The Meaning behind EVERYTHING

God in my laughing...
There in my weeping...
God in my hurting...
God in my healing...
...Be my everything.

Just a few lines from the worship song "Everything" by Tim Hughes. I've been honestly living with this song for past few months. I absolutely love it. It is quite simple yet has moved me with its profound message. I've really come to respect Tim Hughes for his heart, his musicianship and his gift for writing and leading good worship. I've even had the pleasure of sitting under his worship leading at Passion'06.

Here's a bit of the song... with some explanation behind it... from some random English worship TV show... I think.



Maybe life is up... your job is good, your family is healthy, your ministry is growing, your team is winning, your account is growing, your flowers are blooming, your kids are obeying, your shots are falling, your relationships are growing... but who is your everything?

Maybe life is down... your health is failing, your clients are leaving, your basement is flooding, your car is leaking, your collectors are calling, your kids are leaving, your ministry is fleeting, your friends are ignoring, your life seems boring... but who is your everything?

The distracted church...

When in Huntington, I preached at the Crew and I had a blast. My message was titled "When the church becomes a distraction to Jesus." My burden is that churches often focus excessively on quality or size of their weekend service... to the detriment of creating a space where Jesus is on display. The issue is all about your heart and your motivation. But the result of giving in to these distractions can be spiritually disastrous.

I stumbled across a section of scripture where God warns his people against such distracting idolatry... Exodus 20:24-26. And I think it is a word from God that applies to the church today. Exodus 20:24b should be what the church is all about... In every place where I cause my name to be remembered I will come to you and bless you. Here are my notes.



















By the way... check out the write-up about my family that showed up in the Sunday morning bulletin. Only Josh could get away with this in church. I love this guy!

Dennis Jernigan & Healing

That is why we turn to Jesus right? Healing?! Spiritual. Relational. Emotional. Physical. Personal.

So last night I had the privilege to sit under the ministry of Dennis Jernigan (Mr. You Are My All in All). He was at Northwest to share his music and his powerful testimony. I went to hear from the Lord and to support my good friend Ted.

On hearing from the Lord... Dennis did not perform. It was not a concert. It was a night of music and scripture and story around the theme of healing. A number of times we were invited to stand up (silently declaring a specific need for healing) while those around us laid hands on us and Dennis sang over us. I stood twice, in need of God's touch in my life, and was encouraged by the ministry of those around me.

On supporting Ted... (the worship leader at Northwest). I have no doubt that God planned to bring Dennis here on this specific night to minister to Ted. Ted has become a fast friend. His humility, authenticity and love for the Lord has taught me much. It was clear that he connected with Dennis on a soul level. And although Ted was never publicly visible last night. The entire event was a tribute to his servant leadership. Ted brought Dennis here and then let Dennis shine. Dennis in turn let Christ shine.

There are no great D.J. clips on youtube, but a couple of unique ones include playing paintball, singing in Jerusalem and on the sea of Galilee. Here is the best one.

I'm not satisfied...

...living in yesterday's hour.

Sorry, it is a song by HillSong that I've been singing ever since I saw the video over on Aaron's blog. For an inspirational break take 5 minutes to check out Believe.