“Then he isn’t safe?” said Lucy.

“Safe?” said Mr. Beaver. “Don’t you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? ’Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good.”

Let all partake of the feast of faith. Let all receive the riches of goodness.
Let no one lament his poverty, for the universal kingdom has been revealed.
Let no one mourn his transgressions, for pardon has dawned from the grave.
Let no one fear death, for the Saviour's death has set us free.

He that was taken by death has annihilated it! He descended into hades and took hades captive! He embittered it when it tasted his flesh! And anticipating this Isaiah exclaimed, "Hades was embittered when it encountered thee in the lower regions."

It was embittered, for it was abolished!
It was embittered, for it was mocked!
It was embittered, for it was purged!
It was embittered, for it was despoiled!
It was embittered, for it was bound in chains!
It took a body and, face to face, met God!
It took earth and encountered heaven!
It took what it saw but crumbled before what it had not seen!
"O death, where is thy sting? O hades, where is thy victory?"
Christ is risen, and you are overthrown!
Christ is risen, and the demons are fallen!
Christ is risen, and the angels rejoice!
Christ is risen, and life reigns!
Christ is risen, and not one dead remains in a tomb!
For Christ, being raised from the dead, has become the First-fruits of them that slept.
To him be glory and might unto ages of ages.

Amen.

- St John Chrysostom, some 1700 years ago

to the King of glory and light, all praises
to the only Giver of life, our Maker
the gates are open wide, we worship You

come see what love has done, amazing
He bought us with His blood, our Savior
the cross has overcome, we worship You

shout Hosanna, Jesus He saves
shout Hosanna, He rose from the grave
come and lift him up, Hosanna

now let the lost be found, forgiven
death could not hold Him down, He's risen
so let the saints cry out, we worship You, we worship You

shout Hosanna, Jesus He saves
shout Hosanna, He rose from the grave
come and lift him up, Hosanna

the same power that rolled the stone away
the same power alive in us today
King Jesus we call upon your Name
no other Name

Move over the face of
my deep, my darkness,
my endless restless chaos,
and create,
O God;
trouble me,
comfort me,
stir me up,
and calm me,
but do not cease
to breathe
your Spirit into
my wakening soul.

~Jan Richardson, Night Visions

the world as best i remember it

I am thinking now of old Moses sitting on a mountain - sitting with God - looking across the Jordan into the Promised Land. I am thinking of the lump in his throat, that weary ache in his heart, that nearly bitter longing sweetened by the company of God...

And then God - the great eternal God - takes Moses' thin-worn, thread-bare little body into His hands - hands into whose hollows you could pour the oceans of the world, hands whose breadth marked off the heavens - and with these enormous and enormously gentle hands, God folds Moses' pale lifeless arms across his chest for burial.

 I don't know if God wept at Moses' funeral. I don't know if He cried when He killed the first of His creatures to take its skins to clothe this man's earliest ancestors. I don't know who will bury me...

...Of God, on whose breast old Moses lays his head like John the Beloved would lay his on the Christ's. And God sits there quietly with Moses - for Moses - and lets His little man cry out his last moments of life.

 But I look back over the events of my life and see the hands that carried Moses to his grave lifting me out of mine. In remembering I go back to these places where God met me and I meet Him again and I lay my head on His breast, and He shows me the land beyond the Jordan and I suck into my lungs the fragrance of His breath, the power of His presence.

  ~Rich Mullins, 1992

because he lives

how sweet to hold a newborn baby
and feel the pride and joy he gives
but greater still the calm assurance
this child can face uncertain days because he lives

~christina reynolds

I Wonder

Sometimes I wonder how much He knew of all the things His love would put Him through. Did He ever pass a tree along His way and know it was the very tree He'd die upon someday? And if He did, did His heart break every time He passed it on the street?
I wonder if He ever thought, "That tree I made will be the death of me."

Oh, the irony of His carpentry. Did it serve as a reminder of His legacy? And did He bear it constantly building with the nails that tore His body? And if He did, did His heart break every time the metal broke the beam?
I wonder if He ever thought, "A nail like this will be the death of me."

Well, I may never know what crossed His mind but there's one more question hanging on inside: Did He ever think of me, Two thousand years, somewhere across the sea?And if He did, did His heart break, Even though He died so willingly?
I wonder if He ever thought, "My love for her will be the death of me."

first father-daughter dance

she's just awesome.

Do you love me?

Unless we get hurt right out of every deception about ourselves, the word of God is not having its way with us. The word of God hurts as no sin can ever hurt, because sin blunts feeling. The question of the Lord intensifies feeling, until to be hurt by Jesus is the most exquisite hurt conceivable. It hurts not only in the natural way but in the profound personal way. The word of the Lord pierces even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, there is no deception left. There is no possibility of being sentimental with the Lord's question; you cannot say nice things when the Lord speaks directly to you, the hurt is too terrific. It is such a hurt that it stings every other concern out of account. There never can be any mistake about the hurt of the Lord's word when it comes to His child; but the point of the hurt is the great point of revelation.

 ~Oswald Chambers

you can have it all, Lord
every part of my world
take this life and breathe on
this heart that is now yours

God of the Comeback

"we always think we need to be in the right place at the right time - no, it's only important that Jesus is in the right place at the right time"

~louie

Destruction

Been reading / hearing a lot about destruction / end times lately. Part of it is listening to current Macarthur series on GTY titled 'Jesus is Coming' - working through Armageddon / Apocalypse end times. In my daily readings, going through Joel, which is all about plagues, destruction, locusts etc.

In my mind I keep coming back to:
He's gonna turn it all around, just wait and see
He's gonna make everything beautiful, just in time

There's something special about enduring pain, suffering to press on towards the goal of knowing Christ and seeing him in the end day. No one likes to pray for trials but we must be willing to embrace them in order to be refined in the fire and proved true.

Sermon vs Sharing

The speaker gets up there, tells a few stories, makes a few points and references a couple of bible verses and how they fit into the main point, then close with a word of prayer. Was that a sermon you just sat through or a sharing? Anyone can share about what they're learning or going through. Can (and should) anyone give a sermon? Is there a difference?

Anyone who's ever been to a self-help talk or a motivational seminar can tell you that there is encouragement and growth that can come from such talks. Heck even a christian one can be useful and edifying. But can true transformational change come outside of / apart from God's word?

On the other hand, we should be quick not to cheapen the whole thing, as sharings can also be quite encouraging and God can / will use them to speak to you. But really, if you came for a sermon and didn't get one, do you leave disappointed? The better question is did I come to hear a sermon or did I come to hear God speak to me?

Maybe this all goes back to the church's interpretation of the authority of Scripture.

is it Your Word that I'm in love with, or the sound of Your voice?

tiny

with my tiny words, in this tiny song
i will sing my heart to you
on my tiny knees, with my tiny dreams
i will give my life to you

~tiny, enter the worship circle

when everything changes

when life rearranges again

when everything's fading

you’re the constant in my life

you’re the rock that is higher

I lean not on my own understanding

Often I try to plan out every variable in life to make sure that I have contingencies built-in and ready in case anything goes wrong. With a kid coming this is no different - making sure you have enough funds in the bank account to cover your monthly spending, getting the room ready and buying the items that you need, etc. These inherently aren't bad things, but really what does it mean to lean not on my own understanding? I think this means letting go of trying to control everything in life and trusting that God has your life in His able and sufficient hands. I love the promise of God when He says 'Behold, I make all things new!' or even 'I am making all things new!'

Trusting that God will take our lives and turn it into something new, something beautiful is a trustworthy statement to hang on to. Not for me only, but for my child as well.

I give it all to You God, trusting that You'll make something beautiful out of me.

Isn't it Love?

Isn't it love to look down from the sky 
And see Your only Son on the cross asking "Why?" 
And somehow let Him die that way 
And not call the whole thing off?

Quintessential Marriage Advice

There are two rules in marriage when you start living with someone new for the first time.
1. Don't be lazy / a slob.
2. Don't nag.

If both parties follow these rules, you'll avoid the majority of the arguments that arise in marriage.

sweet communion

that my eyes would behold Him, in all of His beauty
that my eyes would behold Him, in all of His glory