Ecclesiastes.

I am falling head over heels for this book. I've read it a few times but this time it's strangely intriguing and whispering sweet little things to my heart.

I love how King Solomon takes profound statements and insights while etching them into his own experience. It's beautifully written. Ultimately, Solomon finds that the meaninglessness of our lives, only find meaning while being handed over to God. Our lives are to be wholly centered around the existence of God. He captures, so well, the discontentment found in the lives of those who search for satisfaction and worth in their expeditions, scrutiny, and studies.

Overall, I got the idea that Solomon believes man has a inward conscious that cannot deny the existence of God. He believes this because of how our lives look when we live counter to our initial design and purpose...Well, that's what I understood it to be.

THAT, is a profound understanding of how flawless God's ways are and how nothing can twist His goodness. There is no way to discredit His plan - because as we try to manipulate it, it becomes all the more in plain sight. Furthermore, when we walk away from His plan the more obvious our meaninglessness becomes - thus discrediting our plans and validating His. So flawless!

There is so much more that is jumping out at me but I want it to be concretely in my heart and mind prior to posting it.

"Travel the Land" Josh Garrels

:: As I travel the land, I don't care where I am, if the Sons shining down on me. And I step out my door and give thanks to the Lord for the fact that He saved me. As I travel the land, I don't care where I am, if the Sons shining down on me. And I step on board and give thanks to the Lord for the life that He gave me. :: Josh Garrels

Darin shared this at the end of Sunday's service at the Center

:: author is anonymous

When you are forgotten, or neglected,

or purposely set at naught, and you

don't sting or hurt with the insult or

the oversight, but your heart is happy,

being counted worthy to suffer for Yashua,

That is dying to self.

When your good is evil spoken of,

when your wishes are misunderstood

your advise disregarded, your opinions

ridiculed, and you refuse to let anger

rise in your heart, or even defend

yourself, but take it all in patient, loving silence,

That is dying to self..

When you lovingly and patiently bear

any disorder, any irregularity, any

unpunctuality, or any annoyance; when

you stand face to face with waste, folly,

extravagance, spiritual insensibility-

and endure it as Yashua endured,

That is dying to self.

When you are content with any food,

any offering, any climate, any society,

any raiment, any interruption

by the will of Yaweh,

That is dying to self.

When you never care to refer to your-

self in conversation, or to record your

own good works, or itch after commendations,

when you can truly love to be unknown,

That is dying to self.

When you can see your brother prosper

and have his needs met and can honestly

rejoice with him in spirit and feel no envy,

nor question Yahweh while your own

needs are greater and in desperate circumstances,

That is dying to self.

When you can receive correction and

reproof from one of less stature than your-

self and can humbly submit inwardly as

well as outwardly, finding no rebellion

or resentment rising up within your heart,

That is dying to self.

Are you dead yet?

In these last days, the Spirit would bring us

to the stake "That I may know HIM, and the

power of HIS resurrection, and the fellowship

of HIS sufferings, being made conformable

unto HIS death."

Complete Awe.

After looking at the vivid ways in which God came to His created earth through Jesus, whose actions and character fulfilled prophetic words, whose very nature actively opposed streamline culture, and whose redemptive ways were beyond everyone's box of expectations - I cannot deny that Jesus is indeed the Messiah, the anointed life-giver, who through His sacrifice on the cross, can bring restoration to His creation and be in union with humanity.

My head is spinning tonight. I've never been so in awe of the Bible - it's message, it's backbone motive, it's character, and it's significance beyond love,peace,and the story of Jesus. Having a greater grasp of the grander scale of things inevitably puts things in perspective. Everything beginning with God's creation being in right relationship with Him and with each other, only to rebel against His rule, in turn allowing decay and utter separation between us and God. Yet God longs to redeem what sin corrupted. The story of Jesus is God's pursuit of just that. In all of God's ways, He is counter cultural, unequivocal and revolutionary.

While looking at this narrative as a whole, it would be foolish to say that the Bible is made up and fabricated. People simply have never and will never make these kind of stories up. They are stories that are unheard of during their times; stories that are offensive, and embarrassing to the culture that they were professed in. The narrative of God's Word, is nothing that anyone could have simply brainstormed or created because it is entirely showcasing anti- formality to it's timely culture and it was neither anticipated nor expected.

Chew on this verse :

1 Corinthians 1:24-25 " Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength."

Greeks :: " ...sought to know God by argument and rational principles - they wanted a god who made sense. "

Jews :: " ... in the day of Jesus, incorrectly believed that if God were to visit this world, He would come in power and glory, crushing Rome. But the cross spoke of weakness, not power; defeat, not victory; humiliation, not conquest. "

".. that God should take alienation away from man by inserting alienation into the very heart of God; that He should conquer evil by allowing it supreme, unthinkable triumph. That He should destroy the power of evil by allowing it to destroy Him. The idea that a crucified God would save humankind has always been absurd to many. It is culturally offensive... "

" ...the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom. God's wisdom looked like folly, but it was not. His power looked like weakness but it was not. The world around us thrives on selfishness, but God functions with sacrifice. He proved Himself mighty by taking on weakness. In His weakest state, when the world did it's worst, He was victorious. He conquered suffering by suffering, He conquered death by dying and brought us life by rising from the dead. "

These quotes are from Mike Erre in his book, Why the Bible Matters.

Word.

" And God intends that the whole story be the framework that guides His people as they live, relate and work in the world. The people of God have been called out of the patterns and narratives of this world and into something far truer, richer, and deeper- the story of God and His work in the world. Beyond a rule book, a systematic theology textbook, or a collection of inspiring sayings, the Bible presents itself to us as a story that describes the way things really are. It offers the truest story of the whole world - all of life, history, experience, culture and civilization are encompassed in it's pages. It is a record of God's pursuit of His people. He has not remained distant from our world - far from it! He has entered into human history to work, rescue and restore. "

- Mike Erre Why the Bible Matters

Step. It. Up. ( Men )

I had a great talk with my amazing house mate tonight.

We touched on subjects that we've discussed before but we dove a bit deeper.

Our entire conversation left me wondering why it is such a rarity to find a solid man of God in the church. A man whose walk is evident in the fruit his life produces. A greater portion of the men in our church who truly inspire us as women -are all married. What is up with that ?!?! I don't understand why our generation consists of an abundance of lukewarm men. Since when did most men lose sight of what God is indeed calling them to as disciples? It is an honor to be a man of God and that, is what we as God fearing women want - show us Jesus in your life because God indeed transforms your mind, habits, lifestyle and all the above.

This is beyond frustrating because I know so many guys who are kind, funny, handsome, talented, smart and down my alley ... yet they lack when it comes to a deepened, cultivated and matured relationship with the Lord- and ultimately, that is the deal breaker.

A few weeks ago one of our close girlfriends brought up that the group of us ladies are all legit woman who are truly disciples of Jesus - and we are all single. We are all beautiful women, who are talented up the ying yang and have fallen head over heels for this one called Jesus. One of us started a non profit organization called Remnant Uganda that is bringing freedom to once spiritually jailed and broken prostitutes in Africa. Another girlfriend places her art at benefit events whose profits in turn feed starving children through various foundations. While this same girl writes a curriculum for Children's ministry that is used throughout all of the country, another girl is committed to our church's children's ministry whole heartedly.

Our relationships with God have inevitably transformed us spiritually and in the tangible ways as well. The abundance of men in the church need to catch up - by stepping into the truth that exclaims God's desire to raise up men who purely long to know Him in the deepest and most genuine ways. God longs to cultivate His transformation and renewal in His people through the reading of His Word, the perpetual communication with Him through prayer, music, art, etc... and the utmost confidence one can find in the value God has placed on a man who emulates humility, honesty, love, awareness, dignity, and truth flowing from the wisdom that comes from God alone.

I'm Not the Only One...

I'm holding on to Your hope that one day this could be made right.

Cuz Ive been ship wrecked and left for dead and l've seen the darkest sights.

Everyone I love seems like a stranger in the night.

But oh my heart still burns, it tells me to return and search the fading lights.

Until I find my love.

Trouble has been sent my way and wicked winds have blown.

Sirens call my name, they say they'll ease my pain. They break me on the stones.

But true love is the burden that will carry me back home.

Carry me with the memories of the beauty I have known.

By your light I move. I will press on.

So tie me to the mass of this old ship and point me home.

- Josh Garrels.

"Ulysses" - Josh Garrels 2010 from Josh Garrels on Vimeo.

LUST.

"Lust comes from a deep lack of satisfaction with life. When we’re not at peace, when we aren’t content, when we aren’t in a good place…our radar gets turned on. We’re looking. Searching. And we’re sensory beings, so it won’t be long before something, or somebody, catches our attention. We’re addictive creatures. We try things, we experiment, we explore, and certain things hook us. They wrap their tentacles around us, and we can’t get away from them. What started out as freedom can quickly become slavery. Often freedom is seen as the ability to do whatever you want. But freedom isn’t being able to have whatever we crave. Freedom is going without whatever we crave and being fine with it. But when lust has us in its grip, one of the first things to suffer is our appreciation for whatever it is we’re fixated on. And we lose all sensitivity.

Lust is slavery. If we want something to the point that we can’t conceive of being content without it, then it owns us. When our lusts get the best of us, they trap us. Whether it’s food, sex, shopping, whatever…what was supposed to fill the hole within us didn’t. It betrayed us. It owns us. It always leaves us wanting more. And we’re emptier, lonelier, hungrier, and more depressed…and then we’re right back where we started. We’re momentarily satisfied, and then we experience letdown because it didn’t deliver what it promised. Food or clothes or position or approval or power or sex—it grabbed us and said, “You are missing out until you have me.” And it was a lie. It promised us something.

It claimed to be the answer. But it wasn’t.

If God is waiting to help us defeat these lusts and temptations, why don’t we turn to Him more often? Honestly, sometimes we don’t WANT to be helped! We WANT to give in even though we know it’s wrong. At that moment, we think we know what’s best for us. But we don’t. Ask God to keep you from paying attention to what is worthless and refocus your attention on something else.

Just as the roots grow resilient as wind blows against a tree,

so every time you stand up to temptation you become stronger. "

Thank you,

- Rob Bell.

Spoken Word.

God Is Holy from ROCKHARBOR on Vimeo.

A perspective I never want to forget.

God is holy. He is set up and set apart. Set up and up and up and up. High up on the pedestal. High above the push and pull of this world. And higher still.

He is set apart from the very start. Because while some may deride Him, and some have denied Him, Not one can stand beside Him.

He is the one that is unlike anyone. He's not like you and me. And we cannot conceive the mystery of this that we believe because our God is holy. He is the one and He is the only.

and Heaven, highest Heaven; cannot contain Him. Cannot attain Him. Cannot explain Him. Cannot find the words, the nouns, the verbs to capture the rapture of one who resides and abides in the presence, in the very essence of our God.

And so angels sing and Heaven rings with constant strings of holy. And it cried in one accord inside for one adored for holy, holy, holy is the Lord

No other word will fit, no other word can get at it; all other words are in it. Because the only word that can quite hit at who He is; is Holy.

And when face to face we come to the place to see our God as holy. We will realize and recognize the brokenness in our lives. For in that light ,the light that is His, we will see sin for what it is. And like Isaiah, we will be undone and overcome and then our journey has begun. To turn our "woe is he" to "woe is me."

Because our God is holy.

- Nick Benoit

Happy Birthday Uncle Sam.

I am intrigued by many, many things that have gone on in our countries past. I have been encouraged by a man named, Fredrick Douglas, whom I am hoping we all have heard of at some point during our american education. He escaped slavery to become a renowned american abolitionist, minister and reformer. He stood firm for equality among all people.

A popular quote from Douglas ::

" I would unite with anybody to do right, and with nobody to do wrong. "

Douglas gave a speech in 1852 in Rochester, New York about the fugitive slave laws that were passed. The fugitive slave laws, in short, enabled officers and watchmen the entitlement to capture slaves who escaped to freedom. They were required to turn them in so they could be returned to their "masters". I find the boldness in Douglas something that is profoundly necessary now a days in modern america.

"Let it be thundered around the world that in tyrant-killing, king-hating, people-loving, democratic, Christian America the seats of justice are filled with judges who hold their offices under an open and palpable bribe, and are bound, in deciding the case of a man's liberty, to hear only his accusers!

In glaring violation of justice, in shameless disregard of the forms of administering law, in cunning arrangement to entrap the defenceless, and in diabolical intent this Fugitive Slave Law stands alone in the annals of tyrannical legislation. I doubt if there be another nation on the globe having the brass and the baseness to put such a law on the statute-book. If any man in this assembly thinks differently from me in this matter, and feels able to disprove my statements, I will gladly confront him at any suitable time and place he may select.

I take this law to be one of the grossest infringements of Christian Liberty, and, if the churches and ministers of our country were nor stupidly blind, or most wickedly indifferent, they, too, would so regard it.

At the very moment that they are thanking God for the enjoyment of civil and religious liberty, and for the right to worship God according to the dictates of their own consciences, they are utterly silent in respect to a law which robs religion of its chief significance and makes it utterly worthless to a world lying in wickedness."

Douglas, I could not have said it better myself.

Thank you for your relentless pursuit of truth.

Proverbs 31:8 " Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly, defend the rights of the poor and needy. "

This world is still indeed a wicked place that lacks the presence of God in many ways.

Yet, I am hopeful in the church and the God we serve.

Proverbs 29:16-18 " When the wicked thrive, so does sin. But the righteous will see their downfall. Where there is no revelation the people cast off restraint; but blessed is he who keeps the law. "