Prayer: pt1

Scriptures: Matt 6:9-11 & Eph 3:14
As my wife and I prepare for the next series , "Teach Us To Pray", we want to focus in several different parts of prayer. What did Jesus mean when he said we ought to pray like this, but I  wanted to start some place else this week.  In Eph 3  Paul starts talking about the great wonder and mystery of God's plan of how he weaves all people, no matter how different, into one big beautiful canvas called his Church. How God would even use him (Paul) in his wondrous plan.
Paul writes in verse 14 of Eph 3, "when I think of all this, I fall to my knees in pray to the Father".

There are two things I want to highlight.

1. Keep the wonder and awe about Jesus and his beautiful plan alive. Don't lose that. Don't lose your spark. Don't be overwhelmed by what God is calling you to in your life or the life of the Church. Don't get lost in the complexity or simplicity, you are in the midst of his plan for you life. Instead, let it drive you to your knees in prayer. Not in fear or worry/doubt, but in simple surrender to the Father who loves and leads you .

2. Pray. Simply, Pray. No special place or event. Just direct your heart in conversation with God. Kneel both spiritually and physically(if need be). God has a plan and we most often fret, because we just don't ever stop ourselves and pray. We try to figure it out. So in praying let it lead you to surrender. My favorite part of the Lord's prayer is that the most important part is often overlooked. We've heard people say that our prayer isn't answered because we hold onto  a lack  of forgiveness , but before we even get to that part of the prayer Jesus is telling us to surrender. Think about it. God your will be done!  So today let us be in awe and surrender.

Through the storms

Matthew 7:24-27

²⁴ “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. ²⁵ The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. ²⁶ But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. ²⁷ The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

It rains doesn't it. In our life. We have great times of peace and joy where the sun is shining and all is right with the world, but then the rain comes.

Jesus teaches us that it's going to happen. A simple  and yet profound teaching. I thought about this twice this week. The first time was because of an actual storm and the second because of a family who suffered the loss of a son.  My best friend called to tell me the news and after I hung up the phone I cried and prayed for the family.  I have been through that loss. A few times.

As I went the next few days I mulled over and over the storms that I have been through and that if I didn't have a foundation built upon who Jesus I wondered what kind of person or situation I would be in. I kept thinking that it would have be a house that would constantly need rebuilding. Imagine for a minute that your own house or where you live, that if a storm hit that you had to keep rebuilding and rebuilding every time  a storm came. That would be crazy! I know that I would get sick of that pretty quick, but I would have to build something with an actual foundation, something of worth.   It would not be based off my own understanding and my own will. Which let's face it. My will power is pretty weak. I am thankful everyday that I have a relationship that's built upon the teachings of Jesus. It's pretty solid but it's in those moments of weakness though. In the storms that I cry out to God and he hears me.  I get to be held close by him.  Ps 34:17 "The Lord hears his people when they call to him for help and he rescues them from all their troubles."

It's interesting because in this moment of my pain, junk, and weakness God desires to be close to me. When I feel my least bit like loving others and pouring out is the moment God wants to pour in me. So don't worry if you don't have it all together. Jesus came to heal the sick and the broken. Cry out to him and he will rescue you. So in your pain and in the storm stop and just cry out.

The Road to Here! (wherever that may be)

You know this scripture. You've heard it a few hundred times.

Jeremiah 29:11

New International Version (NIV)

¹¹ For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

 

What does it mean to you? Is this encouraging to you? I know for a while that I had some doubts about God's plan for my family because of my own lack of perspective. As my wife and I were on this journey we encountered frustration, depression, tension, feeling lost, defeated and then all of a sudden things started to change. We realized that my job as a Marine was taking it's toll on our spiritual lives together. I wasn't leading worship much and she was not getting to volunteer. We had become so busy with everything else that we weren't spending time together in God's presence.  I felt like we had no hope. No future.

 

1.The Change:Pray First

What changed was us wasn't a huge spiritual mystery. It was just simply a case of surrender and let God rid of us our fears. When this dawned on us we took a spiritual inventory and realized we needed to just draw closer to God together. So we started first with our prayer life. We made the intentional effort of praying before everything and I do mean EVERYTHING! When we woke up, pray. When we had our breakfast, pray! When I left the house for work,pray!  Almost immediately we both began to see a change in our attitudes and in our marriage. God began to whisper that what he had promised would be fulfilled!  That moment of "light bulb" went off:

 

New Living Translation (NLT) Matt 6:31-33

³¹ “So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ ³² These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. ³³ Seek the Kingdom of God^[a] above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.

 

2. Trust God: Don't let fear rule you.

 

The very first thing happens when you have change in your life isn't what you think. It's fear. Is this really God!? Is this right for my family? Where are we going to live? What will I do ? What will my girls DO!? AGGGHHH!? Then a still small voice speaks and you calm down and breathe in. Jesus reminds in Matthew's gospel that if we just Seek First God's way of doing things in our lives that all these other things will be taken care of! 

So in this moment. Breathe. Rest. Recharge and then be relentless in pursuing God. Things will not always happen in your time, but they will happen.  God is faithful.We had to go through some strange stuff to get where we are now. Lost  a solid job with benefits. Had a monumental failure. Had to move in with our in -laws. Pregnant with our 3rd child and it all started to feel hopeless but then it was as is if we just don't give up and don't give in just remain faithful, pray first, and seek first its going to work out. Then all of a sudden, it did. We started getting hints of a blessing on the way. We stayed faithful. We had to just cast fear aside and speak what God wants to do is bless us.  So in your moment doing all you can do to stand and stay strong , do it!

 

3. Worship God with all your heart,mind, and strength.

 

From my perspective I have always just turned to worship. I know this seems odd, but for me. Just getting time alone with God and singing with abandon and just declaring who God is in my life makes me feel closer to God's heart. So if you are going through a season of doubt and change it might be time to take spiritual inventory. Examine and be honest with yourself. The road to we took was winding and often filled with dangers to just give up. So focus on his presence and not your problem. Fix yourself on God's will and not on your fear.  

 

Let me finish with this. My wife took a the posistion of Family Life Director and we moved to the small town of Port St. Joe, Fl but we believe that God has BIG things here for us. God's story for our lives is in a new chapter. This was my wife's dream posistion. What's your story going to look like?

WHEN GOD SAYS NO!

When God Says No

“Rejection happens! It’s how you choose to react that decides if you are really saying God's will or yours be done.” – Me

So these past 4 weeks have been an incredible ride. I will fill you in on the details of what I have been up to the last month or so. I was a day away from God allowing me to step into my first full time leadership role in a church, but a 15 minute brain lapse killed it all. I had applied to be the next Worship Pastor at The Bridge Community Church in Warrenton, Va. I did my research on the church, prayed, and really followed closely to what I really thought I was ready for. My wife and I fell in love with their passion and even the leadership the staff displayed. We wanted to be a part of this church. In early September we spent a weekend in VA getting to know the church and Senior Pastor. When we returned I felt the rush and pleasant feelings that go along with wanting a dream job, but what I was lacking a quiet peace of hearing God say, “Yes”. I continued to write and converse with the Pastors of the church for a few weeks. During that time we set up a date for me to come in and lead worship, meet with elders, and interview further with leadership.  Throughout this process my schedule with the Marine Corps had become outrageous and on top of that we are facing down an end date to my time as a US Marine, October 18th, 2012. To say that I had made it easy on us was definitely not the case, but still I continued to press on because I simply never heard God say yes or no on the matter.

To start things off, Saturday we had an interview with a church elder and the Connections Pastor. We felt like it went really well. The conversation was fluid and there was always something to expand on. After lunch my wife took the kids and gave me a couple of hours to myself so I could pray, run through the worship set a few times, and rehearse some ideas.  While I was praying and worshipping the Holy Spirit paid me a visit. He sat me down for a second, breathed life into me, and said, “you are about to fail. Not because you aren’t going to lead worship and pastor. You just aren’t going to lead worship and pastor here.”  I was heartbroken. But I went ahead to practice thinking, “Well I will go ahead and lead worship, have an amazing Sunday, and the Holy Spirit will just confirm this with other people.”   At practice something happened that I can’t explain.  It was as if I forgot for about 15-20 minutes how to do anything right. In a span of about 15 minutes I lost my internal metronome to stay in ¾ time. I bombed a song that I personally had led a 100 times and just in general my overall sense was lost! This feeling would eventually go away and I would correct it all, but the damage had been done. I crashed a plane into a moving train and was being taken out to sea! I felt a nudge from the Holy Spirit during practice that just said, “Don’t worry, just worship.” We finished strong on the tail end of things. I prayed with the team and left. When I got back to the hotel I received a phone call from the pastor to meet him in the lobby.  We met and he released me from leading worship on Sunday.  We talked for several minutes about the whole practice. I know what happened and cannot change the perception of a bad day, but it was so much more than that. I wanted to defend, but couldn’t. I think it is in our nature to try and say well if this had happened then I could have done this better. I felt peace about it all and was thankful for the process and know what I need to do the next time around.

What I drew from all of this is the quote at the beginning of this post, “Rejection happens! It’s how you choose to react that decides if you are really saying God's will or yours be done.”  I have known where I was called to go and it was never a backup plan, because it was God’s plan! I rejoiced in the fact I didn’t get this job. Maybe I would have loved it! (I am sure I would have.) Maybe this or that, but God has someone for The Bridge Community Church that is going to be what that church needs.  My musicianship failed at the right moment to protect me and Bridge Church from a partnership. It would have been beneficial but they are in need of another type of worship pastor for the season they are in.

God’s will for my life always means that his agenda comes first. I cannot fall in love with a place more than I love him.

 

Daring To Love God Pt 2

NOVA~ Hillsong United

Let all the earth declare your name, voices resounding heaven’s fame. Our God be Praised forever.

 

What is it really all about?  I have pretended for the last few years that I had it altogether when it came to worship. I mean why shouldn’t I feel confident? I had been leading worship since I was 15 years old. Writing worship music since I was 17. I attended great worship conferences.  I learned from the industry itself. I worked along some great worship leaders and led worship all over the world. Yet my attitude when I went to church and heard a song that maybe I wouldn’t have done I would just break it down, as if somehow some song from 95 wasn’t written with heart and passion.  I finally broke down and wrote myself out of a worship team in Afghanistan that I had been leading. Even with the chance to be “known” as a Marine Worship Leader, I knew there was a cancer in my spiritual life. The cancer was the sin of pride. I was so “proud” I have become a vocalist and musician overall that I could walk into most churches in America and be leading in a heartbeat or so I thought. Last summer (2011) I was getting bites left and right from churches all across America, but then it dried up, because I had dried up. I had allowed myself to look at what "i" could do vs what God could do through me! 

 How did this “sin of pride” affect my worship to God?  I was not focusing all of my energy and emotions into worshiping him. I was holding back. I was focused on technical rather than really praising him and thanking him. I have always heard the phrase from people, “Man I got SOO much out of worship!!”  They are not wrong and yes that is an outcome, but is that really the most important aspect of our worship? Instead of about what I can give to God it became what I can get from him. Even as a worship leader I had to wake up and smell the open sore of this cancer called pride.

 This question led me to explore a new avenue in my walk and worship, to learn how to serve others in my leading worship. So I had to step aside, get out of the way and let God speak. I needed some fresh air in my life. So what do we do when we are exhausted? burn out? We need to get refreshed. Examine our worship. Our relationships. Our time. This week make a song of worship your theme song. Below is what I chose.

 

 This week I was listening to Hillsong United’s song “Nova”.  In the lyrics the writer describes, “Let all the earth declare your name, flood all the earth with endless light, raise up the streets from death to life. Our God be praised forever.”  What an  anthem!  The song is a shout and declaration to say let our lives come alive with your glory.  That is exactly what happens when I am truly focused upon him and only him. 

Daring to love God! Pt 1

What if I told you that worshipping God is not about you or what you get out of it?

What does it mean to be caught up in grace like an avalanche?  What is it to be swept away? What does it mean to truly pour out all that I am? We sing powerful lyrics, but yet we turn from the teachings of Jesus on a daily basis. We put him right back up on the cross, not because we want to, but because we cannot turn off our appetite for self.

Stop what you are doing right now. Are you on Facebook? Twitter? Linked in? Can you remember your friend’s last 10 posts? Who are you following, the voice of a celebrity or the words and teachings of Jesus?  We are so accustomed to marketing and advertising that we don’t see the pain that is going on in our own spiritual journey. We have all become zombies.  Not quite dead but not quite alive.  

The next 40 days of my journey are going to be rough.  I am attempting something that I have never done before in my walk. For 40 days I am going to worship, worship like my life depends on it.  My marriage and my relationships cannot be fulfilled without it. Only a relationship with God through Christ Jesus can fulfill them.

We need to hear the call, the call for worship! Jesus tells us that we are to worship in spirit and truth. 

John 4:23-24 (NIV)

^“Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”

Over the course of the next 40 days I am going to investigate what that means for me and what it means for others.This journey of course encompasses so many different phases: physical, mental, and emotional. I approach this as a Love Dare.  I dare you to love God for 40 days with me! We are going to dive into his word about worship.  Are you ready?

 

Daring to love God!!!!

The Opposite of Authentic

 

Authenticity is the common thread for all the worship leaders I have come in contact with. What does being authentic mean to you? Merriam Webster defines it as: a means of undisputed origin or genuine.  How are we to going to be able to speak of real relationship, with a real God if we are in a fake relationship with him? How will we lead others if we aren’t even following the same things? God desires ALL of us. This Sunday are you going to sing, “I surrender some, Oh I surrender some, Only part of me to Jesus, Oh I surrender some?” Ok. I realize most people will never openly admit they are holding back an area of their life, but are they being real with God? For any relationship to thrive it must be authentic.  We must be authentic in our relationship with God!

You can’t fake a relationship with God. Sure, you can make everyone else think that you are spiritual by sporting religious apparel and even boasting about your faith, but eventually you’ll the truth will surface. There will come a time when you’re tempted or disaster occurs.  If you are faking it to make it your faith will not be strong enough to help you stand up in the face of adversity. The older I get the more I see this to be true in my own life. I have an intense need to spend more time with God every single day and to be more honest with Him about my struggles. I have become utterly dependent upon His grace. If for some reason I miss a day of confession, and reading my Bible, I just feel “out of sorts”.  Think about how you feel if you make it to work without that first cup of coffee and then times that by a thousand.

I haven’t always desired authenticity with God. It’s embarrassing to admit, but in years past I would go a few days without praying and without reading my Bible. But when it came to letting God steer my decision-making process, or needing Him to help me refrain from sinful habits, I had very little power to do so. I would allow my duty to the Marine Corps or my obligations to fatherhood/husband hood to swallow me whole. When this happens I lose sight of how to have a relationship that matters.   There are 3 signs of a fake relationship with God: 1. How you see people will be different. Without a real relationship you can't love people like God loves people. 2. You begin finding reasons not to go to church or spend time with others who are going to church. Don't abandon ship and its leaders. If you are reading this SPEND some time praying for your team, small group leaders, and your friends who are going through this. 3. You will be fruitless.  (Gal 5:22-23) Walking with God means your life will produce these things! You won't have to fight to produce this. It just happens according to the relationship!

Thankfully I woke up and saw the light.  Along the way I made a conscious decision to be more disciplined about spending designated time with God, daily. That discipline has produced fruit in my life. It has provided me with the ability to hear from God more clearly and to let His Spirit lead me.

I’m not sure how often you spend time with God, how much you read your Bible, pray, and listen to Him, but I want to encourage you to be very honest with yourself and make an assessment. Ask yourself the question, “Am I keeping it real or just faking it?” Maybe God is leading you to exit this website and either head over to http://churchofthehighlands.com/bible or open up your hard copy Bible and spend some time reading His Word and listening to His voice.