Monday, April 26, 2010

Empty Me

A song that's been speaking to me recently is "Empty Me" by Jeremy Camp.



The lyrics are:

Holy Fire- burn away my desire, for anything
that is not of You and is of me
I want more of You and less of me

Empty Me, Empty Me, Fill Me, With You

I also came up with a bridge section:

Strip away all the things in me
all my pride and selfishness
let my eyes be only fixed on You
May my heart's chief desire
the passion of my soul inside
always be for You alone my King

This is my prayer but it can be a painful process. When you've spent a lifetime building up an identity, desires, talents, and abilities, it can be tough to lay those down in light of Him.

I think God creates each person with unique gifts and abilities. Our experiences, books we read, music we listen to, places we go, and people we come into contact with shape who we become. They represent who we are and God can be glorified in them. But, if we operate out of our natural strengths and find our sense of worth in these apart from Him, they are hollow and empty.

When I allow God to strip away everything in me that takes His place at my center and the core of my being, it gives Him the ability to work in and through me to accomplish His best purposes.

John the Baptist said, "He must increase, but I must decrease" in John 3:30. He was speaking of his own ministry and the ministry of Jesus but I think it can also be applied to our personal lives. When Jesus increases in influence and flows more abundantly in my life, it is at these times that I am most fulfilled.

Saturday, April 17, 2010

Wake Up O Sleeper

We're playing this really fun bluesy gospel song at church on Sunday. I really like the version by Glory Revealed.



Here's the Bible passage that the verse comes from:
"For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light 9(for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) 10and find out what pleases the Lord. 11Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. 12For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. 13But everything exposed by the light becomes visible, 14for it is light that makes everything visible. This is why it is said:
"Wake up, O sleeper,
rise from the dead,
and Christ will shine on you."

15Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, 16making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. 17Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is." Ephesians 5:8-17

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Eat A Frog

“Eat a live frog every morning, and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day.” -Mark Twain

Saturday, April 10, 2010

Vicarious Christianity

Real relationship with Christ cannot be obtained through vicarious experience.

"This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus" Romans 3:22-24

Have you ever experienced times in life when you gain spiritual nourishment from sources other than Bible or God directly? I enjoy listening to worship music, playing it myself, fellowshipping with other believers, reading books, articles, and blogs about faith, listening to podcasts and sermons, and hearing about God's work in others' lives. These things can be great facilitators to spur me on in my faith. However, if I do not personally engage with God on a daily basis, my spiritual walk will suffer.

Activities like prayer, reading/meditating on the Bible, journaling, and worshiping God from my heart have been the most effective in facilitating my personal walk with Him and keeping me revived and abiding in Him on a daily basis. There are so many blessings that come from just spending time with Jesus and sharing your life with Him. He wants us to talk with Him. "Call to me and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know" Jeremiah 33:3

As Colossians 3:1-2 says, "Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth." We have direct access to the throne room of God through Jesus. Let's be sure to take advantage of this tremendous privilege.

Thursday, April 08, 2010

How to Ice a Knee and Still Be Upwardly Mobile

From time to time, athletic pursuits result in soreness, inflammation, and occasionally injuries. While propping up a knee, relaxing, and icing said knee is preferable, sometimes this is not always possible due to competing time demands. There is now a solution to icing while remaining upwardly mobile. I present to you, the Saran-wrap frozen veggies/fruit icing method.

This is easily accomplished by taking your favorite or least favorite bag of frozen vegetables or fruit and wrapping several layers of saran-wrap around the knee or other appendage. Tape helps to keep the ice wrap in place. And voila you are now both icing a knee and upwardly mobile.
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