on the other side?

What would you do, how would you worship if the answer you have been seeking, the prayer you have been waiting longing for an answer for was on the other side of your worship?  How much, how fervently would you worship?

6“What is the price of five sparrows—two copper coins^b? Yet God does not forget a single one of them.7And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows. (luke 12:6,7)

fer·vent·ly

ˈfərvəntlē/

adverb

1. very enthusiastically or passionately.

elevation worship - here as in heaven

elevation worship - blessed assurance

Bring Back the King

This morning as i sit here watching my daughter at swim practice, i am reminded that without Jesus death on the cross that none of us could even begin to swim on our own.  Without him as our king we are purely lost and hopeless.  We would drown in our pride and sins.  So this morning I say BRING BACK THE KING.  who or what is king of your life this morning?  Listen to the following song and while it's playing I want you to think about whom or what is your king?

One life will soon be past, only what's done for Christ will last.

Do It Again - Elevation Worship

who's are you?

When will we as Christians take the blessings god has given us and share them with those who need to hear?  Will we hoard them for ourselves and come to the end of our lives and say look how god has blessed me, only to find out that we received our blessing here on earth and in the eternity to come might mean something totally different? Will we really do what the word of god says and “go into all the earth making disciples of all nations”?  Will we Give ourselves wholeheartedly, absolutely and completely to his will and purpose?  

As a future minister of his gospel, as i sit here and write this, I Hold my hands High and say to Jesus “take my heart, take my life, as a living sacrifice.  I give myself away to you oh god.”  There is a burden in my soul that there are billions of people who are going to spend an eternity somewhere.  If i don’t tell them i will be responsible for their deaths.  I must with my every breath tell them that there is a better way than the life that they have been living.  That there is a better way than the sin they have been living in.  That Jesus Christ didn’t come to this earth to condemn, but to save.  He has seen the depths of their sin and still loves them.  All he wants is for them to turn and run back to him.

My life is not my own,

To you i belong,

I give myself, I give myself to you!  

Spurgeon

Neither can man’s life be sustained without renewal from God. As it is necessary to repair the body by the frequent meal, so we must repair the soul by feeding upon the Book of God, or by listening to the preached Word, or by the soul-fattening table of the ordinances. How depressed are our graces when means are neglected! What poor starving souls they are who live without the diligent use of the Word of God and secret prayer!

Charles Spurgeon 

presence

Your Presence is all I need
It's all I want, all I seek
Without it, without it there's no meaning
Your Presence is the air I breathe
The song I sing, the love I need
Without it, without it I'm not living

I will exalt You, Lord, I will exalt You, Lord
There is no one like You God
I will exalt You, Lord, I will exalt You, Lord
No other name be lifted high

There will be no one like You
And no one beside You
You alone are worthy of all praise

Quite often these lyrics pop into my head.  For my life they ring true, i covet the presence of my savior.  Not a day goes by that I don't need him.  I can't imagine taking this journey aside from his presence.  So today this day I invite you to take some time to be still in his presence.  This world is a dark and noisy place but the presence of god is brighter and louder than the noise and darkness.  

"Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord , “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” (psalm 91: 1-2)

1God is our refuge and strength,

an ever-present help in trouble.

2Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way

and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,

3though its waters roar and foam

and the mountains quake with their surging.

4There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,

the holy place where the Most High dwells.

5God is within her, she will not fall;

God will help her at break of day.

6Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;

he lifts his voice, the earth melts.

7The LordAlmighty is with us;

the God of Jacob is our fortress.

8Come and see what the Lordhas done,

the desolations he has brought on the earth.

9He makes wars cease

to the ends of the earth.

He breaks the bow and shatters the spear;

he burns the shields with fire.

10He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;

I will be exalted among the nations,

I will be exalted in the earth.”

11The LordAlmighty is with us;

the God of Jacob is our fortress.

So I ask you who will read this post, who is  your fortress in the darkness?

The time is short

Time is running short.  There are only a few minutes left on the clock till the game is over.  Only this is the game of eternity and who will spent forever somewhere.  It has been on my heart for a while that we each daily make a choice to spend eternity somewhere.  Some days it's like a soccer match, others it resembles a football game, still others resemble a golf game.  Our daily choices and how we not only treat others, but how we act help determine that destination ultimately.  But...There is another way.  Instead of relying on what we know, don't be afraid and take that step out of the boat and toward Jesus.  He is faithful to hear you when you call.  Don't wait, Don't hesitate, run to him.  He is running for you!

27But Jesus spoke to them at once. “Don’t be afraid,” he said. “Take 

courage. I am here!”

28Then Peter called to him, “Lord, if it’s really you, tell me to come to you, walking on the water.”

29“Yes, come,” Jesus said.

So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus.   (Matthew 14:27-29)

1It was in the year King Uzziah died that I saw the Lord. He was sitting on a lofty throne, and the train of his robe filled the Temple. 2Attending him were mighty seraphim, each having six wings. With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. 3They were calling out to each other,

“Holy, holy, holy is the lord of Heaven’s Armies!

The whole earth is filled with his glory!”

4Their voices shook the Temple to its foundations, and the entire building was filled with smoke.

5Then I said, “It’s all over! I am doomed, for I am a sinful man. I have filthy lips, and I live among a people with filthy lips. Yet I have seen the King, the lord of Heaven’s Armies.”

6Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal he had taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. 7He touched my lips with it and said, “See, this coal has touched your lips. Now your guilt is removed, and your sins are forgiven.”

8Then I heard the Lord asking, “Whom should I send as a messenger to this people? Who will go for us?”

I said, “Here I am. Send me.”  (Isaiah 6: 1-8)

1Once again a message came to me from the lord: 2“Son of man, give your people this message: ‘When I bring an army against a country, the people of that land choose one of their own to be a watchman. 3When the watchman sees the enemy coming, he sounds the alarm to warn the people. 4Then if those who hear the alarm refuse to take action, it is their own fault if they die. 5They heard the alarm but ignored it, so the responsibility is theirs. If they had listened to the warning, they could have saved their lives. 6But if the watchman sees the enemy coming and doesn’t sound the alarm to warn the people, he is responsible for their captivity. They will die in their sins, but I will hold the watchman responsible for their deaths.’

7“Now, son of man, I am making you a watchman for the people of Israel. Therefore, listen to what I say and warn them for me. 8If I announce that some wicked people are sure to die and you fail to tell them to change their ways, then they will die in their sins, and I will hold you responsible for their deaths. 9But if you warn them to repent and they don’t repent, they will die in their sins, but you will have saved yourself.

The Watchman’s Message

10“Son of man, give the people of Israel this message: You are saying, ‘Our sins are heavy upon us; we are wasting away! How can we survive?’ 11As surely as I live, says the Sovereign lord, I take no pleasure in the death of wicked people. I only want them to turn from their wicked ways so they can live. Turn! Turn from your wickedness, O people of Israel! Why should you die?

12“Son of man, give your people this message: The righteous behavior of righteous people will not save them if they turn to sin, nor will the wicked behavior of wicked people destroy them if they repent and turn from their sins.13When I tell righteous people that they will live, but then they sin, expecting their past righteousness to save them, then none of their righteous acts will be remembered. I will destroy them for their sins. 14And suppose I tell some wicked people that they will surely die, but then they turn from their sins and do what is just and right. 15For instance, they might give back a debtor’s security, return what they have stolen, and obey my life-giving laws, no longer doing what is evil. If they do this, then they will surely live and not die. 16None of their past sins will be brought up again, for they have done what is just and right, and they will surely live.

(Ezekiel 33: 1-16)

Distractions

But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. --Matthew 6:6 

 Among the enemies to devotion none is so harmful as distractions. Whatever excites the curiosity, scatters the thoughts, disquiets the heart, absorbs the interests or shifts our life focus from the kingdom of God within us to the world around us--that is a distraction; and the world is full of them. Our science-based civilization has given us many benefits but it has multiplied our distractions and so taken away far more than it has given.... 

 The remedy for distractions is the same now as it was in earlier and simpler times, viz., prayer, meditation and the cultivation of the inner life. The psalmist said "Be still, and know," and Christ told us to enter into our closet, shut the door and pray unto the Father. It still works.... 

 Distractions must be conquered or they will conquer us. So let us cultivate simplicity; let us want fewer things; let us walk in the Spirit; let us fill our minds with the Word of God and our hearts with praise. In that way we can live in peace even in such a distraught world as this. "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you." The Set of the Sail, 129-132. 

 "Lord, it's certainly harder and harder to shut out the distractions of an increasingly science-based civilization. Help me to cultivate simplicity, to be satisfied with fewer things, and to find the inner peace that You can give in a life of prayer and meditation. Amen." 

A. W. Tozer Sermon: Overcome Distractions