God

Aching Heart Prayer

/ The Pastor

I read a story this morning about a church for whom my heart aches. I hate to see them going astray and so I penned (as it were) this prayer that I plan to use in worship this morning. To God be the glory!

Holy God, I don’t claim to be perfect, but there are many straying from the truth – ones who once held to the truth but now have been seduced away. They have gone the way of the world in search of calmer and more peaceful waters. They search and search, drifting further and further away. They water down Your Word to make it more palatable. And worse yet, they think they are being faithful. Oh, my God and King, my heart aches for them. Their only hope is a supernatural breakthrough by Your Holy Spirit. And so, I boldly ask that You may steer them back on course. Send now Your Holy Spirit – not for the sake of unity but for the sake of Your glory through Jesus Christ our Lord. Raise up faithful leaders in these apostate churches, oh God. Show them the Truth. Forgive them. Redeem them – as you have redeemed me. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.

Worship!!!

/ The Pastor / 2 Comments

Here we are – Sunday morning – preparing to travel to a location to engage in corporate worship with our brothers and sisters in Christ. Why? Because God is so freak’in awesome that if you are not worshiping then something is seriously wrong. Jesus died on a cross for the forgiveness of your sins and rose from the grave that you may live forever in eternal joy with him. How can one not worship this God? How can one be ambivalent? Our Creator God is not distant but close, loving and intimate as a father to a child. Our Creator God is not too busy for you but knows every hair on your head – He’s given them each a unique name. Our Creator God reigns on high but lives in your heart.
Worship? Of course.
When? Now.
And so, what are you waiting for?
Worship!!!

[The following is part of the Holy Communion liturgy I wrote for worship this morning. To God be the glory, always and forever.]

Yes, God, it is right and our joy to give thanks and praise to You, at all times and in all places. It is our joy for through Jesus Christ You gave us Your Spirit that we may know the truth of the Gospel – the forgiveness of our sins and the salvation of our souls through faith in Jesus Christ. You redeemed us though we are sinful. You saved us because we cannot save ourselves. You love us because, well, You are love. Oh God, our praise and worship is so inadequate in compassion to what You deserve. Our self-conceived works fall oh so short. May we just let go and let the works you have prepared beforehand manifest themselves through us that You are rightly glorified. And so, with the church on earth and the hosts of heaven we join in singing Your unending praise…

More

/ The Pastor

Father God,
I take this breath and i praise You.
My heart beats this beat and i praise You.
My eyes see this creation and i praise You.
I am alive another day and i praise You.
Each and every blessing,
Every single thing,
All that i am,
And what You saved me from,
I praise You.
Jesus my Savior,
Your Spirit sustains me,
Your grace is amazing,
Oh my God and Father, i praise You.
So please give me more breaths to breathe,
more beats to my heart,
more days to behold You,
So i can praise You
More.

My Reason to Rhyme

/ The Pastor

You have probably noticed that I like writing poetry. I’m nothing special and definitely not the best thing since sliced bread, but I like trying to write it. Sometimes my poems are pretty strict in structure and beats per line. Sometimes I mix things up. Sometimes I write poetry that seems to break all the conventional rules. But no matter the poem, I have found a peace in writing them. As the following poem says, in my writing I am forced to think deeply about words I choose and in doing so I am thinking more deeply about my relationship with God through Jesus Christ. And so there you have it – my reason to rhyme…

Morning has broken, this day is new.
And my coffee is ready to brew.
Jesus my Lord, to him i will pray.
Doing no other to start my day.

It’s Your grace i think on and review.
Yet i’m writing a poem about You.
It seems i’m lost and going astray.
But in this style Your love i convey.

For as i write i think on You more.
And that is great for You i adore.
I’ll keep on going with You my God,
What i’m doing is not a facade.

And so i sit with coffee in hand,
thinking on You as my love is fanned.
I think about each and every rhyme.
knowing it’s never a waste of time .

To God be the glory. Amen 🙂

Life

/ The Pastor

Life is fragile and delicate.
Life is valuable and precious.
Only You, Lord, can be entrusted with it.
Only Your mighty and gentle hands can handle it.
But even though these fragile shells – shells that we call a body – will eventually crack, it doesn’t mean that You are careless.
These bodies are precious, from the moment we are conceived, but there is something even more precious, that which Jesus died to save –
my soul.
That’s what’s in Your hands forever.
I hate to see shells
crack,
die
and decay
but I praise You that which is inside is perfectly safe and sound in Your mighty and gentle hands.
My life is precious.
My life is saved.
All praise be to You through Christ Jesus my Lord.
Amen.

Blowing

/ The Pastor

You wave and sway.
You bend and bow.
Your movement is not choreographed by you.
Nothing planned.
Nothing thought out.
You just move.
You don’t resist.
You don’t try to prevent.
You don’t complain.
You just move.
Sometimes you’re still.
Sometimes you’re active.
Sometimes you’re shaped anew.
But not of your own doing.
You simply submit.

And you put me to shame.

The wind blows as it wills and you respond in kind.
The Holy Spirit does the same, but I often resist.
You don’t think because you can’t think, yet it is almost as if you really do know.
For as the wind blows you become stronger and stronger; able to grow larger and larger.
Reaching higher
Higher
Higher
And it’s not you reaching but God reaching for you.
It’s as if you know.
You do know, don’t you?
Oh to be a tree and submit to the wind of the Spirit.
Becoming stronger and reaching higher
Higher
Higher
Oh to be a tree

Found In You

/ The Pastor

My thoughts drift towards You, oh God, as I seemly gaze into another world. To others I look distant, disconnected and lost, but I know I’m found in You.
Through Jesus I am found in You.
You capture my attention as I leave the world behind. The world is persistent, though, as it continues to beckon for me to return, but it’s You for whom I long.
Only You.
The world moves and shouts but I stare right through it –
not noticing,
not paying attention,
lost in my found-ness
The world wants me but I want You more.
The world says its beautiful but it can not compare in the slightest to You.
Some call this daydreaming but You are not a dream. You are my reality. Some call this wasting time, but no time is wasted with You.
Oh God, the world is loud, so please hold my gaze that I may get lost in being found in You.

Arise and Give Thanks

/ The Pastor

Arise and give thanks unto the Lord,
For his mercies are new every day.
His love is wide.
His grace is abundant.
His faithfulness is unending.
His glory is radiant.
He is worthy of all praise,
Each and every second,
Each and every moment,
He is worthy.
Arise, oh believer, arise,
For New Life is yours through Jesus.
Arise, oh believer, arise,
Give thanks unto the Lord.

Breathtaking

/ The Pastor

God is oh so…
amazing
awesome
creative
majestic
artistic
awesome (did I say that already?)
Awe-inspiring
And a host of other adjectives.

To look at this scene; this artwork, and say this is just a random event is to live a life with blinders on. A sad life, really; going through life in black and white without the wonder and majesty of our Creator God. This is not random but purposefully crafted for our enjoyment but more importantly to the glory of God. People have complimented me on this photo, but really, how I can (or anyone for that matter) take credit for a beautiful photo like this. I mean, this scene was and is there. I just happened to be there to capture it on some digital media. This is God’s masterpiece, painted on His canvas and with His mighty hand.

And this is just the tip of the iceberg. God’s masterpieces are all around you. Stop and smell the roses (or look at the mountains) and give God the glory.

Holy and awesome God, Your mighty hand is powerful and gentle. It can shake and rend the heavens and the earth and it can cradle a new-born life. Your hand can also craft a scene that can take our breath away; drawing our attention to You. Oh God, what can be known about You is indeed evident in creation. May we never be so busy as to miss Your majesty all around. Thank you for taking my breath away with such beauty. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.

Help

/ The Pastor / 2 Comments

I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord , who made heaven and earth.
[Psalms 121:1‭-‬2 ESV]

We have family staying with us this weekend and because of that, my 4-year-old son has been displaced from his room and is sleeping in our room. He usually ends up with us in our bed each night but is not accustomed to starting in our room.

Anyway, an hour or so after he went down, my wife hears something upstairs – it’s our son, whimpering at the top of the stairs. She scopes him up and brings him back to our room. After a little while she returns downstairs saying that he wants daddy. I rush up there and he’s crying. I ask him if he’s scared and with a crying whimper he says, “Ye-e-s”. I laid down next to him and held him close. Within minutes he was out. All he needed was to know daddy was near.

“From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord , who made heaven and earth.” Isn’t it nice to know that your heavenly Father is always there for you? You are never alone in the darkness. You are never alone in your fears. You are never alone in trials. You are never alone in tribulation. Cry out to Him and know your heavenly Father is there.

From where does your help come?