Worthy is the
Lamb Who was slain
Holy, Holy, is He
Sing a new song
To Him who sits on
Heaven’s mercy seat

Holy, Holy, Holy
Is the Lord God Almighty
Who was, and is, and is to come
With all creation I sing
Praise to the King of Kings
You are my everything
And I will adore You

Clothed in rainbows
Of living color
Flashes of lightning, rolls of thunder
Blessing and honor, strength and
Glory and power be
To You the only wise King

Filled with wonder
Awestruck wonder
At the mention of Your Name
Jesus Your Name is Power
Breath, and Living Water
Such a marvelous mystery

In our Men’s Group at church, we are working through “Crazy Love” by Francis Chan.  It is not often that one reads a devotional book that starts with a chapter entitled “Stop Praying.”  The point of the chapter is a call to get out of our routines regarding prayer.

How often do we stop to remember exactly Who we are talking to?  The God to Whom we pray is the God Who, by just speaking, brought all that exists into being.  From the outer reaches of space all the way down to the components of a single cell in a plant, all of it came from the verbal command of God.

And yet, we usually come to Him with a cursory declaration of His greatness followed by a routine litany of stuff we want Him to do.  We have such an enormous privilege to come into His presence, and yet, most of the time we come and ignore the magnitude of His majesty.    And, by doing so, we miss SO much that He has for us.

Read the description of the throne of God in the book of Revelation or as revealed to Isaiah.  Both of these men paint fantastic pictures of the glory of God’s presence, yet both of them express frustration that they are limited in what they can describe because the human language is incapable.  And this is where we stand when we approach Him.  It is from this perspective of majesty that He chooses to reach out to us and invite us in.

Praise belongs to You
Let every kingdom bow
Let every ocean roar
Let every heart adore You now

Praise belongs to You
What can I do but sing
The greatest joy I’ve found
Is to lay a crown before my King
Before my King

I’ve come to worship
I’ve come to lift up Your Name
For You deserve this
Life laid down like the One that You gave
I have but one voice
One heart and one sacrifice
So won’t You take this
Life laid down and be glorified
Be glorified

Praise belongs to You
Let songs and children rise
You silence all Your foes
You set Your glory in the skies

Praise belongs to You
Creation calling out
For the King to be revealed
Oh King of Heaven come down
King of Heaven come down

Have you ever had times in your life when you were pretty sure God was doing something but you had no idea what it was?  I’m not talking about the day-to-day manifestations of God at work in our lives.  I’m talking about major “sea changes” in your life.   You have that sense that something BIG is going on.  You can’t really put your finger on it.  You can’t even really put into words what you are sensing sometimes, but you know He is at work, and you are pretty sure that, by the time He gets finished, your life is going to look pretty different.

I have been in that mode for a couple months now (which has contributed to the dearth of posts to the blog).  God has been doing something in my life and my spirit that I am really struggling to “figure out”.  There have been a combination of events, opportunities, issues, etc. that seem to be converging into something.  He has put me into situations that are WAY outside my comfort zone.  He has brought affirmation and confirmation into my life in areas I never even considered.  And there is something going on in my spirit that I cannot “put my finger on” but that I am absolutely sure is His doing.  And, as if I needed further confirmation, all of this has been accompanied by a level spiritual attack that I have rarely experienced.

This has happened a couple times before in my life, although I think I was too immature/naive/clueless (take your pick) to really recognize it at the time.   If I had any real recognition, it was immediately obscured by my desire to figure out what was happening and, once I decided that I “knew,” trying to push God along down that path (or run out ahead, depending on how you look at it.)  Truth be told, I didn’t handle it too well.

I’m trying to handle this one differently and, in the process, learning some new things about walking with Him.  One of the hard lessons is learning to wait on His timing.  Right now, even though I have no clue as to what He might be doing, I am struggling to be patient and not push ahead.  I am just ready for whatever it is to happen.  But I noticed something in Scripture recently, which has given me “pause.”

In our Men’s Bible Study, we have been going through “Walking With God” by John Eldredge.  A few weeks ago, he brought up this point about prayer.  Remember the story of Elijah, when God instructed him to pray for a drought and he did so and God sent a drought?  God said the drought would last for 7 years.  7 years of drought passed and God decided that it was time for the drought to end.  So He tells Elijah to pray for rain.  Elijah does so and sends his servant to look for signs of rain — no rain.  So Elijah prays again for rain and again sends his servant to look for signs of rain — no rain.  They do this SEVEN TIMES!  Finally, on the seventh time, the servant reports a small cloud and shortly after, the rain falls.

I had never noticed this sequence of events.

1. God tells Elijah to pray for a specific divine act.  Why?  If God was going to send a drought, why did Elijah need to pray for it?
2. God tells Elijah how long the drought is going to last.
3. At the end of that time, God tells Elijah to pray for another specific divine act which He had already promised to do.  Why did Elijah need to pray for God to send rain?  He had already promised to do so at that time.
4. Elijah prays for rain, as commanded (and promised) by God, and NOTHING HAPPENS!  He repeatedly prays (at the command of God) for God to do something He had already promised to do, and it is not until the seventh time that God answers!

The point John Eldredge was making is that sometimes we should stop taking our list of requests to God.  Sometimes, we need to ask Him what we should pray for and then pray as He directs.  And it is a very valid point…

However, I noticed something else.  This is not MY story.  This is HIS story.  He has given me the privilege of coming with Him on His plan and purpose.  And, as He is at work, as He is moving, I need to wait on His timing.  Even when I so eagerly want to see the plan unfold, even when I think I “know” what the plan is, I must not get ahead of His time.  When I jump ahead and rush into things like a “bull in a china shop” (which, by the way, Mythbusters busted), I am doing things according to MY plan, not His.  When I allow Him to work His plan in His time, He receives all the glory.

Amazing grace, how sweet the sound
Amazing love, now flowing down
From hands and feet, that were nailed to the tree
As grace flows down and covers me

How thankful I am that I serve a personal Savior, Who knows ME as an individual and freely pours His grace on ME!

Recently, I was involved in an online “discussion” about the role of the believer and the church in the community.  The following comment really got me thinking: “I believe that Christianity and individualism are incompatible ideas.”  This was my response:

“Christianity is the ultimate statement of individualism. It begins with a holy God demanding individual accountability for one’s actions; no excuses, no hedging, no whining. It then proceeds to address the individual failures of each person through an individual encounter with a personal Savior, Who came to the earth as an individual. He interacted with individuals from all strata of society; from touching the leper, to eating with tax collectors, to counseling with Nicodemus, to saving the daughter of a centurion. He did not address them by a group identity. He dealt with them as individuals according to the state of their own spirit.  And He offers each of us an individual and personal daily walk with Him. He urges each of us to use the unique talents and gifts given to us individually to touch people as He directs. He also still demands accountability from each of us individually for our deeds done on this earth, whether good or evil.”

In further contemplating this concept, it struck me that one of the things that Paul stressed to the church was the idea that any group identity they had previously held was now irrelevant because they were in Christ.  “There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female…” (Gal.2:28)  HE is to be our identity.  Jesus told His followers that even their earthly familial relationships were to be secondary to their relationship with Him.

When discussing the believers activities in the local church, Paul stressed that spiritual gifts are given individually to each believer as the Holy Spirit determines.  The local church body is to be a vehicle for the use of those gifts, and a supporter of them, not the possessor of them through some group identity. “All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.” (I Cor. 12:11)

Nowhere in Scripture do we find God commending someone for their association to a group.  Our standing with Him is not based on family ties, societal group, or even church membership.  God has always desired that each of us walk with Him as an individual in personal relationship.  God knows me as an individual, He pursued me as an individual, and He poured out His grace on me as an individual.

You thought of us before the world began to breathe
You knew our names before we came to be
You saw the very day we’d fall away from You
And how desperately we need to be redeemed

Lord Jesus, come lead us
We’re desperate for Your touch

Oh Great and Mighty One, with one desire we come
That You would reign, that You would reign in us
We’re offering up our lives, a living sacrifice
That You would reign, that You would reign in us

Spirit of the Living God fall fresh again
Come search our hearts and purify our lives
We need Your perfect love, we need Your discipline
We’re lost unless You guide us with Your light

We cry out for Your life to revive us, cry out
For Your love to defy us, cry out
For Your mercy to keep us blameless until You return

So, reign, please reign in us
Come purify our hearts, we need Your touch
Come cleanse us like a flood and send us out
So the world may know You reign, You reign in us

My wife surprised me this Christmas with the newest book by John Eldredge, “Walking With God“.  (Side Note: John Eldredge is one of my favorite authors.  God has worked some amazing healing and renewal in my life through John’s books.  I heartily recommend them.)  This book is very different than most of John’s books, in that it is not written in his typical “teaching” style.  It is more like excerpts from John’s journal throughout a year with notes on what he learned about hearing God’s voice and walking with Him in daily intimacy.  Like most of John’s books, I read straight through it without stopping and then went back and started to “work” through it in much smaller portions.

In recent weeks, the subject from the book that has been on my mind is the concept of practicing the authority and kingdom of Christ in my daily activities.  We all are familiar with Jesus’ model prayer, where He says, “Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth just like it is in heaven.“  And I’m sure most of us have surrendered our lives, activities, family, etc. to His authority, probably repeatedly.  But how does that tie into moment-by-moment, in-the-middle-of-mundane-life-in-corporate-America, walking in intimacy with my Lord?

When Paul was talking about the fact that, even though we live in the Spirit, we still have to walk “in the human world”, he indicated that it is more than a “I pray about it before I start my day” struggle.

For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does.  The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.  We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. (2 Cor. 10:3-5)

Now, I’m not sure what all is involved in “taking EVERY THOUGHT captive to make it obedient to Christ”, but I’m pretty certain it goes far beyond submitting my day to Him in my morning prayer time (although that is probably a good starting point).  It seems to me that, at the very least, there is a necessity for some measure of constant vigilance on my part to discern whether or not every thought, word, and deed is subordinate to His authority.  Now, THAT seems just a wee bit daunting…

Frankly, I’m still working on this one.  Like any other part of our walk with God, it is a growth process.  For now, what I am trying to do is use the schedule of my day to drive me back to this focus.  As I approach the next meeting, the next task, the next phone call, I try to remember to pause for just a moment and intentionally recognize that whatever happens in the upcoming moments, it is subject to His authority.  I try to re-focus my mind to the fact that I’m am walking into that moment as an emissary of His Kingdom and that my every action and word is His to control.

Oh Great and Mighty One, with one desire we come, that You would reign in us…

In Christ alone my hope is found
He is my light, my strength, my song
This cornerstone, this solid ground
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm
What heights of love, what depths of peace
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease
My comforter, my all in all
Here in the love of Christ I stand

In Christ alone, Who took on flesh
Fullness of God in helpless babe
This gift of love and righteousness
Scorned by the ones He came to save
Till on that cross as Jesus died
The wrath of God was satisfied
For ev’ry sin on Him was laid
Here in the death of Christ I live

There in the ground His body lay
Light of the world by darkness slain
Then bursting forth in glorious day
Up from the grave He rose again
And as He stands in victory
Sin’s curse has lost its grip on me
For I am His and He is mine
Bought with the precious blood of Christ

No guilt in life, no fear in death
This is the pow’r of Christ in me
From life’s first cry to final breath
Jesus commands my destiny
No pow’r of hell, no scheme of man
Can ever pluck me from His hand
Till He returns or calls me home
Here in the pow’r of Christ I’ll stand

For a couple of weeks now, I have been pondering the all-sufficiency of Christ.  It is one of those realities that sounds really good on paper, but is another thing altogether to live it out.  I have been trying to watch my thought processes and words and try to identify those areas where I don’t really depend on Him to be sufficient.  I may say that I do when I think about it, but do my thoughts, actions, and everyday words really back that up?  How many times do I think, “I can handle this one?  I know just what to do here,”

If ever there was a time when we should declare to the world the all-sufficiency of our Leader, it would be now.  We have seen vivid demonstration that the financial schemes of men are all too frail.  In a matter of months, our economy went from “robust” to “dire”.  The political pendulum of our country has swung once again.  The physical security of our nation has been exploited repeatedly.  Yet, all of these human “leaders” continue to insist that we should trust them, that they have the answers.

We are also learning that we can’t really even depend on ourselves.  With unemployment soaring, even the most skilled workers are worried about the availability of jobs.  As we age, we realize that our physical bodies are ready to betray us without warning (and usually at the worst possible moment.)  And yet, we insist that we can make it on our own, that we can handle it.

The more I think about it, the more I’m convinced that not only can I NOT “handle it”, I really don’t even WANT to.  The very best decisions that I can make are still made with incomplete information.  If nothing else, I am constrained by time itself.  I have no way of knowing the ripple effects of my decisions into the future.

In the book of Revelation, a new name for Jesus is revealed.  Three times, He declares Himself to be “the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end”.  (Rev. 1:8, 21:6, 22:13) I find it interesting that this name for Him is not revealed anywhere else in Scripture.  He did not declare Himself to be “Alpha and Omega” to Moses or the prophets.  He did not reveal this when He walked the earth.

He chose to reveal this name for Himself when speaking from the throne room of heaven, having called John up to His presence, outside of the realm of time and space.  And I think it is because it adds a dimension to our understanding of what this declaration means.  Our Jesus is not bound by the limitations of humanity, time, or space.  Our Leader exists in eternity, seeing all of time as a present moment, present everywhere and knowing everything.

And from this perspective, He beckons us, “Come, get your sustenance from Me.  Let Me guide you as your Shepherd, as your Counselor, as your Friend.”  How foolish is it of me to turn anywhere else?!?

Giver of every breath I breathe
Author of all eternity
Giver of every perfect thing
To You be the glory
Maker of Heaven and of Earth
No one can comprehend Your worth
King over all the universe
To You be the glory

I’m alive because I’m alive in You

And it’s all because of Jesus I’m alive
It’s all because the blood of Jesus Christ
That covers me and raised this dead man’s life
It’s all because of Jesus I’m alive

Every sunrise sings Your praise
The universe cries out Your praise
I’m singing freedom all my days
Now that I’m alive

What does God expect from us?  Are there, as some teach, some tasks that God has planned for us to do, that will go undone if we do not act?  Is God’s plan somehow thwarted if I get my signals crossed and turn left at the intersection instead of right?  Does God really need me to DO for Him?

In the book of Acts, we find Paul talking to the philosophers of Athens.  They were concerned that there was a deity out there somewhere that might want them to be doing something.  In fact, they were so worried about it, they had built an altar to the “unknown” god.  So Paul sets about to let them know that there was indeed a God Whom they had neglected.  But he also tries to shift their thinking about what the God of heaven desired of them.

“The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands.  And He is not served by human hands, as if He needed anything, because He Himself gives all men life and breath and everything else.  From one man He made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and He determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live.“  (Acts 17:24-26)

First, Paul points out how ludicrous it is to think that the God who created the world and everything in it, the God who not only determines when they are born, but also where they live, would somehow need a human to do perform some task for Him.  Then, Paul goes on to explain that the very reason that God created man and controls the time and place of his life is that God wants man to seek out a relationship with Him.

“God did this so that men would seek Him and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us.“  (Acts 17:27)

And then Paul makes a statement which defines the nature of our life in relationship with Christ:

For in Him we live and move and have our being. (Acts 17:28)

We live in relationship with the God of the universe.  Whatever we do, we do as an ambassador of Him to those around us.  It may be while washing coffee pots in a convenience store at 2:00AM or it may be in the pulpit of a church on Sunday morning.  He put us on the earth for this time and determined the places where we live, so we could live our relationship with Him before the world around us.

As I come into Your presence
Past the gates of praise
Into Your sanctuary
Till we’re standing face to face
I look upon Your countenance
I see the fullness of Your grace
I can only bow down and say

You are awesome in this place, Mighty God
You are awesome in this place, Abba Father
You are worthy of our praise
To You our lives we raise
You are awesome in this place, Mighty God

Sometimes, I think we can get sidetracked in all of the good things we try to do.  There are all kinds of wonderful causes that offer opportunities for our time, efforts, and resources.  They are everywhere as we approach the holiday season.  They can be anything from building fishing villages in Jamaica, to supplying animals to villagers in Asia, to dropping change in a bucket outside the grocery store, to working on a house for a local family.  And all of these things can be great opportunities…

But, as followers of Christ, we are commissioned with a higher purpose.  We carry the good news of Jesus Christ to a blinded world.

Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life… (Phil. 2:14-16)

We know, first-hand, that the answer to every cry of the human heart is found in the presence of our Lord. And we are given the great privilege and responsibility to share that gift with the world around us.  All of the donations, all of the classes, all of the homes built, can have but temporary impact, as well-meaning as they may be.  These causes can only have lasting value when they become a vehicle to bring a lost world into the presence of our Abba Father, because it only through an encounter with Him that lives are changed for eternity.

Lord we have seen the rising sun, awakening the early dawn,
And they´re rising up to give You praise.
Lord we have seen the stars and moon, see how they shine
They shine for you
And You´re calling us to do the same
So we rise up with a song, and we rise up with a cry
And we´re giving You our lives

We will shine like stars in the universe
Holding out Your truth in the darkest place
We´ll be living for Your glory
Jesus we´ll be living for Your glory
We will burn so bright with Your praise O God
And declare Your light to this broken world
We´ll be living for Your glory
Jesus we´ll be living for Your glory

Like the sun so radiantly
Sending light for all to see
Let Your holy church arise
We will rise up with a song
We’ll rise up with a cry
Set Your holy church on fire

I was doing some reading today and I noticed something about a familiar passage of Scripture:

You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. (Mat. 5:14)

I have heard (and taught) many lessons regarding that Scripture over the years, but had never noticed until today that it is NOT a command.  Being the “light of the world” is not something that Jesus wants us to do if we can.  It is not something we should strive to become.  It is a factual statement of our identity as the followers of our Lord. The admonition of Jesus here is that, since we ARE the light of the world, what kind of light are we going to be?

There are four lights around my desk at work.  Three of them were already there when I inherited the space.  They are standard florescent lights.  Every day, when I arrive at work, it is always a question whether or not they are going to work as intended.  Usually, when I turn them on, I get some light out of each of them.  But one of them decides to flicker sometimes, which is a sure bet to give me a headache.  Another one will buzz sometimes (again a sure bet to give me a headache.)  But they are all lights, regardless of how well they function in that role.

We are the light of the world.  We cannot choose not to be.  We can’t say, “It’s not my ‘gift’”.  We can only decide what quality of light we are going to be to those around us.  As Paul said to the church in Corinth:

…If our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing.  The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.  For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake.  For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made His light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. (2 Cor. 4:3-6)

In my heart
I submit my will to You
I give up my life
Lord find me tried and true
All that I am
All that I have is Your’s
All I desire
Is Your holy fire
To cleanse me and make me pure

When I come to Your throne
The mercy that’s shown
Is new every day to me
When I come to Your throne
The love that I’ve known
Cleanses and helps me see
The truth of Your Word
In all that I’ve heard
When I come to Your throne

I have been contemplating one of the amazing privileges that is ours as joint-heirs with Christ; access to the throne of God.  Before the atoning death of Christ on the cross, direct contact with God was a very reserved and special event.  The people would bring their sacrifices to the temple and, once a year, the High Priest would go through the curtain and approach the Holy of Holies where the Shekinah glory of God would come down.

When Jesus died on the cross, one of the things that Scripture records actually happened quite a distance from Golgotha.  Matthew, Mark, and Luke all record that the veil in the Temple, the curtain which hid the Holy of Holies, was torn.  (Matthew and Mark both specify that it was torn from the top to the bottom.)  This divine act was a declaration from heaven that the separation between God and man was no longer necessary.  The atoning death of Christ had granted access for all who would come.

So now, as those clothed in the righteousness of our Lord, we can go straight to the throne of our loving Father.  We do not need to go through a pastor, or the latest super-evangelist, or some guy with a TV show.  By virtue of the blood of Christ poured out for our sin, we stand as joint-heirs with Jesus and approach our “Abba” on His throne.

Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. (Heb. 4:16)

What have I in this life
But the love in Your eyes
This empty world will one day fade
Only Your truth will remain

Jesus, all I have is You
You’re the hope I’m holding to
I might weep but still my faith
Rests in You
As the heavens hold the skies
It’s Your hand that holds my life
And Your love will lead me on
When all else is gone

My apologies to both of you for the prolonged absence…   Sometimes life has a way of happening all over the place.  Hopefully, I can now resume semi-regular updates.

I was at lunch the other day with a co-worker and he was talking about the strategy he uses for financial planning.  He said that he classifies everything he spends into three categories; past, present, and future.  Money going towards credit cards, car payments, essentially any depreciating (or consumed) asset is money paid into the past.  Money going to daily life (food, clothing, utilities, etc.) is money paid to the present.  And, of course, money going into investments, savings, etc. is money paid into the future.  (Mortgage payments are split with the interest going to the present and the principle going to the future.)  The goal of this method is to completely eliminate money going into the past and then determine what the appropriate balance is between the present and the future to reach savings/retirement goals.  All things considered, it seems to be a pretty reasonable approach.

Now, there really was a point to the brief financial planning discourse.  As followers of Christ, we have the opportunity to invest, not just our finances, but our very lives, in a fourth category: eternity.  In fact, it goes far beyond an “opportunity”.  It is a command of our Lord and a great privilege.

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.   But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.   For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Mat. 6:19-21)

One of the great mysteries of life in Christ is this idea that I can invest my life into things that have eternal value, things that go beyond the scope of time.  I can actually store up treasure in heavenly realms that awaits my arrival there.  And to take it one step further, those investments are the only investments that have any real lasting value at all.  I firmly believe that one of the realizations that we will have upon our arrival in heaven is just how much time, effort, worry, stress, etc. we wasted in this life on matters that are so much vapor.

As we hold onto Him and let the transience of this life lose its’ grip on us, we gain a whole new perspective.  This is what Paul told the church in Corinth.  By the time he wrote his second letter to them, he had been imprisoned, beaten many times (once to the point of being left for dead), shipwrecked,  and attacked by wild animals, among other things.  But, with an eternal viewpoint, Paul calls such things a “momentary, light affliction” that is reaping eternal treasure.

Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal. (II Cor. 4:16-18)

So, while reasonable financial planning is certainly appropriate, as citizens of an eternal kingdom, we have another critical consideration.  How much of my life is invested in that which brings an “eternal weight of glory”?