I’m back from our Burger Odyssey and it was amazing. I’ll blog about it tomorrow.  As I was catching up on blogs I’ve missed out on for the past few days, I stumbled upon this by My Derbe…

The “hedge of protection” is an Old Testament thought. Our protection isn’t a hedge. Our protection is Christ, Who is far greater than a hedge. We are hidden in Christ.

I’ve always found the “hedge” statement odd when I heard someone praying. Mainly because it reminds me of landscaping, but also it evokes this idea that God is ADD and forgets us. You know… “God I need you now! And now. And now. And in a few seconds. And also now.” If we are covered and walking in Christ AND if Christ is in us… do we need to keep asking for him to do what he already said he would do? Just a thought.

What are your thoughts on the hedge?

Why is worship music always pretty? You know it sounds so… so nice and holy. We don’t live pretty lives. We don’t have pretty struggles. So why does our worship music seem to only come that way. I mean who started this? Pretty = Holy? It just doesn’t seem right.

Now, I’m not saying that we can’t have any nice, fluffy worship music (ie. Tomlin or Camp) from time to time. All I’m looking for is something with a little more teeth. Something raw and real. Something beaten and broken. If I’m torn up inside, I’m not looking for fluffy worship.

Our lives are hard. Read the psalms. David is not always a happy camper. He was raw and emotional. So why doesn’t our worship music reflect our struggles. Why doesn’t it feel like the grit under our fingernails or the sweat on our brows. Why doesn’t it sound like something raw or rough? Why doesn’t someone like Springsteen write worship music. Just a thought.

As I’ve said before, I’m not fan of politics. There’s no one running on either side that I particularly like. And you’ll never see this blog endorse anyone. It just won’t happen. That being said, a friend of mine sent me an article about Mike Huckabee, a Republican running for President. He’s a former Southern Baptist pastor and has a unique perspective of seeing both sides of government and church. I love this quote from him. I think in this instance, he’s spot on. There’s so much truth to this statement.

“Government knows it does not have the answer, but it’s arrogant and acts as though it does. Church does have the answer but will cowardly deny that it does and wonder when the world will be changed.”

My loathing for politics comes from this idea: why change the world through political force, when it can be done with prayer and following the Lord. I just see two diverging paths. One is consumed with gaining power (politics) and the other is all about giving it up (following Jesus). Policy will not change hearts. It will only make rules and enforce them. Yet we still try to make this happy marriage of Jesus and politics. If Jesus is going to save America is through the brokenness and humility of the churches seeking the Lord and reaching out in compassion to the hurt, broken and poor. The whole point of Huckabee’s quote is that we as believers can change things, but won’t. So we turn to politics to vote someone to do it.

So what do you think? Am I wrong? How can both Jesus and politics coincide?

Today’s been an random sort of day. So I want to know what’s on your mind. What’s the first thing off the top of your head? It could be a random thought or something more profound. So what is it?

I’ve had this thought rattling in my head all weekend:

People need to know they’re loved. When approaching someone about their salvation, I’m convinced that the “without Jesus, you’re going to spend an eternity in hell” argument is useless because most people are already living in their own version of hell. People need to know they’re loved. That is the catalyst for change.

So, what’s the first thing off the top of your head?

A friend of mind sent me this devotional the other day and I want to share it with you guys.