Psalm 9:9-10

"The LORD is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek you."

Wartime Mindset

Here is a great quote from John Piper's book Don't Waste Your Life that helps us consider the reality of what it means to truly follow Jesus.

"There is a war going on in the world between Christ and Satan, truth and falsehood, belief and unbelief. It tells me that there are weapons to be funded and used, but that these weapons are not swords or guns or bombs but the Gospel and prayer and self-sacrificing love (2 Corinthians 10:3-5). And it tells me that the stakes of this conflict are higher than any other war in history; they are eternal and infinite: heaven or hell, eternal joy or eternal torment (Matthew 25:46). I need to hear this message again and again, because I drift into a peacetime mind-set as certainly as rain falls down and flames go up. I am wired by nature to love the same toys that the world loves. I start to fit in. I start to love what others love. I start to call earth ‘home.’ Before you know it, I am calling luxuries ‘needs’ and using my money just the way unbelievers do. I begin to forget the war. I don’t think much about people perishing. Missions and unreached peoples drop out of my mind. I stop dreaming about the triumphs of grace. I sink into a secular mindset that looks first to what man can do, not what God can do. It is a terrible sickness. And I thank God for those who have forced me again and again toward a wartime mind-set.”

Don’t Waste Your Life, 112

Halloween vs. Reformation Day

Today the world celebrates Halloween. There will be parties, costumes, spooky decoration, and lots of candy. Now, is it just me or does it seem that over the past decade the popularity of Halloween has grown exponentially? In fact I have actually heard people say that out of all the Holiday's we celebrate Halloween is their favorite. I'm sorry but that is a little strange. But my point isn't to write about Halloween but the little known holiday that Halloween overshadows every year - it's called Reformation Day.
It all started on October 31st, 1517 when a brash, but biblical Catholic priest by the name of Martin Luther had had enough of the corrupt ways of certain leaders in the Catholic church and wrote out his concerns in what is now known as Luther's 95 thesis. History tells that Luther nailed his 95 thesis to the door of the church in Wittenberg Germany (the town where he lived and served) also sending a copy to Albert the Archbishop of Mainz and Madgeburg. This move is what most historians believe to be the spark that started the reformation.
The reason I write of this is to express my admiration for Martin Luther. I do not claim to agree with everything that Martin Luther wrote or taught, but what i do claim is that Luther was a man committed to Scripture. This commitment is best summarized in his response to his accusers at the Diet of Worms. I encourage you to take a moment and watch his response as portrayed in the 2003 movie Luther.

Lord, Lord

This morning I began preparations for Sunday's sermon, but I didn't get very far. Jesus' words pierced me. Not the William Wallace kind of piercing, but more of a surgical incision. I'm still not sure everything that Jesus plans to expose in me but right now this question continues to echo in my heart:

"Why do you call me 'Lord, Lord' and don't do what I tell you?"

Paul's Prayer for the Ephesians - Ephesians 3.14-21

"I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith - that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen."

Dancing in the Minefields

Andrew Peterson never disappoints. This is a great song of his Counting Stars album.

“If Only . . .” Living with Regrets | CCEF

Here's a great article by Ed Welch

“If Only . . .” Living with Regrets | CCEF