Seth Bible

Today's Prayer

2011-07-27T09:05:00.000-07:00

Father, ground us in Yourself.

Root us deeply in truth.

Deepen our hearts & minds into the things of You.

Let our understanding of our identities hidden in Christ be more and more developed.

Turn our eyes from the worthless things of this world and give us life in You and Your word.

Satisfy us You alone.

Let us learn every day to see You in such a compelling way that makes everything else completely pale in comparison.


Let us significantly see the fruit of our obedience with Your favor in changing us and growing us like never before.

We needingly long for more of You than we've ever experienced.

We're trusting You to take us places we've could never go without You.

Here we are, once again, wholly for Your purpose.

The Importance of Asking Questions

2011-03-29T19:18:00.000-07:00

So I have a question.

Is it ok to question God?

Well I think there are a few different answers to that, but I would answer in light of setting up this blog post by saying that it's ok to question the parts of God in our lives that we've made in our own image. We have to.

I think we must return often to our own spirituality and put it up on the block to test it against Scripture. For the sake of our hearts, we have to ask questions.

1 Thessalonians 5:21 - "But examine everything carefully; hold fast to what is good."

In high school I used to think questions were just a sign of not knowing something that someone told me I needed to know in order to succeed in life. I used to think that questions just showed my lack of knowledge of the world and how it worked. Basically, questions were to me a sign of some sort of weakness.

But I've been learning that questions are such a large part of what keep my heart seeking. They keep me moving forward on the path of wholeness. They keep me trusting. Questions keep me from settling in and getting too comfortable. They also keep me humble. They keep me testing what I know against truth. Questions keep me from judging people. They keep me open minded. Questions help me love better.

The questions I have, now that I've realized that greater understanding can come through questioning, show me how good it is that I lack understanding. Questions are what fuel my heart to yearn for that which I don't know. If I run out of questions, then there is something really wrong. And seeing as how the Bible is jam packed with things so many people disagree about, that tells me I need to wrestle with the text myself and not just take someone immediately by their word on an interpretation. Questions are how I wrestle. And friends, we can never stop wrestling...

John 1:1 says "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." The Word, who is Jesus, being God in the flesh, shows that He is not a system but a person. That means the Bible is not static. It's constantly moving. It's why we can read a verse over and over for years and keep seeing and finding new things within it. It's how a verse written thousands of years ago is able to be used today. It's because it's alive.

Without having a lack of something that I truly believe is important to the fulfillment and meaning of this life I wouldn't see the need to chase after it. The questions I have prove that I don't have it all figured out, not even remotely close actually. Questions prove my belief that something beyond myself does have what I'm looking for. And because that something is so vast, so big, and far beyond anything I could ever comprehend, I will forever have questions while on this earth.

So questions require me to move out of independence and self reliance to a humble surrendering to the One who knows all, having created all.

Questions keep me moving. If I stop asking them I face the possibility of apathy in my spiritual growth.

Asking questions is such a large part of letting Jesus Christ continually be the Lord of my life. Without asking questions I could not continue in His likeness.

I say all this to explain why I can tell you that I'm finding recently that I dont want to have definite answers for everything. That the more questions I have the more is required of me, keeping me dependent and giving me the possibility for more and more depth to make stronger the things I believe that make me, me. In this sense, I can't ever stop growing and adding a dimension to my faith that makes me more "alive" than before. This, I think, is part of the power in what makes the Bible living. And this is what I think is such a large part of what the discipleship of Christ looks like. We will always have questions when we come to terms with the fact that we'll never have all of life figured out.

We shouldn't be afraid to ask them either, and we should never stop asking them.

But it's up to us then to trust in the guiding of the Holy Spirit to let these questions deepen the roots of who we are. No question is too big to waver truth, that which is the creator & sustainer God.

So what questions are you asking?

1 Corinthians 3:10-15

(NASB) -

"According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. But each man must be careful how he builds on it. For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each man's work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man's work. If any man's work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. If any man's work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire."

(Message version) -

"Or, to put it another way, you are God's house. Using the gift God gave me as a good architect, I designed blueprints; Apollos is putting up the walls. Let each carpenter who comes on the job take care to build on the foundation! Remember, there is only one foundation, the one already laid: Jesus Christ. Take particular care in picking out your building materials. Eventually there is going to be an inspection. If you use cheap or inferior materials, you'll be found out. The inspection will be thorough and rigorous. You won't get by with a thing. If your work passes inspection, fine; if it doesn't, your part of the building will be torn out and started over. But you won't be torn out; you'll survive—but just barely."

"Seth Abram"

2011-02-12T07:16:00.000-08:00

So if you haven't seen or heard yet, after much consideration, thought, & prayer I've decided to use just my first & middle name for my music career.

For some of you, You're maybe thinking "ok, cool, whats the big deal?", others are thinking "you can't drop Bible!"

I've gotten a bunch of opinions already; some agree, some disagree.

So for those who don't like it or don't quite understand where I'm coming from I want to sort of convince you, but more ask you to trust me & listen as I do my best as I convey how I came to the name change.
And for those who don't really see any problem with it or understand it already, my hope is that I can gain your trust & respect even more as I describe a little of how I believe I'm called into the music industry.

There is soooo much behind this decision the more & more I think about it, so I will do my best to just stick with the name thing.

First off, my whole life from Christians & non, Ive gotten caught up by my name so many times. Middle school, high school, visiting my brother at college, & to this very day Christians say things like "whats your real name?" Or when I first met my wife she was upset & thought
who's this worship leader think he is with the totally lame stage name?"

Or every job I've ever had hearing from non Christians things like "oh you must be really religious" or "Oh you've got a whole lot to live up to." They all honestly think they have to stop being themselves, put on a face, be decent around me or not swear.
I've seriously hated it. It's made it so hard for me to get across the point that in no way am I better than them, with their stereotyped "pure & quiet church boy who doesn't do anything wrong" idea.

I want you to hear me correctly.

I really do love the name on my driver's license. It really is Bible! And I'm so happy, honored & privileged to carry on the great name! But when attempting to influence the masses, I believe a last name like mine can be a stumbling block. Maybe not for everyone, but I don't want people to look at my name and immediately dismiss my music because it reminds them of something they are really uncomfortable with, or don't believe in, or even hate because of the way too many so called followers of the One who wrote the Book come nowhere near close to living in love like it says to.

Please stay with me.

I am in no way scared or ashamed of the word Bible. I know God said that if you're ashamed of Me, I'll be ashamed of you. I'm not dropping my last name for music because I'm worried about people making fun of me for being a sold out believer of the risen Christ. I am not ashamed of the Gospel who is my entire life. I'm dropping it for other reasons, & here are a 3:

Reason 1-

I really don't want just my name to speak for who I am. I don't want the people I meet & the people who see my name to have a speed bump to get over. I want my actions & what I say (on twitter/facebook/my blog/ in my lyrics) to speak for who I am.

Reason 2-

With humbling striving to follow my best alongside Jesus in how He impacted the world around Him, the apostle Paul spoke to how I similarly believe I am to live also in the music world- "For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. To the Jews I became a Jew, in order to win the Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. I do it all for the sake of the Gospel, that I may share with them in it's blessings." -1 Corinthians 9:19-23

Reason 3-

Lastly and most importantly, I'm doing this because I've prayed about it with my wife & personally many times & firmly believe it's what the Lord is telling me to do as He leads me into the music industry as a whole, rather that just a fraction of it.

My strong hope is that my music & life would be truly encouraging & inspiring to fellow Christians, but honestly, I'd rather turn away a bunch of them with my decision than not be able to reach a few people who don't know Jesus & the life of freedom & purpose & meaning & satisfaction He offers. "But when the teachers of religious law who were pharises saw Him eating with tax collectors and other sinners, they asked His disciples, "Why does He eat with such scum?" When Jesus heard this, He told them,"Healthy people don't need a doctor-sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners." -Mark 2:16-17

So friends, now I'm asking you to trust me. I'm asking you to trust in who you've seen me be in past faithfulness to Christ. I'm asking you to trust who He is in me as I seek Him with all that I am. And more than anything, I'm asking you to pray for my wife & I with this crazy adventure we've said yes to jumping fully into as we move ahead in His grip into the music industry desiring first to please the Maker of music.

I'm so very encouraged by you all with your incredible support & love.

Thank you thank you thank you,

Seth Abram

KICKSTARTER

2011-02-04T18:39:00.000-08:00

So 5 days before our time was up with Kickstarter we met our goal of $10,500. And wow, we were so so so very blessed and humbled. But then 5 days later we actually went over our original asking amount by $510!! Oh man, we were so blown away by that! You, my friends, you are sooooo very awesome! I honestly don't feel like any words I type on here can describe the amount of gratitude in Sarah and I's heart. You've humbled us time and time again.

I said this on facebook a few times, but the amount we asked for on Kickstarter actually only covered the studio, producer, and instrumentalists. We have so many more costs to take care of to help this record actually get up off the ground and into the world, hopefully way past just Indiana if this isn't gonna just be a one hit wonder; haha though we gotta get one hit first!

Just a few of those things would be things like, the whole process of master the album, promotion, website, photo shoot for the album, merch, and honestly so much more.

So please please know how truly thankful we are for the amount we made past our original goal. It really helps!

So now what?

That's a good question!

Soooo many things are up and coming.

I won't even try and start telling you about all thats on deck...

But oh how we are so looking forward to the album release party!

If you can make it out, you'll won't want to miss it! You'll be able to get to get a copy of the record before it actually comes out anywhere else.

The rest of the world won't be able to purchase it till a few days later on iTunes/Rhapsody/Amazon/ect...

So if you want to get your hands on a copy of the record before a lot of people, you'll wanna be at the party. Also, this party is where you'll be able to pick up your physical rewards for giving on Kickstarter! Woohoo!

So what's the date for the party you ask?

Well we are really close to finalizing the day! So when we know we'll fill you in.

It's looking like the very beginning of March though. So stay tuned for that!

Besides that, Sarah and I just humbly ask that you'd keep praying fervently for us as we continue on this intense and crazy adventure.

You all are amazing...

We love you guys!

THANK YOU SO MUCH!

Seth

Studio Time

2011-01-30T07:07:00.000-08:00

So today is our last day at Saint-Claire Studio, and it's a sad day because this place is quite stunning. We've had such an incredible time. We got here ten days ago now with high expectations and walked in and checked out the place and all our high expectations got blown out of the water. We've joked that we got spoiled here and will be disappointed anywhere else we go in the future to record. It's seriously been amazing living here the past few days getting to do something i know God's got me on earth for. Even the staff here at the studio has been top notch, treating you like royalty basically. My wife and i have been so very impressed and blessed by this place ( http://saint-claire.com/ ).

I'm so incredibly humbled still that i get to do this, and hopefully get to keep doing this because of people like all of you who've helped back this project tremendously on Kickstarter ( http://kck.st/a1RQAV ). By the way, there are 4 days left if you haven't had a chance to be a part of the record yet, it's not too late! Sarah and I continue to work hard to cover the ongoing expenses outside of the studio, but your continued help goes further than you can imagine with much left to do!

It's all flown by so fast now, and we wish we didnt have to leave yet.

But we still have a full day here finishing up the record.

Today we finish a few small vocal parts for the acoustic track on the album, it should be fun.

And then Zach( http://zachmcnees.com/ ), my brilliant producer, will finish mixing 1 more track, and then we are done!

Then we ship the songs off to get mastered and continue on in the huge process of releasing it in March.

So there ya have it. After today we leave dreamland and go back to reality... :( haha

Friends thanks so much for joining us thus far on the adventure and following along with our updates in the studio! We've had soooo much fun and hope you've enjoyed watchin and reading of our time here.

Keep continual watch for more updates about the record and upcoming touring dates and just exciting news!

Much Love,

Seth Abram

WE MET OUR GOAL!

2011-01-29T08:47:00.001-08:00

MY KICKSTARTER GOAL

IS FUNDED FUNDED FUNDED FUNDED FUNDED FUNDED FUNDED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Holy Cow...

IT'S FUNDED FUNDED FUNDED FUNDED FUNDED FUNDED !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wow wow wow.

I remember back in December sitting at Starbucks with Sarah with so many emotions as I hit the enter button on my computer to launch this Kickstarter campaign (http://kck.st/a1RQAV ). I remember thinking, "oh man, did we really just ask for over 10 thousand dollars to make a record?" I was a little scared to be honest. But now, we have over 10 thousand dollars to make this record actually happen. My very first record. Something I've been wanting to do for years...

I remember a few months ago when I heard the Lord say it was time to chase after this dream He had put in my heart years ago.

And its because of people like you that I'm able to chase after this dream I undoubtedly believe He has been training me for for years now.

I've never had such a future with so much upcoming changes, but I've also never ever been more excited about all that I believe He is gonna do in and through my wife and I, beyond anything I can imagine.
His will is my life and breath.

All I can say right now is that I'm completely humbled, blown away, in awe, and get the chills every time I think about you and your support and all that is going to get to happen because of it.

This doesn't feel nearly adequate, but:

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU

Also, many of you have rewards waiting for you! You can come and receive them at the CD release party in the first week of March (time and location to be announced), or we can mail them to you. Woohooo!

One last thing,

If you haven't had a chance to be a part of the record yet, it's not too late! Sarah and I continue to work hard to cover the ongoing expenses outside of the studio, but your help goes further than you can imagine!

Much Love,

Seth Abram

My First Record

2011-01-28T08:32:00.000-08:00

So it's official, all the recording for my first record is nearly finished except for 1 small vocal part on a song called "Enlighten"
Wooooooooooohooooooooooo!
Now for the tedious long hour days of mixing it.Following that will be the process of mastering it, which will be done in Manhattan, NY.
Then comes the production of the physical cd and the process for getting it on iTunes/Rhapsody/Amazon.We are also right now workin with friends on the artwork for the album cover/website/t-shirts/pogo sticks/pajamas/lunch boxes... (j/k on those last 3!)We are also workin out the how & when plans for releasing the project.
It's lookin like early March sometime. So stay tuned for that fun day!Anyways, that's really even just half of what we are working on for this thing.We are busy, busy, busy with details, details, details.
Please continue to keep us in your prayers as we desperately long to continue seeking wholly after His heart and go full force ahead on this crazy adventure we unshakably believe the Lord has laid before us.
Much love,
Seth Abram

In The Studio pt. 3

2011-01-25T12:10:00.000-08:00

4 Day Recap

2011-01-24T08:57:00.000-08:00

4 day recap video ( http://yfrog.us/2oa1yz ) in the studio!

10 days left to help back the project here - http://kck.st/a1RQAV

I love bein in the studio! woohooo!

Today we are doubling all the rhythm electric guitar tracks and workin on all the lead parts for intros and solos. I'm really really excited to see how today turns out!

Later this eve I think I will get to start tracking some vocals for the first time, I'm quite stoked.

Keep checkin back for updates!

much love,

Seth Abram

In The Studio pt. 2

2011-01-23T11:58:00.000-08:00

Today, a video for you.

http://yfrog.us/n5ps2z

In The Studio pt. 1

2011-01-22T19:24:00.000-08:00

So we just wrapped up day 2 in the studio ( http://saint-claire.com/gallery.php )

It was long and tiring physically and mentally but so much fun.
My band is amazing and my producer is phenomenal.

We've recorded all the basics for the 5 main songs already and I just wanna say, I'm excited.

This ( http://yfrog.us/5klt9z ) is probably one of my favorite things we've done so far.

Lots and lots of work to do still.

Tomorrow we record some leads and possibly some acoustic and/or a few of my vocals.

I'm really lookin forward to it. Pray for the creativity to flow and for vocal strength!

Things are really lookin pretty amazing, better than I hoped actually.

I'm really excited for you all to hear the cd already and it's nowhere near being done!

This is so great!

By the way, there are only 11 days left if you want to join in and be a part of this by helping back the project ( http://kck.st/a1RQAV ) .

That's all for now,

Seth Abram

THANK YOU

2011-01-20T07:10:00.000-08:00

So I woke up this morning with a big smile on my face and massive amounts of joy in my heart. Wanna know why?

Because my wife and I and 2 good friends leave today for Lexington, Ky to join the rest of the band where we will be recording my first CD at Saint Claire studios! http://saint-claire.com/gallery.php

I am so very excited!!!

I write this for everyone who's given on Kickstarter ( http://kck.st/a1RQAV ) and might still give money/prayer to support this project.
I want you to know how deeply humbled, grateful, blown away, and honored my wife and I are to get to have all of you be a part of this record.
Seriously, I cannot believe I get to do this, it's such a privilege and it's huge thanks to YOU.
Thank you to those who have believed in me, who believe in what God has me for on this earth. Know your help is advancing His kingdom.
And know that all of my heart and my wifes heart is in this. We believe strongly that the Lord's got His hands on this and we absolutely cannot wait to see how He moves and where He takes us.
Your support is making it able for us to chase after what God has laid on my heart and I and so very thankful for you.

Now let's make a record!

Keep watch on the blog/twitter/facebook for updates about the cd! We'll be posting pictures/videos/news about how it's all going.

Thanks again,
Much Love,

SethAbram

Tonight

2011-01-19T13:51:00.000-08:00

Another one for the record:

I actually wrote this for my wife years before we got married...

Sometimes I can't remember how I even got here in the first place

Then I remember when I opened up my eyes and saw her for the first time

She was standing their

With her long brown hair

I couldn't help but stare

Into her eyes

Somewhere far beyond the lights

I'm sitting here so far away tonight

Missing you this just ain't right

And now I'm wishing I was buy your side

Tonight

Miles and miles separate and time is goin by at such a slow pace

I can't wait until the days are gone and I get to see your face

PLEASE go here http://kck.st/a1RQAV if you want to be a part of this project and help me make my first album! There are 15 days left to join us!

Follow Me

2011-01-18T14:55:00.000-08:00

Another song for the album:

This one is a bit different than the others.

The lyrics, don't worry, are not me speaking, but they are as if the God was saying them.
Here ya go:

Oh hear the sound when life does begin
Such beauty found as light's coming in

I will never let you go
You can stand and always know
That I've made you white as snow
You mean more to Me than anything (more than you could know)

I have given everything
So you'd be completely free
There is purpose and meaning
If you'd give your life to Me

Would you run into My arms
Give into this love
I will hold you oh so close
And guide you as you grow
Here I am for you to know
I have everything you need
Follow Me

Oh come close and find there's strength in the pain
The weary and the broken win

You will never be the same
I will give you a new name
All you have to do is give
Lose your life and you will live
All your hope is found within
My I love you hear Me say

Friends, PLEASE go here http://kck.st/a1RQAV if you want to be a part of this project and help me make my first album! There are 16 days left to join us!

Stolen

2011-01-16T11:39:00.000-08:00

Another song for the record!

This one's extra special.

It was wrote for my wife and was one of the songs i sang when i asked her to spend the rest of her awesomeness that is her life with me.

Here are the lyrics:

I don't know who you are

But i want to

There are so very few

People like you

Could it be

Could it be you and me

Or am I just dreamin'

And I don't know how

You came into my life

But I see beauty

And I want you by my side

Cause i've never met

Someone like you

And I cannot let you get away

And I'm fallin for you now

And I wonder if it shows

Yes I'm fallin for you now

And I wonder if you know

That you, you stole my heart

Brown eyes and long brown hair

I can't help but stare

Blown away time after time

Won't get outta my mind

Oh and You don't know me

But I think I can see

So let's just believe

That this could be

That you make want to sing

Oh and give you everything

And I think I must confess

This new rhythm in my chest

Yeah you, you stole my heart

Friends, PLEASE go here http://kck.st/a1RQAV if you want to be a part of this project and help me make my first album! There are 18 days left to join us!

much love,

SethAbram

Mine & Yours

2011-01-14T19:22:00.000-08:00

Another possible song for the cd.

Lyrics:

A couple years ago i went and stepped into this place

Sat down on a chair, looked up and saw the most beautiful face

I've never been the same and won't ever see another name

The way i see her's

Cause she's the one for me and no one compares for sure

oh how i know

It's true that you're for me and i'm for you

Like the sky is blue

So i'm in love with you

And I'll never take this beating heart away

Like the grass is green

I'll treat you like a queen

And I'll do my best in goodness and in pain

For you are mine and I am yours

Take your picture, snap it good, put it in a frame like i should

and i'll look at it for hours, girl you got powers and their good

Take my breath away every time you look at me and say

You got plans to stay with me for the rest of our lives

I see you smiling

I can't keep this joy inside

I keep finding more love

You are mine, all the time

Can't seem to wrap my brain round this little rhyme

True story actually, the first verse that is, well and the rest of it, but specifically this part... It was in Archbold, OH where i sat down in a chair in a youth building called the warehouse, an actual warehouse, and first saw the love of my life on stage in front of me was just plain mezmerized. I couldnt believe my ears or eyes. I had to meet this woman! ha ha for real.

Friends, PLEASE go here http://kck.st/a1RQAV if you want to be a part of this project and help me make my first album!

"Enlighten"

2011-01-09T13:02:00.000-08:00

This is one of the possible songs that will be on the cd!

Here are the lyrics:

Look in my eyes can you see my fate?

Poke some holes and will I deflate?

Beat me down oh will I just break?

Am I just hot air just second rate

If you could see through my body's state

Would you say my hearts just a fake?

And it's all that I can take

I won't let the world mistake

We were made by the One who made the sea.

Look inside, i feel it deep within me.

I'm crying for wisdom beyond all my years.

Here I am, made for truth, come enlighten me.

Don't let me be less than what I need

To be a part of opening eyes that seek

And let it be known the strength is in the weak.

I will give all my breathing for

Showing the One deep inside my core

My heart is beating for the sake of Knowing more

Fill me up with what's true

Swallow me whole and make new

Pour Your Spirit into me

Youre what satisfies this life

You're what breaks me of this pride

There is nothing more I want to see

This song is from the deepest parts of me as I long incredibly and seek humbly to be someone that the world looks at and sees has as many similarities as possible to the greatest lover to ever walk this earth. And this is because I know with all my heart that I'm only as good at, as powerful, as meaningful, and as impacting at what I do as how much of myself I've surrendered to the Creator of all.

I wholeheartedly believe Christians should be the shapers of culture because we put our hope and trust in the One who made up wisdom, and brilliance, and creativity, and love, and all the things needed to be at the front of the pack leading.

So there you have it!

Friends, PLEASE go here http://kck.st/a1RQAV if you want to be a part of this project and help me make my first album!

What JOIN US means...

2011-01-03T11:19:00.000-08:00

First off, I can't believe we're half way to our goal! The support behind this project ( http://kck.st/a1RQAV ) has been incredible. THANK YOU.

I realized that we had set before you a lofty goal, but failed to outline just how much of our lives and finances Sarah and I are putting into making this album. Our Kickstarter goal is $10,500, but we'd never ask you to contribute to something we're not giving our all to.

We're asking you to JOIN us, and I really want you to know what we mean by that.

As I've said in previous blog posts, a very large part of leaving the staff at GCC was due to what Sarah and I believe is our next step toward full time ministry in the music industry. And I want you to know that that was only the very beginning of how much of ourselves we've been putting into this.

I am working a retail job, giving guitar lessons, and playing as many gigs as I can to raise money, and Sarah is working 1 long hour retail job. From all of these jobs we are putting as much as we possibly can outside of bills into this project.

We believe in this so much that our savings is going into this as well.

Like I've said before, we truly are firm in our hearts that all of this is just us being obedient to the Lord, stepping out in total trust in Him. We are literally putting all we have into this cd project, and that is what we mean when we ask you to JOIN us in the making of my first album.

It's such a humbling privilege to get to do this with all of you.

Please spread the word about this as we only have 30 more days left!

Also, keep watch here on the blog for the next few weeks as I will be posting updates about Kickstarter and songs and their details that will possibly go onto the cd so that you have an even better idea of the music that you will help me record!

Friends, thanks so much again for all your support whether it's through prayer or money. It's all needed and wanted!

Much Love,

SAB

Away In A Manger

2010-11-12T08:36:00.001-08:00

Make an Album with Seth Abram Bible

2010-11-11T12:23:00.000-08:00

Friends!

For as long as I've been striving to humbly play music there have been many encouraging voices telling me I should do it for a living and record a cd. The whole time it's been very clear to me from the Lord that I wasn't supposed to put "all my cards" on the music table. Yet. Until A couple months ago I wrote a blog informing all of you of my decision to leave staff at GCC.

That was the starting point to the new path that Sarah and I believe we are being led down now as we seek and trust and put our faith and complete hope in Christ. That was the first outward change of obedience in what He'd been stirring in my heart for years. The Lord's word over my life that had previously been "stay, wait, learn," changed to "this wait is over, go." I heard Him say that it was time. Time to go all in and move forward in this new adventure.

So I really believe this is us, the Bibles, in obedience to His will and call on our lives for the next season of transformation. I believe He calls us all to the things that are bigger than us, the things that we literally can't do without Him. And believe me, I'm lost without Him in this.

This new direction is bigger than any other things He's called me to yet, though I've seen and felt His equipping in the past with similar things, so we have much confidence!

We've never ever been more excited about the future.

Which is why I want to inform you now that my first studio recording is in the making, and very soon! Which is also why I am writing this post. I need YOUR help!

Here are just a few ways:

Prayer. Seriously, I only want to make this cd if it's going to reach people, and stir in their hearts, and inspire and move them. And whether or not I'm singing a song about my wife or life or the Lord, I don't want the music to just be strictly melodies and rhythm. I want there to be His hand and power in every one of the tracks.

Pray for:

Our time in the recording studio- Pray that such an intricate process involving musicians, sound engineers, producers etc. will run smoothly, quickly and with purpose.
Distribution- As the CD is completed, pray that the Lord will open doors to distribute the album far and wide.
Shows- Pray that each show will be filled with people and every word I speak will be encouraging and life giving.
Sarah and I- We're newlyweds! and we really need the grace of God to continue on this crazy and exciting journey.

Finances- The recording is going to cost upwards of $20,000 and without the backing of a record label, we have to come up with that on our own.

Shaun Groves says "there really is no such thing as an independent artist," and I agree with Him. This is a partnership between you and I.

I'm so largely dependent on you! We've made it really easy to give online, by utilizing a website called kickstarter. It gives us 75 days to raise half of the project's budget, $10,500. We will only receive the money if the full amount is pledged. The deadline is February 3, 2011, the same day that the money would be deducted from your account. To give, visit our website:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/473758709/make-an-album-with-seth-abram-bible

Friends, thank you so very much from the depths of Sarah and I's hearts. We thank you for your support and love and care and encouragement. We honestly can't do this without you.

Seth Abram Bible

"Made For Me"

2010-10-15T12:00:00.000-07:00

Just finished this new song:

Let me know what ya think of the lyrics, i'd love some feedback!

Something waiting for is worth my time
I'm breathing in this simple little rhyme
To remind myself and speak to this heart of mine
Must keep away from this nominal line

Oh it's not that i can do what's right
Most the time, I'm in a fight
The war inside waging for life
Let me drop the weight of my pride

This is the sunshine on my skin
This is the calmness from within
This is the strength inside my chest
This is the making of new rest
And i can see
That this was made for me

No more hiding from what satisfies
Now that i know i actually was
Let this be a lesson to my eyes
And move my blood because
Seeing is belief

My lack of trust is retreating
I'm loosing life and love's gaining
The darkened parts begin leaving
I'm pouring myself out singing

In You there's joy for me
My heart says believe
I know i have needing
For reasons not seeing
So here's my heart pleading
You'd use my everything

"Enlighten" w/ video

2010-10-10T14:31:00.000-07:00

Look in my eyes can you see my fate?

Poke some holes and will I deflate?

Beat me down oh will I just break?

Am I just hot air just second rate

If you could see thru my body's state

Would you see my hearts just a fake?

And it's all that I can take

I won't let the world mistake

We were made by the One who made the sea.

Look inside, i feel it deep within me.

I'm crying for wisdom beyond all my years.

Here I am, made for truth, come enlighten me.

Don't let me be less than what I need

To be a part of opening eyes that seek

And let it be known the strength is in the weak.

I will give all my breathing for

Showing the One deep inside my core

My heart is beating for the sake of Knowing more

Fill me up with what's true

Swallow me whole and make new

Pour Your Spirit into me

You're what satisfies this life

You're what breaks me of this pride

There is nothing more I want to see

Than You

Leaving the GCC staff...

2010-08-25T07:54:00.000-07:00

In about an hour, word of my leaving staff at Granger Community Church will happen.

So below are some thoughts and hopefully answers to any questions anyone may have.

On my own volition, I've chosen to leave the staff at GCC.

After listening and hearing, and hearing and listening similar words that have lined up with what the Lord told me before I moved to Indiana, I know the decision of leaving staff to be in line with His will for the next phase in life and what He's calling Sarah and I to next.

Let me give you a little context:

I moved to Indiana over 3 years ago for the purpose of getting better at what I believe I'm on earth for. I knew that my time in Indiana would be a season for specific growth in which I knew I'd look back on 10 years from now and know that a lot of who I am is because of those few years in Granger.

The experiences and lessons I have learned while being on staff are invaluable. I have been blessed to work alongside some incredible worship leaders and draw from their wisdom and understanding of what it means to lead God's people in worship. I have worked on a one of a kind, truly amazing team (the Granger Student Ministries Staff) that taught me how each individual brings strengths to the table, and the unity of those strengths truly is expanding the Kingdom. Working with GSM put hands and feet to the truth that I had known but hadn't seen in that depth of action. Watching the students grow in their understanding of what it means to worship the King taught me more than I could have anticipated. I got to be a part of their walk with the Lord, and that is a privilege beyond words. I got to be a part of students experiencing the Living Christ and His grace and mercy and life-changing power, and those moments will forever be some of my most memorable experiences.

It took a very strong and clear word from God to know that it was time to take my next step and leave such and incredible family of believers. While my heart is heavy to leave a church staff I love so deeply, I can move forward because I am more than confident in what God has called me to next. It's because of this confidence that I feel the backing and support of the staff I love so much. And it's because of both my confidence in Christ and the GCC staff's support that I can say that I've never been more excited about the future and all the mind blowing things I believe the Lord has got in store.

After Sarah and I get married this Friday, we will be living here in a season of preparation for the next chapter of our lives. We will still be very much a part of Granger Community Church while we remain here. No matter where the Lord takes us in the future, GCC will always be a place we come back to. We love GCC and are totally behind the vision of the church and the ways it's sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ locally and globally.

Lastly, Sarah and I very much desire and need your prayer support as we make this transition. Thank you so incredibly much for making this experience better and infinitely more rewarding than I could have ever hoped. I love you all immensely.

Pursuing Him at all costs,

Seth Abram Bible

"Listen Now"

2010-07-06T08:56:00.000-07:00

This is a song i just finished. It's an honest song. It's all about embracing the truth that there can be good within pain if we have perspective and the right eyes to see. It's a song from my heart that believes that God is with us fully in everyone of our struggles if we let Him be.
The song speaks of His promise of never leaving or forsaking us. And how we can come out of the fire looking more like Him.

And the waiting list is long
And my patience seems to've gone
And it seems like You've been wrong
And I've not been very strong
For far far too long

Circumstance has blinded me
All I see is what's bleeding
How I'm longing to be free
Let go fear of misery
And believe

Would You give me eyes to see
The glory around me
And I'll give You more of my heart
Would You give me ears to hear
Your voice inside me
And I'll give You more of my heart

And I'm learning this new sight
Is for those who've lost the fight
And the ones who cannot bare
There is rest that's been prepared
And the truth is there is light
so...

I look up to see Your face
Waiting for the words You'll say
For my heart knows there's no other way
I reach up for Your embrace
And find strength within Your grace
And I know that You're with me in this place

Listen now, it beats for You
Listen how, it beats for You
Oh this heart is pleading for You now

Tonight's Prayer

2010-05-27T22:42:00.000-07:00

PSALM 86 -

"Hear, O LORD, and answer me, for I am poor and needy.

Guard my life, for I am devoted to You.

You are my God; save your servant who trusts in You.

Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I call to You all day long.

Bring joy to Your servant, for to You, O Lord, I lift up my soul.

You are forgiving and good, O Lord, abounding in love to all who call to You.

Hear my prayer, O LORD; listen to my cry for mercy.

In the day of my trouble I will call to You, for You will answer me.

Among the gods there is none like You, O Lord; no deeds can compare with Yours.

All the nations You have made will come and worship before You, O Lord;

They will bring glory to Your name.

For You are great and do marvelous deeds; You alone are God.

Teach me Your way, O LORD, and I will walk in Your truth;

Give me an undivided heart, that I may fear Your name.

I will praise You, O Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify Your name forever.

For great is Your love toward me; You have delivered me from the depths of the grave.

The arrogant are attacking me, O God;

A band of ruthless men seeks my life— men without regard for You.

But You, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God,

Slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.

Turn to me and have mercy on me;

Grant Your strength to Your servant and save the son of Your maidservant.

Give me a sign of Your goodness, that my enemies may see it and be put to shame,

For You, O LORD, have helped me and comforted me."

Father we want to desire You above all. Don't let us look to the right or the left, not for fear of what we might see or be tempted by, but because we have eyes to see what really brings peace and joy and fulfillment and meaning and purpose. And so we keep our eyes fixed upward because we know more than anything that we were created to live lives of surrender, of a continual giving up, of a holy weakness in order to find them truly and more abundantly in You, our perfect creator.

Remind us just as You said that if we seek first Your kingdom that all we need will be given; and how the most important commandment of loving You w/ everything that we are is not because You "need" us, but because You want us and You know that our wholeness is based on how much of ourselves we give away; Father because You know that we need as much of You as possible in order to be truly satisfied. Remind our hearts that they were shaped for the purpose of worshipping You!

Lord, would You turn our eyes from the worthless things of this world and give us life in You and Your word. Keep us aware of Yourself in us, around us, and in all good things. We look to You Father, our Creator and redeemer, our Savior and Lord, our Friend and greatest Hope.

HELLO LOVELY

2010-05-11T21:35:00.000-07:00

My Newest song!

A Sneak Peak

2010-05-06T13:31:00.000-07:00

Here is a sneak peak of the new Hillsong Live album coming out in the next few months.

http://vimeo.com/11485918

On The Radio

2010-04-22T20:19:00.000-07:00

A bit of my quite enjoyable time at Pulse FM...

http://www.mynameiscorey.net/2010/04/seth-bible.html

My Fiancee

2010-04-12T15:12:00.000-07:00

So there's this girl I met a few years back...

I sat down on a chair in a warehouse full of people and looked up to fix my eyes on something so beatitful it marked me like nothing ever has...

I was blown away at the words of intensity and passion for Jesus Christ coming from the mouth of this girl. I was in mouth dropping awe of her seriously stunning beauty. I knew that I had to meet her because I realized that I had never seen or heard another girl anything like her, ever...

Since that day, the day that my heart and brain spoke with each other the truth of this incomparable woman, next to Christ, I've never wanted anything as much as I've wanted her.

Fast forward a few years and a really long story of intense goodness and beautiful redemption to one day a few months ago when my greatest hopes came true as the girl of my dreams said yes to marrying me... SHE SAID YES!!!!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

I've never in my life been more excited about the future!

Never Ever.

If you haven't met or seen her yet, here she is pictured above. She is the greatest picture to me of grace because I don't deserve someone like her, my future wife,

SARAH ELIZABETH ROSE RASMUSSEN.

Honey, I love you w/ all I am for forever and won't ever stop seeking you, or Christ w/ my whole heart so that He may increase my heart's size giving me more and more strength to love you better and better as long as I have breath in my lungs. I cannot wait to marry you!

Upcoming SAB Show

2010-03-06T14:11:00.000-08:00

Hey friends!

Wanted to let you know that I am playing a show this coming Friday at the South Bend Chocolate Cafe, March 12th @ 7pm and would so love to see you there!!

Let your friends know and come enjoy some original music of mine played by some good friends and I.

PEACE

STOLEN

2010-03-05T12:54:00.000-08:00

Sorry the sound quality isn't the greatest...

BOOKS i'm reading

2010-03-03T13:43:00.000-08:00

Run with the Horses - Eugene Peterson

Sacred Marriage - Gary Thomas

The God of Intamacy & Action - Tony Campolo/Mary Albert Darling

Ancient-Future Worship - Robert E. Webber

WE'RE ENGAGED!!!!!!!!!

2010-02-17T21:12:00.000-08:00

2010-02-16T18:21:00.000-08:00

Now offering guitar lessons!!!

Please e-mail me at sbible@gccwired.com for more info.

...Only taking 9 more students.

2010-02-13T21:08:00.000-08:00

Download the new Angels & Airwaves album here for free!!!

http://modlife.com/angelsandairwaves/love

April 10th 7:30pm

2010-02-05T13:00:00.000-08:00

I'm Opening For Lincoln Brewster!

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=287391229550&ref=mf

FUNNY CATS!!!

2010-02-04T08:04:00.000-08:00

SAB Music

2009-12-26T21:10:00.000-08:00

So I have been doin a little recording in Garage Band w/ a friend of mine...

check it out - http://virb.com/sethabrambible

My Girlfriend

2009-12-11T00:14:00.000-08:00

So in case you haven't heard yet, it's official, it's true...

I am dating the most beautiful and amazing girl in the world.

Sarah Rasmussen - as seen below

It doesn't get any better than this folks...

Seriously.

CHRISTMAS MUSIC!

2009-12-08T19:11:00.000-08:00

So I've finally sat down with a friend of mine and recorded some Christmas tunes on his Mac computer...

Wanna hear???

For the audio files go to www.virb.com/sethabrambible

Look down below for some live video clips!
Woohoo!

Be on the lookout for more new music soon!

Brian Mclaren on the Worship Industry

2009-12-02T13:15:00.000-08:00

What'ya think?

Afternoon Inspiration

2009-11-26T09:37:00.000-08:00

From the book "The God Who Smokes" by Timothy Stoner

"The question, on the surface, was quite practical: How can I help give my sons a sense of perspective about their hunger (to be professional musicians) if they were not part of the 1 percent that is signed by a label?

As I began digging around inside, I had to ask, Why have these maddening impulses been inflicted if you are deprived of a platform for communicating the vision that has been offered? If the driving force behind art is not self-expression but communication, what's the point of yearning to create and being utterly unable to get any kind of an audience for the creative offspring?

Must artists view themselves as failures if they are not published, marketed, televised, signed, or booked? Can you only lay claim to the identity if you make money at it? If you just do your art in the studio, or den, or bedroom, have you flunked your AEEs (Artist Entrance Exams)? Success (some measure of fame and financial reward) thus becomes the hallmark of artistic authenticity.

When I finally allowed myself to think honestly about it, I have to admit, I believed I had pretty much failed at being who I truly was meant to be.

I had washed out at fulfilling my calling (as an author) and had to settle for being a fraud, living behind a stifling facade the remainder of my life.

I decided to stop fencing and parrying away these questions and allowed myself to look them straight in the eye without flinching. It did not take too long. What came was a picture: a little shepherd boy alone on a hill. He is the baby of the family and gets no respect from his seven older brothers, who secretly despise him. This youngsters name was David, and he was an artist before he was anything else. He wrote poetry and sang songs by himself on the Bethlehem hills long before he was lauded as Israel's poet laureate and premier warrior king.

In the still of the night, with no one applauding or fawning or flattering, he pours out his heart. He plays on his lyre and sings to the skies until his voice breaks or gives out. He then lays down his wooden instrument and lifts his arms above his head as he stands to his feet.

And he begins to dance in the dark And there is this wild, happy, crazy gleam in his eye as he looks up at the whirling stars.

If you read his life story carefully, you will be struck by something unusual.

He seems to be singularly unimpressed with himself or his status.

He strips off his royal robes and dances ecstatically in full view of all the populace. He is so shameless he embarrasses his blueblood wife with her highly cultivated sense of propriety.

Michal despises him in her heart (2 Samuel 6:16). She mocks him for being a crass, uncouth rustic, a "buffoon" (6:20). David will not be deterred. He does not allow her to shame him. He responds that he will keep dancing before Yahweh and will demean himself even further. "You thought that was bad? Check this out!"

Later, we read that he is absolutely staggered by the enormity of the promises God is making to him and his bloodline. He does not feel the slightest bit deserving. He even refers to himself as God's own little "dog" (7:21).

Toward the end of his reign, as he is fleeing for his life, he is cursed and assaulted with stones by an enraged Shimei, a descendant of the former king Saul. David does not retaliate. He does not automatically conclude that he is blameless. He seems to assume the opposite. Maybe Shimei is an instrument of God's discipline, he muses. And even if Shimei is acting on his own, God can set the record straight (2 Samuel 16:5-12).

What is the reason for the meekness?

David knows who he really is.

He has no grand illusions about himself. When the robes are removed and the pomp and circumstance quieted, when the royal veneer and the position and titles are taken away, he knows that at heart he is just a humble singer. He's a simple, abandoned worshipper who delights in God's presence more than anything in the whole wide world.

If you've lived deeply and truly alone in God's presence and grown still and safe there, doing your best work for Him first, it doesn't make a whole lot of difference anymore if you happen to find yourself seated on a throne, a crown resting on your head, with servants at your beck and call, or signing your name to a million-dollar advance.

They may call you king and flock to your concerts, but you know you are just a shepherd writing lyrics and singing till your heart breaks.

Your secret identity remains intact: You are a worshipper."

NEW SONG!

2009-11-16T14:00:00.000-08:00

So I just finished this new song...

And right as I finished the last line of it I got the chills.

This song is my way own personal way of surrendering what I don't know to God. It's my way of giving up what frustrates me in not knowing specifics on how things are going to play out. And it's me trusting He is bigger than it all and really has my back in every single moment.

It's me embracing His love for me...

I pray it's encouraging to You as well...

And I hope to have at least a rough recording of it up somewhere soon.

Grace & Peace...

"When You Say"

I know You are with me

But I cannot see the way

In which this makes any common sense

Direction, this is what Is need

Perception, for my heart I plead

But I know even if nothing comes

I am Yours and You are mine

When You say, You love me

I am set free

When You made, the way seen

I found all I need

I'm finding how to be content

Even though not every need is met

For I know You have rescued me

And I am Yours and You are mine

When You say, You love me

I am set free

When You made the way seen

I found all I need

You are all my hope

You are all my strength

You are all my peace

You are all my love

You are all my life

And I'm giving it up

When You say, You love me

I am set free

When You made the way seen

I found all I need

Today's Prayer

2009-11-14T14:19:00.000-08:00

Lord, use me to help people see the life of wholeness they are called to, the life of contentment that they can have... the life of purpose and meaning and fulfillment that is theirs when they fully surrender and become whole heartedly devoted in every single way... showing who You are as Love in your endless, relentless pursuit of every single part of our hearts.

Use me, Your servant, to help produce desperate, deeply longing people who want to experience You, for You are perfect and You are whole, and You are steadfast, and when we experience You, we can't remain the same, we just can't.

All I am is for Your kingdoms cause.

Take all of me.

Revolutionaries Found In Surrender

2009-11-13T08:44:00.000-08:00

In the past few years since moving to Indiana I have found that with the promise given in Jeremiah 29:13, "You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart" that God is often found not before, but after the jump on the other side of the cliff.

Personally, this was specifically witnessed for me when I felt the pulling from God away from Ohio a little over 2 years ago. I really wanted to honor Him with where I went and so I prayed and prayed for guidance and direction on where I was supposed to go, but I never actually heard from God a specific place of where He would call me to. At first it was pretty frustrating, but then I remember hearing Him say "Seth I trust you." I was taken a back to say the least... "God, You trust... me...?". It was amazing to learn this. To hear that the Creator of the universe trusts me... Oh my word I was speechless, and then a verse came into my head. "Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart." - Psalm 37:4
To me this meant that as I seek Him with everything I've got, His promise is to make me more like Him, and so as I delight myself in Him with my honest relentless pursuit of His heart, I can then trust that my desires have actually become His desires because He has made me more like Himself. And so really, He is trusting Himself in me.

For Christians, seeking is trusting in someOne you believe is greater than yourself; it's resting in His unchanging grace, it's believing He loves us perfectly and wants us to be whole. This is why we are called as Christians to live more than just a life of good morals. As Christians, we are called to live lives that look very different from the world's. We are called to live lives of holiness.
If we call ourselves Christians then we must look the One Christianity was made up after.
1st John 2:5-6 says "But if anyone obeys His word, God's love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in Him: Whoever claims to live in Him must walk as Jesus did."

And so we should stand out in some way. We should live with purpose because we know the One who knows what the purpose of our existence is. We should live with power and joy, making choices that have long lasting meaning and impact because we have been emptied of our selfishness and have chosen to continually for the rest of our days be wholly surrendered to the Creator of the universe who knows exactly what human life is for because He created it!

"The pathway is not just a series of teachings, or even following an exemplary life; it is surrendering to a Person." - Timothy J. Stoner

Check out what Brennan Manning says in his book "The Furious Longing of God":

"Paul wrote in Philippians, "He emptied Himself." He cried from His heart, nails in His hands, and poured out His blood that we might believe His love for us. Significantly, Jesus chose the giving tree, His cross, as the demonstrative sign of His absolutely furious love for men and women. In the words of one early church father: "the mightiest act of love ever to arise from a human soul."
How is it then that we've come to imagine that Christianity consists of primarily in what we do for God? How has this come to be the good news of Jesus? Is the kingdom that He proclaimed to be nothing more than a community of men and women who go to church on Sunday, take an annual spiritual retreat, read their Bibles every now and then, vigorously appose abortion, don't watch x-rated movies, never use vulgar language, smile a lot, hold doors open for people, root for the favorite team, and get along with everybody?
Is that why Jesus went through the bleak and bloody horror of Calvary? Is that why He emerged in shattering glory from the tomb? Is that why He poured out His Holy Spirit on the church? To make nicer men and women with better morals?
The gospel is absurd and the life of Jesus is meaningless unless we believe that He lived, died, and rose again with but one purpose in mind: to make brand new creations. Not to make people with better morals, but to create a community of prophets and professional lovers, men and women who would surrender to the mystery of the fire of the Spirit that burns within, who would live in eve greater fidelity to the omnipresent Word of God, who would enter into the center of it all, the very heart and mystery of Christ, into the center of the flame that consumes, purifies, and sets everything aglow with peace, joy, boldness, and extravagant, furious love.This, my friends, is what it really means to be a Christian.

I believe a large part of the "seeking" is the praying, reading our Bibles, and in whatever other way in worshipping with the specific needed spiritual disciplines; the other half is the jump.

Our jump proves our trust, and it's within our jump that He meets us with His strength to get us across the rest of the way.

The revolutionary life that Jesus calls us to is one of ever continual surrender to Him and His will. It's all about trusting.

I know trust can be a hard thing to practice, but trust is endlessly looking for lives to revolutionize. Will you answer it's call?

Revolutionaries live lives of surrender to and dependence on something bigger than themselves, for they know that true life is found in losing it.

Revolutionary lives are found in trust.

And what is this trust? It's believing that our backs are fully covered at all times, in every moment by the Creator of the universe who loves us perfectly.

Revolutionary lives are found in His revolutionary love.

Knowing this is how we give up, give in, and surrender to the purpose of His kingdom.

Knowing this is how we live the "abundant life" Jesus promises us in John 10:10 when He said "I came that they may have life and have it abundantly."

Knowing this is why we would and could even want to live for something more than ourselves.

I truly believe that there is a longing deep inside us that is looking for something to make us whole, and the truth is that it only can happen when we fully give up and give in to what we were created to be; loved and led by God.

This is what Jesus meant in Matthew 16:25 when He said "For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it."

I'm choosing to give up. I'm choosing to lose my life so that I can find it in something greater than myself. And my choice is Jesus Christ, the One who actually created my desires to be fulfilled within Himself.

Life doesn't get any better than this, seriously...

Won't you join me?

NEW JOHN MAYER ALBUM

2009-11-11T17:22:00.000-08:00

Listen to the new John Mayer album that comes out on the 17th right now here:

http://www.mtv.com/music/the_leak/john_mayer/battle_studies/

Afternoon Inspiration

2009-11-10T09:51:00.000-08:00

From the book " The God Who Smokes" by Timothy Stoner -

May you find your life in losing it.

May you live your life by dying, daily.

May you give it all and keep nothing for yourself.

May your treasure chest be filled to overflowing

with the priceless crowns of sacrificial devotion.

May you give yourself away

in a joyful and risky abandon.

May you follow the Lamb,

even if He takes you up a hill and onto a brutal cross.

Especially if He takes you there.

May you turn your back on safety and comfort and

predictable and soft

and pour yourself out like a drink offering of love

on the least of these, on the most of these,

for the death and the life of these.

May you spend what you cannot keep

to gain what you can never lose.

May you awake to live His dream,

not yours or your country's, nor your family's.

And may you rejoice to hear the applause,

to which is a weight of eternal glory

to heavy to bear.

Imitations

2009-11-09T10:40:00.000-08:00

"Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children." - Ephesians 5:1

Often children model their parents, they copy them, they want to be like them when they grow up. And why do they? I think it's because whether they know it or not, they are loved and cared for by their parents, within whom they have security.

And so similarly, we can be imitators of God when we recognize we are His children, loved by Him.

Let me explain further...

"There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear..." - 1 John 4:18

I think we are all searching for something to love us whether we realize it or not.

I believe this because I also believe that we were created for the Father, to be in union with Him, and to be known by Him. We were created to be loved by God, and know it. We were made to embrace His love and live in His love and to give it as well.

And there is nothing like the love of Christ, because unlike everyone else's, His is perfect.

The difference between His love and what the world offers is that unlike the world's, His doesn't run out. And it's because of this reason that His love can satisfy us.

It just makes sense to me that I can't be satisfied in anything else like I can in Christ because He is the only One who doesn't run out.

True satisfaction can only be found from something that's endless, something perfectly constant. "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." - Hebrews 13:8

Jesus is the only one.

Everything else will change, fall away, diminish, run out and die.

So to continue then:

I think when we really understand and embrace perfect love, we won't remain the same, we can't remain the same... Proof of perfect love understood and embraced is that it brings about the response of wanting, longing, desiring to be like our Father, to imitate Him.

And so the more we recognize, embrace, and seek to grow in the understanding of His love the more it will satisfy us, keeping us from seeking empty love within the world.

"Turn my eyes from worthless things, and give me life through Your word." - Psalm 119:37

And so we become better imitators of God the more we understand how loved by Him we are.

So the next question then is:

How do we grow in the understanding of the depths of God's love for us?

I can think of at least 2 ways:

I think it's found simply within our honest seeking of Him, our worshipping Him.

But an even more specific way, I think to grow in the knowledge of His love for us means we must grow in the understanding of our humanness.

When we see how sinful we truly are we then see how much we need Him and how much He has done for us. I believe that our understanding of the depths of His love is directly related to our understanding of who He is and what He's done for us despite our sin.

We are called to be imitations of God and so we must grow in gratitude of what He's done.

David was known as the man after God's own heart.

Check out David's words in Psalm 77 as despite his great distress and troubles he recalls the faithfulness and many deeds of the Lord.

I think David lived a life of gratitude and I think it was because he knew he was loved.

Lord, take us deeper in the understanding of Your love for us so that we can continue to become more like You and bring You glory like we were created to do. Overwhelm us, captivate us, open our eyes, open our hearts and minds, we want more of You.

I'm Tired

2009-11-06T18:32:00.000-08:00

A little while back, I had found myself in a place of exhaustion...

A lot of the times tiredness can come from excessive amounts of non-stop work. Spiritually, we can become weak from lack of stopping to re-group and resourcing ourselves in the Life Giver.

Obviously, not getting enough rest can lead to feeling tired spiritually, physically, emotionally and in whatever other way you can think of. We weren't made to never stop. God created the sabbath for a reason. This I'm sure you know.

But I've learned that not always when we feel tired is it because we've been doing something wrong, or even because we've missed our devotional filling up time with God.

You and I as Christians will always be learning dependency. We will always be figuring out how to continue to rest in God and rely on Him and let Him be strong in our weakness.

So I've come to understand that I think that I will probably always come to moments in life where I become very tired, and not always just because I've been working non-stop without breaks, but because I believe that there are moments in life that I can't learn a certain type of dependency without first being weak.

It can be so easy to become apathetic and get caught up in doing life the same exact way you always have over and over without thinking about growing. It's just easier to live in comfort, to live on our own strength. This way we don't have to trust something we can't see. We don't have to have much faith. But the thing is is that we can't learn things in comfort, on our own strength that we can learn in weakness. There is a purpose for weakness. There is for sure a dependency, a reliance that we just can't learn outside of human weakness.

"...For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead." - 2 Corinthians 1:8-9

I think that if our hearts desire is to please God and become more like Him then He will challenge us with everything that we put above Him.

I think we often put comfort above Him.

Comfort in created things can obscure the One. And so for our benefit I think God can sometimes take comfort away to help us see up close and personal our hearts truest need.

Him.

I don't think that life is quite right if we don't admit that we were created to live off of a strength that's not our own.

Knowing this gives me perspective.

I believe that the truest part of me is that I'm loved by Jesus Christ through and through and so I know more than anything that my God has got my back and that He wants to use anything and everything to continue me on forward down the path toward wholeness. It may not look rational, or normal to me, but His ways really are higher than mine and He knows where I'm at and what I need and what He is doing way way better than I do...

Lately I feel as though I've been learning to trust Him more in the moments of my weakness where it feels like I've got nothing left to give and I'm about to fall over... but then at the perfect time, He meets me and together we pull off way more than I could ever have if I was in perfect shape on my own. It's quite beautiful really. "...My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness..." - 2 Corinthians 12:9

Not always in the middle of the hardship can we see the hand that is holding us, but that doesn't mean it's not there. Remembering that the hand is there at all times is how we keep perspective in the bleak and unsure moments. Remembering that the hand is there is how we grow in trust, how we can fall into His arms even when we can't feel Him there with us.

"Never doubt in the darkness what God has shown you in the light" - David Winter

We gain in trust when we remember what He's already done.

Father, You are my hope, my peace, my strong foundation, the reason I live. I want nothing as much as I want You. To know You more is my purpose, to do Your will is what drives me, and to make You known is my life. Take all of me, every single part. Get my attention any way possible, I surrender again all that I am for Your kingdoms cause. Make me more like You in any way You please. I just want You. I want You more than anything else. Use Your servant for Your glory. Have Your way in me. I am desperate for You. Consume me, immerse me, shake me, shape me, move me, take a hold of me like never before. I am all Yours.

"Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For His sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with Him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with Himself depends on faith. I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised Him from the dead. I want to suffer with Him, sharing in His death,so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead!" - Philippians 3:8-11

2009-09-18T23:56:00.001-07:00

Taking a break from this...

From The Heart Of A Friend

2009-09-17T17:04:00.000-07:00

I didn't realize that this didn't work the first time I tried posting it... so here it is again!

I found this to be inspiring, as I hope you will as well.

These words are from the heart of one of my friends,

Lori Harmer.

Lord, take her deeper and deeper into You.

"I often sit frustrated and angry with the direction my life is headed. The big decisions, the choices, consequences, and sometimes even the questions that seem to resound unanswered within a broken heart. I don’t understand why I’m here, how I feel so alone, or where this pain is taking me? I’ve walked this road before; I’ve carried the burdens that seem to haunt my footsteps. I don’t want to go there again Lord, it always leaves me broken in the end crawling blinded through the crushing darkness that cradles my shattered hopes and dreams. WHY?! I scream as the breath rips its way out of my lungs. I don’t understand; what have I done wrong? The need within me growing, eating away at my pride, my resolve to remain strong. God…my dry and bare lips part to breathe, help me please….the words falling into my abyss of pain as I collapse to the floor devoid of the energy necessary to try again.

It would seem as though my story is over, the scene has come to an end, however though the actress in me is finished, He is not. The master playwright has in fact written more.

All of a sudden around me a light begins to shine, slowly it grows brighter as it wages war against the darkness. It’s incredibly bright now, the warmth and radiance of its glow has pierced the darkest corners of my pain and grief stricken heart. I open my eyes to see this wonder, but it’s too bright, I desperately feel around me as I stumble around the floor seeking something tangible and sturdy that I can hold onto. It’s then I feel the light surround me and draw me to my feet, I’ve been enveloped in a holy embrace. The light is healing me, it’s taking away the pain, its shining beams are scattering and diligently gathering the pieces of a broken heart I thought I had lost. The light that once surrounded me immediately begins to transform into hands that set about molding for me a complete and whole heart.

It is then that a voice breaks through my silent reverie, its words whispering all around me a humbling, healing balm. My precious daughter, I long to heal you, to help you and to love you, I want to make you whole with a new and beautiful heart that beats for me, but first there must be pain. The pain has broken you, it has grieved you and left you completely open and willing to rely on me, to truly rest in me. In your brokenness you gave me the shattered pieces of your heart that I might become the glue that holds the pieces together. I break you so that I might mend you; wound you so that I might heal you. I am renewing you. Your pain is giving way to growth and change, a change in your heart that better reflects the beauty that I have created in you. Take comfort my child; I am not finished with you, though outwardly through pain you waste away, inwardly I am renewing you day by day.

And then almost as quickly as they came his light, his presence, his hands, and his voice are gone and instead in their absence I am left with an insurmountable sense of peace that washes over my entire being and more importantly over my brand new heart beating contentedly within my chest.
What was once frustration is now satisfaction, where anger once resided calm has taken its place, all revealing to me the renewal that was done.

“Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”
-2 Corinthians 4:16-18

I can see a light that is coming for the heart that holds on, there will be an end to these troubles but until that day comes still I will praise you Lord!"

"Here We Go Again"

2009-09-15T16:57:00.000-07:00

Where I Find Myself Most

2009-09-15T05:45:00.000-07:00

"For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, "Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord." - 1 Corinthians 1:26-31

Take A Breather

2009-09-09T05:47:00.000-07:00

"Communion with God in the silence of the heart is a God-given capacity, like the rhododendron's capacity to flower, the fledgling's for flight, and the child's for self-forgetful abandon and joy. If the grace of God that suffuses and simplifies the vital generosity of our lives does not consummate this capacity while we live, then the very arms of God that embrace us as we enter the transforming mystery of death will surely do so. This self-giving God, the Being of our being, the Life of our life, has joined to Himself two givens of human life; we are built to commune with God and we will all meet death." - from the book "Into The Silent Land" by Martin Laird

So what's stopping you from taking a couple minutes every day and ceasing everything you're doing to be still and silent in this oh so noisy and fast paced world and just acknowledge that the God of the universe is closer than anything else and wants you more than anything else?

"Better is a handful of quietness than two hands full of toil and a striving after wind." -Ecclesiastes 4:6

"..In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength.." - Isaiah 30:15

And let me encourage you, being quiet isn't as hard as it might seem.

"I look towards silence.

It is not, as I heard, a peak with natural footholds

and the crampons left by better climbers.

...

Contrary to what they say there is no map

(they may be speaking of another place)

there is only surrender..."

- "Inside Out" from Pauline Matarasso

Also, may we keep in mind, as Sue Monk Kidd says:

"Withdraw to be with God is only valid if it leads us to transform all the rest of life into a prayer"

Can we learn to invite Christ into more and more of every space and crevice of our lives?

For our wholeness sake, He wants us to.

New Switchfoot!

2009-09-08T17:21:00.000-07:00

Some Insight

2009-09-06T19:55:00.000-07:00

"..I don't think for a minute that a centered life is the solution to all our problems. Rather it is a way to respond to our problems. We don't withdraw from the world to a center. We respond to the world from our center.

Instead of rushing about, accepting every job that comes, we get a sense of what's really important. Being centered allows us to bring that elusive quality of focus to our lives. It enables us to set priorities. From the center we can respond to chaos by eliminating that which isn't meaningful and bringing order and calm to the rest. For in the center we are rooted in God's love. In such a place there is no need for striving and impatience and dashing about seeking approval.

We need not avoid our active lives, but simply bring to them a new vision and shift of gravity. We are called to live a life rich and full, but rooted firmly in the center where all is drawn together in God and then flows out of His presence. That is when life becomes the silent dance revolving around Him, alive with the music of His love."

- from the book "God's Joyful Surprise" by Sue Monk Kidd -

Find Rest, O My Soul

2009-09-02T13:51:00.000-07:00

"Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from Him." - Psalm 62:5

"He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." - Isaiah 40:29:31

"This is what the LORD says: "Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls." - Jeremiah 6:16

"Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food. Incline your ear, and come to me; hear, that your soul may live; and I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David." - Isaiah 55:1-3

May your unfailing love rest upon us, O LORD, even as we put our hope in you. - Psalm 33:22

"O LORD, be gracious to us; we wait for you. Be our arm every morning, our salvation in the time of trouble." - Isaiah 33:2

"For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: "I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite." - Isaiah 57:15

"Be at rest once more, O my soul, for the LORD has been good to you." - Psalm 116:7

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." - Matthew 11:28-30

"May those who fear you rejoice when they see me, for I have put my hope in your word." - Psalm 119:74

"But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at My word." - Isaiah 66:2

"I am the LORD your God, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—the LORD of hosts is his name. And I have put my words in your mouth and covered you in the shadow of my hand, establishing the heavens and laying the foundations of the earth, and saying to Zion, 'You are my people.'" - Isaiah 51:15-16

"For thus said the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel,"In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength." - Isaiah 30:15

"Therefore the LORD waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you. For the LORD is a God of justice blessed are all those who wait for him." - Isaiah 30:18

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

"My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him." - Psalm 62:1

Hillsong's - "Rest In You"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sr4_anyLMnY

I Want More

2009-09-01T10:28:00.000-07:00

"I want to have less and do less..."

A few weeks ago, those words quietly left my mouth in a whisper while watching the owner of the house I live in play with his dog with such joy.

The whisper, I believe came from a deep place in me that actually is really longing for more.

Something hit me while watching them, enough to open my eyes to see that I often tolerate nonfulfillment by seeking fulfillment in the idea that within many things I can find satisfaction.

I believe it was spoken from a place that wants to grow in gratitude.

That wants to be fully alive in every moment.

That wants to be more satisfied with what I have been blessed with.

That wants to more fully appreciate life.

That wants to have fewer and fewer days finding myself at the end of them feeling like they were meaningless.

That wants to be less distracted.

That wants my eyes to be greater opened to the depth of beauty in all good things.

That wants to ultimately honor God with nothing less than every single moment and breath of the life that I've been given.

For He has set my heart on fire and all else fails in comparison to Him.

So if you're wondering... practically, what does this mean for me?

I have asked myself and others the same question over and over.

"What are you going to do differently?" "What are you stopping?" "What are you getting rid of?" "What new things are you going to do?"

And so here a just a couple of the things I have come up with over the past month or so.

I am reading more.

I have decided to try and make anything T.V. related a social activity only.

I am saying "no" to more requests on my time.

I got rid of all the clothes I don't wear.

I've realized that the little amount of cash in my budget assigned as "my spending money" doesn't really need to be for me. I have so much..

I write reminders on my hand.

I am praying every day for greater awareness.

I'm working on keeping at the forefront of my mind the truth that I was made to find life in the Giver of it.

I believe I have come to this place naturally because I've learned that we all grow differently. So I've sought to understand myself, why I do what I do; to figure out what's going on inside me. And this is something I believe we must all do. I think we need to constantly strive to figure out and learn who we are, how we do things, why we do things, in order to figure out how we individually grow. We can't live vicariously through other people. We can't do things the same exact way others do them and expect the same results.

Let us not covet each others spiritual journeys, but trust that God has made each one of us uniquely for a unique purpose. And this purpose, I believe, is largely tied to us figuring out who we are.

I've been learning that I am one who gets easily distracted and am driven by passion.

This is why I want to have less and do less because I am distracted by the many things and am

passionate about everything that looks like something I want, sometimes to the point of letting it consume me.

And so I will drive myself empty if I don't learn to be careful at what I surround myself with.

These 2 things can get me going and keep me moving so fast that I don't realize until it's too late that I'm out of air.

And so this is my next step in growing into who I believe I am called to be.

This is the type of change I believe that I'm called to, but let me inform you that your's may be entirely different.

Also, in no way do I want to deny the huge importance of growing together because Christianity is not a solo thing. I don't believe a personal relationship with Jesus should be as individual as I was told it was growing up. I need you and you need me.

I do believe though that there are things we must first learn on our own before we can join others and things we must learn outside of others as well.

"And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' " - Matthew 22:39

And so I think it can be said, unless you get to know yourself, you can't love yourself, which means you can't really love others..

I know how nonfulfillment can control me if I don't keep my eyes open.

And so because I've been learning how I work inside, I understand that I need to rid myself of specific certain distractions or they will have my head before long.

Simply put:

A big part of growing is looking within to see what actually needs worked on.

Inscribed at the temple of Apollo at Delphi, held up as an ideal in Latin and Christian philosophy was the phrase "Know Thyself".

Some pretty good advice I think.

"Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." - Psalm 139:23-24

Light Up the World

2009-08-15T20:36:00.000-07:00

Pretty excited about this!

I was really moved..

New song/music video from the Desperation Band's new cd coming out on September 15th.

http://vimeo.com/6117715

Wow..

I'm Not Feelin It

2009-08-14T19:45:00.000-07:00

There is a concept we must understand and let it be rooted into the foundation on which we stand if we are going to be able to comprehend and practice any sort of full devotion to Jesus Christ:

Feelings of closeness to God or lack thereof are not always related to where we actually stand on our spiritual journey or the truth of where we really are in our personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

So often through actions and emotions people say “I am only a strong Christian if I am feeling strong.” But with hope, I want to inform you this is not truth.

We are not going to wake up everyday feeling on fire to live passionately for Jesus, we just won't, it's part of being human.

Christianity is not about feelings. It's a gift to be able to feel the fire.

Not that we deny our feelings, because a lot of times they communicate truth, but often I fear that people base their intimacy with Jesus on their feelings of desire for Him. We are not always going to desire Him, but that doesn't always mean that we are any less close to His heart than when we did desire Him.

We will get distracted and lose focus at times and find ourselves greatly desiring created things above the Creator. We will fall, but we must always get back up.

And so if we solely base the health of our relationship with Jesus on how passionate we feel at the moment we will soon find ourselves without hope wondering why we are so messed up because we can't seem to hold on to what once burned so bright inside our hearts even though it's what we truly want most.

And so it can be said the other way too, though it's possibly even harder to see.

If we think that we are close to God solely based on how passionate we are feeling, we still can face the threat of deceiving ourselves of the hidden dark truth lurking within.

I say this because it is possibly to feel passionate about the wrong things, not that Jesus is the wrong thing, but we can put the name of Jesus on a lot of things and it not actually be glorifying to Him.

Again, not to in any way disregard our emotions or feelings because they are a big part of who we've been created to be; but as Christians we must first judge the reality of our position in Christ within the context of His unconditional love.

We must first base the foundation and also our current position of our relationship with Christ on His steadfastness, not our feelings of rightness with Him.

"By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before Him; for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and He knows everything." -1st John 3:19-20

The thing we must strive to remember is that God doesn't change, our feelings change, but He is perfectly constant.

Thank God that He first holds us, that He keeps us.

I think that when we start to understand this truth that it can help us see and realize then that life does not have to keep being full of ups and downs where we have mountain top experiences but always only go back down to where we came from when the joy wears off.

With this understanding, we can then shift into a life of ups and downs within a continual progression upward.

Life will never be without downs, but having this perspective is knowing that the downs are for the ups, the valleys are for growth.

We can keep always moving up despite the feelings of being low. I believe it's possible! This is the joyful truth that I am trying to communicate to you!

Knowing that there are huge things that can only be learned in hardship, we really then cannot keep growing, moving forward, going higher and higher without the valleys.

We only seek half of what makes growth happen if we seek the mountain top experiences alone.

And so low, difficult times can actually be and do play such a large part of moving forward. Suffering in this way is very instrumental in the progression towards Christlikeness.

And so I think it can be said that without hardship, you can't have a complete version of devotion.

Knowing this is key.

And remembering this is so so big.

Oh God help us remember!

Add this truth to your foundation and it will help you to stand strong. Your life will different, opposed to the world. People will watch and follow.

Once this makes sense and you learn to live every decision and action out of this, watch how amazing life can be.

Jesus we choose to stand on Your promise of never leaving or forsaking us.

"..And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” - Matthew 28:20

Thank You that our relationship with You is based on the perfect gift You gave that fully keeps us whether we feel like it or not.

Help us trust in You whether we feel You or feel close to You or not so that we can keep growing and moving forward in the likeness of You.

We fall into Your arms of love.

All for Your honor and glory.

Amen.

She Spat On My Face!

2009-08-11T20:57:00.000-07:00

Fun @ Villa Macri's 7 months ago w/ Tia and Brian.

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=59926125405 (sorry it's sideways..)

I like it when the waitress asks "How we doin? good good good.."

2 New Books I'm Starting

2009-08-11T19:58:00.000-07:00

Enjoying God - S.J. Hill - Hill is a Bible teacher, speaker and author. He is currently on staff at Mike Bickle's (the founder of International House Of Prayer) Forerunner School of Prayer and is professor emeritus at F.I.R.E. School of Ministry.

God Is Here - Steve Case - Unearthed within this book is a 17th-century wisdom that's remixed into a 21st-century guide to everyday life. With modern thought-provoking essays drawn from Brother Lawrence's original writings, God Is Here shows you how to connect with a God who's always available.

Yahweh

2009-08-10T07:56:00.000-07:00

From the new Hillsong cd called "Faith.Hope.Love."

This is incredible..

http://vimeo.com/5857263

A Jealous God?

2009-08-08T11:42:00.000-07:00

"Do not worship any other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God." -Exodus 34:14

The Bible says in a bunch of places that we serve a God who is jealous.
Now when we ascribe this word to God, I tend to assume that it can be difficult for us to consider Him to hold what we would usually think of as a negative human emotion. Something like jealously doesn't seem like it should be a part of His nature. If God is perfect, how could He be jealous? Plus He is God and He owns everything. What could He possibly be jealous about? Is there something that He doesn't have?

No, and yes.. I'll explain this later as you keep reading.

But could there maybe be parts of His nature that have more to them than meets the eye?

Sometimes we can easily view certain parts of the Bible as being completely literal; "Hey if God says that He is a jealous God then we shouldn't question Him. What He says is true and that's how He is", even though the Bible is filled with symbolism and metaphor.

Our God, who is jealous, I don't think is jealous in quite the same way we humans can be.
If we look at the kind of relationship God seeks to have with us, I think it sheds light onto this jealous thing.

Ephesians 5:22-23 - "Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior."

This is saying that the relationship and duties of a husband and wife are supposed to resemble those of the same relationship and duties Jesus and the Church have.
The book of Revelation talks about us being the "bride of Christ"
Our relationship with Jesus Christ then, is to be one of marriage. Our relationship is a covenant made to be undivided in our devotion to Him, forsaking everything when our loves between Him and the world are compared.

The thing driving His desire to be in relationship with us, to be His bride, is His love for us.
So in the context of when the Bible talks about God being jealous, it's the same idea of how a husband would be jealous if his bride cheated on him. She made him a promise, she entered into a covenant with him, but then she broke it.
"You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me" - Exodus 20:5

"We have a God who is jealous of other god's not because they threaten Him, but because they threaten us." - Dr. Bob Laurent

In Matthew 22:37-38 Jesus said "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment."
Jesus is saying here that He wants every single part of us. Let me point out though that it's not for God's benefit that we give all of ourselves to Him. God longs for us in our entirety because He knows that we need as much of Him as possible. It's because He knows that our wholeness is dependent on our giving all of ourselves to Him.

So to answer the question I asked in the first paragraph "Is there something that He doesn't have?" I'd say no because He is the Creator of all good things but I would also answer yes because if He wants every single part of all that we are it's probably because He doesn't have it all yet.

When God says that He is a jealous God, He is reminding us that He deserves our utmost/1st allegiance and best love.

How often do you and I worship and give our hearts more over in love to other things besides Jesus..

To know that we have a God who is jealous for every part of our hearts is a huge reminder and strength to keep me from giving myself away to other gods. To understand this attribute of God explodes in me even more gratitude for how much He loves me. It really helps me understand even more the fact that our God is in endless pursuit of all that we have and all that we are. And it's not because He is some big authority way up in the sky who wants to control us, no not at all! It's because He is the Creator of our hearts and He knows that our desires can only find their true and complete satisfaction in Him.

Doesn't it just make sense that if we give ourselves over to the One who created us that we will find in Him who it is that we were created to be and also what the purpose of our existence on this earth actually is. And so you can even say that we are most alive when we are being led and guided by Him and by His power. We find true life when we loose ourselves in Him.

Oh how I want nothing more than to be 24/7 endlessly loosing myself completely within Him!

So why oh why do we run from Him? Why do we think that we have got life figured out. Why do we choose to try and find meaning and purpose in things He created not the Creator? Why do we give ourselves over to worship other things?

"Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, “The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously”?" - James 4:5

We must focus!
We must remember that life is found in Him alone!
God, we lean into You now. Help us remember this truth! We are so desperate for You.
Holy Spirit we quiet ourselves before You now, speak louder than all the other voices.
We let go of our lives to find them in You.
We are surrendered.
Please give us strength to continue to do so as often as needed every single day.
You are our God and we are Your people.
We fully devote ourselves once again to You now, for Your glory alone.

How To Fight A Bear

2009-08-07T23:53:00.000-07:00

http://www.videojug.com/film/how-to-fight-a-bear

Hillsong: Faith.Hope.Love

2009-08-04T06:09:00.000-07:00

It released today!!

Are You Listening?

2009-08-03T14:29:00.000-07:00

One night, a few years ago, as I was laying in bed about to fall asleep because I was completely exhausted from the day, I heard God say "Read My Word."

I then realized that I had not read the Bible in maybe close to a week.

But I was too tired to open my eyes and get up and pick up the Book and read it.

Then I heard Him again say "Read My Word."

To which I said "God, I'm too tired."

To which He said "Read My Word."

To which I said "Lord, seriously I'm just to tired right now."

To which He said "Read My Word."

To which I slowly finally got out of bed and picked up my Bible with my eyes barely open.

I then preceded to let it fall open on it's own wherever it may.

I positioned my eyes on the first verse I saw..

"Then he returned to His disciples and found them sleeping. "Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?" He asked Peter. "Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak." - Matthew 26:40-41

I then knew that I should probably stay awake and read for awhile.

"Then the LORD called Samuel. Samuel answered, "Here I am." And he ran to Eli and said, "Here I am; you called me." But Eli said, "I did not call; go back and lie down." So he went and lay down. Again the LORD called, "Samuel!" And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, "Here I am; you called me." "My son," Eli said, "I did not call; go back and lie down." Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD : The word of the LORD had not yet been revealed to him. The LORD called Samuel a third time, and Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, "Here I am; you called me." Then Eli realized that the LORD was calling the boy. So Eli told Samuel, "Go and lie down, and if he calls you, say, 'Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening.' " So Samuel went and lay down in his place. The LORD came and stood there, calling as at the other times, "Samuel! Samuel!" Then Samuel said, "Speak, for your servant is listening." - 1st Samuel 3:4-10

God may be trying to get your attention.

Are you listening?

Speak Lord, for Your servant is listening.

Book Recommendation

2009-08-02T23:48:00.000-07:00

From the book "Addiction & Grace" by Gerald G. May

"First, although God calls us all toward more perfect life, we cannot personally achieve the state of perfection. We can and should do our very best to move in that direction, struggling with every resource we have, but we must also accept the reality of our incompleteness. Second, we need to recognize that the incompleteness within us, our personal insufficiency, does not make us unacceptable in God's eyes.

Far from it; our incompleteness is the empty side of our longing for God and for love. It is what draws us toward God and one another. If we do not fill our minds with guild and self-recriminations, we will recognize our incompleteness as a kind of spaciousness into which we can welcome the flow of grace. We can think of our inadequacies as terrible defects, if we want, and hate ourselves. But we can also think of them affirmatively, as doorways through which the power of grace can enter our lives. Then we may begin to appreciate our inherent, God-given lovableness."

Evening Inspiration

2009-08-01T21:49:00.000-07:00

"All truly contemplative souls have this in common: not that they gather exclusively in the desert, or that they shut themselves up in reclusion, but that where He is, there they are. And how do they find Him? By technique?

There is no technique for finding Him. They find Him by His will. And His will, bringing them grace within and arranging their lives exteriorly, carries them infallibly to the precise place in which they can find Him. Even there they do not know how they have got there, or what they are really doing."

- Thomas Merton - from "Thoughts In Solitude"

MEXICO

2009-07-25T04:23:00.000-07:00

36 others and I are headed to Mexico today! We are on mission!
For His glory and by His power we love.
We are surrendered.
May Your kingdom come and Your will be done in and through us Father.

Follow us here!
http://www.mexic09.blogspot.com/

Afternoon Inspiration

2009-07-23T08:54:00.000-07:00

"My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am following Your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please You does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this You will lead me by the right road, though I may know nothing about it. Therefore I will trust You always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for You are ever with me, and You will never leave me to face my perils alone."

- from the book Thoughts In Solitude by Thomas Merton

Yours Lord

2009-07-21T18:47:00.000-07:00

I just finished writing this new worship song from the piano.

I decided to write from the piano because.. well I'm home in Ohio right now and I did not bring my guitar with me. Plus, the piano always brings out a different style than writing with the guitar does.

So, well here you go.

Please, let me know what you think.

We come with purpose and expectant hearts

Gathered in Your name to lift up all You are

Jesus, Savior

Lover of my soul I bring You all I am

Maker of the heavens by Your power we stand

Holy, Father

Hear the praise on our lips

Glory and honor is Yours Lord, Yours Lord

Wisdom and mercy cover all that You do

And we sing of all the hope we've found, in You

And all Your faithfulness resounds forever

Author of our faith it's by Your grace we come

To worship at Your feet for all that You have done

Life sustainer

Light of all the world You restore heart and mind

Took us out of darkness we're no longer blind

Now we can see

You have made a way for us

Your'e Glorious, Jesus Christ victorious

Redeeming all brokenness

Compassionate Lord

You satisfy every need

And hear our cry for the truth

I know that I find myself in You

You Jesus Your'e the One who frees us

Give us strength so we can trust

You are always here

Relentlessly pursuing our everything

For the glory of the King

So we sing to You

Jesus

"Surrendering"

2009-07-16T11:33:00.000-07:00

A new worship song I finished today..

I hope to do it for something sometime soon.. who knows

Break our hearts for what breaks Yours oh God

We are seeking everything You are

Name above all names Yours is revered

It's by Your mercy we are drawing near

Move within our lives oh God we pray

Show Your power Lord come captivate

On this earth oh may Your kingdom come

Giving up our will Lord Yours be done

Would You embrace the praise we bring

Oh and take Your place as king

For Your glory Lord we sing

Father here we are surrendering

Take our hearts and make them clean

We give our lives so You'd be seen

Here we are an offering

Come have Your way inside of us

Everything we are we lay down

At Your feet for You to use

Here we are longing for more of You

It is You we all love

It is You we adore

So we sing to You Lord

For You are our God

And we are Your people

Living to give You praise

DC & I, Face Making.

2009-07-15T19:51:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brq7kOKiRxE&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Ecurrystew%2Eorg%2F%3Fp%3D1945&feature=player_embedded

"So Beautiful"

2009-07-15T14:21:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTgrX2LIlgQ&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Ecurrystew%2Eorg%2F%3Fp%3D1956&feature=player_embedded

Here's a video of me singing one of my originals at Camp Adventure.

Like I say in the video, this song serves as an expression of me, in every way, giving all of myself to my King. For all that He is and has done, all of me, all of me, all of me, I give You all of me.