Enter the Fight: Round 2

I know it's been a while. I'm sorry. I've been struggling with a lot of stuff for the past few weeks. Sure, I've been busy, but more than that, I've been trying to get over the fact that I may have really missed something at the men's retreat.

Remember this post? Yeah, well, I thought I had that figured out, too. What I wrote was part of the word the Lord had for me, but it was really more of a personal warning, or a personal call to action: Enter the fight! It was a word for the me entering the men's retreat. And I missed it.

Ron DePriest was great. His messages were stirring, and God was moving, and I really got a lot out of it. Appreciated it. Good stuff. That part was spot on. The rest of the time, well, that's where I feel like I missed it.

Thursday night: I was tired. I'd been up since 4:30, had driven for a little over 2 hours, it was 10 o'clock at night; I was tired. An extremely good friend of mine, Chenson (names have been changed to protect the innocent), and I hadn't eaten, yet. So, we went with Poby to get some dinner. We got back sometime between 11 and 11:30. Quite understandably, I was ready for bed. I had the privilege of rooming with another of my extremely good friends, Poby. However, we had several people come to our room, and after they finally left, Pob and I got our guitars out and actually wrote a song using some words from another song I had and several of our notes from the evening's session. Great stuff! We were up till around 3, I think. Around 6, I get a call from work. I was on the phone twice with them for a total of 45 minutes. Luckily, the first session wasn't until 10, but still, bed late + up early = not a good combo.

Friday: I was tired. Another great session. Poby, Chenson, and I were going to take the afternoon free time to get me registered to vote, get Chenson a GPS for his wife's car, and come back and hang out with the rest of the fellas. Well, we wound up going with Estevie to Guitar Center in OKC. I did get registered to vote, we did get Chenson's GPS, but we got back just in time for dinner. No time spent with other guys (outside my usual "circle of friends"), the pastor, nor the speaker. Not a problem, we still had Friday night.

Friday night: Over by 9-ish. Another great session. More great stuff. So great, in fact, I found Poby afterward and told him I thought we had more writing to do. We went back to the room, pulled out the guitars, and started writing again. A few guys came through. We talked a lot about different stuff. Good time with Poby and with Chenson. Went to bed around midnight-ish (I think). Again, no time spent with the leadership.

Saturday morning: Skip breakfast and show up for the morning's session; the last one. Suddenly I'm hit with the feeling that I've completely missed out on something I was supposed to get. I didn't know what. I still don't. I just had knots in my stomach all morning long. What did I miss? Then the words came floating back into mind: Enter the fight. Had I entered the fight all weekend? I don't know. Suddenly, what was a fun weekend turned into a stressful, spiritual debate. What had I gotten out of the weekend? A song? More time with great guys I already spend a lot of time with? Had I served anybody throughout the weekend? Therein lied my answer. NO.

Realization: I had taken all weekend. Oh, sure, I ran the words for worship every session but the first, I went with Estevie (also a good friend, btw) to Guitar Center, listened to Poby and Chenson, but I never sacrificed anything all weekend. I never helped in the kitchen. I never took out the trash. I never helped any other guy with any other thing all weekend. I never did anything that I didn't want to do. It was a completely selfish weekend. Not the trait of a servant-leader. If that's the kind of leader I want to be, then I completely blew my chance that weekend. That is what I missed, and that is what felt so horrible.

Clarification: I LOVED hanging out with Pobias and Chenson. Always do. In fact, the song Pob and I wrote, we sang in church that Sunday. Our worship team is going to pick it up. Exciting stuff! I cherish that time we got to spend together. I know that was part of what God wanted me to get out of the weekend. I just wish I had taken extra time to seek out the leadership, to give to other guys, and entered the entire fight. You know, get everything God has for me.

So, my encouragement to you comes from Isaiah 55:6-9

6 Seek the Lord while you can find him. Call on him now while he is near. 7 Let the wicked change their ways and banish the very thought of doing wrong. Let them turn to the Lord that he may have mercy on them. Yes, turn to our God, for he will
forgive generously.
8 “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. 9 For just as the heavens are higher than the
earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your
thoughts.

Just because you think you've got God figured out doesn't mean that you do. Seek Him. Ask Him. Be encouraged. Enter the fight.

Soli Deo Gloria

Thoughts About the Church

Tall Skinny Kiwi strikes another (although not original) thought about the church. Bridge and I have felt similarly for some time, although not necessarily as strongly as we once did. This is a great reminder about what being the church means. Makes me think. How about you?

Soli Deo Gloria

A Family Poem

I have a little, 3 bedroom house

With a dog, a girl, 3 boys and a spouse.

We keep the dog outside

Where she likes to bark at all she can find.

But the dog is lame when it comes to sound

When compared with others that are around.

The girl likes to scream and giggle;

Oh, the sight when she starts to wriggle!

Music can really make her go,

And when she dances, she puts on a show!

The boys are older and far more advanced,

But still get grins when they start to dance.

And, oh, the symphony of noise

That comes from a girl and 3 boys!

It's quite a sound you can't ignore,

Even when you close the door.

But when it comes time for bed,

And I get to kiss each little head,

The joy of my family

Resounds throughout eternity!

At last, a word about my spouse:

She is the sweetest sound in all the house!

Enter the Fight

ACF opens its staff prayer time in the morning to the congregation on Tuesdays through Fridays. The theater (which we own and in which we meet) isn't but a couple of blocks from where I work, so I walk to prayer when I can make it. Lately, I've been able to go 3 or 4 times a week.

Yesterday, walking to prayer, these words flashed through my mind:

"Enter the Fight"

I was already a little jazzed from a morning espresso, but I was just overall excited about things. Our men's retreat is coming up this weekend, Bridge and I are doing "the special" on Sunday, and I had just successfully arranged a rehearsal with some of what I'm going to call Kingdom Band to play the song on Sunday, too. So, I had a few things going my way.

"Enter the Fight"

Ok, so a few thoughts: I didn't figure God was wanting me to pick a fight with someone; I knew that "our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms" (Eph. 6:12), and, at the time, I felt it meant by singing a song I had written. You know, I was entering the fight with a tool or weapon that I had made.

Then, we started to pray. God immediately revealed a whole new world of warfare to me. This was the fight to which He was referring. Believe it or not, prayer is spiritual warfare. God calls us all to enter the fight. We enter the fight by hitting our knees. (How many of you actually hit your knees, or kneel, while praying?)

We also enter the fight in other ways. Singing, writing, painting, building, using your gifts for His glory are all ways to enter the fight. How many of you have been moved by a song, a poem, a good book, a piece of art or photograph, a magnificent structure? Inspiration, conviction, love, mercy - these come from godly things. Condemnation, hatred - these come from ungodly things.

So, you who are prayer warriors; you who are writers, artists, musicians, craftsmen, enter the fight! Stand up and be counted. Remember, "for though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds." (2 Cor. 10:3-4)

Your songs may not be sung nor heard by everybody, but you don't stop writing or singing; your books may not be read by everyone, but you don't stop writing; your hand-made jewelry may not be worn by every person, but you don't stop making it. To someone, somewhere, your gifts make a difference. God gets the glory, and that is always a good thing. "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power." (Eph. 6:10)

Soli Deo Gloria

Wake Up Call

This morning, I checked up on some blogs that finally posted after a few days absence. I also checked out Tall Skinny Kiwi's blog on the "10 Commandments of Blogging." I then read his previous post, and was suddenly awakened to a side of the world I usually choose to ignore. It's not pretty.

The IDOP (International Day of Prayer) is coming up November 16. While our nation needs prayer, so do these guys. Check out the web site OpenDoors.

"You cannot pray for revival for one half of the body of Christ while forgetting
the other half which is suffering under restrictions." - Brother Andrew

I don't know who Brother Andrew is, but he is so right. Our praise team worked on a new/old song last night. It talks about hearing God speak and "oh, this changes everything." Yes it does.

Soli Deo Gloria

"...therefore...hope..."

ACF's men's retreat is this weekend. As of right now, I'm going. However, I'm not sure what my boss was thinking when he said I could go, unless he thought the rest of the employees at the station could handle both him (station manager) and me (program director) being gone. To add to the distress, our AM morning guy informed me that he would not be there Thursday or Friday. I will be gone Friday. Matt is gone all week. Added pressure will be upon the rest of the staff. Can they do it? I think so. They're going to have to handle it. Fun stuff, I'm sure.

I'm currently reading from the gospel of John. This morning was the passage about Jesus turning water into wine. The commentary from my Life Application Bible mentioned how most of Jesus' miracles were the renewing of fallen creation: blind to see, lame to walk, dead to rise, etc.

That is interesting. I guess I never looked that much into it. It makes sense. The Author of Life rewriting a bad story line. Isn't that what he does for you and me? He redeems fallen creation. Thank you, Lord, for being our savior. This from Lamentations 3:21-24:

But this I call to mind,
and therefore I have hope:
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases,
his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
"The Lord is my portion," says my soul,
"therefore I will hope in him."

I give you the situation at the station and the men's retreat to ask for your prayers. I give you the passages of scripture to encourage you. Therefore hope.

Soli Deo Gloria

More Stuff

Isn't this what got us into our nation's financial mess in the first place?

Ahh, true happiness. There's a lesson in here somewhere. One of many passages of scripture to check out:

"Keep your lives free from the love of money, and be content with what you have; for he has said, 'I will never leave you or forsake you.'" Hebrews 13:5

Be blessed; be encouraged; be content.

Hold Fast

Words of encouragement and a MercyMe song. Really great song. I actually play it quite often on KQ106. I first heard the song a year ago. Then, back in December, I came across this verse:

"The Lord your God you shall follow, him alone you shall fear, his commandments you shall keep, his voice you shall obey, him you shall serve, and to him you shall hold fast." Deut. 13:4

Great verse, isn't it? I have it written down in three or four different places. Then, a little over a month ago, I came across this little gem in Isaiah:

"You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you.
Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord, is the Rock eternal." Isaiah 26:3-4

For whatever reason, God wanted me to share these verses with you. Be encouraged. He is with you; He is for you. Hold fast.

My Sacrifice

It's a Creed song. But that's not the point of this post. As I've mentioned before, my alarm goes off at 4am. Notice how I always say that my alarm goes off then, and not that I get up then. A couple, ten presses of the ole snooze button allows me some extra sleep. I'm usually out of bed by 4:30.

My morning routine consists of bathroom time, batcave time, bathroom time and leaving. Sometimes, I sneak a breakfast time in there, but not very often. It's just hard for me to eat at 4:30/5 in the morning. Besides, I'm usually hungry again around 10-ish.

My batcave time consists of Bible time, blog time, between-God-and-me time (you knew I had to keep the whole "b" thing going) and body building time. That sounds grand, but it's usually just some push-ups and sit-ups. The only thing really consistent in the the batcave time is the between-God-and-me time. I hit the rest most of the time, but some mornings I may spend more time in the Bible and not get to blog, or vice versa, or I won't build my body, or whatever.

My morning routine seems to get easier everyday. It's still not easy. But it has come a long way from whence I started. I fought God on it for a long time. It's just very, very early. My turning point came one morning (before I started writing down stuff) as I was doing my sit-ups. I remember laying on the floor and asking God why it has to be so hard. You know? I was tired; I was trying to do sit-ups; I wanted to be back in bed. Why are things so hard, God?

"It wouldn't be a sacrifice if it was easy."

Whoa. You answered me? I'm sacrificing for You right now? Talk about an attitude change. Here I was thinking I was just going through some tough times, and God saw it for what it really is. It's a season. And, during this particular season, some sacrifices have to be made. So, me getting up every morning to have my time alone with God is a sacrifice. You know, Psalms talks about bringing the "sacrifice of praise." And look at Romans 12:1

"I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to
present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is
your spiritual worship."

Even now, what can I say? My early morning hours are an act of spiritual worship to the creator of the universe. I'm sure it's much sweeter to His ears now. I don't gripe and complain nearly as much as I used to.

What is your act of spiritual worship? Is God asking you to sacrifice anything right now? Remember, it's a season; seasons change. God is here, lovingly walking you through this time, and He's already in the next season lovingly waiting for you. Are you kicking and screaming your way through this time? I was. Maybe it would help if you could see it for what it is. A season. A season of sacrifice. Your living sacrifice; your spiritual worship. Be encouraged.

Soli Deo Gloria