:: We wrestle

Paul in his letter to the Ephesian followers of Christ gives us insight on the reality of the spiritual matrix that is happening all around us:

6:12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

A spiritual battle going on in the earth for the souls and spirits of men is the metanarrative. As in the matrix, where Neo has to make a choice to make, we have to choose what reality he will live in. We can ignore the reality of the matrix and pretend there are really no angels and demons. We can ignore that the loving God is on the throne of the universe and pursuing us or we can continue to live an untruth. if you believe Paul's words are inspired words of the Holy Spirit, then the reality of a spiritual fight going on around us is true.

This past weeks has been evidence of that in the lives of people from Resonance. There is a dual spiritual dynamic happening. On the one side we have had two people get raises at their jobs in two weeks. That is an important answer to prayer for people who have left comfortable places, transplanted to a new city and struggle to make all the ends meet. Chris has landed a job at Java House, the only coffee shop in the Colony. We believe this is a strategic answer to prayer to help us connect more with the community of the Colony. We have sensed God's encouraging presence in our times together. So on the one hand God is blessing our community of called out ones.

The other side of the coin is spiritual attack that has been happening. Last Sunday night it seemed there was no area left untouched by difficulty. The set-up took too much time, the video on the computer wouldn't run, and when it finally did it wasn't smooth, the air-conditioner wasn't working well and it was hot, one of the musicians who had joined us had his car breakdown, our sign was messed up by the wind, etc. And then there is Gracelyns fall one night against a cabinet that left a blood clot in her cheek. She has been to the doctor twice and going again Friday. Now you could say that was just coincidence, but I don't think so. And that makes me mad. When I get in a fight I'm cool in backing down, but when you start messing with the kids I love, yea that makes me mad.

Now I am not one to see a dark angel under every bush and as an excuse for any mishap and immaturity of people, but I do recognize that the enemy does not want added prayer, added worship, added missionaries, or added servant-hearted people in any of the territories he has a grip on and therefore will fight those things. Much like an invading army force, the occupying force doesn't want to lose ground.

So my conclusion of this post is that prayer is vital. Prayer changes the direction of angels in this spritual matrix. Prayer draws us to God's heart on these matters. And prayer releases power from the very throne of God. There is a battle going on. If we are serious about this walk of the spirit, then we have to be aware that there is battle to do and one of the weapons for us in this battle is prayer. So get your programmer (the Holy Spirit) to download a prayer program.

:: Fuel - Dreaming dreams

The Bible is full of people who God gave God sized dreams. Moses dreamed of seeing his people delivered from Israel, Joseph dreamed of being over all his brothers, Abraham had a dream of a land God was calling him to, the children of Israel dreamed of this promised land they would live in, there are so many dreams in the hearts of God's people throughout the Bible. Some dreams we see directly placed in heart by the Lord. Jesus told Peter he would not be a reed but be a rock.

God whispers dreams into the hearts of his people. Last night at Fuel we talked about dreams that had been fulfilled in our lives and some dreams God has whispered into our hearts for the future. Dreams such as marriage or having a stable family life were spoken off. One dream was just being stable enough to be able to choose clothes to buy some day.

One story told was of being in a dysfunctional family where the father one day in a altered state threw away everything in the bathroom: hair dryers, make-up, everything that was there. This stuff was later dug out of a grimey nasty dumpster. The humiliation of the event could still be felt. As this person went to church that day, a lady who was a visiting minister called this person aside and said something to the effect of "The Lord wants you to know that your children will not live as you have lived, you are the last generation that will be in this chaos. Your children will have no clue what you had to experience as a child, they will not understand because their environment is so different." A fulfillment of a dream.

For me, I always dreamed of going to Ireland because the man who was preaching when I committed my life to Christ was an evangelist visiting America from Ireland. In 2002 I was invited to join a team of people who went to work for a week with a local church in Eniscorthy Ireland. I also was able to preach in the church on a Sunday morning and thank the Irish people for their sending someone to reach me.

I was reminded this week to continue to listen to the dreams of God that are in my heart.

:: The Celtic Way

I've been reading the Celtic Way of Evangelism by George G. Hunter III. It is a excellent book telling the story of Patrick and his impact on the country of Ireland for Christ. The communities Patrick formed were very intentional in reaching people with the gospel of Christ but very different than Americans in their approach.

Hunter says that churches in America have a Roman model of communicating the gospel. They basically present the message, ask for a decision, and then bring people into community. The Celtic model is creating community with people, then using the community time to find opportunities for ministry and conversation, with this drawing people toward a point of belief and commitment. It is a much more relational model of the Christians calling. Hunter says this reflects the adage that Christianity is more caught than taught where as our models of church today focus more on the taught.

How do we become the light on the hill where people can connect before they commit?

:: Reality of angels and demons

My daughter recently asked me about angels? It perked my interest. I gave Callie a book written by Billy Graham I had at the house to read. After she read it I glanced through also. Sometimes I forget we are in a spiritual battle here. Peter reminds us that we are strangers and aliens on this planet. There our existence and identity is now in the kingdom of God. We are a holy nation, a royal priesthood, a people to set forth the praises of God. I forget it is the spiritual realm that is a greater reality than the physical realm I see and feel everyday. The matrix is a great metaphor for the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God and the spiritual realm is the greater reality but our senses are more aware of what we can taste, touch, feel, hear, and see.

I was thinking of Jesus conversation with Nathaniel in John gospel. Nathaniel is amazed that Jesus knew things about him that were not physically possible. Jesus reply to Nathaniel was that he would see even greater things than this. He would see the angels ascending and descending upon Jesus. Jesus had that deeper sense of reality. He knew all around us their are real angles that are sent here to the earth to be about God's business, to help prayers get fulfilled, to help in the work of the church being the extenders of God's kingdom here. There is also the reality of evil beings the bible refers to as demons. Paul tells us we wrestle with these evil beings.

Another encounter I had this week makes this conversation more pertinent to me. I woke up from a dream Tuesday night and had a powerful sense of fear upon me. It wouldn't leave. I am not someone who encounters fear often in my own life in that way. I am convinced this was an attack from within this spiritual matrix we live in.

I am reminded this week. Prayer is not just a duty like taking out the trash that has to be done. It is a real spiritual communication with our Father that influences spiritual forces around us. I encourage all of us to press in to prayer like lives depend on it. They do.

:: Spiritual Travel

Remember your first car? You couldn't wait to partner with a piece of metal and become free. In your own vehicle you can go places on your own, you can put "your" music in the CD player. I attribute my hair loss to the music I had to listen to in my parents car.

It is a bit ironic to me that I couldn't wait to get a car and get my freedom to go and do and then I chose to drive round and round in circles on Friday and Saturday nights at the local drag. Okay, you got me, I am a small town guy. We played six man football in high school. We were so small that we had football players take off their shoulder pads at half time and march in the band (I'm serious).

Having a car released you into a new world of adventure. The journey of life took on new meaning. The adventure quotient multiplied as did learning boundaries. In a way the early church was like that. They were waiting for something new to happen in Jerusalem. Jesus had told them to stay there and pray until they had a supernatural splash from heaven. In Acts 2 we see the creation of a vehicle called the church. Jesus was no longer there to partner with them in bringing the kingdom of God forth on the earth. Now God sends another helper, the Holy Spirit, to partner with them.

Some of the characteristics of this new instrument of the Christian journey called the church were: It was a community fueled by the Holy Spirit, It was a community centered in learning the Word, It was a community encouraged by fellowship, It was a community that communicated with God, and it was a community that was living evidence of the kingdom to the rest of the world.

We travel this Christian journey in this life riding in the vehicle of the church. Just as with a new car we better understand the equipment this new car has so that the journey can be a good one.

:: History of the weblog

If your interested in the evolution of the weblog, take a look at "weblogs: a history and perspective" by Rebecca Blood. Blogger sprang up in August of 1999.

:: The chief cornerstone

1 Peter 2
4 Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, 5 you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture, "Behold, I lay in Zion A chief cornerstone, elect, precious, And he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame."

Last night a FUEL we continued studying 1 Peter. We began the night with a meal together. We then broke up in gender groups. The ladies went in one room and we stayed in another. The chief cornerstone is the anchor point of a foundation. It is dependable. It is trustworrthy. It is stable. This is the Lord Jesus. He does not waver at all and can be depended on to keep the structure dependable. We as living stones are built around the cornerstone. It was a good reminder tonight that Christ is our solid foundation. We don't have to carry the universe on our backs or even our own church. Jesus will build His church. . .

The simile for us in this passage is that we are like living stones. As living stones we can not be a building alone, we need the other stones working in conjunction with us to make up the spiritual house.

We talked also of our value to God.
We are:
a chosen generation
a spiritual house
a royal priesthood
a holy nation
a holy priesthood
His own special people
the people of God


We closed in prayer for one another and for God to give us favor in the Colony. Some scriptures that came up during prayer were Psalms 20, Psalm 37, Ephesians 2.

:: What was I thinking?

Do you ever have an impulse you want to act on that probably you should put some more thought into? I had one today. Somewhere deep inside my being is this image of working out that thinks it is cool and even a little macho to run stadium bleachers as exercise. Macho guys in movies do it all the time. So I get an impulse to do this. I take the kids (they are out of school for a holiday) to a local 5A high school with a really tall football stadium. I challenge them to make it a whole lap around the track while I begin the road to fitness through running stadium bleachers.

My calves got a good workout. My legs had that great burnnig screaming at you sensation. I am at home now trying to find the energy to get out of this chair. You know the weird thing. I may do it again this week.

:: Adventures in real life: The Mountain Lion

Last Friday the kids and I went to a nature preserve in Plano to get out of the house and give mom some quiet time. The kids love getting out and seeing your everyday average nature preserve stuff such as butterflies, ducks, various trees and flowers etc. Friday was an unexpected discovery. We had decided to take one of the smaller rabbit trails into the woods.

We walked half a mile and hit a fence row. This was a natural point to go back. I was explaining something to the kids, I turned to head back the way we had come and there is a mountain lion about 10 yards behind us. And he was looking right at us. Now, I don't know about you, but having a mountain lion in your path looking right at you 10 yards away doesn't give you the most secure feeling in the world. I kept telling my brain to be cool and think and of course lifted up one of those great theological prayers I've learned in all my years as a Christian. It went something like "Help, God!".

I told the kids just to be still and I reached over to break a branch I could use as a big stick. When the branch broke the Mountain Lion jumped and took off about 20 yards off the beaten trial. With my trusty stick in hand I had the kids take off down the trail as I kept myself between them and the Moutain Lion. The cool part of this story is I had my 35 mm carmera with me and got two shots of this cat. I can't wait to develop them.

Needless to say the kids will remember this adventure as will I. I think living for Christ is like this. You encounter situations in life that are new and you are not sure how to navigate them. I think "Help me, God" may be a wise prayer to pray in many of those.

:: pomo translations

I like tall skinny kiwi's postmodern translation of "My hope is built on nothing less"

"My hope [acknowledging mystery/rejecting secular rationalism]
is built on nothing less
than Jesus' blood and righteousness. . .[historically narrational over propositional]
I dare not trust the sweetest frame [suspicion of construct/text/logic systems]
but wholly [holistically interconnected, rejection of gnostic dualism, systemic thinking] lean [experientially] on Jesus name. [authority source transcending visible human institutions]
On Christ the solid rock I stand [post-foundationalist]
All other ground is sinking sand [deconstructionalist]
All other ground is sinking sand." [value judgment based on communal experience of screwing up our lives when we place our trust in secondary sources and not primary]

:: Respect for consistant bloggers

Trying to be a consistent blogger amongst all the hecticness of real life has given me a true respect for people like Jordon Cooper who blog very consistantly. Jordon has relevant stuff pretty much daily. That takes a deep commitment to the blogging lifestyle. I seem to fade in and out. One week it goes well, another week and so many other events direct my energies.

Blogging is an amazing phenomena. It grows daily with new people entering the blogosphere. With each new entry comes a bit more inovation. I am going to try to get back to being a blog resident not a blog alien.

:: True blooded bloggers will appreciate this

Ex Nihilo says Starbucks and Bloggin are ruining his life. Here is a bit from his March 8th post, LOL. Have a look.

My new Typepad site, though more expensive, looked nice and I could post a picture of my ugly mug in the upper left-hand corner. I had tons of new features and posting was easier, but still, I have not achieved Volokh or Crescat fame, and it hurts!! Oh the pain!! Like a scorned lover I long for trackbacks, comments, and online debates, but I cannot beg. I now obsess over blogging etiquette and actually perk up when someone mentions a personal website in conversation over dinner. I use words like "Technorati" and "blog roll" (which is actually two words). The problem has only worsened, and now, like Walker Percy's Schuyler (before his marriage to Jane Smith--a note for all you Percy fans) I am outwardly confident but inwardly homeless, wandering sadly the confines of the blogosphere. My record of an active lifestyle has been crushed by the lure of e-fame.

And then, to add insult to injury, my school finally put in a Starbucks. This was the death blow! I now spend more on delectable vanilla cremes than I do on textbooks, and my car insurance premium is dwarfed by my caramel machiato tab. I have become addicted to the rich aroma of my breakfast blend and am no longer Stoicly satisified with the stale taste of Waffle House coffee that was my staple for three years. Though Starbucks satisfies me, it leaves me hungry for its heavenly satisfaction and like a junkie strapped for cash I now linger about the Starbucks stand fantasizing about my next post and the energy I might glean from another cup of rich espresso.

:: A postmodern seder

Last night at our gathering we did a seder dinner with a little different twist. We began with two worship songs and then for the kids asked about Moses life and how the Passover came about. We then let them look for a piece of unleavened bread hidden in the sanctuary of where we are meeting. The youngest, Gracelyn was the finder. We let kids go and have their own projects as we moved into a time of remembrance.

I spent some time talking about the various symbols of the seder dinner and some background of it from Exodus 12. We then moved into a time of remembrance at our worship spaces.

The creative space was where the unleavened bread was and the apples mixture. We wrote a letter to God there as we remembered the bondage of the Israelites and the bondage of our own sin before we came to Christ. We also remembered the hope we have in God coming as a deliverer in our lives. The offering station encouraged us to remember all the blessings God has given us. We remembered how God has freed us, delivered us, released us, and redeemed us as He did the children of Israel. The divine reading station was a reflection from Exodus 12 and from 1 Corinthians talking of Christ our sacrifice. The contemplative space had the bitter herbs and salt water, the parsley, and the juice to remember the tears of the children of Israel and then our own tears as we were in bondage to sin. At our prayer space we had time to pray for the deliverance of our own community, the Colony.

Then we came back to the community space and continued in worship. It was a night of God's visitation. I have not sensed the presence of the Spirit as strongly in a time. As I got back home God's presence was still lingering and when I woke this morning, again, the sense of His presence. It is good to remember, but not only to remember but to connect with Christ, our Passover.

:: Sacred and quiet space

Though a friends blog I ran across Sacred Space today and went through the daily prayer. Have you ever had a day when your soul is at a hectic pace. As I prayed through the meditation I found the peace of the Lord calming my soul. I recommend you try it.

:: Sunday night: the first official Encounter service

We had a total of sixteen people at our first Sunday night service. The presence of God was strongly among us. We began with two songs, released kids to go to their classes. We then went to a more intimate worship set. People did go to our various worship spaces during worship. We have a contemplative space set up. This night we had a pitcher of water, towels, and a basin set up with scriptures on washing ourselves and how the Lord cleanses our sins. Justin Blake hung out at the creative station during worship doing some drawing. We had a kneeling rail at the prayer station and a few stopped there for a moment.

We then went to the topic of the night which was stories. We invited people to share stories that involved their journey with Jesus. Daniel shared a story of going to a drug deal and meeting an old friend who he hadn't seen in years and years and a few months later she invited him to Hope Chapel where God encountered him. What are the chances of going to a drug deal and meeting an old friend who is going to invite you to church soon. We looked at the scripture in John 21 where John says is all the miracles of what Jesus had said and one were written they would fill all the books of the world. We talked about how this community is about telling His (Jesus Christ) story and telling how our lives are connected with His story.

We ended in praying for people. Abigail Branch came over to support us. We prayed for her and the Greenhouse, a church plant in Ft. Worth. Justin and Brandi Blake came over and we praying for God's encouragement on their new marriage. We had prayed that God would use us to encourage others and minister to them. This first time of large community gathering did that. Our prayer is that there will be a continued flow of people we can serve that God will direct us to.

:: Sunday day

As we have begun to get to know the Colony we have found a park where people hang out fairly frequently. At this park are two basketball areas, and one of these areas is a eight and a half foot goal. For those of you who are not a basketball players, an eight and a half foot goal means that short white men who can't jump can now dunk the ball.

Since our service is on Sunday night we decide that we will play basketball Sunday morning. Shane, Mark, myself, Chris, and a new friend of Chris' from the apartment complex, Jason go at it on this eight foot goal. We were a site. Shane dunks about the second play and rips the skin off three of his fingers. We looked like the walking wounded after about 12 games of 21. We did get to meet Tony who was out playing on another court. We continue to pray God connects us with people in the Colony.

:: Saturday

Saturday at lunch I wanted to connect Shane and Justin and Kelly a little better so I invite them to lunch. Shane recaps some dramatic financial blessings the Lord has brought to he and his wife in the past year. I love to hear stories of God's provision for people and how it promotes the kingdom of God. It was a good lunch, good mexican food, good fellowship.

:: Last week: Friday (joint habitat)

Friday Night
As part of our EXCHANGE weekend we had a combined meeting with Mars Hill at their Friday night Habitat. Habitat is a time when Mars Hill usually is discussing a book or topic. This night, Chris, Mark, Shane, Kelly, and Justin did some music and worship then Shane shared out of the gospel of John. Our conversation was about the glory of God and more specifically about How God gave it to Jesus and Jesus said he would give it to us. My friend Justin Nygren and his wife Kelly shepherd this group.

Afterwards a few of us went out and watched some of the NCAA tourney. We go to a local sports bar that has been recommended to us.
As we are sitting watching the game two very inebriated ladies sit down at our table across from Chris and I and begin a conversation. They find out that we are polite, but not acting like we are interested at all and not drinking anything buy tea and water and excuse themselves. I had really strong mixed feelings about this exchange. As the ladies were leaving one lady puts her hand on my head and says something in parting and it makes me really angry. That anger just built as I left. I was really offended that this lady, who must have seen my ring and known I am married is flirting with me. I had to really pursue this with the Lord because it didn't feel very Christlike to me to be that angry. I was wishing I would have had a woman at the well type of dialogue with this woman. As I prayed through it I understood more that these ladies were in great pain and were looking for love in all the wrong places. I pray that the Lord will speak encouragement to them and draw them to Him.

This story I think will bring some very interesting discussion in our small group.

:: Last week: Thursday

I enjoy blogging, so it has to be a busy week to keep me from being here. Last week was such a week. Thursday night we began a quarterly event for our community we are calling the EXCHANGE. This is a weekend where we are exchanging ideas with one another, we bring in someone outside of our community and have them exchange ideas with us, we try to join with another faith community and exchange with them, and most importantly seek God in a way that brings exchange between Himself and our community.

Thursday night my friend Shane Kuhn from Lubbock Texas joined us and facilitated a dialogue about faith from Hebrews 11. The main thread of the conversation was that God establishes markers in our lives and the lives of others that help encourage our faith. We need to remember these faith events in our lives to strengthen us to have faith in our current situations. We had our usual meal and worship also.

Chris came up with a funny analogy at our meal about the three guys that are in his head. He said there was a fast guy that retrieves information. So let's say when a person named George walks up, fast guy runs to the files and brings back the info. that this is George. Then there is the smart guy who knows how to be cool and make good conversation. Finally there is the dumb guy. Sometimes when fast guy and smart guy are on break, he gets to take over. In this case let's say George is walking up and fast guy in not there to retrieve information and smart guy isn't there to act cool. You end up saying something that may be a cross of information like Hi-Ow your doing? This is a cross between Hi and How are you doing which the dumb guy couldn't decide on. This analogy seemed to be used all weekend.

:: New tags

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