for my friends going to the fields-

His voice roars;

He thunders with his majestic voice,

And he does not restrain the lightnings when his voice is heard.

God thunders wondrously with his voice;

He does great things that we cannot comprehend.

For to the snow he says, ‘Fall on the earth,’

Likewise to the downpour, his mighty downpour.

-Elihu (Job 32)

Hear His voice, His mighty voice

It brings strength to the weak

And hope to the despairing

Let all who call on the name of the LORD be brazen

Greatness awaits You,

Oh LORD

Greatness awaits You!

Let all the peoples rejoice

Let all the peoples!

For Your word has gone out

It shall not return void.

Let all creation be glad!

For our king is bringing His armies from afar.

Let those who wait patiently on the LORD be answered

And let those who quietly listen for His voice be comforted.

Your word, oh God, Your love,

It shall transcend all of our weaknesses

May the prayers of the saints be lifted up at this time.

Would these days be filled with a holy utterance

For the gospel

For Your renown

Like never before

Let Your people rise

And let sinfulness and doubt be no more!

Big thoughts to come

God has been speaking quicker than I can write. I don't have enough time as of now, but let me say that His mercies are new EVERY morning.

There is no shadow of turning with Thee

All I have needed Thy hand hath provided

Great is Thy faithfulness

Lord unto me

in response to the question, "what kind of pastor should we be looking for, and why?"

Reasons for why I believe the Pastor MUST be Gospel centered:

Gospel-centric ministries, first off, should be the very heart of the church, which only exists to bring the gospel to the fallen world, which ultimately is a mean to the ends of seeing Christ return and manifest His glory to mankind.

Failure to place a gospel minded/hearted pastor at the head of the church will result in a shift of ministry focus, ultimately failing to reach the full purpose of the church.

Lack of the gospel's/word of God's power directly being put into the congregation's hands will result in semi-changed lives, which will ultimately lead to a generation of people who can only produce a half hearted response to God's calling. This in and of itself will see to a slowing of missionaries, converts, and expansion of His kingdom.

However, a church, given the chance to experience God's word, which was written so clearly, preserved so faithfully, and hopefully shared so boldly, will, by the grace of God and the Holy Spirit, result in repentance, restoration, regeneration and life abundant.

I see no other alternative for the hearts of college students and young adults to be awakened to the fact that Jesus lives and reigns. No other program, no other focus, no other method from seminaries or colleges can teach us about Jesus better than Jesus' very words.

>

Because You are deserving, I bow before the cross

Because You reign forever, I have hope eternal

Because You are stronger, I am more than a conqueror

Because You are coming, I set my hand to the plow and do not look back

Because You are faithful beyond measure, my heart does not fret or fail

Because You bring joy and gladness, I wait for You

Because You live, I can

give me roughly one week to re-read my post to fix grammar errors and discrepancies.

Today-

If I saw God as He is

I would not live

Tomorrow in any

Shadow of resemblance

Of today

if God asks from us, He will provide

Malachi chapter 1:2

"I have loved you,"

says the LORD.

But you say,

"How have you loved us?"

It sent shivers down my spine when I read these words. I felt myself wince a little bit, mostly because I know I have at least thought these words during certain times in the past.

What I find so overwhelming from this passage is how God takes comments like these very very seriously. Asking God a simple "where are You?" no longer becomes something I can easily blurt out. I feel that, always, we are put into seasons in our life where we are be crying out for God to fill our lives with His presence in some way or another. However, sometimes this becomes distorted from its original position of helplessness/reliance to the point where we are now demanding His response, completely forgetting how unworthy we are of His presence. Fear of the Lord and reverence are out the window. And yes, while the fact remains that we are the children of God, there was and is nothing done on our part for us to earn that title; and it's only by the blood of Jesus that we enter into this family.

(Ecclesiastes 5:1-2 "Guard your steps when you go to the house of God... Be not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven and you are on earth. Therefore let your words be few.")

I am realizing, (and I hope you do too), that our complaint will come in many different forms, probably in such ways where Satan would have us think we are merely "crying out to God." On the contrary, these are merely sugar coated blasphemies which bring down the immeasurable goodness and faithfulness of God. Instead of the pleasing sound of thirsty souls crying out for more of His presence (Is 55:1-2), He is met with the cries of unsatisfied, underdeveloped Christians who have yet to be weened from their immature tastes and pallets.

Our blindness to His love and affection creates a natural disdain for His worship, and it will soon become burdensome. Somewhere, somehow, blindness has crept in, and we have lost the fear and revere of His glory/being.

The greatness of His glory and grace DEMAND our life, our all.

If for ANY moment we are unwilling to give that, it is only because we have lost our sight on the beautiful treasure, that is, knowing Christ. (Matt 13:44 The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.) In his JOY! In his joy he sells ALL that he has! Yet, in Malachi 1:13, God's people moan, "what a weariness this is," when they are called to worship and give to God.

Let's bring it back and end it where we started, an unsatisfied people.

A great example of some of the most fantastic complainers in the entire Bible are found in Exodus, when God is leading the Israelites through the wilderness. There is a distinct cycle where they travel, eventually become tired, cry out and complain, where then God provides, and then repeats.

So why do you and I, like the Israelites, so many times stumble into this snare, seeking self pity and embracing doubt? God is not a god who takes His attributes lightly, namely His faithfulness. How many times in the old testament does the Lord point out how unfaithful Israel has been, and how faithful He's been? Too many. Therefore, let us know the true fear of Lord.

Mal 1: 6

"A son honors his father, and a servant his master.

If then I am a father, where is my honor?

And if I am a master, where is my fear?"

says the LORD of hosts to you..."

We ask for forgiveness

We need forgiveness

There has been such a lack of reverence in our actions and lives

We acknowledge this depravity and turn to You

Oh lead me to the rock that is higher than I

You are stronger, You are greater!

Save me from ignorance

And lead my paths in the knowledge of truth

How my lips long to praise You as they aught!

My body fails, my soul faints

Yet I am continually before You

You hold my right hand

Give me my piece of the pie, Lord!

It might be hard to see, but this pie chart is a representation of religious statistics for Cambodia.

I obtained this information from joshuaproject.net.

The chart on the left compares all the ethnic groups as a whole, and divides them into whether or not they have a significant church level established to sustain the spread of Jesus and Christianity. The chart on the right is more of an accurate representation of the Christian/Unreached population.

I don't know how to explain what I felt in my heart when I was looking over these statistics. I can only describe it as a combination of conflicting feelings. Feelings of incredible hope that God would bring salvation to the Cambodian people/s, and of despair, knowing there would be hundreds going to a Godless hell this week because no one was there, pleading the cause of Christ:

“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;

I have called you by name, you are mine."

There were so many other thoughts and emotions, but I'll spare you the details.

Needless to say, I was moved. Not that I was previously unmoved, but things like this, they stir in me a deeper velocity towards the heart that desires His name to be known in all the nations so that He might receive the due praise of His eternal worth.

Amen and amen.

Let God move each of us within our own Holy ambitions as the Spirit leads.