Month: August 2013

This one’s with me

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NewSong sings This One’s with me Songwriters: AHLSTROM, LEONARD / CARSWELL, EDDIE I was dreaming about Heaven I was standing at the Pearly Gates We all there And I was so scared in the presence of One so great I felt so worried and unworthy I felt like running away I bowed my head and I turn to go Then I heard someone say Father, this one’s with me Part of the family One of the reasons I died On Calvary Father, welcome him in I paid the price for him Father, oh Father, this ones with me I was dreaming about Heaven When I looked up the gates were opened wide And in the distance, I saw Jesus Our eyes met, and I began to cry Angels robed in their beauty Were there to show me the way And all of Heaven singing When I heard His voice say Father, this one’s with me Part of the family One of the reasons I died On Calvary Father, welcome him in I paid the price …

Paradoxically Scriptural

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Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than it is for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God. Luke 18:25 What? That is a paradox! G. K. Chesterton defines a paradox as a truth standing on it’s head calling for our attention. In other words, it is a statement that seems contradictory, unbelievable, or absurd but that may be true in fact. Throughout the Bible we come across passage after passage “standing on it’s head calling for our attention.” We often wrestle with these verses – even dismiss them because they are sometimes too paradoxical. But could it be that these passages are calling for our intention for a reason? Are they calling us to actually, critically think about what we are reading and adjust our worldview – or at least submit that worldview to the worldview of scripture, Christ and the Kingdom of God? Here are a few statements to consider: to receive one must give… Come to think about, we all like …

Taste and see that the Lord is good

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I love good food! Sometimes, I just want to show up and be served. Other times, I like to get creative and show the world that I’m a better cook than Gordon Ramsay. I have tasted a lot of good stuff, but my wife’s cooking is the best. My most favorite place to hang is in the kitchen when she is cooking. But she usually kicks me out because I don’t really know when to stop tasting. I just keep coming back for more. Well, God has extended to us an invitation to not only taste but to also discover his goodness. He is the only one able to serve goodness, and His invitation is for everyone to taste and see how wonderful it is (Psalm 34:8).  I responded to that invitation many years ago but I just can’t get enough –  so I keep coming back for more. I know you have probably tried everything this world has to offer, but God’s invitation to taste and see how good he is still stands. He wants you to: Taste the word – …

Do not be a spectator – be a participator

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When it comes to worshiping the Lord according to the book (Bible), all I hear sometimes is a bunch of excuses: It is not my personality I am too shy, plus I don’t want to draw attention to myself I don’t want to embarrass myself, my friends are looking I don’t have to shout, dance, jump, or clap to actually praise God I don’t want to be like one of those show offs I think sometimes people can be a little too stiff in church, a bit too dignified and too concerned about themselves instead of following the book on worship. So the question here is – Is it possible that having or showing a composed or serious manner that is worthy of respect in church, especially in the area of our attitude to praise and worship, can sometimes hinder us from truly experiencing the fullness of the abundant life we have in Christ? There are seven words in the scripture that define what praise and worship should really look like. Seven in the scripture …

A Force to reckon with

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William Wilberforce (24 August 1759 – 29 July 1833) William was an English politician, philanthropist, and a leader of the movement to abolish the slave trade. A native of Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, he began his political career in 1780, eventually becoming the independent Member of Parliament for Yorkshire (1784–1812). In 1785, he underwent a conversion experience and became an evangelical Christian, which resulted in major changes to his lifestyle and a lifelong concern for reform. In 1787, he came into contact with Thomas Clarkson and a group of anti-slave-trade activists, including Granville Sharp, Hannah More and Charles Middleton. They persuaded Wilberforce to take on the cause of abolition, and he soon became one of the leading English abolitionists. He headed the parliamentary campaign against the British slave trade for twenty-six years until the passage of the Slave Trade Act of 1807. Wilberforce was convinced of the importance of religion, morality and education. He championed causes and campaigns such as the Society for the Suppression of Vice, British missionary work in India, the creation of a …

20 Questions that show the Absurdity of living by the Law

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After coming into being as a result of God’s Spirit at work in Paul’s proclamation of the gospel (3:1–5; 4:13–15), the Galatian church gradually began to descend into a place of bondage and darkness. A group of false teachers whom Paul calls those “who trouble you” (1:7) or “those who unsettle you” (5:12) had infiltrated the church and was trying to convince the Galatians of a false gospel which required them to be circumcised. Although the Galatians seem to have come under the spell of these teachers and have become convinced of their teaching (1:6), Paul does not regard the situation as completely hopeless (3:4). Through a series of pertinent questions, Paul provides numerous reasons why the Galatians should return to grace and reject the absurdity of living by the law. 1. For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? 2. Am I trying to please man? 3. If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you force the Gentiles to live like Jews? 4. Is Christ then a servant of sin? 5. …

All effort is in vain without the Lord

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It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep. Psalm 127:2 Let me clarify or unpack a few things before we get to the heart of the matter here in Psalm 127. First of all, the first three verses of Psalm 127 is not an encouragement to laziness. When Jesus said, “Look at the birds of the air they don’t plant, harvest, or gather the harvest into barns. Yet, your heavenly Father feeds them. Look at the lilies of the field, they don’t work or make their clothing,” – he was not telling us that we should not work. We know from other passages that if we do not work we will not eat. Diligence is neither greed nor restless anxiety Those who build a house must indeed labor on it, and certainly the watchman of a city must certainly stay awake.  Children are a heritage from the Lord – his gift, yet husband and wife must do something in bringing the …

It is Mine!

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Now therefore, give me this mountain of which the LORD spoke in that day; for you heard in that day how the Anakim were there, and that the cities were great and fortified. It may be that the LORD will be with me, and I shall be able to drive them out as the LORD said. The Story This is a story we are all very familiar with… the story of the children of Israel before they actually entered the promise land. In the text above, Caleb comes to Joshua and reminds him of things that happened about 45 years earlier when God told them to enter the promise land. He (Caleb) and Joshua were two of the few that went up to explore the promised land and actually returned with great news and faith – that even though there were giants in the land, they were going to stand on the promises of God – that every piece of land they walked on shall be theirs. Well, we know that some of the other guys came back with a …