Sunday, July 5, 2009
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Monday, May 11, 2009
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Monday, March 30, 2009
Friday, March 20, 2009
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Friday, March 6, 2009
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Friday, February 13, 2009
Monday, February 9, 2009
Friday, February 6, 2009
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Worship as Fainting (On Psalm 13)
I’m starting to think
That I could forever sink
Could this saint
forever faint?
Have you forgotten me?
Have you heard my plea?
I say in tears “Awake!”
Please, for my sake.
I miss your face.
Can I sustain this pace?
I speak to my soul--
Silence untold.
What words can I borrow
To express my sorrow?
While my soul naps,
My enemy only laughs.
Has he won the day?
Does he have the last say?
Will my God speak up?
Will he fill my cup?
Or shall my foe
Continue to throw
Lies like arrows:
“God cares not for the sparrows”
Your defeat is sure
You’ll never be pure.”
But hope is not dead.
You shall lift up my head.
In your love I trust
And like a sword thrust
Is your Word to my soul.
In you I’m made whole.
I will sing with my voice;
My heart shall rejoice.
I reject the fallacious;
With me you are gracious.
I long for the day
When my heart will say
“Your grace has abounded
Your truth has sounded.”
I wrote this for my Biblical Theology of Worship class. We were supposed to write something for a church service.
Perhaps the most tragic thing about our church services is the assumption that everyone is the pews are emotionally stable. The truth is that in any given church, there are hurting people who feel alone and overwhelmed by a hundred different concerns. I believe that poems like the one above could serve to draw people into the presence of God by pointing them to the Word. The Psalms of lament are inspired scripture. God understands the human condition, namely its frailty and finitude. May we long to make our churches a haven for those who are hurting.
The last two and half years have been difficult for me and this poem flows directly out of a dry heart that longs for the Living Water to refresh it.
Worship as Fainting comes from John Piper. He says there are two types of worshipers: 1) those who are feasting on God's presence and are responding to Him in worship and 2) those who are fainting for God's presence and honor him through turning to him as the only hope, trusting in him for future deliverance from the spiritual desert.
That I could forever sink
Could this saint
forever faint?
Have you forgotten me?
Have you heard my plea?
I say in tears “Awake!”
Please, for my sake.
I miss your face.
Can I sustain this pace?
I speak to my soul--
Silence untold.
What words can I borrow
To express my sorrow?
While my soul naps,
My enemy only laughs.
Has he won the day?
Does he have the last say?
Will my God speak up?
Will he fill my cup?
Or shall my foe
Continue to throw
Lies like arrows:
“God cares not for the sparrows”
Your defeat is sure
You’ll never be pure.”
But hope is not dead.
You shall lift up my head.
In your love I trust
And like a sword thrust
Is your Word to my soul.
In you I’m made whole.
I will sing with my voice;
My heart shall rejoice.
I reject the fallacious;
With me you are gracious.
I long for the day
When my heart will say
“Your grace has abounded
Your truth has sounded.”
I wrote this for my Biblical Theology of Worship class. We were supposed to write something for a church service.
Perhaps the most tragic thing about our church services is the assumption that everyone is the pews are emotionally stable. The truth is that in any given church, there are hurting people who feel alone and overwhelmed by a hundred different concerns. I believe that poems like the one above could serve to draw people into the presence of God by pointing them to the Word. The Psalms of lament are inspired scripture. God understands the human condition, namely its frailty and finitude. May we long to make our churches a haven for those who are hurting.
The last two and half years have been difficult for me and this poem flows directly out of a dry heart that longs for the Living Water to refresh it.
Worship as Fainting comes from John Piper. He says there are two types of worshipers: 1) those who are feasting on God's presence and are responding to Him in worship and 2) those who are fainting for God's presence and honor him through turning to him as the only hope, trusting in him for future deliverance from the spiritual desert.
Friday, January 2, 2009
Walking Contradiction
I am an avid advocate of seeing abortion abolished. I am pro-life to the core. My mom worked at the Caring Pregnancy Center (CPC) for ten years. Growing up, I heard about the horrors of abortion and the sanctity of life. I heard that we were made in the Image of God and therefore we have dignity. I remember it even kept me up at night thinking about the multitude of babies that are killed hourly. Bring pro-life runs through my bones.
But on a daily basis I live in contradiction to the Imago Dei principle. Somehow I can value helpless infants as being precious in God's sight but when I go to Taco Bell I struggle to see the Imago Dei. Rarely do I approach the person at the counter and see a reflection of God's very nature. What an amazing reality the Imago Dei is! But I fail to see people through eyes of faith. Usually I see them through the fleshly lenses. I see a pregnant single mother, a minimum wage worker, a unattractive girl, a rude employee, or a druggie. In Paul's words, I see them according to the flesh:
"From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer" (2 Corinthians 5:16).
Though in context he is talking about seeing people as new creations, we can apply this to anyone we see. Are we seeing those around us as the Image of God that needs to be redeemed and made whole? Are we seeing people's potential? I know I rarely do.
Not only do I see others according to the flesh, I see myself according to the flesh. I do not think of myself as a New Creation, empowered for good works, equipped with everything I need for life and godliness. I usually feel defeated. And when I'm not down and out, it's because I'm trying to cover up my insecurities through flaunting my strengths. But the reality is that I'm weak and God's strength is made manifest as I live a transparent life in dependence on Him.
Becoming a Christian means that the Imago Dei is restored and we are transformed to live a life of godlness. We're made into New Creations so that we can seek out the lost and see them transformed into the same image, the image of Christ, "the image of the invisible God" (Col. 1:15).
But on a daily basis I live in contradiction to the Imago Dei principle. Somehow I can value helpless infants as being precious in God's sight but when I go to Taco Bell I struggle to see the Imago Dei. Rarely do I approach the person at the counter and see a reflection of God's very nature. What an amazing reality the Imago Dei is! But I fail to see people through eyes of faith. Usually I see them through the fleshly lenses. I see a pregnant single mother, a minimum wage worker, a unattractive girl, a rude employee, or a druggie. In Paul's words, I see them according to the flesh:
"From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer" (2 Corinthians 5:16).
Though in context he is talking about seeing people as new creations, we can apply this to anyone we see. Are we seeing those around us as the Image of God that needs to be redeemed and made whole? Are we seeing people's potential? I know I rarely do.
Not only do I see others according to the flesh, I see myself according to the flesh. I do not think of myself as a New Creation, empowered for good works, equipped with everything I need for life and godliness. I usually feel defeated. And when I'm not down and out, it's because I'm trying to cover up my insecurities through flaunting my strengths. But the reality is that I'm weak and God's strength is made manifest as I live a transparent life in dependence on Him.
Becoming a Christian means that the Imago Dei is restored and we are transformed to live a life of godlness. We're made into New Creations so that we can seek out the lost and see them transformed into the same image, the image of Christ, "the image of the invisible God" (Col. 1:15).
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