Mighty to Save: A Series about a Sovereign God

Daniel 2:10-11 

(The king has just commanded the astrologers to tell him his dream and interpret it or be put to death).

"The astrologers answered the king 'There is not a man on earth who can do what the king asks! No king, however great and mighty, has ever asked such a thing of any magician or enchanter or astrologer. What the king asks is too difficult. No one can reveal it to the king except the gods, and they do not live among men."

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In this post I want to examine the viewpoint of the skeptics and non-believers. If you question whether or not there are other gods, or whether or not you choose your own statue of faith to call god, consider the response of the men in this passage.

The astrologers mentioned in this passage are men who believe in the powers of their gods. They have asked their gods for assistance in the past and they have been aided. But when a task this massive is put before them, the interpretation of a dream they have not heard, they abandon all hope. They tell the king that his task is bigger than what they can do. They tell him only "the gods" can do it. But these gods, are not ever-present among mankind like the One True God.

You see, this True God reveals the dream to Daniel, who is then able to interpret it for the king. This task which was deemed impossible by man, is possible by God. 

Man has been trying forever to explain away the complex simplicity that is our world. One God just doesn't seem to be enough, but that is because we have believed His power to be limited. What if He has infinite power? What if God really is sovereign as he claims, and has proven himself, to be?

We make God out to be a glorified form of ourselves, "the big guy in the sky", when really he is so much more. I hope to convey the Gospel of God's Power through this following series. Before I go further, ask yourself these questions? (like literally take a minute to think about them. like now.)

• Are there things that I don't believe God can do?
• Why do I refuse to believe he is all powerful?
• Why have I created my own form of God (or gods) to replace Him?
• Can God change me?

Rest assure in this. God has the power to do anything He wants. If he wants you to drop dead right now He can do it, He's done it before. If He desires you to come to know His true power, He will show you all that you can handle. 
Can God change you? Yes. Ask God to teach you more about who He is. Let Him rock your world with His might. 

Our God is Mighty to Save

-matt

Weekly Scripture

Exodus 14:10-31



 ¹⁰ As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the LORD. ¹¹ They said to Moses, "Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? ¹²Didn't we say to you in Egypt, 'Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians'? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!"
 ¹³ Moses answered the people, "Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. ¹⁴ The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still."
 ¹⁵ Then the LORD said to Moses, "Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on. ¹⁶ Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground. ¹⁷ I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them. And I will gain glory through Pharaoh and all his army, through his chariots and his horsemen. ¹⁸ The Egyptians will know that I am the LORD when I gain glory through Pharaoh, his chariots and his horsemen."
 ¹⁹ Then the angel of God, who had been traveling in front of Israel's army, withdrew and went behind them. The pillar of cloud also moved from in front and stood behind them, ²⁰ coming between the armies of Egypt and Israel. Throughout the night the cloud brought darkness to the one side and light to the other side; so neither went near the other all night long.
 ²¹ Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the LORD drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided, ²² and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left.
 ²³ The Egyptians pursued them, and all Pharaoh's horses and chariots and horsemen followed them into the sea. ²⁴ During the last watch of the night the LORD looked down from the pillar of fire and cloud at the Egyptian army and threw it into confusion. ²⁵ He made the wheels of their chariots come off so that they had difficulty driving. And the Egyptians said, "Let's get away from the Israelites! The LORD is fighting for them against Egypt."
 ²⁶ Then the LORD said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may flow back over the Egyptians and their chariots and horsemen." ²⁷ Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the sea went back to its place. The Egyptians were fleeing toward it, and the LORD swept them into the sea. ²⁸ The water flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen—the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them survived.
 ²⁹ But the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left. ³⁰ That day the LORD saved Israel from the hands of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians lying dead on the shore. ³¹ And when the Israelites saw the great power the LORD displayed against the Egyptians, the people feared the LORD and put their trust in him and in Moses his servant.

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Even when all seems lost and everything is against us, God will always prevail. Stay strong my fellow brothers and sisters.

-matt

Alive: Come and See the Glory of God

For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, 

but whoever loses his life for me will find it. 

Matthew 16:25.

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I usually have titles just come to me. They usually fit hand and hand with what I'm talking about, and add just a little bit of zest to them. Well, I have nothing now. Literally, I feel as if there is hardly anything left of me inside of me. There is nothing inside of me that deserves this much good. I don't deserve any of this that He is blessing me with. It just keeps coming and coming. I've discovered that when I surrender my sin and my wants at the foot of the cross, the faithfulness of God is strong. He transforms. Whatever I say is meaningless without the cross.


With that preface, feel free to take all my words with a grain of salt. Instead, read this as if the Holy Spirit was active in it. If these sentences henceforth are in accordance with God's Word, maybe He might speak in it. Ask Him. Thus the title given to this is not anything of my own, but rather a praise. Come and See the Glory of God.

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The story on my heart is not mine. What I said in that previous post stands true today. Everyone has a story, and we have the privilege of being a part of the greatest story of them all. Part of this great story is unique to each one of us in Christ. Your's will be different, with one exception. This story belongs to Jesus Christ.

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The full story goes back years before I came to be. I pick it up in media res, so bear with me. On a Friday afternoon in February, my dear friend Nathan Spell and I met in a band practice room and prayed. We didn't know what the rest of the day would hold for us, and we really didn't know what to say. You see, in less than an hour God would give us one more chance. A chance to present His love to a room of people who did not know Him. People who might be against him. People who might just not care. People who had simply grown cold. Every type of person would be at this Religious Symposium that we had been invited to speak at.

God knew that. He knew that he wanted to move for an audience of one. Every single person who was there that day was there for a purpose. I don't know what it was for nearly all of them, and I probably will never know.

You see God has a funny way of pulling all the pieces together. He moves in ways that don't make sense to us in our frail human minds. And I'm certainly okay with that, we should all be. (that's another story for different time). On that afternoon God had appointed the Holy Spirit to begin it's work on someone I had never met before, my soon-to-be friend Shelby. That day the Gospel took hold and began its work.

Through the work of the Spirit through many willing hands, God began to grab a foothold on her heart. She began to ask questions. Little did she know, there was something inside of her that God was carrying into a head on collision with Christ. 

The whole story is not mine to tell. So I am not going to tell it. Ask Shelby, if you have the chance.

Suffice it to say I experienced the most joyful moment of my entire life this past Monday night. I look back on my own gradual transition into the love of Christ, and as beautiful as it was, I felt something bigger. 

That night the love of Christ became real to her, she gave her life away to the Savior of the World.

The reason I can't get it off my heart nor can I cease praising God for it is because it is His Story. You see, anyone who is in Christ has seen how their story fits into the big picture. I hesitate even to write this because I know it will not do it justice. It is with trembling hands that I even attempt to share the Awesome Power of the Lord Jesus Christ. 

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You see I have come to realize why God has brought me here to this world, to this church, to this school, to this life. My life is not my own, as Christ says in Mark 10:45, my life has been purchased by the ransom of the  blood of God. That finally means something to me. Humanity isn't the answer, God is the solution.

So for you whom wrestle with this tonight, stop fighting. Maybe for the first time, be still and listen. I know it to be true that the most important thing any one of us can do is to be silent and hear. If you read this post and thought it was about a girl named Shelby, you would be right. But. If you read this an saw the beauty of God's craftsmanship, you are on to something more.

You see, miracles like what happened here are spectacular. The Power of the Spirit inside of the story can move each of us to change. I can attest that He has been transforming my very own soul during all of this.

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John 3:16

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life."

Forget all of our Christianese. Let's get rid of everything besides the Truth of Jesus. Jesus loves us more than we know, more than we can imagine. Let him be in you in new and exciting ways.

My life is not my own,

For I am only alive in Christ.

Instead, I am an advocate of one who is Greater than me.

To the Holy God and Lord Jesus Christ,

To YOU be all glory.

-matt

WEEKLY SCRIPTURE

John 10:7-18


 ⁷Therefore Jesus said again, "I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. ⁸All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. ⁹I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture. ¹⁰The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
 ¹¹"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. ¹²The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. ¹³The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.
 ¹⁴"I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— ¹⁵just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. ¹⁶I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.¹⁷The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. ¹⁸No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father."

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Jesus, thank you for loving us. You are awesome. Our God is Greater.
"And if our God is for us, than who could ever stop us.
And if our God is with us, then what can stand against."

All Glory to you Jesus. I surrender.
-matt

The Wrath of God

We tend to gloss over this. It's not really politically correct to talk about wrath in general. But my spirit has been convicted today, give it a read/listen/watch.
http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/TopicIndex/78/204_Gods_Wrath_Vengeance_Is_Mine_I_Will_Repay_Says_the_Lord/

-matt

Vacation: An Essay on Paradise

Howdy Texans! I've finally arrived back on solid ground; that is to say I'm no longer walking along the sandy beaches of Southern Florida and the Keys. What a trip! I got to experience so many amazing things and had so much fun. I did begin to learn a bigger message than I could have anticipated, Paradise.

40ft under the ocean, albeit I got pretty cold, I saw some really cool stuff. A pair of stingrays, a ton of fish that changed color, and lots of awkwardly shaped coral. I even scraped my foot on one of them, oops. I caught a huge barracuda, and saw a breathtaking horizon as the sun lowered in the sky and hung poignantly above the waves. To top it all off, I sliced through the waters at 55mph on a jetski and felt the wind sting my face (it wasn't snowboarding but it was the next best thing comparatively). Topped it all off with a visit to the spectacular Miami beach.

So all of that was the set up, here's my punch line. All of these adventures had two things in common. 1) They were events in my life that were a lot of fun, I sincerely enjoyed each one. 2) They all took place on earth.  Both statements, I'll admit, are pretty straight-forward. But they point to a much deeper reality than many would look for. 

As to the first; Happiness is all good and well, but happiness does not bring Joy. Regardless of how we'd like it, God's goal in life is not our happiness. You won't find that anywhere in the His Word. God doesn't promise happy lives, if he did, then His power really doesn't hold much water does it?

Any man can seek his own happiness, that's easy. Continually surrendering to a God who wants what's best for us? Now that is hard. I could go further on this, but for now I will refrain as my focus pertains to the ladder of the two topics.

As to the earthliness of the events, that is my focus - sort of. As I enjoyed the sights and excitements of Florida, God continually was beating on my heart. I heard the Spirit whisper, "I have more than this for you." Millionaires retire down in Key West and buy out multi-million dollar houses with views of the sunset that claim to be the best in the world. That is to say, that this part of the world is quite nice by our standards. But God has more in store for us. 

I've gone from the top of mountains and now recently to the bottom of the sea, and all of creation groans out in shouts of praise for its Creator. It's as if every wave exclaimed, "Look at how beautiful God is!" Maybe Florida isn't your place, it certainly isn't mine. Maybe its the mountains, or the rain forests of South America, or the grasslands of Africa. The common line in them all; God made them.

As men and women, we seek locations that appeal to us. We like pretty things. We find what we like, and we label it "Paradise". It's a shame.

Creation was never meant to satisfy. It shouldn't ever be enough of for us. Romans 1:20 says that it was meant to show us God's qualities and his heart. It was never mentioned to be idolized. Later, in Romans 8, creation is described as being in wait for God's restoration to this world. Only on that day, will we the true purpose of creation be grasped.

Creation was created to point to God. Consider Jesus' words in Luke 23:43, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in Paradise." This is said to the thief who has done nothing to earn God's favor, to the thief who was being crucified alongside God.

This is the Gospel: That we are the thief in our story. Jesus was killed for our sins, and we have the opportunity to be in Paradise with him. All we have to do is ask. Jesus' version of Paradise is more wonderful than any petty definition that man can give it on this side of eternity.

What is your Paradise? Where do you go to find joy? If your answer is anything but Jesus Christ and Him crucified, you will never find the rest you seek. Jesus died so that you could find that rest. As great as this world is, only God himself is Awesome. He's waiting to welcome you home, just ask.

I hope to see you in Paradise someday,

-matt

Weekly Scripture

James 3:17-18
 "But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness."


-matt

The Great Story

I suppose we all yearn for that first taste of freedom don't we? We look for a day when we won't have to suffer any more, where everything is as it should be. We need redemption.

As men and women, we all have our own story. That story is played out as a part of the Great Story that stretches beyond our existence. Day in and day out, we paint the pictures of our lives with our thoughts and actions.

When we see movies with those perfect endings, our soul resonates. Good triumphs over evil, the battle has finally been one and the good ol boys are coming home. We all yearn for happily ever after.

Why? Because God put that on our hearts. Each and every one of us will live out our time on this earth and continue living past it. Our souls are thirsting for that perfect peace that heaven brings, even if we want to deny our very self by refusing Christ's blood.

The greatest thing a man can possess in this world is not material goods, but rather the greatest possession is one's own story. How you use that story is up to you.

Tonight I can say that my soul has reached a level of peace that I have never known before. I've learned a lot over the past season of my life. I've been challenged a lot. I've endured tests and trials. But through it all, Christ reigns supreme. I know it sounds cliche, to say that Christ has carried my burdens. I feel as if that expression is only truly understood once each one of us realizes our role in this world.. I don't know all of what God has in store for me in this life, but I can tell you this: My story is being penned by the very Author of Life itself.

As good of a writer as any of us could be, our dreams and aspirations can only get us so far. So what does your story look like? Does it point towards the truth of Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Nothing else matters. I once heard Chris Mayfield say that Jesus Christ should not be the #1 priority on your list. I thought at that point I understood, but now I am really grasping the full picture.

Jesus isn't the first priority. He is life. He is my life. My heart breaks for you if he is not yours. His story is written on ours hearts. In a daring rescue mission the Author descended into his creation to ransom the world with the blood of his son. I don't know about you, but I can't think of a story more worth telling that this.

Jesus once sad this, "I have come so that you may have life, and have it to the full" Accept this life. Make his story your own. Rise up tomorrow with a new story, the Gospel that transcends humanity. Lord, I'm ready.

Bring Me To Eternity.

Review: The Coffeehouse Gospel

I got this idea from my friend Greg. He's been starting to put some of his own book reviews up on his blog. I liked his format, so I'm going to borrow it, I'm thinking he'll be okay with that, since I'm citing him and whatnot. Anyhow; this is something I'd like to do more often since I do read my fair share of books. Let me know what you think and hopefully you pick up a book or two.

Dream Big: An Essay on Living for Christ

This past Sunday I was sitting at Realife listening to a missionary from Africa tell his story of what God has done in Tanzania. Stories like these are the rally cries of the Christian faith. When we see someone living big we are inspired. We hear passionate preaching and resonate with it. And then we move on. We forget. We don't actively choose to live big.


I can think of a plethora of reasons for this; fear, unbelief, forgetfulness. Regardless of the reason, we lose out on  any impact we could have had. -Now back to Realife- This missionary told an inspiring story that stirred our hearts, and offered everyone a pretty cool opportunity. His ministry needs teachers for the schools that they are building in the villages of Africa. He gave out little cards to anyone who asked and encouraged the students to consider working with them in the future.


He gave out a lot of cards that night. I myself took one as well. My fear is that the dream stopped that night for the majority of those who took the cards Sunday night. For most of us, we aren't called to be teachers in Africa. I know that I'm not, but I'm keeping that card on my desk as a daily reminder to do something big with my life. But I am called to do something, and so is every one of us. 


So what is stopping us from having those incredible stories? Just like this missionary's work, it doesn't happen overnight. It takes time. It often starts by listening to the Spirit's whisper and moving out in a leap of faith. Sorry that this post has been so scatterbrained, but the question I'm attempting to point towards is this:
How are you living big for God?


These incredible lives don't occur as a result of random chance, nor are they after effects of timid living.
In 1 Thes. 5:19 we are urged not to put out the fire of the Spirit. When God gives us those dreams, let us go. Maybe it doesn't look like you moving to Africa and becoming a teacher. Maybe today it means being bold with your faith, and helping to bring your friends and peers to faith in Him. Maybe its planning a fundraiser for kids in Haiti.


Dream big. Simply existing is not what God has called us to in this life. He wants big things from us. I know that when I'm not thinking of big things, my focus quickly diminishes to myself and my petty problems. When you wake up and look in the mirror tomorrow morning, ponder this. How can we live big for God? For everyone it looks different, but the end result can and will change the world. A life that leaves a big splash in the pool around it will be a life well lived. How can you make a splash?


Think about it and thanks for listening,
-matt

Neverending: An Essay on God's Love

I just finished watching an episode of my favorite tv series, The Forgotten. I was just blown away.

*Spoiler Alert* 
Like I said above, this last episode just rocked my world. Throughout the season hints have been dropped here and there of the whereabouts of the Alex Donovan's, the lead character's, daughter. We come to learn that she was taken when she was young and has been missing now for about three years. Alex has become a part of the forgotten network which investigates unidentified deaths, jane and john does. Possibly thinking that through his searching he might learn about what has happened to his daughter.

Fast forward to this week's show. A little girl's body is found inside a large ammo box on an abandoned plot of land. After a sketch artist draws up a representation of her face, Alex is shocked to see that the picture looks just like his daughter. He's excited to have possibly found her, and he is devastated at the thought of finally losing her forever.

Through a series of events the team discovers that the murdered girl is not his daughter. Alex is resigned to continue to hope against hope that someday his daughter will come back to him. Once the girl is identified and her murderer found, Alex drives to give the news of the death to the victims mother. He never could have expected what he found upon his arrival. His little girl, missing for three years was living with this woman he had come to comfort.

His daughter has been lied to for the past three years, told that her parents had died and that this woman was to take care of her. She isn't sure what to believe anymore. The story comes to a close and he is finally able to take his daughter home with him. After all his time of seeking, the two are finally reunited.

So what's the point?
Alex's love for his daughter painted for me an image of how Christ loves each and every one of us. Like her, we have all bee stolen away by the enemy, Satan. We have bought in to the lie that we belong to this world. As we live ignorant of the truth, God is looking for us. He is waiting for his kids to come home. Even when we seem to be as far away from God as we can get, he still comes for us. Like the story of the prodigal son, he is running as he first glimpses us on the horizon.

Isn't that beautiful? That picture should remind us just how much the Father loves us. We take that for granted by blowing verses like John 3:16 out of proportion. It's become so vague that we don't really resonate with its message very much these days. The truth still remains.

We are all lost in the darkness. We are slaves to sin, unrighteous by birth. But God loves us. In order to bring us back to him he sent his one and only son Jesus Christ to die for our sins. His bloody death on the cross was the final sacrifice, making us right with God if we choose to accept his death for our own. Romans 5:8 sums up God's love so well saying this: "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." 


Friends, let us not look lightly on this unwarranted love. God's love for us in unwavering and pure, astronomically beyond anything we could ever be worthy of. Take a minute now and just look in wonder at the extraordinary love that Christ has for you. You are made in God's image. You are God's child. He loves you. Daddy wants his kids back.


-matt

Weekly Scripture

Psalm 145:8-9



⁸ The LORD is gracious and compassionate,
       slow to anger and rich in love.
 ⁹ The LORD is good to all;
       he has compassion on all he has made.


think about the implications this passage brings,
godbless,
-matt

Can I Get a Witness?: An Essay on Holiness

Leviticus 11:44

"I am the Lord your God; consecrate yourselves and be holy, because I am holy."

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What does it mean to be holy? It's another one of those church answers that we don't give much thought to isn't it? We know that God is holy,  but do we all know that we have been called to this same holiness?

To be holy is simply this; to be set apart. This attribute of God is mentioned more frequently in the bible than any other. It's obviously important. God is holy. He is set apart from his creation. He alone is good. He alone is the Lord. He has no sin or shame. He is blameless.

So where do we fit in? We were called to be holy. It bears the same definition for us. To be holy means we must be set apart. Part of this is shown in Romans 12:2 where it says, "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind..." Part of being holy is being different from the world.

I know that I'm guilty of acting in worldly ways. We all mess up. However, I see people who call themselves Christians on Sundays blending in with non-Christians during the other six days of the week. A huge part of this is guys being flat out disrespectful to girls. As Christian men, we know that they have been created in the image of God, so why do we make a spectacle out of them? Countless times throughout the day I hear people gawking over breasts, butts, you name it. I know that some guys come to church for the hot girls, I've been in those shoes before. I'm telling all of you guys, it isn't worth it. It's no wonder that the world calls Christians hypocrites when we are acting just like the unsaved.

And I know Christians that can out curse a sailors! Ephesians 4:29 says not to let any "unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen." It doesn't matter if everyone in the room is swearing, a Christian has no excuse to talk in such ways. I've even heard Christians tell me that its alright every once in a while, if you get really really mad or if its in private. That doesn't have any support from scripture. 

Those two things in particular have just been really getting to my heart lately. How can we be the salt of the earth if we so frequently compromise are witness? We aren't set apart if we are blending in by how we act. We have been given a higher calling. Let us rise above and achieve it.

The name Christian literally means "little Christ" and as Christians we are representing Christ to this world. Have you ever heard this expression?: You might be the only Jesus that they ever see. If we represent Christ in such a wretched way by how we act and speak in public, then how can the world ever see a clear picture of who he is? I'm not trying to say we must be perfect, but we have a higher that too many of us are not living up to.

So ask yourself, "Am I set apart?"

In His Holy Name,

-matt

Weekly Scripture

John 10:10-18



¹⁰The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
 ¹¹"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. ¹²The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. ¹³The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.
 ¹⁴"I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— ¹⁵just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. ¹⁶I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.¹⁷The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. ¹⁸No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father."