Thursday, October 8, 2009
The First and the Last
Hillsong - First and the Last
You are the First and the Last
Beginning and the End
The promise of One who’s to come
The future is in Your hands
Calling the light with all the Earth we will sing
You are the Author of love
Our freedom is in Your name
Embracing the cross there for us
Brought us to life again
Calling the love with all we are let us sing
God our Hope and our Salvation
Worthy of all the praise
Be our light everlasting
Great is Your name
Jesus the First and the Last
Show us the way of Your love
Lead us towards the truth
Stir up the fire in us
To live out this life for you
Calling Your name Jesus forever we’ll sing
Every heart every nation will hear the sound
As the light breaks through the darkness and Your name rings loud
Every distant horizon will meet as one
Singing holy is Your name We sing holy is Your name.
You are the First and the Last. You are
You’re the Alpha and Omega the Beginning and the End
Our salvation You bring freedom God Your grace it knows no end
You’re the name above all names the Lamb that was Slain You are Yeah
The First and the Last. You are the First and the Last
Amen.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
One Sided Relationship
Oddly enough, I feel like I got slapped in the face while leading the prayer meeting today. When it came time to praise God for who He is, I got all of five lines in before I couldn't think of anything else to say. Five lines...about the God that I claim to love. I have come to the realization that I barely know who God is. All my life, I've been living as a Christian and yet I barely know God. Problem much?
Here's what boggles my mind even more. Suppose this girl and I were dating. Let's say I barely know anything about this girl and yet I decide to date her anyway. Now let's assume that she knows everything about me, knowing full well that I claim to love and yet I barely know her. Not only to I barely know her but I know that I barely know her and yet still neglect to spend time to get to know her. But then she decides to stay in the relationship anyway. That sounds pretty one sided to me.
Such is the relationship that I currently have with God. He constantly pursues me and loves me despite my unfaithfulness. Even know He knows that I my faith and commitment would waiver, He continues to allow to remain in this relationship when He's doing all the work and I'm barely doing anything. That's grace right there, getting something that I don't deserve. My hope and prayer is that each day, I learn more about who God is. I think a fuller knowledge of that will transform my life as I know it.
Hillsong - For Who You Are
Standing here, in Your presence
Thinking of the good things You have done
Waiting here, patiently
Just to hear Your still small voice again
Holy, righteous, faithful to the end
Savior, healer, redeemer and friend
I will worship You for who You are
I will worship You for who You are
I will worship You for who You are Jesus
My soul secure, Your promise sure
Your love endures always
My soul secure, Your promise sure
Your love endures always
My soul secure, Your promise sure
Your love endures always
Here's what boggles my mind even more. Suppose this girl and I were dating. Let's say I barely know anything about this girl and yet I decide to date her anyway. Now let's assume that she knows everything about me, knowing full well that I claim to love and yet I barely know her. Not only to I barely know her but I know that I barely know her and yet still neglect to spend time to get to know her. But then she decides to stay in the relationship anyway. That sounds pretty one sided to me.
Such is the relationship that I currently have with God. He constantly pursues me and loves me despite my unfaithfulness. Even know He knows that I my faith and commitment would waiver, He continues to allow to remain in this relationship when He's doing all the work and I'm barely doing anything. That's grace right there, getting something that I don't deserve. My hope and prayer is that each day, I learn more about who God is. I think a fuller knowledge of that will transform my life as I know it.
Hillsong - For Who You Are
Standing here, in Your presence
Thinking of the good things You have done
Waiting here, patiently
Just to hear Your still small voice again
Holy, righteous, faithful to the end
Savior, healer, redeemer and friend
I will worship You for who You are
I will worship You for who You are
I will worship You for who You are Jesus
My soul secure, Your promise sure
Your love endures always
My soul secure, Your promise sure
Your love endures always
My soul secure, Your promise sure
Your love endures always
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
The Chicago Bulls
Matthew 7:7-8
Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.
I'm a huge Chicago Bulls fan. Last year, I placed watching my beloved team play the Celtics in the first round of the NBA Playoffs before my studies. As with most fans, preseason is an exciting time. You get to see the improvements that players made over the offseason. You get to see the rookies show their stuff and justify why the team picked them instead of the other 60 rookies that got drafted. Today was the second game of the preseason for the Bulls and I desperately wanted to watch it. The game was televised on NBA TV. The problem is, Purdue dorms don't get NBA TV. In this day and age, anything can be found on the internet so I spent a good thirty minutes looking for the game on google. I eventually found the game and watched twenty minutes of it. Then the website went down and I had to find a new one. In all, I had to find about four different sites to watch a mere 18 minutes of basketball. Nothing was going to stop me from watching this game.
Quite often, I pray and expect God to speak to me. That's not what Jesus told us to do. In Matthew 7:7-8, He very clearly told us to be active in pursuing God. One thing that I don't do is proactively seek God's will or go up to His door and actually knock. Rather, I stand in front of the door and expect Him to open it for me without me knocking. I'm not called to have a complacent and lazy relationship with the Lord. Following God takes commitment, focus, perseverance, and faith.
What I find interesting and sad is that I am willing to actively seek out other things, like finding a website to watch the Bulls play. In that, I didn't stop until I found what I was looking for. When I have questions for God, I half heartedly look, get discouraged, and often stop. Why is it that my heart cares more about a Bulls game than knowing the will of God? Time to shape up.
Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.
I'm a huge Chicago Bulls fan. Last year, I placed watching my beloved team play the Celtics in the first round of the NBA Playoffs before my studies. As with most fans, preseason is an exciting time. You get to see the improvements that players made over the offseason. You get to see the rookies show their stuff and justify why the team picked them instead of the other 60 rookies that got drafted. Today was the second game of the preseason for the Bulls and I desperately wanted to watch it. The game was televised on NBA TV. The problem is, Purdue dorms don't get NBA TV. In this day and age, anything can be found on the internet so I spent a good thirty minutes looking for the game on google. I eventually found the game and watched twenty minutes of it. Then the website went down and I had to find a new one. In all, I had to find about four different sites to watch a mere 18 minutes of basketball. Nothing was going to stop me from watching this game.
Quite often, I pray and expect God to speak to me. That's not what Jesus told us to do. In Matthew 7:7-8, He very clearly told us to be active in pursuing God. One thing that I don't do is proactively seek God's will or go up to His door and actually knock. Rather, I stand in front of the door and expect Him to open it for me without me knocking. I'm not called to have a complacent and lazy relationship with the Lord. Following God takes commitment, focus, perseverance, and faith.
What I find interesting and sad is that I am willing to actively seek out other things, like finding a website to watch the Bulls play. In that, I didn't stop until I found what I was looking for. When I have questions for God, I half heartedly look, get discouraged, and often stop. Why is it that my heart cares more about a Bulls game than knowing the will of God? Time to shape up.
Monday, October 5, 2009
Musclar Atrophy and Christianity
Kinda brain fried right now so this might not make a lot of sense. I'm sitting here in the library reading about muscular tissue in my anatomy textbook. The book talks a little bit about muscular conditions such as muscular atrophy and hypertrophy in the section regarding muscle fibers. In the case of muscular atrophy, muscles waste away from disuse. It often happens to patients that are bed or cast ridden for an extended period of time. Myofibrils waste away and the size of muscle fibers decreases as a result. I couldn't help but think that our faith is very much the same.
In James 2 (of which I already blogged about), the idea "faith without deeds is dead" comes about. When we don't apply our faith to our lives, our faith is pretty much useless. We we are not constantly walking with the Lord, seeking Him in every situation, and stepping out in our faith, it begins to wither. When we rely on ourselves rather than God in tough situations, our faith is little and no where to be found. Don't let your knowledge that Jesus is Lord waste away. Even demons know that Jesus is Lord. What sets us apart is the faith that we have. Our faith in God, His word, and His promises should lead to a changed lifestyle.
In James 2 (of which I already blogged about), the idea "faith without deeds is dead" comes about. When we don't apply our faith to our lives, our faith is pretty much useless. We we are not constantly walking with the Lord, seeking Him in every situation, and stepping out in our faith, it begins to wither. When we rely on ourselves rather than God in tough situations, our faith is little and no where to be found. Don't let your knowledge that Jesus is Lord waste away. Even demons know that Jesus is Lord. What sets us apart is the faith that we have. Our faith in God, His word, and His promises should lead to a changed lifestyle.
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Terrel Owens and Christianity
Matthew 25:14-30
Terrel Owens is possibly the most dynamic wide receiver in the National Football League. He has all of the physical gifts necessary to be the best. Owens is a dynamic athlete with good size, runs crisp routes, and ability to catch in traffic. On paper, this is the type of player you expect to be the cornerstone of your franchise, your star player. You build your team based around a guy like this. You market and advertise with his face on every bit of media that you can possibly stick it on. So if all this is the case, why is he possibly the best receiver rather than the definite "best receiver"? This man has a knack for squandering his talent. He is the best only when he feels like it. He creates drama in the locker room and drama when he's no where near a football. Terrel Owens is a egotistical headcase. All of that talent put to waste.
We are blessed beyond measure. Maybe not all of us are Terrel Owens caliber athletes but God has give each person talents, abilities, and gifts. However, people also have the ability to squander them much like the aforementioned athlete. As in the parable of the talents, a master gave his servants money. Upon his return, two of the servants invested the money and were able to give their master more than they received. The last servant did nothing with the money. He was lazy. He didn't act upon the blessings of his master and to make the most of the opportunities in front of him. In so many ways, I find myself like that last servant. I have so much and yet I do so little with it sometimes.
Last night, a friend of mine talked to me about squandered opportunities this past week. I prayed for change in my life and God gave me the chance to put my faith in action and I failed miserably. The opportunity was there and yet I did nothing. From this, I took away a few things.
The first is that when I pray, I need to prepare for God's answer and actively seek Him. God answered my prayers and I wasn't ready. It's like praying for rain and not bringing an umbrella with me. I was passive and didn't seek God after I prayed. Habbakuk said that he was "on the ramparts waiting" for God's response. Such should be the model after we ask God for things. Our faith should be active and constantly seeking.
The second was a gentle reminder. These talents that God has given me are not of myself but are from God. It is my job to be a good steward and to make the most of them. I need to be a faithful servant. In the parable, the master entrusted more to the servants as he saw that they could handle what he had previously given them. How can God trust me with more in the future if I can't utilize what He has already given me? I need to stop living for myself and within my own desires as that leads to a great deal of misdirection and complacency. I am not called to be the Terrel Owens of spirituality and yet that's where I find myself way too often.
Terrel Owens is possibly the most dynamic wide receiver in the National Football League. He has all of the physical gifts necessary to be the best. Owens is a dynamic athlete with good size, runs crisp routes, and ability to catch in traffic. On paper, this is the type of player you expect to be the cornerstone of your franchise, your star player. You build your team based around a guy like this. You market and advertise with his face on every bit of media that you can possibly stick it on. So if all this is the case, why is he possibly the best receiver rather than the definite "best receiver"? This man has a knack for squandering his talent. He is the best only when he feels like it. He creates drama in the locker room and drama when he's no where near a football. Terrel Owens is a egotistical headcase. All of that talent put to waste.
We are blessed beyond measure. Maybe not all of us are Terrel Owens caliber athletes but God has give each person talents, abilities, and gifts. However, people also have the ability to squander them much like the aforementioned athlete. As in the parable of the talents, a master gave his servants money. Upon his return, two of the servants invested the money and were able to give their master more than they received. The last servant did nothing with the money. He was lazy. He didn't act upon the blessings of his master and to make the most of the opportunities in front of him. In so many ways, I find myself like that last servant. I have so much and yet I do so little with it sometimes.
Last night, a friend of mine talked to me about squandered opportunities this past week. I prayed for change in my life and God gave me the chance to put my faith in action and I failed miserably. The opportunity was there and yet I did nothing. From this, I took away a few things.
The first is that when I pray, I need to prepare for God's answer and actively seek Him. God answered my prayers and I wasn't ready. It's like praying for rain and not bringing an umbrella with me. I was passive and didn't seek God after I prayed. Habbakuk said that he was "on the ramparts waiting" for God's response. Such should be the model after we ask God for things. Our faith should be active and constantly seeking.
The second was a gentle reminder. These talents that God has given me are not of myself but are from God. It is my job to be a good steward and to make the most of them. I need to be a faithful servant. In the parable, the master entrusted more to the servants as he saw that they could handle what he had previously given them. How can God trust me with more in the future if I can't utilize what He has already given me? I need to stop living for myself and within my own desires as that leads to a great deal of misdirection and complacency. I am not called to be the Terrel Owens of spirituality and yet that's where I find myself way too often.
Saturday, October 3, 2009
This is how we know
This is going to be a bit short but it's something that really convicted my heart today. There's always that one person in life that you find hard to love, that one person that seems to get under your skin by merely being around you. I don't mean love as in the boyfriend/girlfriend sense but in the sense that I desire what is best for the person, even above my own needs. Posed with this challenge, I usually do what my heart tells me to do. I ignore the person. The plain honest truth is that I don't make much of an effort to love the people that irritate me.
We talked about this at leaders meeting today, about how as leaders of our Christian fellowship, we especially are to reach out to those who are harder to love and to set an example for everyone else. Now, there's this one guy that's a bit clingy. Clingy people creep me out a bit. And like I said earlier, when a person is hard to love, my initial response is to not love him or her. But I started to think of it in this manner. Jesus Christ died on the cross to save me from my sins. At that point, he knew full well that I would rebel. In my rebellion and disobedience, I am hard to love but God loves me continually, faithfully, and whole heartedly. I am called to do the same, to love as God first loved us.
That type of love is one that sacrifices for others. So if I'm irritated a little bit by this person's clingyness, so what? Suck it up, Chris. If bearing with the clingyness is what will make this guy feel welcome at our fellowship, so be it. It's a small cost for such a great gain, being able to fellowship with another believer in Christ.
1 John 3:16
"This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers."
We talked about this at leaders meeting today, about how as leaders of our Christian fellowship, we especially are to reach out to those who are harder to love and to set an example for everyone else. Now, there's this one guy that's a bit clingy. Clingy people creep me out a bit. And like I said earlier, when a person is hard to love, my initial response is to not love him or her. But I started to think of it in this manner. Jesus Christ died on the cross to save me from my sins. At that point, he knew full well that I would rebel. In my rebellion and disobedience, I am hard to love but God loves me continually, faithfully, and whole heartedly. I am called to do the same, to love as God first loved us.
That type of love is one that sacrifices for others. So if I'm irritated a little bit by this person's clingyness, so what? Suck it up, Chris. If bearing with the clingyness is what will make this guy feel welcome at our fellowship, so be it. It's a small cost for such a great gain, being able to fellowship with another believer in Christ.
1 John 3:16
"This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers."
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Phil Wickham - Cannons
Phil Wickham - Cannons
It's falling from the clouds
A strange and lovely sound
I hear it in the thunder and rain
It's ringing in the skies
Like cannons in the night
The music of the universe plays
You are holy great and mighty
The moon and the stars declare who You are
I'm so unworthy, but still You love me
Forever my heart will sing of how great You are
Beautiful and free
Song of Galaxies
It's reaching far beyond the milky way
Lets join in with the sound
C'mon let's sing it loud
As the music of the universe plays
All glory, honor, power is Yours amen
All glory, honor, power is Yours amen
All glory, honor, power is Yours forever amen
I really like this song. Although the song is a few years old, I heard it for the first time the summer. I think it really shows how awesome are God. This song paints a picture of the entire universe, from things as little as rain drops to things as large as galaxies, praising our God. The lyrics say that it will be like cannons in the night. Whenever I'm trying to sleep at night, I can hear the talk of drunks running around outside my dorms. The thought of a cannon going off would be something that everyone on campus could probably hear. God's glory is that unmistakable.
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