He was not quite 4 years older than me when he died. Most of the quotes people read of his were written or spoken when he was 20-23 years old.

There are two types of Christians. There are those who wait until they can see the next stepping stone before they take a step. There are others who take a step and trust that God will place the stepping stone beneath their foot.

What type are you?

The most significant thing about Jim Elliot’s life isn’t what happened 56 years ago today. No. Jim trusted God so many times and in so many ways in the years before his death that the circumstances that led to his death in 1956 weren’t as crazy as they may seem. The most significant thing was the way he lived every day. Whenever he was presented with the broad road or the narrow road, he most likely took the narrow one.

The most serious threat to the American Church isn’t followers of Christ getting distracted with something else and walking away from God. The most serious threat to the American Church is followers of Christ looking at people like Jim Elliot and calling them “radical.”

The moment you call Jim Elliot radical you’ve released yourself from any responsibility. Jim once prayed that he would be a crisis man—a man that lived a life that demanded a response from people he met.

“Father, make of me a crisis man. Bring those I contact to decision. Let me not be a milepost on a single road make me a fork, that men must turn one way or another on facing Christ in me.” -Jim

Jim prayed that he would be a fork in the road for people. When you call Jim radical, you’ve missed what his whole life was all about. If following Christ is radical, then it is now fine to call yourself a Christian and not really become anything like Christ.

Jim didn’t consider himself radical. He looked at the commands of Jesus and then followed them. He took them seriously and literally. While other people were having bible studies about what it looked like to follow Jesus, Jim just followed Him.

Jim once said, “Forgive me for being so ordinary while claiming to know so extraordinary a God.”

He didn’t consider himself radical. When you read the bible by yourself and read the commands of Christ, do you really see Jim as radical? I sure don’t. It seems like it’s a fairly typical life for a man who wants to follow Jesus.

The problem comes when you stop comparing yourself with Jesus and start comparing yourself with all the people around you. Often that makes people like Jim Elliot look radical.

Perhaps the craziest thing isn’t Jim Elliot reading the commands of Christ and then following them. Perhaps the craziest thing is the majority of the Church reading Jesus’ commands and calling those who seek to follow them “radicals.”

There are a lot of things you can run after in your life. Jim wanted to be like Jesus Christ, so he ran after that.

Please don’t call “radical” those who are simply trying to walk in the footsteps of Jesus. That is so dangerous. Call it normal, because it is.

“The pattern of my behavior is not set in the activities of those about me. Don’t follow the example of those you left in the world, nor those you find in the church. Rather, the law of God, found in His Word, shall be my standard, and as I see it, there are few examples of this sort of living anywhere.” -Jim

Or, maybe I won’t even make it to that page. That page isn’t guaranteed. But, I know that God will never leave nor forsake me. Isn’t that enough? Hasn’t that always been enough?

One day very soon all that we can see will burned up and dissolved—and all the works done on the earth will be exposed. “Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God.” (2 Peter 3:11-12.)

Today is what matters. Did I stand up for God today. Did I confess His name with my words, life and decisions today? A lot of people believe God is faithful, trustworthy and good, yet so few prove his faithfulness, trustworthiness and goodness by relying on Him to come through for them.

I feel out of place, but I know it to be exactly what is expected of an ambassador walking on foreign soil.

The difference between the faith of Joshua, Caleb and my own is so vast. I never let myself get that close to having to put everything on the line like they did. They were fools if God wasn’t as powerful as He said He was.. I wonder what their sermon to me would be.

To be out of place in the wrong place is to have your heart in the right place.

When the days are longer still
My eyes must strain to see Thy will
The fields are dry and all seems lost
The money light compared to cost
Though at times it seems to be
That God has turned his face from me
My legs are weak, my back is sore
My spirit, He does not restore
Tis then my heart speaks to my head
Though it seems my body dead
Through my life let it be know
My God’s enough and Him alone

When the sun breaks o’re the height
The warmth it gives my body might
My legs now have the strength to stand
They’re walking in a pleasant land
The water in the stream beside
Is dancing like my joy inside
It glimmers in the sun so clear
I wonder, “could these be my tears?”
The ones that I had cried so long
Now rushing in a stream so strong
Through water, now, His grace is shown
My God’s enough and Him alone

The stream gives life to plants and trees
Which gracefully dance in the breeze
Their fruit is sweet and nectar tart
The colors are a work of art
What once was pain now proves to be
The most beautiful thing I’ve seen
I then look up to see the end
Of the beautiful, watery land
A county were my feet would roam
And find it then to be their home
The stream had lead me to His throne
My God’s enough and Him alone

I used to think that was the ultimate question facing every Christian. As I run toward eternity and as I read of others who have already run into eternity, I now see that I had the question wrong.

See, that isn’t the ultimate question. It’s this:

Would you be willing to truly live for Christ? — Would you trade the priorities of the world for the priorities of heaven? Would you sell your house to give more money to people without one? Would you put your plans aside and adopt children who don’t have a family? Would you move to a place that is unsafe and raise your kids there to reach people who have to live there every day? Would you answer the call of hundreds of lost souls begging to hear about Jesus in this world even though it will cost you your whole life? Would you live in such a way that will, according to Jesus, cost you friends and popularity and possibly cause you to be truly hated, rejected, and lonely?

It’s far easier to die once than it is to die daily.

Let’s walk in the footsteps of Jesus.

The most important part of a tree is it’s roots. If the tree has a bad root system, the tree will be bad. What then are the roots — the most important aspects of a life of following Christ? I believe the main roots could be narrowed down to:

1. The Fear of the Lord (Proverbs 9:10)

2. A Pervading Love for the Lord (Matthew 22:37, Mark 12:29-30, Luke 10:27, Deuteronomy 6:5)

3. An Exclusive Trust in the Lord (Jeremiah 17:5-8, most of Psalms)

Can you see how nearly all other areas in our lives grow and get their life (or death) from these roots? Try it for a moment. Think of something such as “a willingness to go anywhere for the Lord.” That trait comes because you fear and love him enough to trust that He will take care of you no matter where you go. Or, what about prayer? If you love the Lord and trust him alone, you will talk to him and want to be with him. Keep going — try some more.

If someone can figure out how healthy these three roots are in your life, then not only can they derive the health of countless “smaller” areas (what I like to call your “leaves” and “branches,”) but they may also be able to project forward in your life to times of pain, discouragement, loss, or hurt and know how you will fair in those conditions.

The absolute best example I can think of to prove my point is the life of Daniel. From a teenager we can see the health of his roots. He didn’t eat the defiled food from the King and trusted God to come through. A few years later in his life he again fears God alone and doesn’t bow down to other idols. For this he was thrown into a fiery furnace and the Lord came through for him. Still later in his life he loved God only and wouldn’t stop praying to Him even if it meant being thrown into a pit of hungry lions. Again, God came through for Him.

If you are a man or woman who truly trusts and fears the Lord now, then as you grow older, circumstances will matter less and less to you, and pleasing God will matter more and more.

If you have read my post The Fearless Wife, hear this: It’s not about marrying someone who is fearless. It’s about marrying someone who fears, loves and trusts the Lord right now. The leaves of fearlessness are a result of the roots of trust, fear and love of the Lord.

I want to say two things in closing. First, we must cultivate and pray for our love of the Lord, trust in the Lord and fear of the Lord. If you truly love Him alone, you’ll pray for anything to come into your life to grow those three areas.

Second is this: Don’t spend time focusing on “small” leaves and branches (with yourself or with others.) Sometimes we look at a person and think, “They aren’t willing to give up everything in this life for Christ? Then we need to show them verses saying that Christ demands everything!” But, that doesn’t deal with the root issue. Their root issue is that they don’t trust God. They want to keep their possessions and dreams because they want to trust themselves, not God. Or, we see someone who might spend 5 minutes praying a day, and we think, “I will tell them to pray for an hour… That will do it.” But the root issue is that they don’t really love God. They’re not searching their day for time to be with God or denying themselves other engagements to give that time to God. Finally, we might see someone who isn’t taking all of the words of God seriously. It’s because they don’t truly and exclusively fear the Lord.

How are the health of your roots?

Be a person (and marry a person) who has strong roots of fear of the Lord, love for the Lord, and trust in the Lord. That will take care of “problems” down the road.

God reigns.

That’s past, present and future tense. This is the same God who had Israel wander in the wilderness for 40 years. That was His will. Please don’t dare to assume that God’s will is for all the moral people to get elected and all the bills/propositions that keep in step with the bible to be passed.

You just might be stronger as a follower of Christ if this world is “worse” politically. Please seriously consider that. Few will say that today.

Please don’t hear this as “Nate’s hoping all the bad people and policies win today.” That’s not it at all.

I am begging you to have an eternal perspective today (and everyday.) Today really shouldn’t matter to you. Unless you’re going to live differently because of who gets elected or what policies get passed, today shouldn’t matter.

Even if someday I will literally be in chains because of following Christ, I will follow him no differently. So, why should today matter?

A woman with this perspective is to be cherished and valued as uncommon.

Regarding being married to such a man, Lisa Chan writes the following:

The Lord has been dealing with me on a certain issue lately. Of all the refinement I have felt and seen in my walk with God (although plenty still remains), this issue seems to rear its ugly head again and again. I can’t seem to “kick it” entirely and so, once again, I am faced with my weakness and need for the truth of who God is.

The issue is fear. Not the healthy biblical fear of God that should put everything in perspective for us. It’s the unhealthy kind. The kind that can end up crippling us as we go about trying to follow Jesus WHEREVER He calls us.

Sometimes these fears are drummed up in my own imagination. Other times a seed grows any time someone exclaims, “You’re going to do THAT?” or “I could NEVER do that!” Which is why I find it so important to really know God and to be able to trust Him. There have been many times that my husband, in his crazy (and well-founded) love for God, has brought a “scary” proposition to the table. I have always been very committed to his leadership, but sometimes following his lead has caused me to really examine what I believe about God. It “tests my theology” as I heard one pastor put it. Do I really believe that if we “seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, all these things will be given as well”? (Matt 6:33) Am I confident that our treasure is not here on earth, but that it is in heaven? (Matt 6:20) Is it true that every day that was ordained for us was written in His book before one of them ever came to be? (Psalm 139:16) Well then, that makes my fear about safety seem kind of silly, doesn’t it?

The other day we were praying together as a family about an upcoming two-month trip out of the country. My second daughter Mercy was getting emotional as she prayed about her fears, when my 5-year-old son leaned over and whispered to her, “Mercy, the Lord your God is with you wherever you go”. You know my mama’s heart was filled up to hear that. But to meditate on that scripture was very powerful. God is with us wherever we go. “You hem me in behind and before, and lay Your hand upon me.” (Psalm 139:5) We may, as ministry wives, be separated at times from our comforts, our security, our friends, our riches, our expectations, but we will never be separated from the presence of God. We may struggle through those fleshly fears, those fears that take our eyes off our glorious God, but we cannot let them overwhelm us. I will not let fear keep me from experiencing all that God has for me, and all the ministry that God has prepared for me to do. I pray the same for all of you sisters! “Humble yourselves therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time He may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you.” (1Pet 5:6)

I’m willing to bet that if you and I took a poll of church attendees for the most beloved Psalm, it’d be Psalm 23. The imagery is poetic and beautiful:

Psalm 23
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
for his name’s sake.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
forever.

My question is, why do you not want? Do you not “want” because the Lord is your shepherd or because you’ve chosen to live in a comfortable cage of protection? Sheep living in a petting zoo don’t have to go through the Valley of the Shadow of Death. See, that was a path that shepherds took their sheep through to get them where they needed to go. Do you live as though you’re afraid of the Valley of the Shadow of Death?

Daniel knew something about this valley of the shadow of death. In Daniel 6, we read a story of a man of who didn’t “want” anything. Daniel believed God would take care of him even if it meant getting thrown into a pit of starving lions ready to eat. He was walking with his Shepherd. He wasn’t in want. He would go anywhere with his Shepherd because he knew his mercy and goodness would go on forever and that he would dwell with him forever. He wasn’t afraid.

Are you afraid? Is there something you’re not doing because of fear or not wanting to give up your comfort? A friend of mine always says, “There will be no cowards in heaven.” He gets it out of Revelation 21:

The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son. But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.

There will be no cowards in heaven. If the Lord is your shepherd, you won’t be a coward. You don’t fear anything with him by your side.

Conclusion:

What’s best for your retirement? What’s best for your children? What’s the “wisest” thing? Is that being a good steward?

These are all questions that people who do not have the Lord as their shepherd will ask you the second you feel the Lord calling you to walk anywhere near the Valley of the Shadow of Death. Often these questions come from people in the church (yes, the same people who love to quote Psalm 23)! Don’t let them stop you. Don’t let them tell you that you can’t do that to your children — that your “kids deserve more”… That you need to plan for their future.

Don’t let anything stop you from walking where only the Lord can protect you. He was enough for Moses, Noah, Daniel, David, Paul, and so many others… And he’ll be enough for you.

As it says in Psalm 37: “I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging for bread.”

This is the best thing for your future. This is the only wise thing to do. This is being a good steward. Walking by a crazy faith in the Lord is the best way to raise your children. They’ll see from a young age that the Lord has always taken care of their mom and dad and that he has to take care of them too. They’ll learn to trust him regardless of the circumstances or the location. You see, if you have the Lord as your shepherd and you live your life and raise your children near the Valley of the Shadow of Death, they will fear no evil.

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There is a famous story that goes like this:

John Kavanaugh went to Calcutta to find out how he was to spend the rest of his life. When he met Mother Teresa, he asked her to pray for him. “What do you want me to pray for?” she replied. He then uttered the request he had carried thousands of miles: “Clarity. Pray that I have clarity.”

John was willing to do anything for God… He just wanted to know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, what that was.

“No,” Mother Teresa answered, “I will not do that.” When he asked her why, she said, “Clarity is the last thing you are clinging to and must let go of.” John replied, “But you always have clarity and that is all that I desire!” Mother Teresa laughed and said: “I have never had clarity; what I have always had is trust. So I will pray that you trust God.”

At first it sounds noble, doesn’t it? We are very used to praising that type of “surrender” in the Church.

Before you praise his level of surrender or before you start wishing you were as committed as him, consider the words of Jesus to a man very similar to Mr. John Kavanaugh.

Matthew 8:19-20: And a scribe came up and said to Jesus, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.”

Perfect! He is willing to go wherever for Jesus.

Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”

This is important, so listen: Surrender means laying down everything – including clarity – and trusting God to lead you.

In the bible, I don’t think anyone understood this more than Abraham.

God called Abraham to be a sojourner without a permanent home here on earth. The call from Jesus was no different in the New Testament and it’s no different for you today. God has called you to a life of uncertainty and dependence on Him. Abraham didn’t know then that he might be slaying his only son Isaac. He didn’t know then about the famines he’d experience. He didn’t know about the years of waiting on the Lord for the promise. He didn’t know any of that then.

He surrendered everything – including the clarity he could have had in this life – and gained a crown of righteousness in another country.

That’s the point! Following the world gives you clarity in this life. Following Jesus gives you uncertainty in this life. You must understand this, children!

And so you’re facing an extreme, life-altering, eternity-paving choice at this very moment. You can have clarity for your life. It’s a decision that the scribe made after talking to Jesus there in Matthew. The broad road is full of church-goers who will surrender everything to the Lord… except for their clarity in this life.

Or, you can live like Abraham. You can lift that knife to slay your only son – the promise – even though you cannot see any other way for God to come through. The narrow road is a road where each step is trust – not clarity! But, every step you’re getting closer and closer to Jesus. And he’s enough.

How can I stand in your presence. I can’t. I am so unclean and so are my friends, people at my work, and everyone I know. I don’t stand a chance. Do whatever you want with me and through me.

Is radio all about me? I don’t have to work in radio if it’s not about you.

Is my music really all about me? Then let me never sing another song if my heart isn’t right.

I don’t want to trick myself, Lord. I know what you have commanded me to do… Why do I fill my life with anything that isn’t born out of fulfilling that command?

Let me only be your mouth piece here on this earth for a few years. I fear you and what you can do to me. Only by your grace can I ever even look at your face.

Let me not be consumed by not even any of the slightest perversions of your true command and call. Let me truly die to myself and teach others to do the same.

Does you life look like you rely on God?

It struck me the other day that I cannot even pray as Jesus instructed people to pray. Part of the famous “Lord’s Prayer” has become outdated. I’m referring to the line:

“Give us this day our daily bread…”

We have so set up our lives to not rely on God that this verse just seems unnecessary to us now. Maybe in a time when we didn’t have as much money or when resources weren’t as widely accessible as they are now this prayer might have been necessary — but there just isn’t a great need for it now.

Do you see what has happened? Do you see what we’ve done? Slowly, over time, we have written God out of His own story.

Since the beginning of time, this whole thing has been about God. He is the center of it all. He is the star of the show. We have slowly setup our lives to not need God. We have forgotten about him.

In just a short time the Lord will either come back, or we’ll die. We don’t really have that long. At that moment, all that will matter is Him. Yet when was the last time we thought about that moment? When was the last time you longed for the Lord to come back?

2 Peter 3:10 says,

“But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God.”

God is looking for people who are waiting for that day. God is looking for people who know they need him.

Do you need him? I mean, does you life look like you’re relying on him?

To be honest, I don’t know how to end this discussion. I don’t want you to end you life focused on yourself. I don’t want you to end your life forgetting about God. More importantly, I want you to spend your life needing God.

I don’t know what it is for you that keeps you from needing God. Maybe you spend too much time working, hanging out with friends, playing games, planning your future, reading books, etc. I don’t know. I just know that in a few short years the things around you will be gone and all that will matter is how you spent your time.

Do you spend your life needing God or not needing him?

The man who has God for his treasure has all things in One. Many ordinary treasures may be denied him, or if he is allowed to have them, the enjoyment of them will be so tempered that they will never be necessary to his happiness. Or if he must see them go, one after one, he will scarcely feel a sense of loss, for having the Source of all things he has in One all satisfaction, all pleasure, all delight. Whatever he may lose he has actually lost nothing, for he now has it all in One, and he has it purely, legitimately and forever.

I’m realizing how much my circumstances determine my enjoyment and satisfaction. If the things I love or enjoy are taken away, I am affected. O Father, make me a man who pursues you every moment of my life. Make my life and joy dependent on you — not on health, food, money, people, or items.

How shallow are the thoughts of a man consumed with this world. How deep are the desires and passions of a man pursuing God.

“…you are not lacking in any spiritual gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Everyday I try to find other things to sustain me when what actually sustains me is the Lord Jesus Christ. I don’t have to worry about how I’m going to physically or spiritually make it each day because God is faithful to sustain me in Jesus Christ our Lord. That’s such a freeing thought that I can’t do anything to sustain myself until the Lord returns. Sustaining happens because of the work of Jesus — and God is the one who is faithful to bring me to the Lord on that glorious day.

This is a character trait of mine that I don’t want. You might say, “boy, I wish that was my main struggle.” Well, before you get too far with wishing you could trade places, let me tell you that this character flaw really damages a lot of areas in my life. See, I take the easy way. My tendency is to relax and let sin enter my life. Sometimes I don’t even care. I don’t care enough to fight it — to take every thought captive… I can fall into the same sin over and over again and just become calloused. It’s easier this way.

What would be hard is to actually fight. It’d be hard to seek the Lord each and every day and ask him to fill me up so that I didn’t need all the sin in my life. See, it’s difficult to ask God to fill us up for a couple reasons. First, we’re so used to getting all our needs from other sources. It’s easier. Second, if we’re honest, we think we like the fulfillment we get from those other sources more than we like it coming from God.

It’s far easier to walk down this road where we wake up every day and begin to plan on how we’re going to meet all our needs apart from God. O that I should ever start my day not thinking about the utter dependency I have upon God for every need!

But no one does that! Everyone plans on meeting their needs themselves. (Hence the worry, stress, fear, lust… sin!)

Then I read this: “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” (Matthew 7:13-14)

Father, thank you for forgiving me for my sin — for the blatant sin that I committed today and everyday in my life. It is nearly unbelievable that you would send your Son to die so that I could be forgiven. You amaze me so much. I love you. I don’t want to continue to sin against you, Lord. My heart knows you are the only place my needs will truly and eternally be met, but my head forgets each day and I slip and fall. Teach my mind to understand you more. Not from a book or a teacher, but from experiencing you everyday in my life.

May my prayer truly be as it says it Proverbs 30: “Two things I ask of you; deny them not to me before I die: Remove far from me falsehood and lying; give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me, lest I be full and deny you and say, “Who is the Lord?” Make the circumstances in my life such that I cannot forget you — take what you need.

O that I would begin each day by looking to you for my needs. O that I would believe that the majority of people are walking a broad, easy road to destruction. Father, I do not deserve to be on this narrow road. It goes to prove your greatness and your worthiness when people look at my weakness and unworthiness. How great you truly are.

Why are a lot of people today weighing the cost of following Jesus and then following him? Sadly, it’s because we’ve created a new cost of following that most “Christian” churches have agreed upon as being O.K. to get you into heaven someday. It’s preached in churches, taught at many of the big “Christian” organizations, magazines, and radio stations. So, instead of trading away our lives and taking up crosses, we can have our normal life (except, add on going to church and trying not to swear) and go to heaven. Almost all churches have signed off on this being O.K., so we think it’s fine. How is this any better than the Catholic’s indulgences in the 1500s? We’re making an easier way to follow Christ.

God never changes. To truly follow Christ, you still need to treat him like a treasure in a field where you actually give up everything to follow him. You need to do what the rich young ruler could not do — physically trade in this life for the next one. You need to do what Jesus told many crowds of people to do — take up your cross and die with him. Many churches don’t like to talk about these ones, though. With our technological advances now, and life insurance, and ways to save for retirement… We now tell “Christians” that they need to be “responsible” and “a good steward of the life God gave you.” Do you think that’s what Jesus would be saying to the churches today?

If Jesus were calling people to follow himself at your church, we both know that only a few people from your church would actually follow him. That’s what bothers me. Why is following Christ so easy now? Because we are being led to believe that Jesus isn’t requiring as much as he used to. Millions of people are going to be very shocked one day. “But, Lord, I went to church, gave 12%, served in the nursery, and prayed to accept Jesus?!”

We follow other people in the church, we follow Christian media, we follow pastors… There is this huge wave of “Christians” who are called followers of Christ by the church but wouldn’t be called followers of Christ by Jesus. We follow this wave and then get upset when someone (like myself) tells us that you might as well not be calling yourself a “follower of Christ”… Because Jesus sure wouldn’t call you that. I just don’t want you to be shocked on that day. Don’t be expecting a “well done” unless you’re actually and physically following him. That, my friends, is the clearest thing in scripture. Don’t listen to most churches… Listen to Jesus.

People will then tell me, “But, God cares about all aspects of our lives, though.”

My point is, I don’t think you’d be thinking about those things if you truly had the mind of Christ. Your life has to be setup like Christ in order for you to ask what he’d do in a situation. That’s why it sounds so silly to ask “W.W.J.D.?” about so many things… Because Jesus wouldn’t even be in that situation!

What is the mind of Christ, then? Unfortunately, it’s not as pretty as getting to live a safe, comfortable life. In order to be able to filer things through W.W.J.D., you need to be seeking the same mind as Christ — otherwise you’re just asking W.W.J.D. in situations Jesus wouldn’t be in. How do you seek the same mind as Christ?

Philippians 2:1-11
So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

That’s how. You become a servant, you sell what you have, you are willing to die for this thing. I’m not talking about perfection here. I’m saying that there are two different paths you can be seeking. If you’re on the broad path, it doesn’t make sense to ask “W.W.J.D.?” because you’re interacting with situations that Jesus didn’t interact with because his life wasn’t setup to have the safety and comfort yours has. If you’re on the narrow path, that’s where “W.W.J.D.?” makes sense and is actually usable.

Final point: If you’re on the broad path, the only answer you should be getting to “what would Jesus do?” is: “Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”

Your judgment isn’t based on having correct thoughts about Jesus and God. What is it based on then? I think the whole theme of the New Testament is pretty clear about this. No verse is clearer than Matthew 25:34-35.

“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’”

Do you believe that Christ is worth trading in your whole life for? Imagine you’ve read the bible on an island your whole life — what would you think was required of you as a “believer”? You’d understand what few in churches today do: that you must give up your life, sell everything you have, take up your cross… Trade in your life.

Not only is your final judgment based on this, but your blessing now is based on this. I’m not talking about being blessed with “the good life” (I think it’s a molestation of the gospel when we say that the Lord blessed us with a huge house, nice car, great income, and then we live the safe life. The Lord isn’t blessing you with those things–he’s trying to see if you’re going to chose Him over all your junk… and you’re failing the test.) I’m talking about being blessed by getting to live everyday waiting to see how the Lord is going to provide and lead you. You get to live every day waking up and going to bed saying, “Wow… there better be a heaven. If not, then I am living the stupidest life imaginable.” It is so beautiful and I don’t want to live any other way.

I hope I never forget that you made death so real. To those who are more concerned about having a good family, good job, good house, good car… Good everything — you told them not to get distracted. You didn’t balance the good life and the life with Jesus. You jumped in with both feet. You said we wouldn’t be disappointed if we jumped all the way in.

How could I possibly live for the Christian American dream after your lesson? I will not make a wife, kids, good job, good house, good car, good everything what I strive after. That’d be molesting the Gospel. No… I’ll love everyone like I won’t see them again and live every minute like I’ll never get it back. Thank you.

I think I heard the echo on Monday morning around 8:30 a.m. when our Lord said the words…

He said that when he returned to the States he was handed 17 letters from other tribes in New Guinea with their own languages that no one speaks. They are begging for someone to come to them. Tim said he’s heartbroken because he responds to them that there is no one to send. He said their reply was, “Then this message must not be as important as you say it is.”

Is my car, house, job, and family my end? Or, are they a means to an end: the Gospel. Does the place I live… the car I drive… the dreams I chase… Do they make the Gospel look important?

You have been dancing in my dreams
For so long it seems
You’ve been dancing in my dreams
You have been singing me to sleep
Melodies I’ll keep
You’ve been sing me to sleep

I never wanna say goodbye
I never wanna say goodbye
I never wanna say goodbye to you

You have been all my eyes could bear
You’re causing me to stare
You’re all my eyes could bear
Your face is all my heart can stand
You do not understand
It’s all my heart can stand

You have been capturing my smile
Oh, for quite a while
You’ve been capturing my smile

Words & Music (C) 2008 / Nate Hanson

I found him dead on the floor today — he literally tried his whole life to find happiness outdoors, but could not see the big door that was open right there for him. He had access to the trees, sun, plants, dog poop — He just could not take his eyes off the window for a minute to see how to really live.

Do not be like my dead, winged friend.

Amen.

(Proverbs 30:8-9)

For years I’ve prayed — asking God to do whatever it takes to make me be on fire for Him. I begged for that to come. Whatever it takes. Because I have to be on fire for God. “What’s the point,” I would ask, “of believing in a passionate love but not being passionate about that love?” Recently the Lord has asked me the simplest of questions — he’s posed the simplest of challenges to me. It seems harmless, really. He has used other people and circumstances to ask this: “Nate, would you back down only slightly from your calling in life? Just a little bit, even?” When the Truth I know to be true is challenged, would I give in and live a safe life? It seems like a insignificant thing to do, really. It’s only backing down a little bit, right? It’s only conceding small truths about my God. It’s really of no harm, right?

I’ve realized, however, that this is exactly what I prayed for. I prayed for these challenges to make me sink or swim with what I believe. I didn’t know where they would come from, but I knew they would come. I’m so happy that my prayers have been answered and that I can stand here now with a more determined focus on my mission in life, a more passionate love for the lost, and a heart that is beating more in time with my Saviour’s heart. I am so grateful that the Lord has made it clear that I have passed this test.

To a small extent, I feel like Abraham when he was asked to kill his son Isaac. Without hesitation he drew the knife to slay his son whom he loved because he knew there was something far greater. He had to be right about his relationship with God. He couldn’t forsake his Love. I cannot forsake my Love. I am passionately, actively, and eternally in love with my God and I will pass any test for him.

Some people just get it, though. It’s easy to see when someone gets it and it encourages me not to become distracted with the insignificant things of this earth (as “good” as they might sound.)

I’d like to look at one man in particular who got it. I’ve come to learn a little more about him over the course of the past couple years and the way he planted himself in heaven and lived on earth encourages me to live likewise. His name is Adoniram Judson. Read this selection from a letter he wrote to Mr. Hasseltine (Ann Hasseltine’s father) before seeking his daughter’s hand in marriage:

I have now to ask whether you can consent to part with your daughter early next spring, to see her no more in this world ? whether you can consent to her departure to a heathen land, and her subjection to the hardships and sufferings of a missionary life? whether you can consent to her exposure to the dangers of the ocean; to the fatal influence of the southern climate of India; to every kind of want and distress; to degradation, insult, persecution, and perhaps a violent death? Can you consent to all this, for the sake of Him who left His heavenly home and died for her and for you; for the sake of perishing, immortal souls; for the sake of Zion and the glory of God? Can you consent to all this, in hope of soon meeting your daughter in the world of glory, with a crown of righteousness brightened by the acclamations of praise which shall redound to her Saviour from heathens saved, through her means, from eternal woe and despair?

Talk about getting it. It brings tears to my eyes even now, though I have read it hundreds of times. Apparently his soon-to-be father-in-law got it too, because Miss Ann Hasseltine soon changed her name. Here is Adoniram’s New Years letter to Miss Ann during their betrothal period:

January 1, 1811. Tuesday Morning
It is with the utmost sincerity, and with my whole heart, that I wish you, my love, a happy new year. May it be a year in which your walk will be close with God; your frame calm and serene; and the road that leads you to the Lamb marked with purer light. May it be a year in which you will have more largely the spirit of Christ, be raised above sublunary things, and be willing to be disposed of in this world just as God shall please. As every moment of the year will bring you nearer the end of your pilgrimage, may it bring you nearer to God, and find you more prepared to hail the messenger of death as a deliverer and a friend.

By the grace of God, Adoniram Judson got it. He realized that life was but a vapor that was seen for a moment and vanished the next. Life is like a log you see floating down the river—it’s there for a moment and then it disappears. Three people got it in this story: Adoniram (for placing his trust in the Lord,) Mr. Hasseltine (for having the trust in the Lord to see the value of Adoniram’s crazy faith,) and Miss Ann Hasseltine (for having such faith to see and be attracted to young Adoniram’s correct view of eternity.)

I have loved this story for a while, and, as you might have guessed, his love letter to Miss Hasseltine was the inspiration for the name of this online journal: above sublunary things.

Adoniram was in love. Sure, he loved Ann Hasseltine, but there was a love that was far greater than any love he could have for a girl. He had an all-encompasing love for God. He was in love with God. He didn’t need Miss Hasseltine to fulfill any desires in his life. He didn’t need to be content in her or anything she could give him. No. He was already fully content in God. He was in love. He had the kind of love that matters—the kind of love that makes you do something about it. A man living, walking, and influencing others by faith is a beaufitul thing. Adoniram gave up everything, even his “love,” Miss Ann, for the one he loved.

Pray also for me that I may realize my true purpose in life — that is, to live every moment in light of my eternal home. That I will understand, but not merely understand, what it means to belong to another country while simply visiting an earthly world. Ultimately, pray that I would desire to know the will of God. It is easy to say, but, when the ramifications are pondered, very hard to actually want.

Finally, I know the Lord has great things for me to do in and with my life. I just know it. I do not worry a bit about what I will do or who I will become because I am resolved, without an ounce of wavering, in the way I will live (therefore the how will follow.) But, pray that I will live in such a way so that, as I live, and — yes, more importantly — when I die, vast numbers of people will not know the name Nate Hanson or fall in love with me, but will know the name of Jesus Christ and fall eternally in love with him.

If I wasn’t headed somewhere great, I wouldn’t be traveling with so many amazing people. If I wasn’t obsessed with One great thing, I wouldn’t be so strongly united to others by it.

On this, the marking of the 21st year of my life, I am overwhelmed by the amazing amount of family and friends who are traveling this eternal journey alongside me. The constant and gentle prods of challenge, encouragement, and insight have been far from human — they are supernatural. They are the brushes the Artist uses to paint my life’s masterpiece.

If my eyes weren’t fixed on a blinding Light, I wouldn’t be so full of joy at the companionship of my fellow light-seekers.

I recently came across a recording of a song I wrote when I was probably 14. Now, the song only has a few notes in it, but I’m trying not to judge the poor songwriting skills I had as a 14-year-old, since I consider them stepping stones. The quality of the recording is comparable to that of an answering machine message. The lyrics are kind of bland and the creativity in singing was lacking. All this to say, I was laughing pretty hard when I listened to it. But, as I was laughing about the song, how my voice has changed (I like to think, at least) and how I wasn’t quite on pitch for all of the notes, I was also encouraged by the words I wrote when I was just 14—nearly 7 years ago, or a third of my life.

In reflection, the Lord has been so faithful in leading and guiding me to this place in my life. While I barely remembered that this song existed and while I certainly don’t remember what caused me write it, I do remember, in a general sense, the uncertainty I felt when I was 14. What would my life be? How would I live it? What makes some people live a life that is fully devoted to God? It’s strange because, while some of these questions have been answer for me at nearly 21, I’m still asking some similarly large questions. Why do some people’s lives look absolutely crazy and others don’t, though they say they believe the same thing? Is God happy with followers that ask how little they can do and make it to heaven, or is he happy with those who ask how much they can do because of all they’ve been given? If I’ve seen a Treasure in a field, how can I justify not giving my whole life away?

The questions haven’t changed and I pray they never will. I may never find answers, but I know, if I keep asking these questions, I’ll find the Truth.

Does that accurately describe your relationship with the Lord? Do you just say, “Whatever, Lord. I’ve seen this treasure, so take everything, I don’t care anymore. Here, take it all, because I can have YOU!”

Notice the man didn’t go sell all he had and then walk past an electronics store and see a nice plasma television and think to himself, “Hmm, that’s pretty nice. Actually, I think that’s greater than the treasure I just saw. I’ll get this instead.” No! There was no weighing, no deleberating, and no sadness in the face of complete sacrifice—because, the man realized he was “sacrificing” nothing! It was clear. It was obvious. Anything or anyone else compared to this Treasure is a joke! Do you live like that? Do you live like nothing else matters compared to this treasure you’ve seen? If you don’t, maybe you need to consider if you’ve actually seen the treasure and all it’s great worth. Because, once you see the treasure, there is no way you can leave and live a normal life.

It’s important to note that this is not just a response for the overly “spiritual” or “godly” people in the church as we might be inclined to believe. This is the standard for a response to the treasure (Matthew 16:24.) This should flow as naturally as would an answer to the question, “Hey, do you want me to give you a billion dollars?” Would you have to think about that? Would you have to weigh that? Would you have to consider if you wanted to trade all you had to get that billion dollars? No, because you see it’s worth. Imagine a treasure of far greater worth—one that would make you look billions of dollars in the face and say, “Whatever… Keep it. I don’t even care. I can have God!”

And then I turned and found myself in a busy train station of seemingly endless size. I was sitting on a bench and as far as I could see to my left, right, behind and in front of me were hordes of people each purposefully going in a different direction. Each person I saw was headed somewhere—but where was I headed? If I didn’t know, how would anyone be able to tell me? Why couldn’t someone just take my hand and lead me out of this mad place?

I stood up. I lifted my right foot and placed it a short distance in front of my body. I did the same with my left foot. I repeated this process and, before long, I had begun walking quite briskly. I started dodging those determined people as I tried to figure out where to go. It was then I noticed something peculiar that I hadn’t noticed at first. Almost everyone I saw was headed the opposite way I was. They were all quickly pacing the direction behind me. It seemed definitely worth at least a quick look as to what everyone was so interested in. Once this realization came to me, I quickly spun around and began walking with them. I noticed there was a bright shining light far off in the distance. It was such a long ways away, in fact, that it was quite blurry. It looked pretty, and I figured it must be what everyone was heading towards. I kept walking for a while in this direction and, Lo!, it was very beautiful. Quite possibly the most stunning and amazing light I had ever laid eyes upon. The closer I got the more it sparkled—and the more it sparkled, the more my heart desired it.

As the masses drew closer to this light of many colors, I noticed people around me pushing. Some people were starting to get rather rude about the whole ordeal. It was as if each person wanted to get to this jewel first. I kept walking until I felt two strong hands shove me from behind and I fell and slid on my face a few feet. I snapped to my feel and spun around and punched the man square between the eyes. He flew back and whipped out a handful of people behind him on his way to the floor. What had come over me? Why did it feel so good to retaliate? I noticed that I wasn’t just pondering this thought—I was walking possibly faster than I had been walking the whole time. I was getting closer now.

It was at this moment that I noticed two or three people lifting an old man up off the dirty, sandstone floor. On the floor you could see little specks of sand, dirt, and pieces of garbage. I remembered the floor feeling like sandpaper when my face had slid on it. The old man had a hole in the right knee of his pants and the threads were long past the point of fraying on both his pants and his white shirt. One lady had a washcloth in her hand and was tending to his wounds. The other man was straightening the older mans torn clothes and pointing back the opposite direction as he murmured something to the old man. The woman began to nod her head in agreement with what the younger man was saying. Before long, the three of them began walking the opposite direction. I looked over my shoulder at first until they were getting far enough away that I needed to turn around in order to see them. Where were they going? How high on the drink must you be to turn away from this light and the hordes of people heading this direction? Were they mad? Perhaps they had fallen one too many times and they couldn’t think clearly anymore. Everyone was heading towards this jewel light, why would they go away from it? How could anything be better than this?

Before I could finish this thought I heard the deep and echoing scream of a man and then felt the blow as he ran me over—smacking my head against the stony floor. I came to my senses what must have been no longer than five seconds later because I pulled my bloody face up from the cold floor to see a blurry figure of a large man bounding off towards the diamond-like light. My head then collapsed back to the hard floor in pain. First I figured he must be the one who ran my over—but this was quickly erased with the question of why my eyes were so blurry? I blinked my eyes a few times in hopes my old vision would return to me but it was no use. As I lay on the sandy stone floor, I reached my right hand up to rub my eyes. This didn’t do a thing either. The thought came back to me: where had the old man and his helpers gone?

My vision was leaving me. I could no longer see the great light that everyone was fighting to get to. A tear ran from my eye onto the floor. Shortly, my eyes began to weep. I didn’t even know what to do now. Why should I run to this great light if I won’t even be able to see it? It was at this moment that I almost thought I heard something. It was hard to notice with all the clamoring of feet, jeering of voices, and yells of pain from other fallers like myself. Perhaps it wasn’t anything. Perchance it was just another old person falling to the floor. Wait. For a moment I think I heard it again. It wasn’t coming from the direction of the sparkly light but rather from far off in the distance—in the direction I had almost forgot I was heading what seemed like years ago. How long had it been since I began heading this direction?

Now on my knees, I looked down into the puddle of my tears. I could hardly make out the picture of my face with my terrible vision. But, the mirror showed a bloody and sad man. From what I could see, there were purple and blue bruises on my face and I felt a large cut in my neck. How could it be that I looked so bad? Why, just a few minutes ago I was young and full of life with the chance to go anywhere in the train station I wanted to. How long had I been pacing towards the jewel light? Before I could get too saddened by the puddle mirror’s reflection, I heard that sound again. This time it was a bit louder. I could tell it was a voice now. It was calling my name. The smile that broke on my face reminded me that I had been clenching my teeth in a frown since I turned towards the jewel light so very long ago. But, I smiled. His voice spoke to me again and the smile grew larger.

I didn’t fully understand what the words were saying, but it sounded amazing to hear my voice being called from the distance. As I turned and began walking back towards where I had come from, I started to not care that I could hardly see anything. I heard his voice grow louder and louder, and I began to run faster and faster. I could understand some of what he was saying now. “Keep running, my child. Don’t look back. I will clean your wounds and give you your sight.” It sounded too good to be true. I ran faster than ever now. All of a sudden, I slipped on something and flew through the air only to land on the cold floor once again. I crawled back a ways to see what had caught my foot and sent my flying. Reaching my hands around, I felt a body of a man lying on the floor. I said “hello” and he answered back, “Please don’t punch me, sir!” “Why would I punch you?” I said. “You did so about an hour ago—why wouldn’t you do it again?” “You’re the man I hit?” I said. “Forgive me for I am heading towards a voice now.” “I can hear him calling my name from this way.” I pointed the direction I had come from many hours ago. “Is that so?” he said. “Yes,” I said, “you can come with me.” “Why should I come with you?” It was at that moment the voice I’d been hearing said the name Henry. “Henry?” I said puzzled—trying to figure out why the great voice had uttered this name. “What do you want?” said the man lying on the ground. “Is that your name?” I asked surprised. “Of course it is,” said the man. “He wants you too, Henry!” I quickly helped Henry to his feet and brushed off his clothes because I assumed, though I could not see, that they were as dirty as mine had been the first time I had fallen.

At this point, Henry was hearing his name being called by the great voice as well. We joined hands and began running towards the great voice we were hearing. “He said he’ll make me alive!” said Henry as we ran. I could hear him sniffling and beginning to cry. We ran on. We both decided that we could run faster if we weren’t holding on to each other’s hands—and so, our bond was broken. “I’ll see you later,” Henry yelled as he ran on ahead. I could run faster now, but I also began to bump into things. It was getting much harder to see anything at this point and it seemed to be getting darker and darker too. I began to get discouraged and slowed down to a walk. I then brushed my knee on something. After a moment I realized it was a bench. It was the bench I had sat on many hours ago. I sat on it once more now as I contemplated my suffering vision. I looked over my shoulder back towards the jewel light. It sure was brighter in that direction. I could barely see the direction I was headed now. Maybe I should turn around and head back? What was so bad about it, after all? At least, in that direction, the light would help me see. I’d be much happier if I went back towards the jewel light. Why would I trust this voice I heard, even if he was calling my name?

I stood up with every intention of heading towards the jewel light as the voice spoke to me once again. “I am the rest that you need. I am all that you’re searching for. The plans are in my hand and you cannot see the whole picture.” If this were true, it would change everything. I believed this voice, so I pressed on. It was much harder to see now, but the great voice began talking to me more than he had before.. “This way! To your left!” I ran to my left. “A little more to your right… Keep running!” I ran harder than ever now. “You’re almost here… Press on, child!” He was leading me.

The more I ran on towards the great voice, the less people I sensed around me. In fact, as I called out questioningly, I noticed that no one was anywhere near me. I kept running and I think I passed a couple people on the way, but why were so few people heading this direction? The voice spoke again, “This way child!” My legs were growing tired. I collapsed to the floor once again. I couldn’t stop moving towards the voice, though. “I’m close now, child. Press on.” I began to crawl as I listened to direction from the great, kind voice. “Over the little bridge that is coming up, child, you’re almost there.” I felt my way to a small wooden bridge and pulled myself across it. The wood was smooth to the touch and felt soft to my aching knees. The water below was a beautiful rushing river. It was blue like the sky and the falls were whiter than the clouds. The warmth of the sun felt like a blanket to my frozen body.

At this moment I realized that not only could I see, but also I could see beauty upon beauty! The luscious green blades of grass sifted between my toes as I was now running through a meadow. I saw a gathering of people up ahead by a large dock in the river. I could see now that the river led to a great sea just off in the distance. A boat was docked there and the great and ever so friendly voice was speaking to everyone. The few people in attendance listened intently. He was the most amazing thing I had ever seen! He was immeasurably brighter than the jewel light I had seen before. I couldn’t stop looking at him. I didn’t even care about the beauty of the place anymore—I could see him! He asked, after seeing his face, who wanted to go back to the jewel light we had all seen a ways back? I found myself bursting out laughing with all of those around me. It was as if he had told the funniest joke we’d ever heard. Who would trade this glorious light—this light of unending brightness, joy, and hope for the dull sparkle we had seen earlier? Absurd!

He welcomed us all on to his ship. One by one we poured on. As each of us entered the ship, The Great Voice would call us by name, saying: “Well done, my child. You saw the jewel light in the place back there, but you pressed on for something greater. You fought the fight well, my child. Welcome to my ship. Welcome to eternal wonder and mystery!”

Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths straight.

Joshua 1:9
[after Moses died and Joshua was charged with leading the people across the Jordan...]

Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.

Psalm 31:14
“But as for me, I trust in You, O Lord;
I say, ‘You are my God. My times are in Your hand.”

this earth has housed you for a while
your lungs were made for so much more
the air you breathe is not desired
your father knows
your father knows

you’ve been visiting a country
that was never made to be your home
the time has come for us to meet
time to go
time to go

I am in love
in love with your light
won’t you hold on to me tonight?
Capture my heart
Romance my soul

Take everything
I give it away
Down at your feet is where I lay
all of my treasures
and I will take a chance
with this divine romance

It takes a power outage to realize just how much we rely on lights in our day-to-day life. When all the lights suddenly shut off and it is dark, the only light we can see is the light of the Sun. When there is power, however, we try to fill up our homes with the imitations of the Sun. We use lamps and light bulbs to imitate what the Sun gives us. But, none of these imitations could come close to the brightness of the Sun. We see this comparison differently with a power outage when we see just how much brighter the Sun is. That’s hard to see when our homes, offices, and schools are filled with imitations of its light.

Similarly, we fill up our homes and lives with imitations of God. Whereas the Sun brings us light of no comparison, God brings us peace, joy, hope, security, pleasure, beyond anything we could imagine. But we try to imitate these characteristics. We’re taught that we can gain those things for ourselves—we can create them. If we work hard enough at our jobs, we can make our own security. If we plan for an early retirement in the tropics, we’ll have peace. If you make enough money, you’ll be able to buy a new car, which will definitely bring joy. If you’re free enough to travel the world—that will bring you pleasure. Do you see what we’ve done? Just like the lamps and light bulbs, our imitations of God could never compare with his characteristics. If we were asked to compare the brightness of a lamp and the Sun, we would laugh at the absurdity of it. There is no way the lamp could ever come anywhere close to competing with the Sun.

There is no way that jobs, retirements, cars or travels could ever compete with the peace, joy, hope, security, and pleasure that is our God. The comparison is a joke—and yet, every single day, we compare them in our minds and—here’s the sad and scary part: after comparing them in our minds, most of the time we pick the imitation.

“If you read history you will find out that the Christians who did most for the present world were precisely those who thought most of the next.”

“No one can sum up all God is able to accomplish through one solitary life, wholly yielded, adjusted, and obedient to Him.”

“Resolved, never to do anything which I would be afraid to do if it were the last hour of my life.”

“I must keep alive in myself the desire for my true country, which I shall not find till after death; I must never let it get snowed under or turned aside; I must make it the main object of life to press on to that other country and to help others to do the same.”

“An excellent way to test our values is to observe what we do when we don’t have anything to do, how we spend our leisure time and how we spend our extra money.”

“If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.”

“I judge all things only by the price they shall gain in eternity.”

“NO COMPROMISE is what the whole Gospel of Jesus is all about… ‘For I tell you…no man can serve two masters…’ (Matt 6:24). In a day when believers seem to be trying to please both the world and the Lord (which is an impossible thing), when people are far more concerned about offending their friends than offending God, there is only one answer… Deny yourself, take up your cross and follow Him (Luke 9:23)

“Watch how much of our speech is aimed at justifying our actions. We find it almost impossible to act and allow the act to speak for itself. No, we must explain it, justify it, demonstrate the righteousness of it. Why do we feel this compulsion to set the record straight? Because of pride and fear, because our reputations are at stake.”

“Some wish to live within the sound of the Church bell, I want to run a rescue shop within a yard of the gates of hell.”

“The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.”

Don’t get as close as you can to the uncomfortable line of “looking strange in this world” without crossing it… That’s not where we’re called to live. We’re called to cross that line, with Christ, and look completely strange and foreign to this world.

…know that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed…

…put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.

what is safety? is it real?

play it safe

safety has few eternal rewards

living a “dangerous” life now [by worldly standards] earns you the reward of eternal safety.

I don’t know why
I don’t know why
I don’t know why

I don’t know why
I don’t know why
I don’t know why

No I don’t know why
I don’t know why
He loves the sky

And he always made me wonder
just what he saw up there
It was like his lungs were holy, never made for earthly air
And his house was down on Cherry Street
But his home was far away
And he said his smile’s growing cause we’re coming to that day

No I don’t know why
I don’t know why
He loves the sky

we have only heard the faintest whispers of how great You are

p h y s i c a l
My body is a reflection of my Lord. Therefore, I will seek to keep my body in physical shape by running and lifting weights. Along side my fitness goals will be my desire to seek good nutrition. A body cannot improve without proper nutrition.

f i n a n c i a l
Remind myself that all money I have comes from the Lord. I will show this by honoring him first with money received. I will work hard. Hard work builds character–the character I want.

“Ability can take you to the top, but it takes character to keep you there.”

r e l a t i o n a l
Cherish my family first. My actions towards them will be my reactions to my wife and family someday. Your true personality and character come through in how you relate to your family. Encourage people. I can easily remember over ten things that people have said to me while I was growing up. Many of these encouragements have been life-altering. I want to be amazed by the ability of encouragement and the way it can affect someone’s very life.

“You never know when a helping hand will change another person’s entire life.”

Have long, meaning conversations with people. Listen to them.

i n t e l l e c t u a l
Seek to gain wisdom from people. Everyone has wisdom to offer because they’ve done something I haven’t done. Read. Read my bible, read old classics, read theologians, and other works. Become more advance in my musical and vocal abilities through practice. Write. Compose music and poetry. Edify.

These four areas all feed off of my overlying spiritual and life goal to lay down every small and large part of my life in sacrifice to my Lord.

Father, I sacrifice my life to you by seeking to raise the bar in my life. Take all that I am. Make me low, and raise yourself up high in my life.

what made this taste so good
why do I need this to survive
where did the smile on my face come from
as the water reached my soul
and satisfied me?

For anything that comes along do not compromise the Lord’s goals for your own. What I mean is, don’t let any fears of change or loss change what you think. You will grow every day for the rest of your life.

Lord, help me not take my friends for granted. What a blessing you have given me.

Realize how precious history is. Don’t take five or ten years lightly—You’ll realize how amazing history with people is when you have to recreate it some day. Cherish your friends. They are a direct blessing from your Father.

You know who you are—I honestly love you and thank the Lord for bring you into my life.

Do you see the treasure? Are you like the man who found the treasure and couldn’t contain himself. He went and sold everything he had to buy the field with the treasure in it? All of a sudden he didn’t care about “stuff” anymore… And why would he after seeing the Creator of the World–The Almighty God? How can you see Him and then go back and say, “Hmm… Let me think about this… Do I really want to give up everything on this Earth for Him?”

This is the same God who has angels and elders bowing down to him for all of eternity and still not being able to give him the glory he deserves. This is the same God who spoke the whole universe into existence, and came to earth as a man. And you’re going to trade all that for “stuff” here on earth for a couple years? You’re going to trade all that for comfort here on earth? And the Lord looks down at you, a miniscule speck on a piece of dirt and says, “that makes me sick.” He wants to spit you out of his mouth. If you have truly seen and believed, it’s not even a comparison. It’s not even close… AT ALL!

This is the greatest tragedy in our world. Many “Christians” are not on fire for God–they know it and won’t do anything about it. They’ll hear words like this and walk away exactly the same. Do you live without a care for this world? Are you so focused on the Lord that you don’t even care about this world and it’s stuff? Because if you’ve seen the Treasure, there shouldn’t be anything holding you back from being a blazing fire for God. The treasure changes everything.

I suppose this means that we, as followers of Christ, shouldn’t be hesitant or “weak” in how we carry out the Lord’s commands either. What will matter in 100 years when the body is dead?

People quickly forget the being that fits in by traveling with the current, but a life that pleases the Lord is one that builds strong muscles by walking against the current.

I’ll probably continue these thoughts later.

(Thanks Coach Landry)

Hungry, I come to you for I know you satisfy
I am empty, but I know Your love does not run dry
And so I wait for You
So I wait for You

Broken, I run to You for Your arms are open wide
I am weary, but I know Your touch restores my life
And so I wait for You
So I wait for You

I’m falling on my knees
Offering all of me
Jesus, You’re all this heart is living for

I don’t fully know how wonderful it is to have my eyes open. The Bible says there was nothing I did and nothing I could do to earn this grace and the ability to have my eyes open to the truth. But, as I get more and more glimpses of what it looks like to not have your eyes opened, I realize how absolutely amazing this gift is. The truth is perfectly clear. My life has been changed and I can never go back.

On the other side, it makes me deeply sad. There is often nothing that can be said to someone unless their eyes are open. Why would they want to follow something that was going to cost them anything? What would compel them to stop living the way they are if they don’t see that there is someone who is calling them to a better life with eternity in mind?

But, that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t say anything. No matter how hopeless it may seem, nothing is impossible for God. Never underestimate the power of my Jesus. Besides, Christ never said I was going to fit in–In fact, He said I shouldn’t fit in. So, the more instances where I find myself sticking out like a sore thumb, I should praise the Lord for opening my eyes and saving me.

I wake to find my soul in fragments
Given to a thousand loves
But only One will have no rival
Hangs to heal me, spills His blood

How can I be so prone to wander
So prone to leave You
So prone to die
And how can You be so full of mercy
You race to meet me and bring me back to life
|Chris Rice-1998|

O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I’m constrained to be!
Let Thy goodness, like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to Thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.
|Robert Robinson-1758|

Unconditional love is quite amazing. I’m not saying that humans are incapable of unconditional love. God’s level, however, of unconditional love is infinitely (because He is infinite) greater than our form. Our form of “unconditional love” still fluctuates (even if only to grow better.) God’s form is always the best. When I am at my lowest point, His perfect love for me is the same as it was when I was at my highest point.

I’m so used to the shallow love of human kind and, because of this, it is often the way that I choose to love God. I’m imperfect so this may be the only way I can consistently love God (which is the reason that God had to die for me.) However, I’m still filled with this longing to love God on a higher lever–a truer level (this longing is what makes a person a God-follower, I believe.)

…and everything You hold in Your hands, still You make time for me, I can’t understand… So I praise You God of earth and sky, how beautiful is Your unfailing love…

How blessed is the man who finds wisdom And the man who gains understanding. For her profit is better than the profit of silver And her gain better than fine gold. She is more precious than jewels; Nothing you desire compares with her. Her ways are pleasant ways And all her paths are peace.

Does not wisdom call,
And understanding lift up her voice?
On top of the heights beside the way,
Where the paths meet, she takes her stand;
Beside the gates, at the opening to the city,
At the entrance of the doors, she cries out:
“To you, O men, I call,
And my voice is to the sons of men.
“O naive ones, understand prudence;
And, O fools, understand wisdom.
“Listen, for I will speak noble things;
And the opening of my lips will reveal right things.
“For my mouth will utter truth;
And wickedness is an abomination to my lips.
“All the utterances of my mouth are in righteousness;
There is nothing crooked or perverted in them.
“They are all straightforward to him who understands,
And right to those who find knowledge.
“Take my instruction and not silver,
And knowledge rather than choicest gold.”
For wisdom is better than jewels;
“I, wisdom, dwell with prudence,
And I find knowledge and discretion.
The fear of the LORD is to hate evil;
Pride and arrogance and the evil way
And the perverted mouth, I hate.”
“I love those who love me;
And those who diligently seek me will find me.
Riches and honor are with me,
Enduring wealth and righteousness.”
“My fruit is better than gold, even pure gold,
And my yield better than choicest silver.”
“I walk in the way of righteousness,
In the midst of the paths of justice,
To endow those who love me with wealth,
That I may fill their treasuries.”
“Now therefore, O sons, listen to me,
For blessed are they who keep my ways.”
“Heed instruction and be wise,
And do not neglect it.”
“Blessed is the man who listens to me,
Watching daily at my gates,
Waiting at my doorposts.”
For he who finds me finds life
And obtains favor from the LORD.”

I guess Wisdom doesn’t sound like a bad person to marry.

Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the LORD and turn away from evil. It will be healing to your body and refreshment to your bones. Honor the LORD from your wealth and from the first of all your produce; So your barns will be filled with plenty and your vats will overflow with new wine. My son, do not reject the discipline of the LORD or loathe His reproof, For whom the LORD loves He reproves, Even as a father corrects the son in whom he delights. How blessed is the man who finds wisdom and the man who gains understanding. For her profit is better than the profit of silver and her gain better than fine gold. She is more precious than jewels; and nothing you desire compares with her. Long life is in her right hand; In her left hand are riches and honor. Her ways are pleasant ways and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her, and happy are all who hold her fast.

The LORD by wisdom founded the earth, By understanding He established the heavens.
By His knowledge the deeps were broken up and the skies drip with dew. My son, let them not vanish from your sight; Keep sound wisdom and discretion,
So they will be life to your soul and adornment to your neck. Then you will walk in your way securely and your foot will not stumble. When you lie down, you will not be afraid; When you lie down, your sleep will be sweet. Do not be afraid of sudden fear Nor of the onslaught of the wicked when it comes; For the LORD will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being caught. Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, When it is in your power to do it. Do not say to your neighbor, “Go, and come back, and tomorrow I will give it,” When you have it with you. Do not devise harm against your neighbor, While he lives securely beside you.

Do not contend with a man without cause, If he has done you no harm. Do not envy a man of violence and do not choose any of his ways. For the devious are an abomination to the LORD; But He is intimate with the upright. The curse of the LORD is on the house of the wicked, But He blesses the dwelling of the righteous. Though He scoffs at the scoffers, Yet He gives grace to the afflicted. The wise will inherit honor, But fools display dishonor.”

Proverbs 3

He’s more than the laughter or the stars in the heavens
As close a heartbeat or a song on our lips
Someday we’ll trust Him and learn how to see Him
Someday He’ll call us and we will come running
And fall in His arms and the tears will fall down and we’ll pray,

I want to fall in love with You…
I want to fall in love with You…

Proverbs 16
Commit your works to the Lord
And your plans will be established.
The Lord has made everything for its own purpose.
By lovingkindness and truth iniquity is atoned for,
And by the fear of the Lord one keeps away from evil.
When a man’s ways are pleasing to the Lord,
He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.
Better is a little with righteousness
Than great income with injustice.
The mind of man plans his way,
But the Lord directs his steps.

Commit your works to the Lord, and your plans will be established. It’s telling me not to commit to searching for my plans, but rather to commit my works to the Lord—and, in doing so, the Lord will establish my plans. It’s simply a change of commitments—from myself, to the Lord.

My Treasure beyond worth
I find my joy in You
You are my life, You are my strength
Oh nothing else will do

And I will leave what keeps me from You
And hides the truth from view
And breaks Your heart in two
But You’re healing me

My Treasure beyond worth
I find my joy in You
You are my life, You are my strength
Oh nothing else will do

The cross, points the way to my home
It Guides me to Your throne
To see Your glory shown
And I’ll fly to You

My Treasure beyond worth
I find my joy in You
You are my life, You are my strength
Oh nothing else will do

I was not ever thus, nor prayed that thou
Shouldst lead me on;
I loved to choose and see my path; but now
Lead thou me on!
I loved the garish day, and, spite of fears,
Pride ruled my will: remember not past years!

So long thy power hath blest me, sure it still
Will lead me on,
O’er moor and fen, o’er crag and torrent, till
The night is gone,
And with the morn those angel faces smile
Which I have loved long since, and lost awhile.

[John Henry Newman -- 1801-1890]

-Nate Hanson 12:10AM — January 2nd, 2006

There is a bell ringing within me that won’t go away. The reverberations persistently convoke me to my Lord and a plan that he has for me. This plan is something I may never fully know but there is one thing I know; to not forgo and relinquish my own desires is to lose my life.

Jesus tells me that, “[W]hoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it.” It is the coolest sacrifice I can make because I know the eternally wonderful reward and therefore there is not doubt what decision I will make.

“For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul? For what will a man give in exchange for his soul?”

A life is a precious thing to lose.

O soul are you weary and troubled?
No light in the darkness you see?
There’s light for a look at the Saviour,
And life more abundant and free.

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His Glory and Grace.

Through death into life everlasting
He passed, and we follow Him there;
Over us sin no more has dominion -
For more than conquerors we are!

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His Glory and Grace.

His Word shall not fail you – He promised;
Believe Him, and all will be well;
Then go to a world that is dying,
His perfect salvation to tell.

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His Glory and Grace.

Words and Music by Helen H. Lemmel – 1922

You are telling me
My life is in Your hands
I rest within Your light
And in You I can stand

You are leading me
To a place without this fear
Where love and grace are free
Where You and I are near

Frightened as I find out that I
Can’t save you. With all of my heart
I know this is the way that it goes
And yet I still hold out hope

When darkness comes and I can’t see
I’ll always call upon my King
When morning breaks and You are there
I’ll fly to meet You in the air

–

What am I supposed to feel
I don’t even want to write
I’m broken like a rusty wheel
Is there any way to make this right

Is there something I’m not giving over
Something that I’m holding back
Does my second face need to move over
To find out what my first one lacks

Because
I thought I knew where I was going
and maybe I still do
But I can’t keep on like this
I’m telling You the truth

Yes, I thought this way was best
But I think that I was wrong
Yet, it still may be true
But I’ve given it to You
[sep05]

Frozen as the world watches from afar
Truly not knowing me or my heart
That beats for the knowing of my days
That beats for the changing of my ways

It’s my turn to move, hands shake with fear
The world watches me, what will I choose?

But I want to move in a way that’s true
In a way that’s good, that leads me to You

A cinder warm enough to glow
A blazing fire in my soul
That burns to see the path unknown
That burns to light the way back home

[July, 2005]

Such is the case with our task of serving God. Our level of passion for serving God directly effects how we will serve Him. Our service and surrender to God can range from extremely high to nearly nonexistent depending on the passion we have for Him. Now, a being’s passion for God is not set at a certain level never to be altered—a passion for God can mature and grow. In fact, a passion for God must mature and grow to be as effective as God has called us to be.

Most human beings are passionate about at least one person—we will use a spouse for an example. When a man enters into a marriage relationship with his wife he is thereby saying that her life is more important than his—he is promising to value her more than he values himself. Though quite a commitment and quite an example of passion, this is often viewed as a simple—or even “common” act. However, this act of existing in a marriage relationship, serving and caring for the other more than yourself, is a direct picture of the level of passion each of the spouses have for each other. I would hope that people entering into this marriage relationship would be willing to fulfill their promises to the point of dying for their spouse—this the true measure of passion.

The true measure of passion (and therefore, “effectiveness”) is to value that person or that thing more than you value yourself. There is a small level of passion taken to work and be effective at small tasks (as I showed earlier) but obviously this is not the same amount it takes to lay down your life for someone. And, laying down your life does not always mean dying. You can “lay down your life” for your spouse by valuing them more than yourself and therefore serving them.

As we’ve seen in the marriage relationship so we can translate to our relationship with God—our Heavenly Father. We are called to enter into a relationship—much the same as an earthly marriage relationship of service and surrender. Our level of passion for Him will directly determine our willingness to serve and “lay down our lives” and our effectiveness in doing so. As I said in regards to the earthly marriage relationship, we are called to value the one we have passion for more than ourselves. Such is true in our relationship with God. Our level of passion will determine what we will do for our Savior and how effective we will be in doing so.

Full submission is illustrated with serving and surrendering your own desires and will. This kind of true submission—this beautiful and “full” submission—only takes place when your passion for God is overflowing. When this is the case you will serve effectively and submit fully: Daily dying—sometimes literally—for the One you are truly passionate about.

“Fighting the good fight,
Nate”

What does it mean? I have been using this “sign-off” for a couple years to remind me of my favorite verse:

1st Timothy 6:11-12
“But flee from these things, you man of God, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.”

It’s a reminder, whenever I write this as a sign off, to pursue these vital characteristics in my life. It is an evident struggle to hold these character traits in this evil world. None of these things—righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance, or gentleness—are promoted in our world… In fact, in this world, much the opposite is encouraged.

Because of all of this, I realize the achieving and holding of these qualities to be a “fight.” Besides, it’s not everyday you have a sign-off that can act as an opening to a deeper and more imperative conversation concerning eternal things.

fighting the good fight,
nate

And yet, I still try. It is this “trying”, I fear, that gets me into trouble. In the absence of “trying” there is “relying.” Or, more simply put, if I realize that I am not capable of doing anything, it will make it easy to rely on the One who is capable.

-I’m just reminding myself of an often forgotten and neglected truth.-

I officially like In N Out burgers. After I took my second bite I said, “this is the best burger I have ever had.” And, we all know I’m not one to make rash statements (yeah right.)

We’re in Redding, CA on our way to Yosemite National Park tomorrow. We’ll spend two nights in Yosemite before heading to Las Vegas, I believe.

(Note: I love my iPod… It has gone everywhere with me. Pridian (my compy) and Lindy (my Shuffle) play well together.)

I talked to a man in the hot tub tonight. I was asking where he was from (conversation starters) and he asked the same (as expected.) Then we got to talking about school and work. He told me where he works and is going (back) to school and then he asked me what I was doing (school-wise) and what I planned on doing after school. I told him about finishing up Clackamas (he’s from the Seattle area and travels through Portland a lot, so he knows the area) and then going to Moody, then how I was planning to go into overseas missions. He then proceeded to tell me about people he knew who were in missions in Africa. They have since retired but now have a lot of stories that they have told him (he was amazed at his friends.) He then said that though they are retired they still are involved in prison ministry here in the states. Then, something that stuck out that he said:

“It takes a special kind of person to do that kind of thing… You have to be very unselfish. It’s about getting a different kind of reward.“

I believe he was speaking of the reward of “feeling good” about your self. But, I guess he could have been talking about eternal treasure… I just doubt it. Regardless, that stuck out to me. I only regret that I didn’t take this perfect opportunity to ask more questions and get him thinking a bit more.

This is not what I actually want to write about (because there are so many more important things rushing through my head right now) but I’m going to write about it anyway (and maybe some of the other…) just because I got this idea the other day and told myself I should write about it.

If I am given something to do (as task or a job) I will (almost) always do it immediately. If I am given a list of jobs or tasks I will do the hardest task/job first and work my way to the easiest. If there are two or more task/jobs that are near the same difficulty I will usually complete them in order of how long they will take (I’ll do the longest one first.) This is just me. Many people are like this, but many people are not. It’s probably about 50/50, though, on this issue. I just think it’s interesting.

-
–
Future…
—
—-

…is something I’ve been thinking a lot about.

(Make known the plans-
-the ones I should know…)
(Open doors that I’m to go through-
-make them clear for my eyes to see…)
Close doors that lead away from your will-
-so its obvious the path I am to travel down…)
(Let me feel your closeness through the times of decision-
-so that I will always know where to turn for You’re leading me…)

[John and Peter have been placed in the center of the room and have had many questions thrown at them...]

But…

[Finding no fault with the two men the council began to confer with themselves...]

Council: “What shall we do with these two men? For the fact that a noteworthy miracle has taken place through them is apparent to all who live in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it…

Council: “But so that it will not spread any further among the people, let us warn them to speak no longer to any man in His name…

[The council then summoned John and Peter back into their presence.]

[They commanded John and Peter to not speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus...]

John and Peter: “Whether it is right in the sight of God to obey you rather than God, you be the judge…

John and Peter: “for we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.”

–

That is amazing to me. I love that line, “for we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.” That is how we should be as well. Lord, let us be in awe of who you are… They weren’t afraid of the council (or the “world”) but rather realized that the council wasn’t who they were supposed to be giving honor and glory too. They were able to stay strong in that test because they knew that the glory should be going to God. Help us to realize that, Father. Let us not get trapped with the ways and rules of the world… But, like John and Peter, let us be so obsessed with You and what you have done so that we cannot stop speaking about it, Lord.

I delight in You, Oh Lord
And I rest within Your plan
So won’t you plant me by the river
and let the water flow
Because I trust in You, Oh Lord
[june.05]

You are a shield around me, O LORD;
You bestow glory on me and lift up my head.
To the LORD I cry aloud,
and he answers me from his holy hill.
I lie down and sleep;
I wake again, because the LORD sustains me.

Because I’m on that floor now
Where I’m lying on my face now
tired, crying, and broken in pieces
just like that painting
I cry to You…

Realize the precious moments that you have now
For you will never see them in the same way
What is available to you now
Will be gone someday

[March 14th, 2005:::Nate Hanson]

Sleepwalking a wire
You are getting higher

Lullaby
Rest my child

Yesterday the words seemed clear
On signs of where to go from here
The road was straight, appearing fair
Ohh…
That road has since been broken down
And you have since been led around
A lonely town you want to leave
Ohh…

Sleepwalking a wire
You are getting higher

Lullaby
Rest my child

Amidst the sorrows of the way
Lord Jesus, teach my soul to pray
Let me taste Thy special grace
And run to Christ, my hiding place

You know the vileness of my heart
So prone to act the rebel’s part
And when You veil Your lovely face
How can I find a hiding place

Hiding place, hiding place

Lord, guide my wandering feet
Draw me to Thy mercy seat
I’ve nought to trust but sovereign grace
Thou only art my hiding place

How unstable is my heart
Sometimes I take the tempter’s part
And slight the tokens of Thy grace
And seem to want no hiding place

Hiding place, hiding place

But when Thy spirit shines within
Makes me feel the plague of sin
And how I long to see Thy face
‘Tis then I want a hiding place

Lord Jesus, shine and then I can
Feel sweetness in salvation’s plan
And as a sinner plead for grace
Christ, the sinner’s hiding place
And as a sinner plead for grace
Christ, the sinner’s hiding place

“Own me
Take all that I am,
And heal me!
With the blood of the lamb.
Mold me with your gracious hand;
Break me till I’m only yours-
Own me!”

(c) Ginny Owens

“Life is short.” This is an idea that our generation too often either ignores or doesn’t understand. When you talk to elderly people one of the riding themes of stories they tell is how they wish they had known when they were younger what they know now; how they dream of being able to change something, or spend more of life doing this or that. But, they can’t go back. You can never go back.

The earlier this is realized the more profitable you can be. Each decision on how you will spend your time has an eternal impact. Each decision holds a value (some more than others.) Sadly, all too often the decision that is settled on is for the mediocre, when the best could be reached! Daily we must strive for the “best” in our lives. God desires our best.

This means weeding out the things consuming your day that are not profitable. We are not reaching our full potential if we don’t strive to give our best to God. Everything we do should be done as an act of worship to God.

I must always strive to do only the things that are worthwhile (eternally) and to do those things to the best of my God given abilities.

I am lost on this path broken down
I am cold and in the darkness I am found
I am weak and I’m lying here facedown
We’re as distant as we’ve ever been
Let me fall in love with You again

It was me yelling “crucify Him”
It was me driving the nails in Your hands
It was me beating and mocking too
It was me, that crucified You

Cheif if the sinners, I am less
Than worthy of you righteousness
Jesus, why this to save your child
And now I know…
That you were killed because I sin
And there was death that I may live
I should have died but You saved me
And now I know…

It was me yelling “crucify Him”
It was me driving the nails in Your hands
It was me beating and mocking too
It was me, that crucified You

When I see the price You paid
And when I see the death You died
And when I hear them mocking and beating You
I know, that I’m to blame

Take all of my desires and help me to focus on You above all. Let me do only what is building up of others and glorifying to You. Change my desires and plans to in time with Your plans.

I don’t want anything if it is outside of Your plan, Lord. Help me to be content.

Thank you for all of the things You teach me and the ways that I have grown this past year. Challenge me so that I continue to grow, Lord.

I bless Your name, I love You,

Amen.

“A Godly man will not go as far as he may, lest he go further than he should.”

“Fight your sin the hardest when you’re feeling strong.”

“Make no provision for the flesh.”

An amazing quote by an amazing man. I desire to grow to be that kind of man. I want to be the kind of man who is so in tune with God that the world will look upon me and not wonder who I live for, but be forced to make a decision about who I live for.

[-
In Christ alone my hope is found
He is my light my strength my song
This Cornerstone, this solid Ground
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm
What heights of love, what depths of peace
When fears are stilled when strivings cease!
My Comforter my All in All
Here in the love of Christ I stand
-]

I didn’t know there was a song with such true words contained in it as “In Christ Alone.”

[-
In Christ alone! - who took on flesh
Fullness of God in helpless babe!
This Gift of love and righteousness
Scorned by the ones He came to save
Till on that cross as Jesus died
The wrath of God was satisfied -
For every sin on Him was laid:
Here in the death of Christ I live
-]

I love this song because there are no filler words, every word is about what the Lord has done and how what He has most graciously done has saved me.

[-
There in the ground His body lay
Light of the world by darkness slain
Then bursting forth in glorious Day
Up from the grave He rose again!
And as He stands in victory
Sin's curse has lost its grip on me
For I am His and He is mine -
Bought with the precious blood of Christ
-]

I think I love this song even more because of the setting where I first heard it. It was last Saturday at the speech tournament right before the final results were announced.

[-
No guilt in life no fear in death
This is the power of Christ in me
From life's first cry to final breath
Jesus commands my destiny
No power of hell no scheme of man
Can ever pluck me from His hand
Till he returns or calls me home
Here in the power of Christ I'll stand!
-]

When we sang this song I was in complete amazement of how the Lord had decided to bless me. But, I also knew that no matter what the outcome had been, I still had only once choice. His name must be blessed, when His streams of abundance flow and when I am found in the desert place. That is the only choice for me.

And He is faithful and good. Always!

So, I know what kind of man I want to be. I want to be a man whose life demands a decision by this world because I am living for something greater than this world.

“This Cornerstone, this solid Ground
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm
My Comforter my All in All
Here in the love of Christ I stand…”

Perhaps “they” are simply the majority or something. Or perhaps it’s the qualified people (to speak in the given field.) Let’s take “practice makes perfect” for instance. “They” in the area of this quote would be people who had practiced a lot and knew that it, most definitely, made perfect.

Though…

“someone” had to have said it first. And, either he was surprised/happy that it stuck, or he was left wondering where his gratuity/copyright was.

Some quotes we can say, “as (fill in name) says…” but with these ones, which the author is left to guess, we must simply say, “as they say…”

We’re probably doing someone an injustice.

I shall now go back to what I’ve been doing this whole week… (guess)

I wish I had been one of the Twelve. They heard Jesus talk about telling the world about Him and then they saw him go into heaven. When they saw him go into heaven and say that he would come back… I’m sure they didn’t think it was going to be a very long time. I’m sure they were thinking days, weeks perhaps. So they rushed out and lived a life that was preaching the beloved Jesus to all. They saw him live, teach, suffer, and die.

They knew the truth. They told it to all. They died for doing so.

But it didn’t matter because they knew Jesus would return and they must live for him. They heard him talk about the men who were entrusted with talents and how one man buried his to gain no return while the other man invested his and made his investment profitable. They knew they must live their life’s doing nothing but telling others about Jesus. It was dire to them, they knew their lives weren’t long enough to accomplish their task with the greatness they wanted to; to see all come.

But they lived for a world greater than this one. They didn’t hear Jesus’ commands and “forget” to follow them. They didn’t get too “busy” to follow Jesus’ last words. And they surly didn’t only follow his last commands when it was “safe” to do so.

No, rather they lived for their God, following Jesus commands to the point of death… because, as they had seen, death was only temporary.

[lfe] live for eternity

“Wow… Just imagine… Just imagine, for a moment that, that one little star up there is our universe… And you zoom in on that and you have the Milky Way… And you zoom in after that and you have the Sun… And you zoom in from there and you have Earth… And then, [laughing] you zoom in again and you have a little piece of dust that is you. And God is looking down on you…”

I love the word pictures that are painted here. We have gone zooming through the entire universe and it’s galaxies and we come upon a small, insignificant piece of dust. God doesn’t have to use us! We are not a “help” to God. We must get out of our world for a moment and see that we are not as skilled and as wise as we think. As is painted in this excerpt; we are nothing compared to the vast universe and galaxies that God has created. These wonders are a picture of how great and powerful our God is.

And He has chosen us to tell others about Him, to live our lives daily preaching the Good News through our actions! This is a privilege! The God who created the universe and has planned everyone’s lives, who designed stars who’s light shall never reach the earth has asked you to tell others about Him. What an amazing privilege!

But, unfortunately we don’t usually consider it as so. Countless hours we waste away doing things that may not be directly evil, but aren’t going to build the kingdom. We only have a certain amount of hours here on Earth, this amount is not known. We must live every day as if it were our last. This sounds so cliché to us after hearing it so much, but it doesn’t change the truth. We can pass it off as something we hear way too often, or we can begin to live our life as if it is true.

The God who has created the universe has asked you to live a life of service to Him; living a life that tells everyone about Him. When you picture yourself as a piece of dust in relation to the infinite God, it’s impossible to not live for Him.

[lfe] live for eternity

The second choice is a course that many desire to take (I, myself, want to take it) and that is the decision that we will live for something greater than today, tomorrow, or 80 years down the road. Don’t be distracted by what the World calls “important” rather focus on the things God has called you to do.

We should say that this life doesn’t please me, this life cannot contain me… this life, and its temporary things will not define or limit me, or subtract from what I was created for. When we make this our resolution we can achieve marvelous things through our Lord, and meet the potential for which we were created.

[lfe] live for eternity

A man comes by whose appearance proclaims
“Every thing is clearly alright”
But he wishes he friends outnumbered his money
This is what’s seen with Your sight

An orphan child without a home
And no place to sleep at night
No mother, no father, and no one who loves him
This is what’s seen with Your sight

Past the child is a widowed lady
Who is lonely as she can be
Her husband has died and her children don’t care
This is what Your eye’s see

I walk down a hall, down to a cell
I see a man in the dark
He tells me of all the mistakes he’s made
And then he quietly remarks:

“I want to be free, not just from this cell
But from fear that’s haunting me
Is there more to this life–I wish someone would say!”
This is what Your eye’s see

The world looks so different than it did before
I ask, “How can this be?”
Then I remember what You have said
This sight is what Your eye’s see.

He traveled to them

They felt his love

He showed God to them

They received the gift

He was captured by some on a bright, fair day

They said if he didn’t deny, it would be to his death

He could not deny his Savior, Master, and God

And praised Him with his last breath

…Carry your candle, run to the darkness

Take your candle, go light your world…

…For none of us lives to himself alone

and none of us dies to himself alone

If we live, we live to the Lord

and if we die, we die to the Lord

So, whether we live or die,

we belong to the Lord…

Morning I wake and conspire to make

Me happy

Me glorified

Me foremost

Remind me now, let me never forget

Nothing is ever about me…

Everything is eternally about You

To You trees tremble,

Rocks worship,

Angles sing,

Elders bow,

Leaders submit,

Satin winces,

Oceans still,

Lions roar,

Authors write,

People pray,

And all of Heaven declares,

That You are God

We’re singing with angels
You are the holy one
We’re bowing with elders
Holy is the Lord
We never stop singing
We never stop bowing down
We never stop saying the words
“Holy is the Lord”
Holy is the Lord

Now at the throne I fall on my face
I bow in wonder of You
I feel that Your praises shake the ground
Everyone’s worshiping You

Holy is the Lord.

And, for all of eternity, not matter what, the angels “never stop saying: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty…” They never stop saying it! Forever.

And one day we’ll get to sing it with them, this is the day we must long for… to be in eternal communion and reverence of God.

I can still hear Francis Chan speaking about this…

The awesome part is not that they keep saying this, but rather that even after all of eternity of them saying “Holy, Holy, Holy… is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come…” it won’t even come close to being near the praise that God deserves.

Because

Your thoughts are higher than mine

Your words are deeper than mine

Your love is stronger than mine

This is no sacrifice

Here’s my life

To You I give the gifts

Your love has given me

How can I hoard the treasures that You’ve designed for free?

To you I give my future

As long as it may last

To You I give my present

To You I give my past

Your thoughts are higher than mine

Your words are deeper than mine

Your love is stronger than mine

This is no sacrifice

Here’s my life

Here’s my life

Holy, holy, holy!

Lord God Almighty!

And even though He is the highest above, even though He is perfect, He still choose to leave his exalted throne above to be a dirty and disrespected human man. He was a mere baby. He was disregarded by Herod and by almost all leaders of that time. He went through the pains of being in the disgraceful human body. He was driven through with nails, beaten, spit upon and eventually mocked and killed.

Never has anyone gone from a higher position and by complete desire of himself thrust himself to as low a place. A king isn’t supposed to live a life like that. He didn’t have to go from the highest possible place out of the boundaries of time to the lowest conceivable state possible.

But, He did.

I want to be humble like my Savior, my King. I regard Him, now, as He has always been regarded; I realize now that He wasn’t forced to come to earth nor was he defeated when He came to earth. No! Rather He, my Savior, has always been, will always be, and is presently the King of Kings who is in control of things our minds aren’t capable of thinking.

He is the King, and I want to be humble like Him.

I wasn’t there

The night they came

Those who saw and feared the miracles you made

You took the nails

You bore the pain

And as they hung You on the cross and mocked you

Holy One, if You’re the Holy One let

your God come save You from the grave

Early morn

Break of day

Came in time to find the rock You rolled away

I found Your robe

An empty grave

And as I fell upon the ground I cried out

Holy One, You are the Holy One,

and You came and gave Your life away

Holy One, You are the Holy One

and You came and gave Your life away

{I am the life, I am alive, I came to show the way}

[the below sentence is true.]

[the above sentence is false.]

(Riddle By Calebert)

“Hold on to instruction, do not let it go;

guard it well, for it is your life.

Do not set foot on the path of the wicked

or walk in the way of evil men.

Avoid it, do not travel on it;

turn from it and go on your way.

For they cannot sleep till they do evil;

they are robbed of slumber till they make someone fall.

They eat the bread of wickedness

and drink the wine of violence.”

I must hold on to this instruction, it is my life! Which means turning from this instruction would be to my demise.

Listen, my sons, to a father’s instruction;

pay attention and gain understanding.

I give you sound learning,

so do not forsake my teaching.

When I was a boy in my father’s house,

still tender, and an only child of my mother,

he taught me and said,

“Lay hold of my words with all your heart;

keep my commands and you will live.

Get wisdom, get understanding;

do not forget my words or swerve from them.

Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you;

love her, and she will watch over you.

Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom.

Though it cost all you have, get understanding.

Esteem her, and she will exalt you;

embrace her, and she will honor you.

She will set a garland of grace on your head

and present you with a crown of splendor.”

Listen, my son, accept what I say,

and the years of your life will be many.

I guide you in the way of wisdom

and lead you along straight paths.

When you walk, your steps will not be hampered;

when you run, you will not stumble.

Hold on to instruction, do not let it go;

guard it well, for it is your life.

Do not set foot on the path of the wicked

or walk in the way of evil men.

Avoid it, do not travel on it;

turn from it and go on your way.

For they cannot sleep till they do evil;

they are robbed of slumber till they make someone fall.

They eat the bread of wickedness

and drink the wine of violence.

The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn,

shining ever brighter till the full light of day.

But the way of the wicked is like deep darkness;

they do not know what makes them stumble.

My son, pay attention to what I say;

listen closely to my words.

Do not let them out of your sight,

keep them within your heart;

for they are life to those who find them

and health to a man’s whole body.

Above all else, guard your heart,

for it is the wellspring of life.

Put away perversity from your mouth;

keep corrupt talk far from your lips.

Let your eyes look straight ahead,

fix your gaze directly before you.

Make level paths for your feet

and take only ways that are firm.

Do not swerve to the right or the left;

keep your foot from evil

So I plunge into the River with all that I am
Praying this will be the River where I’ll never thirst again
I’m abandoned to the River
And now my life depends on the River
Holy River, I’m so thirsty

No one could possibly understand how the cry of a baby could sound like a symphony. No one except God and the world who so desperately needed a Saviour. This boy knew. For the giving of himself so fully could only be shadowed by the one for whom he played…

HE

She’s the same in a crowd

And when she’s by herself

She doesn’t put on a show for everybody else

I want to be that way.

God, please bless my music

That it might glorify your name,

May using it to serve you

Always be my aim.

May others see your beauty

In every note they hear,

And when they hear my music

May they feel

your presence near.

Oh Lord, I ask for guidance

In everything I do,

And pray you’ll make my music

An instrument for you.

Amen.

(Musician’s Prayer by R. K. Cecil)

This is my prayer.

“If you were put on trial for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?”

Back to work!