life: acoustic & amplified

The battle of faith is a struggle, not to do, but to believe that God will do; to gain the ground of faith when, from all earthly evidence, it looks impossible that a promise can be fulfilled. The battle is always pitched on the question, “Can I believe exactly what God says?” And that challenge comes to the believer every day. – Buell Kazee

The Theology of Resting in God
08122014
Why are you fearful, O you of little faith? —Matthew 8:26

When we are afraid, the least we can do is pray to God. But our Lord has a right to expect that those who name His name have an underlying confidence in Him. God expects His children to be so confident in Him that in any crisis they are the ones who are reliable. Yet our trust is only in God up to a certain point, then we turn back to the elementary panic-stricken prayers of those people who do not even know God. We come to our wits’ end, showing that we don’t have even the slightest amount of confidence in Him or in His sovereign control of the world. To us He seems to be asleep, and we can see nothing but giant, breaking waves on the sea ahead of us.

“. . . O you of little faith!” What a stinging pain must have shot through the disciples as they surely thought to themselves, “We missed the mark again!” And what a sharp pain will go through us when we suddenly realize that we could have produced complete and utter joy in the heart of Jesus by remaining absolutely confident in Him, in spite of what we were facing.

There are times when there is no storm or crisis in our lives, and we do all that is humanly possible. But it is when a crisis arises that we instantly reveal upon whom we rely. If we have been learning to worship God and to place our trust in Him, the crisis will reveal that we can go to the point of breaking, yet without breaking our confidence in Him.

We have been talking quite a lot about sanctification, but what will be the result in our lives? It will be expressed in our lives as a peaceful resting in God, which means a total oneness with Him. And this oneness will make us not only blameless in His sight, but also a profound joy to Him.
Oswald Chambers
http://www.utmost.org

“Without me ye can do nothing.” and so I wait. It all hangs on the moment when we tremble yet dare to trust Him alone.
– Buell Kazee

fruit

the tomato is as high as the second stick
no tomatoes in sight
all bushy and gigantic
but no fruit
I don’t mind much
it’s a beautiful green
for my little balcony
but it makes me wonder
will it give me any goodness?
any product
for the fried green tomatoes
I’ve been hankerin’ for?
It feels like another lesson
I’ve read
about fig trees
and no fruit
eventually will it be hewn down
and thrown in the fire?
(or at least tossed in the trash bin?)
Today I hope to bear fruit
bare fruit
naked truth
harvested and shared freely
abundant and juicy
sweet to the taste
clean and ready for eating
creating happy smiles
as the juice runs down
chins and elbows
right smack dap
into the thirsty hearts
receiving
the goodness
delivered
the promise
delivered
the miracle
delivered
the love
delivered
the hope
delivered
the healing
delivered
the word
made flesh
delivered
among us
now
and for
ever

7/23/14