come and live.....

Cornerstone 2010

2010-07-07T16:20:00.003-05:00

Where do I start in trying to place God’s actions over the past week at Cornerstone into words? I’m finding it extremely hard to explain ALL that happened. I think the following adjectives would serve well, at least in an effort to summarize, what we experienced God doing: surprised, overwhelmed, joy-filled, unprepared and yet deeply grateful, reassured, challenged, moved, convicted, and faith & love increased.

I can’t speak for all of us, but I know that I went into this festival with a certain measure of feeling incompetent or unworthy. Waves of inadequacy were hitting me, to say the least. All of these, on one level, are what any of us Christ-followers should experience apart from the reassurance of His grace in our times of need. In my case, all of these feelings were coming from a spirit of condemnation, not of son-ship. I was heeding the voice of the enemy, not the voice of love everlasting. God had prepared me on Monday morning (the morning we left) through His still small voice during my quiet time with Him and through a scripture passage He had drawn my wife to (1 Corinthians 2: 1-5).

And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.

Though I felt greatly encouraged by God’s Spirit and by this passage, I still wasn’t fully expecting what God was preparing to unveil. A part of me was still wrestling with whether God would truly accomplish anything through me/us.

Read the full review at Http://comeandlive.com

Noble Character

2010-05-20T23:01:00.007-05:00

And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. (Romans 5: 3-5)

Is it possible, and even likely, that God allows us to face trials, temptations, hardships, tribulations, storms, and all the like, strictly because He desires that we be true men (and women) of Godly character? The passage in Romans 5 implies that without tribulation (Webster defines it as distress or suffering resulting from oppression or persecution; also: a trying experience) we will not yield the greater promise of hope.

God has been revealing so much to me lately about just how serious He is concerning my character. I've wondered and questioned countless times as to why life has been so challenging over the past 16 months. Why, at the very time that I chose to deny my flesh and follow Christ in faith, did I find myself struggling so helplessly to find His hope? I've gone through great bouts of doubt and unbelief as God has allowed tribulation to shape my inner man. God has repeatedly subjected me to the same lessons of trust because I have yet to learn His undeniable faithfulness. The author of Hebrews said it this way;

"The Lord disciplines those he loves,
and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son."

Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. (Hebrews 12:6-8)

I should not find myself caught off-guard when Christ Himself - the same loving, caring, kindhearted friend, drives me to my knees in frustration over unchanging circumstances. It's in these times that I question where God's presence resides. Where has He gone? Why does it seem that He is no longer speaking to me? Did I do something wrong? Likely my pride is what prevents me from seeing that He is desperately wanting me to endure so that I would attain a hope that would not disappoint.

You should know that God cares far more for your depth of character than for the success of your ministry or calling. We should never measure ministry apart from character because the two are mutually inclusive. They are meant to go hand in hand. The greater the character, the greater the ministry.....or so we hope. No matter how much it might appear that we are fulfilling some eternal favor towards God, let this be a reminder that He is going about the business of training men willing to obey His voice. I'm not convinced it's possible to properly hear His voice apart from the tribulations and discipline that cause us to run quickly into arms always held open for us. No matter how hard your life's situation might be right now, ask God to give you the strength to "glory" in your tribulation. It's in these times that He can develop you into a useful object of His affections. Fear not, you are dearly loved. Loved so much that this Father will not allow you to run off into the glamor of church, ministry, a lifestyle of worship, or even servant of all. His plan is to first protect you from yourself. His plan is to first protect me from myself. I believe that I'm personally capable of doing deeper damage to myself over any nasty work the Devil could unleash on me.

I'm slowly learning how much God loves to develop each of us into the proper cities set-apart on high hills for the world to see. He wants to show off a finished product that clearly reflects His perfection. I wonder how many of us rush off into Kingdom war before we've been properly trained. I write all of this to tell you that I am finally finding myself exceedingly grateful for every ounce of hardship God has allowed me to endure along this road (which, by comparison to many, is not much to write about). My prayer is that God would give us grace to endure. I need more grace. You need it too.

Lord, please prepare us for the positions of tribulation designed by Your hands to release us into the glorious future as Your children. Help us to desire a ministry of noble character the way you do.

India Revived

2010-03-09T10:37:00.003-06:00

Note: This story is passed along from my Sister and family who run a ministry (Kingdom Foundations) to orphans and widows in Bangalore, India. My prayer is that these stories would encourage your hearts as they've encouraged mine. Please consider praying for and financially encouraging these brothers and sisters. Visit them on the web at http://kingdomfoundations.org.

Wow!!!

These past few weeks have been a whirlwind for us. Finally life has become a little more normal and we are able to process all that the Lord has done and is continuing to do through the conferences and crusades with Randy Clark and team (http://globalawakening.com/). My husband Ravi and I have watched as people we know and love have been radically changed. People who have never before encountered the Holy Spirit are experiencing His touch in deep ways. Over and over again we have heard statements like, "I don't know what is happening to me. I cannot stop these tears from falling. I feel this incredible warmth all over my body and this amazing peace is sweeping over me." Isn't that who our Jesus is? How He loves to tenderly touch the depths of our hearts with His gentle yet all consuming love.

The first two days with Randy were spent here in Bangalore at a large pastor's conference. There was a time of waiting on the Lord and after there was such a strong sense of His presence. The Lord started imparting on people's lives in such a way that they were not able to stand, literally as the Lord's presence came. Randy focused much on healing and spent a great deal of time waiting on the Lord and asking people with different physical problems to stand and receive healing from the Lord. What was so beautiful about this, is that no one was standing with them praying for them, it was just Jesus alone, the Healer, who came and healed. In India there is such a tendency in the culture to praise men rather than God when a miracle takes place. But in this case....people experienced first hand that it had nothing to do with man, but it was completely the Lord. This was something I had really cried out for before the conferences took place; that the King of Kings would be glorified, not man. Thank you Jesus!! Ravi and I and the people of India were so touched by the humility of Randy Clark. What a breath of fresh air to have this man of God in our city.

Some of the miracles which took place during the Bangalore conference were years of chronic back problems instantly gone. There were people with iron rods in different parts of their bodies (because of car accidents/surgeries) who could not bend or move because of the iron rods. There were a handful of people who could completely bend and move those body parts again. One of our staff had an iron rod in his knee and was not able to bend his knee for years and he was completely able to bend his knee. Talk about crazy!! There were some who had been possessed by demons who came or who were brought. One woman in her 40's was brought by car to the meetings. She had been possessed for 5 years. When she reached the meetings she refused to step out of the car and enter the church building. The people dragged her out of the car and as soon as she entered the church, she screamed and fell. She sat up and was totally healed! No one prayed for her or laid hands on her....just the sweet presence of Jesus who loves to set the captives free, freed her. There was such an impartation given to the pastors and a refreshing. We are still seeing the fruit of this conference in Bangalore. Pastors are calling and coming to our home saying they are not satisfied where they are and are hungry for more! They ask Ravi to help them go deeper. This is what we have been praying for! Fruit that is lasting and changing. Lives that are not the same and cannot go back to their old ways because the God of the universe came and reached His hand down from on high and touched their core.

Really the greatest outpouring that we witnessed was in another city called Krishnagiri. There we hosted a three day pastors conference during the day and 3 nights of open air crusades. Randy Clark and Ravi both spoke during the pastors conference. The Lord led Ravi to communicate to the people that there is no difference between these precious pastors who are poor and this man from America. Ravi's heart was to express to his people the same God who leads Randy and works through him is the same God who leads them and works through them. It was very powerful as the Lord gave Ravi specific names of different pastors and spoke specific things about their lives. The pastors were greatly encouraged to see one of their own being used by Jesus to speak into their lives. There are too many incredible stories for me to share with you in this letter of all that happened during their time there. I am going to highlight some of them. We saw an incredible amount of deaf and dumb people completely healed. Many were precious little children who had never been able to hear or speak since birth. Can you imagine their excitement as they heard sounds for the first time? There were also many healed who had either been blind from birth or who had become blind. On the 2nd night there was a muslim woman and her daughter who came to the crusade. They came secretly to the meeting. That night the mother was touched and healed and went home to her husband and shared what had happened to her. The next night the whole family came with the father leading them and all were saved and touch by God! Thank you Jesus!!

There was a man and a woman who has been possessed by demons for 15 years who came and both radically delivered. One member of the team prayed for a woman with a lump in her throat and it disappeared right then. There were people who could not walk, who stood and walked. There were some instances of people who had short limbs who could not walk, who actually had their limbs grow out and become normal so they could walk normally. Incredible!! Really there are too many miracles to share! The incredible thing, is that the healing and outpouring of the Lord did not stop there after the three days were over. We continue to hear of people who are being healed. Pastors who have had revelation that this was meant for them to walk out on this earth are going to the sick and praying for them and watching them be healed. The following day after the conference and crusade was over one pastor decided he was going to see if the Lord would heal through him praying for the sick. So he went to a hospital and prayed for a woman who had been in a coma and she immediately woke up and came out of her coma!! Yeah Jesus!!

Perhaps for me one of the most precious things about the time Randy and his team were here, was that several of our kids (orphans) were able to be a part of the meetings. In particular 4 of our boys were incredibly touched. Each of them had encounters with the Father and felt His incredible and deep love for them. Two of them heard the Lord call their names and saw an incredible bright light as they were in His presence. They were so touched and have been so hungry for the Lord ever since. I could not ask for more, to watch them bask in His love and receive healing from past wounds. They have a renewed sense of who they are and what God has for them.

Well, honestly I could go on and on. So much has happened and is continuing to happen. We are overwhelmed by the kindness of our Savior. We want to thank all of you who stood with us in prayer for God to move….thank you for investing into lives here through prayer and intercession. Thank you for lifting us up as a family. It was challenging for us as a family as we did not have much time together and as Ravi and I were so exhausted. But there was grace. We love you guys. Thank you for loving us….you are such a gift to us!!

All our love…
The Kandal family

The Trouble With Redemption

2010-02-17T20:04:00.001-06:00

Redemption, by vague definition, is something that most of us struggle with. The literal definition of the word implies, “the act, process, or an instance of redeeming.” Redemption is also the literal birthplace of the word, “ransom,” which is “a consideration paid or demanded for the release of someone or something from captivity.” The reason we all struggle with redemption is that none of us are very good at it, much less recognizing our absolute need for it. We rarely find ourselves in a position that requires our being set free from captivity (or so, in our ignorance, we may think).

I volunteered with a prison ministry back when I was in college. My involvement included serving as a co-leader for taking groups from our school on weekend trips into prisons, mostly throughout Texas. I always loved prison ministry because it reminded me of my past, growing up as a missionary kid in South America. I visited four prisons down south as part of a drug rehabilitation program I was required to take part in. I can clearly tell you of the incredibly humble, and usually honest definition, that these inmates would give for their ransom. I still don’t think I’ve ever met Jesus-followers living such humility and peace as some of the prisoners I’ve met over the years. The vast majority didn’t just need someone to redeem them from the captivity of barbed-wire fences, patrol outposts, prison guards, mess hall fights, prison gangs, and black-iron bars. They required a heart redemption that would release them from years of soul darkness into the beautiful mercies only found in Christ Jesus.

Finish reading the full blog on the Ransom site.

We have lift off.......

2010-02-08T13:26:00.002-06:00

Please stop whatever you might be doing and take a second to celebrate with us! Check out our new and highly improved comeandlive.com. While you're there, be sure to listen to (and download) any of the first Five releases along with our first sampler, "I Am Living!, Vol. One" (new releases coming weekly!), get a better idea of who we are and please check out our new friends at The Jonah Project, ministering to the down and out on Skidrow in downtown LA!

We are celebrating today because the Lord has treated us with great kindness. Our dream has been to tastefully explain the heart behind Come&Live! as well as to begin providing music as a digital gift. As of today, both of these things are reality. Not only are we beginning to see part one of our dream realized, but this website was 100% funded by the generosity of individuals like yourself. We could not have done this without you! For each of you who have prayed for us, donated cheerfully and willingly, pledged via Kickstarter, or simply encouraged a friend to check us out, THANK YOU!

The completion of this website is one of many things that we praise God and His perfect timing for. The site will serve as the global web foundation for the work He has called us to do, mainly to "establish the kingdom of God within a community of musicians." That's how one of our band members described this mission and we couldn't agree more.

Would you please help us in establishing God's kingdom amongst musicians?

Here are four ways you can help us:

1. Commit to pray for us.
2. Spread the word about Come&Live!
3. Donate. Join our growing Support Team. We need your help.
4. Support our artists. You can do this by praying for them, going to their shows, buying their merchandise, opening your home to them, or even by bringing them cookies on the road.

Would we all be examples of God's generosity to all men, in all places, for all time.

cj

P.S. Be sure to check out the latest promotional video here.

Year One as a Weak Fighter

2010-01-06T14:43:00.000-06:00

It was exactly a year ago that I chose the path of foolishness. Only by God’s grace are my family and I, who naively agreed to accompany me, still alive on this same path. The decision the Lord lead us to was one requiring obedience of the sort which is “greater than sacrifice,” though in this case, the two seem to have tangled. Obedience required a new-found trust in God, and we have found ourselves uprooted from what seemed to be a near-perfect life in the Pacific Northwest to what has felt more like a rocky, narrow road, lined with thorns, here in the South. Obedience was required in laying aside a wonderful job, consistent paychecks, a solid career path, and of course, the much sought-after financial security. Obedience required in believing that I actually was hearing the whisper of God and not the voice of the devil. There have been days where I question. Days where my wife questions the fact that I question. Days where I have wondered if God altogether left me for a more gifted prospect, one that might require less time, less effort, and less refining. Thankfully, God has proven Himself as a patient friend to this weary straggler on the journey of faith.

Many have come before, many will come after. Many make this journey we are on seem like a short walk in the park on a brisk spring day. The examples I read of “men of faith,” which I read regularly as a double-shot of inspiration and as a glimpse of hope, remind me that I’m but a boy at heart with years of trials still to be discovered, still to shaped by, and yet to overcome. I have found wonderful companions in my mind as I daydream on what it would have been like to have watched Peter step off the boat, and consequently take his eyes off the Savior and begin his quick descent. To have witnessed Jesus, in a perfectly timed extension, reach down His hand to hoist the sputtering church back to life. Peter was called the rock upon which Christ would build His church. But before the church was birthed, it nearly drowned....and then denied Christ three times before it really started showing any true potential. I’m far from a theologian but that seems like sheer unexplainable mercy. I’ve read countless stories over the past year of simple faith stirred into bold action by men who have suffered imprisonments, beatings, near death experiences, betrayals, financial hardships, and every sort of trial known unto man. Yet, there is always a recurring theme throughout each story, in that the Divine hand of grace prompted, and kept them all, moving forward. Of most inspiration to me have been the life and times of men such as George Muller, Smith Wigglesworth, George Whitefield, D.L. Moody, the Apostle Paul, Joseph and his dream, not to mention modern day instruments of God’s heart such as Francis Chan, Bill Johnson, Brother Yun, and John Piper.

At this point, you may be under the impression that I’m about to compare myself to these great men of God, who overcame, through faith, the impossibilities that surrounded them. There once was a time when I may have been so prideful to consider the idea. Thankfully, God has humbled me so (as suggested in 1 Peter 5:6-7) that any early notion of being recognized as a “man of faith” seems to escape me as I am daily reminded of just how insignificant and weak my faith is. On the other hand, don’t think that I’m trying to throw, and attend, my own pity party. There should be no pity for the man who leaves everything behind to follow God, and then wonders why the road is so difficult or narrow. Nor should there be a party. What there should be, and what I feel I can honestly say, is that there should be a change. There should be progress on some level. I used to say that this experience would be worth the while if only one life was encouraged to discover Jesus for the first time or at least to seek Christ with greater diligence. By God’s kindness, this has happened in countless lives this year already! Little did I know, though, that I was referencing myself. I was that one person that needed Jesus. Did I (or do any of us) really think that our mustard seed of faith would accomplish the relocation of mountains? Probably not, at least not for very long. What Jesus was getting at in this well-known parable was that it took such an insignificant morsel of OUR own faith, by comparison, to the colossal depths of God’s faith in His own ways, His own abilities. The mountains will throw themselves into the sea, not because you or I give the command, but because God is able to match our tiny seed with His unending forest, and then, and only then, is anything possible. All forests are birthed first by planting helpless seeds that require ingredients only God can provide. We are saved by grace, through faith, because faith is the seed that God uses to implant His eternal power of grace into our lives.

God has stretched my family and I, along with all those who have joined me on this mission. I think when we’re really honest with each other, He’s stretched us way beyond where we thought He would. Way beyond our comfort, anyway. I once had childish faith that God would just drop a check of abundance out of the sky on us, giving us every penny (in one lump sum) needed to run a ministry focused on turning heads and hearts towards His Son. It’s taken nearly a year to realize that my priority was entirely misguided. Our greatest need to deliver us out of every fiery trouble has not been, nor will be, money. We don’t need a financial bailout package; the slowing growth of wealthy western Christian church can show quite clearly that money does not equal permanent solution for the soul. We need a real Savior who has been down these dirty roads before, someone who can guide us, regardless of the circumstances. Someone who knows that the roads aren’t always dirty and knows that we will suffer for a short while, only to spend all eternity sharing the intimacy of the bride with the glory of the groom. Jesus said it like this, “man does not live by bread alone, but on every word that proceeds from the mouth of God (Matthew 4:4).” If all we needed were money, we wouldn’t truly need God. This has been huge revelation for me. Maybe it will provide the same enlightenment for you. Of course we need provision, but won’t He who knows every hair on our heads, who knows our needs before we even pray them, also prove faithful, and provide in His perfect timing?

I don’t want you to get the impression that I’ve grown bitter or jaded, quite the contrary actually. I’ve grown more steadily mature and fearfully passionate. I am learning to trust God like never before, because I’ve been forced to. When I felt the Lord first whisper the instruction to go start a ministry to raise disciples out of artists, I didn’t fully understand that it would cost me as much as it has. As is the story for many, I have questioned this calling, doubted God’s provision, and even wondered whether He even existed. The reality is that financial provision has been sparse, especially to someone who was still measuring his success based on worldly standards. We sent out “support” letters, prayed a lot, and then waited. I still daily look forward to what the mailbox might supply, in faith that maybe that check of abundance will yet show up, and shock me. My family has been supported, not by a husband who has supplied for their every need, nor by a strong base of monthly supporters or churches hungry to help an inspired “visionary,” but by a strange combination of supernatural provision. Random “gifts” that always arrive at the perfect time, and that often come from people who don’t seem positioned to act with such generosity. A retirement plan cashed in for groceries and to help cover bills, a totally unexpected inheritance check from a Great Aunt, food stamps and health insurance generously offered by Uncle Sam. No, I’m not exactly proud to share how we’ve managed for these last twelve months, but I can tell you that God has been faithful to provide - even in ways I never would have considered. This has been a year of struggle for us all, and yet God is constantly working all things together for good.

The point, and the main reason I write this, is to tell you that God is love! He is just, He is faithful, He is friend, He is hope, He is joy, He is peace, He is bread of life. I have never had so much peace in my heart as I have now. Though there is not an ounce of natural probability of Come&Live!’s success, my family ever landing back on their feet, or any of these “musicianaries” actually surviving through the winter; I find myself holding firmer than ever to the God of the impossible. Without a “real” job my mortgage has, unbelievably, been paid every month for the past twelve. Every bill, other than three credit cards that I haven’t been able to pay for months, has been met. The Lord knows I desire, more than just about anything else, to be free from debt, free from the burden and the guilt of having trusted earthly plastic, for years, over God’s gold. But, as much as my pride and personal credit may suffer, there is no price that anyone could offer me for the lessons God has taught this year. Nor am I suggesting this is the end. It is only the beginning. And it’s only the beginning for many of you. I felt led to share, in vulnerable transparency, some of my own struggles, because I know that I am not alone. I know that many of you are questioning everything many things in life and I want to serve as a reminder to you that God will never leave you nor will He forsake you - even when everything around you is screaming otherwise. His will and His plans are to constantly grow us into the examples of Christ-like faith that will change the world. Not just because it sounds good on paper, but because it’s how He saw fit to prove His existence, through people, like us, that stumble around as much as Peter (and likely every other man of faith) did.

My prayers are no longer so centered on God’s provision, as I am fully convinced (save for a few really bad days where throwing in the towel seems the best move) that provision will come (as, in many ways, it has already) the very second God intends for it to arrive. My prayer has become centered along the lines of, “God, please grow my love for You and for others. Please increase my faith to believe You for the impossible. Please increase my joy and increase my peace. If you would just increase these areas, I don’t think anything could ever stop You from working through me.” I would love it if you would join with me, and the many already standing by my side, to pray, not just for us, but for the entire global church, that Christ would increase her love, her faith, her joy, and her peace.

For those of you who read this far, Thank You. For those of you who did not, Thank You.

May our lights shine before men so that they are compelled to cry out to Him.
He will hear. He will answer.

Chad

He Endured.

2009-12-23T08:07:00.001-06:00

"He endured, as seeing Him who is invisible" - Hebrews 11:27

The life of Moses was a much-enduring one. He endured the banishment from palatial surroundings and the most brilliant court then in existence; he endured the forfeiture of privilege, and the renunciation of splendid prospects; he endured the flight from Egypt, and the wrath of the king; he endured the lonely exile in Midian, where for years he was buried alive; he endured the long trudge through the wilderness at the head of a slave people, whom he sought to consolidate into a nation; he endured the ill manners and the countless provocations of a froward and perverse generation; he endured the lonely death on Nebo, and the nameless grave that angels dug for him there! And here we have the secret of his wondrous fortitude disclosed to us: "He endured, as seeing Him who is invisible."

He realized the presence of God. He lived in the consciousness, "Thou God seest me." He looked up, and had a habitual regard to the heavenly and eternal. In the upper chambers of his soul there was a window that opened skyward, and commanded a view of things unseen. As an old author puts it, "He had a greater than Pharaoh in his eye, and this kept him right." Yes, and this will keep any of us right: to live under the sense that God is overlooking us - to walk by faith and not by sight.

- S. Law Wilson.

Dwelling Deep

2009-12-14T07:24:00.001-06:00

"The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus." (Philipians 4:7)

There are depths in the ocean, I am told, which no tempest ever stirs - beyond the reach of all storms that sweep and agitate the surface of the sea. And there are heights in the blue sky above, to which no cloud ever ascends; where no tempest ever rages; where all is perpetual sunshine; where naught exists to disturb the deep serenity. Even at the center of the cyclone there is rest. Each of these is an emblem of the soul which Jesus visits, to whom He speaks peace, whose fear He dispels, whose lamps of hope He trims.

During the test of a submarine it remained submerged for many hours. When it had returned to the harbor, the commander was asked: "Well, how did the storm affect you last night?" The commander looked at him in surprise and said: "Storm? We knew nothing of any storm!"

Dwell deep. When doubts assail and stealthy shadows creep across your sky, filling you with a sense of doom. Where thunders roar, and lightnings frighten with their glare, and old foundations seem to crumble beneath your feet. Dwell deep and rest your soul amid eternal things. Upon the surface storms may rage, and billows break on every beach of life, and fling disaster far and wide. If your soul is dwelling quiet in the depths, naught can harm you evermore. Therefore dwell deep, and rest your head upon the heart of God.

- Anonymous

"When He gives quietness, who then can make trouble" - (Job 34:29)

Holiday Presence

2009-12-10T12:28:00.003-06:00

We are upon that time of year when everything goes completely schizophrenic around us and we are undoubtedly drawn into the certain chaos of the Holiday season. Darkness surrounds as early as 4PM, traffic gets crazier, families are scrambling, and retailers are desperately clinging to the hope that “god” will perform the miracle of transforming red ink to black. Even Starbucks is banking on all things cinnamon and spice to daily draw you in.

Moms are busying themselves with Turkey dinners, stuffing, and mashed potatoes, while dads are hanging lights and inflatable snowmen. Kids have lost all touch with reality other than telling you what they want under the tree. It seems our lives begin moving at such an increased pace that we rarely have time to just sit down and soak up the true treasures in our lives. I'm writing this to remind us, that if there's ever been a time to stop and savor the moment, that time is now.

"Let us come before (or into) His presence with THANKSGIVING; let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms. For the Lord is the great God, and the great King above all gods. In His hand are the deep places of the earth; the heights of the hills are His also. The sea is His, for He made it; And His hands formed the dry land. Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord our Maker. For He IS our God, and we are the people of His pasture, and the sheep of His hand. Today, if you will hear His voice: Do not harden your hearts, as in the rebellion." - Psalm 95:2-8

Read the full blog, featured on Ransom.tv, here.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-25T13:10:00.003-06:00

I recorded a very simple (and short) video to just say thank you and to pray over all the families getting together tomorrow and this weekend. Check out the video here. Apologies for the poor quality, please don't tell Andy Reale that I shot this using my laptop.

I'm so thankful for everything the Lord has done in my life. He's blessed me beyond what I deserve. Lately, in the midst of serious financial trial, He has been increasing my faith, my hope, and my joy. I feel as though I'm learning daily how to grow into more of the man that God has called me to be, and I'm forever grateful for the lessons.

Praying that you all have an incredible time with friends and family.

Blessings and love,

chad

Fire

2009-11-13T08:36:00.002-06:00

In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls. (1 Peter 1:6-9)

"What makes this set of china so much more expensive than that?" asked the customer. "It has more work on it. It has been put through the fire twice. See, in this one the flowers are in a yellow band; in that one they are on the white background. This had to be put through the fire a second time to get the design on it."

"Why is the pattern on this vessel so blurred and marred - the design not brought out clearly?" "That one was not burned enough. Had it remained in the furnace longer the dark background would have become gold - dazzling gold, and the pattern would have stood out clear and distinct."

Perhaps some of those who seem to have more than their share of suffering and disappointment are, like the costly china, being doubly tried in the fire, that they may be more valuable in the Master's service.

"The potter never sees his clay take on rich shades of silver, or red, or cream, or brown, or yellow, until after the darkness and the burning of the furnace. These colors come - after the burning and darkness. The clay is beautiful - after the burning and darkness. The vase is made possible - after the burning and darkness."

How universal is this law of life! Where did the bravest man and the purest woman you know get their whitened characters? Did they not get them as the clay gets its beauty - after the darkness and the burning of the furnace? Where did Savonarola get his eloquence? In the darkness and burning of the furnace wherein God discovered deep things to him. Where did Stradavari get his violins? Where did Titian get his color? Where did Angelo get his marble? Where did Mozart get his music, and Chatterton his poetry, and Jeremiah his sermons? They got them where the clay gets its glory and it shimmer - in the darkness and the burning of the furnace." - Robert G. Lee

My prayer has been shaped (through this same fiery furnace) from a previous plea of, "Lord, please finish this process as quickly as possible and let me on my way" to a more desperate cry, "Lord, I want the purest of refinement. Please take as much time as you need to rework and reshape my heart. Whatever you do, please finish the process fully and completely - just allow me to endure it."

God help us not rebel at the second breath of the flame if (and when) You send it.

Prayer: Power of all powers

2009-11-11T09:56:00.001-06:00

“Up in a little town in Maine,things were pretty dead some years ago. The churches were not accomplishing anything. There were a few Godly men in the churches, and they said: 'Here we are, only uneducated laymen; but something must be done in this town. Let us form a praying band. We will all center our prayers on one man. Who shall it be?' They picked out one of the hardest men in town, a hopeless drunkard, and centered all their prayers upon him. In a week, he was converted. They centered their prayers upon the next hardest man in town, and soon he was converted. Then they took up another and another, until within a year, two or three hundred were brought to God, and the fire spread out into all the surrounding country. Definite prayer for those in the prison house of sin is the need of the hour.” - Dr. R.A. Torrey

Do we believe in the power of prayer to alter our circumstances, especially those of which no other power could alter?

Where is God when His Provision Dries up?

2009-10-22T09:30:00.002-05:00

"And it came to pass after a while, that the brook dried up." (1 Kings 17:7)

God sent Elijah to the brook and it dried up. It did not prove equal to the need of the prophet. It failed; God knew it would; He made it to fail. "The brook dried up." This is an aspect of the Divine providence that sorely perplexes our minds and tries our faith. God knows that there are heavenly whispers that men cannot hear until the drought of trouble and perhaps weariness has silenced the babbling brooks of joy. And He is not satisfied until we have learned to depend, not upon His gifts, but upon He Himself. - Rev. Percy Ainsworth

It's incredibly easy to experience a full range of earthly emotions when we can no longer see God's outstretched hand of provision before us. How do we respond when God gives us a clear directive and yet the brook of His provision seems to dry up on us? We all know that He is supposed to provide for all our needs. And, if the God of the Bible is true, why would He fail to care for us? The Israelites (post miraculous deliverance from Egypt) experienced this very thing. A wilderness wandering for 40 years before they received the fulfillment of the promise. In this story of the prophet Elijah, the Lord Himself had called forth a drought on the land and then instructed the prophet to head for the wilderness and be supplied by the flow of a small brook. The same God who supplied was the same God who declined. This is the God we serve. If we could perfectly understand His will in every circumstance we would have no need for the mediator in Jesus and no help from the Spirit that guides us into all truth.

What we can see from Scripture is that the Lord is constantly good and even when He dries up the brook - He also brings instruction and opens wide another way. Had the Lord not dried up the brook, here is what the prophet Elijah would have missed out on:

1. He never would have met a widow who on their introduction said, "I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die."

2. Elijah met the widow to not only be provided for but to be the provision for them. The Lord used him to save both the widow and her son.

3. Not just once, but on two occasions does the Lord use Elijah to spare the widow's son.

4. He may not have gone back to seek King Ahab (who had turned his back on God and began worshiping Baal)

5. It's likely that Elijah would not have called out the 450 "prophets of Baal" and experienced one of the more incredible miracles in Scripture where he strikes a deal with these prophets saying, "Then you call on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the LORD; and the God who answers by fire, He is God.”

6. Drought may not have ended and the rain may not have come.

So, if you are anything like I am, the first place you run when it becomes clear that the brook of the Lord's provision seems to be drying is a place of complaining, a place of grumbling, a place of hardening the heart. I pray the Lord would give us the vision to see what He has planned far beyond our stay out at the wilderness brook. Maybe he plans to touch some orphans and widows through you. It's possible that His good will is to release you to influence even the Kings and Presidents of the nations. Could it even be that He would work such miracles through your hands that even a whole nation would be turned back? Highly unlikely for the skeptics in us. Praise God that He is never skeptical of His work.

I pray that Jesus would soften our hearts, setting straight our unbelief/grumbling/hardness/whatever-it-is-we-deal-with and move us into the glory of His perfect will, even in the midst of a drying brook.

When the Silence of God is the Answer

2009-10-14T11:33:00.001-05:00

“So, when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was.” (John 11:6)

And so the silence of God was itself an answer. It is not merely said that there was no audible response to the cry from Bethany; it is distinctly stated that the absence of an audible response was itself the answer to the cry – it was when the Lord heard that Lazarus was sick that therefore He stayed two days still in the same place where He was. I have often heard the outward silence. A hundred times have I sent up aspirations whose only answer has seemed to be the echo of my own voice, and I have cried out in the night of my despair. “Why art Thou so far from helping me?” But I never thought that the seeming farness was itself the nearness of God – that the very silence was an answer.

It was a very grand answer to the household of Bethany. They had asked not too much, but too little. They had asked only the life of Lazarus. They were to get the life of Lazarus and a revelation of eternal life as well.

There are some prayers that are followed by a Divine silence because we are not yet ripe for all we have asked; there are others which are so followed because we are ripe for more. We do not always know the full strength of our own capacity; we have to be prepared for receiving greater blessings than we have ever dreamed of. We come to the door of the sepulcher and beg with tears the dead body of Jesus; we are answered by silence because we are to get something better – a living Lord!

My soul, be not afraid of God’s silence; it is another form of His voice. God’s silence is more than man’s speech. God’s negative is better than the world’s affirmative. Have thy prayers been followed by a calm stillness? Well! Is not that God’s voice – a voice that will suffice thee in the meantime till the full disclosure comes? Has He moved not from His place to help thee? Well, but His stillness makes thee still, and He has something better than help to give thee.

Wait for Him in the silence, and before long it shall become vocal; death shall be swallowed up in victory!

Think not that God’s silence is coldness or indifference. When birds are on the nest preparing to bring forth life, they never sing. God’s stillness is full of brooding. Be not impatient with God!

When the Lord is to lead a soul to great faith, He for a time leaves his prayer unanswered.

- George Matheson “The Blind Preacher”

A Native Psalm

2009-10-08T07:22:00.001-05:00

"The Lord is my Sphepherd" (Psalm 23:1)

The great Father above is a Shepherd Chief. I am his and with him. I want not. He throws out to me a rope, and the name of the rope is love, and he draws me to where the grass is green and the water is not dangerous.

Sometimes my heart is very weak, and falls down, but he lifts it up again and draws me into a good road. Sometime, it may be very soon, it may be longer, it may be a long, long time, he will draw me into a place between mountains. It is dark there, but I'll draw back not. I'll be afraid not, for it is in there between the mountains that the Shepherd Chief will meet me, and the hunger I have felt in my heart all through this life will be satisfied. Sometimes he makes the love rope into a whip, but afterward he gives me a staff to lean on.

He spreads a table before me with all kinds of food. He puts his hands upon my head, and all the "tired" is gone.

My cup he fills, till it runs over.

What I tell you is true, I lie not. The roads that are "away ahead" will stay with me through this life, and afterward I will go to live in the "Big Tepee" and sit down with the Shepherd Chief forver.

- An American Indian's Version of the Twenty-Third Psalm.

The Ice Harvest of Life

2009-10-06T08:25:00.001-05:00

"He that loses his life for My sake shall find it." (Matthew 10:39)

Below is an excerpt from the devotional book, "Springs in the Valley":

In my early life I entered into a partnership with a friend in the wholesale ice business. For two seasons in succession our ice was swept away by winter freshets. In the winter of which I speak, things had come to a serious pass and it seemed very necessary that we should have ice. The weather became cold; the ice formed and grew thicker and thicker until it was fit to gather. Then there came an order for thousands of tons of ice which would lift us entirely from our financial stress.

Not long before this, God has showed me that it was His will that I should commit my business to Him and trust Him with it absolutely. I never dreamed what testing was coming. At midnight there came an ominous sound - that of rain. By noon the storm was raging in all it's violence; by afternoon I had come into a great spiritual crisis in my life.

By mid-afternoon of that day I had come face to face with the tremendous fact that down deep in my heart was a spirit of rebellion against God. And that rebelliousness seemed to develop in a suggestion to my heart like this: "You gave all to God. This is the way He repays you." Then another voice: "My child, did you mean it when you said you would trust me? Would I suffer anything to come into your life which will not work out good for you?" And then the other voice: "But it is hard! Why should He take your business when it is clean and honest?"

At the end of two hours (during which waged one of the greatest spiritual battles of my life) by the grace of God I was able to cry out, "Take the business; take the ice; take everything; only give me the supreme blessing of a will absolutely submitted to Thee." And then came peace!

By midnight there came another sound - that of wind. By morning the mercury had fallen to zero, and in a few days we were harvesting the finest ice we ever had. He gave back the ice; He blessed the business; and He led me on and out, until He guided me from it entirely into the place He had for me from the beginning - that of a teacher of His Word - James H. McConkey.

"Give your life to God, and God will give you back your life!"

The Famine Is Severe In The Land

2009-09-24T08:56:00.001-05:00

"Now the famine was severe in the land.....and it came to pass, when they had eaten up the grain which they had brought from Egypt, that their father said to them, "Go back, buy us a little food."....For if we had not lingered, surely by now we would have returned this second time.....and they took double money in their hand, and Benjamin; and rose up, and went." (Genesis 43: 1-15)

Praise God for the famine in our life, that drives us in utter helplessness back to Him! Praise Him that what we have gets eaten up, and we must turn to Him for more! But how like unto the faltering, fearful family of Israel we act! We could find absolute relief, sufficiency, satisfaction in Jesus Christ; yet we delay, debate, wonder, waste time, and stay hungry.

When finally in desperation we are driven to Him we think we must do some great thing to meet His terms, and we try to carry "double money" in all sorts of ways, to make sure of what He is yearningly waiting to give us. He does ask us for one thing, and one only: and that is the dearest possession of our lives. With Israel's family the dearest possession was Benjamin. When we lay down our dearest possession, then the treasures of the kingdom are flung open to us and lavished into our life.

A drying well will often lead the spirit to the river that flows from the throne of God.

- Messages for the Morning Watch taken from "Springs in the Valley".

If the famine in your heart is as severe as mine, you are left with only one option and that option is throwing yourself into the arms of God, confessing your lack, inviting Him to replenish every part of you so that, once again, "your cup will overflow" with living waters. Only believe that there is one true fulfillment of your plans, your purpose, your dreams, your passion. His name is Jesus and He is the lover of our souls.

Lord Jesus, Revive some dry hearts and mouths today for Your glory.

Divine Support?

2009-09-17T09:38:00.005-05:00

One thing we've learned in the few months since trusting God to lead this vision is that everyone in the Non-profit world is looking for "support", including us. There are heaps of resources that provide insight towards properly raising this "support". As much as Come&Live! is currently being funded fully through the generosity of individuals like you (meaning we trust God daily to use people like yourself to provide for our basic needs such as placing food on our tables, covering the costs of printing promotional materials, album recordings, spending time loving and caring for artists, etc.), we should be clear in reminding you, and mostly ourselves, that none of our efforts can even begin to compare to the "support" that God provides - even when there is no sign of financial "provision" on the horizon.

We live in a time and place where financial resources are at a premium. No cash = No opportunity, No opportunity = No Hope. How shallow we are to think that God needs the material currency of our world in order to provide for us. Of course He loves to provide for our every need, and He is always concerned and more than willing/able to care for us. If we are to "love the Lord our God with all our hearts, minds, soul, and strength" then is it only logical that God's "support" would be to each of those areas? Do you have a need? Be it material, financial, spiritual, relational, emotional - or anything else - Divine Support comes from God's unlimited and unrestrained treasury. The catch is that it only comes on HIS terms. He is the Lender and you and I are just the borrowers. God provides the minute He knows we can receive it and that we will handle it with total responsibility and proper stewardship. If we had the very best of intentions and were to walk into a bank asking for an unsecured loan in the amount of 3 Million dollars to build an empire with, the bank would never give it to us without first being 100% sure that we would repay, with proper interest. The same is true of God's lending. He demands an interest on His provision in the form of fruit bearing. Do we bear fruit under our current circumstances or are we looking ahead to a payday that will give us what we "need" in order to truly bear fruit? We are called to bear fruit wherever we are and whatever our outward circumstances might look like. Divine support is freely given to the borrowers of grace in order to pass it along so as to see much fruit growing all around us. I don't know about you, but we here at C&L! want to be in the fruit business. We want our interest on God's loan to be such pleasing fruit that He continually trust us with more.

A wonderful reminder comes through this puritan prayer from the 1800's, let's make it our prayer for Divine Support:

"Thou art the blessed God, happy in thyself, source of happiness in thy creatures, my maker, benefactor, proprietor, upholder.

Thou hast produced and sustained me, supported and indulged me, saved and kept me; Thou art in every situation able to meet my needs and miseries.

May I live by thee, live for thee, never be satisfied with my Christian progress but as I resemble Christ; And may conformity to His principles, temper, and conduct grow hourly in my life.

Let Thy unexampled love constrain me into holy obedience, and render my duty my delight. If others deem my faith folly, my meekness infirmity, my zeal madness, my hope delusion, my actions hypocrisy, may I rejoice to suffer for Thy name.

Keep me walking steadfastly towards the country of everlasting delights, that paradise-land which is my true inheritance.

Support me by the strength of heaven that I may never turn back, or desire false pleasures that wilt and disappear into nothing.

As I pursue my heavenly journey by thy grace let me be known as a man with no aim but that of a burning desire for thee, and the good and salvation of my fellow men."

******************

Would radical generosity be the new currency of our generation! It starts with you and I.

Need of Grace

2009-08-30T07:37:00.004-05:00

O Lord,
You know my great unfitness for service,
my present deadness,
my inability to do anything for Your glory,
my distressing coldness of heart.

I am weak, ignorant, unprofitable,
and loathe and abhor myself.
I am at a loss to know what You would have me do,
for I feel amazingly deserted by thee,
and sense thy presence so little;
You make me possess the sins of my youth,
and the dreadful sin of my nature,
so that I feel all sin,
I cannot think or act but every motion is sin.

Return again with showers of converting grace
to a poor Gospel-abusing sinner.
Help my soul to breathe after holiness, after a constant devotedness to thee, after growth in grace more abundantly every day.

O Lord, I am lost in the pursuit of this blessedness,
and am ready to sink because I fall short of my desire;
Help me to hold out a little longer,
until the happy hour of deliverance comes,
for I cannot lift my soul to thee
if thou of thy goodness bring me not close.

Help me to be diffident, watchful, tender,
lest I offend my blessed friend in thought and behavior;
I confide in You and lean upon You,
and need You at all times to assist and lead me.

O that all my distresses and apprehensions might prove but Christ's school
to make me fit for greater service
by teaching me the great lesson of humility.

- The Valley Of Vision, a collection of Puritan prayers and devotions.

If this doesn't summarize how I've felt in recent days, I'm not sure what does. It's refreshing to express so genuinely to God how little I'm able to accomplish of my own energy and strength. He is not caught off guard, surprised, nor does He sit back and scoff at my weakness. Christ's power in us is made perfect through weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9), so the weaker we become - the more we admit we can't carry our load alone - the more powerfully God works in and through us. It's obviously backwards from what we've all been taught or experience in this life. You don't "climb the ladder" by admitting you are weak or unable to even climb at all. "Suppress your fears, deny your insecurities, climb on your own strength and don't bother knocking people off the ladder on your way up." - that's more along the lines of how the world deals with weakness. Thankfully God is bigger than this world and loves to overcome weakness through His bold power.

If you are anything like me, very weak and fragile at times, then you'll relate with this Puritan prayer. Pray it with me, and trust that God will renew your strength. Jesus, we need You at every hour, at every turn, during every trial, storm and distress, we need You when we are sailing and when we are drowning. We need You in both good times and bad. Help us not to keep going without You. Help us not to fall behind or get too far ahead of You. Help us to stay steady on the course You've mapped out for us. Give us ears to hear and eyes to see. Give us Love and all the Fruit of Your Spirit. Give us Grace.

Sleeping Church, Awake!

2009-08-13T12:05:00.004-05:00

I'm currently about half way through the book "Living Water" by Brother Yun. The Chapter I'm on is titled "Sleeping Church, Awake!". I couldn't help but post a portion of it. My life has been deeply impacted by both of Yun's books - "The Heavenly Man" and "Living Water". If you have yet to read either, you are missing out on not just the incredible testimonies of God but a powerful message to all of us living in "plenty" - it's time that we arise from our slumber and begin seeking the Lord with diligence. God has so radically shifted my focus over this past year. It feels as though He continues to literally open my eyes to a reality I never seriously considered. That reality is one of taking God at His Word and believing that "nothing is impossible" with Him - even when every circumstance around me begs the opposite. My love for the Lord (and others) has increased to such a degree that it's not uncommon anymore to find myself in a mess of tears just weeping over the fact that God left the 99 sheep to pursue a train wreck, like me. If anything, I feel such a desire and hunger to grow deeper and further. To not find myself satisfied with an increase of spiritual desire but to allow God free reign to continue this process of tearing me down to build me back up.

I pray you are blessed by this excerpt from "Living Water";

{Believers often use Revelation 3:20 as an invitation to salvation (note: this includes me!). It says, "Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with Me." Closer examination of this passage reveals that Jesus wasn't knocking at the door of unbelievers' hearts when he said those words. He was knocking at the door of the backslidden church at Laodicea. Jesus was standing outside the door of the church, knocking and asking to be let in! It's a sad indictment, but Jesus continues to be an unwelcome guest in many churches today. Many continue to operate in their lifeless religiosity, "having a form of godliness and YET denying it's power" (2 Timothy 3:5).

Wake up! Repent! Let the Lord Jesus come into your lives and into your churches. He loves all people, and as long as you have breath in you, it's not too late for Him to use you for His glory.

A spiritually dull church or believer is a poor witness for the living, resurrected Jesus. A church is meant to be a training centre and command hub for war, not a social club for pleasantries and hypocrisy, where people give lip service to Christ while refusing to obey His commands. Not only does God want you to wake up, but He has a work for you to do.

As I have traveled around the world, I have met many wonderful brothers and sisters. They listen intently to every word that is spoken, but there is one major thing missing in their spiritual lives. They need to start obeying the Word of God. They need to step out and start being doers of the Word instead of just listeners. James said, "Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says" (James 1:22).

You see, when you only listen to the Word of God, your heart gets filled up with spiritual food. This is good, but it is there to serve a purpose. That purpose is for you to go and share the food you have with the hungry, so that they too can know Jesus. If you just keep God's blessings to yourself, you will become a bloated and sick Christian. When you share them with others, the Holy Spirit will give you more so that you can share more. It is a wonderful thing.

The greatest battle in the history of humankind is taking place right now. No, it's not the "war on terror", but a conflict far more intense and far-reaching! It is the battle for the souls of humankind. This war affects every single person in the world, for their eternal destinies depend on the result. Satan is busy trying to drag as many people to hell with him as possible. The Bible tells us, "Woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short" (Rev. 12:12). } - Brother Yun

Almighty God of whom belongs all power, glory, and honor - WAKE YOUR SLUMBERING BRIDE!

To read more about Brother Yun's story, go here.

Fruit of the Vine

2009-08-05T07:18:00.007-05:00

Jesus said: “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit. Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” {Matthew 12: 33-37}

It was a few years back when I was seated at the end of a conference table in a closed room, surrounded and outnumbered by what most would assume to have been a local gang of homeless youth. Despite their appearance, these were not mere vagabonds, they were homeless with a purpose. I always loved the times where bands would come by the offices and spend time with us - which usually meant a BBQ or in the case of mewithoutYou, our favorite pizza from Mad. I especially loved it when the Philly boys came to town as it almost always meant quality conversation and good fellowship. This day was no different. I believe it was Aaron who posed the pointed question in reference to the "Christian" Music Industry: "Can a good tree bear bad fruit?" - a question that I wasn't sure how to answer at the time and that has stuck with me over the years. It's a question that applies more broadly than to a single record label or even an entire industry. It is a question we should all be asking ourselves. The notion of "fruit" - the obvious, tangible product of faith expressed in our daily behavior - is how Christ told us we could differentiate the real expression of faith from that of an attempted counterfeit.

Jesus spoke these harsh words (possibly the harshest of all His words) to the Pharisees - a group of Jewish theologians who studied the Word but did not live by or under it's power, nor did they recognize the Word himself (In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. - John 1:1) even though He performed incredible miracles right in front of their eyes. What is evil can not speak what is good, though it may try hard to fool us all. Authenticity in a jewel may not be something most of us could recognize with our untrained, naked eyes. Take the same jewel to a qualified jeweler and he could tell you straight away that it wasn't worth a penny. Do you and I have the discernment to recognize when God is truly at work? I don't know about you, but I do not want to miss a single work of God because I was too busy focusing on a tree that was never even capable of producing good fruit.

Jesus shed His innocent blood for us that we would not end up like the Pharisees - whose name ironically meant "separated ones" or "loved by God". He died for us that we would actually live. Not just even live but bear fruit; “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned." (John 15:5-6) We can do nothing without Him. Bearing good fruit is not an issue of trying exceptionally hard to succeed. Setting our minds towards success does not guarantee we'll reach it. Working as hard as humanly possible with our hands still isn't enough to bear good spiritual fruit. Abiding (or continuing to remain) in Jesus is our only hope.

Idle words. Did you know that you'd be judged for them? That by our words we will either be justified or condemned? Were it not for the blood of Jesus, we'd all be guilty simply on account of idle words. Think of a car when it sits idling at a stop light - no gas is being supplied to move the car forward. As much as it might keep you from an accident, an idle car doesn't get you anywhere. Our idle words do about as much good as the driver of an idling car trying to make it across the country. Idle words don't empower those around us. They're not encouraging nor do they speak life where there has been death. Only God can empower our speech in the way that we read in Colossians 4:6 "Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person." Your words matter. Pray that God would not allow them to fly out of your lips unless they are aimed at producing fruit in someone. Pray God allows you to bear the kind of fruit He intends for you.

Remain in Him and He will remain in you.

Seeking First the Kingdom

2009-07-29T06:26:00.005-05:00

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. (Matthew 6:25-34)

When is the last time any of us worried about food or drink? Clothes? Not only do we rarely show signs of anxiety over any of these but our options are limitless when it comes to where we'll eat the next meal or cover our bodies in garments. Read this passage to someone in an underdeveloped country (or possibly even your local homeless person) and it will probably relate quite differently.

Jesus was talking about the essentials for human survival. Eating is essential. So is drinking water. Being clothed helps keep our sensitive skin from all the elements - heat, rays of the sun, rain, snow, cold, insects, etc. So, why would Jesus talk about a passage that is likely difficult for most of us in the western world to truly relate to. Maybe the prophet Isaiah will help;

For thus says the One who is high and lifted up,
who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy:
"I dwell in the high and holy place,
and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit,
to revive the spirit of the lowly,
and to revive the heart of the contrite. (Isaiah 57:15)

God does not only make His home in the heights of Heaven. He also finds a place with the lowly and the contrite - those who show a sign of remorse for their sins. It explains why Jesus had such a heart for the poor. Even to the extent of comparing Himself to the poor - "whatever you do to the least of these, my brothers, you do unto me" (Matthew 25:40). Will it ever be possible for us to start looking out for the needs of others way before our own? Only if God fills our hearts with His concern and care for His children - especially the poor and those who can't help themselves.

God cares for us. Even when we worry or become anxious, He still cares. Our internal (or external) circumstances don't change how much He is willing and wanting to express His love towards us in the form of care. "Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you" (1 Peter 5: 6&7). If we truly believe God is creator of heaven and earth; when will we believe that He cares enough to love and look after us?

I'm challenged by the perspective Jesus gives us in overcoming worry. It boils down to priorities. Not seeing our condition as a hindrance but an opportunity for God's deliverance. God's point of view is from beginning to end. He sees our lives not in the way we do. He know "the plans He has for us" - all the way through.

Pray God helps us to:

Seek FIRST His Kingdom - all things that glorify Him in our lives and bring us under submission to His will.

Seek FIRST His Righteousness - a right-standing relationship with God through the salvation of His son, Jesus. Empowered by the Holy Spirit, seeking first Jesus over everything else.

Trust that All "these things" will be added - food, drink and clothing (and even our very worry taken from us).

God, fill our eyes with the right perspective and focus. Guide us towards seeing your Kingdom and Jesus, Your righteousness. Give us hearts that are hungry for all things everlasting and pleasing to you. Keep us from treasures that will spoil. Help us to lay up treasures that will last. Fruit that keeps on producing. Give us the full measure of your Spirit so that we can live in right-standing with You. We can't do this alone. Forgive us for even trying. Forgive us our worry, the burdens we are weighed down by, and the anxiety that holds us back. We welcome Your presence into our lives anew today. I welcome Your presence into my life today. Prepare me to be a sanctuary for your freedom to someone in need of it today.

Some Trust in Chariots

2009-07-16T06:49:00.006-05:00

May the LORD answer you in the day of trouble;
May the name of the God of Jacob defend you;
May He send you help from the sanctuary,
And strengthen you out of Zion;
May He remember all your offerings,
And accept your burnt sacrifice.

May He grant you according to your heart’s desire,
And fulfill all your purpose.
We will rejoice in your salvation,
And in the name of our God we will set up our banners!
May the LORD fulfill all your petitions.

Now I know that the LORD saves His anointed;
He will answer him from His holy heaven
With the saving strength of His right hand.

Some trust in chariots, and some in horses;
But we will remember the name of the LORD our God.
They have bowed down and fallen;
But we have risen and stand upright.

Save, LORD!
May the King answer us when we call. (Psalm 20)

This Psalm has been a bright shining glimmer of hope in the midst of those days where I find myself overthrown by the reality of the impossible. Those days where I haven't known how I would keep moving. Times where I've wondered whether God was truly with me, even on the single occasion where I began cursing in my prayer time because I was so frustrated at my outward circumstances. I've even felt the voices challenging my faith to believe His Word that "with God ALL things are possible"(Matthew 19:26). Voices love to flood my heart and mind like sharp arrows hungry to celebrate my defeat. I can genuinely say that my faith has been tested over the past several months (and I pray will continue to be tested until the day I die - with the testing comes perfection - James 1). There have been times where I have, be it ever so slightly, entertained the voices of doubt and unbelief in such fundamental faith basics as the existence of God, the resurrection, God's concern for my seemingly insignificant life, the infallible Word, etc. When honesty trumps our fears, haven't we all questioned this or am I more human than most?

How much God has delivered absolute power and might to my spirit during this time of testing continues to shock me. His ways of overcoming doubt/unbelief have been many and varied. He has used primarily Scripture to come alive in my heart, to the point where I sometimes read a passage (like this Psalm) and wonder with astonishment at how beautifully it applies to my exact feelings or situations. My hunger for His word has grown so much and I find that if I don't have a daily dose, I begin to experience the adverse affects. The Lord has also used many friends and family members to speak sweet words of encouragement and support. On occasion, He has used a few key individuals to give me very specific "words" of wisdom/knowledge as outlined in 1 Cor. 12:8 - these have usually come as a total surprise (I have not gone looking for them) and have at times, brought me to tears because of how accurate they are to where I'm at or where I've been. Through it all, He has provided more abundantly than I could have ever imagined.

In the event that you haven't been keeping up with this blog or my walk so far this year, you can fill yourself in here and here. The short and sweet of it is that I left a very comfortable salary job to trust God to use my life 100% for the furthering of His kingdom. Most of my posts are directly attributed to what I've experienced personally as a result of this desire to follow Jesus where He has called me. I hadn't started this blog with the intent of sharing this with you, but it seems to apply appropriately. July marks month seven of having left behind a great job and committing all of my time and attention towards a vision God gave me to raise missionaries out of artists (and anyone else, really - aren't we all, who claim Christ as Lord, missionaries in one capacity or another? I don't believe discipleship-making was ever meant to be optional. "We are all called according to His purpose" - Romans 8:28). In the past seven months my family has never gone without food, water, or a roof over our heads. I haven't received compensation from an employer in those seven months and yet God has allowed us to pay every bill and our mortgage (to be fair, I have had one bank overdraft and the Lord has many times stretched us about as thin as possible). He has provided provision in just about every way possible - the generosity of others, retirement funds, unexpected inheritance money, selling off of earthly possessions, etc. etc. Just this past Sunday I was able to tithe more money to our church (at one time) than I ever had done working a full-time, salaried job. Only God! Now, none of this is to say that I've done even an ounce of it on my own, it was (and will always continue to be) ALL His mercy. Times ahead may still be very tough going - so much work is yet to be done and we have many obstacles/situations to overcome, but God's faithfulness in seeing His plan through has been a daily wonder.

I have likely prayed Psalm 20 nearly every day for the past three months, that's how much it has meant to me. If you are enduring any trial, testing, tribulation, or any obstacle larger than what you are able to accomplish, I'd encourage you to begin the daily meditation of this passage. You should also look at it in different translations (I love Bible Gateway for this). Here's the same passage from "The Message":

God answer you on the day you crash, The name God-of-Jacob put you out of harm's reach,
Send reinforcements from Holy Hill,
Dispatch from Zion fresh supplies,
Exclaim over your offerings,
Celebrate your sacrifices,
Give you what your heart desires,
Accomplish your plans.

When you win, we plan to raise the roof
and lead the parade with our banners.
May all your wishes come true!

That clinches it—help's coming,
an answer's on the way,
everything's going to work out.

See those people polishing their chariots,
and those others grooming their horses?
But we're making garlands for God our God.
The chariots will rust,
those horses pull up lame—
and we'll be on our feet, standing tall.

Make the king a winner, God;
the day we call, give us your answer.

The Psalm sums it up far better than I ever could. For the sake of a closing statement, please stop trusting in your own chariots or horses. Remember the Name of the Lord your God. May the Lord answer you, May He defend you, May He send you help, strengthen you, and remember every one of your offerings/sacrifices. May He grant your heart's desire and fulfill ALL your purpose. We'll rejoice and set up banners in God's name over your success.

May our King answer you when you call!

So You Wanna Be A Rock Star

2009-07-06T06:55:00.004-05:00

For as long as he could remember, Keith Green's greatest dream was to be a musical success. After he gave his life to Jesus, however, he felt the need to surrender those dreams and aspirations by laying down his music...perhaps never to perform publicly again. Ironically, when sometime later he felt God release him to pick up his music again, he soon had a recording contract and his first album soared straight to the top of the Contemporary Christian Music charts.

The following message was birthed out of Keith's encounters with those who approached him, usually after a concert, to ask how they too could "make it big" in Christian music.

(Note: This is an all too familiar repeat question I've heard over the years and I actually thought about writing on the topic until I came across this piece by Keith Green. If you don't know who Keith is, click here and then do yourself a favor by running to Amazon.com and picking up a copy of his autobiography titled "No Compromise". If there's ever been an individual in the music world who has inspired me to walk more like Jesus, it's been Keith Green)

Today, so many people ask me if I can tell them how they can start or enter into a music ministry. At concerts I get countless questions about this, and I also get lots of letters and even some long-distance phone calls from many people who feel they are only "called" into the music "ministry." One day I began to ask myself why so few have ever asked me how to become a missionary, or even a local street preacher, or how to disciple a new believer. It seems everyone would prefer the "bright lights" of what they think a music ministry would be, rather than the mud and obscurity of the mission field, or the streets of the ghetto, or even the true spiritual sweetness of just being a nobody whom the Lord uses mightily in small "everyday" ways.

My answer to their question is almost always the same. "Are you willing to never play music again? Are you willing to be nothing? Are you willing to go anywhere and do anything for Christ? Are you willing to stay right where you are and let the Lord do great things through you, though no one may seem to notice at all?" They all seem to answer each of these questions with a quick "yes!" But I really doubt if they know what their answer entails.

My dearest family in Jesus...why are we so star struck? Why do we idolize Christian singers and speakers? We go from glorifying musicians in the world, to glorifying Christian musicians. It's all idolatry! Can't you see that? It's true that there are many men and women of God who are greatly anointed to call down the Spirit of God on His people and the unsaved. But Satan is getting a great victory as we seem to worship these ministers on tapes and records, and clamor to get their autographs in churches and concert halls from coast to coast.

Can't you see that you are hurting these ministers? They try desperately to tell you that they don't deserve to be praised, and because of this you squeal with delight and praise them all the more. You're smothering them, making it almost impossible for them to see that it's really Jesus. They keep telling themselves that, but you keep telling them it's really them, crushing their humility and grieving the Spirit that is trying to keep their eyes on Jesus.

Ultimately, what we idolize we ourselves desire to become, sometimes with our whole heart. So a lot of people who want to become just like their favorite Gospel singer or minister, seek after it with the same fervor that the Lord demands we seek after Him! And again, we insult the Spirit of Grace and try to make a place for ourselves, rather than a place for Jesus.

How come no one idolizes or praises the missionaries who give up everything and live in poverty, endangering their lives and families with every danger that the "American dream" has almost completely eliminated? How come no one lifts up and exalts the ghetto and prison ministers who can never take up an offering, because if they did they would either laugh or cry at what they'd receive?

Because (1) we're taught from very early on that comfort is our goal and security… and (2) that we should always seek for a lot of people to like us. Who lives less comfortably and has had less friends and supporters than the selfless missionaries who have suffered untimely, premature deaths trying to conquer souls and nations for the whole glory of God? Do you really believe we're living in the very last times? Then why do you spend more money on Gospel records and concerts than you give to organizations that feed the poor, or to missionaries out in the field?

There are ministries all over the world where "penniless" people are being saved and transformed. They are broken people who have promise and qualities, but just need someone to bring them God's light during the times when their lives seem so completely hopeless.

I repent of ever having recorded one single song, and ever having performed one concert, if my music, and more importantly, my life has not provoked you into Godly jealousy (Romans 11:11) or to sell out more completely to Jesus!

Quit trying to make "gods" out of music ministers, and quit desiring to become like them. The Lord commands you, "Deny yourself take up your cross daily, and follow me" (Luke 9:23). My piano is not my cross, it is my tool. I'd never play it again if God would show me a more effective tool in my life for proclaiming His Gospel.[God gives us each our own unique tools. But we may never use them if we become more interested in someone else's. Seek God, ask Him for His plan for ministry (true, God glorifying ministry) in your life.]

To finish, let me say that the only music minister to whom the Lord will say, "Well done, thy good and faithful servant," is the one whose life proves what their lyrics are saying, and to whom music is the least important part of their life. Glorifying the only worthy One has to be a minister's most important goal!

Let's all repent of the idolatry in our hearts and our desires for a comfortable, rewarding life when, really, the Bible tells us we are just passing through as strangers and pilgrims in this world (Hebrews 11:13), for our reward is in heaven. Let's not forget that our due service to the Lord is "... not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake"(Phil. 1:29).

Amen. Let us die graciously together and endure to the end like brave soldiers who give their lives, without hesitation, for our noble and glorious King of Light. - Keith Green

P.S. I had not stumbled upon this article until a few days ago but I don't think a more perfect piece exists to help clarify why I've walked away from the music business to turn my every effort towards raising missionaries out of artists. I've seen many incredibly gifted people run dry on their faith; I've witnessed countless bands go from barely nothing to nearly something, but rarely ever have I seen "rockstars" willing to leave it all behind just to pursue a depth of relationship with Jesus by serving others. God help us.

Prayer at Thirty Thousand Feet

2009-06-29T07:00:00.006-05:00

7/25/08 - Taken from my journal on the way out to a three day Veil Arms event with The Glorious Unseen and The Ember Days - "30,000 ft. above sea level en-route to Amarillo, TX via Dallas via Nashville". This prayer really hits home as so much has changed in my life in less than a year's time. Much of the change was prayed about in this prayer, of which I had no idea at the time, that God would so willingly and quickly respond to.

Come Lord Jesus! Meet me here as I'm closer to heaven now than I've ever been. The skies reflect the beauty of your hands. The clouds are perfectly set to the rhythm of your voice. Peace abounds in this space between the dimension of earth below and vast blue sky above. I feel as though I'm nothing more than an ant or a speck of dirt in the grand scheme. You extend power and opportunity, in one single breath, to transform even dirt into refreshingly vibrant life.

Teach me to pray, teach me to serve, teach me to speak, to write, to trust, to believe in the impossible, to see potential in every person, place and time. Teach me to prophecy Your kingdom come and will be done on earth as it is in heaven. You have my heart, please perform the surgical work of minimizing what is mine and maximizing what is Yours. Give me eyes to see that in You, all things are converted from the formula of impossible to the all-caps, POSSIBLE! Forgive me for years spent doubting your plan and ability to put me to work. Praise you for using me even when I've brought nothing to offer. Would you pour open the blinds of heaven to shine forth glory to a people so quick to hide themselves from you? Do a work that could only be attributed to the inspiring creativity of your plans. Move anything/anyone out of the way and please shine forth.

Give us eyes to see and ears to hear. Teach us to live so differently that we can't help but run to you under any situation or circumstance. Set the devil and his friends under the watchful weight of your feet. Give them not an ounce of leash with which to disrupt your plans. Teach us to be on guard, quick to drop to our knees - ready at any time to rush into battle. Not quick to judge or deflate but nimble to move according to the Spirit's voice. Speak. Speak. Speak.

Holy Spirit, you are recognized here as my much-needed helper. You are invited to be my guide. Counsel me in all God's truth. Fill this mind and heart with a burning passion to see the Father glorified in the Son. Teach me diligence, teach me devotion, teach me total reliance on you. The burden is not mine to carry but you offer to carry both the man and the burden. Thank You. What can my words express without the firm action required of true faith? Keep me close to the humble and far from the proud. Pour out salvation that the lost would once again be found, that sight would be returned to the blind.

Have mercy God, in Your Son's name. Have mercy on the hungry and bring hunger to those who believe the lie that they are full. Teach me true hunger. Remove distractions from holding me back. Empower me with a Spirit of boldness. Lovingly bold, truthfully blunt. I have no options outside of faith in Your Son's death, resurrection and glorification. Here I am. Not as anyone other than servant to all and undeserving friend of the only Almighty Power that is able to keep me flying forward. I am forever grateful. Thank you God.

May God direct each of your path's this week and would you once again lay all of your cares on Him.

Upon the Grindstone

2009-06-24T08:58:00.012-05:00

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written:

“For Your sake we are killed all day long;
We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.”

Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:35-39)

This excerpt is taken from a book written back in the 1930's that I can certainly relate to as I'm sure many of you can as well:

The best steel is subjected to the alternatives of extreme heat and extreme cold. In a cutlery you will notice that knife-blades are heated and beaten, and then heated again and plunged into the coldest water in order to give them the right shape and temper. You will also observe a large heap of rejected blades, rejected because they would not bear the tempering process; when put upon the grindstone little flaws appeared in some that up to that point had seemed perfect; others would not bear the tempering process.

Souls are heated in the furnace of affliction, plunged into the cold waters of tribulation, and ground between the upper and nether stones of adversity and disaster. Some come out ready for the highest services; others are unfit for any but the lowest uses.

Would you be of account among the forces which are working out the salvation of the world? Be still in the Hands of God until He tempers you!

"Stop Now!" says the knife-blade to the Cutler. "I have been in the fire often enough! Would you burn the life out of me?" But again it goes into the glowing furnace and is heated to white heat. "Stop hammering! I have been pounded enough already." But down comes the sledge. "Keep me out of this cold water! One moment in the fiery furnace, and the next in ice water. It is enough to kill one!" But in it goes. "Keep me off the grindstone! You'll chafe the life out of me!" But it is made to kiss the stone until the Cutler is satisfied. Now see! You may bend it double; yet it springs back straight as an arrow. It is as bright as polished silver, hard as a diamond, and will cut like a Damascus blade. It has been shaped, tempered and polished; it is now worth something.

Be still, and let God temper and polish you, and you will be worth something, too. Allow yourself to be prepared for usefulness. He will give you a post of holy renown if you will let Him fit you for it.

Be still in the furnace fire while the Holy Ghost moulds and polishes your soul.

Rev. R.V. Lawrence

Lord, forgive us for the many times that we've assumed our every trial and tribulation is something to be avoided. For all those times that we run from distress or persecution, questioning how in the world we would manage. Jesus, help us to survive life's beating and come out on the other end completely transformed into useful tools in your service. Would you allow us this week to be still and know that our hardships are designed by You for the perfecting of our faith. Had they not been from you, or had they not been meant for us, You never would have allowed them in the first place. Thank you for not giving us more than we can handle. (1 Cor. 10:13)

The Peril of Not Progressing

2009-06-15T07:27:00.006-05:00

Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, of the doctrine of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. And this we will do if God permits. For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame. For the earth which drinks in the rain that often comes upon it, and bears herbs useful for those by whom it is cultivated, receives blessing from God; but if it bears thorns and briers, it is rejected and near to being cursed, whose end is to be burned.

But, beloved, we are confident of better things concerning you, yes, things that accompany salvation, though we speak in this manner. For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister. And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end, that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. (Hebrews 6: 1-12)

Are you being constantly driven forward by the Spirit of God or are you finding yourself in a frustrating position of being stuck? Do you see signs of fruit in your life and in the lives of those you spend time with? Is God your utmost priority or has He taken the back burner? All of these questions beg to be answered and I'm personally challenged in the asking. As much as we're all well-trained to put on a smile and cheerfully declare that "everything is fine", most of us fall prey to the condition of half-hearted living. It's all too easy, especially in the times of testing or trials, to trade in the "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control" fruit-of-the-spirit (Gal. 5:22-23) for a lack-luster attempt at just getting by. I've been guilty of this recently and I'm so grateful for God's undeniable mercy. He never let's us sink to the point of no return....but He does allow us to sink. More times than not, the Lord wants us to sink to a point of realizing that we have not a single glimmer of hope other than His deliverance.

This passage starts out by speaking to the position that tempts any of us who are striving to be more Christ-like. That temptation is to make the quick turn into theological debate over what seems like deep, intellectual (even spiritual), conversation - that, at the end of the day, lacks the vitality of true Spirituality. We will only move into the place that pleases God IF He wills it. Which, by the way, He absolutely wills. How do we know? Because Jesus himself made it clear; "For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day." (John 6:40) The difference between a real relationship of not just understanding, but mostly practicing, are:

1. Being enlightened
2. Tasting the heavenly gift
3. Becoming partakers of the Holy Spirit
4. Tasting the good word of God and the powers of the age to come
(For deeper study go here)

The warning for those who have experienced all of the above, and then turn their backs on Christ, is powerfully frightful. But, as frightening as it might be, it should also be reassuring. Reassuring in the sense that many of us have claimed Christianity but lack in experiencing one or more of these areas. The commentary by Matthew Henry says it far better than I ever could.

Every part of the truth and will of God should be set before all who profess the gospel, and be urged on their hearts and consciences. We should not be always speaking about outward things; these have their places and use, but often take up too much attention and time, which might be better employed. The humbled sinner who pleads guilty, and cries for mercy, can have no ground from this passage to be discouraged, whatever his conscience may accuse him of. Nor does it prove that any one who is made a new creature in Christ, ever becomes a final apostate from him. The apostle is not speaking of the falling away of mere professors, never convinced or influenced by the gospel. Such have nothing to fall away from, but an empty name, or hypocritical profession. Neither is he speaking of partial declinings or backslidings. Nor are such sins meant, as Christians fall into through the strength of temptations, or the power of some worldly or fleshly lust. But the falling away here mentioned, is an open and avowed renouncing of Christ, from enmity of heart against him, his cause, and people, by men approving in their minds the deeds of his murderers, and all this after they have received the knowledge of the truth, and tasted some of its comforts. Of these it is said, that it is impossible to renew them again unto repentance. Not because the blood of Christ is not sufficient to obtain pardon for this sin; but this sin, in its very nature, is opposite to repentance and every thing that leads to it.

If you feel as though you haven't truly experienced the four conditions listed in this passage as descriptions of the true believer, than as Henry' suggests, cry out for mercy and ASK God to help you. Pray through each of them and ask that He would open your eyes and ears to what He has in store for you. "For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened." (Matthew 7:8) God WILL help you and He will give you what you need.

What I need more than financial breakthrough (much-less financial "security"), greater opportunities, more friends, nicer belongings, good health, or anything else on earth is "faith and patience to inherit the promises". We can exist on very little but we can't even begin to breathe eternal oxygen apart from a "full assurance of hope" that, by faith and patience, will bring us through to the very end. There's not a thing we can pull off on our own strength other than God's divine ability to strengthen us for the journey.

Join me in asking the Lord to draw us deeper into all things that bring Him glory. Progress is not a good thing, a noble accomplishment, or even a lofty goal. Progress in our spiritual maturity is ESSENTIAL.

God, please empower us to enter your work and labor of love which we desire to show toward your Son, Jesus. Strengthen our feeble hearts so that we long to minister to the saints. Keep us from our own natural tendency to fall into the trap of sluggards, even the kind who seem to busy themselves in every way but in pursuing You. Take our focus off everything around us that is not essential towards our progress as kids acting in quick obedience towards their Daddy. We love You and desperately need You. Enlighten us, allow us to taste your heavenly gift, to become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and to taste your good Word along with the powers of the age. Forgive us our unbelief and overcome in us any hurdles that might prevent your desire to force us along in progress.

The Promise of Wings

2009-06-10T05:20:00.003-05:00

Have you not known?
Have you not heard?
The everlasting God, the LORD,
The Creator of the ends of the earth,
Neither faints nor is weary.
His understanding is unsearchable.
He gives power to the weak,
And to those who have no might He increases strength.
Even the youths shall faint and be weary,
And the young men shall utterly fall,
But those who wait on the LORD
Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint.
(Isaiah 40:28-31)
Keep silence before Me, O coast lands,
and let the people renew their strength!
(Is. 41:1 - the passage that immediately follows 40:31)

The latter portion of this passage is all too familiar to most of us. We've probably seen the countless plaques, posters, and other random merchandise inspired by the verse of Isaiah 40:31. But, have we ever stopped to consider the context or implication of this verse? Do we even believe this to be true in our lives? This verse is Christian "cliche" but I'm not convinced that we take it seriously enough. Have we ever noticed the passages both before and after 40:31? Before (my paraphrase): Everlasting God, creator of the entire universe, never faints in giving power to the weak. After (my paraphrase): I can silence the earth just to renew their strength.

There is a certain cause and effect in this passage that, simply put, looks like this:

Reality: God is so strong that He never tires or grows weary from helping us.
Condition: waiting on the Lord
Result: fly like eagles, run and not grow weary, walk and not faint.

I know I'm guilty of passing up this promise of endurance because I lack the patience to wait on God's timing and perfect will. Usually I'm in such a hurry to make something happen that I'm willing to step out on my own flimsy limb, assuming it will hold. It never does, and time after time, God teaches me the lesson of total dependency on Him. Earlier in the chapter a verse really caught my eye; "Who has directed the Spirit of the Lord, or as His counselor has taught Him?" (vs. 13). Who are we to think we can push our agenda on the Spirit? It's so simple and still so easy to lose track of. We are not at all captains of our own ships, steering our lives in whatever direction we please. Instead, we're more like helpless passengers who, once on board, learn to enjoy the voyage trusting the Captain is in charge with a crew who are fully aware of the conditions. In our case, even after waiting this short vapor we call life, and the ship goes down, we are still being held by the Anchor of our very souls. I don't know about you, but there is such confidence and reassurance in the thought that God lacks nothing, He is stunned by nothing, He is held back by nothing, and He spares no expense to come to our aid. It is best said here:

Behold, the Lord GOD shall come with a strong hand,
And His arm shall rule for Him;
Behold, His reward is with Him,
And His work before Him.
He will feed His flock like a shepherd;
He will gather the lambs with His arm,
And carry them in His bosom,
And gently lead those who are with young. (Is. 40: 10&11)

If you feel (or think) as though you are failing in your walk as a believer in Jesus, maybe it's time you surrender your own efforts to please God (or especially others) and begin to wait on His renewing strength to take you up in flight, to run life's marathon, or even to endlessly walk without ever growing tired. The beauty of this passage is that He doesn't just promise wings, which at times, seem nearly impossible to fathom, much less, achieve. He gives us what we need, when we need it - even if that is helping us with only the simple act of walking. We might be praying that God would turn us into spiritual giants who are gifted at soaring high like eagles but He might see fit to teach us first how to walk or run. Regardless of the sequence of flying, running, or walking - God promises supernatural help along the journey IF we wait on Him. Don't get ahead of yourself. Stop trying to strap on your own wings. It's not worth the battle to run (or even walk) on your own, you will collapse in the end. Wait for the Lord to come upon you with His strong hand and even the most daunting of impossibilities turn optimistic possibilities.

The major difference between the promise of wings and that of weary less running or faint less walking is that, with a lot of practice and hard work, most of us could run and walk fairly well. Growing wings is in a category all together impossible apart from the supernatural supply of God's power.

"Those who wait upon the Lord shall obtain a marvelous addition to their resources: they shall obtain wings! They become endowed with power to rise above things. Men who don not soar always have small views of things. Wings are required for breadth of view. The wing-life is characterized by a sense of proportion. To see things aright we must get away from them. An affliction looked at from the lowlands may be stupendous; looked at from the heights, it may appear little or nothing. This "light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory." What a breadth of view!" - (Springs in the Valley, Chas E. Cowman)

For deeper digging, read Isaiah 40 & 41 - both are loaded!

Waiting On The Lord

2009-06-03T08:33:00.006-05:00

I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait on the LORD; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the LORD! (Psalm 27: 13&14)

I can't even begin to tell you how much I can relate with this passage. Yesterday morning I awoke with such a heavy feeling of desperation, heavy enough that I just couldn't shake it. As I began to seek the Lord and ask Him what in the world was going on and how much longer I could take this testing in my life, He responded with the phrase, "Wait on Me". The feeling of desperation and despair didn't leave me instantly, but within a few hours I really began to understand what God was doing in my heart. He's been in the business of breaking me down, to the point where I am utterly and hopelessly dependent on Him. I can attest to the fact that I've never been at this place of brokenness before the Lord, ever. As hard as the daily trials can be, I find such comfort in the simple truths of God's word, the peace He places over me to "guard my heart and mind through Christ Jesus", and the massive encouragement from friends and family who realize the depth of my struggle. This waiting is not of the kind that we can all easily relate to, whether it be in an airport, at a bus-stop, or in a long line. This is the kind of waiting that is fixed on the hope of a divine breakthrough, an expectation for a supernatural release. Waiting, when it is fueled by hope and expectation, should feel more like the child who is eagerly on edge to see what gifts he's received on his birthday. Waiting proves and refines our faith. If all we were required to do was pray a simple prayer and wait 10 seconds for our desired response, what faith would we really be setting forth? "Without faith it is IMPOSSIBLE to please God!" (Hebrews 11:6). I believe it pleases the Lord to see us waiting with great expectation on His deliverance. It proves that, despite the odds, we are holding fast to the only God who hears, and answers, our cries.

We recently posted a video clip (you can view it here) that briefly summarizes the vision and heart of what God has called me to. One of the points I make is that there is just no way to compare my past, present (or future) sufferings with the possibility that even ONE single soul would come into God's Kingdom for all eternity. When I made that statement, I really believed it and meant it. But now, I actually feel it. I believe the Lord is allowing me to feel desperation for Him so I can relate His desperation towards others. He loves and pursues every opportunity to lead even one lost sheep back into His heavenly fold. "I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance." (Luke 15:7) God is teaching me to feel His heart for the lost. I've always had a passion for sharing the Gospel with others, so there has always been a part of who I am that is drawn to those lost and in need of finding their way home. It's an entirely new process and position to allow God the room to do whatever He wants in my heart, though. He is pulling out of me all those deep roots, some of which I didn't even know to exist. One of those areas is pride. I've always considered myself a fairly humble person. A very humble person by music industry standards. But God is teaching me humility based on the standard that Jesus alone was qualified to set.

As I learn to wait on the Lord for pretty much everything in life right now, but especially the establishment of the vision He's given me for Come&Live!, I find that, now more than ever, He is strengthening my heart with a determination and passion that I could never muster on my own. On a good day, I feel as though I'm standing on a mountain and can see for miles in every direction, just breathing in the crisp air of God's height and depth, His length and width. On a bad day this vision seems like nothing more than a late night dream, one that passes quickly by, leaving hardly a thing but a faint and distant memory. Through the good and the bad there is a strength in my heart that believes that God is best defined by the word POSSIBLE. "With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God." (Mark 10:27) So, once again, God allows His Spirit to intertwine with the depth of who I am, shedding off all things that do not bring Him the utmost glory, reminding me that I am already victorious by choosing to arm myself with the weapon of faith.

If you are wondering where God is or why He hasn't shown up just yet (especially in the ways you assumed He would), ask yourself whether there might be a grander work that He is interested in building within you. He cares about us more than the birds of the air or grasses of the field, to the point where He will allow us to be tested and tried for His greater good in us. "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." (James 1: 2-4)

God is on your side, even today. Even when it feels like He has ended all communication with you (which I have certainly experienced). It is not for any other reason than the required work of transforming you from child into Man (or woman) of God.

I pray that God would release His presence to you, that He would strengthen your heart even right now, that He would give you the grace, peace, and patience to "Wait on The Lord". That, through it all, you would be of good courage! Your testing will not last forever. Breakthrough is on it's way, even if it would tarry until He carries you through Heaven's gates. Wait on Him (He is deliverance), and be of good courage (He is strong when you are weak). Wait on Him (Help is coming)!

May our cups overflow with love for our neighbor and Savior today.

Blessings,

chad

A few other sweet "Waiting" verses are:

Psalm 130:5
I wait for the LORD, my soul waits,And in His word I do hope.

Isaiah 8:17
And I will wait on the LORD, Who hides His face from the house of Jacob; And I will hope in Him.

Isaiah 25:9
And it will be said in that day: “ Behold, this is our God; We have waited for Him, and He will save us. This is the LORD; We have waited for Him; We will be glad and rejoice in His salvation.”

Micah 7:7
Therefore I will look to the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation; My God will hear me.

James 5:7
Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain.

Consider the Joy!

2009-05-21T20:32:00.006-05:00

As I have experienced significant testing over the past few months I have also experienced a much greater measure of joy and rest in my life. Joy that I am so much closer to God, growing daily in my spiritual walk and discipline. Rest in the reality that God is carrying me through, regardless of how challenging my outward or inward circumstances. God loves it when we find our joy in Him, especially when the world around us is lunging for joy - in all the wrong places.

Instead of writing a few paragraphs on how much God has taught me about Joy (second in the "fruit of the Spirit" list behind love), I'd rather show you some of my favorite scriptures on the topic.

1. The most common verse on Joy:

Nehemiah 8:10
The Joy of the Lord is your strength.

2. James 1: 2-8
My brothers, consider it pure Joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

3. 1 Kings 1:40
And all the people went up after him; and the people played the flutes and rejoiced with great joy, so that the earth seemed to split with their sound.

4. Psalm 16:11
You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is the fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

5. Philippians 4:4
Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say "rejoice"!

6. Psalm 5:11
But let all those rejoice who put their trust in You; Let them ever shout for joy, because You defend them; Let those also who love Your name Be joyful in You.

7. Isaiah 12:3
Therefore with joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.

8. Jeremiah 15:16
Your words were found, and I ate them, And Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart; For I am called by Your name, O LORD God of hosts.

9. Luke 15:7
I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance.

10. Romans 14:17
for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

Do you struggle to experience Joy, especially when all of life's pitfalls, trails, and challenges overwhelm you like a flood? Pray that God gives you a real expression of joy! Every situation and atmosphere is changed by the spirit full of joy. God, please teach us to be constant in our rejoicing. Fill our hearts with love and with deep-rooted joy in Your character. Make us like those who can shout for joy, regardless of how depressing our environment. Help us to discover the joy in Jesus and in the power of the Holy Spirit - fresh and new today. Take us as deep as we can go with you.

Holy Violence, Pt. 4

2009-05-15T08:25:00.005-05:00

Here's the final installment of the Spurgeon sermon delivered back on May 15th of 1859 titled, "Holy Violence."

"From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force,"— Matthew 11:12.

And, now I have to close, for I find my voice fails me this morning, when most I need it. I have to close abruptly by endeavouring earnestly TO EXCITE EACH OF YOU TO A VIOLENCE AFTER THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN. In this great crowd there are surely some of the class I am about to describe. There is one man here who says, "I don't know that I have done much amiss in my life: I am about as regular a man as there is living. Don't I attend a place of worship regularly? I believe that l shall most certainly be saved. But I don't take much trouble about it, it never disquiets me particularly. I don't like"—says this man "—that intrusive kind of religion that always seems to be thrusting itself in everybody's way. I think it is quite right that people should go to their place of worship, but why take any further trouble? I just believe that I shall fare as other people fare: I am a steady unpretending sort of man, and I have no reason to doubt that I shall be saved." Ah, friend, you have never seen the gate of heaven? It is obvious that you have never seen it, or else you would know better; for at the gate of heaven multitudes are struggling, the gates of heaven are thronged, and he that would enter there must press, and elbow, and push, or he may go away certain that he can never enter. No! your easy religion will just bring you in too late. It may carry you nine miles out of ten; but what is the good of that to a man who must perish unless he is carried the whole way? It will go a good way with you when you follow the counsels of a gospel ministry with outward propriety; but at the bar of God it will utterly fail you, when you lack the inward witness of strong crying and supplications. No! an easy religion is the way to hell, for it is not the way to heaven. Let your soul alone, and you need not expect much good fruit to come of it, any more than a farmer who leaves his fields alone, need expect to reap a harvest. Your religion is vain and futile if that is all. "Ah" cries another "but I am in quite a different case. I am a sinner so vile, sir, that I know I never can be saved, therefore, what is the use? I never think about it now, except with blank despair. Have I not long rebelled against God; will he ever pardon me? No, no; don't exhort me to try. I may as well take my full swing of pleasure while I am here, for I feel I never shall enjoy the pleasures of heaven hereafter." Stop friend, "The violent take it by force." If the Lord has taught thee thy utter sinfulness, go and try—say,

"I can but perish if I go,
I am resolved to try;
For if I stay away, I know
I must for ever die."

Go home, go to your closet, fall on your knees, put your trust alone in Christ and, my friend, if the Lord does not have mercy upon you, then he is not the God we have preached to you, and he has not substantiated his faithful promise: you cannot, you shall not seek in vain. But mark, you must not think that your once seeking is enough; continue in it. If God has given you his Spirit you will continue—you will never leave off praying until you get the answer. Oh! my friend, if God hath given thee this day a longing after his love; if he has caused thee to say, "I will never give it up, I will perish at the foot of the cross if I perish at all;" thou canst no more perish than the angels in Paradise. Be of good cheer; use violence again and again, and thou shalt take it by force.

And then, let each one of us as we retire, and if we have tasted that the Lord is precious, determine to love him more earnestly than before. I never leave my pulpit washout feeling ashamed of myself. I do not remember a time when I have been able to go home without being suffused with humiliation and cast down with self-reproach, because I had not been more earnest. I very seldom flog myself for using an ugly word, or anything of that sort; it is for not having been earnest enough about the salvation of men. When I sit down, I begin to think of this vast stream of people being swept along towards the gulf of eternity—bound for heaven or hell; and I wonder how it is that I do not weep all the time I am here—why it is that I do not find red-hot burning words with which to address you. I find fault with others sometimes, but far more with myself in this matter. Oh! how is it that a man can be God's ambassador, and yet have so callous, so insensitive a heart, as many of us have in this work? Oh! how is it that we tell the tale of death and life, of heaven and hell, of Christ crucified and his gospel despised, so quietly as we do? Condemn not the minister for excitement or fanaticism; condemn him because he is not half in earnest, as he ought to be. Oh my God! impress me, I beseech thee, more with the value of souls, and then impress my hearers, also, with the value of their own souls. Are you not going to-day, many of you, post-haste to perdition? Is it not the fact, that your conscience tells you that many of you are enemies to God? You are without Christ, you have never been washed in his blood; never been forgiven. Oh! my hearers, if ye continue as ye are, a few more rising suns, and then your sun must set for ever. Only a few more Sundays have you to waste, a few more sermons have you to hear, and the pit of hell must open wide its jaws, and then where are you? But a few more days, and the heavens shall be rent, and Christ shall come to judge the earth, and sinner where are you? Oh! I beseech you now by the living God, and by his Son Jesus Christ, think of your state; repent of your sins; turn you to God. Oh Spirit of God, turn, I pray thee, turn the hearts of sinners now. Remember, if you now repent, if you now confess your sins, Christ is preached to you. He came into the world to save sinners. Oh! believe on him; throw yourselves before his cross; trust in his blood; rely on his righteousness,—

"But if your ears refuse
The language of his grace,
And hearts grow hard like stubborn Jews,
That unbelieving race;

The Lord, in vengeance dress'd,
Will lift his hand and swear,
'You that despise my promised rest,
Shall have no portion there.'"

Oh! if I had the tongue of Whitfield, or the mouth of an archangel, if I could speak like the cherubim, I would pour out my heart before you, and pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God. I must face you soon before God's great bar, and shall your blood be laid to my door? Shall you perish, and must I perish with you for unfaithfulness? May God forbid it! Now may he

"Let you see your lost estate,
And save you ere it be too late,
Wake you to righteousness."

Lord have mercy upon you all for Jesus' sake!

Holy Violence, Pt. 3

2009-05-14T10:08:00.003-05:00

Part 3 of the 4 part series of C.H. Spurgeon's sermon titled "Holy Violence" from the passage found in Matthew 11:12: "From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence and violent men take it by force."

NOW, BRING THESE VIOLENT MEN FORWARD, AND LET US ASK THEM WHAT THEY ARE ABOUT. When a man is very earnest, he ought to be ready to give a reason for his earnestness. "How now, sirs, what is all this strife about? why all this earnestness? You seem to be boiling over with enthusiasm. What is up? Is there anything that is worth making such a stir about?" Hear them, and they will soon convince you that all their enthusiasm and striving to enter the kingdom of heaven by force, is not a whit more strong than reasonable.

The first reason why poor sinners take the kingdom of heaven by force is, because they feel they have no natural right to it; and, therefore, they must need take it by force it they would get it at all. When a man belongs to the House of Lords, and knows that he has got a seat there by prescriptive right and title, he does not trouble himself at the time of the elections. But there is another man, who says, "Well, I should like a seat in the House of Commons, but I have no absolute right to it. If I get it, it will be by a desperate struggle." Do you not see how busy he is on the day! how the carriages fly about everywhere; and how earnest are his supporters that he may stand at the head of the poll and win the day! He says, "I have no absolute right to it; if I had, then I would just take it easy and walk into my seat at the proper time." But now he labors, and strives, and wrestles, because without so doing he does not expect to succeed. Now, look at those who are saved; they have no right to the inheritance they are seeking. What are they? Sinners, the chief of sinners; in their own esteem the vilest of the vile. Now, if they would get heaven they must take it by force, for they have no right to it by birth or lineal entail. And what are they else? They are the poor ones of this earth. There stands the rabbi at the gate, and he says, "You can't come in here; this is no place for the poor to enter." "But," says he. "I will;" and pushing the rabbi aside, he takes it by force. Then, again, they were Gentiles too; and Jews stood at the gate, and said, "Stand back, you Gentile dogs, you cannot come in." Now, if such would be saved, they must take the kingdom of heaven by storm, for they have no rights to assert. Ah, my fellow men, if ye sit down and fold your arms, and say, "I am so good I have a right to heaven,"—how deceived you will be. But if God has convinced you of your lost, ruined, and undone condition, and if he has put his quickening Spirit within you, you will use a bold and desperate violence to force your way into the kingdom of heaven. The Spirit of God will not lead you to be obsequious in the presence of foes, or faint-hearted in the overwhelming crisis; he will drive you to desperate labour that you may be saved.

Ask one such man, again, why is he so violent in prayer; he replies, "Ah, I know the value of the mercy I receive. Why, I am asking for pardon, for heaven, for eternal life, and am I to get these with a few yawns and sleepy prayers? I am asking that I may wear the white robe, and sing the never-ending song of praise; and do you think that a few poor supplications are to be enough? No, my God; if thou wouldst make me tarry a hundred years, and sigh, and groan, and cry through that long century;—yes, if I might but have heaven at last, all my prayers would have been well-spent; nay, had they been a thousand times as many, they were well rewarded if thou wouldst hear me at last. But," says he again, "if you want to know why I am so earnest, let me tell you it is because I cannot bear to he lost for ever." Hear the earnest sinner when he speaks. You say to him "Why so earnest?" The tear is in his eye, the flush is on his cheek, there is emotion in every feature, while he says, "Would to God I could be far more earnest; do you know I am a lost soul, perhaps before another hour is over I may be shut up in the hopeless fires of hell! Oh, God, have mercy on me, for if thou dost not, how terrible is my fate. I shall be lost—lost for ever!

Once let a man know that hell is beneath his feet, and if that does not make him earnest, what would? No wonder that his prayers are importunate, that his endeavours are intensely earnest, when he knows that he must escape, or else the devouring fire will lay hold on him. Suppose now, you had been a Jew in the olden time, and one day while taking a walk in the fields you had seen a man running with all his might. "Stop!" you say, "stop! my dear friend, you will exhaust yourself." He goes on, and on, with all his might. You run after him. "Pause awhile," you say, "and rest; the grass is soft, sit down here, and take your ease. See, here I have some food and a bottle; stop and refresh yourself." But without saluting you, he says, "No, I must away, away, away." "Why? wherefore?" you say. He is gone so far ahead, you run after him with all your might; and scarcely able to turn his head, he exclaims, "The city of refuge! the city of refuge! the manslayer is behind me." Now, it is all accounted for; you do not wonder that he runs with all his might now. When the manslayer is after him, you can well understand that he would never pause for rest until he has found the city of refuge. So let a man know that the devil is behind him, that the avenging law of God is pursuing him, and who can make him stop? Who shall endeavor to make him stay his race until he enters Christ, the city of refuge, and finds himself secure? This will make a man earnest indeed—to dread "the wrath to come," and to be labouring to escape therefrom.

Another reason why every man who would be safe must be in earnest, and be violent, is this, there are so many adversaries to oppose us, that if we are not violent we shall never be able to overcome them. Do you remember that beautiful parable in John Bunyan's Pilgrim? "I saw also, that the Interpreter took him by the hand, and led him into a pleasant place, where was built a stately palace, beautiful to behold; at the sight of which Christian was greatly delighted. He saw also upon the top thereof certain persons walking, who were clothed all in gold. Then said Christian, 'May we go in thither?' Then the Interpreter took him and led him up toward the door of the palace; and behold, at the door stood a great company of men, as desirous to go in, but durst not. There also sat a man at a little distance from the door, at a table-side, with a book and his ink-horn before him, to take the name of him that should enter therein; he saw also that in the doorway stood many men in armour to keep it, being resolved to do to the men that would enter what hurt and mischief they could. Now was Christian somewhat in amaze. At last, when every man started back for fear of the armed men, Christian saw a man of a very stout countenance come up to the man that sat there to write, saying, Set down my name, sir;' the which when he had done, he saw the man draw his sword, and put a helmet upon his head, and rush toward the door upon the armed men, who laid upon him with deadly force; but the man, not at all discouraged, fell to cutting and hacking most fiercely. So after he had received and given many wounds to those that attempted to keep him out, (Matt. xi. 12. Acts xiv. 22.) he cut his way through them all, and pressed forward into the palace; at which there was a pleasant voice heard from those that were within, even of those that walked upon the top of the palace, saying,

'Come in, come in,
Eternal glory thou shalt win.'

So he went in, and was clothed with such garments as they." And surely the dreamer saw the truth in his dream. It is even so. If we would win eternal glory we must fight.

"Sure we must fight, if we would reign;
Increase our courage, Lord!"

Ye have enemies within you, enemies without, enemies beneath, enemies on every side—the world, the flesh, and the devil; and if the Spirit of God has quickened you, he has made a soldier of you, and you can never sheathe your sword till you gain the victory. The man who would be saved must be violent, because of the opposition he has to encounter.

But do you still condemn this man, and say that he is an enthusiast and a fanatic? Then God himself comes forth to vindicate his despised servant. Know that this is the sign, the mark of distinction between the true child of God and the bastard-professor. The men who are not God's children are a careless, stumbling, coldhearted race. But the men that are God's in sincerity and truth, are burning as well as shining lights. They are as brilliant constellations in the firmament of heaven, burning stars of God. Of all things in the world, God hates most the man that is neither hot nor cold. Better have no religion than have a little: better to be altogether without it, enemies to it, than to have just enough to make you respectable, but not enough to make you earnest. What does God say concerning the religion of this day? "So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spue thee out of my mouth." Lukewarmness of all things God abhors, and yet of all things it is the predominant mark of the present day. The time of the Methodists, of Whitfield and Wesley, was a time indeed of fire and of divine violence and vigour. But we have gradually cooled down, now, into a delightful consistency, and though here and there there is a little breaking out of the old desperado spirit of the Christian religion, yet for the most part the world has so mesmerised the church, that she is as nearly asleep as she can be; and much of her teaching, and much of the doings of her religious societies, is sheer somnambulism. It is not the wide-awake earnestness of them that walk with their eyes open. They walk in their sleep; very nimbly they walk, too and very nicely they "trim their way," but very little is there of the life of God in aught they do, and very little of divine success attending their agencies, because they are not violent with regard to the matters of the kingdom of God.

III. Having thus endeavoured to screen the violent men from harsh criticism, I shall now invite you for a moment to reflect, that THE VIOLENT MAN IS ALWAYS SUCCESSFUL. Do you think you are going to be carried to heaven on a feather bed? Have you got a notion in your heads that the road to paradise is all a lawn, the grass smoothly mown, still waters and green pastures ever and anon to cheer you? You have just got to clear your heads of that deceitful fancy. The way to heaven is up hill and down hill; up hill with difficulty, down hill with trials. It is through fire and through water, through flood and through flame, by the lions and by the leopards. Through the very mouths of dragons is the path to paradise. But the man who finds it so, and who desperately resolves in the strength of God to tread that path—nay, who does not resolve as if he could do nothing else but resolve, but who feels driven, as if with a hurricane behind him, to go into the right road, this man is never unsuccessful, never. Where God has given a violent anxiety for salvation he never disappoints it. No soul that has ever cried for it with a violent cry has been disappointed. From the beginning of creation until now there has never been raised to the throne of God a violent and earnest prayer which missed its answer. Go, soul, in the strong confidence that if thou goest earnestly thou goest successfully. God may sooner deny himself than deny the request of an earnest man. Our God may sooner cease to be "the Lord God, gracious and merciful," than cease to bless the men who seek the gates of heaven, with the violence of faith and prayer. Oh, reflect, that all the saints above have been led by divine grace to wrestle hard as we do now with sins, and doubts, and fears. They had no smooth path to glory. They had to dispute every inch of the way at the sword's point. So must you: and as surely as you are enabled to do so, so surely will you conquer. Only the violent are saved, and all the violent are saved. When God makes a man violent after salvation, that man cannot perish. The gates of heaven may sooner be unhinged than that man be robbed of the prize for which he has fought.

Holy Violence, Pt. 2

2009-05-13T07:14:00.003-05:00

Part two of the C.H. Spurgeon sermon on the passage out of Matthew 11:12 - "From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence and violent men take it by force."

My hearer, have you ever been one of these violent men, or are you so now? Blessed be God if this holy violence is in your spirit: you shall take heaven by force yet; you shall take it by storm, and carry the gates of heaven by the battery of your prayers. Only persevere with importunity; still plead, still wrestle, still continue to strive, and you must at length prevail. But ah! my hearer, if thou hast never had a strong unconquerable anxiety about thy soul, thou art as yet a stranger to the things of God. Thou dost not understand that violence victorious without which the gates of heaven never can be stormed. Some of us can look back to the time when we were seeking Christ. I could myself awake of a morning easily then. The first ray of light that came into my chamber would awaken me to take up Baxter's Call to the Unconverted that lay under my pillow. I believed I had not repented enough, and I began to read that. Oh! how I hoped that would break my heart. And then I would get Doddridge's Rise and Progress of Religion in the Soul, and Allen's Alarm, and read them. But, still, I think I might have read them to this day, and not been a whit the better, if I had not something better than alarm, in remembering that Christ came into the world to save every sinner who was willing to cast himself upon his blood and righteousness, and take him at his word, and trust God. Have ye not seen many—and are there not many among us—men who have said, "I must have mercy, I must have it: it is not a thing which I may have, or may not have; but I am a lost soul if I have it not?" And when they have gone to pray they have seemed like Samsons; they have got hold of the two posts of heaven's gate of mercy, and they have pulled as if they would pull them up by their eternal roots sooner than not get the blessing. They have hammered at the gates of heaven until it seemed as if they would split the golden bolts rather than be turned away. No man ever gets peace until he gets into such a passion of earnestness to be saved, that he cannot find peace until Christ speaks pardon to his soul, and brings him into life and liberty. "The kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force."

But this violence does not end when a man finds Christ; it then begins to exercise itself in another way. The man who is pardoned, and who knows it, then becomes violently in love with Christ. He does not love him just a little, but he loves him with all his soul and all his might. He feels as if he could wish to die for Christ, and his heart pants to be able to live alone with his Redeemer, and serve him without interruption. Mark such a man who is a true Christian, mark his prayers, and you will see there is violence in all his supplications when he pleads for the souls of men. Mark his outward actions, and they are violently sincere, violently earnest. Mark him when he preaches: there is no dull droning out of a monotonous discourse, he speaks like a man who means what he says, and who must speak it, or else woe would be unto him if he preached not the gospel. As I look around on many of the churches, yea, on many members of my own church, I am apt to fear that they are not God's children at all, because they have nothing of this holy violence. Have ye ever read Coleridge's Ancient Mariner? I dare say you have thought it one of the strongest imaginations ever put together, especially that part where the old mariner represents the corpses of all the dead men rising up,—all of them dead, yet rising up to manage the ship; dead men pulling the ropes, dead men steering, dead men spreading the sails. I thought what a strange idea that was. But do you know I have lived to see that true: I have seen it done. I have gone into churches and I have seen a dead man in the pulpit, and a dead man as a deacon, and a dead man holding the plate at the door, and dead men sitting to hear. You say "Strange!" but I have. I have gone into societies, and I have seen it all going on so regularly. These dead men, you know, never overstep the bounds of prudence,—not they: they have not life enough to do that. They always pull the rope orderly, "as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end, Amen." And the dead man in the pulpit, is he not most regular and precise? He systematically draws his handkerchief from his pocket, and uses it just at the regular period, in the middle of the sermon. He would not think of violating a single rubric that has been laid down by his old-fashioned church. Well, I have seen these churches—I know where to point them out—and have seen dead men doing everything. "No," says one, "you can't mean it?" Yes, I do, the men were spiritually dead. I have seen the minister preaching, without a particle of life, a sermon, which is only fresh in the sense in which a fish is fresh when it has been packed in ice. I have seen the people sit, and they have listened as if they had been a group of statues—the chiseled marble would have been as much affected by the sermon as they I have seen the deacons go about their business just as orderly, and with as much precision as if they had been mere automatons, and not men with hearts and souls at all. Do you think God will ever bless a church that is like that? Are we ever to take the kingdom of heaven with a troop of dead men? Never! We want living ministers, living hearers, living deacons, living elders, and until we have such men who have got the very fire of life burnings in their souls, who have got tongues of life, and eyes of life, and souls of life, we shall never see the kingdom of heaven taken by storm. "For the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force."

Frequently complaints are made and surprise expressed by individuals who have never found a blessing rest upon anything they have attempted to do in the service of God. "I have been a Sunday-school teacher for years," says one, "and I have never seen any of my girls or boys converted." No, and the reason most likely is, you have never been violent about it; you have never been compelled by the Divine Spirit to make up your mind that converted they should be, and no stone should be left unturned until they were. You have never been brought by the Spirit to such a passion, that you have said, "I cannot live unless God bless me; I cannot exist unless I see some of these children saved." Then, falling on your knees in agony of prayer, and putting forth afterwards your trust with the same intensity towards heaven, you would never have been disappointed, "for the violent take it by force." And you too, my brother in the gospel, you have marvelled and wondered why you have not seen souls regenerated. Did you ever expect it? Why, you preach like one who does not believe what he is saying. Those who believe in Christ, may say of you with kind partiality, "Our minister is a dear good man;" but the careless young men that attend your ministry, say, "Does that man expect to make me believe that which he only utters as a dry story, and to convince me when I see him go through the service with all the dulness and monotony of dead routine?" Oh, my brethren, what we want today in the churches is violence, not violence against each other, but violence against death, and hell, against the hardness of other men's hearts, and against the sleepiness of our own. In Martin Luther's time, truly the kingdom of heaven suffered violence. The whole religious world was wide awake. Now, I fear for the most part it is sound asleep. Go where you may, our churches have come to be old-established businesses. They do not care to extend themselves. We must have new blood, nay, we must have new fire from heaven to fall upon the sacrifice, or else, like Baal's priests, we may cut and hack our bodies, and distract our minds in vain; there will be "no voice, nor any to answer, nor any that regardeth." The sacrifice shall lay unburnt upon the altar, and the world will say our God is not the living God, or surely we are not his people, "And thou shalt grope at noon-day, as the blind gropeth in darkness, and thou shalt not prosper in thy ways: and thou shalt be only oppressed and spoiled evermore, and no man shall save thee." Violent men, then, are those that take the kingdom of heaven by force.

Holy Violence, Part 1

2009-05-12T08:23:00.006-05:00

I was thinking last week about an interesting verse out of Matthew. My friend did a little research and dug up an incredible Spurgeon sermon on the verse. It's incredibly long, so I'm going to be posting a 4 part series every day of this week, starting today. It will be well worth your reading. You should also note the comment on the previous Blog post as quite the answer to prayer. Thank you, Jesus.

Holy Violence

A Sermon Delivered on Sabbath Morning, May 15th, 1859,
by the
REV. C.H. SPURGEON
(At the Music Hall, Royal Surrey Gardens - Kennington, London)

"From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force," —Matthew 11:12.

When John the Baptist preached in the wilderness of Judea, the throng of people who pressed around him became extremely violent to get near enough to hear his voice. Often when our Saviour preached did the like scene occur. We find that the multitudes were immense beyond all precedent. He seemed to drain every city, every town, and every village, as he went along preaching the word of the gospel. These people, moreover, not like our common church-and-chapel-goers,—content to hear, if they could, and yet more content to keep without hearing, if it were possible,—were extremely earnest to get near enough to hear anyhow. So intense was their desire to hear the Saviour that they pressed upon him, insomuch that they trod one upon another. The crowd became so violent to approach his person, that some of the weaker ones were cast down and trodden upon. Now, our Saviour, when he witnessed all this struggling round about to get near him, said, "This is just a picture of what is done spiritually by those who will be saved. As you press and throng about me," said Christ, "and thrust one another, with arm and elbow, to get within reach of my voice, even so must it be if ye would be saved, 'For the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.'" He pictured to himself a crowd of souls desiring to get to the living Saviour. He saw them press, and crowd, and throng, and thrust, and tread on one another, in their anxious desire to get at him. He warned his hearers, that unless they had this earnestness in their souls, they would never reach him savingly; but if they had it, they should certainly be saved. "From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force."

"But," says one, "do you wish us to understand, that if a man is to be saved he must use violence and vehement earnestness in order to obtain salvation?" I do, most assuredly; that is the doctrine of the text. "But," says one, "I thought it was all the work of God." So it is, from first to last. But when God has begun the work in the soul, the constant effect of God's work in us is to set us working; and where God's Spirit is really striving with us, we shall begin to strive too. This is just a test whereby we may distinguish the men who have received the Spirit of God, from those who have not received it. Those who have received the Spirit in verity and truth are violent men. They have a violent anxiety to be saved, and they violently strive that they may enter in at the strait gate. Well they know that seeking to enter in is not enough, for many shall seek to enter in but shall not be able, and therefore do they strive with might and main.

I shall this morning, first, direct your attention to these violent men. Look at them. Secondly, we shall show their conduct. What makes them so violent? Are they justified in this impetuous vehemence? We shall next rejoice in the fact, that they are sure to be successful in their violence. And then, I shall endeavour to arouse in your hearts, by the help of God's Holy Spirit, that holy violence, without which the gates of heaven will be shut in your teeth, and you will never be able to enter the pearly portals of Paradise.

1. First then, LET US LOOK AT THESE VIOLENT MEN. Understand that what they are, they have been made by divine grace. They are not so naturally of themselves. But there has been a secret work of grace in them, and then they have become violent men. Look at these violent men, who are violently in earnest to be saved. You will observe them when they come up to the house of God; there is no yawning with them, no listlessness or inattention, no imagination that if they do but sit in the place the hour-and-a-half which is regularly allotted to divine worship, they will have done enough. No; they hear with both their ears, and they look with both their eyes, and all through the service they have an intense desire that they may find Christ. Meet them as they go up to the house of prayer, and ask them why they are going there. They know right well what they are going after. "I am going there to find mercy, and to find peace and rest to my soul; for I am in anguish about sin, and I want to find the Saviour; I am in hopes that being in the way the Lord will meet with me, so I am about to lay myself down by the side of the pool of Bethesda, in the hope that the Holy Spirit will stir the pool and enable me to step in." You do not find these people like the most of modern hearers, critical, or else careless. No; they are all awake to see whether there is not something to be had which may be a balm to their wearied spirits, and a cordial to their troubled breasts. Mark these violent people after they have gone home. They go to their chambers and they begin to pray; not that prayer between sleeping and waking that some of you are used to attend to, not that drowsy supplication which never gets beyond the ceiling of your bedroom; but they fall on their knees and with a holy anxiety they begin to cry, "Lord, save or I perish; O Lord save me; I am ready to perish, Lord; I beseech thee, stretch out thine hand and rescue my poor soul from that destruction which now haunts my spirit." And see them after they have prayed, how they turn over the Word of God. They do not read its chapters as if the mere looking at the letters was enough, but they read just as Watts says in his hymn,

"Yet save a trembling sinner, Lord,
Whose hope, still hovering round thy word
Would light on some sweet promise there,
Some sure support against despair."

And down they are on their knees again. "O Lord speak to my soul through thy word! Lord help me to lay hold on the promise, enable me to grasp it! Oh, let not my soul perish for lack of thy help and thy grace." And then see these violent men whom God has really made in earnest about being saved. You will not find them leaving their devotions in their closets, or in their house of prayer. Wherever they go there is a solemn earnestness upon them, which the world cannot understand. They are seeking after Jesus, and rest they neither will nor can until they find him. Their nights are disturbed with dreams, and their days are made sad with their pantings after the blessing—without which they cannot live, and without which they dare not die.

Searching For A Breakthrough

2009-05-07T10:09:00.004-05:00

Last week I received a comment that reminded me of how I've felt in the past.

Robert E. said...

Why is it so hard to pray? I have been going through a lot of external stuff (finances and parenting) and that is causing a lot of internal issues (failure at parenting, failure to provide adequately for family, etc). I know I need to pray. I know I need to get closer to God. But I just keep on listening to those stupid voices in my head that are telling me that there's no point. That I'm fooling myself thinking God would help me. Why would God help a failure like me? What good am I?

How do you break that wall down? I've heard all the usual stuff that people tell those who are depressed but I just shrug it off as "that's not what I need".

Why can't I break through the wall? I don't like feeling this way about me. Why won't God just take this helplessness away?

I'm going to go through each of these questions and will give what is hopefully a brief and pointed answer.

1. Why is it so hard to pray?

"Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness! You have relieved me in my distress; Have mercy on me, and hear my prayer." (Psalm 4:1) - if David, a man after God's own heart, had to ask God to HEAR his prayer than I would suggest that we all consider asking God to hear our prayers before we start praying away. James 5:16 says that the "Prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective". The last thing the enemy of your faith wants is for you to be praying with power and effectiveness. The last thing your flesh wants is to be praying in a way that God becomes so highly exalted in your life that every distraction is seen by your spirit as an opportunity to rejoice. "Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." (James 4:7). Are you submitting yourselves to God - in other words, have you given him full authority to do whatever He pleases in your life? Are you resisting the devil?

2. Why would God help a failure like me?

Because He loves helping failure's like you and me. Each of us, apart from Jesus, fall short. Even with Jesus we are constantly falling short of His glory. His blood covers us so that God sees us as heirs, co-laborers, and children He loves. "Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. (1 Cor. 1: 26-29). Stop believing the lie that you are a failure. If Jesus does not call you a failure, then who is speaking the failure lie to you? Resist the devil and he MUST flee.

3. What good am I?

Not much, apart from having received the victorious blood of Jesus shed for you which is the ransom paid to salvage you from worthlessness into glorious worth.
"O my soul, you have said to the LORD,“You are my Lord, My goodness is nothing apart from You.” (Psalm 16:2)

4. How do you break the wall down?

You don't. There's not an ounce of human strength that can overthrow the walls put up against us. Asking God to move in, and root out everything in your heart that does not please Him, is your only hope. Prayer is our strongest weapon. "The weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but are mighty in God for pulling down strongholds". (2 Cor. 10:4) When you see prayer as a gun, bazooka, or even a tank, it changes why and how you pray. God has given us a weapon to fight with and it's strong enough to pull down strongholds not only in our lives but in the spiritual realm.

5. Why can't I break through the wall?

Have you asked God to show you what is standing in the way of the wall coming down? We have a tendency to over think everything. But, in reality, it's so simple that even a child could figure it out. "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you." (Matthew 7:7) I wonder if half our problem is that we just don't ask.

6. Why won't God just take this helplessness away?

Sometimes he does allow us a level of helplessness so that we are practically forced back into His arms. It's entirely possible that the enemy is trying to hold you back because he knows how dangerous you might be if you were to be set loose. But don't write everything off as your flesh or as Satan's work. God loves to put us in a position where we HAVE to trust Him 100 percent. "For we do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, of our trouble which came to us in Asia: that we were burdened beyond measure, above strength, so that we despaired even of life. Yes, we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead, who delivered us from so great a death, and does deliver us; in whom we trust that He will still deliver us". (2 Corinthians 1: 8-10)

Lord Jesus, would you please show Robert and any others who are feeling the same loneliness, helplessness, worthlessness, pressures from the world, and despair, that You alone are the answer. Would you remind them that they are chosen by You and that you have a beautiful plan and purpose for their lives (Romans 8:28). I pray that you bring down every hindrance on their path to be freed from every stronghold. In the mighty name of Jesus, please release them from the depth of their despair and lift them up out of the pit. I rebuke and resist the devil, along with all his plans to capsize their faith; therefore He must flee. Would you please come, Jesus, and increase their love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, self-control, faithfulness, and goodness. Please work the miracle of restoring a deep sense of trust in You to their hearts. "With God all things are possible"(Matthew 19:26).

Don't give up. "The Lord will fight for you, and you will hold your peace" (Ex. 14:14).

chad

Anxiety is not my friend

2009-04-27T14:56:00.001-05:00

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication (to humbly and earnestly petition God), with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4: 6&7)

This verse is massively monumental to me right now. I've found myself praying and seeking God like never before, but as my prayer life increases I have also witnessed an increase of the enemies attacks on both myself and my family. In the past 10 days, God has challenged me to start every morning by spending time in committed prayer with Him. Not hollow or empty prayer but the kind of prayer that starts relocating some mountains. The prayer that believes the promise of Matthew 7:8 - "For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened." It wasn't until this weekend (where I spent a couple of days with my friends in Ascend the Hill, The Ember Days and Preson Phillips in Tampa, FL) that I really realized what was going on. As I was talking to a friend it dawned on me that I was seriously worrying (being anxious) about how in the world God was going to take care of my financial situation as this month (May) would be the first month where I did not know how I would pay my bills. As much as I was going to God in prayer, I was still finding myself extremely anxious. Even to the point where I began to question God. Began to question how real He really was, because I wasn't "feeling" His realness. Questioned the work He had called me to, even though I know beyond a doubt that it was Him calling me to it. The first time I noticed my own insecurities, doubts, unbelief was when I put David, my near four-year old, in bed one night and was praying over him. As I was praying my heart was in despair. Right then and there a light went off in my head. I instantly began rebuking the devil and commanded him in Jesus' name to be gone. I invited the blood of Jesus to cover me, fresh and new. Within seconds I felt a peace come over me and realized that all my doubting/despair/mistrust was a work of the enemy to get me to pull away from total reliance on the Lord.

I was worshiping with The Ember Days during church this past Sunday and started weeping as I cried out to God. My cry was something along the lines of "God, I can't even provide for my own family! I can't even provide for my own kids! Your word tells me that the man that doesn't provide for his family is worse off than a sinner (1 Tim. 5:8), but I know you've called me to this work." I was so frustrated because for the past seven years I've always provided for my family. This was the first time in years where God began force-stretching me like crazy (yes, I asked to be stretched so it wasn't truly forced). I've been learning to DEPEND on God for my daily bread, and it is honestly one of the best (to my spirit) and worst (to my flesh) feelings in the world.

The Lord did some amazing things during the worship time at church. For the first time ever, I was able to share the vision behind Come&Live! in a corporate church setting. God's presence was very strong during the service and one thing God has been teaching me is to value the time in His presence more than anything else. We, as Americans, have the hardest time placing value on time with God as we are so easily distracted by some of the most shallow of excuses. Not only do we struggle with getting quality time with Him but it is so hard-wired in us that church should be no more than a 90 minute session, all perfectly laid out and predictable. On the other hand, I realize how hard it can be to keep children happy for an extended period of time/etc. All of this is simply to say, the service was long but God was so obviously in our midst.

As the service came to a close, we had several people walk over to us and tell us how excited they were for what God was doing in us. One lady had tears in her eyes and handed us a check. Another offered to pray for us and another offered his business services. Yet another lady hugged us and told us to keep going. Right as this lady walked out the door I felt the still small voice of the Lord prompt me to go after her, hand her a business card and ask her to remember Come&Live! as I believed she was a real woman of prayer. She stopped and started praying over me. It was beautiful and God spoke some incredibly powerful prophetic words through her to me. Then she stopped and asked me a question. She said, "what have you been praying for the most lately?". Without even skipping a beat, I responded with, "financial breakthrough". She said, "that's what I thought". She then reached into her purse, pulled out a white envelope and handed it to me. With a "God bless you", she turned and walked away. All said, by the end of the service we walked out with nearly 2,000 dollars! Enough to cover quite a few bills for the month and a huge boost of confidence that a company relying on God's generosity through His body is not nearly as crazy as some might think.

It's easy to praise God when things go as we hope they will but this should serve as a reminder that we are told never to be anxious, even when things aren't going as we hope, but to always go before the Lord with our requests, knowing that His peace will guard our hearts and minds through Jesus.

Will you set time aside each day to come into the presence of God, regardless of how busy you might be? If you are depending on God for a breakthrough in your life then I don't believe you have a choice but to get serious time making your requests known to Him. Lord, please teach us how to pray and how to spend time with You.

Endurance Expedition

2009-04-20T08:53:00.001-05:00

The Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition (1914-17), also known as the Endurance Expedition, was the last major expedition of the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration. Conceived by Sir Ernest Shackleton, the expedition sought to achieve the first land crossing of the Antarctic continent. After the conquest of the South Pole by Roald Amundsen in 1911, the crossing remained, in Shackleton's words, the "one great main object of Antarctic journeyings". The expedition failed entirely to accomplish this aim, but it remains memorable as an epic of heroism and survival.

Endurance became beset in the ice of the Weddell Sea before reaching Vahsel Bay, and despite efforts to free the ship, she drifted northward with the pack throughout the Antarctic winter of 1915. Eventually, the ice crushed and sank the ship, stranding her 28-man complement on the ice and subjecting them to a series of harrowing episodes--months spent in makeshift camps on the ice, a journey in lifeboats to Elephant Island, an 800-mile open-boat journey in the James Caird, and the first crossing of South Georgia--that led eventually to their rescue without a single fatality.

Like the Endurance Expedition, we will likely face many obstacles, challenges and seemingly impossible odds to overcome, especially when we step out to follow God and trust Him with all our hearts. We are not promised success in the world's eyes, but there is no greater challenge than to go the farthest distance with God Himself as our guide.

There are a few words that I think most accurately describe the current state of where God has me and what He is doing in my life. A couple of those are prophetic in nature and all are an amazing reminder of how much we are being taught to depend completely on Christ. Those words are: Consecration, Endurance, and Refinement/Sifting. By my definition these words mean something along the lines of:

Consecration = being set apart for the purposes of God.

And the LORD said to him: "I have heard your prayer and your supplication that you have made before Me; I have consecrated this house which you have built to put My name there forever, and My eyes and My heart will be there perpetually. 1 Kings 9:3

Endurance = weathering the storm.

You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. 2 Timothy 2:3

Refinement/Sifting = producing Gold from what would otherwise appear to just be sand, rocks and dirt.

I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. Revelation 3:18

I just began reading this incredible book by the pastor Yong-Gi Cho, pastor of the largest church in the world (1 Million members) titled Prayer That Brings Revival - you can pick up at Amazon for 2 bucks. It's a MUST read for anyone serious about following God. In just the first chapter I feel like my world has been rocked and my hunger/desire to seek God diligently through prayer has increased ten-fold.

Know that each one of you who claim Christ as Lord are set apart as children following the heart of the Father, and therefore, are a total and complete threat to Satan and his empire. We will not see the increase, the fruit of our labors, or any good thing coming from our efforts if we are not spending time in the presence of almighty God. He has called us all to be missionaries, regardless of how different that might look from one person to the next, therefore we have no option but to rely fully on God for His total provision in every area of our lives.

I, along with the team God has placed around me, are here to intercede (stand in the gap) for each of you. If you are feeling discouraged or experiencing doubt, unbelief, laziness, or anything else that is not pleasing to the Lord, then we ask right now that God would unleash His spirit afresh on you.

Feel free to email me (chad@comeandlive.com) with any prayer requests/needs/praises/etc, I would love to lift you and your needs up in prayer. I believe 100% that prayer is what will bring about the revival that we seek and pray for. Be reminded that God's plan for your lives is so much bigger than you could ever even dream, even though it may right now seem to be nothing more than a fleeting thought. With man, all of this is impossible (and most men will look upon faith in Christ with skepticism or doubt), but with God - all things are POSSIBLE!

Endure! Endure! Endure!
Love you all very much.

Chad

P.S. I will be posting a Vlog here on this page very shortly that I can't wait to share with you. It's the story of some huge things God did in my life last week and believe it will really encourage your faith.

Surrounded by Mountains

2009-04-16T11:13:00.003-05:00

Psalm 125
A Song of Ascents.

Those who trust in the LORD
Are like Mount Zion,
Which cannot be moved, but abides forever.

As the mountains surround Jerusalem,
So the LORD surrounds His people
From this time forth and forever.

For the scepter of wickedness shall not rest
On the land allotted to the righteous,
Lest the righteous reach out their hands to iniquity.

Do good, O LORD, to those who are good,
And to those who are upright in their hearts.

As for such as turn aside to their crooked ways,
The LORD shall lead them away
With the workers of iniquity.

Peace be upon Israel!

Do you realize that you are surrounded? Are you saturating yourself in the promises of scripture that God so generously delivers? If you follow Jesus then you are offered the promise of being surrounded by the Creator of the entire universe. Creator of the very air you breathe, the water you drink, the earth you stand on. Whose very existence and breath has put your life in motion. The Beginning and the End; Alpha and Omega. He surrounds you. I'm not normally reminded of how much I am surrounded by The Lord, much less how this passage reminds us that we are mountains that can NOT be moved, but "abide" forever. I looked up the definition for the word "abide" and it's meaning is, "to endure without yielding", or "to bear patiently". In other words, God responds to our efforts of TRUSTING Him by removing the possibility that we would be moved. The concept seems almost impossible, but this is the very God we claim to believe in. God of the Impossible. I'm reminded of the verse in Psalm 16:8 "I have set the LORD always before me; because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved."

The secret in all of this is to "remain upright in our hearts". Is it even possible for us to achieve this position without the blood of Jesus covering us and interceding for us? I don't think it is. Once again we are in a position of trusting God with the very thing that is required of us. If only we realized how little is required of us, in terms of what we can accomplish on our own, we'd probably be much quicker to rely on God. Father, help us to trust you and know that your promise is to make us into mountains that will endure. We can't do a single thing to please you without the power of Jesus enabling us. Teach us to give up well so that you can take full control.

The Lord Is Risen!

2009-04-12T10:28:00.003-05:00

Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it. His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men.

But the angel answered and said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead, and indeed He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him. Behold, I have told you.”
So they went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring His disciples word.

And as they went to tell His disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, “Rejoice!” So they came and held Him by the feet and worshiped Him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell My brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see Me.” (Matthew 28: 1-10)

It doesn't get any more glorious than this! Death, burial, and resurrection on the third day. Thank you, Jesus. Please teach us to follow you the way you intend to be followed. Forgive us our unbelief and grow our faith. We don't have an ounce of hope outside of the price You paid for us in blood. Help us to recognize just how lost we are without You to find us. Please work a wonder in our lives and use us to work wonders in the lives of others. We bless You, praise You, honor You, and adore You on this special day for the gift You have brought to us.

What we do unto the least of these

2009-04-03T06:23:00.012-05:00

I spent the past couple of days shooting video footage for an upcoming promotional video for Come&Live! A huge THANK YOU to our friend Andy Reale. He is a trooper. We spent an entire day on the streets of Nashville with one objective: talk to people, get them to repeat a few key phrases after me, and hopefully encourage them. I can't even recall how many people we must have stopped and talked with, but it was a great time. God provided a beautifully epic day here, 68 degrees and clear blue skies.

It has been quite some time since I randomly approached people on the street. I was very accustomed to doing this all through-out my college years. It's been even longer, or actually never, that I had a camera crew in tow. I wasn't sure what the response to an on-the-fly camera interview would be. What we found is that the vast majority of individuals were willing to give of their time. The only exception being business people. Interesting how few business-types were willing to give us even a minute of their time. Understandable that they're the responsible ones who are on a schedule.

Homeless people, on the other hand, proved to be the most responsive and some of my favorite interviews. This reminded me of several passages in scripture.

Psalm 74: 21 - "Let the poor and needy praise Your name"

Psalm 140: 12 - "We know that the Lord secures justice for the poor and upholds the cause of the needy"

Deuteronomy 15: 11 - "For there will never cease to be poor in the land. Therefore I command you, "You should open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and the poor..."

Luke 4: 18 - "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because he has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor."

Matthew 5: 1-3 - And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him. Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying:
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Our time on the streets reminded me mostly of what I believe to be the greatest promise/warning in all of scripture:

Matthew 25: 37-40 - “Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’ Matthew 25: 45 & 46 - Then He will answer them, saying "Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it unto Me. And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."

I stumbled upon a beautiful prayer by Mother Teresa at the National Prayer Breakfast back in 1994. You should really take the time to read all of it. You can find it here. Below are several excerpts that really impacted me:

And as if that were not enough, as if it were not enough that God the Son should become one of us and bring peace and joy while still in the womb of Mary, Jesus also died on the Cross to show that greater love. He died for you and for me, and for the leper and for that man dying of hunger and that naked person lying in the street, no only of Calcutta, but of Africa, and everywhere. Our Sisters serve these poor people in 105 countries throughout the world. Jesus insisted that we love one another as He loves each one of us. Jesus gave His life to love us and He tells us that we also have to give whatever it takes to do good to one another. And in the Gospel Jesus says very clearly: "Love as I have loved you."

Jesus died on the Cross because that is what it took for Him to do good to us - to save us from our selfishness in sin. He gave up everything to do the Father's will - to show us that we too must be willing to give up everything to do God's will - to love one another as He loves each of us. If we are not willing to give whatever it takes to do good to one another, sin is still in us. That is why we too must give to each other until it hurts.

It is not enough for us to say: "I love God," but I also have to love my neighbor. St. John says that you are a liar if you say you love God and you don't love your neighbor. How can you love God whom you do not see, if you do not love your neighbor whom you see, whom you touch, with whom you live? And so it is very important for us to realize that love, to be true, has to hurt. I must be willing to give whatever it takes not to harm other people and, in fact, to do good to them. This requires that I be willing to give until it hurts. Otherwise, there is not true love in me and I bring injustice, not peace, to those around me.

It hurt Jesus to love us. We have been created in His image for greater things, to love and to be loved. We must "put on Christ" as Scripture tells us. And so, we have been created to love as He loves us. Jesus makes Himself the hungry one, the naked one, the homeless one, the unwanted one, and He says, "You did it to Me." On the last day He will say to those on His right, "whatever you did to the least of these, you did to Me, and He will also say to those on His left, whatever you neglected to do for the least of these, you neglected to do it for Me."

When He was dying on the Cross, Jesus said, "I thirst." Jesus is thirsting for our love, and this is the thirst of everyone, poor and rich alike. We all thirst for the love of others, that they go out of their way to avoid harming us and to do good to us. This is the meaning of true love, to give until it hurts.

Jesus, would you teach us to love our neighbors, especially those who don't seem so lovable, the way that you have chosen to love us? Teach us to see you in others, especially those who don't have the time, the means, or the interest, to make themselves out to be all that attractive. Teach us to recognize our brothers and sisters everywhere we go - in church, at school, when we are shopping at the grocery store, but especially in those places like the streets, where we are least likely to gain anything in the material from them. Teach us to do unto the least of our brothers and sisters as though we were doing it unto You.

On a somewhat unrelated, and mostly self-promoting note, Come&Live! has recently launched a Myspace page and has a group on Facebook. Join me on either (or both).

Blessings.

Fast Friday - March 27, 2009

2009-03-27T08:42:00.004-05:00

Fast Friday is a community of Jesus-followers who abstain from food, or whatever else the Lord puts on our hearts, with the desire to diligently seek Him."Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter- when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?" - Isaiah 58:6-7

To Join our Fast Friday, Click Here.

"And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table."
Matthew 15:27

THIS woman gained comfort in her misery by thinking great thoughts of Christ. The Master had talked about the children's bread: "Now," argued she, "since Thou art the Master of the table of grace, I know that Thou art a generous housekeeper, and there is sure to be abundance of bread on Thy table; there will be such an abundance for the children that there will be crumbs to throw on the floor for the dogs, and the children will fare none the worse because the dogs are fed." She thought Him one who kept so good a table that all that she needed would only be a crumb in comparison; yet remember, what she wanted was to have the devil cast out of her daughter. It was a very great thing to her, but she had such a high esteem of Christ, that she said, "It is nothing to Him, it is but a crumb for Christ to give." This is the royal road to comfort. Great thoughts of your sin alone will drive you to despair; but great thoughts of Christ will pilot you into the haven of peace. "My sins are many, but oh! it is nothing to Jesus to take them all away. The weight of my guilt presses me down as a giant's foot would crush a worm, but it is no more than a grain of dust to Him, because He has already borne its curse in His own body on the tree. It will be but a small thing for Him to give me full remission, although it will be an infinite blessing for me to receive it." The woman opens her soul's mouth very wide, expecting great things of Jesus, and He fills it with His love. Dear reader, do the same. She confessed what Christ laid at her door, but she laid fast hold upon Him, and drew arguments even out of His hard words; she believed great things of Him, and she thus overcame Him. She won the victory by believing in Him . Her case is an instance of prevailing faith; and if we would conquer like her, we must imitate her tactics.

From "Morning&Evening" by C.H. Spurgeon

Prayer Requests and Praise Reports:

1. Pray that our friends in Ivoryline would continue to develop greater intimacy with God, opening the ears and eyes of their hearts to see and hear Him.

2. Pray for Sean Stopnik and family as their baby has developed diabetes and is now requiring 4 insulin shots a day for the rest of his life. We petition God for a miracle of healing in this situation, trusting His perfect timing and will in all things.

3. Pray that God provides the right living space for our friends in Sons of God, and that He would direct their writing process. Praise God for the jobs he's provided them with.

4. Prayer requests from our friends in The Ember Days
-That the presence of the Lord would be as a consuming fire as worship takes place, and that kids will be impacted buy the beauty of the Lord.
-Fast processing for Tim & Matt's visas, so they can come to the US at the same time as the rest of the band.
-Pray the Lord would bring them a fair deal for a van & trailer as they begin their April tour.

5. Pray for Rachel Arnold's grandmother who has cancer and needs to have a kidney removed.

6. Pray for Beth Johnson's dad, Vern, as he travels to Cuba to teach and preach for a week. Pray for his health and safety, and pray that God would use him in mighty ways.

7. We praise God for the incredible work He is doing in restoring and reviving so many hearts to live more focused on Him.

Submit Prayer Requests/Praise Reports to: Fastfriday@comeandlive.com

To learn more about Come&Live! and how you can help us, visit our website, or Join us on Facebook.

May God give us all the endurance we need to make much of Him today!

The Realness of God and the real mess of man

2009-03-24T10:55:00.000-05:00

What can I say about how good God is that hasn't already been said? There surely isn't much I could add to the definition of His goodness found all throughout the weight of His Word. The real mess of men, on the other hand, is such strong evidence to our great need for redemption in a true Savior. Here are several examples from today's headlines that should serve as a reminder of just how much of a mess men can make.

the LATEST from the BBC:

Worker with Canadian aid agency shot dead in Sudan's Darfur region

N Korea warns over rocket launch

Plath's son's death highlights suicide in families

Police eye suspect in newlywed's slaying

Suicide attack on Iraqi funeral

Israeli-Arabs clash with police as Jewish Israeli right-wingers march in the Arab town of Umm al-Fahm.

We're not required to look very far to realize just how much chaos exists among man. In the midst of my own chaos I've been experiencing a refreshing move to soak myself in the Word, daily. To not only read a chapter and move on to the next task of the day, but to make the commitment to wake earlier and spend more time in the presence of God's Word. I've been spending time reading the Psalms, Jeremiah and 2 Corinthians, all are entirely different and seemingly unrelated, yet so beautifully connected. Here is what I woke up to this morning:

I waited patiently for the LORD;
And He inclined to me,
And heard my cry.
He also brought me up out of a horrible pit,
Out of the miry clay,
And set my feet upon a rock,
And established my steps.
He has put a new song in my mouth—
Praise to our God;
Many will see it and fear,
And will trust in the LORD.

Blessed is that man who makes the LORD his trust,
And does not respect the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.
Many, O LORD my God, are Your wonderful works
Which You have done;
And Your thoughts toward us
Cannot be recounted to You in order;
If I would declare and speak of them,
They are more than can be numbered.

Sacrifice and offering You did not desire;
My ears You have opened.
Burnt offering and sin offering You did not require.
Then I said, “Behold, I come;
In the scroll of the book it is written of me.
I delight to do Your will, O my God,
And Your law is within my heart.”

I have proclaimed the good news of righteousness
In the great assembly;
Indeed, I do not restrain my lips,
O LORD, You Yourself know.
I have not hidden Your righteousness within my heart;
I have declared Your faithfulness and Your salvation;
I have not concealed Your loving kindness and Your truth
From the great assembly.

Do not withhold Your tender mercies from me, O LORD;
Let Your loving kindness and Your truth continually preserve me.
For innumerable evils have surrounded me;
My iniquities have overtaken me, so that I am not able to look up;
They are more than the hairs of my head;
Therefore my heart fails me.

Be pleased, O LORD, to deliver me;
O LORD, make haste to help me!
Let them be ashamed and brought to mutual confusion
Who seek to destroy my life;
Let them be driven backward and brought to dishonor
Who wish me evil.
Let them be confounded because of their shame,
Who say to me, “Aha, aha!”

Let all those who seek You rejoice and be glad in You;
Let such as love Your salvation say continually,
“The LORD be magnified!”
But I am poor and needy;
Yet the LORD thinks upon me.
You are my help and my deliverer;
Do not delay, O my God. (Psalm 40)

Jesus, would you open our eyes to the depth and beauty of your Word. Please do not delay in coming to our side. We're a real mess without your mighty hand of deliverance. Thank you for your kindness and mercy, we are an undeserving bunch that is constantly going in circles without your direction. Guide our steps so that we are aligned with yours. Teach us to trust you even in light of what sometimes feels like absolute chaos. Instruct us to rejoice and be glad in You, regardless of our circumstances. Thank you for thinking of us so frequently that we could never recount your thoughts. Your will be done today in our lives.

Though He Slay Me

2009-03-17T08:19:00.004-05:00

Faith by its very nature must be tested and tried. And the real trial of faith is not that we find it difficult to trust God, but that God’s character must be proven as trustworthy in our own minds. Faith being worked out into reality must experience times of unbroken isolation. Never confuse the trial of faith with the ordinary discipline of life, because a great deal of what we call the trial of faith is the inevitable result of being alive. Faith, as the Bible teaches it, is faith in God coming against everything that contradicts Him— a faith that says, "I will remain true to God’s character whatever He may do." The highest and the greatest expression of faith in the whole Bible is— "Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him" (Job 13:15). - Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest

This is a hard post for me as this still feels like a fresh wound that hasn't had time to scar up and eventually heal. It's also vitally important that I'm completely transparent, both in my times of strength and those of weakness. I had an opportunity to speak with The Glorious Unseen here in Nashville this past weekend, which is always a treat and we've experienced some incredible times of ministry together over the years. It was a CD release show for A Plea for Purging's new album where they only charged $1 as the cover, but that also included FREE BBQ. Needles to say, I've never seen the place so jam-packed, and I've seen a lot of great shows there.

As is typical when I'm out with TGU, you just have to fly by the seat of your pants and be ready for whatever God has in store. In this case, a show that was originally to start at 5, didn't start until 7. We had about 40 minutes to lead kids fresh out of their favorite local hardcore band (which destroyed it, BTW), and into the presence of God. I was the transition from a crowd still screaming "encore" into TGU's set. I usually don't have a problem stepping out and preaching/praying with boldness and fervor. If there is anything that I am extremely passionate about, it's conveying the Love of God in a way that might hopefully move someone closer towards Him. I didn't have time to introduce myself and share a bit of my story, which I usually try to do so people know that I'm just a regular old guy, nothing special apart from the Lord's mercy to use a fool for His glory. What my friends pointed out later on, was that I may have caught the crowd off guard. I don't feel I need to apologize for sharing my heart in a measure of confidence and passion that I've been experiencing for God lately, although my real apology, and a vital lesson the Lord taught me, was one that I wouldn't learn until the event was over.

As I walked back up on stage at the end of TGU's time of worship to say a final prayer and invite those who wanted to be prayed over to join me outside, I noticed there was someone in a wheel chair near the front of the room and people were laying their hands on him. I instantly had the thought come into my mind "In the name of Jesus, rise up and walk". I dismissed the thought and justified my dismissal with the idea that this person would come find me and we could pray for him after the show. In a split second, which is all it takes sometimes to turn off the work of God's Spirit, I chose not to draw attention to this guy in the wheelchair and ask the Lord to work a miracle in His life. Instead, I chose the safe path, which was to not run the risk of looking like a complete idiot and fool if God had chosen not to heal him right then and there. I publicly confess my mistake. The risk would have been well worth the potential letdown that God's time for healing on this guy hadn't quite come yet. Worse-case scenario, I would have needed to explain that there are times when I want something to happen (in the natural or supernatural) that doesn't necessarily line up with God's will and this is absolutely part of being humans and making mistakes. If we aren't willing to step out, though we may stumble and fall, I don't think we'll ever know how to step out, period. Best-case scenario, this person would have risen up and walked.

Two lessons I've learned from this night. The first is to not quench God's Spirit by walking out in fear instead of faith. The second is to recognize God in every wonderful, amazing, and grace-filled miracle that occurs in my life every day. We have a tendency to want to see God move in those really big ways (and, yes, I have seen Him move in those really huge supernatural ways and I believe with 100% of my heart that we will all see much more of those), but I also realize there is such a balance to all of this. If I get pulled too far towards expecting a miracle of healing for someone, I may distract them from the miracle of God's abundant grace that is working a deeper heart miracle because of whatever ailment they might be enduring. Shouldn't I be looking at those people who haven't experienced a dramatic, instant healing but are experiencing a continual, renewing, healing miracle of inner joy as just as wonderful and magnificent? Was it God's will to instantly heal Job? Was it God's purpose to remove Paul's thorn? Was it outside of God's control to remove the cup of suffering from Jesus? Of course, in all of these cases, it was not. Therefore, I'm called to recognize every miracle that occurs in my life, and in the lives of anyone else, regardless of how big or small it may seem.

The question is, are you recognizing God and giving Him the glory for every single miracle working power in your life, even if it may not be of the sort that causes us to leap for joy? Let's learn to give God the glory He deserves, especially on a day to day basis. Praise Him for what He has done, for what He is doing, and for what He will continue to do in your life.

That said, don't ever think for a minute that I'm not in support of the full faith that God does sometimes choose to show up and absolutely rock our world by supernatural miracles. For the person that I didn't step out in faith to pray for that night, I ask your forgiveness. I would love the opportunity to get together and pray healing over you, believing that God may full well restore whatever is ailing your body. If the Lord chooses that your time for physical healing has not yet arrived, I would also love to pray He continues to inwardly restore you and praise, along with you, for every good work He is already doing through your trial.

Even though He Slay Me, I WILL Trust In HIM!

The Brutal Power

2009-03-11T06:12:00.008-05:00

When I lived in Quito, Ecuador as a teenager, we would make a trip once or twice a year from the 10,000 ft. elevation down to sea level, to spend vacation on the beach. I distinctly recall this huge rock sculpture on the side of a cliff that was an eerie interpretation of the devils face. For some reason it came to mind a few days ago. The message listed under the face is "El Poder Brutal" translated, "The Brutal Power". That phrase has stuck with me over the years. Folklore suggested that the sculptor had a conversation with the devil and in one day, carved his face in the rock. I found some interesting information on Wikipedia (the Spanish version) and discovered that the sculpture had been created by a local Public Work driver and self-taught artist. I never really knew the real motive behind this piece of art but according to the Wiki article, the artist's intentions were not only to show the face of the devil, but to also remind us of our own inner demons. Regardless of motives, this sculpture was always an eerie sight as the road down to the sea was extremely curvy and dangerous in many places. One wrong turn, and the car would plunge hundreds or thousands of feet off the road. There were spots, such as where this sculpture was, that would almost always be covered in a thick layer of mist. Combining the precarious roads, the mist, and the Brutal Power is enough to get you thinking twice about your life.

There are two lessons that I'm learning lately. The first is not to underestimate the power of our enemy. Jesus gave us the warning that our enemy has a three-fold plan to wipe out life on the earth. Those strategies are to steal, kill and destroy. John 10:10 says: The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. Should it surprise us that we are being attacked, or at least plundered, especially if we are stepping out in faith to trust God for a deeper work in our lives, for a time of renewing, for spiritual growth, for endurance, or for any other good thing that spurs us closer to Christ? The devil isn't only trying to annihilate each of us, but he's in the business of treacherous thievery. He may not need to steal our very lives if he can get away with stealing something far more potent; our faith, our joy, and our love. When our hearts are set towards growing in these three areas, we should more than expect the opposition towards each. What good is faith if it's stolen? What good is joy if it's killed? What good is love if it's destroyed?

Be encouraged that we were not promised destruction, but life. The second part of this verse in John gives each of us great hope; "I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly."

Pursue abundant living and know that your pursuit will cause the enemy to rise up against you. The second lesson I've been learning is that it is not just an outward, spiritual enemy in the devil and his cohorts that love to fight against our spiritual progress. There is also the inward, less obvious but equally formidable foe, our flesh. The flesh is made up of all those areas in our lives that do not submit to God's will. Selfishness, pride, greed, lust, etc. etc. that war against the freedom of Christ in us. (Galatians 5: 16-18)

I have two foes that hate any progress I may be making in my walk towards greater dependency on Christ. So do each of you. Don't be shocked, or caught of guard, that the road isn't proving to be easy as you take steps in faith to trust God for the impossible. Remember that, just like sheep, you only have two basic instructions: listen and follow.

Listen and follow, allow God control of the rest.

Then came the Feast of Dedication at Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was in the temple area walking in Solomon's Colonnade. The Jews gathered around him, saying, "How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly." Jesus answered, "I did tell you, but you do not believe. The miracles I do in my Father's name speak for me, but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. I and the Father are one." (John 10:22-30)

The Doors No Man Can Shut

2009-02-27T15:48:00.004-06:00

And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write:

These things says He who is holy, He who is true, “He who has the key of David, He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens”: “I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name. Indeed I will make those of the synagogue of Satan, who say they are Jews and are not, but lie—indeed I will make them come and worship before your feet, and to know that I have loved you. Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth. Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown. He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God. And I will write on him My new name. (Revelation 3: 7-12)

There are so many overwhelming truths and heavy realities that are shouting at me from this passage. First, you should know that there are seven churches mentioned in the first couple of chapters in the book of Revelation. Those churches and God's instruction/reprimand to them:

1. The Loveless Church - repent, turn to your first love
2. The Persecuted Church - be faithful until death
3. The Compromising Church - repent from false doctrine
4. The Corrupt Church - repent of sexual immorality & corruption
5. The Dead Church - hold fast and repent from dead works
6. The Faithful Church - continue in faithfulness
7. The Lukewarm Church - be zealous and repent

"As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent".

With titles like "loveless, compromising, corrupt, dead, and lukewarm, you would hardly believe these were churches at all. In God's mercy each church was given a direct instruction, though. Five of them were told to repent. Two (Persecuted & Faithful) churches were told not to fear, to be faithful and hold fast.

What is it that we, as individuals, are in need of repenting of before God and others? As I look at the list of these churches I have to ask myself two questions: 1. Which one of these churches most accurately illustrates where I'm at spiritually, and 2. Which church best describes the condition of our own country?

Both questions are loaded and dangerous. That's because they require me to be really honest about my condition. It's so easy to become a finger-pointing judge that declares our country to be spiritually bankrupt, which probably isn't too far from the truth, but either way we're warned not to judge lest we also be judged. On the flip-side of the coin is the truth that every branch that doesn't bear fruit is cut off and thrown into the fire (John 15:6). In this case (self vs. country) I can do little to change the condition of an entire country (not that I shouldn't be in constant prayer that God would), but there's a lot more I can focus on when it comes to my own walk. Regardless of which church in Revelation might best depict my state of existence, the instructions to repent, stop being owned by fear, continue in faithfulness, and holding fast, are all universal to every single believer everywhere in the world. Our heart response must be to apply each of these (easier said than done), pray into them, and invite God to work a wonder in us (our only hope for genuine and long-lasting change).

This passage gives us a glimpse into the character of Jesus Christ: He is Holy, He is True, He holds the Key of David, He opens where no one can shut, He shuts where no one can open, He knows our works. Although I'm sure multiple pages could be filled on detailing each of these qualities, the one I want to focus on is the open/shut door.

First of all, Jesus "set before them an open door", so it wasn't their work or deeds that established the door, it was already set up for them by the Son of God. No one can shut the door that Jesus sets, and opens, before them. I'm not sure about anyone else, but this is so massively encouraging to me. It depicts the power of God to accomplish what no one or where nothing else could. It gets even better as the next phrase is incredibly powerful; "I know that you have little strength"! Obviously, none of us are catching God off-guard with the reality that we all have little strength and are essentially worthless apart from God's empowering hand on our lives. Even on a great day, our strength is still worthless. What they did do with their "little strength" was keep His Word and not deny His name. In some countries, that's still enough to land you in prison or better yet, a free ride home. Regardless of the outcome, two things we can't take our eyes and hearts off are "His Word" and "remaining faithful to His name". For the church of Philadelphia, the end result of operating on little strength, but continuing to keep His Word and not denying His name produced several promises:

1. Liars worshiping at their feet, proving God's great love towards His church.
2. Because of their perseverance, He is keeping them from the hour of trial coming upon the whole world.
3. Holding fast translates into retaining our crowns (or not loosing them).
4. Being made a pillar in God's temple, through overcoming.
5. Given a new name, the name of God written on them.

Stunning that although the church had such little strength, but remained faithful and held fast to God's word and His name, they received so much in return. They first received an open door that no man could shut and then God just lavished His promises all over them, simply for remaining obedient.

If you are struggling with the impulse of disobedience, consider what Jesus told this church and repent from those areas in your life that do not exist to make great the ways of God. I publicly repent from years not having focused my time and energy on His word and on remaining faithful to His name. There's only one name that has the power to open and only one name that has the power to shut. Lay down burdens at the feet of the name that pours forth blessing after blessing, even on those of us who have "little strength".

May God gives us an increase in the areas of humility (which always spurs repentance), in turning back to our first love, faithfulness even to death, holding fast, giving up sexual immorality, a hatred for corruption (I could go on for hours about the significance of this one in modern day Christian culture) false doctrine and dead works, the ability to continue in faithfulness, and possibly the one that excites me the most, a zealous love for the one true God.

Bless you guys as you strive towards perfection this week.

Broken down but not destroyed.....

Making music solely for the benefit of others.

2009-02-20T12:37:00.002-06:00

Every once in a while, I like to Blog about what's happening in my life on a day to day basis; this is one of those times. As most of you probably know, I quit my job with T&N back in early January. Some of you who are close to me know I've been working towards fulfilling a vision God's given me. In stead of explaining it in detail, I wanted to share an interview I did with Relevant Magazine. Click on the link above to access the interview on Relevantmagazine.com. I've included the questions that didn't make it in the feature (due to space restrictions), below.

My family and I (along with several friends and a bunch of amazing artists)are stepping out in faith (as missionaries) that God is going to provide for our every need in this new music endeavor and that He is going to take it where He wants. From an economic perspective, this is the worst possible time to step out and launch a new "Missionary Record Label", but from a spiritual one, God's timing is always perfect.

If you feel led, please consider supporting us both prayerfully, and if you can, financially (yes, gifts are tax-deductible). There is a simple form to the right of this post where you can give us a one time or a recurring gift. Beggars can't be choosers, but if the Lord is leading you to help us, please consider giving on a monthly basis.

Thank you and may God do as He sees fit through each of us!

Click here to view the temporary C&L! site.

cj

"The Missionary Record Label"
by Seth "tower" Hurd

1. Briefly, explain your business model of free/pay what you want.

The model could probably best be summarized in terms of a missionary. My parents were missionaries and I've always had a heart for missions, so that's where part of the idea came from. If someone decides to become a missionary and relocate to a remote tribe in Africa, there are a few steps to take in that process. The first is obviously praying that God confirms your calling. Secondly, you approach a missions organization that aligns with your vision or denomination and can help with the process of getting you where God is leading you. Thirdly, having a financial budget and determining how much it will cost after liquidating all those things you won't be needing (such as a home mortgage, DVD's, cars, etc.). Once you have determined how much it will cost per year to live overseas , you would begin praying that the Lord brings in the money to get you there and keep you there. Likely you would start sitting down with friends, families and your local church to ensure you have their prayerful and financial support.

Come&Live! is applying this missional approach (which has been tried and tested for decades over) to the world of music and the arts.

In simple terms, we will operate more like a Missions Organization that helps fund and support artists to do what they're called to do. They will still be raising support from friends, family and churches but the developed model is to serve them as somewhat of an all-inclusive Record label, all the while never taking a dime of their money. Here's what's crazy, the model would become self-sufficient with requiring less than 5,000 individuals giving an average of 20 dollars per month. All of the funds that we receive go to three different sources. First, money goes to the artist to help cover their recording/touring/misc. costs, the second goes to Come&Live! to cover operations mostly including marketing, distribution, publicity. Thirdly, every ounce of our profit is given back to charities that we partner with along with just basic needs for people we feel God leads us towards.

Certainly not conventional but not exactly complicated either.

2. You plan on giving 100% of the profits of your company away. Tell me about the organizations you hope to support. Do you plan on making music about these topics?

Absolutely. We are allowing each of our artists to choose a partner charity that they really feel led to be working with. We haven't formalized partnerships considering we barely even have a website up yet but some of those we are looking at include Healing Waters, Project Ak-47, Preemptive Love Coalition, Compassion, Mocha Club, etc. We are looking to form partnerships with these charities where we are able to offer exposure of their great efforts to a youth audience and in return they expose what we do to their own audience. Considering our music will always be available free of charge digitally, it's much easier to expose our music to the customers of these charities.

3. Explain the spiritual motives behind this.

God showed us the greatest example of generosity the world has ever seen, so why not model a company after the basic principle of generosity? The overarching ideal that, as followers of Christ, sharing is not a suggestion, but a command. Generosity is a strong warrior against it’s four great adversaries; Selfishness, Greed, Pride and Profit. We believe that if there has ever been a time to live simply so as to give generously, that time is now. We seek the profit of others far ahead of ourselves, that's as basic but as challenging a Biblical principle as any. We believe that hearts will always follow treasure and therefore our treasure should be established in eternal, not earthly, profits and pursuits. “For there will never cease to be poor in the land. Therefore I command you, “You shall open wide your hand to your brother, to the needy and to the poor” – Deuteronomy 15:11 In all humility, our only motive behind this is spiritual. Our prayer is that God would use this example of generosity to revive an entire generation towards generosity.

4. Do you believe that all music will follow this model in the next five years?

Wow. I highly doubt it. It's very hard for me to imagine that most companies would consider giving up their profits for the needy and giving up the existing model for something like this. I'd love to see this vision become the next model, but I don't think that's realistic. If anything, I would hope that this model challenges existing companies to consider at least giving a greater portion (or ANY) of their profits back to the needs of their neighbors. We don't live in an age where we can argue whether our neighbors live only next door to us. The internet reminds us daily that our neighbors live all over the world. And according to Jesus, the second greatest commandment (next to Loving the Lord our God with all our hearts, souls, minds and strength) was to love our neighbors as ourselves. If it was 2nd in line for Jesus, how can we not live generously towards others?

5. "Come&Live!" is going to provide "support and pastoral care" for artists. This is the first time a label has ever done this. Tell me what that looks like.

It starts by modeling humility and a servants heart to the artists. Hard to expect them to step out in faith to trust God if Come&Live! isn't doing the same. We follow-through by praying with and for the artists, holding them accountable, encouraging them, helping provide for basic needs without any idea of "recoupment". We'll also be looking to host annual or bi-annual retreats called "Come&Die!" where artists can come together to be fed and strengthened in their faith. We are also challenging them to ensure they have a solid local church that helps provide accountability and added support. The global church is called to work together so we hope to start seeing local bodies (or members of) coming out to shows, praying with our bands, taking them out to eat, bringing them an encouraging book, etc.

6. What are some specific examples of how you have seen God provide as you have stepped out into this calling?

First and foremost has been the faith He has placed within me to believe that He will accomplish the impossible. I'm not a great businessman, I'm not a gifted entrepreneur, but I believe in a God who can do anything He pleases and He loves to receive the glory for His work. Without a doubt Jesus has given me a peace that He is with me every step of the way. I feel that I have so much more to gain if this works than what I have to lose. At the most, my losses will include a career in the music business, a home, my pride, and material possessions. I would drop those a hundred times over if God would only put me to work in helping others live more committed to Him. God has brought me six awesome people to help carry the load, he's also brought me incredible bands, and wonderfully encouraging friends and family.

7. Tell me about the "eco-friendly" portion of your vision (you said on the phone "eco friendly and beautifully packaged").

We plan to only use recycled cardboard and no plastic. I personally have always loved creative packaging and don't feel like there's any room for us, as Christians, to further waste material that we don't have to. We're pretty good at being wasteful, as it is.

Fight Fire With Fire

2009-02-12T08:48:00.004-06:00

A few days ago I was talking to my wife about how hard it is to see God's plan clearly sometimes. How easy it is to get off track when we're looking at all the negatives and not seeking out the positives. She said "Why don't you fight fire with fire"? I asked her what she meant and her response really hit me. It was one of those times when you know it's exactly what you need to hear and truth hits you like a ton of bricks. What she meant was that I should be praising and thanking God for everything He's done for me, especially in those times when my natural reaction would be the complete opposite. I've been meaning to write down my thoughts ever since that conversation and it's taken me a little longer then what I had hoped but it proves the power of God's ability to use others to speak His reality into us. That conversation has stuck with me and comes back to me multiple times through-out the day.

Is it just me or would you agree that things here in the states are growing increasingly bleak? The prevailing news coverage focusing us on the downturn of our economy, including sinking real estate prices, job-losses, bank closures, and a shrinking Wall Street, really makes me wonder where things are headed. At the least, it's not a time to look at the future with great optimism. Consider the people around you (or likely just look in the mirror) who are struggling financially, who are sick or have some other need and it's almost enough to start questioning whether God even cares or if He really exists at all. We aren't the first people on earth to feel this way. The Philippians must have felt this way thousands of years ago considering what Paul wrote to them:

Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. (Phil. 2: 1-4)

Again in chapter 4 he says:

Rejoice in the Lord ALWAYS. Again I will say, rejoice!
Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand.
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. (Phil. 4: 4-7)

Regardless of how we feel, we are never alone in our feelings. We are never asked to walk down the long roads of life without supernatural support. Jesus was not only tempted as we are but faced stronger opposition and heavier burdens than we ever will:

Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4: 11-13)

What amazing encouragement it is to take our sights off the burden that is not even meant to be carried by us. Instead of giving in to the realities around us, we should have no choice but to instantly run to God and say "You are bigger!", "Nothing is Impossible with you!", I "Rejoice!", even if my world feels like it is disintegrating into nothingness. Jesus knows our burdens, and loves to enable us with supernatural power to bear them with gentleness. How much heavenly refreshing takes place when we're able to start trusting God in the face of every opposition. If you feel completely stuck and unable to move forward, then confess your sin of doubting God's greatness and ask Him to do the impossible in you. Come boldly before the throne, inviting Him to give you faith to run the race with perseverance. Get around people who are running the same race and pray God enables you to fight well. There is no better strategy of Fighting the Fires around you then with the Fire of God. Rejoice, Praise, Worship, Give Thanks, Exalt, and Glorify Jesus through the hardest of times and watch how quickly He comes to your rescue.

Resist the Devil (and temptation) and he (they) will flee.

He Who Forms All Things

2009-02-02T08:52:00.004-06:00

Is the work of our hands bringing glory to the Maker of heaven and earth (and everything in between), or is it simply foolishness in the eyes of the great and powerful voice? Is The Lord forming all things in your life or are you working overtime to do the forming?

It's questions like these that might drastically change your course for the rest of your life. It has for mine. When I first began to feel God nudging my heart with these kind of questions I had no idea why it mattered or what direction they would lead me towards. I'm still very early on in this new "work", but the one thing I know in all confidence is that it's not my hands that are accomplishing any of it. That, unlike everything I've learned in music business, this new venture has nothing to do with my ability and everything to do with God's purpose. As much as I may still do everything I can "to the best of my ability" I know that without God's divine leading, I'm just building something that is void of life or breath. The warning in Jeremiah is one that each of us should prayerfully consider. It's a warning that was issued to Israel and it's just as relevant to us as it was to them. As you start your work week, ask the Lord of hosts if He is the one receiving glory from the works of your hand. Ask Him to place within you a passion to allow Him to do the work. To take the burden from your back and to allow Him to carry it. Don't be distracted by work that leads to a lack of knowledge, to shame, to falsehood, and in the end, to death.

The passage below talks about skilled workmen that spent all of their time essentially building and crafting wonderfully beautiful but utterly hopeless idols. Of course, I don't think any of us are in the "idol" business, or are we? If anything, the idols of our society and our generation don't resemble the idols of Jewish culture centuries ago. We still recognize those idols built of stone or wood but do we recognize idols built with plastic molds or held together by glue? Our definition of a modern day idol should be anything that we raise up higher than Christ himself. Anything that gets, holds, or attracts our attention more than Jesus does. So what might be an idol for one person isn't necessarily an idol for the next. But, in all of this, we either serve God or man. Let's press on together to serve God by inviting him to root out any possible idols in our lives. Anything that, even unknowingly to us, sits enthroned higher than our Lord and Savior.

It's God's heart that we would put our hands to the plow, to the fishing net, to the harvesting field; to use our time, energy, and resources for the furthering of God's Kingdom. Where our treasure is, there our heart will be also! What occupies your thoughts through-out the day? Is it Jesus and the work He is doing in your life or the lives of others? Is it a burden for those who don't know God? Is it a call to pray for those afflicted or suffering? Or is your time occupied by a next purchase, a new this or a new that? Evaluate your heart and ask God to show you anything that you might be placing too much time or emphasis on. Every material possession we have will end up rusted out, damaged and destroyed. Let's move towards those things (like the people around us) that we can invest in for all eternity!

So, God, please make Jesus our every treasure and remove any idol that is creeping up in our lives - aiming to dethrone the only reality that we need. Put us to work the way you put your apostles and disciples to work. Give us everything we need to please you wherever and however we spend our time working. Empower us with the Holy Spirit and Fire to preach the Gospel with Boldness and to preach it with hearts overflowing with genuine love for God and neighbor.

(Jeremiah 10: 11-16, ESV)

Thus shall you say to them: "The gods who did not make the heavens and the earth shall perish from the earth and from under the heavens."

It is he who made the earth by his power,
who established the world by his wisdom,
and by his understanding stretched out the heavens.
When he utters his voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens,
and he makes the mist rise from the ends of the earth.
He makes lightning for the rain,
and he brings forth the wind from his storehouses.
Every man is stupid and without knowledge;
every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols,
for his images are false,
and there is no breath in them.
They are worthless, a work of delusion;
at the time of their punishment they shall perish.
Not like these is he who is the portion of Jacob,
for he is the one who formed all things,
and Israel is the tribe of his inheritance;
the LORD of hosts is His name.

(Jeremiah 9: 23 & 24, NKJV)

Thus says the Lord: "Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, let not the mighty man glory in his might. Nor let the rich man glory in his riches; but let him glories glory in this, that he UNDERSTANDS and KNOWS Me, That I AM the Lord, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight," says the Lord.

* "Thirst" art piece by Karol Kolodzinski

Take no thought for your life.

2009-01-30T09:38:00.003-06:00

Matthew 6:25.

Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?

"A warning which needs to be reiterated is that the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the lust of other things entering in, will choke all that God puts in. We are never free from the recurring tides of this encroachment. If it does not come on the line of clothes and food, it will come on the line of money or lack of money; of friends or lack of friends; or on the line of difficult circumstances. It is one steady encroachment all the time, and unless we allow the Spirit of God to raise up the standard against it, these things will come in like a flood. “Take no thought for your life.” ‘Be careful about one thing only,’ says our Lord—‘your relationship to Me.’ Common sense shouts loud and says—‘That is absurd, I must consider how I am going to live, I must consider what I am going to eat and drink.’ Jesus says you must not. Beware of allowing the thought that this statement is made by One who does not understand our particular circumstances. Jesus Christ knows our circumstances better than we do, and He says we must not think about these things so as to make them the one concern of our life. Whenever there is competition, be sure that you put your relationship to God first."

One of my friends sent me this and I felt it was extremely challenging/appropriate and a great reminder of just how much the Gospel flies in the face of all logic and common-sense. I hope it encourages you.

* The image above was taken at a dump in the Dominican Republic outside of an extremely wealthy resort area. All of the local resorts would dump their trash and numerous families lived off the leftovers. This boy was no older than 8 or 9 and was digging through the dump to find anything he could sell or trade.

King of Glory

2009-01-20T15:35:00.004-06:00

If this God we claim to believe in is truly the "King of Glory", then He chose to manifest His glory in some of the most unbelievable of places. I'm spending a week with Compassion International in Rwanda, Africa. I'm sharing some ideas with them on how to start being more effective at reaching a youth culture. Their work is unbelievable and undeniable. Almost 90% of every dollar donated reaches the life of a child in desperate need of it. They use that money to enable the local churches to provide proper care for the kids, from birth through high-school and sometimes college. This is my second trip with Compassion (Dominican Republic in July of last year was the first). It's a complete God connection that I'm even here, but that's how He works. I didn't make a phone call to the right person, submit my resume, etc. He just opened the door. Read more about Compassion at http://www.Compassion.com. If we choose to really TRUST God, we should come to expect this kind of door opening action in our lives. I'm convinced that the reason we see so little of the miraculous is that we allow God so little room to prove Himself.

I believe God can do anything and that nothing is Impossible for Him. He can heal us miraculously on the spot from cancer (or anything else), He can speak to us through dreams, visions, prophecy, etc. He can save the souls of entirely undeserving humans, especially when those humans have stooped so low that in four months they brutally wipe-out 1 Million fellow country-men. What's even crazier is that Rwanda was a 95% "Christian" country. That's what happened here in Rwanda back in 1994. If you haven't seen "Hotel Rwanda" or read a book on the Genocide here, you should at the very least read up on it at Wikipedia. It's absolutely stunning the level of inhumane brutality. No one was sparred the unbelievable killing spree that left One Million "Tutsi's" dead and many more raped (many by HIV positive men), scarred, and orphaned. I visited a Compassion project with 280 children in it this past Saturday. Over 40 of them were orphans due to the Genocide, and that was 15 years ago.

Without a doubt, the greatest miracle I've witnessed so far in my life is that of a country rebuilt after the kind of devastating blow it received. You would never have guessed that the Genocide of spring 1994 ever took place save for the memorials and all the Rwandan's that could tell you about it. I met two of those survivors tonight. Compassion runs a program called LDP (Leadership Development) and it provides higher education for bright youth graduating out of the Child Sponsorship Program. I heard testimonies of two of those kids. First of all, they're incredibly bright. Unbelievably smart and full of heart. They're dreams are to be doctors, pastors, managers, etc. - all going back into their community to share love with those they grew up with.

In one of these cases, the child was only 9 years old when the Genocide hit. He was displaced from his family and wasn't reunited with them until he was 14. He lived with his aunt (his uncle had also been killed). He shared how much Jesus had protected him and taken care of him even after having lost his parents for so long (they fled the country and made it back years later. Two years after they returned both parents died from a heart disease). This kid had a genuine smile on his face and was so thankful for what Jesus and Compassion had done for him. Unbelievable. How spoiled our culture is and how much we need to meet kids like these to remind us that the words of the prophet Jeremiah still ring so true: "I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope." (Jeremiah 29:11)

It's late here and I have another full day tomorrow but I hope to post more soon about my trip and what God has been teaching me.

Bless God.

Repairers of the Breach

2009-01-11T16:51:00.005-06:00

Is this not the fast that I have chosen:

To loose the bonds of wickedness,
To undo the heavy burdens,
To let the oppressed go free,
And that you break every yoke?
Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,
And that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out;
When you see the naked, that you cover him,
And not hide yourself from your own flesh?
Then your light shall break forth like the morning,
Your healing shall spring forth speedily,
And your righteousness shall go before you;
The glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.
Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer;
You shall cry, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’

“If you take away the yoke from your midst,
The pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,
If you extend your soul to the hungry
And satisfy the afflicted soul,
Then your light shall dawn in the darkness,
And your darkness shall be as the noonday.
The LORD will guide you continually,
And satisfy your soul in drought,
And strengthen your bones;
You shall be like a watered garden,
And like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.
Those from among you
Shall build the old waste places;
You shall raise up the foundations of many generations;
And you shall be called the Repairer of the Breach,
The Restorer of Streets to Dwell In.
“If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath,
From doing your pleasure on My holy day,
And call the Sabbath a delight,
The holy day of the LORD honorable,
And shall honor Him, not doing your own ways,
Nor finding your own pleasure,
Nor speaking your own words,
Then you shall delight yourself in the LORD;
And I will cause you to ride on the high hills of the earth,
And feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father.
The mouth of the LORD has spoken.”

Isaiah 58: 6-14 (NKJV)

This is the fasted life that brings true Honor to the Lord. Previously in this passage the Lord is rebuking Israel for putting on the appearance of a fast but then living out the opposite and wondering why God would not answer them. If we seek an answer from God, we should probably start inspecting our walk with Him to be sure we are living in a way that pleases Him. Don't forget that the yoke is light and the burden is easy and that God promises to be our rear guard. If you don't understand the meaning of the rear guard, then consider the Israelites in Exodus 14 that had been freed from Egypt just to be consumed by Pharoah and his army in front of the Red Sea. What God did was buy them time, and then set them free. He literally was their rear guard by bringing darkness to Israel's enemy and bright light to them. The same promise applies to each of us. I think it's easy, at least for me, to forget this promise. But God always sets us up to learn greater trust and dependency on Him. Taking us to the very precipice of disaster, just to come in at the last possible moment and deliver us. I don't know about you, but I want to know this God of the Israelites. He seems quite different from what I've seen and experienced growing up.

What leaps out to me from this passage is the section about raising up the foundation of many generations and that, if we choose to live this fasted life to the Lord, we will be called Repairers of the Breach. I'm certainly no theologian or scholar but the first thought that comes to mind is that Christ is the true Restorer and Repairer. I did a little research on this "Repairers of the Breach" phrase and here's something interesting I found: "to repel the enemy, which would be the act of the bravest soldiers, who would expose their lives to most imminent peril." In other words, the Breach is where the enemy has gained ground into the wall surrounding the city. Repairing the breach would imply removing the enemy from within, and then rebuilding the wall (see Nehemiah for a detailed look on wall building).

I'm honestly not entirely sure what this means for us, but I know it's highly significant. Jesus, would you make us all Repairers of what's been broken and stolen from your church. Keep our eyes on you, give us supernatural strength to overcome the enemy. We have no plan apart from your deliverance. Strengthen our weak hands and feeble knees.

Doubt: the great enemy of Faith

2009-01-04T20:14:00.004-06:00

My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.(James 1: 2-8)

Tonight is a weird night. I can't say I've ever experienced anything like it before. In reality, though, the last few months have been strange months. The best way I can describe what my life has been in the last few months is in saying that God has been preparing me to set sail on a new and different course. A journey that is already taking me to far-off lands (Africa) and one of which I won't know the outcome, or even begin to sail without taking a big step of faith to believe that God will be my guide. As most of you probably know, this is a step that's required me to quit my job (and not submit a single resume or even look for a job replacement) and just trust the Lord to look out for me and the family. As crazy as the idea first seemed to me, it's actually been extremely liberating. To force yourself into dependency on God is the best way of saying, "I surrender". I've given up. I don't want a thing apart from God's perfect will. That doesn't mean I don't have huge expectations for what God will do. I see time and time again in Scripture where the Lord honors a genuine effort to rely on Him alone and always exceeds our expectations.

The reason tonight feels so strange is because tomorrow is my final day working for Tooth & Nail. I've anticipated this day but it came all too soon. When I began working for them nearly 7 years ago I had no real idea as to how long God would keep me there. I always told my boss that he should never fear losing me to the competition but rather to God's will. That when Christ called me into ministry, I wasn't going to hesitate. But even so, I feel under-prepared and like I need to be doing something more. In reality, God's been teaching me that the best thing I can do is just to be still. It's the same thing Moses told the Isrealites when they were faced with a much greater challenge than mine. “Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which He will accomplish for you today....The LORD will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.” (Exodus 14 - 13&14)

This past week has been what I would consider the last ditch effort of the enemy to try and convince me that I'm really crazy and speaking lies to me like "do you really believe God cares enough to catch you?" or "do you really think God is real?". Lies that I would never believe when my heart is full of faith. But in a moment of weakness, I started buying into the deception and suffered some serious heartache because of it. I've never really had a problem trusting in God or believing that He can do anything but the enemy was making this personal and his timing was superb. I have felt much like Peter, who stepped out on the water fully trusting in Jesus until he took his eyes off Him. Jesus' response was "You of little faith, why did you doubt?". Thankfully God pulled me out of the mess as I confessed my unbelief and asked God to keep me believing.

Jesus, would you please take any remaining doubt in any of our hearts, attach a brick to it and throw it into the deepest stretch of the sea? Would you get us as far away from the greatest hindrance to our faith and fill our voids with your life-breathing ability to break through. Please forgive our doubt and fill our cups to overflowing with faith. We need you. We can't go it alone. I can't go it alone. Teach us to follow your example regardless of how that might look. Thank you for your mercy.

Since this summer, My heart's prayer over this generation of youth has been one word, repeated. "Revive, Revive, Revive, Revive, Revive................!". So, if you're willing, please join me whenever you think about it to ask the Lord to bring forth a hunger and desperation in this generation that would revive the dead and wake the slumbering.

Christ be exalted above all else in each of our lives.

When the Enemy Comes In Like a Flood

2008-12-25T11:20:00.003-06:00

When we've been hit by the floods of the enemy, there's something that will cause the Spirit of the Lord to come against those floods in swift defeat. The Confession given by the remnant of Israel here in Isaiah 59 is all too appropriate for each one of us, esp. when we're overwhelmed by darkness. First off, there's a genuineness in their confession. You know they mean it. I wonder how often we try to fool God with a quality impersonation of true repentance. I know I'm guilty, anyway. Those times when I don't really want to deal with my sin and issues. Sometimes - thankfully not anytime recently - it's taken the Spirit of God to viciously remind me of how far I've fallen and just how desperate my condition really is. Once I'm serious about confession, though, everything changes. It's like the light illuminates every ounce of my darkened heart to reveal the weighty redemption of Christ. Redemption that so quickly soaks up, like a sponge, my deep regret and heart of error.

The beauty of true confession is that it always comes with two very distinct and supernatural works. The first is that it redeems us to our Father through the forgiveness of the Son. Confession prompts the heart of God to take pity on His kids and puts into practice the power of the cross. Secondly, it Heals us. It restores us to a place of worship, experience, understanding, and softness of spirit in such a way that we're once again set free in liberty. I'm such a proponent of true confession. I've seen it so powerfully at work in my own life but also in the lives of so many others.

I have no idea why this passage in Isaiah came to me again today, on Christmas Day, other than maybe the appropriate reminder it is to each of us that without the gift of Christ, none of us would even have an ounce of hope. Through confession and repentance, we have not only hope for our own lives but hope for a brilliantly bright future. Merry Christmas!

Isaiah 59: 9-21

Therefore justice is far from us,
Nor does righteousness overtake us;
We look for light, but there is darkness!
For brightness, but we walk in blackness!
We grope for the wall like the blind,
And we grope as if we had no eyes;
We stumble at noonday as at twilight;
We are as dead men in desolate places.
We all growl like bears,
And moan sadly like doves;
We look for justice, but there is none;
For salvation, but it is far from us.
For our transgressions are multiplied before You,
And our sins testify against us;
For our transgressions are with us,
And as for our iniquities, we know them:
In transgressing and lying against the LORD,
And departing from our God,
Speaking oppression and revolt,
Conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood.
Justice is turned back,
And righteousness stands afar off;
For truth is fallen in the street,
And equity cannot enter.
So truth fails,
And he who departs from evil makes himself a prey.

(Note: This is a frightful but great reminder that when you turn away from evil, and confess your sins, you should expect an attack. There's also a great promise in Isaiah 59:19 below).

The Redeemer of Zion
Then the LORD saw it, and it displeased Him
That there was no justice.
He saw that there was no man,
And wondered that there was no intercessor;
(God, would you raise us up to be both true man and intercessor?)
Therefore His own arm brought salvation for Him;
And His own righteousness, it sustained Him.
For He put on righteousness as a breastplate,
And a helmet of salvation on His head;
He put on the garments of vengeance for clothing,
And was clad with zeal as a cloak.
According to their deeds, accordingly He will repay,
Fury to His adversaries, Recompense to His enemies;
The coast lands He will fully repay.
So shall they fear
The name of the LORD from the west,
And His glory from the rising of the sun;
When the enemy comes in like a flood,
The Spirit of the LORD will lift up a standard against him.

(Note: This "lifting up of the standard" is also translated as "To put to flight" or "to drive out hastily". After doing a little research I found a commentary that suggested the idea here was the high rushing waters coming down a narrow river canyon, wiping out everything in it's path and rushing towards you. God, in His power, simply stands with you and breathes out towards the oncoming waters. They instantly are forced to retreat back up the mountain from which they came. Amazing)

“The Redeemer will come to Zion,
And to those who turn from transgression in Jacob,”
Says the LORD.

“As for Me,” says the LORD, “this is My covenant with them: My Spirit who is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth, shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your descendants, nor from the mouth of your descendants’ descendants,” says the LORD, “from this time and forevermore.”

So, two things that are with us always and forever. The SPIRIT of the Lord and the words (or Word) of God. My prayer lately has been: "Jesus, I request more of the Spirit and more from your Word, regardless of the cost". It's been a dangerous prayer but i wouldn't change it for the world. Come in your power, Almighty Spirit of God!

The Riches of Jesus

2008-12-19T07:04:00.004-06:00

"Though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor" (2 Corinthians 8:9)

The poorest man that ever walked the dirt roads of earth! Born in poverty, reared in obscurity, yet He enriched all mankind! For twenty years He worked as a carpenter in that village which bore the scorn of men: "Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?"

As far as we know He never possessed the value of one penny. In the wilderness without food, by Jacob's well without water, in the crowded city without a home-thus He lived, and loved and died!

"The foxes find rest, and the birds have their nests in the shade of the forest tree, But they couch was the sod, O Thou Son of God, in the desert of Galilee."

He preached without price, and wrought miracles without money. His parish was the world. He sought breakfast from a leafing fig tree. He ate grain as He walked through the fields of corn. Without money, did I say? He sent Peter to the sea for the fish that they might have money for the tax! He had no cornfields or fisheries, yet He could spread a table for five thousand and have bread and fish to spare! No beautiful carpets to walk on, yet the waters supported Him!

So poor was He that He needed bear His own cross through the city, till fainting He fell. His value was thirty pieces of silver-the price of a slave, the lowest estimate of human life. But, on God's side, no lower price than His infinite agony could have made possible our Redemption! When He died, few men mourned; but a black crepe was hung over the sun. His crucifixion was the crime of crimes! It was not merely human blood that was spilled on Calvary's Hill!

- Chas. E. Cowman (Springs in the Valley, 1939)

He did not have a house where He could go when it was night - when other men went down small streets where children watched with eager eyes, each one assured of shelter in the town. The Christ sought refuge anywhere at all: A house, an inn, the roadside, or a stall! He borrowed the boat in which He rode that day. He talked to throngs along the Eastern lake; It was a rented room to which He called the chosen twelve the night he bade them break the loaf with Him, and He rode, unafraid, another's colt in that triumph-parade. A man from Arimathea had a tomb, where Christ was placed when nails had done their deed. Not ever in the crowded days He knew, Did He have coins to satisfy a need.

They should not matter, these small things I crave.
Make me forget them, Father, and be brave!

- The Transient by Helen Welshimer

I'll pose the question: if the greatest example of generosity relied fully on His father to provide for his every need (even when it seems He went without), how dare we expect a life of comfort & plenty? In a world loaded up with selfishness and greed, God help us to live generously!

(Photo: three boys in the hood - taken at a sugar plantation in the Dominican Republic this past summer with Compassion. These were my boys!)

File Under: Mind Blowing

2008-12-16T11:31:00.003-06:00

My friend sent this over to me today and it def. blew my mind, hope it does the same for you.

It's taken from the book that every believer should read; "My Utmost For His Highest" by Oswald Chambers.

You must learn to wrestle against the things that hinder your communication with God, and wrestle in prayer for other people; but to wrestle with God in prayer is unscriptural. If you ever do wrestle with God, you will be crippled for the rest of your life. If you grab hold of God and wrestle with Him, as Jacob did, simply because He is working in a way that doesn't meet with your approval, you force Him to put you out of joint (Genesis 32:24-25). Don't become a cripple by wrestling with the ways of God, but be someone who wrestles before God with the things of this world, because "we are more than conquerors through Him..." (Romans 8:37). Wrestling before God makes an impact in His kingdom. If you ask me to pray for you, and I am not complete in Christ, my prayer accomplishes nothing. But if I am complete in Christ, my payer brings victory all the time. Prayer is effective only when there is completeness --"take up the whole armor of God..."

Always make a distinction between God's perfect will and His permissive will, which He uses to accomplish His divine purpose for our lives. God's perfect will is unchangeable. It is with His permissive will, or the various things that He allows into our lives, that we must wrestle before Him. It is our reaction to these things allowed by His permissive will that enables us to come to the point of seeing His perfect will for us. "we know that all things work together for good to those who love God..." (Romans8:28) - to those who remain true to God's perfect will...His calling in Christ Jesus. God's permissive will is the testing He uses to reveal His true sons and daughters. We should not be spineless and automatically say, "Yes, its is the Lord's will." We don't have to fight or wrestle with God, but we must wrestle before God with things. Beware of lazily giving up. Instead, put up a glorious fight and you will find yourself empowered with His strength. - Oswald Chambers, "My Utmost For His Highest" Dec. 16.

Sailing the Seas by Faith

2008-12-10T09:33:00.005-06:00

"For We Walk By Faith, Not By Sight" - (2 Corinthians 5:7)

Faith is taking God at His word. Faith is not belief without evidence. It is belief on the very best of evidence - the Word of Him "that cannot lie" (Titus 1:2). Faith is so rational that is asks no other evidence than this all-sufficient evidence. To ask other than the Word of Him who cannot lie is not rationalism, but consummate irrationalism - Dr. R.A. Torrey

When we can see, it is not faith but reasoning. Look at the faith of the master mariner! He looses his cable, he steams away from the land. For days, weeks, or even months, he sees neither sail nor shore; yet on he goes day and night without fear, till one morning he finds himself exactly opposite the desired haven toward which he had been steering. How has he found his way over the trackless deep? He has trusted in his compass, his nautical almanac, his glass, and the heavenly bodies; and obeying their guidance, without sighting land, he has steered so accurately that he has not changed a point to enter port.

It is a wonderful thing - that sailing or steaming without sight. Spiritually it is a blessed thing to leave altogether the shores of sight and feeling; to say "Good-bye" to inward feelings, cheering providences, signs, tokens, and so forth. It is glorious to be far out on the ocean of Divine love, believing in God, and steering for Heaven straight away, by the direction of the Word of God (and the instruction of the Holy Spirit - cj's note).

- Charles Spurgeon

Faith is the evidence

2008-12-02T07:24:00.005-06:00

....of things not seen (and the substance of things hoped for). - Hebrews 11:1

This image is riveting. The vulture appears to just be patiently waiting for the minute that this child lets go so of life in eager anticipation of swooping in on an easy meal. It's eerily similar to how I've been feeling over the last few days. A sense of darkness has permeated my world. I told my wife a couple of days ago that I felt as though the enemy was making every move he could to steal, kill and destroy my faith. God's enabled me with incredible faith to believe Him for the impossible as I step out into a deeper calling, but lately I've found it more of a challenge to cling to His promises.

Last night my 3 year old woke up in the middle of the night complaining of knee and stomach pain. We prayed the Lord would heal him and about 30 minutes later put him back in bed. He slept through the night and woke up feeling fine. Thank you, Jesus. I found it hard to fall back asleep once we had put him back down and spent nearly an hour just praying. On several occasions I felt a clear presence trying to make it's way in. Like a black veil being gently tossed down on me from behind. I prayed fervently against whatever was trying to come against me. Now that I think about it, I had even asked that some friends at our church pray over us as I felt we were going to experience a spiritual attack this week. There is so much I can't explain but one thing I can is that wherever the Lord is leading me, the devil seems eager to interfere. One of my favorite passages is 1 John 4:18 - Perfect love casts out fear. It's amazing how praying the name of Jesus will instantly cast fear out of my spirit and cause His enemy to cower. Such power is in the Name that I doubt we'll ever fully realize until we're home. All that to say that I awoke this morning feeling really sleepy but entirely refreshed and renewed.

My encouragement to any of you that may be going through something similar in terms of stepping in faith even when you're not seeing the end result is to cling to the promises of His word and to pray Jesus over any attempts of the darkness trying to steal your faith and your joy. Be reminded that "without faith it is IMPOSSIBLE to please God, for he who comes to God must believe that He IS, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him" (Hebrews 4:6)

By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they were encircled for seven days. By faith the harlot Rahab did not perish with those who did not believe, when she had received the spies with peace. And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets: who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. Women received their dead raised to life again.
Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented—of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth. And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us. - Hebrews 11: 30-40

Live by Faith!

ThanksGiving

2008-11-24T09:53:00.005-06:00

We are nearing that time of year when everything goes completely schizophrenic around us and we are somehow drawn into certain chaos. Traffic gets crazier, retailers are desperately clinging to the hope that God will perform the miracle of transforming red ink to black. Starbucks is banking on the fact that all things cinnamon and spice will draw you in. Moms are busying themselves with Turkey dinners and stuffing, dads are hanging lights and inflatable snowmen, and kids can't stop telling you what they want for Christmas. Our lives begin moving at such an increased pace that we rarely have time to just sit down and soak it all in. I'm writing this to remind each of us that if there's ever been a time to stop and savor the moment, that time is now.

"Let us come before (or into) His presence with THANKSGIVING; let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms. For the Lord is the great God, and the great King above all gods. In His hand are the deep places of the earth; the heights of the hills are His also. The sea is His, for He made it; And His hands formed the dry land. Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord our Maker. For He IS our God, and we are the people of His pasture, and the sheep of His hand. Today, if you will hear His voice: Do not harden your hearts, as in the rebellion." - Psalm 95: 2-8

What I mean by "savoring" or "soaking it in" is by literally making the time to come into the very presence of God almighty. That, as His children, we are not only afforded but offered the right to enter into that heavenly presence. So, as you are going about the insanity of the next few days and weeks, take extra time to consider the God you believe in and have trusted your life to. The same God that made the seas, the mountains and all the earth is the God that welcomes you into His presence. Into the deepest of all depths. I'd even go so far as to say that this passage invites you to take a step further. Rather than just sit on the couch (or in your bed) to talk to the God of the universe, get on your knees. "Submit yourselves to God". Kneel before the Lord your Maker and invite His presence to consume you. Pray that you would hear His voice clearly and that He would enable you with His grace to obey. Pray against the natural tendency of a hardened heart. Pray that you would not withhold your heart against God or against anyone in your life that may have wronged you or vice-versa. Now is the time to go to those people that you may have harbored bitterness towards and ask their forgiveness. Come clean and then as you come into God's presence your heart won't be burdened by the weight of your sinfulness. Invite God to do a work in the last 5 weeks of this year that would radically change the outlook of your life as long as you live. Big things are happening in the world around us and the days are getting shorter. Pray that God would reveal His good and perfect will for your life and that you would have the God-given desire to walk it out.

This is where I am at right now. With every day that goes by in 2008 I realize that I'm that much closer to finishing my time with Tooth & Nail. I'm about to be stepping more fully into the promises of God's provision and calling over my life. Potentially hazardous times lay waiting ahead but there's nothing that can replace the joy in my spirit and the increased faith in my heart to do what God has called me to. We can't even step out in faith without first being caught up in the very Presence of God and then being transformed by it. Let's make God's presence our first stop this Holiday season. Nothing else will suffice and as the world seemingly spins out of control around us, we'll be established by the deep root of God's love for us.

Hands Dirty

2008-11-20T08:00:00.002-06:00

This week I saw a news article on CNN.com and headline read "Catholic Church calls For Catholics to repent for voting for Obama." I was so blown away by this. Repent for voting? How confused are we as a body of believers that we really feel as though our vote is so important that it has eternal consequence tied to it? Every Presidential election to which I have paid any attention has consisted of candidates who have campaigned on the back of "moral topics." For Example: How many decades will the republicans campaign against abortion and the democrats campaign for it? How many decades will nothing change?

All of this has made me think about whether or not we really think that voting is all we have to do as believers? The church is obviously saying that there are eternal implications tied to our vote and we all become moral activists when it comes to voting. How does this happen? Do we, as the body of Christ, really believe that our vote is the end all, be all, expression of our allegiance to Jesus? My pastor phrased it in a much more convicting way this past Sunday. He said, and I'm paraphrasing here, "an overwhelming amount of Christians will vote for a republican because said candidate opposes Abortion. But how many of those voting Christians would actually do more than just talk, vote, etc and actually do something about it?" It's really easy to vote for the guy that opposes abortion and it's really easy to protest outside of abortion clinics but what if we all gave those girls considering an abortion an option? What if we said "I hate abortion, and I hate that you are in this position, don't kill your baby, I'll adopt it."

You see, I don't think that Christians are really willing to get their hands dirty. I think we all talk a GREAT talk but we definitely don't walk that walk and we DEFINITELY do not take that cross with us. I'm one of them! Shane Claiborne said it best in his book "Irresistible Revolution" when talking about the wealthy in America. He said that most wealthy Christian people don't know how to help the poor. They don't understand poverty. They definitely do not want to get in the trenches and tear down walls and make connections and invest in the poor and destitute and this is why we have The Salvation Army and Goodwill and Soup Kitchens, Shelters, etc. The wealthy can write a check, send some clothes and food and that is ample care. Shane then goes on to say that when we get to heaven, he doesn't imagine Jesus will say, "when I was hungry, you gave food to the pantry to feed me. When I needed clothes, you sent them to the salvation army so they could clothe me. When I need a place to sleep you wrote a check to the local shelter so they could house me."

So how do we live intentionally? I think abortion is murder, but will I adopt a child? I think poverty, homelessness, starvation, etc are all atrocities but will I commit to redistributing wealth, will I live simply, will I open my home to house someone? Will I invest in another life and make sure their most basic needs are met? It's a tough thing picking up my cross. In fact, most days I would like to leave it in the garage. So how do we do it? I want to start doing it. - Mark LaFay (mark@middlecoastmanagement.com)

Moving Forward

2008-11-11T19:46:00.003-06:00

Hey Everyone,

I've spent over 6 years working with Tooth & Nail and it's been one of the greatest experiences of my life. I've met so many wonderful people that I never would have met otherwise. I've had so many stellar opportunities afforded me. One of the best was without a doubt just the opportunity to serve as an A&R guy. When I sold Takehold Records to T&N I had no idea that I'd end up honing in on A&R. All in all, I believe I've worked with some of the best bands in this business. Over the course of nearly 10 years that list has grown to include over 50 artists and more records than I care to count.

I've always been a firm believer that God's will is PERFECT and He doesn't even have the capacity to mess it up. I, on the other-hand, was in a hole up to my neck when Brandon first showed interest in purchasing the deeply debt-laden Takehold Records. My wife and I had literally been praying that God would bring a miracle. Never would I have guessed that it would come in the shape of a one-liner email that just posed the question "How much would you sell your company for?". Had you been there to see the reaction on my face it would have reminded you of the cartoon character who's eyes just turned to green dollar signs. I was ecstatic. In the end, between three deals struck with T&N, Hopeless and Century Media I was able to pay off my $114K worth of accumulated debt and start anew in Seattle. That was in the spring of 2002. It was snowing when we arrived, but it was a fresh start.

The time has come for me to part ways with Tooth & Nail Records, and at least on a business level, with each of you. It's with a heavy heart that I type this as I'd rather just pick up the phone and express my heart to each one of you individually. Reality is that I'm greatly outnumbered. It's 1 against hundreds. Some of you I've known for well over ten years now. Others I've just begun to discover a relationship with. I consider all of you my friends and a storm of amazing memories flood my mind when I consider the last few years of my life in Seattle. I can think back of snowboarding with the mewithoutYou brothers where Rickie was sacked out for hours with the stomach flu while we enjoyed one of the best days of our lives high in the Cascades. "What if you don't know what the word Traverse means" is what Aaron asked the ski-attendant as we arrived at the Double Black-diamond peak. Her response was "you should not be here!". Little did she know. We came and we conquered, well...sort of. Without a doubt one of my fondest memories was the time that Underoath was going through some personal difficulties and Aaron Gillespie suggested we rent a Pontoon boat and spend the day out on the warm Florida waters. We nearly sunk the boat and the band will never let me live down the fact that I literally dove off the boat as the bow started plunging in the water. I swear it was momentum, dudes!!!
Or I can think of the first time I saw Anberlin play (they were still SAGOH 24-7 at that point). I felt they were so bad that I called Brandon and told him we should not sign them. Thankfully, he ignored me. The phone-calls that I've received over the years of bands deciding it was their own time to call the band quits. Those were never easy conversations. The time that Josh Scogin informed all of Furnace Fest that he was leaving Norma Jean, one would have thought the world had just ended. So many memories. Mostly very fond ones. A few that will remain unmentioned but what a wild ride to be a kid, facing bankruptcy, living in the dirty south, that was given the chance of a life-time. It was a true privilege to work alongside all the wonderful Tooth & Nail staffers and every one of the bands that I've tried to help.

I chose to walk out of T&N's doors, not out of a spirit of bitterness, anger, resentfulness or of a hardened heart, but because I've felt God's call so clearly on my life to move into a full-time Ministry role. I was afforded many amazing opportunities to share and live my faith as an A&R guy but most of my time was operating as a business man. Although God enabled me for the tasks at hand, I don't know that I was ever cut out to be much of a business man. I feel more like a simple peasant that's been blessed by God's favor than a savvy employee that always made the right calls. My heart just doesn't beat for conventional music business anymore. When I really started thinking about all of this, I discovered how passionately alive I was about helping others discover a deeper connection to Jesus. As it stands today, I really do not know what exactly God's will is going to look like for myself or my family's future. I do know that God has asked me to step out in the kind of faith that will either prove me the idiot of all idiots or prove God to be the great provider who is worthy of being trusted at all times (even when the economy is retreating and music business is turbulent, at best). In the Old Testament, the Israelites were not given the promise land without having to first walk into a raging river. It wasn't until the water was knee deep that the Lord pulled the water back for them to pass through. The waters I'm about to walk into might be allowed to reach my neck but I know that God has not, nor ever will, let any of us down when we chose to obey His call. If I were to do it all over again, I would have tried even harder to have reflected Jesus more brightly in everything I did. There were the early years at T&N where I was more focused on my pride and selfish flesh fulfillment then anything that would bring glory to God. It wasn't until 2005 that God really grabbed hold of my heart (or that I allowed Him to). Reading Piper's book "Don't Waste Your Life" was the beginning of the end for me. I'm learning to be a better friend, stronger husband, a devoted daddy and a more focused believer of the hope I've found in Jesus. I recognize that all of my life would be worthless had it not been for the obvious extension of grace offered me. The same grace is always extended to each of us. Not because of anything we've done but as the gift from God that surpasses a whole lifetime of presents found under any tree.

This is my act of surrender to follow God's will alone, with a purposeful commitment and an eager expectation of what is to come.

My final day at Tooth & Nail will be January 5th, 2009 and I will do my absolute best to end strong and cover any needs that will arise over the next few weeks. You should also know that T&N is working diligently to find the right replacement for me.

Thanks to everyone of you for allowing me to be a part of your lives, for trusting me with your business, for listening to my silly ideas, for just being friends.

I love you all so much and look forward to how our lives continue to intersect. My prayer is that God grows us all into the depth that pleases him most.

cj

John 15: 16 - You have not chosen me, I have chosen you. And appointed you to bear fruit - fruit that will last. Whatever you ask of the father in my name it will be given to you!

P.S. For the sake of my own nostalgia, here's a list that compiles each of the bands I've been completely blessed to have worked with over the years:

Takehold Records

1. The Backups
2. Withstand FTHC
3. Twothirtyeight
4. Underoath
5. Not Waving But Drowning
6. Few Left Standing
7. Stairwell
8. Hopesfall
9. The Operation
10. Tantrum Of the Muse
11. Sleeping By the Riverside
12. Chalice
13. Fable
14. My Spacecoaster
15. Carry The Dead
16. Narcissus
17. Further Seems Forever
18. Recess Theory
19. Through The Eyes of Katelyn

Tooth & Nail/Solid State Records

1. Anberlin
2. And Then There Were None
3. As Cities Burn
4. Dead Poetic
5. mewithoutYou
6. The Almost
7. Beloved
8. Watashi Wa
9. twothirtyeight
10. Spoken
11. Life In Your Way
12. The Chariot
13. He Is Legend
14. Showbread
15. Mae
16. Corey Crowder
17. Destroy The Runner
18. Haste The Day
19. Inhale Exhale
20. Ivoryline
21. Jonezetta
22. The Death Campaign
23. MYCHILDREN MYBRIDE
24. Oh, Sleeper
25. Further Seems Forever
26. Once Nothing
27. The Classic Crime
28. Sever Your Ties
29. Trenches
30. Discover America
31. Waking Ashland
32. Terminal
33. The Fighting Jacks
34. Sullivan
35. Secret & Whisper
36. The Glorious Unseen
37. The River Bends
38. Underoath

Down with the Dream!

2008-11-10T09:27:00.004-06:00

(Note: This is a post written by my friend Mark LaFay, who manages several artists and who God has redeemed from wasting time. In case you hadn't heard yesterday was the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted church. I'd strongly encourage you to bookmark http://www.persecution.com and read it at least once a week. It's humbling. I believe what Mark has written here is totally prophetic in terms of what we living in western or developed countries experience as "persecution" or "trials". God's been working overtime lately to allow us to see just how empty the American "dream" is. Just take a look at our economy and see where the dream is taking us. God give us the strength to endure such foolishness as is offered to us daily. I renounce a dream that is only available to a select few and not to all of our brothers & sisters through-out the world.)

Hey Guys, so I have not sent one of these in a LONG time. Sorry about that. I am going to try to get back on a regular schedule of doing these again.

So this Sunday at church we heard a lot about missions and our mission partners and our mission trip headed to India and at the heart of it all was a message about the persecuted Church. Persecution for following the way of Jesus. We heard some startling statistics regarding martyrdom, governmental oppression and more. Christians all over the world are still persecuted for their belief and the crazy thing is that the Word says that this is a blessing (Mathew 5:10).

This Sunday really brought forth some personal revelations. Here in the US and Canada we are very sheltered. We don't deal with persecution in the form of bodily harm or imprisonment. We live a part of the world that actually legislates "Christian Morality." In America, you can't be elected president unless you fly the banner of Christianity. We fight for things like keeping "In God We Trust" on our coins and paper notes.

During His time on earth, Jesus preached about the poor and the persecuted and the downcast because all they had nothing else than to trust in His good news. Mathew 5:11 "Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me." Jesus' way was and is so opposite to the way of the world that he knew persecution would come to those that took up his yoke. If persecution didn't come, then you probably weren't doing something right!

In modern North America there isn't that type of persecution. So does that mean we should sell everything and go move to the hood or be homeless and seek it out? I think not. I think though we do need to put aside the distractions and really listen for the Holy Spirit to guide. Jesus doesn't call us to be reckless but he does ask us to have a willing heart so that he can use us. I think in our lives, persecution comes in a completely different form. I think it looks like consumerism, capitalism, the American Dream. If we don't buy into it then we will miss out on something. If we don't fight to be the biggest fish then we will be swallowed whole. If we don't have the latest and the greatest in technology and amenities then we aren't good enough.

Persecution in OUR hometowns is complacency because our basic needs are covered by our jobs, insurance, etc. Why cry out for God and I mean REALLY cry out for God every day when we really have no need for Him? In a lot of ways I think we have replaced God with our own ability. I think Jesus is no longer our lifeline, he's our band-aid.

I'll end with this Scripture: 2 Cor 12:9-10

And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

And a few questions:

What are the distractions in my life? What things do I never give God credit for? How often do i rely on my own ability rather than trusting in the power of Jesus? Why is it so hard to believe that i am more precious than the flowers in the fields to Jesus and that he will always provide?

Feel free to post a comment or hit up Mark at mark@middlecoastmanagement.com

Old School Journal Entry - November 4th, 1994

2008-11-04T09:45:00.004-06:00

"You are the light of the world, a city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on a stand and it gives light to everyone in the house." - Matthew 5:14&15

Here's the 2nd in an on-going series of "Old-School Entries" from my college days. This one was written on Nov. 4th of 1994.

My Lord Jesus,

I give all thanks and praise to you because you alone are worthy of it. I lift Your name on high. You are the king that stands higher than any king (or President), the prince that rules over all other princes! I need your peace, your love and your joy Lord Jesus. I have no reason to live apart from you. Thank you, my God, for having changed my empty and totally unfulfilled life! You have given me a heart that only wants to know you.....I pant as the deer and I tremble like the demons - because you, O God, are alive and you alone are my deep satisfying well. Please use me tonight Jesus (I led a Bible study called "Jesus in the House" on our campus every Tuesday night which is what this prayer is regarding), I have no reason to be working in this world unless it is to bring glory to you.

Wrap your arms around those I love because you love them all the more.

Note: It's quite appropriate, even after 14 years, to be sharing a prayer that claims God's deity above any King, Prince or President. As much as we are told to "vote" for this country's future president, I would challenge us to cast our allegiance wholly on the President of all presidents. The President that will never fail us, never leave us hanging, never forsake us, never do wrong, never make a foolish move. The kind of President that calls every single one of us by our names. A President that knows everything there is to know about each one of our seemingly insignificant lives and then invites us into a life of glorious significance. We are brilliant lights even able to cast down shadows in the dark as we follow a President that doesn't just take office, but has, is and forever will be owning office.

P.S. Illustration by Mike Maihack (http://www.cowshell.com)

Don't Waste Your Life (or your time) on Prosperity

2008-10-28T12:27:00.009-05:00

Give us more, give us more....wealth? Comfort? Ease?

A friend of mine turned me on to a beautiful sermon that pastor John Piper preached this past Sunday. It's very appropriate to our current global economic disaster and it really resonated with me through and through. The title of the sermon is "Proclaiming the Excellencies of Christ, Not Prosperity, Among the Nations." This blog is just a simple encouragement to go watch/listen or read the Sermon. You won't regret it. Click on the Blog title or this link to view the sermon page:

http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Sermons/ByDate/2008/3361_Proclaiming_the_Excellencies_of_Christ_Not_Prosperity_Among_the_Nations/

I've been a huge fan of Piper's work since I read his book "Don't Waste Your Life". In all honesty, that book set me on a path towards utter ruin in terms of how unfocused I HAD been living my life (how small my focus was of the cross) and the way I've been living my life since. It's caused me to rethink everything; the way I live my faith, how I act as a Christian, how I view the world around me, how much God should be my EVERYTHING. God is far too big to fit as just a little piece of my life. After reading Piper's book I made the decision to make Christ my everything and I'm still feeling the tremors from the quake that took place in my life. I recently had the wonderful opportunity of meeting Piper and hear him speak on the topic of worship. Life changing conference. Sometime in the near future I'll share how much that event has continued to wreck havoc on my future. The friend that first gave me this book asked me during this event as to what portion of the book really impacted me. My response was "I can't really recall which chapter or page it was but about 3 or 4 chapters in, I was done with". After thinking that comment through, I would have responded with "The whole thing is what wrecked me". I think Chapter 5 is what really got me, though. It's titled "Risk is Right - Better to Lose Your Life Than To Waste It". If you haven't read this book, you should do yourself a favor and pick it up. Watch the sermon and then buy the book. I've only begun to skim the surface of where God has deeply inspired my life through, most importantly, His word, but also through this book.

P.S.

My only comment against the false teaching of prosperity is that at the absolute base of the error are fingers pointing at something that distracts from, not towards Jesus. I'll just give you one example of my encounter within this world of Prosperity. In my college days I was part of a wonderful prison ministry. Before we would enter a jail we would be split up two by two with a partner. Prisons are obviously a bit scary but we'd always say that Born-again prisoners we met were far more free than most people we met at church. I was split up with a man who was much older than I was in age but was much younger in the faith. The first cell we came to was an African-American man that had stolen something and ended up in the slammer. My "partner" goes on to tell him that ever since he received Jesus he was given a new job, a bigger home and just purchased a brand new red Corvette. No lie. I took him aside and asked him what Jesus gave each of the apostles for following Him. He looked dumbfounded. Jesus actually did the opposite. He instructed them to leave everything behind and "Take nothing with you for the journey--no staff, no bag, no bread, no money, no extra tunic." He almost instantly saw my point and said "I've never really thought about that". Imagine that. You and a whole slew of Fancy Evangelical dressers. I believe we need a Jesus-sized reality check that we were never meant to be so possessed by our possessions. I'm not saying that God doesn't ever allow us to have anything and that it's wrong to own anything. I'm just saying it's wrong to be OWNED by anything other than God himself. It's just that we've replaced the word "need" with "want" and what we "want" we usually find a way to get. We're good at chasing down our wants. God redeem us.

Hell Is Far Too Often Where The Heart Is

2008-10-22T21:36:00.007-05:00

Luke 12:32 "Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. 34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

This is such a popular verse within Christian circles and yet it's so challenging to us as it deeply pries into the core of who we are, especially living in developed countries where we're easily enticed by the this multiple choice society. It pulls us one way and then towards another. But I think we'll all agree that it never pulls us towards heaven. I mean, does it? Have any of you been taught by society, or by the mass consumer marketing within it, to drop all that you have, provide for the poor and make the kind of investment that offers a high-yielding gain only once you've died??? No wonder the stock and world markets are crashing, everyone's worried they'll die poor and better get out now before it gets any worse! Jesus' words stand in complete and total opposition to any 401K retirement plan. Maybe I'm missing the point but it seems clear that the only investment worth considering is the one being described in these verses.

Only God is capable of the sort of heart transformation that we're all desperately needing. I feel part of why Christianity appears so boring anymore (both from within it and outside of it) is because so few of us are willing to consider living our lives so as to place all of our hope and all of our treasure in what IS to come, not in what currently exists. Don't misinterpret me, it's really easy to type something that reads in such a way as to imply that I've arrived. In all reality, I'm struggling as much as anyone else to figure out how to follow Jesus with my all. I just don't want anyone thinking that Chad's got it all figured out when, truth be told, we're really no different at all. Actually, we're far too similar. I'm at the point in my walk with Jesus where I'm so hungry to follow Him the way He is calling me. Done playing games. Done messing around. Finished with the half-hearted attempts at living a compromised example of the Master I claim to serve. Frustrated by the reality that some days I honestly want my old life back. Wishing someone would have told me that when you take the "red pill" things get pretty wild and you start looking at life through very different lenses. But I wouldn't change this for the world. I feel so liberated lately. Forced into trusting Jesus is trusting none-the-less.

What I'm getting at is that we call our lives "heaven on earth" when many of us are living our own hells every day. But it wasn't Jesus who offered us the hell we somehow claim as life. He offered us the heaven to come but also a completely fulfilled life while we're here. My aim is to live this life to the full while I'm here, no more time wasted, so that when heaven comes I will have stored up many treasures. I get very excited when I think of treasures as the investments we make in each other. That, quite possibly, because I chose to invest in someone's spiritual life, I might experience the "treasure" of spending all eternity with them. Doesn't get much better than that.

Jesus, please enable us to live the impossible. We can't do it without you. I give up the attempts at trying on my own. Feeble attempts. Replace the temptation to live heaven here with the reality that life is a vapor and that we really only begin to live once we've died. I don't want the treasures that this hellish earth hurls at me. I just want to know you and be known by you. Fill our hearts with mercy for the poor. Show us that we are the poor. Give us the Kingdom and enable us to do what you call us to. Strengthen our brothers and sisters that are suffering daily on Your behalf.

(P.S. the pictures taken were from my recent trip to the Dominican Republic this past summer)

Bring us back from exile.

2008-10-12T14:44:00.004-05:00

Psalm 51: 10-13 (The Message):

"God, make a fresh start in me, shape a Genesis week from the chaos of my life.
Don't throw me out with the trash, or fail to breathe holiness in me.
Bring me back from gray exile, put a fresh wind in my sails!
Give me a job teaching rebels your ways so the lost can find their way home."

Don't we all qualify for this? Who can't relate to a growing fear that God isn't capable (or for some reason, that remains unknown to you, doesn't seem willing) to redeem you from time spent wasted. My experience tells me it has nothing to do with God's lack of willingness and all to do with my desire to be brought back to God's good grace. Consider the thief on the cross and what he lacked in a redeemed life, but even with so little life left, God used it to further His glory. So, be reassured that it's never too late for you to live your life spiritually full of blazing fire. I'm living proof that God "redeems our days". I've been all over the board; frozen cold, worthlessly warm and thankfully, increasingly glowing with heat. It's His heart to set us free from every ounce of baggage that holds us back and to replace that baggage with opportunity and a calling.

Is it just me or does everyone else feel like you are in desperate need of some fresh wind blown your way? I know I'm pretty worn out by exile. I can't imagine that the Jews who experienced exile ever enjoyed it or considered it something they'd run back to. But God proved, and still proves, his faithfulness by bringing us out of exile, daily. Every time we get set free from destructive patterns, hollow thinking, empty promises and addictive materialism, we experience God's goodness and mercy. I'd rather stand on the promise of fresh wind then fall back into a pattern of mediocrity. My heart resounds with praise to Jesus for pulling me out of my own emptiness and placing my feet on fruitful soil. Every ounce of who I am is grateful and thankful for the way God has been teaching this rebel heart of mine. I've been so inspired to be in scripture and not just in it, but really soaking it up by way of memory. I feel literally forced into the Bible and have such a hunger to have it ingrained on my brain. This is rather unusual, coming from someone who rarely spent consistent time in the Word, but there's no place I'd rather be. "God's word never returns Void".

He is always able to Redeem you from your exile!

Pursuit of God

2008-10-05T08:01:00.004-05:00

In the early 1950's A.W. Tozer wrote in his book, The Pursuit of God (pg. 69,70):

Failure to see this (Receptivity towards God as a gift from God) is the cause of a very serious breakdown in modern evangelicalism. The idea of cultivation and exercise, so dear to the saints of old, has now no place in our total religious picture. It is too slow, too common. We now demand glamour and fast flowing dramatic action. A generation of Christians reared among push buttons and automatic machines is impatient of slower and less direct methods of reaching their goals. We have been trying to apply machine-age methods to our relations with God. We read our chapter, have our short devotions and rush away, hoping to make up for our deep inward bankruptcy....
The tragic results of this spirit are all about us: Shallow lives, hollow religious philosophies, the preponderance of the element of fun in gospel meetings, the glorification of men, trust in religious externalities, quasi-religious fellowships, salesmanship methods, the mistaking of dynamic personality for the power of the Spirit. These and such as these are the symptoms of an evil disease, a deep and serious malady of the soul. We have been too blind to see, or too timid to speak out, or too self-satisfied to desire anything better than the poor, average diet with which others appear satisfied. And for a generation the trend has been downward. Now we reached a low place of sand and burnt wire grass and, worst of all, we have made the Word of Truth conform to our experience and accepted this low plane as the very pasture of the blessed.
It will require a determined heart and more than a little courage to wrench ourselves loose from the grip of our times and return to Biblical ways. But it can be done. What God in His sovereignty may yet do on a world-scale I do not claim to know. But what He will do for the plain man or woman who seeks His face I believe I do know and can tell others. Let any man turn to God in earnest, let him begin to exercise himself unto godliness, let him seek to develop his powers of spiritual receptivity by trust and obedience and humility, and the results will exceed anything he may have hoped in his leaner and weaker days.

I read through these paragraphs this morning and was shocked by how accurate Tozer's description of our culture was. Considering he wrote this nearly 60 years ago makes me wonder what he'd be writing if he was living now. If you haven't ever read "The Pursuit of God", it's an incredible challenge towards our halfhearted variation of Christianity and it has been a totally inspiring read.

Proud of MYCHILDREN MYGUYS

2008-10-01T20:37:00.005-05:00

MYCHILDREN MYBRIDE (http://www.myspace.com/mcmb) posted this quote today and it just floored me:

"After touring this summer God really revealed a lot to us, and we really feel we're supposed to be more than just another band with Christians in it, that barely say anything on stage or do anything to portray a Christ-like image. We are about to be part of the front line, for a huge movement for God."

First of all, whether the band knows this or not I believe the last 4 words in this quote are totally prophetic and something that God has been speaking to many of us. There IS going to be an increased MOVE of God. So get ready for it, pray His will be done on earth as it is in heaven, invite the Lord to make you aware of what's happening around you in a world that is not made of flesh and blood. Confess your sins, ask Him to redeem your days spent wasting time and then petition that He would unleash revival in empty, hollow hearts. If He can do it in mine and in MCMB, He is more than able to do it in yours.

Every band in the world that consists of Christian members has (or will have) this identity crisis. Most bands would rather not be known as Christian due to the hypocrisy in the church but that doesn't excuse them (or any of us) from stepping out boldly as genuine people completely in love with Jesus and willing to reflect Him in every area of our lives. The days are getting progressively darker meaning that the options are more pronounced. The first option is that you allow your love of God to grow totally cold (which many already have), or secondly you live a life of lukewarmness whereby you are promised to be spat out of God's mouth or thirdly a fire starts blazing inside of you for spiritual heat that gives you renewed energy and a passion for Holy things you may have never even expected.

The time is coming where we will not be afforded the so-called "luxury" of living life in the margins of supposed Christianity but that we either rise up with a fierce pounding in our hearts for battle or we shrink bank in utter defeat before even stepping out on the field. Pray with me that the Lord unites us for what is coming and that he would continue to rescue our fellow brothers and sisters daily from the error of their own ways.

Matthew 10.33 "whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven."

We live BY faith (or do we)?

2008-09-26T14:25:00.004-05:00

Paul, in 2 Corinthians 5:7 says "For we walk by faith, not by sight". But when I consider my life am I really doing that? I believe that I'm actually just now learning what it means to live in such a way that I'm no longer depending on my own abilities, talents, work-ethic, etc. to get me anywhere. I'm being forced into trusting God at every turn and that He is going to be the much better portion, even when I can't see that portion with my own two eyes. As a culture, we are taught to do well in school, get a job, go to college, get a better job, get married, get a better job, have kids, work harder and then someday send your kids to college, work some more, retire, die. Wow! Could it be any more depressing? At what point did we forget to insert the "if God will's it" element? Might there be something so amazing for us (even in this life, not even looking to the "eternal" destiny) that would be so God-glorifying that it would convince us to give up and start living by faith? I wonder how much we (or I) miss out on just because we don't walk by faith. It might be staggering to realize how much we pass up by assuming we should only follow what we see. This entry is more of a quick rant as I'm on the run but I guess my prayer is that Jesus would teach us what it means to trust him even when we can't see what's going on ahead of us. I'm excited to share some of my story in recent days with you, but I can so clearly and boldly say that God has been coming through for me in ways that only He could. Praise be to God.

Dirt Makes For A Worthless Empire

2008-09-18T15:44:00.000-05:00

On Apr 13, 2007, Chad Johnson wrote a letter to his bands and fellow workers:

Dudes.

You're either someone I work with or someone I've met along the way.

I'm flying 31,000 feet above sea level and I don't know if this happens to everyone else and I'm just the last person to realize it, but I've noticed that I'm commonly inspired when I'm flying. Maybe it's the lack of quality oxygen, maybe it's the fact that I'm 31,000 feet closer to God, maybe it's that I'm forced to be still because I'm surrounded by complete (and often times overweight) strangers. Maybe it's the reality that, up here, the only thing I've got control of is my bladder and even that is a loosing battle. Maybe it's all of the above. Whatever it is, my heart is thinking a bit more than my mind.

It's obvious that I hear God more clearly when my brain and mouth aren't running a hundred miles a minute.

Something that God's been speaking to me is the opportunity that I/WE have to invest in the deeper things of life that really matter over those shallow temptations to keep it all together and pretend like every-thing's cool and under control. Truth is, most of life is completely out of my/our control. Thankfully, that's the way God saw fit to ordain it. Totally void of any "real" control. Any control we do experience is fleeting and normally not very reality based. Especially the kind of control that we'd like to think we have ownership over, namely, material possessions & relationships. Along with the seemingly chaotic experience we call "LIFE", God has also given "those that keep His law in their hearts" the promise that "None of OUR steps shall slide (Psalm 37:31)".

Which of you would have given up your higher education, your hometown, dedicated girlfriend, loving parents and warm bed to hit the road and never look back? Correct me if I'm wrong but you do it because A. you believe in something greater than yourself, B. any chance to experience rock stardom is worth the possible downside, C. You might actually "blow up" and D. You love it and wouldn't trade it for the world

I'm convinced that I've been allowed to have a place in this industry because God cares equally about a hurting scene kid (or band dude) as he does a starving Ethiopian.

For all the foolish things I've done in my days, I'm here to remind you that the only real investment worth pursuing is the one with the greatest pay off. As much as everyone and everything around you screams "more, more, MORE", I'm quietly whispering "In all things, whether you eat or drink, or WHATEVER you do, do it ALL to the glory of God (1 Cor. 10:31)". Whether you realize it (or even accept it now), it's your absolute highest calling and strongest yielding investment. God has an incredible plan for your life and it's completely focused to bring Him glory through how you reflect Jesus to others and to share his glory with you. That might sound lofty or impersonal or as though I have it all together and you don't, but I believe it with all my heart as I continue to experience God's hand in my life. All of the soundscan numbers (or lack thereof), big tours, myspace "friends", web banners, radio adds, TV spots and shallow conversations of trivial meaning are all huge hints that I/WE are building an Empire. I don't know about you but I don't want an empire of DIRT. I want an empire of living, breathing, growing, hungry hearts. I'm praying that God gives you eyes to see His eternal reality and inspires you to pursue that deep that calls unto deep.

I've lost count of how many bands I've signed in my 9 years of being in the "record industry", and honestly, it doesn't even matter. Up until about a year and a half ago I had mostly avoided my true calling which is to serve others in love and to do it all to God's glory. I was mostly serving because I was paid to and it was my means to make an end. I'd like to start serving you because I want to see God move powerfully in your lives and to remind you that I care deeply about your personal life and even more importantly your walk with Jesus. How sad that a sincere phrase can sound so cliche. I mean it, regardless of how it might sound and despite of how often I loose focus on what matters.

If there is anything I can do for you, just name it. Prayer, honest conversation, even meaningless soundscan numbers. I'm learning to be a better servant. If Jesus could wash feet, I've got a lot of room to grow..........

I confess and apologize publicly for the years that I've focused mostly on the DIRT and not on the seeds growing (or dying) in it.

With Love & hope for what God Almighty, Jesus the Son and the Holy Ghost have in store for each of you,

Chad

"Now to him who is able to do exceedingly and abundantly above all that we ask or imagine according to the POWER that works in us, to him be the glory in the church to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. (Eph. 3:21)"

Titanic Disaster

2008-09-14T07:28:00.007-05:00

Every Second 2 People Die
Over 180,000 People Will Die Today

I saw this poster recently that was a tribute to the Titanic. One part of the poster really caught my eye and basically blew my mind. It was this young man holding out a copy of the daily paper and the entire headline just read "Titanic Disaster Great Loss of Life". It instantly dawned on me that I didn't comprehend the vast scope of life and death in the way that God would have me understand. God's heart is that we would not only recognize the "Great Loss Of Life" but that He would completely transform us. We don't have to look very far to see Biblical reality that points us to this. The all too familiar verse of John 3:16 reveals clearly how God sees this Titanic Disaster: "This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. (The Message)

If God loved the world, then why don't we? Do we really understand that there is currently such a great loss of life that it's mind-numbing? That the vast majority of fellow humans on earth have so little compared to us and will likely end up spending eternity apart from God? The fact that we aren't completely wrecked by our own hardened hearts when it comes to the way we SEE the people in the world around us proves we have a long way to go. I'll use this analogy to prove my point; when you went out on the town on Saturday night for a dinner & movie you likely came across hundreds of people. Did you even stop and pray for a single ONE of those people? The fact is we don't Get It! What's the greater Disaster, that we as God's kids don't see the need or that our world is going to hell in a handbag? We need the eyes of Jesus to see through the huge wall of our own caloused hearts before we see our "neighbors" as those whose lives are hanging in the balance of eternal destiny.

God, would you give us those eyes that Jesus had. Would you provide us with strength, energy, creativity, endurance, and a massive amount of love to pour out on our fellow man. Not because we are better or that we have anything figured out aside from the blood of Jesus as our covering but because it's absolutely necessary that we see them as You see them. We confess our need for help. Help us as an entire generation to see this Titanic Disaster as something that You would use to bring glory to yourself. Would you allow us to be in Your business of saving lives, as You've saved ours. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven, and since heaven is full of those chosen by you (and who responded) would you enable us to pour ourselves out freely on anyone we come across.

Soften our hearts. Teach us real Love. Do Your work.

Are We Zealous Men?

2008-09-10T10:44:00.006-05:00

Zeal in religion is a burning desire to please God, to do His will, and to advance His glory in the world in every possible way. It is a desire which no man feels by nature, —which the Spirit puts in the heart of every believer when he is converted,—but which some believers feel so much more strongly than others that they alone deserve to be called "zealous" men.

This desire is so strong, when it really reigns in a man, that it impels him to make any sacrifice,—to go through any trouble,—to deny himself to any amount,—to suffer, to work, to labour, to toil,—to spend himself and be spent, and even to die,—if only he can please God and honour Christ.

A zealous man in religion is pre-eminently a man of one thing. It is not enough to say that he is earnest, hearty, uncompromising, thorough-going, whole-hearted, fervent in spirit. He only sees one thing, he cares for one thing, he lives for one thing, he is swallowed up in one thing; and that one thing is to please God. Whether he lives, or whether he dies,—whether he has health, or whether he has sickness,—whether he is rich, or whether he is poor,—whether he pleases man, or whether he gives offense,—whether he is thought wise, or whether he is thought foolish,—whether he gets blame, or whether he gets praise,—whether he gets honour, or whether he gets shame,—for all this the zealous man cares nothing at all. He burns for one thing; and that one thing is to please God, and to advance God's glory. If he is consumed in the very burning, he cares not for it,—he is content. He feels that, like a lamp, he is made to burn; and if consumed in burning, he has but done the work for which God appointed him. Such a one will always find a sphere for his zeal. If he cannot preach, and work, and give money, he will cry, and sigh, and pray. Yes: if he is only a pauper, on a perpetual bed of sickness, he will make the wheels of sin around him drive heavily, by continually interceding against it. If he cannot fight in the valley with Joshua, he will do the work of Moses, Aaron, and Hur, on the hill. (Exod. xvii. 9-13.) If he is cut off from working himself, he will give the Lord no rest till help is raised up from another quarter, and the work is done. This is what I mean when I speak of "zeal" in religion. - The classic description of zeal for God, given by Bishop J.C. Ryle

Does our culture have this level of Zeal for anything? Do we as Christians even understand what it means to have feelings so strong for Jesus that we would do ANYTHING he asks? What will it take to get us there? I personally confess the years I've wasted in luke-warmness and invite God to make me zealous for all things that bring glory to Him. If you'd like to join me in that confession, leave a comment and I'll pray with you that God would instill His zeal in our hearts.

Check this amazing video: http://www.4-14.org.uk/thats-my-king-s-m-lockridge

Grocery Store Vision

2008-09-06T22:08:00.004-05:00

Mark 8:34 Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 35 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. 36 What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? 37 Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul? 38 If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father's glory with the holy angels."

I recently had a vision/picture/revelation where Jesus was leading children through a grocery store and they were struggling to follow. They would grab items off the shelf that were not theirs (or at least not meant for them yet). Jesus was loading a cart full of canned goods and was occasionally giving them out to the children once they had walked out of the store.

The significance of this vision was in our (His kids) inability to follow Christ without being side-tracked by so many things on the shelf. Those things being "stored up" for us by Jesus represent those times where we DO obey and in turn, bear fruit. The fruit is collected and stored in heaven. The items being handed out by Jesus represent the gifts that He gives us to live our lives completely focused on fruit that will last. One day, we'll have the entire cart full of every good gift and we'll see clearly the fruit of our labors.

Jesus, would you teach us what it means to follow hard after you, to take up our crosses DAILY and to deny ourselves. We confess the struggles of being easily distracted. Please put us on your path towards righteousness that we would glorify you in every area of our lives. Teach us to lose our lives so that we might gain them forevermore. Teach us to boldly live as kids committed to following a worthy King. We are kids in desperate need of your power to turn us away from foolishness. Do your work in our lives. We invite your presence to rearrange our priorities. Holy Spirit give us gifts that point others towards genuine love.

Taking Back The Streets

2008-09-04T19:16:00.006-05:00

My Friend Brian Morgante (http://www.myspace.com/brianmorgante) wrote this overview of what went down at the "Taking Back the Streets" Fest in Pilot Mountain, NC on August. 21st and 22nd. He did an excellent job and although it's a lengthy read, I believe it is well worth your time and I can attest to the fact that this was truly a very significant and incredibly special opportunity for those of us present. Thanks Brian! (Note: this picture rules but it's from The Call in DC not TBTS)

There is something new in the air. Something that seems to be stirring in small country towns, large over populated cities, overcrowded venues, and smelly 15 passenger vans. From coast to coast, from churches to bars, from friends to enemies, there is a spirit beginning to stir that cannot be contained, and cannot be denied.
Taking Back the Streets 2008 was scheduled to be a festival modeled closely to anything we may have attended this summer, or the summer prior. A large open space in the middle of no where, campers from around the country, stages with generators under tents, and all of the usual hype, community, worship, fun and ungodly heat that comes with most summer concert festivals. Old friends reacquainted. New friendships stirring under the blaze of the morning sun (or the midnight campfire). One last fun-filled gathering for the summer, and then on with the rest of the year.
At least that's what we all thought upon arrival. God had plans much bigger than our own, much bigger than we could imagine, to create an atmosphere, and let a new spirit and perspective fall that would make us all re-think the meaning behind the name of the festival we were partaking in. There was a vision to be poured out, a revival to be stirred, a hope to be revitalized, and a culture to be restored to its roots and its passion.
On both Thursday and Friday night, the evenings were concluded with a worship set by The Glorious Unseen. All other stages closed up for the night, and all attention focused on bringing everyone on the grounds together for communal worship, prayer, admittance, and restoration. We came expecting, and the Spirit of God came expecting so much more than we could have even begun to imagine. There was an undeniable fact that we would not leave this place unchanged. We would not leave a small campground in Pilot Mountain, North Carolina without a breath of fresh air in our lungs from our Creator. Something was about to explode, and you could feel it all around you.
After a beautiful worship set on the first night, Chad was called to speak a few words, and instead of mere preaching from a pulpit, it became a message brought down to everyone in attendance, as he left the stage, and asked us all to form a tight knit circle around him. Everyone gathered close, friends and strangers alike, we were called to be one body, as we listened intently. We all began to pray together, for one another, for ourselves, for our culture, for our church, and through this intimate time we began to openly make outward confessions to one another in this unified experience. One after another, we would cry out to our Lord, and cry out to our brothers and sisters of those things we grew tiresome within our lives. Begging for forgiveness from our attitudes, our complacency, our addictions, our denial, our hatred, our irresponsibility.
Cries were raised, and some people smiled, as others wept openly. Strangers embraced, while close friends made amends. There was restoration in the air, and there was a spirit of forgiveness all around. We were ready to be filled with something new and beautiful that would transform us into the people that we knew we have been called to be. The people that we know we should be in each and every moment of our existence. Communion was served, and became a body of thanksgiving, singing songs of praise and redemption to our creator in one unified voice, still in our circle, with nothing more than Ben leading from an acoustic guitar and handclaps that rose loud and proud to our Father in heaven, who was smiling down upon us. Praise be to the Lord of forgiveness, the Father of love, and the Redeemer of our souls.
With a rejuvenation flowing through the festival from the night before, spirits were high, and expectant as the festival continued on. Worship was slated again for 10:30 on the main stage, and we were eager to come together once again to give praise to our Father. After a long day of honest and beautiful music, the Spirit was already starting to prepare hearts for what was coming. We knew that tonight was the night we would be changed and challenged in ways we never could have imagined.
Once again, an absolutely beautiful and honest worship set as people really set in to discover the heart of their Savior, really anchor themselves to a spirit that was so graciously arriving to sweep us away on that Friday night. As the music itself began to wind down, Tommy from Sleeping Giant came up and began to pray for the body, and Chad directed that in prayer before worship had begun, God had revealed that we were to go to the top of the hill in which we were at the bottom of, together, as one body, and begin to earnestly pray for the Holy Spirit to come upon us in ways we never thought possible. Tonight was the night chains would be broken. Tonight was the night we would dream dreams, and have visions, and feel the undeniable presence of a Spirit that Christ himself promised would be instilled in us. Hands were latched, and we spread into an enormous circle. Leaders were spread out and every individual was prayed for and together with to see a Spirit become prevalent in our lives, and demand a radical change to our lives. As we cried out, His presence reigned down in a way that I, personally, have not seen in ages, but gave all the signs that something big was about to happen, something so much bigger than I feel myself, or anyone there even realized as the night began.
Kids and adults alike, began to sweep across the circle, praying for any and everyone. This was unity. There was no hesitation as strangers spoke into the lives of fellow brothers, and encouraged, discerned, and embraced one another. Relationship through unity made us all closer than we could have ever imagined, and there were no inhibitions as we cried out as one. The focus was the Spirit, and there was an authenticity in the words and tears and laughs and confessions of each and every person present. There were no more shows, or talk of who did amazing that night. There was no more focus on status, or reputation, band or fan, old or young, new faith or seasoned warrior. It was about love, consolation, healing, restoration, uprising, radicalism, movement, and change. We would not leave until we knew one hundred percent that His Spirit had met with us, and had moved through us, radically transforming who and what we were, and who and what we were to become!
There was an invitation to be filled with the Holy Spirit, an invitation that is not usually given to many people you find involved in our culture. A culture that has abandoned conventional church, and people that have come to a festival maybe not evening knowing what the act of being filled with the Spirit entailed. There was an earnest understanding of the power that was about to be unleashed, as it was accepted and welcomed. People eager to learn and understand and be filled stepped forth, as those who have experienced what was going on began to welcome this Spirit to fall, welcome this Spirit to fill these open hearts and minds, these surrendered lives to the power of the Most High. At this point, everything changed, and became so much bigger than we expected!
Gifts were poured out almost instantly, and we began to see outward evidence of what the Spirit was beginning to do within individuals, as well as the body. People were slain in the Spirit, collapsing literally under the full surrender of themselves to the Spirit. Tongues were spoken in an orderly fashion, one at a time, as others openly interpreted the intimate messages to the body. We began to see healing, and words of knowledge and truth spoken out. With such innocence reigning in this obedient body, we saw an authentic move on the Spirit in a large group of people, many of us, for the very first time in our lives. We saw the REAL power of the gifts, and we experienced the most intimate love our human-ness is able to experience.
Hours passed, and there was a rejuvenation poured out upon us through this revival, and as things were winding down emotionally, we knew this was more than hype. We knew this was more than a feel good mountain experience. We knew this wasn't a revitalization that would keep a smile on our face for a mere moment and fade as we all went our separate ways. This was a call of knowledge, a call of responsibility, a call to radical change in our individual lives, homes, churches, towns, cities, communities. With understanding comes the responsibility to grow that. To spread passion from person to person and create a unity in what the Lord is trying to tell us each and every day. We knew without a shadow of a doubt we were given something special, that would be spread to the farthest corners of our country and our world, and new wondrous things instilled within us that would give us a peace and foundation to many of our questioned beliefs. There is no denying we experienced the power of almighty God, and we would return home to instill this new revival to those around us.
Be alert to what is happening. Be a voice of truth and discernment in all that you do and everywhere that you go. There is something new stirring, and God is ready to use the willing to bring forth truth in our culture, in our church body, in our relationships, and in our lives once again. God willing we will be obedient to that small still whisper he is pleading with us to recognize once again. Praise be to Him!