Worthy

When I’m down and out
You show me its all about
Me, just being stuck in my head
When I should be putting
Your will first instead.

Taking the bread,
Which is Your body,
And drinking the wine,
Which is Your blood,
You wash over and thru me,
Like a flood of grace.

I kiss Your holy face,
And place my fingers on your scars.
That freed me from the bars,
I was locked behind in sin.

When I don’t look for your ways.
Heals over head I tumble.
When my eyes lose focus of what matters,
It’s so easy for me to stumble,
And my old ways show.

But you’re so beautiful to know,
When my eyes fall upon you.
So loving, so worthy, and true
It’s all I can do,
I surrender.

Can’t fathom to part,
From the new life you’ve brought me,
For all I have, you’ve given,
Sacrifice secured my eternity.
With Thee,
Forever.

Chad Phillippi

Lets Talk

Psalm 39:7, And so, Lord, where do I put my hope? My only hope is in you.

NPR was once preset one of six on the in-dash stereo console in my car.  I knew what congress should vote on and how the American people should sway in order to reach the end goal I thought best.  I could talk about anything political to the point in which my friends would concede their points, due to agitation or just lack of caring.  Opinions were my side arms in the manifested duels  of conversation.  Points to be made were my greatest forte and current affairs were the means of self importance through the power of my hand picked knowledge.   I longed for revolution.  Yet, every revolution caries with it the seed of its own destruction.  What is the point of buying stock in a world that will not last?

Looking back, I could have had  better conversation with my friends.  Even during moments we enjoyed beers together on  refurbished Victorian porches, we could have discussed what really mattered.  Yappin about the Yankees would have been better time spent than trying to convey my opinion about how I thought the world should look.

AM radio is filled with men who enjoy imposing their opinions about a world they pretend they can shape or control.  Cable TV is loaded with hourly programming  of opinion and judgment of the elected men and women who stand to be the voice of the people.  There is one thing I have come to know:  Opinions are like lips, everyone has them but not everyone knows how to use them.  In my opinion, opinions get people no where.  Only love can drive a stake in the hearts of men that will leave a lasting impression.  It’s when we truly stop and listen to the ones who faces us that we create a rapport and build a lasting connection of change.

The bottom line is this: people don’t need opinions, they need love, relationship, and connection.  Love can walk on water and the truth will set us free.  His is love and His is the truth.  We cannot allow the opinions of this world decide or dictate who we are.  Only He can do that.  Everything else is just conversation.

James 1:27, Religion that God our father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

Bread Crumbs of Blood

Do I prick my own finger,
To show this world I can feel?
Or should I take my own life,
In order to prove You are real?

Do I swallow my pride,
Stop trying to hide?
Or should I grip the hand,
That reaches out to hold me?

As I pack my bags,
Should I see what I can be?
Be guided by my own hand,
Let fear follow me?

This journey of life,
Can only go one of two ways,
The road I pave,
Or follow Your light that saves.

It still feels easier to create,
Than it does to believe,
I let the dead skin of pride,
Fall like leaves of a tree.

In the heart of Fall,
But through it all,
I still struggle,
Beating my head to the wall.

If I can understand,
Just a fraction,
Of your will,
I can feel out Your way.

Allowing Your guiding.
And stop fighting,
When I’m abiding by Your laws.
And working for Your cause.

With my carried pack of pain,
And personal consequence,
I long for home and redemption.
But through this tension,
I can sense,
What stands between us is my own.

Guided by your map,
And bread crumbs of blood,
I let go to the flood,
And return to your forgiving arms forever.
Amen

Chad Phillippi

What If He Didn’t Make Time For You?

Psalm 121:8, The LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.

Imagine if God forgot to raise the sun one morning.  Out playing golf or just too much on His plate, He forgets to pencil us little people in.  What if God didn’t make time to water our crops?  Picture a world with unpredictable climates all over the globe.  No oranges in Florida, pineapples in Hawaii, or vineyards in France.  A scary image for me is one of God deciding to turn His love and attention to something else.  He already knows how this will all end, right?  What if He one day decided to start a new venture?  Blessed are we to have been created by a God of love, patience, and understanding.

Over the past week I’ve been so ill that it’s been really hard for me to set aside time to talk with God.  Somewhere between consciousness and a Theraflu coma, I would pray to Him.  The prayers were pretty one sided though, I have to admit.  I would ask the Lord to reduce my fever or take the golf ball sized lump from my throat, but I never actually laid still and listened.  One would imagine, being such a captive audience, that it would have been the ideal opportunity for me to commune with the Creator.  But, I was obviously feeling pretty selfish in my misery, because I slept as much as humanly possible.

So, when I rise from bed tomorrow morning, I will rise with the Son.  May the Word I read fertilize and seed His crop which grows within my soul.  With my love and attention focused on Jesus, I will hold space with Him until I am asleep again.  And I will do it all for Him.

Thank you God for making time for me, Amen.

Psalm 91:1, He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.

Is HE In You?

Shimmering dense dew drops catch mornings first light.  A ghost like fog tries to hold on to night, losing its grip on the air around you.  The green grass below your feet and high trees at your back penetrate your nostrils as you breathe hard to ready yourself and give pace to your rapidly beating heart.  The calm before the storm is interrupted by a soaring eagle calling to the heavens like a gun shot to start a race.  It’s high pitched wails offer warning for what lies ahead and validity that you are not dreaming.  Clouds part, giving way to the eagles massive wing span and the blue skies above her.  A beaded orange ray of sunlight dances through the humidity left hanging in the still air.  Misty morning mountain tops surrounding the valley echo the eagles calls, rolling down the range side until its wave becomes a thunder of applause that invades your rhythm of breath.  Perspiration gave way to sweat long ago.  The time is now…

You’re on the battlefield of life and the calm has past.  In the eye of the storm, do you have a rock in which to hold onto?  Dig deep to where truth speaks to your soul, deep within your heart.  Your heart of hearts that is a temple which stands to house, hold, and give honor to the Lord our God.  Is HE in you?

Romans 8:1, The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as he raised Christ from the dead, he will give life to your mortal body by this same Spirit living within you.

THE Book Club Pick of a Lifetime

Isaiah 30:21, Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.’”

There was a time when self-help books filled my backpack where ever I went.  Even though most of them are still on my bookshelf, I spend more time reading the living word of God these days.  After turning away from Oprah’s guiding hand and turning to Jesus instead, I know that a lot more growth can take place with prayer and spending time with the Creator.  Most people I know read all the newest trend picks for how to tap into who you’re suppose to be, what your life’s purpose is really about, and how to truly be happy.  You could build a city with all the trees used to publish the flood of new age pop culture guides to a better you and a better life.  How many of these books does one person need to read before they unlock the key to all their promises?  How many hundreds upon thousands of dollars do people need to spend on soul affirming literature until they are fulfilled?  For me, I got tired of lugging around the endless book club selection of the month looking for that one thing that could finally deliver salvation.

There is one self help book that lives up to its Word.  One single piece of literature that stands the test of time; the Holy Bible is still the number one best seller.  I don’t think the Gideons are the only ones buying either.  If you keep turning to day time T.V. personalities for guidance and meaning, I urge you to pick up the Good Book and tap into who you’re suppose to be, discover what your life’s purpose is really about, and unlock how to truly be happy.

Romans 12:12, Rejoice in your confident hope, be patient in trouble, and keep on praying.

Free to Love

Galatians 5:1, It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to the yoke of slavery.

Rebellion ran through me battling the drugs and alcohol for space within my veins, about the time I hit high school.  When I was 15, I just wanted to be 16.  Then, when I finally turned 16, I could barely wait for 18.  Even at 18 years old, I longed to turn 21.  I honestly thought more freedom would come with every passing mild-stone.  Freedom from what though, I ask now.  The more I distanced myself from church, family, and even my friends, the more independence I thought I could manifest.  In the end, my “freedoms” actually owned me.  Giving into a life of free will, I caused myself pain over and over again.  Trapped in bondage, I was a slave to my sin.  Freedom is not something one can cultivate on their own; only by surrendering to Christ can you truly be set free.  My rebellion and failures help me to see this, only now that He has freed me from my own chains.

As I ponder Adam and Eve eating the forbidden fruit, I wonder if we are rebellious by nature.  Reading the Gospels tell of Jesus shaking things up, I smile to think we are created in His image.  My rebellion led me down a dangerous road though.  Hind-sight shows me that my free will did not set me free, it actually imprisoned me.  By surrendering my will to God I am free to love, I’m free to forgive, I’m free to honor and to respect.  Through love and grace I am boundless and without limits.

I’m starting a new rebellion, or joining one, I should say.  I’m rebelling against the things of this world that bind me to it.  With Christ as my safety net, I take a leap of faith off the rope of independence I once tried to balance upon.   His will in me leads me to a new form of autonomy in which I am never alone, trapped in sorrow, bound by hate, or lost in fear.

Galatians 5:13, For you have been called to live in freedom— not freedom to satisfy your sinful nature, but freedom to serve one another in love.