I Beg

This is another of the great songs on Shane & Shane's new cd "Pages." (You're probably going to be hearing a lot about this cd over the next few posts.) I just want to talk about the chorus of this song. It starts with a pre-chorus that says "I'm haunted by a God that has the right to ask what by the very nature of my rebellion I cannot give" I love this line. It is so Augustinian: "Command what you will, but give what you command." This has been my prayer over the last couple weeks. Probably in large part to reading Piper's short commentary on Augustine in "The Legacy of Sovereign Joy." I too am haunted by the fact that God commands me to do things that I am completely unable to do them. One of the major sins I struggle with in my life is that of trying to rely on my own strength to do things. I acknowledge that God is sovereign, and I frequently ask God to reveal His will to me and then I respond "Thanks God. You can step aside now. I got this." I think I can figure it out, perform the work, say the words. I am completely incapable and I've been wrestling a lot with my pride over this issue. So my prayer is the same as the chorus of this song: "I beg for you to move, I beg for you to move, I beg for you to break through." O God, break through my pride and the heart that I keep trying to turn back into stone. Make me humble. I long for brokenness, and the desire to say "Not by my will, but the Lord's. Not by my strength, but Yours." Have Your way with me.

Doxology

I couldn't think of a title for this post, until I got to the end. I'm currently listening to the new Shane and Shane cd. It's incredible. It's definitely different from their past cds. I know it will take some time to get used to it, but its a great cd. It leads into worship so well. I can't help but worship my Redeemer when listening to these songs. So far my favorite song on the cd, and perhaps of all S&S songs, is "Embracing Accusation." When I heard it I burst into tears and wept with joy and grief. The truth of the song is so amazing and it coincided with some of the things that God has been showing me in His word. What an amazing Gospel song. Even if you don't buy the cd, listen to that song. It may not impact you as dramatically as it did me, but the truth of it cannot be denied. Praise the Lord! My Redeemer lives! My Advocate, Intercessor, Savior, and my Righteousness! To You alone be all glory forevermore!

And there was great rejoicing

Shane & Shane's new cd comes out tomorrow! I pre-ordered mine in order to get the behind the scenes extra stuff, so I don't know when exactly I'll be getting my copy, but when it does come, expect a review. Until then, go now and buy it as soon as possible. It's bound to be good.

I smell like smoke

After five years of having a job, I finally took a vacation. I've had some long weekends before, but this summer I took some serious time off. I just spent the last five days at Grand Teton National Park (which is right next to Jackson, Wy) with my parents, and my sisters and their husbands. It was great. I had forgotton how much I missed camping. Being outside, sitting by the campfire, watching black bears roam through the campsite looking for food (picture forthcoming), I love it. It was a really good week. We did a lot of stuff. Monday we had dinner at the Bar J Ranch. If you are ever in Jackson, you have to visit the Bar J Ranch. This was my third time. Basically, it's a real cattle ranch and you show up (hopefully with a reservation, you'll need it) and pay for your meal. There are about five choices. I had the chicken and bbq beef combo. Then you find your table in this big barn-looking auditorium. There are about 700 people seated in the building. They are able to serve all 700 people within 20 minutes. It's pretty cool. After you finish eating, you get some dinner entertainment with the Bar J Wranglers. They sing a bunch of songs, do some comedy stuff, it's a blast. I highly recommend it. Tuesday we visited yellowstone and saw Old Faithful and walked around the geysers and the hot pools. Wednesday, we went whitewater rafting down the Snake river. This was also my third time doing that. The rapids weren't as big this time as they have been in the past due to a lot of rain that they have had lately. But it was still a ton of fun. If you've never been, basically you sit on the side of a small 8-man raft and you have to paddle through all of the rapids. If you don't paddle, then there's a good chance that you won't make it through, so there is pretty good incentive to paddle through them. It's always a little scary at first, but it's a ton of fun. On one of the bigger rapids with six foot waves, my brother-in-law, Eric, was sitting in front of me and got knocked back into me. It's pretty intense. I love it. Thursday we took a day and just chilled out. We didn't do anything planned, we just sat around the campfire and read, or played Scrabble or cards, some of us took a walk, just a good relaxing day. I got a fair amount of reading done. Spent a lot of time reading the Word and I got half-way through both Preaching the Cross and The Legacy of Sovereign Joy. Both really good books. I look forward to finishing them. And finally, I drove home yesterday. As much as I love camping, I really loved sleeping in my own bed last night. If only I could get the campfire back home, then everything would be perfect. Anyway, that's where I've been the last week. Hope your weeks have been good. God Bless.

The long awaited return

Sorry I've been away for so long. Some of that has been because my computer had a nervous breakdown and gave me the blue screen of death. It took a while but it's finally back on its feet. I feel as though a lot has happened to me lately, but ironically I don't know what to talk about. Let's start with a cd review.

I recently bought Matt Redman's new cd, Beautiful News. I must say it is excellent. It's one of the best cds I've ever listened to. It is incredible musically (especially considering the worship music genre), but the best part of the cd is the lyrics. They are so God-centered and Bible-saturated that they can't help but convict and encourage and uplift. They constantly point me to God time and time again. My favorite song on the cd is "Yes and Amen." It has been a particularly convicting song to me lately. We need to declare Yes and Amen to everything that God does and asks us to do. So often my mind is on my own agenda and my own ideas and I need to remember that God is the sovereign ruler over my life and He is also a good and loving Father and everything He asks of me and everything He does is good and perfect and is the best thing for me and I need to obey in faith (Rom. 1:5). That concept of the obedience that comes from faith has also really been on my mind lately. Maybe I'll devote a future post to that sometime.

I've also been recording some guitar parts (and the occasional vocal part) for a friend of mine. He's written a bunch of songs based on the Song of Solomon and we're recording them at a studio. Hopefully we'll have a cd all together sometime soon. He's also doing me the honor of recording a song that I wrote and putting that on the cd as well. I've had a lot of fun doing it. I'm looking forward to recording the rest of the songs. The songs also have really good lyrics and it's been a joy to hear scripture sung.

And finally, I just got back from spending a week with Jen and Kellen up in Salmon, Idaho. Kellen just became the pastor of the Calvary Chapel up there. It's been very encouraging to see what God is doing in him and in the people of the church up there. We had a lot of good discussions and it was a great time of rest and relaxation. I think that was the longest amount of time I have had off since I started working when I was 18. Up until then I hadn't had anything longer than a five-day weekend, so it was a good vacation. I was able to do a lot of praying and reading during that time also. I read Mark Driscoll's "Confessions of a Reformission Reverend," which just proved to me that I am not Mark Driscoll. It was a good autobiography of sorts and gave an inside look as to how Mars Hill started and what it's goals were and are and how they hope to acheive them through the grace of God. I also read most of "The Supremacy of God in Preaching" by Piper and "How Readest Thou" by Ryle. Both are really short and really good. I recommend them both.

Anyway, that ought to be enough for now. I know I've promised it before, but this time I really will try and post a bit more frequently. Be praying for me. I have some pretty big decisions to make and I need a humble heart before God. And thanks to my two readers for checking in on me :) God bless.