show and tell.

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...

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.

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.

Show. AND. Tell.

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all glory be to Christ.

This New Years we started a new tradition, singing "All Glory Be To Christ" as the clock strikes midnight.

The tune is set to the traditional New Years song, "Auld Lang Syne," but the words communicate someone infinitely more glorious:

Should nothing of our efforts stand
No legacy survive
Unless the Lord does raise the house
In vain its builders strive 

To you who boast tomorrow's gain
Tell me, what is your life?
A mist that vanishes at dawn
All glory be to Christ 

All glory be to Christ our King
All glory be to Christ
His rule and reign will ever sing
All glory be to Christ 

His will be done, His kingdom come
On earth as is above
Who is Himself our daily bread
Praise Him the Lord of Love 

Let living water satisfy
The thirsty without price
We'll take a cup of kindness yet
All glory be to Christ 

All glory be to Christ our King
All glory be to Christ
His rule and reign will ever sing
All glory be to Christ 

When on that day the great I AM
The faithful and the true
The Lamb who was for sinners slain
Is making all things new 

Behold our God shall live with us
And be our steadfast light
And we shall e'er His people be
All glory be to Christ 

All glory be to Christ our King
All glory be to Christ
His rule and reign will ever sing
All glory be to Christ

If anything good happens to you this year, it is because Jesus was gracious to you, therefore, "All glory be to Christ."

If you meet any of your "new year's resolutions" this year, it is because Jesus helped you, therefore,  "All glory be to Christ."

All glory be to Christ.


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why (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!

When tragedy strikes people, so frequently we hear the question "Why me?"

More and more, though, my heart seems to scream at me in the midst of this mess and say: "Taylor, why not you?" Why were you spared when you drove on ice? Why did you get out of the mall ten minutes before gunshots? Why did you live through your elementary school years?

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.

That is my only hope.

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winter youth celebration.

I am so pumped to lead worship for the Winter Youth Celebration in Portland this year!

The central idea of the conference is to unleash high schoolers on mission.

As a worship leader, I'm always thinking:
How can I help the message?
How can I sing the message?
How can I preach as I sing?
How can I respond to what was just preached as I sing?

The answer to those questions generally determines the songs that I'll select before and after the message.

In this case, they determine the songs for a conference.

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.

Check it. Learn it.

Here and Now.
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great things. great god.

"Let angels sing for
     sinners repenting,
     prodigals restored,
     backsliders reclaimed,
     Satan's captives released,
     blind eyes opened,
     broken hearts bound up,
     the despondent cheered,
     the self-righteous stripped,
     the formalist driven from a refuge of lies,
     the ignorant enlightened,
     and saints built up in their holy faith.
I ask great things of a great God."

- Valley of Vision, p.9 "The Great God"

What do you pray for?

Little things?
Simple things?
Meaningless things?

I hear myself praying for food. For a good day. For productivity. For energy. For happiness.

What of it?!

I now choose to ask great things of a great God.


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the best thing.

The best thing happened to me today.

Today, I am a married man.

Meet my wife.

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community.

The Gospel of Jesus is a remedy for life alone because it creates a community of people.

This community exists because of the Gospel and to demonstrate the Gospel.

This community exists because the Gospel is true.
This community demonstrates the Gospel is true by:
     Proclamation. (1 Peter 2:9)
     Lifestyle. (1 Peter 2:11-12)
     Love for each other. (1 Peter 2:1)
     Cooperation with each other. (1 Corinthians 12:12)

If you follow Jesus, you join a bunch of other people.

Follow Jesus well.


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oh darling, let's be adventurers.

My fiancé recorded her account of the day I asked her to marry me.

You should read it here.

It is eloquent. Poetic. Beautiful.

This will be the best adventure of my life!



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humility. 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, A Gospel Primer

1. Buy A Gospel Primer. Now.
2. Preach the Gospel to yourself. Every Day.
3. Assassinate pride. Immediately.
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humility.

"Humility - Honestly assessing ourselves in light of God's holiness and our sinfulness." - C.J. Mahaney

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.

"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

Woe is me!

I do not say those words nearly enough.

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a bigger picture.

"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."

Ezra Taft Benson

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.

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all 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."

Dag Hammerskjold

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be patient. fight on.

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.

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this i call to mind

"my soul is bereft of peace;

i have forgotten what happiness is;

so i say, 'my endurance has perished;

so has my hope from the LORD.'

remember my affliction

and my wanderings,

the wormwood and the gall!

my soul continually remembers it

and is bowed down within me.

but this i call to mind,

and therefore i have hope:

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you've won again

You've Won Again

Words and Music by Taylor Reavely (c) 2011

If I would tell the story

Of Your great love for me

I'd have to start before I'd

Ever come to be

Before the world the founded

You'd written down my name

You'd made a plan to save me

Defeat death and the grave

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be still

Be still, my soul

Be quiet and wait

In silence rest

For God shall save

You troubled heart

Why do you weep

Do you know God

Do you know peace

Be still

And know that I am God

Be silent

For hope is not lost

Be quiet

And still I hear your cry

Be still

For I am on your side

Amid the waves

Amid the flood

Your hand is stretched

And Your promise good

Oh I believe

But help my unbelief

And let me hear You

Hear You speak

So why do I worry

And why do I fear

‘Cause I am so noisy

I cannot hear

Your voice in the whisper

“Do not be afraid

For I am still faithful

And mighty to save”

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shaken

Fighting to see the light

With a mask over my eyes

My world seems oh so frail

Behind this shallow veil

There is something still

At odds against my will

Warring to do right

On a battlefield of night

Quietly a thorn is growing in the recess of my heart

Jesus, please remove it and remind me who You are

That I may see Your beauty and the wonder of Your grace

And remember why I’m fighting for the One who took my place

You are my Salvation

I am not forsaken

You are my Foundation

I will not be shaken.

Fighting for the King

I give my everything

But all I am is Yours’

To You I look for more

Grace in every station

I place my expectation

Trusting You to conquer

My feeble heart grows stronger

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my seared conscience

1 Timothy 4:2 ... "Whose consciences are seared."

"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."

John Gibbon, Puritan Sermons 1659-1689, 1:96-100

Taken from:
Voices from the Past: Puritan Devotional Readings
Edited by Richard Rushing
Published by Banner of Truth
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people-influencers not debate-winners

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.

- John Piper of John Newton

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of sweat and solitude: lesson four

Lesson Four: Talk to the One You Love

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."

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.

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:

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 talk to the one I love!

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 talk to the one I love!

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!

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 talk to the one I love!

So, the simple conclusion is this: if you love someone, you will talk to them. So, talk to the One you love.

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