Best laid plans

Well life is pretty odd. I had planned to continue my blogs on Tozer. However, I am compelled to blog about my recent realization of what freedom in Christ means to me as my church's study of Galatians winds down. Its about all I can think about when I sit in front of the laptop ready to blog. The law of Christ is all that applies now. As long as I am loving Him, and loving my fellow peeps, I am not bound by the law that bound me before I knew Christ. This is accomplished when I live in the Spirit. I live in the Spirit when I love God and love my fellow peeps. That is Christ's law. Its pretty much a black and white situation, but not as easily lived out. What that looks like to me personally still remains to be seen. All I do know is that I want to love my God with everything I have, and turn around and love my fellow peeps with everything I have. We had an interesting start to worship today. We got to the building and found that we had no power. It was cool to see and hear the worship team pray and prepare to lead worship in the dark if they had to. But God is light. And He turned them on literally minutes before we were to begin. And wow did he ever show up! Hands and hearts were lifted up in praise of our Lord Jesus Christ. So my response is to live with the purpose of loving my God with all my heart, mind,body,soul, and strength. Then to go further and love my neighbors as Christ loves me. In doing that I will then live by the Spirit, and be involved in the work of the Kingdom. Really exciting to see God move. I cannot wait to see what He has planned next!

In other news my church was given a new place to worship. By the grace of God we were able to obtain a new building with more room for our children, for growth that has been steady these past few months, and to use as a tool to continue our efforts to reach Fayetteville and beyond for Christ! I am indeed honored, and in awe of the privilege of being a part of it.

God is so good!

WD

Community of sorrow,Grace,love, and hope!

Well I had planned on continuing my Tozer blogs but life had other plans. From having a job offer resended, and having my wife laid off, but getting writing jobs from home so she can stay home and work, to me getting a new job, and then having tragedy strike our church family its been a tough month since I blogged last.

Saturday October 3rd a good friend, a leader at my church, an elder, a teacher along with his incredibly talented wife lost their youngest daughter in a accident. This week has seemed like it has lasted a month. I was shocked when I first got the news. I still am but to a lesser degree, Now its sorrow I mostly feel still.I love the Rays, they were one of the first families that supported me when I was our church's student pastor. Their oldest daughter Hope was a part of that fledgling ministry. In fact John and I had lunch one day and he told me how one of the reasons why they felt drawn to Grace church was the acceptance and love we showed Hope and their other children even if they were not old enough to be a part of GSM just yet. I will never forget that John. This family lives for others, period. John and Jane have been involved with YWAM for years upon years now. They have taught their daughters Hope,Hannah,Naomi, and the sweet dearly departed Olivia that to love God is to love Him, and to love others above yourself. And that is what the entire family has done since I have known them. I love the Rays, I hope to join them in Mexico to build houses. Olivia loved doing that. I hope to teach my children that same principles the Rays have taught their daughters. I love you Ray family!

The response to this horrific accident has been incredible to see. God has used folks from all over the world to shower John and Jane and the girls with love and support. Organizations like AAO, YWAM, and other organizations that the Rays have touched all ran to their sides to support them during this difficult time. I had the privilege of being chosen by a couple of our church elders to help. I am still blown away by all the love I have seen and still see. This will be a long process for the Rays to go through, their lives are forever altered, but they will rise, and they will get back to work serving Christ and furthering His Kingdom all over the world. I am inspired by the Ray family!

Finally, I just want to say that I have been changed by what I have seen, what I have heard, especially from John and Jane during this time of sadness. The call to action, the sincere unconditional love they express, it has been one of the if not the most inspiring times of my life. I pray that I too can love others like they do. I pray that my wife and I will teach our children how to love others like they love others, and to live like Olivia lived. Like she still does in the hearts of everyone that knew her. Folks that is how you leave a Christ centered legacy, live like Olivia lived.

If anyone who reads this wants to help folks in Mexico live in real homes. Then go to gorayfamily.com and find out how!

God Bless!

James Selvey

Wandering Disciple

I'm Back & God is for universal healthcare

First of all, sorry I have not been blogging for some time. I had to deal with some of life's bumps in the road, but feeling better so I am back. I will continue my Tozer blogs next week. I wanted to take this time to say that I believe God is in favor of universal health care. But not in its current form. As one goes through scripture you see examples of God's universal health care plan. So here is what I propose. Find these instances in Scripture and comment back to me regarding what you have found. Here is my first scriptural reference reagrding caring for the sick.

Titus 3:7-9 (New International Version)

⁷so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. ⁸This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone.

⁹But avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about the law, because these are unprofitable and useless.

Redemption

I will take a break from my Tozer blogs to address a hot button topic that has already stirred angry feelings from some folks. Micheal Vick signed with the Philadelphia Eagles yesterday. There have been tons of tweets,facebook comments, and blogs already written regarding Vick's return. And like most folks who love animals and football I have been draw to this story since day one.

Here is my two cents. I have been given many chances in my life. I have done some less than savory things in my life and have paid for them. I have sinned against my Lord. But he has forgiven me. He has forgiven me many times over. In Luke 6:37 Jesus is speaking to those who are following Him when He tells them,

"Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven."

Basic stuff, yet at times difficult to live out. This case is especially hard for me. I am an huge animal lover. I have three dogs, and two cats. And what Micheal Vick did to those dogs was obscene and repulsive to say the least. When I heard what he did my firs reaction was to have the same done to him. But then what Jesus told us struck me. So it was incumbent of me to forgive Mr. Vick. No eye for an eye. Its not easy, I can just imagine the crys of those precious dogs as Vick tortured them. I get physically upset when I think of how those dogs died. But I also get just as upset when I remember the torturous death Christ died because of His love for me. So, there you go. Makes one think doesn't it? May we forgive Mr. Vick, as Christ has forgiven us! And while I have your attention let me say this one last thing. If your thinking about getting a dog. Please visit your local animal shelter. Usually each city has one, or shares one with a bigger city. Animal Haven Rescue is a non kill animal shelter in Greenland they my wife and I adopted two wonderful dogs from. So give her a visit if your looking for a dog. I will return soon with chapter two from my Tozer reading.

Why we must think rightly about God

As promised here I am finishing chapter one of Tozer's "The Knowledge of the Holy." Here is what I gathered from the reading.
Our thoughts about God are the gravest thoughts we have as image bearers. God is the single highest conception. So with that being said. Tozer then asserts that if our thoughts of God are less than worthy of His nobility and majesty then we are idolaters. If our thoughts are dimmed and diminished then they are idolatrous thoughts. For His Holiness more than warrants our highest conception. And if our thoughts of God decline as individuals then they will decline as a church as well. And if we come to the conclusion that our lives have been spent in "foul revolt" against God then the Gospel lifts this unbearable burden from us. Tozer then suggests that if we as individuals and as a community seek out the purest and most noble concept of God, and we make this first place in all of our prayers and labors then we will indeed pass on the undimmed and undiminished concept of God to the next generation. This indeed is the church's heaviest obligation.
I have been challenged to rethink my concept of God. And a question comes to mind. Have I take Him for granted? I would have to answer yes. So join me in revisiting our concept of God. If nothing else other than to rekindle the awe of such an awesome presence in our lives that reaches to the very core of our existence. He is indeed worthy of all our praise. He is the single most important point to our lives. We exist only because He does. We draw breath only because He gives it to us. So before you pillow your head tonight take time to reflect on the majesty, the nobility of servanthood that is our King! He is Worthy!

The Knowledge of the Holy

Ok folks I pray all is well. A shout out to songbirdtiff(I love you) and to Radical Cleric (sup dawg). Anyway I am about to begin reading what I think is one of the most important books ever written. Well at least by this guy. By this guy I mean A.W. Tozer, and the book is called "The Knowledge of the Holy." Each chapter I read will be discussed on this blog. I will read chapter one tonight. The chapter is entitled "Why we must think rightly about God." The chapter is only 5 pages long so I will return shortly with a discussion on the first chapter. If you wish to follow along with me that we be cool. So lets go and see what Tozer has to say. Pray for me as read that God will use Tozer's words to give me a more in depth view of God.

Rants on Reform

Ok you have to be living under a rock, or in some remote cabin in the Serra Madre Mountain range to not know that there is a ranging debate over health care reform. There are ideas from the left and from the right o how to reform this health care mess we have now. I am not a big fan of either idea. Honestly, I have not heard much from the right other than they do not want the government to control their health care. Especially when the government is dominated by the left right now. And of course the left wants to have universal health care for everyone. I believe both parties are missing the core issue here. And that is greed. Greedy pharmaceutical companies that jack up the price of drugs. Outrageous cost at the hospital. And the sky high costs of benefits.All stem from greed. "Greed is good". Gordon Gecko (Wal Street) says that to a group of potential investors. Competition is good, not greed. Competition drives better services, lower costs, and more variety.If the government takes control of health care some say that we will have more choices. Other folks say that we will have no choice in health care. That is where i think true health care reform begins. It begins wit competition and allowing folks to choose what they want. If we are all realistic about this we know that the health care industry is a business in business to make money, period. So why not let the strong weed out the weak in this industry. I know this is not our current Presidents mindset because we see bail outs all over the place.Now that being said, I do thing the government should have some oversight when it comes to the health care industry. But no more government control. That is the key. The government sees that if they can control health care then they can control costs. This will never happen because of the very nature of our democracy. This administration sees universal health care as an opportunity to provide health care for every citizen. Hand outs are not the answer. People work that get paid, folks contribute they get rewarded. Now, I understand there is a small number of our population cannot work. For them exceptions need to be made. However, I am not a fan of using my tax dollars giving health benefits to folks that just don't want to work.I am all about helping the poor, and the needy. But it takes the heart out of the idea if my government makes me do it. Christ does not force us to do a flipping thing. And I believe this is because if our hearts are involved then we really care about what we are dealing with. So by not allowing the health industry to compete within itself, and by forcing the tax payer to care for those in need by raising their taxes we effectively take God out of the equation. Not a good idea. For me I want Christ at the center of everything I do or say. I wish our government would so the same. Maybe things would really change, maybe not.

Infiltrate,destroy, and rebuild (maybe)

One of the coolest blog titles ever I must say. Anyway, when I think change is one of the most difficult experiences that one goes through. So with that being said when change begins its exciting and a little scary all at the same time. Its like taking the stage for the first time. You are psyched beyond expression, but at the same time your scared your going to miss a cue, or forget a song. Change can also be as difficult as climbing Everest. Now I have never climbed anything that big, but I am a documentary nut an have seen several on teams that climbed Everest and made it and some have not. Change can also be rewarding. Like when you finish a show and he crowd is going crazy, or when you return from climbing Everest and tell your story. All this to say is that in my life right now I have experienced lot of change in a short time. And there is more on the way. All can say is that I know if I was not in tune with Christ I would be a mess right now. Some may argue that I am already. But it could be worse I guess. But here is the big deal. The reality is that we are in constant state of change. We are a work that Christ is always working on not perfected now but later so until that time its an evolutionary process that is sometimes scary,exciting,difficult, and it happens all at once. So what keeps us from going completely insane during this process? Christ, He gives us a gift or two to use for His glory and for the Kingdom. All the while He is making these changes within us. Some we notice, some we don't. But He is always working on us. And I believe that is a good thing in fact a great thing. I do not want to be the same person I was a year a go, a month ago, or even a week ago. I want to be constantly learning, evolving, becoming more like Christ daily. While this is taking place you will see the good, the bad, and the ugly within me. But trust me, in the end it will be worth it when he welcomes me with a hug and a "atta boy" from my Father. So allow infiltration,allow Christ to destroy the old you, and allow Him to rebuild you in all the ways that make you more like Him, and finally let Him toss away the characteristics that you used to have that do not please Him. Now enjoy the ride.

Moving on Up

Hey followers, wait that makes me sound like Jesus. Let me try that again. Hey friends! Well here are t minus 3 days and counting. We cannot wait to be in our new digs. We have begun to move boxes and small furniture into the house. These are exciting times. We are moving into a new house I could have a new job (promotion or new all together) soon, and we can see the finish line with our adoption process. The new job is going to actually allow me to take care of my family financially. In my current position I simply do not make enough money to support us. But God is always good and He has provided and kept us a float for some time now. I cannot begin to describe to you how much I rely on Him, and your prayers. As we near the end of the summer I get excited. I am juiced because I will begin a new chapter in my ministry. I will begin to work with a wonderful team of folks that work with our children at Grace. GKM is what its called and I am looking forward to it. Children are so dear to our Creator. In fact it in Matthew's account, Mark's account, and Luke's account of the life and ministry of Jesus. He even uses the faith like children have to illustrate to us how our faith should look like. Complete reliance on Christ. That is how I wish to live always. It is because He wills it so that I draw breath. So I rely on Him to get me through. I love Jesus, ad I love you guys! Talk to you soon. One last thing I have beg to write again so there may be a book by this time next year I will keep you posted! Shalom!

My own prison

Hey folks, its been a while since I visited my blog much less posted anything new. My apologies. Anyway, those of you who now me best now I am stubborn, thick headed, and sometimes arrogant. All this to say that being so has created in me a prison. I have a difficult time letting go of my environment. I need to be in charge of it to know its done right. None of these qualities work well for someone who is following Jesus. Its as if I am in a cell and Jesus is outside with the key and I will not allow him to unlock my cell. Crazy huh? So now what? I have realized that living this way is slowly driving me to madness. It is also driving my lovely wife crazy as well. So, now I am at a crossroads. I see the way I should go I allowing Christ to unlock the cell. The way I have gone before in staying in my cell and controlling my environment. My choice should be obvious. One would think. I am beginning to see how allowing Christ to unlock my cell will be liberating not just for me but also for my incredible wife, and soon to be family.So, its your prayers that I will covet as I continue to go through the process of letting go and allowing Jesus to truly be Lord of my life. Truly Lord.

I war within myself, who wins?

Yea folks I am feeling a bit introspective, and weird. Warning I have been listening to REM (early years) and a bit of Damien Rice. So I am a man who likes the idea of fighting for my country, and yet also like the idea of living in peace. On one hand I love the responsibility of military service. Yet I also love the responsibility of living a life of peace. On one hand I love my short buzzed haircut. On the other hand I want to grow my hair back out and leave it there. I see who I want to be in little tidbits of other people. The trick is finding out how to add all of those ingredients to become who I want to be. Then again, does it matter if I am who I want to be. Should I just be okay with who God wants me to be? If so then great. Who is that? I do not care so much about what I do for a living as long as I can support my family, and get all of my debt paid off. And then on the other hand I would love to roll six figures. So what the heck am I to do with this mess? My poor wife has had to deal with this struggle as well. I only want to take care of her and our impending family. So there it is. Anyone got any ideas?

My will is dead! Hallelujah!!!

Well here it is, lent. We stop and think about what Jesus the Christ went through during this time of temptation. Being fully God and fully man, what a twisted time of joy and pain it must have been for Him. The pain of being tempted. And the joy of knowing that you are your Father's Son. I have been going through a period of temptation myself. In the past I had success in pushing the issue. You know? Practically willing what I wanted. I had that success with work, school, and even a girl or two now and then. (Don't worry I was a gentleman!) I have been tempted to go about business as usual and try to force God into allowing me to stay in full time ministry. I feel as if now as this moment I am in the process of giving up my spirit. Now I gave Christ my life and there fore my spirit as well over 20 years ago. However, in a struggle to force my way again I feel as if I tried to taker control again and again only to continue to fail miserably. But I kept at it. Thinking that I would win out eventually.But here I am dying. But this is a good death. No I am not going out in a blaze of glory, or in the heat of battle like I would have liked. And its not a physical death or else you would be freaked out about now!! Yikes! No its a death of my will. My way, and my will are about to breath their last breath. But this is a good thing. I have been married to my incredibly beautiful and talented wife songbirdtiff for over 8 years now. I have tried to push her as well. First with military service, which she supported pre-9/11. and then with finishing my studies at John Brown University. Neither happened. Not from a lack of trying. Until just recently I began to give these up. But instead of giving them up for lent only, I have given them up for good. Yea I still dream of military service. My big brother is in the Army at Ft. Lewis Washington. Yes if given the opportunity I would return to JBU. But I realized I will never wear the uniform of my beloved country. Nor will I finish school at JBU, although I might get to finish at the U of A. (tons cheaper!!) But that's ok! I realized that my Father has other plans or just does not wish for me to go there and do that. And as for ministry? I have concede to merely do the will of the One who saved me, and then chose me to minister. Wherever He needs me I will go. And right now its looks like a small discipleship role in my church,which suits me just fine.So..... my will is dying. But its a good death!

The Cost of Being Free

I find myself getting more from what I read in God's Word. I guess all of these years of reading are finally paying off. I also have been challenged by a dear friend of mine to read some books that have totally turned me inside out. And now we are about to begin a reading plan with the Bible to get us all over the book in a year's time. I am currently reading a book called "The Blue Parakeet" by Scot McKnight. And as a church my church is going through the book of John. The "Parakeet" is a book that challenges the way we read the Bible. I highly recommend it, but be warned it will change how you look at the Word for the better! Anyway, I have been pondering my faith lately and have realized that along the way, as we follow Christ we pay dearly for it. Some more than others, but its not a contest or a competition either. Some folks have paid with their very lives. Some folks have been uprooted by God and taken to the mountains of Honduras, and Tibet. We do pay a cost. We endure persecution in some avenues. Others we face hard choices to go against the status quo. Nonetheless we paid it. Now I know I am not alone on this one (testify with your comments) but I am more than happy to pay it. I feel God's pleasure with me when I do what the Spirit of Truth tells me to do. Man does that feel good! But we pay for it. What? God's grace is free man you have lost it! No, that's not what I am writing about. I am writing about how we take a Saturday off and give it back by helping those in need. Its taking time away from out families to spend time with families in Honduras, or Mexico. I have been involved in ministry for over, well this year will be 20 years. I sit now and take inventory of what it has cost me. I have missed many days from my wife in other countries with a bunch of crazy teenagers. I have spent weeks on the road playing music, long hours of driving, setting up, then playing my butt off for 45 minutes to two hours in front of hundreds to thousands of people, then signing autographs, etc. Now I know what your thinking. Geeze James you have had it so hard. Poor baby. I am saying this because others have died while I have played rock n roll music. Others have spent time in prison while I got to spend time praying in the glorious city of New York. I can do more. I will do more. But not in volume, but is substance. I am currently discipling a young man who is messed up to put it bluntly. It is the hardest thing I have ever done in the almost 20 years of ministry I have been involved in. He is difficult, frustrating, among other things. I pray so hard for him, and it seems as if he is not interested in giving it his best effort, but I will not give up, I can't. But I consider it a blessing to pay the cost of being free. We are free so we must pay for it. Get it? In closing during my days at JBU I took a class called Discipleship and Evangelism or D&E to those fellow JBU'ers. Dr. Robbie Castlemen taught the class. She is brilliant in every sense of the word. Which could also be said for 99.9 of the professors at JBU. But I digress. We read a book called "The Cost of Discipleship" by Dietrich Bonhoeffer. A deep read to say the least. I recommend this one as well. But prepare yourself you will hear terms like "cheap grace" and execution. Bonhoeffer was a priest in Germany during the heyday of Nazi Germany. His church was raided by the SS. They told him to stop preaching or else. He refused. They left but came back a time later arrested him, and stripped him naked, and hung him in the town square. Cheap Grace? The cost of being free? What is it to you?

Desperately Wanting (Better than Ezra)

That title is a tribute to my incredible wife's incredible blogs.

Well I here I am iced in, with lots of time to think. That can be dangerous, but always good to do. I sit here and wonder, what the heck am I going to do with the rest of my life? I am 38. I have been active in ministry for over 18 years, but only part of that was as a student pastor which allowed me to do just that and not work somewhere else. I am actually ok with the idea of being a bi-vocational pastor. Not my preference but tolerable none the less. Since I resigned my position as student pastor at my church back in 2004 I have been in a state of limbo. I feel lost most times because I am not actively involved in ministry. However, I am involved with my church's student ministry but as a leader I feel like I am not leading, I am only showing up. Being a leader I have to lead in order to feel useful, like I am doing what I am supposed to be doing. Right now, I feel useless. I feel like I am sucking the life out of the church instead of being one of the leaders of it. I think that is why I have been so wishy-washy lately.So here and there instead of grounded in something. I have great friends that are grounded and doing what they have been doing for sometime and they seem happy. Right now I am not. I get a smile on my face when I think about going to my office for a minute then heading out to visit with people in my church who need me to pray for them, going to mission team meetings, studying the Word for a sermon I will be giving later that week, and having lunch with a couple of folks who are interested in coming to our church. I am not looking to be wealthy by the world's standards. Not at all. I just long for that kind of life because it is who God made me to be. So, how do I handle this? I dunno right now. I just pray daily that God will be glorified by what I do that day. I also pray that God will show me where to go and what to do. I desperately want to know!

History

I love this country. I cannot express that enough. My love for my Lord Jesus, and my love for my wife are the only loves that best my love for the USA. I am still in awe of this historic day. Its not only a realization of a dream (MLK), but also redemption for a people who have suffered at the hands of ignorance, hate,violence, and bigotry. As I grew up in Hobbs New Mexico my parents always taught me that its not what a man looks like that tells of his character, but what he does. As Barack Obama becomes our next President I shed a tear, not of sadness, but of joy, of pride, I thought of MLK and thought of my Oral Comm. class as a freshman in college hearing that speech and getting choked up at what I hoped could be but thought never would. And here we are, January 20th 2009, and I am thankful that I was able to witness it. I watched in inauguration with a dear friend of mine Scott who along with me voted for Obama. He and I were all smiles, emotional, and laughter. Now, I will not join in the chorus of the ignorant and juvenile by cheering the exit of G.W. Bush. Yes, he made some big mistakes, yes overall most will see his Presidency as a failure, but I say that is not completely true. I can't because that would be false. He kept us safe from terrorist attack after the worst attack in human history on 9/11, he worked hard to get immigration reform passed, and he led advances in veteran aid. I will not abide such ignorance, ever. I am also impressed with Obama's efforts to reach across the isle and consult McCain on issues like cabinet appointees, and getting advice on ideas that he has. That is a great example of how we should be as citizens of the most blessed country in the world. We often forget the two greatest commandments when we begin to discuss politics. How sad is that? We are to love the Lord our God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and spirit, and then we are to love ourselves likewise. We should be living this daily! So why aren't we? Pride! And in politics it is partisan pride. We are to be the exception and the example, not the lemming, or the poor example. I am ashamed of those fellow followers of Christ that bashed Obama for no better reason than that he was a Democrat. Fellow apprentices of Jesus lets unite behind this historic President and truly love one another. Republican loving Democrat, Christian loving Muslim, Red Sox loving Yankees (will be tough), and all of becoming color blind without becoming culture blind. It can be done, and folks we are witnesses to it, and that's great! But now lets be a part of it. Lets reform the church to where Jesus, a long haired rebel who told the establishment to shove it, did not just love the lovable, but also loved the unlovable will be seen as the man that He is the King of Glory, the lover or our souls, our savior, Jesus Christ!

P.S. I think that W showed great class today when he said, "This is a great day for our country." Thanks W for good you did do, and I forgive you for the bad. Enjoy a rest! God Bless!