Naked...before God

When any man comes into the presence of God he will find, whether he wishes it or not, that all those things which seemed to make him so different from the men of other times, or even from his earlier self, have fallen off him...In the twinkling of an eye, in a time too small to be measured, and in any place, all that seems to divide us from God can flee away, vanish leaving us naked before Him, like the first man, like the only man, as if nothing but He and I existed. And since that contact cannot be avoided for long, and since it means either bliss or horror, the business of life is to learn to like it. That is the first and great commandment.

- C.S. Lewis, God in the Dock

We load upon ourselves many things to help us feel less insecure. We connect with people who have the same taste in music, movies, etc. We feel safe knowing other people like the same things we like. Not that this a bad thing, but it becomes dangerous as we mistake them for who we really are.

All of us live a sort of dualistic life. We have the "me" that everyone sees and then the "me" that only God sees (with some overlap in between). We try so hard to clean ourselves up on the outside, when our souls remain tainted and undelt with.

It's very hard to like that fact that God will see, and sees now, who I REALLY am. I can never put on a show for Him. But I do long to enjoy being real before Him and to help others like it too.

Mute Math and such

Last night, Roy and I went to see a band called Mute Math. The show was absolutely incredible. Their energy and unique sound made for a fun show. And their thoughtful lyrics come as a refreshment in the sea of superficiality found with most bands these days.

One of the songs, "Control," really has some truthful lyrics.

Take control of the atmosphere
Take control of the atmosphere
Take me far away from here
There is no better loss than to lose myself in you

Take control of the atmosphere
Take control of the atmosphere
You can take my world you can fill the air
Take control, take control

It's such a beautiful surrender

This show came on the heels of several days of really being grateful to God for His divine sovereignty. I've been so thankful recently for family, friends, community, my church, my job, my health, beautiful weather, and most of all...my being redeemed. In this song, I am able to declare that God is already holding all things together. And what a beautiful surrender it is to give up all my striving, to just trust He knows what He's doing.

Understanding that God is orchestrating all things to further glorify Himself is really amazing. And understanding that, in the process, He chose to open my blind eyes to His loveliness is even more amazing. So why does He choose Christians to be saved? Check this out from Dueteronomy 6:

"The LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for His treasured possession...not because you were more in number that any other people..BUT BECAUSE THE LORD LOVES YOU and is keeping [His oath]"

Amazing! The LORD loves us because He loves us. I'm glad the salvation of my soul rests in the One who is forever faithful, rather than on myself who is severely messed up.

And finally, I can't resist leaving you with a few lines from another Mute Math song called "Progress."

Every moment of time’s just an answer to find
What you’re here for, what you breathe for
What you wake for, what you bleed for

St. Patrick

So, we just finished the weekend of celebrating St. Patrick's Day. Why does he have a day? Click here for a great summary.

...what irony.

My life lately

Two weeks ago now, my good buddy Evan McHugh had a CD release party at Eddie's Attic that was off the chain (I think that's good). There was a near sell out crowd for he and another good friend Garrett Moore, who opened up for him. Also, pictured with Evan to the left, Nicholas Alan performed on a song. All of these guys have or are finishing up great albums and all have great potential to have an impact in the music industry. I'm thankful to have known these guys, and to know I'll get to see them as they go furthur down the road musically.

Speaking of Nick, we celebrated his 26th birthday last Friday. He's the one who has the big furball on his head. And you might notice, all three of us have old sport jackets on. We actually were going out after the party to read parts for the new Miami Vice movie. They decided to cut us because we looked too GOOD. Wow...that was wierd...moving on.

I've been very encouraged as of late in thinking about prayer. It's a really wierd thing that the Sovereign Creator God of the Universe desires to have this communication with me, and you. That I can somehow take part in the great work that He is already doing here is quite an incredible thought. He's in the business of spreading His kingdom and His glory, and I have the privilege of taking hold of Him to do it.

I love the whole book of Hebrews as it expounds upon the idea that Jesus Christ is our great high priest who is constantly interceding for us. We no longer have to go through anyone to speak to God. Because of Christ's sacrifice we can now come boldly to the throne of grace in our time of NEED. When we feel like crap, He hears our cry and answers us. So, we get constant interaction with the God who is orchestrating the redemption of the world, and He's gets the glory from our asking. I think that's a pretty good deal.

I'll leave you with a picture and a thought. Below is my friend Bailey who is at L'Abri in Switzerland. This is just some cool lookin' lake. Basically, I'm jealous of him. And here's a quote from John Bunyan that is really simple, yet very profound. Muse over it and be thankful.

"Run John run", the law demands;
And gives us neither feet nor hands.
Far better news the gospel brings:
It bids us fly, and gives us wings.

Sermon Jams

I thought I'd post about my very recent infatuation with this site, Relevant Revolution. It's such a fresh way to hear the Word preached.

Check out Ravi Zacharias here

And of course Piper rocks it out here

The Secret

Some of you have seen this, and even made me aware of it (thanks Prusa), but for everyone else, "The Secret" is a book right now that is #1 on the NYT bestseller list. The author has been fully endorsed by Oprah and obviously hundreds of thousands of people are buying into it as well. Here are a few quotes:

"Your thoughts are the primary cause of everything."

"This is The Secret to everything—the secret to unlimited joy, health, money, relationships, love, youth: everything you have ever wanted."

And finally, a thought that really makes me disgusted. (Remember "You"=each one of us)

The earth turns on its orbit for You. The oceans ebb and flow for You. The birds sing for You. The sun rises and it sets for You. The stars come out for You. Every beautiful thing you see, every wondrous thing you experience, is all there for You. Take a look around. None of it can exist, without You. No matter who you thought you were, now you know the Truth of Who You Really Are. You are the master of the Universe. You are the heir to the kingdom. You are the perfection of Life. And now you know The Secret

Unbelievable

Check out a great counter review here.