Clash Cast with Kris Rosentrater

Kris continues the recap from a hotel room on the road about his trip to Malta to play drums with musician Greg Dempster and his band. Kris joins Allan Aguirre (Spy Glass Blue, Scaterd Few) and Lenny Perata on The Chameleon Church Show to have a conversation about the trip, the ins and outs of being in a band, Christians facing persecution around the world, and staying faithful and available to the LORD as he writes your story.clashcreative.orgchameleonchurch.com

Kris speaks from a hotel room on the road about his recent trip to Malta to play drums with musician Greg Dempster and his band from Grand Rapids. Kris joins Allan Aguirre (Spy Glass Blue, Scaterd Few) and Lenny Perata on The Chameleon Church Show to talk about the trip, the trials and technicalities of worshiping with a band, the joys of seeing the nations come together to elevate the name of Jesus, and not giving up because the LORD will fulfill his purpose for you.clashcreative.orgchameleonchurch.com

One Thing matters. That One Thing will show you what else should matter. Listen to the One Thing, abide with the One Thing. Rest. He's calling you. He's calling you to the One Thing. Do not forfeit your soul.

Pop culture is only going to get louder. If we listen, we will make short-term compromises for long-term harm. Take a breath and refuse to give up your attention for things that will never satisfy you. Refuse to donate your future for immediate comforts and quick fixes. Where is the quiet place? Get away from the noise. Run to the rest.

Faith is a long-term game. Abiding is a long-term game, and being a follower in The Way of Jesus is a long-term game. (And it's not a game...) The answer is not to try harder. The answer is not behavior modification. The answer is not trying to be your best self. The answer is to be vulnerable and invite the Holy Spirit's presence into our life.

The Lord sees us. The Lord sees you. The Lord longs and desires for our attention. He already knows your need. He already knows your wants, wishes, and desires. And he has already set aside things that we don't yet know. He has things to give you. He has goodness stored up for you: inheritance possessions, provisions, gifts, favor sustenance, daily bread, holiness, righteousness, joy, peace, gentleness, self-control, and spiritual gifts. Draw near to him now, and he promises to draw near to you!

The light switch awaits! If we have darkness, it's because we have not engaged the light. If we have darkness, it is because we are choosing to walk in darkness. Practice the abiding life and engage the light, engage the light switch, engage Jesus, the light of the world.

We need to develop a daily loop of communication and prayer to the Lord so that when hard times get harder, we will not drown in overwhelming waters. Seek the Lord while he may be found, and call on him while he is near!

Everything is permissible but not beneficial. Everything is permissible but does not build up. Even though we are capable of something, it might not be the best thing for us to do. When choosing how to spend our energy and time, what will be beneficial? What will be advantageous to others? What is constructive, especially to our character, and what will encourage others?

The hairs on our heads are numbered. He knows the stars by name and every leaf on every tree is watched and under His care. You cannot escape His love, you cannot escape his hand. He brings all things to his purpose. Our invitation is to go willingly into his purpose to give up control, worry, and anxiety. Not even a sparrow falls to the ground without our heavenly father knowing, and we are dressed more finely than a Lily of the valley. We are invited to give up our control today!

What do you talk about the most? We can't change what we talk about until we change what we hope for. And we change what we hope for by redirecting our worship. If you find yourself hopeless, realize this is not a place that Jesus wants you to be.

God is calling us out of chaos into his rest. He is above the chaos, never surprised or overwhelmed. Jesus invites us to reset our desire. He invites us to dwell, to rest, to delight. There is nothing that can pull us from our chaos on our own. Come out of your chaos today.

Psalm 16 contains timeless lines like "I have no good apart from you"; "The Lord is my chosen portion"; "The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places"; "I have a beautiful inheritance"; and "My heart instructs me." Joy and purpose are found when we choose to dwell, delay, and wait in the security brought about by the complete release of our heart to rejoice in his boundaries, provision, and inheritance. A teaching and meditation on Psalm 16.

All of us have walls in our relationships, dreams, and in our spirit. Every day, we get to choose if we build up the wall or tear it down! Let go of your bricks and be free of your wall building! Do you have a wall in your life? Do you feel like there's something in your life or in your heart that is keeping you from something you want or the peace that you seek?

The actions needed to flourish in creativity and grow spiritually are the same. 1) Shut down the loudest voices. 2) Be intentional with how you engage social media and technology. 3) Be silent and still daily. 4) Prioritize reading your Bible daily, before entertainment or leisure. 5) Exercise daily. 6) Be persistent to practice your craft daily.

It becomes hard for us to need hope because our hearts and minds are attached to possessions, insecurities, and ideals. May we always create from a space of hope!

What we look at is what we become. We know joy when the eyes of our heart have a fixed gaze on our creator.

Not one of us falls to the ground apart from our Father. Lead me to the rock that is higher than my ideals. Take my life, take my heart.

Sometimes we feel stuck. Sometimes we feel like we have nothing to say. Sometimes we don't know if we can go on. The Gospel of John tells us that all the books of the universe could not contain the unexpected, miraculous, creative works that Jesus did on earth. Let's invite the unexpected and uncontained into our life, heart, and practice.

Psalm 84 tells of a bird that made its home in the holy place. Let's be like the bird and create from nests in His presence.

We are worshipers before we are creators. All of us worship something all the time. Our best work is released as we direct our worship to Jesus. As we abide, he bears fruit in us and in our hands, empowering us to make beautiful things.

The beauty of creation points us to worship something bigger than ourselves. The creator of the universe named the stars and numbered the hairs on your head. So don't give up, don't stop doing the good things, and use the gifts you have to engage your dreams with full joy and commitment.

The color wheel, math, and physics all point to the infinite creativity and holiness of God! The limitations we feel never limit God's power and holiness. Embrace your earthly limitations and ask for God's help, creative power, and blessing. Let's view the limitations we feel in a different light.

Even when discouraged or not feeling validated or recognized by others, your dreams matter. Your dreams are put there for a purpose. So reject the discouragement and negative scripts that keep you from enjoying your gifts!

The importance of not seeking our validation or affirmation from others. It's a challenge to do our thing without looking for constant recognition and acknowledgment from others. This episode encourages you not to look to the expectations of others for your validation. We need to be doing whatever we're doing without seeking validation from others in an unhealthy way.

What color is the frosting? What flavor is the frosting? What texture is the frosting? We can be so focused on our frosting, that we forget what matters to a cake is beneath the surface.

Like a moth drawn to the flame, is there a deceptive light that is distracting you from the light that you were created to follow? Like the pillar of fire that led the Israelites, the light of Jesus' presence is shining and the darkness has not overcome it. Are we looking at it?

You are invited to draw near. Will you RSVP? Jesus is already there—near—and invites us to step into the light, to draw near as he reveals how close He really is.

Find your purpose in His presence! Did you know your purpose is not up to you? The Lord will fulfill his purpose for you, and I hope you find that freeing. By seeking the light, we will find our purpose!

It is never too early (or late!) to start digging for the hidden treasure of Matthew 13:44, as this is the only thing to sustain you during times of trouble! This treasure will never let you down and is a well that will never go dry. The compound interest of the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than any other earthly investment!

Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Let's test this promise and see what reward or treasure we may find!

Our emotions, frustrations, priorities, and feelings always point back to a desire. Our purpose and work find their way when we reframe our desire to behold Jesus to see him as he truly is. There is nothing on earth that I desire besides you (Psalm 73:25).

King David is an influence and inspiration for what is possible for us to create under the Holy Spirit's influence. I encourage you to explore your creativity, work, and purpose as you proactively choose to recognize and dwell in the presence of Jesus.

King David's life is a pattern and example for our creative process. God invites us into letting him be our one desire, making time for him to speak to us. He speaks to us in the time we've set aside for him, and this inspires our creativity.

King David trained and prepared for his purpose and process in the presence of God. He knew God intimately, spending time in God's presence and in prayer with his instrument. Psalm 84 is an inspirational glimpse into the process of the greatest songwriter and musician of all time.

What have you been given to steward? Let's ask questions to guide us through our creative process and help us remain true to our purpose. Are we creating as a person that God created us to be? Are we creating as a child of God? Are we creating as God sees us?

We continue our discussion on the importance of sleep and rest to live and guard our purpose, including tips and suggestions to explore setting ourselves up to sleep better.

Let's talk about sleep and the role it plays in fulfilling our purpose. Lack of sleep disrupts physical strength, emotional stability, mental clarity and makes us susceptible to temptations, anger, or destructive behaviors that take us off track in our relationship with God and the purpose he's given us. Go to sleep!

Seek the treasure of the presence! Accept the invitation to live, work, and create in the Kingdom, by making time to hear from God daily. Kris shares his heart for you and his ministry through Clash Creative, ending with a guided prayer.

A reflective prayer to remove any barriers and fully experience and engage Jesus with our senses.

We are invited to be still, give up drinking muddy water, work in peace, spread rest to others, and dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Feeling like you don't have time, or too overwhelmed, to do the things that matter to you? If you have 22 minutes a day, every day, for the rest of your life, what do you want to spend it on? Psalm 90 instructs us to "number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom." How we spend our time matters! Kris gives some thoughts on choosing what not to do today, in order to invest in the things that are important to you and your long-term health and creativity.

You will never have less to do or more time to do it. But there are only 24 hours in a day, so we need to be aware of what gets on our list. It's vital that the things that get onto your list matter to you and align with your long-term values. Have a daily time of stillness and prayer. That's the one thing you should do every day that will inform the other things you should put your time and energy into.

A prayer of reflection on taking Christ's presence into our senses. One day in His courts, better than 1000 elsewhere. One drop was enough, better than 1000 years of sacrifices. The answer to all striving is found in the oil of His presence. In His presence, enmity flees, and peace reigns.

What inputs in your life might be keeping you from walking towards what you want? What have you allowed into your life that you need to trade-in for your dreams and the creative legacy you want to leave? Whether you feel stuck on the technical side of your craft or the emotional—passionate side—failing to express what you know is inside, we need to determine the inputs we want to dial down to intentionally open ourselves to the future that we want. Kris shares his experience of John 14:26, "the Holy Spirit will teach you all things," choosing to fast from music so that he could let the Holy Spirit teach and inspire him to play drums. Exponential spiritual growth can happen when we fast from the things that matter to us most!

Kris shares his first experience with fasting—from the delicacies of a junior high lunchroom—then gives a basic overview of this powerful sacred loop. We fast to abstain from influences (traditionally, food) in order to become acutely aware of what we are putting into our body, heart, mind, as this affects spiritual and emotional health, and therefore, our creative work and output.

What is your daily loop for reading scripture? Every day we need to set ourselves up to listen to God, and one of the ways we do that is by setting aside time to hear from God as we read, study, and meditate on the Bible.

What are the cycles in our life that we want to repeat for the long-term success of the work that we want to do or create? In this episode, Kris shares the metaphor of tracks in audio recording software to illustrate the different "tracks" or areas of our life: career, family, social relationships, hobbies, recreation, emotional health, personal development, and the most important track that influences and affects all others: your spiritual life. What are the tracks in your life that you want to give your attention to, building intentional loops to get you where you want to go?

Kris shares about his punk rock friend "Monk John", being inspired by visiting his monastery, and learning of his traditional sacred practice of prayer and fasting while lying in a hole in the ground for a week. What spiritual loops do you want to build into your life to speak to, experience, or hear from God?

Does the world feel noisy to you? There's so much coming at us. It's hard to know what to listen to. Who can we trust? Where is the truth? In this season of noise and chaos, we need time to practice the sacred loop of silence and stillness. To block out time to practice being silent, rehearse being still, finding quiet and rest. What is your sacred loop for being silent? What is the rhythm or pattern in your life to just be? To be honest? To be silent? To allow God to speak to you? To show you the path through the noise? To find rest?

What is the spiritual coat you're wearing that you need to take off? What coat are you dressing-up in that you should discard to start wearing your coat of identity, purpose, and destiny? We can harm our spiritual health and creativity when we weigh ourselves down being comfortable in shame, unrealistic expectations, and false narratives. Exchange your coat for a coat of many colors, a coat of truth, destiny, and purpose intended and designed for you!