Times, They Are a Changin

Here is a link to my escapades over this past weekend. If you scroll down you can see pics.

It has been a fast and furious few days around IHOP and our house. Yesterday was my 34th birthday, and at one point, I told Rachel that it did feel a lot different turning 34 vs. 33. For some odd reason, when I turned 33 I felt like I was on the cusp of something. While it could be argued that this is the case right now in many ways, it doesnt have the same effect as a year ago. I suppose it is because a year ago we were without direction while right now, we clearly now the direction we are going, but could not tell you were the train ride (or should I say rollercoaster) ends.

The rollercoaster part brings up a good point. Not long ago, we heard the director of hte Forerunner Music Academy (Derek Loux) talk about living a life by faith. He compared that lifestyle to that of riding a rollercoaster. Some days you are going uphill and it feels like the weight of the world and all it's pressures and stresses are pulling you backwards. Other days, you are at the top of the hill and you can see for miles in all directions. Then there are those days that you are about to rocket down the other side. Similar to the Splash Mountain ride at Disney land, you can't see the bottom of the hill as you are plumetting at the speed of sound. It creates faith in God that he is going to take care of us. He has our best interest in mind.

This is where Rachel and I see ourselves right now. At the top of the hill. We have given ourselves to the leap of faith it takes for the next "phase" of life to occur, but this does not make it any easier for us. There are a ton of uncertainties. As a good friend of mine calls aprt of what we are looking at, "A big hairy gorilla". The best part though, is that God beat Goliath.

Faith is a great thing to ponder. This past weekend we taught our 4-5 year old class about the armor of God found in Ephesians 6. As we went 1 by 1 through all the pieces there were a couple really interesting points that hit home to me. I love when as I teach the little guys I get ministered to as well. the first point was this, the shield of faith. It is our faith that provides a shield around us as we pray. We believe that God is going to answer our prayers according to His will. It is almost as if there were an invisible force field like a Star Trek cloaking device around us. Our faith in God protects us from the lies of the enemy. It even combats the lies and strengthens us.

Second point was that all but one part of the armor is defensive. I suppose that it could be argued that the boots to spread the gospel are offensive because it is forwarding the kingdom of God. However, one part that is for sure an offensive weapon is the Sword. The sword refers to the Word of God. The Bible. Every word of it is true and can cotradict the best of the enemies lies. Recently, I ws provoked by someone that compared what muslims extremists teach their kids with guns and terror tacticts while we teach kids with coloring pages and puppets. He then went on to add we should be teaching the Bible. So that we can fire back at them love, intercession (prayer), and quote the prophecies(promises) of the Bible. Just take a moment and pnder that. See how provoked you get.

Here is my last thought. The Day of the Lord is both terrible and great, who can endure it? That question was posed to the believers of God 1000's of years ago. I am asking myself as i ask you, are you in a place right now to say yes to that question? If not, what are you going to do about it?