Shane & Shane - Embracing Accusation

"Father of lies, coming to steal, kill and destroy,
All my hopes of being good enough.
I hear him saying, cursed are the ones who can't abide.

He's right, hallelujah, he's right.

The devil is preaching the song of the redeemed.
That I am cursed and gone astray,
I cannot gain salvation.

Embracing accusation.

Could the father of lies be telling the truth of God to me tonight?
That if the penalty of sin is death, then death is mine.
I hear him saying, cursed are the ones who can't abide.

He's right, hallelujah, he's right.

The devil is preaching the song of the redeemed.
That I am cursed and gone astray,
I cannot gain salvation.

The devil's singing over me an age old song,
That I am cursed and gone astray.

Singing the first verse so conveniently over me,
he's forgotten the refrain:

Jesus saves!!!"

Life's a Reality Show

As I saw my housemates, friends, and coworkers, hustle bustle their way to total exhaustion this September, I finally realized that summer's over, and that real school life is back. This reminded me of something someone said to me last September. I guess back then I was really raving to him about Westside, but he said "Westside's OK, but you can't stay in that sort of bubble once you're in the REAL world." Something about that sentence has always stuck with me, and it popped back in my mind as I was preparing for this devo.

I realized it reminded me of how I was in undergrad, I had the discipline to go to fellowship on Fridays, and church on Sundays, that's how I dealt with God, that's just how it had to work if I were to get to where I wanted to be. That was what the "real" world handed me, and I have to deal with it, with God or in spite of. I used to make it sound like I didn't have a choice in the matter. But as I think back I realize there IS a choice, in fact, it is the fundamental choice to Christians; whether to face the world of your own accord, power, and ability, or to trust God to change your world AND the way you face it. That decision presents itself from the moment you wake up, and the consequences of which will either encourage you, or haunt you, when you go to bed. In hindsight, I let Satan talk me into believing that my present situation, school and marks and career planning, was all there was to my life, and I'd just have to deal with it the best I could. I know now that when I give myself completely to being used by God, He will change EVERYTHING in my life, in every event and situation, for for the greater good of me and those around me. But perhaps that's what my friend meant when he said bubble, that I now try to see everything in light of Christ.

In the end, being a proper Christian, giving yourself fully to God, that's not the bubble. In undergrad when I was playing along with world's rules, pursuing what others have convinced me to pursue, keeping an image that I thought I had to portray as an asian male that was good at math, THAT'S a bubble. The more I think about my life versus the life that Christ wants me to live, the more I realize that He's goes out to pop ALL my bubbles; to release all the things we had wrapped up and held onto for ourselves.

What I really felt compelled to pray for this week is, are there any areas of your life; school, work, future, finances, relationships; where you're living in the world's bubble? Before we lay a single claim on any of our ministries this afternoon, are there any areas of your life that have not been recast in the light of Christ? Let's really ask God to search our hearts; what parts of you are in the world, and which parts are of the world?

Lessons from Willowcreek

1) When God's people gather, each being maximized fully to their God-given potential, every single person giving their utmost for His glory, insane places like Willowcreek happen.

2) Being truly, and totally, open and authentic about yourself is amazingly freeing.

3) As small group workers, we are the first mission lines of the church towards the community.

4) Chicago-style deep dish pizza is FILLING.

From "The Applause of Heaven"

"As long as Jesus is one of many options, he is no option. As long as you can carry your burdens alone, you don't need a burden bearer. As long as your situation brings you no grief, you will receive no comfort. And as long as you can take him or leave him, you might as well leave him, because he won't be taken half-heartedly."

-Max Lucado

Out of Eden - Praise you

"Lord I really don't know how to write a song.
I'm not always eloquent, sometimes I get it wrong.
But the thing You've doing in me I can't describe,
what a fool I'd be if I chose to hide,
this transformation, new motivation.

Thought that we were close, I've known You all this time.
But I was just living life my way, just getting by.
Thought that if I'd do a good deed or two,
that'd be enough to please You.
I kept the parts I wanted to,
and missed out on the real You.

Now with every step and every breath,
I give it all, hold nothing back.
With all I am, this is my choice,
to live to worship You.

So with all my heart, my soul, my mind,
I'll love You, leave it all behind.
To live my life in awe of You,
is the least that I can do.

I've held on so long to all my hopes and dreams,
while You were asking me to place them all at Your feet.
Let my praise be more than a song I'll sing for You.
Let me change all my ways in response to You.
I've lived for myself, Lord I need Your help,
not I who lives, but You.

For You are worthy of all honor,
and You deserve the sacrifice I'll give.
You've touched my heart and now I see,
what it is You want from me.
So I'll lose the things that hold me back,
so You can set me free.

Now with every step and every breath,
I give it all, hold nothing back.
With all I am, this is my choice,
to live to worship You.

So with all my heart, my soul, my mind,
I'll love You, leave it all behind.
To live my life in awe of You,
is the least that I can do."

True Fasting (Isaiah 58:2-7)

For day after day they seek me out; they seem eager to know my ways, as if they were a nation that does what is right and has not forsaken the commands of its God. They ask me for just decisions and seem eager for God to come near them.
'Why have we fasted,' they say, 'and you have not seen it? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you have not noticed?'

"Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please and exploit all your workers. Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife, and in striking each other with wicked fists.

You cannot fast as you do today and expect your voice to be heard on high.
Is this the kind of fast I have chosen, only a day for a man to humble himself? Is it only for bowing one's head like a reed and for lying on sackcloth and ashes? Is that what you call a fast, a day acceptable to the Lord?
"Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter-- when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?

From "The Accountable Man"

"The accountable man is committed to telling the truth regardless of how much it hurts. It takes a tremendous amount of courage to admit our struggles to others, especially when they are difficult or humiliating. The honest man, however, hates all that is phony or false. He develops a strong distaste for image creating or hypocrisy in lifestyle."

- Tom L. Eisenman