iCrucified

Archive for the ‘Random Thoughts’ Category

Pneuma-Somnambulism by Jeff Borden

(Spiritual – Sleepwalking)

As we journey this life, how many are sleepwalking through it?

How many of us live in a Matrix existence created by the media and the moguls of consumerism?

How many of us live in the nightmarish dream of our own individualism and ambition?

Are our thoughts of things that matter eternally… kept at bay with slight-of-hand distractions by the enemy of our soul?

Every time you attempt to awaken from your slumber of soul… are you rendered again, unconscious by the pied-piper of the American Dream?

We groan in the pangs of our own rebirth; terrified of what lies on the other side

We are strangled with anxiety and fear at the thought of losing control…as if we ever were in control in the first place; crippled with the illusion of our own self-sustaining power

We wrestle with shaking the slumber and cobwebs of confusion from our Intellect, the Master-mind of man, who with steely grip and maniacal tyranny controls the passions of our heart

Will we ever awaken?

Can we break free from the narco-hallucinogenic bondage of the adamic self?

A Rescuer beckons us; with kerygmatic boldness, His Spirit calls:

“Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”

Awaken O Sleeper, Awaken.

“..everything exposed by the light becomes visible,  for it is light that makes everything visible. This is why it is said: “Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is…” Ephesians 5:13-17

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Here is a collection of quotes that I have read over the past few weeks.

“God is a clever designer of crosses. Some are heavy as iron or lead. Others are as light as straw…In spite of their great variety, crosses have two things in common. They are hard to carry and they crucify.” ~Francois Fenelon

“Blessed are those whom God corrects; …For he wounds, but he also binds up; he injures, but his hands also heal.” (Job 5:17-18) “He has torn us to pieces but he will heal us; He has injured us but he will bind up our wounds.” (Hosea 6:1)

Then I read this “jaw-dropper” from Martin Luther today…

“When God wants to build people up, He first tears them down. When God wants to heal, He first breaks in pieces. Whom God wants to bring to life, He first kills.” ~Martin Luther

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I have quite a few photos that I never posted over the Summer… I had stuff going on that was pressing for my attention and never really got around to it. I seem to be finding “holes” in my schedule now (Thank you Jesus) and will try to upload them into galleries for viewing as I get the chance. Here is a gallery from a local Balloon Festival in Dansville, NY. We got up early one morning during this three day event and were treated to some cool sights and colorful balloons.

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I have just been in love with the heart for worship that Phil Wickham has. I was introduced to his music and ministry when he put up a free download of night of worship he recorded called Singalong. It immediately became one of my favorite worship CD’s and remains so even today. I can’t say enough good things about his music and songwriting. I know that  melody and lyric interpretation are subjective from one person to another, but you’ll just have to try a listen for yourself if you aren’t familiar with Phil.

He is coming into his next release (mid-November), but has made a prerelease sale available to persons who’d like to get their ears on Heaven & Earth before it hits the stores. Phil has packaged the bargain of the century together for “early listeners” offering a full digital download of the studio version, an acoustic recording (my favorite) of the same, and the hard copy of the CD and a T-shirt will be shipped on its release date in Nov. all for $25.00 THAT’s: 2 Cd’s, a T-shirt, and a signed copy when its released for 25 bucks.  I’m telling you it’s worth it…for what that’s worth.

Here’s a link to his website for the presale and a couple of vids about one of my favorite songs “Eden”

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Bleh.

I don’t like distractions.

I don’t like that I don’t like distractions.

I know enough to know that each and every distraction holds within it the opportunity to grow spiritually and to bring glory to God. So, distractions bug me. They bug me because they remind me of how messed up I am…when I think of my own discomfort or inconvenience before asking God what His intent for the distraction is (was) for in the first place.

He is Sovereign. He is Omniscient…

I think, many times… My distraction is His attempt to get my attention. I should worry less and be perturbed less with the distraction. I should be joyful that my God loves me enough to distract me… and, I should seek to gain that for which He distracted me in the first place.

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Days 8 & 9: Catching Up…

Sorry for the lack of updates the past couple of days. It has been a very busy and family-filled blur. The weekend was great…meeting all my expectations and then some. I so much enjoyed talking to my relatives and catching up on their lives. I didn’t mislead you with the promise of pictures either; I have well over 200 that I still have yet to go through. The pictures require cropping and editing to bring out the most in them, so it will probably be a little while before I can sit down to do all that. I promise to share them when the editing gets completed though; “cross my heart.”

I picked out a few pictures to include in this post to tie you over until I can put up more for a slideshow. Most of these are cousins, nephews, and a niece with an uncle thrown in for good measure. I look forward to sharing more in the coming days; I’m really pleased about what I was able to capture with my camera, lots of memories.

Well, I think it’s time to get cleaned up. I have been left behind by my family. My dad took the boys out to lunch and a movie; my mom took Laurie, my sister, and my sister-in-law out for a “girl’s afternoon out.” I’m not sure how I got abandoned, but I’m thinking I shouldn’t let this opportunity pass. I’ll go hit up Popeye’s Chicken or a BBQ buffet where no one will keep score on what I get to eat (wink).

We take Stefan and Garrett to Jackson, MS tomorrow for the next leg of their summer adventure (they’re heading out to LAX for the Summer X-Games). I don’t know if I’ll be able to update the blog before now and tomorrow night, but I’ll try to post up something. Until then, Peace!

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I ran across this quote from Brennan Manning in The Ragamuffin Gospel today —

“Often I have been asked, ‘Brennan, how is it possible that you became an alcoholic after you got saved?’ It is possible because I got battered and bruised by loneliness and failure; because I got discouraged, uncertain, guilt-ridden, and took my eyes off Jesus. Because the Christ-encounter did not transfigure me into an angel.”

I get this; I know how it is possible. I have taken my eyes off Jesus more times than I want to admit…it brings tears of sorrow and regret to my even now thinking about it. Dear God,  Lord Jesus, by Your mercy and grace and the indwelling power of Your Holy Spirit help me to keep my eyes fixed on You. Help me to show compassion and gentleness to those who “take their eyes off You” dispensing mercy and grace as You have so freely given me. Thank You, Jesus, for loving me. [Amen]

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Monday was a long day full of airports (Buff, JFK, Salt Lake, and John Wayne Int”l) and lots of airmiles. We started with a 2am wakeup on Monday and I never hit the pillow until 11pm…it was a “beater” day to say the least. Tuesday (yesterday) was great in a number of ways; beginning with a visit to the super hospitable people of Northcoast Church in Vista, CA. We met with and talked about ministry, small group relationships, multi-site campuses, and got to sit in on a developmental “round-table” session while we were with them. It was a very encouraging and inspiring visit.

After we finished up at Northcoast, we headed south to San Diego and ventured out to Point Loma and the Cabrillo Nat’l Monument which has a world class view. Unfortunately, the photo opportunities were somewhat limited due to the haze and the time of day (taking photos during the middle of the day with the sun glare at full intensity is extremely challenging). I did grab a few shots though, and have put together a little slide show below you can look through.

Later, I managed to connect with my friend Nate. I met up with Nate in Huntington Beach for some dinner and great conversation. The Huntington Beach experience was pretty neat and I’d like to go back to kind of soak in the culture a bit, although I don’t think the opportunity will present itself for the remainder of this trip due to our busy schedule…nonetheless, the evening was great and the “Taco Tuesday” at Fred’s was awesome. I had a Grilled Mahi Fish taco and Shrimp taco as part of my supper. It was incredible!

Today we head out to the Cornerstone Church in Simi California and then on to the Reagan Ranch for a little sightseeing jaunt. The Catalyst Conference starts tonight with a “pre-conference mixer” at 6pm. I’ll try to snag some more pictures and post another update for tomorrow. Peace!

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(looks at watch…) 3:00am

Yep, it really is this early. I’m packed and heading out for the Catalyst Conference in Irvine, California. I have lots of stuff (meetings, visits, and the conference itself) planned for the next week and really looking forward to it. Today is a super long day of travel, but the typical coast-to-coast by wagon train in the 1800’s used to take weeks or even months…so, who’s complaining (smile).

Anyway, I’m taking my camera and computer with me and hope to blog about the trip to keep everyone back home and in my little blogging world in the 411 about our little adventure. We would appreciate your thoughts and prayers for us while away. Peace!

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What do people want from your church website; this one is a link tag for me too.

There have been some interesting articles posted on thoughts concerning the collapse of evangelicalism… Personally, I think the times “they are a changin’” and we’ll see significant differences in the way we express our faith. I hope we become what I believe Jesus intended, much more organic and holistic in how the gospel affects our lives. Here are a few thoughts from Michael (imonk) Spencer and Mark (Jesus mean and wild) Galli. Another interesting post that might shed light on what’s fueling the collapse (if there is indeed a collapse coming).

I’ve blogged about youversion.com on icrucified, but I just found the latest in online spiritual journaling in examen.me and I like it! Churchcrunch blog has an article about it and a few screenshots if you need an overview, but this looks like a great little tool. I’ve already setup an account and plan to use it for my own prayer and lectio reflections.

What are doing to communicate the message entrusted to you? Kem Meyer links us to a thought-provoking example.

I’m a reader; are you a reader? I found a cool website I was unaware of until I was reading thoughts from one of my much frequented blog sites (Trevin Wax – Kingdom People). Check it out, maybe you’ll like it too.

I like Jared’s blog. Check out a couple of his posts here and here.

I can’t pass up anything I find on Martyn Lloyd-Jones…especially when I see him mentioned with the words “baptism of the Holy Spirit.”

Take a cruise around the Neue site; lots of interesting stuff.

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