don’t mind if i do.

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Humility is one of the loveliest flowers that springs up in the garden of the regenerated heart. We are all inclined to pride and vanity by nature.

When the Spirit of Christ possesses us, we manifest that lowliness and meekness which ever characterized our blessed Lord.

HA Ironside / Expository Notes On Mark / pg 159

if you have the time, this is a very interesting 15 minutes.

it’s interesting for a few reasons:

number one – it’s good to just hear people talking about God and what He’s doing in their lives and then to think about those things in my own life.

number two – it’s interesting to see 3 personalities, or, 3 styles of communication demonstrated by these guys. quite honestly, i was pretty surprised with some of the interaction.

number three – it’s interesting to evaluate how different leaders have a different focus of ministry and methodology. in one i see grace and humility. in another i see assumption but some openness. in the third i see…less grace and more tones of superiority. at least in this conversation.

what did you see?

ht//mr. belmont

…in case you guitar players are looking for a new gig bag. this one is definitely in the running.

ht – mr. shepherd

{Christians} are tempted to make unnecessary concessions to those outside the Faith. We must show our Christian colours, if we are to be true to Jesus Christ. We cannot remain silent and concede everything away.

- c.s. lewis  God In The Dock,  pg. 262

both of these songs have been getting a lot of airtime on my computer recently. i love the new arrangements/additions to these classic choruses.

both hillsong and mr. hughes have, in my opinion, a wonderful sense of musicality and dynamics in worship and i think each of these tracks are absolute homeruns.

the question is: which song would you be more excited about singing on a sunday morning?

pick one.

vote in the comments.

Phillip answered Him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may have a little.” – John 6:7

Here in the New Testament was Phillip the Calculator–Phillip the Mathematician, Phillip the Clerk. There was need for a miracle, and Phillip set out to calculate the odds. Probably every Christian group has at least one person with a calculator. I have sat on boards for many years, and rarely is there a board without a Phillip the Calculator among its members. When you suggest something, out comes the calculator to prove that it cannot be done….

As I say, I have been sitting on these boards for many years, and there are always two kinds of board members: those who can see the miracle and those who can only see their calculators and their strings of calculations….

The people with the calculators have seen the problem, but they have not seen God. They have figured things out, but they have not figured God in.

Phillip the Calculator. He can be a dangerous man in the church of our Lord Jesus Christ. Every suggestion made in the direction of progress gets a negative vote from this man.

- A.W. Tozer  Faith Beyond Reason, pg. 137-139.

…is a stand up guy.

we are here to be a restraining force to evil through the power of the Holy Spirit. we are not called to restrain evil through the political process; that will never work. this is a spiritual battle, and it is only through spiritual weapons that we have any hope of success.

satan loves to draw christians into the physical arena because he can make mincemeat out of them there. Jesus said, “the sons of this world are more shrewd in their generation than the sons of light” (Luke 16.8).

if you try to fight evil through the political process, look out.

- Chuck Smith // Living Water pg 56-57 circa 1996

thoughts?

ladies and gentlemen, we’ve just been served.

{by the way, hang in there past the first 90 seconds of this video}

hillsong brings it.

ht//mr.mundy

{thanks to my brother-in-law chris for taking this picture}

if i am, my new name would be the most common first name followed by the most common last name.

middle name would be Maximillion.

Ask me anything

and by that i mean: do you read a blog like this one? written by a non-company, non-celebrity, non-news aggregator?

serious question.

holler back.

mp3
pdf

i love my tiny buddy.

worship leaders: here’s a new way to set the mood in your set.

ht: worship central

remember positive post tuesday?

do you know about positive post tuesday?

currently, i’m teaching through the epistle to the Philippians on wednesday mornings at our men’s study.

we’re calling the series Full Of It, as we discover not only the fullness that God wants for our lives, but also that we’re all pretty much full of it. ‘it’ being sin, pride, selfishness and inaction.

tomorrow we’ll be looking at Philippians 1.3-7.

i was very encouraged this week by the first 2 verses:

I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy.
Philippians 1.3-4

i was (and am) challenged by the fact that my prayers are often the opposite of this verse.

instead of remembering others, i find that i am usually thinking of myself in my prayers.

instead of thanking God, i find myself asking God.

and instead of being full of joy, often i find that my prayers are full of anxiety or discontent.

so, this week my hope is to have a different kind of prayer time. one where i focus on remembering what God has done on my behalf, thanking Him for His goodness and faithfulness, and then trying to pray for obscure people that i don’t usually remember when i’m talking to God.

it is really excited to know that our prayers are powerful, not just in our own lives, but on behalf of others who don’t even know we’re praying for them!

so, this evening (it IS tuesday after all), let’s determine to be more positive, joyful, and thoughtful of others in our prayers.

i’m going to give it a go.

you?

it’s tuesday. be positive.

ht: dvice

{if you’re in Google Reader, come on over for the video}

the Bible never flatters its heroes.

it tells us the truth about each one of them in order that against the background of human breakdown and failure we may magnify the grace of God and recognize that it is the delight of the Spirit of God to work upon the platform of human impossibilities.

{ alan redpath // the making of a man of God }

audio
transcript

a classic. always makes me smile.

download quicktime video
download mp3 audio
download pdf transcript

Missionaries in training with Gospel for Asia have spoken of the “privilege” they felt in suffering for Christ after being attacked on their Bible college campus in Mumbai, India, earlier in the month.

Seven students were seriously injured in the attack by suspected anti-Christian extremists on May 9.

They were preparing the evening meal when attackers armed with wooden sticks, iron rods and fluorescent light tubes stormed onto the campus, beating them and vandalizing the buildings.

The students tried to speak to the assailants and find out why they were attacking them but got no answer.

Hemanti Kashyap was injured when the attackers hit him in the stomach with an iron rod. He said the incident had given him the chance to live out the difficult lessons he had learned in Bible college.

“Through this situation I learned what the Bible means when it says, “Blessed are those who suffer for Christ,” he said. “This opposition was the test of my faith to march forward and to share the Gospel. They hit my stomach with an iron rod and I was injured, but I am grateful to the Lord Jesus who kept me safe to be a witness for Him.”

Sunil Pattanayap recalls the moment the attack began: “For a moment I was shocked about why this was happening to me. Then I understood that the time had come for me to glorify His name,” he said.

“It was my privilege to suffer for Christ and I am happy today because I can testify that God protected me and brought me safe from death to proclaim His Word and stand as a living testimony for Christ with a strong faith.

Three of the injured students are still recovering in hospital. Beedram Sena had to undergo surgery on his broken leg, while Sudershan Yadavan required surgery to repair his broken kneecap. Sunil Reedy needed extensive dental surgery to replace teeth that were knocked out by the attackers.

{Charles Boyd // Christian Today Reporter}

read the article here

SUPPORT GOSPEL FOR ASIA

i plead guilty.

on multiple counts.

yeah…he doesn’t look like this anymore.

Mark 2.13-15
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download pdf transcript

october 14, 2006  /  pucallpa, peru

sometimes it’s fun to revisit an old picture of yourself.

when i see one, lots of times i think: remember that guy?

in this particular picture i think…i miss that hat…

awesome.

ht: my dad

rub a dub dub

ht: my awesome mom

today’s post has a soundtrack as you read
if you’re in a reader, come on over to the real post

i wasn’t always a Delirious? fan. in fact, like this blog post (if you didn’t know, Delirious? has officially retired), i was pretty late to the party.

i always knew they were around, even went to a show of theirs back in high school. but i think i was only there for whoever was opening for them.

back then the only album of theirs i had was King Of Fools and, to be honest, the only track i found myself listening to was King Or Cripple, a favorite of mine to the present date.

but it wasn’t till after college that i started to really pay attention to their music.

it was their song Jesus’ Blood on the Glo album that first drew me in. there was something striking about the simplicity of the song itself countered with the incredible complexity of the production. i remember listening to that song on repeat driving from fresno to hanford in the final weeks of my senior year, each time finding myself enjoying it more and more.

when i got my hands on The Mission Bell, their 2005 album, it stayed on a continual ipod loop for weeks and weeks. it was in those weeks where i realized how special and unique their song-writing was. even the songs that i didn’t love were meaningful and thought-provoking…all of them were, most of all, worshipful.

as i dug deeper into their catalog i was always impressed at how they could grow in their music while never losing the atmosphere of praise in the songs. each record was so unique it was not always easy to tell which was from 2005 and which was from 1995.

then, in 2008, came Kingdom Of Comfort, their final studio album.

to me, it exemplified everything that inspires me about their music. originality. incredible production. challenging musicality. beautiful arrangements. lyrical variety. show-stopping performance. and a worship that is personal and powerful.

that’s where My Soul Sings comes in.

this song (that is hopefully playing as you read this post) demonstrates who Delirious? is in my listening. the song is perfect. i am hard-pressed to find a more lush and composed piece of music that glorifies the Lord.

i could listen to this song (and several others from this band) forever and ever. it really does make my soul want to sing.

if you happen to be one of the few people out there who hasn’t yet discovered these precious praise songs from across the pond, it’s time to join in.

and if you are a fan already, i would urge you to return this week to a Delirious? playlist.

very seldom do i find music that makes me want to love the Lord more, but these guys do it every time.

what’s YOUR favorite Delirious? song?

1 Samuel 9-14
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this is our shed out back.

i like taking pictures of it.

most mornings, while we’re getting ready, i take a gander out the back window at this shed because, more often than not, there is a little fluffy friend out there for me to see.

it seems as though we’ve rented out the sub-level of the shed space to a nice family of ground squirrels.

while this sort of situation could be potentially wrought with inter-species mis-communications, we have somehow found a livable solution.

the deal goes something like this:

we promise not to poison them and, in return, they promise to provide us with morning laughs.

each AM, there’s at least one sentry squirrel out in front of that white door, keeping watch, capering about, or sitting in a fat lump on top of our metal hitching post there.

naturally, when i try to steal a photo, the guard squirrel scurries prairie-dog style to his hole beneath those stepping stones you see.

another benefit of living in what used to be categorized as the country.

if you want to donate toward a fund to get me a power, tele-photo lens, i’m sure we could work something out.

so, kelly and i were robbed last friday night.

rather, our house was robbed.

thankfully, we weren’t home. we had gone out for an anniversary dinner and then spent some time at my parent’s house.

at what we thought was the end of our evening, we headed home to find things very much not as we left them.

as we pulled up we saw windows & doors open, some stuff spilled onto the ground outside our back door.

immediately we put the car in reverse, called 911 and waited for their response (which was excellent) at a nearby gas station.

the thieves were long gone, so after the police cleared the area i was able to go inside and survey the damage.

as far as burglaries go, it wasn’t as bad as it could’ve been.

what i mean by that is that they broke 1 window, took a bunch of stuff, pulled open some drawers and closets, but otherwise didn’t destroy anything.

unfortunately, by the time we got home our cat Tuna was nowhere to be seen. windows were wide open and she scares pretty easily. we looked around for her awhile, but there was no sign. seemed like she was out there on her own against dogs, other cats, the occasional coyote and cars driving 55mph down our street. when i finally was able to fall asleep for like 20 minutes, i had a dream that our burglars had put Tuna in the freezer so that she didn’t attack them. needless to say, i was pretty stressed the next morning when i went in the house and opened the freezer door…

late friday night (actually, early saturday morning), a couple was pulled over on a routine traffic stop in the next town over. they had been involved in not only our burglary, but at least one other that night. turns out, there had been 6 or 8 robberies like ours in the week leading up to friday. they were arrested and are currently being held on a number of charges.

the stuff that was taken was all pretty typical…computers, cameras, jewelry, that kind of stuff. some was recovered, some wasn’t. but most importantly our peace of mind was taken, and that’s what we’d like back the most. it’s a hard thing to be nervous when you walk into your home after work, or jump every time you hear a sound outside, or not be able to sleep because you’re thinking about scary people breaking in. all things we’re working through this week.

in the mean time, we know a lot of you prayed on friday when i twittered about the incident and a lot of you continued praying for us through the weekend. those prayers were definitely felt, and we can’t tell you how appreciative we are for all of you who let us know that you were interceding for us before the Lord.

we’ve been taking comfort in a couple of psalms that a few of you have shared with us. particularly Psalm 34 and Psalm 91. thanks again for those.

we’re thankful for our life and for all that the Lord is doing for us right now.

like when He didn’t allow Tuna to be in the freezer…or jump out the open window.

turns out she had found a way into an open closet and had been hiding there for countless hours till she finally realized it was me in the house the following morning.

God is good. we know He’s in control. we know that He loves us and is with us through this difficult time.

we would love your continued prayers for peace of mind and trust in the Lord. thanks again to everyone for the condolences and kind words on twitter, text, facebook, voicemail and all the other ways that make it easy for us to support each other. it’s making a difference for us and we’re thankful for that.

blessings and maranatha

happy anniversary love.

so, the Library of Congress has archived every tweet ever twittered.
(commence twitter verb-vernacular debates)

Have you ever sent out a “tweet” on the popular Twitter social media service?  Congratulations: Your 140 characters or less will now be housed in the Library of Congress.

That’s right.  Every public tweet, ever, since Twitter’s inception in March 2006, will be archived digitally at the Library of Congress. That’s a LOT of tweets, by the way: Twitter processes more than 50 million tweets every day, with the total numbering in the billions.

the rate at which knowledge/technology is increasing is amazing. topped only by the rate at which our world is shrinking.

but here’s the question…

not that you know your e-statements are being archived somewhere like the Library of Congress, does that make you think more about what you’ll be broadcasting?

i suppose the greater issue is this: does what we say online matter in light of the fact that anyone & everyone can read what we produce, and, in many cases, it is saved forever on the wide, wide world of web?

i want to know what you think.

…it should be clear that nothing is worthy to be counted a good work in the sight of God which is not authorized by Scripture. the recognition of this principle would save from a great deal of folly and worthless labor in connection with the things of God.

how we need to get back to the place of teaching the Word of God; to inquire, “What saith the Scriptures?” when questions as to methods and teachings arise. for anything contrary to God’s revelation can never be looked upon with favor by Him, however much good it seems to accomplish.

in so writing, i would not for one moment ignore the fact that Scripture itself gives considerable latitude in regard to methods of procedure in reaching the lost and seeking to help believers.

HA Ironside / Expository Notes On Mark / pg 107

every age has its own characteristics. right now we are in an age of religious complexity. the simplicity which is in Christ is rarely found among us. in its stead are programs, methods, organizations and a world of nervous activities which occupy time and attention, but can never satisfy the longing of the heart.

the shallowness of our inner experience, the hollowness of our worship, and that servile imitation of the world which marks our promotional methods all testify that we, in this day, know God only imperfectly & the peace of God scarcely at all.

we must simply our approach to Him. we must strip down to essentials (and they will be found to be blessedly few). we must put away all effort to impress, and come with the guileless candor of childhood.

if we do this, without doubt God will quickly respond.

tomorrow i’m headed out early to utah where i’ll be leading worship at calvary chapel salt lake city’s weekend services.

i’m a little apprehensive, as this is not something i usually do.

in fact, in the last…oh…10 years i’ve only traveled a few times for something like this. once in 2003 to estes park, colorado with my college’s worship team to play at a youth conference. once in 2005 the mrs and i drove to montana to play at a calvary in the bitterroot valley and now, it’s 2010 and i’m headed to salt lake.

also, i’m worried my guitar is going to be exploded by TSA. we’ll see.

in all honesty, i’m excited. very excited. it’s an honor to be asked to do something like this.

will try to give you updates, but when you don’t have an iphone it gets hard sometimes.

wish me luck.

our little gennaro liam.

so, obviously we are behind on the whole picture-a-week thing, but be assured, we are TAKING the pictures. posting them is another story.

but here’s week 1. he’s a lot different already, at 5 weeks & 1 day.

weeks 2-5 coming soon!

sometimes i write songs.

the vast majority of those songs never see the light of day. a small selection have made it to the congregation here @calvaryhanford, and an infinitesimal number have made it a little further than that.

i like writing songs, despite the fact that i don’t end up really liking most of the songs that i write.

i don’t mean that in some tacky, self-deprecating way. i simply mean that i would honestly rather sing other people’s songs, rather than my own, like…98% of the time.

if you listen to your favorite worship leader or songwriter talk about how they write songs you’ll hear a wide spectrum of methods. from a sort of stream-of-consciousness where the song comes out faster than the pen can transcribe it, to the thoughtful, labored polishing of an idea over a long period of time. everyone seems to have a different method and, even then, their songs don’t always come the same way every time.

most of the time when i’m writing a song i find myself feeling like the picture above.

inside it’s as if my heart knows the song already, but my brain can’t always figure out where to find it. then i circle and cross around for a long time until i finally discover what my heart knew all along.

…either that or i just give up.

i’ve got a song that i’ve been working on for a couple of weeks that feels this way.

i think i’ve found where the X is, but i must be digging in the wrong direction. i think i’ve found a doubloon or two, but i’ve still to discover the big chest of gold.

my question for you is: what is a song that has been like treasure for you recently and what about it is speaking to your heart?

let me know.

what’s the deal with dreams?

so, the other night, i dreamed that i was in the Seinfeld series finale.

not only was i in it, but it was ‘real.’ in the dream, the scenario was actually happening, not being filmed for america’s entertainment.

now, in this dream, i wasn’t really one of the characters. i was just gene, along for the sleepy misadventure.

and, true to dream form, it wasn’t a comedic dream. it was stressful and frightening. i can’t remember particularly WHY it was stressful…it just was. and i wanted out.

perhaps my subconscious thinks that i should’ve become a comedy actor. or, rather, a dramatic actor IN a comedy. my subconscious apparently thinks a lot of things like that.

obviously he’s never seen me act.

seriously though…what’s the deal with dreams? they’re just odd and confusing and purposeless.

have you had a tv dream lately?

lay it on me.