Apostolic Foundations

Speaking earlier of books, this one I highly recommend:

Art Katz – Apostolic Foundations.pdf

You won’t relent

 I had to post this.  I think Misty Edwards and her team are just great.

I love our team!

We’re a rag-tag bunch, that’s for sure.  But the more time that I spend with the people who participate in Friday night prayer & worship, the more that I love them.  I see them more and more through the eyes of the Lord, and my heart breaks in delightful joy that they are so devoted.  Much of this also stems from my own realization that I am not the effective leader that I want to be, and I know that my own inadequacies effect everyone.  Yet they come!  And we’re growing!  It’s unbelievable how sensationally kind the Lord is, especially with weak and broken people.  We’re not the best-looking, best-sounding, most-polished team, but that’s not the point.  Yet our skills are being sharpened, and I know that our hearts are crying out for more and more encounter.  Yesterday’s successes aren’t good enough to coast on–we must have current living understanding of this holy God we love and serve.  Deep cries out to deep!

No one could have imagine we’d be doing what we’re doing–especially a year later.  Thank You, Lord.  What does the future hold?   Who knows.  But we cast ourselves upon a God who can do exceedingly abundantly above all that we could ever ask or think.  Hallelujah!

 Lord, I come before your mighty throne and I lift this group up to You.  I ask that in the name of Jesus You would extend Your hand to each and every one of them and that You would bless them mightily in the knowledge and understanding of Your Son.  I ask that You would reveal Yourself to them through Your Word.  Take them deeper in prayer to experience more of Your love and Your tender mercy.  Lord, they so much want to please You.  I ask that You would reveal Your pleasure in them directly to them.  Thank You, Jesus, for being patient with me.  Give me wisdom to lead and courage to stand.  We love to love You, Jesus.  Give us a song–a sound–to bless Your heart.  Amen.

Discuss amongst yourselves…

So, after Sarah told me last night that most everyone begins their blog like I did (everyone except her, that is), I decided that I might describe some of the things I’m thinking about.  Here goes:

1)  The seeking heart.  No one told me that a life lived for Jesus was so difficult.  And I’m not even talking about persecution, living in a third world country, or enduring a life-threatening disease.  None of those things affect me directly.  Then kind of hardship I’m talking about is the day-in and day-out decisions that affect the future–especially eternity.  And in that, making sense of all the other things that are apart of life (like persecution, living in a third world country–you get the picture).

2)  The End Times.  I’m not an eschatology buff.  Some people are, and that’s okay.  I feel a divine calling to be informed about what the Bible says will happen at the end of the age.  Jesus is coming, and I want myself and others to be prepared.  Or at least informed.

3)  Holiness.  Mostly used as a word that people use synonomously with “scrooge”, “killjoy”, or even “boring”.  I want to look at it not so much as what we as believers can’t do, but what we are allowed to do.  Huge implications follow.

4)  Books.  A favorite subject of mine.  Maybe I’ll give some reviews, or even a “best of” list.  Exciting stuff here, folks.

5)  Christian culture.  For this topic, I’ll especially be writing as a student and not a professional.  It will probably be mostly observations.

6)  Prayer.  I saved the best for last.  I actually don’t even want to get into it now because I don’t think I’d stop.

 So, until then.

New to this

So, I’ve always told myself that I’d never start a blog.  I thought that it would be a tremendous waste of time and energy (which still remains to be seen).  But I have some thoughts rattling around in my brain that might be worth the time to get down, so I’ll give it a shot.  Stay tuned for further ramblings….