Warship Turns To Worship

John 4:24 "God is spirit and his worshippers must worship in spirit and truth." -NKJ-

Psalm 34:9 "O fear the Lord, you His saints! For there is no want to those who truly revere and worship Him with godly fear." -Amplified Bible from biblegateway.com-

A year or 2 ago I shared my 1st worship experience that I had ever had with the King (Jesus). It had taken me years to warm up to the idea of actually enjoying the 30 minutes of songs and worship before my pastor would get into the message for the day. I often wondered why people were so weird (raising their hands and crying, etc...) at church. Years later I was at church during spring training and before we got to our seats Blake had warned me about a teammate who was there with us by saying "Jules, this dude lets loose during worship so be prepared." I knew this guy pretty well and had played with him and he had all of our respect regardless of what he did off the field. We were all believers who were sold out for Jesus in our own minds but when I saw this guy sing and cut it loose during worship I was very uncomfortable but it was a different type. I was feeling small, I felt like I had more to give and get (I was holding back) and that day it started to burn in me. Fast forward 2 years, I'm on a men's retreat crying because God had revealed to me that my sinful pride has been in the way from allowing me to experience another level of God's goodness. I cried my face off and shouted (in worship) at the top of my lungs out to God, hands to the sky"He (God) is mighty to save!". I felt God's presence like never before, the Holy Spirit running through my veins filling me up with such an intense sense of life, I'll never forget it. My relationship with the Lord would never be the same and I knew it, I was so pumped to have this gift.

Now, I get a smaller version of the Holy Spirit running through my veins in church, one that isn't as intense as the way I had been moved in those mountains (Sierra Nevada - Lake Arrowhead) that weekend. I occasionally wonder why and this morning it hit me, it hit me real hard. The reason I don't experience the Lord like I did that weekend on the retreat is because of my sin. I continue to make the choice not to press in on Sundays, I just go half way (give or take a few). I don't cut it loose, and it's my sinful pride or maybe laziness that keeps me at a distance when God is calling out to me with arms wide open "come closer my son, I have more for you"! I have been allowing myself to believe this lie that I can only dive deep when I'm in the mountains on a men's retreat and that is a ridiculous lie. It makes me wonder what other limiting beliefs I have in my life that need to be squashed. Bottom line is that's it's time we cut it loose in church and fight the war over worship. Our pride (or whatever it is for you) and God are at ends here and this battle is going on inside of us and we have the final say as to who wins this war. Are you willing to fight this battle are you strong enough to wage another war against sin and death? What limiting beliefs is the enemy telling you to keep you in the back of the bus and off the frontline? No more, no more....

Thanks for your time.

The Quest For Character

We're all chasing something. No question about it, if we unpack our desire and motivation it comes right down to a quest for some feeling we want to experience. John MacArthur wrote a small book "The Quest For Character", in which he references 2 Peter 1:5-8, the character of an effective disciple/saint.

2 Peter 1:5-8 "... make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you posses these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ."

If we make our primary goal to obtain all these characteristics, we'd be pretty well off in the peace, purpose, and fulfillment department. Reality is that we don't and I'm as guilty as any. It's hard, life happens and in a world where distraction is a battle every minute, how can we win? Think about how distracted we are, we will have in person conversations and check in coming text messages at the same time likes it's no big deal. How rude is that, how rude am I? What I want to challenge all of us on today is to stop at the end of each day (on the ride home or wherever) and ask yourself if you added or built any of these characteristics today. Make it a priority to grow in these areas and see what happens to your life and walk.

"Love is not a separate quality distinct from other virtues. ...it's the perfect expression of them combined."
Johnny Mac "The Quest For Character"

For you Waino

Lecrae, Flame, Tedashii, Thi'sl at Legacy Conference 2010 from Rapzilla.com on Vimeo.

Foreman Grill

Psalms 34:8 "Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him."

I probably speak for many of us when I say that the Foreman Grill has been worth it's weight in gold. In my career as a consumer of cheap meats, frozen in a package, I have watched this device turn mud into magic. I love to watch the fat drip off the meat guaranteeing that my mouth will only experience the leanest of portions. Up until my recent meat smoking trials on the barby, the Foreman Grill was tough to beat, it was highly efficient. This morning my pal and I were in the Word and we both got hit with this picture of our lives (in Faith) being like a slab of meat on a Foreman Grill. We come to the grill (Jesus), take a leap to experience the heat (the Spirit or what everyone is talking about, "this Jesus thing"), and watch as the fat (sin) drips off and we become a more pure and enjoyable piece of meat (human being). Our desires change, our dependence on worldly recognition disappears, being stressed out by the things of the world fade away. We become more ready to meet the King.

I say all this in relation to the above verse because we have to take the step/leap or even chance on Jesus. Give God a try, taste a little bit of Jesus, pick up your dusty Bible and put your nose in it, smell it, feel it, hear it, but first of all like an infant who puts everything in it's mouth, taste it. Taste and see that the Lord is good! He is all we need, try it out one time.

New Trip Lee Album is out...

Why Do We Do What We Do?

"We try to manage behavior in the hope that it will change alienation (being apart from God) but the scriptures teach that alienation is handled (Christ's sacrifice) so that takes care of our evil deeds (sin)"
Matt Chandler

This really hit me today and reminded me of how my foundational instincts (which are sinful by nature) are to manage my behavior in order to draw closer to God or to reap blessings. It's crazy because I know better than to do this but yet the battle is still heavy. I keep trying to earn his love and blessings and it leads me to being depressed because my mind condemns me. But I know better because of Romans 8.

Romans 8:1 "There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit."

We aleady have the victory so let's draw closer by not being strangers to His Word (reading, podcasts, church, fellowship, etc...)

I would love to hear some stories or other methods how people draw closer to the Lord.

For Freedom Has Come

Fellas on the day we celebrate our independence and freedom as a nation I can't help but think of also celebrating our freedom in Christ. Here is a short video of a benediction or poem by Jimmy Needham. It always hits home with me. Enjoy.

trying to die to myself,

-tmart

Fathers Day

FATHERS DAY ....

Let me start by saying Happy Fathers Day to all you dads that have little ones. Today, while listening to our team chaplain talk about father's day I was really convicted on the importance of our role as fathers. Now, I know some of you don't have children but I still think there are some good thoughts here so hang with me for a few minutes. It has been said that the most important person in a kids life is their father. You can also make a case that the most troubled kids often times had to grow up without a dad in the house. We as fathers have an ENORMOUS role in our household. We ARE the spiritual leaders of our household. Our chaplain had some key thoughts that really hit home for me so I want to share them with you. First, our children are around us constantly so it's a natural thing for them to pick up on little things we do, faces we make, etc. They copy certain sayings we say (I know this because one of my daughters says "That's what I'm talkin' 'bout" and she's 3 years old). They watch us constantly. They watch how we treat our spouses, and how we punish them or show humility when we are wrong. Basically, as fathers, we are laying down the foundation for how our kids will parent their kids. How many times can you look back and say "Well, my mom/dad did it like that and I think that's exactly how I'm gunna do it." Our Chaplain was saying if he handles something poorly with his wife or even one of his kids the first thing he does is go to the child and tell them he handled the situation wrong and that he's sorry. That way his kids see humility. I'll tell you what I love. My wife sometimes remembers getting up early for school and always seeing her dad having his quiet time reading his Bible. I think that's awesome. A few years ago, I stayed with my friend Steve in Orlando for 6 weeks. Steve has 4 boys who any parent would be proud of. Every morning around 5:30 a.m. he grabbed his Bible and started his day off right. Like a child I watched him and studied him because he was different. His boys and his wife respected him as the spiritual leader he was. I want that to be me one day but I haven't grasped the whole 5:30 thing yet. My friend Mickey in Chicago has daughters that have that awesome Godly glow from being taught at an early age what Jesus' love is all about. All my spiritual mentors that have families are leading by example. No, they're leading by Christ's example and it is inspiring. Here's what I'm getting at. Our spiritual walk not only affects our lives and our kids lives. It has the potential to affect our grandkids and great grandkids lives, and on and on. But, here's the kicker. We'll only have that kind of impact if we live our own lives in a way that reflects the glory and greatness of God. If they just see us then maybe we haven't gotten the point....if they see God in us then that's when we're really parenting. Thanks for reading

-waino

Tuesday Scripture

Romans 11:33 "Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgements, and his paths beyond tracing out!

Check out these two Old Testament scrips to help drive home the idea of God's depth and greatness. Why do we constantly try to put God and His works in a box? Yep you guessed it, because we want control. Give it up son! Somethings we just won't understand till we touch down in Heaven, enjoy the bliss of the unknown!

Psalm 92:5 "How great are your works O Lord, how profound your thoughts!

Job 11:7 "Can you fathom the mysteries of God? Can you probe the limits of the Almighty?"

This Can't Be Life?

Have you ever asked this question "This can't be life?". For you English majors out there I know that it's not postured as a question as written but if you know me and hear the way it falls off my tongue you'd know that indeed it is a question. So the question here is wrapped around thoughts that are triggered by life's circumstances that beg the question "how can this be?"

To explain better, we pursue a dream or an activity (could be anything we see that has value) and do all we know to prepare for success only to see it not work out. Unfortunately most of the time we see a bump in the road as the end of the world when it really ends up being a small obstacle that prepares us better for the climax.

I mention all this to expand on the topic of Freedom. Freedom from being defined by this world. Why do we continue to identify our self worth with our accomplishments such as making it to the MLB, being an All-Star, HOF, closing big deals, owning a business, etc...? Listen to what Paul says here in Galatians

Galatians 5:1 "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery."

Can you relate, have you felt burdened by a dream, or a failure? Ask yourself why? It's more often than not because we are defining ourselves by what we do not who we are IN Christ. I've done this so many times and I really believe that is why I couldn't handle failure as a player. It drove me into depression so many times, a crippling depression that nobody (friends and family)could shake me out of, it made be literally ill. Let's no longer live in slavery to our worldly dreams let's be alive in our identity in Christ.

Listen Up

James 1:19 My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, 20for man's anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires. 21Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.

When was the last time you actually listened to what somebody was saying objectively without putting your own spin on it? When was the last time you really heard someone all the way out instead of preparing what you were going to counter with before they ended their thought? Challenge! I hearby pronounce myself guilty on both charges.

Serving the Creature or the Creator?

Romans 1:24-25 - "Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves who exchanged the Truth of God for the lie, and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator..."

The greek term used here for "gave them up" is a judicial term used for handing over a prisoner to his sentence. When men consistently abandon God, He will abandon them. He does this sometimes directly by specific acts of divine judgement and punishment (flood, Sodom, etc.). And He sometimes does this indirectly by removing His restraint and allowing their sin to run its inevitable course. Here, Paul is speaking of God indirectly giving men up to uncleanness of sexual immorality. The Greek word used for "uncleanness" is a general term often used when speaking of decaying matter. God abandons those spoken of here and allows their sin of sexual immorality to run its course which begins in the heart and moves outward to shame the body decaying the soul.

Men who deny the existence of the Almighty God of the Bible worship and serve the creature rather than the Creator. Most men (without admitting it) worship and serve themselves because of this popularity within our culture to establish that truth is whatever one personally believes to be true. John MacArthur speaks of this in his book, The Truth War....

"Postmodernism in general is marked by a tendency to dismiss the possibility of any sure and settled knowledge of the truth...... Nothing is certain, and the thoughtful person will never speak with too much conviction about anything. Strong convictions about any point of truth are judged supremely arrogant and hopelessly naive. Everyone is entitled to his own truth."

This can be clearly examined through general conversation. You hear people all the time making comments such as.... "Well, I don't think God is exactly like that". I would then follow by asking what this particular person bases their beliefs about God on. You might hear something such as.... "Well, its just what I believe". So their beliefs about God are based on their own personal thoughts and opinions. They have become their own personal god and established their own false truth that fits their pleasure. I'll end with this.....

When asked by someone which of the religions of the world gives to its followers the greatest happiness, CS Lewis responded.... "While it lasts the religion of worshipping oneself is best..... If you want a religion to make you feel really comfortable, I certainly do not recommend Christianity."

- Terry

A Grace You Must Know!

Sup e-fellas! I'm going a day early because I just felt like sending this out today. Hope y’all are doing great! I’m continuing from last week, speaking some grace. Like I said before grace is given, it is free. We don’t obligate God by our obedience or our sacrificial service. Even if we were perfectly obedient in all our Christian duties, we would still be forced to say, “We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty” (Luke 17:10). In a somewhat loose way of relating it, it is like always going the speed limit, stopping at stop signs, and obeying every traffic rule. Do you receive any reward from the state or even expect it? No, because that is what you are supposed to do.

Grace can be completely misunderstood at times, and I admit, I do it often. But, grace relieves us from the performance treadmill. “Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?” (Romans 6:1). No way dude, this and other passages in the Bible recognize the possibility that the Bible’s teaching that grace alone is the basis for God’s blessing can be misconstrued as an excuse for indulgent, slothful living. So what are you compelled by then to obey?

The solution to the problem is not to add legalism to grace. Rather the solution is to be so gripped by the magnificence and boundless generosity of God’s grace that we respond out of gratitude rather than out of a sense of duty. Our "motivation" for commitment, discipline, and obedience is as important, if not more important, to God than our "performance". God searches our hearts fellas, and He understands every motive. To be acceptable to Him, our motives must spring from a love for Him and a desire to glorify Him. Obedience to God performed from a legalistic motive – that is, a fear of consequences or to gain favor with God – is not pleasing to Him. So, our good works are not truly good unless they are motivated by a love for God and a desire to glorify Him.

Only when we are thoroughly convinced that the Christian life is entirely of grace are we able to serve God out of a grateful heart. See, it’s not about inclination or feeling. We are not to wait till we “feel like” having a quiet time to have one, the same goes with obeying God’s commands. Motive has nothing to do with feelings or inclination; rather, it refers to the “reason” why we do, or don’t do, something. For the person living by grace, that reason should be a loving response to the abundant grace of God already manifested in Christ.

I’ve struggled in this area all my life and continue to do so, feeling like I just abuse grace. Like you have heard numerous times before, hearing and reading it is one thing, actually doing or living it is another. And if you are like me in this area, know this, God is worthy of our loving obedience because of who He is, not because of what He does. But when we truly understand the grace of God in Christ, we will not abuse that grace.

trying to die to myself,

-tmart

Attributes of Spiritual Leaders

Paul was a spiritual giant! The guy had it right and he was passionate to the point where he was infectious with the Spirit. God used him for major work and we see that in the scriptures. Paul wasn't God he was definitely human and he fell short on occassion but he never fell off as he stayed in touch with God constantly. Other mighty men in the new testament were Petey, Johnny Bap, Timbo, and even "The Train" James. They had their epic fall offs but got right back up and learned from their mistakes, going on to have meaty ministries that had 1 major thing in common. They all got people to follow Jesus not them.
Let's think about leadership failures in history Hitler, Napolean, David Koresh, Marshall Applewhite (heavens gate mass suicide), Jim Jones (cool-aid/synide mass suicide), L Ron Hubbard (Scientology), and the list goes on. These men all ran into a similar issue, they got people to follow but what were they following? They all ended badly because the cause was man-made. Following a man will always end in disappointment because all of us (humans) fall short of perfection. We can't deliver on the expectations that God has woven in our hearts because it was designed to be followed out by Him not us.
We need to be serious about who we are leading and where we are leading them. Some of us are leading a spouse, others a family, and even some a group. Don't get it twisted were all leading somebody. What are we doing to prepare our sphere of influence (1-1000's) to see Christ in us? What are we doing to lead people to get onto God's agenda? We need to get on that prayer tip and pray that God would help us to lead people to follow Him not our own ways. How much more peace do we have in our circumstances when we trust that our life is God's agenda?

I'll close with this scriputre that lays it out best.

1 Corinthians 3:4-6 "For when one says, "I follow Paul," and another "I follow Apollos." are you not mere men? What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe - as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow."

Pre-Game David Swagg

"I wait quietly before God, for my victory comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will never be shaken." Psalm 62:1-2 NLT

"In your strength I can crush an army; with my God I can scale any wall. God's way is perfect. All the Lord's promises prove true. He is a shield for all who look to him for protection." Psalm 18:29-30 NLT

"God arms me with strength, and he makes my way perfect." Psalm 18:32 NLT

"You have given me your shield of victory. Your right hand supports me, your help has made me great." Psalm 18:35 NLT

Just wanted to take some time and throw out some motivation to all my brothers and sisters. In or out of baseball, we face times of doubts or unbelief. Spiritual warfare is real and Satan wants you to doubt yourself and crumble like a cookie. Business meeting, school test, presentation, or 3-1 count and the bases loaded.... God is right there with you! Don't be fearful. Step your game up and know that God has armed you with the strength to do whatever it is your heart desires. Believe, trust and fight! God did not make you to be weak or fearful. He didn't create you to worry and panic. He wants you to smile and be at peace because he's got your back. He's your strength, trust Him.

Love ya'll.

Blake "Needed a pep talk" Hawksworth