Spark2Flame

If you have kids and they're anything like mine, they only need to use the bathroom in the car when you are farthest away from a stopping place.

A lot of songs I write come from personal times of worship and this one definitely qualifies in that category. I was in my office, worshipping away, when I began singing these words and something touched me very deeply as I cried out,

Touch this nation, touch this people /
Let us tremble at Your holy word /
Change our nation, hear Your people /
Renew us by the power of the blood /

In one of those “God moments,” I began playing the verse chords and singing, “There is power, power, wonder-working power” over it and the whole thing just swelled.

I probably sang these over and over for a good 30 to 45 minutes. It was just powerful.

The reason I wanted to talk about this song for this month is that our country is desperate need of revival and renewal. I know we’ve said it over and over again, but we need to grab hold of it to the degree that God desires it or at least as much as we can handle.

There are wonderful things happening and there are difficult struggles that we are facing as a nation with other unknowns looming ahead. This doesn’t change the reality of God’s grace and destiny for us, but it’s a time to pray and cry out with all the passion we can muster.


The picture in my mind when I think of this song is when the wall was rebuilt in Nehemiah and Ezra read the law to the people. The people grieved and mourned at how they fell short and what had brought them to that point, but the Levites encouraged them and told them to “be still.”

My prayer is that as our nation returns, there will be a reverence for God and His word that goes beyond a mental nod, but embraces a trembling. It won't be just a few tears at what has happened, but there will be a renewed sense of God's holiness and greatness.

The truth that the sacrifice Jesus made stands the test of time and there is indeed power in His blood to change a nation resounds today.

We sang this recently at a community service to pray for our nation and our new President and it was very powerful.

One of my favorite times singing this though, was one of the first times (I believe the 2nd) I had released it in public. We were singing and crying out our prayer at this conference and then spontaneously, all these people grabbed flags and began to march around the sanctuary. I almost completely lost it and tried to sing through my bawling like a baby. It was so moving and so amazing.

As each flag reached the front, I could mentally identify it (or most of them) and believe that God would stretch out His hand and touch these lands and people.

This song is very special to me so if you’ve never heard it, I hope you are touched by the Father’s heart and cry in it. As always, I would love to hear your thoughts and/or experiences with the song.

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I was reading something on churchrelevance.com that really stuck out to me. The whole piece was built around creativity, but they had a list of quotes by the experts. Two of them really hit me in the face,

• New insights come from new people and new environments — any circumstance in which the brain has a hard time predicting what will happen next. - Fast Company
• Breakthrough insights are at the intersection of ideas, concepts, and cultures. - Frans Johansson :: The Medici Effect

I love the reminder that the familiar, comfortable surroundings and people are great, but we have to step outside those once in a while if we want to step into the new. I think this is why as a preacher you can preach something a hundred times, but then the guest minister comes in and preaches the same thing but this time everybody gets it.

It’s frustrating sometimes, but that’s the way it is. When our brains can predict what happens next, we usually tune out instead of engaging. We do it with life, we do it with TV shows, we do it with everything. This is why creativity and insight are so important.

I’m convinced this is why God doesn’t use formulas, we use formulas.

Nothing about God is boring, mundane, controllable, predictable, describable, etc. Now, we can portray Him that way, but the truth doesn’t resonate (because it's not true). Freedom and creativity challenge our preconceptions and comfort status, but without it, we begin to get restless and yearn for excitement or simply "different."

There is a standard principle that to get to a new level you associate with people who have already done it.

John C. Maxwell’s book, Thinking for a Change, has a wonderful example of a millionaire that tries and tries to breakthrough to the billionaire status. I know, boo-hoo for the sad millionaire, but the advice he was given stuck with me.

He was asked who he associated with and hung around. His reply? “They’re all accomplished business people, all millionaires.”

The solution? “Go and hang around some billionaires, they have something you’re missing.”

Whether it’s in ministry, in a career, in a family, or whatever—growth comes out of laying aside pride and seeking out someone or something beyond ourselves. I wasn’t created with all the answers and neither was anyone else. This is the beauty of relationship with God and other people.

If you want to remain stagnant and ineffective, good news! You don’t have to do anything. If you want to produce impact and grow in an area, it takes hard work and going through the process. Find a mentor, read a blog of someone who’s doing it, associate somehow with the breakthrough you desire.

Creativity is there for those who want it. Insight is available for those who pursue it. The question is whether we look outside ourselves, to God and those He leads us to.

What do you think? Have you found this to be true?

I may wish that I was way too spiritual to ever watch American Idol, but alas, that is not the truth. Before you chastise me about watching anything with “idol” in the title, go read this Stuff Christians Like entry and realize we may have more idols around us than what we thought. He can set you straight so I don’t have to.

So last night was the 8th season opener. While I’m not a diehard, don’t-miss-an-episode fan, I do enjoy it. My least favorite is the beginning with the auditions. It was sort of funny and entertaining the first couple of times I saw this, but now it’s more sad and monotonous. There is nothing left to shock us in the idol universe, no more old guys in leather pants, if you will.

I always walk away with one question that constantly bothers me though. It is a puzzlement, indeed.

It’s not standard questions like how Simon Cowell can squeeze into those women’s t-shirts. It’s not wondering what Paula will do if she ever wakes up and realizes where she is. It’s not even the long-debated question of how the producers can put these talentless (in the singing area, to be fair) people on display for ridicule.

My question is, what kind of terrible friends do you have that will encourage you to do something that you stink so thoroughly at?

Almost every kid in a crazy costume, deluded diva, and normal-looking no-good says the same thing. “I was thinking about trying out and my friends encouraged me to do it.” Many times the hopefuls are asked why they came and their sole reason for public humiliation is “my friends said I was so good and I needed to share it with the world.”

Granted, there are a few who are delusional all on their own, but the majority say something to this effect.

I always think, those are some cold jerks and start yelling at the TV, “you need some new friends!” Okay, I don’t yell at the TV, but it is one of my new year’s resolutions to start.

Picture this scenario. An awkward teen given to dressing in Star Wars-inspired outfits starts singing inexplicably some old Backstreet Boys song in front of a group of other teens. Their eyes widen in surprise and amazement and when this teen finishes, they hold it together long enough to say, “Wow! You have got to try out for American Idol.” Then everybody chimes in, “Yeah, yeah, you are really good” and pats him on the back. Proud of himself, he walks away and vows that someday, somehow he will be on America’s most-watched TV show. Then when he’s out of earshot, they all fall to the ground laughing until their spleens explode.

This is what I picture every time I hear someone say their friends encouraged them to try out (and they're terrible). No sir, those are not your friends. Those are some cold jerks.

I have a couple of explanations besides the above scenario.

• The contestants are lying. They have no friends and they’re saying that because they don’t want to say their teddy bear, Mr. Fluffy-fluff, told them to audition. It’s a sad truth, but that unicorn on the shelf is not as good a judge of singing ability as you might think. They are magical creatures, but that would be a stretch.
• Their friends and family are 100% tone-deaf. To me though, this would have to mean that they’ve never heard anyone sing on key or sound remotely good and that’s a little far-fetched for me, unless maybe they’re Amish (but then how did they find out about American Idol in the first place?). Even if you only went by pitch, what about all the crazy moves, eyebrow movement, and flailing limbs. Couldn’t they have said, “you might want to work on that… America is not ready for that.”

Then there’s my original assertion that I imagine is closer to the truth—they are stone-cold jerks.

Okay, so are you watching Idol this year? Is there another explanation for all these friend-inspired horrible auditions? What other burning questions keep you up at night?

I've got another podcast ready to go and I hope you are encouraged and strengthened as you listen. I preached this short message about "remembering what got you here" and I thought it would be perfect for a new year and a new season.

In the midst of great turmoil and uncertainty, we can trust our God to bring us into the fulfillment of His word and rewards of obedience and believing. After you listen come back and tell me what you think!

• Stream Remember, Repeat now on your computer
• Download it to your portable device (right-click this link then "save target as")

I've been working on and off on this for months now, but it's all complete so I would love for you to check it out and let me know what you think. Be honest, just not brutally honest!

There may be some bad links or something else you notice and if you do, please tell me. I appreciate it in advance.

Either click on Spark2flame.com in the header or click right here. Absolutely up to you!

Thanks again.

It’s 2009 and crazy as it seems, the stuff we got over in 2008 is still gotten over and the stuff we’ve yet to deal with is still hanging on for dear life. The sad reality is that we can make our resolutions and never get to the heart of what God wants and desires for us.

I’m proposing that these 5 questions should not be ignored any longer. I struggle and you struggle, but God is big enough to bring transformation and change at the fundamental level of who we are. I’m just so stirred today and I want you to catch it! Onto the questions...

1. What has religion lied to me about? I was just reading on another blog about a guy who desires to plant churches, but was asking how to know if this was God or just him. Religion says, “leave it to the pros and don’t try this at home. You can’t do that.” Jesus says, “follow me and I’ll make you a fisher of men.” God takes the desires we already have and uses them for His glory. I know a lot of people struggle with religious lies that sound good on the surface but kill us on the inside. Ask God what lie you’ve believed and then ask Him to replace that with the truth.


2. What do I need to be free from? This can be a tough one because sometimes we mess around with things we shouldn’t and think it’s no big deal. We don’t realize how it affects us and desensitizes us toward God. I’m not talking about condemning people who fail in the process because we are all in that boat. I’m talking about the habits, indifference, apathy, laziness, or whatever else keeps us from fully living for God that we haven’t dealt with or refuse to deal with. Sometimes—okay, most times—we are not the best judge of what we need freedom for. We need to ask God and allow the Holy Spirit to illuminate those things no matter how scary it might be to let that thing go.


3. How do I consistently live for eternal purposes? The desires within us along with our imagination and creativity are reborn and restored when we grab hold of the truth of Jesus. It's bigger than today and tomorrow, there are eternal implications to our obedience or disobedience. We have to quit worrying whether what we’re passionate about is really God and step out in faith. If we don’t, the unknown becomes an excuse that gets easier and easier to swallow while it leads us further and further from eternal purposes. If you love technology, music, science, kids, youth, families, whatever—ask God to show you how to have impact in those things. I’m writing this blog because my heart’s desire is to encourage and strengthen people in their pursuit of God—it doesn’t always have to be complicated. We can begin to count the cost, evaluate what it’ll take, and then go for it.


4. How do I experience true community? This is why 95% of our new year’s resolutions fail: no accountability. Come to think of it, this is why most church leaders, officials, business people, fathers, mothers, kids, etc. mess up royally. I wish real community could be experienced just by going to church on Sunday, but it can’t. It goes deeper than that and it’s not easy, breezy, mac-and-cheesy. It takes vulnerability and willingness to let others in. We need to stop asking whether we need community and accountability and find out how to experience it. It can be in a small group, a bible study, a support group, or other way. Bottom line is, we need to be challenged and we need to be accountable.


5. What little changes can I make right now to be more effective? This is the other 5% of why new year’s resolutions don’t last. We make great big plans, feel overwhelmed, then give up. Our lives get way too cluttered, way too easily. I know we’ve all heard this before, but since we aren’t all perfect Christians, we could probably use the reminder. Little changes are important! As a practical thing, my kids just started back to school yesterday and I’ve found that if I make their lunches the night before, the morning is a lot less stressful—little change. If you’ve planned on reading the Bible through every year and every year you fail, start by setting a time and reading a chapter a day. If you struggle with giving, start somewhere—$10 a week, $30 a week—and trust God for faith and provision to increase that. Little changes made in faith certainly beat big plans we abandon after a week.

I hope that helps you in some way. We often find ourselves asking the wrong questions or accepting whatever comes down the pike, then we wonder why we stay the same (or get worse). God has great things for you and as we diligently seek Him, we will find Him and receive a wonderful reward.

Did I leave any out? What other questions should we be asking? What is being ignored?

Okay, so I never said I had everything totally figured out. I'm redesigning the Spark2Flame website and along with that, I've decided to include the blog as a outflow of Spark2Flame and return Burn Frequency as the name of the podcast.

Other than that, things will pretty much stay the same, but you'll notice that the header now will actually link to other places on Spark2Flame, which can be helpful. That's today's news for you!

I hope you are having a joyful and blessed new year!

Just as a little bonus, check out my blogger friend, Matt's post on new year's resolution and the unchangeable nature of God. It's great and you will be inspired by it... Check it out here,

God's New Year's Resolution