All There Is

When I look around
And I see the sights and sounds
The people in the pews
Seem to be so glad
But it seems so sad
How many hear the news?

So very well they know
Jesus really loves us so
Is that all there is?
Say only a prayer
Heaven, you’ll be there
What is there to miss?

Chorus:
God said be perfect, be holy too
Give you the power, show you what to do
To let Him work, that’s what he needs
So our every hour, we do his deeds

Bridge:
Didn’t Jesus say something about
Having faith in him and living it out?
To come and pray
To worship in song
On Sundays tides us over
But isn’t it really wrong
When God says “give it over”
To keep on going our own way
And say:
I can’t help it, my old me
Makes me sin so constantly

God said be perfect, be holy too
Give you the power, show you what to do
To let Him work, that’s what he needs
So our every hour, we do his deeds

This might be news to you
Are you sitting in the pew
In the same routine?
Here is the good news
His strength you can use
Your life can be clean

God said be perfect, be holy too
Give you the power, show you what to do
To let Him work, that’s what he needs
So our every hour, we do his deeds
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Matthew 5:48; Romans 6:1-2; I Peter 1:16

Unstoppable

As I was sitting at a table at school with some of my acquaintainces recently, one of them remarked that he was unstoppable. I, trying to maintain some level of maturity in the conversation, replied, "No you're not."

He rejoined by saying, "If it wasn't for law enforcement and physics, I would be unstoppable."

My reply was simply that "If it wasn't for law enforcement and physics, you wouldn't exist."

After that point, the conversation quickly degenerated into a discussion over whether or not it was possible to exist without physics -- relatively pointless, and irrelevant to the point that I am making here.

That evening in Bible study, we read in Hebrews chapter 7 that Jesus Christ is made our high priest "after the power of an endless life." Now, it seems like the concept of immortality lies at the heart of what it means to defy physics -- since the most rigorously tested law of physics is that of entropy (everything breaks down over time) -- if I cannot kill you, there is not much that I can do to stop you.

The other concept that we saw in the book of Hebrews was that "the sceptre of his kingdom is a sceptre of righteousness;" which, when compared to the passage in I Timothy chapter 1, that "the law is not made for a righteous man," shows how the law had no hold on Jesus. Because he had never sinned, there was no way that any law enforcement could possibly have any claim on him.

So, while the guy at my table was by no means unstoppable, the God I serve is exactly that -- unstoppable. And even better than the fact that God is unstoppable, is the fact that He has graciously allowed us the opportunity to become partakers of His unstoppable power and nature (II Peter 1:3-4).

An Hour a Day, That's All

Last monday, after practicing patient assessment as part of our explorer scout program, the advisor of my scout post thought that we evidently needed more practice in that area (we did). He told us that it would be great if we could have the sheet that outlined the process (steps to take, questions to ask, decisions to make, etc.) by the next meeting. This was kind of unexpected, but not that unreasonable, as we probably should know the steps to go through in order to figure out what is wrong with someone. It was his next comment that I took especial note of -- he said that if we spent an hour a day reading over it and practicing going through it, we would have it down perfectly.

As I was driving home from school a few days ago, I was pondering the "hour a day" suggestion and suddenly had a thought -- do I spend an hour a day studying and practicing my relationship with God? How long do I actually spend studying the Word of God? Bible study is certainly far more important than studying patient assessment procedures: if it is good to spend an hour a day studying for explorer scouts, how much more time ought we to spend studying and building our relationship with the God of the universe? I figured that I average about 1 1/2 to 2 hours per day in Bible study (not including church meeting and Sunday school).

How much time do you devote to building your relationship with God?

I Just Wanna Know

Life's too short for small talk,
So don't be talking trivia now.
Excess baggage fills this plane:
There's more than we should ever allow.
There's engines stalling and good men falling,
But I ain't crawling away.

I just wanna know--am I pulling people closer?
I just wanna be pulling them to You.
I just wanna stay angry at the evil.
I just wanna be hungry for the true.

Folks play follow the leader,
But who's the leader gonna obey?
Will his head get big when the toes get tapping?
I just wanna know are they catching what I say?
I'm a little too young to introspect
And I surely haven't paid all my dues,
but there's death traps lying in those woods,
Most of 'em already been used!

I just wanna know--am I pulling people closer?
I just wanna be pulling them to You.
I just wanna stay angry at the evil.
I just wanna be hungry for the true.

Search me, Father, and know my heart;
Try me and know my mind.
And if there be any wicked way in me,
Pull me to the rock that is higher than I.

I just wanna know--am I pulling people closer?
I just wanna be pulling them to You.
I just wanna stay angry at the evil.
I just wanna be hungry for the true.
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Jesus open my eyes
To what you would want me to be.
Make me worthy to carry your name,
Though the world may put me to shame

Give me love in my heart
For those who hurt me, make me cry,
For they’re the reason why you died
And it was you who first loved me.

Give me a smile, make me happy all the while,
And give me the strength to see it through.
And give me success if you feel I should be blessed,
I want to give it all to you.
I want to give it all to you.

Jesus open my eyes...
_________________________________

After all the things that you have shown me,
I'd be a fool to let them slip away
In doing things I know I shouldn't do.
But I don't want to fall away from you,
From you.

After all,
I've only grieved Your spirit,
And then I don't know why You stay with me.
But every time I fall, Your love comes through,
And I don't want to fall away from You.

When the light is gone
And good times are getting old,
There's no one left to count on
And all my friends are cold:
When I thirst for love, oh Lord,
You're a fountain to my soul
My soul
My soul Oh Lord
My soul

In a way my life is full of burdens,
But in a way You carry them from me,
Jesus.
'Cause no one understands the way You do.
And you know Lord,
I don't want to fall away from You.

Well every day I pray to start anew,
'Cause I don't want to fall away from You.

No Lord
I don't wanna fall away from You
No Lord
I don't wanna fall away from You

From You...Lord
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[Thanks to Steve Taylor, Dave Mattson, and Keith Green for putting into words what I could never say so well.]