Day Numero Quatro

It’s been another beautiful day up here at Glorieta. The picture above is the new REI store located just off the square in downtown Santa Fe. I somehow found my way back there today. I know I know… it’s like crack! I just can’t seem to stay away from the place! 

Today has been one of those days where some light bulbs have gone off in my head. I’ve been reading through a book called “Unlimiting God” by Richard Blackaby. If you haven’t read it yet, you need to go out and pick up a copy. It’s been such a source of challenge and inspiration to me. One of the things he says is that most Christians today have become far too complacent and way too comfortable with mediocrity. He asked some questions that really messed with me. Blackaby referenced Jeremiah 33:3, a verse we’ve all heard and quoted a million times, but he asked this: “When was the last time you learned something brand-new from God that was “great and mighty”? He also made reference to the verse in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians: “Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us.” He asked when the last time was we had seen the power of God in our lives, when was the last time we were simply left in awe by what God had done in our life. It was amazing at the stories that fill the Bible, stories of normal people who got tired of business as usual, tired of mediocrity – and asked that God would use them, asked that God would fill them and do something amazing in and through them. Consider these folks:

D.L. Moody: “He was an uneducated layman. In fact, his grammar was so poor that his fellow church members asked him to refrain from speaking at church meetings because it was so painful to listen to him. When he sought admission into church membership, he failed a simple test measuring rudimentary Bible knowledge. He volunteered to teach Sunday school, but his church wouldn’t trust him with an existing class. He had to begin a new one and enlist his own students. Despite his numerous and obvious limitations, he became the greatest evangelist of his day…” 

Duncan Campbell: “a Presbyterian pastor in Scotland, spent seventeen years in mundane parish ministry. One day he grew so dissatisfied with the meager fruit of his labors he cried out for God’s anointing on his life. Campbell became God’s mighty catalyst for revival wherever he went.” 

Man… what a great book. I highly recommend it. 

In other news, I’ve been doing a word study of the word “fear” in the Bible; specifically as it relates to the hundreds of places where we are commanded to fear God. It’s always bugged me when I hear preachers reference greek or hebrew words and say “now what that REALLY means…” as if our modern translations can’t suffice or if you don’t know greek or hebrew you can’t understand Scripture. I’m just crazy enough to believe that when the Bible says “Fear God” it really means “Fear God.” I’m so sick and tired of people trying to water that down. I’ve heard countless preachers say in roundabout ways “that really doesn’t mean fear, it just means that we are to respect God with a holy respect.” I have a holy respect for my shotgun, but I’ve never lived in fear of it. I have a holy respect for my amazing wife, but I don’t live in fear of her. I know, the shotgun example was pretty lame… but can’t a guy get some credit for loving his guns?? hehe… I digress.

I am just beginning this study, but I’ll share some verses for you to sleep on tonight.

Joshua 24:14 NASB: “Now, therefore, fear the LORD and serve Him in sincerity and truth; and put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD.”

Psalm 25:14 NASB: 
”The secret of the LORD is for those who fear Him, And He will make them know His covenant. 
”

Psalm 33:18 NASB: “Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear Him,On those who hope for His lovingkindness,”


Psalm 147:11 NASB: “The LORD favors those who fear Him, Those who wait for His lovingkindness.”

I’m no great theologian, but the more I pour over the pages of God’s Word, the more I read stuff like this and scratch my head. Could it be that the greatest sin that our nation has committed in recent decades is that we’ve lost a fear of God? I just wonder… I’ve started making Psalm 86:11 a daily prayer to God: “Teach me Your way, O Lord, and I will walk in Your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.” 

That’ll preach… until next time sports fans!!

 

Day #3

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’ve had a blast today! I don’t know of another place on the planet where I would find myself any happier than I have been here these past few days. I just love northern new mexico! I spent a few hours today in Santa Fe. I was able to drop by and check out the new REI just off the square. The store has only been open for 3 weeks. REI is like a Toys R Us for big kids. I’ve learned my lesson though, I walk in there thinking about all the stuff I would like to have, and then I remember that I have to go home to my wife in a few days! I’ve been running a brownie point deficit in our house recently, so me coming home with a bag of junk from REI probably wouldn’t help matters much! hehe… I was talking to a good friend of mine today and we were both asking ourselves why our wives love us? I mean seriously, we suck as men! I look at my sweet sexy wife and ask myself, “why does she love me?” We were joking that at some point our wives would be at wal-mart, and some rich doctor would come along and hit on them… and then after the benadryl has worn off, they come to and realize that we’re just a bunch of dorks. I guess that why we call it grace huh? hehe… I love my wife, and I’m so blessed to have her by my side.

This morning as I was reading, I got hit between the eyes again. I was in Hebrews 4 and reading about how Jesus has been tempted in every way JUST AS WE ARE, YET was without sin. It’s amazing how when I find myself in a wrestling match with my sin, I feel so alone. I know that sin alienates us from God, it drowns out the voice of God in our lives, and it takes us farther away from the adventure that God has called us to. But what a crazy reminder that in those ugly, dark, painful battles – Jesus has been there. He understands. Have you ever said to a friend “you just don’t get it” when trying to explain the pain you’re going through? I know I have. And as if that wasn’t enough, later in that chapter we’re told to come before the throne of grace with CONFIDENCE. Come boldy, come passionately, come humbly, come just as I am. I realized today that I have a lot to learn about how I approach God. 

As I was driving back from Santa Fe today, I noticed an old church out of the corner of my eye, tucked away in the mountains. After a bit of off-roading and some exploring, I found it. That’s the picture that posted at the top of this post. What a crazy sight. It’s always wild to me when I see old churches; there was a point when a group of people decided that they needed a building, they built it and celebrated the day it was completed. But what happens that causes those building to fall into disrepair? What happened to those believers? Where did they go? What about the generations that came after them? 

I read a quote today that hit me pretty hard: “The Bible without the Holy Spirit is a sundial by moonlight.” D.L. Moody. 

The dow dropped 700 points today???? are you kidding me?? yikes!!! This is one of those days when it feels good to be poor. You see stuff like that happen and you wonder what it would feel like to have a lot of money tied up in the market. I’m not sure I’ll ever get to experience that feeling!!!! 

Back to monday night football….

Day #2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well, it’s almost the end of my second full day here in northern new mexico. 

I love this time of year, especially up here at Glorieta. It was cold enough when I was leaving to come and check my email that I had to grab a jacket. I guess I forgot that I had left all the windows open last night because I nearly froze my tush off! The aspens are starting to turn, leaves are starting to fall, and you can tell that the seasons are changing. I absolutely love when it starts to get cold out!

I was able to spend several hours this morning in The Word and before the Lord. It was such a refreshing time for me. I’ve been needing this for quite some time. One of the books I’m reading pointed me towards Isaiah chapter 6. I admit I’ve read that passage about a million times, but it’s amazing the way that you can read a passage and have something new hit you each and every time. As I read, I was floored at Isaiah’s first reaction; “Woe is me, for I am ruined.” Not, “hallelujah!” or “praise God” but, I’m destroyed – game over. It’s amazing to look at the men and women who encountered God in the Bible, and see their first responses. It’ll shock you I’m sure. But the other thing that got me was the seraphim that flew and brought a burning coal off of the altar and touched Isaiah’s lips. I started to wonder; why is there an altar in heaven? let that mess with you for a moment… it messed with me. But the thing I loved was watching the progression of Isaiah’s encounter: 6:1 “I SAW the Lord sitting on a throne…” Isaiah’s response: “I’m ruined.” His sin gets dealt with, His guilt gets dealt with, then He HEARS the voice of the Lord (6:8). Once God has his attention and he’s listening God says to him; “GO” and “TELL”. I love Isaiah’s inquisitiveness in 6:11 “Lord, how long??” I think as believers we stand to learn a lot from this encounter. What a raw, intense meeting between God and Isaiah. I used to think I wanted to have an encounter like that… and then I woke up and came to my senses. 

I was reminded as well in Jeremiah 31:17 that there is hope for my future. I see so much of myself in Jeremiah’s life. In 31:19 you read “I was ashamed and also humiliated because I bore the reproach of my youth.” yep, that’s what I have been dealing with. God has hit me with the reality that my past has been taken care of. It’s time to move forward. Greater things have yet to come in my walk with God. 31:25 “For [God] satisfies the weary ones and refreshes everyone who languishes.” 

In other news, the cowboys lost by 2 points today! are you kidding me? to the redskins?? That’s left me a bit “cheesed off” (as the great philosopher Bear Grylls would say). However, in the latest polls, Texas Tech is now ranked #7. I can’t wait to see how the rest of the season plays out. I don’t know that I’ve ever been this excited about Red Raider football!

I guess it’s about time for me to get out of here. The guy next to me is shovin chips in his face and smackin them as fast and loud as he can (that’s one of the things that just drives me nuts!), and now he’s got a spoon and he’s going to town on a DQ Blizzard, I think he’s getting ready to take the cup apart and lick the inside of it… good grief!!  and the girl across the room is screaming and making gestures at her computer while her earphones are in. Cheap entertainment for sure!!!

Until next time sports fans…

Day #1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Okay okay… I know. I know. I’ve been away from the blogging world for a bit too long. It never seems to fail, just when I think there’s no point to this whole blog thing, I’ll get a bunch of folks asking when I’m writing again. Why anyone wants to read anything I have to say is beyond me. But I do enjoy writing… not quite sure where that came from. 

So… I just turned 30 and I think I’m having my quarter life crisis! I’m too poor to buy a harley, and taking up a new drinking habit really doesn’t fit me given who I am and where I work! My 30th birthday was a bit on the depressing side. My wife kept asking me why I wasn’t happy. Don’t get me wrong, my wife blew me away with all the sweet stuff she did for me, and when she asked me that question we were on the 45 yard line, 25 rows off the sideline at a Texas Tech game. If you know me, you now understand the context behind her question. 

There’s just something sobering about the realization that I’m now 30, my 20’s are over and done with. Now all of the sudden I’m a “grown up”. I don’t really feel old. To be honest, I still feel somewhere around 23 or 24. One of the things that I’ve really been wrestling with is all of the regret and shame that I carry with me from all of the dumb stuff I did when I was in my 20’s. I’ve really been before God and deciding that there’s a lot of stuff that I don’t want to bring with me into this new decade of life. But I’ve also been wrestling with the question; have I really done anything over these last ten years that’s made any eternal difference in anyone’s life? Don’t get me wrong, I’m not asking for a scratch ‘n sniff or a pat on the back, I know God has used me in some pretty neat ways – But I’m wondering just how many opportunities that I’ve missed because I was so preoccupied with living my life the way I wanted to live it (as if I really owned it in the first place). I want so badly for my life to count. I want God to use me. I want to see another awakening sweep across this generation, I want to see a great “re-awakening”. I know from my time with Dr. Roy Fish that if revival is going to come, it will start with me. I don’t want God to go around me, I want Him to work THROUGH me. 

So one of the things that I’m really working on making a priority is taking time each year for a mini-sabbatical. I hate being away from my sweet wife, but I know there’s something very refreshing about getting away and just being with the Lord. So here I am in Glorieta, New Mexico. This place means so much to me. We never took vacations growing up, but when we went somewhere it always seemed to revolve around a church conference that my parents or youth group were attending here. I served on fuge staff here in 2005, and this is also the place that I met my wife. This place really holds a special spot in my heart. I can’t think of another place where I’m this happy. I arrived yesterday as it was pouring rain, COLD mountain rain!

I spent quite awhile this morning just being quiet and being still before God. It’s amazing how much “noise” that there is in my life. Just being quiet was a challenge. I don’t guess I realized how busy I chose to make my life back home. I left my blackberry back in my room or I would have posted some pics that I took yesterday. I’ll try to take pictures each day and post them along with an update of what’s going on with me. Thanks to those of you who said that you are praying for me this week. I’m praying that God would simply revive me and fill me up again, not only with His Spirit, but with a renewed sense of passion to know Jesus and make Him known and famous in this generation. I’ll leave you today with a quote I found. 

 

“Silence is God’s first language; everything else is a poor translation. In order to hear the language, we must learn to be still and to rest in God.” Thomas Keating, Trappist Monk