You're All I Have

March 30th, 2007
April 2nd, 2007
April 3rd, 2007

April 6th, 2007

“You’re All I Have”

Strain this chao$, turn it into Light.* I've got to see you one last night before the lion$ ** take their share, leave us in pieces, scattered everywhere. Just give me a chance to hold on. Give me a chance to hold on. Just give me something to hold onto. ***

It's so clear now that you are all that I have. I have no fear **** 'cuz you are all that I have.

You're cinematic razor sharp: a welcome arrow through the heart. Under your skin feels like home, electric shocks on aching bones. Give me a chance to hold on. Just give me something to hold onto.

It's so clear now that you are all that I have. I have no fear 'cuz you are all that I have.

There is a darkness deep in you… a frightening magic I cling to. ***** Give me a chance to hold on. Just give me something to hold onto.

It's so clear now that you are all that I have. I have no fear 'cuz you are all that I have.

* 1st John 2:8
** Daniel 6:16-23
*** John 8:31-32
**** 1st John 4:18
***** Ecclesiastes 4:12

I love you!

This is something my wife sent to me yesterday. I’m not sure that I am going to email this out to everyone on my distribution yet. I will make that decision as I go on. This is a song by Snow Patrol, by the way. The asterisks and scripture are, of course, by my wife. It’s kind of a little piece of home-work for me, I guess.

Time to dig…

1st John 2:8
Yet I am writing you a new command; its truth is seen in him and you, because the darkness is passing and the true light is already shining.

Strain this chao$, turn it into Light.*

My wife is telling me, encouraging me to be more like it, to be righteous with the finances. She knows this is something I desire. She knows it is God’s desire. Based on the last quiet time I sent out, she simply is building on something that I have expressed. Turn the mess into something good. The darkness is passing and the light is starting to shine through…

Daniel 6:16:23
So the king gave the order, and they brought Daniel and threw him into the lions' den. The king said to Daniel, "May your God, whom you serve continually, rescue you!"

A stone was brought and placed over the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the rings of his nobles, so that Daniel's situation might not be changed. Then the king returned to his palace and spent the night without eating and without any entertainment being brought to him. And he could not sleep.

At the first light of dawn, the king got up and hurried to the lions' den. When he came near the den, he called to Daniel in an anguished voice, "Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to rescue you from the lions?"

Daniel answered, "O king, live forever! My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight. Nor have I ever done any wrong before you, O king."

The king was overjoyed and gave orders to lift Daniel out of the den. And when Daniel was lifted from the den, no wound was found on him, because he had trusted in his God.

I've got to see you one last night before the lion$ **

“…because he had trusted in his God…” I love that statement. And yet it is so convicting to read and think about. It is getting a little more comfortable to wrap my mind around, though. I am working on trusting others, and my wife and I discussed about how God always trusts people. God ALWAYS trusts people. It is a fairly simple guess to say that a few of the 6 ½ plus billion people in this world let him down on a daily basis. Let’s say that there are people who always trust God. Let’s also say that there are some people who do not God at all. And there are some who trust God “some of the time”, so they make mistakes here-and-there. And being that the “not trusting God” people are going to let God down on a high scale, let’s say the average per person of “letting God down on the trusting level” is three per person per day. That would be 19 ½ billion times in just one day where people betray Gods trust. Multiply that by 365 and that would be how many times in a year. Just 19 ½ billion in one day is a huge number. And here is the kicker… God still HAS A HEART TO TRUST the next day. Irregardless of the garbage put in his way, he still trusts; me, my wife, you, he still trusts. And I have been hurt a few times and can’t get past it. God’s been hurt 19 ½ billion times in ONE DAY, and returns to trust the next. WOW!

John 8:31-32
To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."

Just give me a chance to hold on. Give me a chance to hold on. Just give me something to hold onto. ***

The key part here is “hold”. I have to “HOLD” to Christ’s teaching. It’s an action word. It is from the Greek work “men'-o” that means to stay, dwell, remain, and endure.

Hold (verb): menō

• To stay (in a given place, state, relation or expectancy): - abide, continue, dwell, endure, be present, remain, stand, tarry (for).
• To remain, abide
• In reference to place; not to depart, to be held, kept, continually
• In reference to time; to continue to be, not to perish, to last, endure, of persons, to survive, live
• In reference to state or condition; to remain as one, not to become another or different
• To wait for, await one

Hold (verb):

• To have and keep in one's grasp
• To keep from falling or moving; support
• To retain (one's attention or interest)
• To make accountable; obligate

I have to keep Christ’s teaching within my grasp. I have to retain it within my mind and make it an obligation so that it can hold me accountable. I have to keep from falling or moving from his teaching. I have to support his teaching.

And that’s just from the dictionary. And guess what? There’s plenty more definitions on hold in there. I just took but a mere few. But the Greek says that I should not depart from the teaching of Christ but be there continually. That’s a constant basis. I personally wouldn’t take the word “hold” as seriously when reading something, even in the Bible. I’m just being honest. But when I think about the phrase “do not depart” or even the scripture “pray continually”… those things sink in a bit deeper for me, and I take them very much seriously. The real point is: the Bible is serious. Every book is serious: every chapter, every verse, and even down to the word choice. When it gets down to translating it into English, maybe something gets a little lost, and that is why there is so much debate about it in today’s society. I really don’t know. I try not to get too caught up in it anymore. Idle arguments are the devil’s work, they say. Just agree to disagree and move on, has been the advice I was given. And it really helps me sleep at night instead of wondering what to say to a person who simply wants to argue and frustrate me. I fell off topic here – sorry about that. The Greek brings it back home. That is how it was written originally. And not much debate can be made about that. My wife wants me to give her a chance to hold on, I believe by me holding onto Christ’s word in a stronger and more dedicated way. And that is something that is just going to have to happen.

1st John 4:18
There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

It's so clear now that you are all that I have. I have no fear… ****

Fear (noun): fob'-os

• (To be put in fear); alarm or fright: (be afraid, exceedingly, fear, terror)
• Fear, dread, terror
• Reverence for one’s husband

It is interesting that fear is considered reverence for a wife towards her husband. That to me is strange. The reason I think it is strange is becuase to revere someone is to look at them with awe and devotion. Where does fear come into play with that?

Fear (noun):

• A distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, etc., whether the threat is real or imagined; the feeling or condition of being afraid.
• Concern or anxiety; solicitude.
• Reverential awe; Extreme reverence or awe, as toward a supreme power.
• A feeling of disquiet or apprehension.
• A reason for dread or apprehension.
• A feeling of profound respect for someone or something.

Looking at the fear definition from dictionary.com is really helpful when comparing it to the Greek definition. "A feeling of profound respect for someone" and "reverence to one's husband" and then I think about how I am to fear God. I'm also to love God. So, I'm supposed to love and fear God at the same time. The fear is a profound respect and awe toward God, not some kind of trembling and being afraid, not wanting to pray or go toward God. That would be conterproductive, and missing the point completely. The same goes with a wife fearing her husband. You want it to be a healthy fear, one that's of an awe and profound respect. And the husband is to present the wife as a shining beauty, radient in every way. Isn't that cool? Good scripture. My wife isn't afraid, but I believe she has the healthy fear...

Ecclesiastes 4:12 (New International Version)

• Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

There is a darkness deep in you… a frightening magic I cling to. *****

Ecclesiastes 4:12 (The Message)

• By yourself you're unprotected. With a friend you can face the worst. Can you round up a third? A three-stranded rope isn't easily snapped.

Ecclesiastes 4:12 (New Century Version)

• An enemy might defeat one person, but two people together can defend themselves; a rope that is woven of three strings is hard to break.

Ecclesiastes 4:12 (GOD's WORD Translation)

• Though one person may be overpowered by another, two people can resist one opponent. A triple-braided rope is not easily broken.

Now, if I am able to upload an art-piece I created, it will show a three strand colored piece of rope labeled God (Purple, a royal color), His (Blue) and Her (Red). The pieces are all inter-twined and work together to make the rope strong. Without God and woman, man is weak. Without God and man, the woman is weak. God has the Son and the Holy Spirit, so in a sense, he has three strands already with him, so it would be hard for me to say that he would be weak without a man or woman... it wouldn't make much sense to me. And he's already proven that he can wipe us out (IE: The Great Flood, plagues on Egypt). So the thing is, God is already committed to being apart of this rope. There's already one strand committed here. My wife is committed, that's two. And I'm committed, That's three. And a triple-braided rope is not easily broken. That's awesome!