It's four days later, and I am barely now recovering from this weekend. Well, physically that is. I pray that anyone who was a part of Storm Weekend '10 will recover physically, but I pray that none of us would ever be able to recover spiritually. This weekend was one of those weekends. It is a weekend that I will never forget. It was a moment along my journey that I will never forget. I have been rooted even deeper, and my love for Christ has never been more intense. I was poured out this weekend, only to be poured back into thirty-fold. This weekend Christ came and fell on us. I pray that if you weren't a part of Storm Weekend and you are reading this that Christ will fall on you today. We (the Senior guys that is) had a theme verse for the weekend:
Hosea 6:1-2: "Come, let us return to the Lord; for he has torn us, that he may heal us; he has struck us down, and he will bind us up. After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will raise us up, that we may live before him." (Thanks to Mike Govan for showing Jarred this verse.)
When Chris Dupree came to Baptist Temple, he unveiled his vision that the students there would be a storm for Christ. A storm has insurmountable momentum. A storm brings total devastation. But what does this verse in Hosea tell us? That when the storm that is Christ comes into our lives he tears us "that he may heal us." He strikes us down but "he will bind us up." Christ's love and grace is devastating. Ask anyone who has confronted it. They will tell you that it wrecks you. And you can never be the same. He tears out our old hearts, stained and flawed by the fall, and replaces them with his heart. He heals us. He redeems us. He reconciles us to God. He regenerates us into that which we were intended to be. But first, you have to be torn. This is not pleasant. The tearing hurts as Christ, the "Great Physician," removes those places in our hearts that have been twisted by sin. It is unpleasant when everyone sees us for that which we are, broken and messed up. But the end makes up for it all, as we are restored into right relationship with Christ.
Have you experienced this tearing? Have you had your "heart of stone" torn out and replaced with a "heart of flesh?" If so, when was the last time this happened? My prayer for us is that we would daily be confronted by the unsurpassing glory of God and his unmatched majesty. That we would daily experience Christ's overwhelming, jealous love for us. That God's grace, which is given to us at the expense of Christ and his death on the cross, would wreck us for the things of this world, so that we can say, "You [God] have put more joy in my heart than they have when their grain and wine abound" (Psalm 4:7). Christ, tear our hearts so that we may be healed. So that we may live "life, and life more abundantly." So that we may love the things that you love. So that our desires would be your desires. So that our heartbeat would match your heartbeat.
"Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen" (Jude 24-25).
-Trace
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
The Way: I Can Imagine Quite a Bit
No, this blog is not about I Can Only Imagine. When I blog about that song, I will quit blogging forever. Anyway, in case you didn't know this: I'm kind of a nerd. Now, I don't play World of Warcraft (no, offense Danny), nevertheless, I love Star Wars. You're probably thinking that that's not a big deal, but I have books about the making, books about the characters that give bios and information about what happens to them long after Return of The Jedi, action figures and the ships to go along with them, every movie in about three different forms, video games from N64 to my XBox 360, and my family has been known to play Star Wars Trivial Pursuit, which I always win (no matter what my mom may tell you). I love Star Wars. I love the characters. I especially love Han Solo. I love his devil may care attitude and his responses to things like "I love you." "I know."
One scene, in particular, summarizes Han's attitude and philosophy brilliantly.
The Millennium Falcon has just been pulled onto the Death Star by one of it's tractor beams. Han, Luke, Obi-wan, Chewie, C-3PO, and R2-D2 manage to sneak past the Stormtroopers, even taking two of their suits for Han and Luke. They find where the tractor beam controls are, and Obi-Wan leaves the rest behind. R2 then finds that Princess Leia has been captured, is inside the Death Star's detention block AA23, and is scheduled to be terminated. Luke immediately wants to save her from being killed, but Han's response is "Better her than me." Luke doesn't know what to say until:
Luke: "She's rich."
Han: "Rich?"
Luke: "Rich, powerful. Listen, if you were to rescue her the reward would be..."
Han: "What?"
Luke: "Well, more well than you can imagine."
Han: "I don't know. I can imagine quite a bit."
I love that conversation. In the end, (spoiler alert!) Han agrees. They save the princess. Han gets his reward.
Ephesians 3:20-21: "Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen."
As soon as I read this verse the other day, it immediately reminded me of that scene in Star Wars. How often do I find myself identifying with Han (well, quite a bit actually)? I have always thought that I could imagine quite a bit. Heck, that I could imagine a lot. But can I? Do I? According to Ephesians 3:20, I don't think that I do. I don't think that we do. I think we go around our daily lives, living from one minute to the next, never stopping to think about the bigger picture of what God is doing and what he is wanting to do in us. We are so bored with the mundane routine of our lives, when God has something greater in store. And once we grasp that, once we see our vision, then, we are still falling short of it.
I have heard it all. That my vision is too big. That people don't want me to be disappointed, if God doesn't give me what he has told me. But will I be? Will he "who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to power at within us" fail to deliver? I think not. I think that we live boring lives falling short of what God has actually called us to, because we don't have faith, because we don't want to be disappointed.
It is interesting to note how Paul affirms that he will do this: "according to the power at work within us." This reminds me of a similar verse in Philippians 1: "And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ" (Php. 1:6). So if he who began a good work in is has the power to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, what are you asking him for? What are you thinking about doing in the name of Jesus Christ? I hope that it is something huge. I hope that it is something that you cannot accomplish without his help. I hope that when he gives it to you, people will stand in awe, not in awe of you, but in awe of God. I hope that there is no way that you or other people can rationalize it away as an accomplishment of your own power but can only attribute it to God.
So, again, I ask, what are you asking God for? What things are you thinking about doing for him? What visions has God given you that only he can provide for you?
Matthew 7:7-11: "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!"
Matthew 11:15: "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."
-Trace
One scene, in particular, summarizes Han's attitude and philosophy brilliantly.
The Millennium Falcon has just been pulled onto the Death Star by one of it's tractor beams. Han, Luke, Obi-wan, Chewie, C-3PO, and R2-D2 manage to sneak past the Stormtroopers, even taking two of their suits for Han and Luke. They find where the tractor beam controls are, and Obi-Wan leaves the rest behind. R2 then finds that Princess Leia has been captured, is inside the Death Star's detention block AA23, and is scheduled to be terminated. Luke immediately wants to save her from being killed, but Han's response is "Better her than me." Luke doesn't know what to say until:
Luke: "She's rich."
Han: "Rich?"
Luke: "Rich, powerful. Listen, if you were to rescue her the reward would be..."
Han: "What?"
Luke: "Well, more well than you can imagine."
Han: "I don't know. I can imagine quite a bit."
I love that conversation. In the end, (spoiler alert!) Han agrees. They save the princess. Han gets his reward.
Ephesians 3:20-21: "Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen."
As soon as I read this verse the other day, it immediately reminded me of that scene in Star Wars. How often do I find myself identifying with Han (well, quite a bit actually)? I have always thought that I could imagine quite a bit. Heck, that I could imagine a lot. But can I? Do I? According to Ephesians 3:20, I don't think that I do. I don't think that we do. I think we go around our daily lives, living from one minute to the next, never stopping to think about the bigger picture of what God is doing and what he is wanting to do in us. We are so bored with the mundane routine of our lives, when God has something greater in store. And once we grasp that, once we see our vision, then, we are still falling short of it.
I have heard it all. That my vision is too big. That people don't want me to be disappointed, if God doesn't give me what he has told me. But will I be? Will he "who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to power at within us" fail to deliver? I think not. I think that we live boring lives falling short of what God has actually called us to, because we don't have faith, because we don't want to be disappointed.
It is interesting to note how Paul affirms that he will do this: "according to the power at work within us." This reminds me of a similar verse in Philippians 1: "And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ" (Php. 1:6). So if he who began a good work in is has the power to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, what are you asking him for? What are you thinking about doing in the name of Jesus Christ? I hope that it is something huge. I hope that it is something that you cannot accomplish without his help. I hope that when he gives it to you, people will stand in awe, not in awe of you, but in awe of God. I hope that there is no way that you or other people can rationalize it away as an accomplishment of your own power but can only attribute it to God.
So, again, I ask, what are you asking God for? What things are you thinking about doing for him? What visions has God given you that only he can provide for you?
Matthew 7:7-11: "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!"
Matthew 11:15: "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."
-Trace
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
