Improve and Approved

2 Timothy 2:15 - "Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth."

I'm really wanting to do more song writing lately.  Not only do I want to continue to write songs as I've done since 1997 when I wrote what I consider to be my first "real" song, Jesus My King, but I want to do more.  I want to write country songs.  I want to write country songs of a specific nature.  I want to write better worship songs.  I want to write songs from my heart that I feel are in me but I just can't quite get out.

There's only one problem.  I need to get better.  I need to be a better songwriter.  I feel that a lot of my songs, up until this point, have a familiar feel and sound, which is not bad, its my style.  But as I strive to write more songs, more complex songs, to me, they all come out sounding like Jesus My King or some of my other songs and I can never seem to get that country sound that I love when I hear it from others.  As I venture out into territory that has not traditionally been in my songwriting and musical comfort zone, I know I need to work hard, practice, study, rehearse and put the effort into my craft.  I want to and need to be stretched.  I need to collaborate with other songwriters and I need to improve my guitar and piano playing.  I know that I need to grow in my musical abilities and understanding of music, chord structures, and the the understanding of how the notes, chords and music all fit together.  Basically, I need to improve. So be on the lookout in the future for some different and maybe collaborative songs from me and whoever comes across my path that I choose to work with.  

So that is the "Improved" part of what I wanted to share.  How about the "Approved" part?  Will people approve of my music?  Will they like it?  Will they laugh at me and my music?  Will they not like my music?  Basically I'm not really concerned with those types of questions.  I am not devoting myself to improvement to be approved by others.  I am working hard to write songs from my heart and to do it for my own fun, edification, growth, relaxation and convictions.  What I do care about is that God approves of what I do.  As 2 Timothy 2:15 states, I want to be diligent to present myself to God in a way that He will approve of me and all I do.  I want to work hard and be a workman who is not ashamed of God or how God has made me and the gifts He has given me.  Most importantly, I want to accurately handle His Word, the Bible, I want to live by it accurately and I want to share Christ's love with others.  In order to do this, I need to improve my life and my understanding of the Bible.  I need to read it more, pray more, seek God more and seek a close walk with Him every day.  I can be approved by God by improving my Christian walk and living in such a way that extends grace to others and follows the best laid plans that God has for me.

Not only can I study, work hard, practice and collaborate with others to improve my songwriting and singing skills; but I, and we, can work hard for God.  We can study God's word and work hard in seeking Him. We can strive to live in God's grace.  We can practice what we preach, and practice what the Bible teaches us on how to live worshipful lives.  We can also "collaborate" with other christians to be held accountable and learn from our mistakes.  We can have mentors that help us to mature spiritually.  Studying and working to improve in all areas of our lives will help us to be approved in the areas that God is concerned with.

So as I strive, work and practice my craft and desire to get better and develop my songwriting skills, I couldn't help but notice the parallel to my life as a christian.  I guess it shouldn't surprise me because often, life as a christian is compared to a song.  I want my life to sing in such a way that God approves of me and says "Well done good and faithful servant."  

As the Casting Crowns song goes... "Let my lifesong sing to You, I want to sign Your name, to the end of this day, knowing that my heart was true, let my lifesong sing to You."

God Bless!!!

Overcome With Alignment...

Do you ever totally, openly and honestly go before God and say "whatever you want Lord? I'm at my end Lord, I submit to Your authority, Your sovereignty, Your sufficiency, Your forgiveness, Your grace and Your plan for me Lord?"

If you do, maybe you've had the same feelings as I have lately. I often feel like I'm overcome by His presence to the point that I just about can't take it and can't handle it any more. I often feel He is aligning me to His will and His Word so much that my brain is on overload. I often feel that I am overcome with emotions, dependence on Him, a lack of direction and a conviction that I need Him so much more in my life. The conviction I'm speaking of is that the only way out of my current desperate need and the only way to get to His end, is to lean on His everlasting arms more than ever and truly trust that He knows what is best for me. He knows what is best and He has a heavenly plan for me and my life. At this point I must trust, that in His time, He will reveal His plans and His wisdom to me as I honestly seek Him for leading, direction and discernment.

One thing I am realizing is that it can be painful, emotional and uncomfortable to be totally honest, to be broken before God, and to be totally overcome by His presence. If we are honest before God, it can be all of this; but it can also be and should be a satisfying, strangely peaceful and hopeful time as we are aligned to His Word and whatever He is doing. When we come to The Father in this way, we are living a lifestyle of worship to Him. We are seeking Him and we are submitting ourselves and our lives fully to Him. To live a worship lifestyle is to put God first in everything and expect something heavenly which is more of Himself revealed to us. His very best for us and His heart then starts to break into and invade our lives. Will we respond to His moving?

Scripture to read: Philippians 4:19, Psalm 94:19, Psalm 139:23, Philippians 4:6

Book to Read: "I Am Second" - Authors Doug Bender, Dave Sterrett

Song to Listen to: "Whatever You're Doing/Something Heavenly" - Artist - Sanctus Real

The Two Empty Chairs

“In my kitchen there is a table and two empty chairs. I grab the chairs, one for me and one for God. Each day, I take these two chairs and set them facing each other. I invite God to the chair in front of me and I sit in the other. I sit there quiet, waiting as if I really expect Him to show up in person. As I sit and wait quietly, I begin to pray. I begin to repent. I begin to cry and I begin to listen.

I cry out to the Savior of my soul and share the deepest longings of my heart as if Jesus were sitting in that kitchen, right there with me. I cry out for others, I cry out for me, I bring before Jesus, my heart's desires and needs. At some point between the time I set the chairs in place, and the point that I am realizing I am conversing with a physically empty chair, I realize the chair is not empty. I know God is present, I know God is there and has accepted my invitation.

This brings me to my knees. I get up out of my chair and get on my knees as if Jesus is sitting right there in front of me. I imagine the woman wiping the feet of Jesus, as a pool of tears begin to form on the floor in front of me. My stomach wrenches in deep despair as I groan with requests too deep for words. I pray before and seek answers from my Savior, a Savior who has accepted my invitation to simply meet me where I am, which is now on the floor between the two chairs, one of which is now empty, mine.

I do not yet see visible answers to my prayers, but I know He hears me. I do not have a visible plan to try to accomplish, but I know He hears me. I do not know how things will turn out, but I know He hears me, and He knows how it will go. I am assured that in the still and quiet place, while on my knees, that my God knows what His very best is for me. That, and only that, is enough for me to get me through to the next day; a day when the chairs will again be set in place and the invitation extended for Jesus and His Holy Spirit to enter my house, to enter my life and to speak His unspeakable joy, comfort and leading in my life.”

Hot Dogs Can Lead You to Worship!

Hello again all. For this Worship Rant, I’m taking a break, not from focusing on worshipful living, but instead choosing to focus on something intensely personal to me. Something that I see now as being “Something Heavenly.” Things have happened in my life that have caused me to stop, drop and listen! God has got my attention and I’d like to share with you in a hope that you find some kind of blessing, direction, prodding by the Holy Spirit or something that pushes you deeper in your walk with the King, King Jesus!!! It is in your lives that I hope and pray that you stop, drop and listen to God, to whatever He’s doing, inside of you and respond to Him in your life.

STOP – Stop giving in to all the busy-ness in your life. Stop letting the distractions, the hectic life schedule, and all the things of the world detract and distract you from Jesus and a full life in Him. “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly” – John 10:10 NASB. Jesus has come so that we can live a full, filling and abundant life in Him. We just need to stop and accept Him and let Him lead us.

DROP – Once you have stopped and yielded to the presence of the Holy Spirit and have decided to follow Jesus (insert the old hymn “I have decided to follow Jesus” here), then drop. Drop to your knees, confess your sins, ask to be filled with the Holy Spirit, and worship God. Do not stop worshipping. Worship every day of the week, put worship music on in your car, in your kitchen when preparing meals, while eating, put worship music on at work if you are allowed to do so. Read the Bible daily, pray and seek His face, get involved in a good Bible preaching and teaching church, get involved in small group Bible studies at your church if you have them. Find a solid Biblical man (if you are a man) or woman (if you are a woman) to be your mentor. Avoid all the appearance of evil and do not give the devil a foothold in your life. In whatever you do, seek Jesus, seek God’s leading, discernment, discipleship and direction on your life. “Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father” – Colossians 3:17 NASB.

LISTEN – After stopping all the noise and giving God the priority in our lives, dropping to our knees in an everyday worship lifestyle is essential. Now we need to make sure we keep listening to God. Listen for God’s sweet still voice in your prayer times. Listen for God’s voice in all your circumstances and all that goes on in your day. Listen to what He might be saying through those mentors I mentioned, your pastors in that Bible believing and preaching church I mentioned. Most of all, go to God and plead, pray, and listen for His guidance and direction in your life, in all areas, and then act on it! Get into the practice of having a constant conversation with God. A good book on this subject is by Brother Lawrence “The Practice of the Presence of God.” “If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.” Mark 4:23 NASB. The Bible often talks about the idea if we are able to hear, we should hear. We need to get into a practice of listening, aligning our lives, our households, our walk with God so that we can recognize His voice and we can hear Him when He speaks. Doing so points us in the right direction, His direction, when we act on His Word.

So why get into all of this? I wanted to share a story from my past and present that has pushed me deeper into a lifestyle of worship, more than I could ever imagined that it would. God has used many people during these times and continues to clearly put people into my life that are not only affecting my physical life even now, but also my spiritual life and walk with Him.

Back in the spring of 2000, I went hiking with my son who was very young at the time. I put him in the kid backpack thing and up the mountain we went. It was a nice hike and I felt good physically and felt like it was a nice time out in the woods worshipping God and being in His creation. That night, I took my son to the circus and it was the end of a nice day, complete with those awesome hot dogs that you can only get at a circus or a baseball game, etc.

Anyway, about a day or two later, I started to develop a rash all over my body. It was really uncomfortable so I made an appointment with my doctor. He advised me it was most likely hives and an allergic reaction to the hot dog at the circus. Ok, fine, what did I know? He advised me to take oatmeal baths and it would get better in a few days, and so it did, or so I thought.

I was working a night job at the time and I was working a 7pm to 7am shift, three days a week doing computer support for a large company. It was in September of 2000, roughly about 5 months after the “hot dog” episode, when things went south. About 2am, I got up from my desk to stretch my legs and walk around a bit. I suddenly felt very dizzy and had to lean against the wall to catch myself from falling over. I figured I was just very tired or hadn’t slept enough prior to working my shift that night.

I was young, in my late 20’s, feeling pretty invincible, and feeling like after all, God probably didn’t intend for our bodies to be working three twelve-hour shifts in a row with minimal sleep. I finished out my shift, didn’t really feel that bad except for a little light-headedness and drove home. Now remember, “drove home”, this is where it could have turned scary but God was in control. I can remember head bobbing that morning driving home feeling very tired. I got home around 8am and started just doing the normal morning activities, having breakfast, playing with my one year old son, etc. I decided to hop on the computer, play a quick game of something, I think it may have been that pinball game that came with every pc in the late 90’s, I’m not sure though. In any case, I just wanted to relax a bit before going to bed. As I was playing on the computer, I started to get very dizzy about every sixty seconds. Finally after a few minutes of that, I had one episode of severe dizziness and a very quick blackout. I had my son sitting on my knee while I was sitting at the computer desk and the next thing I know, he’s crawling around on the floor and I am kneeling on the floor leaning on the chair. I must have set him down and was holding onto the chair until I “came to.” Funny thing is, I have no recollection of doing this. I then felt, I needed to get into bed right away, “I must be exhausted” was my thinking. Once I was lying down, every sixty seconds or so, I was blacking out for a second and it had progressed passed the feeling of just being dizzy. I’d come out of that feeling within a second or two and this was happening just about every minute or so. When these episodes would happen, my pulse was undetectable. Now you know why driving home was an act of God that morning in my car. This is where the story starts to get really good.

At this point I am starting to feel a little bit of tingling in my left arm. Combine this with dizziness, quick blackouts every minute or so and now not being able to fall asleep, I began to think it was much more than just exhaustion. I called my doctor and asked if I could come in to see him. His office said they had a 4pm appointment open for me but as I described my symptoms and my desire to get in as soon as possible, they told me to go to the emergency room.

As we drove to the emergency room; I was not driving this time, I started to feel better. I can remember looking around at the scenery and wondering if we really needed to be going to the emergency room. As I arrived at the emergency room, I strolled in through the big automatically opening double doors thinking, this is going to be a waste of time? I’m just tired. As I spoke with a nurse and started to describe my symptoms, I started really having the dizziness and short black out episodes again and before I knew it, the doctors and nurses had me on a bed, shirt off, vitals taken, people poking and prodding me and at this point. I was pretty much overwhelmed at the amount of attention I was getting. As I lay in the bed, with a team of doctors and nurses around me, it was like an episode of ER or something. They were even getting ready for anything in case I needed cpr or something like that.

So here I am lying in the bed in the Emergency Room, hooked up to monitors at this point within minutes of my arrival at the hospital, chewing on aspirin, and doctors telling me that my heart was basically stopping and that I was in what appeared to be third degree or complete heart block. Ah, so this is why I’m blacking out, feeling dizzy and having tingling in my left arm, I thought. I still didn’t even know what complete heart block was. As the doctors continued to poke and prod and check me out all within about 20 minutes or so of arriving at the hospital, the decision was made to put in a temporary pace maker.

So here I am, being wheeled up to another floor with the team of doctors and nurses by my bedside, monitoring my vitals. Every minute or so, a doctor is asking me how I feel and how I’m doing. It seemed every time he asked me how I was doing, it was when I was getting dizzy or blacking out for a second or two. I asked him as we were cruising through the halls how he knew that and he told me he had a device in his hand that was hooked up to me and he was basically watching my heart rate fall below 30 beats per minute every 60 seconds or so. Good enough explanation for me.

We finally get to the operating room and they explain that they are going to hook me up to a temporary pace maker and run the lead through my jugular vein and down to my heart. Now is when I started to get scared and really started praying and giving this to God. Up until this point, I hadn’t really grasped the full severity of what was going on. Now I was worried. I was worried I was going to die. I looked up at the doctor before they began the procedure and said, “I guess it’s good that I came in today?” He didn’t even smile, he had his surgical mask, gloves and everything on and he simply raised his eyebrows and gave me a gentle nod of the head. I can remember that moment and the look on his face as if it were yesterday and still brings me back to a very emotional feeling.

After the procedure, I was moved to the Cardiac Intensive Care unit and would remain there for six days with what turned out to be complications from Lyme Disease where the effects of untreated Lyme Disease went to my heart and led to the complete heart block problem. I would have the pacemaker for six days while I was given antibiotics. After about the third day or so, they tried to remove the pacemaker but my heart was still out of whack and needed it. By day six, with the antibiotics, the doctors were able to remove the pacemaker and lead and I was moved to a regular hospital room for a day.

After a week in the hospital, a positive response to the antibiotics to treat the Lyme Disease infection, and much prayer, I was sent home where I began my two weeks of home recovery before being able to go back to work. The home recovery included two weeks of a picc line in my left arm and in my body with the tubing running directly around my shoulder and into my heart to deliver antibiotics. I had to receive antibiotic injections twice a day for two weeks. During this time I responded well to the antibiotics and was well enough to go back to work after the two-week home recovery, and the rest they say is history.

Following this three-week ordeal, I had many follow-up appointments with Cardiologists, doctors and specialists all of which gave me a clean bill of health. Soon after, I was able to return to my normal full life of working, family, sports and most importantly actively putting Jesus first in my life.

In the past ten plus years since this episode, I realize that I do have some ongoing health items related to Lyme Disease and that I need to be proactive in my own health care. First and foremost I have realized that I need to put God first in everything in my life, and not just my health. If an episode or two of Lyme Disease is what God needed to use in order to shake the foundations of my faith and cause me to worship Him with an unquenchable spirit of worship, than I would do it all over again in a heartbeat (yes, pun was intended.) God has moved in many ways and used many people and things in my life to draw me closer to Him and this episode of Lyme Disease was only one of them. In any case, as a follower of Jesus Christ, and a worshipper, I wanted to share my story and strongly urge you to follow Jesus with all your heart, trust Him and seek His ways. Ask Jesus to forgive you of your sins and be your loving Savior. It truly is a matter of eternal life and death.

I pray that wherever you are, whatever point in life that you are at, don’t do it alone, ask God to move mightily in your life and be prepared to follow and make the changes that are needed to love, serve and worship Him. Let God change your heart and steer you to a life of worship towards Him.

I think the following song by Sanctus Real is a good fit for not only my situation but anyone who is ready to give into what Jesus wants to do in your life. God bless you richly! God is doing something heavenly, “it is time for healing, time to move on and time to fix what has broken for too long.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iN9J8eqKovY&ob=av2n

In Christ’s Love… May you surrender to God’s infinite love and peace!

Tim Garrison

Original Worship Music

Hello once again, Its been a while since I posted a worship blog here, so for this entry, I thought I'd focus on some of my original music. I've been studying, reading, worshipping and spending a lot of time in God's word which has led to some new songs, an old song being re-worked and just breaking out some of the old ones for worship. Below are four rough videos I recorded and I pray these songs bless anyone who listens to them. Thanks for your viewing them and feel free to let me know if you have any comments or testimonies on them. May God bless you richly and shine His face upon you as you worship Him.

Grace Upon Grace - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8w4GG4OhVg

Wrap Your Arms Around Me - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7Bl0PxaDPE

Your Love - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2u3KWYDXeA

Vision - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Nnixaqo7ok

The Work of the Cross

A Special Easter Worship Rants.... "The Work of the Cross"

I have to thank my pastor, John Muratori, for inspiring this Worship Rant on Easter. His sermon was spot on today as always and another good one. You'll be able to check it out on the link at www.calvarylife.us once it's posted.

So, do you ever hear people refer to the work of the cross, or the work that Christ did so that we could have a restored relationship with God. His work on the cross led to the forgiveness of our sins. I always used to just think that His death and resurrection was the work. While that is part of it, I now see there is more to it than that.

Ephesians 4:7-10 states "But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift. Therefore it says, When He ascended on high, He led captive a host of captives, and He gave gifts to men. (Now this expression, 'He ascended,' what does it mean except that He also had descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is Himself also He who ascended far above all the heavens, so that He might fill all things.)" (NASB)

These verses tell us that Christ conquered satan, death and sin for us and therefore everything that can conquer us, Christ has the victory over it. When Christ died on that Friday, he just didn't do nothing for three days and then was raised, He had work to do for us in the spiritual realm in order to complete the work of the cross, so that we might have eternal life when we enter into a saving relationship with Him.

Christ has defeated sin, satan and evil. In Revelation 1:17-18, Christ says that He is "the first and the last, and the living One; and I was dead, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades." If you are holding the keys to something, you have the power and authority to unlock it.

These keys are the keys to unlock the chains of bondage, addiction, slavery, sin and eternal separation from God that governs us if we are not His children. These keys unlock gates so that the gates of hell will not prevail over us (Matthew 16:18-19) These keys give the Church power! Christ was the only one that could retrieve these keys of life and were part of the work on the cross, part of our gift of free life that Christ died for. He died so that we might live and have not only an eternal life, but one that is abundant and powerful when living according to His plans.

There is so much more that Christ's sacrificial death and work on the cross has given us including freedom, power over evil, power and authority to bind and loose, power in numbers as the "Church" and power to have victory over the enemy.

So I know from now on, I will be thinking of the Work on the Cross very differently and not just Jesus dying on the cross, being buried in the tomb and raising three days later. I now see it was much deeper, much more miraculous and much more work on Christ's part and much more meaningful to me now in my attempt to live by God's design and plans.

Easter takes on a whole new and vibrant meaning for me now and it only took just about 40 years for me to see the work of the cross in this light, never to late right?

All the best, until next time, Christ the Lord is risen today, allelujah.

Tim

Consecrated

Jeremiah 1:4-10

“Now the Word of the Lord came to me saying, before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I have appointed you a prophet to the nations. Then I said, Alas, Lord God! Behold, I do not know how to speak, because I am a youth. But the Lord said to me, do not say I am a youth, because everywhere I send you, you shall go, and all that I command you, you shall speak. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, declares the Lord. Then the Lord stretched out His hand and touched my mouth, and the Lord said to me, behold I have put My words in your mouth. See, I have appointed you this day over the nations and over the kingdoms, to pluck up and to break down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.”

A friend of mine was doing her devotions and posted Jeremiah 1:5 on Facebook recently. As soon as I read it, I was reminded of a sermon by my Pastor at my church from a while back. I started thinking about it more and thought I would share what’s on my mind.

When I read this, the first thing that jumped out to me was that God knew me before I was born. He created me so he knows me and knows how He’s created me. God has wired me a certain way for His purposes and knows how best I can serve Him in the Kingdom. Jeremiah 1:5 says that not only did He know me before He created me in the womb but that He also consecrated me. This word, consecrated, sticks out to me. Consecrated by definition according to Webster’s is as follows:

1) to induct (a person) into a permanent office with a religious rite; especially to ordain to the office of bishop.

2) to make or declare sacred; especially to devote irrevocably to the worship of God by a solemn ceremony…to devote to a purpose.

If I have been consecrated by God, it must be for a purpose. Do I know what that purpose is? If I don’t, I think it scares me that I am living my life and not living it according to the plans that God has created me for. Maybe that’s why things seem so hard and difficult at times, because I am trying to do things my way. I’m trying to do things in a way that I have not been created for or wired for. If I would just submit to God’s will and ways; and realize the Master knows what is best for me; and seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, maybe, just maybe I’d be living a more worshipful life. Hmmmm, interesting.

If I make excuses or try to go against what God has for me, I’m not enabled, equipped or prepared for the battles I encounter. We can see from the passage above that God says Jeremiah will go where He has commanded and that he will speak what God commands him to speak. Why should I think that would be any different for me. It isn’t. I just need to let God rule in my life and follow His plans for me and not my own. It is comforting to know that God has prepared a way for me, He knows me and He has stretched out His hand and touched my mouth so to speak. Basically He’s anointed and given me an office that He wants me to fulfill in the kingdom. He’s consecrated me and given me the power and authority to pluck up and break down, to destroy and to overthrow and to build and to plant, all for His glory and kingdom.

The second thing I thought of when I was reading Jeremiah 1:4-10 is that if God knows me, He has consecrated me, and has set me up in an office of service to His kingdom, then He’s got a plan and a job for me to do. If I’m not doing it, if I’m not seeking Him first and all His righteousness, then I am sinning. Do I really want to be going against God’s plans that He has for me. No way. I get charged up and excited knowing God knows what is best for me and that it is part of the Great Adventure (to quote a Steven Curtis Chapman song) of life that we live. It is not a mere life of just taking it one day at a time, but living a full, a Holy Spirit filled, life that has a purpose. The purpose of glorifying God and doing my part in His kingdom all while being appropriately equipped for serving my Lord in the way He created me to serve.

We as believers have been consecrated and given a position to serve and live for Him. I repent that I have not always lived everyday with this in mind, but strive to dig deeper in my relationship with my Savior, and try to worship Him more and more every day. I pray that we all realize our consecration and the access to worshiping God that it provides.

I hope this has been a blessing to you as you read it. Thanks Catie for kick starting this off with your devotion!!!!!

Until next time…

Tim