I must be the only one...

I know that at times everyone must feel that he or she is the only one who is having to do the hard thing and forgive, or love, or be merciful, or etc. The truth is that you're not the only one. I'm not the only one. Daily, hourly, minute to minute, moment to moment, people are stirred by the indwelling Spirit of God to walk out our faith by being obedient. It's as though God says, "Hey. You're my kid. I want to see how the training is going...You say that you believe Me and that you really want to know Me. I want you to see for yourself what you really believe about Me." And then insert trouble, terror, hard time, difficulty, etc. And we're not alone. I'm not alone. God extracts our mediocrity from us by inserting (allowing, causing, ordaining) adversity. What do I believe about forgiveness? No, what do I really believe about it? Not someone else's answer. Not what I want to believe about it. What's really in the depths of my heart about the matter? If my heart is not informed by the Word of God, my feelings will dominate my thinking. So much more to say, but I am at a loss in the area of articulation right now. as Dad says, More to come later...

The Village People

The summer that I graduated from high school, I moved to Reynosa, Mexico for a month to live at an orphange of some missionary friends of mine. So many neat things to talk about when thinking about Reynosa, but today in particular I remembered that it was there that a friend told me about her church in Dallas (Highland Village), Texas. When I arrived back home that summer, I tapped into the resources available through sermonaudio.com where Highland Village First Baptist Church (later changed name to The Village Church) put their sermons online for the whole wide world. That's been almost 4 years ago. Since that time, I have really enjoyed learning from the good, solid teaching from Matt Chandler (also Barry Keldie, Josh Patterson, and other pastors there). These days, Matt is teaching through the book of Luke. You should totally download the messages and be built up in the Lord by Biblical teaching. (BTW: I have updated from sermonaudio.com and now subscribe to The Village via iTunes & podcasting.) Check out what is going on at The Village at www.thevillagechurch.net

"You" by Amena Brown

Beautiful God

It's utterly astonishing to think of who God is and how He chooses to operate...and by that, I do not mean that I know all of who He is or how He operates. I suppose what I am trying to assert is that God does things that I don't understand. He calls things beautiful that I don't always describe as worthy of the term, "beauty."

I pulled up msnbc.com and saw the latest world headlines. This is what I found:

1. There was an earthquake in Mianyang, China today, May 13, that has killed nearly 12,000 and has burried an estimated 18,000 people. 2. In Myanmar (or Burma, as it is also known) on May 3,  a cyclone struck the Irrawaddy delta leaving an estimated 62,000 dead or missing. The estimated death toll is expected to be at least 100,000. 3. Bombs explode in India today, May 13. 

Th Lord has established His throne in the heavens, and His kingdom (or sovereignty in the NASB) rules over all (Psalm 103:19, ESV).  All of these things are beautiful because of who He is ... a big God with plans that we don't always comprehend. He is, as Charlie Hall says, the sum of beautiful (Saints & Angels, Flying into Daybreak). He can be found through all of the rubble. When governments pilfer and plunder, He is still sovereign. He will provide food that lasts and that does not spoil. He is a shelter in the most wretched of storms. He is Light amidst the darkest of nights. He hydrates with the purest of water. And that, my friend, is the beauty that I need reminding of. That is the God that we serve. That is a beautiful God. Oh that we would know Him as that in our daily, comfort-seeking lives. How good is He to make Himself known even through the most horrific of circumstances!

A Spanish Phrase

Jesus es el Rey! Alleluia!

P.S. Does anyone know how to get accent marks to work on a Windows laptop? I am familar with the directions that implore me to press alt + 160 (or another number sequence), but because I have a laptop, it will not compute! I would appreciate the help. =)

Daniel Liam McCraw

This is the newest addition to the McCraw family...

Uh oh...

From Matthew Henry: In a word, quietness of spirit is the soul’s stillness and silence from intending provocation to, or resenting provocation from, any with whom we have to do… It is for want of meekness that we are so impatient of contradiction in our opinions, desires, and designs; that we must have our own saying, right or wrong, and everything our own way; that we are so impatient of competitors, not enduring that any should stand in our light, or share in that work of honor which we would engross to ourselves; that we are so impatient of contempt, so quick in our apprehension and resentment of the least slight or affront; and so quick to imagine injuries where there are none or none intended…In a word, the wilful doing of anything to disquiet others, slandering, backbiting, whispering, tale-bearing, or the like, is too plain an evidence that we are not ourselves rightly disposed to be quiet. The Quest for Meekness and Quietness of Spirit