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Our definition of humility must be biblical and not simply pragmatic, and in order to be biblical it must begin with God. As John Calvin wrote, “It is evident that man never attains to a true self-knowledge until he has previously contemplated the face of God, and come down after such contemplation to look into himself.”

That’s where the following definition can help us: Humility is honestly assessing ourselves in light of God’s holiness and our sinfulness.

That’s the twin reality that all genuine humility is rooted in: God’s holiness and our sinfulness. Without an honest awareness of both of these realities, all self-evaluation will be skewed and we’ll fail to either understand or practice true humility.

[C. J. Mahaney, Humility]

Quote from…

Right now I’m listening to…

The Arms of My Savior

When I’m all alone / And the weight of the world / Is more than I can bear on my own / When all my plans have failed  / And I suffered defeat / I’m down on my knees / I can’t get to my feet

Your love breaks through / And reminds me of the hope that I have in You / That I have in You

There’s no other place / That I’d rather be / Than safe in the arms / The arms of my Savior / There’s no other place / Where I can be free / So I run to the arms / The arms of my Savior

When I’m feeling overwhelmed  / Like I can’t take anymore / I’ve thrown up my hands / All I see is the floor / I’ve looked to the north / The south, the west, and the east / But as far as I can see / I can’t find any peace

Your grace breaks through / And reminds me of the hope that I have in You / That I have in You

There’s no other place / That I’d rather be / Than safe in the arms / The arms of my Savior / There’s no other place / Where I can be free / So I run to the arms / The arms of my Savior

Life shouldn’t be something to dread / ‘Cause I know You still know / How many hairs are in my head / And so I run to You / And so I run to You

Ok. I’m not really dying, at least not any faster than normal (as far as I know). Sometimes, though, it feels as if I am. The state of the world; the lying, the hurting, the crap all around us…that’s on us. It’s our fault. It’s brought death to our lives. I can feel it, and if you slow down for a second I bet you can too.

Friends, when are we going to stop? Hating each other? Lying to each other? Talking down and killing others with our words? Gossiping and starting rumors? Tearing each other down…hating, killing, destroying ourselves and others…from the inside out. Is this really what we want? Are these things, deep down, really our hearts desire?

Be honest.

God wants us to grow up, to know the whole truth and tell it in love—like Christ in everything. We take our lead from Christ, who is the source of everything we do. He keeps us in step with each other. His very breath and blood flow through us, nourishing us so that we will grow up healthy in God, robust in love.

[Ephesians 4.14, 15 from the Messsage]

Love. We need to love.

I want to get this clear; I am NOT pointing my finger at you, you or you. I’m not calling anyone out. If I were, I’d be pointing 3 more fingers back at me. I’m merely putting the facts and the truth out on the table. For all to see. We are a mess and we aren’t doing much to clean up our acts. I’m the chief of sinners. I own just as much of this crap as anyone of you do. Would you take some time to pray for each other? Pray for yourselves. Pray that we could…no…that we will change.

It’s time for change. Obama was right about that. We need it. But it won’t be brought about by a new president, a new economy, a new haircut. The change, real lasting, meaningful change starts inside the hearts of the people. We need to learn to love again. Speak up in love, Act in love. Somewhere deep inside our hearts is the ability to love. Inside you and me and that guy or girl you’re always talking crap about. That smelly old homeless guy on the exit ramp every morning that we all quickly pass by, he could change everything…each of us,..could change everything if we would simply love. When will we?

I have so many struggles of my own right now, not that I’ve ever been without them, but they seem to be screaming and calling me out every chance they get. We all have crap in our lives; we all make stupid ridiculous mistakes. We live to please ourselves and climb our own individual ladders of success, however we measure it. Some of us find success in how much money we can make a year. How much junk we own. Some of us by the number of friends we have (real or on Facebook). Some of us by how “smart” we are or how many guys or girls we’ve been with. Does any of that REALLY matter? Is this what we are putting our life’s value in? Is this what we are striving for from the moment we wake up till the moment we close our eyes at night?

Stop.

Just stop.

Don’t give me that crap about it “not being that easy” or oh, maybe I’ll change next week. One more high and I’ll tone it down.

That won’t work.

I’ve tried.

You’ve tried before.

We’ve failed.

It’s time to wage a new war. It’s time to quit focusing on all the distractions, all the pleasures, all the things we think will make us happy and fight. Fight for our lives…for the lives of those around us.

It’s time to speak up, speak the truth and speak it in love. Let us not stop there though. Let’s act in love, one small action at a time. Encourage one another. Pay for someone’s drink, coffee or dinner. Give someone a good book to read. Take the time to pray with one another. Simply spend time with each other and listen. Listen.

Stop the death. Stop the killing. Let’s start truly living. Living in love.

²⁵ So stop telling lies. Let us tell our neighbors the truth, for we are all parts of the same body. ²⁶ And “don’t sin by letting anger control you.” Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, ²⁷ for anger gives a foothold to the devil.

²⁸ If you are a thief, quit stealing. Instead, use your hands for good hard work, and then give generously to others in need. ²⁹ Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.

³⁰ And do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, he has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption.

³¹ Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. ³² Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.

[Ephesians 4.25 – 32, New Living Translation, SE]

I love you all…grace and peace. May God’s love be shown.

You could be the one that I could hold on to forever, hold on to forever
You could be the one

Maybe you are the kind that doesn’t want to say it
I should just let you be
But maybe if I spoke up that would be enough
To give my mind some peace

[Bethany Dillon, You Could Be The One]

Whenever we take on a God-sized challenge, self-sufficiency is no longer an option.

Many times when we claim we are waiting on God, He is waiting on us.

Do what you know you should do, and you will know what to do. God clarifies in the midst of obedience, not beforehand.

You know where to begin: take initiative. You know who God is, so embrace life’s uncertainty.

When God is involved, the epilogue is not mysterious. God wins.

-erwin mcmanus

okay…so i cannot wait for this book to come out…i know i already have a million books that i’m trying to read and i’m reading EXTREMELY slow…but this one grabbed me and i’m really looking forward to it’s release in late April…anyway…here’s what it’s about…

Book Description
“Sometimes I feel like when I make decisions that are remotely biblical, people who call themselves Christians are the first to criticize and say I’m crazy, that I’m taking the Bible too literally, or that I’m not thinking about my family’s well-being. . . When people gladly sacrifice their time or comfort or home, it is obvious that they trust in the promises of God. Why is it that the story of someone who has actually done what Jesus commands resonates deeply with us, but we then assume we could never do anything so radical or intense? Or why do we call it radical when, to Jesus, it is simply the way it is? The way it should be?”

About the Author
Francis Chan is pastor of Cornerstone Church in Simi Valley, California. He is also the president of Eternity Bible College and sits on the Board of Directors of Children’s Hunger Fund and World Impact. Francis spends much of his time speaking to students around the country, committed to teaching directly from the Bible. His passion is to see the Church display a much deeper love for Jesus. Francis, his wife, Lisa, and their four children live in California.

My wife is my best friend, who I love dearly, and she loves me. But isn’t it fascinating that two people who love each other so much can cut one another so deeply? When you let issues build up in a marriage, the smallest thing can trigger a war, and pretty soon you can lose sight of your love and commitment to one another. We had a night where something as trivial as spilled pretzels forced into the open things we had left unsaid. Once everything had calmed down, I wrote this song. In that moment, I fully realized my duty, as my wife’s husband, was to wrap my arms around her. To love her more than my pride, more than my desire to be ‘right,’ and to find a way to move through life’s good and bad times together. That will be a struggle at times, but love is worth the fight.

I wrote “Love is Not a Fight” about my marriage and my commitment to my wife. I’ve been performing it at my shows now for about six months, and after every show I am overwhelmed by the many different ways the song is affecting other people. I heard a story the other day about a man who has an adopted daughter. He said at times the challenges seem impossible to struggle through, but my song reminded him that Love is Worth the fight. The song has proven to be more than just a tune I wrote in my living room about my story, it is song about all of our relationships.

It’s easy to just skim by on the surface of life. The challenge is to go beyond the shallows into deeper relationships with the ones we love. At times this can be uncomfortable. It means we have to take the time to invest in their lives. It means we will have to be vulnerable and honest about who we really are. This will likely result in some pain. But it’s the kind of pain that carves out space in our souls for more joy than we could have ever experienced before.

More “things” will not bring you the full life that we all crave. It is time we make the important things important again and seek deeper relationships with our Maker and the people we share this space with. Love is not a fight, but it is something worth fighting for.

–Warren Barfield

“Love is Not a Fight” is the first single off of Warren Barfield’s third studio recording WORTH FIGHTING FOR scheduled to release MAY 20th 2008.

Love is not a place / to come and go as we please / It’s a house we enter in / then commit to never leave

So lock the door behind you / Throw away the key / Work it out together / Let it bring us to our knees

Love is a shelter / in a raging storm / Love is peace / in the middle of a war / If we try to leave / May God send angels to guard the door / No, Love is not a fight / but its something worth fighting for

Some love is a word / that they can fall into / But when they’re falling out / keeping that word is hard to do

Love is a shelter / in a raging storm / Love is peace / in the middle of a war / If we try to leave / May God send angels to guard the door / No, Love is not a fight / but its something worth fighting for

Love will come to save us / If we’ll only call / He will ask nothing from us / but demand we give our all

Love is a shelter / in a raging storm / Love is peace / in the middle of a war / If we try to leave / May God send angels to guard the door / No, Love is not a fight / but its something worth fighting for

Cause I will fight for you / Would you fight for me / It’s worth fighting for

[Warren Barfield, Love is Not a Fight]

great God greater than us all / forgive us we have made You small / God open our eyes to see / great God greater than us all / let Your people stand in awe / God we will rise up and say great God!
[Daniel Doss Band, Great God]

i’ve caught myself way too many times lately making more of me…and less of God…i lean harder on MY knowledge, on MY skills, on MY desires…striving for what I want…and in the process i find that i’m ignoring what God is doing in and around me and i end up putting Him back in the cool little box i’ve made for Him…no wonder i’ve been so “blah” lately…no wonder i haven’t been able to look up and see the glory of it all and just be struck by awe…

it really frustrates me that i keep telling myself things like, “He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less.” [john 3.30, nlt], and reading books like Louie Giglio’s i am not but i know I AM, and C.J. Mahaney’s Humility, and i still miss the point…everyday i miss it. ugh! ha…it’s just so frustrating…i want my life to matter…to mean something…to be bigger than me!

my friend Patrick just got back from Passion where Louie Giglio and many others just straight up brought the truth…you can read in Patrick’s blog where he talks about Louie, saying:

“the 1st night (Friday) Louie talked about each of us leveraging our lives for “the most important thing of everything” = the Name & Fame of Jesus (Revelation 5). We each get a little match that burns (life) for a bunch of years & then it dwindles down & goes out. But, I wanna throw my little match in with the eternal, glorious flame of Jesus & make that flame as bright & famous as I can. Because once my match (life) has burned out, that’s the end. Just a simple talk, but a great reminder that living my life for Jesus’ fame is all that matters.”

what would Christianity look like if we considered ourselves less and less and Christ greater and greater in our lives? what would it look like if we would mean it when we say, “i know i am not, but i know I AM”? what would it look like if we all took our little matches and threw them into Christ’s glorious flame?

God, forgive us for making you so small…for glorifying ourselves when all glory and honor and majesty should be yours…all yours and only yours…let us live our lives in continual awe of you…let us rise up and say great God!

Hey, uptown girl
Can you hear this downtown song?
Wrote a couple of words to tell you
Right here is where you belong

I bet you walk the streets
Wondering who you’re thinking of
Hope you’re looking for someone to hold
And not at all in love

And I wonder if you can relate
To nights upon my pillow case
Eyes wide open middle of the night
You’re the last thing on my mind

Only the lonely know
Only the lonely know
Only the lonely know
What nights like these do to me, yeah

I keep asking myself
If our hands were meant to be
I know this town is busy,
But I live on Public Street

We can get out of here
If only for just tonight
Ride like some Rollin’ stone
That’s forced to waste your life

And I wonder if you can relate
To nights upon my pillow case
Eyes wide open middle of the night
You’re the last thing on my mind

Only the lonely know
Only the lonely know
Only the lonely know
What nights like these do to me

When I’m under (when I’m under)
Is it me you’re thinking of?
With this light (get on your knees)
I pray you’re not at all in love

With someone else
(With someone new)
With something other than me and you
Just wanna be where you are
(Just where you are)
If ever you’re lonely I won’t be far

Only the lonely know
Only the lonely know

Only the lonely know
Only the lonely know
Only the lonely know
What nights like these do to me, yeah

Only the lonely know
Only the lonely know
Only the lonely know
What nights like these do to me

[Anberlin, Downtown Song]

When you’re dreaming with a broken heart
The waking up is the hardest part
You roll outta bed and down on your knees
And for the moment you can hardly breathe
Wondering was she really here?
Is she standing in my room?
No she’s not, ’cause she’s gone, gone, gone, gone, gone…. When you’re dreaming with a broken heart
The giving up is the hardest part
She takes you in with your crying eyes
Then all at once you have to say goodbye
Wondering could you stay my love?
Will you wake up by my side?
No she can’t, ’cause she’s gone, gone, gone, gone, gone….

[John Mayer, Dreaming With A Broken Heart]

once again…someone else has been here where i am…freakin good cd…

ct