Shane & Shane on iTunes

Psalm 145 (ESV)

1 I will extol you, my God and King,
and bless your name forever and ever.
2 Every day I will bless you
and praise your name forever and ever.
3 Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised,
and his greatness is unsearchable.
4 One generation shall commend your works to another,
and shall declare your mighty acts.
5 On the glorious splendor of your majesty,
and on your wondrous works, I will meditate.
6 They shall speak of the might of your awesome deeds,
and I will declare your greatness.
7 They shall pour forth the fame of your abundant goodness
and shall sing aloud of your righteousness.
8 The Lord is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
9 The Lord is good to all,
and his mercy is over all that he has made.
10 All your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord,
and all your saints shall bless you!
11 They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom
and tell of your power,
12 to make known to the children of man your mighty deeds,
and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
and your dominion endures throughout all generations.
The Lord is faithful in all his words
and kind in all his works.
14 The Lord upholds all who are falling
and raises up all who are bowed down.
15 The eyes of all look to you,
and you give them their food in due season.
16 You open your hand;
you satisfy the desire of every living thing.
17 The Lord is righteous in all his ways
and kind in all his works.
18 The Lord is near to all who call on him,
to all who call on him in truth.
19 He fulfills the desire of those who fear him;
he also hears their cry and saves them.
20 The Lord preserves all who love him,
but all the wicked he will destroy.
21 My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord,
and let all flesh bless his holy name forever and ever.

This is an amazing live spoken word from Verge 2012.

Vision without execution is hallucination ~ Thomas Edison

Communication is clarity. ~ Lee Cockerell

The Gospel is meant for telling.

Yes, live your life according to The Way. Yes, have the life that matches. Yes, preach the Gospel at all times with your life.

But it doesn’t end there!

In a very vocal and offensive world, I don’t know that it’s possible to be light in the world without opening your mouth at some point.

Read the Gospels and notice that almost every time the phrase “good news” or “gospel” is mentioned, it is in the context of telling.

1 Peter 1:25 (ESV)
And this word is the good news that was preached to you.

I couldn’t be an atheist.

I was reminded this weekend how the church is God’s family. She’s not an organization or a building – although we’re organized and sometimes have buildings! She’s a living, growing, and beautiful organism. She belongs to Christ, and I think the only word that we should describe her with is love.

At our 2012 Alumni Retreat, I was blessed to spend time with a lot of old friends from Master’s Commission. It was a merry weekend. A real riot. We prayed, worshiped, laughed, cried, played games, and told stories I forgot about.

I can’t remember the last time I laughed as much as I did this weekend.

God really moved in our midst and I could feel His presence the entire time – even when we weren’t doing “spiritual things.” We all let down our masks and were honest about all the struggles that come with life on this earth.

We prayed some more.

When it was time to go home, I didn’t want to leave. I cried.

On the drive back, I was struggling to put words to my emotions. It was an odd feeling that I only feel when leaving groups of people that I love. What was it about a host of people who loved God and loved each other? Why did I want to pack everybody up and move into the same neighborhood? Why did everyone lament that there was an end to the weekend?

Then it came to me.

Heaven.

This past weekend was just a small shadow of what heaven will be like.

Oh yes, and there will be no end!

Until then, don’t let the enemy ruin heaven on earth.

Matthew 6:9-10 (ESV)
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.

1 Peter 2:17 (ESV)
Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor.

“God came as a person, not an organization. We’re priests, not presidents”

You know, I’ve spent a lot of time in the organization of church.

Busy doing the business.

Always doing something.

I’m learning that nothing gets me excited more than being an example of God’s love to people.

The other day I met a new neighbor. It was the end of the day, and to be honest, I was having a bad day.

But the last two hours of that day changed everything for me.

It was like I was finally doing something God created me for.

We are His methods. Not organizations. Not institutions. Not machines.

Us.

A sponge filled with water, when wrung out, releases everything it holds. Likewise, if you wring out the Bible, one of the constant themes it releases is that God is against the proud.

It can not be missed. From the proud Pharaoh in Exodus, to the proud Saul in 1 Samuel, to the proud ancestors in Nehemiah, to the countless references to the proud in the Psalms and Proverbs, to Solomon’s warnings to the proud in Ecclesiastes, to the proud people that Jeremiah is sent to warn, to Malachi’s foretelling of the proud’s future, to Mary singing about the destruction of the proud in her Magnificat, to Jesus’ constant conflict with religious leaders who were too proud to see their own wickedness, to Paul calling the proud “haters of God” in Romans, to James and Peter both pointing out that the God is against the proud.

If you wring out the Bible, the consistent message from beginning to end is that God is actively opposing the proud.

My heart breaks for the church and her politicians.

When will we learn Matthew 23?

We’re supposed to be brothers.

Matthew 23: 1-12

Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, 2  “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat, 3 so do and observe whatever they tell you, but not the works they do. For they preach, but do not practice. 4  They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger. 5  They do all their deeds to be seen by others. For they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long, 6 and they love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues 7 and greetings in the marketplaces and being called rabbi by others. 8  But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brothers. 9  And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. 10 Neither be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Christ. 11  The greatest among you shall be your servant. 12  Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

My heart is heavy.

There is a huge problem in our culture: fatherlessness.

How much of our problems are the result of a male not being a man?

The number of males that have children, but are not men, is embarrassing. They’re not fathers. They’re limp little lads who’ve decided they’re old enough to procreate. The fact that our culture celebrates this type of male behavior is nauseating.

Being a male and having sex doesn’t make you man. It’s possible to have sex, be blessed with a child, have hair on your chest, and not be a man.

You want to be a man? Be a father.

Be unselfish. Consider others better than yourself. Guide and encourage. Teach and rebuke. Love and protect. Play and laugh. Father.

Even if you don’t have kids, be a father to someone who doesn’t have a dad.

Men, in your lust you may have achieved a short amount of pleasure, but do you realize the life long consequences for others when you’re not being a real man? Do you see how making an orphan ruins that child’s life? Really. It does.

Real men step up to the plate AND RAISE THEIR KIDS TO BE GODLY, HARD WORKING MEN AND WOMEN.

This world needs godly men and women who will work hard.