Challenge

This is my challenge to you (however many of you read this little blog):

Take a gander at your calendar or planner and for each day set up an "appointment" to sit and listen to God. I heard Mike Bickle say that if you schedule it on your planner, then you will follow-through with the "appointment" 80% of the time. I don't know about you, but 80% sounds better than 3-5% (or 0%)...

I have been doing this lately (ie. the past week) and it has been really good. The Lord is faithful and He is trustworthy. He will honor your diligence and speak to your heart. But I pray that it doesn't turn into a religious thing and that it doesn't turn into an "i have to..." chore. Those thoughts are from the enemy. Rebuke them as soon as they come into your mind...

During some of these times, really try to quiet your mind and your heart and listen. When you are in the Word, ask Jesus to open the Scriptures to you and speak through the written Word. You don't need a commentary on each and every book in the Bible. Instead, before you start reading, just pray that the Lord would speak to you through the Scriptures and show you new things concerning His heart. He likes that prayer...

Try it out. Even if it is for just a week and let me know how it went and if the Lord spoke to you...

Grace and peace

Your Very Word Spoken to Me

It seems as lately I'm always posting after a Sunday morning service. I can't help it. I mean the Lord is moving in our body at Riverstone. This morning was no different. Worship was Emmanuel, God with us! There is really no other way to describe it. The Lord showed up and fulfilled His promise that if we draw near to Him, He will most certainly draw near to us. And let me tell you, He was near! The main set started off with Sweetly Broken by Jeremy Riddle [awesome], then we went into Lord of Lords by Hillsong. The bridge of that song moves me into His throneroom like no other. It is a cry that we will be singing for eternity..."Holy Lord, You are Holy...Jesus Christ is the Lord!" Enough said. After that we did With Everything, another song by Hillsong. Even though we've done that song a lot lately, it still is a very intense and powerful song. The last song of the main set was a song off of Chris Tomlin's new cd, "Hello Love." The song is called "Exalted (Yaweh)." You know there are some songs out there where you want to keep singing it over and over again [a lot of Chris Tomlin's songs are like that...what can I say? He is an anointed song writer]. The chorus of this song goes as follows:

"Yaweh, Holy is Your Name"

That's it. Simple yet so powerful. Again, we are joining with the angels and elders gathered around the throne proclaiming the truth that our God, Yaweh, is Holy!

The congregation was as engaged as I have ever witness them being in a long time. At the end we just sang the chorus without any instrumentation. I took out my in-ear monitor and just listened to them belt this out at the top of their lungs. It gave me goose-bumps [even as I type this I'm getting goose-bumps]. The only response I could muster up was to get on my knees and adore the only One who is worthy. I felt a little closer to heaven at that moment.

Afterwards we as a worship team gathered together and prayed. The Holy Spirit came upon me in a for real way. I literally started trembling. I was holding a Coke in my hand and I had to put it down because I was afraid I was going to drop it or spill it. I felt like there should be a word in tongues, but I didn't know if I was supposed to do it because I don't believe that is one of my spiritual gifts. Granted I know that the Lord can bestow spiritual gifts on a believer for a particular time and it's not one of their spiritual gifts. Does that make sense? So needless to say, I didn't do it and in hindsight I wish I would have. Any way that's not the point [even though the Lord wants us to be bold...and I dropped the ball...then I kicked the ball...thank goodness for grace!].

The Lord then spoke to me saying, "This is the kind of worship I desire. The kind of worship I look throughout the earth for. I long for worship that is grounded in complete abandonment of WHO I AM because I am the I AM. My heart is moved by genuine and authentic worship. But, this worship should not just be on Sunday mornings. Do not neglect your secret, private life of worship for this will prepare you for the public life of worship. Do not forsake the private. Do not forsake the intimate moments between Me and you, just Me and you; for I AM there. Do not lose the abandonment of worship during the week. For I AM there."

I am fearful right now trying to add anything more to what the Lord said. But take heed people. When a community of believers come together in unity to put a big fat exclamation point on what the Lord has done in our lives during the week ["exclamation point" quote compliments of Charlie Hall], the results will be a Spirit-led, Spirit-filled, miracle happening, soul claiming, spirit lifting, heart bowing, God-speaking, God-inhabiting service!

Do not neglect the secret, private place of worship! This is going to look different for each and every person, so I am not going to give you a "how-to" or "7-step" manual for what you should do during your secret life of worship. You know what moves you. You know what best puts you into His presence. Find it. Do it. You will no doubt see the floodgates of heaven open up and pour all over you. You will ooze the water and oil and fire of His presence. Doesn't that sound good?!

So what are you waiting for?

Grace and peace.

Side note: Check out Steve Hambrick's message from this morning. Oh my gosh, so good!

Great sermon...

"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!"
Philippians 4:4

Perfect follow-up verse to my previous post. Rejoice in the Lord...ALWAYS! Rejoicing, or worshiping, when things are not going good is the key to tapping into the river of life and comfort that flows from the Lord's throne. Then...then my friends will the peace of God, which overcomes any anxious thought, GAURD your hearts and your minds. Worshiping the Lord in times of plenty and in times of drought welcomes in the Lion of Judah [the word "Judah" actually means "praise"] to the gates of your heart and he is perched there, guarding against the flaming darts of doubt, of worry, of anxiety, of stress and of fear. Pause for a second and get that picture in your mind...a roaring Lion protecting your heart. Wow!

If you were not at Riverstone this morning, please go to Riverstone's website and listen to Mark Nysewander's sermon. It was excellent and so pertinent to today's world. You will be encouraged and blessed for sure.

Also, my good friend Brad posted an incredible speech by Sarah Palin. It is the subject of the speech alone that has captured my vote for Senator McCain and Governor Palin. Check it out.

Grace and peace.

I don't understand...

...life sometimes. I totally trust in the Lord's goodness and His faithfulness to make all things good and give good gifts to His children. But life, real life, is hard sometimes. I'm trying not to get too philosophical or whatever on you guys, but there are times where I have to just sit in silence and ponder on the age-old question...Why? One of my very good friends just lost his brother in a car accident...why? Sure there is a light that is going to come out of this apparent darkness, but why? Anybody feel me? The Lord does work in mysterious ways and the Lord is grieving with and comforting my friend. But sometimes I just don't understand. My friend is so strong in his faith in the Lord and as I was praying for Him today, I had a sense that the Lord is very near to him and is going to whisper encouraging, love-inspired words into his ears and heart. There's no better comfort than the Lord's comfort...

Anyway, you can look at the world today and ask that same age-old question about any one of them...

War...why?

Crime...why?

Abortion...why?

Hate...why?

The economy...why?

Hunger...why?

AIDS...why?

I think I could go on and on and on...and that makes me sad. For real.

But...BUT...I trust in the Lord's goodness. He is such a faithful God and He is bigger than any and every one of the many horrible, tragic, awful, painful circumstances we encounter or will ever encounter. Nothing is too big for HIm and nothing ever, ever, ever surprises Him. Pray, listen, cry, laugh, read the Word and never forget to worship. The worship of God ALWAYS wins the day!

Grace and peace.

Quirky-Tag

So I was tagged to offer some quirky tid-bits about myself. Here they are in no particular order...

1) I like to have all the clocks in the house to be exactly the same. I mean I will stand next to the microwave and wait for the clock on the oven to change and sync the microwave as fast as I can with the oven clock. There is one exception though. My bedroom clock is set faster than the other clocks. Mainly this is a mental game against myself. I set it faster so I can hit the snooze a few more times and get a few extra "z"s.

2) Again with the microwave (I guess your getting the picture that I use my microwave a lot...those dinners are good!)...I like to heat my food up for odd times. For example, if the box says heat on high for 2 minutes 30 seconds, I'll do 2 minutes 33 seconds.

3) After reading about a friend of mine's quirkiness, I now realize that there are a lot of people out there who share this same characteristic. I tend to rub my feet together when I'm laying around. I like it. It soothes me. Someone picked up on this one time and asked if my mother rubbed my feet when I was little. I don't remember (read #7 from the previous post).

4) I have a shower routine and for the most part, a morning routine, that I do pretty much every morning. No need to go into details about the shower routine...just trust me that it is the same every day.

5) When I pray, I tend to hear the Lord better when I'm moving around. I don't know, maybe my mind doesn't race as much as when I'm just sitting there?

6) I can't think of a sixth one...let me know if any of you out there can think of one.

Grace and peace.

Random thoughts by Justin Boggs...

Here are some random thoughts that have been going through my mind lately...

1) I need a little "Spring" in my life (reference to Steve Hambrick's sermon this past Sunday at RS...check it out at www.riverstonewf.org. It was really good). My days are fairly monotonous and I need a little rejuvenation.

2) Is it possible to be perfect (when it comes to walking with the Lord)? It says multiple times in the Bible that we can be perfect and when I say perfect, I mean without sin. If we are called to be "imitators" of Jesus, then I would say the answer has to be yes. But, is it possible? Again, I think yes. Thoughts?

3) I'm ready for November 4th to be here so we can get this election thing over with.

4) In regards to #3, I need to really seek the Lord and hear what He has to say about this election. I'm wondering if Obama will get elected and we will start seeing things come to light in regards to the Lord's returning. Hear me now, I am not saying Obama is the anti-christ or anything like that. I'm just saying that the Lord's second coming is near and I wonder how this election fits in? That's all.

5) I'm really getting annoyed with ESPN. How far are they up USC's rear! C'mon, do we really need hours upon hours of how "great" the USC team is? Yes, they are good, but I don't want to hear it over and over again. I'm not throwing UGA a pity party or anything like that (because they looked bad on Saturday and they have the potential to lose this coming Saturday if they play the way they did), but they get no love. Kirk Herbstreet didn't even have them in his top 5! What?! No more USC please!!

6) I need to keep up with my family a little more than I do. My grandfather is really sick and I need to call him and my grandmother more. Maybe I'll do that tomorrow...if I remember (see #7). I need to call my brothers more. Family is so important and it is of the utmost importance to stay in-tuned with what's going on in their lives. My little brother needs prayer, in a for real way, and I have dropped the ball a lot when it comes to persistence in prayer. Lord help me be more persistent.

7) I have a really bad memory, especially my short-term memory. Maybe my hippocampus is damaged?

8) Matt Damon is an idiot.

9) I forgot my other thoughts...

Grace and peace.

Healer

My good friend, Annie, recently sent me an email with a link to this video. Please read my thoughts first, watch the video and then leave me some of your thoughts.

When I first heard that Mike Guglielmucci was lying about having terminal cancer, I, along with mostly everyone I'm sure, felt sick to my stomach. How could he fake something so gross as cancer?! Honestly, I was hurt because I felt a little portion of my faith stolen from me. Mike was proclaiming the truth as God as our Ultimate Healer and yet was betraying his parents, his wife, his friends and his church. Christians and non-yet Christians all over the world were rooting for him, sending money to him and backing him with their precious prayers and thoughts. What was he thinking?! Why? How?

On a selfish note, as a worship leader I was pondering never singing his song in a service [or at least putting it on a shelf for a VERY long time] out of fear of what the congregation would be thinking. In my mind, they would automatically disengage themselves during the worship because this song was born out of a lie!

However, since the news broke of his fraud I've had time to think about the situation and I've got my own thoughts on the situation. Number 1, Mike Guglielmucci is sick. No doubt. Not with cancer, but with a psychological illness that has plagued him for many years. Pray for him! Number 2, the song is loaded with truth and is such an inspiring, powerful song! So can we still sing this song? YES! You see, the Lord's power is made perfect in our weakness and He uses the weak and lowly to show His glory more fully. The Lord in His grace and mercy used Mike, despite all of the crud that is in his life, to bring us a song that captivates our hearts and proclaims the truth that God IS our Healer. This situation is just a testimony of how good our God is. He takes what the enemy is doing for evil and turns it around for our good.

Mike's story did not surprise God. He knew what was going on and still used Him. Does the word grace ring a bell? God is so much bigger than our troubles. Has anyone ever felt like God could or would not use you because of all the junk in your life? Well take this weird example and believe that He can and will use you despite the troubles and struggles in your life. Or maybe you yourself have a testimony of how God used you for His glory when all around you seemed to be falling on you.

ALL of us fall short. ALL of us have some form of Mike Guglielmucci in our own lives. You probably will never do something like he did, but I know for sure that there are skeletons hanging out in your closet [or at least used to be]. But do you believe He can still use you? He is so much bigger than us. His thoughts and ways are so much higher than our own. Do NOT sell yourselves short when it comes to the Lords grace, mercy and sovereignty! Press in and strive to keep your eyes fixed on Him and seek Him first in everything. Blessed are the weak [or poor] in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven!

Thoughts?

Grace and peace.

In Memory of Leroi Moore

I'm very sad to report that the saxophonist of the Dave Matthews Band died from sudden complications stemming from an ATV accident he incurred a few months ago. He was an amazing musician and was a crucial part of the success of the band. Please remember his family and the band in your prayers. He was 46 years old.

If you want, you can read the whole article here.

Grace and peace

For those of you who don't know...

...the word on the street is true. I've talked with a few of you and I'm sure most of you have heard that Louie Giglio is starting a church here in Atlanta. It will be called Passion Church and as of right now, they do not know where it will be located or when it will be starting. Also, there has been a lot of discussion about who the worship leaders, or lead worshipers will be. This has not been confirmed, but Chris Tomlin, Matt Redman and the Knockels are moving or have already moved to Atlanta [I even read on another blog that Chris Tomlin's house is for sale in Austin - I don't know how people find this information but I'm willing to pass on the little juicy nugget of knowledge!].

If you care to hear Louie talk about Passion Church, then you can go to this blog to watch an interview with him.

I'll be honest, at first I had a little mixed emotions about him starting what will be a MEGA-church here in Atlanta. I initially thought, "Man, how many people will leave their respective churches to go to his church?" That was soon followed by, "I think I'll go there when I can." Hypocritical? Yeah I think so...oh well, shoot me. But after doing some blog searching [blearching] and hearing Louie speak, I trust the Lord's leading of Louie. It's not to steal people away from churches but to reach the thousands upon thousands of people in Atlanta that are unchurched and to ignite a flame of revival that will undoubtedly transform a city! Our church has had the vision of community transformation for many years now and I think Passion Church coming to Atlanta confirms what the Lord has laid upon our own pastors' hearts. We will be partnering with Passion Church to see our community [Atlanta, not just Cobb County] transformed.

I have also heard a rumor [and it may just be a rumor] that Passion Church will be starting a worship school as well, a la Hillsong. I haven't read anything about this, but I can only hope, right?

So I have a little bit of the nervous excitement with a splash of jealousy [just being honest]. I have a wonderful church home with an amazing team of leaders and an even more amazing congregation, but on days I'm not helping lead worship I might be tempted to travel to wherever Passion Church is located.

I want to hear your thoughts and reactions to Louie starting a church in Atlanta with some of the most prominent lead worshipers. I'm truly interested!

Grace and peace.

I'm not good at this...

As my blog so clearly bestows. I haven't blogged in about 6 weeks. I'm not as good as Annie is at this. I have a hard time coming up with "interesting" things to write about every day, or every other day, or every week, etc. So this one is going to be short. The purpose of this blog is to say hey...

So...Hey!

I will post a recap of my Scotland trip soon because right now it is too hard to put what happened or what the Lord accomplished into words. I'll need a few more days and more time (it's midnight now) to make sure all of my thoughts are gathered. I'm sure you understand?

Grace and peace.