What does it mean to be God-centered?

A Christian worldview sees all of life and day to day living through the lens of reverence for the Lord, His sovereignty, His glory, and His Word. It is a life that emphasizes God. It begins by saying humans are inherently evil and they need the intervention of God to accomplish anything of eternal value (Psalm 51:5, Psalm 58:3, 1 John 1:8). This makes God necessary from the beginning and points us back to Him in everything since the time He intervened in our lives. It brings everything back to God, credits Him with everything, thanks Him for everything, and desires to honor and consider Him in all of our choices, our public and private life, and most importantly our interaction with Non-Christians.  Anything good we have is because of Him. Every breath we take is because He allows it (Daniel 5:23). Every time we pull through a difficult situation it’s through His strength and by the Holy Spirit He gave to indwell us. God is the source, the giver, the motivator, the agency, and the power. He begins and sustains. He allows freedom and yet restrains. He makes commands and yet provides the ability to obey those commands. He calls mankind to repent and believe in His Son and yet He works silently in their hearts and supernaturally opens their eyes to enable salvation. It is a Christian worldview that seeks to live life and make decisions that will have value in eternity (evangelism, Christian ministry, etc.) not in this life where things come and go and where “moth and rust destroy” all our possessions (Matt. 6:19-20). We share the gospel because souls will be saved. We pour our time and energy into part or full time ministry because that helps others grow spiritually. Just as worship songs contain lyrics sung to and about God, our lives should be lived as worship to and about God.

Humanism is a philosophical and ethical stance that emphasizes the value and agency of human beings, individually and collectively, and generally prefers critical thinking and evidence (rationalism, empiricism) over established doctrine or faith. It begins with the idea that people are born inherently good or that there is some good in them which then enables them to do good in this life aside from or completely separate from God or faith. This births self-help books that teach we can change ourselves through positive thinking, practical exercises, listening to motivational speakers, willpower, personal discipline, self-control, and searching within to find an inner strength to accomplish our goals. This is a man-centered perspective that does not acknowledge God. It has no need for Him because it has within itself the ability to accomplish whatever it wants or needs. It is the fundamental driving force of the American Dream.

In its’ strictest sense, Humanism is the worldview of Non-Christians, though believers often carry aspects of it into their Christian life. Humanism is fundamentally if not directly opposed to God, His Word, and His authority in our lives. This is a philosophy that spends a lot of time in humanitarian efforts that only last in this earthly life and yet have no value for eternity. People will always need counseling, clothes, food, and medical aid again and again. If they get sick or hungry they’ll be sick and hungry again. If however they die without Christ or die having lived a life that wasn’t sold out to God, all of that aid meant nothing. A Christian worldview helps people in this life and at the same time presents the gospel to them, points them to God, and provides ministry, discipleship, and Bible teaching that will impact eternity.  

There is however a great mystery between the sovereignty of God and the responsibility of man. This is a mystery which the Bible sees no problem with and neither should we. God is in control of all things yet He commands men to repent and believe in His Son. He provides the strength to live a holy life, yet He commands us to be holy as He is holy. The exact place where the sovereignty of God and the responsibility of man meet have been debated and discussed for hundreds of years and may not be understood this side of heaven. It is a biblical understanding that will acknowledge this mystery and yet live life being God-centered, not man-centered. These aren’t two extremes that Christians can choose from. God Himself will get all the glory. A simple study of the end times makes this plain. We need to acknowledge this mystery and live life obeying God’s commands, battling sin and selfishness, and seeking to be more like Christ while giving God all the glory for our ability and success in doing those things. To put the emphasis on our abilities, our success, our strength, and our willpower is to forget God and all He’s already done and promised to do for us. To focus on what we are doing or can do is pride in self and is evidence that we haven’t fully left behind our worldly, humanistic, Non-Christian motivations for living.

Instead of saying “you can do it” we need to say “You can do it through the power of God.”

Instead of saying “Dream big” we need to say, “What dreams would most honor God?”

Instead of saying, “Search deep inside for strength” we need to say, “Pray and ask God for strength”

Instead of saying “Watch, listen or read _________ for insight and wisdom” we need to say, “Read God’s Word.”

Instead of saying, “Believe in yourself” we need to say, “Trust God.”

Instead of saying, “Live a moral life” we need to say, “You must be born again.”

Instead of saying, “Be yourself” we need to say, “Imitate Christ.”

Instead of saying, “Change your thinking” we need to say, “Be transformed by the renewing of your mind through the Word of God”

The following are verses and passages that need to be considered…

“From him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.” (Romans 11:36)

“So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” (1 Cor. 10:31)

“For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends.” (1 Cor. 10:18)

“Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” (Philippians 2:12–13)

“By the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.” (1 Corinthians 15:10)

“I lay down and slept; I woke again, for the Lord sustained me.” (Psalm 3:5)

“Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.” (Psalm 127:1)

“The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.” (Acts 17:24–25)

“Whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” (Colossians 3:17)

“The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever” (1 John 2:17).

“For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” (Luke 14:11)

“For you are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.” (1 Corinthians 6:20)

“If any man speak, let him speak as the utterances of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God gives: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.” (1 Peter 4:11)

“Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” (Psalm 37:4)

“And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, ‘To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!’” (Rev. 5:13)

“Thus says the Lord: “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool…” (Psalm 66:1)

“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16)

“For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew [about] God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.  Claiming to be wise, they became fools” (Rom. 1:20-22)

“Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.” (Rev. 4:11)

Read Ephesians 1 and count the number of times things happen “in Christ” “in Him” “through Him” “by Him” or things that He has done or is doing. How “God-centered” is this chapter alone?

Read Romans 9:6-24 and ask yourself what’s going on this passage? And if that sounds like the God you believe in?

The Psalms also have countless praises and thanksgivings and exaltation to God

Witnessing Report 3-31: A Little Rusty, Using prayer in evangelism?

A couple friends and I went witnessing last night. It’s been a long time. It was a slow quiet Sunday night, but there were enough people walking by, stopping, and interacting to make it enjoyable, fruitful, and good practice though we were all rusty. We had a couple of walk-by hecklers who said the same old things. There’s nothing new under the sun. We had a slightly drunk man ask for prayer. He seemed like a legitimate believer from most the things he said. He may just be having a rough time in his life that led him to drinking that night. Though he did start going on about John Hagee and his end times stuff telling us how soon Jesus was returning. He started talking about multiple blood moons and who knows what. Since he was drunk and I knew he could talk forever, I ended the conversation as quickly and kindly as I could so the evangelism wasn’t hindered. A girl my friend invited out from his seminary came. She sat way off to the side when she heard him preaching. She was apparently very turned off by it. I don’t want to be too hard on this girl because she did come out even though she was an introvert and I know she’s likely just a product of bad teaching about evangelism from her church and school.  I suppose it’s also possible she could be a false convert, but I doubt it. I think false converts often balk at street preaching and witnessing because they’re so shocked by it. They’re shocked because they only perceive God as loving with no message of wrath. This shock is too much for them to handle so in that moment that they mock, criticize, disassociate themselves, and in their own way reject the preaching of the whole gospel message. This can show true colors of the heart of a false convert… though I’ve never really thought that through until just now. Anyway, He took her aside to go do on-on-ones and after 2 conversations and about 15 min. she decided to leave. Of course she asked him how effective street evangelism was. This is a tiring and predictable question from contemporary evangelism. He told us after he shared with the 2^nd couple, his friend asked them if there was anything she could pray for them about. He was saying in his head, “umm… salvation?” This kind of thing is typical for contemporary evangelism. It’s very popular today for Christians to use prayer or large signs that say free prayer for evangelism without ever sharing the message they really need to hear. This is a waste of time. Our time might be better spent at the movies if we are content doing pseudo-evangelism. It’s also a gross misunderstanding of how the Lord works with the prayers of and for the lost. God is not obligated and I think biblically not likely to answer prayers for or by the lost unless they are prayers for or of salvation. We’ve become so engrossed in our safe Christian bubble that we attach legitimate safe inoffensive elements of the Christian life to evangelism when they have no place there. They are for a child of God relating to God, not an unbeliever. Anyway, this is part of the reason I stopped blogging, I can get so critical. Lord, help me to be humble and gracious. I think the things I’ve said need to be said, but may I at least never forget from where I’ve come and the grace You have shown me countless times.

Witnessing Report: Keep the volume down... please

I'm reminded of just how much I enjoy writing, but these days with working 50 hours a week, doing all kinds of ministry, and being married I don't seem to have the time for much else. This also accounts for my consistent absence on facebook. All that is ok though. I don't think I'd change a thing. I prefer my life today without regrets. All that time whining about wondering when my life will "begin" beyond singleness and beyond Tom Thumb has arrived.

My wife went out of town for 4 days this weekend and I found myself "free" in a sense. I spent plenty of time watching star trek, going to the dollar movies, doing little projects around the apartment, running errands, reading, taking naps, eating badly, looking at prices of old sports cars on ebay, staying up late, and sleeping in. It was the single life. I enjoyed a larger bed (It's not easy to fit 2 people on a full sized bed). But you know... when day 4 came, the single life got old. I was bored and I missed my wonderful wife. I did learn that I really need personal time to think, process, and recharge, but eventually I'm reminded that too much of that time is what I wanted to escape through a good job and marriage... and I have. It truly is the good life and I wouldn't trade it for star trek, a sports car, or any combination of money and junk that moth and rust would destroy. I love my wife and I thank God for how He has so graciously provided for me.


One of the things I got to do was go witnessing Saturday night with Nick, his old roommate and his roommate's wife. There weren't many opportunities for personal conversation so Nick and I preached a few times. We were in the same location in Sundance Square near the apartment complex. Nearly every time and everywhere we preach we get complaints. It's just the nature of it. It's clear to me that people complain not primarily because of the noise, but because of the annoying message of the gospel and the confrontation of sin. It never ceases to amaze me how much contemporary Christians and churches get so caught up in sharing the "love of Jesus" that they think when people get offended, we must not be loving enough or we must be doing something wrong. We never speak of sharing the wrath of Jesus, only His love. I'm convinced this Christian ignorance of the sinful nature in the lost is giving Satan much victory in our day. Churches, pastors, and Bible colleges seem to have become so concerned with relevance, receptiveness, pragmatism, and results that we have wandered away from a biblical understanding of unredeemed man and how to reach him.

So of course we had another episode in downtown... this time not with the police, but with the security. I don't think I saw one police officer down there but I saw many security personnel on bikes. After warning us that people might call and that if they call it would be a problem... they of course came back after being called. It's interesting to me how when people call and complain it's as if they are making the law. People can complain all they want, but it doesn't remove or modify our first amendment rights. They have the same rights to speak as I do. So the security guards came and asked us to move. I explained to him that the best locations for foot traffic were nearest the apartment buildings which were also nearest the restaurants and entertainment venues. He tried to suggest other locations, but I said frankly that people will complain no matter where we are. If we go nearer a restaurant then that place will complain. If we go near apartments then they will complain. If we go near the bars then those people will call and complain. The truth is no one wants to hear the gospel message and we can't change that. I told him we'd be leaving in about 45 min. but that we were going to stay and do what we came to do.

They came by a few more times to tell us we were being too loud. I know I was being loud... it was intentional. I explained that I want people to hear the message... it's not hard to understand. In fact especially those people who are complaining need to hear the message. But here's my main observation for the night ... For Christians who don't like to mention clearly the wrath of God and discuss sin in a no-nonsense way as the Bible does and teaches... this is for you...

After I finished preaching, my friend Nick got up to preach. Nick isn't quite as loud as I am and not surprisingly... one of the security guards rode by to also tell him he was being too loud. When would it end to the point where the complainers would be satisfied? The Answer: When we were so quiet that no one could be bothered by the message of eternal life. Nick responded to the guard by raising his voice a bit as he preached. I think Satan can use unbelieving security guards. If they don't believe then they are his children the Bible says. they are "children of wrath." They are yet another means for Satan to drown out the preaching of the gospel. For this reason it's SO hard to be gracious toward them and cooperate with them in any way. If we know our rights I wonder if we should just exercise them without interruption so the gospel isn't hindered. Every moment we aren't sharing out there (or anywhere really) because of an interruption is a dare I say, a moment or a few minutes of victory for Satan. If the world had its way we would cooperate with them so much so that the gospel could only be communicated to ourselves in a sound proof room behind a locked door. I fear and know inside that one day our "cooperating" will cooperate the gospel right out of the picture. But do you know what's worse than that? When Christians cooperate without being asked to. They cooperate by only sharing the most inoffensive things they can about the gospel. Sadly however, when they do this... they are no longer presenting the gospel of the Bible. Is it too far to say they are presenting a gospel that Satan has authorized and supported? One that does not offend and fills our churches with false converts that go out and try to produce other false converts? An old friend of mine once said, "Satan loves to teach people how to share the gospel." I think his students are passing with flying colors and yet in God's school they are already expelled.

Witnessing Reports

4-12-13: “My Wife is Dying of Cancer You Idiot!”

Though there was a vulgar group of tattooed college aged kids singing filthy songs behind us trying to drown out the preaching in rebellion and Alex spoke with a drunk guy who couldn’t even say a clear sentence, our most interesting encounter this night began when a police officer told us there had been a complaint about our preaching. At that location (which had been the best one since the construction in downtown ft. worth there was an apartment building directly to our left. Other times we’ve seen people listening to the preaching out their window. I told the officer that I was surprised they could hear us over the loud vulgar singing of the other group. He said we could move to another location, lower our voices, or that we didn’t have to listen to him at all. While this is true, I was curious as to why he said that. He said an older man called making the complaints and that he complains about everything. We continued preaching however because the laws and ordinances allow us to preach for as long, as loud, and as late as we want without amplified sound. I suspected that this old man needed the gospel anyway.

As I was preaching later, I saw this old man storming across the street over to me and he kinda slapped me in the stomach, walked about 5 feet away, stopped, and said I need to talk to you RIGHT NOW! You need to come here RIGHT NOW! And he pointed to the ground in front of him. The slap felt like it wanted to be a punch because it stung. It occurred to me at that time that he had no authority to tell me to do any such thing. When he saw I wasn’t cooperating immediately, he stood a foot in front of me and yelled, “I’ve called the police and security ____ times!” “My wife is dying of cancer you idiot!” This was at about 8:30pm or so, so it wasn’t terribly late. My thought later though I don’t think I told him in the moment was that his wife having cancer just meant she needed what I had to say all the more… as did he. It’s interesting how when the police didn’t solve his problem he took matters into his own hands. This is what sin does. It only cooperates to it’s own interests. Unbelievers also think it selfish and offensive of us to preach in such circumstances, but God and other believers always rejoice when the gospel is preached. The bottom line is that it’s better for someone to be inconvenienced and hear the message that will save their souls than to be comfortable and yet comfortably headed to hell. I told we have a legal right to be there. He then called me a liar. I said I’d been doing it for a long time and I know. He then said I’d been a liar for all that time. The reality was he was hindering the gospel so as I was about to start preaching over him, Alex stepped in and asked him to step back a few times or he would call the police. He ignored this and said, “Call them!” Then Ron (an older gentleman) stepped in with the most unlikely response.

Ron interrupted the man and said if his wife has cancer then we need to pray for her. He didn’t respond favorably to that and eventually he saw a bicycle cop off to the side and said, “officer!” He went over to the police officer and I continued preaching. The officer told him I was legally allowed so he proceeded to yell at the rest of the group and stormed away. The group then prayed for him and his wife. Minutes later he stormed back and asked my wife for a gospel tract! While we don’t know his intentions for the tract, it could have been that God was already doing something in his heart.  


4-20-13: Main St. Arts Festival

The Main St. Arts Festival in downtown Ft. Worth, Sundance Square this year lasted from Thursday to Sunday night. A few went out Thursday night and we joined them late that night. We just handed out tracts and had one conversation with an intellectual guy who liked to debate everything we had to say. Near the end I finished the conversation with the same point I enjoy making with Atheists and Agnostics… “The truth is that you don’t need a good argument or better information because it’s not a head issue, but a heart issue. You know that if there was a God and the Bible is true then you would be subject to Him and would have to order your life around Him and that’s a terrifying thought. It’s so terrifying that you’ll believe anything but the truth or you’ll make up your own belief system to suit how you live. You do this because it’s more comfortable to feel like you’re in control of your life and free from moral standards.” Kirk Cameron used this in one of the episodes of The Way of The Master and I’ve never forgotten it. It really stops the mouth of the Atheist because they realize how true it is. On that particular episode the woman actually nodded in agreement with Kirk and in my case the guy did something similar.

Alex went out to preach by himself Friday night and my wife and I went out with him again Saturday night. When we got there Saturday I saw the same bagpipe player that tried to drown out the preaching 7 years ago when I went before. I was also struck with fear. I hadn’t been to such festivals in years and there were so many people. We handed out some tracts and I waited for Alex to arrive an hour later. When he did, we chose a good preaching location and he stood up first to preach. Alex preached 3-4 times as did I and our friend Ron preached once also. We had a number of hecklers, but only one of them was consistent. Alex had two women that pretended to be lesbians just to see what he would say about homosexuality and he said it was a sin. I had a large angry man who asked what I believed about the law and I told him believers aren’t under the law and he yelled that I was wrong. He said he was a messianic Jew and that we do have to keep the law. Apparently he hadn’t read Galatians, Romans, or Hebrews. The fun heckler was a man who ran the art booth to our right. We were positioned on the corner of Main St. and 3rd in front of a Jewelry store and the booth was in the street slightly to our right.

Minutes after I began preaching the artist running the booth walked up and stood a foot away from me yelling that I was stealing from him. He said he paid for that booth space and I was stealing business from him. I’m surprised he didn’t play the guitar he had to try to drown us out. I told him if he wanted to talk he could step back. He refused so I preached over him. Later Ron preached and Ron said the artists out there were merely mimicking what God had done in creation. God was the ultimate creator. The artist harassed him afterward claiming Ron was bashing the artists with his comment. Ron wasn’t bashing the artists however. He was merely explaining how good God was. A family from our church showed up to watch and hand out some tracts and after Alex and I were burnt out from preaching, some of us went to the restroom and returned only to find that another group of about 5-6 more people, some of them preachers had seemingly taken the next shift of the night (also right by that artist’s booth! Lol) and they weren’t bad either. Apparently one of them knew me by first and last name, even remembering what we talked about when we met years ago. We exchanged a few numbers.

The real excitement happened just as we were about to leave. Alex stood near the artist’s booth and was about to compliment him on his art (because Alex wants to study art himself and go to college for it), but the man turned around to argue with us again. He said he just finished a conversation with a woman who had cancer. She apparently stopped by earlier but wouldn’t talk because of the preaching. He told me these were “God-loving” people out at the festival who just wanted to have conversations, a peaceful time, and fun. I explained to him that we had freedom of speech in a public place, but that didn’t matter to him. I almost thought with the God-loving statement that he was claiming to be a Christian so I explained that the bottom line was that people who truly love God will rejoice at any circumstance that the gospel is preached. I said the fact that people were dying and going to hell is more important than people having conversations and having fun AND more important than making money. He opened his mouth in a hilariously wide fashion in utter shock at my saying something like that. It should have occurred to me sooner that if this man was opposing the preaching in the beginning, it had to mean he was not a Christian. A Christian rejoices at the preaching of the gospel. In fact we had a number of believers shake our hands while preaching and at one point an entire church group who said how encouraged they were by the preaching. The artist and his friend began asking what it would be like if they came to our place of business and began preaching. I told them I would rather lose my job and my money and the gospel be preached than to make money and it not be preached. Unbelievers can’t handle this kind of reasoning because as Scripture says… it is foolishness to them. This was a classic example of loving money more than God. They were more concerned with making money than they were people going to hell.

This wasn’t the end of it however. The artist was derailed by another guy out there witnessing who decided to continue the argument with him while his friend began arguing with me. He explained that we could have preached there for 30 minutes and moved to a different location. I certainly understood his reasoning, but what if we did that do you think he would see that gesture and go to bed that night thinking he should get saved? Possibly, but not probably. We’d also run into the same problem anywhere else we moved. We couldn’t move away from the booths as another artist suggested because that’s not where the people were. Frankly we didn’t legally have to move and though it may sound harsh, I wasn’t concerned with the artists making money nor was I concerned with them “feeling better” about us. Unbelievers take as many liberties as they can. If we compromise with them on one thing, they’ll likely push for another until we have such things like “free speech locations” on public college campuses where they try to regulate a 1st Amendment right, thereby restricting freedom not permitting it. I was unwilling to move, if for no other reason that this artist and his friend would be themselves be flooded with the gospel message… because they clearly needed it. The bottom line was that the gospel is more important than their money and their business. In the grand scheme of eternity, this has to be true. An eternal perspective realizes this and acts accordingly.

My wife nudged me to bring to my attention to the fact that the conversation was going nowhere so I motioned to Alex that we should go. We'd already been there for about 5 hours. The artist’s friend at this point began yelling and chasing us back to our vehicle. He angrily stomped beside me causing a scene as we walked yelling at me that I was selfish, that I was not acting like a Christian, and saying this was how it feels to be bothered when you can’t do anything about it. It’s interesting that I was apparently the selfish one considering their concern was money over souls. As we walked I knew that if something wasn’t done he would follow us to our vehicle and I didn’t want him to know what we drove or where we parked so I took us into Barnes n Noble for refuge. He knew he couldn’t yell in there so he cussed at us as we walked in and left. We were then able to call security to escort us to our vehicles. Such a good lesson in the sinful nature. I truly believe that if Christians really were on the frontlines sharing their faith they would see this level of depravity and rebellion toward God in all its glory. Their eyes would be opened to just how much the world needs the hard truths of judgment, hell, and repentance. We must speak the truth in love, not simply speak love. To share grace without truth is remove the reason for the grace in the beginning.

Isaiah 40 and The Greatness of God

I've been reading through Isaiah and recently I've come to Ch.40. These few chapters in the book are SO God-exalting that I couldnt help but write a bit from them.

"...All flesh is grass, and all its loveliness is like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades, When the breath of the LORD blows upon it;
Surely the people are grass. The grass withers, the flower fades,
But the word of our God stands forever." (40:6c-8)

Here we're reminded that men are small before God. Isaiah uses a metaphor here to say flesh "is" grass. We know this isn't literal. The imagery here is clear though. All of us can relate to seeing grass in all its' glory. We've seen a grassy field when it's a healthy crisp dark green and we've seen it as a short crumbly yellow. We've seen flowers when they're fully bloomed and beautiful and we've seen the petals fallen, curled up, and dried. Here Isaiah says the life of the grass and the life of the flower is in the hand of the Lord... or more specifically in the "breath" of the Lord. This tells us God is the giver of life and secondarily He is in charge of the seasons and the weather. That makes me wonder... we sure do complain a lot about the weather don't we? It's almost never how we want it... it's either too hot or too cold. I wonder how our perspective might change if we see the weather as God's will and God's doing. If we did, perhaps we wouldn't complain... we'd have a small daily reminder to accept what God is doing even when it isn't comfortable for us. If we can do that with the weather... it might be easier for us to roll with what God is doing when He does things differently in the bigger areas of our lives, huh?

God also holds human life in His hands. Again, this reminds us of the attitude we are to have when loved ones die. When life is given and when life is taken... it's of God. We need to sift through our emotions to see that God's wisdom, timing, and decisions are by nature greater than our minds could ever fully understand. We shouldn't complain therefore, but should trust that He knows what He's doing. God made us emotional beings in His image, but we must submit those emotions to Him. Our emotions are subject being influenced by our unsanctified flesh. We can experience circumstances in life that help us allow our emotions to crash forth in floods. These floods of emotion that often come from pain are what crowd out wisdom and a biblical understanding of the character of God and the truths of His Word. This is partly why we sin as believers... we allow our circumstances to affect our human emotions to such an extent that we forget the commands, truths, and words of God in Scripture. When we forget those things we act on our emotions too quickly and fall into sin. I believe this is the case for MUCH of our sin in life.

This is why v.8 says "the word of our God stands forever." The word of God stands beyond withering grass, weather, and fading human life. It's the Word of God we are to stand on. Time and seasons pass. People die. Our constant in all this however is the living Word of our God. He knows seasons pass and people die... in fact, it's all in His capable hands. We must therefore look at these things and be drawn not to our emotions or self help books, but to THE book of God's written revelation.

V.12-14 continue to exalt God. He carefully created the earth. He "measured," "marked off," "calculated," and "weighed" the elements as only He could do. Evolution couldn't do this. Evolution works practically by accident or as it goes, right? The principle of Evolution is that it adapts to its' surroundings. God didn't have to do that. He did it all from the beginning. He planned the end from the beginning. Nothing surprises Him. We find similar statements in v.22 as He "stretches out the heavens like a curtain." In v.26 we learn that God put an exact number of stars and has names for the stars in the sky and that according to his plan and purpose... "not one of them is missing." Evolution didn't do this... a sovereign God with purpose did it.

Look back at v.15-20. Here God is contrasted with the other nations, those who think they are powerful. Scripture says "they are like a drop in the bucket." A drop is pretty small. Put a drop of water in a bucket and hold it out in the sun... it dries up quickly. A comparison is a consideration of similarities and a contrast is a consideration of differences. Here God is contrasted with the nations. Lebanon is mentioned specifically. This contrast culminates in v.18-20 where we are asked rhetorically, "To whom then will you liken God? Or what likeness will you compare with Him? As for the idol, a craftsman casts it, a goldsmith plates it with gold, and a silversmith fashions chains of silver. He who is too impoverished for such an offering selects a tree that does not rot; he seeks out for himself a skillful craftsman to prepare an idol that will not totter." The implication is that nothing can compare to God!

What I find interesting here though is that with all the Bible's talk (especially the OT) of idols and with all God's righteous hatred of idols... we're never told the process idol worshipers went through. This passage gives incredible detail. It says there are idols for rich people and idols for poor. Think about this... idolatry was a business in Bible times. Idols were merchandise that different grades and quality. I believe we're given this information not just as historical data... in fact I don't think that was its' purpose here at all. These details of idol manufacturing are given to us in subtle sarcasm. Imagine how much thought went into idol making, idol sales and purchases, idol advertising, etc. Can you see why God hated it so much? To say idolatry was premeditated is an understatement. People bought idols like we would buy furniture or a television. It was commonplace, tolerated, household sin. Today the issue isn't so much material idols in the way described in Isaiah, but mental idols. We spend just as much time forming, crafting, thinking about, and nursing an infatuation of other idols in our minds. For humanity these idols could be false gods that are ok with the way they're living. A false god doesn't judge us and only considers things sinful when we do.

Finally the classic passage in Isaiah 40 is at the end in v.29-31,

"He gives strength to the weary,
And to him who lacks might He increases power.
30 Though youths grow weary and tired,
And vigorous young men stumble badly,
31 Yet those who [l]wait for the LORD
Will gain new strength;
They will [m]mount up with [n]wings like eagles,
They will run and not get tired,
They will walk and not become weary."

Here we're told God gives strength. He gives it to those who wait on Him. Often times of waiting are the hardest times. The waiting itself can make us grow weary and tired. We find renewal however in waiting not simply for the sake of waiting, but waiting "on the Lord." When our waiting is focused on God we're reminded again that He is in charge and if there's anyone we can wait on AND trust in... it's God. Waiting on God never brings disappointment.

Thank you Lord for Isaiah 40. :)

Updates and speaking of dates...

Hello again blog,
We’ve been apart for some time now it feels. It’s hard to believe the last time I wrote was in late October. Let me update a bit. Life has been good and I’m still taking it easy. I find that on some levels I’m still healing from my last breakup. It’s been a challenge at times to re-examine my thoughts on how I view God’s leading, how view the way relationships should be done, how I view the emotions of a woman. I’ve asked a lot of questions and done a lot of thinking and talking with friends. I’m glad to say that through all my speculation I’m sure the Lord has it all figured out and this takes some pressure off. My approach has been to simply have the faith of a child. A child doesn’t worry about where their next meal will come from or if they’ll have a roof over their head tomorrow or any of that. A child has a simple faith. As I’ve had time to take a step back and rethink some things, I’ve come to realize just how much we can complicate life. Trying to discern and read God can really come back to bite you if you put too much weight on what you think He’s doing. It’s one thing to trust God for your future, but it’s whole different thing to trust God for the future that you want for yourself and get upset when He starts doing something different.
I continue to recover and regroup emotionally and spiritually. I say I’ve taken things a day at a time because frankly that’s all I’ve had strength to do. I’m healing well however, growing still, drawing near to Him, and pursuing Him where He has me today. I’ve realized that it takes more faith to trust God when I truly don’t know what’s next than it does to trust Him for what I in my mind THINKS is next. I’m tired of worrying what’s next. The interior repair job is going well. It can be hard at times learning new things and getting frustrated when I mess it up. It’s a fun job though. I look forward to getting better and doing it well. The pool job let me go. The owner wanted to fire one of his employees and seemed to have all these dreams of hiring me on full time eventually to take his place. He talked it up real big even though I told him I’d given my other job a 2 year commitment. I worked at the pool job part time for a little while until he asked me one day if I was good with going full time in January. I told him again I had given my word to the other job. I was willing to work part time for the pool job until God closed the door on it and I went full time with the other one or until something else happened. I don’t know the future but I was willing to continue and let God do what He wanted to do. The night before my next workday at just after 10pm the owner sent me a text message and let me go, saying my last paychecks would be taped to his door. I was disappointed he did it over text message and that he was willing to move forward and expect me to break the commitment I’d given to the other job for him. What would it have said of me if I couldn’t keep my word with someone else? I’m glad God did this however. There was a lot of drama with that company that I was brought into unnecessarily and I just trust that God was protecting me from something He didn’t want for me. I’ve picked up some construction work with my pastor and am working my main job part time. Looks like I’ve been learning a lot of new things lately.
Still leading music at church and teaching every now and then. I got to do almost the entire Christmas service… it was stressful with so much on my shoulders and a number of technical difficulties all happening at once, but we pulled it off! The gospel was preached, though I could’ve been a little deeper and had more application I think. It was a simple message. My friend and I are talking of teaching an evangelism class. I’ve dreamed of doing that for some time. We’d probably start with the youth and see how it would go with the adults. We’ll see if it actually happens this time, lol. It takes a lot of planning and commitment to do something like that.
Other than that, I’m pleased to announce I’ve quit the world of online dating. I met a wonderful woman on Christianmingle. We chatted for about a week, then dated a few times over a period of about a month, then we decided to tell the others we were talking to that we planned to invest in eachother. We agreed that the next logical step was make it official. Since her parents aren’t believers, I pursued the man who she considers her spiritual father, asked his blessing, and we’ve been together for about 2 months now. I never thought I’d ever agree to just casual dating, but this was different. It wasn’t without direction or without talk of serious things. She’s 23 and has been saved for about 6 years. She’s the only believer in her family as I am. Strangely enough we have a very similar personality mix, though that ultimately isn’t a big deal for me… it’s just a plus. Being with her has shown me just how much Choleric is mixed into my personality or is at least learned. It’s interesting how well we can interact, joke, and yet have deep conversations. Beyond all this, it’s been so refreshing for me to actually feel wanted for the man who God has made me. For so long now and especially recently I’ve felt so rejected. For so long I’d heard things like, “Joseph, you’re a great guy, but…” I’d heard it in so many ways that I was growing so tired. I’d also shown it in so many ways as best I could… with the women in my life as friends and even those whom I was interested in and when I was in a relationship. It just seemed however that no matter how much I did, no matter how hard I tried, no matter much I tried to show love, leadership, and protection to my sisters in Christ… when it came to more than friends, it was always met with the message that it wasn’t good enough for one reason or another. I kept asking God why He made me the man I am and why He taught me what He had only for it to be rejected. It seems that only a woman who had been treated badly, who couldn’t find a man with the courage to pursue, who was willing to give and be vulnerable but was tired of being taken advantage of… only this kind of woman could appreciate a man that treats her well. And this is what has happened. If I’m to be honest… I found it hard to believe a woman like this could exist. I was beginning to lose hope in women altogether. God has been gracious to me. Though I refuse to presume I know the future… I’m glad that today God has given me a woman who is more than I’d hoped for. She’s not perfect, but that’s good because that means we have something in common!

Being Faithful Where I Am

"...I try and try
To read your mind
‘Cause I forget that patience is a virtue
You’re teaching me to hold on tight

(Chorus)
‘Cause I don’t know how the story ends
But I’ll be alright ‘cause You wrote it
I don’t know where the highway bends
But I’m doing just fine
‘Cause You’re in control
Even when I don’t know
Where my life’s gonna go
You’re keeping me guessing

So slow me down
Show me around
I want to see the world
That I’ve been without
I am here and now
The future is out of my hands..." -Keeping Me Guessing By Francesca Battistelli



Today is a slightly grumpy and tired day, but you probably can't read it on my front door. Was up late with a friend having a great time of laughter and inside jokes then up even later watching Fireproof again. I was reminded and encouraged when the dad in the movie says in the Love Dare book that "Love in it's truest sense is not based on feelings." Oh how often I've thought lately... what if Jesus' love for us was based on things we did or how He felt at the time. I'm so thankful Christ gives us a picture of biblical love and so glad at how His example has penetrated and dominated my thinking on the subject.

As to "love," I find myself having entered the world of online Christian dating. Had a few interesting experiences... one of them taught me a lot about how shallow I can be, but beyond that it helped to humble me, which I always need. It seems God knew what He was doing in that situation... doesn't He always? Other than that, I find it's an interesting world... the people on the site don't play games at all. They're either going to get to know ya on purpose for the possibility of a relationship or they don't want to waste time. The ones nearer my age are looking toward marriage. That's what I like so much about all this... both people know why they're on the site and are unashamed of that. It's refreshing really. We'll see what God does. I've learned so much about contentment in this area. In some sense my head is still left spinning at what looks like my inability to see what God is or isn't doing. I feel a lot like Miss Battistelli in the lyrics above... God is "keeping me guessing." What I'm beginning to learn though is that it doesn't help much to wear yourself out continuing the guessing. Jeremy Camp sings a song called "one Day at a Time" that ends this way...

"One day at a time I will take these words you've given me
One day at a time I will rest in knowing you
One day at a time I will share this gift you've given me
One day at a time I will walk these valleys through

All I know is that I see how much my heart
Is longing to be cradled by your side
And i'll give all i can to one day soon
Be held by your hand, by your hand

In all these things i will press on
I'll be with you i know it wont be long"


Amen to that. Ya know... I'm done trying to figure God out. I'm done thinking I know what He's doing. I'm ready to just let God be God and rest knowing that if I throw my hands up in confusion... that the confusion must come from me or another human being because God is not the author of confusion. He's got this. Thank you Lord... for being You.

In the spirit of taking it a day at a time, I've been leading music, choosing songs, and practicing with the worship team at church. It's a whole new world, but I'm enjoying being involved... taking responsibility. The only frustrating part is that I don't like looking at the congregation during the service. I look down or up. I don't want their eyes on me or to know their eyes are on me. It's not about me and I don't even want a hint of it feeling that way. Musical worship should be such that it's as if no one else is in the room. Mmmm, one day we'll be with Him as Jeremy Camp said and I can't wait for that day. I've also had the privilege of making the announcement powerpoints for before service. I like doing the little behind the scenes monotonous stuff! The pastor and I are also rotating through teaching Hebrews Sunday nights. I've enjoyed it so far. I SO thank God for the opportunities to serve Him and gain experience here at my church! Looks like I'll be here doing it for awhile longer too...

Doors have opened to learn a couple new trades... I'll be learning to service swimming pools and to do interior work on cars. There is some risk involved, but honestly... I'm at the point in my life where I need the risk. It'll be good to get out of the grocery business for at least a couple years. Hopefully, but not expectantly the Lord will provide the next steps in life in this season here in Texas. But right now... I have today and today doesn't worry about tomorrow, it's faithful with what it's given. I've been given a wonderful church with people and leaders that trust me and encourage my involvement! I'm being given jobs that will grant the freedom I've wanted for so long now AND let me learn something new! I've been given people and friends to whom I can minister and who can minister to me! I've been given Today! Oh Lord may I not waste it...

Devote Yourself... Immerse Yourself...

"Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. 13Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching. 14Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you by prophecy when the council of elders laid their hands on you. 15Practice these things, immerse yourself in them, so that all may see your progress. 16Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers." -1 Tim. 4:12-16


A good friend recently gave me some timeless advice... he said when he was going through a difficult time emotionally, he immersed himself in ministry. As I've struggled with maintaining emotional stability I've realized that I have too much time on my hands. Too much time can lead to too much speculation, too much remembering, too much worrying about tomorrow when today has enough in itself. So I've made the decision to be busy about the things of God. My pastor has been prodding me to learn to lead music. I think he wants to eventually give me that responsibility. I texted him and said let's do it and let's also plan the next time I get to preach. I need to be in the Word more. I read every day, but I need to serve others with it. I know there's an interesting phenomenon that when you invest in the lives of others and serve them... you're own troubles have a way of fading into the background. So, Lord... may that happen for me as I immerse myself in the things of You, the gems of Your Word, and the service of Your people.

More From Sacred Marriage By Gary Thomas

"A magnificent marriage begins not with knowing one another, but with knowing God." -Gary and Betsy Ricucci

Gary explains how his single life changed after marriage.. "Overnight everything had changed. My usual rituals and spiritual habits just didn't seem to 'fit' my life anymore. I had to find new ones."

"Marriage virtually forces us into the intense act of reconciliation. It's easy to get along with people if you never get close to them. I could undoubtedly allow a certain immaturity to remain in my life as a single man, choosing not to deal with my selfishness and judgmental spirit..."

"I'm not obligated to be in a relationship with everybody, so there's nothing inherently wrong with simply sidestepping people who really raise my blood pressure. That option is obliterated in marriage. My wife and I live together every day. We are going to disagree about some things, and I am unquestionably obligated to maintain my intimacy with her. When we face unrealized expectations, disappoint each other, or even maliciously wound each other, will we allow dissension-which God hates-to predominate, or will we do the necessary relational work to press ahead to unity?"

"Many marital disputes result precisely from this: 'You want something but don't get it.' James says we don't get it because we're looking in the wrong place. Instead of placing demands on your spouse, look to God to have your needs met."

Gary confronts a common misconception that young single adults often believe "once their life mate is found, they assume, everything else will fall into place. Their loneliness, their insecurity, their worries about their own significance-all this and more will somehow mystically melt away in the fire of marital passion."

"When disillusionment breaks through, we have one of two choices: Dump our spouse and become infatuated with somebody new, or seek to understand the message behind the disillusionment-that we should seek our significance, meaning, and purpose in our Creator rather than in another human being."

From C. S. Lewis... "If you want to make sure of keeping [your heart] intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in a casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket-safe, dark, motionless, airless-it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable."

"Kathleen and Thomas Hart write, 'Sometimes what is hard to take in the first years of marriage is not what we find out about our partner, but what we find out about ourselves. As one young woman who had been married for about a year said, 'I always thought of myself as a patient and forgiving person. Then I began to wonder if that was because I had never before gotten close to anyone. In marriage, when John and I began... dealing with differences, I how saw small and unforgiving I could be. I discovered a hardness in me I had never experienced before.'"

"I believe it is possible to enter marriage with a view to being cleansed spiritually, if, that is, we do so with a willingness to embrace marriage as a spiritual discipline. To do this, we must not enter marriage predominantly to be fulfilled, emotionally satisfied, or romantically charged, but rather to become more like Jesus Christ. We must embrace the reality of having our flaws exposed to our partner, and thereby having them exposed to us as well. Sin never seems quite as shocking when it is known only to us; when we see how it looks or sounds to another, it is magnified ten times over."

"The times that I am happiest and most fulfilled in my marriage are the times when I am intent on drawing meaning and fulfillment from becoming a better husband rather than from demanding a 'better' wife."

About God's relationship with Israel... "Now take these examples and break them down, thinking of them in a smaller context. There were times of great joy and celebration, frustration and anger, infidelity and apostasy, and excruciating seasons of silence. Sound like any relationship you know? Your own marriage, for example? Viewed through this lens, the marriage relationship allows us to experientially identify with God and His relationship with Israel."

"So often it isn't that our marriages are either good or bad-they just are. We get tired of the routine and the sameness, and our souls occasionally grow numb toward each other. Kathleen and Thomas Hart depict it this way: 'Marriage is a long walk two people take together. Sometimes the terrain is very interesting, sometimes rather dull. At times the walk is arduous, for both person or for one. Sometimes the conversation is lively; at other times, there is not much to say. The travelers do not know exactly where they are going, nor when they will arrive.'"

"When I hear of couples who break up after just three or four years, I feel sad because they haven't even begun to experience what being married is really like. It's sort of like climbing halfway up a mountain but never getting to see the sights; you're in the middle of the task, your soul is consumed with the struggle, but it's too much too soon to experience the full rewards. Evaluating your marriage so soon is like trying to eat a cake that's half baked. Becoming one-in the deepest, most intimate sense-takes time. It's a journey that never really ends, but it takes at least the span of a decade for the sense of intimacy to really display itself in the marriage relationship."

About the world of earthly and horizontal considerations VS the world of heavenly eternal considerations, "Around which world is your life centered? Your marriage will ultimately reveal the answer to that question."

"We're always looking at what our spouses have done wrong, but God wants us to deal with our own heart first."

"They dream in courtship, but in wedlock wake." -Alexander Pope

"We have it so easy that we can begin to be lulled to sleep, thinking that life should be easy or that it will always be easy. Once it gets a little difficult, we tend to become consumed with trying to make our lives comfortable again. But by doing so we miss a great spiritual opportunity."

"Our demands for comfort and ease show us what we truly value. It is the definitive demonstration of whether we are living for God's kingdom and service or for our own comfort and reputation."

If there is one thing young engaged couples need to hear, it's that a good marriage is not something you find, it's something you work for. It takes struggle. You must crucify your selfishness. You must at times confront, and at other times confess. The practice of forgiveness is essential."

"One of the great spiritual challenges for any Christian is to become less self-absorbed. We are born intensely self-focused."

"I believe that Christian marriage is also about learning to fall forward. Obstacles arise, anger flares up, and weariness dulls our feelings and our senses. When this happens the spiritually immature respond by pulling back, becoming more distant from their spouse, or even seeking to start over with somebody 'more exciting.' Yet maturity is reached by continuing to move forward past the pain and apathy."

"Even in the moments of anger, betrayal, exasperation, and hurt, we are called to pursue this person, to embrace them, and to grow toward them, to let our love redefine our feelings of disinterest, frustration, and even hate." AMEN!

"Many married couples have experienced this same phenomenon. Our thinking and our turn of phrases have literally been so shaped by each other's presence that we have begun to resemble one person."

"In the rush of infatuation, the person standing before us seems virtually infinite in his or her mystery, beauty, insight, and ability to create the feeling of pure pleasure in us. Just a few months or perhaps years later, it is amazing how finite and earthly this 'angel' has become."




Lord, my prayers continue. Thank you God for bringing this book into my life. The truth contained in it I believe is probably the best weapon against the road that leads to divorces. Lord, did you bring me this book so I can use it in counseling in the future? Did you bring it to comfort and affirm me in my time of great need? Did you send it to me at this exact time in my life to let me know I'm not crazy? To let me know that it's not just my sphere of influence agreeing with me? Oh Lord... for whatever reasons you brought me this book, it has done all those things. God I thank you for this author and how he has shown me that I'm not alone. Oh Father... you have shown me so much. Help me now to let these truths and your sovereignty reach my heart more and more as the days and hours pass.

Happy Birthday in Chicago.

This past weekend was such a blessing to my heart. A friend paid to fly me up to Chicago for Saturday through Tuesday night. Not only that, but he took days off for us to spend time together and... planned a surprise party for me! About 8 friends hid in my room with the light off only to surprise me with balloons and happy birthdays. I was SO touched and I SO needed it. We hung out, had pizza, and played Apples to Apples. I got to use some birthday money to get a new Moody hat, some running shoes, and a copy of Sacred Influence By Gary Thomas. I got to meet with my two favorite professors... Dr. Burke and prof. Dallesandro. Had coffee with a friend, played pool and Foosball with a friend, hung out with others. I got to do some street preaching with Matthew. I'm sad to say dancing didn't work out. I got to see nearly everyone I wanted to. I even got to go running along the beach twice. God is so good.

Being there gave me time to take a step back from this past year since I finished... to rest, regroup emotionally, and draw strength from the Lord in a fresh way. Walking around campus I could very much relate to Proverbs 14:13, "Even in laughter the heart may ache, and the end of joy may be grief." The past few days have allowed me to come to terms with my last few memories of Moody, the environment, the campus, what I did and where I stood, and the things on my mind. Though I was laughing with friends, giving hugs, and having fun... I found that some memories (no matter how good they were) could be colored by what happens after them. Sometimes our life experiences come to carry a different significance and different emotions as our life plays out. I was encouraged however that as I really sought the Lord about where my heart was... I found that I was not consumed by the "ache." The school is remodeling Culby 2 and soon the prayer chapel would no longer exist. I later found that students weren't allowed on the floor. That's ok... I'm no longer a student! As I walked in the room the doors were removed, but everything else was untouched. It felt as if (though I'm prolly stretching it, lol) God knew I'd be returning that weekend. I spent so much time in prayer, so many Wednesdays with the Lord in that room. I'd shed tears there, trained students for evangelism, lifted up my sisters in Christ, and wrestled with God about what He was doing in my life.

I took the time meet with the Lord there one last time... to pray, to cry, to sing, and in the spirit of the Psalmists... to ask God to remember me. I asked Him to remember the times we shared in that room, the requests I made, the issues I wrestled with Him about... they haven't changed. The trip ended with an encouraging thought brought back to my memory. Matthew 6 says not to worry about your needs, that worrying will not add a single hour to your life. It says not to worry about tomorrow, the future, because today has enough in itself. Though I've read those words so many times... my emotions forgot them. It seems a constant struggle for us weak and fearful creatures to connect our heart and our head... our desires and our Theology. I flew home with a renewed sense that God has my future in His hands, where it has always been. It's safe there. God knew what He was doing, still knows what He is doing, and still knows what He will do. I must not worry about tomorrow, for my needs will be provided by the Lord in His time. He knows what is best for me and even when I don't understand Him and can't see what He is doing... I know that He is preparing my future for me and me for my future. Take your time Lord.

Remember His Provision, Heed His Discipline, and Enjoy His Blessing.

Deuteronomy 8:2-10 says, "You shall remember all the way which the LORD your God has led you in the wilderness these forty years, that He might humble you, testing you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. 3 He humbled you and let you be hungry, and fed you with manna which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you [a]understand that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the LORD. 4 Your clothing did not wear out on you, nor did your foot swell these forty years. 5 Thus you are to know in your heart that the LORD your God was disciplining you just as a man disciplines his son. 6 Therefore, you shall keep the commandments of the LORD your God, to walk in His ways and to [b]fear Him. 7 For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, flowing forth in valleys and hills; 8 a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and honey; 9 a land where you will eat food without scarcity, in which you will not lack anything; a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills you can dig copper. 10 When you have eaten and are satisfied, you shall bless the LORD your God for the good land which He has given you."

God reminded me recently about how stubborn and fickle the Israelites were. He gave them Manna in their wilderness and while it was what they needed and it was from God (adding to its quality), they told God they wanted meat. But all that time was to humble them, to test them, to see what was in their hearts, to see if they would stay true to the Lord. The purpose was to show them that food wasn't all it's cracked up to be... and it seems in the case of the Israelites that this meant the "good" food from Egypt. No, instead man lives and breathes from, by, and to the power and glory of God alone. They not only were unhappy with the food they were given... they actually wanted to go back to Egypt, as they found "safety" and comfort there, though it was a false comfort.

The advice given is to "remember." Remember what God has done for you. And as we remember... we are able to obey Him. Beyond this, the Israelites were told they were being led into the promised land. God gave them the end. I wish He'd do that in our lives sometimes, but then again... could we even handle that information? Haha. As I thought through this concept though and found this passage... oh how encouraged I am as I see that the Israelites are told the promised land will be good. It'll be so good that though they can't accept this at the moment... they will eat, be satisfied and bless God for His faithfulness to them. So many times we look at today and forget what God has done yesterday. We look at today and forget that God says He works all things for the good of those who love Him. The "good" is good because it comes from God. Lord, is there manna in my life that I can't see? That I refuse to see? Lord, will a time come when you bring your provision for me and all I'll see is what the Israelites saw? Will I grumble because I wanted something more glamorous? Will I complain because the Manna wasn't packaged in with my favorite color? Or will I be paying close attention with eyes wide open that I may "remember" what you have done in bringing me this provision? Lord, I know your ways are not my ways. Your thoughts are not my thoughts. I know Your provision will be "good" because it comes from You. God... may I be open and sensitive when You provide. May I not reject your provision. May I not be like the Israelites. But Lord, if by chance I am stubborn and blind... I ask you now... be gracious to me, for I am weak and emotional. I am double minded and unstable. I don't always know how to walk by faith and not by sight.


I've been thinking and praying a lot lately. Haven't had much time to do leisure reading. Been spending a lot of time in song. God is so good. Friends are so good. My friend who came to visit is paying to fly me to visit him in Chicago next weekend. It'll be the weekend of my birthday. I really need to regroup, rest, have fun with friends, and spend time with the Lord in the Culby 2 Prayer Chapel before they finish remodeling. Some friends and I are planning to go swing dancing. I'm trying to gather a few more people. My church is holding a birthday party for another friend who has the same birthday as I and I'm invited. Looking forward to it. Four days away from retail groceries by the grace of God. I don't know how they let me go without us having a Produce manager. Nothing new about a church to serve in. Have had other things to do lately so I haven't been searching for new churches to apply at. I'm kinda excited lately though... a pool cleaning company found me on craigslist. The job would pay what I'd need to live on my own and the owner was a pastor for 20 years. Trying to setup an interview this week and doing research on pool maintenance on my own. Lord, if you want me here longer than I'd thought... so be it. I've always wanted Your will before my own, no matter how hard or how many questions I have.