man has seen or can see

Heard a brother yesterday describe worship as "giving back to God the value of His worth to us." Great reminder that we are not the center of worship. That's easier to recall during praise and song, but far harder to recall in other acts of worship. And if what He desires is the living sacrifice of your life, if worship is the giving of your life to Christ in all areas, that center can't be about what you want, or what makes you feel good, or even what you are really, really good at.

In praise and song, can see myself small before vast light. How that translates to something I can see during those every other decisions and acts that constitute the living sacrifice, I don't know. But perhaps greater spiritual maturity, spiritual vision is being able to retain that focus 24/7.

because He has fixed

"How God Heals Your Hidden Wounds"
* Intro
- Not all have had severe physical wounds, but almost all have suffered inner wounds
- Deepest cuts from those we love
- Jehovah Rophe -- the God who heals
* Six Steps in God's Healing Process
* Reveal hurts {Jam5:16}
- "Pain left to itself usually festers"
- Society answers pain w/ escapes (food, alcohol, sex) -- won't heal
- Be honest w/ God, self, others
* Release those who have hurt you {Rom12:17,19}
* Replace old lies w/ God's truths {Rom12:2}
- Reminder: Satan = Accuser
* Refocus on future {Phil3:13-14}
- "Don't make the mistake of letting yesterday use too much of today."
- Regression therapy from liar -- digs up past rather than deal w/ future
* Receive support from small groups {Eccl4:10,12}
* Reach out to help others {2Cor1:4}

eyes of the blind man

Been wondering all year where this thing is going. Title not only accurately describes my thoughts on the show, however, but also my overall sense of things. Been making lots of progress in some areas, especially as it applies to others. But can feel my focus waning outside of Sundays. Not sensing any overtaking by shadows, fairly certain of that. Just an overall sense of unease leading to paralysis of action. Certain I'll figure the self out before the show.

were not far from

I can feel my body breaking down in two places. Hobbling along as if years older, and meditating constantly on pain, I was reminded of a time when pain was not a surprise to me. I suppose you can measure your level of happiness by the amount of system shock you undergo when pain or sorrow descends upon you. Those in shadows barely flinch at the presence of additional misery. Those in happy times have a hard time reconciling these new and decidedly unhappy twinges of emotion. It was a good reminder of how far I have been brought, though looking back to see where I came from, that distance shimmered in waves of gloom, sympathy twinges pulsated in return.

the darkness does not know where he goes

This post is worth reading. And in answer to the headline, obviously, it isn't news. Like the author of the post, I believe there is much to question in the interpretation of the data, and whether or not the survey reflects a new trend, or an old truth. My guess is that it is more truth than trend.

It is not surprising in the least that nearly half of surveyed church-hoppers do so to find a more appealing set of doctrines, Christians being sinners and all. So much easier to find a religion that suits your selfishness and doesn't cause you to re-examine long-held views. It is wonderfully convenient to live in a society with a fast-food mentality that can be extended to religion. It means that Christ can be who you want Him to be, and you can be who you want to be rather than who He wants you to be.

Unfortunately, these false Christians will find out at the throne that the sheep and the goats can be identified by how often their tracks were spotted departing one altar for another in search of individual gain. Good luck, "brother".

and calculate the cost to see

Meditating on Ps49 this morn. v7-8 caught my eye. Word states clearly that "no man by any means can redeem his brother." In fact, those that try are counseled in v8 to "cease trying forever". In my new favorite show, one of the characters can pop back and forth into time, and in one ep, he grabs on to a friend and drags him into the future with him. But Word says such dragging along can't occur into eternity. It's a lost cause.

The reason is stated clearly in v8 -- "the redemption of his soul is costly". I can imagine God the Father inspiring David to pen this psalm, can see Him reflecting on the costliness of that redemption, can see Him pausing in sorrow, and can see Him directing David to press these words to paper in grim resignation.

have you not just now called to me

Still musing on what I want to be when I grow up. Not just who I want to be and who He wants me to be, but also who I am shaped to be.

This afternoon, trying to instruct the sweet things on how to catch a baseball with a mitt. Tried to show them how the mitt is shaped to catch, formed to catch, made to catch. It can be used as a shield or a projectile or even a hat. But it is shaped to catch.

I am shaped for something (and no, I don't mean this lame acronym or this cliche song). There's been this building unease and tension between what I want and what I can do and what I think I can do and what I think I should do and what I think I want to do -- I suppose at some point I need to pick up the wet/dry fleece and take my 10,000 down to the water's edge and listen to His test.

you are already clean because of

"How Can I Forgive Others?"
* Material based on Charles Stanley's stuff
* Intro: Doesn't take national tragedy to bring to our attention issues about forgiveness
- All deal with forgiveness throughout lives
- Misconceptions about forgiveness are biggest stumbling blocks
* Forgiving others is NOT:
- Justifying their behavior
- Trusting that time heals all wounds
- Denying you have been hurt
- Contingent upon confronting them personally
* Biblical process of forgiveness:
- Remember how much you have been forgiven by God {Matt18:21-35}
- Release other person completely [holding grudge like drinking poison hoping other gets sick]
- Recognize God's purpose in the process {Rom8:28, Gen50:19-20}
- Re-establish relationships if appropriate {Rom12:18,21}
- Repeat the process
* Matt5:23-24; Matt6:14-15; Eph4:26-27

you do not realize now, but

Reading up on Gideon's exploits in Judges for a lesson tomorrow and picked up on the process of awareness which he undergoes in Judg6:11-24. Thought it would be nice to outline here:
* Encounters God, unbeknownst to him (v11). Important to note that Lord reached out to Him first, as is always the process
* Gideon calls him lord, little l (v13). We often see God as a god, one of many.
* Gideon recognizes something different about Him and acknowledges His authority with a Lord, capital L (v15). Our first exposure to Christ might move us to pay tribute to a great teacher and spiritual leader.
* Gideon recognizes the deity of Christ, visible in the Thees and Thys (v17). That first realization that Jesus is in fact the way, the truth, and the life is something otherworldly.
* Gideon bows down to Jehovah Shalom (v24). Only through Christ can true peace and rest be found.

shall be shaped like

Speaking with a brother today about tragedy. The common question is always "Where is God in all this?" or "How can God exist in a world where suffering exists?" There are many answers to this common question. Not answering those questions here, but wanted to explore how we search for God in places that hurt us.

IKings19:9-14 is one of my fave stories in the Word, especially v11-12. What I noted today is that although the Lord was found in the gentle breeze, He could very well have been found in the gust, quake, or fire. It was not that He couldn't be found in the more destructive expressions; it was that He chose the gentler one with Elijah. But it indicates that He could very well have been found in the forces that destroyed.

Finding the Lord in the more recent tragedy is not something that can't be reconciled. We can not understand the reasoning why during those times He chooses the gust, quake, or fire. But if we accept the Lord in the breeze, we must also accept Him in the quake. And the thing to remember in both is that the love and the grace and the mercy don't exist in only one of those forms, but in all.