It's 10:39 and I'm Unsettled

I wanted to write tonight but I have no idea what to write.
What I do not want to do is ramble for no reason. I do not want to be accused of being one of those that think they will be heard because of their many words.
So, here is some Scripture I've read tonight...

Philippians 3:7-11
7But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. 10I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.

My thoughts...how can we consider everything loss...everything...in comparison to simply knowing Christ. To look at everything and say, "it's trash..." all because of imparted righteousness. Unbelievable...

Colossians 1:15-17
15He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. 17He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

My thoughts...just think about this for a second, everything that has ever been created, everything you see around you, your life in general...it's all held together by the word of His mouth. He speaks life into existence and takes breath in a moment. It's all His and anything you have was given to you by Him to push back what is dark in the world.

Luke 5:16
16But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.

My thoughts...deep down I think we are all a little scared of being lonely. Jesus sought out time to be lonely...loneliness for Him meant intimacy with the Father. Oh that we might have more time to be lonely.

Hosea 13:6
6 When I fed them, they were satisfied;
when they were satisfied, they became proud;
then they forgot me.

My thoughts...this has been haunting me for almost a year. God said this about Israel but I fear it is the case with so many of us. God forbid...

2 Corinthians 12:9-10
9But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. 10That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

My thoughts...this takes my fear and anxiety away, I don't always have to know what to do next, I don't always have to have all the answers, I don't have to always be strong.

Psalm 46:10
10 "Be still and know that I am God..."

My thoughts...nothing else need be said...


Blessings!
ZS

You Found Me ::: The Fray

The Fray - You Found Me

I found God
On the corner of first and Amistad
Where the west was all but won
All alone, smoking his last cigarette
I Said where you been, he said ask anything
Where were you?
When everything was falling apart
All my days were spent by the telephone
It never rang
And all I needed was a call
That never came
To the corner of first and Amistad

Lost and insecure
You found me, you found me
Lying on the floor
Surrounded, surrounded
Why’d you have to wait?
Where were you? Where were you?
Just a little late
You found me, you found me

In the end everyone ends up alone
Losing her, the only one who’s ever known
Who I am, who I’m not, who I want to be
No way to know how long she will be next to me

Lost and insecure
You found me, you found me
Lying on the floor
Surrounded, surrounded
Why’d you have to wait?
Where were you, where were you?
Just a little late
You found me, you found me

Early morning, City breaks
I’ve been calling for years and years and years and years
And you never left me no messages
You never send me no letters
You got some kind of nerve, taking all I want

Lost and insecure
You found me, you found me
Lying on the floor
Where were you where were you

Lost and insecure
You found me, you found me
Lying on the floor
Surrounded, surrounded
Why’d you have to wait?
Where were you, where were you?
Just a little late
You found me, you found me

Why’d you have to wait?
To find me, to find me

I'm posting this today because these guys were on with Kidd Kraddick yesterday morning talking about this song. So much of what they said was so profound that I needed to share.

They were asked where "first and Amistad" was? Amistad is a Spanish word meaning friend. The guys in the band said the message they were aiming for here is that God can be and should be our first (best) friend. They were asked specifically why God would be "smoking his last cigarette", to which they replied that it was a symbol of the fact that God had been waiting for him to come. This is so profound. I know it is just a matter of time before some of my fundamentalist brethren take this and make The Fray out to be a band trying to drag the character of God through the mud, but please take some time to understand the meaning before doing what you do.

Joseph and Isaac (the front men of The Fray) went on to talk about where the song came from. As they were traveling almost all of this past year, they said they continued to get call after call from close friends and family members who were going through the worse kinds of things...seemed like tragedy was striking everyone. One of them (again, hard to know who was saying what because I was listening to the radio) was talking about how, growing up in church, you heard people talk about "finding God" and in that moment everything was good, right and in perfect order. He said, the problem with that is life seems to teach something completely different at times. He said, he personally knew people that after finding God, honestly wanted to "go a couple of rounds with Him".

That's what this song is about. It speaks of peoples humanity in that even when they find someone to rescue them (A Savior), they still have the question..."what took you so long?"

There in lies the beauty of "smoking his last cigarette"...He was there all the time, simply waiting for you to cry out to him for help.

Holy Father, thank you for truth that finds us when we aren't even looking for it. Thank you for rescuing me...thank you for finding me. It's for the praise of your glory! Amen!

Blessings!

ZS

If your curious, the album drops 2/3/09 but you can purchase "You Found Me" on iTunes...I got mine!

The Mystery of Jesus Christ

Why is it that it seems almost everything Jesus did was mysterious? Think about it, you're the King of all creation and you are born in a stall in which animals eat. At no point did this "king" try to establish an earthly kingdom. Jews at this time would hear that this is the Messiah of whom the prophets spoke so they are thinking that he has come to re-establish the throne of David and to reconcile this kingdom, yet ultimately it would look drastically different than what they were thinking. Even today, people constantly connect Jesus to "religion" yet if there was one thing that consistently got him riled up was the religious leaders and their self righteousness and their "thank you God I'm not like this guy" attitudes. He taught the law in a way that no one had heard before. Things like, "you've heard it said not to kill but I tell you that if you have hatred in your heart you've committed the same sin", or "you've heard not to commit adultery but I tell you even if you look on a women lustfully, you've committed the same sin". He invited people over and over throughout the Gospels to come and follow him, yet when a rich young ruler came and ask how to inherit eternal life he told him he had to go sale everything he had and give it to the poor, then he could follow him...but wait, he didn't ask anyone else to do that (that we know of). The story goes on to say that the man walked away disappointed...why? Because he had a lot of stuff and he wasn't willing to part with it.
So, why such a mystery? Why does it seem at times to be so hard to put this Jesus in a nice need package for everyone to believe in and receive? I mean, isn't that what he wants? So, why make it so difficult to present?
I do know this, Jesus was always more interested in the heart of the individual than he was with their actions. You see you can give the appearance of having it all together on the outside, meanwhile your life is falling apart on the inside. The things Jesus said about killing and committing adultery, the righteous indignation he had towards religious leaders and even the fact that he asked that one guy to sale his stuff and give it away before he could follow him...all of these things point back to what is in a man's heart.
These are the mysteries of Christ that at times seem so hard to grasp...
Christ help us...because we need you!
I've just been wrestling with this...just wanted to share...
ZS

What is this "internet" all the kids are talking about?

As some of you know, we moved into our new house at the end of September. Well, the subdivision we moved to is so new that no one is providing internet service here yet...that's why this has not been updated in quite a while. Well, I took a flying leap into the 21st century and got an "air card". All that to say, I have the internet again and will keep this updated from now on.
Sorry Pastor Trent!
ZS

Are The Spankings Really Working?

I don't know where you stand on the issue of using spanking as a form of disciplining your children. While I grew up in a family that believe in it, if you ask my mom, I simply never needed one...I was just such an angel all the time. My wife and I believe in it whole heartedly.
It's really difficult though, when you have a three year old and another one pushing two, to know if the way you are disciplining your children is working. We know it is important to discipline and correct but when they continue to do the thing that you are trying to get them to not do, you have to question it...while you are pulling your hair out! Today I saw evidence that shows me that, while it's very difficult and tears your heart out to have to discipline and correct, it's worth it.
Jacob (3) and Eli (almost 2) were sitting at the kitchen table having their lunch as I watched from the living room. Eli is our eater, will eat anything put in front of him...and very quickly I might add. He had polished off his cheese and his bowl of fruit and wanted more. So, he asked Jacob..."Jacob, I more?" To which Jacob responds, "Here E, you can have some of mine..." To which Eli responds, "Oh, tank you Jacob" (I misspelled "thank" on purpose...he's two remember). Jacob shared some of his cheese and some of his fruit with Eli. Seems like such a small thing but when you hear these two arguing and fighting all day over the issue of not sharing what you have, it's huge. I literally sat in the living room worshipping God in that moment...I know it sounds so over spiritual to say that, but get off of my back, you're not the one who has to pass out all of these spankings. I was literally filled with joy over this small interaction between my children.
And this is why...think of the spiritual implications of what happened today. What if in a simply moment at the lunch table my children start to understand the importance of sharing what you have with someone else? What if my two young children become life time sharers after today? What if they always think about the needs of others more than they think about their own needs? All of a sudden this is really starting to sound like a sermon Jesus would teach.
What makes it even more difficult is taking this "lesson" and turning it back on me. Does Christ look at me from time to time and think, "Are the spankings really working?" Do you think He ever wonders, "How many times am I going to have to teach this lesson?" Because I assure you, I am much more thick headed than my children.
I want to live my life with open hands. Understanding that nothing that I have is truly mine but it was all given to me by Him to glorify His name, to make Him more famous and to push back what is dark in the world. I want my children to learn to live this way also. I hope one day they begin to understand that I didn't spank them because I didn't love them, I wasn't out to steal their joy, but ultimately I was trying to increase their joy.
Will I ever learn this lesson from my Father?
God Help Me!
ZS

For The Praise Of His Glory!

I have to warn you up front, this is very political...the first time and hopefully the last time you will see anything like this here.
I was standing in the living room tonight and I realized I was watching the Republican National Convention. I try to avoid things like this because I hate politics...the same thing happened last week too when the Democratic National Convention was on...I just found myself watching it for no good reason. I was somewhat interested in seeing Donald Miller give the benediction at the DNC...but, I did find his prayer online so it really wasn't necessary for me to watch. Anyway, as I was standing there listening to people talk bad about other people in hopes that I would give them my vote, I turned to Susan and said "why am I watching this?...this stuff makes me feel like I need to go read my Bible". So I did!
This week Trent is starting a new series on the book of Ephesians, it could take us into the holiday season. So, this week we will be covering the first ten verses. This is what I read tonight:
1Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus: 2Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 3Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— 6to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. 7In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace 8that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. 9And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, 10to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment—to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.

I feel like Jesus lead me to this passage again tonight because of the last couple of verses. It just reminded me that when the fullness of time has come, He will bring all things on heaven and earth under the head...who is Christ.
So, how will I vote? I will vote Jesus Christ...daily...I will cast my ballot daily to live for him, not a political party. Jesus never tried to legislate change while He was on earth, He just loved people and allowed them to be change by that.
Even so, come quickly Lord Jesus. I will live a life anxious for your return.
For the praise of your Glory!
Amen!

Prayer: Asking God... :::Friday:::

Lord, today I'm praying that your church would believe in the power of the Holy Spirit and desire it earnestly. Father, I believe in the power that Peter had when he preached on the Day of Pentecost...I believe in the power of your Spirit that was present with Paul as he was locked away in chains all the while saying, "...count it all joy...". I'm asking you to show me this power that lives in me also. God, I'm also praying that we would see things like accountability and suffering as blessings and rejoice in them. To see that we are truly blessed if we have someone in our lives that will ask us hard questions and hold us accountable for the way we act. And Father that you would count us worthy to suffer for you name...so that you would become more famous and my name would be forgotten.
For Your Beautiful Name...
Amen!