I am going through all of my music and getting into a spreadsheet so I know what I have.
In the process I am remembering all the simple songs we used to play. The old vinyard songs, Eddie Espinosa songs. Recently my friend Ken posted “I am a writer of simple songs”. It seems everything is more complicated and I wonder if they are as affective in congregational worship.
Then I came across this:
I want to be a writer of simple songs.
Enjoy.
I love living in the mountains. The windows in the back of our house look out at the front range and every morning I thank God for allowing us to live here. This morning there is frost and snow covering everything. Though I don’t want to be out in it it’s beautiful.
I am reminded of Lamentations 3:22-24:
Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. The Lord is my portion, says my soul, Therefore I hope in Him!
His mercies are new every morning, His compassions do not fail, His faithfulness is great, so tell your soul; “The Lord is my portion, and my hope is in Him!”
He is the source and the substance of everything you need. Every need you have is found in Him. not with Him in Him. So whatever your need is press in, stay in His presence, because only there are our needs are met.
Have a blessed day.
The Jesus Manifesto is a blog that always makes me think, I don’t always agree with them however a big shout out to Matt Wiebe who posted this article last week. I couldn’t agree more.
The money quote:
mobility begins to look a lot like slavery, while stability begins to look a lot more like freedom than I would have imagined. True freedom isn’t a lack of limits, but rather an embrace of the limits intrinsic to our nature as embodied creatures. We are always located somewhere at some time. And I plan to stay long enough in one place to make a dent.
1 Corinthians 12:18 says “But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased.
You don’t get to choose where you go to church. He sets each one of us in the place best suited for us to serve and grow into the fullness of our calling. How many times do you think people who have built something significant have wondered if “it’s time to move on”. Longevity matters. Persevere until God releases you. It’s worth it.
Well done Matt.
the Jesus Manifesto » Rebellion as Staying Put
The final piece has come into place today so I can finally tell you what is going on.
Many of you have been asking “what’s up with your status updates?” I didn’t intend to be cryptic or give hints. It was really just what was in my heart or in my head at the time.
Let’s begin at the beginning so as to catch up those of you who are new to the blog or the mailing list.
In the fall of 1982 I received Jesus as my Lord and Savior. Immediately I knew I was called to ministry and have spent the ensuing years working out the call.
Since the very beginning I have immersed myself in church life and through serving the house have discovered what things I am passionate about and what things I don’t have the grace for. Two things have stood out to me and others. I was a pastor before I was a Christian and will be a pastor until I die regardless of title or job and I am a worshipper.
In 2001 Kim and I agreed it was time for me to take a step toward the call and soon after found ourselves in Sydney Australia attending HIllsong College. After two years of being fed, built up, and equipped. God spoke to me very clearly to lay down my dreams and serve “the man of God”. After much prayer we moved our family to Colorado Springs and planted at New Life Church. In the process I found out who “the man of God” was and began serving John Bevere. After an amazing 4 years of watching ministry work from the inside it is time for me to finally step out and pursue what God put in my heart so many years ago.
I have always loved the church and have no desire to be the next (insert favorite Christian artist here). My hearts desire is to see the body of Christ walking in the fullness of its calling. Jesus came to save the world through His death and resurrection not through His ministry. He trusted the communication of the means of salvation to 12 faithful men. We must begin again to ask God to send us faithful people so together we can build the church and serve the world. 1 Timothy 2:2, Ephesians 4:11-12.
When I left Messenger International at the end of January I didn’t really know what the next step was until one afternoon as I was riding my bicycle I decided to put myself in a position for God to move. Later that day I told Kim what was in my heart. When she agreed I felt real peace for the first time in a long time. 20 minutes later my phone rang. A church plant about an hour from my house asked me to come and help build their worship team. Why am I always amazed at the faithfulness of God? I am in contact with another church an hour in a different direction for the same reason.
It would be a huge blessing to have you partner with us in prayer as we put this whole thing together. Here are some prayer points:
There will be more but that’s a good start.
Thank you for staying with me. It means more than I can express.
Blessings
Gary
This is being the hands and feet of Jesus, no preaching just living it out.
Excellence is not an end in itself, rather a means to an end. God gave us His best and gave us a world created with excellence in every way. Our end as believers is the ministry of reconciliation. II Corinthians 5:18.
When we steward our gift and master our medium it allows us to offer our best to God and communicate the excellence of God and His kingdom to the world in a way worthy of the Kingdom. God never said “that’s close enough” and neither should we.
Mastering Our Medium
A.W. Tozer
God has honored human speech by using it as a medium through which to express His message of salvation, first in the inspired Scriptures and afterwards in a thousand languages and dialects among the nations of mankind. Language is the mighty organ upon which may be played the joyous oratorio of redemption for the blessing of men and for the high honor of God.
Among the countless gifts of God, one of the most precious to us is our beautiful, expressive English tongue. That such a gift should be neglected by busy men and women in their wild race to make a living is at least understandable, if unfortunate; but that it should be neglected as well by the ministers of the sanctuary is not only impossible to understand but completely inexcusable.
For the very reason that God has committed His saving truth to the receptacle of human language, the man who preaches that truth should be more than ordinarily skillful in the use of language. It is necessary that every artist master his medium, every musician his instrument. For a man calling himself a concert pianist to appear before an audience with but a beginner’s acquaintance with the keyboard would be no more absurd than for a minister of the gospel to appear before his congregation without a thorough knowledge of the language in which he expects to preach.
Tozer Devotional :: The Alliance
I was sent this by a friend I didn’t check the facts but trust the source.
Enjoy:
In a supermarket, Kurtis the stock boy, was busily working when a new voice came over the loud speaker asking for a carry out at register 4. Kurtis was almost finished, and wanted to get some fresh air, and decided to answer the call. As he approached the check-out stand a distant smile caught his eye, the new check-out girl was beautiful. She was an older woman (maybe 26, and he was only 22) and he fell in love.
Later that day, after his shift was over, he waited by the punch clock to find out her name. She came into the break room, smiled softly at him, took her card and punched out, then left. He looked at her card, BRENDA. He walked out only to see her start walking up the road. Next day, he waited outside as she left the supermarket, and offered her a ride home. He looked harmless enough, and she accepted. When he dropped her off, he asked if maybe he could see her again, outside of work. She simply said it wasn’t possible.
He pressed and she explained she had two children and she couldn’t afford a baby-sitter, so he offered to pay for the baby-sitter. Reluctantly she accepted his offer for a date for the following Saturday. That Saturday night he arrived at her door only to have her tell him that she was unable to go with him. The baby-sitter had called and canceled. To which Kurtis simply said, “Well, let’s take the kids with us.”
She tried to explain that taking the children was not an option, but again not taking no for an answer, he pressed. Finally Brenda, brought him inside to meet her children. She had an older daughter who was just as cute as a bug, Kurtis thought, then Brenda brought out her son, in a wheelchair. He was born a paraplegic with Down Syndrome.
Kurtis asked Brenda, “I still don’t understand why the kids can’t come with us?” Brenda was amazed. Most men would run away from a woman with two kids, especially if one had disabilities – just like her first husband and father of her children had done. Kurtis was not ordinary – – – he had a different mindset.
That evening Kurtis and Brenda loaded up the kids, went to dinner and the movies. When her son needed anything Kurtis would take care of him. When he needed to use the restroom, he picked him up out of his wheelchair, took him and brought him back. The kids loved Kurtis. At the end of the evening, Brenda knew this was the man she was going to marry and spend the rest of her life with.
A year later, they were married and Kurtis adopted both of her children. Since then they have added five more kids.
So what happened to Kurtis the stock boy and Brenda the check-out girl? Well, Mr. & Mrs. Kurt Warner now live in Arizona , where he is currently employed as the quarterback of the National Football League Arizona Cardinals and has his Cardinals in the hunt for a possible appearance in the Super Bowl. Is this a surprise ending or could you have guessed that he was not an ordinary person.
It should be noted that he also quarterbacked the Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI.
He has also been the NFL’s Most Valuable Player twice and the Super Bowl’s Most Valuable Player.
Muhammad Ali called himself the greatest,
When asked what great means, he responded;
“Great is never looking down on those that look up to you.”
Jesus said if you want to be the greatest you must be the servant of all.
Let’s all compete to see who can be the greatest this year.
H.T. Lance Armstrong
When I used to lead worship every Sunday I would often have people say to me “I just don’t worship that way” meaning outward and enthusiastic. They would say I have a heart of worship or I’m just a quiet person.
The question I always struggled with was can we say “I just don’t worship that way”? This is a great response from Gloria Copeland. I would love your thoughts.
Created to Praise Gloria Copeland
Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord.– Psalm 150:6
We’re created to praise God. Some people don’t know that. When the praise service starts, they sit back and say, “I’m not comfortable with all that singing and shouting. I guess praise is just not my thing.
“Yes it is! According to the Bible, if you breathe, you were meant to praise.
And don’t try to slip by with saying, “Well, I have praise in my heart.” That’s not enough. The Word says you need to have it in your mouth as well! (Ps. 34:1) Psalm 132:9 says, “Let thy saints shout for joy.” You can’t shout and be quiet at the same time.
When you first begin to truly praise, it may seem awkward to you, but if you’ll keep it up, it will become a way of life. Why? Because praise causes the glory of God to manifest in your life. It causes you to walk in the light of His countenance (Ps. 89:15). It will start a revival inside of you!
“But, Gloria, if I start to praise like that, people will think I’m some kind of fanatic.”
Well, good! Did you know that every revival in history has been started by people the world considered absolute fanatics? God does things differently than the world. So when you set aside your inhibitions and start letting His Spirit operate through you, you’re going to look strange to those who are strangers to His ways…but you’re going to look wonderful to the Lord!
And, by the way, don’t just think of praising Him in the congregation. Praise Him in your own private prayer time and throughout your day. Learn to maintain an attitude of praise and thanksgiving. When praise becomes natural to you in your own private life, it won’t be difficult to praise Him in the midst of the congregation.
Are you longing for a revival of God’s presence in your life? Are you tired of just hearing about the glorious manifestations of His power in the past? Then open your mouth and your heart and do what God has created you to do. Praise!
Scripture Reading: Psalm 150
Kenneth Copeland Ministries | From Faith to Faith Daily Devotional
Life is a gift » Blog Archive » What Pleases God?
My friend Ken Verheecke is a full time Christian Artist, Musician based in western South Dakota. On his blog Life is a gift he posted from his Message Board Community Heartcall this excellent list of verses regarding what pleases God. I hope you enjoy it.
I found this collection of verses about “what pleases God?” today and found it very enlightening:
I read in Ephesians 5:10 where it says in the NIV, “and find out what pleases the Lord.”
What pleases the Lord?
Life is a gift » Blog Archive » What Pleases God?
