The Dragon

I am so proud of my nephew Brennan! (as well as Katy and Kirsten, and all the kids who can sit through a Billy Hires sermon for that matter). Sometimes, I let the enemy get into my mind and tell me about all of the poor children that have to sit and suffer the sermon at church on Sunday. The Lord encouraged me as I looked over at Brennan yesterday, and saw him drawing this beautiful picture! We were studying Revelation 12 today. See if you can tell which verse(s) Brennan was drawing about!
I am so encouraged to see the kids getting this stuff!

Still a filthy rag,

Steve

Katy plays her first G!

Katy Beth, my amazing oldest daughter, has played her first G chord! I am so proud! Sniff.... sniff...(she's gonna be a Rock Star!)

I need to stop running around naked.....

So many days, I get up and out of bed, and run around naked. I am speaking very figuratively mind you.. Today my eyes were opened and remnded by a Scripture passage that we are most likely very familiar with:

Ephesians 6: 10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

13Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.

14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.

17Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints

See all the action words here?

I was reading my copy of the "Gospel Primer" today, and the author Milton Vincent reminded me of these things by saying this:

"That God would tell me to "take up"and "put on" this gospel armor alerts me to the fact that I do not automatically come into each day protected by the gospel. In fact, these commands imply that I am vulnerable to defeat and injury unless I seize upon the gospel and arm myself with it from head to toe."

JAFR, Steve

God, We belong to You.....

These are the hand-written lyrics to the new verse of "Yours" by Steven Chapman. They were written by Steven in response to the aftermath of his daughter's tragic death..

This is a guy that gets it....

Thanks bud,

JAFR,

Steve

PS... You can download this version of the song for 99 pennies on iTunes by clicking here. ALL of the proceeds from this new single go to Shaohannah's Hope... BUY IT!

Worship God 08

I had the great privilege this week of attending Sovereign Grace Ministries' "Worship God 08" conference in Gaithersburg, Maryland!

I think my greatest privilege of the few days we were there was watching my buddy Joe, who attended the conference for the very first time. Joe is an excellent guitar player, and it was awesome to see him open up to what God was telling him, in both the areas of his personal life and leading worship!

We had to head back early Saturday morning to participate in Papa Jim's memorial service, and we were so blessed to be able to do so! It was a great tribute to God, and to a man who left behind a Godly legacy!

I did have the privilege of reuniting with two of the men who have mentored me indirectly as worship leaders, Bob Kauflin and Pat Sczebel. As I sat under their teaching during the week, I realized that their priorities were to be humble men of God first, and to serve their respective churches as worship leaders second. Here are some pics:

PS.. On the way to the conference, I dragged Joe on a pilgrimage through the streets of Baltimore.. to see if we could find where Chef Duff makes his tasty creations... voila!

My House

God decided to take Jim Lancaster home today....he died about 4 p.m.

I have to admit, that when I first got the news, I didn't react...I went numb, and didn't express much emotion.

However, it's when I started to get ready for work tonight, and began moving around my house looking for stuff that the reality hit me:

My house, and my life for that matter, is FULL of Jim Lancaster!

Let me explain further...

As I stand in my bedroom looking into the closet, I see all of my button-down collar shirts hanging there neatly.. I can't help but look at those.. You see, I have this problem of remembering to button those tiny collar buttons on Sunday mornings before the church service....Jim never forgot though.. and he was always quick to button them for me before I got up on the platform to lead musical worship.

As I stand in Sammy and Katy and Kirsten's rooms, I see beautiful pastel colored walls, light blues and greens....I am quick to remember that Papa Jim painted those walls for my children when we moved into our house in Temple Terrace..

As I stand in my family room, I see two portraits that Jim has drawn of the kids... one of Katy and Kirsten, and one of Katy, Kirsten and Sam...drawn in pencil, they are beautiful and so very lifelike....

As I stand in my kitchen, I seen several framed photos on the wall of me playing with my kids in Jim's pool during a fourth of July extravaganza...

As I stand in our great room, I see my guitars, and my huge book of worship team chord charts... I reflect on how many of them were taught to me by Jim... I reflect on the days of playing and singing with Jim.. I reflect on the beautiful harmonies he would create...it was always an honor to lead worship with him...I can hear his voice even now...

It's time to leave for work now, and as I get into my patrol car, I notice my radar unit sitting on the dashboard in front of me...and instantly, I hear Jim telling me to set up on his street and catch the speeders..

My friend, you've left your fingerprints all over, and I will miss you greatly...

I know the separation is only temporary though...

I love you man...

Just a filthy rag who knows that it is not death to die,

Steve

Words of Encouragement

Words of Encouragement from the greatest Pastor in the world!