Thursday, 18 June 2009

Please take the old one away...

Ezekiel 36:25-28
I'll pour pure water over you and scrub you clean. I'll give you a new heart, put a new spirit in you. I'll remove the stone heart from your body and replace it with a heart that's God-willed, not self-willed. I'll put my Spirit in you and make it possible for you to do what I tell you and live by my commands. You'll once again live in the land I gave your ancestors. You'll be my people! I'll be your God!

Wednesday, 17 June 2009

seriously ridiculous... I'm serious

God’s call is absurd
In his world, virgins birth saviors
studderers become speech sayers
Back side of the mountain shepherds become kings
Old men past their prime birth generations

He calls a people who have never had it all together
To come together and reach a generation
Hooked on text message and playstation
With hearts longing for an invitation
To point their eyes to the God of all nations
This kind of call involves trust
This kind of call is seriously ridiculous

This job is many times crazy
Sometimes thankless
But greatly amazing
How God never ceases to shape imperfection
And mold it to his perfect purpose
How he can use your broken life to show a generation their lives have purpose

You who used to have a life
Who sacrificed paycheck for football game Friday nights
Who has suffered through middle school band concerts
And seemingly neverending lock-ins
Who traded vacation for summer camp
Who now must answer to church janitor for many a mess that needs to be cleaned
Who would never admit OMG BTW IDK how 2 txt
Who learned to facebook, twitter, chat, poke, link, post, and tag
And well…LOL

In your world
There is laughter, breakups, break outs
Tears, tattoos, and piercings
Braces and embraces
In your world, pizza is it’s own food group
McDonald’s is a five-star restaurant
The term ‘what not to wear’ doesn’t exist
No matter how crazy it gets
Your love for them is Seriously Ridiculous

And you’re not alone
Take a look next to you
You are surrounded by the faithful few
Who have triumphed and been bruised
Who know that it hurts just the same even if it’s only one you lose
Who bend weak knees and pray heartfelt prayers
Calling out the names of sons and daughters to a loving Father
For parents’ marriages to mend before divorce
That teenage wombs will not give birth too soon
For the healing of wounds
For families without daddy
For encouragement, for purity, for faith, for hope, for grace
For words to say, For his direction, For his way

We signed up to be Jesus reflections
But didn’t know this was in the job description
There comes a time for counting the cost
Giving up your life for the sake of the cross
This is your real world
And you may think you know but you have no idea
How God’s plans extend from before the beginning to way past eternity

The one who put the G in OMG
The biggest G in history
Who enclosed his holiness in the frailty of human skin
To bring conviction to a world full of walking contradictions
To redeem time
To bring an end to the neverending consequences of sin passed through the bloodline

We ask for a glimpse of what he sees
Into the lens of eternity
That’s how he keeps us on our knees
Seeking direction
Praying protection
That he would show himself to a generation that needs him desperately
As he reminds us that we need him desperately
May the words we say match the lives we lead
He teaches us to follow so he can lead

The maker of all creation walks with you
Every student’s life belongs to him
And your life too
He is calling you to something he knows you can’t do without him
Watch him love his kids through you
Play your part and watch him do what only he can do

He gives us grace we don’t deserve
Plus forgiveness we couldn’t afford
Matched by an eternal word that will outlast and outlive
Any sacrifice we can hope to give
Shows us how to put our trust in a God who is more than enough for us

His love is seriously ridiculous Amena Brown (via YS Marko)

Tuesday, 16 June 2009

Monday, 15 June 2009

God loves you too much for you to become necessary

I am a deeply superficial person. Andy Warhol

I am, above all, what excites me.

The bigger your head gets, the easier your shoes are to fill. Phil Jackson

Spiritual formation is the journey from self-importance to God-importance. John the Baptizer said, 'Jesus must increase & I must decrease.' Our own journey usually diverts from following Christ when either life is good or times get tough.

Are you going to hang in the battle?

2 Chronicles 7
If I ever shut off the supply of rain from the skies or order the locusts to eat the crops or send a plague on my people, and my people, my God-defined people, respond by humbling themselves, praying, seeking my presence, and turning their backs on their wicked lives, I'll be there ready for you: I'll listen from heaven, forgive their sins, and restore their land to health. From now on I'm alert day and night to the prayers offered ... Believe me ... my eyes are on you and my heart too. As for you, if you live in my presence as your father David lived, pure in heart and action, living the life I've set out for you, attentively obedient to my guidance and judgments, then I'll back you.

Thursday, 14 February 2008

God in the midst of your city...


Psalm 148:13-14
Let them praise the name of the LORD, for his name alone is exalted; his splendor is above the earth and the heavens. He has raised up for his people a horn, the praise of all his saints, of Israel, the people close to his heart. Praise the LORD.

Friday, 21 December 2007

"He that but looketh on a plate of ham and eggs to lust after it hath already committed breakfast with it in his heart..." C.S. Lewis

Tuesday, 18 December 2007

While I applaud the God-given desire to engage our culture, how much better it would be if we were first transformed. Then we could demonstrate to the world true, God-breathed creativity instead of cleverness, and familiarity with the Trinity instead of an obsession with proving how well we can read the latest cultural trend. We cannot compensate for being strangers to God by becoming friends with the culture. Gary Thomas