Searching for the Truth

Cliche Comeback Post

2009-11-03T22:06:00.003-06:00

It's been awhile since I have posted. I have wanted to get back in the habit of updating my blog, but other pressing matters (read useless wastes of time) have prevented me. If you want the long update, that's too bad because I'm going to give the short and sweet one. I work with a great group of people and have many things to be thankful for in my current situation. There are always things to complain about in corporate America, but I'm not going to vent here about it. It's the best possible situtation for me. I see God's hands all over it. It's really pretty amazing seeing him work and squash my plans.

I picked up cycling this summer. I bought a bike and after my first tour this weekend, I'm addicted to racing. I'm definitely going to schedule a portion of my vacation time next year around some of the races that I want to partipate in.

Keep an eye out for my thoughts on Romans. I'm trekking through the book with the Pipe. It's deep and convicting and freeing all at the same time. Somehow I think God knew what he was doing...

Are You a Tour Guide or a Local? Part 3

2009-04-30T08:16:00.000-05:00

Running to the edge of the cliff, the roaring increased. Paul had jumped into the waterfall. The commercial was right: This is going to change my life forever. Shawn took a gander at the multitudes of people enjoying the waterfall. There were thousands of people all in the pool at the bottom of the falls. There were people laughing and playing in the water. There were people on the shore cooking up some steaks. There were people playing music and singing about the waterfall. It was almost cult-like, but there was something intriguing about it. Well, when in Rome! Shawn jumped. He free fell for about six seconds before hitting the water and being doused in the cool blue waves. He swam to the top and took a deep breath. This truly is the best water I have ever been in. Oh yeah! Taste and see! He took a big gulp. And another. "Good God Almighty! This is the best tasting water I have ever had!"

Shawn swam to the side and crawled out. He started talking with the people around the falls. Paul had disappeared, so he thought he would try to get to know some people while he was here for the week. Shawn made the rounds, got a steak, made some new friends, and laid down to take a nap. When he woke up, Paul was sitting next to him.

"Gorgeous ain't it?"

"Sure is", Shawn confirmed. "How often do you come here?"

"All's I do is git people to come here. It's my job." Paul replied as if he had the most important job in the world.

"What do you mean?"

"Every week I bring someone new out heres. People see the ads about the beauty of this place, and I bring 'em out."

"So you're a tour guide?"

"Nosir. I used to live here. I'm a local", Paul corrected gently.

"Are all of these people locals?"

"Nope. You can tell the ones who are tour guides. The locals have set up camp. They’re here for until that day. They are dedicated to this place above all else in life. They have tasted and seen. They ain't going nowheres." Paul went on, "The tour guides, they have all the right clothes on, they know the lingo, they bring all the right people here, but they never get in the water. They just sit around and talk to their friends about how great it is, but they have only experienced that first jump. They know all about the secret caves underneath the falls and the depth of the water. They can tell you how long it's been here and all of the interesting people that have come by to see 'em. It's almost creepy. If you just visit, you'd never be able to tell. If you stay here long enough though, you'll see 'em."

"Why would anyone ever leave this place? Or, and I'm going to one-up you with this one, why not get in and just stay in?" Shawn queried.

"Oh, everyone has their own excuse. No matter how much you tell them about the life these falls give, they just won't git in." Paul grew agitated. "I've tried persaudin' 'em many times, they just don't listen. Some of 'em do though. There are certain times when the man that created these falls comes down and changes them. That's when they git in and really taste and see. On those days, we have a huge party. Lots of dancing and singing. We drink wine and eat bread and remember the day that these falls were created. We also celebrate the day when we all get to go home.”

The End

So here's my question: Are you a tour guide or a local? Do you get in the water and taste and see that the Lord is good and gracious and mighty? Or are you content to sit on the side with your hamburger and reminisce about the one day you took the plunge? Are you content with only being able to describe Jesus? Why not really know him?

Gimme five minutes with Tom Cruise

2009-04-28T20:20:00.001-05:00

There is only one Jesus Christ. You are not him, and you did not come to save humanity to science. My Jesus died on a cross for my sins and for yours. We have all blown it, and God sent him to reconcile the chasm and make things right.

How did I get here?

2009-04-26T16:27:00.002-05:00

At this stage in life, I am working at MetLife just north of the DFW airport. I felt like God was sending me toward teaching and for the past year and a half I have been pursuing him to that end. It has been difficult, but alas here we are. After many closed doors and learning experiences, I found myself in training to become a mortgage company call center agent. It's a pretty sweet gig I must say. The pay is great. The people are great. I have an awesome co-worker who also goes to The V and is able to converse with me on any topic at hand. I have been working through what the Lord has for in the near future, and I think I have some ideas but no definite answers as of yet.

China seems to be the main goal for my life's ministry. I still have no clue what God wants me to do over there, but the drive to be there still emanates from my soul. It is way bigger than I could have ever imagined, and I'm excited to see what He has planned. My goal for this summer is to figure out which career path is going to prepare me the best for my mission in China.

Are You a Tour Guide or a Local? Part 2

2009-04-26T01:40:00.000-05:00

Shawn woke up much earlier than expected for his 8am chauffeur ride to the airport. In fact, he didn't get much sleep at all. He tossed and turned all night. Finally able to crawl out of bed at an hour close enough to his departure, he got his suitcase out and made a final shake down of his list of worldly possessions to take. He took a shower and ate some breakfast while waiting for the door bell to ring. He flicked on the TV while eating his breakfast and listened to the talking heads praise the new president for stupid decisions he had made in the last week. He quickly turned it off knowing he would become more upset by watching. He finished his cereal and coffee and waited patiently. The door bell ring just as he was about to doze off from his lack of sleep the night before. 8:00 sharp the clock told him. Man, these guys are good! He walked to the door, opened it, and greeted the man standing at his door. It was not what he was expecting. Shawn was squaring off with a what appeared to be a homeless man. He had on some ragged jeans, shoes with holes in the soles, a navy blue t-shirt with some sort of church camp logo on it, as well as a John Deere hat. "Howdy!", the man said in a southern draw. "I'm Paul, and I'm the limo driver. C'mon and we'll get moving." Still confused, Shawn attempted to ask where the real driver was. "I'm it!" Paul proclaimed proudly. "Been working here for about thirty five years", he continued. There is no freaking way I'm getting into that limo without some ID from this guy. "Could I see your ID please?" Paul pulled out his driver's license and produced a company card as well indicating that he was in fact the limo driver. Oh well, let's get this over with. Shawn grabbed his suitcase from the foyer and started to walk to the limo with Paul. "Best be leaving that behind, Son. Where we're going, you can't take anything with you", Paul told him. This is getting weirder by the minute. Homeless guy shows up at my door, and now I can't take my suitcase with me on vacation. WTF?! "Why can't I bring it it?" "You won't need it" Paul informed him. "I'll make sure you have everything you need to be successful."

Shawn reluctantly left his suitcase behind, locked the door behind him, climbed inside the limo. They made the thirty minute drive to the airport where Paul gave the keys to the valet and walked Shawn to security. It seemed that Paul really had been doing this for thirty five years. Shawn cruised through security without the slightest hiccup and expected Paul to bid him farewell. Instead Paul got onto the plane with Shawn and accompanied him all the way to Africa. Shawn slept for most of the trip while Paul attempted to talk to him during his every waking moment about the glories of the waterfall. In and out of sleep for the whole trip, they finally landed. Paul once again guided them effortlessly through the airport, customs, and arranged for a taxi to take them into the wilderness that is Africa. Without any luggage making their way through the airport and into a taxi was a fairly easy task. Sitting in the back of the taxi, Paul and Shawn had quite the engaging conversation about where they each grew up and how they got to what they were doing today. Shawn learned that Paul had actually been living near the waterfall for a number of years. This would explain his raggedy-andy style clothing, and why it seemed that he appeared to float through everything that he did. The taxi broke down at least nine times during their trip. Each time the taxi driver made Shawn get out of the taxi and fix the car. This seemed an odd request since Shawn was hardly the mechanic and on vacation. Paul always got out and assisted him and showed him exactly what to do. They fixed the radiator when it started leaking. They fixed the battery when it stopped charging. They fixed the transmission when the ride got jerky. They fixed the exhaust when it wasn't being expelled properly. Anything and everything that could go wrong on a car they fixed, but the car still did not run on all cylinders. There was always something underlying that never allowed the car to run properly. Something was always broken. Nearly ten hours later on a drive that should have only taken two in a better condition vehicle, they stopped. Paul excitedly got out of the car and ran towards the edge of a cliff and jumped off. Shawn chased after him to keep him from jumping but it was too late. Paul was gone. Shawn was out in the middle of the desert with no guide and a taxi driver that spoke no English and could not repair his own car. What am I going to do now?

Stay tuned for the conclusion.

Are You a Tour Guide or a Local?

2009-04-17T01:56:00.000-05:00

Shawn was sitting at home and while cruising through the channels after dinner caught an advert for a beautiful waterfall in the middle of the jungles of Africa. He had always heard about the dangers of Africa. He had been hearing lately about the pirates the patrol the coasts. He heard back in college about the children that are forced to fight wars older than they are. He had heard about much of the country being raped by AIDS and the genocide that continues to plague the continent. For whatever reason though he could not shake the image of this unbelievably stunning waterfall. After returning from his trance, he changed the channel to his normal ritual of nightly reality TV. Waking up around 11pm he moved to the bedroom and attempts to go to sleep. The image is back. It would not leave his mind. He's intrigued. The advert told him of the ease by which you can reach the waterfall, but the warning kept repeating in his head, "This will change your life forever. Taste and see." He thought it was quite interesting that those particular words were used. Brushing it off he finally got sleep.

The next morning the alarm clock startled Shawn from his deep sleep. The first thing he heard on the clock radio was about the waterfall. He made a mental note to give the toll free number a call later that day. He made his way to the shower and got ready for the day. After swinging by his local coffee shop for the morning joe, he eased into traffic for his commute and came to a complete stop. There's nothing comparable to a commute in Dallas. It's quite possibly the worst experience known to the human race. It is brutal and cut-throat, but the fittest survive and make it to the office unscathed. The drudgery of work pressed on him as he day dreamed about the waterfall. What would it be like? How tall is it? Can you walk in it? What does the water feel like? Can you drink it? Is it really as glorious as it looked in the pictures? What does he mean by taste and see? Four o'clock rolled around and Shawn has wrapped up early for the day despite the onslaught of requests. He climbed into the driver's seat and, like all Americans, immediately pulls out his cell phone and dials a number. He did not get on the road, however. He's being responsible. He waited for the person on the end of the line to pick up so he could get some more information about flying out to Africa for his vacation. He had accumulated two weeks over the past year and half. A polite young woman answers his call.

"Thank you for calling. How may I help you?"
     "I want to know more about this waterfall deal" he questioned. "Why have I never heard about this before?"
     "I'm sorry that you have not heard before. We try to get the information out as quickly as possible, but some people are not available or are too caught up in the rat race of life", she stated. "We are very excited that you called today and would love to get you there as soon as possible. When would be a good time for you to make your trip?"
     "How about next Tuesday", Shawn replies.
"Perfect. Your chauffeur will pick you up at your house next Tuesday at 8am sharp and take you to the airport. Thank you for calling!"
     "Wait!" Shawn exclaims. The line is already dead. How will she know where to send the car? How much do I owe for my plane ticket and accommodations? Hold the phone! Did she say "chauffeur"? She did! SWEET CHICKEN!!!

Stay tuned for Part 2

Book Review: Bruchko by Bruce Olson

2009-04-13T00:31:00.004-05:00

God put it within me to one day live in China. Prior to November 2006, I never thought of myself as the missionary type, but he gave me a heart for China (中國), and one of these days by his grace when I get organized financially and otherwise, I'll be leaving on a jet plane to see what the Lord wants me to do there. Sharing this information with some friends over dinner, they invited me to read Bruchko. I took some time to get there as I had other books in the queue. I read this book in two days. It was that good. Venture with me on an excursion into South American jungles and learn what gospel contextualization really looks like. Bruce Olson, Bruchko, as he is affectionately called by the savage Montilones, shows up with nothing and is able to share the gospel in an unbelievable way. I was gripped by the simplicity of Bruchko's faith and his reckless abandon to the Lord Jesus regardless of the consequences. A must read for all Christians about living out the great commission whether abroad or in their neighborhood, Bruchko takes the win for total dependence on God for provision and contextualizing the gospel in an ancient world.

★★★★★

5 Things to do with Sunglasses During an Interview

2009-04-08T11:13:00.000-05:00

As my job search has been progressing and Texas has once again been schizophrenic in its weather patterns, the thought came across my mind today as to what to do with my sunglasses during my interviews. As a female, you toss them into your purse and forget about them until it is time to put them back on your face when you depart the hopeful new place of employment. As straight men, however, society has not afforded us the luxury of carrying around a purse or so-called "man bag" without carrying along the stigma of being labeled metro or homosexual. The former is more acceptable, but nonetheless, we are in a quandary. Today we will be discussing the several options or scenarios you may find your self in as a male.

If you put them on your head (as I normally would) you run the risk of looking unprofessional. Every one knows that guy that even when it's raining outside has his sunglasses on. He's going for the "I don't care what people think of me, but I really just want them to think that because I do care what they think" look.
If you leave them in the car, you are blinded by the sun on the way in and stumble around for anywhere from fifteen seconds to three minutes waiting for your eyes to adjust once you arrive inside your prospective employer's edifice. This is not an acceptable option either because either security, or if it's a small office your new boss, thinks you are drunk when you walk in. Not a good first impression to make.
Sometimes it depends on what kind of shirt you are wearing. If you tend to dress up for interviews with a coat and tie, your coat normally has an inner pocket in which you can place your pupil protectors. This is a hat trick for you, your employer, and your sunglasses.
If you shed the coat because you live in Texas, a state that is too hot to wear a suit coat almost anytime of year, you have two different options completely dependent on whether your shirt came equipped with breast pockets or not. Assuming you are wearing a tie and your shirt has no pockets, the sunglasses can be discreetly slid into your pants pocket and you can awkwardly walk around like you may have some uncomfortable intestinal problem lest you crush them, or you can hang them from your shirt behind your tie and hopefully no one will notice. If your shirt did come with the standard set of pocket(s), you can place them in said pocket and hope that they do not protrude too much from the top of your pocket protector. This is also an acceptable scenario unless you are Mr. Type A.
If you planned ahead, you brought your résumé in one of those nice portfolio folder devices that make you look fancy and well prepared. Also in your Type-Aness you brought a sunglasses case. This makes you look even more prepared because then you do not spend two or three minutes fumbling around with them while the person that has greeted you waits with an anxious outstretched hand hoping that you will not leave them hanging.

This a call to men out there that have experienced the same problem. What do you do with sunglasses during an interview?

Film Review: Apocalypto

2009-04-06T00:14:00.001-05:00

I bought this film about two years ago because I had heard great things about it, but never had the opportunity to watch it. I purchased it in China because it was "on sale" for 75 cents. I was thoroughly impressed with the manly allure. If you are female, you will probably not enjoy this movie. It is quite vulgar and explicit in the scenes that it does not cut away from. That being said, I loved the story. Jaguar Paw's village is ravaged by savages and through a set of prophetic circumstances he triumphs after several attempts at his life. The theme running throughout the chases in the film is devotion. Jaguar Paw's pregnant wife and son are trapped in a quarry that is quickly filling up with water from a storm. He is desperately trying to get back to them before they drown. I won't spoil it for you, but I would definitely recommend this for all men. If you enjoyed Braveheart, this is a win in your repertoire.

Book Review: What's So Amazing About Grace? by Phillip Yancey

2009-03-30T00:24:00.002-05:00

Evidently I have been on a Yancey extravaganza lately. I blazed through two of his books in the past two months or so. His writing style is just so addicting and clear that I do not want to stop reading. What's So Amazing About Grace breaks down most of the previous notions I had about grace. Yancey does an artful job of talking about grace without dissecting it and causing it to die in the process. Following the pattern of Romans, Yancey breaks grace down into what it is and what it is not. He discusses the "Atrocious Mathematics of the Gospel" and how they do not fall within the laws of the world. By definition grace is unfair. That's what makes it so amazing. The fact that a just and righteous God would declare ME clean is mind boggling. Without straying from the Gospel, this book made me laugh. It made me cry. It gave me a more accurate picture of the Gospel. In one story retold in the book, Will Campbell's faith and theology was being challenged. One persistent newspaper editor asked him to describe the Gospel in ten words or less. I agree whole-heartedly with Campbell's response: "We're all bastards, but God loves us anyway."

★★★★★

Media Monday

2009-03-29T15:24:00.000-05:00

As you may have already figured out I do a lot of media reviews on my blog. One of my spiritual gifts is knowledge, and I feel that God has laid it on my heart to consume media and determine its biblical qualities and pass that information along to you, my beloved readers. I was trying to figure out when a good time was to keep all the reviews of books, music, and films that I consume. I came with the clever idea of having "Media Monday". I can still do all of my reviews and most importantly you the reader will have something to look forward to on Monday mornings when you wake up to check your feed reader of choice. If you have not already, go to Google Reader and get signed up for an account, then come back here and you will notice a bright orange icon in the top right of this page that says, "Subscribe". Click that link and you should arrive at a fabulous page that gives you the option for automatic updates from the entire staff here at Searching for the Truth.

Thank you for your readership.

Book Review: The Jesus I Never Knew by Phillip Yancey

2009-03-26T04:56:00.001-05:00

Phillip Yancey was a new author for my library, and I was unbelievably impressed with his style and command of the English language. His vocabulary forced me to have a dictionary open for almost every chapter that I read. I enjoyed having to stop and ponder what he was really trying to say. He's not content to use the normal vernacular; he's articulate in the best way possible. He is wanting to communicate in the clearest fashion possible and sometimes that requires big words.

His thorough and in-depth research make this book a winner. Jesus is brought forth into a fresh light that transformed how I evaluated my own walk. If this is the man that I am supposed to be mirroring my life after, how well am I really doing? What needs to change? What am I doing well? Yancey challenged me in this book to plunge into the depths of my soul and examine what I really thought about Jesus.

★★★★

If Jesus Wrote Me a Letter...

2009-03-23T13:08:00.003-05:00

After listening to Cornerstone Simi Valley pastor Francis Chan's sermon How to Rekindle Your Love Relationship with God and watching a video from one of his websites, I was prompted to write about my relationship with Christ.

Dear Stephen,

How are you? I have not heard from you in awhile... I miss spending time with you. It seems as if you are way too busy learning about me so you can impress your friends with your knowledge about me. You read and study to learn about me, but neglect me in the process. I feel like you are collecting statistics about me to impress people that in the end really do not matter as much as I do. I desperately love you, Stephen. I want to spend time with you. I want to know how you are doing on a day to day basis. I don't want to play catch up with you after several long months of not speaking. It pains me to hear that you are struggling so much when all you had to do was come to me and explain the situation. I have been there. I know the pain you are going through. I know the temptations that you deal with every day. I know that it is hard to believe that I exist and that I am genuinely concerned with your good. I know that it stings when I ask you give up things that you hold so dearly. I know that you are desperately trying to fix yourself without my help. Take a breath, Stephen. Take some time to rest in my grace. Take some time to dwell on the fact that despite all of your habitual sinning, I love you. I sent Jesus to the cross to pay for your sin. Do not let it consume you. Let me come in and change your heart. Be honest with me about where you are and how you are struggling. Are you really trying to hide from me? I created the universe. I know everything. Stop hiding and come clean. Be dependent on me. Please allow yourself to be loved by me. I earnestly desire for relationship with you, Stephen. I am not the God that you have created me to be. I am not here to take things away from you and steal the fun in life. Indeed, I am here to bring you life. By following me and living like Jesus did, you will enjoy life on a level that you can barely comprehend. Life will no longer be drudgery but joy. Life will no longer seem pointless but have great purpose. Life will be deeper and more beautiful than you could ever imagine. There are things that you have not seen and things that you have not heard that I want to show you. I have prepared a glorious life for you. I have set your path and your way that you can know me. You know you can trust me, right? You know that I would never steer you in the wrong direction. Come follow me, Stephen. Trust me.

Love,
Abba

Quantum Mechanics

2009-02-07T10:29:00.001-06:00

Read the following statement as quickly as you can, comprehending as much as you can without rereading or stopping.

Quantum mechanics is a set of principles underlying the most fundamental known description of all physical systems at the microscopic scale (at the atomic level); it is more fundamental than classical mechanics and classical field theory. Notable amongst these principles are both a dual wave-like and particle-like behavior of matter and radiation, and prediction of probabilities in situations where classical physics predicts certainties. Classical physics can be derived as a good approximation to quantum physics, typically in circumstances with large numbers of particles. Thus quantum phenomena are particularly relevant in systems whose dimensions are close to the atomic scale, such as molecules, atoms, electrons, protons and other subatomic particles. Exceptions exist for certain systems which exhibit quantum mechanical effects on macroscopic scale; superfluidity is one well-known example. Quantum theory provides accurate descriptions for many previously unexplained phenomena such as black body radiation and stable electron orbits.

Wiki Article on Quantum Mechanics

Take a walk with me down to imagination station. Let's take a train ride through a completely hypothetical situation. I have just completed three (or four if I are on the five year plan) years of college. I have racked up enough hours to be considered a senior even though my maturity is far from the same state. I have just arrived in class. I start thinking about all the rumors of the professor I am about to experience for the first time. I have been told that senior level classes finally teach me the material that is going to be relevant to my career. No more core classes about how to get in touch with me feelings. Finally, a class that is worth all the money I spent to get here. Class attendance is abysmal. Several other students and I anxiously await the footsteps of the professor. He shows up right on time with a huge book and some notes in one hand and a steaming cup of coffee in the other. He sets the book down on the podium and takes one last sip of his coffee before adjusting his glasses. He glances around the room over the top of his horn-rims and smiles. Everyone smiles back and immediately feels welcome. The professor introduces himself. He takes a deep breath and begins to read from the book. He pulls out a legal pad filled with notes he has taken on the book. He reads from his notes and his book for two hours straight without once glancing up to see if anyone has understood. He reads his last sentence, closes his book, and flips back to the front page of his notes. He smiles again and takes a sip of his coffee. "See you Thursday!", he says. The other students look around in a grand state of confusion as if to say, "What the hell was that?" I concur with their evaluation of the class.

Thursday comes around and I am in my seat ready to take some notes. I went out the night before to get a voice recorder to make sure I could listen to whatever I was not able to capture in my notes. The professor comes in with his book, notes, and cup of joe. He smiles and begins reading. He persists in reading for the full two hours of class and then casually glancing around towards the end of his lecture and then promptly leaving without allowing any questions to be asked. After another mind-exhausting lecture I decide that it is time to have a little chat with this guy. I find his office hours on the syllabus and decide to make a pit stop right before I head home. As I head down the hallway I see him locking his office door and turn the other direction and barely catch the elevator. I shout his name, but the sound waves are stopped by the closing elevator doors. Gone. I guess I'll try again next week.

Tuesday rolls around and I am dead set on understanding a word this man says for his two hour lecture. This time I brought my laptop so I could take notes faster. No luck. He gives the same two hour lecture without any explanation as to what he is talking about. Gibberish. I am completely hopeless. So is everyone else in the class so it seemed last week, but the other students are walking out with smiles of delight. On my way out the door, I overhear a conversation between two other students and it seems that they actually understand this guy. I attempt to get some help from them and they are happy to oblige, but they repeat back the same gibberish of a lesson that the professor did. I am screwed. I'm going to fail. I cannot take the class from any one else. He's the only one that teaches the class. Time for another office hours visit. I call him ahead of time to make sure he is going to be there and he confirms. I arrive at least fifteen minutes early just to make sure, but he is already gone. I glance out the window to see him getting on the bus. Gone again. What the heck does it take to get some real answers from this guy? Why does it look like he is in plain sight when I want to learn but I cannot for the life of me seem to catch up to him outside of class? Why does he keep teaching the exact same lesson but never taking time to answer questions or even explain what he is talking about? Why is everyone else succeeding in this class but me?

If you resonate at all with the above situation, you have just understood the pattern of my life. Everyday I feel like I am sitting in the classroom of life learning the same lesson and my futile mind hardly comprehending two words out of the entire lesson. God seems unavailable when I need him most, and always available to teach the same lesson without offering any comprehensible help. The most confusing thing is that I fail everyday yet my grade stays the same. I still have an A in the class. Every test and quiz that comes along in this class, I completely bomb. Yet somehow I manage to keep a stellar average. I guess we could call that grace...

Music Review: An Evening with Shane and Shane by Shane and Shane

2009-02-04T08:32:00.002-06:00

This was a purchase because I so loved my Pages album. I was head down to San Antonio to get away from Dallas for a bit and wanted some new tunes to go with me. I was again amazed by the amount of truth that Shane and Shane somehow manage to cram into each song. A winner in my library. This is a somewhat live CD because there is clapping at the end of each song, but it doesn't sound like it was done in a live venue. No matter. My absolute favorite song on this album is the last one. It talks about how much longing there is to be back in paradise like Genesis 1. Almost every time I listen to it, my soul is deeply moved back to that eternal desire that Ecclesiastes says that God implanted in all of us. If you like to purchase the actual CD, grab it from Amazon. Otherwise click on the album art and you can go to iTunes to get it.

Favorite Songs: Yearn, Fringes, Namesake, Psalm 145, I Miss You

Music Review: Pages by Shane and Shane

2009-02-04T08:12:00.001-06:00

I bought this album several months ago not knowing much about Shane and Shane at all. I was happy with my David Crowder and Chris Tomlin (which for some reason I always end up deleting to correct my mispelling of name as "Christ Omlin"). I was nervous because one of my friends from college recommended it and I was a bit weary of his musical taste in general. I bought it after previewing it on iTunes and was pleasantly surprised. I opted for the Special Addition because I am a huge fan of acoustic sets. Also to my delight was that almost all of Shane and Shane's music is acoustic centered. Soaring lyrics about the truth of God made my soul sing for joy. They have become my new favorite right next to Crowder. The depth of their lyrics along with great music sets this album at the top of my list. If you like to purchase the actual CD, grab it from Amazon. Otherwise click on the album art and you can go to iTunes to get it.

Favorite Songs: Vision of You, In You, Embracing Accusations, Before the Throne (Acoustic)

February Bible Reading

2009-02-01T23:59:00.001-06:00

This is the upcoming month for me. I just about made it through Matthew in January even though there were some flubs here and there. The keys are consistency and desire. If you need a refresher on how to go about reading each particular section of the Bible check out my previous series on the topic. Make it exciting for you. Buy a good commentary or find some interesting thread or theme that you are wanting to explore more. Take a look at Mark Dever's Promises Made and Promises Kept books to get a great overview of each book you want to study.

How is your Bible Reading Plan going?

Gift

2009-01-31T07:08:00.000-06:00

Herein is love;
when I cannot rise to Him He draws near on wings of grace,
to raise me to Himself.

Herein is power;
when Deity and humanity were infinitely apart
He united them in indissoluble unity, the uncreated and the created.

Herein is wisdom;
when I was undone, with no will to return to Him,
and no intellect to devise recovery,
He came, God-incarnate, to save me to the uttermost,
as man to die my death,
to shed satisfying blood on my behalf,
to work out a perfect righteousness for me.

Gift of Gifts, The Valley of Vision

I read this other morning and was once again amazed by God's sovereignty in my salvation. So often I find myself in that place of trying to earn grace instead of resting in it. How I long for that day when I won't have to rest in grace, but it will be mine. I will finally be able to see without blinders on. I will finally be able to see that face that has been calling me for life.

Valley of Vision: The Mover

2009-01-12T02:05:00.001-06:00

O Supreme Moving Cause

May I always be subordinate to thee,
be dependent upon thee,
be found in the path where thou dost walk,
and where thy Spirit moves,
take heed of estrangement from thee,
of becoming insensible to thy love.

Thou dost not move men like stones,
but dost endue them with life,
not enable them to move without thee,
but in submission to thee, the first mover.

O Lord, I am astonished at the difference
between my receivings and my deservings,
between the state I am now in and my past gracelessness,
between the heaven I am bound for and the hell I merit.

Who made me to differ, but thee?
for I was no more ready to receive Christ than were others;
I could not have begun to love thee hadst thou not first loved me,
or been willing unless thou hadst first made me so.

O that such a crown should fit the head of such a sinner!
such high advancement be for an unfruitful person!
such joys for so vile a rebel!
Infinite wisdom cast the design of salvation
into the mold of purchase and freedom;
Let wrath deserved be written on the door of hell,
But the free gift of grace on the gate of heaven.

I know that my sufferings are the result of my sinning,
but in heaven both shall cease;
Grant me to attain this haven and be done with sailing,
and may the gales of thy mercy blow me safely into harbor.

Let thy love draw me nearer to thyself,
wean me from sin, mortify me to this world,
and make me ready for my departure hence.

Secure me by thy grace as I sail across this stormy sea.

Bible Reading Plans Part 4

2009-01-09T11:28:00.001-06:00

Finally to the Psalms and Proverbs. Psalms are all about Jesus, just like the rest of scripture so remember to read them with that in mind. If you start reading them and think about yourself all the time and how crappy life is, you missed the point. Scripture points to Jesus, not you. Proverbs are great for living wisely, but don't get caught up in the "I live like this so God
can give me _______________". Live wisely because it brings glory to God. Check it out. There are thirty days in a month, and there just happen to be 150 Psalms. Five Psalms read every day will get you through the whole book in a month twelve times a year. Also, Proverbs has thirty-one books. One each day will get you through the whole deal in a month and also twelve times a year. You can also break them up a bit more so that each month you concentrate on a set of twelve Psalms (you'll have to add an extra one every other month to make it even) and three chapters of Proverbs. The goal here is repetition and understanding of Scripture, not just merely reading through it to check it off the spiritual to-do list for Jesus so you get an extra jewel on your crown. However you do it, make it easy to remember.

This seems like a lot of reading now that I think about it. But what better way to spend our time than reading about the God who humbled himself to come down and save people who didn't do anything to deserve it? Here's the plan for which I have opted. I know a lot about the epistles. I am not bragging when I say this, but you can quote me a verse, and I can tell you where it is and what the theology behind it is and how it relates to other parts of the Bible. I can rattle off for hours about things of this nature. The problem is that I lost Jesus in the process. The relationship was traded for knowledge about him. I'm going to start with the 5x5x5 plan this year and see how it goes. I am going to spend a lot of time in the Gospels this year. I might go for one every three months, but really dig in and see what kind of a person Jesus is. I am wanting to know Jesus, not just know about him. Your goal may be different. It might be to read the whole thing, so you can know what people are talking about when a conversation strikes up about a sword being lost in a fat man's stomach and thereby killing him. You might want to know what gives Solomon the right to write an entire about practical ways to live. Whatever your reasons make sure they are God-honoring and Christ exalting.

Just below here, I provided some links to get you started on creating your own custom plan that suits your schedule and desires for reading.

BiblePlan.org

Zondervan's Idea

Bible Gateway's Idea

NavPress' Idea

Once again, the goal is worshipping God through the quickening of the Holy Spirit enabling us to live like Christ not merely checking off another calendar of our Christian duty.

Bible Reading Plans Part 3

2009-01-07T10:28:00.002-06:00

The New Testament is the glorious coming of Christ to earth to save sinners. If you haven't figured it out by now, something has gone horribly wrong with humanity and you are part of it. In the New Testament God fulfills his promise of the new covenant and sends Jesus to remove the curse of the Law and show us how to live in relationship with God through Christ and the Holy Spirit. For you to really understand the teaching of the New Testament and to grasp how to live in regards to Jesus dying in your place on the cross, the books need to be read in one sitting. Yes, even you can do this. The Gospels are a bit long, but you get a more accurate picture of who Jesus is and why he came. It wouldn't really make a whole lot of sense to read eight verses one day and then pick up the next day with no remembrance of what happened the day before. Some of you out there may have wonderful memories, but I follow a story a lot better if I read more than one paragraph a day instead of spreading it out over a month.

The epistles of Paul and the other authors MUST be read from beginning to end to understand his train of thought. Let's take Romans: Chapters 1-3, deal with our inability to live up to
the law. Chapter 4 deals with justification by faith apart from works of the law. Chapters 5-7 build the argument further and we come to Chapter 8. Chapters 8-11 address why and how we are saved. The end of 11 is a glorious shout of joy that God is so wise that he would do things the way he did. Chapters 12-15 tell us, in light of this great news, this is how we should live. If you cherry pick Romans, you might get the idea that the new covenant is no different from the old. Read them all the way through and really try to understand the purpose of its writing. I would pick 7-9 books to read each month depending on length. You can spend a couple days or more on each to really grasp what is being said. This may take a larger chunk of time out of your day, but it's better to read them all the way through.

Later this week, we will take a look at the last two major sections of the Bible and how to go about reading them. Stay with me. We're almost done.

Bible Reading Plans Part 2

2009-01-05T11:35:00.001-06:00

To get us started on our Bible Reading Plan journey, please fasten your safety belt until the captain turns off the fasten safety belt indicator. Remain seated for the duration of the flight unless you have an emergency. The Old Testament was written as a story. The story starts out with creation and then takes us on a fantastic journey with a lot of turbulence as our pilot navigates through history showing us exactly why we need a Savior. If you want to get right to the point of our need for salvation, go look at the Old Testament Law in Leviticus and try to live by those rules. Good freaking luck. Thank Christ that God came down to save us. Much of the Old Testament is showing us through history that we cannot stay true to God. He gives us abundant chances to turn to him and we continue to turn away. In one way he illustrates his love for us by telling Hosea to go marry a whore. In the symbolism, God is Hosea and we are the whore. We continually bring shame to his name, but He continues to love us. His mercy is shown throughout the narrative of Hosea in that he always loves his wife. He never breaks his covenant with her. The entire Old Testament points to Christ. In all books and in all ways, we can relate the stories back to a single point of origin: we are jacked up and need a Savior. God sends someone to save us.

For the Old Testament, read them as novels. Some of the more difficult ones you are going to have to read and muscle through. Let's be honest, Numbers is not terribly exciting. All of the books are there for a purpose and bring glory to God, but sometimes it's difficult to stay awake no matter what time of day you are reading. Unless you are a history buff and enjoy reading through long narrative history textbook kind of stuff, you may need to intersperse the Old Testament with a refreshing letter from Paul. We will talk about these letters as well as the Gospels later this week. I will provide some resources to get you started on the last day.

Bible Reading Plans Part 1

2009-01-03T06:00:00.004-06:00

Goodnight! There are a lot of plans out there. Which do you choose? How do you go about choosing one? Why would you want to read the Bible in a year anyway? What's so special about a year that I get through the whole thing? These are some of the questions that go through my head when I thought about my approach to reading this year. This new task often looms ahead of believers everywhere. We cry out, "This is the year that I'm going to read through the whole thing!", only to find ourselves in February hopelessly falling behind schedule as work mounts up and spring sports for the kids take over our evenings (not that I have any, I just know that's what tends to happen).

So, here's the scuttlebutt. Some plans just want to get you through the whole thing with no regard for your time. Some plans tease you and tell you that it only takes five minutes every day. Other plans attempt to, either chronologically or in order, read from front to back. The
problem with almost all of them is that they forget how the author originally intended the books to be read. The New Testament is mostly letters, which meant they were to be read in one sitting. The Psalms were mostly prayers that David and others were crying out to the Lord in honor or frustration and other emotions. The Old Testament is God's beautiful display of his chosen people coming to know him. With vast viewpoints and authors and different styles, how do you come up with the perfect plan to accommodate the different styles? In the next week or so, I'll discuss why each section of the Bible should be read a particular way and how to go about doing that. The whole point of reading the Bible is that we grow in our love and affections for Jesus by reading his word. Everyone is going to be different and it may be beneficial to read like I do or adopt your own plan. Stay tuned in the next week to gather some insight into how to read the Bible.

This is going to be a 4 part series on how to read the Bible in a year. This is my opinion from what I have
learned, so take what you like and get rid of the rest. This is by no means the only way to do it.

San Antonio

2009-01-01T07:37:00.000-06:00

On Tuesday around 2pm, I decided after a tough week that I would drive a long way away from Dallas. I wasn't really sure where I was going, but plans lined up to head down to San Antonio. I left at 3:30pm. My spur of the moment decision found me driving down listening to All of Grace and some Shane and Shane. My head was chocked full of racing thoughts that were all over the racetrack. I'm glad the thoughts didn't spill over into my driving, otherwise I would not have come back at all. After a few hours I was back in a place of peace. I tend to get overwhelmed by my sin and getting away from Dallas and forcing myself to sit in the presence of our God and King. I saw my older brother on Tuesday night and once again sat in awe of HDTV and BluRay discs watching an episode of Planet Earth on Caves that are run on bat guano. Seriously the whole cave is powered by three million some odd bats that drop their stuff and then a whole ecosystem can thrived by them doing this natural activity. Crazy. I am so glad that my Freebirds burrito came before watching the bats. I spent some time with my college buddy Todd the next morning for an amazing breakfast in Boerne, Texas before heading back to the shopping mall known as USAA for lunch with my brother.

Lessons learned:

Faith is required to do anything that God wants to do in my heart. Not only does God want me to come to him with my burdens, he delights in taking them from me.
God is mighty to save. Trying to master my sin is about as successful as "attempting to hold the north wind in the hollow of my hand". Why not let the one who can raise people from the dead do the hard work?
God started salvation in my heart and does not intend to abandon me and leave me to sanctify myself. He intends to finish the work he started in his timing.
Always eat good food BEFORE watching a special on caves powered by bat guano.

Book Review: All of Grace by C.H. Spurgeon

2009-01-01T07:17:00.001-06:00

All of Grace was cool water to my soul. It's not often that I listen (yes, this was an audio book), to books, but this was a great endeavor. From my previous entry, I obtained this book for free and listened to it in between work and home. 15 minutes really is less than ample time to grasp the whole flow of thought from beginning to end. The thing that I loved most about listening to this in two sittings is that Spurgeon really drives home the fact of our depravity in a way that is not condemning. He really makes you aware of how dependent we are on God for everything including repentance. He stretched my faith and allowed me to see God in fresh Biblical light. This is not a read that you just thumb through and be done with it. It is full of wisdom and nuggets of truth that need one needs to dwell upon to graps their full weight. This was originally written for skeptics as noted by the long introduction extending an invitation to read on, but is great for believers with a skewed view of God such as myself.