The Sound (John Perkins Blues)

Since we'll be seeing them next week, here's what Switchfoot frontman Jon Foreman had to say about their song, "The Sound (John Perkins Blues):"

 "The Sound (John Perkin's Blues) is a very important song for us as a band. I see so much hatred and fear around me, I see so many people living out their pain. I hear it on the radio. I see it in the headlines. John Perkin's story needs to be heard. This song was inspired by a man who sang a louder song than hatred. In a world where we are defined by our differences, Mr. Perkin's life of service and compassion is a tangible demonstration of what it means to live a life of love. Love is the loudest song we could sing. Louder than racism. Louder than fear. Louder than hatred. John Perkin's said it right, love is the final fight. We're excited to hear this song on the radio, louder than pain."  

Read about John Perkins here.

This is an unpolished, "alternate take," live studio recording. Don't play it if you don't like louder music...

From The Mouths Of Babes

Carly sent this to her grandfather in response to his birthday request that everyone in the family send him a bible verse that meant a lot to them. Not bad for a 13 year old kid who at 12 lost her mom.....

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Happy birthday, Popsie! I didn't know you were turning 70 this year! I hope you had a good birthday, and that you've found a place to put all the chocolate. 

I would like to ask if the whole Bible can be my "favorite verse" because there are too many good ones to pick just one. But I suppose that I can just share a few that have really stuck with me. 

My verse for this year is Hebrews 12:1:

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.

This verse has really come to mean a lot to me, because I realized that I haven't really been doing my part in the Great Commission. So I am trying to look for opportunities that God has most certainly be providing me with. The question is just whether I see them. That is my verse for this year. However, I

So Much To Say

Pastor Dave spoke on James 3 today; that's the part where James strongly suggests we bite our tongues rather than giving our two bits all the time. We just have such a hard time controlling ourselves: what we say can hurt others and even have a corrosive effect on our own hearts. 

So I thought I'd put up a few more verses about how careful we should be with what we say. By the way, the self-control needed to do this comes not from our own strength but from God's Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23). That's so easy to say (or read) on a blog and so hard to do in the heat of the moment...when our anger is getting stirred up and we want to use words to lash out. God, we need help!

James 3:3-8  "When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. ⁴ Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. ⁵ Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider

Mark Altrogge: The Best Sermon You'll Ever Preach

Mark Altrogge is a pastor in Pennsylvania and maintains a great blog called The Blazing Center. I thought his post today was fantastic and decided to re-post it here.

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The best sermons I ever preach are those I preach, not in my ministerial capacity, but as a poor sinner preaching to sinners. — Spurgeon

This is how to help others.  As one who is weak.  As one who can sympathize with them in their struggles.  As one who has sinned himself.  As one who knows what it’s like to be forgiven repeatedly.

We help others best as fellow recipients of mercy. As those who have failed many times.  As those who fear the Lord if they were to judge others.  As those who walk with a limp.  As those who have no merit of their own, only the righteousness of Christ.  As those who walk alongside.

We help others best when we help them with gentleness, long suffering and patience. We help others best when we don’t get frustrated with their many doubts because we too have doubted.  We help others best when we express compassion before telling them how they need to change.

We fail to help others when we dole out quick advice, when we tell them how we just decided to change then did it, when we can’t understand why it’s so hard for them to believe.  We fail to help others when we judge their weakness from our strength.

We fail to help our children when we get angry when they sin.  We fail to help our children when we sigh or can’t believe it when they’ve failed again.  We fail to help them when we tell them we’re disappointed in them.  We fail to help them when we tell them we’d never do that.

The best advice we ever give is that of a poor sinner to another poor sinner. As one who looks to herself, lest she also be tempted.  As one who knows he needs to be encouraged as well.  As one who doesn’t assume to know another’s heart and pain.

As D.T. Niles said, “Christianity is one beggar telling another beggar where he found bread.”

The best advice we can give is not look at me and my example but look at Christ and all he did for you.

Janie's Last Journal Part 22

Janie's final entries in her journal...continued (read what this is about here.)

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Well, here we are, 22 posts later, at the end of Janie's journal. Thanks for reading them with me. As you can see, her focus on the Lord became acute as she continued walking by faith through her struggle right to the end.




I love that these are her very last written words:

"The Lord challenges us to suffer persecutions and to confess Him. He wants those who belong to Him to be brave and fearless. He Himself shows how weakness of the flesh is overcome by the courage of the Spirit. This is the testimony of the apostles and in particular of the representative, administrating Spirit. A Christian is fearless. - Forgotten God, Francis Chan (quoting Tertullian) p.45

Janie's Last Journal Part 21

Janie's final entries in her journal...continued (read what this is about here.)

(For the next few weeks, I'll be posting these quotes that meant a lot to her as she neared the end of her life here on earth. If you read them closely, you'll see a common thread there....I'll let you find it without any commentary - except to encourage you to take the entries to heart and be blessed...and perhaps store them away in your own journal....)

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Today's entry, as well as the rest from Janie's journal from here on in, aren't dated by her. If they have a date, it's the daily reading date from the book she was quoting from. Since I don't know the exact date she jotted these things down, I am breaking them up in a way that seems logical to me.

"We walk by faith, not by sight." 2 Corinth 5:7

(It thrills me somehow to know that for her, with mere days left to live, she would quote this verse. She knew, I am sure, that soon, the faith would become sight!) 

Tomorrow's post is the last thing she ever wrote on earth.

Janie's Last Journal Part 20

Janie's final entries in her journal...continued (read what this is about here.)

(For the next few weeks, I'll be posting these quotes that meant a lot to her as she neared the end of her life here on earth. If you read them closely, you'll see a common thread there....I'll let you find it without any commentary - except to encourage you to take the entries to heart and be blessed...and perhaps store them away in your own journal....)

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Today's entry, as well as the rest from Janie's journal from here on in, aren't dated by her. If they have a date, it's the daily reading date from the book she was quoting from. Since I don't know the exact date she jotted these things down, I am breaking them up in a way that seems logical to me.

This is the third to last entry - she  probably wrote this down on the date of the reading in the book: May 1. She had 8 days left.

"Faith does not say, "I see this is good for me; therefore God must have sent it." Instead, faith declares, "God sent it; therefore it must be good for me." -Streams In The Desert, L. B. Cowman, May 1

Janie's Last Journal Part 19

Janie's final entries in her journal...continued (read what this is about here.)

(For the next few weeks, I'll be posting these quotes that meant a lot to her as she neared the end of her life here on earth. If you read them closely, you'll see a common thread there....I'll let you find it without any commentary - except to encourage you to take the entries to heart and be blessed...and perhaps store them away in your own journal....)

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Today's entry, as well as the rest from Janie's journal from here on in, aren't dated by her. If they have a date, it's the daily reading date from the book she was quoting from. Since I don't know the exact date she jotted these things down, I am breaking them up in a way that seems logical to me.

"No power on earth or in hell can conquer the Spirit of God living within the human spirit; it creates an inner invincibility." -My Utmost For His Highest, Oswald Chambers, April14

Janie's Last Journal Part 18

Janie's final entries in her journal...continued (read what this is about here.)

(For the next few weeks, I'll be posting these quotes that meant a lot to her as she neared the end of her life here on earth. If you read them closely, you'll see a common thread there....I'll let you find it without any commentary - except to encourage you to take the entries to heart and be blessed...and perhaps store them away in your own journal....)

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Today's entry, as well as the rest from Janie's journal from here on in, aren't dated by her. If they have a date, it's the daily reading date from the book she was quoting from. Since I don't know the exact date she jotted these things down, I am breaking them up in a way that seems logical to me.

"My children, there is no good thing that I would withhold from you. I have not left you to fend for yourselves nor to make your way by your own devices. I am the Lord your God. I am your Provider and Defender. I care for you with a deep and tender love. I am all-wise and all-powerful and will be your defense against every onslaught of the enemy." -Come Away My Beloved,  Frances J. Roberts, pg 204

Janie's Last Journal Part 17

Janie's final entries in her journal...continued (read what this is about here.)

(For the next few weeks, I'll be posting these quotes that meant a lot to her as she neared the end of her life here on earth. If you read them closely, you'll see a common thread there....I'll let you find it without any commentary - except to encourage you to take the entries to heart and be blessed...and perhaps store them away in your own journal....)

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Today's entry, as well as the rest from Janie's journal from here on in, aren't dated by her. If they have a date, it's the daily reading date from the book she was quoting from. Since I don't know the exact date she jotted these things down, I am breaking them up in a way that seems logical to me.

"God's love is unchangeable, and He is just as loving even when we do not see or feel it. And His love and His sovereignty are equal and universal. Therefore He often withholds our enjoyment and awareness of our progress, because He knows best what will actually ripen and further this work in us." -Francis Ridley Havergal

Janie's Last Journal Part 16

Janie's final entries in her journal...continued (read what this is about here.)

(For the next few weeks, I'll be posting these quotes that meant a lot to her as she neared the end of her life here on earth. If you read them closely, you'll see a common thread there....I'll let you find it without any commentary - except to encourage you to take the entries to heart and be blessed...and perhaps store them away in your own journal....)

******

Today's entry, as well as the rest from Janie's journal from here on in, aren't dated by her. If they have a date, it's the daily reading date from the book she was quoting from. Since I don't know the exact date she jotted these things down, I am breaking them up in a way that seems logical to me.

"Even the weakest saint can experience the power of the deity of the Son of God, when he is willing to 'let go.' But any effort to 'hang on' to the least bit of our own power will only diminish the life of Jesus in us. We have to keep letting go, and slowly, but surely, the great full life of God will invade us, penetrating every part. Then Jesus will have complete and effective dominion in us, and people will take notice that we have been with Him." -My Utmost For His Highest, Oswald Chambers, April 12

Janie's Last Journal Part 15

Janie's final entries in her journal...continued (read what this is about here.)

(For the next few weeks, I'll be posting these quotes that meant a lot to her as she neared the end of her life here on earth. If you read them closely, you'll see a common thread there....I'll let you find it without any commentary - except to encourage you to take the entries to heart and be blessed...and perhaps store them away in your own journal....)

******

Today's entry, as well as the rest from Janie's journal from here on in, aren't dated by her. If they have a date, it's the daily reading date from the book she was quoting from. Since I don't know the exact date she jotted these things down, I am breaking them up in a way that seems logical to me.

"I willingly bear witness to the fact that I owe more to my Lord's fire, hammer, and file than to anything else in His workshop. Sometimes I wonder if I have ever learned anything except at the end of God's rod. When my classroom is darkest, I see best." -Charles Spurgeon

Janie's Last Journal Part 14

Janie's final entries in her journal...continued (read what this is about here.)

(For the next few weeks, I'll be posting these quotes that meant a lot to her as she neared the end of her life here on earth. If you read them closely, you'll see a common thread there....I'll let you find it without any commentary - except to encourage you to take the entries to heart and be blessed...and perhaps store them away in your own journal....)

******

Today's entry, as well as the rest from Janie's journal from here on in, aren't dated by her. If they have a date, it's the daily reading date from the book she was quoting from. Since I don't know the exact date she jotted these things down, I am breaking them up in a way that seems logical to me.


(Um, also, and I swear this is true, I really did not do anything special so as to make today's post fall on  the 4th of July!!)

"That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." 2 Corinth. 12:10

The literal translation of this verse adds a startling emphasis to it, allowing it to speak for itself with power we have probably never realized. It is as follows: "Therefore I take pleasure in being without strength, being insulted, experiencing emergencies, and being chased and forced into a corner for Christ's sake; for when I am without strength, I am dynamite." -Streams In The Desert, L. B. Cowman, April 5

Janie's Last Journal Part 13

Janie's final entries in her journal...continued (read what this is about here.)

(For the next week or so, I'll be posting these quotes that meant a lot to Janie as she neared the end of her life here on earth. If you read them closely, you'll see a common thread there....I'll let you find it without any commentary - except to encourage you to take the entries to heart and be blessed...and perhaps store them away in your own journal....)

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Today's entry, as well as the rest from Janie's journal from here on in, aren't dated by her. If they have a date, it's the daily reading date from the book she was quoting from. Since I don't know the exact date she jotted these things down, I am breaking them up in a way that seems logical to me.

"There is a perfect passivity that is not laziness. It is a living stillness born of trust. Quiet tension is not trust but simply compressed anxiety." -Streams In The Desert, L. B. Cowman, April7

Janie's Last Journal Part 12

Janie's final entries in her journal...continued (read what this is about here.)

(For the next few weeks, I'll be posting these quotes that meant a lot to her as she neared the end of her life here on earth. If you read them closely, you'll see a common thread there....I'll let you find it without any commentary - except to encourage you to take the entries to heart and be blessed...and perhaps store them away in your own journal....)

******

Today's entry, as well as the rest from Janie's journal from here on in, aren't dated by her. If they have a date, it's the daily reading date from the book she was quoting from. Since I don't know the exact date she jotted these things down, I am breaking them up in a way that seems logical to me.

"Most Christians lead a treadmill life - a life in which they can predict almost everything that will come their way. But the souls that God leads into unpredictable and special situations are isolated by Him. All they know is that God is holding them and that He is dealing in their lives. Then their expectations come from Him alone, We must be detached from outward things and attached inwardly to the Lord alone in order to see His wonders." -Streams In The Desert, L. B. Cowman, April 5

Janie's Last Journal Part 11

Janie's final entries in her journal...continued (read what this is about here.)

(For the next few weeks, I'll be posting these quotes that meant a lot to her as she neared the end of her life here on earth. If you read them closely, you'll see a common thread there....I'll let you find it without any commentary - except to encourage you to take the entries to heart and be blessed...and perhaps store them away in your own journal....)

March 19, 2010

"When I said, “My foot is slipping,” your unfailing love, LORD, supported me.
When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy" Psalm 94:18-19