Forecast

On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him. And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”

(Mark 4:35-41 ESV)

 

Why are you downcast, oh my soul?

Because there’s a dark cloud rolling in

And it's about to get cold

No matter where I turn

Just more of the same thing

As I sing, "It is well..."

I'm distracted with the trouble

I know tomorrow will bring

 

You told us to count it all joy

When we encounter these trials

But every step I take

Feels like another hundred miles

I'm not praying for a miracle

I'm just waiting for relief

I know you'd never leave me or forsake me

Lord, help my unbelief

 

Remind me that the struggle

Is what you so graciously give

To conform me to your will

For the benefit of your glory

Grant me the wisdom to be still

And know that the same Spirit

That enabled the Savior

To take beatings, thorns and nails

Is the same that now abides within me

A peace which no circumstance can assail

 

So when life is crashing down around me

And the flood waters start to get higher 

Let my fears be diminished

In the truth that, "It is finished"

And the Accuser is a liar...

 

Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.

 (Psalm 43:5 ESV)

 

Soli Deo Gloria,

Shon

 

 

Posted via email from THE CENTER (ROOM 116)

Zeros & Ones: Importance of the Resurrection (Week 4 Finale)

We finish up our excellent study on the implications of the resurrection of Christ with a lively in-depth discussion on how the eyewitness account of Thomas can be applied in our own lives and our evangelism, what the implications of the resurrection are in this life and how it gives us hope now in the face of death, and finally, how this changes us forever.

 

 

Soli Deo Gloria,

Shon

Posted via email from THE CENTER (ROOM 116)

Zeros & Ones: Importance of the Resurrection (Week 2)

A look inside our Bible Study discussion as we go further up and in on the reality and implications of the resurrection of Christ. We discuss the misunderstandings of Jesus' contemporaries and the overall cultural expectations of the the resurrection. Also, the coming of the kingdom of God and how this led into up to his crucifixion; even still, this was all providentially governed by God.

 

Soli Deo Gloria,

Shon

Posted via email from THE CENTER (ROOM 116)

Righteous Kill

Since before the days of the Coliseum

People have been locked up and beaten

Relentlessly persecuted for the faith

By being mocked, maimed, and eaten

But they went to the rack, singing

Bodies burned for just believing

In the only one True Messiah

Never paying homage to heathens

Or posturing to imposters

Never taking the mark of the Beast

Refused to render to Caesar what belonged to Jesus

And so became a part of the feast

Fed to lions with eyes still fixed on Zion

Followed their master into martyrdom

Even though painful death was certainly common

They took it all with a reckless abandon

Forsaking the world and everything in it

Knowing their sins had been forgiven

They faced the sword with no regard

Knowing in Christ, now their lives had been hidden

So as I hear the sirens coming

And I see the war at home

I’m reminded of the greater war

And exactly who’s side I’m on

Come what may, we’re here to stay

We’ll never be dismayed

The history’s already been written

We will not be made ashamed

Abashed and in awe the Devil stood

And saw what was so incredibly good

That it stoked the embers of envy in his heart

Now, he’d kill us if he could

But over the wood and nails

Our Surety prevails

So even if our blood is to be spilled

“He was bruised for our transgressions

And by His stripes, we are healed.”

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written,

                “For your sake we are being killed all the day long;

                we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”

 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

- (Romans 8:31-39 ESV)

Soli Deo Gloria,

Shon

Posted via email from THE CENTER (ROOM 116)

Shake the Dust

Abraham answered and said, “Behold, I have undertaken to speak to the Lord, I who am but dust and ashes.”

- (Genesis 18:27 ESV)

I am nothing more than dust…

Prone to feed my wanderlust

Made into a man from a collection of sand

But by the Lord’s mercy, now I am what I am

I am clean since I AM washed me in the blood of the Lamb

So, Here I stand; I can do no other

No, this is not a drill; I refuse to duck and cover

So you can go ahead; throw your stones, if you got ‘em

He’s the Chief Cornerstone, so I’m still gonna rock Him

I’m one of the elected…

A speck predestined to represent

After the order of Melchezidek -

A King with no precedent

A slave to the sentence

I’m the subject …He’s the Predicate

It’s in Him I trust, money

And not a bunch of dead presidents

Shake the dirt out of your pillow

Wake up your damned relatives

Because they’re sittin’ in a parlor room

With way too many elephants

They can’t see the light of day

Because the sun’s blocked out

And it won’t be much longer now

Before the rocks cry out…

With pachyderms, you better learn how to tell ‘em apart…

The difference between the back of the barn

Or the front of the Ark

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

 - (Ephesians 2:1-10 ESV)

Soli Deo Gloria,

Shon

Posted via email from THE CENTER (ROOM 116)

Saved

Truly the hills are a delusion, the orgies on the mountains. Truly in the LORD our God is the salvation of Israel.
 - (Jeremiah 3:23 ESV)

 We’re a nation in search of salvation…

We all wanna be saved from somethin’
Some wanna be saved from guns and violence
Others, from the silence…
The absence of a voice that let’s them know
That there’s someone there… 

Hello...Does anybody care?
 No?
Okay. Cool…didn’t think so.
Then I’ll just keep lookin’
Puttin’ my hope
In anything but hope
‘Cause why buy into the lies
When I can buy dope?
It’s the only thing I know
That’ll never let me down
Get it?! That was a joke…
But seriously, who’s with me?

There’s a lot that I need to be saved from
And I know I’m not the only one
I could exorcise my demons and my waistline
And still be no closer to fine
My problem is divine
And I’m on a shifty diet
So, no matter how hard I work
The most I’ll get out of this is to die tryin’
Lyin’ to myself through all the infomercial banter…

Where do you go for the answers
When your pockets produce envy
But your body’s full of cancer?
Or your mom starts trippin’
Because your pops let out
And greenbacks got weak shoulders
So now you’re strapped for clout
Trapped on the track now
‘Cause your cheese won’t stick
Givin’ your body for bread
‘Cause you heard him say that “Love don’t fit”
It leaves you all kinds of pissed
When you can’t find your muse
‘Cause you ain’t really livin’
Until you’ve got nothin’ to lose

Come to grips with the facts:
This life ain’t yours – you don’t own it
And if you had any cards left to play
Well, your hand just folded
Creator trumps creation
That’s that biblical math
And hearts made of stone
Get turned into gravel
So you can go ahead and get mad

But know this…
There’s no anger that burns hotter than His
So if you’re buckin’, there’s no discussion
You’re just a goner – So what then?

Love God, hate sin
That’s the only solution
To get you dyin’ to live
Instead of livin’ the illusion
That all that flossin’ and big bossin’
Is gonna get you respect
The bill is too high, homie
And we’re forever in debt
Unless we accept it
And embrace the amazing grace of His son
Who was crushed to save us
Because He and the Father are one
It’s done! He’s won!

So go run and tell ‘em
That the block’s been secured
There’s no need for the sellin’
 And if they post up hard
Reachin’ for glocks and berettas
I’ll reach a finger to the sky
And spray ‘em with somethin’ better…

UN-Dead ‘em.

Soli Deo Gloria,
Shon

Posted via email from THE CENTER (ROOM 116)

Self-Sabotage

 "He must increase, but I must decrease."
   (John 3:30-36 ESV)

 

I have arrogantly waved my flag of independence.

But now it’s time for me to surrender…

I am guilty as charged; I waive my rights as the defendant

It finally caught up with me – all of the crimes I’ve committed

In the name of freedom have turned me into a captive and a drone

I now stand alone in the courtroom of my own tyranny;

Tattoo on my chest – “Only God can judge me”

But right now, that’s the last thing I wanna confess

If I truly believe my ink, then this is gonna stink…

Because I’ve got a fink of a conscious

And my sandcastle kingdom is about to start crumbling all around me

When sandcastles fall, do they make a sound? No.

They just collapse and fold; quietly suffocating everything and everyone inside

So this is what it feels like when ants die…who knew…

 

You’ve heard it a hundred times before:

Man gains the whole world and loses soul

But you never think you’ll be the one to make the headline

Because you know the score

But I forgot to factor in what would happen when I lost count

Of what should’ve counted most – I started counting in ounces

Now, the weight of self-glory doesn’t measure up on the scales of eternal justice

I’ve committed the crime of a lifetime

Only to find out that my getaway car has an engine that’s busted

Crime doesn’t pay because the Law never sleeps

The Judge owns the cattle on a thousand hills and He knows all of the sheep

 

Then there’s me; making my last stand with no leg to stand on

And my accomplice now stands as the prosecutor –

Accusing me of abusing and mistreating his daughter, even though he introduced us

And practically begged me to marry her

But our picture perfect matrimony ended in a bad scene -

Her standing there holding my coat

Playing the role of hapless victim (a performance worthy of the silver screen)

While I play the sucker and the scapegoat

I should’ve said no when he asked, but you know me and my ego

We love to impress people…

By the way, conversations never end well when they convene at the top of a steeple

And now all she wants them to do is give me the needle

 

I had a desire for her beauty and she was murder for hire

And I went along for the ride; running from this trial for a while now

And it’s left me used up and tired

At this point, invoking my Fifth Amendment right would be a mistake

And an attempt at a daylight escape, to say the least, would be fruitless

 

It’s useless…I stand in contempt

I’ve committed treason and for no other reason than I just wanted to be myself

But now in this moment, I can think of nothing sweeter

Than switching places with someone else

This is the hand I’ve dealt from the bottom of the deck

And there’s only one viable option …

 

‘Kill the mirage of yourself as God.’

Our Father who is in Heaven, with who I’m currently at odds…

 

 

Soli Deo Gloria,

Shon

Posted via email from THE CENTER (ROOM 116)

Night of the Meek

A night of the meek where the weak find wings
A night where the unlikely so mightily brings
True peace on and goodwill towards men
By turning the world upside down -
God covered in skin

Through blood and water
Comes the only consolation
For all of our shortcomings, sin and frustrations
Freedom for the nations
Which at once would be lost
If the Son of Man had not come
And leveled the cost

Meek and mild He came
Born of a virgin mother
Chosen to the task because the Father saw fit
That she had known no other
So that a lowly carpenter
Who could barely meet ends
Would become caretaker
Of the One in whom all ends meet
And would hold him in his hands

For the shepherds who were barely trusted
To care for a flock
Are now the first to hear the news
Of how redemption is sought
As kings from the east now make it their work
To lay gifts at the feet of a Prince
Who will never clamor for worth

For He is worthy...

I AM in a manger means we're no longer estranged
As far as the curse is found
Christ has engaged us

Lift every voice to sing
"Merry Christmas, everyone
The Meek has inherited the earth
YOUR KING HAS COME!"

Soli Deo Gloria,
Shon

Posted via email from THE CENTER (ROOM 116)

"The Good Shepherd": Perseverance (and Preservation) In the Atoning Work of Christ

"Believing doesn't make you a part of His flock; being a part of His flock allows you to believe." - John Piper
So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”
(John 10:7-18 ESV)

The definite redemption of the saints is in view here; it is not only definite, but also universal. Jesus came not to save some particular type of people, but a particular people made of every tribe, tongue, and nation (Revelation 5:9-10). Also to be noted, if you are in Christ, you cannot fall away, because as his sheep we only hear His voice and no other. By his atoning work on the cross, he seals them, thereby they are unable to fall away from their faith in an ultimate sense...
If these words of Christ don't bring confidence to the life of Christian faith and the assurance of salvation, I don't think that anything would (John 17:12; Jude 24).

Soli Deo Gloria,
Shon

Posted via email from THE CENTER (ROOM 116)