The Call: Washington DC

As I type this, tens of thousands of Americans gather on The Mall in Washington DC. They gather to worship God and petition Him on behalf of the victims of abortion and to petition Him that He would bring revival to America. I join them in that petition.

What will it take for our nation to return to God? So many people claim to be Christians but refuse to be like Him. Refuse to take up a cross and follow. Lately, I’ve been one of them. I have no idea where my passion has gone, but I pray God that You would restore it to me a thousand fold. Me – a prisoner of HOPE!

You have heard my weeping, Lord. You alone know my heart and mind. Renew in me all that You would have me be! Make the fire in me burn through, O’ God. Abba, please. Please, I beg of You: return my purpose to me. Though I have forsaken You, You have never left me! What would You have of me, GOD!? What would You have me do? What is the Burn, God, that I can’t escape it? Everywhere, God EVERYWHERE I see Sean and the burning ones. I beg You, GOD. I BEG OF YOU. RETURN MY PURPOSE TO ME. I want to burn before You. EQUIP me, Lord! I don’t know where to go from here. I don’t know what to do! Is that what You’re waiting on me to say? IS THAT WHAT I HAVE TO SAY FOR YOU TO SHOW ME WHAT TO DO? I will do whatever YOU require. PLEASE, ABBA! Please. I will do whatever YOU require me to do!  Without You, I can do NOTHING. Without YOU, I AM NOTHING.  I have sinned, Abba, I HAVE SINNED without regard to what You love.  Please forgive me!  I give my heart to You – the piece of crap that it is!  I give ME to YOU. Please, God! Please. PLEASE. Please. I want nothing other than You, my God!  In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Bloggin’ like it’s 2008!

I don’t know when I’ll get around to putting this on the web… maybe today – maybe weeks. Today is January 5, 2008.

I’m reading John Piper’s “Don’t Waste Your Life” and while I don’t agree with everything he says, I do with most of it. Maybe the parts I don’t agree with, I just don’t understand yet. We’ll see… The following is something I found simply . . . urgent.

There is a paragraph in the book (Chapter 7) that states:
“Of course, we do not use the word cool to describe true greatness. It is a small word. That’s the point. It’s cheap. And it’s what millions of young people live for. Who confronts them with urgency and tears? Who plead with them not to waste their lives? Who takes them by the collar, so to speak, and loves them enough to show them a life so radical and so real and so costly and Christ-saturated that they feel the emptiness and triviality of their CD collection and their pointless conversations about passing celebrities? Who will waken what lies latent in their souls, untapped – a longing not to waste their lives?” (bolding is mine)

O’ God, let it be me as Your helper! Let it be me that loves them that much! Here I am, send me to the teenagers of the world! Not just Americans, Lord, though I love this country, but ALL of the young. Let my life be Your life, let it be radical and real. Let it cost me much! To live is Christ, to die is gain! Let me be so soaked in Christ that everyone sees that You are my only Hope. Let my words be Your Words flowing out so that they are awakened to Your purpose and passion for their lives! Time is running out, it is short. We are vapors and the Wind is coming! Don’t let me be lazy, God. Keep me going! Keep me active. Make my hunger for Your Word be insatiable! I hunger and thirst for righteousness! Daddy, now that I’m a we and not a she, I’m counting on You to ready his heart. If you call me to live somewhere else; he has to be ready too. He’s been hurt, but You’re the ultimate Healer. Heal him, Father. So be it (AMEN).

Do you think that goldfish know how simply beautiful they are? We have a 50 gallon (I’m guessing here – it’s huge) tank and we have roughly 20 fish. Four are catfish, two are algae eaters, and the rest are different types of goldfish. The algae eaters do their job and clean up the tank with a little help with this four (odd looking – two are albino and two are stripped) catfish. And the goldfish, they’re so brilliantly colored. Not all goldfish are gold. I never knew that until recently. I have some that are black, gold, and white. I have a solid white goldfish. Now there’s an oxymoron, right? Anyhow, my fish are amazingly gorgeous, but . . . they don’t really have any personality. It’s my personal belief that God created many things just to be beautiful and to give humans the pleasure of looking at them. Thank You, God, for goldfish. I see Your design in them. Just another note: one of the albino catfish swims upside down at the top of the water. :blink: (I’ve secretly named him Zeppelin . . . ’cause someone I know likes to be different. :P)

Psst . . . hey you . . . yeah, YOU. Go check out <a href=”http://www.theburn247.com”>www.theburn247.com</a&gt; and look for one in your town. If there is one, GO TO IT. If there isn’t, pray about God getting one set up there (and go to one in a town near you if at all possible). That might mean YOU do it, or it might just mean YOU pray for those God is calling to come forth and do it. At any rate, the website is cool and the experience is even better. You might become a worship “junkie” if you go to one of these gatherings, so be prepared. It’s all about You, Jesus.

Thanks, John (I hope he doesn’t mind being called John) for a book that stirs up thoughts and questions. Questions that MUST be answered. I appreciate you. Thank you, Jeremy and Sandy, for always talking about the book – even if it did take me over a year to pick it up and read it.

I hope all is well with your soul. May His Love and Light forever be shining where you can see it and feel it!

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