Talking to God

It seems to me, the more I grow as a Christian, as a man, as a friend, as just a person in general, the answers we struggle the hardest to get and the solutions we fight for most are the most obvious. When we get them, we suffer a moment of 'Naw-duh, Sherlock,' and that can make us/me feel stupid and embarrassed, but I think it's something we all have in common.

This blog post has the potential to get very personal with a lot of people, but for the sake of anonymity, I suppose it would be polite for me to be as vague as possible while still having some sort of meaning without sounding like I'm a whiny teenager. Ooh, boy. Specifics aren't important anyway, hah.

I'll begin with a question: Have you ever been in a situation where you had no where to turn to for help? I know what you're thinking. 'I ALWAYS HAVE JESUS, HALLELUJAH - AMEN!'

While that's true, be honest - how often do you turn to God for help? That's what I thought. An embarrassingly small amount of the time, isn't it? I can say the same. Whenever something's got me down, or worse... I can honestly say that sometimes God is the last place I will turn for help.

It seems odd to say that, though. Usually, outside of Christianity, we see people only going to God when we need help, but I bet for a lot of us, as Christians, it's easy to maintain a regular prayer life filled with ins-and-outs, daily 'quiet-times' (sweet child of mine, I hate that term), and what have you, but I find myself never really going to God with my problems or... I guess my heart.

I wrote a little bit about this a few weeks back - about opening up to God. I think that is a major part of it. I haven't been nor have I really ever opened up to God, and I find that when I do, He is able to show me things I'd never expected or things I'd never thought of otherwise.

In the past few months, I've been struggling pretty badly with... life, hah. Things got pretty low at one point - they still continue to drop down there now and again. It got to the point where I was physically hurting myself because, you know, apparently that's supposed to help. It didn't. My doctor put my on antidepressants which have helped a tremendous amount, but still... it doesn't fix anything.

So, I figure I could turn to people. My pastors. My family. My closest friends. I've opened up very little to anyone, and when I do, I find myself stuttering, censoring myself, and never really even releasing a coherent thought. Even talking to the people I love most (they can tell you this and are probably reading this now, hah), I'm very secretive, cryptic, and quiet about what goes on in my own heart.

And pretty soon, I found myself in a situation where there was nobody I could talk to. At all. Don't get me wrong - without a doubt in my mind, God places people in our lives to hold us up, pray for us, talk to us, and help us... but what about when we find ourselves going there first? Instead of having people there as pillars of support, I found myself treating them as a foundation of it.

So, in this situation, I found myself getting deeper and deeper into confusion, pain, sadness, and numbness. What was I supposed to do? Recently, it got to the point where I was, literally, angry at God. You know, like the cheesy Christian movies where the protagonist is like 'God, why did you allow this to happen! It's your fault! BLAH!' But I was basically like that.

'God... why are you even allowing this to happen to me? Why... in all of your ability as God and Ruler of the freakin' Universe, would you allow these little things to line up so perfectly that not only are my feelings hurt and my heart in shambles, but I have no one to talk to about it? Why on earth would you allow me to be so alone here?''

That's when I had my 'Naw-duh' moment.

And it's pretty much a recurring theme in the Bible, especially the Psalms.

"Seek the Lord and His strength; seek his face continuously." (Psalm 105:4)

"Those who know your name trust in You; for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you." (Psalm 9:10)

"Cast your burden upon the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken." (Psalm 55:22)

"In my desperation I prayed, and the Lord listened; he saved me from all my troubles" (Psalm 34:6)

I think that's what He was trying to tell me. I think God allowed me to fall so deep into this literal depression so that I could see, sooner or later, that the only - the only - way out would be to rely on Him.

The Enemy, of course, was hell-bent (pun intended) on making sure that I felt everything that ever happened to me was the result of my surroundings and not the way I was choosing to deal with them. Think about it - if I break my arm accidentally doing something, who do I go to for help? The people I love? They can comfort me and give me advice, sure, but does that heal me? Do I just go through it alone? No, because my arm would remain broken, wouldn't it? I need the doctor, don't I?

It's a simple, Elementary school analogy, yeah, but it's what I've been doing. Does going to God first with my heart, my troubles, my concerns, my everything fix the situations I'm in? No, not necessarily. There's still going to be pain because the attacks of our most relentless Enemy do not stop because we notice him performing them.

I think the most important thing for us... and me, really... to remember is that God is Father, and I am his son. He wants me to come to Him, because he loves me, and is willing to help me. He's willing to just listen if that's all I need. How many times has that happened to you - you're talking something out to someone, and they say nothing at all but continue to let you talk because they know you'll eventually come to the conclusion yourself? I think God does that a lot with us.

The bottom line I want to say is the God listens, and God helps. Sometimes, He allows absolute crap to pour into our lives from every direction so we see that there is no one else that can really help us but Him.

Questions for you now: How much do you trust God? I mean 'trust' in the sense can you really tell him everything, like a best friend... like a Father the Bible says He is? Can you be open to God? He did everything in His Power (and the God of Eternity has a lot of power) to be with you; can't you spare more than a campy ritualistic 'quiet time' with Him? It's something to think about.

As I pray today, I ask that you join me in really just going to God and opening your heart. Forget 'praying,' sit down and talk with God like you have a relationship with Him. That's what Christianity is, and we often tell people that, but act like we don't believe it. 'It's not a religion; it's a relationship!' we'll glibly spew along with every other Christian cliche, but we still pray like God is a stained-glass window image in the cathedral of our mind. I think he deserves and wants more than that. I think I want more that that.

So, try it today. Talk to God. Tell Him about your day. About what makes you happy. About what makes you sad. About how much you love your friends. About how much you liked that movie you saw. About that nasty food you ate at the mall the other day. Be reverent, but fod God's sake, be personal. God is a person. A person who loves you.

Pray for me, too, reader, as I learn this with you.

-Matt

New Jars of Clay Album - 'The Shelter' - Review

"Ar Scáth a Chéile a Mhaireas na Daoine."
"In the shelter of each other, the people live."

Jars of Clay is one of the older Christian rock/pop bands, and are extremely gifted songwriters and performers, loving and active humanitarians, and humble, talented Christians who have been entertaining, moving, and loving on people for over a decade. Yesterday, they released their eleventh studio album, called 'The Shelter.'

After pre-ordering the album, I got it in the mail today, and I was absolutely blown away by this album that I had ridiculously high expectations for. The pure artistry and work that went into this album must be beyond measure.

"'The Shelter,' Dan Haseltine of the band explains, "is a record about community, and how we get to be Jesus for each other. A shelter is refuge from a storm. It is peace in the midst of chaos. Something that cools our fear when we are afraid. I think what I like about the image of a shelter is that it is not something that is apart from the storm, but is something that is placed IN the storm, and yet it is something that keeps us from harm's way, but it's not so far away that we lose sight of it."

The theme of 'The Shelter' is, without a doubt, community. Friendship. Fellowship. Christians coming together, loving one another, and being/living like Jesus for one another and the entire world. This album came at an extremely important time in my life where I've got that very theme on my heart constantly. About isolating myself. About not feeling loved. About giving up. About not having a group friends, a family, or a community I feel I can belong to. All of this is completely ridiculous, though. I know, in my heart, I have all those things, but we have an Enemy that has made it his job to destroy every relationship we, as Christians, have. 'The Shelter' is a battlecry against that. A hymn against isolation. Sadness. Lonliness. A message of hope, love, friendship, and God's grace played out through 11 expertly crafted tracks.

Jars of Clay is not alone on this album, either. To go with the theme of community, Several artists have added their song-writing and musical abilities to the band's own this time. What had the potential to be a cheesy collab of standard Christian fare is everything but that. With Jars of Clay, you have Brandon Heath, Thad Cockrell, Audrey Assad, Gungor, Mac Powell from Third Day, Derek Webb from Caedmon's Call, Burlap to Cahmere, Sixpence None the Richer, TobyMac, Mike Donehey from Tenth Avenue North, David Crowder, Amy Grant, and more that I can't even remember. Wow. That's a lot of folks. Still, this is Jars of Clay's album, and these artists just add to that instead of making it a mishmash of songs and styles.

The album begins with the extremely poignant track 'Small Rebellions.' The opening lyrics set up the entire album beautifully. "God of the break and shattered... hearts, in every form still matter. In our weakness, let us see, that alone we'll never be lifting any burdens off our shoulders...." It sets up the whole idea of a community, and that it's not going to come easy. The chorus makes that clear with it's words. "If our days could be filled with small rebellions... senseless, brutal acts of kindness from us all... If we stand between the fear and firm foundation... push against the current and the fall... We will never walk alone again..."

The next track picks up with 'Call My Name.' It's all about one of the simplest Christian principals, in yet, it's the one all of us struggle with on a daily basis. Being called by God to do something extraordinary. Have purpose in our lives. Jars of Clay has already hit two very important topics in Christianity, and we're only two songs in.

'We Will Follow,' track #3, is like a direct response to track #2. If 'Call My Name' says 'God has a plan for you,' 'We Will Follow' says '...and we're going to follow it!" It's an incredibly happy and hopeful song that has a very simple chorus, but I've already found myself singing it over and over again. "Where you lead us, we will follow..." A little bit of their Nashville roots come out with some epic violin, too.

The next track, 'Eyes Wide Open,' features the voice of Dan Haseltine, but then the instantly recognizable voice of Mac Powell from Third Day. It's a song simply out asking God to keep our eyes open to where he's working. Keep our eyes open to where we can show love. Keep our eyes open to how He can shine his light through us, which should be our prayers daily.

I'm going to skip the title track for now.

'Out of My Hands' is a song about surrendering to God, first, foremost, and obviously. This is a topic Jars of Clay has touched on several times in past albums, but this song perhaps personifies it the best. It speaks of all God has done for us, which is more than we can imagine.

'No Greater Love' is a song about the power of sacrifice. It has, perhaps, a double-meaning. Like John 15:13 says, "There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends." There is no greater love than bearing a burden, taking some of the pain, sacrificing for a friend. The other meaning being the same thing, only in the context of what Christ did on the cross. The question features the prayer 'Show me the beauty of a life laid down...' Powerful stuff.

'Run in the Night' is based on my favorite Psalm in the Bible - Psalm 27. It follows closely to the teachings of that chapter, and begins slow and contemplative, but near the end becomes a redemptive piece of love and perfection.

Track #9, 'Lay it Down,' is perhaps my favorite track on the entire album. It speaks of exactly what I've been dealing with for some time now. The senseless, counter-productive attitude of 'isolation will help me.' The song touches on the idea that if you are a Christian, you are a part of the most loving, understanding, welcoming, warm family conceivable. You have a father in heaven you adores you. You have brothers and sisters all over the world that belong to the same father you do, and there's deep connection in that. "We'll never be short on people," they sing, "but we'll never be short on trouble." The hard times always come along. The Enemy always attacks again. The chorus begs the question, "Why carry on our own?" they ask "Why drag this bag of bones to Hell and back again? Look around -" they say. "Lay it down." God puts people in our lives to love us, to build us up, to support and encourage us. We should absolutely allow them in and let them do so, as we are to do the same for them.

'Love Will Find Us' has a message that can be summed up in the chorus. "Run to these arms, be not alone;

Light is leading, love will find us all..." Beautiful.

Now, we'll go back to the title track, then touch on 'Benediction,' the closing track. The title track, 'The Shelter,' sums up the message of the Church in a beautiful way. Now, I did not say it sums up Christianity - it talks about us as Christians, and our roles in that. "To all who are looking down," to song speaks, "holding on to hearts still wounding... for those who've yet to find it: the places near where love is moving... cast off the robes you're wearing, set aside the names you've been given... may this place of rest in the fold of you journey bind you to hope." The idea that we, as Christians, are to be there for each other as the Church. Fellowship. To build each other up. To pray with and for one another. To help out in crisis. To comfort in despair. "God has given us each other..." the song says. In our hearts, hopefully, we have a group of friends or a family we know those words ring true about. I certainly know who God has given me for the purposes of this song. I feel their love and warmth whenever I hear this song. The chorus features the words of the old Irish proverb quoted at the top 'In the shelter of each other, we will live."

And then, in the end, there's 'Benediction.' It's a simple, quite song that basically says 'Now that you have the love of God, the strength of others, and the hope of life, go and spread the word.' Tell the world he loves you.

This album is an amazing collection of talent, meaning, and music that shines even above Jars of Clay's last album, 'The Long Fall Back to Earth.' I have already been blessed with the message and love of this album. It's an absolute must have for anyone.

Small Rebellions - 8/10

Call My Name - 9/10

We Will Follow - 10/10

Eyes Wide Open - 7/10

Shelter - 10/10

Out of My Hands - 8/10

No Greater Love - 8/10

Run in the Night - 7/10

Lay it Down - 10/10

Love Will Find Us - 7/10

Benediction - 9/10

Album as a Whole - 9/10

Highly Recommended.

Lord of the Rings and Jesus - The Battle for Helm's Heart

"The dark tide flowed up to the walls from cliff to cliff. Thunder rolled in the valley. Rain came lashing down.

Arrows thick as the rain came whistling over the battlements, and fell clinking and glancing on the stones. Some found a mark. The assault on Helm's Deep had begun but no sound of challenge was heard within; no answering arrows came.

Then the Orcs screamed, waving spear and sword and shooting a cloud if arrows at any that stood revealed upon the battlements; and the men of the Mark amazed looked out, as it seemed to them, upon a great field of dark corn, tosses by a tempest of war, and every ear glinted with barbed light.
Brazen trumpets sounded.. The enemy surged forward... The lightning flashed, and blazoned upon every helm and shield the ghastly hand of Isengard was seen. They reached the summit of the rock; they drove towards the gates..." JRR Tolkien, 'The Two Towers'

Thus begins one of the pivotal battles in the story of 'Lord of the Rings.' The enemy of the free peoples of Middle Earth has forged an army of the foulest and most sinister soldiers imaginable, and they're going for where the people from the city of Edoras had hidden themselves - in the heart of a mountain; a fortress known as Helm's Deep.

What follows is an epic, devastating battle in which the Men of the Mark fight the Orcs of Isengard in arrow-firing, sword clashing, blood-shedding combat. If you've read the novels or seen the movies, you know how big of a deal the Battle for Helm's Deep was. Why did the evil wizard Saruman decide to send his soldiers and minions to attack the free people of Rohan? Why them, and why attack their settlement in the heart of the mountain?

I believe it's because Saruman could not stand, evil and powerful as he was, to be engaged in a war he would ultimately loose. He looked at those people, those free people led by a King, and felt such hatred that he wanted them dead, knowing he had already lost them.

Sounds a lot like our Enemy, doesn't it?

The thief, who comes to steal, kill, and destroy, looks upon the free children of God with such hatred, he does the same thing to us; he attacks us at our Helm's Deep - the heart. The heart, which is the very core to our life. The very thing Christ has set free - the very essence of our being. The good thing God put in us - the core of who we are, and who God is in our lives.

"Guard your heart above all else, for it is the source of life." - Proverbs 4:23, HCSB

We see in Lord of the Rings that the Rohirrim do just that - mustering up their courage, their strength, and, being led by the King, they attempt to guard their heart - they begin to fight off the Orcs attempting to seize Helm's Deep. Do you ever think of the battle for the heart in the same way? I'm going to capitalize that - it's so truly epic, it deserves it. Do you ever think about the Battle for the Heart in the same way? As the Enemy is ramming into the gates of the hold, they scream and shout as they rain arrows down upon the people and bang their spears and clash their swords. They obviously want to get in there. They want to kill. They want to steal. They want to destroy.

At that point, the people inside open their doors and say 'Come on in!!'

No, I'm kidding. Could you imagine? And yet... that's what so many of us do, don't we? Instead of guarding our hearts, we leave the door unlocked. Heck, sometimes, we let the Enemy in freely, don't we? We will sometimes invite him in. Scary thought, when put in perspective, isn't it? We invite him him by opening the doors and gates to the heart by the things we do, the things we say, the things we watch, read, listen to - the lives we live... like what's inside doesn't matter to us. Well, wait, what exactly is in the Heart?

"Do you not know that your body is a sanctuary of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God?" 1 Corinthians 6:19 HCSB

So.. what?

"Okay - each of us is now the Temple of God, so where, then, is the Holy of Holies? Your heart." -John Eldrege, 'Waking the Dead.'

Think about that. Your heart is the very place where the Holy Spirit dwells - where the Holy Spirit is, if you've put your faith and life in Christ. That's what they mean when they say 'You've got to let Jesus into your heart.' They mean that quite literally. God Himself comes to dwell in you the moment you put your faith in Him. The wonderful counselor makes His home within you, to always be with you. Cool stuff, huh?

Why are we so... lazy... in guarding our hearts, then? Why do we let the Enemy in so freely? What would have happened is the Rohirrim had just flung the gates to Helm's Deep open and said 'We welcome you, Enemy?' I think we don't realize how much of an attack we're under, and even if we did, I think we'd be scared. Makes sense - it's a scary thing fighting the one who wants to steal your happiness, destroy your life, and kill your spirit. The men of Edoras probably felt the same way. Scared. Unable and unwilling to defend the hold.

"So much... death..... what can men do against... such reckless hate?"
Aragorn, the True King speaks to him.
"Ride out with me. Ride out with me and meet them."

Fighting alongside the King, Theoden leads his men into battle with the Orcs of Isengard, and the epic Battle for Helm's Deep begins. "The sun is rising..." Gimli says.

We act like Theoden sometimes, don't we? Scared. Wondering what good fighting will really do in the end. What guarding the fortress, the Heart, will really be for. The King reminds us that the Heart is worth fighting for. He, himself, gave his very life to set it free - why wouldn't we try our hardest to guard the Heart from the enemy?

I believe that the Enemy doesn't have to do much to get into our hearts. He plants a tiny seed, and we water it. He gives us the tiniest bit of pain, or the smallest essence of doubt, and we latch onto it, and we let it grow. By believing his lies, we have let our guard down; we've swung the doors to Helms Deep and wide open and said 'Hey Satan! What are you trying to sell me?' and he comes in, and, literally, all hell breaks loose in our lives.

It is crucial to guard the heart. We are to do it 'above all else.' Why? Because it is the essence of our life, and the very dwelling place of the Holy Spirit.

In Lord of the Rings, eventually, the Men of the Mark were able to drive away their attackers. Yes, the Enemy got in for a split second because Rohan let their guard down, but alongside the King, they had their victory. The enemies ran screaming to hide in the forest, Tolkien writes. The same, too, shall happen to our enemies, if we defend, if we guard our Hearts with the help of the King.

"Let this be the hour... we draw swords together!" - Theoden, Lord of the Rings

" Don't assume that I came to bring peace on the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword." - Matthew 10:34 HCSB

"For the word of God is living and effective and sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating as far as to divide soul, spirit, joints, and marrow..." - Hebrews 4:12 HCSB

Jesus has come to fight for and defend the Hearts of His people. He also says, to us, that the Bible is a sword. What better to defend the temple, the sanctuary, the hold, the castle of the Heart from a reckless, ever-attacking Enemy... than with the Sword of the King?

The enemy is coming. No, scratch that. He's already here. Let this be the hour you draw your sword. The hour is late, and the Enemy is breaking down your door. Trust and follow the King. Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the source of life. To arms! CHARGE!

"This is a call to arms; gather soldiers! Time to go to war! This is a battle song; brothers and sisters, it's time to go to war!" - 30 Seconds to Mars, 'A Call to Arms,' - THIS IS WAR Album

Are you ready?

Here they come...

-Matt

Mario Kart and Jesus

For an 18-year-old gamer, Mushroom Gorge is a tough track on Mario Kart Wii.

For a 5-year-old girl, Mushroom Gorge can seem nearly impossible.

My niece Gracie was hanging out over here, at my house today. She's five years old, and she's starting Kindergarten in two days. It's crazy to think, even as just her uncle, that she's already starting real school and growing up. Anyway, today, she was over here, and I introduced her to Mario Kart for the Wii.

At first, she seemed really shaky. If you know anything about Mario Kart, you'll know that the fact she took seven minutes to finish Luigi's Circuit doesn't exactly make her a professional. She didn't really grasp the idea of moving the control stick to steer, or to keep holding down the gas button to keep her car going. After one race, she wanted to quit.

"No," I said, "You can do it - it just takes experience." She tried again, and was a little bit better. She switched to another racetrack, and was even better the third time. She was very happy that she was getting so good at this game that was new to her.

And then, she got to Mushroom Gorge.

Mushroom Gorge is basically a giant hurdle. Half the time, you've got flat, straight roads that are easy to navigate, but the other half of the time, you've got giant gaps to leap, ridiculous cliffs to jump over, uncountable mushrooms to bounce off of and hope that you land safely on the other side. It's tough, even for an experienced Mario Karter, but to my niece, it was almost impossible.

I could see the frustration building in her face and the disappointment surfacing in her heart as she tried desperately to transverse the cliffs of this racetrack. She turned to me and said 'Matt, can you do it for me?'

I thought about it. I could definitely do it for her. I mean, I'm a pretty good player - the best in my house. If there's anyone that could beat it for her, it would be me. But I also thought, too, of how happy I know she'd be if she could beat it herself. Still, she needed help, and I wanted to offer it to her.

"All you have to do," I began, "Is to drive very straight off the ramp. Then, you'll bounce off the mushroom and land on the other side." She tried it once, and failed. "One more time," I said, "But this time, don't worry about it - just do what I said, and you'll be fine." She was placed back on the racetrack, and began to drive forward, as she tried once more.

She flew off the ramp, bounced right off the mushroom, and landed safely on the other side.

"You did it!" I exclaimed as she, literally, dropped the control, beaming, and said back to me "I did it!" She was so very happy that she was able to cross something simple and silly like the first gap on a Mario Kart track. But, you know, she had experience now. As I sit here and write this, she is sitting behind me, playing Mushroom Gorge over and over again. It's her favorite racetrack. She can speed through the entire course in under three minutes now. She rarely falls off the track anymore. She's able to fly over the cliffs, and always land safely.

Christianity can be a lot like Mario Kart.

When Gracie first started playing, it took a lot of getting used to. I mean, who's ever heard of a green dinosaur on a motorcycle racing a princess and a plumber anyway? The concept was brand new to her. The game controller was brand new to her, but in no time, she was up and going. That's how, most of the time, we feel about of walks with God as Christians. Pretty good, they might say. Not great, but pretty good.

Then, she was faced with Mushroom Gorge. Disheartened and discouraged, she didn't know what to do. She asked me, like I said earlier, "Can you do it for me, Matt?" It seems like when we're faced with the tough stuff in life, we go straight to do and ask the same question... for some of us, it's the only time we go to God. When we need him to do something.

But, like Gracie and Mushroom Gorge, sometimes, I believe that God let's us face struggle to teach us something - to essentially train us.

Let's look at David for a minute. This little kid, basically, who goes to bring his brothers some lunch one day, and he sees them all cowering at the very mention of their enemy, Goliath's, name. David approaches King Saul, and says, "Well, I'll fight him." King Saul probably laughs as he says "Don't be ridiculous! There's no way you can possibly win... you're just a boy." Let's pick it up there.

But David persisted. “I have been taking care of my father’s sheep and goats,” he said. “When a lion or a bear comes to steal a lamb from the flock, I go after it with a club and rescue the lamb from its mouth. If the animal turns on me, I catch it by the jaw and club it to death. I have done this to both lions and bears, and I’ll do it to this pagan Philistine, too, for he has defied the armies of the living God! The Lord who rescued me from the claws of the lion and the bear will rescue me from this Philistine!”

Saul finally consented. “All right, go ahead,” he said. “And may the Lord be with you!” - 1 Samuel 17:34-37

Now, when David was a young shepherd boy, do you think he enjoyed fighting off lions and bears? Do you think it was easy for him? Of course not. It's a freaking bear. It's a freaking lion. If you've ever seen the Discovery Channel, you know that... bears and lions are vicious and violent. David, obviously a young man who loved the Lord, could have said 'God, PLEASE, do this for me!' But as we read, David would go off and wrestle the bears and lions himself, by clubbing it to death like the warrior he was. God was always with him, preserving him, but it was a struggle to protect his sheep and to do his job right.

You see, when we face hardships, struggles, or challenges in life, and we ask Him to take care of it for us, sometimes it seems like He's inactive. We might feel discouraged, but think for a moment about what he could be saying. "Listen to what I have to say, and do what I say do." Just like Gracie in Mushroom Gorge where I instructed her how to jump the mushroom, just like how, unbeknownst to him, David was being trained up to fight Goliath someday. "The Lord rescued me..." David said, but it was because he was taking action and doing what he knew God had already instructed him to do.

'Well then,' you may be asking, 'That's great, but how do I know what God wants me to do?' That's an easy answer. God's given you an entire book of 'What to Do.' The Bible.

When the hard times come, and we ask God to Divinely intervene, I think sometimes we forget about how much He already has. He's given us everything He's ever wanted to reveal to the human race... all in one convenient, complete, and usually leather-bound volume. The answers are there - it just takes time, studying, and faith to find them in there.

So next time when you're faced with a 'Gorge' in your life, when you pray, consider changing your prayer from 'God, fix this for me,' to 'God, give me wisdom - show me what to do.'

But, seriously, Gracie is still here playing Mushroom Gorge. The song is getting a bit annoying, but I wouldn't tell her to stop for anything.

Thanks for reading!
-Matt

Hope

The final days of Summer are upon us. The days are hotter than ever here in the south, but, as television commercials and signs hanging from the ceilings of our favorite department stores will remind us, it is coming to an end. People of all ages are preparing to return to school. The once young and naive children of parents are growing up and moving out. Relationships are beginning and ending inexplicably. Everything has that 'end of Summer' feeling it it... which is never a happy feeling.

I've realized that a lot of people I know have had these 'blues,' but it seems so inappropriate to call them that; no, it is inappropriate to call them that. Several good friends of mine seem to be, quite simply, loosing heart. I have friends who feel trapped where they are right now - desiring, deeply, to leave the home they know, and go to bigger and better things. I have friends who are just the opposite - after being uprooted from the home they loved, they're in a completely new world, feeling alone, friendless, and like they don't yet belong where they are. I have friends whose minds are racked with thoughts of their beloved, and those who have been hurt by people in the same position. I have friends who feel like they cannot trust their parents. I have friends who feel like they are alone. I have friends who have no idea where they're going on the road we call life, and I have friends who simply have become so disconnected with their own hearts that every day that passes is miserable; they're just working for the end.

It breaks my heart to see, not just my friends but, anyone like this. I'm here, to tell you, if only in text-form, on an unpopular internet blog, that this is not all there is.

"You've been hiding in the bedroom, hoping this isn't how the story has to go. It's not the way it goes. It's your book now. You are Golden." says Switchfoot. Like I said in a few posts back, you are a masterpiece created by the Almighty Himself. With that knowledge... what kind of story do you think God is telling through you? Have you ever thought about that?

"Life, you'll notice, is a story.

Life doesn't come to us like a math problem. It comes to us the way that a story does, scene by scene. You wake up. What will happen next? You don't get to know-you have to enter in, take the journey as it comes. The sun might be shining. There might be a tornado outside. Your friends might call and invite you to go sailing. You might lose your job.

Life unfolds like a drama. Doesn't it? Each day has a beginning and an end. There are all sorts of characters, all sorts of settings. A year goes by like a chapter from a novel. Sometimes it seems like a tragedy. Sometimes like a comedy. Most of it feels like a soap opera. Whatever happens, it's a story through and through.

If life is a story, what is the plot? What is your role to play? It would be good to know that, wouldn't it? What is this all about?

If there is meaning to this life, then why do our days seem so random? What is this drama we've been dropped into the middle of? If there is a God, what sort of story is he telling here? At some point we begin to wonder if Macbeth wasn't right after all: Is life a tale "told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing"?

No wonder we keep losing heart.

We find ourselves in the middle of a story that is sometimes wonderful, sometimes awful, often a confusing mixture of both, and we haven't a clue how to make sense of it all. It's like we're holding in our hands some pages torn out of a book. These pages are the days of our lives. Fragments of a story. They seem important, or at least we long to know they are, but what does it all mean? If only we could find the book that contains the rest of the story." - John Eldredge, 'Epic.'

If there's one thing I've learned from reading authors like Eldredge, listening to speakers like Perry Noble and Francis Chan, and spending time with God himself, there is one thing that has become abundantly clear: we are in a story. And stories have endings, don't they? Does that scare you? Does the idea that your story has an ending intimidate you?

It shouldn't. You know why? Because it's a happy ending. It's a fairytale ending.

"And they lived happily ever after," the Creative Arts Pastor at my church, Jerry Davison, begins, "Probably the most beautiful and haunting words in the English language. Don't roll your eyes! "Cheesy. There's no such thing as happy endings - that's not real life." Put that aside for a second, and let this be true for a minute. 'They lived happily ever after.'"

When we join the family of God, when we're adopted as a son or daughter to the Father God, we change not only the entire course of our life, but we change the ending to our stories. "This fallen world doesn't hold [our] interests; doesn't hold [our] souls." Switchfoot says. Thats because this world is not our home anymore. We try and get comfortable in one place, we expect we'll feel better in another place, in a new town, a new school, a new year... we expect that we will be ultimately happy here, that we can find home here, but we know, in our hearts, there are greater things. Don't we?

"I belong somewhere past the setting sun," Jon Foreman sings. "Just a few more weary days and then..." "I'm going home, to the place where I belong." Says Jars of Clay and Daughtry. "The earth spins, and the moon goes around, green comes up from the frozen ground, and everything will be made new again." "Now I've found it... This is Home.... Where the streets have no name, all my tears be washed away.

What do all these songs mean? There is hope. There is hope in your life. There is hope in God. There is hope in your happy ending. There's something to look forward to.

Life is like a vacation. There is a lot of fun to be had. There are a lot of new people to meet. There are things to do, places to go, a whole world to experience. But sooner or later, we get this longing in our heart for home. I feel, right now, it is my job to tell whoever is reading this that if your hope is in people, in things, in this world, you will be let down. But if your hope is in God... you will not be forsaken. You will not be forgotten. "Even if my own Father and Mother forsake me, you will hold me close," Psalm 27:10 says. "Who shall I fear?" the Psalmist also says, "if the Lord is with me?"

There is hope. There will always be hope.

The LORD your God is with you,
he is mighty to save.
He will take great delight in you,
he will quiet you with his love,
he will rejoice over you with singing." - Zephaniah 3:17

The Shadow Proves the Sunshine...
-Matt

The Legend of YOU - Finding Spiritual Truth in Hyrule

So, there's a little Nintendo 64 game you might have played before. 'The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.'

Claimed by some to be the greatest video game ever created, 'Ocarina of Time' is the first 3D installment of the popular 'Legend of Zelda' game franchise, and is a massive, huge, epic adventure of mythical proportions. It was an ambitious game - nothing like it had ever been made or even attempted. Many people have many fond memories surrounding this game. As I was sitting here, I started thinking about some of the big picture stuff regarding the game, and, slowly, some very spiritual parallels started forming.

The Kokiri Forest - The Beginning

When you start playing through ‘Ocarina of Time’ for the first time, you see how much fun it is. You begin your journey, and there are little tasks and missions for you to do everywhere. You have little victories here and there, you slay some monsters, and you win some battles. You meet new people, and you do realize you’ve just begun a huge, awesome, epic adventure. Everything feels safe, and you're just starting to learn about the world around you, known as Hyrule

The Adventure and the Evil One

Then, after playing a while, the initial spark and enthusiasm wears off. Your adventure is getting harder and harder, but eh – you can handle it. You also discover that you, who at first appear to be nothing more than a weak child, have a very real, very evil enemy – Gannondorf. They call him the Prince of Evil and the 'Demon Thief.' He want’s you to kill you more than anything – why? He realizes you’ve received a gift from Heaven, the Triforce, and that with it, you have power… and this scares Gannondorf to death. He begins throwing every enemy and obstacle he has at you. Monsters, dungeons, enemies, dark magic – everything he can throw at young link because he fears what he’s capable of. He's ready to fight.

Still, though, Link marches on. It’s getting tougher and tougher, but Link is still fighting. It seems, though, after trekking through temple after temple, you get gets stuck in a rut. Things are getting more and more frustrating, and that initial spark you had when you first started playing is almost gone, if not completely gone. You’re now just going through the motions, trying to get from point A to point B. Things aren’t as magical as they seemed at the beginning.

Then, suddenly, you’re faced with the Water Temple.

The Water Temple

The Water Temple is so freakishly hard and frustrating. There are creatures lurking in every corridor. There are brain-melting puzzles that are almost impossible to solve by yourself. There are twists and turns that leave you, the player, devastated. In fact, the water temple is so tough that… you feel like you could just give up. In fact, a lot of players do. The water temple is tough, and they can’t handle it.

The funny thing is... that’s exactly how Christianity can be.

You start off, when you first become a Christian and you get on fire for God. You have small victories here and there, and you’re just so captivated on this new adventure God has invited you on. You stay on your ‘Jesus High’ for a while - where everything is seen in a new light, and life if abundant and exciting! You start going to church, you meet new people, God blesses you in little ways, and everything’s just awesome. You feel safe in his hands, and you get comfortable.

Then, after a while, you realize ‘Whoa. There’s a world outside the Kokiri Forest. There’s an enemy that hates me – wants me dead – and he’s REAL.’ You see this, and things in your walk with Christ gets more difficult and repetitive. Things get almost boring… dull… repetitive. Yeah, you’re still a Christian, but that magic and wonder you felt when you first became one is gone, and things are getting tough. Really tough. You might be faced with the choice to step outside your comfort zone, and do something new (leave your own Kokiri forest), but you don't want to. It's comfortable where you're at. You're just going through the motions at this point. The magic is... gone.

Then, suddenly, you face your water temple.

That obstacle the Enemy has placed in your path that just seems… unconquerable. Impossible. You’re surrounded by demons that seem undefeatable. You’re surrounded by puzzles, doubts, and questions that just rattle your mind that you feel defenseless to solve. Everything is coming crashing down around you, and you don’t know what to do. You feel like you want to give up. In fact, a lot of people do. The water temples in our life can be tough, and some people can’t handle it.

But I’m here to tell you… don’t lose heart.

"Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day." 2 Corinthians 4:16

In Ocarina of Time, when you’re faced with the water temple, the temple you feel you cannot possibly solve on your own, there is something that can help you. There is a book, and it’s called the holy… Nintendo Player’s Guide. (Hahahaha)

The Guide

The Nintendo Player’s Guide is a book written by the Creator of the game itself (Nintendo) and is filled with advice, information, maps, encouragement, and is a guide made especially for the players to get them through the tough spots.

I’m sure you can see the parallel I’m painting, but I’ll state the obvious and say this: the Bible is the guide for us as Christians.

"Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path." Psalm 119:105

It shows us where to go, and it tells us what to do in our time of trouble. It is our map when we’re lost – it’s God’s love letter and gift to mankind so we always know what to do. When we face our water temples, the Bible is always there to tell us what to do. That’s why it’s so crucial to spend time with God and spend time in his Word daily.

In Zelda, though, even with the guide, it’s still a fight. But now that you know what to do, you only have to follow the guide, and eventually, you beat the Water Temple. You move onto the Shadow Temple, and beat that, too. You go to the Spirit Temple, and conquer that as well. You make it to the end, and you’re standing face to face with the enemy himself, who wants you DEAD because of the power given to you by the Almighty.

In Christianity, with your guide (the Bible, and God is our guide as well), you can beat your water temples. You can conquer them, and you can be victorious. You could try and beat the water temple by yourself, sure, but it’s hard, and you don’t have the strength or understanding to beat it.

That’s why we…

‘Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge him, and he will direct your paths.’ Proverbs 3:5-6

So, you defeat the Water temple, the Shadow temple, the Spirit temple, and in the end, there’s the final Showdown. But don't be afraid. Go ahead; read the back of the book. God wins. And so does everyone on his team, fighting for him.

In Zelda, it’s the power of the Triforce (which is interesting – our God exists as the Trinity), that ultimately defeats the wicked Gannondorf once and for all. Link sees the ending. It’s a beautiful world once again. It begins with a massive party featuring all the tribes of the world celebrating the defeat of the evil one. The kingdom of Hyrule is restored, finally, once again. There is no more darkness, no more pain, and no more evil. All is well.

The super amazing, wonderful news is that is what awaits the life of a Christian as well. In the end, the evil one is defeated. The kingdom is restored! And it all begins with a massive party – ‘the wedding feast of the lamb,’ as Revelation calls it. We’re reunited with our savior once more, and all is made right once more. Beauty is restored.

Think back to when you first beat Ocarina of Time, and you saw Gannondorf killed and sealed away, and that party play out on screen as the music played and the credits rolled. Remember how happy you were? That same feeling, that same victory, is made available to you, only amplified infinitely higher than the feeling of beating some old video game. YOU can be a part of that wedding feast.

'And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb.” And he added, “These are true words that come from God.”' Revelation 19:9

All you have to do is keep following him. Stay in his word – do not lose heart! The end is coming, and when it’s all finished, because you didn’t give up, the Lord Jesus will look at you and say ‘Well done, good and faithful servant!’ and you will be welcomed in and… the party can begin.

Don’t give up! The 'Water Temples' in life seem huge and undefeatable, but you’ve been given a sword and a mission. With your Guide guiding you, you can fight and win this war. In the end, it’s all worth it.

So, thanks for reading my extremely nerdy, but, I think, spiritually meaningful post regarding the spiritual truths there are in 'Ocarina of Time.' Now, excuse me. My Nintendo 64 is calling.

-Matt