FIRE AND FAITH (PUBLIC SPEAKING EVENT)

UPDATE (July 17th): This event has been postponed due to an arm injury I've managed to secure. Details of a new date will follow in due course.

I'm hosting an multi-media event/talk, including live music, dealing with the beauty, value, and tenacity of hope in the face of all life's struggles.

Please note: While the theme of this group is motivated by a belief in Jesus Christ, you are welcome to join no matter what your personal convictions might be. Well, as long as they're not aggressively anti-Christ (skinning poor cats, chatting up demons, casting dodgy spells, etc.)  :) We may not always agree (which is perfectly fine) but you have my word that you will be met with respect, never judgment.

THE STUBBORN TENACITY OF HOPE

Today is a day when the permanence of hope is celebrated by billions of people around the world. It is a hope that has been made available to all people, no matter their creed, culture, language, race or economic or social status. It doesn't matter what your belief system happens to be, hope is something we can all use more of.

CHOOSE THIS DAY...

Well...some time has passed since I last put fingertips to keyboard in here. I'm not quite sure of the reason for the silence. It could be that I just didn't feel I had anything worthwhile to say for a while. Maybe it's the melancholy and depression I've been struggling against lately. Perhaps it's the disappointment and discouragement I feel over the often seemingly diluted nature of what I refer to as my faith in and devotion to Christ. Whatever the reason, I suppose it doesn't really matter too much. How does the saying go? "It's not the size of the dog in the fight. It's the size of the fight in the dog." I've been mindful again recently of the literal war that rages inside me for the dominion of my heart. Darkness...Light. Evil...Good. Hypocrisy...Integrity. satan...God. The former influences seduce, intimidate, deceive and manipulate. The latter invite, inspire, guide and liberate. And, in the midst of it all, the powerful weapon of choice has been entrusted to me. I'm granted the capacity to willfully align myself with either of these forces...to the eternal ruin or salvation of my soul.

There are many things in this life that I am unable to influence or control. I cannot control what the future holds and keep the challenges and storms of life at bay. I cannot change the fact that my existence in this world is etched out in territory under the influence of the devil...prone to corruption, imperfection and wickedness. I cannot change the fact that people around me will exercise their gift of choice in ways that don't always favor my preferences. I cannot change the reality that the road to moral, physical and spiritual degradation is almost always more pleasurable (at least in a carnal sense) to embrace than the road to honor, truth and goodness.

Yet I am not entirely without influence and choice. I can choose what I allow to be the focus of my faith. I can choose to buckle under the strife and strain of life or to stand confident in the grace and goodness of God. I can choose to focus on depression and despair or to celebrate the miracle of my sinful soul redeemed. I can choose to never, ever give up. To believe that in total defiance to all things painful and tainted, the flawless, unchanging faithfulness of Jehovah utters proclamations of hope, restoration, purpose and joy. To believe that in the end, in all things and through all things it is His sovereign word that rules over all. Over all. May he teach this vulnerable doubter to be a faith-soaked fighter.

THE MEASURE OF A MAN...

In his letter to the Hebrews, Paul wrote: "In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.". As disciples of Christ, our continuous quest should be the increasing transformation of our attitudes, characters, values and actions into the image of our Master and Lord. Salvation from sin was meant to inaugurate our entrance into the faith marathon of life, not as a laurel to be rested upon as if no further commitment was necessary. Christ is after Christ likeness in the hearts of His people. How do I as a believer embrace an accurate view of myself with regards to my spiritual maturity, and the health and genuineness of my faith. It's entirely possible, and even probable, that I can determine the substance of my faith by the size of the challenge, temptation or trial that overwhelms it. The pressures I cave into, are indications of the level to which my growth in Jesus has progressed.

If this is true, and I suspect that it is at least largely so, then it casts a serious indictment on the caliber of discipleship that I have allowed myself so often to become content with. I imagine there are numerous believers that are in a similar place. When I consider the pettiness and relative insignificance of some of the "trials" and "sufferings" that I allow myself to become angered, discouraged or disheartened over, I become overwhelmingly convinced of my need for a Savior. I become aware of the undeniable fact that I was never, ever going to muster up the moral fortitude to pull myself up by my own boot straps and become a better, nobler man. I was, am, and always will be, utterly dependent on the life transforming power and influence of the all powerful Spirit of the living God. And yet in the midst of my frailty, the tender mercy of the Father invites me to cast my cares upon Him, no matter how heavy or light the load...because He cares for me. What a wonderful thing. May He train my fingers for battle and my hands for war (Psalm 144:1). May he teach me how to surrender to his will...how to master the sin that crouches at my door. The sin that ever desires to slay me.