Comfort

"What if comfort in this life isn't the supreme value in the universe? What if hunger, and disaster now are meant to help us towards humility and faith, and what if God has amazing things in store for those who trust him now even if this world turns out to be very unpleasant for them? Christ knows suffering very well, therefore God has not exempt even himself from suffering. Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of God."

Could we wrap our minds around this? We sure are whacked when we have this idea: not only that we are the center of the universe but also that our comfort and happiness are the most important things in life. It just so happens that true happiness is achieved in trusting God and a relationship with Him. But this idea that we should never be pushed and that we have rights to not being interfered with is foolishness. God created everything. He can do whatever He wants and what He wants is to refine our sinfulness and give us the only thing that will satisfy us.. and that is Himself. If there were something better that He could point us to, He would! But He is the most supreme thing. Suffering, although appearing unpleasant, should be our joy. It reminds us what our purpose is on earth and who we serve.

Rough Patches

I hate to play off a Kelly Clarkson song, but does what doesn't kill you really make you stronger? I'm completely burnt out on work and school, and I have had to deal with some adversity in my personal life too! I can't help but think about how tough it is. Luckily, I have a good family to encourage me in Christ and even tell me how bad they had it to help me to see that my life isn't so bad after all.

If one thing is true, it is that I can't wait for Christ to completely rid me of my sinful thoughts and to give me a perfect body. I pray that God would not give me up to whatever I want. I pray that I would be obedient to what God has called me to do. I need to love and serve others and to stay rooted in the Word. This is only a season in my life. I can be grateful for times like these, because God is at work refining me. Glory to God!

Spoiler Alert

Tonight I avoided writing a paper to watch NBA playoff basketball. I then chose to watch "The Vow" instead of watching basketball because that is what my mom wanted to do. I'll just say that watching the movie was very frustrating, but well worth it! Especially to hang out with my mom!

Okay so I can't watch a movie without thinking about how it relates to the gospel, so here it goes. The wreck is similar to how God initiates salvation. He shatters our former life. He changes the way things were before. He changes your heart. Ultimately, He makes you want Him and want to love Him.

Not only does He change our heart, but He makes things new. Before, Paige had left her family unreconciled and on her own terms, but after the wreck, she is reconciled with her family and she has a better love for Leo. Similarly, God is making all things new. Not just our lives and how we love others, but the earth. He uses us as people who restore His creation and in the end, He is coming back with a new heavens and earth.

I would be remiss if I didn't compare how Leo pursues Paige as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her. But Christ is so much better and so much more committed than Leo is. We all fall short of Christ, but it goes back to the restoration aspect. In the end, when Christ comes back, we will get new bodies and we will be like Him. Can't wait!

A Good Love Song

Okay, so I got a little busy. I'm probably will not get to write about all the songs on Church Clothes. But today, I've been thinking about "Special" and what it means.

It is not your everyday love song that points out superficial things that a dude likes about a girl. It's not a guy bragging about how he "got" this girl to all his buddies. It's not about making love. It's not about how the girl looks. Nope, none of that.

"She made me want to get down on a knee, she made me want to share everything I own,
  I was praying for a 10, but I found the one,
  And no girl compares to my virtuous love,
  Cuz what we got is truly something special, truly something special,truly something special, truly something special."

Lecrae goes on to say that the love he has for I'm assuming his wife is not something you see on the streets and that it is "no one's business what they do between the sheets" and that the love they have is real, it's no "Mona Lisa". There has been a lot of "blood, sweat, and tears" meaning it has not been easy.

"I respect you too much, I don't see you as my equal,
I see you as myself, me and you we the same people,
the way you let me lead you, that's why I need you,...

You not perfect, you not perfect, but you work it girl,
And you don't need a job unless  you feel like workin' girl,
Ain't worried about your past, I'm focused on our future lady..."

He goes on to establish that he and his wife trust eachother. He is describing the "onefleshness" of being married.

"I love your mind more than the way you dress head over heels"

He says that he gives her time, attention, and faithfulness instead of expensive gifts. He adds that when she gets upset and bothers him... his response is gonna stay and he can't wait " to date ya when your 60 and your hair is gray"

"..we the best we will ever be minus me first,
til they burry me, you will always be my lady,
and leaving you is like leaving myself, it's crazy!"

Those were a lot of random lines from the song, but the point is this: he is describing the way that a man should love a woman. The bible makes it very clear what the relationship looks like. It doesn't look like what American culture has made it look like; it looks like the relationship of Christ and the church.

My second thought was special too. Why did God design for man and woman to be together? Ultimately it was for His pleasure and our pleasure and for our good! If the sovereign God of the universe intended to sanctify me through a union with a woman, then isn't that exactly what is going to happen? How can I doubt this will happen? How can I not trust that God will provide such a helper for me? I take great hope in my Lord! He will provide a woman for me in His timing for my sanctification. Of this I am sure! Praise God! Can't wait for what He has in store for me.

In the meantime... I'm praying. Maybe not for a 10 (although a 10 would be nice haha) but for a godly woman who is committed to serving.

Church Clothes- Title Song

Lecrae does something neat here. He writes the song from the perspective of a person that has been hurt by the church and tells of how hypocritical the church can be.

But then he starts saying "there better not be no real church, with real saints that pray hard..there better not be no real folk that think they better than you...no, we don't want to see that cuz that might mean a life change, that might mean i work more..."

He says that if God is real and if there is real forgiveness, then he guesses that he already has his church clothes on... as in, it doesn't matter what you've done or what you look like, you are accepted by God!

APB

This is the second song on the mixtape. Very catchy.

This song gives you a glimpse of a growing up in "the hood".

But Lecrae doesn't let that distract from the gospel. It doesn't matter where you've been, God meets you where you are at and opens your eyes to him.

"There could have been the end dog, one way, hell's gates, But the Lord,stepped in, chose to show grace"

The song talks about how that old person is gone. That sinful person can't be found. It talks about how Jesus changed his life and he is a new person.

Co-Sign

This is the first song on the mixtape. Here, Lecrae sets the stage for the whole set of songs. He begins by saying, "everybody tries to put him in a box". I think he is referring to both christians and secular people. Everyone has opinion on his music. Some christians love his music and the passion that he has and the sound theology contained in his songs(I'm in this category). Other christians cannot get past the fact that it is rap music and the whole hip hop culture, so his music falls on deaf ears(these people are probably ones that think hymns are the only form of music that isn't sinful). Lastly, you have secularists that like the way the music sounds, but they don't fully appreciate the message of the gospel that is being spit out through his music. Although I have defined three groups of people here, you could probably subdivide these groups into smaller groups, but for the sake of time, I will just leave it at three.

Lecrae is appealing to the last group of people mentioned, secularists. He is making the case that he understands hip hop and that "we got the same momma". He is establishing that he is going to bring it and that he can hold his own. They cannot ignore him, he can't be ignored.

Favorite Lines:

"I speak an ancient language,they don't understand me, it's called the truth, i break it down, they try to reprimand me"

"I am not insane, product of the culture, I'm what happens when Outcast meets the writings of Moses, the views are opposing, but they correlate, and me and Christ don't match, but we coordinate."

"I'm just a product of grace bringing hope to the hopeless"

Church Clothes

What I am going to do is a little crazy. Lecrae came out with his mixtape on Thursday. It is very different, yet the same as his other music. He does a great job of presenting the gospel but it is geared toward a hip hop culture audience more than his other music.

I would like to do a synopsis of each song, but I don't know if I can. So we will see what happens. Here it goes!

So I Finally Get It

I was wondering why I was growing so much spiritually. Little did I know, God was prepping my heart for something bigger. He was working for something greater. I've never truly failed at anything before (except maybe relationships haha). Man, I needed this. How does that humble pie taste, Mark?

Well I'm so glad you asked, it tastes great. The bottom line is I'm at peace with it. God must be praised in this situation. I refuse to do anything but run to the cross. You think that you could coast through life without troubles? Ha! How arrogant. The fact that God doesn't just destroy all of us right now is a testament to His love. I choose to boast in my God for everything He is teaching me and doing in my life.
In fact, I will not call this suffering. There are people being persecuted right this second for the faith. This is a little speed bump, and I hope one day I will be refined through being persecuted for His glory.

I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living! Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD! Psalm 27:13-14

What am I going to do? I'm going to rest in God and wait for the Lord.

"Come get me Lord, Please come get me!"

Refuge and Strength

I took Tax Accounting over the spring semester. I worked my butt off and for the first time in my life, I did not receive the grade I needed to pass the class. I received a "D" to be exact. As Lecrae would say, "Breath. Takin'."

I really did work hard, but it just was not enough. What is a guy to do? I showed up for class everyday. I made flashcards. Studied in the library everyday. Talked with the teacher numerous occasions. Participated in class. The nine yards and a bag of chips. The fact of the matter is: I did not get a "C" even though I feel like I knew the material.

What a humbling experience. Funny thing is that God will only be glorified in this situation. He has been prepping my heart for this. I'm starting to memorize Psalm 46.

I'll quote what I know so far.

"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea..."

Just a nugget there. Hope to have the whole thing down soon.

The Light

About a month ago, I went to Auburn's spring football game. I left really early in the morning. The sun had not even come up yet. As I saw the sun coming up, I was keenly aware of a couple of things. Once I got a picture of the significance of these things as it applies to the gospel, it stirred my affections for Him. First of all, the presence of darkness filled the air. Everything was hidden. I was craving light. Things creep in the dark. Stuff is hidden. Just like in the christian life before we come to Christ. Think John 3:19-20. People love the darkness more than the light. Our deeds are evil. We are sinful. We foolishly think we are hiding our actions from God. We do things because we don't think anyone sees. If some people had their way, the sun would never come up! No one wants to be exposed and face judgment by others. The sun started to hover and slowly to bring night to day. Everything became clear around me. I was able to easily see my surroundings. Once the sun was fully up, there was no need for any of the cheap manmade imitations at lights. This is such a big analogy to tackle. I'm not going to do it justice.

Can you see the sun being the Son of God? Yeah, that's right. The true Light, Jesus! We were in the dark. We were in bad shape, totally depraved. We were hiding in the dark, looking for hope, but never going to find it. Jesus comes as the Light, ultimately dies on the cross for our sins and gives us hope! Before, we didn't have a way to God and were lost in death. The prophets predicted his coming(sun slowly coming up), John the Baptist prepared the way(sun getting higher) and finally Jesus came( sun is high noon). Fully God, fully man, Jesus shatters all of the preconceived notions of what life is about and changes hearts.

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.
The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God."

(John 1:1-13 ESV)

Sin will not win. Darkness will not prevail. Even the wages of sin, death, will not stop us. Because of the love God has for us and His predetermined plan to draw people to himself for His glory, we have been changed by His grace! Because Christ did the work and accomplished atonement on the cross, we can have a relationship with God. We can do what God designed us to do: praise and glorify Him. Be encouraged because the Light has come into the world and the darkness has not overcome it! We are Christ's! We no longer live for ourselves, but we live for the sake of His name.

This analogy can be taken several more directions. I'm going to stop there for now.

It's been awhile...

Okay, so it has been over a year since I've posted anything to this blog. A lot of things have changed,  and I have had a lot less free time. One thing has remained though and that is God's faithfulness in sanctifying me.

As of late God has been using scripture, good books, music, long runs, roadtrips, hard days at work, school...(I could go on forever) to renew my mind. Too much has been revealed for me not to share it with people. I don't know if anyone will read my posts and that is okay, but I am going to make an effort to post some of the things I have been meditating about on here.

I've always got my twitter updated and facebook fresh, but those aren't the avenues to share what I've got brewing in my mind. Glory be to God for whatever He works in me. Accountability would be great if I say something that doesn't line up with His word. Feel free to comment or correct!

Account of Creation

So I decided to randomly read through the first two chapters of Genesis and I am thinking how cool it is that the Creator of the everything provided a written account of how He created everything. He provides details (exs. creating man from dust, taking a rib from man to create woman) and talks about the order of creation. I am not the sharpest tool in the shed, heck I'm not even enough of a tool to be in the shed period, but I take delight in this portion of scripture. I do not comprehend everything about it. God provides details here in the first two chapters, yet He does not give everything away. For instance, was each day an actual day in the sense of the day we have now, or was a day representative of millions of years? Genesis names the Tigris and the Euphrates Rivers which are still in the middle east today. There is an element of mystery here, but at the same time there is an element of tangible fact. Praise God for His word!

Momma Said There'd Be Nights Like This

Okay as most of you know, I am the Pepsi drink machine filler upper at Pace High School. I usually have to fill the machines up late at night at the school because school doesn't get out until 4 and I have some other responsibilities to do before I do the job. Wednesdays are big shipment days, so I usually work past midnight on Wednesday nights after church. My mom has begged me for years telling me that it is creepy up at the school late at night and that weird things happen. From my experience, I would have to agree with her. The janitors are creepy (but nice once you get to know them) and there are many ghostly sounds when you are the only one at the school. By now, I have pretty much gone numb to all of the terror that goes on in an abandoned school at midnight. Or so I thought.....Tonight, a new level of creepiness was achieved.

It had been a long day of school, church, and work and I was making my last round of checkups when I noticed a white car in the back of the school near the 700 building. I'm no Shawn Spencer, but my detective skills starting flickering in my head. Sure enough, the light I had left on in building 700 was no longer on. I was starting to wonder, but I figured I was almost done and that I would fill this last machine up. As I began to unlock the door to building 700, I noticed a black blob hunched over near the boys bathroom. At first, I didn't pay any attention to it (cuz I'm numb to creepiness?No! cuz I was stupid!) but then the black blob stood up and said "oh s@!$" as loud as I have ever heard those two words said before. For some reason, I continued to unlock the door and go inside. It was like those horror movies when the person is about to walk right into the hands of the killer and die and you think to yourself, Don't go there idiot! That's where the killer is!

I don't even turn the lights on, it is just me and this psycho. It turns out the black blob has a pair of car charger cables and a crowbar and he had been trying to bust open the Pepsi machine (and he would have been successful if it wasn't for those kids and their dog, aka ME!) to get change. The dude said "My car just broke down man and I need some change because I don't think I can get back to Pensacola." At this point, I just want to get out of there. I should be thinking, What if this guy has a gun? or Am I going to die? but instead I'm thinking, I can't let this guy ruin the Pepsi machine!

Luckily, my instincts kick in and I say "They emptied the change from this machine today, so there isn't any change in there and I don't have any change on me man, I wish I could help ya." The guy replies," This isn't me man, you know what I mean..." No, I don't know what you mean. It's midnight and you broke into a school to break into a drink machine to get change for who knows what. I said," Yeah I know what ya mean, I wish I could help you, but I don't have my cellphone." The stranger said some expletives and and then started towards the door. He then turned around and went back to the machine and yanked out his tools out of the side of the machine. I slowly unplugged my ipod (Coldplay, how fitting for the occasion ha!) and stood there watching him in disbelief and surveying the damage he had done to the machine. We said our goodbyes and as he left into the dead frigid night, I said, "Best of luck to you man, I'm sorry."

This guy was probably addicted to drugs or alcohol. The stench of his clothes told me as much and it looked like he hadn't bathed in weeks. This man was willing to do a lot to get a few quarters, but what this man really needed was Jesus. How can we get to such a low point and so enslaved to something that we are willing to go this low? I know this man can be delivered, because I have witnessed the power of God in my own life and I know He can transform lives. I was once enslaved to sin, but God made me alive to Himself and now I walk in freedom! I'll probably never see this man again. Will he ever know the hope that is Jesus Christ? Only God knows.

After the man left, I filled the machine up and locked everything up and went home. Tonight was kind of scary, but it was a testimony of God's grace in my life. He showed me mercy in the guy not hurting me. I'm a very blessed man! As it turns out, my mom was right about the school late at night and she is wiser than I ever believed.

Self Denial

"Don't be fooled by the psychobabble that teaches we must first learn to love ourselves in order to become whole. Nowhere in Scripture are we commanded to love ourselves. We love ourselves too much as it is. In fact, we give ourselves the benefit of the doubt in almost every possible instance. We blame conflicts on others while flattering ourselves for having noble intentions. If we only extended to others the same grace we grant ourselves...what a wonderful world it would be."

Discernment

Went to the discernment retreat for all the sovereign grace churches in north florida this weekend. It was awesome. There was great fellowship with the Redeemer guys. I felt very freed up in worship too. Aron Osborne spoke on the topic of discernment for three sessions. It was a lot to take in. He used the first couple of chapters of Daniel and 1st John as texts. I have a lot of room to grow in this area. I need God's help when it comes to making wise decisions. I don't really feel the weight of the decisions that I make sometimes! #YIKES I want to be a man of God and I want to honor God in my thoughts and actions. Sometimes my life doesn't match up to that and I miss an opportunity to make much of God.

This verse was stuck in my head this weekend:

"For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison." 2 Corinthians 4:17

I'm not going through anything like Daniel went through, but it brings a smile on my face to think of the glory that I will see when I see God.

The Saving One by Starfield

What mercy was revealed
What selflessness and peace
My fate was surely sealed
Until He rescued me
His pardon for my sin
His bounty for my need
From slavery and shame
I am redeemed

And Heaven can't contain
The glory of the Son
Jesus is the Christ, the saving One
His love has made a way
The grave is overcome
Jesus is the Christ, the saving One

No fear can hold me down
Nor darkness steal my joy
For blood has been poured out
The enemy destroyed
Death could not hold Him down
The cross was not enough
To steal away His throne
For He is God

And Heaven can't contain
The glory of the Son
Jesus is the Christ, the saving One
His love has made a way
The grave is overcome
Jesus is the Christ, the saving One

Anyone who calls upon His name
They will be saved
They will be saved
Anyone who calls upon His name
They will be saved
They will be saved

And Heaven can't contain
The glory of the Son
Jesus is the Christ, the saving One
His love has made a way
The grave is overcome
Jesus is the Christ, the saving One [x2]

Anyone who calls upon His name
They will be saved
They will be saved
Anyone who calls upon His name
They will be saved
They will be saved

Preach the Gospel to Yourself Every Day

"So if we want to grow in our love for God and in the acceptable obedience that flows out of that love, we must keep coming back to the Cross and the cleansing blood of Jesus Christ. That is why it is so important that we keep the gospel before us every day. Because we sin every day, and our consciences condemn us every day, we need the gospel every day." Jerry Bridges

The blood of Christ has covered my sins. The only way I can love God is to embrace what He did for me through the cross!

Transformed into His Likeness

"No sin can be crucified either in heart or life, unless it be first pardoned in conscience; because there will be want of faith to receive the strength of Jesus, by whom alone it can be crucified. If it be not mortified (put to death) in its guilt, it cannot be subdued in its power." Robert Haldane

"The cleansing of our consciences from the guilt of sin must precede our efforts to deal with the presence of sin in our daily lives." Jerry Bridges

God's Grace

"God's grace is his active favor bestowing the greatest gift upon those who have deserved the greatest punishment." William Hendricksen