Seeking the Lord Means Even When I'm Busy

It’s going to be a somewhat quiet evening in the Swift household. The freezing rain is coming down, Aimee is studying for a class and I’m going to wrap up some MTD stuff for the day and listen to a Matt Chandler sermon. We’ll probably get some movie action in later as well. We’re in the calm before the storm. In this case, it’s going to be a winter storm that can’t wait to blast us tomorrow. The whole city is prepared for 12” – 18” of snow to fall on top of the freezing rain that came down all day. We freaked out a little more than necessary on the “wintery mix” that trickled down out of the sky today I think, but nevertheless, we are in for it tomorrow. Even MU canceled school and they hardly ever do that.


I’m drinking some leftover coffee and just reflecting for a little bit on the craziness that was my past week. I seemed to have a dozen meetings, got to meet with several friends and students, played in the worship band on Saturday and got in plenty of time at BGTM. It was a very productive week and I felt good about it. All except for one thing – a definite lack of time in the Word and of connecting with the Lord. That’s kind of a big deal, especially when your job is to bring the gospel to a college campus.


Andrew and Kirstin came in town this weekend and had a whirlwind of a weekend. In the snippets that I saw Andrew I was encouraged (not surprisingly) by his deep interest in pursuing the Lord and getting into the Word. He talked a ton about his love for digging into the Word and it’s pushed me to want to have that same kind of passion. Likewise, I’ve been reading two books that have pushed me in this direction as well.


In My Utmost for His Highest, Oswald Chambers constantly lays out how important it is for us not to pursue serving God (as I get tempted to do in the ministry) but to pursue God himself. Anything can become an idol. Serving for the kingdom, if it takes the throne above God himself, definitely can get out of control and steer us down the wrong path.

“The whole discipline of life is to enable us to enter into this closest relationship with Jesus Christ. We receive His blessings and know His Word, but do we know him?”

Likewise, a passion for hearing the Word of God speak through Scripture is something I want to burn in my soul. I hate when I let the busyness of life (and ministry) take away from time in His Word. It’s a wellspring of life and if I’m not drinking from it often, then the effects are very evident. I get aggravated easier. I get distracted more. I become insecure in who I am. I go to the wrong things to satisfy. I don’t want to lose the habit of getting into the Word.


As someone in ministry, this excerpt from Kevin Harney’s Leadership from the Inside Out resonates with me.

“Because (the Bible) is breathed from the very lungs of God, it brings life, hope, power and direction to those who read it…Those who read it and listen for the still small voice of God’s Spirit will find the wisdom they need for the countless challenging situations they face in their leadership role.”

I want to be a man who kneels at the cross when life gets heavy. We’re not meant to carry the weight of the world but to submit it before the Lord. Especially when things are crazy, we should be quick to seek the Lord and dig into his Word. It’s a simple idea but one that I always need reminded of.

Interesting Article on Giving

Got this from an article at Mint.com. Thought you all would be interested to see it! Here is the link to it.

Memorizing Verses

"Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful."

JOSHUA 1:8

Pastor John Drage picked out his "Top 99 Verses" about ten or so years ago and has presented students at our summer Leadership Training Program the challenge of memorizing them every summer ever since. He has always offered to throw a pizza party or buy them a 12-pack of their favorite soda. Back in 2007, when I was a GCM intern at LT I memorized the 99 verses. We didn't have a big party or anything but instead John asked me what it did for me to memorize 99 verses of Scripture.

For me, it started as a challenge, to see if I could stick to such a big goal for an entire summer. What an accomplishment, I thought, it would be to be able to rattle off that many verses. God had bigger plans as I found the verses would come to mind in conversation with people or as I faced major challenges. He took me on a path of knowing himself more as he revealed to me that his Word is so connected in how the overall story arch weaves in God's loving interaction with us.

Because of how powerful that summer was, I've challenged our core group to get cracking on the

same thing. I typed up John's verses a couple years ago to be printed out for just such an opportunity. Hopefully we will get them memorized by the end of the school year. We all have 15 to memorize over break and I'm praying that we can follow through. Imagine if four young men have the Word of God swimming through their minds as they continue to grow in their faith during this time.

If you'd like to join us or begin your own memorization plan, I've linked the verses for you. Click the picture at the top to download a pdf files. Print the file front and back and they will line up for you to cut out. To see a complete list, click the picture to the right.

I guarantee that if God's people memorize his Word and act to let it guide their lives, we will change the world.

January 2011 Prayer Letter

A new year is upon us and to kick it off, I've reflected on the past semester in my latest prayer letter. Also, I unpack Axis, a special monthly service that we have once a month at The Rock. Click on the picture to check it out or find it along the right-hand side of the page.

Serving with you,

Chris Swift

...or if you squint you might be able to read the first page right here -->