saved it is the power of God

"The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; He will save, He will rejoice over thee with joy; He will rest in His love, He will joy over thee with singing. -- Zeph3:17

I don't know about your God, but my God is mighty to save. My God can move the mountains. My God moved Heaven and earth because He loved me. My God deserves my praise, my singing. My God carried my cross. My God fought my battle, won my war. My God was here before and will be after. My God walked on water, and my God bade me walk to Him the same. My God is awesome.

Worship Him alone.

in righteousness, mighty to save

Yesterday I mentioned an addition to the list of things I want to do before I die. Here's another one. To experience thousands united in worship? Probably ranks slightly higher than listening to celebrities talk about their shows. In any case, clip below shows Hillsong at their best playing one of their most popular hits. Why haven't we sung this one yet?

and having given thanks

I've decided that on the list of things I want to do before I die is to attend the San Diego Comic-Con. Why? Because I'm a big nerd and geek, that's why. But also because rather than just read about cool new movies coming out, I could hear the announcements in person, and be part of the experience.

I'm not going to link to any video clips (you can search for them by yourselves), but one of the cool things I've seen from the Comic-Con are the TV show and movie panels that happen throughout the week. Stars of the actual shows often attend. But rather than seem disinterested as if they're only there out of contractual obligation to the production companies, what you see in the actors' faces and actions is actual gratitude to the fans. The stars of these shows realize that it is the extreme devotion of these fans that provide them their careers, their livelihoods. So we get actual gratitude on display by these celebrities.

Watched a video clip tonight and reflected on the idea of gratitude. If I knew that my life was due to someone else's devotion, how would I act? I don't think I have to fill in the blanks for you. The connection to Christ is fairly obvious. And if it isn't, you haven't been reading these posts long enough.

a thousand years like one day

My life in black and white.

has enough to complete it

"Run With Perseverance" {Heb12:1}
* Intro
- Origin of marathons: lesson on running w/ endurance
- 1996 Olympics gymnastics: lesson on perseverance
- "God is looking for finishers"
- "Too many have decided the life of faith is too difficult"
* Race marked out for us
- God Himself planned your race
- Your race is unique -- you never have to run someone else's race
- Don't compare self to others; not competing against other believers
- Competing vs Satan, world, own sinful flesh
* Let us run with perseverance
- Hupomone (Grk) = "to remain under"; endure under pressure
* Application
- Proper conditioning: God allows trial to strengthen us {Rom5:3-4, 1Tim4:7b-8}
- Proper diet: Daily Bible reading, Scripture memory, worship, service, etc.
- Training partner
- Play through pain -- God never demands us to finish first; just faithfulness to the finish

animals and crawling creatures of the earth

Follow-up to yesterday's post about prayers for cats, and then animals in general. Decided to do some quick research into whether or not there are animals in Heaven. If you do such a search you will find that not a single serious theology or religion site devotes anything to the subject. The only places you will find articles on the issue are at pet-lover sites. So not really objective sources, no.

After perusing several articles, these beast-friendly believers use the following arguments to state their case:
* That there are no specific verses in the Bible stating emphatically that there are no animals in Heaven. Yes, but there are no verses emphatically stating there is no cable television in Heaven, and I'm certain I won't be watching ESPN in eternity.
* That they can't picture Heaven as a quiet place devoid of the beautiful sounds of nature one would find in a jungle or forest created by God. Yes, but I can't picture Heaven as a place where rubies and diamonds and other precious jewels line the streets paved with gold, and yet that is what Revelations describes. Our imagination has nothing to do with the actuality of Heaven.
* That animals are so important to them that they can't imagine paradise without their loved ones. Guess what, genius. There are plenty of believers with unsaved relatives who they want with them in Heaven, too. Wishing our beloved to be with us doesn't bring them a spot there.
* That heaven is reserved for sinners, and since animals don't sin because they don't have the capability of choosing between right and wrong, they have never sinned; ergo, they go to Heaven. Wrong. The Bible says Creation is broken because of the fall, not just man and woman. Secondly, all that animals do, everything their instinct instructs them to do is to act on self-desire. Their basic operating system is out of selfishness -- just like man. Sinless, they are not. Thirdly, psychotically insane criminals have been proven to have no sense of right and wrong. They in Heaven with your precious Cuddly Wuddly Sammy?
* Finally, Revelations makes mention of the four horsemen of the apocalypse. Look, flaming steeds in Heaven! If there are horses, there are other animals, no? No. It doesn't mention that the horses live in Heaven -- just that they appeared. God can make anything appear. It doesn't signify permanent existence.

Sorry to burst your bubble, animal-lover. I want my Nintendo Wii in eternity with me, but wishing it won't make it so. Fido is left behind with the rest of the useless world.

animals of the earth and the wild

I believe in prayer, I really do. I also believe that God the Father does pay attention to our every need, and that He is detail-oriented, so even the small things matter to Him. And I believe that He wants us to come to Him for everything. Finally, I believe that we not only have the privilege to pray for other people, but that we have an obligation to pray for our brothers and sisters.

That said, a prayer request came over our church's email chain the other day asking for prayer for a cat. That's right, a cat. I can't say I'm proud of this, but I did not lift up that prayer, sorry. I refused to pray for an animal, something I have been given dominion over, something I believe -- no matter how strong the attachment between family member and dirty animal -- is completely disposable. That's right. Rex? Who's like one of your family? Sorry, he's disposable like newspaper to me.

I may answer before the throne for that one. For refusing to pray for a believer's need. My defense will be, there's no animal heaven, so how important could they be?

after these things were finished

Keeping on with signs of a (hopefully) soon-coming Return:
* Really? We still have serious snake-handling churches? The Bible says lots of things reflect a true believer beyond just handling snakes, like serving the poor and following His commands. You have to pick the one that's illegal? That oughta fill the pews.
* Infiltration in the priest ranks in the Roman Catholic Church. I expect more than an excommunication. Turn them over to Satan and pray for the ground to open up like for Korah.
* After Obama, Oprah, and Gates, you might expect I'll keep picking secular folks as the antichrist. Doesn't have to be a politician or entertainer. Sometimes, it's someone in the believer ranks. Maybe someone who can pull people together. Maybe there's a reason he's a bestseller.

a foundation on the rock

Randomly three times this week I've encountered the phrase Soli Deo Gloria -- Latin for "Glory to God Alone". It is perhaps best known for being one of the Five Solas from the Reformation. One of the references was on the info page about Indelible Grace, a group dedicated to modernizing hymns.

Modern hymns and Latin sign-offs. I am absolutely in love with the idea of bringing ancient tradition back into modern faith. When I start seeing the sign of the cross in Evangelical churches, I will know that all is right with the world.

are looking for you

Driving to a prayer meeting this evening, and heard a new song by a group I'd mentioned here previously. The clip below showcases the song "By Your Side" against pretty pictures of nature. The line that stopped my heart when I heard the song goes "Why are you looking for love? Why are you still searching as if I'm not enough?" Great question.