Capital Karate Mount Pleasant

In February of 2012, my wife and I moved back to my home, South Carolina to work and prepare for the next step in ministry. While seeking the Lord's will, I served as the transitional pastor for St. Johns Baptist in Pinopolis, SC and helped them re-constitute the church and call a full-time pastor.

After much prayer we began pursuing bi-vocational ministry as a way to build the Kingdom, reach the world, and utilize the gifts and talents the Lord has given us. We recently started Capital Karate in Mount Pleasant, SC as a way to support our work from a tent-making perspective. You can find more information about the studio on our website here and below. We are very excited about this as it is a passion of mine. I have been teaching since 1996 and in that time I've seen many different programs and studios and I can confidently say this is a truly unique program that focuses on character development as well as the martial arts, it truly provides the best of both. Please pray with us that the Lord will bless this business and thus give us the freedom to serve more in His Kingdom!

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Find out more about Capital Karate in Mount Pleasant, SC below or by going to the website:

Capital Karate is the place to go in Mount Pleasant SC (and the greater Charleston Area) for karate classes, and other martial arts instruction. With a lifetime of industry experience, our instructors offer top-quality martial arts education for the whole family!

Welcome to the Charleston Area’s newest Martial Arts school in Mount Pleasant, SC! Capital Karate is not just a martial arts school.  We are a leadership academy, focusing on creating leaders. Not just here at our karate academy, but at home, school, and in the community.

How are we different from other martial arts schools?

We specialize in helping families train and earn their black belts together. Whether young or old(er), your family can all train in the same class together.  We encourage moms and dads to jump in and take the same class! For the family that is already commuting to and fro, or that just wants a great family activity, this is great news!

In Mount Pleasant and the Charleston area, convenience of the commute is a must. This is why Capital Karate is conveniently and centrally located to serve Mount Pleasant and the greater Charleston area. We are an easy drive if you live in Mount Pleasant, Downtown Charleston, or North Charleston. If you live in West Ashley, most families only have to drive about 10-15 minutes to arrive at our location.

Call or text 843-813-1573 to schedule your free, introductory martial arts leadership lesson to find out why our program is so popular!

Are you a Parent?

Discover how we teach life lessons/skills in a clean, safe, professionally operated martial arts academy.  Contact us here capitalkaratemp@gmail.com or at 843-813-1573 to receive additional information.

Our program uses martial arts to give your child the tools they need to:

• Improve Their Grades
• Be Physically Fit
• Be Super Confident Leaders

Our Mount Pleasant Martial Arts school is the perfect way to increase self-defense skills or simply improve discipline.  Call us today and let's set up a free lesson for your entire family!

With our unique approach and curriculum, we can help everyone become better and achieve their goals! Whether you are interested in the martial arts for yourself or looking for a place where your entire family can train in karate together, we have the right program for you!  Contact us to see for yourself!

Capital Karate of Mount Pleasant is conveniently and centrally located to serve Mount Pleasant and the greater Charleston area. Contact us to see for yourself how our Mount Pleasant location can help your whole family achieve their goals and have fun together!

Capital Karate has opened it’s newest location in Mount Pleasant, SC! Run by Chief Instructor Aaron Hawk, your family has the opportunity to train under a seasoned martial arts instructor! Mr. Hawk has been teaching martial arts for 17 years, and brings a high level of energy, fun, discipline, and respect to every class. Classes aren’t just for kids either, but designed for the entire family. Our memberships are reasonably priced— once you pay for 2 family members, everyone else trains for free!

What Does A Typical Capital Karate Class Look Like?

One of the things that makes our classes very unique is the amount of structure that we require. Students are lined up according to height, and are taught to be very precise in their movements. At the beginning of each class, we recite our student oath, which teaches and reminds us how to think about ourselves, and how to treat others. Then, Mr. Hawk will discuss the monthly Leadership Life Skill. Our academy’s goal is to train each student to become a leader, not a follower, and to always do their very best. Effective leadership skills are the most recognizable characteristic of successful and high achieving individuals. They are also the skills that parents most desire for their children to learn.

Our 9 Leadership Life Skills:

1. Setting and Achieving Goals
2. Showing Courtesy
3. Developing a Positive, Black Belt Attitude
4. Demonstrating Respect for Yourself and Others
5. Honor
6. Perseverance
7. Loyalty
8. Self-Control
9. Integrity

Enroll at Capital Karate in Mount Pleasant, and give your children the gift of leadership, self-defense, and excellence!

What is Your Program Like?

Our classes are family-based, and very structured. We stress non-violent conflict resolution, how to avoid dangerous situations, and practical self-defense techniques for getting away from a range of situations. One of the main aspects of our training involves helping our students avoid being the victims of bullies. Our realistic training includes a mix of various martial arts including karate, krav maga, and aikido.

Leaders are always victors and never victims. Your children will be taught that their martial arts skills are for self-defense only, and they will have a clear understanding of being personally responsible for their actions and attitudes.

Unique to Mount Pleasant Capital Karate, we incorporate special programs into your child’s class plans:

• A safe modern approach to teaching traditional martial arts values
• Develop basic athletic skills, fundamentals and fitness
• Character & life skills lessons for kids

Kids who learn to defend themselves usually will never have to. They learn to walk with confidence and are less apt to be a prime target for bullies and / or abductors. Kids with a high level of self-confidence are also better able to deal with negative peer pressure and can “just say no” to dangerous situations and threatening people.

How To Get Your Child Started with Martial Arts Classes in Mount Pleasant, SC:

Call (843) 813-1573 and schedule a trial program for your child. You will be given a tour of our training facility, and get to meet the instructors. This gives you the opportunity to see if our program is right for you and your family. Our tuition rates are reasonable, competitive and affordable. We look forward to meeting you and making a difference in the life of your child!

Also check out our Capital Karate in Mount Pleasant, SC Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/CapitalKarateMP

Oh how I long to write, but the clock ticks on

Miss being able to post on here, some day I'll take it back up again, but for now I have no time. I am choosing to leave the content up here in the hopes that it may help someone even if it is older posts! GS

Wondrous Provision - Take 2

So, don't have a lot of time to write right now, but just want to brag on the Lord again. About a year ago the Lord allowed a car accident that totaled my 92 Civic Si. He then provided us with a 2002 Honda Odyssey through several means (including the settlement from the Civic, a no-interest loan, and the capstone of which was an incredibly generous gift from our church family). A few months ago Michelle's old 92 Corolla (yes, they were both 92's) gave up the fight with a litany of issues including the trans and brake system (for starters). The Lord has once again provided through some wonderful means. First, he allowed us to borrow a vehicle from a dear brother in Christ since then until we picked up our new car. Second, He has given us yet another no-interest loan. Third, we have once again been blessed with a few gifts toward the car. Forth, He provided just the right car through the estate of Michelle's grandfather (took tragedy and brought some good out of it). Finally, He allowed all of the paperwork and details to be worked out and we picked up one of the nicest vehicles I've ever driven! Thus, in the last year, He has just plain-old spoiled us, twice over!

I praise and magnify the Lord for His countless, rich blessings. As I think of and look around the world, Christ spoils us so, so terribly much here in America (with great blessings come great responsibility). We are so amazingly blessed even through material things that in the end, don't matter that much. If our heavenly Father delights in giving us good material gifts, that perish, how much more should we believe Him for the eternal things, the very things that He instructs us to look for?! It is a good reminder and an important spiritual lesson. Jesus, thank you for spoiling us so much, and help us to spoil others in return as that is what pleases you!!!

PS - this is after years and years of having troublesome cars or no car at all. We don't understand His timing, but we know that He is good in the good times and in the bad, which reminds me of one of my fav songs. "As Long As You Are Glorified" by Sovereign Grace Music (http://www.sovereigngracemusic.org/albums/category/sovereign_grace_music/come_weary_saints)

Quick Thought for the Day

When I first started martial arts, I couldn’t wait to get past the basics and get to the “good stuff.” I used to enjoy seeing people’s belt displays and couldn’t wait to get my black belt and have the “complete” belt system. I couldn’t wait to learn what I needed to finish. Since then, I’ve learned there really isn’t anything beyond the basics, you just keep coming back to the same things, the same basics, making them better, and building on them. You put solid basics together and you have growth, but it isn’t anything new, it’s just the basics. At some point along the way I began noticing that many of the people who have a personal belt display don’t have their black belt on it. The reason I found out is that black belt is really just the beginning. Black belt really means that you have learned the basics sufficiently to truly begin the journey of learning the martial arts. It is not the end, the capstone, but rather, the beginning of understanding martial arts. You have never “mastered” or “completed” your training if you are a true martial artist. Thus, you can’t have completed black belt and thus, it is not displayed. The belts on the display represent what it took to learn the basics, to get to the point where you can truly begin learning. Thus, the absence of the black belt is a testimony and reminder that you are still on the journey and that you will never “complete” your training.

So it is in the Spiritual life. So often Christians (especially younger Christians) seek after the fantastic, the amazing, the exciting things. They want to know all the “secret” things, the things that no one else knows. They want to know what the Bible “really” says. And, so often, they chase after these things for the things themselves, believing that these are the mark of maturity and having “arrived.” For example, they go to sections that speak of the end times / apocalypse, or read something like the Da Vinci Code that claims to give “hidden meaning” and so on. Or they think, I need to read the whole Bible and then I’ll have mastered it or know all I need to or I need to read or pray like so and so and then I’ll have arrived. Then, they start walking in the Christian life pursuing those things (totally missing the mark, btw) and they get frustrated because they haven’t “arrived” yet. What they (we) often miss, is that just like in the example of the belt system above, we are on a journey where we are seeking to become more like Christ. The things that we do are the basics, such as praying, reading, trusting the Lord, delighting in Him above all else and putting Him first, etc. These are the basic things that we need to learn. So often we speak, talk, or live as if we need to get past these things to be “mature.” Yet, as in the example above, these are the things that we are constantly having to “re-learn” and that we keep coming back to time and time again. The thing is, that truly is the journey and those are the basics, that’s where growth is. It’s not in anything secret or fancy, just in the basics and building from there. As long as we’re on this earth, we will never “arrive” in that sense. The very notion of “arriving” is as nonsensical as thinking that earning a black belt means you have “finished” in the martial arts.

Wondrous Provision

I can’t take a lot of time to write right now… too much going on. But, I do want to give the Lord the praise He is due for providing us with a “new” vehicle. In a recent post I referred to the accident and asked many of you to be in prayer for us, that the Lord would provide for us. I referenced the fact that we would not be able to purchase anything without the Lord’s provision and that we were simply waiting in faith for the Lord to move. Too often in life, we ask for things (with more or less pure motives), but how often do we really stop and thank the Lord? How appropriate in this season, the week before Thanksgiving?! I believe in asking the Lord very honestly for what we need (and He already knows), but I also believe in praising and thanking Him!

That is precisely the purpose in this note. I want to not only thank Him for providing us with another vehicle, but for showing off and providing something MUCH greater than we imagined. We were able to find a 2002 Honda Odyssey EX with 113,000 on it. The Lord has provided in several ways beyond just showing us the van. We got a lot more back on my car than I thought we would (the beauty of it having been an Si). Two of our friends gave us a generous gift and then we were able to get a loan for the amount we were still lacking.

It’s pretty dirty b/c an old man who apparently loved to go everywhere with his dog owned it, but that is just a little cleaning job. It seems to be in pretty good shape mechanically and very good shape otherwise. It also just had a major tune-up done, so it really shouldn’t need much maintenance initially. There is a sound in the engine that is not “normal” but the mechanic said it isn’t anything to be concerned about. He will be giving it a thorough exam this coming week and hopefully taking care of anything that does need to be handled.

I do still have one prayer request though… well, two. First, as I said above, we did end up having to get a loan for a few thousand. So, I would ask you to continue in your prayers for financial provision, we really need it right now. Second, that the vehicle would last a LONG time! Below are some pictures:

A Poem: Make Me Worthy of Your Calling

It's been a while since I've written anything creative and even longer since I've written a poem. I don't claim this one is great, but it is straight from the heart. It is similar to another post I wrote some time ago (http://a-hawk.blogspot.com/2009_05_01_archive.html), though there are some differences as well... funny how we go in cycles sometimes. This is why scripture reminds us to remember!









Make me worthy of your calling oh Lord; make my paths straight and my heart true!
For I know myself well, the poison within; yet like water I drink, not noting the end.

Search my whole heart, and know me my Lord; reveal to me, what you have abhorred.
That I might break and you might build, Christ in me, wholly filled.

Guide all my steps into that place, where I depend upon your grace.
Let me not wander or go off course, but let me remain in you my source.

Keep me dear Lord within your will, a servant true and faithful still.
That in the end it might be known, that honor to you I have shown!





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Just in case you can't follow my cadence, I'll post the poem again with the numbered cadence... sometimes I make sense to myself, but not to others ;)

Make me worthy of your calling oh Lord (10), make my paths straight and my heart true! (8)
For I know myself well (6), the poison within (5); yet like water I drink (6), not noting the end (5).

Search my whole heart (4) and know me my Lord (5), reveal to me (4) what you have abhorred (5)
That I might break (4) and you might build (4), Christ in me (3), wholly filled (3)

Guide all my steps into that place (8), where I depend upon your grace (8)
Let me not wander or go off course (9), but let me remain in you my source (9)

Keep me dear Lord within your will (8), a servant true and faithful still (8)
That in the end it might be known (8), that honor to you I have shown (8)

An Interesting Day – An Electrical Job, A Totaled Car, A Few Errands, and a Faithful God

So, as is often the case when “major” events happen in my life, I am taking the opportunity to reflect on the situation and to write about it. Today was a great day, I really enjoyed the day and love being in the will of God and seeing Him work… even when I don’t understand it.

I started the day slowly as I’ve been sick lately and am on day 7 of antibiotics. I’m feeling a lot better than I have, but not 100%. So, I was scheduled to go to one of our pastor’s house to help with doing electrical in his basement. I started later than intended, but still got over there early-ish in the morning. On my way there, I visited a friend at work that was helping me with something and then headed to the pastor’s house. After spending the day there, I was finally finished and headed home. I planned on going home, working on a project, then meeting another friend to help with a vehicle logistics problem (driving a car :), and then he was to help me bring our harp back from the church. So, I headed home driving down Bardstown road away from the pastor’s house (I’m guessing somewhere around 5 pm). This road is a 5-lane road, with a turn lane in the middle, meaning the North bound side I was on is two lanes of North bound traffic. I went through a light and on the other side, there was the usual blockade of people in the right lane essentially at a standstill. The left lane however was clear for about a ¼ mile, as it usually is around this area (at that time of day). I slowed down because the left lane was only clear for a little bit and the right was stopped. As I drove past the first section of the blockade, I went “on guard” as I normally do, waiting for someone to try to shoot / shift lanes from the right lane into the left. The next thing I know, I’m seeing slow-motion. I hear the bang of metal crunching against metal just a split-second before I can actually see the car that just pulled out in front of me, followed by the jerk of my car stopping “on a dime” (well, on / at a Ford Focus to be specific), and THEN the airbag hits me in the chin. I wanted to punch the thing (unfortunately, it was already flat :). I’m assuming it was compensating for the low-speed impact, but it actually hit me a split-second AFTER the collision, right about the time I was starting to “self-right” in my seat. I actually had a split second to think to myself, “hey, my airbag didn’t go…” BANG!

So, what happened? Well, I was passing a Waffle House (on my right) and there was a teenage girl that apparently wanted to make a left (from the Waffle House lot toward the South) A waffle house employee told her she should have used the other exit, the one with the light!. Apparently she had wedged between two cars that were stopped in the right lane and decided to “gun it” toward the “safety” of the turn lane. I guess she thought it was clear, but she was quite wrong. I’m sure she wasn’t able to see me, but that’s just why you NEVER try that maneuver, especially in such heavy traffic. Even if she had made it past me / my lane, the turn lane in that spot is NOT safe, and the cars in the South bound lanes were stacked up like sardines anyway. It’s no surprise that I later found out the girl has only been driving since either July or January (the mom was a little flustered and settled on January). Immediately after the accident, I checked myself to see if I was still intact (though I was fairly sure I was since I was thinking about decking the airbag -which, for those of you that don’t know my sense of humor, that simply means I’m annoyed with something, not that I actually want or intend to deck something… although, it hit me first, and there I go again ;). After that, I looked up to see where the impact was on the other car (and thus, what to expect in terms of injury to the driver), just in time to see a teenage girl having a nervous break-down. She looked extremely young and was just freaking out. I motioned to see if she was ok and she nodded (and the same for the friend that was with her). Thankfully, my car struck right around the driver’s front tire / wheel and not the door. I took another second to just take stock of everything and then looked for my cell phone. When I found it, I began to motion to see if she had already called the police… she hadn’t… she was on the phone with mom and dad. So, I called and was informed that someone had reported it and the police would be there as soon as possible. I was quite impressed at the large number of people that stopped to be witnesses and to be great citizens and see if we were OK… a grand total of ZERO! Thank you Kentucky drivers! Ok, rant over. Anyway, there were a few people that tried to help who were going the other way (Southbound). They asked if we were ok and one of them tried to tell me the nearest intersection so I could tell whoever I was on the phone with (I lost track as I felt like I was a dispatcher with all the people calling me, and that I had to call).

To make a long story short, I spent the next hour or so reassuring a very scared girl that the world would not end and that everyone makes mistakes and so on. I also had to verbally coerce the girls away from the cars (which were still in the middle of the road) and into the grass so that we were out of the road and not killed by someone that wasn’t paying attention. I think they were so flustered and scared they just couldn’t process what I was saying for a minute. When her parents came I introduced myself to them and the mother was very kind, even offering to let me sit in their car where it was warm (I was still in my work shorts and t-shirt). We made small talk for a minute and then the police showed up (Fire rescue showed up earlier to make sure we were all ok and to clean up the mess from my bleeding car).

The damage: My Civic, totaled. Ford Focus, might be able to be repaired. The girl’s left front axle was broken for sure, but there was little visible body damage. I’m not sure what might have been damaged in the engine compartment. Beyond that, their car was A-OK. Mine on the other hand, is worth nearly nothing according to the Blue-book (despite being a collector’s car… Black 92 Civic Si, for those that know). The airbag alone I think costs more than the car, but beside that, the entire front end is crumpled up against the fire-wall with all of the cooling and AC system mangled beyond repair (and likely many other things). The dern thing still ran and drove though… well, at least to the parking lot of the Waffle House about 20 feet away. Damage to me: Small cut / scrape on right knee, small cut on left knee (left will probably bruise a little), sore collar bone (seatbelt) and peck muscle, a slight burn on the neck from the seatbelt, and a scrape or burn on my right wrist from (I don’t know?, poss airbag vent). Damage to the girls: nothing they were aware of at the time (except emotional :). After everything was taken care of (paperwork, cars towed, etc), Ben Farrar picked me up and I was able to help as planned by driving one of their vehicles to their house. After that, we went and picked up the harp and brought it home. Thanks Ben, for picking me up and for getting the harp.

So, now to take stock. Girls = totaled cars. OK, OK, I’m joking! On a serious note, I’m just so thankful that no one was hurt. I’m SO thankful that my car struck the front wheel and not the driver’s door and not the rear end (hurt the girls or spin the car). I’m also SO thankful that her car was in front of mine because it probably would have shoved me into any on-coming cars that were still moving (head-on) and / or into another vehicle on the side. I’m thankful that I was going slower than the speed limit as it would have been much worse. I’m thankful that if it had to happen, it happened to me. Why, because I’m not a jerk and the girl made an honest mistake and I’m afraid of what some would have done / how they would have treated her. I do hope that she learns from this, don’t get me wrong. She needs to learn from it. However, someone acting like a jerk or trying to sue or whatever is not going to teach her anything. I hope that she learns from it and then is able to let it go. Finally, it gave me an opportunity to show Christ’s love and to demonstrate a faithful heart and mind. What I mean is that you can always tell who a person really is when trouble comes or bad things happen. Because of Christ’s love and grace in my life, I was able to demonstrate how a Christian ought to act in a situation like this and I was able to do it in sincerity.

Finally, I have been and will be able to demonstrate faith in Christ in and through this situation. What do I mean? Well, there are two sides to this story. The first, the human side, is that I won’t be able to buy a decent vehicle with whatever the insurance company gives me. It will be a start, but it won’t be enough for a vehicle that ran like that one… it was a gem. This is compounded with the move, much less commuting opposite directions once there. The bottom line is that there is no way humanly speaking. You may ask why I’m happy about this or why I consider the day to be good in light of this? Well, I’m not saying I like being in this position, I don’t like not being able to provide or not being able to go out and get a vehicle. So why do I consider it a good day? Precisely because of the second side of the story! The thing is, it is in these situations, no matter how mundane it may be (or how huge it might seem), we get to see Christ work!!! We get to watch Him moving and working and providing in any number of ways! Sometimes He just drops something in our laps and sometimes He uses our current or natural circumstances. Other times He gives His people a desire to help, each as they are able and when combined they are able to accomplish much more (Ex 36:6). Still other times, it is in some way that we hadn’t even considered!

If we will stop long enough, if we will take a breath and observe, if we will listen for a second, we will hear the heartbeat and see the hands of our Savior!!!!!!! He is not merely concerned with our soul (though that is certainly enough), no, He is also VERY concerned about our lives. Our Heavenly Father knows what we need and takes great delight in providing for us (Matt 6:25-34; Luke 12:22-31). He also delights in helping us grow in faith and learn that we can trust in Him for things both big and small. I don’t know about you, but I get excited when God begins to work! I get excited knowing that He is doing all things for our good and that His plans are always good and perfect and always infinitely better than we could ever ask or imagine!!! THIS is how I can say it was a good day. I will do all that I can, don’t get me wrong. But, when I’ve done everything that is in my power (and that I ought to do), I will have the honor and pleasure of resting in Him and watching my savior work this out for His glory and my betterment! I don’t know how and I don’t know when, but I know that He will provide. He may take us through a period of trial, we may struggle with this for a little while, but if so, I know that we will Glorify Him in the way we act, talk, and think. He may choose to pour out blessings upon us immediately and provide exactly what we need right away. I have to be honest as a human and say that I hope it is the latter, but I’m genuinely ok with the first. God has provided so MANY good things and I don’t deserve ANY of them. So, in the perspective, what is this by comparison?! It is as nothing!

Now, having discussed the ethereal, I want to go back to the earthly for a moment. I simply want to ask you to join me in prayer. Please pray that the Lord will be glorified in all of this. Please pray for the girl and her family. I pray that if they don’t know Christ, they will come to know Him. I also pray that she will learn from this; that she will only feel sorrow long enough to learn from this and I hope it points her to Christ. We are taught many things about prayer and one of those is that we are taught to ask for what we need and desire and that the Lord will provide according to His will. I am therefore praying that the Lord would provide enough for a solid vehicle that will last and serve us well as we seek to serve Christ! Finally, I am praying that when we are able, the Lord will provide just the right vehicle (perhaps even a mini-van… for the harp and tools)!

Antibiotics and Flesh-eating Bugs

I posted this on Facebook the other day as a status (first line was status and the rest was in the comment section) and decided I'd share it here, since I think it gets the point across pretty well. Big changes are coming for me again and hope to update soon, though I realize it has been so long, no one probably reads this blog anymore ;)


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how do you go from antibiotics to anti-bio-tics, little things that eat you from the inside out?

antibiotics.... by doing a study on this word, you can clearly see how the real meaning of the word is to take life. It is a compound word meaning to be against, oppose (opposite) or destroy (anti) and of or pertaining to life (biotic-s). Thus, it means to be opposed to, or to take life. So, when a doctor says he is going to give you antibiotics, he is trying to kill you. This is further demonstrated by the suffix "tics" which we all know are blood-sucking parasites that bring disease and take blood (life). Essentially, they are giving you tick-larvae that will eat you from the inside out and kill you.

Now, if you don’t like the logic I used here or the root-word fallacy (among others), read your commentaries, study bibles, devotional materials, etc, and listen to those that teach you a little more carefully… otherwise, you end up with anti-bio-tics in your brain!!!
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now, to provide a little context, my point here is to ILLUSTRATE bad hermeneutics (biblical interpretation, or interpretation in general for that matter) and some horridly bad logic. It is intended to be a short little zinger to the way so many mistakenly study, teach, and preach the Scriptures (or anything for that matter). If you listen carefully (or just 1/2 way), you'll be amazed how how bad most of the teaching out there is and how most of it is not founded on solid logic / logical grounds and so often has nothing to back it up, other than the fact that the person in front of you is saying it!

Seeing Clearly or Not Even Looking?

I haven’t written anything for a while and for that I am sorry as I miss writing. I still intend to get on here and update soon, but we’ll see how that goes. For now, I simply want to share a very abbreviated meditation from this morning.



A good online friend of mine posted the following quote yesterday, but I didn’t see it until this morning, so it was a great early-morning meditation:



"If we have an intimate acquaintance with the gospel in all its excellence, knowing the word as one of mercy, holiness, freedom, and consolation, we will value it as our chief and only treasure. We will also make it our business to give ourselves to it in absolute obedience." - John Owen



Upon reading it, I had to read it again. Then, I found my “good Christian mind” ascribing ascent to it, thinking something to the effect of, ‘great quote, another one to make me happy and affirm that I’m thinking rightly’ (after all, isn’t that what it’s all about? – note the latent sarcasm from a seminary grad!)

But then, a moment later (just a moment later), I asked myself if I could repeat it to myself. Not the words, not could I quote it to myself, but could I reword it and recall it for myself, could I paraphrase it so as to get to the heart of the meaning (that is the very nature of teaching and if you can’t do that exercise, then you can’t teach it and thus, have proved that you don’t understand it at all). Did I remember, only moments after reading it, what it SAID! I realized that I could not. In fact, I realized that I had only ascribed my mind to it because it sounded good, it came from a trusted source (my friend), and the original author was also trusted. Thus, in my mind (my reflex response), it was worthy of acceptance. Yet, that way of thinking has more holes in it than the best Swiss cheese in the world AFTER a herd of mice gets a hold of it and they eat their fill.

Upon realizing this mental reflex, I read it again only to realize that I hadn’t read it at all. When I originally read it, I read something to the effect of “we should have an intimate time in the Scriptures because they are valuable and it’s good for us” which roughly translates, “we should read the Bible a lot.” Though that is sort of a part of the message of this quote, it’s not at all what it is about. Mind you, had I the context, I may have read it differently, but had I READ it, I would have understood it very differently. Besides that, the point is not whether or not I have the mental capacity to understand it; the point is that it was my mental reflex to assume knowledge, to assume agreement with what was stated, to merely glance at something, to give disingenuous mental ascent to something simply because it “looks good” upon a very superficial, glib glance! In fact, glib is the perfect word for it, it means “fluent in a superficial or insincere way.”

Had I actually read it, I would have understood that it was, in fact, speaking of intimacy, intimacy not only in the Word of God, but intimacy of understanding and with Christ Himself! In fact, it goes far beyond reading the Bible, but goes straight to the depths of the Gospel itself. The intangible Word, the good news, the very heartbeat of the very agent of Creation, the Creator Himself!!! In the very first part, Owen says “IF we have an intimate acquaintance with the Gospel, in all its excellence.” That ought to arrest us immediately, we should be able to read no further without deep reflection, peering into our own souls to see if we do, in fact, know the Gospel at all. I’m not referring to the Roman road or some other “trinket” of evangelism. The Roman road is a good tool (as are many others), but I’m not referring to memorizing a handful of Scriptures that we can rattle off to someone. No, I’m saying, do we KNOW the Gospel. Can we take our understanding of the Gospel and explain it to someone at their level? Can we explain it in a way that they will understand? Can we boil it down to what it really is, and what it is not?! What was the basis of the Gospel? What is it’s purpose? Why is it important? If we cannot answer those questions and many more like them, we don’t even understand the very things we might rattle off to someone via the Roman road. Is it any wonder then, if we miss even the basics, the very bargain-basement understanding of the Gospel, that people don’t come to the Christ we claim to love when we speak with them? If your auto mechanic can’t explain how a car battery works, would you trust him to rebuild your engine?! What about this, can you explain the Gospel accurately to a 5-year old? In a way that they will be able to comprehend? If not, then you don’t understand the Gospel. You see, explaining to a 5-year old will require you to boil it down, to leave the big words behind (you know, the big ones we like to throw around though we don’t really understand them ourselves… btw, this is called bs), and to get at the very heart of the message AND to explain it as simply and accurately as possible. Thus, in the very first sentence of the quote, all my years of walking with the Lord and all the years of study and theological training are called into question. If I am truly reading this, I must take an honest look at my own understanding and ask if I even understand the basic Gospel message, much less the “in all its excellence” part. Which, btw, I believe that if you truly grasp the Gospel, you will (humanly speaking) understand it in all its excellence. Which ought to beg the question of whether we see it as excellent, or if we’ve become so comfortable with what we do understand of it, that we no longer see it as excellent, but as routine and “old news.” Something to think about!




I have to say that on my part, I have to realize what a slow learner I am. I’ve been a Christian since 1987, had theological training, and I have to be honest and say that I think I’ve only begun grasping the Gospel. It is so simple that a child can understand it and yet so vastly profound!






Then, in the next part of the quote we have the test, the mental test, of intimate knowledge of the Gospel. The test is whether or not we see it as “knowing the word as one of mercy, holiness, freedom, and consolation.” Do we understand God’s mercy? Do we know what it is that He has done for us? Do we know why? Do we even come close to grasping how very merciful He is? You say yes, but do you really? What about that thing you want? What about that situation where you weren’t treated fairly? What about the abuse you suffered? How is God’s mercy demonstrated there? So I ask again, do you understand God’s mercy?! Do we understand His holiness? Do we get that He is completely holy and just, that He is the very MEASURE of what it means to be holy? That He is the rule by which all things are measured? That something’s holiness is determined in how close to resembling Christ it is? You say yes, but what about that thing you looked at the other night? What about that woman or man you gazed at longingly? What about that person that made you mad the other day? Oh wait, that’s your anger, not their sin!

I could go on, but you get the point. Do we see the Gospel as epitomizing these things? Not do we see it as containing these things, but as BEING these things? What is your definition of mercy? What about holiness? What about freedom? What about consolation? Can you define these terms without the Gospel coming to mind, as the chief example? What comes to mind when I say the Gospel? Is it the Bible itself, is it church, is it missions, is it the Roman road to salvation or Evangelism Explosion? Did Christ himself come to mind? Christ and His work of restoration IS the Gospel and it started before the foundations of the world were laid and continues today and will continue for eternity! Do you honestly see the Gospel in light of these elements? When someone mentions the Bible or the Gospel, what comes to mind first? Do you think about the 10 commandments, or sin? Do you think about judgment? Do you think about (fill in the blank)? What do you think about first? My friend, I submit to you that if we think about those things first, as in, primarily about them when the Gospel is mentioned, we don’t truly understand the Gospel, especially not in the way Owen meant (and I fear few do). It is true that those thing are involved in the message, but they are not the message. Let’s use the story of The Boy Who Cried Wolf for example. If I said that the point of that story is that wolves are bad and so is lying, would I be accurate? Well, I would be accurate that those messages are involved, but they fall far short of grasping the point of the story. The point is that if we aren’t truthful, people won’t believe us and we will pay the penalty. So, if we think the Gospel is primarily about the things outlined above, we totally miss the point.

Yet, if we do understand it, if we truly understand it, it will so captivate us, that it will become “our chief and only treasure.” We will so grasp its value that everything else will pale in comparison. It will become to us a treasure in a field (Matt 13:44). In all of life, we give our attention to what is most important to us. We do this by nature because we are worshippers, by nature. Thus, no matter what a person says, you can know with certainty what is most important to a person by simple observation. What we truly value most WILL receive our attention.

Thus, if we truly grasp the Gospel, we will indeed “make it our business to give ourselves to it in absolute obedience.” It is not a matter of doing x, y, or z because we ought to, but it is rather a reflex response arising out of a change of the will of the one who grasps this truth. This is the primary difference between a Pharisee and a disciple, between law and grace, between freedom in Christ and living according to the law! When we do read the Bible, is it because our hearts burn with desire to know Christ and to know Him more fully, or is it because we’re supposed to? Do we see clearly, or do we see men as trees? (Mark 8:24)

When we read a quote like this one from Owen, we say amen. But do we TRULY say amen, do we even bother to really read it? Are we reading and ascribing to these things as a means of gaining another notch on our belt of mental understanding, or are we peering into them to see first what truth they contain, and second how our own hearts look, compared to the truth? Do we gaze, or do we only glace? When you read the Scriptures, are you searching them meditatively as if looking into a mirror to see the condition of your own heart (1 Cor 13:12, 2 Cor 3:18), or are you marking off your checklist for the day and then moving on, never even understanding the depths and riches of Christ you just passed up? If so, you are living like someone who passes by the grand-canyon every day and thinks no more of it than you would the last step of the stairs you climb. Or, to put it another way, when we read (and live) this way, we are just like a man who looks into a mirror, walks away, and then forgets if he even fixed his hair (James 1:23).

When we say amen, do we really mean it?!


What about now?

Short, Blunt, and to the Point

Some of you who are used to my normal mode of writing may be surprised by this one. Despite having a blunt personality that despises being “flowery,” over the years I have learned (LEARNED) to use a little wisdom and try to reason with people, rather than just beating them over the head with truth and leaving it between them and God (this is my true personality, sorry guys but I’m a prophet by nature). Thus, though I normally choose to nicely with lots of explanation, qualifiers, and much padding in order to try to get truth into the heart, this time I’m just going to be a prophet.


There are really only two views of the world / of existence. The first is to defy all logic and good science and choose to believe that there is no such thing as god or at least an intelligent designer. The second is to believe that a god must exist and then to figure out if he has explained what he wants or not. If he has, then we’re extremely stupid not to obey.

Some in the scientific community want everyone to believe that evolution apart from any possibility of intelligent design is the only logical, scientific possibility. This is simply not true. Science itself demands that life had to begin somewhere. They say that people who believe in religion or intelligent design believe in a fairy tale, yet it is they who have zero explanation of the beginning of life. For the record, I’m not even speaking of evolution vs Christianity here, it is entirely logical to believe in id, without believing that the God of the Bible is the creator. Those are two separate debates. Most, if not all, of the foremost and prominent evolutionists will admit that the prospect of God is not palatable and thus, they choose to believe in evolution (the young and un-learned ones still think that it is illogical to believe in id, rather than realizing it is a choice and not a conclusion to hold that belief). They have no explanation for the beginning of life. The theory of old, is the primordial soup theory which morphed (evolved) into various other arguments that all require a magical jump from non-living matter to a living cell (which is scientifically impossible, no matter how much “long ago and far away” you give it). The most recent explanation I became aware of was when watching Expelled and the interview with none other than Prof Richard Dawkins himself. When nailed down on this question he “hemmed and hawed” (as the Southern expression goes) and said perhaps some other super technologically-advanced civilization came to earth and “seeded” the earth. Um… aliens, seriously… that’s the best the “there’s absolutely no way intelligent design can possibly be true because I say so anc can’t stand the implications of admitting it could be true” community can come up with?! What in the world… literlally! He said he’s certain that God does not exist, but offers no evidence, it is self-evident to him in his magical little world. You know, I think I liked the guy an interview or two before him… he just illogically stuck to his guns and said that life may have possibly come to be on the back of crystals… at least he just acted like the five-year old logic he held to and when asked, just kept laughing and saying “I just told you” (though all he said was just that). Though I didn’t intend this as a commentary on the movie, at least Dr. Will Provine of Cornell is honest and candid and has accepted with both arms the natural, logical conclusion of all evolutionary theory. He will burn in hell, but I greatly respect his consistency, frankness, and for following through on his own logic. Don’t misunderstand me, I wish it weren’t so, but it is true nonetheless. When two people come to the same evidence and one chooses to believe one thing and another chooses the other (and they are both logically consistent about it), I have to respect that. Bravo Dr Provine!

Science is a wonderful thing and it is a long-standing passion of mine. I love it, especially cellular biology. I studied diligently and hard and learned a lot in high school and in my undergrad at both a state tech school, and the Christian college I later attended. The thing I came to realize, however, is that science has its limits. That sounds simple enough and obvious enough, but so often in our culture science is hailed as the end-all-be-all of knowledge. It is great, but it has massive limits. The primary limit is that the community has adopted evolution as its religion and yet, this is incompatible with the essence of true science. What is worse, is that it is now making claims it cannot support and employing horrendous logic to try to defend itself and blindly refusing to admit the truth.

What is the truth? In the context of this discussion, the truth is that evolution is based on faith. All of the arguments, all of the evidence of one thing or the other, all of the red-herrings and flawed logic cannot deny the fact that they don’t have any answers as to how life began. Not only that, but those answers are not possible to discover by the very tenants or pillars of science! I just wish most of them would be consistent and admit that evolution is a choice that may be at least partially based in science, but is ultimately based on faith, a religious view. Christianity too really comes down to faith. There are many, many proofs that could be offered (and I could write many myself). However, in the end, it really does just come down to faith. Faith that God is who He says, that the Bible has been preserved, that the God of the Bible is the one and only true God, etc, etc. If it could be proven that Christianity is false, I would abandon it in a heartbeat. In fact, I will go a step further, further than most Christians can or will. Sometimes I wish it weren’t true because my carnal nature would rather do whatever it wants and the demands of God are not convenient to those carnal desires. Yet, I am entirely convinced that Christianity is true, and willingly and gladly submit to a loving and good Creator, Jesus Christ. I thus rejoice in the salvation of Christ and delight myself with Him and in Him. I love Christ for what He has done for me!

Aside from foundational issues, there is one other way I am logically different from those believers in evolution, at least I can admit that it comes down to faith.

An Abbreviated, Short, Brisk Little Rant

I’m reminded of how faith is a gift from God and how belief is first a matter of the heart, not the head. Knowledge is a wonderful thing, but it cannot bring salvation of any kind. On its own it is a god of human imagination, a vain pursuit constantly promising what it cannot deliver. It is an open tomb, always swallowing and never being filled; it is a vacuum that ultimately collapses on itself. Apart from its creator, knowledge has no power and no direction… just like electricity is powerful and useful, but only if it’s grounded. You cannot, with knowledge or learning, convince someone of something they have decided against. You also cannot debate for the sake of debate… this too is a vain pursuit with its end in itself. You can love them, you can speak truth, but you cannot make a willfully deaf man understand.

Repentance

Ok, so, I was watching a little tv today and heard a person who represents a particular church (who shall remain nameless to avoid needless controversy) congratulate someone for “understanding in one day our Lord’s message of repentance.” For those that know me well, you probably know that I have a habit of fussing at and / or debating the tv or radio. I’m very passionate and can’t stand when people purport something that does not stand or is illogical, and especially when they misrepresent the Gospel! As with so many of my notes, this started as a Facebook status update of a sentence and turned into this… enjoy :)

Repentance is NOT simply, oh darn, I screwed up, I’m really sorry that I did “x” and now I’m in a mess… I messed up and sinned and now I’m in a mess and God is mad at me. NO!!! That is merely the starting place of repentance. Repentance is having a keen awareness of just how sinful you really are (inasmuch as we can comprehend). It is not only recognizing what you have done wrong, but it is standing with God and saying “you are justified when you speak” it is standing in agreement with God that you are deserving of punishment because of who you are, not merely for a few times of messing up (though those are the evidences of who you are). Repentance is a deep sense of vulnerability is seeing yourself in God’s eyes and realizing that you cannot possibly cover up yours sins as Adam and Eve tried to do, nor can you hide from God himself or the wrath that is to come! Repentance IS casting yourself before a Holy God and pleading for mercy, realizing that you deserve none. For those who call upon the name of Jesus Christ in this way, they will be saved, He will in no way turn anyone away that comes in this manner. Then, the truly beautiful thing is that He will not only give you mercy, but He will give you grace, which means that He not only takes away your sin (your sin nature), but He will also give you HIS righteousness. You are not merely brought to a “zero” balance (which still wouldn’t be good enough), but He gives you perfect credit, HIS!!!

Aside from this type of repentance, a person is condemned to hell. This is no way around it, there is no other way. This does not delight me, speaking as a human being. It is not something that I enjoy preaching and teaching, yet, it is completely true. It is like being in WWII, hearing the air-raid sirens, and trying to take cover in a bunker. I’m not happy about having to scream at the top of my lungs to a little child who’s crying merely because I’m yelling, or to have to forcibly grab an old woman, or to tell a strong man to his face that he’s an idiot; I don’t enjoy doing those things. And yet, how can I do anything else?! The most selfish thing I could do would be to jump in the bunker and comfort myself with the thought that I was safe and other’s should be able to hear the sirens. It is one thing when people have heard and chose not to take the necessary actions; it is entirely different if they have never heard!

This is truly amazing, and most importantly… 100% true!

Meditation

Also, as to aligning with particular groups and doctrinal lines… each “system” is an attempt to reconcile mysteries and as such, is a human structure built (whether solidly or not) on top of the Bible, and thus, is bound to have error. This is why I cannot seem to answer some questions around here… now, some are better than others and I more easily align with them than others, yet some are quite good save a few things or even the tweaking of a few points. If I cannot accept the whole, I cannot claim to align with said system. Thus, I don’t have a clue which particular system I “believe” because they are all in error in one manner or another, though I try my best to be aware of and intelligent on the issues involved. Thus, I know I need to learn more, desire to, and will, yet at the same time, this is why I am ignorant of terms and such. Part of it has been laziness, but part of it is in recognizing that I cannot accept these wholes. So much of this smacks of the “I am of Paul and I am of Apollos” (1 Cor 3:4). If we are truly people of the word, if we truly believe sola scriptura, then why do we so blindly hold to the traditions instead of digging in the Word for ourselves and then taking the systems as advice from elders and those more wise than ourselves.



Some will charge me with being illogical or not desiring consistency… no, quite the opposite. I am a VERY logically-oriented person and quite analytical. I cannot abide inconsistency within myself, my mind, etc. I am very logical and love systematic theology and so on. My contention is that there is more than we are capable of knowing. Thus, we should seek to know all that we can about what we can, but we should not try to force the things that have not been revealed to us. It is actually an affront to God to seek to know the hidden things that He has denied us. If you disagree, explain the Trinity. If you can explain the trinity without becoming a heretic or using this same logic, then I will change my mind. Otherwise, be consistent and admit that you can’t figure out every single thing and learn to be comfortable with mystery… we are the creatures, not the creator. Why can’t we eat this fruit? That doesn’t matter; to you it has not been revealed. Apply yourself with what you are given, but stop grasping for what you have not been. Then, take what you have been given and use it instead of bottling it up in selfishness. Deut 29.29

Like A Tree Planted By The Water

You know, living life in the Spirit is truly a perplexing thing. I wrote a “short devotion” not long ago that is ringing truer and truer to me lately. I am experiencing another revival in my life and it is very exciting, yet a little fearsome. I know my own wickedness and though this new life in Christ is wonderful, a part of me wonders how long it will be until I stray again, until I trade the treasures of heaven for the fleeting pleasures of this earth, the trinkets that hold no real value but are a mirage of a lie. That’s right, a mirage of a lie. They are not even the lie itself, because the subject of the lie does not exist. Satan loves to whisper in our ears telling us that fulfillment or contentment is found here or there, yet the father seeks those who will worship Him in Spirit and Truth. It’s not a matter of here or there, but a matter of Him. Right here, today; today while it is still called today do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion. You do not have to seek God in one place or another, nor do you have to seek His promises in one place or another. No, you seek Him and all these things are added unto you. Nevertheless, the devil loves to whisper in our ears that if we look at that or seek after that, or do this in this manner, THEN we will have fulfillment. Yet, what is going on here is that we are grasping for straws, we are trying to take by force what Christ has promised us by Grace. By grasping, we are saying to God that He is not looking out for our good, or that He is not moving quickly enough, and ultimately that He is not good. Does not your heavenly father know that you need these things?! If you as for bread He will not give you a stone, therefore we should stop trying to turn stones into bread seeking to provide for ourselves by our own power, which is literally nothing. We cannot change one hair on our head, we cannot add one measure to our life, we are powerless and can do nothing… except ask and receive!!!

My friends, I have many more things to write, and yet I do not know where to begin or where to stop. My real purpose today is to ask for your prayer. I have had pseudo-revivals in the past where the Spirit wooed me and I followed for a short time, but quickly became distracted by the things of this world and the renewed life the Lord desired to bring to me shriveled and died among the thorns and rocks. I have also had genuine revival in the past, but over time, I forgot the Lord. I forgot the Lord when I sat in a house I didn’t build, ate food I didn’t plant, and drank my fill of the wine of this world. My friends, I want to be completely “sold out” to the Lord, I want to stand in His presence saying “here am I,” “use me Lord.” I don’t want to hold anything back or become complacent once again. I want to stand before Christ at the end of my life saying that I indeed fought the good fight and that I lost none of those who were put into my care. I want to stand firm, not wavering or turning to the right hand or to the left, with fire in my soul, united and in perfect unity with Christ as a wheel within a wheel.

As I lead my new family, I cannot lead if I am not following the Lord. I cannot seek to feed my wife Spiritual food, if I am anemic. How can a man feed a flock if he has no food and no strength to find it?! The job of every truly great leader is to guide those in his care through the treacherous perils of life. He does this by the light of the Word, by the power of Jesus Christ, lighting his paths and guiding him in all righteousness, so that he does not stumble or lead his people to death. The moment a leader loses the glory of the Lord, those following are in danger. This is a powerful meditation for the past, the present, and the future as the Lord has called me to be a shepherd. If I don’t know how to find water, I cannot water His sheep. If I do not know to eat, I cannot feed the sheep, nor can I have the strength to lead them to food. If I don’t stay on the alert, being ever vigilant and watchful, I am like a shepherd without his staff, helpless to defend the flock from ravenous wolves.


This is a constant struggle in my life (and in all of ours if we are honest) and I don’t want to lose the battle any more. My friends, I need your prayers! Below I will share just a few of the things that I jotted down as I was praying this afternoon. Please pray that Lord will protect me from the temptations of the evil one and that this work will not fall void, but will be the catalyst for the rest of my life. Today IS that day!

From the depths of my soul I cry out to you O Lord, let this be the moment that I forever resolve to walk in your Spirit and in you alone. Let me no longer walk in the paths of sin such as laziness, gluttony, and complacency. Search me and know my heart and reveal it unto me so that I may follow you with my whole heart and with all of my strength. Teach me your ways so that I may know what is right, be renewed in my mind and spirit, and follow you in your way. Give me genuine passion, remove the heart of stone and give me the heart of flesh so that your Spirit burns as a fire within me and I’m lead by you rather than by emotion and human determination. Help me no longer stumble about trying to walk as blind in my own power, but bring me to naught so that I may see you in truth.


I shared a note a while back called, “Lord Jesus” that is also quite appropriate and totally in line with my heart right now. I'm placing the link to that note and a picture of a powerful song below that.

Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=2892830294

My blog:
http://a-hawk.blogspot.com/2007/07/lord-jesus.html

A Short Devotion

Living the Christian life is perplexing sometimes, and so is zeal for the Lord. Scripture teaches us that the Spirit is like the wind, it blows where it will (John 3:8). We cannot make it blow one direction or the other, nor can we generate the wind at any point. Further, we cannot determine whether it will be a whisper, a gale-force storm, or nothing at all. We are completely dependent upon God to send His Holy Spirit according to his purposes, for His glory. Living and moving in the spirit is like being a sail-boat in the midst of a great ocean. We are dependent upon the wind for movement. We cannot generate our own wind and we could never row long enough to get to safety. We can try all we want, but we will tire and fail if we attempt it. Instead, we must learn to move with the wind, to ride the current. This means being prepared for the wind’s movement and being committed to move the way the wind moves, to go left when the wind goes left and right when the wind goes right. We must let it guide us in the ebb and flow of life, gently caressing and comforting us while moving us swiftly along the ordained path.

Our job, our responsibility, is to prepare for the moving of the Spirit… the end. God’s prerogative, right, and decision is to move according to his purposes and will. Through the disciplines, such as prayer and Bible reading, we prepare ourselves for the movement of the Spirit just like a ship’s sails being properly in place, prepare it for the wind. Yet, as with a ship, having sails up in the air does not mean we will be able to move, it simply means that we are prepared to move when the wind blows and in the manner the wind wills.

There are many spectrums in the spiritual life and this is no exception. At one end of the spectrum is being slack in the disciplines. Slack disciplines are like slack sails, they spill the wind and handle it poorly, causing the ship to move poorly or erratically. When we are slack in the disciplines, we are unable to move with the full power of the Spirit. Though the Lord is willing to move us and sends His Spirit, we are poor vessels, leaking and spilling the precious gift of the Spirit and failing to move in the power thereof. We become erratic and disheartened. Sometimes we even begin to wonder if the wind is insufficient to move us, but in truth it is we who are insufficient. In those times we should recognize it is our insufficiency causing the problem. Yet, at the same time, we need to remember that Christ is made perfect in our weakness (2 Cor 12:9). It is not that Christ is weak, not at all. Instead, it is that His strength is demonstrated most perfectly when we are at our weakest, when we acknowledge our weakness. It is when we are in a posture or position of being totally submitted, totally open and naked before our creator, that he is able to demonstrate His strength in amazing and perfect ways. It is then that He can pick us up in the warmth of His strong arms, holding us close to His bosom, quieting us long enough to listen to the beat of His heart.

At the other end of the spectrum is holding the sails too tightly. When the wind does blow, we are to hold the sails, but if we hold them too tightly we might believe ourselves to be the master of them, foolishly thinking we can go where we will. If the sails are held too tightly, the wind will push against the sails with tremendous force. If the sails continue to be held too tightly, then you end up in a tugging match with the wind vs you. You will not win! In the same way, if we try to use the disciplines to gain favor with God or to earn His approval, we totally miss the point. If we approach them as if they are a means to get where we want to go, we will end up going no where and even find ourselves opposing the Lord. The disciplines must be used in the way they were designed. They were designed to help us grasp the movement of the Spirit, not control it; we cannot control the wind, nor can we decide our own destination. Remember the disciplines do not make us holy; Christ’s atoning blood has already accomplished that on our behalves. Instead of trying to earn your own holiness (as if that were even possible), you must use the disciplines as tools to learn the way the Spirit moves and then set your sails accordingly.

If the wind is blowing toward the west (from the east, toward the west), you will not get anywhere setting the sails toward the east, or if you do, you’ll only end up going the opposite direction you wish to go. Further, if you stubbornly and rebelliously decide on your own course and face against the wind (toward the north or south), you will have a very hard time keeping the boat from capsizing and will eventually tire out, ruin the boat, or both. A ship in the midst of a storm must use the wind to move and be carried by it where it will, it cannot survive taking the wind broad-side. If we put up our sails the wrong way, we will likely break our mast, rip our sails, or capsize the boat. Thus, when our devotionals are on the wrong things (such as worshipping TV or the latest Christian author - ouch), we are facing the wrong way (to one degree or the other). Further, if we simply refuse to put up the sails (not doing any devotionals), we won’t move at all, but will only bob to and fro, tossed about and destined for destruction.

Yet if we do put up the sails, even if we put up the correct sails in the correct manner, we still cannot believe that this will guarantee movement, we must still wait upon the wind for movement. If performing the disciplines by themselves guaranteed movement, then we would be source of movement, providing our own salvation. God did not create us as motorboats and we cannot save ourselves. Instead, He created us as sailboats, completely dependent upon Him for all, and in all. God desires for us to grow in a deep, intimate relationship with Him. It is only when we are willing to completely submit ourselves to Him, standing naked before Him without pretense, qualification, or ideals of earning our own salvation that we are in the correct posture to be fully moved by the Spirit.

When you pray, how do you pray? What is your posture? Are you commanding the Spirit? Are you begging in disbelief, hoping somehow to get God do to your bidding? Are you praying as a means to gain favor? My friends, prayer is about posture. It’s about saying, here am I Lord! Prayer is about Christ’s kingdom and beseeching the Father to make us what He desires therein. It’s about sitting in the midst of a vast, endless ocean, totally unarmed and helpless, with sails drawn, waiting patiently and properly for the moving of His Spirit. My brother, my sister, this is freedom in Christ. If the Son has set you free, then you are free indeed!


Read Psalm 23 in a paraphrase version and pay attention to the sense of meaning it brings out as compared to a more literal version.

(note: I am usually the one telling people to avoid paraphrase versions... this time I thought it fitting :)







• List the ways you are waiting on the Lord (the key here is passive, like putting sails up and getting them ready for the wind to blow whenever it comes)



• List the things that you are powerless to do (like create the wind or determine the direction it will blow in)



• Find scriptural promises where God has already fulfilled the means to the things listed above. He has already provided, so list how he has already promised to do so.


Take a break from sin! Don’t focus on it or think about it this week. Do I have your attention? Good. Now, I’m not saying that you should use this as an excuse for sin or that you should ignore sin, not at all. Instead, I am saying not to let the accuser of the brethren, Satan, tell you how bad you are this week. This week, work on confessing your sin with an earnest heart and leaving it there. All too often, even after you have sought forgiveness and confessed your sins, even in the midst of a prayer of repentance he loves to come along and tell you that you aren’t praying right, that you aren’t doing what you should, that you didn’t get the formula right (ouch), and that the prayer is thus invalid. Listening to these types of lies just buries you further in a pit of despair for which there is no way out. Christ’s life, death, and resurrection paid the price that we could not pay, delivering us out of this very trap. Do not let the evil one trick you into thinking you are still there, this week is about freedom! Do not let that old devil twist what should be a devotional relationship with our Lord, an intimate communion, into another way to point out our failure. Instead, confess your sins to Christ and ignore the devil. That’s right, ignore him, block him out, rebuke him in the name of Jesus Christ.

1 John 1:9 says “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” You see, “doing” and “not doing” are not the point. Christ has promised his children forgiveness when they ask, so confess your sins and think of how Christ bore your sin on Calvary, taking it upon himself. Let him take it for a week and don’t let it enter your mind. If you find yourself thinking of sin, write it below and next to that, describe what the Bible says about that accusation (Psalm 103:12 would be a great place to start).