just like your daddy....

Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place. For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. (2 Corinthians 2:14-15 NKJV)

The short and sweet of it today is very simple...

As we sat listening to the service today, I was struck by something my wife said.  (I would also add that verse 14 above was also part of the message today.). 

My youngest son, Lucas, sat on my lap during the service.  This is a place he often likes to sit...close to daddy.  It was simply one of those enjoyable times I have as a father.  About 5 min before the service ended, he shifted over to his mother's lap.  And in the process told her sweetly that he loved her.  And then Colleen said something that made me stop.  

"You smell like your Daddy."

It hit me powerfully.  It is in spending time with God that we take on His aroma.  Even something as simple as waiting in His presence, we become the fragrance of Christ.  And others become acutely aware that we have been with Him, based on this.  (there is still so much more here, but I did say, "short")

Wow!  Simple and true.  

I want to radiate that aroma, and more so...

...let me be known by my love for spending time with Abba!  "All Your garments are scented with myrrh and aloes and cassia, out of the ivory palaces, by which they have made You glad."         (Psalm 45:8 NKJV)

for Camilla...

Tonight, I looked into the face of a young girl, no older than 16.  

I saw past the layers of makeup and the pump heels.  

I looked into the face of one who was scared...feeling intimidated by the older, more experienced women near her and terrified of the men who eyed her as they would a piece of meat.  I saw past the shy smile and flushed cheeks, knowing that somewhere beneath the frail form, innocence hid away.

And for a moment, I was her father. 

Tonight, I saw her sitting on the floor of her bedroom, playing with dolls and stuffed animals.   I saw her riding a bike, running in the park and dreaming of the man she would one day marry. And with a shy smile she would blush when a boy caught her eye.  Wrapped in safety and innocence, without worry of the future she rested...secure...knowing that all was well because she was loved. 

And for a moment, she was my daughter.

Tonight, I saw a young woman, marked by deep scars of rejection and pain...innocence lost

Ravished by loves and one night stands, she was hardened and dull.  A fake untrusting smile fastened to her face where she used to laugh; real laughs.  All her dreams passed long ago, hiding somewhere behind her hollow eyes.  

And for a moment, I saw the Father

Tonight, I saw life reborn in the eyes of a girl who dared to hope again .  Clean and clothed in righteousness, she was full of peace.  And the Creator of Love came and restored innocence, dreams and destiny to her.  She was renewed in mind, body and spirit.  And with new life, she spoke out clearly of the man Jesus; who loves her and makes all things new.  

And now, she is His daughter

(praying for Camila to find herself...lost in love with Jesus)

...what's in a name?

...and the eyes of the nation are focused on Hurricane Sandy.  "The Storm of the Century"? "The Perfect Storm"?  I don't know what to call it, but I am intrigued by the meaning of the name.  The literal meaning of Sandy or Sandra, comes from Alexander. It means "Defender of the People" or "Defender of Men".

I believe that this Defender has come to wake up or shake awake our nation during a time of major change.  I believe this Sentinel also comes to make an indelible mark in the mind of us as individuals to be aware, to know the times, and to open ourselves up to the one true Soverign!

It is He, the Great "I Am" who is our Defender, our Deliverer.  The One, who's Kingdom is forcefully advancing.

I do not know what tomorrow holds, but I surrender to Him.  And I pray with my brothers and sisters for His Kingdom Come and His Will to be Done!

For those with eyes...let them see

For those with ears...let them hear

For those with hearts ablaze...let us love the One, our Eternal, Everlasting God!

...all of me

"Yet I reserve seven thousand in Israel—all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and all whose mouths have not kissed him." (1 Kings 19:18)

I have read the passage from 1 Kings many times.  In fact the whole Elijah story;  challenging The Baal prophets, the three year drought, prophecy spoken to Ahab, etc have always captivated me.  

I would have to say that the Revelation from Mt Horeb is pretty awesome too!  God demonstrates mighty acts before Elijah, but reveals himself to Elijah in a quiet whisper....Awesome!  Now for verse 18...

I have been familiar with the 7000 persons that God had preserved in Israel.  I have been aware that these ones had never bowed a knee in idol worship (I have prayed many times to be like one of those ones.), but somehow I managed to read right over the last part of the verse.  It's this last portion that has me captivated "...and all whose mouths have not kissed him." 

I have an immediate understanding of what bowing means both in definition and culturally to the people of that time.  But I'm captivated.  With the exception of maybe...intercourse...kissing is about the most intimate thing I can imagine. And I'm not speaking of the sloppy, wet, full mouth kiss necessarily.  

The word kiss here is "Nashaq" which, more than intimacy, speaks of homage. These ones, preserved and protected have not only kept from serving the spirit of the age, but have not honored it with an intimate expression.  They're regard is both physical and emotional.  

The message to me is this...in the same way that they stood for God in a depraved generation, I believe I am called to stand, but here's where it becomes personal...

If these 7000 did not "kiss the Baal", then I believe the reverse is true. By not kissing the Baal, they were actually kissing God.  How many times in our culture have I had the opportunity to not only stand for what I believe but show my adamant love for God?  I have stood many times, quietly out of obedience to honor God concerning moral issues in my generation.  Like Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, I have determined to make a stand.  

But my call is deeper.  I believe God is calling me to an outward expression of love.  And I think this is demonstrated through my emotions too.  I have the opportunity to express my love for Jesus and "Kiss the Son" (Psalm 2:12).  

So let me be counted with the ones who would be marked for righteousness, but also let me be marked as one who is radically in love with the One!  Let me serve him with ALL that I am and kiss him with the kisses of my mouth.  

I will love him with my heart, soul, mind and strength!  

...our battle

http://youtu.be/e6uSLUnfna8

My heart and soul are very stirred yet again today...

Where is this Warrior Bride?  Where is this one who is so marked by love, innocence, purity and kindness?

Answer...she is still in training.  She is the Snow White character (Kristen Stewart) from the movie.  She is being raised up through hardship: locked in a tower, bitterly chided, walking the road less traveled, facing adversity, having to learn forgiveness, tenderness, compassion, purity, and love in her journey toward intimacy and identity.  She doesn't yet know that she is the love-sick, warrior bride.  But identity is beginning to settle over her.

And all the heartaches and hardships are beginning to reveal a beauty that could only come from perseverance and brokenness.

What is the TRUE response of our heart, as created in the image of the Invisible?  LOVE!!!

As intolerance rages against intolerance, LOVE will overcome.  The tender and compassionate stare of the Bride will set things right.  The kind touch of love (that looks to the heart and is not offended by the sin of another) will set things right.

Love will set things right!

Broken and Beautiful

Broken and Beautiful

...porn kills

...the mind!

I don't know many who would deal directly and honestly with the main downfall in the lives of Christian men today. There is a battle taking place in the mind. And since we don't talk about it directly, it becomes our own private battle, destructive and plaguing. I believe the battle is toward purity. Men are bombarded daily with pictures that could potently defile the eyes.

For those who deal with exposure to pornography, it can feel especially hopeless when you are trying to walk worthy of a calling to love the Lord with all your heart, soul and mind. I believe it is a battle that takes place in the mind...played out behind the eyes and has the potential to keep us isolated and feeling stranded. But we are not alone.

The Holy Spirit of God is the one who dwells within us, giving us strength, and we have an Abba Father who knows all about us and loves us completely, Psalm 103 and 139. Our place as a believer is one of Sonship.  And He takes great delight in us, and from that place of Sonship, we can know that we are first of all LOVED!  From that place of love, we run to the Father and not away.  And the One who knows us better than we know ourselves, loves us with an Everlasting Love.  Love is who He is, and He cannot go against His nature!

So there remains one last detail...talking about it. I think as men, we must talk about it openly, vulnerably, and freely. We must find ourselves living out what takes place behind the veil of our eyes with one another. I believe it's here where we will not only encourage one another but find grace to help each other in our time of need.  I would encourage you to take the risk.  Find someone you trust and allow them to hear, see and be a friend.  Who knows, they may be waiting to have someone be real with them too!

Jesus said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your........mind.  This is the first and great commandment."  (Matthew 22:37, 38 NKJV)
"But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them,  because they are spiritually discerned. But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one. For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ."  (1 Corinthians 2:14-16 NKJV)
"Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant,  and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross." (Philippians 2:5-8 NKJV)        
"He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you But to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?" (Micah 6:8 NKJV)
"And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." (Romans 12:2 NKJV)
"Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy-meditate on these things."  (Philippians 4:8 NKJV)