin a blog. Most people would consider me to be up on technology, but I've resisted this for sometime. However, I've seen the light. I hope this blog will be a place where any random thoughts I may have will bless & encourage you, & give God the praise He is worthy of. Check back in the coming days & see how this goes. I pray today that you will live in a way that honors God & brings glory & fame to His name.