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2 Months In

So, here we are. What started as a personal challenge to hang out in the Gospels for the last half of 2012 has taken shape as something that's become pretty special to me. Many of you have been following along. The daily hits are more steady than they have ever been. All of this works together to put nathanology on track to majorly surpass last year's traffic statistics. I just wanted to extend a personal thanks to everyone that's been reading along. And to offer a warm hello to some of the new faces that have popped in over last couple of weeks. Your participation here is an honor. I will try not to disappoint.

I've received emails, tweets, and Facebook correspondence from some of you about the project, but many of you are still silently following along. That is of course welcome here, but I would love to hear your thoughts, questions, or critiques. I may not be able to respond to them. However, I promise to read and carefully consider each one.

That being said, please sound off with your feedback about the "A Year With Jesus" project in the comments below. As always warm regards and happy reading.

When Your _____ Explodes

There are days, ever so often, when I feel as if my brain explodes.  Not that it is going to explode, might explode, or could possibly explode.  But that it has actually already exploded.  The type of day that I am writing about is rarely a good day.  They actually generally come off as more-than-miserable.  And to make matters worse it is beyond difficult to begin to ascertain what exactly it might be that will potentially cause the explosion.

Of course my brain doesn't literally explode, don't be silly.  How would I be writing this?

I am a smart guy, with a capacity for big ideas, small ideas, and all other sorts of shapes, sizes, fabrics, varieties, densities, and frequencies of thought.  Brain explosion halts them all.  It is most disrupting.

The uniquely pitiful precipitant of brain-explosion is that often my silly heart will follow, again not in the literal sense.  Imagine if you were keen on spending a quality amount of time in thought thinking thoughts about how you might accomplish, do, create, or manage something and that beautifully sought train of magnificent ideas were derailed by a mental malfunction of dastardly proportions?  When I think thoughts I rarely do so casually as I enjoy the thinking of them.  When that stops all-of-a-sudden it is disrupting.  It makes me sad.  My heart follows brain-explosion with sad time.  That's kind of like when you plan to spend time doing something fun, you know fun-time, but instead something sad happens, and it becomes sad-time.

What cures brain explosion?

Review: The Dark Knight Rises

The Dark Knight Rises, or does it? As a movie, it is entertaining. As a Batman story, it borrows from so many different plot lines that it borders on convoluted.

The acting is great. The dialogue and direction are as good as you should expect from a Nolan film. The special affects are awesome with plenty of neat set-pieces and spectacular happenings. If you want to see a lot of violence, it's there. If you want to see things blow up, you can rest assured that there are plenty of grandiose pyrotechnics. If you want to see a lot of Batman, expect to be disappointed. Ultimately, this is not a movie about the Caped Crusader. It's a movie about a lot of different things, and Batman.

I am not going to offer any spoilers so this may read as a little vague, but I don't want to ruin it for those yet to see it. There is just too much going on. There are so many players and so many story threads that by the time they all come together at the climax of the film, it feels more like a knitting experiment gone awry than a grand tapestry. I realize I am just one opinion, but when the final credits rolled it just felt lacking. It felt unfulfilled and flat.

I have been a Bat-kid as long as I can remember. I love the character, but ultimately this movie just didn't do it for me.

GO12: Waterfight

Since returning home nearly a month ago Daniel and I have been hard at work editing the footage we filmed from the trip.  We're hoping to roll out a fully produced documentary within the next couple of months, but in the meantime, here is a small teaser. [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSntqG0Y6Is&w=853&h=480]

To read more about GO12 see one of these stories. Challenges Going Learning Jordan Hearing Doing Grant Dakota Home

I Want Your Money

A lot of the time when people ask for your money they bury it under a sales pitch, but that's not really my style.  Jamie and I want your money.  The truth is, we need it to fulfill the call we believe God has placed on our lives.  Many of you who visit either my blog, or our family ministry site, already regularly support our ministry through your money, your prayers, or both.  We are incredibly grateful.  We can't do what we do without you.  I won't spend the next three paragraphs outlining how God will bless your bank account if you give us X amount of $ per month, although I do believe blessing often follows giving.  Instead, I just want you to know that any financial pledge you prayerfully consider sending our way will greatly bless us, and our ministry.  So, what do you think?  Will you consider joining our growing team of financial and prayer partners? You can click HERE to make a donation to our ministry, whether it be a regular commitment or one time pledge.  Or click HERE for a printable faith promise form.  All donations are tax-deductible.

Please copy and paste the following info into the comments section on the donation page or into the “Missionary Info” section of the faith promise form.

Nathan and Jamie King Chi Alpha Account – 505543

Review: Pictures of Silver Moves Me to Sing

In the interest of full disclosure; Picture of Silver’s Ryan Taylor gave me a copy of their debut album Moves Me to Sing several days ago for review purposes.  In the interest of complete and total honesty, I was planning to buy it anyway.

I’ve been following Pictures of Silver since they arrived on the local music scene a couple of years ago, and every time they take the stage they improve.  This is a talented collection of musicians, who enjoy making music, but not for the chief purpose of entertaining.  Simply put, these guys are anointed.

As a self-styled Indy Rock Worship ensemble, Pictures of Silver’s debut brings a lot to the table.  It is a guitar driven festival of voluminous melodies, building choruses, and thoughtfully worshipful lyrics—sure to fit into any worship playlist.  Nearly every song on the album is an upbeat display of riffing guitar work and happy harmonies, not a small feat considering it tops out at eleven tracks.

Krystal Manning delivers an anointed vocal performance on nine of the eleven tracks, whereas band mates Ryan Taylor and Lance Shingleur take the vocal forefront on tracks Speak and Never Thirst Again.  Never Thirst Again, The Stand, and We Were Made for You all feature beautiful melodies performed by pianist Shingleur.  Rain Down, We Were Made For You, and Holy really stood apart to me for their rich sound and endearingly reverent lyrics.

Pictures of Silver’s Moves Me to Sing is a great album that will undoubtedly move any worship enthusiast to open their heart, turn up their headphones, and join the band.

For more Pictures of Silver info check out these links: facebook, ReverbNation, Noise Trade, Amazon

You can also search Rhapsody and iTunes for Pictures of Silver.

Water the Flower

Spring is a wonderful season full of flowers, and although it's still not technically spring for a few more days, we all know that nature doesn't wait to do it's thing simply because men decided to stamp a name on a calendar.  Spring also happens to be my favorite time of year.  All the signs of life creep up all around us and blossom into serene visages of warmth and color.

The other day I was chilling on the couch and happened to catch movement out of the corner of my eye.  A quick peek between the curtains and I saw our dear elderly neighbor walking off our porch, a flower-filled vase left on the small decorative stool my wife keeps near the front door.  It was an incredibly sweet gesture.  She returned a few minutes later to ring the doorbell and let me know that the flowers were there and that they needed water.  I thanked her, engaged in a few moments of small talk, and then returned inside to my Xbox and the quiet morning.  The flowers went to the windowsill.

The next day one of the flowers had fallen off the stem.  The whole thing just fell completely off.  There was still one pretty flower left, until the next day.  It fell off too.  Then it hit me.  I had completely forgotten to water them.  Oops.

When people first come to faith in Christ, they are often fully blooming.  They are excited, they are full of life, they often want to share their story with everyone around them.  Over time this often changes, not always, or even in every situation; but many times Christianity just becomes a kind of status quo.  One so full of religiosity that all it really does is replace the previous state of misconduct and sin that the person previously existed in.  This is unhealthy, unnatural, and depriving.  New Christians need help in their early development.  They need encouragement, accountability, instruction, and deep relationships.

For those of us who are already in right relationship with God, it is our mandate to help shape, disciple, and encourage those new to the faith.  Jesus spoke in John 4 about wells of eternal living water, we're not that...and never will be; but we might be the gardener God uses from time to time to help pour into someone fresh in their faith.  Think about it.  Have you helped water any flowers lately?

Homework 1-19-12

Homework 1-19-12 Campus Church

  1. What is Campus Church? – graphics
  2. Home? – graphics
  3. What is the Winter Retreat – written interview with students
  4. Why is Campus Church important to you? - written
  5. Connecting around the state. – pictorial
  6. Who are the staff? – Pictorial with small write up
  7. Student Impressions – video package
  8. How did it happen? – video interview with Heath Graham and Jeremy Keaster
  9. What is GO12? – podcast with Jake Tinnell
  10.  Small Group leaders – podcast

Campus Organizations

  1. Chi Alpha: What does that mean? – Graphics and Written explanation
  2. Tech Fellowship: Interview with Jeremy Keaster - Podcast
  3. Campus Church: What is Campus Church? - Video
  4. Wesley: The Importance of Age to Age - Video
  5. BCM: Christmas in China – Graphics and Written Interview
  6. CCSC: Interview with Jason - Podcast
  7. Intramurals: Winter/Spring Sports - Pictorial
  8. Res Life: Battle of the Halls - Pictorial
  9. Zoe: Interview with Bob Brock - Written
  10. MBSF: A Brief History - Written

Local Church Outreach

  1. Fellowship of Christians -
  2. The Journey’s Clarksville Campus -
  3. RFA Foreign Missions – Photostory
  4. RFA Awanas Program -
  5. Liberty Grove AG Food Distribution -
  6. RCC Radio station -
  7. Second Baptist New Verge Discipleship Program -
  8. Pottsville AG Kid’s Outreach -
  9. Havana AG’s Massive Food Outreach –
  10. Campus Church’s Summer Projects -

Area Outdoors Activities

  1. Fishing Tournaments
  2. Rock Climbing
  3. Water Sports: Kayaking, Canoeing, Rafting
  4. Frisbee Golf
  5. Biking
  6. Running
  7. Hiking
  8. Golf
  9. Hunting
  10. Softball Leagues

ATU Sports

  1. Coach Wilbur’s Expectations
  2. Player Profile – Lily Abreu
  3. Player Profile – Rosie Silva
  4. Player Profile – Will Paul: Why did you transfer?
  5. New Conference Coach’s Impressions: - written
  6. Pictorial – Tucker’s new look
  7. Baseball Team
  8. The facilities
  9. Something about the softball team.
  10. Golf Team preparing for GAC Championship

Local Businesses

  1. Victory Wear
  2. Miller Roofing
  3. Keith’s Music
  4. Russellville A&P
  5. Chamber of Commerce
  6. TRS
  7. River Valley Leader
  8. Heart & Soul
  9. Water Store
  10. Poppa Wheelies

2012's Rereads

I read the Bible through cover to cover annually, but I also enjoy revisiting some of the books that have meant a lot to me over the years.  Here's a quick list of some excellent books I plan to read again in 2012.  If you're looking for something challenging to read this year try one of these greats.

Wild at Heart 
by John Eldredge
Wild at Heart is one of my favorite books, ever.  I read it for the first time during a period of deep heartache and depression and it's encouraging message breathed a powerful breath of fresh air into my relationship with God.  This is a fantastic read for anyone and everyone.  Man or woman, you NEED to read this book.

Mere Christianity
by C.S. Lewis
Widely regarded by many as the best Christian book of the 20th century, this is a classic masterpiece of the faith.  You will want to own a copy for highlighting and all that fun stuff, but for a preview, you can read the entire volume here for free.

Radical 
by David Platt
The American Church is spoiled.  We have really mixed up our priorities in a big way, often to the point of idolatry.  David Platt's book does a great job of pointing out--not just the how's and why's of this--but also the way that you can begin to correct some of this in your own life.  This was the most challenging book I read in 2011, and that's why I'm reading it again this year.

Dirt

I like caves.  I enjoy exploring them.  I enjoy the climbing that accompanies going into one.  There is a kind of awesome simplicity about standing in the utter darkness of a cave and hearing the chirping swoop of a nearby bat.  There is something uniquely self-reflective in coming to terms with the oppressive weight of the solid bedrock walls around you.  There is also another side to going into these caves that I so often frequent.  Something not at all pleasant or pure and, in fact, by its very nature is actually quite pungent.  Guano.  Bat feces mixes with the sandy dirt, dusty residue, and inherent moisture frequent to an Arkansas labyrinth and the result is a grimy film of squishable distaste.  Every time I exit one of these crevices I’m covered in it.  There really is just no escaping it.  And my darling wife will all-too-quickly tell you that it is a nuisance come laundry time.

I like caves.

My mother must have felt no different about dirt and grime being the sole female in a house of men for the better part of twenty-five years.  Summer laundry days were plagued by the kind of dry dusty dirt which found its way into every fold during long hours spent in the heat of the day tending crops.  The springs were accompanied by the darker, richer, texture of dirt cleaning to boots and britches after a long day preparing a field.  Winters were an amalgamation of mud and clay as cold rains or other winter precipitation left the farm a messy environment in which to tend the herd.

For as long as I dare to try and remember dirt has always been a part of my life.  Whether the residue of a spelunking adventure or evidence of a lengthy day at toil I have always been comfortable getting dirty.  It has always just seemed natural.

In spite of my comfort in the muck and mire that so often accompanied the various facets of farm life and the inevitable adventures of a man at play, there were always those moments in which encountering dirt simply was not acceptable.  As a young boy these moments were often heralded by a stern warning from my endearing mother not to get my pants dirty before church.  As a grown boy these moments are often illuminated by an enduring wife petitioning me not to wear my suit jacket as we eat or something of a similar nature.

There has always been a clearly identifiable separation between an acceptable and unacceptable time to be dirty.  Mom, and my wife after her, routinely reminded me of the difference of these times, and as a man I do indeed need reminding, with what could only be described as a set of guidelines for staying clean at the proper time.  Mom’s were easy to remember if not always quotable simply because they were accompanied by a look, a gently-tweaked tone of voice, or noticeably audible command to cease and desist whatever tomfoolery was about to carry me over the boundary of cleanliness into the realm of dirty.

I can tell you that as a young boy it was not always easy to obey that clear command to stay clean.  With age though came understanding, and eventually the desire for cleanliness became my own.  I was a little less hesitant to rush into a situation which would land me in the muck.

If you were to open your bible, thumb over to the book of Leviticus and begin to read it.   You would be reading God’s guidelines to the young nation of Israel on how that they could stay clean while being surrounded by dirt.  Specifically, in Leviticus 11:44, 11:45, 19:2, and 20:7; you would read a repeated phrase, “be holy because I am holy.”  Essentially, God, in these words is telling His people to be clean.  In fact, the Hebrew words for clean and unclean became the normal language when talking about violation of God’s law as the rest of Leviticus details.

In the 45th chapter of the written account of the prophet Isaiah the prophet uses the phrase unclean again in combination with the idea that to truly follow in God’s steps you need to live a life of holiness.  The apostle, disciple, and early church father Peter reiterates this same idea in the first chapter of his first epistle.

What is it about the necessity for cleanness that warrants such repetition?

Well, just like a small boy growing up on a dusty farm in rural Arkansas, the Jews were constantly surrounded by dirt.  God was communicating to Israel in the Old Testament, the young Christian community in the New Testament, and to you and I through all of it; His blatant desire for us to remain untouched, unsoiled, and unblemished by the world around us.  Just as my mother knew that eventually my clothes would need a good washing He also knew that the rules meticulously laid down for His people in Leviticus wouldn’t be enough.  So He sent Jesus.  As the Christ, He lived out a blameless existence, surrounded by the corruption and dirt of the world.

What really gives power to the words written by Peter in his letter is the simple fact that even though he walked hand-in-hand with Jesus for three years, even though he had operated in the supernatural, and on top of the fact that Christ had taught and trained him on the matters of holiness—Peter didn’t really get it.  He was constantly messing up.  During the final months of Christ’s ministry Peter got in a series of silly religious squabbles with the other disciples.  When the mob arrested Jesus in the garden Peter drew his sword, ready to battle, and chopped off a man’s ear.  During the mock trial Peter stands by and denies Christ in a selfish bout of self preservation.

Finally, in the wake of Christ’s ascension and the remarkable upper room experience on the Day of Pentecost something changed in Peter.  He went from being the loud brawling braggart to being a mature leader of believers.  So in his letter when he penned the words “Be holy because I am holy.”  It was not without an understanding of what it is like to battle that natural inclination for dirt.  He wasn’t suggesting that the reader should pursue holiness because Simon Peter was inclined to holiness.  Peter was communicating what God is still trying to tell us every day. . .

You don’t have to live life in the dirt.

Not only will He clean you up, but He will help you mature into the kind of person whose desire for spiritual cleanliness matches His own.

Brotherly Love

The most obvious face of love in our day and age is brotherly love, which I would define as the affectionate concern for the well-being of others.  Simply put, caring about other people is a vital characteristic for anyone who wishes to follow the heart of God.  Don’t just take my word for it.  There are several passages in scripture that lay it out there, plain and simple.

Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality. – Romans 12:9-13
Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness. Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in him to make him stumble. – 1 John 2:9,10
We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. Anyone who does not love remains in death. Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life in him. – 1 John 3:14,15
Does your life exhibit brotherly love?  It’s not always the easy thing to do, especially in a society that conditions us towards selfishness.

Stuff Love (Empty Love)

One of the most immediately recognizable things about our society is our love for stuff.  We have stores where you can buy stuff; TV shows for selling, making, and reviewing stuff; an entire transportation industry revolving around moving stuff.  We build houses with attics, basements, and massive garages and fill them with stuff, so we have to rent storage space for even more stuff.  We depend on the assistance of regularly scheduled crews of men to remove our wasted stuff and have yard/garage sales to profit from our unwanted stuff.  We love our stuff.

Stuff is most easily identifiable as acquired physical possessions; but really it goes beyond even that.  Stuff is generally what we are interacting with to fill our schedules.  It could be physical possessions like a nice house, sweet vehicle, or highly valued thingamajig; but it may very well be something not quite so tangible like a relational attachment, job, or hobby.
Is all stuff bad?  No.  Is all stuff good?  No.  How do I know the difference?  It all boils down to priorities.
Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever. – 1 John 2:15-17
If you are too busy salivating over your new shiny toy, making sure your kitchen counter tops glow from Pinesol overload, or lost in the thralls of sports-delirium to recognize, and engage, in the meaningful things of life … then you have a stuff problem.

Love is a _____.

Love, such a short little word—but let’s face it, we have such a tremendously difficult time understanding it.  Doing some studying recently I went to the dictionary, as I am often prone to do, and discovered that my dictionary of choice had twenty-eight different definitions for love.  I found all of them to be sorely inadequate.  I want to spend the next few days looking at this wonderful little word.
Rather than just diving straight off into the grandiose theological implications inferred by the word love, let’s just think about a few examples of what our society considers love.  We have holidays based on loving things, relationships, family members, and hobbies.  There are huge corporations designed around the promise of connecting people to love.  In America we tailor our lifestyle, including routines, possessions, wardrobe, religion, and friends to the thing(s) we love.
Waylon Jennings summed it up pretty good, “I’ve been looking for love in all the wrong places.”

Heavens and Earth

Previously I highlighted my beliefs concerning, both the eternal nature of God, and the literal demonstration of His expression as The Sole Creator. In this post I want to examine His first act of creation recorded in Genesis 1:1.

The scripture plainly states that the first act of creation was the making of the heavens and the earth. I have heard or read numerous debates regarding the details of that initial act and the possibility of preceding creative works. It is not my intention to expound on all of that here, but I will say that scripture lends itself to the idea that some aspects of existence predate what we know Heaven and Earth to be.

God existed before the beginning. That has already been discussed. In John 4:24 we read the curious words of Christ, "God is spirit, and they that worship Him, worship in spirit and truth." There can be no higher authority on the nature of God than Himself, and no greater communicator of His essence than Himself made flesh, Christ.

Considering creation, that illuminates for us the very real principle that Spirit came before the beginning. In fact, it means that everything we understand about creation is seen or understood through the physical. It is then no small wonder that the Bible tells us to "walk by faith and not by sight. (2 Corinthians 5:7)." The implications being that the spiritual is in fact far more real than the physical.

So what does it mean in Genesis 1:1 that God created the heavens and the earth? It means He created physical existence, as some would refer to it, He crafted physical space itself. It's no great leap when grasping that idea, to begin to understand the awe-inspiring-unequivocal-reverence that the prophets of old showed to The Creator.

What an unimaginable and incredibly powerful God we serve.

God Created

My previous entry discussed the nature of God's beginning-less-ness. In continuing with my reflection on Genesis 1:1 let me look at the concept of creating.

I love to draw. I have all of my life. Some of my earliest memories are moments with pencil, pen, or crayon in hand rendering some childlike fantasy upon paper. I remember once in school being declared "most creative" in my class. Many years have gone by and my desire to create has never faltered nor diminished. In fact, I would say that more and more with each passing season some new creative endeavor begins to take shape within my soul.

Illustration, song, poem, essay, blog, t-shirt, sermon, video, web site, or story; all my efforts to create are the sum total of things that already are. At their root, they are not really creation at all, they are expression. They are expressions of who I am, the things that intrigue me, and the things I love. They are not new.

"God created," is the one and only time those words can be used in a very literal context. His creation was both expression, (The heavens are telling of the glory of God...) and demonstration (... and their expanse is declaring the work of His hands. -Psalm 19:1 NASB).

The next time you see a beautiful vista, hear a song bird, or find yourself standing at the mirror, take a good look, you're witnessing the expression and demonstration of The Creator.

In the Beginning

I’m going to spend the next couple of days looking at thevery first verse in the Old Testament.

In the beginning Godcreated the heavens and the earth. - Genesis 1:1
The first four words speak volumes. God was there at that point our feeble finiteminds would call “the beginning”. However, God is beginning-less.
Have you ever tried to wrap your mind around eternity? C.S. Lewis described it in Mere Christianity using a brilliantanalogy dealing with ink on paper. Mortal life is the ink; time is the paper; and God is the one holdingthe pen and paper. Eternity is a weightythought that when contemplated heavily can actually lead to doubt in somemeasure because we really cannot fully grasp it. It is so beyond our capacity to understand.
I once asked a room full of people to define eternity for m eand started getting words like; forever, never ending, and endless, but eternity is more than time, and God is eternal.
That all sounds great in my head or as I read and reread it back to myself, but what kind of implication does it have for me today? If God must come before the “beginning”, He will most certainly endure beyond the “end”. I find great comfort in the notion that in spite of all my failed attempts to comprehend—He still is.
In essence, we can’t really grasp Him with our minds, luckily we can seek Him with our hearts. Knowing that God was before beginning gives me a steadfast faith in His unyielding sovereignty and that can only be a good thing.
If I were to write my own story, it wouldn’t start with “in the beginning Nathan,” that would be preposterously presumptuous; but God did because He was, is, and will be. “In the beginning God” might be some of the most comforting words we could ever hear.

Too Much To Lose

A couple of years ago I had the pleasure of attending a lecture on Christian leadership given by one of my heroes. The schedule had intentionally called for a long session to allow for question and answer feedback and I was attentively listening, absorbing, and writing throughout.  Then somewhere near the end something happened.

Someone in the crowd asked something akin to, “How do you handle a situation that might place you alone with a woman who is not your wife?”  I was pretty certain how the speaker would respond.  It is common practice among ministers not to be alone with another woman, but then the lecturer elaborated on a personal story.
One cold day he was driving in the rain and came across a woman walking in the downpour without an umbrella.  Immediately his heart was provoked into offering this sodden pedestrian a place in his warm, dry vehicle; but he did not.  The reasoning he gave I still remember word for word, “I could not afford to put myself in that situation.”  While I am an avid practitioner of not allowing myself to be compromised through unnecessary situations, this was something altogether different. 
What I see in this scenario is a conflict of differing natures: not the rain versus the driver or the woman.  I’m talking about the desire of the driver to assist the pedestrian as prompted by God versus his hesitance as a result of what someone might think about him by having a strange woman in his car.
It boils down to this.  He would not pick her up because he had too much to lose.  Job, reputation, whatever you want to call it… the potential opinions of men trumped his willingness to do the right thing.
James wrote that when we know the right thing to do and we don’t do it we have sinned.  (James 4:17) Protecting the opinions of men will never be the right thing to do when compared to showing the love of God.
Even when doing the right thing means that you must lose everything you have, be it relationships, reputation, or riches, it is what we are called to do.  We won’t always succeed, but we must always try.
For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. Matthew 16:25

Anchor of Hope

I had a few minutes between meetings, errands, and more meetings this afternoon and decided to play some guitar.  I started singing some of my original tunes and felt compelled to share the lyrics of one of my favorites here on the blog.
The words are derived from several passages of scripture and hinge on Psalm 139 and the thought that no matter what we are going through, or what season of life we find ourselves in God is with us, and that’s all the anchor our lives really need.
Anchor of Hope

Down in the valley, You hear my cry
When I’m on the mountain, You pass me by
If I lose my way, You are there to find
In my darkness, the Lighthouse shines
When I am far from the shore and the waves crash against me
When I run from your plans and your love overtakes me
Like an anchor of hope You hold me close
And Your love will shine on through my storms
Like an anchor of hope You hold me close
And Your love will shine on through my storms
When I close my eyes, You hear my prayer
When my heart soars high, You are there
Every time I need Your hand, Your mercy is mine
When I call out Your name, the Lighthouse shines
Oh anchor me, though the seas may roll and winds may blow
You anchor me, though life may seem a torrent sea
You anchor me
You anchor me
You anchor me

Burden to Perform

We live in a performance driven society.  How well can you _______?  How much can you _______?  We determine the worth of people based on a misconstrued sense of value, which is itself measured by the result of a given action versus our expectations.

This weighs heavy on us.  All of us.  We live in the land of the free and the home of the brave, and I’m so incredibly grateful for that; but we also live in the land of the me and the home of the busy.  The resulting pressure is more than we were ever meant to bear.
Tonight, while praying with a student, I was reminded that we don’t have to carry this burden.  We don’t have to, nor should we, live for the pleasurable desire of a performance well received by our peers.  Life like that is stifling.  I’m so happy Jesus spoke the words recorded in Matthew Chapter 11.
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.
Matthew 11:28-30
And the Apostle Paul penned these words in his letter to the Roman Church.
The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.
Romans 8:16
We’re His kids.  We belong to God.  We take our identity from who He is, what He has done, what He is doing, and what He has yet to do.  Don’t let the pressure to please and perform weigh you down anymore.

Go

Smokey is a timid terrified little thing.  I’ve never seen a feline better personify the old idiom “scaredy-cat”.  She likes to hide under the dining room table and pretty much only comes out to eat or visit the litter box.  On the rarest of occasions she will leave her little hiding spot to seek attention from Jamie or myself.  
Last night after arriving home from doing some teaching on Christian leadership I was heating some leftovers in the microwave.  Smokey started to meow.  Instead of pulling out a kitchen chair and picking her up, for the first time in the two years we’ve had her, I pulled out a chair and crawled under the table to give her attention.  She loved it.  I went where she felt safe and met one of her primary feline needs, attention.  For the next several minutes she was a happy little purr machine.
Most of my experience with non-Christians over the years has shown me that they are much the same. On the rarest of occasions they will seek out our worship centers, but mostly what goes on within the walls of our meeting places remains a source of intimidation, confusion, or ridiculousness to the non-believer.  I have spent a lot of time during my career studying various aspects of “church growth” principles and things of that nature; but the more I read, lecture, and learn the greater I understand that we are missing the point on a grand scale.
As believers we’ve grown incredibly comfortable within the walls of our meeting places (too comfortable I’d say) and we want desperately to draw the lost into those same meeting places so that they might find the same kind of spiritual comfort that we have come to enjoy.  This is completely backwards.
Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Matthew 28: 18-20
He said GO, and go we must if we are to ever reach out to the hurting and lost souls He loves so much.  We must be willing to leave behind the way we’ve always done it and look for new ways to connect with the disconnected.  Let’s go.