Hurricane Ernesto

Yesterday all day in the office I heard the firmiliar words. The words I hear every year about this time. Are we in the cone of uncertainty? Is this hurricane going to hit our area. Do we close down the office tomorrow? Do we put shutters up? What is going to happen?

There is comfort in knowing who is in control of this beast. We did cancel work, but then no one really expected the storm to be too fierce here, so we got the call this morning to come in.

Hurricanes always facinate me. It is as if they have a mind of there own, or God is randomly tracing his finger over his globe causeing winds to increase and decrease, and atmoshperic pressures to rise and drop. You never know what direction they will turn. You don't know if they will speed up or slow down. You really have no clue what they are doing. So you sit and wait until the last minute trying to decide if you should evacuate or not.

I guess all of this is just making me glad to know that I am safe in Him. Knowing that, kinda makes a hurricane fun, in an adventures exciting sort of way.

His Hand.

This may Sound very cliche, but that is ok. You may have heard it a million times, and that would be ok too. Not too terribly worried about that, but I am rally enjoying the thought that was expressed in a song I just heard on an airplane on my way to my connection in Atlanta tonight. The song said. I want to hold the hand that holds the world. That is an awesome thought. You know, sayings like... Hold the hand of God, or resting in His embrace, or feeling His hand, these phrases all indicate a physical presence of something spiritual.

While I was in England I had the opportunity to speak to a man that challanged my faith. He was a mocker in Hyde Park. He told me that my spiritual life is nothing but a mental concept that effected my emotions and thus gave it the feel of reality. While He failed to convince me of this, and I had the opportunity to plant seeds in him, the whole conversation did convince me of one thing. God is way more than spiritual. God is more that emotional. God is more than a mental conseption. God is. God is physical FIRST. God was the first hard physical anything.

Only something physical can effect something else physical. His hand calms the storm. His hand can oppress the wicked. His hand can uphold me. David said IN HIS HAND are the depths of the earth. His hand raises the dead and heals the blind. So there you have it. The proof is in the puddin'. His hand is everywhere, and I want to hold that hand, and never let it go.

contemplation

Why does He love me? Why would He hold me in any esteem? What is it that causes Him to know me and love me? I so frequently turn my back on Him and yet he pours out his blessings on me. Even when I think He has my attention, I know that I am glancing away to see something else. Being sidetracked by the very thing that I know will pull me away from Him.

Lord,
Pull my face close to yours. Touch my head to your own. Allow me to see nothing but your eyes. Show me your glory as you showed your glory to Moses on the mountain. Expose my innermost being and meld it with yours. Make me a perfect reflection of you. Bury me inside of your presence so that no one sees me through you. Bind my heart to yours and yours to mine so that every beat is in unison. Make your very fingerprints mine. Make your identity mine so that I do not exist apart from you. Stretch me. Pull me. Mold me into something fit for the use of the King of kings and Lord of lords, but used in the lives of the sick and poor. Never allow me to become lax and accustom to the wonders you daily reveal to me. Lord, there are none like you. NOTHING compares to you. You are before the alpha and after the omega. You are before the beginning and even before that! You will be forever and I will be with you! I will be resting at your feet with nothing more to do that to glorify you! To fellowship with those that want nothing more to do than to bring your name honor and glory! Lord, fill me with you and make that moment now! Let me begin to honor you with a fraction of the singing and dancing that I will do in YOUR kingdom. In that Great City in Heaven. In your presence!

Your Child!
Me, Tony.

Lead me to the rock that is higher than I!

I am going through a rough time right now with some personal things, yet I am blessed by the knowledge that God is bigger than every situation and HE promises to lead me to the rock that is higher than I!

I can see that my hands are trembling, I can see that my legs are weak
I can see that my head is spinning, but I will overcome
And I know that my heart is hurting, And I know that my soul it aches
And I know that it seems I'm failing, but I will overcome, yeah

O Lord I'm strong in You, O Lord I am wise in You
O Lord I can see in You, so I will overcome
O Lord I'm loved by You, O Lord I am free in you
O Lord I'm complete in You
So I will overcome, I will overcome, I will overcome

God listen to me shout, I'm so far from anywhere and I'm calling out
Lead me, lead me to the rock that is higher than I
You're my breath, You're my breath, You're my very life
Infinite, Holy King meets weak and frail Christ in me
And I will overcome not by my strength but by Your grace and love