God's way really is the best way... why does it take so much time to BELIEVE it?
Why do we ask for a clean heart when he has given us a new heart? Our view of reality needs to catch up with what God HAS DONE. The "old" has gone the "new" has come!!! I am "beginning" to believe this and it is changing my life.
The church doesn't need any more "fads" in church growth- we need a revelation of Jesus.
We get uncomfortable when people refer to God as "Daddy" when praying in public but Jesus modeled it. Intimacy makes many of us uncomfortable. People are dying for intimacy with God; Jesus died so we can have that intimacy.
Religion (the bad kind) can find it's way into the most peculiar things: cutting edge methods, non-denominations, church planting, being "radical for Jesus". One degree off the "real thing" is religion. God help us stay with Jesus....
Religion can attract many people, only the Spirit of God can really bring New Life.
1 Cor 2:4-5
4 My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, 5 so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom , but on God's power.
NIV
AS we seek to use our minds and be informed it must never supersede our quest to ensure that we are relying on the Spirit's power so people won't put there faith in our wisdom. I long for the day that the "church" is marked by a demonstration of the Spirit's Power.
It never ceases to amaze me at how blind I can be to my own "stuff" and "issues". I think I might need a big shot of grace with my cafe' latte'.
To any who stumble on these ramblings- May you have a day that is closely connected with the one who makes all things NEW- even me and YOU!!!
Monday, November 14, 2005
Saturday, September 03, 2005
Jesus is Coming to Texas!!!
This just in: Jesus is coming to Texas. 75,000 people strong. Amidst pain, suffering, hunger, tears, chaos, rape, looting, finger pointing and blame, 75,000 homeless people are coming to the Lone Star State. No home. NO clothes. No food. No job. And many with no Savior.
Matt 25:37-40
37 "Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'
40 "The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' NIV
Father, please empower YOUR church to see YOUR SON. Please bring beauty out of the ashes.
Matt 25:37-40
37 "Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'
40 "The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' NIV
Father, please empower YOUR church to see YOUR SON. Please bring beauty out of the ashes.
Thursday, August 18, 2005
My Family
I am trying to get back into the BLOGosphere... posting more thoughts and learning to add photos... Here is a pic of my family!!! Rachel and I, Madeline (age 5) Samuel (3) and Lee and Tomlyn (2). I am a blessed man...
Wednesday, August 10, 2005
Good Summer
It has been a good summer. Our kids have moved to the "non-stroller" era freeing us up to go more places. God continues to grow our marriage and family towards His ways. I got to experience two days with our Youth Group in Mexico with our new youth pastor. What an amazing group!! God has shown me how much I need Him!!!Our church family(www.crossroadsdecatur.com ) has been able to experience a permanent facility. We have added several new faces to our church family. I have got to play golf more than once and play in a scramble with Cody Wadsworth, Jim Reynolds and Stephen Bailey!!! In fact- I got reconnected with Stephen after a long spell. I learned to play 42. God has worked miracles in the lives of the people I serve. I found a deer lease that I get to hunt on with my good old Friend Eric Fleming. Madeline and Samuel got to drive (with their dad) a CAT DC-6 bulldozzer with Bobby Mayfield. We celebrated the 4th of July in our back yard sending fireworks over our (and our neighbors) back pastures!! Listening Samuel scream with excitment when the "Texas Screamers" went off was worth every bit of the $50 I spent. God has broken areas of pride off my heart- still a long ways to go - but progress. I got to help teach Madeline and Samuel how to swim. Rachel and I finally established a pretty routine date night!!! I learned how to really pray for my family. My church has continued to let me learn how to preach... and not shot me. God has delivered me from strongholds I have had my whole life!!! I have grown very close to two leaders in my church: Todd Parks and Bill Sandford. Our staff has come together!! What a team!!! I am learning to live in the present. Judging people and other churches is looking more and more stupid to me. On our family we have started a new tradition of eating breakfast at the Cracker Barrel...comfort food baby!!! Our church has seen 40 men get into discpleship groups and meet weekly with two of them: Donald Willis and Jeremiah young- two pilgrims who want God 90 proof (inside joke). How can I be so blessed!!!
Our whole family has been illness free for over 2 months, we have food on the table and the riding lawn mower for our ranchette has run like a top. What more could you ask for?
God is so good. It has been a good summer.
Monday, March 21, 2005
Holy Moments
I love Holy Moments.
Those unplanned seconds that grab your heart and imagination and don't let go. Watching grandparents gaze at their grandchild saying, "Till death do us part" at a wedding with tears rolling down their cheeks. Knowing that each tear could tell a story of great times and hard times and everything in between. Experiencing the moving emotion in a movie like "Braveheart" when William Wallace yells "FREEDOM" and gives his life for it or in a musical like "Les Miserables" when grace gives Jean Valjean freedom. Maybe you've had one of these moments lately when one of your kids crawl up in your lap and spontaneously say, "Daddy, I Love You." Your heart swells and your eyes water and your soul wishes you could push pause for about two years. These moments grab us, shake us, stir us, but mostly remind us what really matters in life: Living for a King that many can't see and loving our family and friends with a love that is beyond words.
I had one of those moments coming home from church this past Sunday. And, like most Holy Moments, it caught me off guard and surprised me with an experience I will not soon forget. As I turned of the highway going towards my home a huge banner caught my attention. It was professionally made and printed with very large red letters that said "WELCOME HOME!!!" On the side of the sign was a United States Marine Corps emblem- obviously a soldier coming home from the War. As I drove along the road there were more printed signs. "We missed YOU!!!- the Bransons"We Love You"- the Brazier's, hundreds of them-spaced every 10 yards- for miles. As I read these words from the hundredss of friends and family I found myself overwhelmed with the emotion the soldier must have been feeling as he turned down that highway towards His home; thankful to God that he is still breathing, able to drive a car- and then to be greeted with such a beautiful expression of love, thanks, and appreciation. I have long had an affinity for going home to were I grew up and experiencing that feeling of safety, warmth, and good memories. I can't imagine how much sweeter it was to that Marine who many days wondered whether he would ever make that drive again. I have never been to War. He has. The last sign I read will forever assure this moment a place in my memory. It said simply "Semper Fi". The Marine mantra which means, "Always Faithful".
In that moment I pictured the great cloud of witnesses that will one day line the streets when you and I come home. Signs of love, thanks, and appreciation, all signed by friends, family, and heroes of the faith that have gone home before me. I can't wait to see the signs for me from my NaNa, Don Phillips, Ryan King, and Justin Raburn, just to name a few. As great as those signs will be, they will lead to a greater reward that has captured my heart: To fall down before my Lord and My King, and to hear the words, "Semper Fi."
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us." Hebrews 12:1 I love Holy Moments.
Those unplanned seconds that grab your heart and imagination and don't let go. Watching grandparents gaze at their grandchild saying, "Till death do us part" at a wedding with tears rolling down their cheeks. Knowing that each tear could tell a story of great times and hard times and everything in between. Experiencing the moving emotion in a movie like "Braveheart" when William Wallace yells "FREEDOM" and gives his life for it or in a musical like "Les Miserables" when grace gives Jean Valjean freedom. Maybe you've had one of these moments lately when one of your kids crawl up in your lap and spontaneously say, "Daddy, I Love You." Your heart swells and your eyes water and your soul wishes you could push pause for about two years. These moments grab us, shake us, stir us, but mostly remind us what really matters in life: Living for a King that many can't see and loving our family and friends with a love that is beyond words.
I had one of those moments coming home from church this past Sunday. And, like most Holy Moments, it caught me off guard and surprised me with an experience I will not soon forget. As I turned of the highway going towards my home a huge banner caught my attention. It was professionally made and printed with very large red letters that said "WELCOME HOME!!!" On the side of the sign was a United States Marine Corps emblem- obviously a soldier coming home from the War. As I drove along the road there were more printed signs. "We missed YOU!!!- the Bransons"We Love You"- the Brazier's, hundreds of them-spaced every 10 yards- for miles. As I read these words from the hundredss of friends and family I found myself overwhelmed with the emotion the soldier must have been feeling as he turned down that highway towards His home; thankful to God that he is still breathing, able to drive a car- and then to be greeted with such a beautiful expression of love, thanks, and appreciation. I have long had an affinity for going home to were I grew up and experiencing that feeling of safety, warmth, and good memories. I can't imagine how much sweeter it was to that Marine who many days wondered whether he would ever make that drive again. I have never been to War. He has. The last sign I read will forever assure this moment a place in my memory. It said simply "Semper Fi". The Marine mantra which means, "Always Faithful".
In that moment I pictured the great cloud of witnesses that will one day line the streets when you and I come home. Signs of love, thanks, and appreciation, all signed by friends, family, and heroes of the faith that have gone home before me. I can't wait to see the signs for me from my NaNa, Don Phillips, Ryan King, and Justin Raburn, just to name a few. As great as those signs will be, they will lead to a greater reward that has captured my heart: To fall down before my Lord and My King, and to hear the words, "Semper Fi."
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us." Hebrews 12:1 I love Holy Moments.
Tuesday, February 22, 2005
Holy Moments
I love Holy Moments.
The unplanned seconds that grab your heart and imagination and don't let go. Watching grandparents gaze at their grandchild saying, "Till death do us part" at a wedding with tears rolling down their cheeks. Knowing that each tear could tell a story of great times and hard times and everything in between. Experiencing the moving emotion in a movie like "Braveheart" when William Wallace yells "FREEDOM" and gives his life for it or in a musical like "Les Miserables" when grace gives Jean Valjean freedom. Maybe you've had one of these moments lately when one of your kids crawl up in your lap and spontaneously say, "Daddy, I Love You." Your heart swells and your eyes water and your soul wishes you could push pause for about two years. These moments grab us, shake us, stir us, but mostly remind us what really matters in life: Living for a King that many can't see and loving our family and friends with a love that is beyond words.
I had one of those moments coming home from church this past Sunday. And, like most Holy Moments, it caught me off guard and surprised me with an experience I will not soon forget. As I turned of the highway going towards my home a huge banner caught my attention. It was professionally made and printed with very large red letters that said "WELCOME HOME!!!" On the side of the sign was a United States Marine Corps emblem- obviously a soldier coming home from the War. As I drove along the road there were more printed signs. "We missed YOU!!!- the Bransons"We Love You"- the Brazier's, hundreds of them-spaced every 10 yards- for miles. As I read these words from the hundredss of friends and family I found myself overwhelmed with the emotion the soldier must have been feeling as he turned down that highway towards His home; thankful to God that he is still breathing, able to drive a car- and then to be greeted with such a beautiful expression of love, thanks, and appreciation. I have long had an affinity for going home to were I grew up and experiencing that feeling of safety, warmth, and good memories. I can't imagine how much sweeter it was to that Marine who many days wondered whether he would ever make that drive again. I have never been to War. He has.
The last sign I read will forever assure this moment a place in my memory. It said simply "Semper Fi". The Marine mantra which means, "Always Faithful". In that moment I pictured the great cloud of witnesses that will one day line the streets when you and I come home. Signs of love, thanks, and appreciation, all signed by friends, family, and heroes of the faith that have gone home before me. I can't wait to see the signs for me from my NaNa, Don Phillips, Ryan King, and Justin Raburn, just to name a few. As great as those signs will be, they will lead to a greater reward that has captured my heart: To fall down before my Lord and My King, and to hear the words, "Semper Fi."
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us." Hebrews 12:1
I love Holy Moments.
The unplanned seconds that grab your heart and imagination and don't let go. Watching grandparents gaze at their grandchild saying, "Till death do us part" at a wedding with tears rolling down their cheeks. Knowing that each tear could tell a story of great times and hard times and everything in between. Experiencing the moving emotion in a movie like "Braveheart" when William Wallace yells "FREEDOM" and gives his life for it or in a musical like "Les Miserables" when grace gives Jean Valjean freedom. Maybe you've had one of these moments lately when one of your kids crawl up in your lap and spontaneously say, "Daddy, I Love You." Your heart swells and your eyes water and your soul wishes you could push pause for about two years. These moments grab us, shake us, stir us, but mostly remind us what really matters in life: Living for a King that many can't see and loving our family and friends with a love that is beyond words.
I had one of those moments coming home from church this past Sunday. And, like most Holy Moments, it caught me off guard and surprised me with an experience I will not soon forget. As I turned of the highway going towards my home a huge banner caught my attention. It was professionally made and printed with very large red letters that said "WELCOME HOME!!!" On the side of the sign was a United States Marine Corps emblem- obviously a soldier coming home from the War. As I drove along the road there were more printed signs. "We missed YOU!!!- the Bransons"We Love You"- the Brazier's, hundreds of them-spaced every 10 yards- for miles. As I read these words from the hundredss of friends and family I found myself overwhelmed with the emotion the soldier must have been feeling as he turned down that highway towards His home; thankful to God that he is still breathing, able to drive a car- and then to be greeted with such a beautiful expression of love, thanks, and appreciation. I have long had an affinity for going home to were I grew up and experiencing that feeling of safety, warmth, and good memories. I can't imagine how much sweeter it was to that Marine who many days wondered whether he would ever make that drive again. I have never been to War. He has.
The last sign I read will forever assure this moment a place in my memory. It said simply "Semper Fi". The Marine mantra which means, "Always Faithful". In that moment I pictured the great cloud of witnesses that will one day line the streets when you and I come home. Signs of love, thanks, and appreciation, all signed by friends, family, and heroes of the faith that have gone home before me. I can't wait to see the signs for me from my NaNa, Don Phillips, Ryan King, and Justin Raburn, just to name a few. As great as those signs will be, they will lead to a greater reward that has captured my heart: To fall down before my Lord and My King, and to hear the words, "Semper Fi."
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us." Hebrews 12:1
I love Holy Moments.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)