Blessed

Thank you Lord for:

1. Loving me when no one else could
2. Leading me when I needed direction most
3. Giving me freedom, peace, and a true understanding of grace
4. Always being there
5. Giving me the ability to laugh at myself
6. Humility
7. My family, who you created especially for me, and me for them
8. 26 years of life
9. The promise of an eternal life without fear and pain
10. Praise and Worship music
11. Goofy dogs
12. Friends that encourage and push and love
13. Molton Chocolate Cake at Chili's
14. Using a broken vessel
15. Truth
16. Dads and Grandpas that have more wisdom in their pinky than you do in your whole body
17. Moms and Grandmas who love everything you have ever done good, bad, or ugly and never stop telling you about it!
18. Sisters who will always be there, and will ALWAYS take your side in any external argument
19. Brothers who you can love so much, and the hope of all the incredible things you know are going to be done through their life
20. The hurts and pains that you used to help me understand things that I never had a clue about
21. Encouragement at the moment of desperation
22. The twinkle in the eyes of those who have been spending time with you in deep, deep, ways
23. Giving me the understanding of the POWER in prayer (man, was this life changing!)
24. Teaching me to "lighten up" and "let go"
25. Long road trips where you point out random things that always bring curiosity to what you are telling me
26. Accepting me
27. Understanding me
28. Blessing me

"The Drive Home" or "What's the Deal with All the Cows?"

I can tell this blog will be reminiscent of the old days where I try to glean a morsel of truth out of a large amount of rambling and detail. The trip home was eventful to say the least, but as always the Lord worked in ways far beyond my imagination, and planted seeds that are at this point, in various stages of growth.

It all began.....on Thursday afternoon when I left work. I jump in "The Lincoln" and hit the road jack! Boy, it was agreat day too, (this is before the North Texas Easter Blizzard), which by the way managed to stretch it's long neck all the way down to the Gulf Coast! (I was not prepared to deal with 37 degree temperatures) (I packed flip flops!!). Anyway, back to that blessed Thursday! Oh man, was it great.....sun shining, Newsboys blarring on the radio, sunroof open, what more could a man want! Just me, the open road, praise and worship, and nothing but adventure awaiting just beyond the windshield! And then......it happened! First turn out of the gate,.....CONSTRUCTION!!!! TRAFFIC!!! sl...o...wly cr...ee...ping a...long....NOOOO, I was just minutes away from FREEDOM of traffic, freedom of congestion.....and now...I must wait!

Okay....that's cool....it's going to be one of "those" trips....where everything I had expectations for would pretty much not occur the way in which I had hoped.....I have seen these before...flying mattresses, dodge neons, and Sam Houston's grave site have all been adventures that were experienced in the midst of similar "unexpected" trips. So, this time I realized...Josh you better just let go of the expectations right now, as you have no idea where this is going!

So, after an hour long trip from Plano to I-30 in Dallas (no exaggeration here). I had pretty much wrestled through the shot expectations of "leaving Dallas in the dust" and flying home in record time.

And so the story begins.....

The Scene:

Josh, sunroof open, blue jeans, and a polo.....tennis shoes, Ireland hat, radio up, driving (the speed limit), down Hwy 75 towards Beaumont. I pop in some "good old days" Revival Preaching (Leonard Ravenhill, to those who have heard of the man), and proceed to try to "let go" of myself and listen for the Lord. After two hours I had come to the conclusion that the problem of this generation today is a lack of good ole fashion yelling and screaming preaching, and had pretty much decided that this was my missed calling....REVIVALIST PREACHER! Now, I will say, this was not a revelation from the Lord....more or less me, trying to solve problems which the Lord already has taken care of....but, needless to say, I was fired up internally to some extent, and luckily I was alone....or whoever was riding with me would probably have gotten a good dose of that "old time religion", circa Josh Smith style! But, being alone I just pondered my thoughts deeply and determined that yes, I had in fact missed my calling, and I had the answer to turn around this wicked generation of sinners! Now, that being said.....suddenly (the Lord this time), began pointing out to me....COWS! EVERYWHERE I LOOKED! Ranch here, farm there...cows! cows! cows! It seemed as though every time I broke myself out of my stupified state of thought, the first thing I noticed was.....cows! All shapes, sizes, and colors...So, me....not being one to miss details, began to ponder....what is the Lord showing me here! THERE IS DEFINETLY SOMETHING TO ALL THIS COW BUSINESS!......combine this with my two hours of constant revival messages..DO WE NEED TO GO BACK TO SACRIFICING THE FATTENED CALF!!! WHOA!! THAT IS WAY BACK!! haha, (this only lasted like 5 seconds), but it just gives you an idea of where my mind was....I never really got much farther than that, before I decided that the Lord would make the "cows" clear in his timing...if at all....my other thought was that maybe it was a simple way of getting me out of revival mode..needless to say...after stopping for some dinner at a cool out the way Mexican Food place in Huntsville (once again, I was looking for adventure, right?)....I get to Beaumont after a record breaking 7 hour journey....(I was going the speed limit).

Without going into thousands, upon thousands of details about the weekend....I do realize this much...1. the Lord was working in great ways 2. I have learned a little patience over the past few years 3. the Lord never ceases to amaze me 4. I still don't understand all the cows! (this is driving me crazy...I know there has to be some deep, pearl of wisdom that the cows will show me! I know it!! 5. The Lord is faithful 6. The Lord is answering prayers that I myself prayed, and although I don't really remember exactly what they were, and when i said them, He doesn't!

Anyway, that is part, of mostly, kind of sort of, the take aways from my small adventure back home...I supposed I could have written everything I remember, but for some reason I just feel we need to focus on cows right now!

The Beautiful Struggle

Ups, Downs, Left's, Right's......Being Still, Running in all directions........Questioning, Receiving a Word......In Season, Out of Season.................Struggling, Enduring, Pushing Forward, Trusting........Joyful, Depressed, Happy.......Waiting, Impatient.......Excited, Uncomfortable, Content, Discontented......Full of Energy, Running on E......Encouraging, Needing Encouragement......

And that was just today! How can we ever say the walk with the Lord is boring! It's a roller coaster at times, but man, it's awesome to sit back and enjoy the ride......

Blessed be the Name of the Lord

Sitting here in my office, looking at a stack of papers that I need to finish working on......its cloudy outside, and the view outside the window could be mistaken for the same dreary covering that continues to hover over my spirit. The Lord feels distant but faith remains....as I sit searching my heart, and ignoring the paperwork, the Newsboys calmly sing................

Blessed be your name in the land that is plentiful, when your streams of abundance flow,

Blessed be your name.

Blessed be your name when Im found in the desert place, though I walk through the wilderness,

Blessed be your name.

Every blessing you poor out I'll turn back to praise, when the darkness closes in Lord, Still I will say:

Blessed be the name of the Lord, Blessed be your name.

Blessed be the name of the Lord, Blessed be your glorious name!

There is peace in knowing He is there, no matter what my heart tells me. There is comfort that HE is still on his throne holding the universe together with every word from HIS mouth. So, another Friday passes, and another weekend begins. The bottom line, the Lord Reigns, and He does not tarry in his coming, he is just patient. Blessed be His name. Blessed be His name. Blessed by His name.

A Coffee Kind of Morning

I woke up this morning, and realized that I had been sleeping in the most comfortable place on my bed (you know that one place where every part of your body is relaxed). When my eyes popped open to the sound of talk radio and some type of very boring discussion, I cringed at the thought of rolling over to turn off the alarm clock. I gave myself an extra 10 minutes under the pre-tense, that "I needed some extra rest", then scrambled out of bed and began the morning routine. I looked in the mirror and determined that shaving could wait another day, then finished the usual routine and headed to the kitchen for breakfast. At this point, I was about 10 minutes behind my schedule, (see a theme here), and looked in the fridge, to start making "the usual" breakfast. Of course, I had forgotten to grab more eggs in my 10:30pm excursion to Wal-Mart last night, so I had to be resourceful for breakfast. "Let's see, I have fajita chicken strips and......fajita chicken strips". Well, I guess we're going south of the border for breakfast this AM! I grilled up some chicken, popped some bread in the toaster, and then got ready to enjoy some increased morning insulin levels! Woo-Hoo!

After breakfast, I start quiet time.....I started reading in Isaiah, and realized that my battery way apparently not plugged in this morning, as I felt like I was literally reading the Hebrew! (and I've never been to seminary)! After struggling through for 10-15 minutes, not really getting any thoughts to gel, I flip over to Proverbs, and read the Proverb for the day. ( I have recently gotten in the habit of trying to read the chapter of Proverbs that correlates to the day of the month, and now that I think about it, I actually read yesterdays, today (chapter 20)! Well, that doesn't surprise me, as it has been one of those mornings.....

So, as I skimmed through the Proverbs, and overwhelmed my brain with the shear depth of wisdom.....BOOM! At last, some light breaks through!.....Hallelujah!!! Proverbs 20:6

"Many a man proclaims his own steadfast love, but a faithful man who can find?"

I have actually written a blog on this verse before, but again it resounds in my heart!

Faithfulness Josh,....that is what I want! Faithfulness.......Keep on stepping, don't stop, no matter what you come up against, what your flesh tries to tell you, keep on keeping on!

Okay, so the Lord did not actually say "Keep on keeping on", but nonetheless, I got his message.

In this day and time, faithfulness has become a forgotten word. The idea that I stick with doing something when: 1. I don't have to, 2. I don't want to, and 3. I don't feel like it, is almost ridiculous to many. But, as I thought deeper on this, the question arose, How else do we truly show that we are loving others above ourself, How better to reflect Christ, How better to show the Lord that we love Him? We stay in the place he has us, whether we like it, or not, until He tells us to move. We continue serving Him, and serving others in that place, until He tells us to stop.

Let's take a small detour and look at the sacred institution of marriage. It is only my speculation, but I would bet, that after being married to someone for 10-15 years, that there come a few points along the way, where you probably would want to leave. You no longer "feel" in love, you know longer "want" to serve, you no longer "think" you need to stay. How do you show love in that time?......You remain faithful.

You stay, and you keep stepping, and stepping, and stepping. If the Lord called you to marriage, then that is the place you are called to be until HE changes it. So, while emotions will come and go, problems that were never anticipated occur, and pain will be inflicted by the person that can and will hurt you the most......you stay and remain faithful.

In this faithfulness you are showing the Love of the Lord. The world sets it self up to be first, so that whenever self feels hurt, or pain, or anything uncomfortable, it chooses to do what is best for self. We need to look no further than Christ's example to realize how our response should directly contradict that. We need look no further than the cross to see that faithfulness through the pain is the standard the Lord has given us. Where else can the tremendous love of Christ be seen, if not in the places that world will never tread, in the decisions the world will never understand to make.

Man, this blog kind of took on it's own direction.....

In the end my dear brothers and sisters....in the joy, in the pain, in understanding, and in confusion.....remain faithful to tasks to which you have been called, by so doing your witness for Christ to a dark and selfish world is seen like a candle on a lampstand, and a light on a hill!

Why?

Why does faith have to be built at the edge of belief?

Why do we have to have patience?

Why does trusting Him have to be so difficult?

Why do we doubt?

Why do we fear?

Why do we have to find balance?

Why are we deceived?

Why can we not just stay in a place of contentment?

Why is stretching a continuous process?

Why can we not be free from our own sinful heart?

I can't wait for the day I stand in front of the Lord and finally understand the answers to all of these questions, and many, many more that I have asked. Until then, I will just look up at the beautiful sunrise, feel the cool wind on my face, hear the sweet song of spring time, and just keep stepping.

It's a Billy Sunday, Sunday

As I write this, the time has officially sprung forward to 12:00 am, so technically it is Sunday...no matter what the timestamp is when I post this (hey, this is a key point in order for my title to make sense, and be an awesome pun!).

So, I bought a book today, and if you haven't already guessed, it is a biography of the "old time religion" evangelist, Billy Sunday. I didn't know a whole lot about him before I started reading today, other than that he was a professional baseball player turned preacher who spoke extensively for the abolition of alcohol. In reading through the recount of his life so far, I get the sense that he was just an ordinary, country, hard-working man that the Lord chose to use in a mighty way. He had a humble beginning, and had to overcome some tremendous adversity and difficulty in his childhood, but underneath it all was a man that was searching for what was right. When he found the Lord, (He was actually drawn into a church service by a group of musicians that were singing hymns on a sidewalk), it was as though things began to click into place from all the many years of difficulty and preparation. He developed a relationship with the Lord that reflected who he was, and reflected his understanding of who Jesus was.

Now, my assumption and conclusion is that this authenticity and deep love for the Lord, brought a very bright light into those he came in contact with. I have not finished reading of where the Lord brought him throughout his ministry, but I am aware that his name is still referred to today in regard to "those old-time religion" preachers.

So this leads into me. My heart often zones into old-time religion, and even though I have only been around for 26 years, the desire to return to this simplicity often haunts my very core. I sit and ponder the humility, the simplicity, and the authenticity of wooden church pews, ice-cream socials, men who wear hats and remove them before entering the threshold of the building, and ladies who observe and occasionally giggle quietly over the hair brained antics of a few "rebel rousing" young men in the congregation. I don't know, the idea sounds quaint, and maybe too simplistic for many.

Picture this: A small one room church house with a steeple, sitting in the middle of thousands of wild flowers on a sunny Sunday afternoon in April. The men dressed in suits and hats, the women with extravagant hats, and colorful umbrellas. The doors to the church open and you hear the sounds of a few hundred voices singing the hymns that are so deep, rich, and meaningful. Amazing Grace, How Great Thou Art, Hallelujah, Thine the Glory.......and a preacher......a preacher that stands in front of them preaching truth to their hearts. Afterwards, everyone files out of the small one room meeting house, and shares in fellowship as they converse about the week that just passed, and the days that lie ahead.

I don't know.....I am a romantic at heart, and this is my idea of romance...simple, authentic, real, love. I pray that my walk is authentic, and that through Christ so is my love. When I met Him and really understood who He was, the things in my life started to become, of all things, much simpler. Clarity grew, and my worldly desires gradually began to fade. I began to ache, for the simple......slower, less complicated, more authentic reality of truth, and my desires for the fake, complicated, false lies of deceit began to fade. He brought that simplicity that I had longed for, the hope I had been seeking, and the peace that I was so desperate to find. From that, my desire to keep it simple, still remains. He is Lord, He is Christ, He is God, and I am forgiven by His blood. "He was pierced for my transgressions" because He loved me. So, I understand love, and I desperately want to show Him that I love Him too. Without Him, there is nothing worth getting excited over, and with Him, excitement seems to grow day by day. The good times are better than I could have ever imagined, and in the bad times there is always the truth that He is there to carry me through.

So that's all I have. Simpley, I am a man that loves Jesus. The man who first loved me.

Audio Adrenaline

Okay everyone,

Here are the much awaited Audio A. pics.....Yes, I did get on the stage, and yes that is me making a fool of myself, but hey just let me say...it was AWESOME!!!

Resist the devil

Submit yourself therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. James 4:7

What does it mean to resist? I think that it involves more work than we at first want to think about. When you resist something, it is not as simple as a wayward "no". It usually has a repetitive tone to it, more along the lines of...no, No, NO, NO NO NO NO NO! I remember back in high school, the idea of resisting offers of this, and ideas of doing that, was not simply a matter of a simple "no". Usually, it was a constant barrage of questions, and continued petitions, until the point got clearly communicated....."I am not going there". A passive, unagressive stance would usually result in a reinforced response followed by constant pressure in order to push me in a firm direction of "yes" or "no". I think in my view of Satan's dealing it is much the same way.

He will push and push and push, he won't simply turn his back on his desire to break you down with a simple response. He is looking to "devour" like a lion. I have never had the misfortune to have to resist a physical lion, but I would bet that the blood hungry, huge, beast wouldn't turn it's back and flee if I looked at it half heartedly and said..."Hey, Mr. Lion, no, I am not interested in fighting you or anything difficult like that, so why don't you please turn around and leave me alone, is that, cool?" Nah, I think I might have a limb missing after a conversation like that.....

So how do I handle a lion that wants to devour me? More than likely I'm going to have to dig in...face him head on, and prove to him that he will not over power me, and that in the end, he will be wasting his energy and effort. After a battle, where he has gained no ground, he will eventually realize the power behind my stance, and give up. Then he will flee. The battle will be over after much intense struggle, and testing to prove that I won't give an inch, not one inch to him. That will not be without work, and pain, and struggle, but in the end......after he flees, I will stand in a place of victory over his schemes.....and will be able to return to fight another day.

"Do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you." 1 Peter 4:12

Got hit pretty hard this morning....so just getting my thought out...hope this encourages!

-J

Tuna Fish

What is so wrong with eating Tuna Fish for lunch everyday? At the office, apparently...alot! I figured out a long time ago, that I don't have time to cook, and to eat out every day is about the most expensive thing you can do besides maybe going furniture shopping at Neiman Marcus. So, I developed a solution to solve the problem of cost and convenience.....TUNA FISH. Ever since college, I have been a die hard tuna fan. Where else can you get 20g of Protein for .50? And now, they sell Starkist in pouches that have different flavors mixed in like "Sweet and Sour", "Lemon Pepper" and "Hickory Smoked"...yea, that is right "Hickory Smoked" Tuna..... So, in order to get out of Wal-Mart with lunch for the week, and to save a few bucks....I buy about 10 pouches of tuna for the week. (Two a day).

Well, I have already been given the reputation at work as being the guy that will take any left overs...eat anything, and basically has no shame in all things food. So, here recently everyone has begun to take notice of my tuna eating extravaganza at lunch. Most everyone is sick and tired of smelling sweet and sour tuna fish.....and they are all quick to make a fuss when they see me grab my two separate paper plates in order to put my tuna on (yea, one for hickory smoked, and the other of course, for sweet and sour). But, that is okay. I add a few pieces of wheat bread, and I am getting away with a lunch for about $3.00 (yea the pouches are a tad more expensive than the cans, but hey the opportunity cost that is saved far exceeds the extra $1.00), also there is about 40 grams of protein for lunch right there....and for everyone who has ever tried to stay on a high protein diet, you know that this is most certainly a bargain. So, as I sat here eating my Tuna Fish....and offending everyone in the office, as the guy that always stinks up the place...I decided to document this moment, and give a little encouragement to all the other tuna fans out there!

Keep Stepping Towards the Light

What does it mean to follow Christ?
It means to walk in the light.

What is the limit of the light?
Only the limit WE place on it

We live in a world of darkness. Everything we have ever known before Christ is dark. He is the light. How much do we limit what God can do by the amount of faith we have in Him? If only we could tap into the faith....tap into the flood gate of faith inside. Forget looking around us for understanding of God and His power, and simply take Him on faith. What if our first reaction was to bow our heads and raise our hands? What if our first thought was how He was glorified? What if we ran everything through a filter of pure light? If only we could discipline ourselves to JUDGE EVERYTHING by HIM, and not allow ourselves to let the world dictate to us what He is capable of. How do we get to the place of letting go of our own selfish motivations and limitations we place on the Holy One. How long will we chalk up an experience, a word, a direction, up to coincidence, and realize underneath is Him....the TRUE WORD, which was in the beginning, before everything else.

How do we change out perspective to view everything by Him, HE is the TRUTH, therefore HE is the standard of measurement. Through HIM we gain wisdom, and truth....everything that doesn't line up with HIM is false.

If we would just seek the light....SEEK IT LIKE WE SEEK MONEY, POWER, RESPECT, and countless other worthless endeavors. SEEK THE LIGHT, it is always shining...the question is are we really looking for it? Are we really wanting to find it? Or are we happy placing it in the small compartment in the back of our minds, and trying to forget about it for the sake of the world's standards?

When will we see that HE is the gauge, HE is the perspective, HE is the TRUTH, everything else is false.


Of course, we wouldn't be expected to measure the distance we have traveled in our cars in kilometers, if we had never learned what a kilometer was. If we never had an understanding of the measurement system, there would be no way to understand how to gauge anything by that standard. So how is the problem solved? Learn the standard...truly understand it. Then the ability to gauge by it can occur.

Seek truth...in the the Word. Seek to learn it and understand it. From that a gauge begins to develop from which truth can be measured with understanding.

Rejoice!

"Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice" Philippians 4:4

through the good, the bad, the difficult, the easy, the average, the repitition, the mountain tops, the valley floors, in the day, in the night, while you are driving, while you are working, when you are encouraged, when you are depressed, when you are happy, when you are sad, when you are up, and when you are down, when the sun is shining, when the clouds form, when you are in the storm, when you are beside still waters, when things couldn't be better, and things have never been worse, in the morning, in the evening, in fall, in winter, in spring, in summer, in pain, in suffering, in blessing, in contentment, in joy, in persecution, in quiet times, when surrounded with noise, in the pews of the church, in the grass on a hillside, during floods, during dryness, when the heavens open, when there is a gaping seperation, when we run, when we walk, when we crawl, when others are there, when we are all alone, when we raise our hands, when we bow our heads, during birth, during death........

always does not make exceptions

God is in the Details

The weekend before last, I went on a Winter Retreat with the church to Tyler. It was a great time, and I really felt the Lord was answering many prayers I had prayed over the past few weeks in different situations and circumstances. That being said, after returning home, Leon and I decided to go grab a bite to eat. As we were conversing over the meal, and speaking about many of the things the Lord had shown us during the weekend, the waitress came to refill my water glass. After a pause in the conversation, I lifted it up to take a drink. When I looked back down in order to set my glass down, what did I find? You guessed it, A SMILE! (Can you see it?). I looked up and said, "Leon, look right there", he sat speechless, staring at the perfectly outlined smile. Then he says, "you should take a picture". Well, it just so happened, I had grabbed my jacket, from the truck before we left, (something I very rarely do), and had stuck my camera in the pocket from the trip to Tyler. So, I grabbed it, and took a few shots. We just kind of sat for a little bit, smiling to ourselves, as we saw God in the details that day.

Snow Day!

Well, to my surprise, I woke up this morning and snow was on the ground! To my greater surprise, everyone is really petrified of .00001 inch of snow. Schools are shutting down, people are boarding up their windows (okay not really), and there is absolutely no one on the roads!

I bet that people from Wisconsin laugh at us.

Faithful

Proverbs 20:6

"Many a man proclaims his own steadfast love, but a faithful man who can find?"

What is it to be faithful?

As a boy growing up, my father instructed me, "Boy, (he used this affectionately), there are three things you need to have as a man; honesty, integrity, and loyalty."

At the time, I didn't realize the truth and wisdom behind this simple statement, but as I walk through life, these three words form a triangle around the center of my heart, and I constantly weigh decisions by how close to the center of the triangle the choice will fall. I think that these three adjectives can be summed up in one word......faithful.

If I strive for faithfulness, the bi-product of decisions usually falls in the middle of the triangle.

To be faithful is to be honest......

It is to determine the ability to meet a commitment before agreeing to take it on. This requires honesty with yourself, and honesty to the person, or project you are committing to. At the same time, there has to be honesty to the one asking for the commitment. The person or project may seem like a perfect fit, but in the end, the choice to proceed with a commitment, may lead to pain and disappointment if the ability to follow through to the end is not accomplished. So, there is a responsibility to be honest to the one asking for the commitment, in order to prevent the hurt that is a repercussion of not finishing what is started.

To be faithful is to be loyal........

How many times have I been excited about a new opportunity or experience, and jumped in with both feet, only to realize that after the newness has worn off, that in the end the expectations I had placed on the experience were far greater than the experience itself. From that I am left facing the choice to remain loyal to the decision, even if there is not an emotional degree of satisfaction that results from continually standing in the place I agreed to stand. A soldier may sign up for the military with expectations of excitement, and tremendous adventure...if after boot camp, they are given an assignment to guard a road which noone ever travels down, they may soon find themselves in a place of discontent, with expectations not being met. But, their loyalty to their commitment is crucial! Leaving their post might result in tremendous consequences in the larger picture of a war which they play a part. The decision becomes a daily commitment to stay where they were placed, even in the cold, the heat, the boredom, the unmet expectations....so that, the war can be won, and those to which they have committed can depend on them to be there.

To be faithful is to be full of integrity.

What do you have if you don't have integrity? Suspicion and distrust. If a previous record of leaving before finishing proceeds you, then more than likely you are not going to be given many future opportunities, which otherwise you would have been given. When others look at you, what do they see? Is it someone they know they can count on, even when things are difficult, and hard? Is it a security that you will bring to a situation by a trust in your desire to fulfill the mission? Without integrity, there is no reason for anyone to trust you.

Many a man proclaims his own steadfast love, but a faithful man who can find?

Kirk Franklin

Yes, I am a white guy that listens to Kirk Franklin.....Who is this? My description is a contemporary gospel singer, but I don't know if that is actually a genre of music.

What's interesting to me is that worship music can come in so many forms, and in reality they all convey the same message: to glrofiy the Lord. What other type of music has such a common denominator? None. Christian music ranges everywhere from Contemporary to Christian Rock to Gospel to Bluegrass and even Christian Hip-Hop!

Even with different sounds and rhythms, under it all, the message is the same...exalting the Lord for His work in the lives of those singing, and encouraging the Saints through exaltation. So, yes, I listen to Kirk Franklin, Toby Mac, Newsboys, Flame, Michael W. Smith, Switchfoot, Prestonwood Choir, Jars of Clay, the Celtic Christian Radio station, and the list goes on and on and on.....

Like each of us are made to look different, have different talents and gifts, and are given a different path and cross to carry, in the end it's all about our heart, and love for Him. The same goes with the plethora of music out there. Is there a heart behind the music trying to poor out in praise to God, and exalt Him? Is there a testimony of encouragement about how the Lord has changed a life, or how he has been faithful through the darkest hour? If so, then our hearts can join in and worship, no matter the rhythm, or instruments, or sounds used.

My place serving the Lord looks different than other believers all around me, just as theirs looks different than mine. I don't perform the function as a missionary in Africa does. I may not ever be used as a missionary, or may never stand in front of 1000's to give a sermon like some of my brothers, but in the end my purpose is just as important to the Lord, just as every believers purpose is important. What is the common denominator amoung us all, no matter what our job is in the kingdom? Our heart for the Lord. When our hearts are all focused on glorifying Him, we make sweet harmony no matter what instrument, or type of singing voice we have. There is perfect outer harmony that flows out from the body of Christ, when the inner hearts of the individual genres get together and focus everything on the one thing which deserves all of our singing and praise...Jesus.