Page 461 of 497

Yet I Will Rejoice In The Lord

April 18, 2008 / Allan / 0 Comments

Habakkuk 3 concludes with maybe the strongest confession of faith found anywhere in Scripture. After wrestling with God over the questions of injustice in the world and after listening to God tell him to wait for devine deliverance, the prophet declares his great trust in his Lord.

Habakkuk faces the frightening fact that his nation is about to be invaded by a ruthless and merciless enemy. The capital city of Jerusalem and the holy temple are going to be destroyed. The land will be ruined. May of the Israelites will be killed. The rest will be forced away from their homes in exile. Habakkuk faces the very real prospect of starvation as he looks ahead to a time without figs or grapes or olives; no sheep or cattle or goats; nothing being produced in the fields.

And he proclaims,

“Yet I will rejoice in the Lord,
I will be joyful in God my Savior.”

I don’t think we can quite comprehend what it means to “live by faith” (2:4) until we grasp what it means to know God. Knowing God and remembering his mighty deeds of the past and experiencing his grace and love causes us to rejoice no matter what happens. By the end of Habakkuk, the prophet has decided his God is so great, so powerful, so mighty, and so loving that nothing can occur which would decrease his joy of knowing him. Even in the stark absense of the most basic proof of God’s presence and blessings—food on the table, food to get through the day—Habakkuk declares his joy and his faith in his Savior.

God will not always change our circumstances. But he does always give us the strength and the provision to get through those circumstances. When the desert seems driest and the mountains too steep to climb, God sees us through.

“The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights.” ~Habakkuk 3:19

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Jason and Lance and I are leaving at 4:30 this afternoon for our annual elders and ministers leadership retreat. We’ll be in Glenrose together until Saturday afternoon worshiping God, praying for every family at Legacy, and considering the mission of God’s Church in our world. The plans are to discuss the differences between being managers and leaders, to evaluate ourselves in our roles as leaders in the Kingdom, and to set goals for the Legacy congregation against the backdrop of Ephesians 3, that our God “is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.”

When we did this in November ’06 (we’re a little late with this one), we spent most of our time going over the budget. I remember Friday night was great as we worshiped and prayed together and testified as to God’s working in our lives. But all day Saturday was spent going over numbers and programs and decimal points and equations. The focus this time is all on our walks with God, God’s mission for the Legacy church family, and our roles in being co-workers with God to accomplish that mission. I’m anticipating great things. I’m expecting our God to move in bold and obvious ways with us this weekend. And I’m praying we’ll look back on this weekend in the years to come as a watershed event in the history of God and his people at Legacy and in North Tarrant County.

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And tomorrow night I’ll be performing my first ever wedding ceremony. Jim McKillip and Elvera Long, two dear members of the Legacy family who have 120 years of marriage experience between them, are tying the knot after a courtship that began late last summer. When they asked me about six weeks ago if I would marry them, I humbly accepted and asked them if they’d be stopping by in the meantime for counseling. And they both said they’d be more than happy to come by the office and counsel me on anything I need.

They’re a delightful couple. I’ve known Jim for more than a dozen years as the grandfather of one of our dearest friends in Carrollton. And you only have to know Elvera for a couple of minutes to fall in love with her. It’s going to be a quick wedding followed by barbecue and peach cobbler. And I’m honored to be playing a part.

Go Stars.

Allan

One Baptized, Four Sprinkled At Legacy

April 16, 2008 / Allan / 4 Comments

I’m getting ready this morning to write a letter to Emily. Emily, one of our teens here at Legacy, was baptized here Sunday morning. And I always write a letter to everyone who’s just put on our Savior in baptism, congratulating them, encouraging them, and reminding them to look back often on their baptisms and remember what God through Christ has done for them.

Mark baptized her. Emily’s dad, Greg, had asked Mark to do the honors as a result of some close relationships that are developing in their Small Group. When Mark and Emily and a few family and friends went back behind the stage area to prepare for the baptism, I began talking with our congregation about the importance of baptism. I wanted us all to reflect on our own baptisms and remember what God has created inside all of us. And just as I began to read from 2 Corinthians 5, I heard the water running. Full blast. Into an empty baptistry.

The power was apparantly cut to our worship center sometime on Saturday as a result of some of the construction stuff happening around here. And our baptistry (as a safety measure, I’m told) automatically drains when the power’s off. So they started filling it as quickly as they could.

While the baptistry was filling, we went ahead with the Lord’s Supper and a couple of more songs. Then, finally, Jason and Lance open and hold back the curtains and we see Emily and Mark step into the water. Lance held a microphone over into the baptistry so we could all hear what was being said. One of Emily’s friends was standing at the top of the steps inside the baptistry, clearly visible to all of us in the crowd. And just as Mark was beginning to say, “I now baptize you…” a green garden hose reared up from the water and began spraying Lance and Emily’s friend.

One of the ladies, out of sight behind the scenes, had started to pull the hose slowly out of the water and up the steps in an effort to get it out of the way. She didn’t know the hose was still turned on. And when it came up out of the water, it STOOD UP and began spraying wildly like a hose will do when it’s turned on and nobody’s holding it. Lance got it. Mark and Emily got it. And the poor friend, bless her heart, was balanced on the top step of the baptistry and, in front of God and everybody, had to wrestle this hose down and grab it without getting completely drenched herself.

Somebody from the back hollered at Mark, “Take her confession! She’s going in!”

So we had one baptized and four sprinkled here at Legacy Sunday.

And I’m laughing. Man, I’m rolling. And I’m reminded that the more we plan and the more we rehearse and the more we try to make everything smooth and professional and slick and perfect, the more we need God to show us that it’s not us. It’s him. It’s not what we do at baptism, it’s what God does in washing away our sins and creating in us a new life filled with his Spirit. It’s not how good the worship leader is, it’s what God does in binding our hearts together as we lift up our voices to him in praise and as we sing to each other in mutual encouragement. It’s not how well the Scriptures are read, it’s what the holy Word does in convicting us and inspiring us to live into the stories of God and his people. It’s not how beautifully the prayers are led, it’s what our Father does in opening our souls to him and to each other when we pour out our hearts.

Emily and her family have a wonderful story to remember and to tell about her baptism. We all at Legacy rejoice with her and Greg and SueAnn. The angels in heaven rejoice as the Lord brings another sheep into the flock. And when the baptistry hose gets loose, when we start a song off key, when words from Scripture are mispronounced, and when the preaching is really dry, we know that what we do together on Sundays isn’t nearly as important as what God does.

Peace,

Allan

The Lord Is In His Holy Temple

April 15, 2008 / Allan / 2 Comments

Happy April 15th. I’m reminded today that taxation with representation ain’t so great either.

I need to apologize to Richard and Joanna and their two young boys, Nathan and Daniel, for my language at Saturday’s Rangers game. I’m sorry. In my defense, though, I’m not sure how anyone pays attention to a Rangers game and doesn’t occasionally use the word “stupid.”

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“But the Lord is in his holy temple;
let all the earth be silent before him.” ~Habakkuk 2:20

This is not just the song we sing very quietly before the prayer. No. If this verse is ever sung by God’s people, it ought to be shouted. This is the most powerful verse in Habakkuk. It sums up and concludes God’s great revelation to the prophet. It Habakkuk the bottom line. This verse is packed with power and victory and life.

God draws this rich contrast between the idols of the nations and himself. He points out very clearly that an idol has no value because it’s been carved by a human. It can’t speak. It can’t come to life. It can’t wake up. It can’t give guidance. It has no breath. The idol is dead. Worshiping idols isn’t just disobedience. It’s foolish and useless. (3:18-19)

The idol is dead.

But the Lord—see, here’s the contrast—however the Lord is in his holy temple. Our God is alive and powerful and he reigns supreme forever and ever in the eternal temple of the heavens. Our God is speaking. He is awake. He gives guidance. And he is the One who gives the breath of life. No one has to call to wake him up. No one has to arouse him to teach.

God is already speaking.

And this silence before this God is not just the silence of reverence. And it’s not just observed by God’s chosen people. The demand—or the prophesy, however you read it—is that all the people, all the nations, all of creation, all the earth participate in this silence before the Creator. The silence is an act of submission. It’s an act of faith that’s reflected in the way we live our lives. It’s a humbling realization that God is sovereign over all. Instead of trusting in our own power and strength, it’s allowing him to teach us and guide us and shape us and our futures. It’s accepting his time frame for delivering his people and judging the wicked. And it’s living day-to-day by faith in his power and his promises.

Empires will rise and fall. The Babylonian Empire. The Roman Empire. The American Empire. But the Lord is in his holy temple. God remains on his eternal throne as the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.

All this stuff going on around you? Everything you see in the world that has you so upset? God says, “I got it. I’m in charge of all of it. I’m in control. And everything’s going pretty much exactly the way I have it planned.”

We can put our faith in that. And we can live by that faith.

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“Strong” is the title of my favorite Audio Adrenaline song. It’s on the Worldwide album. I listen to this song in my truck at 7:30 every Sunday morning on my way here to the building to pray with Mike and Paul. It inspires me. It reminds me of who I am and to whom I belong. It pushes me to remember who’s pushing me and why. My God has called me to preach his Word. And he’s called me to minister to him and his people here in North Richland Hills and Tarrant County. He’s given me his promises that he will be with me every step of the way. Wherever he leads me. Wherever he sets me. And I’ll be strong.

I will follow wherever you lead me;
Wherever you are underneath the stars is where I long to be.
And I will lay down this ol’ life of mine;
I’ll leave behind all the things of the world to follow you.

Chorus:

And I’ll be strong and courageous.
I’ll live my life for you, my only King.
‘Cause you’re my God through all the ages;
Here am I, I am yours, send me!

When I fall down, and I’m broken,
When I stumble on the rocks and lose my way;
I will cling to your eternal love,
When I’m weak, you come to me, you give me strength.

Chorus

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The first ever NHL hockey game I ever attended was the first round playoff opener for the Stars at Reunion Arena in 1999. I was working at AM-990 in Wichita Falls and covering the Stars for my station and stringing reports for the One-on-One Sports Radio Network out of Chicago. Going in, I didn’t know a whole lot about it. I had watched several games on TV. I had been covering the team on a limited regional basis, only reporting the big stuff and rarely talking about it on my show.

But it only took that one game to fall completely in love with all of it. I covered every home playoff game during that Stanley Cup Championship season. The overflow pressbox at Reunion was actually the top four rows in the arena. And if you remember Reunion, there’s not a bad seat in the house. It was incredible. The energy. The noise. The intensity. The sheer absurdity of our seven year old team in Texas winning the most hallowed and most impossible trophy in all of sports. I fell in love with the speed and the beauty of the game. I was enthralled by the at-once poetry and brutality of the game, the skill and the strength, the dance and the brawl. I couldn’t get over how quickly momentum shifts, how fast the puck changes hands, how dramatically fortunes are changed with one turnover or penalty.

I want to say this very carefully. I want to be very specific about this next statement. I don’t want there to be any misunderstanding. Football is king, yes. But a live NHL playoff game in person—not a playoff game on TV, not a regular season game in person, but an NHL playoff game in person in the arena—is better than football.

More speed. Bigger hits. More action. More tension. More excitement. Much more drama. Louder. It’s the only sport with a true sudden death.

If you’ve been, you know what I’m talking about. If you haven’t, don’t judge me or my statement until you have.

I’m shocked that the Stars are up 2-0 against the impossibly-loaded, defending Stanley Cup Champion Ducks. I can’t believe both of those wins came in California. It’s beyond me how they’re in a position now to close out the team to beat in the Western Conference at AAC. And I can’t wait for tonight’s puck to drop on, as my good friend Ted Sorrells says, the big ice in Big D. It’s not even close to being there in person. But I can’t wait.

Go Stars.

Allan

I Believe

April 14, 2008 / Allan / 1 Comment

I’ll begin today with just a few random thoughts from Saturday’s Legacy family night at the Rangers-Blue Jays game. We left as soon as the green dot crossed home plate in the middle of the 6th inning because 1) we were freezing, 2) the Rangers were getting pounded, and 3) Valerie and Carley didn’t need another single bite of cotton candy. So, we were only there for 5-1/2 innings. But that was plenty of time to make memories:

~Lindsey’s fake baby, her tussle with security over the fake baby, and Jalayna’s uncomfortable obsession with the fake baby.

~David asking Cori if he can borrow two bucks.

~Watching the temperature drop on the Starbucks portion of the outfield scoreboard.

~Learning that David asked Shanna to marry him while in the drive-thru line at Arby’s.

~Those huge bags, as big as king sized pillows, of cotton candy.

~Mark shaming all of us by finding the hot chocolate vendor for Debbie.

~Comparing church names on the scoreboard and realizing that “Church on the Move” and “Little Hope Baptist” can’t begin to compete with “Smokin’ For Jesus!”

We ate for the cycle and then called it a night.

The draw for the Rangers game (other than the Rangers and a rare chance outside of a hockey arena to hear the Canadian national anthem) was the Third Day concert. The Christian band played for a little over an hour before the game. And I must say, not having heard any of their stuff before Saturday, it was a pretty nice concert. I really enjoyed it. I especially liked the last song they played. I think it’s simply called “Creed.” It sounds very Nicene-ish and Church Fathers-ish. But I loved it.

I’ll share the lyrics with you here. Then I’ve gotta go.

I believe in God the Father,
Almighty Maker of heaven and Maker of earth,
and in Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son, our Lord.
He was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate.
He was crucified and dead and buried.

Chorus:
And I believe what I believe is what makes me what I am
I did not make it; no, it is making me.
It is the very truth of God and not the invention of any man.

I believe that he who suffered was crucified, buried, and dead.
And on the third day, he rose again.
He ascended into heaven where he sits at God’s mighty right hand.
I believe that he’s returning
to judge the quick and the dead of the sons of men.

Chorus

I believe in God the Father,
Almighty Maker of heaven and Maker of earth,
and in Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son, our Lord.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
one holy Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sin.
I believe in the resurrection.
I believe in a life that never ends.

Chorus

Third Day was good. And I loved that “Creed” song. But I’m sticking to Audio Adrenaline as my favorite Christian band. I like the energy and little harder edge of what Audio Adrenaline brings. I listen to Audio Adrenaline’s “Strong” at 7:30 every single Sunday morning. I’ll share those lyrics with you tomorrow.

Peace,

Allan

A Dark & Stormy Night

April 10, 2008 / Allan / 0 Comments

Chainsaws and chippers. The sounds of cleanup dominate our little North Tarrant County neighborhood this afternoon. The thunderstorms that raged through our area early this morning packed 80 mph winds and lots of lightning and thunder. We lost two-and-a-half fence panels, a couple dozen shingles, a flag pole, and two hours of sleep. And our DISH is apparantly off line which means we don’t have any TV. But that’s it.

Most of our neighbors in our Ember Oaks Subdivision, though, fared much worse. Trees and fences and roofs are down all over the place. On just our street, Ember Oaks Drive, and Fireside, the street that intersects ours about half a block north, I’ve counted 28 trees with major damage, 17 fences missing at least one panel, and five roofs with missing shingles.

As always, click on the pic to get the full size. These first two are of Dave’s big tree next door to the North:

These are from our own fence on both sides of our house.

These show a little of the roof damage to our house. I haven’t checked the other sides yet. Hopefully this front is all I’ll need to fix.

These are of other trees on Ember Oaks:

This is looking north up Ember Oaks toward Fireside:

These are from the corner of Fireside & Ember Oaks, half a block north of our house.

These are from Fireside, just around the corner:

I had joked last night that the faithful few in the Oasis class at Legacy were the ones ignoring the overly-excited TV weathermen who were telling us the sky was falling. I said we all knew our houses wouldn’t be destroyed and the end wouldn’t come until well after midnight. And when the walls of our upstairs bedrooms began moving at just after 3am and we heard the cracking of the trees, I was afraid maybe I had been right. We’re very thankful to God today for keeping us safe through the storm.

“My soul finds rest in God alone;
my salvation comes from him.
He alone is my rock and my salvation;
he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.
~Psalm 62:1-2

Hopefully you and your families were delivered through the storms OK. I must hurry home now and do my best to readjust our DISH to 1) avoid the $29 service fee and the delay until Saturday afternoon for repair, and 2) to make sure I can watch the Stars’ opening round playoff game tonight against Anaheim. I can’t miss tonight’s playoff game because there may only be four or five total for Dallas. Carrie-Anne and Whitney are going to AAC tonight for the Mavericks and Jazz. Bud Hale gave us the tickets (thanks, Bud!) but C-A’s going instead of me because she’s never been to a Mavs game before. They’re going to have a blast. And I get Valerie and Carley all to myself tonight. I’m not sure yet what we’re going to do. I know it’ll have to be something fun and special. And I know it’s NOT going to be Chuck E. Cheese’s.

Peace,

Allan

Train Yourself To Be Godly

April 9, 2008 / Allan / 1 Comment

Absolutely nothing is more critical to a Christian leader than the growth and maturing of his heart and mind. Paul’s words to the young preacher in 1 Timothy 4:7, “train yourself to be godly,” describe an intentional lifestyle. Our hearts have to be regularly nurtered and fed. Our minds need to be cultivated as we think through what it means to be a faithful leader in God’s Kingdom. Paul uses the words “godly” and “godliness” only eight times in all of Scripture. And all eight instances are found in Timothy and Titus, encouraging the preachers to live good and holy lives, grounded in the source of their holiness, Almighty God.

As proclaimers of the Word, we are to live as models in the Kingdom. Our very lives should reflect what it means to be transformed into the image of Christ Jesus. Others must see God in us. If salvation from God through Christ hasn’t changed me, if it hasn’t impacted the way I live my life, then how could it possibly appeal to anyone else? How would I ever expect the believers in our church here to allow the Spirit to transform them if the one proclaiming this transformation to them week after week is himself the same?

I must live a godly life.

And that takes strong self-discipline. It demands a constant concentration, a consistent focus on thinking and talking and acting like God. It requires on-going evaluation and continual correction. It means realizing I am a very self-centered person, and deciding to die to self all over again, several times a day. It’s understanding my weakness with certain temptations and consciously avoiding those situations, several times a day. It takes a devotion to study and prayer and meditation. It takes a dedication to service and sacrifice. And it’s realizing that all those times I fall short, God’s Spirit is living inside me to lift me up, to encourage me, and to empower me to live a godly life.

In that way, my failures and my shortcomings actually serve to move me closer to God, not destroy me. And my life serves as an example to others, not as a barricade between people and the Gospel.

Peace,

Allan

The Kingdom, The Kids, & The Cowboys

Page 461 of 497

Yet I Will Rejoice In The Lord

One Baptized, Four Sprinkled At Legacy

The Lord Is In His Holy Temple

I Believe

A Dark & Stormy Night

Train Yourself To Be Godly

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