The Sweetest Frame

Good, But Not Good Enough

2012-02-07T22:49:00.000-06:00

I was looking at the words to the Church of Ephesus today and it made me somewhat nervous.

Ephesus was doing a ton of things the right way...

2 I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. 3 You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.

A great work ethic
A won't quit attitude
A hatred for evil
A willingness to test the spirits
A willingness to suffer

I dare say there are many churches today that probably wouldn't be able to live up to the list in those 2 verses. And yet it wasn't enough...

4 Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. 5 Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.

It comes back to love. We can work and shape and chisel, but ultimately or love for God's Glory is what marks our lives.

Lord, increase our passion for Your kingdom, and help us to live out that love with obedience.

He Holds The Keys

2012-02-05T23:00:00.002-06:00

Not exactly sure why, but I felt like starting the Book of Revelation again. I always enjoy reading about the churches. What struck me tonight was a reminder that Jesus holds the keys to death and the grave. He controls them and has proved it by conquering them.

Revelation 1:18 I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.

We even sang about it today in the song "In Christ Alone."

No guilt in life, no fear in death,
This is the power of Christ in me;

Our Savior in rising again has proved that He is God over all. And because of this we have hope that can even remove the fear of death.

Lord, thank you for this reminder that you control death and the grave. And that you have proved your promise of the resurrection for all who believe. Increase my faith.

Righteousness has a Bright Future

2012-02-02T23:08:00.003-06:00

Some things in the scriptures are not easy to figure out and others are not always clearly spoken, but this passage removes the veil for certain truths...

The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise...

2 Peter 3:11 Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives 12 as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. 13 But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.

We should be godly
The heavens will be destroyed by fire
A new heaven and a new earth are coming
Righteousness has a bright future

A Faith as Precious as ours

2012-01-30T22:45:00.000-06:00

2 Peter 1:1b To those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours:
We were talking with the guys about answered prayer tonight at Alpha. One guy was really encouraged as heard others tell of answered prayers. He was a little down and had a specific prayer request and a different guy turned out to be an answer to his prayers. God is amazing how he works.

I'm so thankful just to be a witness of God at work.

"I had to know God for myself."

2012-01-28T20:20:00.000-06:00

Powerful Stuff.

Lead Me

2011-12-20T12:59:00.002-06:00

It's been nice to have a day to find a few moments to rest and to reflect.

From today's reading...

Psalm 143: 8 Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love,
for I have put my trust in you.
Show me the way I should go,
for to you I lift up my soul.

9 Rescue me from my enemies, O Lord,
for I hide myself in you.

10 Teach me to do your will,
for you are my God;
may your good Spirit
lead me on level ground.

11 For your name's sake, O Lord, preserve my life;
in your righteousness, bring me out of trouble.

I am reminded over and over again that my life is to be for His Name's Sake. And I love that.

Lord, as the Psalmist says here, please show me the way and lead me on level ground. May your name be hallowed with this life I have to give.

Finding Jesus

2011-11-27T05:47:00.002-06:00

These words are hard, but familiar

John 12:25 Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.

But these words seem almost new...

John 12:26 Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.

Where have you "found" Jesus?

There you will find contentment.

Julian Smith

2011-07-14T22:33:00.001-05:00

My kids are going crazy about Julian Smith TV - http://www.juliansmith.tv/

Anybody know anything about this guy? :)

Whatever You Want

2011-02-02T10:53:00.007-06:00

If you could have whatever you want, what would it be?

Double Stuff Oreos, A College National Championship, One good night's rest...

1 Kings 3:5 At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night; and God said, “Ask! What shall I give you?”

If I'm asking you this question - you shouldn't expect too much. But if God is asking then it becomes a powerful, life-changing question. I think this question shows if we are desperate for God or not. It shows where our passions lie.

What do you want?

O The Blood - Gateway Worship

2011-02-02T10:46:00.003-06:00

Really enjoying this song lately. Some songs just make you burst forth in thanks. O The Blood is one of those for me.

Fighting for Significance

2011-01-23T19:41:00.004-06:00

I'm not sure if it's a good or bad thing when you are convicted by your own sermon. Today we were looking at our passion for knowing Christ and living a life that reflects the glory of God. It seems easy for me to get side tracked.

I don't know how effective I will be, but I'd like to do more creating and reflecting and less consuming. Life is too short spend it watching re-runs. :)

What do you do to help keep yourself from wasting time on insignificant things?

It Takes Time

2011-01-22T22:49:00.003-06:00

Some times I find myself frustrated with the pace of our new ministry.

Today, I took part in the funeral of a dear friend, Dale Donoho. Dale was a great encouragement to me. I felt today that I actually helped some people, I comforted them in their time of grief. I also enjoyed so much seeing the church minister to Dale's wife, Judy and the rest of the family. It felt significant.

On my drive home tonight I was reflecting about the day, and realized something. In my time at Calvary, I was part of both Dale's Mom and Dad's funeral. I was also a part of both Judy's Mom and Dad's funeral. This stuff didn't happen overnight, not even in a couple of years. It was years of friendships, and prayer, and doing life together, that helped this moment today feel so significant.

My brother gave me some great advice tonight. He said - you shouldn't compare the end of your last ministry with the beginning of a new one.

It takes time.

You Won't Relent

2011-01-22T00:26:00.004-06:00

This scripture in Zechariah reminded me of this song by Jesus Culture...

Zechariah 8:14 “For thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘Just as I determined to punish you When your fathers provoked Me to wrath,’ Says the Lord of hosts, ‘And I would not relent, 15 So again in these days I am determined to do good To Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. Do not fear.

The Lord would not relent, because of their sin, but He would also return grace in a relentless way because of His great love.

This song expresses incredible passion. Listen closely at 5:03:

"I don't want talk about you like your not in the room... Want to look right at you, want sing right to you."

The Lord is not relenting in His pursuit of you, will you relent in your pursuit of Him?

It's been a long time...

2011-01-20T22:40:00.007-06:00

It's been very quiet on this blog for a long time, but I think it's about to be resurrected.

No long post here tonight, just thankful for Psalm 33.

1 Sing joyfully to the LORD, you righteous; it is fitting for the upright to praise him. 2 Praise the LORD with the harp; make music to him on the ten-stringed lyre. 3 Sing to him a new song; play skillfully, and shout for joy.

4 For the word of the LORD is right and true; he is faithful in all he does. 5 The LORD loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of his unfailing love.

6 By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth. 7 He gathers the waters of the sea into jars; he puts the deep into storehouses. 8 Let all the earth fear the LORD; let all the people of the world revere him. 9 For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm.

10 The LORD foils the plans of the nations; he thwarts the purposes of the peoples. 11 But the plans of the LORD stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations.

12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people he chose for his inheritance. 13 From heaven the LORD looks down and sees all mankind; 14 from his dwelling place he watches all who live on earth— 15 he who forms the hearts of all,
who considers everything they do.

16 No king is saved by the size of his army; no warrior escapes by his great strength. 17 A horse is a vain hope for deliverance; despite all its great strength it cannot save. 18 But the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love, 19 to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine.

20 We wait in hope for the LORD; he is our help and our shield. 21 In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. 22 May your unfailing love be with us, LORD, even as we put our hope in you.

Thank you Lord for Psalm 33.

Rescue is Coming

2010-10-05T23:16:00.002-05:00

I read a very familiar passage today, but it hit me in a new light.

Esther 4:12 When Esther’s words were reported to Mordecai, 13 he sent back this answer: “Do not think that because you are in the king’s house you alone of all the Jews will escape. 14 For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?”

“Relief and deliverance WILL arise..”

God is coming… Salvation is coming… Rescue is coming.

You can stay quiet if you want. You can perish if you want. Or you can be part of something special, something miraculous.

This makes me think so many wonderful things. God raised His son from the dead; He’s already started the rescue operation. I want to be a part of this. I want to be a part of the miraculous. Esther’s faith was incredible and it changed the world for her people. How I would love to have that kind of faith.

If you like David Crowder, you might check out his song by this name Rescue is Coming.

Cross posted at The Heights Blog.

Israel

2010-09-30T19:33:00.000-05:00

Not sure why, but I really like this video...

Why Can't We Change?

2010-09-22T21:33:00.005-05:00

I think this may be one of the most frustrating things for me. Sometimes it is so easy for me to see my weaknesses, sins & transgressions. And yet I cannot seem to change.

Why can't we simply repent and be changed.

Daniel 9:13 “As it is written in the law of Moses, all this calamity has come on us; yet we have not sought the favor of the Lord our God by turning from our iniquity and giving attention to Your truth."

Dear God,

I am a sinner in need of a Savior. My inadequacy is ever-present. I cannot be what I know I need to be. Please rescue me. Please hear my prayer of repentance and my cry for help. There is no way I can live the life you want me to live unless you live it through me. Please come Jesus. I need you.

Confrontation at Walmart

2010-09-19T22:33:00.001-05:00

Sometimes you don't know what you can do until you try. This weekend we held a Diaper Drive for Birthright of Cicero at our Noblesville Walmart. Kevin and I set up a couple of tables and we had about 500 flyers to hand out. Our hope was that as people entered the store they would accept a flyer and then consider purchasing some diapers or wipes and then donate them to Birthright.

When I setup my table all I had were a few flyers and a blank table. As people were passing me by my over-analyzing mind was on overdrive. All I could think is "How are we going to make this work?" We had to stay out of the main flow of traffic, and we didn't want to be obnoxious, but it's not like anyone was going to just stop at our table and pickup the flyers. Isaiah and I both wondered if anyone would take a flyer about diapers from two old men. :)

I am not a salesman, and the last thing I want to do is bother someone. But I knew something was going to have to change if this was going to be effective. Thankfully the rest of the team started using their gifts. The older girls made some fantastic looking posters. Anna purchased some diapers for the tables. Wendy took the flyers and did what I should have been doing - she just simply, politely, handed them out to everyone who would take one.

Why am I so afraid of bothering someone?

Some people politely refused the flyers, and some looked the other way or started talking on their cell phone or even just looked down at the concrete - anything they could do to avoid eye contact. It appears I wasn't the only one concerned with confrontation at Walmart.

After the team got in gear, so did I. I started handing out flyers to just about anyone coming through the doors. And when we saw the people who were actually giving, we realized this - we couldn't predict who would give. We needed to present the opportunity to everyone.

It was interesting just taking note of who was actually giving. There were a few men who gave. Big, strong, burly men. One person who appeared to have very little, went and brought back some change to donate to our cause. They only gave a small amount, but because they gave we now had a place for cash donations. That later resulted in a bunch of diapers and wipes. The little kids even got in the game, handing out flyers and holding up signs.

We ended up with 72 packages of diapers. 3,269 diapers to be exact. We also ended up with 52 packages of wipes. I'd say we came pretty close to $1000 dollars worth of items for Birthright. I'm so thankful for our team and I'm excited to see what God can do with this small band of believers.

Cross Posted at The Heights Blog

HDR Video

2010-09-15T21:24:00.000-05:00

This is pretty cool - especially the HDR video of a person.

Jesus Culture - I Exalt Thee

2010-09-04T22:59:00.002-05:00

Ragamuffin Soul had a post on What Songs Are Working In Your Church Right Now. I started digging through the songs and found some new stuff that I really like. Kim Walker singing How He Loves is one of my favorites, but this week I have loved listening to Kim and Jesus Culture do an old classic called I Exalt Thee.

As usual they sing with incredible emotion and passion and I love the harmonies during the quiet parts of the song.

What songs have you been singing in church lately that you are really enjoying?

Fighting the White River

2010-08-28T22:33:00.000-05:00

Today Isaiah and I finally got the old boat registered and put out on the White River. If you don't already know, we seem to always have an adventure whenever we get out on the boat. I even got my ear pierced on one trip.

I think this was the first time we've had the boat on a real "river", though we've been on a few creeks with it. It hasn't rained here in a while, so the river is way down and doesn't have much flow in most places. It was only about a foot deep in many places so we didn't use the big motor. We did run into some floaters and one of the girls was singing "Father Abraham." :)

We made our way upstream pretty well until we got close to the bridge. We saw some boaters flying down the stream on their canoes and we realized that we were in for a ride. Our little trolling motor couldn't push against the current, and even though we tried rowing as well as using the trolling motor it just wasn't working. We were going backwards.

We gave up and turned around.

That same trolling motor that couldn't move us forward was now moving us with ease as we went with the current. We even caught some small mouth just trolling. (Should have took pictures, but I didn't have my camera or my phone.) It probably took us an hour to get up the river and 20 minutes to get back. Life is just easier when your moving with the stream.

I'm a stream fighter by nature. I like to push. I want to fight through the test. But sometimes, it's just smarter to stop fighting and enjoy the ride.

When do you make the decision to quit fighting? How do you know when to push through and when to enjoy the ride?

Beautiful Things - Gungor

2010-08-21T22:37:00.007-05:00

Sometimes the sadness is overwhelming.

And yet the Lord is gracious.

My brother has spent this week in Florida with his in-laws after the loss of a nephew. We have hurt and prayed for my brother's little girls as they deal with the loss of another cousin.

It's not right, little kids should not have to hurt like this.

In the midst of this pain my brother shared a song with me that he said had really ministered to his in-laws during this time. It's called Beautiful Things by Gungor.

All this pain
I wonder if I’ll ever find my way
I wonder if my life could really change at all
All this earth
Could all that is lost ever be found
Could a garden come up from this ground at all

You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of the dust
You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of us

All around
Hope is springing up from this old ground
Out of chaos life is being found in You

You make me new, You are making me new

Such a great reminder of hope in the midst of Sadness.

Even If I Fall

2010-08-15T17:27:00.003-05:00

I love to find a song that the very first time I hear it, I love it.

We were spending some time with my brother in Decatur and he mentioned a song that they sang at camp. He said they were having a hard time singing How He Loves, but this song became the camp favorite. It's called Even If I Fall by Mike Cowart.

The chorus is:

(Ladies) -
Even if I fall, I'll rise again for You are my God
Even if I fall, You lift me up

(Men) -
When You're with me, I will rise up
When You lift me up

The lyrics are simple, but a great reminder that there is always hope in Christ. I can't wait to do this at The Heights.

Cross-posted at The Heights Blog

He Never Said It Would Be Easy

2010-08-08T00:19:00.002-05:00

Some weeks are just harder than others. Sometimes life throws you curves or sliders, or even the dreaded knuckler. I don't enjoy weeks like that. Recently, I often find that Monday's after a long weekend are harder, not for the usual reasons necessarily, but because on those Mondays I really seem to exam myself and where I am at and why I am here and most of the time I come up short on the answers.

Those days I need extra grace.

This week I read this from Habakkuk...

17 Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, 18 yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior. 19 The Sovereign LORD is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights.

The Lord reminded me that He gives strength, in the worst of times and for me, even on those dreaded Mondays.

Cross posted on the Heights blog.

A New Day is Coming

2010-07-13T06:29:00.002-05:00

This was the main headline picture for msnbc news last night. As I was reading Isaiah 15 about Moab, this was going through my mind. Why all the needless violence and injustice and killing?

But Isaiah 16 reminds us of hope...

Isaiah 16:5 In love a throne will be established; in faithfulness a man will sit on it— one from the house of David—one who in judging seeks justice and speeds the cause of righteousness.

Lord, please let Your kingdom come quickly.