For the Love of God and Country

In the next few weeks, one of my dearest friends, Travis Jewell, will graduate from Chaplaincy school at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, and then assume his new post in San Diego, California with the US Navy.  I appreciate his take on this assignment from God:  "I get to travel the world and tell people about Jesus...and the government pays for it!"  Whereas we all know it is not that simple--there will be trials, tribulation, heartache, etc.--it is exciting to see how God will use Travis, his wife Misty (my wife's bestest friend!) and their 4 precious children to take the radical message of Christ to the uttermost parts of the world.  Please join me in praying God's blessings on The Jewells....  BRH



I am in awe of God and His sovereignty.  We are loved by one who will never let us go.  In Hosea 13:4-5, God reminds Hosea (the one who was told to marry a prostitute, all for the purpose and glory of God revealing His grace and mercy to Israel) that

But I am the Lord your God from the land of Egypt; you know no God but me, and besides me there is no savior. It was I who knew you in the wilderness, in the land of drought;

The words that translate "I who knew you" come from a Hebrew verb that indicates so much more than a social knowledge i.e., "I know who you are."  It implies intimacy.  A deep knowledge and understanding of every fiber of our being.  And this knowledge began long before we began.  David testifies to this in Psalm 139:13-16 when he sings, 

For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.

As Raymond Ortland rightly observes in his treatment of Psalm 139, David makes this point "...because it assures him that he is not here in this present danger by chance."  Nothing escapes God.  Nothing suprises God.  And so, Ortland also states, David "collapses in a sort of glad defeat, overwhelemed by this inescapable and loving God." 

Such a understanding of God should drive us to worship.  That a sovereign God would choose me unto salvation is beyond my capactity for cognition and speech.   

Father, you are the matchless King of Eternity.  Forever, you are all to us.

The link below is to Chris Tomlin's song, "All to Us".  Enjoy.  Worship.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LoXPhuDVp4U 
    

What is on your mind today?

A.W. Tozar once said, "The highest form of idolatry is to entertain thoughts of God that are unworthy of Him."  This causes me to pause and consider what is on my mind, and ask:  is it worthy of Him?  Am I commiting the sin of idolatry?  I believe I do when I:

1.  Worry.  The Bible is clear that I am not to be anxious about tomorrow (Matthew 6:34).  Yet, I worry about finances, ministry, friends, family, future, etc.  Worry is idol worship.

2.  Fear.  God did not give the spirit of fear (2 Timothy 1:7).  So where does it come from?  It comes from my advesary, who waits to pounce like a lion (1 Peter 5:8).  To live in fear is to idol worship.
3.  Doubt.  It is easy to doubt the unexplainable.  It is easy to doubt things will ever turn around for good when things are going bad.  This too is idol worship.

So how can I counquer this idol worship?  Hebrews 12:2 tells me to set my eyes on Jesus, because He is the author and perfector of faith.  Philippians 2:5 encourages me to have the mind of Christ.  As I am of the same mind as Christ, I expereince His encouragement, his love, his sympathy. Matthew 6:21 tells me that wherever my treasure is, so is my heart.  Granted, Jesus is speaking in material terms, but if I take that spiritually, I am to remember that Jesus is my treasure.  If I truly treasure Jesus and the salvation that only comes through Him, I should be driven to worship Him. 

Father,
Despite the circumstances of the day, the uncertainly of the world, the depravity of my soul, may my eyes be fixed on You.  May my mind be that of Christ Jesus.  You are my treasure, my rock, my redeemer.  You alone do I worship, not the man made things of this world, and certainly not the irrational emotions of the human mind and soul.  Forgive me for entertaining thoughts unworthy of You. 

Does your face tell what's in your heart?

I love this picture of my son, Adam.  But it makes me think:  How many people know that "I love Jesus" yet my face tells them a different story?  Something for me (and all that claim the name of Christ) to consider, don't you think?

What's in a name?

Ok, so I guess I need to explain the name of the blog.  When I was 16 years old, I was challenged by the words of the Apostle Paul to the Corinthian church.  In his second letter to Corinth, chapter 5 verse 17, Paul says that if anyone is in Christ Jesus, he is a new creation. 

That night I realized that I was old.  I still belonged to the old way of life, despite the fact that I grew up in church.  Despite the fact that I had "walked the aisle" at age 7.  I realized that when I was 7, I desired the safety of God.  I didn't want to go to Hell.  I mean, really, who does?  But I didn't want to neccesarily follow Christ either.  I was having way to much fun saying, doing, thinking, listening to, deciding, etc. what I wanted to do.  But at age 16, my "wants" changed, because Christ changed me.  My wants were His wants, as Jesus became alive to me.  I became a new creation that night.  And as a result, I am not myself today.  I am not the man I once was:  lost, depraved, degenerate, hopeless.  And thank God.  No really.  Thank you, God. 

So I started a blog to provide a board to ramble.  To share things that this God that changed my life lays on my heart.  Because He continues to change my life...daily.  Prayerfully, yours will as well.