Beautiful Savior

This song by Phil Wickham is hymnlike, yet contemporary, and full of truth.

Wanting To Go Home

Don't you ever ache so much for some intangible thing that you think you might just come undone? Times of longing come into my life when I yearn so much for eternity that I'm not sure how to handle it. Some days there are sublime moments of revelation when peace comes rushing in and I sense that heaven is just around the corner. The Spirit of God gives enticing reminders that the best is yet to come. Sometimes it's as if I'm peering out of a window into the broad expanse of eternity and I hear the music, smell the joy and see the glory of God. For a few precious minutes, I feel that what is lacking in me is filled up and I know our "blessed hope" is real.

I quote from Mark Buchanan's book "Things Unseen":

"Isn't that how you feel much of the time? That what you want the most - and most of the time you're not even sure what this - seems always out of reach? That your most robust laughter rings with the echo of your weeping? That your most joyous homecomings are haunted at he edges by unnameable sorrows? That your victories and breakthroughs are mixed with complaint and doubt? That something's always missing?

"We were not created for earth alone. We were created for eternity."

For me, the longing, the "missing", is simply confirmation that the goal is still ahead - and it is most certainly there. I know that in Christ this promise is mine and my hope is secure. How I long for His appearing!

The Battle of Berezina

In 1812 Napoleon was fleeing Russia after being defeated at the Battle of Krasnoi. The Grande Armee was outnumbered and being hotly pursued when they reached the Berezina River, in present day Belarus.

Bonaparte's plan was to cross the frozen river and continue his flight toward Poland and safety. However, the normally frozen waters (in November) of the Berezina had thawed and Napoleon's army was trapped.

A plan was quickly developed: One of the French Marshals would draw their pursuers away while the engineers went to work constructing a pontoon bridge so the army could cross the river. During the construction, many men succumbed to exhaustion and the freezing water and perished. In spite of these hazards, the work was completed and the French escaped certain destruction.

The call of Jesus to any and all of His disciples is a call to die. This calling to die isn't just for death's sake, it's for the sake of others. The men working on Napoleon's bridge sacrificed their lives building a bridge to safety. Christ's intent for His followers is that they would also give their lives in the work of building bridges so that others would find their way to safety.

Acknowledgements to John MacArthur's book Hard to Believe.

Context of the Cross

Context is everything.

In the Gospels Jesus tells His disciples that unless they "take up their cross" and follow Him, they are not worthy of Him. I often think that when folks consider that phrase, they think of things like the horrible job they endure, the friends who have done them wrong, their tight financial status or perhaps their chronic pain.

Those aren't crosses. That's just life.

A cross is a thing upon which to die.

In his book "Hard To Believe", John MacArthur sets the actual context for Jesus' words with a little history lesson. In A.D. 6, Judas of Galilee led a rebellion against the occupying Roman government. This rebellion which handily trounced by the Roman general Varus. To make an example of Judas and teach the Jews a lesson, Varus had 2,000 Galileans crucified and the crosses were placed along the roadways in Galilee. Each of the condemned was made to carry his own crossbeam to the place of execution.

So, the metaphor Jesus employs becomes much more hard hitting when we realize he spoke these words to a group of Galilean disciples (all but Judas Iscariot were natives of Galilee) who were very well aware of their history. There must have been a moment of astonished silence after Jesus uttered that statement.

He meant they would have to die. Indeed, all of them except John did perish at the hands of persecutors.

We won't all be called to lay down our lives in this fashion, but we should understand the seriousness of the calling we have received. More on this in a day or so . . .

Shadowfeet

A beautiful song and a beautiful video. Besides strong lyrics and lovely melody, the diversity of faces is so refreshing to me and reminds me that God's family is colorful and also beautiful.



Walking, stumbling on these shadowfeet toward home,
a land that I've never seen
I am changing: less and less asleep
Made of different stuff than when i began
and I have sensed it all along,
fast approaching is the day

CHORUS
When the world has fallen out from under me
I'll be found in you, still standing
When the sky rolls up and
mountains fall on their knees
When time and space are through
I'll be found in you

Theres distraction buzzing in my head
saying in the shadows it's easier to stay
but I've heard rumours of true reality
whispers of a well-lit way

You make all things new...4x

CHORUS 2
When the world has fallen out from under me
I'll be found in you, still standing
Every fear and accusation under my feet
when time and space are through
I'll be found in you

Recommended: The Valley of Vision

I just purchased "The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions." So far, the writing is Scripturally rock solid (I don't expect that to change) - edifying to the max. It's going to be outstanding for private reading and encouragement and I think even public prayer. If I'm feeling particularly inspired, some of the writings might make it into song. :) If the book is out of stock at the link above, you can always try Amazon.

Precious Pavement

"The weight of the gold that Solomon received yearly was [about 25 tons] . . . All King Solomon's goblets were gold, and all the household articles in the Palace of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold. Nothing was made of silver, because silver was considered of little value in Solomon's days . . . The king made silver as common in Jerusalem as stones." From 1 Kings 10

Reading the story of Solomon's wealth is staggering. THAT kind of wealth in THAT day is mind-blowing. It makes me think of all the rocks I used to send zinging into the pasture with my baseball bat: 3,000 years ago in Jerusalem I could have been knocking chunks of silver into the wild blue!

It also makes me think of this incredible metal that men hold dear. From heads of state to thieves to financial markets and even to the set decorators for certain television "ministries", gold is highly prized.

A lot of folks seem to get really excited about the streets of the heavenly city being paved with gold. I have to think it's that way, not to describe how ritzy heaven will be (almost sounds gaudy, no?) but to diminish the importance of the things we tend to value so highly here on earth.

Once the redeemed are in heaven, the stuff people sought after their whole lives is going to be underfoot. The real treasure will be seated on a throne in incomparable glory! God's glory and God's Word are the pinnacle of what is truly valuable.

The law from your mouth is more precious to me than thousands of pieces of silver and gold. Psalm 119:72

Resemblance

One of my sons got a haircut the other day, a major one. As in, we can actually see his eyes now! When I saw him for the first time after the haircut, I was actually startled. I couldn't believe how much he looked like me. A younger son has also inherited many of my features, including my darker skin.

Another one of my boys got his driver's license recently and his face is almost an exact replica of my wife's when she was his age. Yet another son looks just like my wife when he is sleeping.

There are many times that I regard our boys with wonder - I marvel at the mystery of these wonderful creations that are half me and half their mother and fully themselves. I see US in THEM. It can almost be too much to wrap my heart and mind around. Times like that, I feel such a bond with them and with my wife. For me, it just emphasizes the love we share and the family bond we have.

My hope and prayer is that my heavenly Father looks upon me and sees a family resemblance. I hope He sees His Son in me. I'm certainly not a perfect child; without a doubt I'm often quite disappointing. In spite of myself, however, I want more than anything to grow up to be like Christ. I'm comforted by the fact that, even though I am riddled with inconsistency and have at points in the past given my "family" a bad name, my Father is patient, I have His DNA, and I am becoming more like Christ as the years go by. Soli Deo gloria.

2 Corinthians 3: 18 "And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit."

Longing

This past Sunday our pastor spoke to us about longing: how the longing we have within us are really a yearning for heaven, how mankind has been longing for Eden since our first parents rebelled, how that longing is fulfilled only in Christ and through His resurrection.

No doubt we've all felt this longing - not the craving for a nice greasy cheeseburger and an icy Coke, but a deep, unidentifiable ache for something we can't quite name and certainly can't see. We feel it sometimes when we are in prayer, we sense it in a sunset, we are inexplicably overtaken by it when we are climbing in the mountains. Strangely, I often feel it when I'm travelling on my motorcycle.

A motorcycle journey is exponentially better in all aspects than travelling by automobile. All senses are heightened and the most subtle temperature changes are keenly noticed, and riding in the rain or in the mountains is something that only a biker can understand. Another benefit is the solitude. It's a rare gift to have hours instead of minutes to pray and think and dream (not the sleeping kind . . . ). And all of this experience brings with it a longing. Riding season has returned to my part of the world and I yearn to be on the road once more, to be stirred in my soul toward the intangible.

In 1 Kings, there is a description of life during the reign of Solomon (whose name denotes "completeness" and "peace"): "During Solomon's lifetime [each man] lived in safety, each man under his own vine and fig tree." This is a sublime picture of our heavenly home, where and when the Prince of Peace will rule and His people will "live in safety, and be at ease, without fear of harm." This is the end toward which all our longings point: when we've shed finally and forever our corruption and the Savior reveals a new heaven and new earth liberated from its own bondage to decay. What a day that will be!

The Day That True Love Died

Careful - this song might stir your heart . . .

Guitar Wonder

This tune, "Legacy", by Phil Keaggy is in non-standard tuning (C-G-C-G-C-Eb) and he switches to C major (C-G-C-G-C-E) on the fly. Pretty cool. About halfway through he begins to improvise and use his Jam Man processor to record loop upon loop which he continues to play along with. For me, this would be something like juggling cats, but he makes it look easy. The funky sound heard at 5:25 is generated by a thin piece of plastic that he weaves between the strings above the sound hole. He slides it out at 6:49 and continues on with the original melody. The guitar he is playing is a handmade beauty from Olson Guitars.

Got It Covered

How incredible that our Heavenly Father is in charge of our salvation! I didn't start it, I can't finish it - I must depend wholly and completely upon the Author and Finisher. And how comforting a thought that is!

In 2 Samuel 23, an elderly King David bursts forth in praise to God:

Is not my house right with God?

Has He not made with me an everlasting covenant,

arranged and secured in every part?

Will He not bring to fruition my salvation

and grant me my every desire? (verse 5)

Why did the Lord choose me? I can't imagine why; it must be all of grace! He is incredible and I can't begin to form the words that would be anywhere near fitting to describe the feeling of joy that this knowledge brings.

Living Dangerously

Quite some time ago I created a slide show set to the music of Steve Camp's song "Living Dangerously In The Hands of God" for use during a sermon. It's a powerful song, worth listening to, and Steve's blog is also worth bookmarking and reading regularly: Camp On This

All You Need

People want all sorts of things. People even want things from God. What is that all about anyway? To so many (too many), God is some candy machine or credit card. This is obvious if you watch the right (read: wrong) Christian television shows or attend certain churches where you can learn to have your "best life now" or to accentuate the "positive."

The health and wealth gospel is a wicked, wasting disease that infects the American landscape for the most part. It is so far off the map in regard to true Christianity that it's really not even within the pale of orthodoxy.

How is it that we get so derailed? How does our view of God become so defiled? It must be in large part due to a gross misunderstanding of grace and of Christ.

In 2 Samuel, King David has to flee for his life from his own son Absalom. (See the previous post...) In the rush, crippled Mephibosheth is betrayed and left behind by his steward Ziba (click here for background on Mephibosheth). Upon the death of Absalom and the return of David to his palace and his power, the king's offer to restore Mephibosheth's real estate that was taken by Ziba is refused and these beautiful words are uttered by Mephib: "Let him take everything, now that my lord the king has arrived home safely." Nothing was more important than his king, nor was anything else necessary.

These words of Mephibosheth contain what should be the heart's desire of every believer: My Redeemer lives, I want nothing else but Him!

As Charles Spurgeon once penned, "God's smile and a dungeon are enough for a true heart."

We must adore Christ, and not His blessings; we must seek God's face and not just His hand!