A Prayer

This is but an excerpt from John Piper's book Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ.  It's a prayer that he so eloquently says at the end of Chapter 3 titled 'The Lion and the Lamb'

Almighty and merciful God, we exult in the reflection of your might and mercy in your Son, our Lord, Jesus Christ.  We rejoice in the strength of his lion-like power and in the tenderness of his lamb-like meekness. We take heart from his incomparable combination of excellencies. It reassures us that there is none like him, and that he is not a mere man like others. O grant us, in our brash indifference, to tremble before the Lion of Judah and to humble ourselves under his fierce holiness. And grant us, in our brokenness and fear, to gather courage from the lion-like Lamb. Oh, how we need the whole Christ! Open our eyes to see the fullness of his excellence. Remove the lopsided and distorted images of your Son that weaken our worship and lame our obedience. May the power of the Lion and the love of the Lamb make our faith in Christ unshakable. So deliver us from small dreams and timid ventures and halting plans. Embolden us. Strengthen us. Make us love with fierce and humble love. Let us share the confidence of the Lion of Judah that gave him the will to die like a Lamb and rise in everlasting joy. And in it all, grant that all might see the glory of Christ and that you might be honored through him. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.

Life to the Fullest

I wrote this while in Hawaii, but never posted it. My time in Hawaii gave me a lot of time to think.

What does life to the fullest look like?  Well, I'm sure many people have their opinions, but many (or none at all) wouldn't say to suffer.  Well that's what having a relationship with Jesus Christ is like.  You can have life and have it to the full (John 10:10b) but you'll be a target of Satan because "the thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy" (John 10:10a) especially those that are with Christ.