The Art of Worship- Hunter Thompson from Bethel

Sometimes its more powerful for music from the soul to speak than mere words

This is a song performed by the worship team at Bethel Church in Redding California.

Intimately Intimate

As I stared across the table at the brilliantly flashing green ocean of eyes that stared back at me I realized something: I would die for her. Yes, after three wonderful years of dating the most powerfully graceful woman who has walked this earth, I fully believe if a situation would ever arise I would do what most boys dream of; throw myself in front of the girl.

As we sat across from each other at dinner one night, I mulled this over and over. Why would I die for her? What has caused me to care more for her sake than my own? I realized in that moment it’s because not only do I know her, but I know her. I know more than just her birthday, favorite colors, and what foods she likes. I know more than facts about her. Instead, I know things about her that only time and intimacy can reveal. I know when she is likely to be in need of an encouragement, despite whether she says it or not. I know when I need to shut up and listen to her thoughts. I know her, because after 3 years of dating, I’ve had the chance to know her intimately. 

And this my friends is a game changer.

If you are going to be so bold as to claim that you will die for the sake of someone you hold dear you better be able to withstand the reverberations. For almost as soon as I came to the conclusion that I would die for Julie, I was slammed by a tidal wave of conviction, and I was slammed hard.

If I’m willing to die for the sake of Julie, why am I so prone to avoid even letting the name of Jesus escape my lips to random strangers?

I mention Julie all of the time. If you are a close friend of mine you know this. If you are a family member of mine you know this. If you are a random stranger and I manage to strike up a conversation with you know this. I jump at the chance to talk about Julie, to flaunt her, to show her off so to speak to random strangers because she is such a large part of my life and is such an amazing woman to behold. Everyone “deserves” the chance to know her. Now on the other hand, if you are a close friend or family member of mine then you know that I am passionate about Jesus. If you are a random stranger, sometimes you may not even know that I am a Christian (unless you count the James Avery ring as evidence).

Why am I so willing to die for her, but so unwillingly to even mention Him?

I must admit that I don’t know the answer to this. For perhaps the first time in my life I’m speechless.

All I can say is maybe I don’t know Jesus.

Maybe I’ve spent more time learning about Him than looking across the table at Him?

Maybe intimacy still needs to be built even more.

Maybe we don’t quite know Jesus as well as we think.

I look forward to the adventure that lies in learning what His heart beats for.

Merely,

Chris Gerac

“And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” John 17:3, ESV

A River of Lies

I woke up this morning and after a quick shower I headed to my porch (my new favorite location) in search of finding God. Some people call it quiet times, but for me that’s the Christianized way to describe reading your Bible and trying hard not to fall asleep and drool on your couch. So this morning I headed to the porch hoping to revamp my spiritual life for I’ve learned the hard way that I need Jesus every single moment of my life and that connecting with Him first thing in the morning gives me His eyes to see the world for the rest of the day. I’ve been going back to the principle of dialoguing with Jesus in my journal, where essentially I engage Jesus in conversation (John 10 says He speaks to us for those who think I may have schizophrenia) and write down His responses to me. This morning as I was singing one of the many songs about how great God’s love for me is, I felt Him ask me if I believed that He loved me more than anyone else could. At first, I was tempted to strike up the “Christianese” response of “Of Course.” However, I felt an overwhelming sense of no that honestly I have never thought could ever be inside of a Christian let alone my own heart.

 In a moment, I went from worshipping God to being confronted with the fact that I didn’t believe Jesus truly loved me as much as our songs proclaim He did.

To keep what’s going to already be long a tad bit shorter the conversation that followed went something like this…

“ Do you believe that I could love you more than any one else could?”

“No”

“Then my love for you is not as great in your life as it could be.”

“Why do I not believe You love me to such an extent?”

“Because you haven’t plunged into the fullness.”

“Lord what the crap does that mean? How can I then plunge more into the fullness?”

“Believe with your heart.”

“Lord show me how.”

“Follow Me.”

… then silence followed. I tried to discern His voice again but I couldn’t. After about 10 minutes of asking God what he meant by telling me to follow Him and hearing absolutely nothing in return I became extremely aggravated. In a moment of frustration I threw my pen down. It was there that I heard a faint but familiar voice say…

 

“Why are you frustrated?”

“Because God you are not there for me.” I responded vehemently.

“Ah so you don’t believe that I’m there for you. You’re afraid that I’ll just leave you high and dry and that I’ll abandon you.”

I was afraid of being abandoned.

Have you ever felt so seen by someone that it feels as if you are standing there completely naked and completely vulnerable? Well, after hearing that soft phrase uttered by an even gentler Father, I felt completely ashamed and embarrassed; I had just found myself sinking in a river of Satan’s lies, accumulating all into a swirling and frigid mass that had convinced me somewhere along the way that God was not there for me.

I tell this story because I want to live in complete vulnerability. I tell you this story because I want you to know that it didn’t end there. It never ends after identifying a lie. Identifying a lie is only the first stages, replacing that lie in your heart with the Truth of God is the next. I had two choices in the moment when God told me that I was being held subtly captive by a spirit of abandonment. I could either get defensive and prideful or I could be drawn closer to Him. I chose the latter.

In a flurry of mere seconds Jesus showed me the origin of the false belief about Him: the times I was supposed to have had certain friends pick me up to take me to church but was often forgotten about and left at home looking out the window panes. Once a lie is identified and the origin of it is discovered Satan loses all power, for whether we are aware of it or not Jesus is always there. Even as I stood heartbroken and devalued as a 14 year old boy looking out the window, Jesus was there the whole time longing for me to seek Him so He could tell me how valued and beloved I was to Him.

I had fallen victim to a lie.

It’s not the first and won’t be the last, but by the inherent goodness of God, one less obstacle is now in the way of my relationship with Him.

What subtle lie are you believing?

Are you afraid that Jesus isn’t truly there for you?

Listen to the Truth, the Way, the Life and not the one who comes to “steal, kill and destroy!”

Merely,

Chris Gerac

“The LORD your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.” Deuteronomy 31:6, ESV

Go to Hell!

The other day I went to see a wise friend of mine. To be perfectly vulnerable, I was talking with this man about my on and off again battles with the frustratingly and subtly seducing temptations of pornography. It was during this transparent talk that my heart burst alive with a new revelation:

Because of Jesus, we have the authority to tell Satan to go to hell. Literally… its where he belongs.

I’m not trying to be cute, nor am I trying to be smug. I do admit though that every time the words “Satan, go to Hell!” now escape my lips I can’t help but smile. Why? Because I’m restoring the Kingdom of God and I’m putting him back into his rightful place… the deepest pit of Hell.

I’m sick and tired of the Enemy being something we tip toe around. We have been given all authority under the Son; he should be the one tip toeing around us. I’m sick and tired of him getting his way (look at the 6 o’ clock news and understand what I’m talking about). Most of all, I’m sick and tired of him thinking that he can claim some sort of victory over me or this world. Satan, the Prince of Lies, can speak nothing but lies (it’s his native language). It is so easy for us to fall into his webs of deceit and quickly become entangled in sin and shame. It’s so easy to lose hope. It’s so easy to be overwhelmed. No more.

NO MORE!

IT ENDS HERE, IT ENDS NOW.

I am free

You are free

“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free” -Galatians 5:1

We are not bound by his lies. We are not bound by him. Wake up and realize the truth. Through Jesus he is bound by our truth and he cannot be victorious because Jesus has already won.  He is bounded at the foot of the cross by us. We no longer have to listen to him; he has to listen to us.

Satan has lost. He can try all he wants to take others down with him, but nevertheless he is going down. All the lies, temptations, and deceptions of the Devil cannot overcome the truth of who we are: dead men and women raised and liberated by the blood stained hands of Jesus.

Live in the freedom that you were given.

Don’t give the Enemy any more power than what he already believes he has.

Put him in his place.

Tell him where he can go. Tell him to go to Hell!

Merely,

Chris Gerac

“because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.” 1 John 4:4, NASB