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Archives For September 30, 2009

God-Pleasing Worship

October 30, 2009 — 1 Comment

I thought I would share this as we start the weekend – which is filled with many things, including opportunities for gathered worship (otherwise known as “church”).

God has been really working on me in this area lately.  I’m far from where He would have me be and know I will never “arrive” at that place this side of Heaven.

Anyway, I thought I would share two songs that have been hitting me heavy this week:

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Instead of a Show, Jon Foreman

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Fade With Our Voices, Jason Gray

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“… Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”

– Jesus (Mark 12:30-31)

“Speak up for those who can’t speak for themselves; defend the rights of the poor and needy.”

– Wisdom from King Lemuel’s mom (Proverbs 31:8-9)

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

– James the Just. (James 1:27)

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What will our “gathered” worship result in this coming week?

In Christianity, Missional , ,
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Accepting God’s Omnipotence

October 28, 2009 — 1 Comment

I was reflecting on Francis Chan’s “Crazy Love” at Lunch…

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God is all-powerful. (from chapter 1, “Stop Praying”)

For by Him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by Him and for Him.

– Paul to the Church at Colossae (Collosians 1:16)

Don’t we live instead as though God is created for us, to do our bidding, to bless us, and to take care of our loved ones? – Chan

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“His dominion is an eternal dominion; His kingdom endures from generation to generation. All the peoples of the earth are regarded as nothing. He does as He pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth. No one can hold back His hand or say to Him: ‘What have You done?’ ”

– King Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 4:34-37)

Can you worship a God who isn’t obligated to explain His actions
to you? – Chan

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Abba, Father:

 

At times, my human inclination to the often-hard-to-grasp truth of Your omnipotence is to the echo the Disciple’s statement, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?”  I pray that, through the power of the Holy Spirit and based on the truth of Your inherent and strong Word, my faith would be strengthened when my human view and questions cloud things.

You are God…i am not. May my worship not be contingent on my full understanding of Your ways and thoughts.

dennis

In Christianity, Life , ,
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Rise Up

October 28, 2009 — Leave a comment

In the midst of the “stuff of life” happening lately in my circle of family and friends, just thought I would share this song…

[BTW, it you’re not familiar with Ben Shive, I highly recommend picking up his The Ill-Tempered Klavier album.]

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Rise Up
Ben Shive

Every stone that makes you stumble,
and cuts you when you fall;
every serpent here that strikes your heel,
to curse you when you crawl,
the King of Love one day will crush them all.

And every sad seduction
and every clever lie,
every word that woos and wounds
the pilgrim children of the sky,
the King of Love will break them by and by.

And you will rise up in the end.
You will rise up in the end.
I know the night is cruel, but the day is coming soon
when you will rise up in the end.

If the thief had come to plunder
when the children were alone,
If he ravaged every daughter
and murdered every son,
Would not their Father see this?
Would not His anger burn?
And would He not repay the tyrant
in the day of His return?
Await, await the day of His return.

Cause He will rise up in the end.
He will rise up in the end.
I know you need a Savior. He is patient in His anger.
But He will rise up in the end.

And when the stars come crashing to the sea.
The high and mighty fall down on their knees.
When you see the Son descending in the sky.
The chains of death will fall around your feet.

You will rise up in the end.
You will rise up in the end.
You will rise up in the end.

Maranatha!

In Life ,
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Facebook Rant – Gotta Get This Off My Chest!

October 26, 2009 — 1 Comment

I sit here typing this having just finished eating a nice meal, in my warm home, with a 2×4 sticking out of my eye partly blocking the view of both the keyboard and the monitor…

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So Facebook changed its Live Feed / News Feed / Status Updates (whatever the “official” name is) display, which has led to much uproar by users.

Groups are being formed…petitions signed, …

I drive by their Palo Alto office on my way home and did not note any protesters today.  Though, one never knows whose lurking!

Anyway, quite honestly, I really didn’t notice the change too much, nor was I really bothered. My measly (though appreciated and loved) ~190 friends offer very little “clutter” and I really do enjoy reading my friend’s posts…

What’s bugged more was the whining and ranting…

So, as a public service, I’d like to offer a forum for the very few people who frequent my blog to air their Facebook rants.

Please, feel free to view the photo below as you type your rant in the comments field below – probably having just finished a meal, now sitting in your warm home, etc…

Compassion

C’mon folks!

Just sayin’!

x
(…dropping my stone and walking away now…)

In Christianity, Culture , , ,
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Remembrance

October 23, 2009 — 2 Comments

me & momi was looking for a file on my computer today and saw the directory

the one called “scans”

i look at it every once in a while – to remember

you see, it has a bunch of pictures of my mom (yeah, that’s me driving)

ones I scanned when we were in Montana for her memorial service

it is a directory i usually frequent at least once a month – spending a few minutes looking, remembering, and reading

mom obitreading, because it also has a scanned copy of the obituary she wrote for herself

it’s kinda neat seeing her writing and almost hearing her say the words as she wrote them

i miss her…

…but, claim 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

Maranatha!

In Family
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Everything Falls

October 21, 2009 — 1 Comment

This song and its truth have been rattling around in my head since I got Fee’s new album a few weeks ago…

The story:x

The song:

WOW and AMEN.

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Everything Falls
Steve Fee
from Hope Rising

You said You’d never leave or forsake me, when You said this life is shake me.
You said this world is gonna bring trouble on my soul. This I know.

When everything falls apart, Your arms hold me together.
When everything falls apart You’re the only hope for this heart.
When everything falls apart and my strength is gone, I find You mighty and strong.
You keep holding on, You keep holding on.

When I see darkness all around me, when I see tragedy has found me, I still believe.
Your faithful arms will never let me go. Still I know

Sorrow will last for the night, but hope is rising with the sun, it’s rising with the sun.
There will be storms in this life, but I know You have overcome, You have overcome

In Christianity, Life , , , ,
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Staggering, but…

October 13, 2009 — Leave a comment

I read this the other day.  It’s staggering.

In the world:

  • hand holdThere are 143 million orphans in our world. If all the orphans in the world were moved to the country of Mexico, Mexico’s population would more than double, growing from 108,700,000 to 251,700,000.
  • 87.6 million orphans live in Asia.
  • 43.4 million orphans live in Sub-Saharan Africa.
  • There are as many orphaned and vulnerable children in Ethiopia as there are people in greater NYC.
  • 12.4 million orphans live in Latin America and the Caribbean.
  • Almost 1.5 million children live in public care in Central and Eastern Europe.

In the United States:

  • More than 800,000 children pass through our country’s foster care system each year.
  • There are over 500,000 children in our foster care system right now.
  • 129,000 of those children are waiting to be adopted from foster care right now.
  • Approximately, 25,000 children age out of the foster care system each year; many with no support system and little to no life skills.

How many children are adopted each year?

  • Between 118,000 and 127,000 children have been adopted every year since 1987.
  • More than 50 percent of all adoptions are handled by public agencies or come from countries outside the United States.
  • More than one-third of Americans have seriously considered adopting, but no more than 2 percent have actually adopted.
  • Only 4 percent of families with children (1.7 million households) contain adopted children.

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The sad part is that I may not have even read this if we were not in the process of adopting.

As a Christ-follower (and one who is adopted by God [Ephesians 1:4-6]), I am called to:

“…love because He (God) first loved us.” -1 John 4:19

I also know that:

“Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction.” – James 1:27

But still, I have done or thought very little about this until our own journey started a few years ago…

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We all must play a part in addressing these statistics – which actually represent precious children and teens whom God loves:

OrphSundayFor some, it is actually adopting or fostering.

For others, it is partnering with a reputable organization or two that provide care.

Some may even give to or help someone in their own community, church, or family who is a foster/adoptive parent.

The key is to actually THINK about this and
DO SOMETHING.

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So, what will you do?


Statistics source: Together for Adoption.org

In Adoption, Christianity
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I Will Exalt You

October 1, 2009 — Leave a comment

I’m appreciating the simplicity and depth of this song right now…

I Will Exalt You
Brooke Ligertwood

I will exalt You
I will exalt You
I will exalt You
You are my God

My hiding place my safe refuge
My treasure Lord You are
My friend and King
Anointed One most holy

Because You’re with me
Because You’re with me
Because You’re with me
I will not fear

© 2009 Hillsong Publishing (Admin. in U.S. & Canada by Integrity’s Hosanna! Music)

In Christianity , ,
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