“Preach the Gospel & if necessary, use words” How many times have we heard that old phrase. It makes sense in some instances, and in others, it makes none. The apostle Paul would both agree and disagree as well. On one hand you have the letter to the Thessalonians where he states- (paraphrased) “make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, work with your own hands and win the respect of outsiders”. On the other hand, in Romans, Paul explains that (Justin’s words), faith comes by hearing & true hearing comes from the word of God, then its the Message of the Word of God that the Gospel is alive within. He goes on further and states- If nobody speaks a word then how will anyone hear and if nobody can hear, then how can anyone be saved. I really like what James says on the concept, he states that we need to receive with meekness the implanted Word, which is able to save our souls!

Thus, we are in constant battle. Its tough discerning which ideas we have originate from within our own selfish convictions or are truly ideas from God. I guess its the difference between leading with our brain alone or leading with our ears first. If what I understand in the New Testament about faith is true, then, the degree to which we listen is the degree to which we will be led by the Gospel- this also has direct connection to how well we lead others in following Christ.

Do our ideas really come from what Jesus is telling us. There are a lot of  great ideas out there- heck, I could look up any cool christian blog and find out what my favorite church leaders are doing and copy them (you and I both know there are a ton of people out there who feel really tough behind the noise of their laptop keys clicking as they stare at their 17 inch monitor drafting their next controversial blog post).  I could do a google search on something I am wrestling with and find one hundred different answers. Its easier to look outside of the circumstances of my issues to find answers. Its easy to use my mind to make up answers to the longings of my heart. (end of rant)

The truth is, the ones who are making the most headway for Christ are the ones who listen the most. What I want is what I don’t know yet. I want to operate on what I have had spoken to me by the Spirit of God. I want to hear and respond, this means I have to listen. The Word of God is power. The ideas of man are simply- ideas of man.

Imagine his heart in you, guiding his movement in you.

My oldest little boy Clayton is one of those kids who just resembles daddy. From the his long lanky limbs, crazy obsession with incredibly unimportant (but rather fascinating) adventures, his incredible retention of a wealth of scientific data regarding bugs and animals, his dry cracking feet, his multitude  straw-like rigid hair on his head, his deeply inquisitive mind that never seems to stop dreaming and chasing after dreams, his angst and frustration when things are not going the way he thought they should.

Clayton is a little man. My little mini-me. I am such a proud daddy. Here are just a few snap shots of my now 5 year old wild man!

This is from our team down in Guatemala.

http://gu.mccth.org/god-used/

http://gu.mccth.org/todays-most-memorable-moment-was/

We left for California yesterday and made it into California @ 3am Eastern time. So, to say the least, we are all tired (when I say “WE” I mean everyone but my kids). We are going to go get some breakfast burritos & coffee @ my favorite donut shop. Later today I will post some photos from my old stomping ground. I bet our roommate is happy to have the house all to himself this week!

I am starting to believe, that through all of my personal pursuit of deeper knowledge in Christ, I have missed something. I know I keep ranting about the work of the Holy Spirit each week, but I am stating to understand more and more as the time goes on.

I did not grow up attending church. I did not know what church culture was in the slightest. I cant remember a time I was against Jesus or the Church, I just never really attended much. When I was 18 I was hired on to work in a Church. It was through all of these experiences that I grew into the place I am now. As part of not growing up in the church, I had very little awareness of what God/Truth was all about. So, I began to read a lot. When I say I read a lot, I mean I read a lot. I have never been one to read the most popular christian book out there to connect with that God is doing in the mainstream culture of christianity. Instead, I started with the reformation works of Martin Luther & the complete works of Martin Luther and all the the works of John Calvin. These were two guys who had a plethora of knowledge and insight. My studies went on from there to read the complete works C.S. Lewis, Charles Spurgeon, Jonathan Edwards, John Piper and a myriad of other great literary works in/throughout Christian History. For some reason, the Scriptures and the academic works of some of the most influential figures in Christian History seemed to breath life into my faith. I began to read higher and higher educational academic works in the fields of Theology as well.

For many years, my perception was that if I could get as much knowledge as is possible I could answer the deepest questions that lay @ the base of my soul. I guess I thought if I could fill my head, it may actually trickle down to my heart somehow and answer its longings and yearnings. Though there is much truth to that concept, I came to a place where the trickling waters just started to run dry. A place where the knowledge just wasn’t filling me as much as it used to. I started wondering why. Then I read  in Corinthians that the Kingdom of God does not consist in words, but in power.

I completely understand that the methods I have used to understand God and teach about him are legitimate/viable methods. But, when I read the book of Acts, I find myself thinking some other thoughts as well. Thoughts like- “These guys were with Jesus, so, they learned from him specifically”, “These guys didn’t have the New Testament to read & their documented lives lived out what I know from/about the New Testament”.

I was missing some more of the power of the Holy Spirit in my heart. This short season has reminded me that the power of the Holy Spirit is much greater than I had been giving him credit for. The Spirit was given to us that we would be filled with power to carry out the will of the Father. I will continually be exploring this through my work weeks and in leading worship @ Maryland. I can not wait to see what God will do through His Spirit in our church.

Join us via Livestream @ Rehearsal tonight! You will see us @ the link below @ 8:30pm

http://www.livestream.com/justhepp

Enjoy,

Hepp

click link below

Click here———> urluvizall<——–Click here

I figured it would be awesome to try sharing a new song before we sing it on Sunday. So, I used my crafty Blue Microphones Mikey and multi tracked the new song in my office- on my IPhone 3gs. Its a very rough recording with semi-terrible vocals (which makes it awesome), but It’ll serve its purpose.  So, Here you go. Download it, listen to it & join in the song on Sunday!!

Hepp