Hear See - Uriah

I wanted to share this, because the words are just so powerful. And go download this guy's album, because it's fantastic. http://www.rapzilla.com/rz/music/freemp3s/5372-uriah-sound-of-light

"Sometimes I think I hear You, but is it my conscience, or, are You my conscience? I never know, but what I hear, it sounds like You, but I never know. For so long You were just hear say, so I never knew, it would be different if i saw You, a face to go with Your still small voice that I seem to have created in my head, unreal, but yet real at the same time. I never know. If You are the light then I've seen you, many times in fact, I imagine the movement of the light around me as I listen to the voice in my head that I've deemed You, but I never know. I believe I...I know this is You, but still, I'm never sure, I never know. But if it's faith that is telling us that though we cannot see the wind, but when the dust is lifted from the earth that it is the wind that moves it, then with that, I hear You, everywhere. And I see You, everywhere."

I love this because he is speaking raw truth. The Christian life is, and never will be, a life without doubt. If God works through everything for our good, then why wouldn't he also use times of doubt to bring us closer to him? Just as the love of God is made evident when we realize how sinful we are and the price He paid for, so also the presence of God is made evident when we have come from a place of doubt to a place of realization of who he is and how he is with us. To those who struggle with doubt: keep your head down, keep moving, and trust that, while you may not always feel him, God is indeed present in every circumstance.

Fine Linen

Revelation 19:8 says, "It was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure - for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints."
Two things about this verse intrigue me:

1) Our righteousness, everything we do on this earth for the glory of God, is our preparation for how we will present ourselves before Him on that day. As a bride eagerly prepares herself and clothes herself in beauty on the morning of her wedding, so should we eagerly seek after righteousness. Our righteous acts are not something that we simply do to impress people around us, but rather our preparation for the great Wedding of Christ and His church. People would be shocked if a bride willingly walked down the aisle in a tattered, dirty dress. We should have the same mentality when it comes to our righteousness in Christ. Pursue Him and live by the Spirit, all the while knowing that it is preparation; it is our presentation to Christ. In Malachi 1, God condemns Israels half-hearted offerings, calling them polluted. Let us never offer pollution to God in our acts of righteousness, but rather whole-hearted devotion with a humble attitude that reflects the Spirit that lives in us.

2) Here's the best part: "It was granted to her..." What's that, you say? Our righteousness, all of our preparation that we could possibly need, is given to us by God. How does this reconcile with preparing ourselves through righteous acts, then? Well, we must know that Christ paid for our union with Him. He already bought us and allowed us to be joined with Him. Our acts of righteousness are an expression of thankfulness for the righteousness that has been freely given to us, despite the great price at which it came.  "For in it [the gospel] the righteousness of God is revealed from faith [It was granted to her...] for faith [our response-->righteous acts], as it is written, 'The righteous shall live by faith.'" - Romans 1:17

In the biblical model for a marriage, there is this same circular support. The husband loves the wife, who, in turn, respects the husband. Christ loves us and gives us imputed righteousness, so in return we ought to live righteously by the Spirit, always preparing for that day when we will finally be united with Him.

There's only one way they'll come around, and it's love.

“Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne, and myself founded empires; but what foundation did we rest the creations of our genius? Upon force. Jesus Christ founded an empire upon love; and at this hour millions of men would die for Him.” - Napoleon Bonaparte

A Real Man

"What makes you a man is being defined by who you say you are in Christ. If you have Christ, you have all that you need. Everything that you need is bound up in the resurrected Savior! Manning up is not just managing your sexual temptation. It's not just managing your sin. That's not what it means to be a man; because you can try harder, and you can do better, and you can hang on longer. That's not manning up. Manning up is our ability to lay down all of our effort and all of our trying and all of our strength and say, 'I trust in Jesus! I trust in his perfection. I trust in his power. I trust in his resurrection. Because He's the only one that can get me through this, and He's the only one that can make me free!'"

Why do you call me good?

Often, we tend to overuse the word good. We associate the word good with how we're doing or how the weather is in April. But by definition, good is that which is morally right; righteousness. I have realized (after conversation with a friend) that to call someone a "good guy" apart from mentioning his worth and perfection through Christ (if he is saved) is incorrect. All of us are evil. "There is no one righteous, no not one." Christ is the one who gives us life. He is the one who makes us more like himself. 


In Luke 18, there is a conversation between Jesus and the rich young ruler that I find very interesting. "And a ruler asked him, 'Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?'And Jesus said to him, 'Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.'"


At first glance, one might be caught off guard. Is Jesus saying by question that he is not good? Absolutely not. He's answering by question, as he so often does in the Scriptures. The rich young ruler is obviously mistaken. He thinks that Jesus is simply a teacher who can give him the steps to getting eternal life. Jesus corrects him by saying that he could not possibly be good if he were simply a teacher, because only God is good. Now, it was most likely quite obvious to the young man that Jesus was good and morally perfect. Therefore, the inference he had to make from this question was that Jesus is God. And if Jesus is God, he is the one you must follow "to inherit eternal life."  Question answered. 






"I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: 'I'm ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don't accept His claim to be God.' That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic -- on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg -- or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to." – C.S Lewis, Mere Christianity

Come

So, a while back I was reading Isaiah 55, and the words just really resounded with me. God is our living water, and if we forget that, we will be just like those who spend money on bread that does not satisfy their hunger. Today, I read over the passage again, and found it to be just as amazing, so I figured it might be time to record the song I wrote when I read it the first time. Enjoy. 

This Life I Live, I Live for the Glory of God

Practically every morning, I wake up with this reminder. Not because I'm a super-righteous person, but because I'm a desperate man, who needs the hope that God gives. If my life is not lived for God, then it is purposeless, hopeless, and meaningless. I see so many people from day to day that seek hope in so many wrong places, and it's hard to not feel depressed with all the hopelessness that seems to permeate this campus. For them to share in the hope that I have would be glorious. But how will they know if I won't even speak to them of the gospel of Christ? It's hard to get over the barrier of the awkwardness of approaching someone and sharing your faith, but for the times I've done it, it's totally worth it - not because I necessarily feel like a great Christian, but because I know that I have obeyed the command of Christ, and God may even use my words to bring someone to Him!

Everyday, I must remember that purpose is given from God --> "I know that I am nothing, but you can give me worth." Mmm Lecrae. Thanks for that.  Anyways, Last night on campus, there was an event called "Ask an Atheist." I was busy and could not attend, but I do sincerely hope that someone asked the question, "How do you find meaning and purpose? What keeps you going?" It probably would have stumped him. And who can blame him? I know I'd be there too if it were not for the grace of God.

I pray that God would work in the hearts of people here at UNL, but also that he would work in me, so that I might step out of the bounds of what is culturally acceptable and share his truth and love with those around me. Apart from God, I'm no better off than anyone here. God's grace is sufficient, though. And I pray that he would use me to show others that, too.