One Of My All Time Favorite Songs: "I Am"

I can't tell you how much I love this song. I think it may very well be one of the greatest contemporary Christians songs. It's about Jesus ... that's why it's so great. It's called "I Am" by Mark Schultz. The lyrics are below. You can here the song by going here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hILaSh78yHQ

Mark Schultz has some other amazing songs you can listen to once you go to the You Tube link provided above.

I Am

I am the maker of the heavens
I am the bright and morning star
I am the breath of all Creation
Who always was and is to come

I am the One who walked on water
I am the One who calmed the seas
I am the miracles and wonders
So come and see and follow me
And you will know, that...

I am the fount of living water
The risen Son of man
The healer of the broken
And when you cry - I am your savior and redeemer
Who bore the sins of man
The author and perfecter
Beginning and the end .. I am

I am the Spirit deep inside you
I am the Word upon your heart
I am the One who even knew you
Before your birth
Before you were

Chorus

Before the Earth (I am)
The universe (I am)
In every heart (I am)
Oh, where you are (I am)
The Lord of Lords
The King of Kings
The Holy lamb
Above all things

Yes, I am almighty God your father
The risen son of man
The healer of the broken
And when you cry - I am your savior and redeemer
Who bore the sin of man
The author and perfecter
Beginning and the end

Yes, I am!
Yes, I am!
Yes, I am ... I am!

5 Warning Signs Your Marriage Is In Trouble

1. You don't have a strong grasp of the gospel. I don't care what else is messed up about your marriage; if this isn't right, there's really no hope. For many Chrisitans, the gospel hasn't yet seeped from the head down to the heart. It's all mental. And it shows. It shows when they are lost in guilt, shame, and condemnation. It shows when they refuse to forgive and remain bitter. It shows when they think church is simply about attending a worship service on Sunday morning. It shows when they derive their own sense of righteousness by comparing themselves to others. It shows when they judge. It shows when they run from God's presence (imitating their parents, Adam and Eve), saying, "I just don't have time" (even though it's NEVER about time). It shows in so many areas.

When we understand the gospel, we understand how sinful we are. This in turn enables us to forgive others and be patient with their shortcomings. When we understand the gospel, we see how much God loved us in Christ. This understanding of the depth of his love enables us to love others. When we understand the gospel, we understand that we don't have to EARN the gift of the Holy Spirit. God gives the Holy Spirit without limit. This in turn enables us to ask God to fill us with his Spirit, knowing that he gives it without charge or limit. This in turns results in our filling, which in turn results in us displaying his fruit: love ... patience, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. You can't be kind, patient, loving, gentle, and self-controlled apart from the power of the Spirit. Jesus said, "Apart from me, you can do nothing." Seek the power of the Spirit. Do this by getting in the Word and praying throughout your day and living in continual repentance before God.

2. You never spend time alone. I sometimes wonder if this is more of a symptom than a cause of a poor marriage. People who don't love each other don't spend time together. However, I think some of you don't do this because you're paranoid about being apart from your children. I see many of you making good strides with this, but we need to do so more and more. Call other people. Ask them to watch your children. I know this is hard to do (for many reasons), but don't let pride keep you from spending quality alone time with your spouse. You need to keep your relationship fun and fresh. You need to play with your spouse! You need to go on dates, get dressed up, put cologne and perfume on, go to a nice place, sit down for coffee for an hour, don't talk about your kids! You need to hold hands, you need to have fun. You also need to prioritize sex. Sex must be a priority in a relationship. I won't put a number on it, but as a general rule: you really can't have too much. To withhold sex is dangerous (1 Corinthians 7:3-5). Men: a good marriage is the key to good sex; not vice versa! If you want a satisfying sexual experience with your wife, you must work on your relationship with her. You must cry together, repent together, talk, reconcile, work, work, work! Communicate. Sex is always better when you're living in reconciliation with one another. There's something mystical about it, but it's true. This shouldn't be the main motivator for living in reconciliation with your wife, but it is a motivator nonetheless!

3. Biblical roles have been reversed. I could go on and on about this one, but I won't. The Bible is clear: Men, you must lay down your life for your wife as Christ did the church. You must lead by example - the example of Christ. You must serve, teach, protect, defend. Do not turn inward. Don't be quiet all the time. Don't isolate yourself. Constantly serve. Say words of love. Memorize Ephesians 5:25-31. Ladies, you must submit yourself to your husband as the church submits to Christ. You must respect him. Do not talk down to him. Do not make fun of him to your children (even if jokingly). Do not roll your eyes at him. Do not bark commands at him. Do not call him names. Do not try to control him with your anger or through threats of harming his reputation. Speak softly and gently to him. Learn to develop a quiet spirit. Don't be loud and obnoxious. Your'e not the leader; he is. Learn to pray for him. Memorzie Proverbs 31.

4. It's uncomfortable locking eyes with your spouse for more than a couple seconds. I just thought I'd throw that one in there. Do with it what you will.

5. You covet and control your spouse's time in a unhealthy manner and you don't let them foster friendships. Here's what happens: your husband starts getting involved with other friends, spending time with them, etc. This upsets you (even though you know he needs it). So you're pulled. You want him to have friendships with other men, but you don't want him away from the home. You need to let him go though. Let - him - go. Encourage him to spend time with other Christian men. Don't guilt him with, "a good Christian man spends time with his family!" True, but a good Christian man spends time with other men, too. NEWSFLASH: your husband won't be a good husband if he doesn't have healthy, fun, enriching relationships with other men. If your man is manless, you will be too. This goes for men, too, but I think it's more of a problem on the other end. However, sometimes guys isolate themselves on their own. Men, don't do this. Develop friendships. WARNING: if you come to me a month or a year down the road and tell me your marriage is in trouble, this is the first thing I'm going to ask you about.

Final Word: I don't think anyone is so ignorant to think that I personally have all these things down. I don't. I'm actually pretty convicted by my own words. But that's the life of a preacher. You have to preach, even if you're not perfect. However, I know that my wife would attest that I'm working on, and growing in, these things. Also, I know there are other "warning signs". These are just some of the most important ones that came to my mind concerning this specific church. May our marriage relationships reflect the relationship the church has with Christ!

A Story Dream

I dreamt I was walking in a beautiful, golden brown wheat field. The sky was so blue I felt like my thirst was being satisfied as I walked. The wind was warm and refreshing. About thirty yards from me stood a man in a thin, gleaming white robe. His face was honest and good. His eyes knew me. They saw everything. I was lost in perfect satisfaction. I didn't want to go back home. I didn't even want to go back to my own family. No earthly temptation ravaged my soul. My mind was like a still sea early in the morning.

I couldn't wait to go up to him. I could tell he wanted me to come to him. So, I walked confidently, yet reverently towards him. This was a perfect moment. Nothing could ruin it. I was his, he was mine. No more worries. No more pain. Surely, this was heaven. If I could only share this with everyone. I approached him with expectation. What would he say? What would he look like exactly? Nothing could ruin this moment ... a moment I had always dreamed of. Nothing could possibly grieve me. How could it? I was in his presence.

As I came closer to him, I began to see something so out of place. His face. His face had ... tears streaming down it. Wait a minute! I thought I was in heaven. There are no tears in heaven. Why was HE of all people weeping? I came close to him and said, "Lord, why are you weeping?" He said, "People are dying everywhere". I said, "I know, Lord. It grieves me too. They are so hard! They are so unbelieving. They are so lost. So blind! If it weren't for the hardness of their hearts, they would come to you!"

He looked at me. His eyes were gazing at me sadly. "Yes. It's true. They are blind, unbelieving, hard, pitiful, poor, and wretched. But there's another side to this. There's another reason they're dying." "What is it, Lord?" I asked. He said, "Joshua, the fields are ready. They are ripe for the harvest. The problem is ... nobody wants to work in the fields. The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. This doesn't mean that most people in the world are ready to believe and be saved; it simply means that the amount of people ready and willing to work in the harvest are few compared to the amount of people that are ready and willing to believe the gospel. So, yes, it's true that most people's hearts are hard, that they're blind and unable to respond to the message due to their spiritual deadness. But it's also true that there are plenty of people out there just waiting to be harvested."

I felt as if I'd been hit by a train. I dropped to my knees. I looked down to the ground and wept. When I looked up, he was gone. Gone. There I was in that field. There was so much work to be done. I looked alongside the fields. There were houses there. They were nice and peaceful houses. Inside TV lights flickered. Some were on their computers. In a few of the homes, spouses were arguing. Some were doing very good and normal things. They were mowing their lawns, cleaning their garages, cooking meals, etc.

I looked all around me again. The field was still there. Blowing in the wind. Untouched. It was ready for harvesting. All of a sudden it hit me. The man had told me: "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few." Workers. Workers. Wow. In other words, there are enough people, but not enough workers. The children are many, the laborers are few. The saved are many, the evangelists are few. The redeemed are many, but the disciplers are few. The chosen are many, but the preachers and pastors are few. The justified are many, but the prayer laborers are few. Those who are willing to work are few.

I looked at the fields again. This time, there were a few workers out swinging their sickles and binding groups of wheat together. They seemed so satisfied. They seemed so at peace. Despite the fact that they were working hard and sweating, they were the ones who weren't hungering. They were perfectly satisfied. They were following in the footsteps of the man in the field who said: "My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work." This man had just talked to a woman about the water that would eternally satisfy. Now he was talking to me about the food that would eternally satisfy - working for God's Kingdom.

The fields are ready, but the workers are few. Not the Christians. Not the church goers. Not the attenders. Not the saved. Not the sanctified. Not the loved. Not the smilers and nice people. Those people are many. The workers, however, are few.

Testing, Testing, 1 - 2 - 3

If you can read all of, understand, and agree with the following article, it will prove three very important things about yourself ...

1. Your brain hasn't been completely pulverized into a mush of applesauce by the visual, entertainment-driven culture in which we live.

2. You understand what the true, biblical gospel really is.

3. You have a distaste for the watered-down, "God would never hurt anyone's feelings", man-centered, "What can God do for me?" message of the American church, most acutely seen in the prosperity teachings that are deceptively taught not just on TBN and other weird Christian media outlets, but in many "law-light" (as Michael Horton puts it) churches in existence today. Many of whom are understandably drawing large crowds because of their "positive" messages that lack any hint of judgment, law, or conviction. I guess Paul's prophecy that "men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear" holds true even to this day. Maybe even more so.

If the following three things are not true of a person, then I fear for their soul.

Enjoy...

http://www.wscal.edu/resources/MichaelHorton_GloryStory.php

Clarification: The Reason for Evil and Suffering

Near the end of my sermon on Sunday I talked about the reason for evil and suffering. This is always a difficult subject for anyone to grapple with. Emotions run high. It affects us at a level we can't even understand. It has brought the greatest theologians and scholars to their knees. It can ruin or restore a person's faith. So I want to make sure you understand what I meant on Sunday.

Here's the point: God ordained evil and suffering because, ultimately, it was the only way for us to see the depth of his love. If a person doesn't see the extent of his love (this is what the apostle Paul refers to in Ephesians 3:18), then they cannot fully enjoy God. And if God is not fully enjoyed by us, then he will not be fully glorified. As John Piper always says, "God is most glorified when we are most satisfied in him". This is true. We bring glory to someone when we enjoy that person. When we say, "I only want to be with you", we are bathing that person in dignity, honor, and glory. When we desire "other loves", we rip the dignity from that person and make him look less than valuable. This creates a furious anger and profound grief. It rips a person of her God-given honor and dignity they were created with. So the principle is established: we bring more honor and glory to someone the more we are satisfied with him or her.

Now, imagine that you were married to someone who, before you met him, had saved many lives, started orphanages, found cures for the worst diseases, wrote the best songs in the world, was given a Nobel peace prize for ending all hostilities between Jews and Gentiles, and was known as the kindest, most loving person who ever lived. How tragic would it be if you never found out about any of this? How awful. Would you be able to enjoy him? Yes. Would you be able to fully enjoy him? No. I cannot fathom being married to someone who had done all that, but never realizing it.

The same is true with God. It would be tragic if we lived throughout eternity never knowing how deep his love really runs. Tragic is the only word I can think of. Yes, it's a wonderful thing to see someone love a friend, but it's breathtaking to see someone love an enemy. Maybe for a good man someone might die, but a sinner? What kind of love is this? I'll tell you what kind of love it is: it's the type of love that can only be expressed through grace, mercy, and compassion. If there's no evil and sin, God can't reveal his grace; he can't reveal his mercy. If there's no suffering, God can't reveal his compassion. In short, if there's no sin, suffering, and evil, God can't reveal the depth of his love, we can't see the extent of his glory, therefore we won't be fully satisfied in him and he won't be fully glorified in us.

Read the book of Ephesians. Look at the reasons for God's redemptive plan. It's always the same: to reveal his grace, to reveal the depth of his love - "to the praise of his glorious grace". Why does Paul pray that we would know, not just God's love, but the depth of his love (3:15-18)? Well, it's not to stroke our egos. He does so for this stated reason: "that we might be filled up to all the fullness of God" (3:19). Fullness. All. Those are key words. What does Jesus pray in his high priestly prayer in John 17? "I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them."

Remember this verse from Romans 3? - "Someone might argue, 'If my falsehood enhances God's truthfulness and so increases his glory, why am I still condemned as a sinner?'" (Romans 3:7). I won't address the answer to that question, because that's not the issue of this blog post. I will, however, observe that one part of this question is definitely true: our sin increases God's glory. How? By giving him the opportunity to display his grace and mercy - attributes that never would have been known if it weren't for sin, suffering, and evil.

It seems to me that one is left with only two options: the position I just described, or open theism. And if open theism is right, then we really have a problem on our hands, because if God purposefully limited his knowledge of future events, then he made a cosmic mistake, and what's to say he won't make one again?