at the airport...

it's become our new home...

Reading for three reasons

You know how we can read books just for the sake of reading them? So we can try to impress others with how smart we are? I've fallen prey to that way too many times and I really can't stand to see it in myself or others. I have three primary reasons for reading 1) Drawing closer to God. 2) Gaining More knowledge of the world around me. 3) To have fun. And impressing people will never be one of them. Because I happen to read things all the time that are altogether unimpressive.

With that said... "The Confessions" certainly falls into the first two categories and at times wanders into the third. I never imagined a book this ancient could be so current. His honesty is comforting and challenging at the same time. It reminds us that sin is very real, and God's grace has always been, and always will be, the means to destroy it.

Here's a couple excerpts of St. Augustine pouring his heart out to God.

"Do not hide your face from Me; let me die so that I may see it, for not to see it would be death to me indeed."

"God, You are most high, excellent, most powerful, omnipotent, supremely merciful and supremely just, most hidden yet intimately present, infinitely beautiful and infinitely strong, steadfast yet elusive, unchanging yourself though you control the change in all things, never new, never old, renewing all things yet wearing down the proud though they know it not, ever active, ever at rest, gathering while knowing no need, supporting and filling and gaurding, creating an nurturing and perfecting, seeking although you lack nothing. You love without frenzy, you are jealous yet secure, you regret without sadness, you grow angry yet remain tranquil, you alter your works but never your plan, you take back what you find although you never lost it; you are never in need yet you rejoice in your gains, never avariocious yet you demand profits. You allow us to pay you more than you demand, and so you become our debtor, yet which of us possesses anything that does not already belong to You?"

I love worship... I hate 4am

So... we just got back from the Hillsong Conference here in Houston. It was amazing worship tonight! I was crying like a baby while we were singing "Hosanna". And "With Everything" was off the charts... God was off the charts. He totally overwhelmed me tonight with His love and His goodness. I love those moments when God sweeps you off your feet and just surprises you once again with how great his love is. Then when I feel the reality of that love all I can do is tilt my head up until my neck hurts... open my eyes and sing through the ceiling and just shout to heaven. This is worship people!

Any of you guys had an awesome worship experience lately? If so... tell us about it. If not, stop what you're doing right now and just tell God how amazing He is. Then begin to live for this incredible God. That's worship.

I've got to pack now and then go to sleep. We've got a 5am call time and that means I have to wake up around 4am. Fun!

Later gaterz.

-jack

Reading

I just finished "The Mysterious Benedict Society". It was so good and I'm going to read the second book soon. Any ways... this is my next book. And I'm totally going to finish it this time! Now I'm accountable to the few people that read this blog and I have to finish it. It's an amazing book, but certainly not an "easy" read for me. I think this is going to be my new book rotation; an easy kids' book/fun fiction and then a more difficult book. We'll see how it works.

In God We Trust

Africa blog #1

So... we finally made it to Malawi. After 36 hours of travel we're here! We've only been here for a few hours and God has already started something in our hearts. The second we walked into the football stadium and saw everyone dancing and singing we started crying. There's just something about the joy that these people have. Their thankfulness and praise ushers in the presence of God in such a powerful way.

We sang "Save Your People" tonight and they went crazy! Everyone was jumping up and down and singing as loud as they could. We're playing again Saturday night and Sunday. Thanks for all your prayers and comments... we appreciate it so much.

I'll post some pictures tomorrow. Love love love!

-jack

Planes Planes & more Planes

I'm off to Africa via London! YAY!

peace!

-jack

Christian the Lion

I love it!

New Band Blog

We just started a new band blog. Check it out HERE!

Colossians 3:15

Me and Whit are trying to memorize Colossians chapter three. Scripture memorization has never come very easy for me, but Whit brought up the challenge and it's going pretty well. Any ways, I was reading through and I got to the fifteenth verse:

"And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful."

The second I read that scripture I just started to meditate on peace. What a beautiful thing to think upon... the peace of God reigning in our hearts. But then I started to hear gun fire, bombs, and crashing debris. I visualized the most bloody, violent, and vehement battle scene one could imagine. And I felt God whisper to me... "This is your heart."

We're so hard on ourselves. We make Satan's job so easy. He probably just sits back and watches us wage war against ourselves. We hurl accusations at ourselves and inflict injury and punishment all within the confines of our heart. And we usually don't sop there but start firing at others. Pretty soon we're in a state of lovelessness. Not loving ourselves near as much as God loves us, and not loving others near as much as we love ourselves.

The cross, the grave, and the resurrection was the ultimate peace treaty. God crushed violence, accusation, and sin; freeing us to be at peace with Him and ourselves. We have to understand that we are loved beyond our understanding. The perfect love of Jesus, and that alone, will bring peace to our hearts.

The Power Stance

Please click on this picture and see the enlarged version...

The New Me

2 Corinthians 5:17 (ESV)

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come."

Am I the only one that wakes up and feels like the "old" me sometimes? I think that's the epic struggle in the daily walk of most followers of Jesus. I think I'm just now realizing that I'm a new person. When I received Jesus I was molded and changed by the Spirit. When I say new; I mean that I was made new in all the ways I needed to be. Now I can just be myself; because "myself" now has the nature, the likeness, and power of God. I don't have to generate any more righteousness... He's my righteousness. I don't have to be impressive... because God's already impressed with Jesus, and Jesus is in me. Lord, help me to live this today. Help me to live like the new me... the real me.