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Overflowing
Psalm 16:5-6 Life sure can be overwhelmingTo the point I feel so sick insideThe world appearsTo feed on my fearsAnd it seems I have no place to hide Lord, I don’t know where I’m goingThough I certainly know where I’ve beenCan you guide me alongThis path that seems wrong?Let me fall back in your arms once again The days just seem harder and harderAs if nothing I do makes a changeMy steps seem to falterAs I fall at the altarOf the world I’ve tried to arrange Some say that their cup is half emptyBut mine seems to be way too fullI struggle to carryThis cross that’s so heavyIf I set…
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In the Middle
I want to be in the middle of the battleSo that I can see your victoryI want to be lost in the middle of the oceanWhere your power washes over me I want to stand in the middle of the fireSo that my heart can be purifiedKeep me in the middle of humiliationThat I would not know pride
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My Own Worst Enemy
Am I so concerned with my own rights and happiness that I trod on all others? Am I living as though the “ends justify the means?” Who am I that I deserve more than the next? Do I feel like I deserve something better? Perhaps the world owes me something? Maybe God owes me something! Since I got short-changed earlier in life, now that I am in Christ, do I feel He owes me a better life now? Do I resent God for not providing it to me? And does that mean that I must accomplish it on my own? Because I deserve it, and if nobody else will give…
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I Am Free!
I am free. I have been freed from the chains of the law. When I try to uphold the law and live according to the law—for the purposes of accomplishing the law—it leads to death Romans 6:23. The Apostle Paul spoke of this, and explained that it is through knowing the law that we are aware of our sin Romans 7:7. But as it happened in the first century church, the moment that we attempt to live according to the law, we become bound to it. And once we are bound to the law, we are no longer free! Jesus has saved me and freed me from the law. While…
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Approaching the Throne
I approached God this morning on my knees. As my king, I approach the throne as his servant. Humbly requesting attendance with him. And I asked him to hold his blessings and his instructions for me until I confessed my sins to him. I had to explain that I had sinned against him and his kingdom, and as a result he may need to reconsider his position. These very sins prevent me from being an effective servant in his kingdom, and before I continue to serve he must know of my transgressions so that he may judge me and determine my usefulness. My greatest sin is pride. I so often…
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Convinced Our Words Can Change
We so often believe that if we could only say the right thing, we could change others’ hearts, minds, or attitudes. How arrogant we are! Did not Jesus walk the earth? Did he not speak the words of truth to everyone? If, then, his direct words of love and truth did not always affect a change, why are we so convinced that our words can do more? This is true for us whether we are sharing the gospel with a non-Christian or trying to convince a loved-one of our position, regardless of how “right” we believe we are, or what truth we are attempting to communicate. Today we are challenged…
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Seeing Myself as God Sees Me
I often wrestle with accepting my identity in Christ. While many characteristics have been given to me, and have transformed me into a new creation, I often find myself “held back” by seeing me as I have always been: broken and defective. And while I have often considered the need to purposefully look at others through the eyes of God—so that I can more fully apply my Christ-like qualities toward them—I have discovered that I’ve never really thought of applying that logic to me directly. Until recently, it never occurred to me to see myself as God sees me. But indeed, this is the key.
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Why Can’t God Abolish Evil?
Mankind was charged with leadership and dominion of all the animal kingdom. He was not just given authority and power, but responsibility. Many may mention, if not too casually, that freewill—the human ability to choose right and wrong—was part of the package. I agree, it sounds too “convenient” for Christians to simply say that freewill is the reason for evil and suffering. But more importantly, that’s not really the question. The question many ask is, “In the face of evil, oppression and suffering, torture, mayhem, human trafficking, child molestation, murder, terrorism, etc., how could such a “loving God” allow all this evil to exist? Why doesn’t he raise a hand…
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Stoop So Low
During my current study of the Gospel of John, attention has been brought to the situation at the Last Supper where Jesus washes the disciples’ feet. Being mindful that the author was retelling these stories some 40-50 years after the fact, and that he provides the special privilege of seeing and explaining to us both the practical and the spiritual implications of this and other events to which he testifies. We’ve undoubtedly heard this event woven into at least one pastoral message at some point. But I’d like to share a couple of details that may have gone a little below the radar.
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I Was There
I was there in the garden early that dayTo bring you and your companions to courtWhen the one you called “friend” had kissed your cheekI wondered what I was really there for I was there when they brought you before the governorWhen they said you claimed to be a kingBut I saw in your eyes there was something moreA strange but wonderful thing
