Living in Ten-Minute Increments of Grace

Among the many chores that I must do around the house is to periodically wash the dishes. What makes this chore particularly challenging is that I tend to procrastinate and then the job is harder. Trying to scrub a pan or bowl or plate the day after is a lot harder than it would be right after dinner.
One of the biggest mistakes that I make in my spiritual journey is that I seldom repent soon enough. I have in the past waited for services where repentence is emphasized or when I’m having a personal devotion. Then, because my memory is imperfect, I tend to repent in generalities and categories, instead of specific attitudes or actual acts that fall short of God’s righteous demands. This is a mistake with severe consequences on a number of levels.
First, failing to repent often, leads to spiritual disintegration. Sins and attitudes that go unchecked become internalized, habitual and eventually part of one’s person. One then experiences the consequences of those attitudes and behaviors on a personal and relational level and is diminished moment by moment.
Second, failing to repent often, leads to spiritual vulnerability. The enemy of our soul looks for every opening that he can find. A heart which has not fully and continually repentant is weakend and thus vulnerable to pride and temptation. In our weakened state we then are susceptible to being sifted by the enemy and wounded by His attack.
Third, failing to repent often, leads to spiritual isolation. An unrepentant heart is an impediment to intimacy with our heavenly Father and with our offended brothers. God is forgiving to be sure, but He desires continual fellowship with us. When we choose to wait for forgiveness we miss the opportunities of grace that are available to us at any and every hour. We miss the chance in that moment to crawl into his lap and receive from Him mercy and affection for our soul.
And so, I’m learning to live my life in ten-minute increments of grace - returning to my Savior regularly for refreshment and a clean slate. Until I am washed clean for good - it’s easier to wash up right after I’ve slipped in the mud than wait the following morning when its under or stuck to the skin.

Making Progress on New Project

I am on my way to a recording session where we will be laying down the drum tracks to the songs on this new project. Most of these songs are painful in that they deal with the tragedy of Katrina and all the unravelling that came with the storm. But they are also about healing and hope that falls from above as well. There are times when I wish there were a pill i could take that would bring instantaneous recovery from injury, or some therapy that would remove inner-woundedness from life’s travails. But there is no real healing except that which flows from the eternal and surgical hands of the Sovereign One who stoops over us in love. Unlike other medical procedures, there is no anasthesia for the process. And unlike other procedures that bring permanancy in healing, God never in this lifetime comepletes his work. We are like a child born premature that must anticipate a life span of surgeries. We never really recover fully from our inner-woundedness until we see the Creator-Redeemer face to face. Oh how I long for that day.
I was thinking this morning, now that I am in my 40’s that I have entered the Autumn years of my life. Spring is the stage where we are blooming with life and color and personality and self-discovery. I would say that this stage would be the first 20 years of our lives. Of course Summer follows with fulness and maturity and fruitfulness. These are our productivity years. These would be our next 20 years taking us up to the stage I’ve just entered - our Autumn years. Our Autumn years are our years of decline. Now I know that there are ways in which the Autumn years can be the most productive phase of all, when we manage the first phases well, or when because of spiritual renewal one might find in later years, but even for those, the autumn years are a time of preparation inwardly where we let go of our fruitfulness for the enrichment of others. We are focused and hopeful that we might pass on to our children the legacy of our lives. We are shaping our lives for the benefit of others. This is why to me Autumn is the most colorful and beautiful phase. Winter of course is the phase where we retreat deep into ourselves in preparation for new birth. Perhaps I’m making too much of this. Perhaps I’m just a little melancholy entering into another recording session. Whatever the case may be, I am thankful to the One who sustains us through all our lives and gives us hope in the midst of the storm.

Campus Outreach Was a Great Audience!

Special thanks to everyone involved in allowing me to come and perform for the very special young men and women at Campus Outreach Christmas Conference. Your encouragement during this time was meaningful beyond your possible understanding. As we are being re-established in the ministry of Rebirth International we will always remember the special role you guys have played in filling our sails with wind. Special thanks to Mike Hearon for inviting me to come and allowing me to play a role in the significant cause of Campus Outreach. Your ministry is a real standout in a country that so desperately needs spiritual leaders for the next generation. God bless all of you and lets pray together that 2007 is a year of great fruitfulness in His Kingdom’s purposes for both our organizations!