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Showing posts from May, 2011

Final Thoughts

For almost three years, you and I have lived the Faith life together. We have worshiped, served in mission, studied scripture, and lived life together. As Kristin and I prepare to embark on a new adventure (with a slightly larger family than when we came to you) we are thankful for the opportunities we have had at Faith. In my time at Faith I have written over 120 articles on various themes. Today I write my last article to you. Final thoughts are often the hardest to come by. There is an urge to cram every important thought into the single page, after all, I’ll never have another chance to speak to you in this way. I have wrestled in my own mind over what to say here. Ultimately, I chose what I believe is the most important. Worship is a matter of submission to God, of seeing His majesty, of recognizing our own frailty, and submitting to His will and way. Worship is not found in the emotion of a song, or the swing of a hammer, it is found in the heart that does those things out of

The Lord Directs Our Steps

"The mind of man plans his way, But the Lord directs his steps." —Proverbs 16:9 Over the last few weeks, Proverbs 16:9, Proverbs 3:5-6, James 4:13-17 and Acts 17:26 have been the mainstays of my meditations. They all speak to God directing our paths. I am reminded of a specific campout I attended in boy scouts where we competed in an Orienteering contest at Lake Texoma. Someone had laid out a path for us, that we were to follow. In order to get there we had to pay careful attention to our map, our compass, and the surrounding terrain. In the same way, our paths are laid out for us by God. Our destination is a life of intimate relationship with God. As circumstances in our lives change, as the terrain changes we have to reference our compass (prayer) and our maps (scripture). This often leads to a change of plans. For me, right now, this change of plans comes in the form of a career change. I always planned to work with music until I died. I often stated that I couldn&#

Declaring Thomas

"Then [Jesus] said to Thomas, 'Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.' Thomas answered him, 'My Lord and my God!'" — John 20:27-28 Thomas gets a bad rap! Year after year, we go around calling him Doubting Thomas, like school children on the playground trying to get under his skin. I'm sure he didn’t expect that his one moment of grief would define him. The truth is, Thomas only asked for what the other disciple's received. After the Resurrection, Jesus came into the midst of ten of the disciples and he showed them his wounds, spoke peace over them and commissioned them to the work of the kingdom. When the ten disciples saw this, they were "glad." I think to myself, surely that is an understatement, but that is what the text says — "the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord." When Thomas returned from where he had been, the disciple’s excited