Archives For November 30, 1999

I listen to a variety of music & artists, but am kind of hooked on Phil Joel right now – especially his “The delibertatePeople. Album” (his other stuff is good also).  It’s the lyrics.  They draw me in – challenging and encouraging me each time I listen!  Check out his site…his story is pretty cool.

Every time I hear the song Awe – it reminds me of what my posture should be when I pray, read, think about/to GOD – flat…out…AWE. To be completely honest, it isn’t always that way (forgive me Lord).  I think sometimes it is easy to get too comfortable with Him being my friend or my “Abba, Father” that I forget He is at the same time Holy, Sovereign, and unlike any other person with whom I have a relationship. It is the challenge of balancing intimacy with reverence – something that, in most of our lives, is unique to God.  We can respect, even fear people; but, when you boil it down, no man or woman is holy, sovereign, or worthy of awe when compared with God.

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How easily we allow the “STUFF” in life to impact our assurance (and sometimes our confidence) in our Heavenly Father. The fact is that while our situation, circumstance, whatever may change:

HE NEVER CHANGES! HE IS THE SAME
YESTERDAY, TODAY, AND FOREVER!

While I can’t recall a specific example right now, I’m sure there were times growing up when I was afraid to do something, but my dad said “Dennis, trust me.” When I remained afraid, I’m sure he was frustrated, but he still assured me that it was OK – “Dennis, trust ME.” I’m sure in my heart I knew that he had my safety and security in mind, but still…“Dad, I’m afraid!”

So, after much prodding, I probably begrudgingly did it and I’m sure I got hurt or it didn’t “go right” a time or two – but my dad’s love and care never ceased…even when I may have thought, “Wait a second!”

How much more is our Heavenly Father
trustworthy, caring, and constantly on our side!

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Last Monday, I wrote a post called “Two Visuals: One Cool, One Scary.”  The scary visual was a bible verse where we see a visual of what sin looks like to God:

Nevertheless, they were disobedient and rebelled against You and cast Your law behind their back. Nehemiah 9:26 [ESV]

In this verse, we see that when we sin, we effectively take God’s Word in our hands…and toss it…with disregard…over our shoulder…behind our back (just as the Israelites did).  Truly scary.  Having this image of sin won’t keep us from sinning (it’s our nature), but it may help us make a decision when faced with a choice.

If this image were the end of the story, well...

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sunset

We’ve all seen it on the news…a reporter standing in a war zone talking into the camera – gunfire and bombs going off in the distance. He or she knows the gunfire and bombs are there, but keeps talking – giving the news, describing their surroundings. Suddenly, the gunfire or bombs are no longer in the distance…we see them “hit the deck” – now, they are fully aware of their surroundings. We say to ourselves (or the TV) – “hello, don’t you know what is going on all around you?”

Sadly,  it is often like that for us…with GOD? We know He is THE Almighty and Sovereign Creator – but we miss the obvious affirmation of HIS creation!
O, the Psalm 19-of it all! We take for granted the mind-boggling fact that He was and is so creative by not fully “seeing” everything around us – at any given moment, whether you’re standing on the beach or (like me right now) sitting in front of a computer (“I’m a PC!”  But I love my iPod & iPhone – guess I’m conflicted.)

Think about the snowball effect of our Awesome God’s Genesis 1:3 command. The person sitting next to you, the one on your mind right now, the phone you’re holding, the car you’re driving down the freeway in at 65.1 MPH…while Twittering, the iPod you’re listening to, the amazing creation that you are about to shuttle to soccer/baseball/gymnastics practice, the beans that were cooked/ground up/brewed that you are drinking, the very ground/carpet/pavement you’re standing on…all a result of those four, powerful, monosyllabic words: Let there be light!

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biff-sings-video1Maybe it’s me, but every time I read Isaiah 40:21 & 28 (“Do you not know? Have you not heard?”), I always have this image of Biff knocking on George McFly’s head in that scene from Back to the Future! You remember, the one where Biff is wondering why George hasn’t done HIS homework.  (Need a reminder?)

Anyway, in chapter 40, Isaiah seeks to comfort, assure, and remind the exiled Jewish people about the greatness and faithfulness of GOD. Every time I read this chapter, I am drawn to and held by the descriptive power and awesomeness of  God! I’m also saddened and convicted by how I easily miss or don’t fully grasp how great God is sometimes. I KNOW it; but still, in my distracted humanness, often MISS IT!

Hello? Anybody home? Think, Dennis. Think!

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Two posts today…I just had to share this.

I picked up a few CDs the other day (it’s weird to by music that way…most everything is from iTunes now days) – one of them was Jadon Lavik’s Life On The Inside. This CD is from 2006 and I’ll admit that I had not heard of him before…not sure how I missed his music, but this CD is GREAT!  I actually bought this without a pre-listen, since the bar code on the listening system was not working – the cover looked interesting!

Anyway – every once in a while I’ll hear a song where the lyrics hit a chord in me and I immediately press the repeat on the iPhone, letting the lyrics wash over me and just sink in (this doesn’t happen too often, but when it does – wow).  What a sweet time of worship on Monday’s drive home and today’s drive in. The song below brought to mind these promises of God:

“Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me.” – Isaiah 49:15-16

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
– Jeremiah 29:11

“…in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” – John 16:33

“…for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?” -Hebrews 13:5-6

Thank You Lord – Praise Your Mighty and Faithful Name!

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sb-postSo by now you’ve probably heard about Susan Boyle and her experience on the UK TV show Britain’s Got Talent – it’s all over YouTube and she’s even on Wikipedia! If you haven’t, you gotta get out more!

The obvious lesson here is how we judge by appearances – all of us. Whether we are willing to admit it or not, we do it. We know it’s wrong and unfair, but it’s a natural reaction…

In an interview with the Washington Post, Boyle said it all to well:

“Modern society is too quick to judge people on their appearances. … There is not much you can do about it; it is the way they think; it is the way they are. But maybe this could teach them a lesson, or set an example.”

That’s the obvious take away…I have two other observations:

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sinThere is a laboratory where I work that does research on “extreme deformation and failure of materials and structures.” That’s basically a scientific way of saying that they blow stuff up to see its limits and recommend solutions.  I know, pretty cool! I’ve been to the test range, but they weren’t testing at the time – maybe someday.  The scientists and staff there do some pretty cool research that saves lives of people in a number of situations.

So that is the Explosions part – now on to Tori…

I was surfing iTunes last night and saw that Tori Amos‘ new CD is called Abnormally Attracted to Sin.  Intrigued by the CD title, I did a Google search and found an interview where she talked about her new CD (whose title is a line from Guys and Dolls) and the impetus behind it.  Interesting article – here are some excerpts:

I’m drawn to questioning what traditional authorities have defined sin to be. As a minister’s daughter, I’ve been exposed to the traditional belief system. [Sin] has been used to shame and control people. If you’re controlled by a religious structure, then you’re going to have a very different outlook on life and what you’re open to than if you’re not controlled by these old, crumbling concepts.

I guess I was never a Bible-thumping Christian; I was always trying to question because I had so much religion in my upbringing. I was drawn to those people and those ideas that weren’t accepted necessarily, and it’s not because these ideas in reality are “evil” — that’s just the perception that’s being given. The reality I was brought up in was, “Anything that doesn’t work within the Christian doctrine is sinful.” And that’s a lot of stuff.”

My thoughts – combining both (I write this directed toward Christ followers…me most of all!  I will not pass judgment on Tori or others who ascribe to her line of thinking.):

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