Fire

Light the fire in my soul....
As I gaze into this fire I think about the nature of it. In the Scriptures men were inflamed with lust, a consuming destructive type of fire. This same vice remains prevalent today, leaving nothing but ashes.
But the life controlled by the Spirit as it were, prompts us to move, to give heat, to bring light. It also consumes, but in a cleansing and unifying way. Lust is a flame that decimates homes and families along with them.

They assembled at Jerusalem in the third month of the fifteenth year of Asa's reign. At that time they sacrificed to the Lord  seven hundred head of cattle and seven thousand sheep and goats from the plunder they had brought back. They entered into a covenant to seek the Lord , the God of their ancestors, with all their heart and soul. All who would not seek the Lord , the God of Israel, were to be put to death, whether small or great, man or woman. They took an oath to the Lord  with loud acclamation, with shouting and with trumpets and horns. All Judah rejoiced about the oath because they had sworn it wholeheartedly. They sought God eagerly, and he was found by them. So the Lord  gave them rest on every side.

2 Chronicles 15:10-15 NIV

Dios es amor y el fuego consumidor.

Heaven

It is stunning how seldom we think about heaven.

I mean, isn't heaven the goal of our faith?

When I die...

Just remember that I loved sunsets anyway...

First West Texas sunset in a while.  This was actually taken on the way home Monday.  Internet was too slow to load it.

My prayer is for the military and their families.  And for the truck drivers.  They are away from their homes as well, sleeping by themselves in rest stops.

Insensitive

Sometimes I can't decide if I'm insensitive or just vigorously guard my heart.

I don't want to enter the discussion on the shootings in Oregon and Connecticut.  Which means this post is about them, of course, but only to say that I don't want to know more.  I desire nothing more--than to hear nothing more--about it, unless it is one of the stories of the brave and selfless teachers.  I've discovered that the more you look, the less you will find.  We know where and when and even what happened.  The press may have already released the name of 'who' did it, but I don't want to know more about that man.

Why would you want to?

We have a sick sense of curiosity, we love to know more about things that make us depressed and hardens our hearts.  People can't seem to understand why things like this happen.  Satan is the who and the why; he weaseled himself into someone's heart and whispered lies there, which were likely compounded my his dark angels, malicious spirits, and possibly even some of his beings who wear the guise of 'christian.'  Yet God will fool the wisdom of the wise, as he does with any personal sickness, sin, or struggle.  The anguish caused by a deep wound such as this is similar to the pain a divorce, alcoholism, or gluttony can inflict on an individual's soul.  Often, only in these moments do we come to realize our deep need for a savior and a healer.  Then our scars remind us that he healed us, who we are now, and who we can be if we continue in him. God will use this for his glory in the end.  Stop feeding your curiosity.  Stop discussing every new development with everyone you know.  And start praying about it.

Christmastime

If you consistently consent to be content with what you are given,
You'll sense your soul slowly recover from extreme malnutrition.

The Journey Before Us

The Hobbit was awesome.

What an epic adventure.  Unfortunately I had no idea that it would be broken into THREE SEPARATE MOVIES.  Will the other two also be three hours long? Money to be made i guess...

The quote that struck me was the concluding statement of the movie.  Bilbo cheerfully states: "Yes, I do believe the worst of our journey is behind us," or something to that effect.  Oh yeah, except for the conclusion of the battle with the orcs, some gargantuan spiders, greedy men, and a massive fire-breathing flying lizard.

This got me thinking.  What lies before us?  Maybe you see happiness and peace, or maybe the future looms precariously heavy upon you as a time of hardships and struggle.  Either way, I'm sure both would agree that a pleasant, joyful existence is the ideal path.  But what would a joyful path look like?

Children, a house, fulfilling job, laid-back lifestyle all come to mind.  But Jesus had another joy set before him:

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart."

It seems as if a joyful path incorporates a cross.  We end up back at the cross=joy paradigm.  The things we crave most in life require the most from us.  Holy children are the result of painful discipline.  A content spirit is brought about through constant deprivation and loss.  Soul-saving worship services are the result of years of dreaming, months of planning, and a multitude of nights wrestling with God in prayer. The realization of our dreams only occurs once we surrender them to his will, and choose the path of joy: the cross.

Finally

Back by popular demand....my blog!!!

And by popular demand I mean Taylor and Grant.  Hey, you're popular to me.

I read 'The Good Book Blog' earlier today, which spurred me on to not only revive my comatose postings, but also to memorize the book of Colossians.  All you have to do is read the book aloud around fifty times, memorize it with the 'cover with your hand then check what you missed and try again' technique, then say it twenty-five times to make it concrete in your mind.

I'm extremely excited to begin.  I read a chapter and a half before the munchkins arrived.  I can't wait to read it at home.  I'll have it memorized by the time I run a half-marathon. :)