Two things really struck me this past weekend. I am small. Really small. God is huge. Really, He is truly Supreme. Louie said something profound that has left me shaking my head at my own sinful pride. He said that I have a huge propensity to shrink down God to my level and to elevate my own life to His. That is sin. Sin makes that which is small big and that which is Supreme, small. Crazy! How can infinitesimal me attempt to make the story of God anything but the sole pleasing, God elevating story that it is? In light of the sheer awe factor of God, how could I do anything but lift His... His fame... His character... His life higher and higher? How could I do anything less than become smaller in order to elevate His greatness? I truly want to spend my life making much of a great and glorious God.


The vastness of God blew me away and I tasted a bit more of His supremacy this past weekend. But, the intimacy with God was so needed and has had such an impact on me. He holds us together. A protein molecule, in the form of a cross, is holding me together. Yeah! God is truly vast and huge and incomprehensible and big and magnanimous and any other adjective that connotes "AWESOME." Yet, He is also intimate and deeply acquainted with all of my ways. I am thankful for the intimacy that I have with this incredible God.


Christ is truly holding many of us together. Yesterday, Jeff called me to tell me that Carrie will leave this earth in a few weeks. I was not ready for that call. Jeff and Carrie are friends..... you know, the 'we share life and have kids and coach ball teams and laugh and cry and pray and do small group and actually work together' kind of friends. I wasn't ready for the doctors to tell me that her brain cancer was back. I really was not ready to hear that she had a short time to live. Less than 15 hours later, I was on the way to the hospital to say goodbye to one of my best friends. I love Carrie. I miss her. I am held together. Thanks be to God that He holds us together.


Isaiah 40.27 - 31 are verses of refuge in the past few days. I am leaning into God for strength. I am weak. I am standing in Him and His glorious might sustains, holds, and strengthens. I don't have a fraction of the answers about why this went down with Carrie. Yet, I have no doubt about Who Carrie celebrates and the reality that she is leading the worship parade in the presence of the living God! I can only imagine.....


I love you, Carrie. I thank my God for your partnership in the gospel. I miss you! Jeff, you have taught me much, over the past months, about how to serve one's wife at the deepest point of life. Thank you! I am committed to talk with God often about you.... about Nate, Xander, and Maggie. I am committed to tell them stories about their mom. I hope that we get to share much more life together.


God's glory alone.

Mark

Musings from the past week:
- Colossians 1.15 - 24 is finding much fertile soil in my heart and mind. According to Scripture, we simply cannot fathom the profundity of God's greatness. Yet, I want to give chase. I want to know Him and to seek Him and to discover more of Him and to be found in Him. His supremacy is consuming. I am enjoying studying and meditating upon Christ supreme. I am enjoying the Word studying my heart even more. What I really love is the way that the third service ended yesterday.... singing "How Great is our God" and asking, 'what if we seek to discover His greatness together?!' What if....

- A quote by Sproul continues to sharpen me. He wrote that, we are never touched and impressed with a conviction of our insignificance until we have contrasted ourselves with the majesty of God.

- My Bible Fellowship wrapped up our first trek through Yahweh (the Study) last night. I love my group! Really, I looked around the room a few times and I was so thankful for the friendships that God has given Susan and me. We read huge portions of Scripture via the story of Joseph. Rather than engage in much discussion, we simply read and considered the profound sovereignty of God in the life of Joseph. I felt 'bathed' in the Word when I left. I walked out challenged to trust God, regardless - good, bad.... I walked out thinking, what others often mean for harm, God will work for His great good and His glory if I will submit my life to His hand. My running thought is, what if I believe that God is with me today and that the circumstances around me don't surprise Him? How would I respond. How will God gain glory?

- I love kids! I received an e mail from one of our teachers and she had given her 1st graders a writing prompt. She prompted them with, More than anything else, I...... Amelia, an EBC kid, wrote that she longed for everyone to know God better. Then, she gave some terrific reasons as to 'why'. What about me? you? More than anything else, I.....

Christ supreme. Christ glorious. Christ in and through us, our sole hope of glory. What if we, together, give chase to His greatness lived through our lives. After all, we were made by Him and we were made for Him. Yeah!

By Grace... For Glory,
Mark

This past weekend:
- we celebrated 'dangerous' women. It was wildly beautiful to listen as a mom and daughter shared of their Christ adventure, followed by every woman in our fellowship standing and declaring of their passion to live dangerously. Check out the Dangerous Woman's Creed/ Prayer

Dear God, Please make us dangerous women. May we be women who acknowledge our power to change, and grow, and be radically alive for God. May we be healers of wounds and righters of wrongs. May we weep with those who weep and speak for those who cannot speak for themselves.

May we cherish children, embrace the elderly, and empower the poor. May we pray deeply and teach wisely. May we be strong and gentle leaders. May we sing songs of joy and talk down fear.

May we never hesitate to let passion push us, conviction compel us, and righteous anger energize us. May we strike fear into all that is unjust and evil in the world. May we dismantle abusive systems and
silence lies with truth. May we shine like stars in a darkened generation.
May we overflow with goodness in the name of God
and by the power of Jesus. And in that name and by that power,
may we change the world.

Dear God, please make us dangerous women. Amen.
Excerpted from Lynne Hybels’ book Nice Girls Don’t Change the World

- Speaking of 'dangerous women', it was shocking to have Bonnie pop into the office last Tuesday. She is elevating the fame of Christ in W. Africa, so what in the heck was she doing knocking on our staff team door?!? Bonnie is taking a few weeks of sabbatical before heading back to W. Africa for another year. She is so fresh in her journey with Christ... praying, seeking, living, and displaying His radiance. I love Bonnie and I thank my God for her! I love that she simply follows Christ, wherever that road may lead. She teaches me to be a Christ-follower. I'm glad!

- Supreme could be a new series of thoughts in our worship Encounter or the central passion of our hearts or the profound word that describes the only Word... Jesus Christ. I so deeply long that we seek Him... the Supreme One. Jesus Christ. Glorious One.

Jesus tells a story about our response to His supremacy. The Kingdom of Heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. -- Matthew 13.44

May our lives be marked by the Supreme King of Glory. Enjoy this week.

By Grace... For Glory,

Mark

Yesterday, we celebrated our graduates and their next step on this adventure in Christ. It was so stinkin' fresh to watch faces scroll across the screen and the song wail about being 'counted in' on this worldwide move of God. When I came to EBC, these Sr's were in the 1st grade. Yep, that really humbles me a bit. But, what is so cool is to see their faces and know that I had the thrill of sitting with many of the families as their kid embraced the story of God. Other faces popped across the screen who I know have already given their lives to Christ and to His heart for the nations. I love our students. I love their heart. I love that Christ loves them. I love that they love Him back!

As we were celebrating Seniors, my heart was also breaking for a family in our fellowship who are saying 'goodbye' to their 20 year old son/grandson/ nephew. An inexplicable gunshot wound carried him away from this earth. The void is palpable. Words are few. Prayers are many. What a dichotomy within worship.... wishing, with such passion, for the future of a bunch of seniors. Aching, with sorrow, for the unanticipated loss of an amazing kid. Life. It's challenging.

Maybe my favorite part of the Weekend speaks to both these situations. I am so deeply thankful for the Emmanuel family. In our years in this fellowship, we've walked in some pretty incredible highs. Intense lows have also made their way into the equation of our life. What we are most deeply grateful for is the deep sense of commitment that we share within the family of Emmanuel. I am not sure that we would make it without this fellowship. I love that we are devoted to one another. Our devotion to one another is birthed out of our intense devotion to our God in prayer, study, needs being met, and simply experiencing the journey of life together, in Him. That is good, in the midst of good and bad.

So, I'm asking God to compel us to wrestle with Him. To actually see Him face to face and to live to tell about it... about Him... about His wonder.... about His grace... about His magnitude.... about His life... about His worth..... Him. When we see Him face to face, all else fades!

I love you guys!

By Grace... For Glory,

Mark