Wednesday, February 8, 2012    

God’s Delight

Tuesday, April 29th, 2008

This has been kind of a crazy day (a crazy few days to be more precise). In the midst of all the hastle of traveling and attending a conference God got ahold of me today about something I have struggled with for a looooong time…and frankly still do. But God is working and speaking.

Here’s the verse He used:

For the Lord your God is living among you.
He is a mighty savior.
He will take delight in you with gladness.
With His love, he will calm your fears.
He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.
Zephaniah 3:17, NLT

God…the God of the universe…delights and rejoices in His relationship with us. And there it is. Really? I get that God loves us. Even puts up with us. But delights and rejoices? I confess. I struggle with that. Partly because I don’t feel it very often…and I just want to feel God’s love and delight. It’s the desire of my heart.

I read these words and I know God treasures a rich, intimate relationship with me. I read that He desires fellowship with me. But I don’t often feel it and that is wreaking havoc in my spiritual life! I pray for it…I teach about it…I talk about it…

Is it too much to ask? Is it because of my childhood relationships? Is God testing my resolve? I’m not sure, but it is reassuring to read about His delight and His love. And I’m not giving up on it.

Please pray for me on this point…and share your experiences and thoughts on the topic. And always remember that God delights in YOU!

29.04.2008 God's Love, Spiritual Musings No Comments

A Ring, A Play, and A Plane

Monday, April 28th, 2008

That’s how I spent this past weekend: A Ring, A Play, and a Plane.

First: A Ring. Friday night I took Anita out for a special night at Del Frisco’s Steakhouse. To make a long story short (ask me, or better yet Anita, for the details if you want them) I surprised my beautiful bride with a new, long awaited wedding ring (remember, we got married at 19 and 20 years old). She deserves it and for once in my life I was able to genuinely surprise her! Score one for the good guys!

Second: A Play. Saturday was B-U-S-Y with school work and preparation for teaching on Sunday morning…lots of computer work! But the evening was capped off by watching my fabulous daughter perform in her school’s production of The Wizard of Oz. She played the part of a lead chorus singer and munchkin. She had a lot of fun on the production and it’s always fun watching her perform.

Finally: A Plane. Sunday afternoon I jetted off to San Francisco, CA to attend a conference for work. As I type this that’s where I am. There are worse places to be, but I also hate being away from home and the family! I hate leaving Anita to deal with everything on here own. I get back Thursday night and I can’t wait.

You know, now that I’m done typing all of this I realized that probably two other people on the entire planet actually care.:???: C’est la vie! On a more practical note, I will probably be a little more lax on my posting this week. Don’t worry…I’ll be back! Stay tuned…

28.04.2008 Blogging, Family, Misc Ramblings 2 Comments

The Best Late Night Host

Friday, April 25th, 2008

Move over Jay Leno. Get back Dave Letterman. Who’s the best Late Night Talk Show Host?

Craig Ferguson…bar none!

I wish his show wasn’t so late, but his monologue is hilarious. I honestly think he is much better than any of the other three hosts (not even sure how Conan O’Brien manages to stay employed).

To prove my point, every now and then I will be posting a clip of Ferguson’s monologue. Here is the first installment. Enjoy!

25.04.2008 Humor, Misc Ramblings, Video 1 Comment

More About Me…

Thursday, April 24th, 2008

Anita got an email this week from a friend of hers with a list of 50 odd questions and answers. It’s one of those things you’re supposed to answer and then forward to all your friends…who are then supposed to answer and send them back to you (makes my head hurt). Anyway, the list had some fun questions and I’ve been looking for a way to “spice up” my About Me page so I took 32 of the questions and added them there.

I won’t copy the entire list here…but check out the About Me page and take a look. Feeling adventurous? Copy the list and answer them yourself…kind of fun.

24.04.2008 Blogging, Misc Ramblings 6 Comments

The Right Response

Wednesday, April 23rd, 2008

I saw this story on a fellow blogger’s website (Robert’s Blog) and I think it’s a great story to share. There is a little church in Charlotte, NC (they meet in an AMC Theatre) called Kinetic Church. As is the case with many small churches, this church had all of their stuff in a moving trailer. Long story short…the trailer was stolen. Now the typical reaction to having your church trailer stolen would range from anger to outrage.

But not this church. They have the right response…can’t say it would have been my response, but I’m learning from their attitude, their sense of humor, and their attitude of forgiveness. You can read more of the details on their website, but essentially this church wants to meet the person(s) that stole their trailer–for all the right reasons. In this effort they have taken a two pronged approach: billboards and the Internet.

Click here for an example of one of their billboards…gotta love a sense of humor!

Here is the YouTube video from their pastor. I absolutely love and am convicted by this response (makes me want to visit this church):

23.04.2008 Church, Ministry, Outreach, Video No Comments

God Wants Our Hearts

Tuesday, April 22nd, 2008

I was going to take a break today as I have managed to catch the crud that’s going around. But once again God caught my attention this morning in His Word. I am reading through the Minor Prophets in the Old Testament (Hosea through Malachi) and I just started the short little book of Joel.

God has sent a plague of locusts to Israel as punishment…to wake them up. They are a metaphor of the encroaching sin of the people and God is calling them back to Himself. God calls for their repentance…and in His cry to Israel is where He spoke to me this morning:

“Turn to me now, while there is time.
Give me your hearts…
Don’t tear your clothing in your grief,
but tear your hearts instead.”
Joel 2:12-13 (NLT)

God doesn’t pull any punches here and He certainly doesn’t beat around the bush. God wants our hearts. He wants us to offer them up to Him willingly knowing an trusting that He will take care of them. He calls us to turn from our sin, from our grief, our agony, our pain and turn to Him…to tear our hearts and offer them to the God who loves.

Of course, that’s often easier said than done…sometimes we like our misery and pain just fine. Sometimes we don’t rust what God will do with our hearts. But He calls us just the same…

22.04.2008 Devotional, Spiritual Musings No Comments

Confession of Prayer

Saturday, April 19th, 2008

Tommorow I am teaching the third session in the Holy Habits series at church and it will be the most difficult for me by far. The session is called: Prayer & Confession.

So here is my confession: My prayer life sucks! (Yes, I know that’s a little sacrilegious). I have studied the topic, studied The Lord’s Prayer, read book after book, and tried just about every method I can get my hands on…but it till sucks.

There will be times when it’s okay, but it never seems to last for long. Improving my prayer life is even one of my goals for 2008…but it continues to elude me. And I don’t know why. I long for the intimacy of a deep, ric, dynamic prayer life but it is a constant struggle for me.

I know that sometimes I try too hard. Other times I don’t try hard enough. My heart and desire is in the right place…I just can’t seem to break through and really communicate with God…hear His voice, speak my heart, and commune with Him.

I’m starting to think this is just my primary struggle in my spiritual journey. And it’s why tomorrow’s class is going to be tough…hopefully I’ll learn something.:???: If you’ve got any methods or stories to share on the topic I’m all ears. Otherwise…pray for me…and I’ll keep trying.

19.04.2008 Church, Prayer, Spiritual Musings 3 Comments

A Messy Table

Wednesday, April 16th, 2008

The time has arrived to finally “come clean” (pun intended). I’ve been telling Anita that this day was coming…and it has finally arrived. This is partly because I noticed my posts of late have been on the more serious side so it’s time to lighten them up a bit (at least one or two in the mix). It’s also because the world must  know…

Anita is a mess when she eats out. I mean literally! Now I must admit that this is the only time when she leaves a mess…but you can set your watch by it. I can’t explain it. I don’t understand it. I only report the facts ma’am. :smile:

Just this past weekend we went out for sushi. We got a crunchy roll, which is basically a shrimp tempura roll with all these little tempura crunchies on top of it. Yummy! The waitress comes to take our plates. My side of the table? Clean. Anita’s side of the table? Not so much…not even close!

Ever been to a really nice steakhouse (ala: Del Frsico’s)? You know when they come by with their little “table cleaner” tools to get the crumbs off the table? Oh…my…gosh! I swear they need two or three for Anita’s side.

It’s become our running joke. So obvious by now that even she laughs about it when we get yet another example of it. In case you’re wondering…it doesn’t bother me. Actually, I love it. I love that she has a little quirk. I love even more that she can laugh at herself. It’s what makes her Anita…and one of the many reason why I love her so much!!

Love ya babe…messy table and all!

16.04.2008 Family, Humor, Misc Ramblings No Comments

The Search for God

Tuesday, April 15th, 2008

Search for the Lord and for his strength;
continually seek him.
Psalm 105:4 (NLT)

One word in the passage above caught my attention this morning. It caught my attention because it’s kind of the whole point behind my blog…the journey of faith. The one word? Continually.

God asks us not just to search and seek Him out…He asks us to pursue and to explore Him. This is a lifetime pursuit, not a one time (or even annual) event. It’s a lifestyle. A way of life. I am to be searching and seeking God every day…continually.

I don’t know about you, but I yearn to know God. Not to know about God, but to really know God. I want the relationship He desires. And that takes effort, time, and intentionality. That’s the journey I’m on. That’s the journey God is on with me! :smile:

15.04.2008 Devotional, Spiritual Development, Spiritual Musings No Comments

Isaac and Jesus

Sunday, April 13th, 2008

This morning our pastor (Pastor Ray) preached on Genesis 22. In this well known story God tests Abraham’s faith by asking him to sacrifice his most precious treasure…his one and only son. I can’t even begin to imaging the sacrifice that God was demanding from Abraham. And what’s more, Abraham did it without a single question and no hesitation! Hebrews even highlights this amazing display of faith.

It was a great sermon with a great message (that you can listen to online): What is God asking us (me) to sacrifice? Is there anything in my life that’s more important than God? All great questions to ponder this week…but that’s not what this particular post is about.

This is a classic Old Testament story, but while I was listening and chewing on it this morning I noticed a few parallels between this story and one that occurred a couple of thousand years later…Jesus’ story. I can’t say that I’m the first to ever come up with them (I’m certain that’s not the case) and I’m not sure why I’ve never noticed them before. That aside, here are the similarities I noticed and thought I’d share (and I’d like your thoughts on this too…did I miss any?):

  1. God asks Abraham to sacrifice is only son.
    God actually does sacrifice his one and only son.
  2. Isaac carries the wood for the sacrifice on his back.
    Jesus carried the wood for His sacrifice too (the cross).
  3. Isaac willingly laid his life on the line (he became the sacrifice).
    Jesus willingly gave His life for pay for our sins (He became our sacrifice).

Of course, there is one big difference in the two stories…Jesus actually went through with it and became our sacrifice while Isaac was spared and God provided a substitute sacrifice. Come to think of it, that’s the parallel with our story…Jesus became our substitute sacrifice! And thank God (everyday) that He did!

13.04.2008 Church, Jesus, Spiritual Musings 2 Comments

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