Thoughts on God

Back to work…

2008-01-02T05:08:00.001-05:00

A debt forgiven…

2007-11-30T04:36:00.001-05:00

So today I had a debt forgiven. I did something wrong and had to pay a fine for it. Prepared to pay the fine, I handed the DA the paper that would at least take the ticket off my record. Instead of the words "That will be $120" he said simply, "You can go". That's it. I could go. No fine. No court costs. Nothing.

Immediately I was struck with the obvious comparison of how Jesus paid for our sins. As I write however, I see another comparison. As a Christian I often feel like I have that "paper" that takes the sin off my record, but there's still some "fine" I have to pay.

There's not though!

In the words of the old hymn, "Jesus paid it ALL"!

As heard at the David Crowder Band concert…

2007-11-14T05:08:00.001-05:00

On social justice:

"What is the difference between compassion and justice? Compassion is us going down to the river where people are drowning and pulling them out of the water. Justice is us saying, 'I'm going to go up the river and do something about the reason all these people are ending up in the water.'

Are you willing to go up the river?"

Surely we can change something...

Happy Birthday!!

2007-08-10T02:08:00.001-05:00

Happy Birthday to the greatest wife ever!!!

Love you...

Midland Represent!

2007-06-13T17:13:00.001-05:00

Well, after living in the South for almost 15 years I can now safely say that it hasn't corrupted...err...changed my accent.

What American accent do you have? (Best version so far)Midland

("Midland" is not necessarily the same thing as "Midwest") The default, lowest-common-denominator American accent that newscasters try to imitate. Since it's a neutral accent, just because you have a Midland accent doesn't mean you're from the Midland.

Click Here to Take This Quiz
Brought to you by YouThink.com quizzes and personality tests.

Take a bow…

2007-04-24T08:21:00.001-05:00

Just wanted to take a moment to thank my wonderful wife for an amazing weekend. Thanks for everything you did to make my birthday weekend so special. Thanks for making me feel loved and cared for.

Oh, and thanks for taking me to the place where I got to eat like a king :).

Who knew?

2007-03-26T06:51:00.001-05:00

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

-Hebrews 11:1

Today was one of those days where I got to see God do for us something that we had only hoped for by faith.

Who knew that the solution for our problem had already been worked out for us and was waiting for us Monday morning?

God is SOO good.

Just for fun…

2007-03-06T06:14:00.001-05:00

Fight! Fight! Fight!

2007-02-15T10:54:00.001-05:00

I knew I had a fight on my hands, and I knew it was the worst kind possible.

A fight with the insurance company.

You see, fighting with the insurance company feels like stepping into the ring to fight Ali with your hands tied behind your back just hoping he feels like a nice guy today and doesn't decide pummel you to death. I mean, they set the rules, they're the ref, and they get to decide the winner.

As you can tell, I wasn't looking forward to the call I had to make, but I also don't have $1,485 .76 laying around the house.

So it was time to man up and make the call.

I picked up the phone, dialed, and after screaming at the little voice automated software guy for saying "Did I hear you correctly" when he CLERALY dd NOT hear me correctly, I got what sounded like a very nice lady.

Ding! That was it, we'd touched gloves and the fight was on.

I explained the situation to her. She came out swinging, saying those dreaded words, "Can I put you on hold?"

Oh man, that's like a sucker punch to the gut. Your vision is blurry, you don't know where they're gonna come from next.

About this time, something strange happened...I heard that still, small voice in me saying, "Greater is He who is in you, than he who is in the world."

It hit me then, I'm not fighting alone. I have the Creator of the Universe on my side.

I started praying. I asked for favor in this woman's eyes. I asked for justice. I asked for fairness. I asked for grace.

Not longer after she came back and gave me the best message possible, "I'll take care of it for you. It'll be covered at 100%."

With that, the final bell rang and God was announced as the victor.

Why we love…

2007-02-14T09:58:00.001-05:00

"Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us...We love because He first loved us."-- 1 John 7-12, 19

On this day that we celebrate love, I think it's important to remember where true love comes from, and what true love is. Only in the sacrifices of God sending us his Son and Jesus' willingness to die for our sins do we see a picture of what true love actually looks like. How would we even know what real love looks like, how would I even be able to fathom what it might mean to love my wife "to the depth and breadth and height my soul can reach," how could I even THINK about love if it weren't for God?

Truly, "we love because He first loved us."

I love you my beautiful valentine...

Keep on keeping on…

2007-02-09T10:11:00.001-05:00

Let us not become weary in doing good,
for at the proper time we will reap a harvest
if we do not give up.
-Galatians 6:9

Sometimes I just need a reminder...

Songs that Matter…Christmas edition Part 3

2006-12-22T04:03:00.001-05:00

Today's entry is probably the most surprising. It's called Shepard is the Lamp by the O.C. Supertones on their album Revenge of the O.C. Supertones.

So what becomes of those small unwanted souls
Who spend their lives breaking their backs?
Those who dig the gold for the rich and powerful
Who place their feet upon their necks?

The shepherd is the lamb
Do you understand
That god became a man?
The shepherd is the lamb

Where can the junkies go when high has laid them low?
Are they truly on their own?
It seems we've lost our way
Like sheep we have gone astray
Can anybody lead us home?

The shepherd is the lamb
Do you understand
That god became a man?
The shepherd is the lamb

Who is the champion?
The friend of the suffering?
Of those who were never born?
The king with the crown of thorns

And I'll consecrate a verse
To the kingdom in reverse
Where the least are most
And the last will be the first

The shepherd is the lamb
Do you understand
That god became a man?
The shepherd is the lamb

This song is about what I've talked about in my previous two entries - The Incarnation. Jesus is "the friend of the suffering" because He Himself suffered. He came and humbled Himself so that we could relate to Him and so that ultimately the Shepard could become the Lamb.

If you have a chance, you should really give this song a listen.

Songs that Matter…Christmas Edition Part 2

2006-12-21T04:21:00.001-05:00

Today's entry is Adoration by the Newsboys on their album with the same name.

I’m here with the others
Who saw the heavens testify
Now I hang back in the shadows
I want to come close
I want to know
She sees me shivering here
She smiles and with a nod
I walk through the mud and straw
To the newborn Son of God

Come, let us adore Him
He has come down to this barren land
Where we live
And all I have to give Him
Is adoration

He raises a wrinkled hand
Through the dust and the flies
Wrapped in rags like we are
And with barely open eyes
He takes my finger
And He won’t let go
And He won’t let go
It’s nothing like I knew before
And it’s all I need to know

Come, let us adore Him
He has come down to the world we live in
And all I have to give Him
Is adoration

God is with us here
Our Immanuel
God is with us here
Our Immanuel

O come let us adore Him
O come let us adore Him
Jesus, our Immanuel
Is with us here and He won’t let go

The other day Susan and I watched the old Rankin and Bass movie, "The Little Drummer Boy". This song reminds me of that song and movie. In the movie, the little drummer boy is filled with hate and anger. Once he sees Jesus, that all melts away. It's the same with us when we see Jesus in our lives for the first time. "It’s nothing like [we] knew before
And it’s all [we] need to know." I love the image of Jesus not letting go of the persons finger and then how they relate that to Jesus not letting go of us.

This song also reminds us again of how Jesus was Immanuel, God with us. When He was born as a man, he experienced what is was to be " wrapped in rags like we are." He left all the splendor of Heaven to take on rags and to come to "this barren land where we live."

What do we have to give and what can we say to thank Him besides simply offering our adoration.

Songs that Matter…Christmas Edition part 1

2006-12-20T05:10:00.001-05:00

There are a lot of really good and...well...really bad Christmas songs out there. Some are traditional, some are new, some you've heard of, some you haven't, some are written specifically for Christmas, and some aren't, but equally capture the message and spirit of what we're celebrating at Christmas - God becoming man in His great pursuit of us.

Today's song is one we've all heard, but maybe not all of it...

Oh Holy Night

1. O holy night, the stars are brightly shining,
It is the night of the dear Savior’s birth;
Long lay the world in sin and error pining,
Till He appeared and the soul felt its worth.
A thrill of hope the weary soul rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn;
Chorus
Fall on your knees, Oh hear the angel voices!
O night divine, O night, when Christ was born!
O night, O holy night, O night divine.

2. Led by the light of Faith serenely beaming
With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand
So led by light of a star sweetly gleaming
Here come the wise men from Orient land
The King of Kings lay thus in lowly manger
In all our trials born to be our friend.
Chorus
He knows our need, our weakness is no stranger;
Behold your King! Before Him lowly bend!
Behold your King! Before Him lowly bend!

3. Truly He taught us to love one another
His law is love and His gospel is peace
Chains shall He break, for the slave is our brother,
And in His name all oppression shall cease.
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,
Let all within us praise His holy name.
Chorus
Christ is the Lord, O praise His name forever!
His pow'r and glory evermore proclaim!
His pow'r and glory evermore proclaim!

This is a song that calls it to worship the Lord and to proclaim his glory.

I love that it shows that "In all our trials" Jesus was "born to be our friend". What an awesome reminder.

It also reminds those of us living in the time after His coming that "Long lay the world in sin and error pining". So many times we just wish God would show up big and perform miracles like He did in the Old Testament. What we forget and is really hard for us to grasp is that before Jesus came and then gave us the Holy Spirit, people experienced God totally differently. It wasn't until He came and gave us a "thrill of hope" - the way to have our sins forgiven once and for all - that "the soul felt its worth". He gave us a "new and glorious morn" - the Holy Spirit and the New Covenant where God will put his laws on our hearts and minds and that we can truly KNOW GOD! (Jeremiah 31:30-34) Somehow, I think the people in the Old Testament would have given anything for the chance to know God like we do...

What I needed to hear…

2006-12-19T04:06:00.001-05:00

You will keep in perfect peace
him whose mind is steadfast,
because he trusts in you.
-Isaiah 26:3

My Favorite Pictures - There’s something in there

2006-10-15T11:08:00.001-05:00

Sorry it's been so long...been sick..and busy...and updating my BLOG!!! I've switched over to Wordpress and so far I love it! Not only is my blog updated, but Susan's blog has a new look and she has created an awesome new recipe blog, Manna. Check them both out.

On to the picture...

This is a doorway leading...somewhere. It was taken at Fort Macon. The floor was flooded and we couldn't go down there. It was very creepy. I loved this fort! It made me feel like a little kid again.

Click below for the remixed version...

I think this looks even creepier. Like it's an old photo and that white spot on the left looks like someone...or something is down there. :)

My Favorite Pictures - How I see the world

2006-09-21T09:17:00.001-05:00

I've decided to run a new series here on the old boggie. It's called "My Favorite Pictures". It's...well...mostly self explanatory. I'll post a picture and tell you why I like it so much. The picture on the main page will be the picture as it was taken with little to no editing - the vast majority will have no filters applied at all. At the bottom of the post will be a link to a version of the picture that has been (usually) heavily edited - a 'remix' version if you will. All of my edits are done in Google Picassa because I like to keep it simple :).

On to the picture!

This is a picture of how I see much of life. Sitting next to her, watching her, wondering what she's thinking. So often she's a frame around what I see, a constant presence, my other half. Sometimes I know exactly what she's thinking as she sits there looking out at the world, other times it's a deep mystery. I love that about my other half, it keeps me on my toes. I wouldn't want it any other way.

Click below for the 'remix' version...

This is an even better picture of how I see life at times. Sometimes she is all I'm focused on. She's the focus of my thoughts, my prayers, my hopes, my dreams. Everything else just fades away.

I love you Susie...

A new song that matters…

2006-08-31T10:34:00.001-05:00

Some of my favorite postings to my blog have been "songs that matter". I think songs allow us to express things to and about God in ways that transcend normal written word. Look at Psalms - some of the most beautiful, expressive, and wonderful descriptions of God are contained in that collection of songs.

A new song that really matters to me is "Wholly Yours" by the David Crowder Band from their "A Beautiful Collison" album:

I am full of earth
You are heaven’s worth
I am stained with dirt, prone to depravity
You are everything that is bright and clean
The antonym of me
You are divinity
But a certain sign of grace is this
From the broken earth flowers come up
Pushing through the dirt

You are holy, holy, holy
All heaven cries “Holy, holy God”
You are holy, holy, holy
I want to be holy like You are

You are everything that is bright and clean
And You’re covering me with Your majesty
And the truest sign of grace was this
From wounded hands redemption fell down
Liberating man
But the harder I try the more clearly can I feel
The depth of our fall and the weight of it all
And so this might could be the most impossible thing
Your grandness in me making me clean

Glory, hallelujah
Glory, glory, hallelujah
So here I am, all of me
Finally everything
Wholly, wholly, wholly
I am wholly, wholly
I am wholly, wholly, wholly
Yours

I am full of earth and dirt and You

It's a beautiful progression from seeing God's grace in creation, to one's self, and then finally to giving yourself over wholly to a holy God.

One of my favorite lines is:

"And the truest sign of grace was this
From wounded hands redemption fell down
Liberating man"

Every time I hear it, I see the seen from The Passion at the end when Jesus rises from the tomb, with holes in His hands. It's overwhelming to think that from these hands, wounded by Man, the redemtion of Man flows.

I love the second half of that verse as well:

"But the harder I try the more clearly can I feel
The depth of our fall and the weight of it all
And so this might could be the most impossible thing
Your grandness in me making me clean"

Those words pretty much speak for themselves. I am overwhelmed even as I type this. I've written a lot lately about how God is teaching me obedience, so I so relate to the feeling that the more you try to be holy, the more you feel how very very very far from it you are. So yes, it feels so 'impossible' that God's grandness, His very spirit is in me, making me clean.

Happy Birthday My Love!!

2006-08-10T03:40:00.001-05:00

Happy Birthday my darling wife. You're better than the best wife I could possibly imagine. Have a wonderful birthday.

Thoughts on Who?!

2006-06-29T08:35:00.001-05:00

You may have heard that last week the Presbyterian Church (USA) accepted a policy paper calling for "gender-inclusive" language for the Trinity. They said that the "Traditional" language of Father-Son-Holy Spirit should still be used for baptisims and communion, but in worship there's a whole host of new ways to refer to the Trinity.

Try a few of these on for size:

“Rainbow, Ark and Dove”
“Speaker, Word and Breath”
“Overflowing Fount, Living Water and Flowing River”
“Compassionate Mother, Beloved Child and Life-Giving Womb”
“Sun, Light and Burning Ray”
“Giver, Gift and Giving”
“Lover, Beloved and Love”
“Rock, Cornerstone and Temple”
“Fire that Consumes, Sword that Divides and Storm that Melts Mountains”
“The One Who Was, The One Who Is and The One Who Is to Come.”

I don't think that we should "rename" God. He's already defined who He is. Beyond that though, there's a few of those that I have REAL problems with:

-“Rainbow, Ark and Dove” - That's just strange. Beyond that, those are SYMBOLS God gave to us, not the NAMES He chose.

-“The One Who Was, The One Who Is and The One Who Is to Come.” - Ok, so each memeber of the Trinity only gets ONE of those attributes?! The angles in Heaven worship God saying: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come." How can we say that each of those applies to only one member of the Trinity?

-“Compassionate Mother, Beloved Child and Life-Giving Womb” - Tell me, when did Jesus ever refer to His "Mother in Heaven"? When did God the Father not refer to Himself in masculine terms? Jesus cried out to His ABBA - Daddy - not His mother. Just do a search of the Gospels and see how many times Jesus refers to His Father. These are the terms God chose for Himself!

The policy paper also says that the Church “should not insist on the exclusive use of the traditional trinitarian names, lest we quench the Spirit and even foster idolatry. Such a view would insufficiently acknowledge the divine mystery, would neglect the freedom of God’s children to glorify God imaginatively with all our hearts and minds, and would diminish the joy of knowing God ever more fully.”

Foster idolatry?! How is worshiping God using HIS names idolatry? How is making up whatever you want to call God, thereby making God into whatever you want Him to be NOT idolatry?!

God IS the God who was and is and is to come. He doesn't change. Why are so many people trying to change God? Well, I guess "although they claimed to be wise, they became fools" (Romans 1:22).

The Church needs to let people know the TRUTH about God, for as my good friend reminded me of today: "The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed." (Romans 13:11)

A response…to myself…

2006-05-31T08:53:00.001-05:00

In response to my last post:

"Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. Only let us live up to what we have already attained.

Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you. For, as I have often told you before and now say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body."

-Phil 3:12-21

AMEN!!!

Let’s get a few things straight…

2006-05-16T08:29:00.001-05:00

Ok...seriously...I'm tired of it.

Let me just say up front, if you've read my blog, you know that in my own personal walk with Christ, God has been calling me very stongly to obedience. In no way, shape, or form am I there. I'm not sure that I will ever fully be there this side of Heaven. However, I'm trying. I'm making real, concrete steps towards getting rid of the things in my life that aren't pleasing to God. I'm striving towards, well, holiness. That's what God has told us to do:

"...Just as you used to offer the parts of your body in slavery to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer them in slavery to righteousness leading to holiness." (Romans 6:19)

So what am I so tired of? I'm tired of so many Christians believing the lie that holiness doesn't really matter. We think that just because we'll never fully obtain it that we can brush it to the side. After all, we want to be relevant to the culture, don't we? (hint: that was sarcasm)

"What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?" (Romans 6:1-3)

Again, I'm not there at all. I "go on sinning". All my intention to do with this post is to let you know that God HAS called us to holiness. I know there are things in my life that HAVE to change as a result of my desire to become holy.

I always say that God speaks best for Himself. Let me just share some verses that God has given me to convict me of the need for holiness in my own life. I hope that you will meditate over them and let them spur you on towards holiness in your own life.

"Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: 'I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.'
'Therefore come out from them
and be separate, says the Lord.
Touch no unclean thing,
and I will receive you.'
'I will be a Father to you,
and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.'" (1 Cor 6:14-18)

"You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God." (James 4:4)

"Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator." (Col 3:5-10)

"Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be." (James 3:10)

"But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God's holy people. Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving." (Eph 5:3-4)

"Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy." (Romans 13:13)

OK. I could go on further, but I just wanted to offer a reminder that God is full of grace and mercy.

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding." (Eph 1:3-8)

Thoughts on Easter

2006-04-17T10:12:00.001-05:00

This Easter was a wonderful one for me. God said a lot to me this weekend. We went to a Good Friday service, which was amazing. I truly felt that I was brought to the throne of God. Saturday we watched The Passion of the Christ for the first time. It was a lot to take in, but it was a wonderful way to focus on what Easter is all about. Sunday service was equally awesome. We got to see some friends we hadn't seen in a while and spend the day with Mom and Dad before they move.

It's hard to put all of what God said to me together in some way that makes sense so I'll just give you some of the pieces He gave me:

- Good Friday is all about remembering Jesus' sacrifice. The tears shed in remembrance on Friday make the celebration on Sunday all the more sweet.

- God impressed on me that Jesus' death established the New Covenant with Him (Heb 8:10-12, Luke 22:20). The importance of the New Covenant has started becoming very real to me. It's how we actually able to know God (through the Holy Spirit) and it's how we can really know our sins are forgiven.

- Jesus' death and resurrection fulfilled so many prophecies it boggles my mind.

- Jesus' death and resurrection holds so much significance it's hard to even grasp. We were saved, bought, a new covenant was established, the way to God was opened, our sins were placed on Jesus, Jesus was forsaken by God on the Cross, even in His suffering Jesus prayed for our forgiveness, Jesus was the last sacrificial lamb that would need to be sacrificed, the great plan for our salvation was finished, Jesus was thinking of me and you when he took on the suffering, Satan and Death were defeated, Jesus was obedient even though he wanted there to be another way, Jesus willingly gave his life, and more and more and more. I could go on for a lot longer.

- Had Josh McDowell not set out to disprove Christianity my parents wouldn't be moving to Texas (to serve in a ministry Josh McDowell started)

That's just some of what went through my head this weekend. It was awesome.

If you didn't experience the celebration of Easter in a new and fresh way this weekend, maybe you should take some more time to reflect on what exactly we were celebrating. Read the Bible, pray on it, watch The Passion - whatever it takes, remember the awesome price paid for your sin and the amazing miracle of Christ's resurrection.

Obey, Obey, Obey, Obey…

2006-04-05T05:01:00.001-05:00

Like I said in my last post, God is hitting me with the same lesson over and over again: obedience. At a service last night the pastor talked about considering - thinking about, remembering - the sufferings of Christ. Of course, since I was there, the subject of obedience came up. This time it was in an awesome way that brings me closer to Christ.

One of the reasons we're supposed to consider the sufferings of Christ (Heb 12:3) is because in doing so we can better identify and bond with Him. The example the pastor gave was that whenever they share that his wife had cancer, someone will always come up to her, not him, and shares that they too had or have cancer. People who have shared in the same sufferings instantly have a bond. They understand what each other has been through.

What does all this have to do with obedience? Well, take a look at this amazing verse:

"Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered..."

--Hebrews 5:8

Wow! Jesus, the Son of God, learned obedience. Upon hearing that, one of those instant bonds was formed. What a cool way to identify with Jesus!

I encourage you to spend some time considering the sufferings of Christ so that you can better bond with Him. Maybe it's in His sufferings on the cross, or the way people made fun or Him, or the way His family rejected Him. Whatever it is, I pray that you find it and in doing so, find Him.

Trust and Obey

2006-03-29T07:12:00.001-05:00

You know, if you grew up in the church like I did, chances are you probably sang the song, "Trust and Obey" which goes:

"Trust and obey,
for there's no other way
to be happy in Jesus,
then to trust and obey."

This song has started to take on some new meaning for me. Lately it seems like every time I read God’s Word, or a book about Him, or hear a sermon, God is calling to me with one simple word: "obey".

Last night my friend and I were talking and it hit me that "Faith" and "Works" are a lot like "Trust" and "Obey". Basically in the same way we show our faith by our works we show our trust by our obedience. I think it really helps me to think of them interchangeably. For instance, James' writings on Faith and Works would look like this:

In the same way, trust by itself, if it is not accompanied by obedience, is dead. But someone will say, "You have trust; I have obedience." Show me your trust without obedience, and I will show you my trust by how I obey.

--James 2:17-18

Don't think I'm trying to rewrite scripture :) but it helps me to remember that works = obedience. Obedience means not just doing the things God wants you to do, it's really everything - how you think, what you do, your attitude, your response to others, what kind of person you are, etc.

I'm starting to learn that truly, the only way to be happy in Jesus is to trust and obey Him.