City of Priests

"I can almost see

A mansion in the distance

I can almost see

A city"

This was a chorus that came out of our set last week. When this chorus was being sung over and over I saw a picture of priests in a city all leaving their mansions. They were all rushing through the streets in the city to get to the temple to worship God together. There was an excitement in the air, there was a joy on their faces as they seemed to playfully race one another to the temple.
I really love this picture, it has been on my mind a lot lately. First of all...priests in mansions? For what is a low paid position on earth, what esteem does God hold the position of priest in heaven that he would make us all priests and put us in mansions, specially prepared? This puts how God feels about the priesthood in perspective.
Then in the picture I had, the priests were leaving their mansions for something that exited them. Our occupation as priest becomes enhanced with intensity in heaven; this is our main job description and we will all love it.
We don't see many city of priests in history, I've never seen one personally. I suppose some would consider the Vatican a city of priests; I know Nob was a city of priests (1 Sam 22:19 - "Also Nob, the city of priests...." I'm exited to see what it's going to be like.  Just some thoughts, I thought I would share.

Book Review: Coming Back Sronger

Coming Back Stronger: Unleashing the Hidden Power of Adversity by: Drew Brees By Drew Brees with Christ Fabry is a memoir of Drew Brees. Drew chronicles his years leading up to the pinnacle of his football career; becoming Super Bowl Champion. You will experience the ups and downs of Drew's life, the many adversities that he has faced and conquered, the many failures and successes that he has experienced from high school all the way to the NFL.  This is not simply a book about conquering with human will and endeavour but the faith in God and trusting in his will and purpose that holds us together and brings us through adversity making us stronger.
This book puts you in the shoes of a professional football player (a childhood dream of mine), not simply the glamour and fame of being a football star, but everything that it encompasses from overcoming a devastating injury to constant discouragement to keeping a family. The underlining theme of the book is written on it's cover "coming back stronger".  Not only does the title apply to Drew himself, but it also applies to his team and place that he chose to call home; New Orleans. Reading this book helps you understand the devastation and the few hopes that they had to hold onto in the midst of a terrible tragedy.  How even the simplest thing of winning football games and believing that there are brighter days ahead can pull a community together and in the midst of tragedy become stronger.
Not only was this story engaging right from the start to end, this book was well written and easy to read. I highly recommend this book to anyone, football fan or not; you will finish this book encouraged and determined. You might even finish this book feeling stronger.
This book was provided free for my honest review by Tyndale House Publishers.

Finding Time

Holiday's are here, and thus begins many Christmas gatherings. One thing I have noticed over the years is that after Christmas I don't feel like doing anything. I am less enthusiastic about being productive, less enthusiastic leading worship at SHOP.  I think the answer to this is simple, the structure of my week/days change, I become to busy and I don't find time during holidays to rest with God. It's easier when you are on a schedule. When you don't find that time, it dulls your spirit into boredom and all of a sudden I'm not enthusiastic about doing the things that normally bring me life, never to the point of giving up; but it becomes more of a chore. It then often takes a while to get back on track.
In recognizing this, I see the importance and power of a focused life. The important thing is to keep yourself focused and organized when everything around you is in holiday mode.  This is my goal for this holiday season; find time with the Lord and see what happens when the hustle and bussle is over.

Seeds of Turmoil

Seeds of Turmoil: The Biblical Roots of the Inevitable Crisis in the Middle East by Bryant Wright provides us with the information on the very beginnings of the violence and tension in Israel and the surrounding areas. The church and people in general are largely ignorant of the history behind the middle east conflict. The conflict is all over the news, we hear about what is happening in the middle east and to Israel. The question many people don't think about is "why is the middle east getting so much attention". The simple answer to this question is that it is important to God and the events taking place are largely significant when it comes to biblical prophesy. Bryant Wright has done the church a big favor by shedding light on the roots and reasons for this tension. To be honest I had a fair bit of knowledge on the subject before I read this book so my opinions of it may have to do with the fact that it sounded repetitive to me. I found the book repeating itself a fair bit in the first half. The second half I gained a lot more interest as Bryant when into a lot more detail with things I would have never thought of. I especially appreciate the section at the end that gives us a point of view from the three different religious groups that this conflict revolves around.
This book was far from perfect in the way it was written with many cliches and poorly chosen language, but the information is good. I had little appreciation for the assumption that Abraham sexually desired the maidservant (the "honey" comment.) This is an inference that is unnecessary.  I am thankful for the plethora of scripture used to back up the information, it helps us understand things from a biblical standpoint.
I recommend reading this book simply because there are not many out there like it and the information is very important for every Christian to understand what God is doing on the earth and what is to come. The questions at the end make for a good group study. 3.5 out of 5.

This book was provided free from Nelson House Publishers  booksneeze.com program for my review.