FROM: Banbury, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom
ABOUT ME: Living the highs and lows of life in the adventurous pursuit of God Himself and of who I'm meant to be as the Bride of Christ.
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Saturday, April 25, 2009,9:17 p.m.
THE VOICE OF THE LORD
I've been pondering for a while now the absolutely profound nature of the voice of God. Psalm 29 lists some of the incredible things that the voice of God is and also that the voice of God does.
Firstly, the voice of the Lord is....
... over the waters
... powerful
... full of majesty
That's pretty good, but here are some of the things that the voice of the Lord does....
Verse 5: It breaks the cedars of Lebanon. Cedars from Lebanon were what Solomon used to build his lavish palace and his government buildings. It represents wealth and extravagance. The voice of the Lord destroys the power of riches.
Verse 8: It shakes the wilderness of Kadesh. When the Israelites wandered around in the desert for 40 years, they passed through Kadesh a number of times. Kadesh is a place of wilderness, desert. The voice of the Lord destroys loneliness. Kadesh is the place where the spies from Israel reported back about Canaan -and where all of them except Joshua and Caleb said that Canaan couldn't be taken. Kadesh was a place of fear. The voice of the Lord destroys fear. Kadesh was one of the places that the Israelites complained for lack of water, and the Lord gave enough to drink and water their livestock. The voice of the Lord destroys need. Kadesh was the place where Miriam (Moses' sister) died and was buried. The voice of the Lord destroys death.
Verse 9: It causes the deer to give birth. (Uh, no explanation needed on that one.....) The voice of the Lord brings things into being.
It is no wonder that this Psalm starts with a call to ascribe to the Lord the glory due to His name....
Firstly, the voice of the Lord is....
... over the waters
... powerful
... full of majesty
That's pretty good, but here are some of the things that the voice of the Lord does....
Verse 5: It breaks the cedars of Lebanon. Cedars from Lebanon were what Solomon used to build his lavish palace and his government buildings. It represents wealth and extravagance. The voice of the Lord destroys the power of riches.
Verse 8: It shakes the wilderness of Kadesh. When the Israelites wandered around in the desert for 40 years, they passed through Kadesh a number of times. Kadesh is a place of wilderness, desert. The voice of the Lord destroys loneliness. Kadesh is the place where the spies from Israel reported back about Canaan -and where all of them except Joshua and Caleb said that Canaan couldn't be taken. Kadesh was a place of fear. The voice of the Lord destroys fear. Kadesh was one of the places that the Israelites complained for lack of water, and the Lord gave enough to drink and water their livestock. The voice of the Lord destroys need. Kadesh was the place where Miriam (Moses' sister) died and was buried. The voice of the Lord destroys death.
Verse 9: It causes the deer to give birth. (Uh, no explanation needed on that one.....) The voice of the Lord brings things into being.
It is no wonder that this Psalm starts with a call to ascribe to the Lord the glory due to His name....
Friday, April 17, 2009,7:29 p.m.
THE POPULAR KEVIN
This has really nothing to do with anything, but a friend sent it to me today, and I thought it was pretty funny. Enjoy!
THE POPULAR KEVIN
Kevin was always bragging about how unreal and popular he was and one day he said to his boss, "You know, I reckon I know just about everyone there is to know. Just name someone and I probably know them."
Tired of his boasting, his boss called his bluff, and said, "OK, Kevin, how about Tom Cruise?"
"Sure, yes, Tom and I are old friends, and I can prove it."
So Kevin and his boss fly out to Hollywood and knock on Tom Cruise's door and sure enough, Tom Cruise shouts, "Hey! Kevin! Great to see you! You and your friend come right in and join me for lunch!"
Although impressed, Kevin's boss is still sceptical. After they leave Cruise's house, he tells Kevin that he thinks Kevin's knowing Cruise was just lucky. "No, no, just name anyone else," Kevin says." President Obama," his boss quickly retorts. "Yes," Kevin says, "I know him, let's fly out to Washington." And off they go.
At the White House, Obama spots Kevin on the tour and motions him over, saying, "Kevin, what a surprise, I was just on my way to a meeting, but you and your friend come on in and lets have a cup of coffee first and catch up." Well, the boss is very shaken by now but still not totally convinced.
After they leave the White House grounds he expresses his doubts to Kevin, who again implores him to name one more, anyone else." The Pope," his boss replies. "Sure!" says Kevin. "My folks are from Poland, and I've known the Pope a long time."
So off they fly to Rome. Kevin and his boss are assembled with the masses in Vatican Square when Kevin says, "This will never work. I can't catch the Pope's eye among all these people. Tell you what, I know all the guards so let me just go up," and he disappears into the crowd headed toward the Vatican.
Sure enough, half an hour later Kevin emerges with the Pope on the balcony but by the time Kevin returns, he finds that his boss has had a heart attack and is surrounded by paramedics. Working his way to his boss' side, Kevin asks him, "What happened?" His boss looks up and says, "I was doing fine until you and the Pope came out on the balcony and the man next to me said, "Who's that up on the balcony with Kevin?"
THE POPULAR KEVIN
Kevin was always bragging about how unreal and popular he was and one day he said to his boss, "You know, I reckon I know just about everyone there is to know. Just name someone and I probably know them."
Tired of his boasting, his boss called his bluff, and said, "OK, Kevin, how about Tom Cruise?"
"Sure, yes, Tom and I are old friends, and I can prove it."
So Kevin and his boss fly out to Hollywood and knock on Tom Cruise's door and sure enough, Tom Cruise shouts, "Hey! Kevin! Great to see you! You and your friend come right in and join me for lunch!"
Although impressed, Kevin's boss is still sceptical. After they leave Cruise's house, he tells Kevin that he thinks Kevin's knowing Cruise was just lucky. "No, no, just name anyone else," Kevin says." President Obama," his boss quickly retorts. "Yes," Kevin says, "I know him, let's fly out to Washington." And off they go.
At the White House, Obama spots Kevin on the tour and motions him over, saying, "Kevin, what a surprise, I was just on my way to a meeting, but you and your friend come on in and lets have a cup of coffee first and catch up." Well, the boss is very shaken by now but still not totally convinced.
After they leave the White House grounds he expresses his doubts to Kevin, who again implores him to name one more, anyone else." The Pope," his boss replies. "Sure!" says Kevin. "My folks are from Poland, and I've known the Pope a long time."
So off they fly to Rome. Kevin and his boss are assembled with the masses in Vatican Square when Kevin says, "This will never work. I can't catch the Pope's eye among all these people. Tell you what, I know all the guards so let me just go up," and he disappears into the crowd headed toward the Vatican.
Sure enough, half an hour later Kevin emerges with the Pope on the balcony but by the time Kevin returns, he finds that his boss has had a heart attack and is surrounded by paramedics. Working his way to his boss' side, Kevin asks him, "What happened?" His boss looks up and says, "I was doing fine until you and the Pope came out on the balcony and the man next to me said, "Who's that up on the balcony with Kevin?"
Thursday, April 02, 2009,6:58 p.m.
MUSIC AND MINISTRY
My dear friend, Phil, has some superbly put thoughts and truths on his blog at the moment, in a post entitled, "So You Want to Be a Rock Star?" (by Keith Green). If you've ever desired or felt called to ministry in the Kingdom through the tool of music, you need to read this. It is profound, and all too often poignant. I have experienced much of what this article talks about in my interactions with others and could not more strongly agree with its reaction and response.
This is completely worth reading and chewing on for anyone. Check out the post HERE.
It reminds me of some song lyrics that I often repeat to myself and those in ministry training:
This is completely worth reading and chewing on for anyone. Check out the post HERE.
It reminds me of some song lyrics that I often repeat to myself and those in ministry training:
If the whole wide world is looking straight at you, they can't see Me.
You're just another dying star......
Dying Star (Jason Upton)