Archive for February, 2008
Want the real thing instead of smoke and mirrors?
Thursday, February 28th, 2008Joel Engle reminds us that real joy is found in Christ alone.
Hey guys,
It’s been a while since I have posted anything of philosophical significance. As I finished out this year of Christian music and transition into being a pastor of a new church plant, I have been looking back.It is not always a pleasant thing to look back at your past and see the mistakes and stupid things you have done or worthless attitudes that you possessed. One of the things that I look back on and have learned from tremendously is the emptiness of “success.”
For many years, even though I feel like I had faithfully shared the truth of Christ and the message of the gospel, I also wanted fame. I really wanted to be somebody and be respected and even admired. I thought that securing a recording contract and being a “big name” was the way to do it. Even, though deep in my heart I knew better, I still had the desire to be recognized.
I remember the first time I heard one of my songs on the radio. I had dreamed of the day that could happen. I remember watching the movie “That Thing You Do” and thinking how cool it would be to hear one of “my” songs on the radio.
As I got in my car from the airport, I heard my song on the radio. It really wasn’t all that I thought it would be. The joy and excitement that I thought I would feel was not there. This has happened many other times in my ministry but this particular time I was very aware of the emptiness.
God looks at the heart
Wednesday, February 27th, 2008“Father, thank You that the Bible conducts a big CAT Scan on us. Thank you that You come to us - not with a telescope - but with a stethoscope. Search me, O God, and know my heart. Try me and know my anxious thoughts. And see if there is any wicked way in me … and lead me in the way everlasting.” - Alistair Begg
INHABITED - ‘Love’ in stores now
Tuesday, February 26th, 2008
The highly anticipated new CD from the band INHABITED is in stores today! Go check it out!
“Ultimately we want this record to stir the listener to truly seek. We want them to hear and know the LOVE of God in a way they may never have realized. It is only His love that has strengthened us to press on through the thick and thin, and if He can do it for us, He can definitely do it for anyone.” - Sara Delight
Do you have an iPhone? Never miss an INHABITED concert again with this handy concert tracker specifically designed for the iPhone:
You can see where their upcoming concerts are, view their YouTube videos, listen to and buy their songs from iTunes, email concert info to friends and more!
Related Links:
JAIME JAMGOCHIAN - ‘Above the Noise’
Monday, February 25th, 2008Jaime’s new CD ‘Above The Noise‘ comes out tomorrow.
“Well in just a day…..ABOVE THE NOISE will be out! I am excited and nervous all at the same time..Brand new songs for people to hear and hopefully worship the Lord with!” - Jaime
Here’s a recent video of Jaime performing a song on the new CD:
Heal The Wounds Live at Prestonwood Baptist
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Simplifying life
Monday, February 25th, 2008We recently read this journal by Shannon Wexelberg…
Maybe because I’m getting older or maybe it’s because I’m often just too busy, but I’m feeling the need to simplify! Sometimes I imagine what it might be like to live like the “Little House on the Prairie” folks might have. Good ol’ Mary and Laura. The pace was slow -albeit TOO slow - but this sense of constant urgency didn’t really exist. “It would get done when it gets done…” and nobody was terribly uptight about it. A letter took a month to get there, the clothes were washed by hand, you couldn’t zip up to the store in your Honda and use your cell phone while you did so. Don’t get me wrong…I’m extremely thankful for modern day conveniences. I have a cell phone, a laptop, a washing machine, and love to e-mail! But I find myself in a frenzy at times, tending more to those things than to my soul. Recently I was introduced to, and have since become dear friends with, a woman named Linda Dillow. She is a best-selling author, a wife, a missionary, a speaker, a mother of four, and a grandmother of several. She wrote two books, in particular, which have impacted me greatly lately called “Calm My Anxious Heart” and “Satisfy My Thirsty Soul.” The Lord has taught her a great deal about “rest” and “satisfaction” in Him as our soul’s richest fare, in and through the circumstances of everyday life. David talks all about yearning and craving the Lord throughout the Psalms, but do we REALLY? I’ve had to ask myself that question again and again. The things we crave most are the things that we give our time to…so, are they my laptop? My ministry? My friends? My TV? Sports? Even, my family? All good things (well, except the TV, maybe), but not the BETTER thing - the ONE thing…the BEST thing, that we so often neglect. His love is better than life! I do believe that…and yet at times, I find myself anxious or depressed or uptight! And so, I’ve made it my prayer and desire to simplify…to simplify life to where the ONE thing that matters most in the world to me - which is my precious Lord - gets more of my time and attention. That’s always been my intent, but “life” has crept in so subtly the last few years and I’m nipping it in the bud! So, that means turning off the TV more, saying “no” to extra-curricular things that just “fill” my time, not buying an Oprah magazine when I fly on the plane, but spending time in His Word, becoming absorbed in worship as I stare out the window upon His glorious creation, maybe even saying “no” to some ministry events I might normally say “yes” to….ah, yes…just “being” with Him who is most precious to me every chance I get. They’re small choices, but they add up in T-I-M-E and TIME is a treasure we give Him. It’s the treasure that Mary gave Him while Martha scurried about in the kitchen, while Jesus sat in the other room with Mary at His feet. Linda and I ministered together at a women’s meeting called “Still Waters” the other night and she made such a good point when she said that she used to be a “worker who loved” rather than a “lover who worked.” She used to “do, do, do” for the Lord - tending to His people and His work (both wonderful things), but she neglected her Bridgegroom. Oh…how the Lord has been pulling me to Himself and I pray He does the same for you. May we never be satisfied with anything short of deep, intimate communion with the Lover of our very soul. I do believe that we will be more satisifed than we ever believed we could be, for He is life itself…
