Picture of Jesus

I was watching the Phantom of the Opera Sunday for the second time. The entire movie was excellent but I had a few favorite scenes, only one of which I'll share.

For those of you who've seen the play, movie or read the book, then this will not spoil a thing for you, but for those of you who have done none of the above, go watch the movie, then read this. Anyway, towards the end of the movie the Phantom has Roul tied up to a giant gate and gives Christine 2 choices. Either she chooses him and her love (Roul) lives, or she doesn't and Roul dies. Lose lose situation right? You would think so, but something incredible happens. She sees him for who he is and has pity on him. She sings "God has given me the strength to show you that you are not alone". She then walks up to him embraces him with her hand on the disfigured side of his face and kisses him. Now to understand the enormity of that statement and action, I must share the with you who the Phantom is. He grew up in a freak show being beaten, being shown no mercy, grace or compassion. He got the chance after a show and choked his tormentor to death. A dance student saw this and felt sorry so she hid him in the opera house where he grew up and became a great musician, vocalist, writer, etc.... So now we know that he's a product of society, and though he could have made different choices, it's a bit easier for us to relate to him.

So how is this a picture of Jesus? The way I saw it was that the Phantom represented the world. We were born into disfiguration, and our lives have been a product of our social surroundings. To hide our hurt and pain we put a mask on so that everyone else will not see the truth. However Christ (Christine) pulls that mask off and exposes us for who/what we are, not to condemn us, but to show us compassion and love. When Christine embraces the Phantom, I see Christ leaving glory in Heaven, and choosing to die for us. Christine chose to stand beside the Phantom so that he would know love for once in his life. She did not know that he would fall apart and send the two of them away. Christ chose to take our sins and die a horrible death on the cross, suffering the worst pain He could suffer, which is when the Father turned His face from Him. The Phantom's reaction to Christine's love and compassion is much like anyone's reaction when they first come to know the love of Jesus and the mercy and grace that He has for us. We see ourselves in the light of grace and fall apart at the seams knowing how wretched and undeserving we are of such compassion.

Go see the movie. See if you see what I saw.

Goodness and Mercy

Yesterday was not looking good sometime around 5:30 pm. As I was driving Jared over to where I live for a sort of small group gathering something in my truck started making a lot of noise. I feared the worst, a bent rod, bent valve, or an extremely worn valve guide that just wasn't happy anymore. Due to this unfortunate turn of events I was late to work this morning because my dad had to give me a ride. I also had to get picked up. I talked to a few people at work and one fella who's been around awhile suggested that I take a dowl rod or screw driver up to the valve cover to see if I can hear and pinpoint where the noise is coming from. I fired it up at home and my dad listened to it. I knew it was something on the exhaust side of the engine, but wasn't sure if it was internal or not cause it sounded like valve rattle. Turns out that it's actually in the exhaust itself. Could be a chunk of honeycomb material from the cat rattling around, or it could be a piece of carbon that broke free of an exhaust valve and can't get past the cat. Who knows?

So what does this have to do with goodness and mercy? Throughout the day I pray, and this was one of the things I've been lifting up continuously today. I've prayed with various people on it too. The Lord has answered my prayers. I asked that this would be something relatively minor and a quick and easy fix, and I'm almost positive that this will be a quicker and cheaper than the alternative. If it's a cat, then those get a bit pricey, but the labor is in my hands, not some machine shops. The Lord showed mercy on me and was good to me. Maybe I'm giving the Lord credit for something He didn't have His hands in? Possibly, but all good and perfect things come from Him, and this is certainly good, relative to what it could have been. I can still drive my truck, even though it'll be a bit noisy. I praise the Lord for the blessings He's lavished upon me.

Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life.

Life and Death

I was reading a Dec. 2nd post from Robert Howard (http://www.roberthoward.blogspot.com/) and a certain part of it really impacted me.

The part that said "and leave this trailer park of a planet " described in a sort of sense what I've wanted for a long time. For a long time I've looked and even now look at death as a long lost friend waiting for his embrace, knowing that by returning from whence I came, I will finally be reunited with the one I love. I will be able to sit for eternity in the lap of my Father with my head upon His chest as it rises and falls. Hearing His heart beat with love that covers all sin. For a long time I've wished I could take upon myself the hurts and pains of the people I love. Take Jordan's disease and give him my health and strong body and mind, Cela's arthritis for my much improved joints, Kathy's kidney stone plagued kidney's for my healthy one's, and take them with my seizures, messed up foot and other little problems straight to the grave where there will be no pain or misery or 2nd death. Where my friends can enjoy atleast in part the healthy lives that God originally intended for them to have, but sin has kept them from having. And it would allow me to finally enjoy the one life I long to live. The one at the feet of my Father. I've seen nothing this life has to offer me and would be willing to give up any future I may have freely for even one day with my Father. For one day with Him is an eternity on earth.

And I wonder if I'm living as Paul did, longing to die, knowing though that it would be better for others that I live. Knowing that God's plan for my life has not been fulfilled and that my life is meant to be an offering of love for people who know Him not, for people who would gladly crucify Him again, who would drag His people beaten through the streets only to be left for dead in the fields. Knowing still that I was one of those people and it was His love that cut my heart open and made the heart of a killer into the heart a servant. So I shall serve the rest of my days whether long or short, laying down my life at the cross with the hope that as the world walks over me they may step straight into the arms of endless love, mercy, and grace knowing the love that would cause a mortal man long for death so that he could spend eternity in the presence of his only love, Jesus.

As tears roll down my face, I wonder where they come from. Are they because I'm pouring my heart out or because I'm not living daily the life I described. More than likely a mix of both.

Take My Life
Take my life and let it be
Consecrated, Lord, to Thee
Take my moments and my days
Let them flow in ceaseless praise
Take my hands and let them move
At the impulse of Thy love
Take my feet and let them be
Swift and beautiful for Thee
Take my voice and let me sing
Always, only, for my King
Take my lips and let them be
Filled with messages from Thee
Take my silver and my gold
Not a mite would I withhold
Take my intellect and use
Ev'ry power as You choose
Here am I, all of me
Take my life, it’s all for Thee
Take my will and make it Thine
It shall be no longer mine
Take my heart, it is Thine own
It shall be Thy royal throne
Take my love, my Lord, I pour
At Your feet its treasure store
Take myself and I will be
Ever, only, all for Thee

Busy Month and a Gift of Life

Man has it been a busy month. I've had the month off of school, but yet I've managed to cram all that open time with moving, more work, school related stuff, lots of stuff at church, holidays, and I know that's only the things off of the top of my head.

I've had very little to no access to a computer since my parents moved, and now I finally do! Yeah!!! So I've moved in with my good friends Paul and Erin Beaulieu (http://www.paulbeaulieu.blogspot.com/, http://www.reflectionsofalady.blogspot.com/) and they have graciously given up their office so I could be on this side of town. I'm near my parents who are now on Greenfield and Ray, my brother and sister on Gilbert and Brown, my church on Cooper and Warner, and finally my work on Gilbert and Main. A good friend of mine will soon be moving this way as well. I hope it's a trend that all my friends follow, cause I feel like I'm a long way away from a number of them.

I've decided not to be a stick in the mud and point out how I was so disappointed with how lax or shall I say syncretistic everyone has gotten with Christmas this year. I'll save that for one of my latter blogs. Instead I've decided to blog on how great my holiday or shall I say Holyday was this year. I expected nothing for Christmas this year. I was just glad I would be able to spend it with the people I love most, my family. I didn't want anything for Christmas. Christmas wasn't about wanting anymore, but about sharing. Very similar to Passover, I gathered together with those I loved and shared a meal together remembering how Jesus gave up everything to come and give the greatest gift of all, His life. I was surprised when the Beaulieu's awakened me in the morning and gave me a gift. Especially since it wasn't a cheap gift and was one that I know Paul would have bought for himself. Even more to my surprise was that Erin's parents bought me a gift and gave it to me as we were eating breakfast. I was beside myself. Later that day my friend Tim Allen came over and we headed to my parents house to eat. Tim's a good friend that I've met through the Grace Community college group. Since he couldn't afford to go home for Christmas, we invited him and were blessed to have him spend it with us. We ate great food, a meal that only kings, queens, and other nobility would have been able to eat centuries ago. I was kinda surprised that my parents got me anything for Christmas. I knew they were probably tight on money and our extended family usually draws names anyway. Figured that I would probably get something from my aunt Cindi's husband Sid and that would be it. I got three gifts from my parents. I couldn't believe it. I wanted to bless them so I got them a little something, but I had the money to spare. We sang songs of praise and worship to God while my brother and I played guitar and Tim played the djembe. That was a good time. We followed that up with a so so movie.

All in all a great day. I just wish Luke and Chris could have been there to share it with us. That would have been the one and only thing I would have wanted. But I knew it wasn't about me, God has His own agenda to keep. Luke really got to bless a couple of his fellow EMT's by taking their Christmas shifts so they could spend the day with their families. Talk about a Christmas present that has the very spirit of Christ. It cost him his holyday, and it cost his coworkers nothing. It was a paid day off. As I thought about the gifts I had received I came to the conclusion that despite the utter loss of meaning or incorporation of a pagan ritual into a Christian Holyday, there was still something significant about these gifts. They were a representation of a gift I didn't deserve, couldn't earn, and could never repay. They represented the gift Christ gave to me when He was born, lived, and died for my sins over 2000 years ago. These gifts cost the givers something very important, time. How so? The gifts cost money, and to get money you have to work which takes up the one thing you can never get back and have a limited amount of, time. Andre, the Beaulieu's, my aunt Cindi's and her husband Sid, my aunt Kathy, and my parents all gave me a part of their lives through those gifts they gave. I realize that the significance of the gifts doesn't matter, only that they were given freely to someone who didn't deserve them, didn't earn them, and didn't give anything in return.

John 15:13 Greater love has no man than he that would lay down his life for his friends.
Matthew 25:35-36,40 For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you game something to drink. I was a stranger, and you took me in. Naked, and you clothed me. I was sick, and you visited me. I was in prison, and you came to me...... Inasmuch as you have done it unto one of the least of these my brothers, you have done it unto me.

Two great things come from these verses. First is that the above laid down a portion of their lives for me, though I am the least deserving, they did it anyway. They did what Jesus did. They have taken me in, called me friend, brother, or son. They have fed me and given me drink. Have clothed me, taken care of me and prayed for me when sick, and I've not been imprisoned physically, but I know they'ld be there. Secondly is that they have unknowingly served God and provided for His needs by aiding me. They are storing up treasures in heaven.

It is incredible that someone so undeserving, unmerciful, unfaithful, selfish, and unwise could be shown such grace. I've been given the gift of eternal life through the blood of Christ Jesus, and each of those gifts is a sort of communion or remembrance of that costly gracious gift He gave. I will never look at another gift the same way again.

Boxes and Tape

You are the boxes, I am the Tape; apart from Me, you can hold nothing.

I've been dealing with boxes today. At work I was carrying around a box that had some steel pipe in it that I was working on. I was under the impression that the bottom was taped together, however it was not. The four flaps were only interlocked so as to provided a false sense of security, I thought the box would carry almost anything and stay together, however the bottom dropped out from it. I was let down by the box as I found out it was not taped. I cast it to the ground in anger as my parts spread all across the shop floor.

Sometimes we as people are like boxes. We have boxes in our lives that give us a false sense of stability or security and these boxes help us to carry on, but only lead us to be dissappointed when these boxes eventually burst open from the bottom spilling the contents of our lives out. We feel let down, violated, and even more insecure then when we started off. So we cast our box or boxes to the ground in anger, go find another box that is bigger/newer/more dependable, gather up the contents of our lives, put them into the new box and go on only to find that this box shares the same weakness as every other box. It isn't Taped at the bottom. Whether the box is ourselves, someone else, a job, or something else is irrelevant.

When I put the box back together by interlocking the 4 flaps I went and found some Tape and made the box stay together. I returned the parts to the box and it held just fine.

Boxes are important, and adding a little extra strength to them by interlocking the flaps is a wise course of action as long as you are not trusting on the interlocking of the flaps to save you. The Tape is what holds your box together and keeps the contents inside and will give you a true sense of security. We are even more like boxes when you think of how dirty boxes can get. They get covered in oil, dirt, water and all the other stuff in this world that would cause the Tape to stick very poorly. Fortunately when we seek after the Tape, and realize our need for the Tape, the Tape gives us a new box, it's clean made of plastic so that when it does get dirty the dirt won't stick or ruin the box.

I may be trying to run this analogy of our relationship to Christ a bit too far, but the truth is still there. Without full dependance on Christ we will be continually let down.

Now here I am, wishing I had some packing tape for the boxes that I need to put stuff in so my parents don't have to worry about my stuff.

Thanks for being my Tape Jesus. Without You I'd fall apart at the seams. You hold me together, have given me new life, a new name and taken me as Your own. I'll praise Your name forever. I love You!

Syncretism part 2

I've been wrestling with this idea of syncretism for some time now, and how far does this go and to what extent are our lives defineded by this style of living.

Perharps one of my greatest quandries is this. How do we remain culturally relevant without becoming apostate in how we carry out our beliefs. In ministry one wants to be culturally relevant to reach out to the unreached. The problem this presents is that in order to separate people from their paganistic beliefs we often dismiss anything they may use in their cult practices as evil soley because it is used in the worship of other "god's". For example: In the native american tradition they use many drums and chants and other things that are of great tribal importance to them. Unfortunately they use this stuff to pray and call upon other spirits. Now earlier in missionary outreach, the "great white savior's" insisted that these things and practices get completely abandoned because they were used in spirit worship and idolotry. Our thinking has greatly changed in the past 10 yrs. as God has shown us that Misuse does not negate Proper Use. This is key, because earlier we would have said that native american Chistians who still used these things and chanted were syncretistic and were sinning. We see now that this is why native americans were so put off by early attempts to reach out to them. Now they have been taught that these drums, and other culturally important items/practices were simply misused, and that to use them properly in worship to Yaweh is okay.

So this opens up a huge can of worms. We see that God has begun to move amongst the native americans and other people groups suggesting that these idea's about cultural relevance are correct and working well, none the less not negating the fact that we should be noticeably set apart. A nation of priests as it were.

We know in the old testament that the Israelites were not to eat meat sacrificed to idol's, but yet we also know that there are no such things as other god's. All they are is stone, wood, metal, etc.. Our God is bigger than these things, which is why Paul says it is okay to eat of such things, unless a brother who is weaker in spirit and who may stumble because of your freedom witnesses you eating of these things. Still when in Ephesus, Paul never slept with temple prostitutes, sacrificed to idols or took part in these things so that he could remain culturally relevant in order to share the gospel (despite his when in Rome speech). He did quite the opposite. He said that all of these things were meaningless and worthless. He preached Jesus Christ and Him crucified, and ministered in the power of the spirit.

So then, what shall we say? Pine trees, giving of gifts, egg hunts, bunny rabbits, throwing of flowers and garter, dressing up in costumes as weird stuff, and other culturally relevant things. Do we do these so we can be relevant? Are they simply being misused and we need to learn how to use them properly and show the world how to? Or do we need to do what Paul did and cut these things out of our lives and do the opposite.

One of the reasons I love kid's church and teaching with Paul B. is that when these holiday celebrations come upon us we buckle down and teach the kids the history behind these holidays and why they were originally so important. We do not give out bunny rabbit candies at Easter or decorate eggs (both of which are symbols of fertility), or scary stuff around halloween, or santa stuff around Christmas, but emphasize in a world were these things have been forgotton (just like Israel) the importance of such celebrations and why we still celebrate them. Otherwise we risk apostacy and where we celebrate these things with our mouths but our hearts are far from Him. They are on gifts, candy, fun, games, and most importantly ourselves. The Israelites suffered terribly from this and the consequences were tremendous.

So there is a definite tension between cultural relevance and syncretism. Where the fine line is I do not know. I think we as Christians have crossed that line in many places, but haven't in others. Some good questions to ask about a practice or celebration would be, will this give glory to God? Am I opening up opportunities to witness and influence the lives of unbelievers? Why am I doing this? Is it because of tradition, or is there something more?

Lord reveal your heart to me regarding these things. Help me walk out this line between syncretism and cultural relevance. Let everything I do give glory and honor to you and let your kingdom come and be advanced in my life. I trust that as long as you are leading me, I will not fall in to apostacy or syncretism. So lead me and guide me. Teach me your ways.

Syncretism

Syncretism by definition is the reconciliation or fusion of differing systems of belief ex. Religion.

Flashback to the time of Moses. He was an old man now and already knew that he would not go into the promise land with God's people because of his disobedience when he struck the rock. He soon dies and God raises up Joshua as Moses' successor. He shows the people that He is with Joshua just as He was with Moses. We see in Judges 1:27-36 that Israel did not complete the conquering of the land of Canaan. They instead put some of the people to forced labor or allowed them to live in the land. After Joshua died we see in Judges 2 that they did evil in the sight of the Lord by worshipping Baals. As Israel ages and goes through ups and downs we see the mixing of cult practices. Cult practices meaning any religious practices a belief system has (not to be confused with occult). When God made the covenant with Israel at Mt. Sinai He forbade them from doing certain things. In return He would be their God and they would be His people. He would lead, provide, and protect them and doing anything else needed. All He required was obedience. As we see, Israel began to disobey and break their part of God's covenant with them. They first didn't destroy all the people in Canaan and all their idol's/god's. This eventually led to the cohabitation (unequally yoked???) of God's people and pagan's. They lived, worked, and played amongst each other. Israel eventually begins to ignore God and worship foreign god's or baal's. Over time we see the development of a syncrotistic society. They worship God with their mouths, and even the required offerings, but their hearts were far from Him. They would oppress the poor and the foriegners, they committed open adultery amongst themselves, and even had homosexual relationships throughout their history. What does God do? He pulls His favor from them. He quits guiding them, no longer provides for them, and allows their enemies, the very ones they were supposed to have destroyed when they first entered the land, to oppress them and then others would eventually conquer them. They broke the covenant that God had made with them and they suffered the curses that came as a result of this violation.

Fast forward to the present. Syncretism, how does it apply to us? We can look at many things in our lives that we celebrate or are just common practices that have roots in pagan practices. Bear with me while I list a few examples. If you take for example Christmas. It falls around the same time as the winter solstice which in the N. Hemisphere occurs on Dec. 21. Many early peoples would celebrate the death of the falling son and the birth of the rising son. For a pretty good history on the winter solstice go here: http://www.religioustolerance.org/winter_solstice.htm. You'll find that many of the things Christians do in celebration of Christmas are well rooted in other pagan traditions that were blended together by emperor Aurelian around 270-275 A.D. The giving of gifts, decorating pine trees, holly, and a whole slew of others that are found on the link above. Paul B. Made a good point that I was disenchanted to agree with, but now have had a change of heart. Check it out. It's titled "Purity in Wedding Practices" and can be found at:http://www.paulbeaulieu.blogspot.com/. We celebrate many other holidays and do many other practices that have roots in pagan traditions, and if anybody takes the time to search this out I think they will come to a similar conclusion.

So, what to do. I'm not suggesting that we abolish celebrations or weddings, birthdays, gift giving and the like, but that we do them in the proper context and we weed out the things that are rooted in the world. Is that extreme? Yes. Do we serve an extreme God? Yes. Is He faithful and just to forgive? Yes, but as Paul said that doesn't mean that we should continue sinning so that His grace may abound. I know that right away people will begin to think that my view is legalistic. I encourage you not to make a judgment call on what I write, but check out the links above, search out the history on some of the things we as Christians do, and find out what the Bible has to say about such things. I'm all for offering alternatives to worldly practices, as long as they do not conflict with scripture and are not rooted in worldly practices that traditionally have connection with the worship or glorification of things or people other than Jesus. Celebrating the birth of Christ, His death and resurrection, and other things are fine. The thing that I believe that is important is that we abstain from mixing in things that are of the world and have paganistic roots. The giving of gifts is a wonderful thing, but not when it is generally done around certain times of year and because that is the "thing" to do. There should be no time of year for this gesture, but should be done out of love for each other and as an expression of the love that Jesus has shown us. Whether material or immaterial is irrelevant.

The devil's advocate in me argues that all these things are an issue of the heart and even though they have paganistic roots, they are innocent in nature. None the less God forbade the Israelites from practicing or even wearing things that the pagans used in their cult practices. Por ejemplo: The mixing of two types of cloth in the old testament. This does not apply to us today, but in that time pagan cultures would mix two types of cloth together to symbolize the mating of the god's and the mating of the god's was supposed to bring agricultural abundance and blessing. This is why it was forbidden. There are no existing cultures that do this today as far as we know so it's not something that would apply to God's people (us). However there are things that we could apply that same logic to.

I find it interesting that ancient cultures had meaning behind most of the things they did. Even their names were important. In today's "civilized" western culture we have lost meaning in most of the things we do. Names are simply a tag that someone wears until they die, rather than an extention of who they are. Many if not most of the things we do during celebrations are simply traditions that we carry on. Why? Why not, I did it as a kid, it was kinda fun, don't want my kids to miss out. Maybe it's time to stop and think about why we do certain things and the meaning behind them. To take some time and search out the history behind our practices to find out if they are truly innocent and if we should indeed just go with the flow and never rock the boat.

Lord, give me wisdom, and understanding regarding the issue of syncretism and how and where it is rooted in my life. You are a jealous God who wants all of me, not just part of me. I don't want to withhold any part of my life from You. Search my heart and reveal the areas in my life that I've merely taken as harmless tradition and help me to change them. If I am reading into things to much and the enemy is trying to pull me away from you by binding me in legalism, then rebuke these things and set me straight. However, if this is indeed You telling me it's time to return completely to You and to reject anything that has roots in the cult practices of other religions or worldly traditions, than continue to reveal more truth to me. Lord I love You and only You. I seek Your will on these things, let Your kingdom come here on earth as it is in heaven, and let Your will be done.

Time

Time - the thing we need when there's alot to do, but have none of. The thing we have lots of when there's nothing to do. The thing we can never seem to get a hold of no matter how hard we try.

So I'm sure some of you are thinking, what is with this guy? He doesn't blog for a while, then belts out 2 books in one night then doesn't do anything for nearly 2 weeks. I'm telling you it's all about time and how little of it I seem to have. VLI has been going great. We finished up an intensive last weekend that was about 12 hrs. Absolutely insane! Information overload. I'm running on very few hours of very uncomfortable sleep and have now moved from a futon to the floor due to the back pain I would wake up with. Combine that with 9-10 hr. days, constantly trying to pass emissions, attempting to remember what I need to do for kids church, college group, and trying to do some studying for VLI and you wind up with a burned out, runny nose guy who is not feeling very good. I have been having constant headaches for the past 2 weeks I'd say. Advil has nearly become part of my diet it seems.

Well I'm sure I could think of more depressing stuff, but my head already hurts. Good stuff, hmm let's see..... Red Sox won the World Series? nah don't care too much about that, let's see. Oh, Micah and Chrissy had a baby boy. Joshua Daniel Killough. 9 lbs. and 33 hrs. of delivery. When I saw him I was speechless. Absolutely the coolest thing I've ever seen. I was praying so much that Chrissy and the baby would be okay. When I left the house I was singing my own song heading west on the 202 praising God. What an incredible experience it is to hold your own flesh and blood. My brother's son. Wow!! There are no words on earth to describe how I felt. All I could do was shout, and that's what I did while driving home. I hooted and hollered like a crazy man. Going to take some getting used to, but I thrilled.

Lord, thank You for the blessing of Micah, Chrissy and Joshua. Thank You for bringing her and the baby safely through the delivery. Please heal her and give her all the rest she needs. Let her recovery be speedy so she can get back on her feet. Bless them as they have blessed us and help them in raising their son.

Leaders

This current election has had me do some thinking. I saw a trailer to a film titled Celcius 41.11 (http://www.citizensunited-interactive.org/C41.11/) that had a clip of someone holding a sign that said something to the sort of: Say no to war in Iraq! Then in smaller print it said: Unless a democrat is President. So what does that tell you about the left side? I also saw a leftist bumper sticker on a car that said "Know Peace, No Bush". The homosexual on who's car the sticker was on didn't have a clue. You can't have peace without war. The two coexist in tension with each other. The fallen nature of man kind has made it so that there are people out there who are power hungry megalomaniacs and will stop at nothing to gain what they want. This often means war. This brings me the to the title of my blog, Leaders. They are made not born and great leaders were not typically made during times of peace, nor did they always bring peace. The greatest example of course is Jesus. He specifically said in Mat.10:34 "Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword." He turned over the money changers tables in the temple and rebuked the leaders of religious law with a fury never before seen amongst men. Israel was captive to the Romans, but Jesus didn't come to lead them out of physicall captivity, but spiritual.

Arguably on of the greatest King who ever lived, and certainly the greatest Hebrew King was King David. He never knew peace during his reign. He was always at war. Nations gathered against him, and he cried out to God, and God delivered them. He wasn't great though because he was a mighty conquerer, it was because he was a man after God's own heart.

Another great example of a great leader is Winston Churchill. He rose up, gathered Britain around him and defied the Axis powers. At the same time during the same war would be President Theodore Roosevelt who led the U.S.A. through WWII and helped the Allies defeat the wicked Nazis and their Japanese compatriots.

In the examples mentioned above save Jesus, all of their successors enjoyed times of peace. Solomon built the temple and many other things as well as a large female household. Britain and the U.S.A. rebuilt and helped Europe rebuild. Now President Bush was forced to be in the position he's in. He didn't ask for 9/11 to happen, it just did. He didn't runaway from it and pretend it didn't happen. He didn't get to inwardly focused. He grabbed the reigns and handled the situation with great poise and command. He gave the terrorists and the countries who hide them a chance to surrender, and if they didn't he promised that they would face war of a level that they have never before known. What happened? He fulfilled his promise. War is never easy, but it is a necessity when nations rise against nations or hide those who would intend to harm a nation. President Bush stopped the senseless slaughter of millions more people by ousting Saddam from power. Control is now being slowly restored to the Iraqi people. Kerry has done nothing to support the war. He has said that he would pull out which means that our Iraqi friends would be faced to rebuild alone and would eventually the country would erupt into civil war. We would then find Islamic radicals even worse than Saddam in power and doing everything in their power to destroy America. Great leaders are made not born. They handle situations with poise, and control. They stand up for what is right and will not let other nations decide their future for them. They avoid war if possible, but will not be used as the worlds floor mat. George W. Bush in my opinion has done a great job in some areas and could do better in others, but the one thing that shines like a lighthouse on a foggy night, is his character and his unwillingness to waver on what he believes is right just because pop culture says other wise. Kerry has none of the above qualities, he's a user, an abuser, would sell his own wife if it would get him the White House. He is dishonest, unloyal, unpatriotic, and above all things he does not love justice and mercy. His character reeks of the things of the world instead of the things of God. His wisdom is that of the world, whereas Bush seeks the Lord and reads the Bible searching for wisdom. May God Bless President Bush and grant our country the benefit of being led by him for another 4 yrs.

8 Hour days???

So, this week has been quite long, but on the same token, rather enjoyable, sort of.

Things I haven't enjoyed: failing emittions testing again. I finally broke down and took my Scout into the shop. I found out that the gov. raised the emittions standards this year so all of the things that I have done to pass in the past wouldn't work. I reduced the jet size on my primaries, advanced the timing, leaned the fuel mixture out and ran octane boost with high octane gas through the engine. Nothing worked. Aargh!!! It's been almost a week now and my truck still isn't back. At work I got moved to a new area because one of our welders quit and they needed to move another welder into his area to pick up the slack. Well they put me in the area that was vacated and I seemed to inherit a crappy welding machine. I wasn't too happy. I think I was more concerned that because I moved into this vacated spot that I would assume the duties of the previous tenant. He welded stock items all day long and did boring stuff. I on the other hand get some cool custom projects, the owners and bosses are always having me do custom or prototype work for new products and various personal stuff. I really enjoy this type of work because it's not monotonous. Yesterday I was trying to dial in this welder and had it set when my floor manager came up to me and told me to just use the newer machine I was using before. I expressed my confusion to him because he early stated that welding machines needed to stay put and I was going to use the one in the area that I'm moving to, but I guess he changed his mind. Now one of the less experienced guys are using it which kind of makes me feel bad cause I was starting to get used to it. The guy using it now doesn't seem to mind or have any problems with it so more power to him I guess.

Good things: VLI is going well and I just finished preparing a sermonette for next tues. mentoring class. I'm using John 15:13 as the foundational scripture on which I build the rest of the sermon around. Hopefully it'll go well. At work we got a break from 10 hr. days on tuesday and were told that we'd be on 8 hr. days until further notice. This means an extra hour of sleep and I get off an hour earlier. For some reason though I haven't left work any earlier than I would if I were working 10's though. I've been working on a grinding rail for the Gilbert Vineyard Drop in Center http://gilbertdropin.blogspot.com/2004_10_01_gilbertdropin_archive.html. I finished the structural aspects of it today. The rail is finished and ground up and the stands are finished as well. I still may grind down the edges to try and make a semi smooth transition so that in the event that someone does hit them with their board, that they will have a better chance of not biting it. I suppose things are going well, but I guess I'll see how the rest of the week turns out.

Lord be with me and help my attitude at work to improve regardless of my situation or what I am doing. Help me be a light to the world in which I work, and help me to be raging fire. Not an ember struggling to survive. Give me grace and mercy for the things that I do throught the week that are not reflective of who You are and look more like the things of the world. Forgive me when I sin and help me to walk in the paths of rightouesness. I thank you for and praise you for keeping me free from the lusts of my flesh. May I continue to surrender that to You and walk in obediance to Your will so that my flesh will continue to die. Guide me, direct me, and let me know Your thoughts and Your ways. Give me more dreams and show me visions. Then let me know the meanings behind them. I bless You and lift You up. I love You and only You. May my heart be Yours and only Yours.

Davidic covenant

Ok, so there is no Davidic covenant. Atleast not to this David. None the less I like to think that a vision my mom had some time ago is sort of a promise of things to come. The vision was simple yet intriguing, she saw me with my wife and kids. Never saw who my wife was, only the back of her head. Interesting.

As I get older I the thought of marriage runs through my mind more often, probably because nearly all of my friends are either married or soon to be. I'm one of very few hold outs. Never had a girlfriend (by choice) and avoided the whole dating thing like the plague. However in light of this vision I see hope. Sometimes I get a little over zealous and I take a simple kind gesture or friendly chat with a attractive young lady and read more into it than there is. I kind of see myself relating to Abraham in this sense. God promised him a son. He didn't say when, just that he would have one and would be the father of many nations. Now Abraham believed God, but was under the impression that God would give them a child under natural circumstances. They would have a son within child bearing age. As Abraham and Sarah aged, they decided that God must have meant that they would have a child through a maidservant and raise it as their own. So Sarah gave Hagar to Abraham and she gave birth to a baby boy. It is important to take note that this was a practice that was completely acceptable during that time. Families stayed together most of their lives so it was important to have a male descendant to pass on the inheritance to. If a male child could not be conceived, a back up plan was to use a maidservant. This was the wisdom of the world. God would not have any of that. He told Abraham that Hagar's son was not the one who the promise would carry through. Instead God waited until it was physically impossible for them to have children and then He supernaturally intervened and gave them a son who's name was Isaac.

Now the question is, what is this leading up to? Well, the wisdom of the world would suggest that I seek out this future woman that God has for me. That I should date or go with friends with the intent of trying to "hook up", but God doesn't use the wisdom of this world. He doesn't do things the natural way, for He Himself is not natural, but supernatural. He will use natural things to bring about a supernatural experience, but that is tangent in which I may explore later. In Abraham's case they tried things the culturally relevant way and ended up have a serious effect on the course of history. Hagar's son would also become the father of many great princes which in modern times would be the anti Semitic Arabic nations surrounding Israel. If this is what happens when we try to fulfill God's promises by human means, then I want none of it. I don't know when God will show me this person, but I trust that His timing is perfect. It's still hard to wait especially when there are so many great women of God out there, but every time I see them I take heart in the knowledge that if they are great, but not for me, how much greater will the one that God has for me be. Someone once said, the enemy of best is good. Never settle for 2nd best when you can have the very best.

Lord I trust in You and You alone. Your timing is the right timing and Your ways are higher then mine and the ways of this world. Even though I do not fully understand why You do things the way You do, I take heart in knowing that everything that I go through is something that You will use to mold me and form me into who You want me to be. You said through Paul that everything works out for the good of those who love You through Christ Jesus. I believe that, and am waiting on You. Help me not to look around me and become discontent with where I am in life and where You have me, but to be glad in all circumstances and to recognize the reasons why I am where I am. Speak to me and reveal Your heart in me.

The Hunger

Hunger, sometimes good, sometimes bad. Appetites for somethings can be good, but then there are appetites that are destructive and lead to death. I've been reading Genesis lately because it's the first of the five books of the Pentateuch. We have to read through the Pentateuch for VLI this quarter as well as various books. I've been digging into the Word like mad. Thursday I went over to Andre's and we worshipped and read and discussed various things in Genesis ch. 1-9. It was incredible! We dug into the passages, asked questions of each other, and really enjoyed studying the Bible. God has given me an appetite for studying and trying to understand the Bible. The Lord has developed a Hunger in me for the things of His Kingdom. I'm hungry, and only You can fill the Hunger. I cannot be full. Your Word is better than the best of foods and drinks. It satisfies, yet makes one long for more. Makes one think and dig deeper. Food makes one full, and too much will make one fat. When you eat food and it's processed its biproduct is a stinky waste that is useless. When you eat of the Word you'll never be full. You'll never get fat and it's biproduct is a stronger Christian and a better understanding of the things of God. You can also share this biproduct with others and they too can grow stronger. Jesus was right when He said that "man does not live on bread alone, but by every Word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord". Seven Day Jesus has a song out called "The Hunger" and it's awesome. In fact their entire album is great, but that song applies to this blog.

Lord continue to make this fire burn and burn hot, white hot. Make the hunger you've placed inside me grow deep and wide. Let me become consumed with the thought of knowing You. Let my desire be to eat and drink of Your Word. Help me to cut off the chains that have bound me and kept me somewhat caught in the things of this world. Keep my heart in a state of brokeness for the lost and for missions. Don't let me become complacent in my walk with you. Use VLI to mold me into a battle hardened warrior who's only desire is to fight on the front lines with a fury and reckless love that strikes fear into the heart of the enemy. Be my shield, be my Sword, be vision, lay before me a path that is rock solid. Let my enemies fall before me, to the left and to the right let them fall before Your mighty right hand. Prepare me, then lead me into battle. You are the Potter, and I am the clay. Today my heart is Yours to mold. Make me into the tool, the weapon that would make me useful to You in advancing Your kingdom. I love you, and the thought of doing anything other than serving you makes my heart cringe.

Good times, exciting times, and uncertain times

Haven't posted in a while. Don't have my own PC, and my roommate isn't to keen on letting people use his. Don't get to post much cause of time constraints and lack of a PC.

This is going to be a book, at least I think it will be. So much has happened since 9/12/04, namely my brother Luke coming down to visit. That was such a good time. You never really know how much you'll miss somebody until you they're gone. I've considered moving to Kansas many times. The funny thing is that there are only a few reasons to go, but so many reasons to stay. Luke was one of my reasons to go, but the Lord was doing things here and He was my reason to stay. Didn't get to hang out as much as I would have liked, but he'll be back in Feb. To test for Tempe Fire. Hopefully they won't hire him for another year and a half to two years. That should give him the time he needs to do what he went to Kansas to do.

Work has been really busy. The Lord has been good though. A couple weeks ago my buddy Mike came down to check out the shop and while I was showing him around, my boss came up and asked me for some help. Mike followed me so I introduced him to my boss. My boss offered him a job on the spot for the most part and a few days later Mike was working with me. We car pool now, and share lunch, talk loads during breaks and I'm getting to show him some stuff too. I hope that the Lord brings a few more Godly men like Mike in so that we can be an even better witness to those that work there. Right now they have us working 10 hr. Days again. Probably for the next 3 weeks.

Vineyard Leadership Institute (VLI) started up last night and boy was it exciting. It was just orientation night, but to hear the heart of God behind Steve Robbins the director was incredible. I'm so excited, but at the same time filled with a nervous energy. They say that to learn the info and apply it well in ministry, one will need to study etc. For at least 20 hrs. A week. With work picking up again and night school and college group all of my nights were used up. I knew that doing VLI would require some sacrifices, but that ultimately it would be worth it. The Lord has so much to teach me through the mentoring, lecturing, and hands on ministry projects. I dropped my welding class on tues./thur. Nights because it took up 8 hrs. A week that I needed to devote more to reading the word, studying, and focusing on VLI as opposed to getting my certifications taken care of. Those will be good here, but probably won't benefit me loads overseas. However, the things I will learn through VLI will help me here in the U.S. as well as the rest of the world. The next couple years will be filled with exciting yet, uncertain times.

I'm going through VLI training so that I will be better equipped when I make the transition into full time mission work sometime after VLI is done.

College group is going well at the Living room. Since they broke the group up into 3 nights, the wed. Group actually meets at someone's house and consists of about 15-20 people instead of 40-70 people. Great small group, great worship and study, close by and lots of open discussion.

Life is busy, yet I'm glad. The Lord is moving in me, through me, and around me. Things are changing, I'm changing. Can't put my finger on it cause it's so subtle at times, but it's happening. My natural instinct is to be apprehensive about uncertain times, but now I'm more excited because that means that I'm not in control of the situation. It's a new adventure that is always going where the Shepherd leads, not where I want to go.

The Blessings of the Lord

What is the greatest thing in this world or the greatest gift. Some might say the birth of a new baby, especially their own, or seeing their children grow up. Having not experienced either of those I cannot say how great they are, but I know for a fact that one of the greatest pleasures I've had in my life is to see someone who is young come to have a relationship with Jesus. I got to witness this today during Adventure Bay. I was completely unprepared. Stayed up late last night, was busy moving and setting stuff up in my room so I lost my schedule and "script" for today's lesson. I wake up late and miss 1st service. I end up quickly jotting down some notes and reviewing the script for the pirate and cameo we have before changing into my Captain's clothes. After that I play with the kids and meet the new ones. We had this one boy that did not want to be there. He wanted to be home and was visibly upset or maybe scared. Paul handled it quite well and one of our 5th graders stuck by him the entire day helping him to have fun and get connected. Props to both of them. As the hour wore on he gradually loosened up, worship was awesome, we boarded the ship and then I proceeded to tell them about our destination. We were going to Easter Island (Easter was our lesson plan for the day), but it donned on me that some of these new kids might have never heard about Jesus. So I asked them, and sure enough 4 of them had not heard the story of who Jesus is and what He did for us. I proceeded to tell them the greatest story ever and made sure to make eye contact with all four of them throughout the story. They never took their eyes off of me. It was amazing! I was put in the same room with 4 new kids (2 of whom were brought by their friends) that had never even heard about Jesus, and I got to tell them about HIM!!!! What joy! I couldn't believe my luck! I'd struck gold in them thar hills. The seed was planted, now it was time for some water. I continued on with the lesson plan and the kids as always were right on the money with their answers. In the end I gave them an opportunity to accept Jesus into their hearts. Here's the best part! The new guy that didn't want to be there raised his hand and recieved Jesus into his life!!! What an honor, what a blessing. I saw 3 other hands shoot up, and was nearly positive that these were hands I'd seen go up before, none the less I was excited. I had been praying the whole time while teaching that one of these kids would come to know Jesus and one did. The seed planted, the water poured, and the harvest reaped. So young and ready to be poured into. How great it is to see a young one saved. They have the rest of their lives to proclaim the name of Christ and grow while they're young, whereas adults are already grown and it's often harder for them.

Lord thank you for the gift you've given me of being able to teach in Kid's Church. Help me to be more and more cognicent of what you're doing and where you're going so I can lead them in the same direction. Do not let me or the lesson plans or anything else ever become a stumbling block for your will for these little ones. Smash and destroy anything or anyone that gets in the way. They are yours and so are we. Lead us, guide us, and hold us close to your side.

To be like a child

Jesus said in Mar 10:15 "Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein." After this sunday I have a better grasp as to what that means. The children I teach (or atleast they tell me that's what I do) during our Adventure Bay program in 2nd service are incredible. They worship with a fervor that even the most spirit filled worship leaders would be in awe of. They sing and dance with reckless abandon praising God not because I or anyone else told them to, but because they want to. There is evidence of this in the testimonies of parents that are constantly saying how their kids are singing their own worhsip songs around the house or start doing the motions and dancing when they hear a certain song the recognize played on the radio in some store. What's even more amazing is that when these young one's get too old for the class and go into 5th and 6th grade, they fight tooth and nail to stay in Kid's Church. They don't want to leave. They have now become a vital part of our team of helpers. They want to get involved in every aspect of Adventure Bay and Kid's church from picking out songs for worship, to cleaning up the water that Shriver the Diver has a tendancy to leave when he shows up. And they hold each and every task very dear. None is more important than the other. They're all involved with little cameo's or help out as a puppeteer or as a little mate as we call them. We've had to work out a deal with them since we do want them to be in their proper class and continue to learn and grow. If they stay for multiple services then they have to attend their class during one of those and can help out during the others or if they're parents stick around for only one service, then they can help out every other week. Every single week I've seen kids raise their hands to accept Christ into their lives or to reaffirm their committment to Him. They're always bringing their friends or other new people and are practically dragging their parents out of bed so that they won't be late. I don't know about anyone else, but I never dragged my parents out of bed for anything but Christmas. These kids are demonstrating this extreme behavior on SUNDAY MORNINGS!!! Praise God for the heart that he has placed in them. I cannot wait until they have moved on into high school and are regular hell razers. They are the one's who will be leaders on their campuses because they do what is right and will not give in to peer pressure. They will worship the Lord in Spirit and in Truth. They will be a light in the darkness, and the gates of hell will not be able to hold them back. God is raising up a mighty army right before my own eyes. He is using the outcast and pushed aside. The excess baggage that some parents begrugingly carry around. He has given me the wonderful blessing and opportunity to pour out what little I have to those who are so little in the eyes of this world. Is it any wonder that Jesus stayed in the temple as a child to talk to the priests instead of waiting till He was of the "proper" age. God uses the wisdom of fools to confound the wise. Paul told Timothy to not let others look down on him because he was young, I say that we should not look down on little kids, because of their age or size. They have more to say, and more to ask than we know. If we take the time to listen we would learn much.

Jesus loves the little children
All the children of the world
Red, and yellow, black and white
They are precious in His sight
Jesus loves the little children of the world

Lord continue the work You are doing in these little ones. Protect them from satan's devices. Do not let them be snatched away, but instead use them as hunters, deadly warriors to snatch others out of the enemies grasp. Even at this young age they are preparing to reap the harvest You have prepared. Instill in them a heart for the lost, a heart for missions, and most importantly a heart of worship. In the end Lord, it's all about You. Regardless of how much we care for others here or in other countries, if it all doesn't come back to worshiping You then it is done for the wrong reasons. Let them learn to love, for it is the greatest commandment. Teach them to love each other, but even more so to love You with all of their heart, mind, and soul. Continue to bring up parents, young adults, and even younger students to help out with this awesome ministry opportunity you've given all of us.

College group questions

I have been so wiped out and tired as of recently with long work hrs., school, college group, and church that when I do get time any more to check this stuff it's late at night and I'm really tired. If anyone should feel so inclined as to get the background to this post check out my buddy Obie's blog at www.klaobeforehim.blogspot.com

Lots of good questions were asked. The one I feel that needs answering the most is Suzie's which Ben also reffered to. Why not step up in our church and meet new people, start a group or whatever. To borrow a line from Obie, at this moment I want to be somewhere where I'm not expected to be in a leadership role. I've been a jack of "many" trades a good portion of my life. I don't want that to pour over into my spiritual life so much. I want to be good at one thing. Right now I'm teach Adventure Bay. I want to be the best I can be at that. Those kids have been pushed to the side by so many people because their kids. Many people think that kids church is kind of a place where they take their kids to be watched while they go to church, and don't take it seriously. I cannot give myself over to anything else as far as ministry goes, especially not with VLI starting up on the 20th. This semester is going to be slam packed for me. Then the question is, why can't I meet and hang with new people at Gilbert. Well, I can do that, but there are a few things that really hold me back. Time is the biggest one. I go to first service and right after it ends I hurry over to Kid's Church to help out and get ready. No time to meet people. Second if I did and we hung out, then it would only be right to bring them to the Cellar to get hooked up and not to the Living Room. However, if I am not currently attending the Cellar then that would mean that I'ld be taking people away from a group that is obviously trying to get something started. I don't expect everyone to understand, and there will be more questions, and possibly some hurt feelings, but what's a guy to do? You can please some of the people all of the time, but you can't please all of the people some of the time. Even when they're you're best friends. Right now I'm in a place where I'm being blessed, lots of great stuff is happening, I'm active all the time, and I see God using me in all the lives around me and God is using all of them in me. Does that mean that the above wasn't happening at the Cellar? No, it doesn't. All I know is that a few months ago I was struggling with temptation on and off, things were just ho hum, but now things are going well, I'm enjoying life and developing new, deep relationships with people that have had a positive impact on my life. I hope in someway that this clears the fog up and answers some questions.

A Most Excellent Blog

Trust me on this one. My friend Joel has put out his own little 5 part blog on Perseverance and it is really good. I would encourage anyone and everyone to read it. Joel has an incredible way with words and many of his songs have touched me deeply. Check his site out at http://www.memoryresidue.blogspot.com/. I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

ROAD TRIP! (unrated version)

Not that any of my posts need ratings, right?? Anyway Andre, Gabe and I went to Huntington Beach last weekend for 3 days and had a blast! We did everything from surfing to six flags. We hit up some surf shops and bought a few things, had a good time at Joe's Crab Shack eating crab, drinking long island's and watching Andre do the carwash with the waitresses. Lots of good times and good laughs. We took loads of video and lots of pics. Stayed up way to late and did lots of goofy things. It was good to get away for a few days. The Funk's who are friends of my family graciously put us up for the couple of days that we were there and introduced us to Danny who taught us how to surf. God blessed us through and through by getting us free surfboards through Danny's friend Ethan, and keeping us safe up and back and all around Cali.

However it is good to be back. School started up, but for me it'll be next tuesday cause the first week is safety vids and a walk around the shop for the newbies. VLI will be starting up soon which I'm looking forward to. The Living Room is splitting back up into 3 nights again (tues, wed, thurs) and it looks like I'll be going to the wed. night Living Room. I'm kinda bummed that Andre, Gabe and another friend of mine will be going to the tues. or thurs. night Living Room's, but we'll see what God has in store.

Answer to prayer

I finally found a roommate. Fortunately he's alive, and he's a really cool guy. Goes to my college group. He has a townhouse a few miles from where I live and his roommate just moved out. The place is fully furnished with some really sweet stuff. I'm just going to have to buy a bed, bookshelf and a few other things for my room. All the furnishing stuff stays at my folks house because it's theirs. I'm really looking forward to moving out at the end of August. It's going to be a new and exciting adventure.

I'm really looking forward to this thursday as well. Andre, Gabe and I are going to Huntington Beach to go surfing for a couple of days and we're also going to go to Six Flags as well. A little before school starts fun.

God is so Freakin' Awesome!

I can't even believe how good God has been to me. Since I started my welding job I've been praying daily at work especially that God would bless me, help my welds to improve, help me to work harder and more effieciently, and to give me favor in the eyes of my supervisors. He has done way more that I've asked. My welds are improving, but I still feel that I can do better. I work hard constantly because I am always operating out of a mindset that I'm competing for my job. They threw all kinds of special projects my way in the past. All kinds of stuff that was rush delivery or custom fab stuff that deviates from the norm. My boss comes up to me all the time now telling me how much he appreciates having me there and how great of a worker I am. When he says these things I honestly am thinking that he's gotta be kidding me. He's not, he's dead serious. I told him that I try and his responce was that many people try, but you succeed. I thanked him very much for the undeserved compliment, and thanked God for His hand working through me. There is NO way I could even make it there on my own strength or my own skill. There are lots of better welders there than me, but yet they have me doing the hardest stuff, that requires the most precision and are telling me that I'm doing an excellent job. Go figure. God is amazing! His faithfullness knows no boundries. There is nothing but good in His heart, and He's poured out His gifts upon me without hesitation or second thought. He's given me wisdom to handle tough situations, and the ability to keep the peace with all of the different attitudes that flare up there at work. He's given me confidence in other areas as well. Times when I struggle to speak up at work or out with friends, He's helped me. After looking into the past and being amazed at what He's done, I can only look to the future with great excitement and faith knowing that God is in control and He's taking me down the most Excellent and Exciting path in life. The straight and narrow.

Lord I love You, and I worship You. You are so faithfull even when I am not. I am so undeserving of Your love and compassion, yet You give Your love and Your blessings out to me freely. I will praise Your name forever. Help me to walk in the path of righeousness and live for You. Let me be a light in the darkness that is the place I work at, and a friend to those in need. Continue the work that You started in me, and do not let Your hand depart from me.