brandt

missions when dying is gain

http://media.desiringgod.org/audio/1996/19961027.mp3

where else would you go to hear a message like this?

i mourn that the pulpits of America are dominated by comfort-seeking, weak-willed, business-executive, crowd-pleasers who are interested in pleasing their audiences rather than pleasing their God, who believe receiving a nasty e-mail is tribulation, who seek their own safety, their own glory, their own fame, their own kingdoms on earth rather than embracing radical risk-taking for the Glory of Jesus Christ to be made known to all nations and all peoples, for HIS Kingdom to come on earth as it is in heaven...

why are we pleased with the gospel of America? when has the Way of Jesus ever been the path of the masses, to be found in the megachurches and magazine racks, christian music and best-sellers lists..? Luther was not a friend of the state, Calvin was not on Larry King live, and Jim Elliot was not found at book-signings... they were regarded as the scum of the earth because they did not seek the treasures the popular culture values... they sought a much greater Treasure, and when they found it, they gave up everything in their great joy to make it's value known to the world.

if you worship a Slaughtered Lamb, why does your religion promise comfort, peace, and prosperity?

thank God for Dr. John Piper.

may God fill us with radical passion for His Kingdom that defies all comfort, defies the American dream, defies the American church, and exalts His name above all things even at the cost of suffering, even at the cost of death.

prayer

may You increase, may i decrease

may my heart break for the things that make Your heart break

i do not exist...

...only You exist

you'll find no constant train of thought here....

i highly recommend sleep.

if you don't get enough, life sucks even when it's perfect, and you don't care even when you should.

josh v. dropped by last night to hang out and talk theology. it's always refreshing to converse with josh. he's got a good head on his shoulders, and i can tell him about stupid ideas that i have and he usually puts up with them without calling me a heretic.

i got to spend alot of time with my lovely wife this weekend as we worked around the house, drove out to cooper's rock, and hit up the skate park on sunday. we've been keeping up with Driscoll's "The Peasant Princess" series, and it's been super-rad to come home thursday's after worship practice and just have that time to chill and watch a sermon, enjoy good food, good drink, and great Bible study together.

this is always a sobering, pensive time of year.

it's a great time to grab a cup of coffee and discuss theology, politics, and other things that you don't understand with your friends on your porch or at a small coffee shop and just enjoy breathing the cold crisp air.

ephesians 1:16-21

i'm blessed to be leading a small group through the book of ephesians this season... we have such an amazing time just sharing meals, thoughts, and prayers and struggling together to accept and live out the Word of God. it's amazing how often we bristle when God's ideas clash with our own (that sounds so silly typing it)... yet when we open our hearts to receive it, it's the most beautiful plan imaginable.

it's interesting: when paul was in prison, rather than praying for himself like any of us would do in prison, he just prays for his people. that they would have right theology (knowledge of God), wisdom, and open hearts.

our God has a name. his name is Jesus. we don't have to guess about what part of the elephant we're touching. he revealed himself through his word, and if we missed that he stepped into history as a man.

we no longer have to throw our questions to the sky: is there one god? many gods? how do we please the gods? the true God has ended our speculation with revelation of himself, so we no longer have to guess.

knowing this gives us wisdom--the practical outworking of the knowledge of God. if we know this God, how does it affect our marriage..? now that we know this God, how does it affect our relationships? now that we know this God, how does it affect our jobs, our finances, our choices..?

then paul prays something very curious: that our hearts would be open to receive this great God. alot of the times our problem is not that we don't know who God is, our problem is that we don't like him. it's as if God labors under this weird myth that He is in control... and it's very frustrating to those of us who have our own plans, our own ideals, our own lives...

may God reveal himself to us through the scriptures so that we will know who He is, may he give us wisdom so that as we live our lives we actually look like Christians, and may he give us a heart to receive who he is and what he has done so that we do not reject the truth.

please gather with a group of friends and meet together opening the Word and sharing your struggles, prayers, and lives.

"this is the good life...

...i lost everything, here in Your arms"

--audio a


shane's life is a constant reminder to me that he is the greatest (only?) pastor i've ever had...

i've been totally stressed out, depressed, and just overwhelmed lately. sunday, he spoke refreshing, strengthening words into my life that i didn't even know i needed to hear. greater than that, he prayed for me.

i guess God knew what he was talking about when he said it's not good for man to be alone... community = life

isn't it crazy that 99% of the stress and complaining in our lives is a direct result of our priviledge and blessings..? perhaps we should marvel more at our existence and freak out less over it's complexity.

God of peace, we want You.

weekend

friday, ian was trying out some new material at SoZo's open mic. we met up with camichielle and josh and suffered through some stand-up comedians before ian sang. ian's new stuff is insane. his voice and style has matured tremendously since he moved here from arkansas last year...

everyone made noise until camichelle would play something. i'm not sure why she's in criminal justice when she can sing and play like that...

josh and camichelle got us into up-all-night and we shot pool to some piercing wannabe jazz music.

how did we end up with our friends from highschool living in the same town..?

sometimes i just sit back and think "i can't believe we get to live this life."

i'm super tired.

i'm pumped about church this morning.