Voice That Spoke Mountains

The Will of God

2011-07-09T01:19:00.000-05:00

What really matters in this life is honoring, worshipping, obeying, and doing the will of God and passing that on to your children. What is the will of God is the question? He puts us here for a few moments for some reason, and I think, that part of that reason is to honor, worship obey and do His will.

So once you get the first three down pat one must finally find out the will of God.

Is helping other people the will of God? Is making your mark in this world the will of God? Is the will of God merely to bring about the next life? Procreate! Is the will of God to get married? To love and be loved. Live life caring about the things of this world? Is the will of God to sit in a church pew singing praising and quietly traversing life without affecting another life? Is not affecting another life ok?

Who says that affecting another life is a requirement in the will of God? The will of God is big and it is small. Is the will of God a self serving fancy?

Or...Is it the will of God to take whatever path is necessary to perfect ones character? Is the progression of the perfection of your character part of the will of God? Is the perfection of character a part of salvation? Or is salvation a free gift, and then the will of God a natural by product of that.

It would be easy to confuse works salvation with this idea of progressing perfection of character? But what is character? What is the perfection of character? Is there a standard of what the perfection of character is since we cannot rely upon our understanding of character or our definition of character? Certainly Character is never perfected. Knowing that why try?

Is there and element of perfection of character that breeds legalistic thinking and judgement? Two negative character traits that themselves are ungodly in our human applications since God alone is the judge of what is righteous or unrighteous. Certainly we are so imperfect that the perfection can become a pursuit of the self righteous.

If this idea of character perfection contrasted to the perfect character of God is the standard, would then all of the endeavors we pursue be journeys to that character perfection. If so it doesn't matter what we endeavor to do, as long as our character is becoming more and more perfected even if painfully slow and torturous and rife with suffering?

So if one wants to pursue life as a Rock Star, one is within the bounds of Gods will, as long one understand that the journey is merely a journey on the road to perfecting the character and making it more like that of Christ.

And the same goes for whatever pursuit one undertakes such as getting married or staying single or living on a farm or becoming an architect or feeding the poor or making a million dollars, as long as the journey one is on, one is perfecting the character through the rigors of spiritual disciplines and honoring, obeying, loving, serving, worshiping, and praising Christ. So that in all endeavors that all humanity undertakes, all humanity is finding ways in their lives to honor worship obey Christ. It doesn't matter what one is doing as long as that is being applied to ones life they are fulfilling the will of God, and they can say that yes they did the will of God but never worked a day in their life for their salvation.

We have been made for noble and for ignoble purposes. We are clay, and we are in the Potters hand and who are we the clay to say to the potter why did you make me this way? We are nobody to say to the potter why? However we have the mission in this life to become more and more like Jesus and that is the will of God and though will never come close to Him our striving that separates us from the world.

We must discover the character of Christ and therein lies the true meaning of fellowship, church finding together the character of Christ. It doesn't matter if you ever lift a finger to participate in church functions, the purpose of this life to perfect ones character and become more and more like Christ. Everyone has their pace, everyone has a rate at which that occurs but it must occur moment to moment to minute to hour to day to week to years to life.

That is the purpose of this life. He put us here for his pleasure because he loves life. He valued life. He is pleased by life. Life must certainly give him pleasure and to see the life that he has created must make him happy, but for him to see us throw the life he gave us away, devaluing life and, devaluing our character is what causes him pain. That is sin.

Sin is the devaluation of character. Sin is the depletion of Christlike character. Sin is entropy of character. Sin is the disintegration of character. Sin is the turning away from striving toward Christ. Nothing matters in this life unless one is striving toward Christ, and then everything matters. There is no purpose to this life unless one is striving toward Christ. When one is striving toward Christ then all endeavors in life are purposeful even if they are forgotten forever.

There is no reason to leave a legacy, because the only legacy that matters is whether you strove toward Christlike character or whether you didn't. So what is the character of Christ? It is so big that there is no way to simply define it. We know Jesus was not a pansy, but we know he was full of love and grace. We know he didn't back down from bullies, but we also know he didn't harm people. We must find the character of Christ in his word.

His word is where we find him. We must remember never to judge another mans walk. Each must stand before God for their life, and the character they stove toward while they lived it. We must focus on our walk. And if that means we become larger than life as a result of walking in the path of Jesus toward his character so be it. If it means taking slow little steps all our lives so be it. Just walk.

If your heart desires to be a plumber be a plumber. If your heart is deeply in love with another don't question if it is Gods will for your life, question how well you will follow the path of God and perfect your character in the process of loving that person forever. You're wondering if you should marry that man or woman, and if it is gods will. Don't. Just ask yourself, how will I better be able to perfect my character in marrying this woman/man. Ask yourself not, “is this gods will,” but “what is my plan to perfect my character in a lifelong relationship.”

If you want to be a lawyer or doctor or nurse or wife or husband or father or mother plan your path to perfecting your character and just be those other things. Plan on being met with new challenges in your life that will give you many opportunities to perfect your character. Too often Christians want to know if this plan or that decision or some career is the will of God for one’s life as if they are soothsaying. They want no risk in life and want to devine the future. The future doesn’t matter. Perfecting Christlike Character in one’s life does.

Instead of struggling and flailing about as to what the will of god is pursue your hearts desire And know that whatever you do it is your character that counts and matters not the endeavor. This is about process and results.

If at the end of your life as an architect the only thing you ever built was a woodshed, but your character was perfected daily, then indeed you have prospered. If at the end of your life you have sold millions of records and played in thousands of arenas, but your character was never made even one step closer to Christ, then you have truly been poor. If you build great homes and great structures that marvel the world, but your character was all you truly cared about, and everyday you worked to make it more like Christ, then indeed you have prospered.

If at the end of your life you never did anything, you never played a guitar, never built so much as a dog house, never contributed to one human’s life for the better, never made any money, you were poor and never once thought to become more Christ like and never found your salvation then your life will have been wasted.

But if all of the former applied, and you did find salvation, then your life was truly poor if never striving toward the character of Christ. Certainly you will find yourself in the Kingdom of God, but your life would have been a waste, and the purposes of God would never have been fulfilled, and you would be truly poor. You would be one of those who never experienced the joy of His salvation, and never would have risen above living hell on earth.

If I never build a palace, if I never change a life, if I never sing a song, but I strive toward Christ like Character, then I would have prospered. I would have done the Will of God.

American Church

2010-11-16T16:31:00.004-06:00

American Church

Its time to start a Church that makes you feel alive like the way they make you feel alive at Willow Creek but that sticks to sound doctrine and good theology void of the recent Emergent Church Philosophies and Social Justice messages of our hyper-culturally sensitive Seeker Churches. We would need creative people with enormous talents to pull together such a group. Please pray.

At the end of the day, at the beginning of the day and throughout the day for that matter what really matters in the sum of things is where you will spend eternity. With Jesus or not. Getting there is the trip of a lifetime. Spending time enjoying your salvation while on earth can make living the pain of life's daily tribulations that much sweeter.

This is American Church. Politically involved, culturally aware, creatively in tune, fully Jesus Centered.

Rise Up

2010-05-18T12:48:00.004-05:00

For all the flag wavers who can't discern the line between devotion to God and devotion to country...enjoy this. Its not about race. Its not even about God. Although He is our Source of life and love. Its about Stewardship. Our government has been poor stewards of the money they have TAKEN from us. They take 40 to 60 percent of our income. Income Tax is supposed to be on profits derived from a Corporation or a company not off the backs of the labor force. When we get paid we get paid for our labor. When a company gets paid it gets paid for a product. The profits off that product are what constitute an income for that company. We trade our labor for dollars instead of bartering our labor for other people's services or products. When you tax someone's labor you tax their productivity. You tax a human being as opposed to that which should be taxed which is an inanimate object which is a product. Taxing a human being up to 60 percent of their income is nearly slavery. So for all those critics who believe this is about Race and the Tea Party doesn't understand that there are disparities and we are all being treated poorly enjoy this video. Its fun, happy and alive. Never feel guilty for feeling fun, happy and alive.

Jeremy Camp "Take You Back"

2010-05-11T22:46:00.001-05:00

Thank You God my Father for always taking me back!!!

Regret

2010-02-18T06:14:00.002-06:00

i wish I was that
i wish I could hear myself change
i can't live this life without regret
if i did that means i did everything right
and that means i never lived
i needed to make mistakes
i need to be wrong
i needed to say i cried
i need to wish i could fly
i need these regrets
because without them i have no redemption
which is the sweetest thing i can hear
and it comes in the ways i never face
it comes in a gift of love from any hand
it comes in the pat on the back
sometimes it comes in my own tears
knowing i was wrong and can live
knowing i can change to make me
I'm glad I lived this life with regrets
because it make me see me for me
Grace, sustains.

Give Me Jesus.

2010-02-16T11:04:00.001-06:00

Legacy

2010-02-16T00:02:00.005-06:00

Legacy

There is a lot of talk in the church and out of the church for that matter about legacy. Leaving a legacy. Building a legacy. Legacy. It could be the ultimate ego trip actually. How one will be remembered for eternity.

Of course we all have that side to our egos that needs to know we will be remembered when we die. That someone actually will grieve our loss. That someone actually thought that what we did and how we lived mattered.

The idea of leaving a legacy is the idea of pre-greiving our own loss, and the level of the legacy you want to leave is proportional to the level of one's sense of self importance. Ego. How we are respected when we die, but what legacy do we leave that really matters. Do people wax poetic about our one time existence? He was a great man. She was a wonderful mother and so on.

There are many legacies. Gerald Ford under appreciated while he was here was over appreciated after he died. His legacy barely known. He will be remembered as an American President. Did he affect my life? Probably not. If I didn't know him personally then his legacy has no bearing on me but on his friends and family he was an amazing human being.

Legacy is often a personal immediate circle concept. Unless that legacy is bad such as the one the notorious Charlie Manson will one day leave. When Charlie leaves it will be a legacy of hate, evil and murder. And it is a legacy that all of us is partially affected by. We have all had a glimpse of true evil when we think of Manson.

But what about the normal person? Legacy of love. Legacy of compassion. Legacy of good children. But are those legacy's? The very meaning of the word is supposed to be bigger than life. Those good things we do in our lives are not really legacy's they are what is required. So why is the word thrown about?

It is thrown about because we have to up the ante to what lengths people will go to in order to be praised for doing what we should already be doing. Sure I want my son to remember that I was a good dad, and that he grew up being a good child and ultimately a good man. But is that a legacy? Is it worthy of being called a legacy?

Here is what legacy really is: Leaving people with something that truly matters.

What Matters?

The only thing that truly matters at the end of the day in this life is Jesus and how we will go into eternity. If we are not leaving the world with Jesus then we are not leaving the world with a legacy.

Building a legacy is really all about taking the focus off oneself and putting everyone's focus on Jesus so that when we die it wasn't us who is remembered it is Jesus who is glorified with people giving their lives to Him.

Sweet

2010-02-15T23:00:00.003-06:00

That word sweet is another word for praise. Sweet Jesus. Sweet Lord. Sweet Lord I get to breathe and think and give. Sweet. Even if You slay me Lord...sweet. I get to go there. Sweet Lord if You keep me here. I get to be here for You. Sweet Jesus she was beautiful. Sweet...Jesus You give me words to pray. Sweet...Jesus there's a song twigging through my brain. Sweet...Jesus I took that word for You.

American Hope

2010-01-19T08:04:00.006-06:00

How important is it for Christians to be involved in the process of electing leaders? Romans 13 has many Christians right in its sights. Rightly interpreted it holds no confusion for those who rightly divide the truth. Germans were confused enough by it that they kept quiet during the mass murder of 6 million people. Yet the verses are not confusing when Christian Pastors pray and teach what it really means. God ordains all government.

13:1 Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except by God’s appointment, and the authorities that exist have been instituted by God. 13:2 So the person who resists such authorityresists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will incur judgment 13:3 (for rulers cause no fear for good conduct but for bad). Do you desire not to fear authority? Do good and you will receive its commendation, 13:4 for it is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be in fear, for it does not bear the sword in vain. It is God’s servant to administer retribution on the wrongdoer.

Rulers cause no fear for those with good conduct but for bad. The interpretation is that God ordains good government, but bad government He has not approved, yet bad government still rules over people.

God's servant...to administer. God's servant? Is God's servant a good or a bad influence, an ordained or an unordained servant?

In the United States the government is the people, and thus God working through our founders created a government that is good because the people are the government. And the people for the most part who populated this nation were followers of Jesus. The government now is not the government as we would like to believe.

We must understand that it is truly the people who is the government. It truly is the people that are the rulers. It is truly the people who gives the government permission to represent them and we the people are under God's direct authority. When the bible says God ordains those who are authorities, in the case of the USA, God ordained the people to be the Authorities. Our founders understood that. We are the ordained government.

The people that make laws are the proxy of We the People. They have been given a privilege to represent us the people because we are the ordained government. However when the people loses its connection with God or when the people loses its ability to understand this direct line of authority the government that is the proxie of the people, rules the people, and is suddenly out of the chain of command from God.

This is why our founders founded this nation as a Christian nation so that it would always be ruled by Godly men and women who were and are the people. The people acting out of their faith would elect leaders who reflected their values and as they reflected their values they would cause no fear for good conduct.

We the People of the USA are the government that is ordained by God. Because we the people are no longer a Christian people, or because the Christians in the nation no longer understand their position in government, America has incrementally and slowly become a nation no longer ordained by God.

Yet the people are still the authorities that God ordained and the people have become ruled by their passions for all things not of God. The popular culture is the ruler of hearts and minds and thus we have set a nation to govern based upon the whims and the passions of the moment.

We have truly lost our way as a nation and in order for the government that we elect to be just and good again we the people must once again become just and good. As long as we the people are the government the government we elect will continue to be a reflection of what we are and want.

It truly comes down to us deserving the leaders we get. If people in the country want to continue to be abused by the leaders we elect to be our proxy government then that is the choice of each individual American.

Shhh....its ok...Once Upon A time

2009-12-16T09:34:00.012-06:00

Its really ok to be in love and never be loved. It doesn't mean anything more than that. We move on and when we do its by virtue of demystifying that which we once mystified. Perfect closing to an imperfect feeling. Ciao. Im happy to have been there for a moment and happy to have left forever. True colors get shown. The utter lack of grace is bestowed. The toxic nature of it becomes reality. And the deer that was trapped finally escapes. Leaving the ugly beauty of that once mysterious life with goodbye to hopefully find grace but likely never to find humility.

We are all fallen creatures first and foremost, and then we are all primal instinctual, and anything we add to it after that is about image and pride. We pick the people in our lives that reflect what our ego's determine is our worth. We make the choices in our lives based on the same. Our deepest self image will come out. Love of self will be portrayed in love for others. Hate for self will be portrayed in hate for others. Neither of which is to be confused with disagreement or cooperation.

Though I know that love is lost now and forever, I needed to tell it only to close out that nagging need, you know the one thing that nags at the back of your mind and you finally figure it out. You know how you'll forget a thought in a conversation and days later you remember it and call that person up who you were talking to just to tell them that bit of information you had suddenly forgot. Well I guess this is just similar only in that it was a bit of information I could never explain, and I'm just wrapping up that loose end.

Rail

2009-11-30T22:58:00.002-06:00

I am fascinated with Rail Roads. The potential. The adventure. The progress. Out here in Illinois the rail still leads west. Leads to open skies and big dreams.

Our Place

2009-11-24T12:14:00.004-06:00

Our place as "Saved by Grace Jesus Followers" is seated with Jesus in the Heavenly places according to Ephesians chapter 2. This seated place is our spirit person/man/woman. We are literally in spirit seated with Jesus next to Yahuweh. Though we dwell here in body and flesh we are seated with Him while we dwell here and thus our spirit is both seated with Him and dwelling in our old shell.

Nothing can take our spirit away from that position. Once saved by Grace through faith and this not of us we are there permanently. Yet as we live this life in the body we are subjected to the desires of the flesh of which we must continually override in order to experience, daily, the joy of our salvation, and thus experience the fruit of that spiritual state we each currently exist in. When we follow and pursue the desires of the flesh, many of them exceedingly pleasurable in the flesh, we mute the spiritual fulfillment of being positioned next to Christ. Yet merely overriding the flesh is not enough. Practicing the spiritual acts of Prayer, Worship, Fellowship and reading His word are habits we must form.

When we follow the desires of the flesh we chose not to experience the joy of our salvation. The choice between the two can often be as simple as forming a habit. If we habitually chose the joy of our salvation it becomes a part of our being, but if we continually choose the desires of the flesh we will experience that and mute our Salvation.

Yet we know that we will not lose our salvation but will be saved as if through a fire. The fire being the pain and the grief we experience while pursuing the desires of the flesh not to mean that we won't experience pain and grief following the Holy Spirit. Yet if we pursue the desires of the flesh and end up dying of some heinous disease as a result we can know that we had the chose to follow Jesus or follow self. The desires of the flesh are truly temporary. The desires of the spirit are eternal and have real time effects also.

Following Jesus must be a practice.

It is a struggle between our position in Christ seated in the Heavenly's and our position in the flesh existing in the world. One of the ways to practice following the Spirit and experience the joy of our salvation is to be in fellowship with true followers of Jesus Christ.

In Memory of David Jerry Hale Sr.

2009-11-20T13:32:00.000-06:00

In Memory of David Jerry Hale Sr.

Morning

2009-11-19T06:53:00.003-06:00

Its a usually cool November morning. A little frost on the windows. A little Christmas wafting in the air. Thanksgiving right around every naked tree. Leaves swirling with the wind tossing them everywhere out on the street.

Trees stripped to bony skeletons against the morning sky. The Bears continuing to be the lovable losers although I have to admit I am not loving them much lately. How much thanks is enough to give God for all the many beauties He has created. Everyday is a painting. Every moment a photograph. There is not enough thanks to give our Loving Creator for all of this art. I give thanks and praise and glorify our Lord. The God of Abraham, Isac and Jacob. Thank You Father for your love.

Holy Spirit Breathe Up My Soul

2009-11-13T14:07:00.001-06:00

I woke up with this song inside of me this was the refrain:

Holy Spirit breath up my soul

I couldn't stop singing it until I fell back to sleep an hour or so later.

I had this incredible dream that I was praising Jesus with the most incredible believers they all loved Jesus so much they were so free with their praise and worship not in a weird way but in a pure true and real way. They were so in love with Jesus and they flowed with their singing and their love for Jesus. In my dream I heard these wonderful praise and worship songs that I have never heard heard before everyone was so alive with the Holy Spirit.

I remember a time when I had this in my life, and when I walked into a room, or went anywhere I had spiritual presence not spiritual pride but spiritual presence spiritual grace where if someone talked to me or met me they would feel the spiritual love of Yahweh coming off me in peels that would never stop.

This dream I laid in bed thinking about it and the songs kept me thinking about it and I kept signing that song when i woke up and I felt the presence of Christ an easy and light and sweet feeling like i belonged in that feeling peaceful like nothing else not back chilling or tearful but an easy feeling this dream i was in a place it was Saturday afternoon at 330 and i was singing with these other believers i saw people from my job there they were saved and people from willow creek people were reaching across to hold each others hands they used the graphic arts to worship Christ with colors and this dream was unlike any other I have ever had.

I woke up wondering if someone was actually praying for me somewhere. Jesus wants me in fellowship everyday. I should start a church just so I can be in fellowship everyday. the songs I had in this dream they were simple but they were all new. I wish I could remember them. i don't want to wait 30 more years for this. i don't want to wait another day for this. i want this kind of fellowship with other believers it was addictive. these believers were all so in love with Jesus that you could not help but believe you belonged there none of them had pretensions when the singing stopped they all had love continuing to radiate from them and i could feel it and i felt like i belonged even though i had never been there.

And it wasn't like they were a bunch of daisy wavers. they were all regular people whose smiles was bursting with Jesus and they were awash with the Holy Spirit, His presence is everywhere but in this place one could really feel it it was not muted by our sin. I was in the presence of men and women of God and I knew it. They really loved Yahushua. In my dream something was telling me that this was for me.

This was a real place maybe a place that was still to come or a place that could be or a place that existed right now. I am so tired of this world I want to be immersed in fellowship. I just want to be with other believers who really really really believe and love love love Jesus. I want to be with them everyday. I want to live with them everyday. True believers. Fellowship and worshiping Jesus all together loving Him and awash in His Holy Spirit. I want that to be the reality and not the other way around: living in the world awash in the world and then stepping out of the world into fellowship periodically. I want to be immersed in fellowship and then when I step into the world it is having to step our of fellowship into the world. I want to be with Jesus.

Pride: the opposite of pride is not humility it is grace.

Tatoo's

2009-11-10T10:54:00.000-06:00

I love Tattoo's. On other people. The cheerleader who gets a dolphin on her foot or ankle. Yuk. The good girl who's trying to be a little bad and gets one behind her ear and has to live up to her commitment. Her commitment to her tatoo. She starts smoking. Lots of things. Buys a Harley and wears leather. Wears her hair in a pony tail or spike just so that the little angel she carved right behind her ear on her neck gets seen. Or how about the guy who gets a tatoo on the back of his calf. He's wearing shorts in the winter time or he moves to LA where he can wear shorts all the time. A Tatt is a big commitment. Its not like back in the Sailor on the high seas days, pulling into the Philippine port and having a seedy little red light district tatt forged on your forearm. Tatts are sophisticated these days. Girly Girls have em. Girly men have em. Tattoo parlors dominate the urabanscapes of many industrially depressed American cities. Our commitment to tatoos has become obsessive. If you don't have one you are weird. If you are a man and you have one it is an instant girlfriend.

What do they have to do with the Voice that Spoke Mountains? I just don't think He is the voice that spoke tatoos. I thought about getting a tatt so many times. I'd look like a little bad boy I thought while thinking about the Jesus Tatt I would have placed on the back of my neck. Get His name carved in Hebrew. It would be interesting and ZEN. Freak. Ok no Tatt for me. But if you want one that's your thing. I have His name written on my heart. Tatoo'd.

Dying

2009-11-10T09:21:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was the first time I cried watching my dad die. It was brief. My crying. It was real. I wondered what he was dreaming if anything as he lay there gasping for air. Nothing most likely. It was just two weeks ago I held him up in my arms to help him walk. He asked me, "what's wrong with me son?" I knew but I just said, "Dad, I don't know, come on stand up straight now."

I wanted to yell at him, come on soldier snap out of it. Not very compassionate of me. I keep telling myself this is part of life. The unfortunate part. The part that nobody likes. I have dealt with it at this intimate level now for 7 or 8 years. Watching people die. Watching the life float away. Watching death empty their eyes. Always intimately disconnected. Now I am intimately reconnected. I hope I can go back to my intimate disconnection. Where I can give compassion while doing that which I must. I became a Nurse for one big reason. So I could pray with the dead and the dying. I have not done much of that lately. The last few years the dead and the dying have been. We have one chance, a few moments to make a difference in this life and there is one reason that alone is worthy and that is to honor and glorify the God of Abraham, Issac and Jacob. I never feel like I do enough, but surely someone out there will come along and tell me I am. Please don't. I want to feel guilty. It makes me do more. I don't want to watch my dad die. But I have to. Makes me wonder who's going to watch me die one day. I hope my son never has to watch me die. I feel guilty. I see my dad in my mind graven image. Mom holding his hand. Guilty for not being there right now, every minute, every breath. I'm sorry dad. I don't want to see you die anymore. I'm on my way. May God be worshiped and glorified. He is worthy of all my praise.

The Voice that Spoke Mountains

2009-11-10T09:04:00.001-06:00

His voice spoke and mountains appeared.

Can you say Majesty? Wrap your mind around that. No way. This is a blog that speaks words and though they are purrty empty coming from a man, they can in a little way honor that Great One, the only One which is perhaps about the only use for words that I can think are useful. Worshipping God. Anything written in this blog will make every attempt to wrap back around to God if for but just one reason, to give purpose and meaning to life and the circumstances good, bad, or indifferent that we all have to go through. God is worthy to be praised, worshipped and adored. We are grass before Him. His name is Yahweh. King of Kings. Lord of Lords. Jesus Christ, Father Son Holy Spirit.