All posts in Christian Living

hands raised

Tozer on the Holiness of God

This is taken from A.W. Tozer’s book, The Attributes of God.  This is so powerfully written, I thought it worth sharing.

“When Leonardo DaVinci painted his famous Last Supper he had little difficulty with any of it except the faces. Then he painted the faces in without too much trouble except one. He did not feel himself worthy to paint the face of Jesus. He held off and kept holding off, unwilling to approach it but knowing he must. Then in the impulsive carelessness of despair, he just painted it quickly and let it go. “There is no use,” he said. “I can’t paint Him.” I feel very much the same way about explaining the holiness of God. I think that same sense of despair is on my heart. There isn’t any use for anybody to try to explain holiness. The greatest speakers on this subject can play their oratorical harps, but it sounds tinny and unreal, and when they are through you’ve listened to music but you haven’t seen God.”
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David Eugene Edwards picture

David Eugene Edwards – Music, Creativity, and Honesty

I have recently discovered David Eugene Edwards’ music.  He first came on the scene with his band 16 Horsepower.  They disbanded several years ago, but David continued on with a new band called Wovenhand.  Wovenhand is noteably different in style than 16 Horsepower, but still has that David Eugene Edwards vibe.  All of it is great music, in my opinion.

What initially drew me to his music is that I was fascinated that these are unfiltered Godward lyrics that the Christian music industry cannot find a place for, yet the non-religious world embraces it.  How is it that this musician (whom I had never even heard of) is touching these people?  The music is excellent, and certainly that is a big part of the attraction by his secular audience.  But I think it’s more than that.

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image of man running in a hamster wheel

When Will You Stop?

I don’t know anyone that isn’t busy and on the go.  Regardless of profession, age, gender or income.  Everyone these days is on the run, all the time, running a gauntlet of stress, responsibility, and expectations.  Everything feels like a competition against a nameless character that goes by many different names: “they”, “them” and “everybody”.  Pastor’s do this, only we sanctify it by replacing the ambiguous “everybody” with the name of God and his Church.

It doesn’t take long for us to lose our grip on why we are running so hard and so fast.  Our priorities get jumbled.  Massive chunks of time fall out of our hands and then, if we’re so blessed, we wake up one day and realize that we’ve missed many of the things that make life beautiful.  We’ve spent our most precious resources on the least precious demands and there is no way to get that time back.

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Capes, Faith, and Divine Imagination

kids-wearing-capes
Just a few days ago, my two youngest children decided to be superheroes.

They saw no reason why they should be limited by gravity and human physical limitations.  All they needed to overcome physics were beach towels.  They came running up to me, towels in hand, and asked me to secure the towels around their necks.  They had already tried stuffing the towels in their collars, but the towels-turned-capes kept falling out.  And we all know that a superhero cannot have his cape falling out in mid flight.

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To Rescue Me

Some lyrics from “Rescue Me” by The Choir.  Sometimes you need to be reminded that Hope is coming.

Listen to the Song

When I can’t hold on much longer
To a rope weathered and frayed
When I can’t find hope and I’m losing faith

The Savior reaches in
To still the howling wind
To calm the storm within
To rescue me
To rescue me

When I think I might surrender
To the vengeance of the tide
When I’m lost in sin and I don’t see light

The Savior reaches low
Under the torrid flow
To save my sinking soul
And rescue me

The Savior calls my name
When I feel most ashamed
He comes to take the blame
And rescue me
To rescue me
To rescue me

Is He Alive? Prove it.

This weekend on Sunday, Christians will gather all over the world to celebrate the greatest event in human history. The resurrection of Jesus Christ.

This simply means that we do not worship a dead God. He’s alive. We have a living hope.

Among other things, this means that God is actively involved in our lives. When we pray, he hears us. When we sing, he hears us. He’s doing things right now, in your life and in mine.

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Enjoy What Makes Life Beautiful

I preached on keeping the Sabbath this weekend and studying the topic was a loud reminder to me of the importance of getting off the crazy carnival ride we’re on most of the time to take a breath.  The importance of weekly rest goes all the way back to creation and the nature and character of God.  God stopped to take in and enjoy all that He had done during the first 6 days of creation.  His greatness didn’t diminish when He rested.  His glory doesn’t come only from doing but also from His being.

I think most Americans are taught the opposite.  A strong work ethic is equated with never having to rest.  Taking time for solitude, reflection, and rest makes us feel a little guilty, even apologetic.  That’s insane!  God made us with finite amounts of emotional and physical energy.  Rest is a necessary part of life and serves to remind us of our weakness and dependence on God to supply our needs.

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