Inside the Mind of a Worship Drummer

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2/22/08 - Life Journal - Where's the Beef
2008-02-23 03:53:00
For they weep before me and say, "Give us meat, that we may eat".Numbers 11:13The Israelites, like ungrateful children, weren't satisfied with the blessings God put before them. It was always more, more, more! They had actually grown lazy in their captivity where all their daily needs were taken care of and they didn't have a drop of self sufficiency in them, let alone thankfulness.I had grown lazy at my last church. I would complain about not being fed. "Where's the beef", I would whine. I expected to sit back and have all of the answers given to me. That's a lot of pressure I was putting on the pastor, who was in fact a mere mortal just like me. I don't know when it happened but one day it clicked. I have everything I need to feed myself and I was elevated to a new level of growth, understanding and maturity. I can listen to all the sermon's I want but nothing brings me closer or has greater rewards than personal time with Him.Lord, thank you for Your Son, Your Word, and You...
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2/21/08 - Life Journal - Y'all Come Back Now, Y'hear?
2008-02-21 17:26:00
"And I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and his sons from among the people of Israel, to do the service for the people of Israel at the tent of meeting and to make atonement for the people of Israel, that there may be no plague among the people of Israel when the people of Israel come near the sanctuary."Numbers 8:19After this section on conscrating the Levites God throws this little warning in his blessing, "...that there may be no plague among the people of Israel when the people of Israel come near the sanctuary."We're so far from His sanctuary in this country it's amazing we haven't been taken over by frogs. If we've learned anything from the OT is that God will let us sit in our own mistakes for a time until we come to our senses and turn back to Him. He's not gonna beg. We have to do the seeking, only we can repair our relationships with Him.Father, Your patience is amazing, please forgive us even though we DO know what we do.
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2/20/08 - Life Journal - The Lord is My Shepherd
2008-02-20 17:24:00
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil,for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.Psalm 23 :4Imagery of God as our shepherd is awesome, especially here. The sheep are being led through a valley, the staff their guide, as His rod protects them from the wolves.We are living in a world filled with evil. Sin, temptation and death are all around. Thank you Lord that we have you as our shepherd. Your staff, in the form of Your word and the Spirit that lives within me, is my guide. Your rod, used not only for protection but for discipline, leads me to righteousness and not into temptation. Your Son's life gave me the victory over sin and death. I am comforted, I will fear no evil. Father, I pray that my life can help lead people to your green pastures and still waters with a restored soul.
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Worship Sunday - 2/17/08
2008-02-19 17:54:00
What an awesome day. Journey celebrated our 1 year anniversary with an outstanding message, "Slavery equals Freedom", followed by a picnic on the schools grounds. Churchwell is truly turning out to be gift from God. For the topic Joe led us in "Irony" by Jonny Diaz. If you haven't heard him, stop, go to iTunes, and by some of his songs now..................OK, you back? Great stuff isn't it.Carrying on, here was the set....Trading My SorrowNot to UsLord Reign in MeEmpty MeSanctuaryIronyWalk by FaithTil next time...
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2/19/08 - Life Journal - Aaron's Prayer
2008-02-19 17:39:00
The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.Numbers 6:24-26God's blessing for Israel. That's some awesome encouragement, assurance and comfort. They had to know (at least for the moment, you know those crazy Israelites) that they would succeed.That prayer is for all His people, including me! I'm claiming it. 2 Timothy says "All scripture..." not some scripture, that old stuff's just for the Jews. It's ours. He blesses us, shines upon us, gives us what we need and we can find rest in His arms. Doesn't get any better...Father, thank you.
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2/18/08 - Life Journal - Stand with Confidence
2008-02-19 17:24:00
If then I am a wrongdoer and have committed anything for which I deserve to die, I do not seek to escape death. But if there is nothing to their charges against me, no one can give me up to them.Acts 25:11There goes Paul, showing off his integrity again. He's done nothing against the Jews, the Temple or Caesar and he knows it. He can confidently stand before his accusers and proclaim his innocence.Could I stand at the final judgement with the same confidence of innocence? Could anybody? Unfortunately the bible tells me no, all men fall short of the Glory of God. Fortunately I can stand with the confidence that my discretions have been forgotten, my guilt will not be counted against me ONLY because of my faith in Jesus Christ and his atoning death. Father I give my life to You for there would be no life if it wasn't for the gift of Your Son. I pray that I use this new life in You to it's max and am a fruitful servant.
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2/17/08 - Life Journal - Man of Integrity
2008-02-18 03:26:00
In view of this, I also do my best to maintain always a blameless conscience both before God and before men.Acts 24:16Paul, for one, knew He couldn't hide anything from God. That's where the "do my best" comes in play. The importance as a missionary comes with being blameless before men.Staying blameless for me isn't only important, but freeing. If I can do this I don't need a good memory. What did I say to them? What did I do yesterday? What excuse did I use last time? I must stay clean, honest and open. A man of integrity.Lord, You know my faults. Help me overcome them and be blameless before men.
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2/16/08 - Life Journal - You're All Hypocrites
2008-02-18 03:19:00
Then Paul said to him, "God is going to strike you, you whitewashed wall! Do you sit to try me according to the law and in violation of the law order me to be struck?"Acts 23:3He points out the hypocrisy in this situation. At the same time, using the imagery once used by Jesus, he exposed them as righteous on the outside and old and rotting on the inside.Troubling here is the fact that we Christians are seen in the same light. Everyone knows what we're against. Everyone knows we struggle. But we fail in letting everyone know the basics first. We all sin, Jesus saw this, He loved us enough to die for us and our sins are forever forgotten. The old cheesy slogan, "Not Perfect, Just Saved". We gotta do a better job with the latter and show our own forgiveness on the former.Father, help us do a better job in spreading Your love and the Gospel of our wonderful gift.
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2/15/08 - Life Journal - Guide Me in Truth
2008-02-18 03:15:00
Make me know your ways, O Lord, teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me. For You are the God of my salvation, for You I wait all the day.Psalm 25:4,5David longed for God's guidance and was constantly learning from Him. Above all David was human and needed repeated lessons from Him to keep him on the path.Thank You Lord You have left me Your Spirit with us to continue Your teaching. Just one caveat, if I don't open my ears and listen the knowledge is wasted on me!Father, you are with me, I know this, I pray that I will take advantage of this as I continue growing closer to You.
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2/14/08 - Life Journal - Give Us Clean Hands
2008-02-18 03:09:00
Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord? And who may stand in His Holy Place? He who had clean hands and a pure heart.Psalm 24:3,4Some lofty criteria for being priest. The near unrealistic-"ness" of it basically left them no choice but to live in the temple.Lucky for us real world saints the qualifications are a bit more lax. Clean hands and pure hearts are the ultimate models to shoot for, I'm not saying that I can't do it so I won't try. Just that the only man who had these qualities has died for me and one day I get to meet Him.Jesus, thank you.
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Great Post
2008-02-14 14:42:00
FishHawk (in his Crackerhead phase) takes on 3 500lb Gorillas and tackles 'em to the ground in his latest post.
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2/13/08 - Life Journal - Their Blood's on My Hands
2008-02-13 14:33:00
Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all of you, for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God.Acts 20:26,27Through all the persecutions, stonings, imprisonments, ship-wrecks, constant travels, etc., Paul spoke the Word of God. The whole word of God. He never minced any words. Never dumbed down the message. Never sweetened it up. And above all He never backed down. Worry about offending someone? Are you kidding me? He knew the message he was entrusted with was a matter of life and death and he spoke it. He also knew that he could go into His rest with a clean conscious, his part was done.Can I say the same? I'm new at this mission so I haven't had many direct confrontations from anyone but how will I react? What would I say if a family member asked if I thought they were going to hell? A co-worker? A seeker at church? Could I handle the risk of alienating someone I love for ever by speaking the truth? I guess the answer is wr...
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2/12/08 - Life Journal - He's Dealt Bountifully With Me
2008-02-12 19:26:00
How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day?How long shall my enemy be exalted over me? Consider and answer me, O LORD my God ; light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death,lest my enemy say, "I have prevailed over him," lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken.But I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.I will sing to the LORD, because he has dealt bountifully with me.Psalm 13David's obviously in a bad spot. He feels as though God has left him. His enemies are upon him and he fears death. He's begging for life and though he doubts for a moment he testifies at the end that God will hear, His love's neverending and will lead him to safety. He's always been bountiful to him so his faith is strong even in sorrow.I need to remember this verse and David's response to his trouble. God is good, has always bee...
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The next "BRILLIANT" award goes to.......
2008-02-12 17:45:00
As I was driving back from Guitar Center where I picked up a new mic clip for my kit I stopped at Hardees for a bland double cheeseburger. No, that's not what I ordered, but now I know that I have to specify flavor. Anyway, I'm driving down Dale Mabry, with burger approaching my mouth, and I thought, "Hmmm, I'd better be careful, I don't want to make a........." Picture a small bit of onion floating gracefully in slow motion towards my shirt and me yelling a slow motion "NNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO" in my best Will Smith voice. Yes, though not very large, I now have a nice ketchup stain on my shirt. Sure, you might ask why I don't have any spare seltzer water in my glove compartment for such situations, but alas, me being of the XY chromosome, I don't. That's when I remembered this!"The Drib"Perfect for all us starving Americans that can't wait until we've actually stopped moving at 60 mph to chow down on our lunch. Seems I can pick one up for only $23.95 at AutoSport Automot...
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Life Groups + Life Journal + Leviticus 15 = ewwww
2008-02-12 14:52:00
The entries on my blog for my Monday readings are done in a Life Group setting. We read our verses, jot down our thoughts and then share. Let me tell you, Leviticus 15 is a beautiful piece of scripture to share with your close friends.........not! Needless to say, there was a little Beavis and Butthead giggling going on last night. Read it for yourself!
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2/11/08 - Life Journal - Workplace Ministry
2008-02-12 13:45:00
After this Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. And he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome. And he went to see them, and because he was of the same trade he stayed with them and worked, for they were tentmakers by trade.Acts 18:1-3After entering Corinth Paul ran into some believing Jews from Italy. They not only had their love for Jesus in common but also their trade. This put a depth into their relationship that made communing together that much easier.This is a good verse to look at when I get that whole "stuck in my cubicle" feelin'. I'm surrounded by a group of people that already have one thing in common with me. No, not that they hate their job, well maybe, but that we are all in the same vocation. The first barrier to open communication has already been stripped away. I now just have to lead by example and stay receptive to opportunities to share my faith, ...
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Worship Sunday - 02.10.08
2008-02-11 20:01:00
Yesterday was awesome! I love listening to Jason Herndon. He always seems to hit me with a message relevant to that exact time in my life. Worship was great! Our attendance is growing and more people are actively moving closer to Him through this time and it's awesome!Here's the set list:Brave - Nicole NordemanLive for You - ConnersvineBetter is One Day - KutlessEveryday - Lincoln BrewsterEast to the West - Casting CrownsTo the Only God - David Crowder (Glory Revealed)See you next week, live in constant worship, it's a 24/7 thing..........
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2/10/08 - Life Journal - Remove the "Cancer"
2008-02-11 18:02:00
"The leprous person who has the disease shall wear torn clothes and let the hair of his head hang loose, and he shall cover his upper lip and cry out, 'Unclean, unclean.' He shall remain unclean as long as he has the disease. He is unclean. He shall live alone. His dwelling shall be outside the camp.Leviticus 13:45,46This person, deemed unfit to be a part of the society because of his infectious illness, is "sentenced" to live outside of the camp. Cruel punishment? Or is it a symbol of protecting the people as a whole? I'm not sure. At first I was going to write about the cruelty of the situation and how it reflects on people we feel aren't worthy to be a part of "our" church. But then something else came to me. Maybe it's a warning for us. Some people will come along and for whatever reason won't mesh with our gathering. Not saying they aren't devout followers but differing opinions will lead to gossip and slander, finally leading to a cancer that can tear up a once harmonio...
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2/9/08 - Life Journal - Thank You for Our Women
2008-02-11 17:38:00
One who heard us was a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul. And after she was baptized, and her household as well, she urged us, saying, "If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay." And she prevailed upon us.Acts 16:14,15Lydia's an awesome woman that doesn't get a lot of "media coverage". She was a godly woman and in the writings Luke doesn't mention the faith of her husband. The way the rest plays out I'll guess he wasn't a God-fearing man or at least not as strong as his wife. Her faith leads to her acceptance of Paul's message and this leads to not only her baptism but her entire family's.If it's true that a majority of American men have stopped attending church then we have to look to our women as the anchor that has kept the church intact. My wife is THE reason my family has such an awesome relationship wit...
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First Shall Be Last
2008-02-08 19:00:00
But many who are first will be last, and the last first."Mark 10:31

2/8/08 - Life Journal - We're Free! (so why don't we act like it?)
2008-02-08 16:40:00
God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. He made no distinction between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith. Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of the disciples a yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear? No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are."Acts 15:8-11Do you question the will of God? Are you putting Him to the test? Peter's questions betray his disbelief in the Pharisees opinion about circumcision. God released the Holy Spirit onto these new Gentile believers but still they continued to try to put the "yoke" of the law onto them. Peter reminded them that no generation has been able to overcome this weight and now they had the grace of God through their faith in Him to release them.We are free. Free in the knowledge and faith that God gave His son, Jesus Christ, to die for us, a perfect sacrifice...
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One Solitary Life
2008-02-07 22:23:00
He was born in an obscure village?He worked in a carpenter's shop until he was thirty?And for three years He was an itinerant preacher?He never held an office?He never had a family or owned a house?He didn?t go to college?He had no credentials but Himself?He was only 33 when the public turned against Him...His friends ran away?He was turned over to His enemies?And went through the mockery of a trial?He was nailed to a cross between two thieves?While He was dying His executioners gambled for His clothing?The only property He had on earth.He was laid in a borrowed grave.Twenty centuries have come and gone and today He is the central figure of the human race. All the armies that ever marched, all the navies that ever sailed, all the parliaments that ever sat, and all the kings that ever reigned, put together, have not affected the life of man upon this earth as much as that?ONE SOLITARY LIFE.Thanks Christian
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SOAPY Life Journallers Unite!
2008-02-07 19:46:00
I've added a few more Life Journallers to the listing on the left! That's OUTSTANDING! I love the fact that I can see multiple observations from multiple people on the same readings I've just finished. It's a world-wide, word for word bible study!**Let me know if there are others out there!**

I'm Going Green...
2008-02-07 17:12:00
...if I can have one of these!The Tesla Roadster100% Electric0 to 60 in under 4 seconds135 MPG equivalent220 miles per chargeless than 2 cents per mileAll that for around 100,000!
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Prayer for all the victims and the students of Union University
2008-02-07 15:19:00
While keeping everyone affected by the recent violent storms in your hearts and prayers, here are two letters from Union University 's Greg Thornbury and David Dockery to read. The college in Jackson, TN was hit hard, approximately $50 million in damages but by God's grace there were no fatalities even though there were 1,200 people on campus that night. Within their words are a story of the strength and faith the students there have and have exhibited over the past few days.....Dear Friends: To everyone who has thought of us, remembered us in prayer, or beseeched God on our behalf to spare the the lives of about 1,200 who were physically on campus last night, I want to thank you from the depths of my heart. If you have been following the Union story through national news media outlets, you know that our campus sustained somewhere in the range of $50 million worth of damage yesterday. To get a sense of what we're going through, please do me the favor and take the time to check out...
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2/7/08 - Life Journal - Extinguish the Flame
2008-02-07 14:09:00
The fire on the altar shall be kept burning on it; it shall not go out. The priest shall burn wood on it every morning, and he shall arrange the burnt offering on it and shall burn on it the fat of the peace offerings. Fire shall be kept burning on the altar continually; it shall not go out.Leviticus 6:12,13The word that popped out at me was CONTINUALLY! The Israelites were in a never ending cycle of sin, offering, sin, offering, sin, offering...... The battle was constant and all they had was the hope of a future Savior to rescue them from this struggle. But then that Savior came and they rejected him. What? Huh? After thousands of years of prayer, waiting, prophecy and hope the time arrives and God gives His Son to them and they're like, nope, don't believe it, can't be. But thank God that was His plan. The rejected stone became the cornerstone. His grace was passed on to the Gentiles and is the reason I'm sitting here typing this. It's the reason I can be assured of my futur...
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Joe gets back to his roots...
2008-02-06 18:37:00
Our incredible, extremely talented, all around great guy worship leader Joe Rodda
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2/6/08 - Life Journal - A Constant Diet of Worship!!!
2008-02-06 17:45:00
"All fat is the LORD?s. It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations, in all your dwelling places, that you eat neither fat nor blood."Leviticus 3:16,17Looks like the Jewish people have something here. I know the New Testament puts an end to the dietary restrictions of Leviticus (it's was comes out not what goes in) but this one I should look into. Everything we do for God is worship. Everything we give to God is worship. Now, I haven't figured out anything to motivate me to get into and stay in shape. I know it's horrible. You'd figure staying alive for my family would do the trick but for me and a million others it doesn't. I don't know why. Selfishness? Maybe giving my health over to Him would work. Imagine being so incredibly thankful for the gift of life He has given me I actually use my health and exercise as a form of worship? Bring my bad diet to the altar. Bring my lack of self control to the altar. Bring my laziness to the altar. And burn, baby, burn. Th...
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Got this funny pic by email...
2008-02-06 15:55:00
...then I recognized the guys in the photo from their blogs I read. Sorry Steve and Joe, this pic and caption below was emailed to me along with a ton of other photos with humorous captions. Hey, if you can't laugh at yourself....."A pose like this will get you kicked right out of the Convention."
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BE DRENCHED
2008-02-05 20:08:00
Awesome stuff from In the Quiet:"Experiencing the present purely is being empty and hollow; you catch grace as a man fills his cup under a waterfall. " Annie DillardI read this quote and I am just struck with a vision of a waterfall and me in it...smack dab in the middle of it with my cup extended trying to fill it and of course you can't. The force of the water is so overwhelming, the force of Your Grace the same.Trying to take just a cup of grace, just a cup of water from the falls ...and being drenched in the trying. There is no taking a little grace, in the trying your hand is drenched, your wrist, your arm, your body, your hair and face and neck...the power of the falls is overwhelming. The power of Your Grace....staggering.I am drenched but the cup is empty, nothing to take away. Nothing to take away, I have to stay smack dab in the middle of the fall, in the middle of your GRACE. Maybe if I do and become so drenched w/love and grace....I won't be able to stop giving it to o...