Wow, another two weeks already... I gotta get back on the ball! Thanks for being patient with me :)
The last two weeks have been crazy, once again. I had the privilege of leading worship at Calvary this weekend - it was the first weekend I had done in about six months, and it was fantastic to catch up with a lot of friends I hadn't seen in awhile. I've also been busy in the studio, and I'm really hoping we can get this thing finished by summer.
That said, I've taken a bit of a detour from Genesis over the last couple of weeks. I'm starting to get into the genealogies of important Biblical figures, and I gotta be honest, it isn't exactly easy reading. My plan is to make a giant family tree starting with Adam and Eve and working my way down as I get through it. Should be pretty cool :)
In the interim, I've been spending more time writing music and getting my prayers put on paper, so to speak. I'd like to share one with you here that I'll be playing this Thursday at Renovate (meets @ The Lobo Theater in Nob Hill at 7:30pm). It comes from Hebrews 4:12-16, which reads as follows:
"For the Word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account. Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are - yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God's throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need."
There's a TON happening in this passage, especially in relation to the things that have been going on in my life over the last year. When my wife was going through some pretty nasty medical issues shortly after our second son was born in March 2011, I allowed myself to become bitter and angry, and my heart was hardened towards God. Since then, he's changed my heart, but this passage sums up exactly what I was going through at the time. God's word is active, and it shakes us to the core when we are in the wrong. At the same time, no matter how angry or bitter we become, God knows about it, and He empathizes because he faced the same kinds of situations that our bitterness ultimately stems from. What's so beautiful about this passage to me is how it says we are to approach the throne of grace with confidence - we don't ever have to question whether God's grace is sufficient because he says right here that we will find it in our time of need!
I'm Listening
Where did I go wrong?
I tried so hard to be perfect on my own
Then it all feel apart
But you were there to remind me
You rescued my heart from the darkest of sorrow
Buried my emptiness in an empty tomb
And the very same words that pierce me down to the marrow
Are said to heal the deepest of wounds, so I'm listening
I knew it all along
I'd never outlast you but still I tried
And it all broke your heart
You were still there to remind me
You rescued my heart from the darkest of sorrow
Buried my emptiness in an empty tomb
And the very same words that pierce me down to the marrow
Are said to heal the deepest of wounds, so I'm listening
With outstretched arms and open hands
I stand before the Great I Am
I'm not alright, that much is true
But I'm alive when I'm with You
You rescued my heart from the darkest of sorrow
Buried my emptiness in an empty tomb
And the very same words that pierce me down to the marrow
Are said to heal the deepest of wounds, so I'm listening
That's all I have for today, hope your weekend was good. Have a great week, and hopefully I'll see you at The Lobo this Thursday!
Ben
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Progress
Well sorry to leave you hangin'! Last weekend was REALLY busy for my family and I, hence the non-blog-post... and here we are, two weeks later already. I hope you all had a great Super Bowl weekend, regardless of whether you watched it or not (Go Giants... ;).
Anyway, a lot has happened in the last two weeks for me, spiritually and physically, so I'm excited to share with you what's on my heart. First off, let's get to brass tax on how things have been changing physically since I started on New Year's. I measured my stats tonight and here's where I'm at:
Weight: 185 lbs
Body Fat: 14.3%
So I've lost a total of 10 pounds and knocked off 3.7% of my body fat in 5 weeks! It'd be dishonest if I said it was easy - it's been pretty hard getting used to not eating so much, but it seems like things are really working well, and I'm really surprised at how much of a difference it's made in so little time. Five weeks go by crazy fast!
Three days ago, I decided to go on a sort of "Juice Fast" - I'm replacing two meals a day with juice made from a TON of fruits and vegetables. My plan is, at the end of 10 days (next Sunday), I'll check my stats again and see where I stand. My ultimate goal is to get below my target weight of 180 lbs - this is what the doctors say is healthy for someone of my physique. So I'm not quite where I need to be, but I'm getting really close. Thanks for your encouragement and support :)
Now, onto the spiritual (and most important part). I've been able to stay consistent with reading my Bible every day before going to work over the last two weeks. Here's what I covered:
Monday 01/23: Genesis 11 - Tower of Babel
Tuesday 01/24: Genesis 12 - God calls out to Abram
Wednesday 01/25: Genesis 13 - Abram and Lot separate
Thursday 01/26: Genesis 14 - Abram rescues Lot
Friday 01/27: Genesis 15 - God makes a covenant with Abram
Monday 01/30: Genesis 16 - Abram and Hagar have Ishmael
Tuesday 01/31: Genesis 17 - Abram becomes Abraham, Sarai becomes Sarah
Wednesday 02/01: Genesis 18 - Abraham pleads for mercy upon Sodom
Thursday 02/02: Genesis 19 - Sodom and Gamorrah are destroyed, Lot escapes
Friday 02/03: Genesis 20 - Abraham and Abimelek
Ok, so a lot of ground has been covered here over the last two weeks. One of the recurring themes we read about here is second-guessing God's best for us, and trying to impose our own will over His. We first see in chapter 12 that God promises Abraham that he will become a great nation. In chapter 13, Abram and Lot separate. In this chapter, Lot is given a choice of two lands - to the east, the land was well-watered, but to the west, the land wasn't as good. Lot chose the better land, but by doing so, had to live in close proximity to Sodom, one of the most wicked places mentioned in the Bible. In chapter 14, Abram rescues Lot after he's taken captive by four kings who made war in his lands.
Here's where things get interesting. In chapter 15, God once again promises Abram that he will be a great nation, his children as numerous as the stars. Abraham believes him, but questions how it will happen. Abraham suggests to God that his heir will be one of his servants, but God promises that his heir will be of his "own flesh and blood". In chapter 16, Sarai doubts this promise and has Abram conceive a son with her maidservant, Hagar. I don't think it's too big of a stretch to say that Abram probably also doubted the Lord, because he went through with it, even though God said his heir would be of his own "flesh and blood." Funny how God can speak so clearly sometimes, and yet we still doubt He will do what he has promised!
Skipping over to chapter 18, Abram has already been given a new name, "Abraham", as a sign of God's promise. We find out in this chapter that God wants to destroy Sodom, and that somehow Lot has returned to live in that city. Despite getting captured in a war between four kings and having to be saved by Abraham, Lot still thought it was better to keep his family in the most evil place in the world because the land was good for their herds! In chapter 19, Lot eventually is rescued again and the city is destroyed, but he loses his wife because she looks back to the city as it was being destroyed, against what the angels had commanded her.
What I get out of these chapters is that God has a plan, and it's not going to change no matter what you do. God didn't want Lot to be in Sodom, and God wanted Abraham's descendants (through Sarah, his wife, and not her maidservant) to inherit the land of Canaan. Abraham's relationship with his wife suffered, because they decided it would be better to try to have children through their younger maidservant, even though God promised them that their old age would not be a problem. Lot lost his wife because he kept trying to live in a place where he ultimately should not have been. In the end, God's will was done. I can't help but wonder how this story may have been different had Abraham not conceived with Hagar, and if Lot had not returned to Sodom. Makes me consider some of the choices I've made in my life, and how things may have been different if I had listened to God sooner.
Again, I'm reminded of Jeremiah 29:11. God's plans are perfect, and as such, no amount of arguing by me is going to change that fact, even if I think my plans might be better at the time. It's best just to do what God says the first time, and be patient when He doesn't move in "conventional" ways.
Well, that's all I've got for tonight. I hope you all have a great week, talk to you next time!
Ben
Anyway, a lot has happened in the last two weeks for me, spiritually and physically, so I'm excited to share with you what's on my heart. First off, let's get to brass tax on how things have been changing physically since I started on New Year's. I measured my stats tonight and here's where I'm at:
Weight: 185 lbs
Body Fat: 14.3%
So I've lost a total of 10 pounds and knocked off 3.7% of my body fat in 5 weeks! It'd be dishonest if I said it was easy - it's been pretty hard getting used to not eating so much, but it seems like things are really working well, and I'm really surprised at how much of a difference it's made in so little time. Five weeks go by crazy fast!
Three days ago, I decided to go on a sort of "Juice Fast" - I'm replacing two meals a day with juice made from a TON of fruits and vegetables. My plan is, at the end of 10 days (next Sunday), I'll check my stats again and see where I stand. My ultimate goal is to get below my target weight of 180 lbs - this is what the doctors say is healthy for someone of my physique. So I'm not quite where I need to be, but I'm getting really close. Thanks for your encouragement and support :)
Now, onto the spiritual (and most important part). I've been able to stay consistent with reading my Bible every day before going to work over the last two weeks. Here's what I covered:
Monday 01/23: Genesis 11 - Tower of Babel
Tuesday 01/24: Genesis 12 - God calls out to Abram
Wednesday 01/25: Genesis 13 - Abram and Lot separate
Thursday 01/26: Genesis 14 - Abram rescues Lot
Friday 01/27: Genesis 15 - God makes a covenant with Abram
Monday 01/30: Genesis 16 - Abram and Hagar have Ishmael
Tuesday 01/31: Genesis 17 - Abram becomes Abraham, Sarai becomes Sarah
Wednesday 02/01: Genesis 18 - Abraham pleads for mercy upon Sodom
Thursday 02/02: Genesis 19 - Sodom and Gamorrah are destroyed, Lot escapes
Friday 02/03: Genesis 20 - Abraham and Abimelek
Ok, so a lot of ground has been covered here over the last two weeks. One of the recurring themes we read about here is second-guessing God's best for us, and trying to impose our own will over His. We first see in chapter 12 that God promises Abraham that he will become a great nation. In chapter 13, Abram and Lot separate. In this chapter, Lot is given a choice of two lands - to the east, the land was well-watered, but to the west, the land wasn't as good. Lot chose the better land, but by doing so, had to live in close proximity to Sodom, one of the most wicked places mentioned in the Bible. In chapter 14, Abram rescues Lot after he's taken captive by four kings who made war in his lands.
Here's where things get interesting. In chapter 15, God once again promises Abram that he will be a great nation, his children as numerous as the stars. Abraham believes him, but questions how it will happen. Abraham suggests to God that his heir will be one of his servants, but God promises that his heir will be of his "own flesh and blood". In chapter 16, Sarai doubts this promise and has Abram conceive a son with her maidservant, Hagar. I don't think it's too big of a stretch to say that Abram probably also doubted the Lord, because he went through with it, even though God said his heir would be of his own "flesh and blood." Funny how God can speak so clearly sometimes, and yet we still doubt He will do what he has promised!
Skipping over to chapter 18, Abram has already been given a new name, "Abraham", as a sign of God's promise. We find out in this chapter that God wants to destroy Sodom, and that somehow Lot has returned to live in that city. Despite getting captured in a war between four kings and having to be saved by Abraham, Lot still thought it was better to keep his family in the most evil place in the world because the land was good for their herds! In chapter 19, Lot eventually is rescued again and the city is destroyed, but he loses his wife because she looks back to the city as it was being destroyed, against what the angels had commanded her.
What I get out of these chapters is that God has a plan, and it's not going to change no matter what you do. God didn't want Lot to be in Sodom, and God wanted Abraham's descendants (through Sarah, his wife, and not her maidservant) to inherit the land of Canaan. Abraham's relationship with his wife suffered, because they decided it would be better to try to have children through their younger maidservant, even though God promised them that their old age would not be a problem. Lot lost his wife because he kept trying to live in a place where he ultimately should not have been. In the end, God's will was done. I can't help but wonder how this story may have been different had Abraham not conceived with Hagar, and if Lot had not returned to Sodom. Makes me consider some of the choices I've made in my life, and how things may have been different if I had listened to God sooner.
Again, I'm reminded of Jeremiah 29:11. God's plans are perfect, and as such, no amount of arguing by me is going to change that fact, even if I think my plans might be better at the time. It's best just to do what God says the first time, and be patient when He doesn't move in "conventional" ways.
Well, that's all I've got for tonight. I hope you all have a great week, talk to you next time!
Ben
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