I really dislike reading...a lot. But today, I figured I should open up the devotional I have on my electronic bible, and I got this:
...Look back, believer: think of your doubting God when He has been so faithful to you--think of your foolish outcry of "Not so, my Father," when He crossed His hands in affliction to give you the larger blessing; think of the many times when you have read His providences in the dark, misinterpreted His dispensations, and groaned out, "All these things are against me," when they are all working together for your good! Think how often you have chosen sin because of its pleasure, when indeed, that pleasure was a root of bitterness to you! Surely if we know our own heart we must plead guilty to the indictment of a sinful folly; and conscious of this "foolishness," we must make David's consequent resolve our own--"_Thou shalt guide me with Thy counsel_."
This just resonated in my heart. I think its awesome, so hopefully you think its awesome too!
-Bert-
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Dang girl, you must be Jewish, cause you're on fire
I think I wrote some of the worst music ever conceived in human history with two of my good friends tonight. Note to self: Never, ever make a comedy album....
Other Note To Self: Every album may be a comedy album with how awful it is...
Other Note To Self: Every album may be a comedy album with how awful it is...
Sunday, July 19, 2009
To my brothers and sisters concerning the Spirit
I was reading me some Revised New King James when I stumbled upon something. I found something in the smallest of details concerning the spirit. Here is the passage - I'll dissect it:
12 1 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you be ignorant. 2 You know that when you were pagans, you were carried away by these dumb idols, however you were led. 3 Therefore, I want you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is Lord, except by the Holy Spirit. 4 Now there are various kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 And there are various kinds of service, but the same Lord. 6 And there are various kinds of working, but it is the same God who works all of them in all men. 7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each man for the common good. 8 For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; 9 To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by that one Spirit; 10 To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another various kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues: 11 But all these things are by one and the same Spirit, who distributes to every man as he wills.
take a look at the last sentence:
"But all these things are by one and the same Spirit, who distributes to every man as he wills."
For those of you familiar with the Bible, you will know that whenever they talk of the Spirit or God or Jesus, they capitalize the pronoun form of it always (so Him or He). I just picked up out of this small passage that it is not just the Spirit who distributes the gifts as He wills (because He always does), but it is according to our own wills as well. So if you want gifts, desire them wholeheartedly and you will receive them, provided you want them for all the right reasons.
-Bert-
12 1 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you be ignorant. 2 You know that when you were pagans, you were carried away by these dumb idols, however you were led. 3 Therefore, I want you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is Lord, except by the Holy Spirit. 4 Now there are various kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 And there are various kinds of service, but the same Lord. 6 And there are various kinds of working, but it is the same God who works all of them in all men. 7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each man for the common good. 8 For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; 9 To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by that one Spirit; 10 To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another various kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues: 11 But all these things are by one and the same Spirit, who distributes to every man as he wills.
take a look at the last sentence:
"But all these things are by one and the same Spirit, who distributes to every man as he wills."
For those of you familiar with the Bible, you will know that whenever they talk of the Spirit or God or Jesus, they capitalize the pronoun form of it always (so Him or He). I just picked up out of this small passage that it is not just the Spirit who distributes the gifts as He wills (because He always does), but it is according to our own wills as well. So if you want gifts, desire them wholeheartedly and you will receive them, provided you want them for all the right reasons.
-Bert-
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
a poem from a feeble mind
Since I've been writing lyrics on a daily basis, I've noticed my language has been generally more poetic. This is kind of weird to me, because I've felt like I've been regressing intellectually since I graduated high school, and lately it seems as if my language has improved, so bonus!
These are some of the lyrics I wrote for a new song I'm working on, called "Figuratively Speaking, You're Doing Just Fine." My guess is that you will hate the word "figuratively" by the time you're done reading it, which was done somewhat deliberately.
"Figuratively Speaking, You're Doing Just Fine" - Brett Engel
Figuratively speaking you're doing just fine
figuratively breaking down and breaking up lines
figuratively of course, cause this time
figuratively speaking you're staying together
figuratively enduring this weather
the rainy season and snowy nights
in this minor endeavor
figuratively speaking I'm totally involved
figuratively i'm listening to all
the issues you're facing
with all the figurative gall
that you have displayed so well
in a way only I can tell
cause my faith doesn't lie in the way your vocal chords
embell...
ish the way that you're
figuratively speaking, how you're holding on
to the notion that you can do no wrong
figuratively believing that you are receiving
a problem-free ticket to eternity
figuratively speaking this song is relatively
benevolent, mysterious, and subsequently
serious on a figurative level
to figuratively be riddled with fallacy
so figure out how you'll go about
figuring out how to overcome your doubt
cause my faith doesn't lie in the way the concordance
of your thoughts are shout out
so give me a break for a change
so my thoughts can get rearranged
cause my faith doesn't lie in the way you're estranged
and deranged from your clout
Figuratively speaking you're doing just fine
figuratively breaking down and breaking up lines
figuratively of course, it's only a matter of time
it's only a matter of time...
-Bert-
These are some of the lyrics I wrote for a new song I'm working on, called "Figuratively Speaking, You're Doing Just Fine." My guess is that you will hate the word "figuratively" by the time you're done reading it, which was done somewhat deliberately.
"Figuratively Speaking, You're Doing Just Fine" - Brett Engel
Figuratively speaking you're doing just fine
figuratively breaking down and breaking up lines
figuratively of course, cause this time
figuratively speaking you're staying together
figuratively enduring this weather
the rainy season and snowy nights
in this minor endeavor
figuratively speaking I'm totally involved
figuratively i'm listening to all
the issues you're facing
with all the figurative gall
that you have displayed so well
in a way only I can tell
cause my faith doesn't lie in the way your vocal chords
embell...
ish the way that you're
figuratively speaking, how you're holding on
to the notion that you can do no wrong
figuratively believing that you are receiving
a problem-free ticket to eternity
figuratively speaking this song is relatively
benevolent, mysterious, and subsequently
serious on a figurative level
to figuratively be riddled with fallacy
so figure out how you'll go about
figuring out how to overcome your doubt
cause my faith doesn't lie in the way the concordance
of your thoughts are shout out
so give me a break for a change
so my thoughts can get rearranged
cause my faith doesn't lie in the way you're estranged
and deranged from your clout
Figuratively speaking you're doing just fine
figuratively breaking down and breaking up lines
figuratively of course, it's only a matter of time
it's only a matter of time...
-Bert-
Its been a while...
Sorry for the lack of update here as of late. I've been really busy working, writing, meeting with people, getting new projects going, and working out gigs. I'll try to stay on top of things and find something to write about pretty much every day though, even if my blogs are fairly concise.
Anyway,
I'm sitting here in Spyhouse after work, drinking my iced latte that tastes like cigarette butts, which I for some reason still drink on a fairly regular basis, and I was reading some Jeremiah, thinking about spiritual gifts. Anyone that knows me and my involvement with Christ knows that I am a big proponent for bringing back the Spiritual Gifts and using them to bring God's kingdom and to use them in the Family business.
The reason I'm so passionate about the Spiritual gifts is because I think they're a fantastic way to edify the church and prove God's existence. Not only that, but I believe that the spiritual gifts are a good foundation to show people God's true character. Many non-christians for obvious reasons, and even a lot of christians don't really understand who God is or what He's about, surprisingly.
Interestingly every Christian has the ability to have spiritual gifts and exercise them, most notably those of healing and prophesy. Some Christians are very in depth with their prophesying, and they have been given expansive use of that gift, but I've seen numerous initially skeptical christians have prophetic utterances, myself included. And for those of you who are wondering about prophesy, it isn't like "You will die in fifteen days of pneumonia." Sometimes its those intuitive feelings you have where you know something but aren't really sure - those are called words of knowledge. For example, I have gone up to people and known they had cancer, knew their names, and even talked to someone online and knew their hair color, body weight, height, and eye color without even seeing a picture of them - and I'm color blind. Now to be clear, I am not saying this out of boast, because frankly that's not why I talk about it. I talk about it to glorify God and educate the members of the Church who are willing and eager to learn.
The other gift I'm focused on is healing. The thing is, any Christian who has the faith can heal whatever they can think of. I'm still learning all about this, but the things I've experienced so far have been incredible. I have gone to shows and seen people break legs, unable to walk, and then get healed twenty minutes later and walk like nothing ever happened. I have had people absolutely wrecked with overwhealming pains in their stomachs and backs, teamed up with Jesus to tell the pain that it had no authority, and then they were fine thirty seconds after that. I have shrunk tumors with the authority Jesus gave His followers, and by the power of his partnership with me. On top of that, I have gotten a prophetic word for a woman I did not even know, and with Jesus's authority and partnership, freed her of her depression. I tell you this just to show you that if I can do this stuff through the authority that Jesus has given to ALL Christians, and if you personally have the faith (aka, the things that you believe to be true about God), then you can do this, too.
I have this intense, firey passion to see these things renewed and revived in the Church. I love to see Him glorified and seen in the correct perspective. I also hope to show people this correct perspective so they can also understand Him like I have gotten the pleasure to know. If you want proof of anything I just said, I'll be happy to supply it, as well as Bible verses to back some of this up.
Thanks for reading!
-Bert-
Anyway,
I'm sitting here in Spyhouse after work, drinking my iced latte that tastes like cigarette butts, which I for some reason still drink on a fairly regular basis, and I was reading some Jeremiah, thinking about spiritual gifts. Anyone that knows me and my involvement with Christ knows that I am a big proponent for bringing back the Spiritual Gifts and using them to bring God's kingdom and to use them in the Family business.
The reason I'm so passionate about the Spiritual gifts is because I think they're a fantastic way to edify the church and prove God's existence. Not only that, but I believe that the spiritual gifts are a good foundation to show people God's true character. Many non-christians for obvious reasons, and even a lot of christians don't really understand who God is or what He's about, surprisingly.
Interestingly every Christian has the ability to have spiritual gifts and exercise them, most notably those of healing and prophesy. Some Christians are very in depth with their prophesying, and they have been given expansive use of that gift, but I've seen numerous initially skeptical christians have prophetic utterances, myself included. And for those of you who are wondering about prophesy, it isn't like "You will die in fifteen days of pneumonia." Sometimes its those intuitive feelings you have where you know something but aren't really sure - those are called words of knowledge. For example, I have gone up to people and known they had cancer, knew their names, and even talked to someone online and knew their hair color, body weight, height, and eye color without even seeing a picture of them - and I'm color blind. Now to be clear, I am not saying this out of boast, because frankly that's not why I talk about it. I talk about it to glorify God and educate the members of the Church who are willing and eager to learn.
The other gift I'm focused on is healing. The thing is, any Christian who has the faith can heal whatever they can think of. I'm still learning all about this, but the things I've experienced so far have been incredible. I have gone to shows and seen people break legs, unable to walk, and then get healed twenty minutes later and walk like nothing ever happened. I have had people absolutely wrecked with overwhealming pains in their stomachs and backs, teamed up with Jesus to tell the pain that it had no authority, and then they were fine thirty seconds after that. I have shrunk tumors with the authority Jesus gave His followers, and by the power of his partnership with me. On top of that, I have gotten a prophetic word for a woman I did not even know, and with Jesus's authority and partnership, freed her of her depression. I tell you this just to show you that if I can do this stuff through the authority that Jesus has given to ALL Christians, and if you personally have the faith (aka, the things that you believe to be true about God), then you can do this, too.
I have this intense, firey passion to see these things renewed and revived in the Church. I love to see Him glorified and seen in the correct perspective. I also hope to show people this correct perspective so they can also understand Him like I have gotten the pleasure to know. If you want proof of anything I just said, I'll be happy to supply it, as well as Bible verses to back some of this up.
Thanks for reading!
-Bert-
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