Warrior Poet

Today I changed the name of my blog from The Abundant Life to Warrior Poet . Here's the story behind it. This past summer I read a book called Waking the Dead by John Eldredge. The book was so meaningful to me that I decided to lead a small group of men from my church through it. As such, I began reading through the book a second time and meeting weekly with a group of four men. In one of the chapters, John encourages the reader to ask God what he thinks of himself or herself. "What do you (God) think of me?" "Who do you say that I am?" This question struck me so one day while on a walk I asked God what he thought about me. I didn't get an immediate answer so I kept walking. At some point (I don't remember exactly when) the name "Warrior Poet" came to my mind. I knew I had heard that term before, probably years ago, but I didn't remember from where or when. I also figured it was a name that I wanted to have for myself rather ...

Jesus replied, You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. (Matthew 22:37-38) How do you help someone fall in love with God and love him wholeheartedly? Some might call that making a disciple or discipleship, but I don't like using that term in this context. Regardless of what you call it though, I believe loving God wholeheartedly is core. It's the first and greatest commandment. And it's all about the heart. As I wrestle with this topic, I have so many questions of my own. What is core? What applies to all of us regardless of our story, our gender, our education and our background? What will reach our hearts and not just our intellect? We must know God in order to love him. Because of this, we must have an accurate view of who God is. We must trust him. We must receive his love before we can love him. We must be rooted and grounded in love. It's a process but it's much mo...

I don't see light when I look inside. What I do see is both repulsive and familiar. Out of the darkness, a kaleidoscope of colors that aren't colors at all. Fear      Hurt           Hope                Doubt           Pride      Lust Apathy Light of the world, I'm so worn. Wrap me in light and hold me. Calm my fears and doubts with the warmth of your love. As light expels darkness, so perfect love casts out all fear.

Oh, that we might know the Lord! Let us press on to know him. He will respond to us as surely as the arrival of dawn or the coming of rains in early spring. (Hosea 6:3) God's heart is that we might know him. A few verses later in chapter six of Hosea, God reveals his heart even more clearly when he says, "I want you to show love, not offer sacrifices. I want you to know me more than I want burnt offerings." Pretty clear, don't you think? You may be thinking to yourself, but how does one come to know God? Good question. Think of someone you know well. A best friend. A spouse. A boyfriend or girlfriend. How did you come to know them? You initially met them at some point. Maybe a friend introduced you. Perhaps you met them at church... or at school. Once introduced, you undoubtedly got to know them over a period of time. You talked. You listened. Maybe you played together. You ate together. You spent time together. You shared secrets. You cried together. You bu...

In my last blog I talked about love. Love goes to the heart of the matter, which is the heart. Love is the summation of all the law and prophets (Matthew 22:36-40). It is also how the world will know we are truly Christ's disciples (John 13:35). Right on the heels of this popular message of love, the Holy Spirit began speaking to me about holiness. I daresay this is a much less popular topic than love. One rarely comes across the word holiness or even the idea of holiness nowadays. In hindsight, however, it's not at all surprising to me given his name -- the HOLY Spirit. You must be holy because I am holy. (1 Peter 1:16) Peter wrote these words right after encouraging us with the good news of salvation, the gospel of Jesus Christ. In light of all Christ has done, Peter calls us to holy living. It is our reasonable response (see Romans 12:1-2). It is also what God commands of us (see Leviticus 11:44-45; 19:2; 20:7; 20:26). First and foremost, holiness is something we are...

I thought I would start my new venture into blogging by sharing what God has been impressing upon me lately. I recently shared with my wife my own take on the opening to the 13th chapter of 1 Corinthians. That's a book in the bible for those who aren't familiar with it and it's considered the "love chapter". It's often quoted in Christian weddings. Anyway, here's what I came up with: "Though I go to church every Sunday, but have not love on Monday, it's just religious pageantry. Though I read the bible every morning, memorize scripture, fast regularly and tithe consistently, but have not love, I gain nothing. Though I have all knowledge and I am right about every doctrine, but have not love, I am nothing." I am learning through personal experience that many of my struggles are really issues of love. When you passionately love someone, you love them every day, not just one day of the week. When you passionately love someone, getting up ea...