why I cannot live a 'normal' life

"O that old rugged cross, so despised by the world, Has a wondrous attraction for me"

- George Bennard -

"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."

- C.S. Lewis -

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

- D.L.Moody -

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

- Jonathan Edwards -

"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."

- C.S. Lewis -

"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."

- Eugene Peterson -

"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."

- C.S. Lewis -

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

- John Wesley -

"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)

- Keith Green -

"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."

- Richard Foster -

"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."

- C.T. Studd -

foreign

if you're reading this, then I'm writing to you...

"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.

minds

we breathe the same air, but we're a million breaths apart

take me places

Songs take me places. They remind me of experiences I had forgotten. Songs put smiles on my face and sometimes draw tears to my eyes. They're more than notes and words, they're memories... they're pictures in my head.

no provision

The night is almost gone, and the day is near...

...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.

safe

be safe

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.

He Loves the Sky

Once upon a long time ago
I knew a fearless boy
With his curly hair, his loving smile
could turn most any eye
And his boyhood fascination was on the cloudy sky
You could talk to him but he’d just grin and gaze into the light

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 lunges 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

flashes of lightning and peals of thunder

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

this is cliché

regular words

now bigger

with emphasis

new color

new font

clearly

this is

a good post

Flyaway

I'm living for a country
that I have never seen
To give all my allegiance
to a land that's calling me
home

A Thousand Lives

"If I had a thousand lives,
I'd give them a l l for my Lord."

Everyone sets "new years resolutions," but the summer is the time that guards are let down and laziness sets in and lays the breeding ground for sin and weakness.

Right now is when reminder goals for summer ought to be set. How are you going to come out of this summer stronger and closer to the Lord?

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.

Forever in Awe

when did I realize I was thirsty
how did it come about that I desired water
what made me walk to the riverside
crawl on my knees
bend down to the stream
and drink?

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?

Morning Coffee

When we were kids

Something a friend wrote two years ago as we entered life after high school:

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.

From This Place

Lift me up
from this place
I have fallen, now I'm desperately in need of Your grace
Cover me
with Your blood
I'll be found again in the wonder of Your love

Do It

Memorize a verse each week. It's changing my life.

You're not too busy.

At the sea, I'll wait on my knees

It is amazing how strikingly similar Americans are to the Church in Laodicea described in Revelation 3:14. In chapter 3, Jesus writes three letters to three different churches. When he gets to the church in Laodicea he tells them that he knows their deeds. He knows that they're neither hot nor cold; but rather that they're lukewarm. Though these Laodicea people want a little bit of God in their lives, they haven't fully committed to him. Then Jesus says, because you're lukewarm (being neither hot nor cold), I am about to spit you out of my mouth.

Here's the part that is scary similar to America. He says, "you say, 'I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked." That pretty much pegs Americans right there. It's like the rich man who came to Jesus asking him what he must do to receive eternal life. Jesus told him to obey the commandments. He had done that all his life. Then Jesus said, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." And when the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.

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.

Out of the Frying Pan and Onto the Plate

Sometimes I think way too much importance is placed on "flowing with the go." It is important to fit in with society to a certain extent, but this extent cannot keep a person from completing the calling the Lord Jesus laid out for them. Whenever I think about the commands of the Lord, I always come back to the Disciples. They received the commands directly from the Lord and carried them out with no apparent care for what their friends or other people at that time thought. Their actions weren't based on building their ego, but rather on bringing glory to the only One worthy of such glory.

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.