to never let go.
September 15, 2009
Now we sit, and think, and write. Three weeks into grad school classes and the Word of God is surrounding me from all sides! Music had taken somewhat of a back seat, and yet tomorrow I lead worship for a wedding and Sunday night I'm assisting at a service. The plans God must have in store...I can only walk in faith, in love, in hope of His promise and care.

On top of all this, my wife is pregnant! A little boy! A new school, a new year, and our first child. 'Wow' barely scratches the surface. But what love!

One of my favorite songs over the past year has been David Crowder's "Never Let Go." Near the end of the song (depending how you play it), a building backdrop of instruments and vocals surrounds the simple phrase "oh what love," repeated over and over again.

Oh what love
Oh what love
Oh what love

In joy and pain
In sun and rain
You're the same
Oh you never let go
Never let go
You never let go

Download the song on iTunes, listen to it on youtube, learn to play it yourself, or hear someone else play it...just experience it. There are few worship songs I can dive into wholeheartedly every time I play it.

Praise God who never, ever lets go.
 

A True Fire
August 15, 2009
So here we are! Two weeks from beginning my adventure in returning to school! Oh the terror, oh the joy.

I listened to a talk recently that got me fired up about the true nature of faith and belief. The speaker compared faith to blind obedience in a set of rules which we may doubt or have trouble with, but must never outright disagree with. As though paying lipservice agreement ever brought anyone close to Christ!

Where is our faith if not founded in love for God, ourselves, and our neighbor? Is this not the greatest commandment? Is this not the ground on which Christ stood when he preached? He never said, 'the greatest commandment is to follow those appointed to positions of authority in faith. Trust what they say, and you will find God."

I understand the necessity for universal doctrine and a wise discernment of theological understandings of the scriptures. But must we drive people away from the faith without calling them to love? Why must religion be about politics instead of love? Why are we afraid to get messy in our understandings of God and admit that we know so little about His way?

Yes, we must fight for God. We must fight politically, and sometimes, it seems, we must fight physically. But we must love. We must love our neighbor as we love ourselves. We must love God.

I just finished reading Bonhoeffer's "Cost of Discipleship," a truly inspiring work which I highly recommend. He finishes with this message:

Any attack even on the least of men is an attack on Christ, who took the form of man, and in his own Person restored the image of god in all that bears a human form. Through fellowship and communion with the incarnate Lord, we recover our true humanity, and at the same time we are delivered from individualism which is the consequence of sin, and retrieve our solidarity with the whole human race.

Let us aim as such, and find our life in Christ daily.  

a new beautiful existence!
August 1, 2009
What a joy!

I look into the air and into my hands and cannot conceive of the beauty God has given to us. My wife and I are expecting our first child this coming new year! In the cold of winter a wonderful new soul will be coming to us to brighten our home and our lives. We even already have a crib! Craziness...

The worship leading has begun again, and God is ever merciful in allowing me to lead people in prayer. My MATS (Master of Arts in Theological Studies) program will start in a few weeks, and its getting a bit nerve-wracking finishing everything up that I want to get done over the summer.

But praise God from whom all blessings flow. I couldn't do any of this without prayer, faith, and love each day. And hope, of course. Hope that moves mountains and dries up oceans.

Hallelujah!