Happy Birthday, Leif

Leif,

Today you turn 5. I cannot even believe how quickly time has gone by. You have always (excluding the 6 weeks of colic) been an incredibly fun, easy, joyful boy. People love you, Leif. There is something that you bring to life that makes everyone smile.

And now you are growing spiritually, too. You are so sensitive to the Lord and His word. I know that he will use you to do great things.

My prayer for you today is that you will pursue God. That you will present yourself to Him as a living sacrifice and that He will use you to advance His kingdom.

Leif, you are hilarious! I don't know of any 4 or 5 year old that is so funny and witty. I think of playing with you yesterday and how much we laughed together as you became the ham you always do. I love it. And I love you.

Leif, God is good. He loves you more than you could ever dream. Listen to Him. The path to God is narrow but our reward (Jesus) will be great. Follow him, Leif. No matter what, follow Jesus.

So, I will quote a great father to son verse for you today, my sweet boy:
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths." Proverbs 3:5-6

I love being your dad.

I (still) Believe You're My Healer

Recently I purchased the newest release from Hillsong, "This is Our God." This CD is one of my favorite worship CDs. There are so many songs that the Lord is using to help me worship Him.

I had anticipated the release of this CD for a while. While searching the internet for things about the CD, I stumbled upon a video telling the story of one of the songs, "Healer." I remember sitting in my office at home, weeping worshipfully as I watched. The writer of the song told his story about how he found out he had terminal cancer and the Lord gave him this song. Powerful. He actually led the song during the recording with an oxygen tube connected to his nose.

Unfortunately, since the release of the CD, this man has confessed that for two years he has lived a lie. He made the whole thing up! No cancer. No tube. It was a lie.

For the life of me I can't even begin to think of a reasonable answer to the question, "Why?" As I listened to the details; how he is in big trouble with the authorities (he received money from people to help with his expenses), how those he worshipped with and the church didn't know, I was heartbroken. Do I get rid of the CD?

As I've thought through it, I've decided a few things. The song is a great song and is true... no matter who the writer was or what he did. God used a lot of sinful people to bring about his purposes all throughout Scripture. He still does. The liars in Scripture did not disqualify the truths of God, and neither does this.

Paul says in Philippians 1:18, "What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice."

So I will go on singing the truth about the Lord. He never lies. He never fails.

Lord,
I believe You're my healer.
I believe You are all I need.
I believe You're my portion.
I believe You're more than enough for me.
Jesus, You're all I need.

#4- Matthew 9:37-38

So... what I meant when I said that I would post really soon was... in a month. Sorry. Things have been incredibly busy. Onto the task, though....

Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into the harvest."

This passage almost didn't make the cut. Believe me, I don't mean that negatively. It just happens that this one seems to be skipped a lot. In fact it's something that we just applied to our church, literally, in the past 6 months.

Think about what Jesus is saying here. (It's pretty critical that I, a church planter, get this) The harvest is plentiful. Boy, it doesn't feel like it sometimes (I can hear my church planting readers shouting "Amen"). But God's word is truth (John 17:17) and what the Lord says is that the harvest is not just possible... it's plentiful. God has called many... from every nation and tongue. That includes where you live and where I live.

But Jesus follows that incredibly hope-filled statement with the somewhat sobering news... "The laborers are few." Why is that? Why are there so few who will work to advance the Kingdom of God? Why is it so rarely that we say.. "Man, that guy or that girl is on fire. They're telling everyone about Jesus!" It seems to me like we believe the second statement a lot more than we believe the first. We so readily put our hope in man. And so we rely more on the few laborers than the plentiful harvest.

But this passage is one of great hope and encouragement. The point is that God will reap the harvest and we can be a part of it. In fact, there is a command in this passage. It's a command that I've neglected.. not even thought about... most of my ministry. What does Jesus prescribe for this harvest vs. laborers problem? Prayer.

Therefore (since we have a shortage of workers for such a great harvest) PRAY! And don't just regularly pray... like "God is great, God is good let us thank him for our food and please send people, Amen." No... pray EARNESTLY. Pray hard. Make an effort at praying to the Lord of the harvest (he's in control of all those waiting to respond) to send out laborers into his harvest. Beautiful. Once again, I am reminded that my hope is in the Lord.

At Cornerstone, we are finally striving to obey this passage. So every first Friday of the month, we have a ministry called 938 (from Matthew 9:38). It's pretty simple. We just meet and pray, earnestly... "Lord please send out laborers.. from us and from our church.. into your harvest."

It's simple, and it's obedience. Oh that He would answer as only He can!

Quick Update

Just want to say quickly that I know that I'm due for a new post. It is coming soon. I will try to post a few times next week to continue my study of what Jesus calls us to.

But to update you and give you an excuse for my delay, I've had an amazing week. Francis Chan spoke at church on Sunday. His message was, I'm pretty sure, a "Dear Tony" message from the Holy Spirit. Between that, my time with him the next couple days and a few other things... this week has been monumental. I have never felt more confident in ministry.

Why? My confidence has so often been in myself. But "myself" keeps letting me down. My confidence is no longer in me. It is in the power within me... the same power that raised Christ from the dead. My confidence is great because it is in the one who called me to this ministry. It is in our only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality... Jesus Christ.

#3 - Matthew 7:21-23

"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?' And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.'"

I must say before posting anything about what this passage means, that my concerns about this passage are as much for me as for others. I do not ever want to stand as one looking out as judge deciding who this will be and who it won't. I have feared at times in my life that it is me.

With that said, this has to stand as one of the scariest verses in the Bible. We get a picture of the horrible side of eternity. Imagine this scene. People coming before the Lord Jesus Christ with great anticipation of what is ahead and then hearing that earth shaking voice declare the verdict none should long for, "I never knew you; depart from me."

Lest we casually dismiss this passage as simply those who are unsaved, let's look at who Jesus is talking about. I mean, He does give us some details about these people, so it would be wise for us to examine them and ourselves to be sure there are no parallels.

First, these are people who say, "Lord". Now we know from further description that the operative word here is "say". They may call him Lord, but they have not made him the Lord of their lives. That word, Lord, means master. When Jesus is truly Lord of our life, then we, like any other good slave, will do whatever the master says to do. That's why Jesus says that the ones who will enter the kingdom of heaven will be the ones who don't just call Jesus Lord but treat him as Lord... they do the will of God.

I used to think that these were people of other faiths: Mormons, Buddhists, etc. But notice, these are people that call Jesus Lord. Who does that? Christians. He's talking about people who call themselves Christians.

Friends, head these words of Jesus. Do as Paul says in 2 Corinthians 13:5 "Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves." And also, 2 Peter 1:10, "be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure." Don't just sit around hoping that something you said or did in the past is enough to get you to heaven. Follow Jesus. That is salvation. When we believe (not just say) that Jesus is Lord, we will follow him, not just pay lip service to him.

How frightening and hopeless for those people on that day. People who went through this life just thinking everything was fine with them and Jesus because of what they call him. And then they are separated from Him in utter anguish forever.

Sobering. Let it not be us. Live for the King of kings. He is worthy. His grace is sufficient to supply all our needs. He is so much more satisfying than those things that keeps us from following him.

How much better (and how worth it) to hear the words spoken to those who persevere: "Well done, good and faithful servant... enter into the joy of your master." (Matthew 25:23)

#2 - Matthew 4:10

"You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve."

This response, by Jesus, is in the same context as the first post. He's being tempted by Satan. In this case, he's specifically being tempted to worship Satan. Jesus' response is pretty straightforward.

To remind us of post #1, notice that Jesus uses God's word to respond to all three of the temptations in the passage. We must live by every word that comes from the mouth of God.

Anyway, look at Jesus' response here:
You shall
- worship the Lord your God
- him only shall you serve

Oh, that we would obey this command! How often we give ourselves to idols. In John 4, Jesus tells us the kind of worshippers that God is seeking... "those who worship in spirit and in truth." So our worship of only God must be in spirit (from our hearts... in other words sincerely, not just participating in a church service) and in truth. Not to keep harping on #1, but what does that mean? Jesus prays in John 17:17, "Sanctify them by the truth, your word is truth." So our worship must be sincere and consistent with God's word.

A quick comment about the importance of doctrine and worship. One of Jesus' indictments of the Pharisees was Matthew 15:8-9, "This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men." Correct doctrine in incredibly important. The Pharisees worship was in vain. Imagine coming before the Lord, which Matthew 7 says many will do, and finding out that your worship was meaningless. Why was theirs meaningless? Doctrine. They didn't believe and obey the truth. Church, study. Don't just assume that doctrine is something that is just for pastors to know. It is crucial for our worship.

Another comment on worship: Romans 12:1 gives us a picture of our spiritual act of worship. Paul says, "present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship." Now this could be a long post, but to comment quickly... a sacrifice is something that is surrendered at a cost (often life); holy means to be set apart; and we're called to be acceptable to God. This verse screams holiness. If we're going to worship God in a way that pleases him, we must resist sin and live for him (him only shall you serve).

Isn't that what Jesus is doing in Matthew 4? I love this because in this passage he's not preaching to others, he's preaching to himself. Yes, the kingdoms of this world are tempting. Power and influence are tempting. Food is tempting. But "you shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve." When tempted Jesus reminded himself (and Satan) of this command. We as the church should do the same.

Tolerance and the Glory of God

I read an article this past week that was pretty frustrating. It was about how 3 teens beat a homeless man to death. A very sad story in itself. But one of the things that was incredibly frustrating was something that the surveillance camera revealed. This man never should have died. There were eyewitnesses. The camera revealed that during the beating, several cars slowed down to observe the teenagers beat the man and then drove off. Drove off.

My heart broke as I read that. I struggled with not being more mad at the drivers than the teens. How can people just watch someone suffer and then die and not intervene? I mean at least get someone else to help; the police or someone.

But sadly, my mind turns to the church and how much we are like these people just watching and not intervening. In my sermon, yesterday, I talked about this very thing. How so many "believers" will not tell their co-workers, neighbors, friends (how can we even use that word), or family the truth about the Bible and it's exclusive claims about salvation.

An amazing part of the passage we looked at (Acts 13:4-12) is vs 10, where Paul looks at this guy who is opposing the message (God's word) that Paul and Barnabas are teaching and says this to him: "You son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and villainy, will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord?"

After asking the people not to memorize this to use on the next person they talk to about the Lord, I mentioned how we probably look at that and think, "That's pretty harsh, isn't Paul?" In our day of tolerance and not wanting to offend anyone with this exclusive, you have to be born again-Jesus is the only way message, it does seem harsh. But is it? I contend (as I did yesterday) that it is not. It is loving and more.

Why do I think that? Because verse 9 says that Paul said it, "filled with the Holy Spirit." Ephesians 5 teaches us what the fruit of the Holy Spirit are: Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness and Self-Control. So the most loving, peaceful, kind, patient, good, gentle thing that Paul could have done is said that to Elymus (the man opposing the gospel).

God is not tolerant. He is loving and good... more than we can imagine. And the most loving thing that you can do is tell someone the truth about Him and how they can only find forgiveness and grace through Jesus... even if it offends them.

How long will we be satisfied being the people driving by while others are being ravaged by sin, satan and the fall of man. We have help. We have the truth. We have the saving power of the Word of God. Don't just slow down and look at people going to hell. Stop and tell the truth.. the whole truth of the gospel. Or at least get someone else who can help them.

A Quick Addition to #1

Some, I know, may think that I take the Bible too literally. To those who feel this way I respond simply with this:

I will take my chances.

For the life of me, I cannot imagine the Lord chastising someone for taking him too seriously or trying too hard to obey him. I say this absolutely humbly. I cannot boast, because I fail miserably at what I take literally. I am not a success story. I just believe that God's Word never fails which makes me extremely dependent on the Holy Spirit to lead me in the way of righteousness.

#1 - Matthew 4:4

But he answered, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'"

In the the book of Matthew, this is the second sentence that Jesus spoke. It occurs during a time of temptation when Satan is trying to convince Jesus to turn some stones into loaves of bread (a task which would have been simple for someone who could turn water into wine). Jesus was hungry. Okay... REALLY hungry. He had been fasting for 40 days. The Lord's response was simple... "Satan, food is not what guides me... God's word is."

I have been saddened again and again by how "Christians" seem to look for life and joy and direction outside of Scripture. It seems that they quickly turn from the Word to something else; i.e. friends advice, pastors' advice, self-help books, Christian books, parents advice, etc. Please don't get me wrong. I read books and grow from them. I seek advice from friends, parents and spiritual leaders. I'm not saying those things are bad. They are extremely helpful and wise. But my concern is when these things take the place of God's Word, rather than submit to it's authority in our lives. I'm afraid that often, our guidance and growth come from these other sources, rather than from God's Word.

I have been challenged lately by the Psalmists words in Psalm 119. Let me remind us of some...
- "How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word."
- "I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you."
- "In the way of your testimonies I delight as much as in all riches."
- "Your testimonies are my delight; they are my counselors."
- "Behold, I long for your precepts."
- "my hope is in your rules."
- "I find my delight in your commandments, which I love."

For sake of length, I'll stop there. But that was only selections from the first 47 verses. There 176 verses in that chapter and most speak of God's word and it's value to us. I will mention one more: verse 105, "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path."

Now, why do I mention Psalm 119? Because when the Psalmist says those amazing and wonderful things about God's word, he doesn't have the whole Bible. In fact, he only had the law. Yes, the part of the Bible that trips us up every time we commit to read through the Bible in a year. The Psalmist loved God's word, even the law, so much that he craved it and was led by it.

So, what's the point? How much more should we speak such words about the Bible we have? Yes, about the law, and yes about the life of Christ and yes about the letters and instructions to churches! Jesus doesn't say that the Bible is something we can just go back to in a crunch. It is more valuable than bread to our sustenance. We don't just refer to it... we "live... by every word" of it. As followers of Christ, we must be guided by the words of God which He has written down for us.

It is not our job to figure out how much grace we can apply so that we can get away with whatever we want (Paul referred to that in Romans 6:15). As followers, our job is to read, meditate on, memorize and OBEY the word of God. I love Isaiah 66:2. It says: "But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word." What a picture. Do we tremble at the Word of God? Or do we look for ways to lesson it in the church? Do we live by it (as Jesus states)? Or do we refer to it as a good book?

I love God and I love his Word. I love that it shows me what He is like. I love that it gives me direction. I love that He speaks to me through it. I love that I get doctrine by reading and studying it. I love that it sustains me.

I "shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God."

A New Direction

For the next few weeks (probably months), I'm going to be more purposeful with this blog. I read and hear so much about how the church is "changing" and how certain movements (some new, some old) are lessoning their hold on biblical truth, doctrine, and the "strictness" that lies therein.

So, I want to devote some time on this blog to Jesus. What did He say? Was his teaching more or less difficult than the "strictness" that some are walking away from? My approach will be pretty simple. I'm starting at Matthew and will work forward. Each post will be my thoughts on a teaching of Jesus. I will definitely skip some things, but only to focus on those things which I believe are pertinent to this discussion.

And so, I'd love your feedback. I hope that some are encouraged and that some are convicted.

One thing I know. God is trustworthy. When He claims that His Word will never fail... I believe him. So that will continue to be my basis for where the church should go and how it should function.

Enjoy!

A Time of Rest

This past week, Shawna and I had the opportunity to "get away" for a few days. My sister and brother-in-law graciously took the boys for us for the week. It was a much needed and undeserved time.

Shawna and I stayed at home for the first couple days doing nothing but whatever-we-wanted. This included seeing "Prince Caspian" on Sunday evening, which I highly recommend. Monday morning we worked around the house. One of our goals was to move the youngest boys to what was our room, move our room to what was the school room and then convert what was the younger boys room into my home office. Seems confusing... but worth it. We did accomplish that and I'm thankful for a place to study on days that I don't want to spend money on gas (I want bother ranting about that).

After spending time working on the house, we decided to go to the Columbus Zoo. We have season passes for the family but always have the boys and therefore their objectives when we usually go. So it was nice to just wander and enjoy being together while looking at cool animals and deciding which we would have as pets in the millennium (Shawna - Moose; Tony - either Lion or Grizzly).

As our time at the zoo wrapped up, we noticed we had exactly enough time to see "Iron Man" and get to our dinner with our friends, Michael and Melanie. I had seen it already, but wanted Shawna to see it too. It was good, again. Has qualified as my favorite superhero movie. Dinner at PeiWei with Michael and Melanie was great... as expected. We ended the day with Graeter's Ice Cream... thanks to a gift card given to us by Melanie!

Wednesday was a lazy morning hanging out at the house and going to Easton Towne Center, before heading to Hocking Hills for our time away. The cabin (I'll post pictures below) was amazing. Quiet, secluded, romantic and just plain wonderful.

We decided to go for a hike down to Rock House. Beautiful hike and wonderful time together. I love my wife. I am so blessed with a beautiful woman who loves God, loves me, and who I love to spend time with. I am thankful that we still genuinely love being together.

Thursday was filled with more hiking (Old Man's Cave and Ash Cave), Amish Buffet for lunch (de-stinking-licious), Putt-Putt golf (it was tied going into the last hole... that's all I'll comment), lots of reading... oh and a nap!

While away, I read "Why We're Not Emergent (By Two Guys Who Should Be), written by Kevin Deyoung and Ted Kluck. Great book. I highly recommend it for those interested (and some who aren't) in the topic. Good reminder for me as to why I'm doing what I'm doing.

Friday was again lazy. We packed up, headed home (with a couple stops along the way) and then were very excitedly reunited with the boys. We ended the day with Alden's baseball game... Another win!

Again, I'm thankful for my wife. And I'm thankful for the time... not just with her, but with the Lord. I came back more committed to Scripture than before. I'm grateful for that. I truly want to hear from God in this life. And I am continually reminded that He does speak. And so I open His unchanging, never failing Word and listen, ready to do what He asks.


Back porch reading spot.

Yea, that's right!

If there's a rapture...

I got an email from a friend of mine, today. It said, "So, what do we make of a devastating cyclone in Myanmar, a massive volcano eruption in Chile and a 6.8 earthquake in Tokyo, all taking place within 3 days of each other? Anybody starting to believe in a rapture?"

I must tell you that I am pretty much up in the air about when the Lord is coming back. I can pretty much narrow it down to seven years... but I can't tell you when those seven years are.

I have my reasons (biblically) to believe that the Lord Jesus will gather his church from across the globe before what the bible refers to as the tribulation, a seven year period of trouble that doesn't even compare with any we've seen up to it.

However, I also have biblical reasons to believe that we will as the church go through the tribulation. My reasons for post-tribulational rapture are as follows:
- If you read Jesus' account of the end times, you get no sense whatsoever that we don't have to go through it. Rather, he prepares us for what is to come.
- When Paul writes the church of the Thessalonians, he tells them that they shouldn't be worried that Lord has already returned. His reasons for them not to worry are that "that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction." How can we be gone and still be there to see the man of lawlessness (Anti-Christ) be revealed? It goes on in that passage to say that he will take his seat in the temple. According to Daniel 9 that doesn't happen until half way through the tribulation. So it seems that we must conclude that we will be on earth (if we survive it) for at least half of the tribulation.

My biblical reasons for not believing in a post-tribulational rapture deal with Revelation 19.
- According to Paul we will be changed and meet the Lord in the air. There will be an almost simultaneous resurrection of the dead and then those alive meeting the Lord in the air. However, at the second coming (Revelation 19), Jesus comes riding in with the armies of heaven following him. He then captures the beast and the false prophet and throws them both into the lake of fire. After that, those who were beheaded are resurrected. My problem with it is this: those that ride in with him have what seems to be their robes of righteousness already. So they must have already been resurrected or met Him in the air. But there are those who were beheaded who haven't received that yet.
- It seems as if the sacrificial system will be reinstated during the tribulation. I'm not sure how the church can coexist with Israel for those 3 1/2 years.
- I think that "what is restraining" (2 Thessalonians 2:6-7) the AntiChrist is the Holy Spirit. If the Holy Spirit is taken out of the way, how can the church be on earth?

Okay, enough debating with myself. Here's why I wrote this. If you haven't noticed, here's what happened in the news this week:
1. A cyclone in Myanmar that killed an estimated 100,000 people.
2. A volcano eruption in Chile; more than 1,000 people have evacuated; 6,000 more could be asked to evacuate.
3. A 6.8 earthquake off the coast of Tokyo.

All three of these events happened in the last three days. Not to mention that, in the past month, there have been two earthquakes in the U.S. midwest, both over 5.0. The first was in Illinois and the second in Missouri.

In light of Jesus' words in Matthew 24, how should we respond as Christians? I'll try to make this brief (I know, too late).

First, pray for and help those affected by the catastrophes.

Second, repent. Too many Christians have a horrible response to catastrophes. Remember that Jesus talked about this in Luke 13. He said, "Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish."

Third, get ready. For me it makes me want to, as Paul says, "Make my calling and election sure." What do I mean? Well, in Matthew 24, Jesus says that earthquakes and rumors of wars and nation fighting against nation are all the "beginning of the birth pains." Things will get worse, according to Jesus. If, then, there is a rapture that Jesus doesn't refer to (which, I am certain is possible, seeing that the Pharisees and disciples were all wrong about Jesus' first coming) then I want to be ready... I want to make sure I'm not just going through the motions, but that I am saved. Paul says in Galatians and Ephesians that the guarantee of that is the Holy Spirit in me... so I'm making sure. If there is not a rapture and we are meant to go through this time of intense suffering, then be sure that I want to have the Holy Spirit inside me so that I can and will endure.

Finally, it makes me more responsible for the teaching and encouraging of my wife and children. I pray for them and encourage them to follow Jesus and to make their calling and election sure.

If these events are truly signs and you read this and get scared... please, fall on your knees and pray. I truly believe that your fear is a sign that you need to surrender to Jesus. He alone can bring us salvation from this pending trouble. Then join those of us who have lived for this, knowing that very soon we could see our Savior. Referring to that time, Jesus says, "Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near."

A Tribute to Alden

Today, Alden, you turn seven. It's amazing how quickly time goes by. But how wonderful these seven years have been! When Shawna was only ten weeks along in pregnancy we thought that we lost you, buddy. I cannot even imagine what this life would have been like without you. God knew best. He blessed us seven months later with a joy we never imagined... you.

You have been an inspiration to me, Alden. It has been apparent to me for years that you have an acute ear for spiritual things. The Lord has used you to speak into my life many times. I have prayed that He will use you for the rest of your days.

Today, I pray that again. I pray that you will not struggle with the things that I have. I pray that, like John the Baptist, the Holy Spirit would be on you from birth. I believe He is in you now, Alden. So listen to him. Don't believe all of the people who will tell you that He doesn't speak anymore. He does. And you can quench and even grieve Him if you do not listen. Strange to think that you can quench the Holy Spirit of God, but that is yet another mystery of God's Word... which is the absolute, unchanging, never-failing, Truth.

Be more devoted than those around you. We should feel out of place in this world. Too often, I have felt right at home. Don't compare yourself to others, spiritually: not to your friends and not even to me. Compare yourself to Jesus. Live the way He calls us to live. It will be tough... but He will live through you and help you.

I am so very proud of you. What a blessing you are. You are so smart, so funny, so fun to play baseball and basketball with. I love you, Alden. I will always love you. Happy Birthday.

Dad

Easter Candy...

Here are some sweet thoughts going into Easter Sunday...

"For our sake he (God) made him (Jesus) to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." 2 Corinthians 5:21

"but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8

"But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it - the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith." Romans 3:21-25a

Thank you for the cross, Jesus! Thank you for the forgiveness I could not earn! Thank you for the conquered grave I could not defeat! Thank you for saving me!

Trip to Simi Valley

We just got back from our trip to Simi Valley last night. What an unbelievable blessing! I had the opportunity to lead worship this past weekend. I'm so grateful for it. It was so wonderful to lead there again. Also, it was great to see so many friends from the church there.

The weather was slightly better than Ohio. Here are some pictures from our time at Zuma Beach in Malibu.

If any of my friends in Simi visit this: Thank you. I love you all more than you could ever know. How grateful I am that God has granted me to be a part of such a place and such a team. I have learned so much from you and have felt so loved.

Solomon's wisdom

I was reading in 1 Kings 8 this morning. I was stirred by part of Solomon's prayer. In verses 57-58, Solomon prays, "The Lord our God be with us, as he was with our fathers. May he not leave us or forsake us, that he may incline our hearts to him, to walk in all his ways and to keep his commandments, his statutes, and his rules, which he commanded our fathers."

I thought it interesting that he prayed as one sentence, "May he not leave us or forsake us, that he may incline our hearts to him..." It is out of consistent closeness with God (from God) that our hearts are inclined to God. This does not happen as we check in and out of church or in and out of our "relationship" with him.

O, God, please incline my heart... incline our hearts... to you. Turn us away from lesser things. And in so doing, help us to resist the temptation to redefine what it means to "walk in all your ways" and to "keep your commandments, your statutes, and your rules."

A hero...

I was blessed to be able to attend John Piper's Pastors Conference this week. What a blessing. How rich we are to have such godly men to learn from. I was challenged, convicted, encouraged and blessed. I have learned how to be a better son, a better dad and a better pastor. Please pray for me if you read this that the "how" will be engaged to "being".

Here's me with my hero, John Piper. I doubt he'll ever read this, but if he does (and just so you know why...), "Thank you John. I do not know what kind of a pastor I would be if it weren't for your faithfulness to the Word of God. You have poured into me from a distance. You have shaped my view of God. For that I am most grateful. I continue to pray that God will use me to give the people he has entrusted to me a view of God that you're people have."

My Exceeding Joy

So I have a website for the CD. It's not completely done, yet (i.e. I haven't turned in everything to the guy who's doing it), but it's up and running. I'd love for you to check it out.

It's www.myexceedingjoy.com.

You can listen to the tracks, check out a real lovely of me (under bio... you won't want to miss it) and even grab some lyrics and charts. There's one other thing too... oh yea... you can buy it.

Eventually I'm going to add a "stories" link so that people can get the story behind the songs. I really want to share where the songs came from and what God was doing in me when I wrote them.

If I haven't said it lately... Thanks for reading the blog.

Gifts

I am so blessed. God is so good. In the midst of difficulty, He has blessed in unspeakable ways. There have been many that I will not go into, but to the right are five ways....

Every Nation Sing

Okay, Okay. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! I have been more than a little busy. The last month has been filled with things (some good, some not) that needed my attention more than posting. I apologize, but will try to do better.

I'm happy to announce the release of my worship CD "Every Nation Sing". If you want to listen to a few clips or purchase the album, you can go to the link below and download it... for a nominal fee of course. :-)

I'm thankful that God has allowed me to worship Him through this process and hope that He causes you to worship as you listen.

Thanks so much for checking it out.

Every Nation Sing download