Thursday, May 2, 2013
Job
Hello all! Seems you are stuck with me again for the blog, can I get a “hurrah!”?
Thanks for your enthusiasm, now let’s get down to business!
So, lately I have been repeatedly hit with the immensity of our Lord’s glory. It’s intense to say the least, but God has been telling me “Yo Micah, you have not even begun to break the surface.” This hit me hard as, just today, I heard a sermon on God’s response to Job. The response begins in Job Ch. 38 and basically goes on until the end of the book. It’s mind blowing as God speaks of all He has done and I encourage you to read the entire response, but I will give you a few verses:
Ch. 28
4 “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?
Tell me, if you understand.
5 Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know!
Who stretched a measuring line across it?
6 On what were its footings set,
or who laid its cornerstone—
7 while the morning stars sang together
and all the angels[a] shouted for joy?
24 What is the way to the place where the lightning is dispersed,
or the place where the east winds are scattered over the earth?
25 Who cuts a channel for the torrents of rain,
and a path for the thunderstorm,
26 to water a land where no one lives,
an uninhabited desert,
27 to satisfy a desolate wasteland
and make it sprout with grass?
Yeah, makes you think he is amazing, doesn’t it? God makes everything happen, period. I know it sounds childish, but God has the whole world in his hands. I am not over-exaggerating when I say that God has EVERYTHING and so much more!!!!!! God chimes in again“Micah, you have not even begun to break the surface” Wait, what? Yeah there’s more. Incomprehensibly amount more.
I am reading a book with some buddies of mine, The Knowledge of The Holy by A. W. Tozer, and the 2nd chapter is titled God Incomprehensible, hit me hard. Tozer points out that God is not of this world, and when we try to think about God we “… tend immediately to reduce God to manageable terms… we want a God we can in some measure control.” I know I have done this, made God smaller then what he really is.
So how do we begin to understand the incomprehensible? Tozer continues and says “… God can be known only as the Holy Spirit performs in the seeking heart an act of self-disclosure.”
And now I land on the shaky at best conclusion after throwing these quotes and such at you; let’s begin to ask the Holy Spirit to open our eyes to the infinite attributes of God! How much more could we glorify God (the chief end of man) if we began to learn more about God?
My prayer is that God begins to work in us to open our eyes to see just how great the god we follow is. A god who calls us sons and daughters.
Sovereign Father, Heavenly King,
Thee we now presume so sing;
Glad thine attributes confess,
Glorious all, and numberless.
Charles Wesley
Have a great week,
Micah Levinson
Monday, February 18, 2013
My Legacy
What is the legacy that you want to leave? When people walk by your tombstone, what will people read or remember about you? My grandfather recently passed away and after attending his funeral, I have been questioning the legacy that I want to leave. Death can be sudden and is according to God's divine plan. Sometimes, as humans, we become too caught up in the material culture that surrounds us that we forget our true calling in life. In Exodus 9:16, the Lord clearly explains the legacy we should leave, "I have raised you up for this very purpose, that I might show you my power and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth." The name of the Lord is the legacy awaiting us, if we so chose.
We all experience doubts in our faith that often strengthen our relationship with God. Sometimes, we question our position in a situation. However, worry is unnecessary because God has raised us up for this very purpose, whatever it may be. That purpose can range from attending school and being a beacon of light for fellow students or praying over your meal while out in a public restaurant. God has an absolute plan "for every activity under the heavens" (Ecclesiastes 3:1). As a competitive swimmer, I realize that every stroke I take is a blessing and I am incredibly grateful for my ability in this sport. Although I may win an award or swim an incredible race, it all means nothing without God and He deserves all the glory. After I pass away, my accolades will have absolutely no importance. However, my faith in God and His Son will give me eternal life in heaven. I may never become an Olympic swimmer or be a worldwide icon, but I know that my treasures are in heaven. When people remember Lauren Blakey, I do not want them to remember that I was a swimmer or even a part of Ghana Rock. Instead, I desire God's name to be at the forefront of their lips.
~Lauren Blakey
We all experience doubts in our faith that often strengthen our relationship with God. Sometimes, we question our position in a situation. However, worry is unnecessary because God has raised us up for this very purpose, whatever it may be. That purpose can range from attending school and being a beacon of light for fellow students or praying over your meal while out in a public restaurant. God has an absolute plan "for every activity under the heavens" (Ecclesiastes 3:1). As a competitive swimmer, I realize that every stroke I take is a blessing and I am incredibly grateful for my ability in this sport. Although I may win an award or swim an incredible race, it all means nothing without God and He deserves all the glory. After I pass away, my accolades will have absolutely no importance. However, my faith in God and His Son will give me eternal life in heaven. I may never become an Olympic swimmer or be a worldwide icon, but I know that my treasures are in heaven. When people remember Lauren Blakey, I do not want them to remember that I was a swimmer or even a part of Ghana Rock. Instead, I desire God's name to be at the forefront of their lips.
~Lauren Blakey
Sunday, February 10, 2013
God's Timing
Hello all,
So, recently I received a huge thrill. I’ve been tutoring this kid who is a freshman at my school for a few months now. He’s a bright young fellow, but quite controlled by his mother to perform well, which I think affects him in a terribly negative way. Last semester he got a D in world history. This was it, the final straw, for his mother. So, she called the school, and I was paired with him as a tutor. We worked through the end of last semester, pulling low D’s to high D’s and high D’s to low C’s. Progress was slower than molasses. He passed, but it was a discouragingly close pass.
Early this semester, we started working again. He was doing a bit better. Two weeks in and he had made a high C. Then we were working on his next test. This test was filled with 1000 names of figures and events. It was a complicated business, but he worked harder than he ever had before. The weekend after the test, I received a text from his teacher: “He got a 94 on the History Test. Good work.” I was actually at play practice, and I might have told everyone I saw. He received an A.
So, this taught me something about God. There was a time when I felt like my student’s progress was much too slow, like we weren’t getting anywhere. We had worked for more than a month and he still only got a D in the semester. But, frankly, God doesn’t work like that. God doesn’t operate on our expectations. And even when we commit to Him for months, years, or even decades at a time, He will still let us fail. Sanctification isn’t a one step process. You don’t bring a tutor in to get the fix in one week. Even if that was my expectation. Even if I thought that maybe even I could help get him to success that quickly.
But, though God’s timing is often slow, it is so often perfect. He will always give us precisely what we need. When my kid received a 94, I knew that there was success. It’s like when God finally gives us a peek of that glory, of that wonderful purity that he has to offer. Change is not immediate, but invest and it will come.
“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.”- Matthew 7:7.
…maybe not immediately, but certainly within God’s time frame. And this year on the team this is what we are hoping and praying for. We pray that God will give us a bigger success than ever before. But, the fact is, it is always His timing. We must be diligent and watchful but also faithful. For He will appear, and His timing will be brilliant.
-Andrew Rikard
So, recently I received a huge thrill. I’ve been tutoring this kid who is a freshman at my school for a few months now. He’s a bright young fellow, but quite controlled by his mother to perform well, which I think affects him in a terribly negative way. Last semester he got a D in world history. This was it, the final straw, for his mother. So, she called the school, and I was paired with him as a tutor. We worked through the end of last semester, pulling low D’s to high D’s and high D’s to low C’s. Progress was slower than molasses. He passed, but it was a discouragingly close pass.
Early this semester, we started working again. He was doing a bit better. Two weeks in and he had made a high C. Then we were working on his next test. This test was filled with 1000 names of figures and events. It was a complicated business, but he worked harder than he ever had before. The weekend after the test, I received a text from his teacher: “He got a 94 on the History Test. Good work.” I was actually at play practice, and I might have told everyone I saw. He received an A.
So, this taught me something about God. There was a time when I felt like my student’s progress was much too slow, like we weren’t getting anywhere. We had worked for more than a month and he still only got a D in the semester. But, frankly, God doesn’t work like that. God doesn’t operate on our expectations. And even when we commit to Him for months, years, or even decades at a time, He will still let us fail. Sanctification isn’t a one step process. You don’t bring a tutor in to get the fix in one week. Even if that was my expectation. Even if I thought that maybe even I could help get him to success that quickly.
But, though God’s timing is often slow, it is so often perfect. He will always give us precisely what we need. When my kid received a 94, I knew that there was success. It’s like when God finally gives us a peek of that glory, of that wonderful purity that he has to offer. Change is not immediate, but invest and it will come.
“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.”- Matthew 7:7.
…maybe not immediately, but certainly within God’s time frame. And this year on the team this is what we are hoping and praying for. We pray that God will give us a bigger success than ever before. But, the fact is, it is always His timing. We must be diligent and watchful but also faithful. For He will appear, and His timing will be brilliant.
-Andrew Rikard
Monday, January 7, 2013
More than just property.
Hello all,
Well, the year has come to an end and for me it has been, although fast, fantastic. Sometimes in the busyness of everyday life, especially around the holiday season, we lose sight of our God and His personal meaning to us. Even our trust in prayer may become weak and that is harmful to our prayers and walk with Christ.
As an athlete I struggle with this from time to time. I train most of the year and compete in the summer. While competing, I am constantly comparing myself to the other athletes and sometimes that affects how I view myself personally. This is harmful not only to my personality but also to my prayer life and how often I pray. Whether it is that I forget to pray or just do not think my prayers will be heard, my prayer life is surely affected. This has happened several times in my past and every single time, when I finally remember that God loves me so much more than I ever could imagine, I pray. And every single time He shows me that it’s not about who’s better or what place I get or how many points I get on a dive, it’s about Him and living my life for Him and His cause.
This is only a small issue in my life, but the children in Ghana deal with this everyday. My hope for the children on Lake Volta is that God would show them that they are worth far more than their owners show them. I pray that they would see their individual worth and seek Him. And I pray that they would know they are so much more than just property.
- Harrison Mitchell
Well, the year has come to an end and for me it has been, although fast, fantastic. Sometimes in the busyness of everyday life, especially around the holiday season, we lose sight of our God and His personal meaning to us. Even our trust in prayer may become weak and that is harmful to our prayers and walk with Christ.
As an athlete I struggle with this from time to time. I train most of the year and compete in the summer. While competing, I am constantly comparing myself to the other athletes and sometimes that affects how I view myself personally. This is harmful not only to my personality but also to my prayer life and how often I pray. Whether it is that I forget to pray or just do not think my prayers will be heard, my prayer life is surely affected. This has happened several times in my past and every single time, when I finally remember that God loves me so much more than I ever could imagine, I pray. And every single time He shows me that it’s not about who’s better or what place I get or how many points I get on a dive, it’s about Him and living my life for Him and His cause.
This is only a small issue in my life, but the children in Ghana deal with this everyday. My hope for the children on Lake Volta is that God would show them that they are worth far more than their owners show them. I pray that they would see their individual worth and seek Him. And I pray that they would know they are so much more than just property.
- Harrison Mitchell
Friday, December 21, 2012
God's Love.
"Love, we're supposed to love, just like Jesus says in the Fruits of the Spirit," exclaimed Brooke as her older brother Will stood baffled at the idea of me leaving them for two weeks. He did not understand why I would leave him who has everything to hang out with a bunch of children I did not know who had nothing. That day was the beginning of something new, and for Brooke and Will it was going to be the idea of love. It just so happened my trip to Ghana was the spark. As I began to explain to them where and why I was going and what I was doing there, they began to have a look of worry in their eyes. Questions were coming from everywhere because their little minds could not grasp the idea that a child would have to work all day while they stayed home and played. While Brooke's main worry for the kids of Ghana was that they had no toys, Will's worry was that the boys had no life jackets to wear. Individually, they both wanted to do everything they could to help out, as they remembered to love. For me, it was a wake-up call. Here, these kids were trying to give me all of their special toys to give to children in Ghana while not even thinking about holding back. As I was going home that day, the conversations I had with Brooke and Will never left my mind. I realized how I could not hold back when I went to Ghana, no matter how nervous I was going to be. Brooke and Will, two young elementary school children, reminded me of how I needed to love and that without Christ's love in me, I could do nothing. Although they did not fully understand the things they did or said, they made an impact on me: reminding me first and foremost to always love.
Friday, November 30, 2012
Our God.
9 Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne and who lives for ever and ever, 10 the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say:
11 “You are worthy, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things,
and by your will they were created
and have their being.” -Revelation 4:9-11 (NIV)
So, as you most likely observed from reading the big bold letter directly above this sentence, I’ve been reading through Revelation. Besides the descriptions of things that I can’t even comprehend, like creatures with far too many appendages, what I’ve noticed the most is how often the book keeps coming back to simply proclaiming the glory of God. I think God has been using this book to simply show me how wrong I can be about him. Too often, I live with only a head knowledge of how great the God we serve is. I define God by what I think, and I make him far too small.
5 Then the angel I had seen standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven. 6 And he swore by him who lives for ever and ever, who created the heavens and all that is in them, the earth and all that is in it, and the sea and all that is in it, and said, “There will be no more delay! -Revelation 10:5-6 (NIV) ((emphasis added by Sam))
This is the God we serve: the God that lives forever, the God who created the heavens and the earth and the sea and everything in them. We, as a team, have been praying and thinking over what we want the goal of Ghana Rock 2013 to be. These passages have really been a great reminder to me that no matter what we decide, our God is big enough to do it. Ok, maybe more than a reminder. A rebuke. Yahweh is he who was and who is and who is to come. And my picture of him is often flawed, but HE is worthy to receive glory and honor and power. So my prayer is that we as a team (and especially me) will keep that in mind as we go about attempting to plan this concert.
Excuse my ramblings,
Sam
11 “You are worthy, our Lord and God,
to receive glory and honor and power,
for you created all things,
and by your will they were created
and have their being.” -Revelation 4:9-11 (NIV)
So, as you most likely observed from reading the big bold letter directly above this sentence, I’ve been reading through Revelation. Besides the descriptions of things that I can’t even comprehend, like creatures with far too many appendages, what I’ve noticed the most is how often the book keeps coming back to simply proclaiming the glory of God. I think God has been using this book to simply show me how wrong I can be about him. Too often, I live with only a head knowledge of how great the God we serve is. I define God by what I think, and I make him far too small.
5 Then the angel I had seen standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven. 6 And he swore by him who lives for ever and ever, who created the heavens and all that is in them, the earth and all that is in it, and the sea and all that is in it, and said, “There will be no more delay! -Revelation 10:5-6 (NIV) ((emphasis added by Sam))
This is the God we serve: the God that lives forever, the God who created the heavens and the earth and the sea and everything in them. We, as a team, have been praying and thinking over what we want the goal of Ghana Rock 2013 to be. These passages have really been a great reminder to me that no matter what we decide, our God is big enough to do it. Ok, maybe more than a reminder. A rebuke. Yahweh is he who was and who is and who is to come. And my picture of him is often flawed, but HE is worthy to receive glory and honor and power. So my prayer is that we as a team (and especially me) will keep that in mind as we go about attempting to plan this concert.
Excuse my ramblings,
Sam
Saturday, November 17, 2012
Serving the Lord
Hey everybody!
From year to year Ghana Rock has been one miracle after another; God has been working in awesome ways with this group of teenagers. I know, without a doubt, it was solely because of Him that we’ve had success 2 years in a row (going on 3!). I know what some of you may have been thinking, “Gosh, this group of teenagers is outstanding! Look at what they have done!” I am not denying that this group of teenagers is a great group of people; however, we cannot take the credit for our success, it’s the Lord’s. Let’s face it ya’ll, I am on the team! Even with this deadweight (this blog was due two days ago…), our heavenly Father has granted us huge success! In Philippians 2:13, it is written, “For it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.” And in Romans 11:36, “For everything comes from him and exists by his power and is intended for his glory. All glory to him forever! Amen.” I just wanted to remind myself and everyone that our God is great and it is through him that every good work comes. So let’s remember to praise him:
Psalm 29 -
“Ascribe to the Lord, you heavenly beings,
ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
2 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;
worship the Lord in the splendor of his[a] holiness.
3 The voice of the Lord is over the waters;
the God of glory thunders,
the Lord thunders over the mighty waters.
4 The voice of the Lord is powerful;
the voice of the Lord is majestic.
5 The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars;
the Lord breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon.
6 He makes Lebanon leap like a calf,
Sirion[b] like a young wild ox.
7 The voice of the Lord strikes
with flashes of lightning.
8 The voice of the Lord shakes the desert;
the Lord shakes the Desert of Kadesh.
9 The voice of the Lord twists the oaks[c]
and strips the forests bare.
And in his temple all cry, “Glory!”
10 The Lord sits enthroned over the flood;
the Lord is enthroned as King forever.
11 The Lord gives strength to his people;
the Lord blesses his people with peace.”
This is the God we serve. Let’s remember that throughout our days. Only through him can we do all that is good.
-Micah Levinson
“9 And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, 10 so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.”- Philippians 1:9-11
From year to year Ghana Rock has been one miracle after another; God has been working in awesome ways with this group of teenagers. I know, without a doubt, it was solely because of Him that we’ve had success 2 years in a row (going on 3!). I know what some of you may have been thinking, “Gosh, this group of teenagers is outstanding! Look at what they have done!” I am not denying that this group of teenagers is a great group of people; however, we cannot take the credit for our success, it’s the Lord’s. Let’s face it ya’ll, I am on the team! Even with this deadweight (this blog was due two days ago…), our heavenly Father has granted us huge success! In Philippians 2:13, it is written, “For it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.” And in Romans 11:36, “For everything comes from him and exists by his power and is intended for his glory. All glory to him forever! Amen.” I just wanted to remind myself and everyone that our God is great and it is through him that every good work comes. So let’s remember to praise him:
Psalm 29 -
“Ascribe to the Lord, you heavenly beings,
ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
2 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;
worship the Lord in the splendor of his[a] holiness.
3 The voice of the Lord is over the waters;
the God of glory thunders,
the Lord thunders over the mighty waters.
4 The voice of the Lord is powerful;
the voice of the Lord is majestic.
5 The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars;
the Lord breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon.
6 He makes Lebanon leap like a calf,
Sirion[b] like a young wild ox.
7 The voice of the Lord strikes
with flashes of lightning.
8 The voice of the Lord shakes the desert;
the Lord shakes the Desert of Kadesh.
9 The voice of the Lord twists the oaks[c]
and strips the forests bare.
And in his temple all cry, “Glory!”
10 The Lord sits enthroned over the flood;
the Lord is enthroned as King forever.
11 The Lord gives strength to his people;
the Lord blesses his people with peace.”
This is the God we serve. Let’s remember that throughout our days. Only through him can we do all that is good.
-Micah Levinson
“9 And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, 10 so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.”- Philippians 1:9-11
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