There is coming a day when the Lord will be properly exalted. He will be lifted high. Every other thing will be humbled. I have always been taught to look forward to this day and I do. I cannot wait for it to be here and now. But as I was looking at this passage this time, I realized how much of our lives will be brought low, humbled, and destroyed on that day. Only the things I have invested in Christ will remain. I could probably say a lot more but I don’t think I need to. I think it would be better for us to take a few moments quietly and examine our lives. Look at how much of your time is invested in things other than God’s glory. How much of your energy is spent on things other than Christ. And how much of you, your thoughts, your work is spent on things bringing Him honor. How might we need to redistribute our effort so that a majority of our work is not humbled on that day?

Your thoughts?

The Promise Remains Tour date on November 14th, 2009 in Chandler, Texas has been cancelled. We apologize to all those who were planning on going. For a full list of all other tour dates, visit the tour page.

-Jenni with Todd’s management company

I read this and was thrilled by the idea of God defeating his enemies, of God avenging Himself. And then I noticed that He was talking to Israel. And He says, I will turn my hand against you. Against me? Am I the enemy of God? Well, the Bible clearly says that before I am adopted into His family, that is exactly what I am. But this statement was addressed to His family, the children of Israel. So what does that mean? Well, I think we find the answer in the next part of the sentence. “I will turn my hand against you and will smelt away your dross…”. God fights the war against His enemy inside us. He wages war by purifying us and restoring us.

It may seem strange but I find comfort in that. I know God always fulfills His promises. So when He promises to win His war against the enemies inside me, I know that my sins, my failures, my impurities, however strong they may seem to me, are destined to be defeated. There will be a day when I will be called a city of righteousness. He said so.

Your thoughts?

Todd

Imagine trying to be the shooting guard for the Chicago Bulls after Jordan retired.  Even if you are the second best basketball player to ever play the game, you’re still not good enough. That’s the position Joshua is in at the beginning of the aptly named book of Joshua.  Israel has just buried Moses, one of the most dominant characters in the OT.  He met God in a burning bush.  He led the Israelites out of Egypt.  He was a part of God parting the Red Sea. He physically saw God’s back from the cleft of the mountain. He
delivered the 10 Commandments.  And Joshua has to take his place.

Joshua has to lead the people into a foreign land.  He has to lead the army to conquer this territory.  He has to be in charge of the spiritual walk of an entire nation.  His obstacles and responsibilities are immense.  But as he takes charge, God makes him a promise. “I will be with you.”  At the end of the day, if God is with him, he is able to overcome any obstacle.  He can conquer any opposition with God at his side.

And God is on our side as well.  He will not leave us or forsake us.

Your thoughts?

Todd

Two things jumped out at me from these verses. First, both “the blessing and the curse” came from God. He was in charge of the good and the bad. Now, I’m not saying that all evil comes from God or anything like that. I’m just reading and noticing that God uses both the positive and the negative to shape our lives.

And second, we are commanded to return. Or repent, if you will. Jesus’ first sermons were of that theme: Repent and believe. And we find it here all the way back in Deuteronomy. Return and obey. Repent and believe. With all your heart and soul.

God responds to our repentance. It’s promised, even here. We return and obey. And He “will restore.””

Your thoughts?

Todd

We’ve had a great run so far. We started outside Kansas City, well an hour and a half outside KC, in Chillicothe. Great night with wonderful people. And they had this great bbq. No, not KC Masterpiece. It was called Wabash. Then we attempted to drive to Denver. Unfortunately, my bus didn’t quite make it. We had a blowout in the middle of KS. We made it eventually (5 hours late) and had an incredible night. Thanks to the tons of people who packed that place. And thanks to all our crew for setting up in record
time. We had another good night in Cheyenne. Great basketball game that day. Usually we play bball and everyone figures out that I’m not very good and kind of leaves me alone. But not in Wyoming. They knew who I was and they guarded me the whole game. All three games in fact. 3 games, 0 points. Oh well, it was still a good night. Then we pulled into Salt Lake City. It was our third time at that church. It was great to see the spiritual growth in that place. We had two shows in Montana: Missoula and Kalispell. We were excited to see people that we met on the BQ tour a couple of years ago. Both nights were wonderful.

This weekend we have two shows in Washington, one in Idaho, and one in Oregon. It should be great. I love this part of the country.

Hope to see you out there.

Todd

Do you remember the time…? Yes, it’s a Michael Jackson lyric but it also is from the Bible. And it’s probably more appropriate and powerful there.

Deuteronomy 8 has a beautiful passage where God reminds His people of His faithfulness. He shows them why they can trust, why they can believe, why they can obey. It’s amazing to think how good God has been to us, and it’s very strange to think how quickly we forget. We can be astounded by God’s grace and move on at the next commercial break. God warns us here that if we forget Him, we will perish. For life is found in Him, nowhere else. No matter how much we invest in it. All else will perish.

So today, let’s take time to remember. To remember that He made us – every function we have we owe to Him. To remember He made every good thing we enjoy in life –food, sex, laughter. To remember the cross – the sacrifice He made out of love for us and passion for His glory. To remember the calling – the invitation to partake in His life.

Your thoughts?

Todd

Look for Todd’s “Did You Mean Me?” as the “Free Weekly Download” on Tangle’s homepage!

Moses disobeyed God and as a result, he did not get to enter the promised land. But when God explained this to him, He didn’t say ‘You will die.’ He said “you shall be gathered to your people.” And I came to realize that God had a promise waiting on the other side of Moses’ disobedience as well. His failure had not taken him out of reach of the promises of God. It took him out of a specific promise, but not out of God’s reach. Moses did miss out on the promised land, but while he missed that, instead he went to the Promised Land. He was gathered with his people. He missed the land of Canaan but gained Heaven. Even in God’s punishment, His promise remains.

Your thoughts?

Todd

Now we’ve had a couple of days off and are headed out on the three and a half week west coast run. We start in Chillicothe, MO, which I realize is not on the west coast. But it is on the way. Please be praying for our families and our bodies as we are on this huge run. Thanks.

Hope to see you out there.

Todd