tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-70288165370474639612024-03-07T19:32:05.257-08:00taylor reavelyTaylor Reavelyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01805447097296796187noreply@blogger.comBlogger45125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7028816537047463961.post-80419433503722580532013-01-07T14:14:00.000-08:002013-01-07T14:14:43.569-08:00show and tell.<a href="https://twimg0-a.akamaihd.net/profile_images/669481517/sandt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://twimg0-a.akamaihd.net/profile_images/669481517/sandt.jpg" width="304" /></a>You remember the days when you'd bring your little baby bunny rabbit to school to show the class, and then you'd tell them a little bit about it...<br />
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The only way you could fail first grade "show and tell" is if you failed to show anything, or if you failed to say anything.<br />
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Jesus has commanded you to show the gospel (Matt. 5:16, 1 Pet 2:12) and tell the gospel (Acts 10:42, Rom 10:15). His mission mandates both. You fail in joining his mission if you live without words or if you yell without action.<br />
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Show. AND. Tell.<br />
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<br />Taylor Reavelyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01805447097296796187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7028816537047463961.post-89387634627882220732013-01-01T11:40:00.000-08:002013-01-01T11:40:12.685-08:00all glory be to Christ.<div class="tr_bq">
This New Years we started a new tradition, singing "<a href="http://marshill.bandcamp.com/track/all-glory-be-to-christ" target="_blank">All Glory Be To Christ</a>" as the clock strikes midnight.</div>
<br />
The tune is set to the traditional New Years song, "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auld_Lang_Syne" target="_blank">Auld Lang Syne</a>," but the words communicate someone infinitely more glorious:<br />
<blockquote>
Should nothing of our efforts stand<br />No legacy survive<br />Unless the Lord does raise the house<br />In vain its builders strive </blockquote>
<blockquote>
To you who boast tomorrow's gain<br />Tell me, what is your life?<br />A mist that vanishes at dawn<br />All glory be to Christ </blockquote>
<blockquote>
All glory be to Christ our King<br />All glory be to Christ<br />His rule and reign will ever sing<br />All glory be to Christ </blockquote>
<blockquote>
His will be done, His kingdom come<br />On earth as is above<br />Who is Himself our daily bread<br />Praise Him the Lord of Love </blockquote>
<blockquote>
Let living water satisfy<br />The thirsty without price<br />We'll take a cup of kindness yet<br />All glory be to Christ </blockquote>
<blockquote>
All glory be to Christ our King<br />All glory be to Christ<br />His rule and reign will ever sing<br />All glory be to Christ </blockquote>
<blockquote>
When on that day the great I AM<br />The faithful and the true<br />The Lamb who was for sinners slain<br /> Is making all things new </blockquote>
<blockquote>
Behold our God shall live with us<br />And be our steadfast light<br />And we shall e'er His people be<br />All glory be to Christ </blockquote>
<blockquote>
All glory be to Christ our King<br />All glory be to Christ<br />His rule and reign will ever sing<br />All glory be to Christ</blockquote>
If anything good happens to you this year, it is because Jesus was gracious to you, therefore, "All glory be to Christ."<br />
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If you meet any of your "new year's resolutions" this year, it is because Jesus helped you, therefore, "All glory be to Christ."<br />
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All glory be to Christ.<br />
<br />Taylor Reavelyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01805447097296796187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7028816537047463961.post-57558383816019945512012-12-23T22:36:00.001-08:002012-12-23T22:56:21.031-08:00why (not) me?The tragedies of late have continued to take to blows: another friend of mine was killed in a car wreck tonight. And oh, how heavy our hearts this season!<br />
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<br /></div>
<div>
When tragedy strikes people, so frequently we hear the question "Why me?"</div>
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<br /></div>
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More and more, though, my heart seems to scream at me in the midst of this mess and say: "Taylor, <b>why <i>not</i> you</b>?" Why were <i>you</i> spared when you drove on ice? Why did <i>you</i> get out of the mall ten minutes before gunshots? Why did <i>you </i>live through your elementary school years?</div>
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<br /></div>
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I do not yet know the answer to either question, but at the end of the matter, I am more aware that this life is but a breath: dust and ashes. I am more convinced that I am at the mercy of a God that is sovereign, ruling, in command of all the affairs of the universe. I am more persuaded to trust that he is good and that he is working all things for good.</div>
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That is my only hope.</div>
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Taylor Reavelyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01805447097296796187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7028816537047463961.post-5039011113254179642012-11-30T11:57:00.003-08:002012-11-30T12:29:28.467-08:00winter youth celebration.I am so pumped to lead worship for the Winter Youth Celebration in Portland this year!<br />
<br />
The central idea of the conference is to unleash high schoolers on <b>mission.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
As a worship leader, I'm always thinking:<br />
How can I help the message?<br />
How can I sing the message?<br />
How can I preach as I sing?<br />
How can I respond to what was just preached as I sing?<br />
<br />
The answer to those questions generally determines the songs that I'll select before and after the message.<br />
<br />
In this case, they determine the songs for a conference.<br />
<br />
One of the songs we will sing together is a song begging God to rescue the world in the HERE and NOW and begging him to help us.<br />
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Check it. Learn it.<br />
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<a href="http://soundcloud.com/eddiekirkland/05-here-and-now">Here and Now.</a>Taylor Reavelyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01805447097296796187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7028816537047463961.post-32104195039712384152012-11-03T07:06:00.000-07:002012-11-30T12:05:35.561-08:00great things. great god."Let angels sing for<br />
sinners repenting,<br />
prodigals restored,<br />
backsliders reclaimed,<br />
Satan's captives released,<br />
blind eyes opened,<br />
broken hearts bound up,<br />
the despondent cheered,<br />
the self-righteous stripped,<br />
the formalist driven from a refuge of lies,<br />
the ignorant enlightened,<br />
and saints built up in their holy faith.<br />
I ask great things of a great God."<br />
<br />
- Valley of Vision, p.9 "The Great God"<br />
<br />
What do you pray for?<br />
<br />
Little things?<br />
Simple things?<br />
Meaningless things?<br />
<br />
I hear myself praying for food. For a good day. For productivity. For energy. For happiness.<br />
<br />
What of it?!<br />
<br />
I now choose to ask great things of a great God.<br />
<br />Taylor Reavelyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01805447097296796187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7028816537047463961.post-68897539865366397722012-10-14T12:15:00.000-07:002012-12-02T18:31:58.931-08:00the best thing.The best thing happened to me today.<br />
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Today, I am a married man.</div>
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<div>
<a href="http://www.abriefstillness.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Meet my wife.</a><br />
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Taylor Reavelyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01805447097296796187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7028816537047463961.post-60623868550875511312012-07-29T12:34:00.000-07:002012-11-30T12:35:09.768-08:00community.The Gospel of Jesus is a remedy for life alone because it creates a community of people.<br />
<br />
This community exists because of the Gospel and to demonstrate the Gospel.<br />
<br />
This community <i>exists</i> because the Gospel is true.<br />
This community <i>demonstrates</i> the Gospel is true <i>by</i>:<br />
Proclamation. (1 Peter 2:9)<br />
Lifestyle. (1 Peter 2:11-12)<br />
Love for each other. (1 Peter 2:1)<br />
Cooperation with each other. (1 Corinthians 12:12)<br />
<br />
If you follow Jesus, you join a bunch of other people.<br />
<br />
Follow Jesus well.<br />
<br />Taylor Reavelyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01805447097296796187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7028816537047463961.post-85374040437555972312012-06-30T12:21:00.000-07:002012-11-30T12:21:56.522-08:00oh darling, let's be adventurers.My fiancé recorded her account of the day I asked her to marry me.<br />
<br />
You should read it <a href="http://cloudno9.tumblr.com/post/26371242112/oh-darling-let-us-be-adventurerslet-us-traverse" target="_blank">here.</a><br />
<br />
It is eloquent. Poetic. Beautiful.<br />
<br />
This will be the best adventure of my life!<br />
<br />
<br />Taylor Reavelyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01805447097296796187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7028816537047463961.post-21490032251287430502012-02-12T21:30:00.000-08:002012-11-30T12:28:47.733-08:00humility. again."Preaching the gospel to myself each day mounts a powerful assault against my pride and serves to establish humility in its place. Nothing suffocates my pride more than daily reminders regarding the glory of my God, the gravity of my sins, and the crucifixion of God's own Son in my place...Pride wilts in the atmosphere of the gospel." - Milton Vincent, <i>A Gospel Primer</i><br />
<br />
1. Buy <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Gospel-Primer-Christians-Learning-Glories/dp/1885904673/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1354307217&sr=8-1&keywords=a+gospel+primer" target="_blank">A Gospel Primer</a>. Now.<br />
2. Preach the Gospel to yourself. Every Day.<br />
3. Assassinate pride. Immediately.Taylor Reavelyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01805447097296796187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7028816537047463961.post-82682528553495790962012-01-18T11:36:00.000-08:002012-11-30T12:29:00.989-08:00humility."Humility - Honestly assessing ourselves in light of God's holiness and our sinfulness." - C.J. Mahaney<br />
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<br /></div>
<div>
One of the places I frequently visit, to teach myself to be humble is Isaiah 6:1-5, where I see one of the most clear pictures of God's holiness and my sinfulness.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
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"In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his fee, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said: "Holy, Holy, Holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!" And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. And I said: "Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!" - Isaiah 6:1-5</div>
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<br /></div>
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Woe is me!</div>
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<br /></div>
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I do not say those words nearly enough.</div>
Taylor Reavelyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01805447097296796187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7028816537047463961.post-67302333196222036732011-10-30T07:00:00.000-07:002011-10-30T07:00:00.731-07:00a bigger picture.<p class="p1">"The Lord works from the inside out. The world works from the outside in. The world would take people out of the slums. Christ takes the slums out of people, and then they take themselves out of the slums. The world would mold men by changing their environment. Christ changes men, who then change their environment. The world would shape human behavior, but Christ can change human nature."</p> <p class="p1">Ezra Taft Benson</p><p class="p1">Love the poor, the orphan, the widow, the starving, the broken, the wounded, the neighbor, but not so as to change or influence merely their circumstances and behavior: labor in prayerful love for Christ to change the heart.</p>Taylor Reavelyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01805447097296796187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7028816537047463961.post-1836457772531250262011-10-28T07:00:00.000-07:002011-10-28T07:00:05.144-07:00all or nothing."You cannot play with the animal in you without becoming wholly animal, play with falsehood without forfeiting your right to truth, play with cruelty without losing your sense of mind. He who wants to keep his garden tidy doesn't reserve a plot for weeds."<p class="p1">Dag Hammerskjold</p>Taylor Reavelyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01805447097296796187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7028816537047463961.post-8767781742072604902011-10-26T10:45:00.000-07:002011-11-04T16:17:28.616-07:00be patient. fight on.<div class="p1">Some day, in the years to come, you will be wrestling with the great temptation, or trembling under the great sorrow of your life. But the real struggle is here, now...Now it is being decided whether, in the day of your supreme sorrow or temptation, you shall miserably fail or gloriously conquer. Character cannot be made except by a steady, long continued process.</div><a name='more'></a>Taylor Reavelyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01805447097296796187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7028816537047463961.post-62225337915995623042011-06-20T20:34:00.000-07:002011-11-04T16:16:59.086-07:00this i call to mind"my soul is bereft of peace;<br />
<div>i have forgotten what happiness is;</div><div>so i say, 'my endurance has perished;</div><div>so has my hope from the LORD.'</div><div><br />
</div><div>remember my affliction</div><div>and my wanderings,</div><div>the wormwood and the gall!</div><div>my soul continually remembers it</div><div>and is bowed down within me.</div><div><b>but this i call to mind,</b></div><div><b>and therefore i have hope</b>:</div><div><br />
<a name='more'></a></div><div>the steadfast love of the LORD never ceases</div><div>his mercies never come to an end;</div><div>they are new every morning;</div><div>great is your faithfulness.</div><div>'the LORD is my portion,' says my soul,</div><div>'therefore i will hope in him.'</div><div><br />
</div><div>the LORD is good to those who wait for him</div><div>to the soul who seeks him.</div><div>it is good that one should wait quietly</div><div>for the salvation of the LORD.</div><div>it is good for a man that he bear</div><div>the yoke in his youth.</div><div><br />
</div><div>let him sit alone in silence</div><div>when it is laid on him;</div><div>let him put his mouth in the dust--</div><div>there may yet be hope;</div><div>let him give his cheek to the one who strikes,</div><div>and let him be filled with insults.</div><div><br />
</div><div>for the LORD will not cast off forever,</div><div>but, though he cause grief, he will have compassion</div><div>according to the abundance of his steadfast love;</div><div>for he does not willingly afflict</div><div>or grieve the children of men."</div><div><br />
</div><div>lamentations 3:17-33</div>Taylor Reavelyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01805447097296796187noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7028816537047463961.post-59536227243623735972011-05-18T00:26:00.000-07:002011-11-04T16:16:38.063-07:00you've won again<div>You've Won Again</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span">Words and Music by Taylor Reavely </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">(c) 2011</span></div><div><br />
</div><div>If I would tell the story</div><div>Of Your great love for me</div><div>I'd have to start before I'd</div><div>Ever come to be</div><div><br />
</div><div>Before the world the founded</div><div>You'd written down my name</div><div>You'd made a plan to save me</div><div>Defeat death and the grave<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a></div><div><i>So here I stand</i></div><div><i>I'm humbled by Your sovereign plan</i></div><div><i>To save me</i></div><div><i><br />
</i></div><div><i>By Your grace</i></div><div><i>I am who I am</i></div><div><i>Not my strength</i></div><div><i>I'm in Your hands</i></div><div><i>By Your blood</i></div><div><i>I enter in</i></div><div><i><br />
</i></div><div><i>And now, my Love</i></div><div><i>You've won again</i></div><div><br />
</div><div>If You were not here with me</div><div>I'd surely run away</div><div>But You quicken my affections</div><div>And stir my heart for Thee</div><div><br />
</div><div>You will keep Your promise</div><div>To finish what You start</div><div>And I, one of Your children,</div><div>I never shall lose heart</div>Taylor Reavelyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01805447097296796187noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7028816537047463961.post-39412637966673943322011-04-27T23:09:00.000-07:002011-04-27T23:12:36.424-07:00be still<p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span">Be still, my soul</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span"></span>Be quiet and wait</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span">In silence rest<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span">For God shall save<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span">You troubled heart<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span">Why do you weep<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span">Do you know God<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span">Do you know peace<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in"><span class="Apple-style-span">Be still<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in"><span class="Apple-style-span">And know that I am God<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in"><span class="Apple-style-span">Be silent<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in"><span class="Apple-style-span">For hope is not lost<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in"><span class="Apple-style-span">Be quiet<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><span class="Apple-style-span">And still I hear your cry<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in"><span class="Apple-style-span">Be still<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in"><span class="Apple-style-span">For I am on your side<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span">Amid the waves<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span">Amid the flood<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span">Your hand is stretched<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span">And Your promise good<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span">Oh I believe<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span">But help my unbelief<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span">And let me hear You<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span">Hear You speak<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span"> </span></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span">So why do I worry<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span">And why do I fear<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span">‘Cause I am so noisy<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span">I cannot hear<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span">Your voice in the whisper<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span">“Do not be afraid<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span">For I am still faithful<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span">And mighty to save”</span><o:p></o:p></p> <!--EndFragment-->Taylor Reavelyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01805447097296796187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7028816537047463961.post-70062513208102531842011-04-18T22:33:00.001-07:002011-04-18T23:23:05.109-07:00shaken<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:documentproperties> <o:revision>0</o:Revision> <o:totaltime>0</o:TotalTime> <o:pages>1</o:Pages> <o:words>218</o:Words> <o:characters>1245</o:Characters> <o:company>Portland State University</o:Company> <o:lines>10</o:Lines> <o:paragraphs>2</o:Paragraphs> <o:characterswithspaces>1461</o:CharactersWithSpaces> <o:version>14.0</o:Version> </o:DocumentProperties> <o:officedocumentsettings> <o:allowpng/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--> <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves/> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> 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class="Apple-style-span" >Fighting to see the light</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" >With a mask over my eyes</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" >My world seems oh so frail</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" >Behind this shallow veil</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" > </span></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" >There is something still<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" >At odds against my will<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" >Warring to do right<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" >On a battlefield of night<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" > </span></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" >Quietly a thorn is growing in the recess of my heart<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" >Jesus, please remove it and remind me who You are<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" >That I may see Your beauty and the wonder of Your grace<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" >And remember why I’m fighting for the One who took my place<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" > </span></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" ><br /></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" >You are my Salvation</span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" >I am not forsaken<o:p></o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" >You are my Foundation</span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" >I will not be shaken.</span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" >Fighting for the King<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" >I give my everything<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" >But all I am is Yours’<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" >To You I look for more<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" >Grace in every station<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" >I place my expectation<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" >Trusting You to conquer<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" >My feeble heart grows stronger </span></p> <!--EndFragment-->Taylor Reavelyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01805447097296796187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7028816537047463961.post-92152724027583747982011-03-26T01:40:00.000-07:002011-03-26T01:44:23.253-07:00my seared conscience<span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" >1 Timothy 4:2 ... "Whose consciences are seared."</span><br /><br />"Get and keep a tender conscience. Be sensible of the least sin. Some men's consciences are like the stomach of the ostrich that can digest iron: they can swallow the most notorious sins without regret. A good conscience is very delicate. It feels the least touch of known sin, and is grieved at the thought of grieving God's Spirit. It will choose the greatest of suffering before the least of sinning. However, the jeering Ishmaels of the world are ready to reproach and laugh it to scorn for its precise scruples. Daily train all your graces for battle. Live in a military posture, both defensive and offensive. Stand constantly by your weapons. Admit no peace with sin. The soldier of Christ must never lay down his arms. Satan never ceases his wiles and stratagems. He will tell you that sin is pleasant. Ask yourself if the gripping of conscience is also pleasant? Ask yourself if it is pleasant to be in hell, and be under the wrath of God? Ask yourself if the pleasures of sin for a season compare with the rivers of God's pleasures? How do they compare to a weight of glory, an incorruptible crown, and a heavenly kingdom? God alone is enough, but without him, nothing is enough for your happiness. His love, grace, and the comforts of his Spirit will certainly sweeten your way to heaven. Sometimes you will experience joy unutterable and full of glory. God is a good master and in his service is a perfect freedom. Your work is its own reward. With these thoughts, put to flight the armies of the enemy. Shield yourself with these against the fiery darts the tempter shall pour upon you. Do not even take a moment to parley with the tempter. As soon as your lusts begin to grow inordinate, do not stay a moment; delay is unutterably dangerous. A house on fire needs immediate attention."<br /><br /><span class="Apple-style-span" >John Gibbon, Puritan Sermons 1659-1689, 1:96-100</span><br /><br />Taken from:<br />Voices from the Past: Puritan Devotional Readings<br />Edited by Richard Rushing<br />Published by Banner of Truth</span>Taylor Reavelyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01805447097296796187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7028816537047463961.post-30066958405595247042010-12-31T14:34:00.000-08:002010-12-31T14:41:05.046-08:00people-influencers not debate-winners<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px; " ><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span">Newton cared more about influencing people with truth for their good than winning debates. William Jay recounts how Newton described the place of his Calvinism. He was having tea one day with Newton. Newton said, "'I am more of a Calvinist than anything else; but I use my Calvinism in my writings and my preaching as I use this sugar'—taking a lump, and putting it into his tea-cup, and stirring it, adding, 'I do not give it alone, and whole; but mixed and diluted.'" In other words, his Calvinism permeates all that he writes and teaches and serves to sweeten everything. Few people like to eat sugar cubes, but they like the effect of sugar when it permeates it right proportion.</span></blockquote><blockquote style="color: rgb(34, 34, 34); "><span class="Apple-style-span">- <a href="http://www.desiringgod.org/resource-library/biographies/john-newton-the-tough-roots-of-his-habitual-tenderness">John Piper of John Newton</a></span></blockquote></span>Taylor Reavelyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01805447097296796187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7028816537047463961.post-82810966855241488772010-09-14T23:44:00.000-07:002010-09-15T22:25:30.926-07:00of sweat and solitude: lesson four<b>Lesson Four: Talk to the One You Love</b><div><b><br /></b></div><div>I was speaking one Wednesday to the youth at Glendive Alliance Church and, as introduction, spent a few minutes answering questions about myself. A question that came up went something like this: "What's one thing you would change about your walk with Jesus?" And my answer came quickly: "I want to be a better pray-er." </div><div><br /></div><div>Quite simply, I have an easy time praying at "prayer times" or for specific requests, but a hard time praying all the time about all things--great and small--in my life. And that should not be so.</div><div><br /></div><div>Very shortly after I admitted this desire, I was listening to a sermon by Francis Chan who used an illustration to communicate a simple truth that got me:</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Imagine with me that I'm married, and that I have a simply wonderful day at work--I got a promotion, a trophy, had free lunch, and Stumptown coffee was the office brew. It was a good day. Who is the first person I call? My wife. I want to </i><b><i>talk to the one I love</i></b><i>!</i></div><div><br /></div><div><i>Imagine with me that I'm married, and that I have a terrible day at work--I got fired, ate no lunch, and my coworkers poured coffee on me. It was a bad day. Who is the first person I call? My wife. I want to </i><b><i>talk to the one I love</i></b><i>!</i> </div><div><br /></div><div>My love for my wife makes me desire to talk to her about the events of my day. And the fact that the first person I call is my wife demonstrates that I love her. She is the first person I want to talk to! </div><div><br /></div><div>Prayer, as simply talking to God, works in a similar way. If I love God, I will want to talk to Him! If I talk to Him, I am living out my love for Him. If my day is good, and I experience grace upon grace, then I talk to Him praising and thanking Him! And if my day is bad, and I experience pain and trouble, then I talk to Him pouring my heart out and begging for grace and help tomorrow! But regardless, I <b>talk to the one I love!</b></div><div><br /></div><div>So, the simple conclusion is this: if you love someone, you will talk to them. So, <b>talk to the One you love. </b></div>Taylor Reavelyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01805447097296796187noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7028816537047463961.post-12220099987662219062010-09-07T00:49:00.000-07:002010-09-09T00:25:49.244-07:00of sweat and solitude: lesson three<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Lesson Three: God Works God's Plan In God's Time</span></b><div><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></b></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">God used three men to remind me of a spectacular truth: </span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">God will work God's plan in God's time.</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> My practical application, then, is: be patient. If I aim to keep in step with the Spirit and gain knowledge to act upon, then I am allowing God to lead and act, but if I am so locked-in on my 5-year or 10-year plan for my life that I don't follow the Ghost, then I am a fool. Listen to how this idea even worked its way into my mind:</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><img src="http://www.acts29network.org/mediafiles/contact-mark-driscoll.jpg" style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 80px; height: 80px;" border="0" alt="" /><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><a href="http://www.desiringgod.org/AboutUs/JohnPiper/ExtendedBiography/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; "></span></span></a><a href="http://assets.marshillchurch.org/files/misc/pages/pastor_mark_driscolls_biography.pdf"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Mark D</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span"><a href="http://assets.marshillchurch.org/files/misc/pages/pastor_mark_driscolls_biography.pdf"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">riscoll</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> didn't want anything to do with Jesus u</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">ntil God radically opened his eyes to the gospel </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">when he was 19 years old. At age 25 he began a small Bible study in Seattle with his wife Grace. And in the last 14 years, Driscoll has become one of the most influential men in America, and his church, </span><a href="http://www.marshillchurch.org/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Mars Hill</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">, is one of the largest and fastest-growing. The crazy thing: at my age, Driscoll didn't have any life ambition to be a pastor and serve Jesus with his life, but </span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">God worked God's plan in God's time.</span></b></span></span></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" 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"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></a><img src="http://www.closerwalk.net/_borders/JohnPiper.jpg" style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 80px; height: 80px;" border="0" alt="" /><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><a href="http://www.desiringgod.org/AboutUs/JohnPiper/ExtendedBiography/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span"></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">John Piper</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> believed firmly in the </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arminianism"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">doctrines of Free Will</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> throughout his college and seminary and teaching days. But in the fall of 1979, at age 33, while on sabbatical from teaching at Bethel College and just prior to beginning his tenure as senior pastor at </span><a href="http://www.hopeingod.org/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Bethlehem Baptist Church</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">, he set out to study and understand </span><a href="http://www.esvonline.org/search/romans+9/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Romans 9</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">, and God saw fit to radically reverse his misunderstood doctrine of the Sovereignty of God. John Piper was a self-declared Arminian, who, when he studied the scriptures and was led by the Spirit, has become perhaps the most prominent and proficient </span><a href="http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Articles/ByDate/1985/1487_What_We_Believe_About_the_Five_Points_of_Calvinism/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Calvinist</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> today. </span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">God worked God's plan in God's time.</span></b></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><img src="http://samuelatgilgal.files.wordpress.com/2008/10/john-calvin.jpg?w=452&h=512" style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 75px; height: 80px;" border="0" alt="" /><div><a href="http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Biographies/1471_The_Divine_Majesty_of_the_Word/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">John Calvin</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> was a 23 year old law school dropout when he wrote his first book: </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">A Commentary on Seneca. </span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">He was more interested in the classics than law, which his father had forced him to study after "running afoul" the church. It was shortly after the publication of this book, in 1532, that Calvin began to encounter the teaching and witness of the </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protestant_Reformation"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Reformation</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">. And in 1533, at the age of 24, Calvin miraculously experienced salvation. Immediately after his conversion, he committed himself to studying Hebrew and published his </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Institutes</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> in 1536. Calvin played a major role in the Reformation and his doctrines of Sovereign Grace bear his name. People remember John Calvin today, because </span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">God worked God's plan in God's time.</span></b></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">I could draw the same conclusion about every person and event in history, but these were the three examples that were marinating in my mind. As I was hearing the stories of these men, I realized a few things that made me almost cringe at the road I was taking. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Let me preface, I think my plan for my life is grace: God has given me a passion, and blessed me with opportunity and gifts to pursue that passion. And therefore, I believe it is a God-honoring endeavor, and for that I am grateful and pumped. Yet at the same time, I am learning that the plan is simply a means to an end, and not the end in itself. Therefore the plan is flexible, so I must be ready to forgo it if the Spirit leads elsewhere. </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><div></div><blockquote><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">This is my plan as I see it: </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">1. Attend Portland State for a Marketing B.S. (2 years)</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">2. Attend Western Seminary for Masters of Divinity. (3+ years)</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">3. Plant a church or pastor in an established church. (5-10 years)</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">4. And I'd really like to get married while in Seminary. I think that would be cool. (someday)</span></div></blockquote><div></div></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">My father and some other godly men in my life have encouraged me to have vision and a plan for my life, and that is good! There's something, however, about the fact that </span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">God works God's plan in God's time</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> that makes me feel uneasy about such a scheduled plan. </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">I have a tendency to trust my plan or my ability to stick to it and fulfill it. I have a tendency to lock-in on a plan so firmly, that I simply don't recognize alternate routes. I have a tendency to live </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">in</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> the future rather than </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">for</span></i><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">the future. And I want those tendencies to fade, because I </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">know</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> that any successes are grace! And I know that any failures are...grace! </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">I'm not the master of my own destiny. I'm not the captain of my ship.</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">It's an interesting dichotomy, considering the last two lessons I had learned at this point.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">How do I weigh, in this situation, the leading of the Spirit versus acting upon what I know? I ask, because I know that I'm supposed to be doing what I've planned to do, but I also know that </span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">God works God's plan in God's time</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">, and He leads by His Spirit.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">And this is a lesson I can't really say I've fully learned at this point in my life, because I am not yet done learning. But</span><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> the practical conclusion I drew this summer is this: </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">I will work to be patient with my plan, to be content with where I am in life, to </span></i></span><span class="Apple-style-span"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">trust God to use me as He deems best, and to be willing to put my plan on hold should the Spirit lead another direction.</span></i></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">My plan for my life is foolishness and all-for-naught if I neglect the Spirit, for </span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">God works God's plan in God's time.</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></div></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">---</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">You don't believe me? Check out: Psalm 115:3 and 135:6; Proverbs 16:1, 16:9, and 19:21. That will get you started.</span></span></div>Taylor Reavelyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01805447097296796187noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7028816537047463961.post-58501481518266997322010-09-03T23:36:00.000-07:002010-09-04T00:57:10.543-07:00of sweat and solitude: lesson two<div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><b>Lesson Two: Knowledge Mandates Action</b><div><b><br /></b></div><div>Having already spent a summer in Montana, I was more familiar with the work schedule and came better prepared this year: I packed fewer books. One book I badly wanted to read was "Knowing God" by J.I. Packer. Honestly, I read it nearly every day during every free moment, and I still only read 100 pages - this was no vacation!</div><div><br /></div><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 149px; height: 229px;" src="http://www.adoption-by-grace.com/images/oldKnowingGodCover.jpg" border="0" alt="" /><div><br /></div><div>I had plans to read this book to fill my head with knowledge, somehow making it easier to "<a href="http://taylorreavely.blogspot.com/2010/09/of-sweat-and-solitude-lesson-one.html">keep in step with the Spirit</a>." Listen closely to the quick, sharp lessons I learned when I first opened this book:</div><div><blockquote><span style="font-style:italic;">We need to ask ourselves: what is my ultimate aim and object in occupying my mind with these things? What do I intend to <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><b>do</b></span> with my knowledge about God, once I have got it? For the fact that we have to face is this: that if we pursue theological knowledge for its own sake, it is bound to go bad on us. It will make us proud and conceited. The very greatness of the subject-matter will intoxicate us, and we shall come to think of ourselves as a cut above other Christians because of our interest in it and grasp of it; and we shall look down on those whose theological ideas seem to us crude and inadequate, and dismiss them as very poor specimens...[1 Cor. 8:1]...To be preoccupied with theological knowledge as an end in itself, to approach Bible study with no higher motive than a desire to know all the answers, is the direct route to a state of self-satisfied self-deception</span>...<i>[The psalmist] wanted to understand God's truth in order that his heart might respond to it and his life </i><b>be conformed</b><i> to it. </i>[pp. 17-18]</blockquote><b>Knowledge mandates action.</b> Shoot. I wanted to fill myself with knowledge, and change nothing about the way I lived! I wanted to just get smarter! But it's fitting to learn lesson two immediately after lesson one. Consider: the Spirit is leading, and I know it. And if I know it, then I am <i>mandated</i> to act on it, by keeping in step with Him! </div><div><br /></div><div>James succinctly writes, <i>"Be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves,"</i> [1:22] and concludes, <i>"So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, to him it is sin."</i> [4:17]</div><div><br /></div><div>This lesson rocked me. No longer did I attempt to fill myself in order to satisfy my self-righteous, self-deceptive need to know <i>about</i> God. I genuinely wanted to <i>act </i>upon my meager, but hungry knowledge <i>of</i> God. And that changed everything...</div><div><br /></div><div>Looking back, I am surprised and amazed that God was teaching me these lessons in this order...because He wasn't done with me yet.</div>Taylor Reavelyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01805447097296796187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7028816537047463961.post-64706011972012361092010-09-01T23:32:00.000-07:002010-09-02T01:01:12.172-07:00of sweat and solitude: lesson one<div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.faithfamilyonline.com/Youth/k.gif"></a><b>Lesson One: Keep In Step</b><div><br /></div><div>Prior to leaving for Montana, I had pushed through the end of a book that radically changed the way I view the work of the Holy Spirit, and in fact, even His person: "Forgotten God" by Francis Chan.</div><div><br /></div><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="http://www.faithfamilyonline.com/Youth/Forgotten%20God.jpg" border="0" alt="" /><div><br /></div><div>I have heard the Spirit preached, and even memorized the fruit of the Spirit and the verse that immediately follows: "If we live by the Spirit, then let us keep in step with the Spirit..." (Gal. 5) But I had never actually thought about what it might mean to "keep in step." Nor had I understood why I got irritated when people would talk about "God's will for my life" or delay action, because they were waiting for God's 10-year-plan to be revealed. I just knew it didn't feel...right. And now I know why that way of thinking aggravates me, and I understand a little more what it means to "keep in step."</div><div><br /></div><div>Two things.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>1. Keeping in step is complete and immediate obedience</b>. God doesn't show people his whole plan for their life. He just doesn't work that way. If I kept waiting for "God's will for my life" to be revealed before I ever acted or did anything I deemed "risky," I would never do anything. Consider the life of Abraham. God told him to pack up and move-that was it. What did Abraham do? He packed up and moved. And he did so without sitting in his tent waiting to be shown: where he was going, how long he must travel, where he would sleep, how he would survive, what the costs/benefits would be, what would happen to his retirement, etc. To keep in step means to follow completely and immediately. Abraham moved all-the-way, and did so right away. If you are in step with the Spirit, don't worry about God's will for your life-you are automatically doing God's will! Don't use God's will as a cop out: keep in step.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>2. Keeping in step is synchronized and supernatural. </b>Have you ever followed someone on the beach, and tried to put your feet in their footprints, though you are so close behind you're filling the footprint they just made? It's hard. But it's synchronized. The same foot. The same place. The same stride. The same time their next foot lands. Your movements should be the same. The way your body even sways should be the same. In keeping in step with the Spirit, you're not the leader-you're the follower. But you're not a mile behind hopping around, hoping that you're running in the right set of footprints. You're completely and immediately following his every move. [That is probably sufficient labor on that illustration. Just one of my thoughts.]</div><div><br /></div><div>But there is something supernatural about keeping in step with the Spirit. When you are acting in the Spirit's power, in the Spirit's timing, people cannot explain the supernatural results. The success of the endeavor no longer is attributed to the character or charisma of you, but rather, is all directly pointed to God. Because it just doesn't make sense! (Acts 4:13.) If people can rationally explain away successes by your virtue or valor, then the glory is yours, not God's, and it's not a God-honoring endeavor. But, if, by faith to follow and grace to keep in step, the Spirit acts supernaturally and you get to be a part, then the glory is all his, and God is honored. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>My conclusion</b>, then, was this: if the Spirit leads, then I must follow. If I really live by the Spirit, I <i>will</i> keep in step. </div><div><br /></div><div>That freaked me out. How do I know where He's leading, and if it's even Him?! Well, I wasn't <i>too</i> worried, because I brought lots of sermons, and some killer books. And then I began to learn lesson number two.</div>Taylor Reavelyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01805447097296796187noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7028816537047463961.post-44906889177591582612010-08-31T00:21:00.000-07:002010-08-31T00:57:48.881-07:00of sweat and solitude: introductionTwo words came to mind when I thought of the lessons learned and the two months spent on the ranch in Eastern Montana this summer: <b>sweat</b> and <b>solitude</b>. I couldn't employ one without the other, for it would tell only half the story.<br /><br />This summer was drenched in <b>sweat</b>. Summer in <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?client=safari&rls=en&q=wibaux,+mt&oe=UTF-8&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=Wibaux,+Mt&gl=us&ei=L658TLyCI4zQsAOuwMyDBw&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CBgQ8gEwAA">Wibaux, MT</a> is hot and the labor is heavy. I have now spent two full summers ranching with my granddad, and have grown to appreciate hard work. Eight am to eight pm every day, all day. Hot, dirty, long, busy. Overheating tractors. Broken air-conditioner. Shadeless, cloudless afternoons. Alone, this element to my ranching experience would suggest that there would be no time or energy to do anything other than work [and the work never ends.] However, that is only half the story.<br /><br />This summer was soaked in <b>solitude</b>. The opportunity to steal away from populated busy-ness is rare, but God blessed me with that this summer. Though working long hours every day, many of those hours were spent without speaking a word. Many of those hours were spent without hearing a word. Many of those hours were spent without seeing a single soul. Many of those hours were spent listening to God's Word proclaimed through wise, godly men. Many of those hours were spent in prayer begging for grace. Many of those hours were spent examining my life. Alone, this other element to my ranching experience would suggest that I got no work done at all. But this, too, is only half the story.<br /><br />By grace, in <b>sweat</b> was <b>solitude</b>.<br /><br />There are 4 discreet and simultaneous lessons I learned this summer, each of which earns its own exposition. And these lessons were wrought by time spent saturated in <b>sweat</b> and <b>solitude</b>.Taylor Reavelyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01805447097296796187noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7028816537047463961.post-64726869003636628922010-06-23T11:47:00.000-07:002010-06-23T11:54:23.317-07:00old ironOn one occasion when <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Logan_Brengle">Samuel Brengle</a> was introduced as "the great Doctor Brengle," he noted in his diary: <blockquote>"If I appear great in their eyes, the Lord is most graciously helping me to see how absolutely nothing I am without Him, and helping me to keep little in my own eyes. He does use me. But I am so concerned that He uses me and that it is not of me the work is done. The axe cannot boast of the tress it has cut down. It could do nothing but for the woodsman. He made it, he sharpened it, and he used it. The moment he throws it aside; it becomes only <span style="font-weight:bold;">old iron</span>. O that I may never lose sight of this."</blockquote> O may I have perspective like this, attacking the roots of pride! <span style="font-style:italic;">Everything I am is because of Jesus. Jesus is everything.</span>Taylor Reavelyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01805447097296796187noreply@blogger.com0