My Soul Longs For (You)...

Eager

Mon, 12 Mar 2012 03:55:52 -0400

When we arrive at eternity’s shore, where death is just a memory and tears are no more, we’ll enter in as the wedding bells ring. Your bride will come together and we’ll sing, “You’re beautiful”

-You’re Beautiful by Phil Wickham

My heart literally beats faster when I hear this. I get excited and tears fill my eyes. I’m eagerly waiting and longing for the day Jesus takes me home.

But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ…

-Philippians 3:20

7 things. Non-negotiable.

Sun, 26 Feb 2012 10:45:00 -0500

We believe in the Trinity.
We believe that God came down in human form: Jesus Christ.
We believe in the spiritual lostness of the human race.
We believe in the substitutionary atonement and resurrection of Jesus.
We believe in salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone.
We believe in the physical return of Jesus Christ.
We believe in the authority and inerrancy of Scripture.

7 things. Non-negotiable. End of story.

"There is no safe investment. To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will..."

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 13:15:16 -0500

“

There is no safe investment. To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly be broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness.

But in that casket —safe, dark, motionless, airless —it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. The alternative to tragedy, or at least to the risk of tragedy, is damnation. The only place outside Heaven where you can be perfectly safe from all the dangers and perturbations of love is Hell.

”

- C.S. Lewis

The Coward In The Corner

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 02:00:00 -0500

And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.

-Genesis 1:3

The very beginning of the Bible, Genesis. These are the first words quoted of God in the Bible. What is he doing? Creating. He is making something. Move on a little bit further.

Then the LORD God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.” Now out of the ground the LORD God had formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him. So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. And the rib that the LORD God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man.

-Genesis 2:18-22

After every time God has created something before this, he has looked at it and said it is good. This is the first time we see God noticing something and saying, “This is not good.” It is not that God made something that is not good, everything he does is good, but he takes note of something that is not good for his creation. It is not good for man to be alone. What is God’s response? Fix it. He makes a wife for the man so that he is not alone. God doesn’t just sit and complain about all the things that’s bad about the man being alone. He changes it.

I’m learning a lot about how to grow as a man of God and what that means. What I’m learning now is that it means to not just sit around complain about problems like a coward in the corner but to instead follow the example of my Creator and change things! 1 Corinthians 11:7 says that man is the image and the glory of God. God is a creator and a cultivator. If I’m the image of God then I’m going to follow in his example and create the change I want to see and cultivate it for his glory.

Let’s grow up, guys. Stop being a coward in the corner. You’re not being a man. You’re being a boy. I’m tired of being a boy. I want to be a man. Let’s change this. Pray for God to create a new attitude of godly manhood in you and let’s cultivate it for his glory. Let’s stop complaining about the state of the church and do something about it. Discuss with each and confront each other in love, if necessary, about the things we can do differently to further advance the kingdom of God and then GO DO those things! Create and cultivate genuine relationships that lead people to Christ for the glory of God.

New music brought to you by Nathan Mileur and myself.

Sat, 14 Jan 2012 16:41:20 -0500

New music brought to you by Nathan Mileur and myself.

It seems Tebow might help himself and the kingdom by getting off his knees, taking the verses off...

Mon, 12 Dec 2011 17:18:22 -0500

It seems Tebow might help himself and the kingdom by getting off his knees, taking the verses off of his face, and being faithful to Christ without the public acts like all the other Christians in the NFL have done for decades.

-Anthony Bradley, associate professor of theology and ethics at The Kings College.

Now, I’m not big into football or anything but I’ve been saddened to hear some of the things being said about Tebow. The above statement shocked me.

The Gospel isn’t about helping yourself. It’s about dying to yourself everyday.
The Gospel isn’t about looking towards other Christians for our example of how to live. We look to Christ and God’s Word.
I can guarantee that in light of Tebow’s eagerness to profess that He knows God, Jesus Christ our Lord is always eager to say that He knows Tebow. What greater prize is there? Tebow has won the only thing worth winning: Knowing Jesus Christ.

"When a newspaper posed the question, “What’s Wrong with the World?”, the Catholic..."

Thu, 24 Nov 2011 04:38:58 -0500

“When a newspaper posed the question, “What’s Wrong with the World?”, the Catholic thinker G. K. Chesterton reputedly wrote a brief letter in response: “Dear Sirs: I am. Sincerely Yours, G. K. Chesterton.” This is the attitude of someone who has grasped the message of Jesus.”

- Timothy Keller (The Prodigal God)

A little bit of my story and knowing Jesus.

Wed, 02 Nov 2011 02:58:00 -0400

I was born in Memphis, TN in 1990. My dad was a medical officer in the military and my mom was licensed in education. We moved around quite a bit. By the time I was 11, we had moved 22 times. When I was in 2^nd grade, we settled down in Chattanooga and we’ve been here ever since. When I was 3, I became a big brother. When I was 7, I became a big brother again. When I was 13, I became a big brother again. When I was 16, I became a big brother again. When I was 18, I became a big brother again. And when I was 20, I became a big brother again. I am the oldest of 7 children. A big loud family is what I am a part of and I love them.

My parents are both Christians. They have been ever since I was born. I grew up going to church every single Sunday whether I liked it or not. When I was in 2^nd grade at VBS I heard someone talking about becoming a Christian and accepting Jesus into your heart. I had no idea what was going on but all my friends were doing it so it seemed to be the right thing to do. So I went forward, said I wanted to be a Christian and go swimming with the pastor for 45 seconds on Sunday morning. And that was that. From then until I was 13, I believed I was a Christian.

When I was in 5^th grade, we began going to Silverdale for both school and church. I was there from 5^th grade until after I graduated high school. It was my home. Troy was my youth pastor up until around my junior year of high school. When I was 13, Troy gave a message talking about growing up in church. He talked about what it really meant to be a Christian. I swear he was talking directly to me. He talked about what it meant to have a relationship with Jesus and to walk with Him. He explained that when you become a Christian, you change. The things you do change. The things you say change. Your desires change. To say you’re a Christian and look exactly the same as you did before you were a Christian, is not truly being a Christian. It’s living a lie. I knew at that moment, I had not changed since before I had gone forward in 2^nd grade. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” I had not begun that new life! I was still living as if I had no clue who Jesus was or what He had done for me.

I went and talked to Troy after the service and said I didn’t want to keep living the way I was living. I wanted the new life that 2^nd Corinthians talked about. So it was at that moment, in one of Silverdale’s chemistry labs, I became a new person. My new life had started. From then on, I started to pursue being a part of the body of Christ more and more. I started attending a small group and made a circle of friends who were serious about being Christ followers that I am still close with to this day. We’ve been close friends since our small group in 8^th grade. I began playing guitar for the middle school worship and kept leading all the way through high school until now, a total of 8 years leading worship. God has used so many things in my life to steer me towards Him and I am eternally grateful for His blessings and His grace.

Now, I have messed up countless times. I have been angry with God. I have even run away from God, pursuing the pleasures of the world when I felt like the world would satisfy me more. Does that mean I was no longer a Christian? No. God is merciful and loving. He forgives us when we don’t deserve it. We are all going to struggle and fall. We’re still human. Becoming a Christian doesn’t mean you will always have everything together and not mess up. Ephesians 4:24 says, “put on your new nature, created to be like God- truly righteous and holy.” It uses the words “put on” because it is a choice and an action. It’s not something that magically happens when you become a Christian.

Being a Christian means disciplining yourself! It means making a choice to follow Jesus and give up the things that are natural for our sinful selves. Romans 13:14 says, “Instead, clothe yourself with the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. And don’t let yourself think about ways to indulge your evil desires.” This verse says to not let ourselves thing about ways to indulge our evil desires. The ESV says don’t make any provision for your flesh. That means don’t give it a chance or a way to sin. This means that naturally, we are going to want to indulge them but as followers of Jesus, we don’t allow it. We make ways to prevent ourselves from sinning. It doesn’t mean you won’t ever sin but it means that your desire is to not and be more like Jesus.

1 and 2 John are filled with depictions of what it looks like to be a real Christian. Now, these books are not something to say, “If you don’t have all of these things, then you’re not saved.” That is not at all what those are saying. It’s about the direction you’re going. You should be pursuing these aspects. You should be wanting to do these things for they are evidence of what God is doing in you. It’s part of being a new person.

Scripture is filled with instructions throughout it telling us to discipline ourselves to do certain things and to not do certain things. The ten commandments are a perfect example of this, as are 1 and 2 John. But, though we believe in following the ten commandments and other commandments throughout Scripture, they are not the only things to our Christian walk. We also have a relationship with Jesus Christ. A personal friendship with Him. We know Him. We can talk to Him and tell Him what’s on our minds. Psalm 142:2 says, “I pour out my complaints before him and tell him all my troubles.”

Hebrews 4:15-16 says, “This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.” We can see that Christ understands what we go through because he was like us. He became human and was tempted to sin in every way that you and I are. So, because of this, we can boldly and confidently approach and have a relationship with Him. What a comforting thought! That Jesus, the son of God, understands everything that I go through and everything that I struggle with because he was like us as a human.

The reason I’m saying all of this is because I want you to understand that our faith is about discipline just as much as it is about a relationship. But you can’t have one without the other. Your discipline doesn’t mean anything if you don’t have a relationship with Jesus. And you can’t have a relationship with Jesus without the desire to discipline yourself to be more like Him. It is the natural effect he has on everyone who has a relationship with Him. In Matthew 7:22-23, Jesus says, “On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘Inever knew you;depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’”

Think about this picture. It’s Judgment Day. You see Jesus standing there and you say, “Jesus, look! I went to church every single Sunday! I went to all our youth retreats and camps! I tithed from all my money! I never got drunk or partied!” And then Jesus looks back and says, “Yes but who are you? I don’t know you.” You never had a relationship with Him so He doesn’t even know who you are. That should terrify us! It definitely terrifies me. I also think of it from the other perspective. Where you get to Jesus and he knows you and welcomes you. That’s awesome! But I think we’ve talked about it so much in church that we don’t think about how amazing it truly is. Let me paint you another picture beside that.

One of the coolest people I’ve ever met is AJ Cheek. He’s played guitar for bands like Nevertheless and Revive. He has his own music project now, as well. One year, Nevertheless came to one of Silverdale’s camps and played a show one night. I met AJ and Josh and the other band members and they were all awesome. They played a great show and that was that. Now, fast forward 2 years or so. I’m at Hamilton Place Mall and I see AJ walking in my direction and I’m thinking, “Hey that’s AJ!” But I don’t want to say anything because I was just some kid at a show he met. He wouldn’t remember me. AJ saw me and smiled and said, “Hey! We’ve met before. You went to that Silverdale camp, didn’t you?” We talked for a few minutes and then he went about his business. He’s one of the nicest guys ever.

This was mind blowing. AJ remembered me. Someone I looked up to knew (somewhat) who I was and stopped to talk to me. The reason I tell you this story is because I want you to think about how it feels to be recognized by someone we look up to. It’s awesome! Now, think about when you get to heaven. Jesus looks at you and says, “I know you!” It pretty much takes my breath away. The Son of God who died to take away the sins of the world knows me! Who wouldn’t want that?

My question is do you know Jesus? Do you have a relationship with Him? Do you talk to Him? Do you listen to Him? Are you just doing the church thing? Are you trying to live the disciplines without having a relationship? Jesus longs to have a relationship with you. To talk with you. To listen to you. All you have to do is say, “Jesus, I want to know you!” Talk to Him. Listen to Him in His word and His spirit. He doesn’t disappoint. If you don’t think you’ve ever really become a new person like it talks about in 2 Corinthians and you want to, tell Him! Romans 10:9, “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” By confessing with your mouth that God is Lord, you are not only admitting that He is the highest authority but also that you want Him at the front of your life leading you. You want to follow Him and to know Him. This isn’t about a magic phrase that saves you. It’s about a decision to enter into a relationship with Jesus and discipline yourself to be more like Him.

People don’t like to hang out with me and my friends....

Mon, 31 Oct 2011 20:52:37 -0400

People don’t like to hang out with me and my friends. Probably because they walk in and hear things like this.

How to be classy in three easy steps:

Sun, 16 Oct 2011 15:58:48 -0400

showyourkneesocks:

Open this tab.

Open this tab.

Open this tab.

Exquisite.

If you’re like me, you’ve been conditioned to...

Sun, 02 Oct 2011 17:58:59 -0400

If you’re like me, you’ve been conditioned to experience huge swells of emotion and nostalgia when hearing this music. “We have to go back.”

marktheshark: Delete cookies?!?

Thu, 29 Sep 2011 22:48:34 -0400

marktheshark:

Delete cookies?!?

I absolutely love the way they play this song. You can download...

Tue, 27 Sep 2011 14:48:34 -0400

I absolutely love the way they play this song. You can download it and more for free at http://marshill.com/media/music

"The reason why we do good works and we want to serve and we want to love and we want to pray and we..."

Mon, 26 Sep 2011 11:38:00 -0400

“The reason why we do good works and we want to serve and we want to love and we want to pray and we want to speak and we want to care is not so that we’d be acceptable in God’s sight but because Jesus has already made us acceptable in God’s sight. He is Immanuel, God with us, and by grace he is Immanuel in us. And it is the life of Christ through us that we want to show forth to the earth. And that kind of life is not one where we separate ourselves from the world or we enter into the world to participate in its sin and folly. But like Jesus we enter into the world to be a redemptive agent for the world on behalf of the kingdom of God. That’s what it means to be a missional Christian. That’s what it means to live as a missionary. To, like Jesus, get involved. Too many Christians stand back and just live simply halfhearted lives of partial worship, adoration. They pray and love the books and sing the songs and enjoy the Lord and cheer at the events and when it comes to doing anything, like getting their hands dirty or being involved in the community or serving others in need or giving generously, it’s like, “I couldn’t, I was too busy reading books about the rapture. My hope is just to leave.” No, that’s not how Jesus lived. Jesus didn’t come to the earth, go to the woods, read books about the rapture and just wait till it was all over. It cost him his life. He gave it all. And we enjoy the benefits, and so we adore him and we have action.”

- Mark Driscoll

How To Lose Weight

Thu, 22 Sep 2011 23:54:02 -0400

Conan: "Jonah, you look fantastic. How did you lose so much weight?
Jonah Hill: "Well, I went to this nutritionist and he said, "Jonah, you know when you walk? You move your legs back and forth? Just do that but faster.""

This is why I love being a musician. My soul sings, my soul...

Tue, 13 Sep 2011 00:51:31 -0400

This is why I love being a musician. My soul sings, my soul sings out, only to You…

In case you’ve never met her, I’d like to introduce you to Janice, the electric...

Fri, 09 Sep 2011 12:19:02 -0400

In case you’ve never met her, I’d like to introduce you to Janice, the electric guitarist for Electric Mayhem:

And her twin brother, Taylor Hawkins, the drummer for Foo Fighters:

"And in this, I want to show you that there are three legitimate options, so that we’re not..."

Tue, 06 Sep 2011 01:47:11 -0400

“

And in this, I want to show you that there are three legitimate options, so that we’re not legalists. Because not every way of doing a Christian relationship works for every single person. So, we’ll deal with the first. We’ll deal with the first. The first is, prearranged marriage.

(Laughter)

If you look under your chair, there’s a number on a sticker. You get that number, you find the person with a number, and that’s God’s sovereign will for you. And if you’re a dude, and another dude has your number, you have to be an Episcopalian. That’s the rule.

”

- Mark Driscoll hahaha

“For nothing will be impossible with God.” -Luke 1:37 I love this verse. It is not a...

Mon, 05 Sep 2011 22:56:45 -0400

“For nothing will be impossible with God.”

-Luke 1:37

I love this verse. It is not a verse saying that all things are possible for us with God. This is not a promise that we will always be successful. It is a promise that our God is great. Our God is the God who can make a man out of dust, make water come from rocks, cause a stutterer to lead a nation, and cause a 12 year old virgin to give birth to the savior of the world. And He does all of these impossible things for His glory.

I love witty people on the internet.

Wed, 24 Aug 2011 03:26:11 -0400

(Conversation in reference to George Lucas changing more things on Star Wars Blu-ray)

Daniel: I don't think anyone is really going to be all that upset about changes to The Phantom Menace. It's like if ten years from now, they decided to put in more monkeys in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

Stephen: I don't even remember any monkeys in that movie.

Daniel: If you didn't see them on screen, they were the same ones who banged on typewriters for a month and produced the script.