Meaning Words (4/10/09)

Pondering the new developments in my life and pursuing God’s best reminds me of a few of my older poems. For some of you, this may be a relief, as I realize I have been recycling favorite poems a lot this year. For others who wish to read over those treasures, feel free to look up the archives here

Unnamed
I do not claim to be a wise man
Just a student of the Word
And I listen to what He tells me.
It’s more than I can grasp.

Ohhh, Lord, Your knowledge is great,
Your wisdom, unlimited.
You teach me Your Word.
And I am so glad.

It’s You that I run to,
When I don’t understand.
You show to Your knowledge
And now I understand.

But yet, I still don’t comprehend,
This knowledge that you show!
Ohh, Lord, it’s only by your grace,
That I can understand.

When I was a little child,
I asked to learn
Of this world
That I now know.
But I also know,
He’s not done with me yet

There is a White
There is a white for this black of ours.
It will show itself in its hour,
But we who hold it in our hearts,
No ray of dark can penetrate our parts.

But what of this light?
What use is it, if it cannot shine bright!
Too often we turn away its source.
We take out our swords,
Made by the hand of Satan,
And slash it into oblivion.

But this light cannot die.
It cannot be swept away.
There are those who have claimed it
And the light lives on in them.

The light has a place in all of our hearts.
Every single one must play its part.
Through them this world will change.
Through them it will exchange
Its darkness for the EVERLASTING LIGHT!

A-men

You Desire?

The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. 30 He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved —you and your household.”

-Acts 16:29-31

Just believe and you will be saved.
Yet even the demons believe in Christ and they certainly will not be saved
So what is it that You require?
What is it that you desire?
A heart undivided full of fire?
Will that be enough to inspire?

No, my spirit says, You want more
More than a life filled with good works
More than all the money I can earn
More than my first born son
So much more than I can ever give
And yet the answer is simple

You do not want my heart
You do not want my works
You do not want my family
All you really want is me
All of me

Thank you to each of you who have read this far and continue to follow my life and journey with God. It is my prayer that you will find these musings encouraging and that your faith in Christ will be built up through hearing if God’s work in me. We are all His masterpieces, and the world has yet to see what we and, indeed, God’s whole church is fully capable of through Christ our Lord.

Sharing My Life (8/10/09): God's Best?

The other night I was at Appleby’s fellowshipping with some of my fellow singles from Open Door and I overheard some of the women talking about “not settling for anything less than God’s best.” From the rest of the conversation I heard, I could tell they were talking about their love lives. It got me reflecting about what it would mean to pursue God’s best in every area of our life. I think this query actually involves two questions: What is God’s best and how are we pursuing it? From a human perspective, God’s best might mean finding the perfect spouse, job, house or whatever takes priority in our lives. Yet is that really God’s best? Israel had an idea about what God’s best for them would be. They envisioned their messiah to be a conquering hero, a second coming of David, who would over through Rome and reign as king over Israel. However, God had a different idea. Instead of a conquering hero, He sent a humble carpenter. Jesus was not interested in overthrowing the Roman empire, He was interested in overthrowing the power of sin and the kingdoms we allow it to create in our lives and world. So, God’s best for us is far different than our perception of what would be best for us.

If that’s true, what does it mean to pursue God’s best? Here to, I think we are in for a bit of a surprise. Often when I think about finding the perfect wife, I picture a beautiful woman who is passionate about her relationship with God and cares for His people as I do, yet God may have someone else in mind, or He may be calling me to a live of singleness, like Paul. Though I do hope it’s not the later ;-) God may bring someone into my life who doesn’t fit my ideal of a future wife, yet through bringing her into relationship with me and I with her, it becomes clear that we are meant to be together. If this is the case, I think pursuing God’s best begins with a humble prayer and an open heart. We pray that we will be able to recognize God’s leading in our lives and be obedient in following Him

Life Update (8/10/09): New Developments

Much has happened since last I wrote you all. For one, I am currently finishing up my first course at Capella University. It was a Survey in Human Development and it looks like I have done well so far, all A’s on my assignments and discussions. Going to school online has taken a bit of getting used to. All interaction between students and the professor happens online through Capella’s Blackboard. Lectures and student interaction happens through Discussion Board posts and replies. All assignments are handed in via attachment. While I appreciate the flexibility that online education offers me, I do miss the personal interaction between my professor and my fellow students. We will see how things shape up over the next few months as I get into further courses with them.

In addition, there’s been a bit of an unexpected change in my work with Accessible Space, Inc. Towards the end of July, I got a letter from the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) informing me that I had amassed 5 traffic violations over the past 2 years and that, accordingly, my Driver’s License would be suspended for the next month. I informed my supervisor of this news and after consulting with others on staff; she told me that my driving privileges with the company would also now be suspended, meaning that I would no longer be allowed to drive clients around. I did get a work permit that allowed me to drive to client’s residences and work with them there. As a result, I ended up having to hand the majority of my clients over to another worker and take on some shifts as a Personal Care Attendant. The upside of this is that it affords me more time to do course work for Capella University.

One last new development; a month or so ago, I completed Greg Bourgond’s Focus of a Warrior spiritual development course and will soon be posting my Personal Life Mandate, which that course helped me complete. During that course, Greg mentioned that he would be doing several workshops in Romania towards the end of this month and invited the men to come along. I accepted the invitation and will be heading there on August 22, 2009 to return on August 31, 2009. My folks will be meeting me at the airport when I return and they will be spending September visiting with me here in Minnesota. Your prayers regarding all of this are always greatly appreciated!