I Corinthians 3:18 says, “Stop deceiving yourselves. If you think you are wise by this world’s standards, you need to become a fool to be truly wise.” Most of us are self-convinced that we have it all together, and most of us are doing a fairly good job at convincing everyone else that we have it all together. We make decisions based on our own intelligence or ingenuity, and spend countless hours and endless resources constructing castles of sand unto our own names. All the while, our families are degrading, our integrity is sacrifices, and our sanity is threatened. Why? Because we are convince that we have become wise by this world’s standard. I suggest that we become fools-that we set aside our arrogance and self-sufficiency and rely on the power of God, the call of God, and the pursuit of God to pervade our minds and hearts. I suggest that we “foolishly” fall so head-over-heels in love with the sovereign God of the Universe that the only conceivable option is to “foolishly” chase Him relentlessly in anxious anticipation of where the chase will carry us.
November 25, 2008
Why becoming fools?
Posted by Matt Brooks under Fools, Wisdom | Tags: foolish, Fools, pursuit, Wisdom |Leave a Comment
March 11, 2009
Today, I received a couple more bits of bad news. My great-grandmother passed away today at the age of 94. She has lived a long, good life and hasn’t been herself the last year or so. I really didn’t know her well or spend a lot of time with her, but she is the source of a very funny story I’ll probably tell in a couple of Sundays. Please pray for my Grandmother and her siblings in particular.
Also today, I received terrible news from a very good friend of mine. Grant Cockrell was one of my closest friends growing up. He was a couple of years older than me but proved to be a very good friend. Even to this day, we try to talk as frequently as possible. His walk with the Lord encourages me every time I talk to him. He came by the visitation prior to my grandmother’s funeral Saturday and asked me to pray for his dad, Gary. Doctors had found a tumor in his pancreas and were concerned it may be serious. They found out Monday that Gary has stage 4 pancreatic cancer and several tumors in his liver. If this weren’t bad enough I should tell you that Gary’s daughter, Allison (who was my age), died tragically in a car accident a few years ago. Gary has been told that he has from 6 weeks to 6 months to live. Gary has been very influential in my life. He was the minster of music at the church I grew up in and more importantly invested in me greatly. I am asking you pray for him and his family. I know that God pursues His own glory, and so I am trusting that He will make his glory know through even this situation. Please pray for his wife, Linda who has had to endure more than I can imagine. I believe God can heal Gary. If He chooses to, I’ll worship Him. If he chooses to reveal His glory another way, I’ll still worship Him. Thanks for praying.
March 5, 2009
I am sitting on the deck of the Lake Guntersville State Park Lodge looking out across Lake Guntersville. Unbelievably, six eagles just flew within 25 yards of where I’m sitting. It is amazing how creative God is. He paints landscapes that are spectacular, and wows us with opportunities to see a glimpse of His grandeur. As I sit here I am somewhat overwhelmed with a wide range of emotions. Earlier today, my grandmother passed away. She hasn’t been sick for very long and she didn’t suffer long. Many of you may remember when my grandfather passed away about a year ago. Since then, she has missed him very much. I hope more than anything today that it was my grandad who got to take her to see Jesus. I like to think that he was waiting for her with the same excitement that he use to have when I would hit a homerun or graduated from college. I am so happy that it is hard for me to grieve today. As I type this, tears roll down my face, but they are different tears. Tears that are grateful that she knew Jesus and all is well. Tears that are saturated with memories of a life well lived. Tears that represent the loss of someone who cheered for me when there wasn’t much to cheer for. Today, I realize more than ever how much I will miss my Nanny, and how happy I am that she is reunited with my Granddaddy, but more significantly reunited face to face with my Savior.
I ask to pray for my family and pray for me as I prepare to speak at her funeral. At my Granddady’s funeral, a person gave their life to Christ. I’ve asked God to use my grandmother’s funeral to draw an audience to hear His message of hope. Pray for the people that will hear that message. Thank you for your prayers.
February 15, 2009
January 30, 2009
Selfishness
Posted by Matt Brooks under fasting, selfishness | Tags: Bible, fasting, God, hunting, selfishness |Leave a Comment
This week I have learned much about myself. I am suppose to get up 30 minutes early and spend time in God’s word. The first 2 weeks weren’t that bad. However this week has been terrible. I have felt tireder than normal, and have managed to oversleep almost every morning. However, something far more interesting happened. I realized that I, too, am a very selfish person. I tend to think of selfishness as wanting my way or refuseing to think of others. But this week I realized that selfishness can be as simple as choosing sleep over time spent with God. I can justify it all I want. I was tired, didn’t sleep well, or whatever other lame excuse I want to come up with. The truth is I strugled to get up at 5:00 to read my Bible, but jumped up out of bed twice this week at 3:30 to go hunting. Selfish. Turns out we really do what we want to do. i am asking God to make Him and His word the most precious thing in my life, that glorifying and treauring Him would be what I want to do.
Later,
Matt
January 14, 2009
Early morning Psalms
Posted by Matt Brooks under fasting | Tags: fast, fasting, poor, Psalm, psalm41, psalms |1 Comment
Sorry I missed you yesterday. I did get up and read Psalms 21-35 and really enjoyed them. However, we had an incredibly busy day at the church and I forgot to blog. I am going to attempt to blog in the morning when I finish reading and meditating. Here’s what that probably means. Since I’ll be doing this before 6:00 in the morning, and I am not a morning person, this blog will likely be boring and uninsightful. The three of you who read it are probably thinking, “what will be different?”. So here goes.
I found myself drawn to Psalm 41 this morning. It is the last Psalm in the first Book of the book of Psalms. Psalms is divived up into 5 books, kind of like hymm books. Psalm 41 is the last one in the first book. That’s not necessarily significant except that that’s where I decide to stop reading this morning. I did notice something cool there. Verse 1 says, “Blessed is he who considers the poor.” “Blessed” here is often translated “happy” or “encouraged.” David tells us that happiness is experienced when we consider the poor. Why? Let’s analyze. Who are the poor? Certainly they are the oppressed, the homeless, the poverty-stricken, and the and the afflicted. The could also be the lost, the captive, the addicted, and the heart-broken. Essentially, “poor” was a hebrew word that meant afflicted, needy, lowly, humble, or low in status. For the most part, it is those the rest of the world easily forgets. David says when we consider them, we find happiness. What does it mean to “consider.” It means more than giv a passing look or fleeting thought. It means to gaze upon with intent. To give a hand or lend concern. Here’s the irony. David was a king. He was in no way low in status. Yet, he reminds us that happiness isn’t found in wealth, prosperity, or position, but in doing the things that please God.
I suppose I was drawn to these verse because “considering the poor” doesn’t come naturally for me. I usually see them as someone who is reaping the results of poor desisions they made or addictions they fell captive to. In reality, it doesn’t matter. Jesus, the King, came to preach good news to the poor, so must we.
A few of us got together Monday morning to take coffee to some of the poor of our community. About 300 people had gathered at the state employment office in hopes of finding a job. Nearly a hundred of them had slept on the sidewalk the night before trying to secure a spot at the front of the line. They were cold, hungry, and afflicted. It was good for my spirit to serve them coffee. I gave one my favorite coat. He said he would bring it back to me. He hasn’t. I miss my coat. It reminds me that there are people who need my coat worse than I do. I need to consider the poor.
January 12, 2009
The Fast Begins
Posted by Matt Brooks under Uncategorized | Tags: fast, fasting, psalms |[6] Comments
Today, lifepoint begins our 40 day fast. Now before you get all spiritual and remind me that no one should know when you fast, let me explain. When Jesus was tempted in the wilderness, He responded 3 times using scripture to resist the enemy’s attack. The story also tells us that the temptations were preceded by Jesus fasting. Interesting. God’s word enables us to resist temptation, yet it tends to sit on our coffee tables collecting dust. So here’s the challenge. Fast from something time consuming for the next 40 days to free up time to get to know the Word of God and fall in love with the person of God. For me, it’s sleep. I have committed to getting up at least 30 minutes sooner to spend time reading through the Psalms.
This morning I read the first 20 Psalms, and it was incredible. Here are some of the highlights.
Psalm 1:1-4 teaches us that prosperity comes to those who delight in His word.
Psalm 8 reminds me of the biggness of God and His mindfulness of me.
Psalm 15 teaches me who can abide in God’s Tabernacle.
Psalm 18 says that God will make my feet life deer’s feet and set me on my high places.
He is worthy to be praised.
December 5, 2008
Merry Holidays Greetings
Posted by Matt Brooks under Christmas | Tags: Christmas, happy hollidays, merry, seasons greetings |Leave a Comment
It’s been a few days since I last blogged. There really hasn’t been a lot going on that has been interesting enough to blog about. I am still enjoying my sabbatical, but I am also looking forward to getting back in the office. I know Q, Rags, and Nick have done a great job. the really are the backbone of what goes on at LifePoint. It has been good to back away from the trees and take a look at the forest. LifePoint is a great place. God has done a great work there. It really is an incredible blessing to be the pastor there. Thre is still much work to be done, and I am excited about where we are heading. God has already revealed agreat deal to me, and I am looking forward to implementing it.
On a more fun note, Merry Christmas. Not Happy Holidays, or Season’s Greetings. Merry Christmas. I love this time of year. May the stress and frustration that surrounds the commercialization of Christmas fade into silence so that you can enjoy the season. I’ll try to blog more about my thoughts on Christmas in the coming days.
Later.
November 30, 2008
ROLL TIDE!!!!!!!
Posted by Matt Brooks under Alabama Football | Tags: Alabama, football, Iron Bowl, Roll Tide |Leave a Comment
What a great Day! Alabama ends Auburn’s streak of wins in the Iron Bowl and Alabama posts a perfect record during the regular season. Now I already know what you Auburn fans are prepared to say. You’re going to remind us that you won 6 in a row before we managed to win one. You’re right. It has been a long 6 years, but it is definitely worth the wait. We are ranked #1, will be playing in the SEC Championship Game next Saturday (I’m one of the crazy fans who really believe we have a chance against Florida), headed to a BCS Bowl game, and might possible sneak into the National Championship game. Not bad for a team who barely made it into the preseason top 25. Roll Tide.
November 26, 2008
Turkey Day is almost here
Posted by Matt Brooks under family, thanksgiving | Tags: boston butt, ham, smoke, thankful, thankfulness, thanksgiving, turkey |Leave a Comment
Today I realized that Thanksgiving is approaching faster than I really need it to. This year we have invited our entire family to join us at the church for Thanksgiving. That’s not really where the stress comes in. I volunteered to cook the turkey and ham. This would normally not be any problem. I recently finished building a smoker and direct heat grill mounted on a trailer that is more than capable of handling what I need it to cook. However, the turkey hasn’t thawed yet, and I found out today that it’s going to take around 7-10 hours for it to cook. I really want it to be hot off the smoker Thursday, so I am going to stay up Wednesday night cooking it-that is if it thaws by then. I’m going to also cook a ham with an incredible molasses and brown sugar glaze and a boston butt that will make even the most finicky of eaters proud.
I really love Thanksgiving. I just think it’s sad that we have to give a name to a holiday that embodies the attitude we should all have perpetually. I don’t think I’ll spend time thinking about what I’m thankful for Thursday. I think I’ll try to think about what it would require for me to develop an attitude of constant thankfulness.
Later
