To the victor goes the spoils....................................

A boy in a field

A boy in a pit

A boy in a foreign place

David

Joseph

Daniel

When I held Outliers in my hands, love Malcolm Gladwell, I asked the question that if I was to dedicate 10,000 hours to anything what would it be....

It really didn't take long...

I want to know God. I want to know Him as He is and not as I or any other would make Him out to be....

I want to know His presence. I want to trust Him. I want to be His...

Daniel looked at the food that his captive culture wanted to feed him and he said in all purposes, no thank you.

You know... you read posts and the temperature of the person obviously comes across... and not too long ago as I was editing a piece I was writing I felt the nudge of the Lord to not become an angry voice... to not give into sarcasm and intellectually witty digs upon the Bride of my Lord, of which I am a part. Instead it was towards sight and affection He called me... to weep over her, to see her as she most intrinsically is....

I believe in the presence of God

I believe that any human being, neighborhood, street, town, city, county, state, country, etc etc would only be all that it could be if in stillness and in wonder we waited upon the presence of the Lord.

I believe in a God that demonstrates His purposes and His presence in ways that are so counter cultural to anything our world would teach us..  in and out of the church.

I believe in a God who is passionate about His creation and the people He created to inhabit it..

I believe in a God who walked straight into Samaria

I believe in a God who talked to those that were called unclean and unfit

I believe in a God who is able

I believe in a God who is strong

I believe in a God who is passionate

I believe in a God who walks with us, talks with us, guides us

I believe in a God who is powerful and almighty and I believe in a God that took the form of an infant

I believe in a God who is who He says He is and I am willing to wait upon Him

I relish the stories of a Noah who could have never gotten every animal upon the ark

I relish the stories of how our Lord demolish the efforts of Babel

I relish the stories of walls coming down and enemies being defeated by song, by worship, by Him...

I relish the stories of a man being released from prison by an angel

I relish the stories of the resurrection, of healing, of deliverance, of love, of restoration, of hope....

I relish the stories of Jesus and my Father and the testimonies of Holy Spirit..

I relish the reality that He is still at work today...

In my prayers for those in captivity.. for those who make the news and because of their faith are in prison in foreign countries.. I think upon Peter and I think upon Paul and I think upon the others that have gone before them... I think upon the hall of fame of faith and I think that some got to lead conquering armies and some got cut in half...

As Hebrews 11 states:

And what more shall I say? For time will fail me if I tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets, who by faith conquered kingdoms, performed acts of righteousness, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions,quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, from weakness were made strong, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. Women received back their dead by resurrection; and others were tortured, not accepting theirrelease, so that they might obtain a better resurrection; and others experienced mockings and scourgings, yes, also chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were tempted, they were put to death with the sword; they went about in sheepskins, in goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, ill-treated (men of whom the world was not worthy),wandering in deserts and mountains and caves and holes in the ground.

There are those that escape the sword and there are those sawn in half, there are those who watched as the mouths of lions got closed and there are those that were devoured by such beasts...

In all and through all.. I believe in a God whose presence changes and altars the courses of men and women...

I can not trust in horses and chariots and look upon their machinery and think that they are the better way.... I must look up to the hills for it is from there that my help comes from and it is that help that I trust.....

I don't want to be angry.. I am at times sorrowful, I am at times bewildered and baffled …

I most thoroughly believe that waiting upon the Lord is the most vital activity any Christian could engage in … Period...

To the victor goes the spoils.. ie.. The winner takes all... Well, I have read the end of the story.. and upon that day every single knee will bow and every single tongue will confess one name.. a name above all names and upon His face I will gaze if I can .. To Him and Him alone.. from this day to that may my eyes and heart be focused solely upon Him and in His presence may I dwell....