Things To Marvel At

Things I marvel at. Let me share just one. The coastal redwood tree, also known as the Stratosphere Giant, is the mother of all woodland mind bogglers. Consider these facts. The tallest recorded redwood exceeds 379 feet. That's...really tall! The oldest to be recorded is more than 2,200 years old (22 centuries!). That's...really old! It would be silly to ask if Jesus took the chance to swing by and visit this tree. After all, He planted it! Get this. A redwood seed, which rarely germinates, is smaller than a tomato seed. That's...really small! So, to go from...really small to...really tall, and to grow to be...really old gives much reason to marvel. Not done. The redwood has proven to be the most resilient tree to exist. It is impervious to harmful diseases and insects. Mostly due to the thickness of its bark. The average thickness of the protective layer of bark that covers a redwood is 1ft. That's...really thick! And with skin that thick, even fire has proven to be no match for these ancient giants! If only I had skin that thick. Again, I marvel. But marvel at what, the tree? I think not. For the tree is no more than an expression of the Creator's might and majesty and glory and strength and power and...the list goes on. When I marvel at such a creation, two things happen: the Creator God gets...really big and I get...really small!

Metaphor Prayer Furnace

There are few places I'd rather be than fellowshipping by a fire with Metaphor, the Harvest West Olive young adult group. And one of those places is kneeling before The Throne of Grace offering my prayer's of thanksgiving and supplication. How humbling it is to know that my Lord would even care to have me approach His Throne. In Hebrews 4, He tells me I need not fear...that I can come to Him "with confidence." And to think, approaching Him is always for my good. When I approach Him, I am always amazed at how freely His mercy and grace flows. His endless surplus of these does not simply trickle. It is a downpour that washes away self imposed burden from my shoulders and refreshes my weakened body from the pride of my own efforts. Hey! We need only to respond and come. And that is what Metaphor did Friday night. We "approached with confidence The One who will bless with mercy and grace." Way to go Metaphor! I am excited to see the result of the Lord's downpour of mercy and grace upon your group!

The never ending list of "shoulds".

"Today, I promise to not should on myself." What a tough promise to keep. How often do we find ourselves creating a list of things we think we should do in order to earn position in The Kingdom? I should get up before daylight and pray. I should spend time in God's Word. I should give. I should feed the hungry and I should provide shelter for the homeless. I should, I should, I should! ...Agreed. These are not bad things. As a matter of fact, they are Scriptural. But it does lead to a very crucial question that should be wrestled with by every citizen of The Kingdom. What is it that REALLY drives me? What is it that causes me to do the things I do? Is it a belief that I "should do" because that's what it takes? Is it a fear of condemnation? Is it a past that has been riddled with experiences you consider to be unfair? If we are doing all of these good things, but with the wrong motive, we will wear ourselves out under the burden of trying to "earn."

Praise God for His great love and for Jesus on The Cross. For it was there, through His love for us, that Christ turned our "should do's" into "doesn't matters." "It is by grace we have been saved, through faith. And this is not of our own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that we cannot boast." (Ephesians 2:8, 9) In the end, God won't want to hear about all of the things we did for Him. That would be boasting. What He will want to hear is that we were so compelled by His love for us, that it drove us to love Him in return.

Nutshell: What drives you? It should be nothing other than "the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge!" (Ephesians 3:19)

Oh Glorious Paradise!

The Moana Surfrider. She is called the "Queen of Waikiki." And she holds a very special place in my heart...and Wendy's. It was on the Surfrider's Banyan Court, pictured to the left, where Wendy and I shared our first dinner together as husband and wife. The moment was perfect. Romance was in abundance. I can still see my beautiful bride. She was the Surfrider's crown jewel that evening. Stunning. Captivating. Intoxicating. I was in all of my glory...and it had nothing to do with me! Thank you Jesus for my wife.

The Beauty of Liberia

After spending a bit of time in Liberia, I have concluded that it takes but a moment to find where the country's true beauty lies. Check it out.

Long Suffering

So, this morning, I had the opportunity to "establish my heart" by expressing patience in a difficult situation (James 5). Nine years ago, in the midst of an incredibly challenging trial, I was given a book on prayer that has become the foundation of my prayer life. Because it has become so important to me, I have done the very best to preserve this book...that is, up until this morning. Well, as I was engaged in my "beach chair prayer" enjoying the beauty of God's presence and creation, with my prayer book in hand, the blessing that I so often find in a cup Starbucks coffee quickly turned into a horrifying curse as it found its way all over my handbook to prayer! It wasn't my fault...never is, right?:) In that instant, my patience was put to the test. I utterly failed. Offering a few choice words with reserved gusto to the listening trees, I brought upon myself the ever-so-familiar experience of the conviction of the Holy Spirit and the resulting confession of my ugly sin. What does it say about a person that can, in one instant, be worshipping the Creator God with Psalm 104, and in the next instant blowing his top?

Here is the painful conclusion. It wasn't the words uttered that hurt my Savior, but the black speck of impatience that continues to stain my heart. "Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks." Luke 6:45

Blog? Why?

Is having a blog being a bit presumptuous? Does anyone really care about what i think, have to say, what i like, etc.? My concern is this: is blogging really, in the end, all about the blogger and what other people have to say about him/her? Still working through this one:)