A Greater Story

Sense

2011-10-14T15:57:00.001-07:00

My mind is a maze. It’s no wonder I have such a difficulty putting words to my thoughts. I’m currently in a speech communications class and the instructor informed us that people think at a rate of 500-700 words a minute, but that we’re only able to speak from 100-150. There’s a chance I think at a higher rate and speak at an even lower one, causing my thoughts to become less and less understandable.

This leads me to my current platform – writing. I wouldn’t claim to be good at it, but do enjoy it. Most would agree that you cannot filter, or at least not well, your thoughts as you speak. Too often we speak before think and what comes out is not flattering of our intellect. That’s why I enjoy writing. It allows me to get out my influx of thoughts and put them to paper; or at least word document. I can look back through it and edit my thoughts. I can generally make sense of what comes out. I say generally because there are times when nobody but God can make sense of what is going on upstairs.

So whether or not you enjoy reading, just know that I deeply appreciate that you take the time to read into who I am, filtered, but sensible. Maybe someday I will be able to say audibly what I am able to portray via writing. And I hope that you are there for that moment.

Viam Veritas

2011-10-03T22:59:00.003-07:00

Viam Veritas

The way of the truth.

That is what I am in search of. I want know to the truth. I know some truth, but my knowledge is lacking. Viam veritas journals our search for the truth. I am not the only author, there are several. We know that we cannot do this alone. We also know we have a bigger sphere of influence when we do a project together, tapping into each other’s communities.

So that is what Viam Veritas is. I hope it is as meaningful to you as it is to us.

I'm not necessarily done with this blog, A Greater Story , but this is where I will be spending a majority of my time. So if you follow me on here, please begin following that blog as well. Thank you!

http://viamveritas.blogspot.com/

Narrow

2011-10-01T03:20:00.002-07:00

I’m currently watching Lord of the Rings. In fact, I am participating in a middle school boy all-nighter lock-in. Oh the joys of working with youth! I do love my job – though sleep would be nice.

These movies are rich in symbolism. Good versus bad. White against black. Humble versus proud. Many against few. The list goes on. I find it humorous that we will generally associate ourselves with the noble side when watching a movie like this. Of course we would be a part of the Fellowship of the Ring. We would fight for the destruction of the ring. Though that is what we say, when the situation presents itself, would you actually choose the side of the hero? We are quick to say yes, but I want you to think about it. It’s all too easy to submit to the enemy. But they don’t always appear to be evil. The sad fact is that though life was painted in white black, we have made such a mess of ourselves that we often mix the two. There are countless arenas in life that are gray. But when the rubber meets the road, gray is not where we want to be. If you’re in the gray, you are so much more likely to head into the black areas of life and not the white.

That sucks.

Seemingly ‘good’ people slowly erode from their noble perches and slide into pride and defeat. This is where the majority will lie. ...wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. (Matthew 7:13)

That sucks.

I know many that simply compromise their way down the wide road. They have good, sometimes even great intentions and settle for far less than what was once deep within their hearts; the good they once held.

That sucks.

But there is hope! 22 Righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. (Romans 8) At some point, we’ve all chosen to compromise and take the wide road. But God has extended to us all the gift of life! We’ve all fallen short, but we are justified by God through Christ and are found flawless in the eyes of God! That is unlike anything else.

That is glorious!

At the end of the day the light will win! That is the thing! When has light ever been pushed back by darkness? It isn’t possible. Every time light is shed it pierces into the darkness and pushes it back! The narrow will win! I love that story! God is good, amen!!

It's too late

2011-09-19T22:51:00.002-07:00

I don’t know what the cases are in your life, but you need to make your mind up now. How will you choose to respond in certain situations? What are you willing to do? Where do you draw the line and at what point will you take a stance?

There are arenas in our lives that we choose not to think about until the moment we have to make up our minds. But in case you don’t know this… that is really dangerous. We need to set our morals, know what we believe and how we are going to act before we get into those situations, though. Unless you make up your mind ahead of time, more times than not you will regret what you choose in the heat of the moment. So I would encourage you to sit down and think through what it is in life you want to set as your boundaries whether that be moral, ethical, etc. That also includes how you want to react to relationships (dating or otherwise) as well as many other parts of your life.

If you have just started the thought process for something and immediately have to provide an answer the chances are it’s too late to make the decision you really want to.

Stop Maintaining

2011-09-13T21:58:00.001-07:00

Have you ever had one of those days? The one where there are a lot of questions, little sense and zero answers? The ones that leave you mentally, physically and emotionally drained? Welcome to today. Today seems to be ongoing…for what feels like weeks – maybe even months.

I wouldn’t exactly describe myself as in a funk, simply an opportunity to evaluate where I’m at. There are moments in all of our lives when we do more running, talking, acting and doing that our thoughts, emotions, sense and at times our sanity is lacking the ability to keep up. Welcome to that place.

More times than not people, myself included, would ascribe this to some form of void, immaturity or lacking. Rather, I have begun a transformation to use opportunities like these as a means to learn a lot about myself. They say that we learn most, not in the calm, but in the storms. Learn about the world, learn about those around us and mostly, learn about our own character. Needless to say, I have been learning quite a bit about myself. It’s funny how we think we know ourselves so well and then bam! A moment comes and we quickly learn all that we don’t know. That has got to be the biggest thing I’ve been learning the last few months – how little I actually know.

God has been humbling me in many ways lately. The conversations around work, as I take on a new job, have proven my lack of understanding. Though I’ve been doing what I’m doing now for over 4 years (on a volunteer basis), I am barely scratching the surface of what I will learn and become throughout my time in the position. To be honest, I have acted arrogant and heady on several occasions and God has graciously given me the chance to be taught otherwise. A.k.a. I got humbled!

I recently blogged about being hungry despite how much food we really have, yet I have since chosen not to eat. If you haven’t read the post, the food is actually the Word of God. I feel that just because I have taken a few classes from a bible school that I now have a firm grasp on who God is and what the scriptures say, yet I know nothing. I became content with my pursuit of God. The funny thing is that not even Jesus got to that point! In fact, Jesus spent more time in community with God than we ever had! And that’s not including his time in Heaven with Him, simply his time on Earth, talking with his Father. Want to know the reason why I may have become seemingly ineffective in my spiritual life and ministry; and many people for that fact? It’s because we spend more time planning, talking and doing and less time reading (His Word, not another’s), inquiring, devoting and praying. We’re going to become like the one(s) we follow and listen to. The things we do are the things we are. I want to become so infatuated with the things and person of God that I am undoubtedly like him! Then, when I’m in my seasons of running, acting, talking and doing it’s the things of God and not the things I’ve generated to run, act talk or do. Then when things catch up with me, it’s God; not me. I am not good. I am human. I am finite. I am a sinner. I get tired. But not God! God is good! God is infinite! God is blameless! He is everlasting!

My goal, at the end of my life is to come to God and for him to say that “I got it”. That I understood what it was all about. In order for me to get to that point, though, I’m going to have to do something different than what I’ve been doing.

I’ve never claimed to be a genius or super spiritual, I simply want to be described like that of Peter and John. When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. (Acts 4:13)

What you need to know about this passage is that Peter and John weren’t being described by people they hadn’t previously known. Rather, people they have known in their earlier days noted that they were not the same Peter and John of the old. They were the Peter and John that had been with Jesus. They had courage and were made extraordinary by the fact that they had been with Jesus. He is the only one that can create and maintain true, lasting change in yours and my life. So I take a pledge to becoming more like him. Who is with me?

Humility

2011-09-12T22:41:00.002-07:00

There is a lot I do not know. That has been the theme to the last few months of my life. I recently decided to go back to Pima Community College to take a few courses at a cheaper rate than Hope International University; classes that I need to be taking. In one of my classes, my professor has said on several occasions that the more we learn, the more we’ll learn how little we actually do know. Another thing she said is that we don’t see things as they are, but that we see them as we are. That’s where I’m at today.

I’m trying to look outside of what I’ve always seen. I am beginning to realize that I can’t make it too far in life on my own, and the places I do go on my own generally aren’t places of high meaning.

With my new job and school schedule, my thoughts are erratic. I can’t seem to get it through the day other than just relying on God and looking to others for the answers. I guess for somebody who doesn’t like to look outside of himself, this whole humility thing doesn’t work out very well.

Thanks for being on the journey with me!

Broken

2011-09-05T22:28:00.000-07:00

The following is something that I wrote about a year and a half ago. A few months ago I found it while looking through my computer. I decided not to post this because I felt like I had it all together, so why then would I post about being broken? Well, to be honest, I’ll never be as together as I want to be. Though I’m on a journey toward redemption. If you’re on a similar path, I hope this helps.
-----
Sometimes, I want to portray like I have it all together, but if I were to be completely honest with you I often feel broken inside. I feel like I have to paint this picture of togetherness, like I have it all figured out; but I don’t. That is why I am writing this, this is why I am feeling this – because I want to get things together, I want to figure out what’s going on. I want to explore God’s heart. I hope and pray that the end result of this journey is that I’m made complete; not in myself, because I’ll never be made complete by myself. I’m even just having a tough time saying this aloud, that I’ll be made complete in Christ.

Although I know in my mind that that is the truth, right now, quite honestly, my heart says otherwise. I want to be made complete in Christ. So much of me wants it to be my way, that death to myself and being made alive in Christ is not quite what I want… It’s so hard even hearing myself say these words, but honesty isn’t easy, integrity isn’t easy. It’s the cost of being made pure; you have to be willing to refine yourself. That is the cost of being found flawless; you have to be willing to go through the fire. I like the end result – I like the idea of the end result. I’ve never been the one to work hard on anything. Maybe that’s why God has me on this journey; because He knows that it’s going to take more than myself to get to this place, that’s going to make me complete in him, through the brokenness. Oswald Chambers once said that you first must be broken down completely and then God can use you. I am finding this to be so true right now. Hearing these words, I am beginning to realize where my heart really is. This whole time, I’ve been lying to myself and that I’m nowhere near where I want to be. So I am praying to myself, “God, please…just do something. Fix me, help me Lord. Help me realize what I need. Help me to work on those things, God it is you that will get me through this. I can’t lead myself anywhere. Nobody else can lead me there either. Only you can lead me. You can lead me. God, lead me. Lead me in a way I can’t lead myself. Lead me to a place I can’t go myself. God, I always say that I love you, but sometimes I feel like I love other things and other people more and that just doesn’t cut it with you. You’re not just somebody else. You’re not just something else that I love. I cannot be that way; that is not the way. You must be more than my #1, you have to be my center. God just take me there, Lord I love you. God just…I just take this time to say, here I am. “Do with me what you will.”

We are hungry, yet we choose not to eat.

2011-08-23T22:29:00.001-07:00

So often we hear of children in the slums of Africa, rummaging through the dump looking for scraps so they can eat, regardless of what it is. Their water is disease-ridden and many children worldwide die before the age of five due to malnutrition, lack of food, clean water and preventable disease. This is a travesty. There is so much that we can – and should – do about that. This week, I spoke at church about the woman in the temple who, out of her poverty, gave all that see had. Her ‘all’ consisted of two copper coins, comparable to two pennies. Yet while others gave considerably more than her, Jesus stated in Luke 21, this poor widow has put in more than all the others. All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all that she had to live on. Reading that led me to consider what I have and what it is that I’m doing with it. I know I have more than two copper coins, but am I willing to give beyond my wealth and consider moving into the uncomfortable for the sake of others? This moves beyond the philosophical ‘what am I willing to do’ and into ‘what am I actually doing’.

For many of those around the world, they choose to eat whatever they can find. Sadly to say, some days there is nothing to eat. In contrast, we look in our stocked pantries and say there isn’t anything to eat. Or better yet, there isn’t anything good to eat. Nonetheless, we seem to find a way as a western culture, especially in America, to over consume to the point of obesity. I’m not sure what is worse, deathly hunger or deathly obesity.

The thing that strikes me at a deeper level is the fact that we take our consumer-driven, American culture and transfer that into our Christianity. We make the Church about how can we fulfill our needs with Jesus. But do we ever reach our fill? The simple answer is no. But in contrast, our brothers and sisters in Christ that suffer from malnutrition and hunger have the faith that leads them to pray for us.

The first time I heard that foreign, poverty-stricken believers are praying for me, my arrogance led me to question why. Why is it, that a ‘blessed’, middle-class American Christian would need the prayers of a lowly, destitute man in India?

I recently attended an event called The Global Leadership Summit and one of the speakers, Dr. Wess Stafford; President of Compassion International spoke on behalf of Pastor Stephen Sundar. He is a pastor from India. His message was one of encouragement to us to remember what it is we have. We (westerners) pray that God would ‘bless’ our third-world brothers and sisters; meanwhile they pray that we would become hungry for God. The contrasts in our situations are almost ironic. We are blessed monetarily, while they are blessed with faith and miraculous workings from God. Pastor Sundar stated that he is appalled that American Christians actually go lengthy times without being in the Word of God. They we can literally go days without prayer; the facets of our relationship with God that we are to hold dearest. He hurts for us that we can deprive ourselves so much of the real necessities of life. Though we have food on our tables, we lack God’s clear direction in our life. Though they lack food in their stomachs, they are bursting at the seems with the blessings and joy that Christ has. The saddest part about it all is that while our brothers and sisters around the world would do nearly anything for clean water, proper nutrition and food to eat, we have the Word of God ready and available at any point in time. In fact, we have a surplus of bibles. I do, I have at least four bibles, not including the bible app on my phone.

They are hungry out of need, but we are hungry out of negligence. Who then is truly poor?

Hosea, who spoke for God, stated in a charge against Israel my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge. “Because you have rejected knowledge, I also reject you as my priests; because you have ignored the law of your God, I also will ignore your children.” So God rejected his chosen people because of their lack of knowledge of him? While this knowledge definitely has elements of having good theology, I don’t think we can leave it there. I think the Israelites, once again, lost their zeal to pursue God. They became complacent in their lives and weren’t hungry for the Word of the Lord. Does this sound at all familiar? That is us. We have lost our zeal for the Lord. We have systemized everything to the point of a logical explanation for every occurrence in our life. We don’t need God to show up, because we have done such a good job of providing for ourselves. We haven’t even begun to realize the severity of our depravity. We are nothing outside of what we are in God. Just as it says in Psalm 73, skating by without being with God really hasn’t gotten us anywhere. It leads us down a slippery road, with a final crash in a ditch of delusions.

We need God. Apart from him, we are nothing. I pray that God indwells in you a hunger that you’ve never experienced. His Word will fulfill you in a way you never knew possible. Drop your negligence, grab the food and begin to eat.

The Journey of Letting Go

2011-08-04T15:15:00.000-07:00

There is a question that if you’ve been around me much, you may have heard me ask. How has the fact that you have a relationship with God changed the way you live? To be honest, I have asked that question to hundreds of people, but rarely have I even tried to answer it. At times, I wasn’t sure whether or not I even had an answer to it. Today, though, I have an answer!

I was just reading through Matthew 6 and I came across the words of Jesus. He said “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. (6:19-21,24-34)

For so many of us, we embrace a lifestyle of worry. We are not sure where our needs are going to come from or whether or not we can make ends meet. Even if you have a surplus of possessions, you may still wonder if you can make things work. This passage is beautiful because it debunks all of our worries. We are God’s prized possessions! And Jesus states that God can feed the birds in the air and clothe the flowers of the field, then why should we be concerned about whether or not God could clothe and feed his most brilliant creation?

The timeframe escapes me, but as of late God has been providing for me in ways that I couldn’t imagine. For a short amount of time, I was concerned whether or not I could make things work, but has quickly fixed that.

I find that the more I let go of control, the more I am being provided for. I’ve come to a realization: I really suck at taking care of myself. To be honest, though, I want to keep it that way. Because if I rely on myself, I will exhaust my ability to make things work. Glen Elliott has often stated, “When I am ‘strong,’ ministry becomes as small as I am. When I am weak and broken, ministry can be as big as God is.” In the same way, when I’m strong and capable, I am limited to my knowledge and strength. When I recognize my weakness and work from God’s unlimited abilities, I can get God-sized results.

Life really is good when we rely on others. I recently took a new job, which I’m extremely excited about. In taking the job, I got my own office. I decided to log all the things I will have learnt in the process of this job. So every time I learn something, I’m going to write in on an index card, note the date and tack it to my wall. So far I have written two things. “The more you play together, the better you can work together” and “I cannot do this alone”. These are vital. I cannot do this alone. Not my job, not my ministry, not my relationships, and most importantly, not my life. I have begun to let go. I am striving to let go more and more every day until I reach a point where my hands are empty, patiently awaiting something for God to hand me. That is how the fact that I have a relationship with God has changed the way I live.

I want to know him.

2011-08-03T23:53:00.000-07:00

I’m not sure which way the saying going, leaders are readers or readers are leaders. Either way I have a confession to make…I hate reading!

After attending CIY (Pantano’s high school summer camp) this past June, I took the commitment to cut something out of my life that had way more influence than was healthy for me. I found myself playing video games countless hours a week. Every chance I got, I would turn on the Xbox and play a game or ten. The conviction I felt surrounding that was so much that I made the commitment to only play on Mondays, which is my day off. In the time I would have spent playing Xbox, I decided to read instead. Since then I have read several books:
-Making Vision Stick
-The 17 Essential Qualities of a Team Player
-Real Life Discipleship
-Sex God
-Erasing Hell
-Radical
-Radical Together
-6 New Testament books!
& I’ve started many more.

I’ve read all of those in just the past month. Also, in the past month, outside of a sermon, I haven’t written anything. I exhausted myself of my writing juices after a fruitful few months earlier this year. I felt like I said most of what I knew and wanted to take some time to simply take in, rather than only writing.

Needless to say, I have quite a bit running around in my head these days. I would go as far as to say that my head is buzzing from the thoughts inhibiting it.

I’ve realized that this past year has been one unlike any year before. Receiving hasn’t ever been a strong suit for me, as I’m quite prideful. I like to think that I can handle things on my own. Unfortunately, that doesn’t always work out well for me. At the end of the day, I am nothing without all that surrounds me. Apart from God and my community, I’m simply the summation of millions of atoms, few of which composite my tiny brain. Just a side not, if my style of writing is ever confusing, please bear with me, it is sometimes difficult for me to get my thoughts out clearly.

The more I’ve read, the more I realize I am incomplete and utterly lacking knowledge. I like feeling like I lack, it leads me to depend on something else.

In this past year, I have had the chance to be in a small group in which I simply sit and receive. It’s a beautiful thing. I am built up by those around me. If you aren’t actively engaging in community, please do so. Nothing will grow you quicker than surrounding yourself with passionate, loving people.

Also, being surrounded by those committed to a radical life has greatly effected the way I perceive my own life. I want to put it all on the line. David Platt writes in Radical Together, “putting everything in our lives before God is the natural response to the Gospel.” I now want to lay it all on the line for him who did just that for me. The more I read in the bible, or any of the books I’ve recently picked up, the more I want to abandon everything I’ve ever known to know Him, who gave it all, all the more. Romans 8:17 states that we are heirs —heirs of God and co–heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. Sometimes I find myself wanting to share in God’s glory without sharing in his suffering. But this isn’t something we get to pick and choose.

That’s one of the biggest things wrong with the American Church these days. We take the bits and pieces of the Gospel that fit into our plan and our life and we make that work, most times leaving behind some of the most vital parts of the book. I will admit to you first hand that I am not ready to lay it all on the line. I can honestly say that I am there more than I have ever been in the past, but I have a million miles to go. We’ll never arrive as Christ-followers until the beautiful day of our death. That’s one of the ideas I have of a book. The idea of a beautiful death – both our death and resurrection in him, but also our death to self, for the sake of his glory.

I have learned lately to take myself less seriously. I don’t want to make my life about a series of events in which I find ways to serve God, but rather how I can come to know him in a more intimate way. Apart from Him, I am nothing. And I am serving and giving for the sake of it, then it is meaningless. God wants our devotion, not our service. Now, out of our devotion will often derive service. But make sure that you are in the right place first.

I have recently been convicted that I claim to follow Christ, yet have never heard everything he has to say. I am committing to reading through the entire bible. I want to know my God. I want to be close with him. I want to experience God in a way I’ve never done so in the past. I want to lay it all on the line for him. I want to share in his sufferings, knowing him in the glorious way, so that I might know his glory as well. Call me crazy, but that is a beautiful thought to me.

Do something you haven’t done before to get what you haven’t had before. For me it was not playing Xbox and reading and pursuing God like I haven’t before. The relationship is worth it.

Are you being fulfilled?

2011-05-25T11:00:00.001-07:00

Monday I went up to Mt. Lemmon with my roommate and this is how I felt God talking to me as I was reading through Matthew 5. Previous to going, I was feeling tired and empty, so I went up the mountain to get away and refuel. The following is how I felt God speaking to me about my current situation.

I’ve always wanted more. It’s what is inside all of us; a desire for more. That’s why you can super-size your meal, climb the corporate ladder and buy new fashions. We need to recognize a universal truth though: nothing you can acquire on this earth will ever leave you permanently satisfied. More will always be our mindset. It’s because of that fact that I know we were no created for this world as our end all. If we were, wouldn’t we be satisfied with what it brings? Why would things like the Enron scandal and the NFL lockout occur? Everyone wants more, thinking that “more” of whatever (fame, money, assets, etc.) will bring them what they truly want: something to fill their void.

We were created with an end in mind; we were created to be filled with the God who created us. Since obviously nothing on earth will ever permanently satisfy, we must look elsewhere: God. When we feel like we are lacking something, anything really, that is the recognition of your heart that you are looking outside of your design for something else to fill you. But that isn’t the job of anything but God. Only our great creator can fulfill. How could anyone or anything else? He knows what we need because he created us.

Matthew 5:6 states Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

Righteousness is to be right with God. In order to be right with God, we must follow his call for us. He wants to reunite heaven and earth and we can be a part of that by making Jesus’ name famous and loving those around us.

When we hunger and thirst for God, then we will be filled. Here’s an honest question: have you ever felt truly fulfilled? Or have you ever been left wanting more? As we plainly see it, the things of this world will not be able to truly fulfill us. So if you want what you’ve never had, then you must do what you’ve never done. We must recognize that only God can fill us with something that will last. That is what it means to hunger and thirst for God; to seek him for your life fulfillment. Not money; not job security; not relationships; not a gained skill. None of that will ever fill the void created for God to fill.

Are you feeling empty? Why don’t you ask God to fill you? Maybe you’ve experienced God’s fulfillment but you are in a dry spot. God isn’t stingy. He is a prodigal God. He gives of himself generously. He gladly gives refills, too. So may you seek the only thing that truly fills.

What do you worship?

2011-05-21T23:33:00.001-07:00

I have been noticing a lot more recently that a lot of people have been coming out of the world to join in the family of believers, which is incredibly exciting! But, there is a huge difference between learning about Jesus and somewhat mirroring him, and radically following him with reckless abandon. I have begun to notice that the narrow road really is narrow. Not that I didn't already realize that given the description "narrow road", but instead of it bring a one lane road with a small shoulder on each side, it's more like a small beaten foot path with a rocky mountain on one side and steep cliffs to the other.

I recently heard that revelation is not for the unobservant. As you may have been able to tell, I have been very straight forward about my thoughts toward life and Christianity as of late. The explanation is simple: I have been observant. I have come to notice that there are certain ways that we often choose to live our lives that revert us back to ourselves. I'm not saying it's not ok to take care of yourself but is it your first priority to give yourself the very best? ....... Take a minute before you answer. If you answered yes, you may have missed something. If you are not somebody that has identified yourself as Christ-follower than disregard this, but for those of you who claim that, I would ask you this question: what was the commitment you made when you became a "Christian"? Was it to say you liked the idea of this guy named Jesus, or was it to lay your life down so that another name, Jesus, could be lifted up?

For the longest time I simply didn't understand what this whole thing was about. Not just Christianity, but life! Life is about worship. And we all do it, believer or non-believer. Worship is to ascribe worth to somebody or something. That is something that every human being does. For some it's their family, job, hobby, car, significant other, drink or for the select few, God. We all ascribe worth to something. We, as humans have never had an issue worshiping. The tough question for you and I though is the what. Who or what are you worshiping? Worship, however, is not as simple as we would like to think it is. It's not an act that begins and ends. Worship is not a mood. Worship is a continual being. It is something that we embrace as a lifestyle. That is why when people who jump on the bandwagon or make a sudden change, like into following Christ for instance, it is so tough for them. That is why it is a long journey. One can temporarily change their behavior, but to change what you worship is something completely different. Because while we can mask a change of what we worship, the behavior will eventually default and the idol of worship will quickly become evident. This leads me to ask you this: have you experienced a behavioral change or a worship change? Because while I hear people claiming to have a life change, I see underneath it a reverting to the old.

The world isn't changed by people who look like it. Why would they need changing? Aren't they content to keep status quo? Rather, the world is changed by those who stand out. How are you standing apart from the crowd? As Christians, we have been sanctified through Christ's blood. To be sanctified is to be set apart. To be set apart is pretty self-explanatory. To follow Jesus with reckless abandon is to surrender. That is another way we can look set apart from the world. They are taught to never surrender. We are to submit. We realize that God's call on our life is of greater significance than our own intentions. Not only that, but also that we can actually have more significance and meaning with him rather than apart from him. To be radically following God is to follow him in his call regardless of then implied worldly consequences. What world are we living for? And we actually make most of our lives and our time when we make the most of him.

So I want to leave you with a few questions. Are you set apart from the world, or are you still caught up in it? What would those around you say you are worshiping? What would you say you're worshiping?

Don't Compromise

2011-05-18T01:05:00.002-07:00

I recently wrote a blog as part of my 30-Day Challenge entitled: God is not a game. The whole idea of God being a game has been an issue I’ve had to deal with a lot recently. I, at times, play this game with the best of them. But the thing that really gets me is when people live as though having a relationship with God hasn’t done a thing to change the way they live. The fact of the matter is this, When I first thought I was taking my walk with God seriously, and I look back, I was still jacking around. This happens every day when I wake up. If this life is a journey, then it’s all about taking another step closer to God every day you are alive. In my life, I don’t see any critical points where I took several more steps than the other, because I am always becoming a better, more Godly person. Eventually real change is evident, but it doesn’t all happen at once.

Jesus is in the business of life change, not momentary behavioral change. Though attitudes seem different for a while, if you’re not living for God, it will become clearly evident quite fast. It goes back to the question I asked earlier. Does the fact that you have a relationship with God change the way you live your life? If you are living in God’s grace, then you should take that grace, knowing that it is a part of life change for you. Yes, you have sinned, but that God has changed your heart to be more like his. Grace is about recognizing what was and embracing what will be; not recognizing what was will continue to be. Grace is not about us continuing to sin because God has given us a “free pass”. Romans 6 states What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? (vv. 1-2) We have died to our sin, but through God’s grace we have been baptized into life.

So are you living in grace, or are wallowing in the pits of over welcomed sin? Has God actually changed the way you’re living, or are you still playing a game? I hope for your sake that you’re not compromising in your life, because the price tag set on compromise is hefty, and it’s not something you’re going to want to pay for later when you realize all that you’ve lived for was a waste.

Content

2011-05-12T11:26:00.000-07:00

I can’t help but imagine what can be. Time continues to go by and the longing that is rooted deep inside of me will not be satisfied until I act on, and complete the task that has been given to me. I know the vision that has been laid upon my heart is not something that is of human creation because it is larger than myself, or any other for that matter. This vision is even bigger than a generation. A cause that will seek global justice and will make right all that is wrong. We will take not only the name of Jesus, but the lifestyle – the love, the glory, the grace and the hope with us. I will not settle, I will not stop until that mission is complete; or until God takes me home. I share the same holy discontent that our Lord God does, that being he will not be satisfied until heaven and earth are reunited. And that can’t happen until the world knows about who Jesus is.

I live in Tucson, Arizona. There is a metro area of around one million people in this city. Statistics state that only 17% of Tucson is churched. And although there are many churches in Tucson, there are not enough. Those numbers would then leave us to assume there are some 830,000 unchurched people who live in my town. We have a huge mission that we have charged to see to completion. I’m not content with hoping that someday, Tucson will know about God; in the years down the road. This task is very attainable today. We’ve read how there have been thousands of baptisms in a single day. God still works in that way. Just look at how His glory is spreading like wildfire throughout this world.

But we can’t just wait for this to unfold. In case you haven’t heard it, or need a reminder, Ghandi once stated that we should, “be the change in the world we want to see.” It all starts at home. How are you going to start right where you’re at to change your communities? I don’t even have a for sure answer as to how I will do that very thing, but I will not turn away from the tugging deep inside of me. I know that God will use me, and that I am on the road, heading towards my ultimate place to serve. I will not settle to just travel that way, because I am making the investments right now. I am helping lives change right where I’m at.

God has placed me here for a reason, and I am going to fulfill that calling. I don’t care what role I have during that time, just so long as I’m doing what I have been called to do, because no matter what I do, I am on for a wild ride. And this is so much larger than anything I could ever be a part of on my own. An army can do far more than any individual could. I am but a soldier in God’s army. I am but a speck of sand, but I am a part of a huge beach! And without me, no matter how small the difference is, it isn’t the same. I am valuable on my own, but my value is far more when I am one with my Father in Heaven. What role do you play in your community? Because your community will not be the same until you unite and move toward a common goal.

What’s your goal for your community?

What’s your role in that community?

What are your dreams for your community?

Cost of following

2011-05-09T23:36:00.006-07:00

I have never had a problem with buying the little things. A candy bar here, a movie there. Anything at or below $10 doesn’t even require hesitation on my part to give in and spend. It’s in the big things, however, when I mysteriously become frugal with my money. Even filling up with gas and similar necessities seem to weigh on me in such a way that I feel I will never be able to recover. What I continually fail to acknowledge is how the little buys quickly add up to the same amount, if not more than a few large buys.

In the same way, it is really easy sometimes to give into the little temptations, thinking they won’t make too much of an effect in our lives. In the same way, when we give into little temptations, we feel as though that’s not what will get us into trouble. That, however, is a lie! When we compromise our character in the slightest, it opens up the door for more and more. So what’s the big deal if there is just a teeny-weeny crack in a dam? Will it really make that big of difference? The fact of the matter is that it will; and it does. The only difference is that a small compromise on a spending level is nowhere as severe and crucial as it is on a spiritual level. The ramifications are not something you want to deal with.

A passage that has been on my heart for quite some time now is something that I’ve wanted to write about for awhile. In this passage we read about an interaction Jesus had with his disciples and the cost of following him. We read in Mark 8:34-36, “Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?’ In this passage Jesus explains what kind of lifestyle we must have in order to follow him.

In the same way I don’t mind giving in and buying the small things, and at times don’t mind even giving in with the little temptations, it really isn’t that tough to give up some of the little things. Even though I often give in to the little things, both in my spending and in my spiritual life, I realize that Jesus isn’t actually asking too much of us. If Jesus were to ask me to give up some things, it wouldn’t be a huge deal breaker. Take volleyball for instance. If God asked me to go without ever playing volleyball again, I’m sure that wouldn’t be too much to ask of me. But if I were told to give up ever playing any sport again, that would be much tougher. But what if he asked for more? What if he asked you to give up TV? Alcohol? Certain music? Are there any aspects of your life that you’re not willing to give to God?

Maybe that is a distraction in your life that God wants you to consider giving to him. Do you wonder what God might have to say about this? Let’s take a look at his word. Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us (Heb. 12:1). That seems to say it pretty strongly. Essentially, the writer of Hebrews is telling us that whatever it is that stands between you and living a sold out life for Christ is not something we should be keeping in our lives; that we might as well throw it out. He wrote, “Let us throw off ALL that hinders”, not get rid of some of the distractions. How are you doing with getting rid of the distractions? Matt Chandler said recently that when we gain an appetite for what is good, then we lose our appetite for what is bad. Isn’t that the truth? I pray that you are able to shed off whatever it is that is keeping you from being able to fully follow Christ. And while you’re gaining that good appetite, you will be ridding yourself of whatever it is that is entangling you.

Day 30: God is everything!

2011-05-08T23:13:00.001-07:00

These past 30 days have been quite eye opening! With what began as a forum to discuss the different attributes of God has became something much larger. This has become a living document of my life. God is has become the journal of who God is to me, not just this is a certain aspect of God. The good news is that the gap between the two is fairly small. This is both good news because the God who has always came through for the many I know and have heard of is the same God I can bank on to come through for.

I remember clearly the night I first heard the song, how could I forget? I was at Passion 2010 and went to the late night event, which happened to be Hillsong United in concert. Near the end of the set, they played With Everything. Though it was my first time hearing it, I felt it was a regular. My heart was so in tune with the lyrics coming from my mouth. With hands as high as they’ve ever been, I chanted with 15,000 others With everything, With everything, We will shout for your glory. With everything, With everything, We will shout forth your praise. As those words were departing my lips I felt lifted off the ground with outstretched arms, literally closing the gap between God and myself. There is actually a YouTube video of that song live at Passion 2010, it would behoove you to look into that.

That time was so special to me. But as much as those few moments will live on in infamy, so will these past 30 days. In the same way we highlight quotes and lines in our favorite book and articles, these past 30 posts have been a highlight of my life. The idea that God is everything that matters in my life and the only thing worth devoting myself to has been concreted to my heart. Andy Stanley once wrote, "Living to make my mark is too small a thing to devote my life to." Living to make God’s mark and to be his mark in others’ lives though is exactly what we should devote ourselves to. So as I finish this series, I will not stop writing, as this is not the end of the story, but I will leave you with this. How has the fact that you have a relationship with God changed the way you live? Does God have everything from you? God is worth everything we have to give, so as you live your life, show that.

Stay tune, I’ll be back with more!

Day 29: God is close?

2011-05-07T21:46:00.001-07:00

I would say that more often than not, we prefer to have an easy life. We generally steer clear of hardships. Now, let me open this to say that we shouldn’t intentionally seek out hardships for the sake of it, because that’s just dumb. Also, some hardships are brought on by our stupidity, rather than our faith. With all that being said, let’s jump in!

There are times that our faith brings hardship upon us. While those are times that are sometimes necessary (see Day 26: God is a provider), it may not be fun. Those are times, though that you should covet. The reason for that stems straight from John 15:

1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. 8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

9 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit —fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. 17 This is my command: Love each other.

I love that image of God cutting off our branches, because it describes exactly what we wonder to ourselves everyday; we are close to God. You may often question whether or not God is near you in those times, but the answer is simple. Yes, he is. Look at it like this, if God is the gardener, and we are the branches, could he prune and refine us if he were not close by to us? The gardener cannot both be far away and close to us. If we are being humbled and our character being refined, it’s because God is right there, holding you through the process. That is who our God is. He keeps us in his hands as he is developing us. So when you find yourself wondering where God is amongst all of your hardships, there is no need to look far, for he is right there the whole time.

Day 28: God is not limited to our understanding of him

2011-05-06T18:12:00.001-07:00

I have found that in these past four weeks, there have been some topics I’ve covered that I’ve had similar thoughts of. This isn’t, however, necessarily a bad thing. There are passages in scripture that are repeated. There are 7 “I Am” references, the 4 Gospels, thousands of scriptures on money and possessions along with many more. These topics are spoken on more than once because these things are really important and need to be hit on repeatedly, as we happen to be hardheaded at times.

My recent posts have had some similar themes, as God has been teaching me some of the same lessons from one day to the next. But what I’ve come to understand is that what I have to bring to the table, in my limited knowledge of God is that I am limited. God is so vast in his being that none of us will ever be able to fully comprehend the totality of who he is. God is all the things I’ve described since the beginning of the 30-day challenge and a million more. I just hope that you don’t slow down in your pursuit to come to know him all the more, and mostly that your pursuit of him doesn’t turn into a quest of knowledge of him, but rather a journey towards learning how to know him in your actions of doing what he’s engrained upon your heart. Go get ‘em!

Day 27: God is radical

2011-05-05T21:56:00.002-07:00

Recently, I started reading a book called Radical. Now, to make things clear, this isn’t a plug for the book, although it is a great book. But a lot of what the book speaks to is the different lifestyle that is portrayed by real, authentic Christ-followers. Living a radical life will appear crazy to those watching, because they will not understand our reasoning. The premise of the book is “Taking back your faith from the American Dream”. When we’re trying to live the dream, making the most of ourselves, we leave out the part of making the most of God. I want to make the most of God. If I am made more of, I want it to be for the sake of him, not for me. Whose glory are you living for? Because a radical life is one where we will do whatever it takes to glorify God.

Are you living a radical lifestyle?

Whose glory are you living for?

Day 26: God is a provider!

2011-05-04T22:38:00.003-07:00

Developing relationships with people and connecting them with others are probably my greatest passions. I find that when you begin to peel back the outer layers of people you come to see who they are. And I don’t mean their likes and dislikes, but rather the core of who they are. I love doing this because of how sacred it is to really get to the core of who people are. When we are vulnerable with others, showing them what truly makes our heart beat, is when we experience the greatest joy and intimacy in relationships. I understand why people often mask who they truly are, but when we unleash those aspects of our lives with others you get to be who you really are. No masks, no games; just you. That is why we love when people are vulnerable and open with us, we get to experience them in a way that not many do, the real them.

I feel like I have begun to experience this with some of my closest friends, and despite some of their reservations, it has turned out well. I understand that hurt can occur, but the reward far surpasses the risk. What I’ve come to see is that God uses my close friends to provide for me in ways that I couldn’t imagine unless I were to take the time to invest in the relationships.

God speaks in many ways. We see it everyday from reading the bible, to praying, to hearing him speak through others. God doesn’t just do speaking in that way though, he also acts in other ways too. God has been actively blowing my mind in the realm of providing for people’s needs lately. I have several friends/acquaintances that God has granted the gift of giving and they use that gift any chance they can. I wouldn’t necessarily say that I have had huge needs to be filled by God through others, but God has provided in other ways for me, though I did receive nearly $250 dollars to help fund my way to Passion 2011 earlier this year. That helped greatly as it was a bit of a tight time of the year for me. I won’t bore you with talking about myself though. I want to share with you the stories of two of my closest friends.

Friend A has had the chance to come closer to God and to experience God’s hand of provision in the last 5 months or so since losing their employment. Unable to find work until just this past week, they have been without income for a long time. In her time of need, she received over $6,000 in various forms from friends, family, students and anonymous parties. Though this has been one of the toughest seasons of her life, God has overwhelmed her with his provision. Although this is something she hasn't directly told me, I think it would be safe to say that she didn’t feel alone in that time. And while she was concerned on where money would come from, she continued to watch as God provided for her needs in several ways. These are just a few of the things she received while she was in need:

-$6150 (Money that was given to make mortgage and car payments)
-Gas money to go out of state to an already planned friend’s wedding
-Gift cards
-A few pots of flowers
-Numerous coffee, breakfast, lunch and dinner dates
-And unceasing prayer and support throughout the 5 months

The most amazing part of the whole experience for her was that God blessed her so much through the time that she has a surplus that she then turned around to bless others. Talk about being blessed to be a blessing. One of the friends that she was able to bless is Friend B.

Friend B had to quit his full-time job when he was getting prepared to be married. He is now married and working a part-time job, one that he was previously working in ministry before getting married (he had been working two jobs beforehand). He now is only able to work the one job, while looking to get into full-time ministry. Due to special circumstances, his wife is unable to work so he is working 20-30 hours a week and providing for the both of them. This has been going on for about 6 months. In this time God has provided a few thousand dollars to them as well. My first friend was able to bless my second friend. Being an outsider looking in, it has been a blessing just to watch all this unfold. It’s funny how God works in that way, blessing those watching while he blesses others. The fact of the matter is simple: God provides for us.

I have come to see God in a new light in my exploration of whom he is. Both of my friends have come to experience God in a whole new way in these past few months. Although it hasn’t been the easiest times for them, God has brought them all closer to who he is through this time. I know in my life I have opened up in a way that I haven’t before and the result of that is experiencing God in a whole new way. There is a common saying that I am constantly reminded of, “If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always gotten.” The opposite to that makes just as much sense though, in the time really opening up to God and those closest to me, I’ve come to experience God as one who will infinitely provide for me and those around me. At times, he provides money and blessings (clear blessings) and sometimes he provides opportunities for dependence on him, having to rely on him for the rent check, while you don’t have a job (blessing in disguise).

God will always provide for you. Now, that doesn’t always mean he will do it in the manner you want it, but he will provide for you all that you need for a godly life. If that means providing opportunities to depend on him that seem like times absent of God’s provision that is how it has to be. Though, that is not God not providing. I want to remind you of Isaiah 55:8 which says For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. God will take care of you in which way he knows is best fit. His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. (2 Peter 1:3).

So whether or not you’re the one who is giving, being given to or watching, just know that you are being blessed and provided for. I feel like I receive the most when I’m giving. That is how God blesses me from time to time.

Earlier in this series I wrote about how God is leading me to dependence, and that is what he is continuing to do. I pray that this journey he has you on is doing the same, because our God is of infinite worth and stepping in on our behalf whether it’s making ends meet, a friend buying you a coffee or anything in between is nothing to him. He doesn’t even flinch. If God didn’t hesitate to give his son for us all then what’s a car payment here or there? God wants to show you his fullness, so give him the opportunity to do so. He will always come through.

This isn’t the end of the story for either of my friends, rather the opposite. They both have a ton of time ahead of them. But God has been changing who they are and they are experiencing God in ways they have never imagined. They now will look at others in a different light now when they are in other situations. They have seen what it truly means to give and how meaningful and special it is. They now want to give out of the their abundance, although it wouldn’t appear from outside world that they have it. You see, when we have what we need in God, all that surrounds us are meaningless details. God has shown his heart to them in their search for a greater reliance on him. That’s what happens when we invest in relationships, we get something in return, the only difference though between our relationships with God and with others though, is that God will never walk away. God is there, next to you, giving you what you need: him. Take it.

How has God provided for you?

How have you seen him come through for those around you?

Day 25: God is unstoppable

2011-05-03T12:51:00.001-07:00

One of my favorite people to listen to preach the word is a man by the name Perry Noble. The guy is a hoot to listen to as he brings to light biblical truths that many don’t have the…audacity to say. I won’t share all of his audacious statements, but what I will share with you that he often says concerns issues that we, or others, may have with God. In response to whatever the issue is he counters with, “you can take that up with God…you lose.” That statement makes me laugh every time I hear it. Our God is sovereign. What he wills happens. No if, and or butts about it.

As I’m sure you’ve come to experience, I love music. And music is a large part of how I see God’s character in a tangible way. I say all this because since Passion 2010, Chris Tomlin’s song Our God has been rocking both the airwaves as well as the stage. Who doesn’t love to sing about a God who is for us and no one can stand against?

You know how people always take pride when they are the “original” fans of things? In my case, I love Lost, but I’m given a hard time constantly that I’m not a “real” Lost fan because I didn’t watch it from Day 1. (Sorry, I feel like I did a great job trying to keep Lost out of my blog for 23 days) Well, I am going to get a little prideful here. I’m not sure when I first ran across it, but I clearly remember how I felt when I first read Romans 8:31-39. And by the way, this is in the Message translation.

So, what do you think? With God on our side like this, how can we lose? If God didn't hesitate to put everything on the line for us, embracing our condition and exposing himself to the worst by sending his own Son, is there anything else he wouldn't gladly and freely do for us? And who would dare tangle with God by messing with one of God's chosen? Who would dare even to point a finger? The One who died for us—who was raised to life for us!—is in the presence of God at this very moment sticking up for us. Do you think anyone is going to be able to drive a wedge between us and Christ's love for us? There is no way! Not trouble, not hard times, not hatred, not hunger, not homelessness, not bullying threats, not backstabbing, not even the worst sins listed in Scripture: They kill us in cold blood because they hate you. We're sitting ducks; they pick us off one by one. None of this fazes us because Jesus loves us. I'm absolutely convinced that nothing—nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable—absolutely nothing can get between us and God's love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us.

Nothing can drive a stake between us and God’s love for us. With God on our side, there is no way that Satan can get us down! God in us is unstoppable. God is unstoppable. So I don’t know how often you get discouraged or you feel weak, but we are serving a God that won not only the battle, but also the entire war. We are simply here trying to make our way through the debris. There is nothing that Christ can’t do. His love can and will spread like a wildfire, the only question is this: are you going to allow this all-awesome, all-loving, unstoppable God spread his love in and through you?

Are you?

Day 24: God is redeeming you

2011-05-02T16:18:00.001-07:00

I love that every year at the Passion Conference that we can look forward to new music to worship to. One of the new songs, debuted by David Crowder*Band, called Sometimes was all about God’s grace as that there is never a place we can reach that God can’t redeem us from. Check out these lyrics, and if you get the chance, listen to the song.

Sometimes every one of us feels
Like we’ll never be healed
Sometimes
Sometimes every one of us aches
Like we’ll never be saved
Sometimes

When we’ve given up
Let Your healing come
When there’s nothing left
Let Your healing come
‘Til we’re rising up
Let Your healing come
Where You go, we will follow
Where You go, we will follow

It’s Your love that we adore
It’s like a sea without a shore
We’re lost in You, we’re lost in You
It’s Your love that we adore
It’s like a sea without a shore
We’re lost in You, we’re lost in You
Sometimes

Sometimes
It’s like we’ll never atone
For all the love we’ve known
Sometimes
Like in a smile or a song
When you feel it come
And that feeling’s gone
It flies

When we’ve given up
Let Your healing come
When there’s nothing left
Let Your healing come
Feel it rising up
Let Your healing come
Where You go, we will follow
Where You go, we will follow

It’s Your love that we adore
It’s like a sea without a shore
We’re lost in You
We’re lost in You
It’s Your love that we adore
It’s like a sea without a shore
We’re lost in You
We’re lost in You
It’s Your love that we adore
It’s like a sea without a shore
Don’t be afraid
Don’t be afraid
Just set your sail

And risk the ocean there’s only grace
Let’s risk the ocean there’s only grace
Let’s risk the ocean there’s only grace
Let’s risk the ocean there’s only grace

God, it’s your love that we adore! It’s like a sea without a shore! And even when we give up, let your healing come! The message in that song is awesome! It leaves me with an incredible amount of hope, because no matter what happens, God can restore me.

I don’t know where you’ve come up sort, for me I’ve had some bad experiences with relationships, pornography, language and many others. There have been points in time when I didn’t think God could bring me back to him, but that isn’t the truth. I was reading a post by a good friend earlier today, and he talked about how God is a creator, and that only God can create. Satan is merely a manipulator. Satan makes us think we are too far-gone to be healed, but God’s love is like a sea without a shore.

I recently read an article talking about sex and abortion, and it spoke on how “Christians” have a zero tolerance policy on sex, and it seems logical. If I were to have sex before marriage, then I have lost. My entire plan to wait for marriage has failed. But since I failed, then what happens now? I can’t undo my mistake. I could no longer say that I had successfully waited. But what we fail to see it that God can redeem us from those places. That’s not to say that we are magically a virgin again, but how can one’s judgment outweigh the grace of God? The answer is it can’t. The healing we experience from God far outweighs our thoughts and feeling toward a person or situation. In Romans 3 we read that for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. (vv.23-24) We’ve all fallen short, but God’s grace has been freely given. May you accept it.

Are you actively accepting God’s grace or are you still sitting in your sin?

How have you experienced God’s redemption?

Day 23: God is simple

2011-05-01T23:02:00.000-07:00

Our world is full of incredible complexities. Women, in my opinion, are well known for making things more complicated than they need to be. Something I’ve found out despite all that surrounds us is that God is simple. I love Jesus, because although he at times spoke in parable form, he was pretty straight forward about what it takes to follow him. Life can get a little crazy from time to time, but the call that Jesus on our lives remains the same. Check out this passage:

19 “There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. 20 At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores 21 and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.

22 “The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. 24 So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’

25 “But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. 26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’

27 “He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father’s house, 28 for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’

29 “Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’

30 “‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’

31 “He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’” (Luke 16:19-31)

Jesus is simple. It doesn’t take too much thinking to follow him, in fact we have all that we need to understand what’s going on, and don’t even need our dead relatives to tell us how to live our lives. I know that passage goes on about some other things as well, but it goes to show that it doesn’t take a whole lot to understand and follow Jesus. So, the fact that you are reading this right now means you have what it takes to follow Jesus. It’s simple. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. Have a good one!

Are you making following Jesus more difficult than it needs to be?

What’s getting in the way of you following Jesus?

Day 22: God is a transformer

2011-04-30T22:33:00.000-07:00

No, God is not a transformer like from the movies. Sorry to disappoint. But God does change...us! Needless to say, God has been up to a lot in me lately. The amount of transformation my life has taken is monumental! It’s crazy to look back and see the ride I’ve gone for. Though I am nothing like what I was, it wasn’t a quick experience. I imagine my life in Christ somewhat like a slow roasted pig you see at the luau, you know, the one with the apple in its mouth; the ones that take a day to cook. Although the process is more than a daily long journey, it has been a long time in the making.

I feel like the transformation in our lives is like osmosis. We transform toward what we surround ourselves with, similarly to the saying “you are what you eat”. If we surround ourselves with worldly things, we’re more likely to transform to the world, and if we surround ourselves with the things of God, we will transform to be more like God. The best things I’ve ever done were to open my bible, speak with God and surround myself with people that sharpen me (Proverbs 27:17). The more I did these things, the more transformed I became. In Romans 12, we read Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is —his good, pleasing and perfect will. (vv.2) When our minds are renewed in the things of God, we then take on more of the qualities of him we seek. So as I leave you, I urge you to consider Psalm 51:10 as a prayer. Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

What are the things that bring you closer to God?

What’s stopping you from participating in more of that?

How have you been transformed?

Day 21: God is not a game

2011-04-29T18:42:00.001-07:00

I’ve been doing my series God is now for 3 weeks and this is the first time I’ve had the word not included in the title. I’ve toyed around with idea of doing this for quite some time, as it may not necessarily give an accurate description of who God is, but it is my hope that in this post, I will be able to chip away some of what God is not in order to leave you with a more solid look on who he is – similarly to how Michelangelo sculpted until what remained was David.

I’ve always taken great offense to when people say things like, “it’s just a game”. To me, sports have been so much more than a game; so much so at times, that I’ve treated it as if it were the entirety of my life. Seeing as I haven’t been on a competitive sports team in almost 4 years, my view towards it has drastically altered. At the end of the day, sports, video games and adventures alike are just a game. They shouldn’t (and I say shouldn’t because often times they do) become our identity. That, and we realize that like most things in life, we experience these things in seasons. I now realize that the season for me to play football is over and I don’t have to invest anymore into it.

The thing about some games and sports though that are highly appealing is that one can take a break and come back and play after long stints of not doing it. I recently started playing basketball again, and while I’m not in as good of shape as I once was, I still have most of my basketball I.Q. and fundamentals still down.

Often times, you will hear of our relationship with God as part of the “game of life” or as a race. And yes, while our relationship with God is a race of sorts, that I believe is where the analogies between games and God end.

Your relationship with God is not a game to be picked up, set down, played flippantly or practiced. This is a different story if you don’t currently have a relationship with him, as you are still exploring that with God, but this is not the same for people identifying yourself with Jesus. Let me know say this clearly: God is not a game to be played. God is a relationship to be constantly refined.

There have been countless times in my life where I didn’t care too much about God. These were times, though, that I still identified myself with God; whether it be telling people that I was a “Christian” or having it on my Facebook bio. Considering that God created us in his image – in his beauty, strength, courage, mercy and godliness, among others, we then reflect God to others that know us to be “Christians”. But are those attributes of God, and the ones I’ve been posting on previously, traits that others would say you embody? Would your coworkers, classmates, family members and friends describe you as a person who lives out the Fruit of the Spirit? Incase you forgot what those were, here they are: But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self–control. (Galatians 5:22-23) Are those the aspects of your life that people encounter? Or are they encountering aspects described of the unbelievers? People not wholly affected by the Spirit’s guidance in their lives.

Last month I was at a leadership conference called Catalyst West. At the conference, a speaker described what he called a “Booty – God – Booty” lifestyle. He was listening to the radio, and at 6:30am every morning, they would put on what they called their daily Gospel moment. So every morning at 6:30 they would either play a Gospel track or listen to an excerpt of a sermon. That was nice, but just before, at 6:25 every morning, they would play a normal song that the station would play, perhaps something from Lil Wayne talking about sex and drugs. And after the Gospel moment, they would play something similar. So, in essence, the lineup for the morning went: Booty – God – Booty. He went on to explain that we often do this in our lives. We’ll be out partying, getting drunk and trying to conquer some new guy or girl on Saturday night, hopefully not staying out too late because we have to go to church the next morning. (Or, in the case for you Elements folk, we have church Sunday nights so you have plenty of time to get rid of your hangovers) So we’re at church, praising away and nodding our heads intently as the preacher drives home his point. You give out hugs as we part ways, preparing for the new week to begin. Monday morning, we’re back to the grind, doing whatever it is that you do. You see how it works? Booty – God – Booty.

For several years I played a game similar. I did whatever it was that pleased me, thankfully the consequences at the time and the severity of my mishaps weren’t too bad, but I played the game nonetheless. I did my thing, went to church, and got back into my “real” lifestyle. That kind of crap is not what God is about. Remember, this isn’t meant towards those of you who aren’t actively in a relationship with God, but rather to those of you who say that God has changed the way you live. And it doesn’t have to be partying. Maybe it’s having sex with your girlfriend/boyfriend. Maybe it’s pornography. Maybe it’s speaking flippantly, being loose with your words or cussing. It can be a whole bevy of things. These are areas of our lives that are incredibly difficult to transform. And before you say I’m being judgmental or that you have the freedom to do some of these things in Christ. I would say a few things: Christ didn’t die for you to continue to live the way you were before you came to know him. And you shouldn’t continue to sin to increase the amount of grace granted to you. (Read Romans 6) Also, if you claim that these things are either wrong or questionable at best, I would say if you have to question whether or not something is questionable then it’s probably questionable. And lastly, a friend recently said to me in regards to our using our freedoms, “The louder I hear you shout about your freedom to do something, the louder I hear your chains rattling.” God has granted us freedom, and sent his son as atonement for our sins and misdoings so that we would come to know him and be able to go be with him in Heaven, not so that we could continue to live our lives the way we wanted to.

That’s a lot to swallow, but all I can think about in this moment is a passage that continually breaks my heart. Being in relationship with God is recognizing that we don’t know it all and that God’s way is best for us and that through the sacrifice of his son and the sacrifice of our wills and ambitions, taking up God’s plan for us is what it best for our lives. I have seen several friends make a commitment to Christ, only to eventually walk away as they revert back to a lifestyle that is little like that they once claimed or aspired to be like. In 2 Peter, we read If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them. Of them the proverbs are true: “A dog returns to its vomit,” and, “A sow that is washed goes back to her wallowing in the mud.” (vv. 20-22). Wow. That doesn’t paint a pretty picture. To think that we would be better off never knowing about Christ and his sacrifice then to have known and turned back. You see, that is the price of playing the game. That’s why God isn’t a game. This God thing isn’t something to be picked up and dropped whenever it’s convenient. God is about changing our lives. We are pawns in his story. He doesn’t make a very good pawn in yours. Life isn’t about us; life is all about God. We wonder why we aren’t like the church in Acts, maybe it’s because we have more dogs in the church than we do saints.

I hope with everything in me, this isn’t something written to you. I pray that you aren’t playing a game with God, but that he is constantly transforming you. God gave all that he could to see you redeemed to him, what are you willing to give? I hope it’s more than a Sunday service at church or an occasional bible-study. That’s not life change; life change is living life Christ. The good news is that Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death and The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs —heirs of God and co–heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. (Romans 8: 1-2, 16-17) If we can’t share in his suffering, not living life as he has intended for us (giving up our selfish ambitions, in light of his will for our life. And that doesn’t mean God can’t use your passions for his will, just that life isn’t about us) then we can’t share in his glory. I pray you can make this more than a game, because playing a game with God will result for you making it into the loss column, and that is more of a loss than we can ever imagine. But take courage, because there is hope in the way of Christ because of what James writes: Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. (James 1:12)

Are you playing a game with Christ?

Are you living a Booty – God – Booty lifestyle?

What are the things that you are holding onto?

What steps do you need to take toward having a consistent relationship with Christ?

Day 20: God is constant

2011-04-28T23:20:00.001-07:00

Have you ever felt far from God? I know that I do often. A friend said to me many years ago that if you ever feel distant from God, it’s not because he’s gone anywhere. God is right where he has been all along; right next to you.

God is consistent. Although he is a creator and does new things in us, he is the same. God is the same today, as he was yesterday, as he will be tomorrow. I’m not sure how you’re wired, but generally people are either very consistent and monotonous in their routines or they are free flowing, but either way, we all appreciate the dependability of somebody to always be able to rely on. God is kind of like that…. but about 100,000,000 times more dependable! A few days back, I talked about how God never sleeps. The different attributes of God are always at work; all the time! God doesn’t close shop to get a coffee or go on vacation. And even when we think he’s M.I.A., we soon find out that’s not the case. Psalm 73 speaks right to this. I hope it’s as meaningful to you as it is to me. Enjoy!

No doubt about it! God is good— good to good people, good to the good-hearted. But I nearly missed it missed seeing his goodness. I was looking the other way, looking up to the people At the top, envying the wicked who have it made, Who have nothing to worry about, not a care in the whole wide world.

Pretentious with arrogance, they wear the latest fashions in violence, Pampered and overfed, decked out in silk bows of silliness. They jeer, using words to kill; they bully their way with words. They're full of hot air, loudmouths disturbing the peace. People actually listen to them—can you believe it? Like thirsty puppies, they lap up their words.

What's going on here? Is God out to lunch? Nobody's tending the store. The wicked get by with everything; they have it made, piling up riches. I've been stupid to play by the rules; what has it gotten me? A long run of bad luck, that's what— a slap in the face every time I walk out the door.

If I'd have given in and talked like this, I would have betrayed your dear children. Still, when I tried to figure it out, all I got was a splitting headache . . . Until I entered the sanctuary of God. Then I saw the whole picture: The slippery road you've put them on, with a final crash in a ditch of delusions. In the blink of an eye, disaster! A blind curve in the dark, and—nightmare! We wake up and rub our eyes.... Nothing. There's nothing to them. And there never was.

When I was beleaguered and bitter, totally consumed by envy, I was totally ignorant, a dumb ox in your very presence. I'm still in your presence, but you've taken my hand. You wisely and tenderly lead me, and then you bless me.

You're all I want in heaven! You're all I want on earth! When my skin sags and my bones get brittle, God is rock-firm and faithful. Look! Those who left you are falling apart! Deserters, they'll never be heard from again. But I'm in the very presence of God — oh, how refreshing it is! I've made Lord God my home. God, I'm telling the world what you do! (Psalm 73 - MSG)

I love the end of that, But I'm in the very presence of God — oh, how refreshing it is! Once we realize we’re in the presence of God, it refreshes us in a way that in unlike anything in the world; that is why heaven is going to be so amazing, we will be eternally refreshed because of the presence of God. That’s why intense, passionate worship can at times empower and refresh us to step back into the world!

Although we may feel as though God doesn’t care, or he is distant, he is right there, walking alongside you.

How have you seen God walking alongside you in difficult times?

Do you feel distant from God?

How have you seen God’s consistency?

Are you actively being refreshed in God’s presence?

Day 19: God is glorious

2011-04-27T22:50:00.001-07:00

Today has been interesting to say the least. It started off with extreme frustration, went to a great reverence, more frustration, a little bit more frustration, a great night and now I’m here. This morning’s reverence stemmed from me reading Exodus 33:12-20. It goes like this:

12 Moses said to the Lord, “You have been telling me, ‘Lead these people,’ but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. You have said, ‘I know you by name and you have found favor with me.’ 13 If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you. Remember that this nation is your people.” 14 The Lord replied, “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” 15 Then Moses said to him, “If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. 16 How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?” 17 And the Lord said to Moses, “I will do the very thing you have asked, because I am pleased with you and I know you by name.” 18 Then Moses said, “Now show me your glory.” 19 And the Lord said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the Lord, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. 20 But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.”

God is so glorious that Moses couldn’t even see his face. That’s the same God that we serve today. But that’s not the biggest thing that stood out to me in that passage. In verse 16, it said How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?” Moses knew that without God being with him, he had nothing of worth. That he was no different than the rest of the world. That’s where we are at today. Without God, we are no different than anyone else, just another person in the crowd. But with God, we have meaning. God is glorious, and we were created in his image. We were created to be glorious, just as he is. God is so glorious, that we couldn’t even see his face. God wants to use us, and we can do that by asking him for his glory.

In your life, do you want the glory of God to shine on you?

Are you living any differently than the average person?

Day 18: God is a reconciler

2011-04-26T23:34:00.001-07:00

There are unresolved issues in all of our lives. Some of them we feel we can figure out on our own, but there are several that you cannot conquer without the help of someone else. Reconciliation means to restore harmony or agreement into a situation or people that have since been alienated. We often become alienated with each other and with the world, but God has come to reconcile you to him.

We were once created in the image of God, (Genesis 1:27) but have since alienated ourselves from God. We walked away from perfection. Adam and Eve started it, but we have all added to the gap between human kind and God. God came to the world in the form of a man, Jesus, in order to reconcile us to him. Jesus came to close the gap between him and us.

I don’t have a lot that I can really say in all this that matters more than what the Word of God has to say. So if you didn’t get the chance to read your bible today, than I hope you enjoy reading Romans 5.

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.

6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

9 Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! 10 For if, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! 11 Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

12 Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned— 13 for before the law was given, sin was in the world. But sin is not taken into account when there is no law. 14 Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who was a pattern of the one to come.

15 But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! 16 Again, the gift of God is not like the result of the one man’s sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. 17 For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.

18 Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men. 19 For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.

20 The law was added so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, 21 so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
See, Jesus has come to reconcile us to God. One man can really change the world. And considering he can do that with the big things (i.e. the whole world) I’m guessing he can do it with the little things in your life too.

Are you being reconciled to God?

What little things are in your life that you need God’s help to fix?

What are you waiting for? Just ask him for help.

Day 17: God is clear-cut

2011-04-25T23:55:00.002-07:00

Despite the wild amounts of mystery in both the world and our understanding of God, I feel like the aspects we do have knowledge of is that God is very concise. God’s expectations of who we are, in our knowledge and understanding of him, in my opinion, are very cut and dry. His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness (2 Peter 1:3) Let me state me disclaimer: this, in no way, is my way of saying that we have to be perfect. Nor would I assume that anyone on a journey with God would not measure up to God’s standards and calling, because that is what grace is for. However, God has called us, so lets run toward that.

I suppose one could characterize me as a “Christian” my whole life, however, as I like to say it, I didn’t always like Jesus. But that time has passed, I have since committed myself to following him and the calling in which he has in my life. I went into that process knowing that it was not going to be an easy feat, however, I went into it knowing that I would come out the other side a better person.

I made the decision to humble myself, let go of my ambitions and put God first, therefore agreeing to adhere to his standards of my life. Making the commitment to follow Christ deserves no less than a full devotion to him. So seeing as I at times don’t give him that is not good to say the least.

Please don’t think this is me judging you for “falling short”. That is not my intention. My intention is to merely get you to consider how you’re doing with your commitment to following God, in his clear-cut commands in how your life should be maintained. God didn’t intend a life of mediocrity or of grayness. He wants the very best for you, which is something else he has been clear about as well. So don’t sell yourself short. I’m not saying life is going to be easy, in fact it will more than likely be difficult. Jesus never said life would be easy, but he did say it would be worth it. Integrity has a cost, but so do things that are worth anything.

Have you been taking your commitment to God seriously?

Do you feel you have everything you need for a Godly life? (2 Peter 1:3)

Do you know the expectations God has of you in your life? (If not, read your bible)

In what ways are you clearly not living a Godly life?

Day 16: God is joy

2011-04-24T23:46:00.000-07:00

The whole idea of living joyously has been quite the mystery to me. Then as I developed my life, reading the Word, I ran across this passage: Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds. (James 1:2) To be honest, the first several times I heard that passage it troubled me. Did that mean I should be happy about…about not being in a happy situation? That is what it sounds like. Consider it joy when you face trials? That didn’t seem logical. Who delights in their troubles?

Since then, I’ve had many chances to begin taking joy in my difficulties. It’s the weirdest feeling. You know that feeling when you’re crying because of something incredibly sad and a good friend, trying to comfort you, makes you laugh? Laughing amongst tears is what joy is all about. Knowing that whatever pain, sadness and disparity there is surrounding you, that you can take joy in something!

Hebrews 13:12-13 states And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through his own blood. Let us, then, go to him outside the camp, bearing the disgrace he bore. We are to join in Christ’s suffering, so we can share in his glory (See Romans 8:17)

It’s truly difficult sometimes to delight amongst difficulties, but when we align our lives with what life really is. Perspective really is everything. God leads us to true life, which then should lead us to ultimate joy; knowing we have our eternal salvation with him.

Therefore, knowing that what we endure in these days is all for God’s glory, run fast towards him with a joyful spirit. Later on in Romans 8, it says What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? (vv.31) We have everything to be happy about.

Think about all the sporting events, concerts, movies and events you’ve ever been to. We raise our hands and cheer for the silliest of things; mortal things. People flip out about going to a Lakers game and seeing Kobe Bryant. Or at a concert, “OMG, it’s Justin Bieber”. Those things, concerts, sports and likewise events last a short time – but God is eternal. He is worth our applause. In fact, we should praise him all the more. God is eternal. He is worthy. Let our praise of him reflect that then, let our joy reflect that.

Are you living with joy in your life?

What perspective are you living in?

Are you prepared to bear the disgrace Jesus bore?

Day 15: God is at the Mumford & Sons concert

2011-04-23T15:43:00.001-07:00

I've heard a few different stories as to what their intentions are, but question it not I know that tonight I will be worshiping God! In 1 Corinthians, Paul writes "So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." (10:31) In case you are wondering, the question many have wondered is whether or not Mumford & Sons is a group of believers. The questions stem from their lyrics, which go something like "In these bodies we will live, in these bodies we will die Where you invest your love, you invest your life In these bodies we will live, in these bodies we will die Where you invest your love, you invest your life Awake my soul Awake my soul Awake my soul For you were made to meet your maker Awake my soul Awake my soul Awake my soul For you were made to meet your maker And you were made to meet your maker" I can't say those words without knowing I'm crying out to my maker. And for those just singing along, I hope they have the same cry in their hearts; whether they know it or not. Despite other lyrics they may have, I know that God will be worshipped tonight at a concert. By the way, I'm super excited. I don't go to concerts very often. See you on the other side. No matter what you do, do it to the glory of the Lord!

Day 14: God is heavy

2011-04-22T22:47:00.002-07:00

While I was at Passion 2011, I was listening to Francis Chan’s sermon and he spoke on the how we should respond to the Gospel. While he was preaching, he brought out an old-school scale. On this scale, he placed the bible, the Word of God and the avenue we use to come to know God. On the other side of the scale, he placed a doll. When he rested both pieces on the scale and let go, the bible heavily out-weighed that of the toy doll. I think often times, that reigns true in our spiritual lives.

Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in the one Spirit, striving together as one for the faith of the gospel. (Phil. 1:27)

Often times, I think we live anything but lives truly worthy of the Gospel. I will be the first to admit that I don’t live worthy of the Gospel on a daily basis. In fact, there I may live unworthy more than I do worthy. If you think about it, that is a really high calling – to live a life worthy of the gospel of Christ. So what then should our response be? I heard once that “risk, not comfort should be our response to the Gospel.” We should be doing all that we can, risking the things in our life to ensure we’re living lives that are worthy of the calling of Christ.

Last year at a retreat, I read for the first time Hebrews 12:1, I immediately internalized it as it spoke to me so clearly. Just as it says in Philippians 1:27, whatever happens. We need to make sure that whatever happens we conduct ourselves worthy of the Gospel. Similarly to that, Hebrews 12:1 states Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Whatever happens, we need to throw off the distractions, hindrances and sin. Just as a bug can easily get stuck in a spider’s web, we get stuck in the sin that hinders and entangles us. But whatever happens, throw it off and conduct yourself in a manner worthy of the Gospel.

Sometimes the best thing we can do is to just run from the distractions of life. Although I’m a guy and I’m not supposed to be scared of anything in life, there are some things that I am commanded to run from! In 1 Timothy 6, Paul commands Timothy But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. (vv. 11)Paul told Timothy to flee from the love of money. In 1 Corinthians 6, Paul writes that we are to Flee from sexual immorality and that All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body. (vv. 18) As much as we want to act as if we can conquer certain arenas in our life on our own, we need to simply run instead. Nobody has to tell you to run away from a ticking bomb, why then should we have to be reminded to flee from sexual immorality and the love of money? Instead of pursuing these things, let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us because when we do that James writes Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him. (James 1:12)

Following Jesus isn’t an easy task, in fact, when we weigh ourselves, God is heavy, so lets step up our game, throw aside the hindrances, and whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.

Are you living a life worthy of the Gospel?

What distractions are entangling you?

What do you need to flee from?

Will you do whatever it takes to conduct yourself in a manner worthy of the Gospel of Christ?

Day 13: God is fully awake

2011-04-21T23:43:00.000-07:00

I am tired. I have no energy. Thankfully our God is not tired. In fact, he never sleeps! God is always on top of his game, unlike us. I sometimes feel like I’m getting emptied quicker than I’m getting filled. I need rest. Good night!

Are you tired?

Are you being emptied quicker than you are being filled up?

Day 12: God has overcome!

2011-04-20T18:06:00.001-07:00

I don’t know what it is about music, but it gets me every time. Just now, I was listening the song “Take Heart” by Hillsong United. The lyrics go like this:

There is a light
It burns brighter than the sun
He steals the night
And casts no shadow
There is hope
Should oceans rise and mountains fall
He never fails

So take heart
Let His love lead us through the night
Hold on to hope
And take courage again

In death by love
The fallen world was overcome
He wears the scars of our freedom
In His Name
All our fears are swept away
He never fails

All our troubles
And all our tears
God our hope
He has overcome

All our failure
And all our fear
God our love
He has overcome
All our heartache
And all our pain
God our healer
He has overcome

All our burdens
And all our shame
God our freedom
He has overcome

All our troubles
And all our tears
God our hope
He has overcome

All our failures
And all our fear
God our love
He has overcome

God our justice
God our grace
God our freedom
He has overcome

God our refuge
God our strength
God is with us
He has overcome

That is such a beautiful picture of God. This song reminds me that all the things I think are overpowering me cannot overcome me. Rather, God has overcome these circumstances in our lives! There is not one thing in your life that God cannot overcome! God is our justice, he is our grace and he is our freedom. God is our refuge, he is our strength and God is with us!! I pray that you continually live in light of his victory! God has overcome!

What areas in your life seem to be overcoming you?

What do you need to let go of to allow God the freedom to overcome those areas of you life?

How is God overcoming in your life right now?

Day 11: God is exciting you about something

2011-04-19T15:59:00.001-07:00

In a former post called “Take the risk” I wrote about how there are opportunities for all of us to get involved in making a difference. Feel free to look back on that post to learn more about that, but today I want to focus on the fact that there is something specific that God has created you to do. It may be more than one thing, but God is preparing something for you to do that you are or at some point will get very excited about.

I am at a spot right now where I have a special excitement for what God has been preparing for me. I am feeling more energized every time I participate and think about it. God has given me a passion about it. I feel more empowered and willing to do and be a part of than I have ever felt. I don’t believe God has given us talents, abilities and aspects of our character that cannot translate into us using them for his glory. My passion for writing, my passion for speaking and connecting with people are all things that God has granted me to bring more people to their knees in front of God. Although these passions and abilities are something that I possess, they are not for me. And when I perform them, God is glorified. The cool thing about this though, is that I get to serve God with what I am passionate about. If you are passionate about justice and human rights issues, there are areas where you can use your passion to serve God by being a part of abolishing human trafficking. If you are passionate about sports, then you could be a part of a sports ministry. I know dozens of people who would come to a church gathering if there were sports involved.

God has granted me an incredible passion to relay his biblical truths to other around me as well as a passion to see my peers connected in Christian community. I am able to use both of my passions where I’m at in life. Hopefully soon those two passions will be able to be fused, but I am excited nonetheless to see people engaging in these areas. I have witnessed a flooding of young adults come to know Christ and his truths in the last several years. The craziest part about it, though, is that I tried creating something similar to what Elements has become a few years ago, coming out of high school. Epic fail! Nothing came of it, but God was good, because when I stood back and watched God work, he worked Elements into what I was hoping to be a part of and without my help, God created it. I know that probably isn’t too exciting for you to hear, because now you’re going to think that God is going to take what you’re passionate about and not let you be a part of it at all, but that’s not true! I got to be a part of it. I was passionate about seeing people engage in that sort of community and coming to know Christ. God has already done so much, so I can’t wait to see the rest of what he does to complete what he has started up in me. We all have a part in the story, and God will come through. So take your passions and run with them, God will come alongside you and empower you and blow your mind! I hope all your expectations of what he can do will be blown up! I want to remind you of Ephesians 3:20-21 Glory belongs to God, whose power is at work in us. By this power he can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine. Glory belongs to God in the church and in Christ Jesus for all time and eternity! Amen. That’s the God we serve; the God who does more than we can ask or imagine! So take your passion and run with them. If you’re excited about something, see how you can take that excitement and use that to bring God glory!

What are you passionate about?

What excites you?

How can you use those passions to glorify God?

Day 10: God is in community

2011-04-18T23:53:00.001-07:00

One of the greatest ways that God speaks is through others. I understand, appreciate and actively practice hearing from God through reading the bible and praying, but I want to focus in on the power of the Christian community. There is nothing like it. There are two specific communities that I participate in that make for the most intense, meaningful times of my week. Sadly, they are on Sunday and Monday nights, so the rest of my week seems to be somewhat blah, but I love them. I experience more spiritual growth, investment and fruition of my investments in these times. Sunday nights, I participate in Elements, which is a small gathering of younger folk who get together to praise God and learn from he word, but that’s not what makes it different than any other church gathering. It’s the fact that we have such a tight-knit community. Not so much that it is clique-ish, but to where people can be a part of real, authentic community. It’s places like these where people can build deep, meaningful relationships. God speaks in incredible ways through the people around it. Maybe you’re not listening, but he speaks nonetheless. If you’re not in a good group, come to Elements, you won’t regret it.

If you’re not already participating in Elements, what’s holding you back? (Kidding)

Are you participating in an active Christian community?

How have you heard God talking to you through the community around you?

If you’re a part of a community that isn’t building you up, what are you doing to remedy that?

Day 9: God is making us new!

2011-04-17T23:36:00.002-07:00

Unlike the past, I look forward to running into old friends and classmates. In four years since graduating high school, God has moved me a million miles from where I was. The people who knew me then would drop their jaws if they were to see me now.

I remember clearly the first day I heard this song, because my life hasn't been the same. On December 7th, 2010 I first heard Beautiful Things by Gungor. The lyrics go like this:

All this pain
I wonder if I’ll ever find my way
I wonder if my life could really change at all
All this earth
Could all that is lost ever be found
Could a garden come up from this ground at all
You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of the dust
You make beautiful things
You make beautiful things out of us
All around
Hope is springing up from this old ground
Out of chaos life is being found in You
You make me new, You are making me new

Isn't that the truth? God is making us new!

You don't have to spend too much time in or around church to hear people's testimony. It seems that most people whose stories I hear have a clear, percise moment when everything made sense and they flipped the switch in their life. For me though, as many great, monumental moments and there have been (CIY, UCYC, Passion, Catalyst West, etc.) I wouldn't say any of those experiences flipped my spiritual switch.

At Catalyst West last month, Dave Ramsey spoke on how people think that there are certain monumental decisions that can change the entire structure of an organization. He stated that rather than a swift stroke of the sword making the difference, it's usually a thousand small strokes that gets the kill; or in my circumstance, making me into something new.

In the past four years, God has cultivated me daily; creating me into someone different, better than the man I was yesterday. That leaves me with an incredible amount of hope, knowing that we can always learn more, always experience more of God. That also means that there is never a place too far from God that you can't start taking steps toward him. Remember the man on the cross next to Jesus? He was told at the end of his life Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise. (Luke 23:43)

There is no time like now to let God start making you into something new! Don’t waste your time, God wants to make us new!

How is God making you into something new?

Day 8: God is worth the wait

2011-04-16T17:00:00.003-07:00

As I mentioned yesterday, I was at the fair. What I witnessed as I walked through the crowds of people was that all these people came to eat food that costs too much, drink entirely too much and wait in hour plus long lines for a ride that would satisfy them for no more than three minutes. And all the while, people rave of the glorious amounts of fun they have and how "worth while" the whole experience has been. The mentality of a cheap thrill (despite the fact that the Pima County Fair is ridiculously over-priced) has taken over our culture.

I grew up much like any other normal, middle class American; I played t-ball, both parents were working and my older siblings terrorized me. Even like many, I attended a church, in fact since my 6th grade year, my mom worked at one. But like most kids I knew, I too fell into the mindset of: I like Jesus, he's cool, but he doesn't really change the way I live. I made the decision that I would probably start following Jesus at a later point. There was no reason at that point to feel a sense of urgency. Basically, I was saying that God wasn't worthy of my time in between when I first liked him and when I would eventually decide that I actually loved him and wanted to live a radically sold out life to him. I didn't think he was worth the wait.

Too many times in life we get caught up in the here and now, living in the fast lane, not checking our mirrors and getting ourselves in trouble. Before long, we’ve cut off three cars, passed a few more and you are interrupted by a piercing siren and waving red and blue lights in your rear-view mirror. I’ve lived that scenario several times, thankfully not in a literal sense, though. We can lose all grasp on what is going on around us that we don’t look around except for when it’s already too late.

Compromise is an action that so many have allowed into their daily routines. This, however, isn’t something they do so intentionally. Remember, I am talking about our me-first, I want culture, after all. People will compromise in their standards of living, expectations of others, but saddest of all, they compromise in what they expect for themselves. The way people often “let themselves go” physically, abandoning all care of exercise and proper nutrition, I’ve seen that people do that to themselves emotionally and spiritually. Although we love the thought of having a God who loved the world that he gave his one and only Son (John 3:16), we don’t love the thought of it enough to actually have it change the way we live. Or even if it does, eventually they will make compromise along the way, to where they won’t look much different than any other person in the world.

So often, despite knowing the biblical truth, we can get caught up in something, that we will lose sight of our ultimate goal, which is to be closer to Jesus, eventually with him forever! I want to remind you of a story where somebody gave up something HUGE for something small in a swift, rash decision.

When the time came for her to give birth, there were twin boys in her womb. The first to come out was red, and his whole body was like a hairy garment; so they named him Esau. After this, his brother came out, with his hand grasping Esau's heel; so he was named Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when Rebekah gave birth to them. The boys grew up, and Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the open country, while Jacob was content to stay at home among the tents. Isaac, who had a taste for wild game, loved Esau, but Rebekah loved Jacob. Once when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came in from the open country, famished. He said to Jacob, "Quick, let me have some of that red stew! I'm famished!" (That is why he was also called Edom. ) Jacob replied, "First sell me your birthright." "Look, I am about to die," Esau said. "What good is the birthright to me?" But Jacob said, "Swear to me first." So he swore an oath to him, selling his birthright to Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and some lentil stew. He ate and drank, and then got up and left. So Esau despised his birthright. (Genesis 25:24-34)

Esau became so enveloped in his momentary hunger that he forgot of his sacred birthright, so he quickly gave it away for a simple bowl of stew. Jacob and Esau’s father, Isaac’s fortune was so worth so much more than you and I will ever be able to acquire in multiple lifetimes. And Esau gave it away for a bowl of stew. That is a scathing picture of what you and I do on a daily basis when we choose the pleasures of the world of the God who created all things, the God who wants to give all things to us.

Consistency, I would say, is the toughest part of my relationship with God. To live in the mindset of the latter day after day is not something that is easily attained. That is why Jesus said Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. (Matthew 7:13) The Christian faith, isn’t something for the weak of heart. Something that has stayed with me for longer than I care to think, and something those close to me have probably heard me say numerous times is that “Jesus never said life (namely the life of a Christian) would be easy, but he did say it would be worth it.” What we need to remember is that The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs —heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. (Romans 8:16-17) When we share in Christ’s suffering, we too then, are to share in his glory! But we can’t lose focus of it along the way, trading in what we could have for a bowl of stew.

Lets revisit the idea of our culture not wanting to wait for much. Nowadays, it’s all about instant gratification and instant satisfaction. Lets be satisfied, but not in the things of this world. Lets be exuberantly satisfied in the fact that we get to spend our lives, living for the glory of the only human to overcome death. The one who will help us overcome our spiritual death.

Like I said in the beginning, I grew up a normal guy, but since then God has radically transformed me. Like any other human, I will die. That is what happens, but the good news is this: But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:22-23) Unlike all humans, I get a second life.

Last month at the Catalyst West conference, Christine Caine said that she was on a flight overseas and they hit a pocket of turbulence and she jokingly said that she could feel the spirit of atheism depart the plane as they all quickly feared for their lives. Though she was joking, that’s the truth. At the end, or what seems to be the end, we will either come to experience that is God, or be reminded of him. Philippians 2:10-11 reminds us that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. We will eventually come to know the truth. I just hope you have either already made that decision, and are participating in the fruitfulness of the Spirit’s activity in your life or are willing to in the game.

You know how they say that when you’re having fun, time flies? Well, life has been flying lately because of how God has been blowing my mind and working unmistakably in my life. If a girl who you're crazy about is worth the wait, than how much more worth it will our God and savior be? I love God, and I gladly commit to follow him everyday. God, you are worth every day of my life! Jim Elliot, before his death stated that "he is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose." I pray you can say the same for yours.

What is your bowl of stew?

In your life, is God worth the wait?

Day 7: God is in the whisper

2011-04-15T23:19:00.002-07:00

So often we surround ourselves with a whole slew of distractions that we cannot possibly know what is in the silence. What we fail to recognize is that God seldom speaks in a loud, boisterous voice.

Tonight I was at the fair, working a booth for Elements, alongside KFMA, for the Anberlin concert. So naturally, there was a lot of noise around us. To add to that were the thousands of excited patrons who waited eagerly in line for a 30 second joyride. To think that a culture that waits for little would stand in line for so long for something so short. That, however, is a story for another day…maybe tomorrow!

Amongst the droves of people, thousands of screams and cheers and lights that you could see from 20 miles away there wasn’t one thing I cared to experience there. Some friends and I played a game to see how many people we could see that we knew. I knew the most; I saw 40 people I knew while at the fair. The funny thing though is that I would much rather be here, sitting outside in the silence with a near full moon, listening to and feeling the wind. It is a great feeling! This is where I’m reminded of this story:

And the word of the LORD came to him: “What are you doing here, Elijah?” 10 He replied, “I have been very zealous for the LORD God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.” 11 The LORD said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by.” Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. 13 When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”(1 Kings 19:9-14)

God wasn’t in the earthquake or the wind, rather, he was a gentle whisper. Although God gives us opportunities all the time to see him, he lays low so we can seek him out. But how can we see, hear or feel him when we are in the fairs of life.

I know that unless I take intentional time to listen for God, it will be near impossible to get closer to him. God is in the whisper, are you?

What are the “fairs” of your life?

How are you seeking out quiet time in your daily life?

Day 6: God is a million different things

2011-04-14T22:23:00.001-07:00

I love the community of people around me. I was talking with a friend today and he was asking about the greatest commandments. We were discussing how in Matthew 22, we were commanded to do two things, love God and love people. One of the ways we can love God is by loving people. I’ve heard it said, “the way we treat the creation reflects how we feel about the creator.” The way we treat each other reflects how we feel about our God, the creator of all things.

As he was saying that, I realized that God is working in my friends’ lives in a million different ways. God can be all things to all people. God could be a provider to me and an initiator to another. Knowing that God is always up to something new with the people around me always excites me because I know that someday I may have the chance to experience God in that way. So even though I may not know I need a certain of God one day, I just wait in faith as I know that someday I will be able to experience a new side of God! I’m excited because I will always have something new to look forward to.

What’s a new way that you see God working in your life?

Day 5: God is leading me to dependence

2011-04-13T23:05:00.000-07:00

For the last several days I have been writing about the different attributes of God, and I am finding a two common threads throughout them all. They are as follows:

1. The more I discover about God's character, the more it leads me to depend on him.

Discovering who God is, whether it is that he is holy, relentless, a creator, authoritative or a host of other things, it reminds me that I need God all the more. I heard recently that risk, not comfort should be our response to the Gospel. I believe the risk involved stems back to John 3:30 which states that He must become greater; I must become less. That should be our response to God; that we lower ourselves because we know we are actually more in him than we could ever be on our own. Someone once said, the more I read the bible, the more I read the bible. It's like most things in life, especially high-thrill, high-adrenaline things, the more we do it, the more we want to do it. That's how I feel with God. The more I get to know him, the more I want to get to know him.

2. The more I discover about God's character, the more lead to action I am.

This is similar to number one, in that the more we get to know God, the more it leads us to do the things of God. I don't think I can read the word of God, hear a sermon or speak to a friend without it leading me to want to act out my faith at a greater capacity, with a greater amount of faith and dependence in him. My response to the Gospel is risk and dependence.

That's who God is to me.

Who is God to you?

How are you being led to greater dependence on God?

In what areas of life do you feel God calling you to live with greater risk or action?

Thank you, Adam

2011-04-12T22:30:00.000-07:00

I’m blessed. I’ve been given a lot. It’s not everyday that one gets to work alongside his best friend and process the questions of life. Actually, that is what I get to do every Tuesday night. Although I do have to work, my good friend Adam helps me out and all the while we talk through love, life, ministry and theology. You know, the normal conversation pieces for a pair of 22 year olds…actually not. There is a lot to be said of people who have the opportunity to process life with people at a highly philosophical level. Although it is hard to provide practical application steps when thinking on a higher plain, I find that I can walk away longing to accomplish more and more every Tuesday night.

I am made a better person through the processing I do. I would say that my friendship with Adam Pulcipher epitomizes Hebrews 10:24, which states let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. We do that. I am truly thankful for the friendship I have with Adam. Thank you, friend. These past few years have been great! I can’t wait to reminisce of the great debates and conversations we’ve had in the years to come as we continue to serve our great God, whether it is together or apart.

Day 4: God is authority

2011-04-12T19:07:00.001-07:00

Our God is the God of all authority. Considering that he spoke the stars into existence, I would say he is the ultimate authority! I love that we can always bank on God to come through, because when he speaks, things come to be.

Seeing as we have been called to reflect him, I want to act out of God’s power and authority. Authority is received, not gained. God gives to the hungry in Spirit, the ones whose hearts are devoted to him. For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. (2 Chronicles 16:9. And God says in Isaiah 66:2 that “This is the one I esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at my word.” We are of most esteem when we are humble, knowing he is the ruler above us. When we are committed to his ways and when we tremble at his words; when we submit to his authority.

Recently, I’ve experienced some individuals in my life that have begun to act and speak in great authority. This isn’t something that they decided when they woke up to suddenly be authoritative. Now, there are some people who wish to act with authority, but it isn’t really something that has been granted to them. Those are the people in life we easily get fed up with, because they are trying to make something of nothing. Remember, authority is received, not gained. Authority is something that God grants to those who are submissive to him.

A good friend of mine has said that the day he thinks he’s got it all figured out is the day he needs to get out of the position he’s in. We aren’t in positions as leaders or authorities because we “have it all figured out”, but rather, it’s because we utilize our knowledge, knowing we can’t do it all alone, relying on others to help us out. A good leader knows when to follow.

The attributes of my friend who has begun to speak with great authority and conviction is the guy who has been most submissive to the Holy Spirit, seeking out God’s guidance. I pray that you would live in the same Spirit, acknowledging God’s authority.

How do you try to diminish God’s authority?

Do you see the Spirit’s power in your life?

How have you seen God’s authority come to be?

Are you submitting to God’s authority?

Are you experiencing God’s power and authority in your life?

Day 3: God is relentless

2011-04-11T23:10:00.000-07:00

Thank God that we don’t set the standard for the limits of love. As I’ve been growing up more, I’ve gotten to choose more and more of what I want to do with my time. I can either focus more or less on the things I do and do not care about. If I don’t want to do something, I can simply decide not to do those things. Now, that doesn’t mean I don’t have to live with the consequences of those actions, but they are my choice nonetheless.

That’s where I go back to Isaiah 55:8, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the Lord. When I get tired, bored or careless, I drop the ball or lose the will to accomplish things, they simply cease to happen. That’s where God is different. God is relentless. As the lyrics of one of my favorite songs go, You won’t relent until you have it all. God will not relent. There are no bounds to God. Every attribute that I listed in the first post in the series is not limits. Limits were put on humans, but the creator of everything is bound by nothing. The holiness of God has no bounds. The creativity of God has no bounds.

There are areas in your life that you have not given God your all. Maybe for you it’s your finances, maybe partying, obsessive this or that or addictions (substance, pornography, sexual). The list goes on, but the heart of the matter remains the same. God always wants to chip away the parts of you that are not of him. Considering that we were originally created sinless, God wants to redeem us to the place of that right-standing with him, that is why Jesus did what he did for us, dying on the cross. It’s easy for us to say that Jesus’ actions weren’t in vain, but in your life do you act in a way that backs up his death?

No matter where you stand with him, though, God will not relent until he has the last bit of you. God’s love for us is without limit, his grace and mercy are without limit, and he is relentless. So as we consider how we can continue to come closer to him by being refined and cleansing ourselves, lets also consider how we can live relentlessly too. I pray that you can live without limits; to give generously, love always, and to have faith endlessly. Don’t live by your circumstances, because God is bigger than your situations, but live knowing that he is relentless and has no limits. He will take care of you.

Do you feel bound by circumstances in your life?

Are you trying to limit God in areas of your life?

How do you see God acting relentlessly in your life?

In what areas of your life do you need to live without limits?

Day 2: God is a creator

2011-04-10T14:42:00.002-07:00

Today I want to look at the aspect of God as a creator. AS we all know, he is the one who created all that is around us, whether it’s the snow-capped mountains, the birds in the air or the stars of the sky; they are all his creation. He spent several days creating all that surrounds us. But as amazing as all those things are and were, it is us, humans, that God saved for his final day of creating. As I wrote yesterday, we were created in the image of God. How cool is it that we were created in the very image of the God we worship and long to know?

I could spend days writing on the extravagance of all God’s creations, but I won’t. Today I want to spend time considering how God is continually creating me. In Psalm 51:10 we read Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. That is a passage that I continually remind myself of. As a human, and as perfectly as God originally created us, we have fallen short. The good news in all of this, however, is that God wants to continually create us new.

At some point, you were lost. And maybe you still feel that way. But there is a point where if you find God and allow him the freedom, he will begin to create in you a new Spirit. Colossians 3:9-10 says that you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. We are constantly being renewed and created in Christ.

Today, I heard about the Fruit of the Spirit. Those are the traits/attributes of God that we hope to display and live out, through the example Christ has set to us. When we are submitting to God, these are the areas of our life that God is able to transform. Unless God is constantly renewing and recreating me, I am not able to display love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. For those of you who know me well, those are not what most would describe me as. That’s why we need God. God wants to create in us those traits, so that we might more accurately portray him to those around us.

I feel that God has created in me a passion to relay his biblical truths to those around me, and that is part of the reason I am writing this right now. The other reason is because he has been stirring up in me the passion of writing. I am now fusing those and this is the result! Although I am now able to freely write, this hasn’t always been something that I’ve felt completely comfortable with, but with some help from the Lord and some encouragement from friends around me, I have summoned up the courage to write.

In light of that, what are the areas in your life that you see God wanting to create in you? God wants to create new things in you and around you, but you can’t resist, otherwise the hinder his ability. His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. (2 Peter 1:3) Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. (Hebrews 12:1) We have been surrounded with all that we need for a life of Godliness. With that being the case, don’t let things hinder you, instead, throw them aside. God wants to create new things in you.

What hinders your ability to see God creating new things in you?

Are you experiencing a new passion for something?

What do you see God creating in your life?

How do you think God wants to use that?

Day 1: God is Holy

2011-04-09T11:35:00.001-07:00

Today I want to focus on the aspect of God and his holiness. Our God is set apart, consecrated and sanctified. To put it simply, God is above us, perfect and pure.

In life, I feel like we get too comfortable in our relationship with God. Similarly to our relationships with each other, we can lose focus on who we are sitting across from. Too often we either don’t respect people, take them for granted or forget how good we have it with people and we disrespect them in some way. And that is with normal human beings, other sinful creatures, but when we begin to think about our Holy God, we can’t bring our expectations of casualness and comfort into the room with God. Yes, we have a relationship with God, but that doesn’t warrant us to be flippant in action or speech in reference to or in response to him. The only justifiable response to God should be reverence. I love that I am able to have a conversation with God in prayer, or to have conversations with people about God and to be able to speak oh him in terms of a friend. But at the end of the day, we need to remember God for the Holiness that he possesses.

I was listening to a podcast recently and in it, the pastor read Psalm 121, where we read he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The pastor went on to say that when we sleep, rest and even blink we are reminded that God does not. We have a holy God, who is set apart. He doesn’t even blink. So every time we get drowsy, take a nap, blink or sleep it is a reminder that we are not God. God is holy, he is set apart! Aren’t you glad that we don’t serve a God who is bound to the same limitations we are? This is just another reminder that we are not God. In Isaiah 55:8 we read, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the Lord. I don’t think we could handle the full capacity of the Lord’s ways.

Though we are not God, and will never be, He wants us to strive toward his holiness; not out of duty or religious practice, but because he wants what is best for us. God created us to run after him because his holiness is the fullness of life that he created for us to pursue, knowing that we would be full in him. 14 As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. 15 But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; 16 for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy." (1 Peter 1:14-16). You see, God is Holy, but he wants us to be Holy as well. Because if you remember the beginning of this whole story, we find in Genesis 1:27 So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.

How have you experienced God’s holiness?

Are you living in God’s holiness?

What are you doing to reflect that well?

If you’re not, what are you going to do about that?

30 Days!

2011-04-08T23:58:00.001-07:00

Last night, I was at the Chris Tomlin and Louie Giglio concert. It was a great experience of praise and worship! I was so encouraged by the thousands around me engaging in so God how worthy He is to them. Although I’ve seen and heard from Chris and Louie several times in other tours and at Passion, something happened last night that has never happened before! I was standing, hands raised high in worship of my God and I quickly glanced over, as is customary of me often times to see how others around me are enjoying their time. What I saw was of great encouragement to me. I saw my father lift his hands in worship!! My dad is the guy who has taught me the most I know about what it looks like to be a man of God, but I have never seen him engage in musical worship like that before. Although I don’t know the reason, it was very encouraging for me!

During one of the songs we were singing, they had a series of words scrolling on the screen. These words were all names, attributes of God’s character. All of the names were roles God plays in our life. It was at that time that I was inspired to do what I feel God put on my heart. I have compiled a list of names and attributes of God, and for the next 30 days I am going to begin writing a blog post on each one of these each day for a month straight. These are the tentative names/attributes I am going to write about, in no particular order. So starting tomorrow, I will begin posting!

-Provider
-Sovereign
-Strong
-Courage
-Servant
-Humble
-Mercy
-Grace
-Initiator
-Alpha
-Omega
-Holy
-Boundless
-Just
-Eternal
-Love
-Incomprehensible
-Righteous
-Faithful
-Consistent
-Healer
-Powerful
-Hope
-Refuge
-Rescuer
-Savior
-Father
-Redeemer
-Fulfiller
-Everything

I hope this helps you in your journey! God bless!

-Dustin

Give until it hurts

2011-04-05T18:25:00.004-07:00

Giving until it hurts

They always say it’s more blessed to give than to receive. But at what point does one give enough? Is there a certain amount of time, money, services, etc. that warrants enough giving?

I’ve had a generally plush life. I suppose you could define me as a normal middle class American. I live in a nice 3 bed, 2 bath house with AC and heat and although I don’t make a generous amount of money, I don’t really have to worry much about money being an issue.

I’ve began to notice that a growing wave in the Western Hemisphere. Who knows, it may have always been this way, but due to my youth I have just began to notice. Our world generally likes to find a worthy cause and to rally around it and support it. Most of these are good causes, and they bless many, but what is at the heart of the acts of generosity?

In a mostly self-entitled, self-indulgent society, we look out for number one: ourselves. So what is it that drives people to give? And at what point have they given enough?

Going back to having a plush life – I have been given a lot. We generally follow the footsteps of those who are in front of us. Having said that, my father is one of the most generous people I know. He finds ways to give to people out of what he has. It’s by that example that I know what giving looks like.

I was at a funeral this morning, not knowing the man whose life we were celebrating, but coming to know him through a story I was told. I was there for my internship, just sitting in the back, watching for experience-sake. I was told of how a woman down the street was a single mother of 3 boys and funds were tight and she couldn’t afford to pay the electric and buy food so naturally she unplugged frig to conserve energy, considering there wasn’t any food in there. Later that day, after bringing the boys home from school, she heard the frig running, thinking the boys had plugged it back in. She opened it to see what was going on and saw that it was packed full of milk, fresh produce and other foods. This man had broken into the house and given them food. That is what giving looks like!

Because the people in my life have modeled so greatly to me what giving looks like, it hasn’t ever been an issue for me to give, in fact, I prided myself in the fact that I was a “giver”. The only catch with me though is that I usually didn’t feel the impact of my giving. And by that, I don’t mean I didn’t see the effect my giving had, but that it wasn’t even a thought for me. I had grown desensitized to giving; time, service, monetarily or in any other way. I had never given to a point where it hurt. You see, I haven’t ever wondered if I was going to have enough to make it through the week. I’ve never had to depend on God to show up. When I realized that, it broke me down. Amongst my pride of being “selfless”, I realized I wasn’t doing being generous because it was simply something that I could afford to do. Everybody can afford to give something, but at what point do you have to stop, knowing that you won’t have time to relax or money to fill your gas tank. Maybe I need to cancel my Netflix subscription, or not play so much Xbox, because that is cutting into my ability to serve and give. I wasn’t relying on God to provide, I was relying on my own ability. You know you’re in dangerous territory when you no longer need a provider, and considering that is one of God’s many attributes I was basically saying that in that area of my life, I didn’t need God. I had made a dire mistake. Call it negligence, being naïve or anything similar but at the end of the day, I will always need God.

Faith is complete trust and confidence in someone or something. I wasn’t fully trusting God to provide for my needs, so I took it upon myself to do the providing. I heard recently, “It’s not your job to initiate, that’s God’s job. It’s simply our job to respond”. God is going to fulfill my needs, not always my wants, but needs, yes. I simply need to remember to respond when he’s doing something. Obviously, he’s up to something, so here is my response. And when I just don’t feel like giving anymore, because I think I’ve done my part, I then am reminded by Matthew 10:8, which says Freely you have received, freely give. Jesus was telling this to his disciples as he was preparing to send them out to do ministry. When I want to stop, or I try making it about myself because “I’ve already done so much” or I deserve this or that, I am reminded that we freely received and that we are commanded to freely give. Like my father, we follow in the footsteps of the example that has been given us.

1 If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. 4 Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death— even death on a cross! 9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:1-11)

That is what giving looks like. There are no ends, no boundaries. Just love, just giving. Jesus gave until it hurt, so let us give until it hurts. Let us become even more dependent on God. Let us follow in his footsteps, and when nobody around us understands, take joy in knowing that you have followed Christ. 12So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood. 13Therefore let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured. (Hebrews 13:12,13)

So give until it hurts, because like Philippians 2:10-11 says, at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Amen!

And that's just where I'm at

2011-02-26T00:49:00.006-07:00

I literally have a million ideas running through my mind right now. I don’t know what to think, or where to go. Tonight I hung out with a friend and we talked about several things, but there was a point where we spoke on the direction of the church and how it relates to the direction and focus of what I do with my time there. There are several areas in which I serve that I love and wouldn’t give up for anything, but I seem to have a longing for more. I’m trying to find the balance right now between having a holy discontent for wanting to see more done out of the sake of knowing I can do more and doing more for the sake of it. I feel that God has given me a pressing desire to preach. I have had several opportunities to do so in the middle and high school services, but at what point can I fuse my two passions, my peer group and relaying God’s truths? I want to preach at Elements, which for those of you who don’t know what that is, it’s a service at Pantano that focuses on the 18-40ish demographic. I truly feel that God has put that on my heart, but at the same time I haven’t been given the opportunity to act out of that passion. Yes, I have several ways that I can minister to those people, but the one true passion that I feel is lacking, that I’m being…held back to if I want to go that far in saying, is that. I realize that I’m only 22 years old. But I’m reminded of two passages that speak to me. 1 Tim. 4:12 Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity. And 2 Cor. 3:5 Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. If I shouldn’t feel looked down on because of my age or experience and my competence comes from God, then what am I waiting for? I am a firm believer that there is no age in God’s eyes. If you are walking with God, then it doesn’t matter what your age is. At the same time, I will be the first to verbalize that life experience and character building is an essential as well, but where do you draw that line? God has put a passion, a burning sensation in me to act on what he’s given to me.

Francis Chan once said, “Knowledge on its own is only going to lead to pride, unless there is a love behind it, unless there is a passion where we take the word of God and say, ‘You know what, this has changed my heart and now I want to do something with it.” I see that God has made his light shine in our [my] heart to give us [me] the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. (2 Cor. 4:6) I have seen that Glory and I have the knowledge of that, so why then what am I waiting for?

I know that for now, I feel as though it is prudent for me to begin some sort of community fellowship thingy for those around me; and I even know how I want to do this. I think it goes something like this: people gathering around, most likely in my house or another’s sharing a meal and after the meal, just hanging out and ultimately asking two questions, which in turn would create a lot of discussion, that of which would not have a specific agenda. The two questions are these: what have you been reading lately in the bible? And how have you seen God working in your life? I think that if people are honest about these questions, conversations would take off and we could spend an extended time. I look forward to times when people share how God is speaking to them through the words God has given to them in his Word. That also relates well with how God has been working in their lives. I realize that could create a heavy atmosphere at times, but that’s what community and friendships are for. If we can’t share our lives together, then why meet in the first place? I love hanging out with friends, but I love all the more when I’m able to see the exciting ways that God is working in their lives, good or bad. Because as we know, it all leads to him! The bible consistently does two things to me, it leads me to Jesus and it leads me to action.

I hope in all of this that you can consider how you are being lead to action and to Jesus in your time with him and with those around you. Also, consider these questions regularly: what have you been reading lately in the bible, and how have you seen God working in your life? And share those things with those around you, and if you don’t have people to share it with, then find somebody or even just comment on this post. This is what God’s doing in my life, and that’s just where I’m at.

Take the risk

2011-02-17T13:32:00.002-07:00

I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t have a clue what’s going on. Sitting around, looking busy is a task I can do with the best of ‘em. But as I sit here, I know that there is more for me; more for me as a person, as an employee, a student, a human and especially as a person wholly effected and spurred to action by Christ.

I was listening to a podcast and in the message, the preacher proposed that if we can ask ourselves the following four questions, we have what it takes to change the world around us. I ask that as you look into these questions, prayerfully consider how you are being led to action by them. Here they are:

1. What bothers me?

2. How am I gifted?
-What do I enjoy?
-What do I do well?
-How does this serve others in the body?

3. What opportunities are in front of me?

4. Am I willing to take a risk?

In question one, I’m not asking what superficial things bother you. But at a spiritual level, what bothers you. Question 2, what do you enjoy? Nobody never said you couldn’t have a little fun serving God. If God has designed us to do certain things, I’m going to assume that would be something we enjoy. What do you do well? We need to be working out of our strengths, that way we get the most of our efforts. Also, make sure that you’re considering number two while thinking about what you enjoy. I enjoy singing, but that doesn’t mean I should be the one leading others at it. We all enjoy things we don’t do well. How does what you enjoy and do well help serve others? The third question: what opportunities do you have to take what bothers you and you’re gifted at to serve in those capacities? And keep in mind that God will give you opportunities to do those things, and while they might not be on your timeline, he will provide. (That is something I’m still working on…) The last question is sometimes the hardest for us all. Are you willing to take the risk? Based off what bothers you, what you’re gifted to do and your opportunities, are willing to take a risk and try it. What’s the worst that can happen? Failing. We’re human, we fail all the time, but when we’re working out of God’s power, failure isn’t something that should bother us. God doesn’t fail. Even if we do, he doesn’t. Hold onto that.

So I pray that in this time you would be able to begin considering how you can allow God to use you. For more on this, check out Judges 3:12-30. I love you all. Be blessed.

Middle Ground

2011-02-16T11:16:00.001-07:00

My mind seems to go in a million different directions. I feel as though I’m in a daze. Often times, I realize I have no clue what I’m doing and I wonder what I’m doing in the place I’m at. Am I trying to make something of nothing? Do I try too hard? Where do I draw the line? Where is the middle?

Yesterday I was sitting in a meeting and heard a coworker say, regarding a topic not worth explaining, that we just had to find the middle ground. It was at that time that I realized life is so much about the middle ground. It’s about compromise (not to compromise in character, but rather in the process), drawing a balance and moderation. In working towards a common goal, people have their own agenda and ways of working towards those goals. So in the process, I have to compromise in the how. Compromise is humbling. I have to acknowledge that I don’t have the perfect process, because if I did everybody would want to do life the way I wanted to (that’s a talk for another day). I have to take some of mine, some of theirs and some of something else too. The more I do life with others, the more I realize that it isn’t all about me.

I taught this weekend in the middle school service at church and I talked about how we are all broken people – all of us. I told them that when we realize that, admit it to God and ask him to fill in our cracks that it is then that God can use us. Even though God can use of no matter our attitude (look at Jonah), God would rather use a humbled, broken human. That way, the glory of His works don’t go to our heads. In our feeble efforts, his glory works. I say all this to admit that I don’t have it all together. I recognize I’m broken person, and I have a lot of junk in my life. In realizing that, I see that I can’t do life alone and I need to rely on the strength of others, too. And as we all see that, we corporately seek God’s wisdom.

Going back to the life of the middle ground and moderation. There are so many things that aren’t wrong in certain quantities and depending on the moments in which we experience them. Or, like the church world, the music can’t be too loud. Oh but wait, it can’t be too soft either. We need heavy, heart-convicting preaching…but what about the new people? We can’t feed the kids milk and the adults meat at the same time. How about community? We need to be in deep, authentic community together, but don’t hang out too much, don’t move in together and be a hippie-cult commune (you think I’m kidding, but I’ve heard that). This whole having a safe place in the middle thing seems like it’s too much work. I really don’t have a solution right now. Any thoughts?

New Beauty

2011-01-29T11:17:00.002-07:00

In a few weeks I’m teaching over 2 Cor. 5:11-6:2. In verses 16-21, I’m reminded of the song Beautiful Things by Gungor. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old is gone, the new has come! (5:17) Along with that, Gungor sings: You make beautiful things, You make beautiful things out of the dust. You make beautiful things, You make beautiful things out of us. These two speak the same message to us, that being God’s expression of creating in us something new. In God, we are created, not only something new (praise God!), but we are created into something that we could never imagine or be on our own (Ephs. 3:20-21).

I’m not going to lie…the way we are just sucks sometimes. I can’t believe the countless times I thank God I don’t have to live the way I used to. I have been blanketed with grace. God makes beautiful things out of our junk in the same way a beautiful flower sprouts from a manure-covered field. The way I see it, I’m a decent person. But once I allow God to take over, it doesn’t matter what I look like on my own anymore, rather what God looks like through me. I pray that you would shine God’s beauty and live as a new creation in him as well.

Keep it simple

2011-01-29T00:21:00.002-07:00

I’m a simple guy. I want simple. Most guys want simple. With that being said, there should be no reason that one would make the Gospel so complicated. Please give it to me simple and straight forward. I’ll be honest, part of this is a venting session, but if I weren’t able to do that here, then where would my outlet be?

I dream of a world, where simple men, those like Peter and John in Acts 4 change the world. That’s the kind of world I want to be a part of. They didn’t get special training, they didn’t teach the 4 action steps to becoming a better Christian, they didn’t go to Bible school; they just had a heart for Christ and followed his lead. 2 Corinthians 3 talks about how our competence comes from God. That’s how it should be today. I know there isn’t anything special about me other than the fact that I love God and honestly want to see my world changed because I know that is what God wants. It’s all relatively simple. No, it’s actually simply.

I want to see a generation of believers develop that are simple and honest. You know what, as quickly as Jesus attracted a crowd, he disbarred them. They couldn’t handle the entirety of the gospel. Nonetheless, Jesus taught the full Gospel. That’s something I want to be a part of. Simply enough, I want to relay Jesus’ words.

I love where God has me. I have a passion to see people transformed and please don’t hesitate to remind me of this place. I pray I don’t get distracted, I pray I don’t get caught up having my own agenda. I just want to be the man of God he’s put it on my heart to be. That sounds simple enough. Be blessed.

A bite on the tongue

2010-12-08T16:40:00.001-07:00

Recently I feel as though I have metaphorically bitten my own tongue. Not that it hurts, but more like I have been silenced. For the most part, I don’t have a tough time opening my mouth, more times than not to say something unnecessary. These past few days I feel as though God has closed my mouth and opened my eyes. We’ve all heard or at least know about how people who lose out on one or more of their senses, that their others will step up in its place. Lately, I feel God has opened my eyes and my heart in the absence of my mouth. My eyes to investigate what God is doing in mine and other’s lives, and my heart, to be reverent and worship him. I am reminded of Psalm 46:10, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” God will be exalted, my job, for now is to be silent. So praise God that I don’t have much to say right now, because my mouth doesn’t have much to say that he hasn’t already said.

Surrender

2010-12-07T23:03:00.000-07:00

Life can be funny at times. One day it will make sense, but the next will be a mystery. Today, I can do it on my own; tomorrow I’m powerless on my own. I don’t know all that God is doing to me right now, but whatever it is I choose to simply surrender. I can’t do this; try to do life on my own. I choose to praise God as I sit here, silent. Sometimes that’s the only thing we can do when God takes the words away and brings us to our knees. So God, I sit here and choose you.

Opportunities

2010-11-30T16:08:00.000-07:00

This life is full of opportunities; some grow us, some hold us back. And in life, it’s how we respond to these opportunities that will shape our character.

I’m an initiator. I like to start things. More times than not, I don’t wait for the time to come, rather I seek it out. More times than not, it benefits me and I’m able to get a head start on what I’m trying to accomplish, but yet other times, it can lead me to trouble. As I’ve dealt with for my whole life now, I’m trying to live wholly and dependently on God. So here is the question I ask: is it our job to seek out opportunities? Ways to serve, to use our talents, to be involved? Or is it simply our job to seek God and wait for him to bring opportunity our way? Perry Noble, a pastor from Anderson, South Carolina says that God brings opportunity to us. Paul wasn’t looking for opportunities to serve God, but rather to persecute and even kill Christians. Mary wasn’t sitting around one day wondering what she could do with her life, no. God came to her in a vision and told her she would bear a child. So why then do we think we can alter and shape our own futures with our decisions? I want to urge you to prayer and a genuine spirit of seeking the Lord’s will in your life.

Glen Elliott once told me, “Good is the enemy of great”. There will be plenty of good things to do, but lets look inside and ask what it is that God wants to give us. Although some things won’t always be as flashy or recognized, God wants to give you a great opportunity, one that he has predestined you to do. So as you go on with your day, I challenge you to look yourself in the mirror and ask how you can seek out God; because it’s when you’re on the same page as him, then the opportunities will seem much clearer.

Just another day

2010-11-22T00:02:00.000-07:00

It’s funny sometimes how emotions will come storming into our lives; coming from seems to remain a secret. I continually experience this as I walk day to day with a sudden drowning of feelings.

A lot has been going on in life. School, work, ministry and trying to cram an active social life in between has been interesting. Friends are getting married, people are moving and everyone seems to be growing up. It’s an interesting time of life.

I feel like I’m in an in between stage of life. While I’m ecstatic to be finally settled in at my own place, a place to call home and loving the friends I live with, I still feel so much that I’m in transition. Maybe God is trying to keep me ready for something. I’m not sure exactly what it is, but I know that it is taking quite a toll on me. I seem to always have a headache and never get my energy back. Not to whine, but I’m getting really tired of this all.

I’ve been counting down the days to Passion 2011, which I gladly say is less than 40! Passion is going to do two contradictory things to me simultaneously. It will fill me to be brim, so much so that I will be exploding from the seams. Yet, it will completely drain me, so much that it will leave me dry and thirsty. The only solution is to look to the only place that can quench my thirst. I love the way God works. All things point to him who created all. The very life he has called us to live for him will drive us to such great heights that the only way we can sustain what he has called us to is continued and greater pursuit of him. The more we pursue God, the more we pursue God. Or in another way of looking at it, the more we come to know a person of interest, the more we want to know them.

The more I do life, the more I life in the monotony of life, the routine, I begin to realize that this isn’t necessarily just routine. Rather, it’s one of the many ways that God prepares us. This just happens to be the way that God is challenging me to trust him through it all.

While I feel dry and stale, God will fill me, give me the zest, energy and drive to accomplish all that he calls me to, so that I in turn continue to look to him as I live life.

I hope that made sense. If not, just know God is doing some construction in my life. Thanks for stopping by.

Now is the time

2010-07-08T15:14:00.000-07:00

Now is the time for change. Now is the time to go through with it. If you feel that you will have more freedom or ability to act on your passions and convictions you are wrong. In the short time I have been making decisions and living for what I feel empowered to, I have learned that there is no time like the now.

I am a 21 year old and a forth year college student. I work part time and have a lot of commitments. And while I take my commitments seriously, I know that I cannot go back on time. There are certain freedoms I possess as a single college student. I have no mortgage payments, no car payments, no children; nothing. What I do have is a passion to see the world change.

God has given me a vision to see my world changed. And my perception of the world isn’t much different than his. I do believe, as I feel God does, that he wants me to start with where I am. This process is under way and I have seen a group of five or six quickly transform into a group nearing forty in the span of year. Even this isn’t something I foresaw to be the case, not like this. But as we know, “Glory belongs to God, whose power is at work in us. By this power he can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine” (Eph. 3:20). This is incredibly true in my life. There are certain things in this life I am sure of. One of which is that God can, and will do more than I could ever imagine. In the same way that I’ve heard it said that “ [we] cannot out give God.”, we cannot outwork, not can we out love him. God is always working on our hearts, he is always preparing us in advance for when we are finally realize his path for us.

You know when you’re a kid and you’re trying to build, bake or do something and you do a great job? You are so proud of yourself for doing such an amazing job, but come to find out you didn’t do that task alone; your parents were there, picking up the pieces, adding the extra ingredients and cleaning up after you. That’s how it is with God. He is continually putting the pieces together before, during and after we are at work. I have felt like God is continually doing that in my life, and it is beyond exciting!

I now can run with my passions, knowing that I am not missing out or leaving anything behind. I am doing that which has been laid upon my heart. I can do this because “Christ has freed us so that we may enjoy the benefits of freedom. Therefore, be firm in this freedom, and don’t become slaves again.” I can live in the light of freedom. That is what Christ has done for us. He has blessed us to be a blessing. We now have the freedom to bless those around us. And we bless people what we’ve been blessed with, what we’ve been given. And what we’ve been given is freedom from the burden of sin, grace, forgiveness and million other things. So let’s take that passion that I know lives deep down inside of us, the one that we wish to act on and let’s do it. Please don’t be bound by anything. Speak out against that. There is power in the name of Christ. So take the freedom you have been given and share that with your world.

The fellowship I share with some forty-some peers is increasing daily, and we will not leave our worlds unchanged, and in doing so, we will not leave the world as a whole unchanged either. This is where life resides. Not in living for a little life, but for living in a life that is much larger than anything we can be a part of alone. We are like a raging wildfire that cannot be extinguished. As we go on serving, giving and answering the call God has placed on us, we truly experience life. “Tell them to do good, to do a lot of good things, to be generous, and to share…in this way they take hold of what life really is” (I Timothy 6:18-19). I am truly experiencing life. I pray that you can too. All you have to do is decide for yourself. Take the stand, it won’t disappoint.

My Eternal Longing

2010-05-05T16:58:00.003-07:00

I feel that God is calling me into something that is so much larger than myself. And while experiencing this, I am reminded of part of Francis Chan’s latest book, Forgotten God. In this book, Chan explores what he describes as a “tragic neglect” of the Holy Spirit in the American church. In the introduction Chan writes:

“We [the church] understand something very important is missing. The feeling is so strong that some have run away from the church and God’s Word completely. I believe that this missing something is actually a missing
Someone—namely, the Holy Spirit. Without Him, people operate in their own strength and only accomplish human-size results. The world is not moved by love or actions that are of human creation. And the church is not empowered to live differently from any other gathering of people without the Holy Spirit. But when believers live in the power of the Spirit, the evidence in their lives is supernatural. The church cannot help but be different, and the world cannot help but notice.”

I can’t help but to be both encouraged and discouraged at that statement. Encouragement coming from knowing that through the power of God, that I can be a part of something so much greater than myself. The discouragement stemming from my pride, knowing that I sometimes feel as if I can create or help push a “movement”. And although I know this is not the case, I frequently buy into the deception. Greg Matte said it best, “It is not with wise or persuasive words, but the demonstration of the Spirit's power that men are changed". Because of that, I know that it is only by the power of the Spirit that I can see this world transformed, but something I can hold firm to is that I can be along for the ride. That if I allow myself to become a vessel or a catalyst of God’s movement through me, that it is at that moment, and in the moments to come that I will come to experience God’s glory shown throughout my community and ultimately the world.

As I grow in my knowledge of God, which excitingly will never come to completion, I come to know God’s heart. Although it wasn’t so clear for quite some time, it came to me on a long walk home one evening. We are to follow the example Jesus has set for us. And Jesus’ heart and passion was “to seek and save what was lost” (Luke 19:10). I came to the realization that I was to grow into alignment with Jesus’ heart. Why would I want to do anything outside of that?

I am also reminded of a scripture where Jesus has been resurrected and was about to ascend back home to Heaven. Jesus’ final words were this:

"All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

In light of that, I began to think that I might be over thinking my role in this world. I have been put here simply to assist God in his mission; to bring his Glory and name to the world. After spending some time in reflection, I began to ask myself two questions: what is my personal role in the Great Commission, and what is the role of my fellow community of believers? I believe that once we discover that, then we should run fast towards that. And while I could write for days about spiritual gifts, talents and things of that nature, that’s not what I’m here to talk about.

You see, I feel that God has put it on my heart to be a mobilizer in his Kingdom. It is a great passion of mine to relay to others God’s biblical truths. Along with that, I am a person who likes to encourage those around me. With all that said, I feel that God has to some extent put it on my heart to mobilize those in around me. As the writer of Hebrews says it, “let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds” (10:24). Often times, people either get scared or lose sight of the ultimate goal and through my giftedness, I believe God has called me to help others to remain on track and to help encourage them onto love and good deeds.

I say all this because while I can be nice, and tell people about and even teach them God’s word, if it’s not in the power of the Spirit, it is not as effective, and possibly even worthless. The effectiveness of the first century church was not because they had great, talented people leading it, although they did. It is because they had people who submitted themselves to God. A great passage, and something I only wish could be said of me is from Acts 4:13 and says, “When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.” People noticed that these men could not be living in such a way by their own power or ability, but by the power and ordinance of God.

Needless to say, I am not sure how to feel about my wants or dreams, but what I do know is that my ultimate desire to be in line with God and his Spirit, that I can live in much greater power and joy than anything I can create in my own efforts. And whether I impact three people or the world, I know that I am doing what it is that God wants of me, and that there is no greater cause to devote my life to than that. Because as I heard it said once, “It isn’t what you do with your life while you’re alive that God is concerned with, but the things he has called you to do that he will hold you accountable for.”

Louie Giglio challenged everyone at Passion 2010 to consider “Giving up something small for something much larger than yourself”. And while I think about that, I know that laying down my desires and ambitions to yield myself to God’s call and direction for my life will ultimately be worth it. When I remain in Jesus, he said that , “my [his] joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete” (John 15:11). It is then that I will have accomplished with my life what truly matters.

Good

2009-11-12T22:55:00.001-07:00

I’ve seen it written that things are too good to be true. But is that always the case? At one point in time, any point, things had to be created. And even before they could ever be denied, they had to be in existence. Could you deny the existence of a thingamajig? No, because it doesn't exist! However, God exists. And because God exists, love exists. I am here to relay a simple message. That message is that things can be good. In fact, they can even be great.

I was thinking tonight about how strong human emotions can be at times. I’ve heard it said that the human emotion is the strongest driving force. And in human terms, love is the apex. And to think that God’s love for us dwarfs our notion of love just blows my mind. I was taken back when I thought about that. God created marriage as an example of his love for us. The bond created there is what we should also strive towards in our relationship with Him.

God wants us to experience these relationships, and he takes joy when we do. So don’t think that things can’t be that good. Because they can. That’s all I have.

God, friends....what else do you need!?

2009-08-10T23:25:00.000-07:00

I am happy right now! Happy. Looking back, there are a lot of times where I was in a good mood and was having a good time, but truly happy. Thank you, Lord! As of late, God has put some great friends in my life. Well, some old friends that remain, but mostly some new ones. And you know what? It’s exciting. There is the potential that the college ministry at church could finally get a start. Not that I haven’t felt that way before, but this time it seems different. I am also excited about the Passion Conference in Atlanta, Georgia. Louie Giglio, John Piper, Beth Moore, David Crowder Band, Chris Tomlin, Hillsong United, Kristian Stanfill, Charlie Hall, and even more! It’s going to be crazy awesome!
Back to the friends… God has put some good people in my life. It’s exciting! I can’t wait to see where these friendships lead! There is one in particular that will be exciting. I think that God has definitely put this person in my life, and it’s awesome. Another thing that is new is that I have a middle school apprentice this year! How crazy is it that they trust me enough to help guide a young man in the ways of being a middle school youth coach! Wow! God will do His work through me, I just have to be there and be available and listen.
I was writing this, and then two of my close friends starting chatting with me on Facebook. I got side tracked, but so excited about God! I love GOD!!! That’s all I have left to say. Goodnight!

(in)dependent

2009-07-24T20:38:00.000-07:00

I am going to open this entry with a lie. Here it is… I am independent.

That is one of the most common things I hear; especially at this age. So many people moving out and experiencing new found “freedom” gives people a false sense of security. I do not want to buy into this fabrication. I am coming to a point in life where I might move out. The money is going to be tight, and I will be alone. Well, I’ll have roommates, but I will be apart from my parents and family. It will be an adventure! I heard a pastor quote Proverbs 30:7-9 “Two things I ask you, O LORD; do not refuse me before I die; Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, ‘Who is the LORD?’ Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God.” I also heard him mention the story of a 16 year old girl from California. This girl worked full-time as well and attended high school. While her classmates were all saving up for a new car, she was doing Kingdom work. She was supporting Compassion International. At around $30 a month, per child, she was supporting….get this, 14 kids. Yes, fourteen. So often, we’re concerned with our standard of living as opposed to others just living. Period. I found myself concerned with maybe not having enough money to move out and live comfortably. But now, thanks to a few friends and God, I am not concerned about my standard of living. I feel that God wants me to rely on Him, and Him alone. I will be able to make it if I move out, and that is due to one reason, God. The reason I like that verse is because I want God to give me my daily bread, and that is it.

I am going to end this entry with the truth. Here it is… I am dependent, on God.

What now?

2009-07-21T14:31:00.000-07:00

What does God want for us? What does He want out of us? It seems to be a question I hear a lot. Life will constantly send us in all sorts of different directions. Let’s use my story as an example. One day, I’m getting ready to move to California and start a new journey there, and now I’m a million miles from that thought. God will use whatever situation we’re in and run with it. Here’s a piece of advice…go with it! I love that God has his own plans, and that we’re just a tool. So, as I get older I begin to wonder what my life purpose is. What does God want from Dustin DeJong? I’m not sure. I’ll tell you what I know. God wants us to love Him, and He wants us to love others. (Matthew 22:36-40) So often I get caught up in wanting to know what is going to happen in the future that one, we don’t notice what all is going on around us. And two, that we forget what we are here for. Sanctus Real has a song that sings, “God has got a plan, and understanding isn’t my place”. I love that. It’s so much easier said than done, like everything in life, but just do it. And maybe once you surrender yourself to God that’s when it all happens. 2nd Chronicles reads, “The eyes of the Lord range throughout the Earth to strengthen the hearts of those that are fully committed to Him”. So, maybe that’s a solution.

We all have different things that we do well. We may not all be designed to be the prophet, or the prayer warrior, or the preacher. But God does say that we all have gifts and that we should use them, in love, and use them for God’s kingdom.
“Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ.”
(1 Peter 4:8-11)
I love the beginning of that passage, the simple, yet powerful command to love. I really don’t know all that God is wanting of me, and I’m sure you may not know all too well either, but one thing I know is that I know some of my gifts and that I will continue to use them to love on others. That what God has told me so far, and if or when He directs me elsewhere, I will do my best to do that task to the best of my ability.

I hope these blogs help you or at least get your mind thinking. If so, I would love some feedback, just as an encouragement to continue on writing! Thank you.

Seriously Ridiculous

2009-06-16T23:48:00.001-07:00

When you think about it, there are no words we can use to even attempt to describe God. I love it. I’ve tried to tell myself that I can appropriately define who He is. Wrong! All I can say about God is that He is seriously ridiculous; His love, creativity, perfection, mercy and forgiveness. There are more than those, but you get the point.

In the last couple weeks I have definitely experienced His love, and at a much need time might I add. But before I go there, I will just give you an update on what’s going on with me. So, here it is… After failing to get approved for enough money to attend Hope International University, I tried not to worry too much. Ever since I visited the campus in California last November, I was set on going; no matter what! Money was no matter to me, I didn’t care how it was going to happen. In March, within a one week period, I got accepted to Hope and received a four year, $10,000/year scholarship. I was beyond happy! And I thought God was making it clear that Hope was in deed where He had planned for me to be. Just a little side note, Hope costs approx. $32,000/year. So there I was, part way covered. Once I filled out my FAFSA and got that back I was only approved for a $5,500 loan, thus leaving me $15,000 short.

This is where I started to go downhill. Last week I was feeling very, very down. Not too sure of what to do. Uncertain of my future, and not really wanting to see where God might be leading me. All of a sudden, I got a burst of energy and had a sense of ok-ness. God had shown me His overwhelming love and had laid his hand of comfort over me. Thank you, Lord.

I now sit here, in anticipation of a possible internship with Pantano, something I came to learn just in this past week. In fact, our lead pastor talked to me about that tonight; as well as the executive pastor and the youth pastor in the past week. Everything seems to be good. Something that I was told last week really helped me out. “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.” (Proverbs 3:5-6) I had heard that passage several times before, but when it was explained to me this time they emphasized that God would make our path straight. God didn’t say He would make our journey straight, just our path. You see, what this means to me is that God will not necessarily show us enough into the future, that way we still trust Him. But also, that way He will give us just enough to do as He wants. This way, I can follow His will and not get sidetracked. We are serving a seriously ridiculous God, a God that knows what is best for us. And loves us enough to walk along side us during our journeys, lighting our path one step at a time. As for now, I will take the step onto the next part of my path. I believe God is calling me to ministry, and whether that path is to go to Hope or to stay in Tucson and maybe go to Arizona doesn’t matter. The fact of the matter is that God will bring me to that place on the path that He knows is best for me, and I will trust in Him. So, here I am just waiting for God to light the next step of my path, but in the mean time, I will do all that I can to love people the way He has loved me.

Lukewarm and loving it.

2009-05-22T21:57:00.002-07:00

I’m tired, and in all honesty I don’t feel like writing anything right now. However, this needs to be written. If only one person does, that is enough. I have a plan, nothing overly elaborate; I just want to get your head thinking. Thinking about your life, your future, most importantly your eternal worth.

I heard a sermon by Francis Chan recently and it blew my mind. The man is for real. A man of God, simply put. He had a sermon where he spoke on being lukewarm. I can’t say much more other than to just watch it. Here it is. Also, let me know what you think after watching it. Thanks.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBhqrtMqrv8

When I am weak, I am strong!

2009-05-10T21:29:00.001-07:00

Surrender. It’s such a maze of a word. By most standards it’s a sign of defeat, something that is the last resort. I am here to tell you that surrendering could be the greatest thing we could do. Surrender, by definition is to yield to the power, control or possession of another. In 2nd Corinthians 12 Jesus talked about such surrender. “But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” When we are broken there is no other option for us but to seek help. I’m not saying that we should only seek Jesus, because we are to pursue him everyday, good or bad. What I’m saying is that when we feel weak, there is hope that God will restore us. I love the idea, no the fact, that where I feel weakest God will use that area of my life to affect others. Why? Because then I can not say that it was me. When I know that is not something I could have done on my own, then I know that God is due the honor and glory.

Have you ever heard the saying, “A great leader doesn’t ask you to do anything they wouldn’t be willing to do”? Jesus does just that, “have the same attitude of mind Christ Jesus had: “ Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a human being, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death- even death on a cross!” You see, Jesus did that. He humbled himself so that we might have life. And when he felt weak, He received power from God, just as we can.

So what can we do so that Christ's strength can be found in our weaknesses? Seek it! Simple enough.

Complete Love

2009-05-03T23:07:00.002-07:00

Love completely. Sounds simple enough, right? Wrong. Why is it always so difficult to wrap our minds around loving others? I’ll go as far as saying I would like to love everyone. News flash: intentions don’t fuel this world, actions do! Let’s look through some examples of when Jesus, the greatest lover of all, showed His truly unreal love.
-Feeding of the 5000 (Matthew 14:15-21)
-Healing of the paralytic (Mt. 9:1-8)
-Leper is healed (Mt. 1-4)
-Widow’s son is raised (Luke 7:11-16)
-Lazarus is raised (John 11:1-45)

This next one is a favorite of mine, it’s found in Luke 22:50-51. While the chief priests and guards came to arrest Jesus in the garden, Peter cut off the ear of a guard and Jesus simply picked up the ear and put it back on and it was healed!! Wow, does that not scream love!? For Jesus to care enough about the man that was coming to arrest and maybe beat him, that He would restore the guard’s ear. Wow. And that is somebody He had never met.

For me, I have a hard enough time trying to love those around me let alone strangers. I got hit pretty hard today about complete love; love that is present, love that is real and vibrant. Often times people choose to have 1 Corinthians 13 read at their weddings, mostly because it is an anthem of their love for one another. I’m sure they do love each other in those ways, but how about anybody else? How about you and I? Do we love in those ways? “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” (1 Corinthians 13:4-7). Are we patient or kind? Do we try not to be rude or to boast or to be selfish? For myself, I fail at that, many, many times. Selfishness is huge for me. Sometimes I feel too ‘inconvenienced’ to love others well, or at all. Wow. That’s bad. Jesus Christ has taken the time to love every one of us in such a deep way, deeper than that of the person you love most. Is that crazy or what?

What are some ways we can begin to love? ……. That really was a question. This isn’t one of those times when I have an opinion or think I have a solution. Any feedback?

This world of mine, no wait...This world of His.

2009-04-30T23:19:00.008-07:00

Welcome to this world of mine. It’s one where emotions know no end and I in my truest state come alive; one where I can be myself. Not too many have seen this world, not too many times am I even in this world. I would like to take that step, the one where I will forever be there. We all say it, “one of these days”. Well, why not now? Why not make it this day.

I often get the question, “Is there something wrong Dustin?” or a question similar. And so often I shrug it off, saying I’m fine and that I’m just tired or have a headache. But that’s not the case. There is something wrong. I want to set the story straight, I’m not writing this so that you can take pity on me or feel bad for me. I’m writing with the anticipation that I will soon be united with Christ at such a level where He is my only true love.

Wednesday in youth, we talked about sex, women and dating. And while the boys were asking questions they were wondering about when to start dating and when is appropriate. In response, Michael said that dating too young can lead to heartbreak, so why bother. I added to his response about instead of investing your heart and love and devotion into a girl to seek out God’s own image within the women. “Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. The man said, ‘This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called 'woman’, for she was taken out of man.’ For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.” (Gen. 2:22-24). As God created it, we are not to find women to just be with them, but to be one with them. They are called to be united, in oneness with each other. “God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” (Gen.1:27). With men and women being created in His image, are we not to seek Him out in our mates?

You see, I believe that. I believe that if we are not simply seeking a person, if we are seeking out God within that person, we can’t be attached to that woman alone. I’m sure God will not lead you to somebody that you’re not supposed to be with. I hope to be the man of God He has created me to be, and that from there he will put the right women on my heart, not merely because of her, but because of the spirit of God that she possesses.

I don’t think I’ve been following the spirit lately. I found through a lot of heart ache and a lot of tough times that searching for a ‘nice girl’ didn’t necessarily lead me to the girl that God has created for me. I’m not saying that she isn’t a great, Godly girl but she just may not be for me. Even if she is, it’s not the time. There is a saying, “Even the right thing at the wrong time is the wrong thing.” So for now, I’m going to strive to be the best I can be, the man God has called me to be. No telling where that will take me, but I am trusting Him, and we will see where that takes me.

Back to this world of mine. I will admit I like to feel sorry for myself sometimes. But one thing I do know, and that is that my Heavenly Father is always in my world, no matter what world I seem to be in. But maybe I should try to be in His World a little more often. Or a lot more often, haha. Thanks for listening to me ramble.

Influences

2009-03-04T12:29:00.000-07:00

How often are we influenced in a positive way? It’s hard! You have to ask yourself a simple, yet tough question: Am I becoming a better person because of the company I keep, or am I suffering because of them?

High school was tough for me. I was always concerned about popularity and doing what people thought was cool. Thankfully I never jumped off the deep end and went crazy but I still was involved with a mostly bad crowd. I managed to find myself in trouble a few times, and every time I was I looked around and I wasn’t alone. Most the time I was with the guys. We had a knack for being knuckle heads. It was all fun and games at the time. You know how they say wisdom comes with time? Well, they say it for a reason. As soon as I graduated I quickly began to see what it was that really mattered. Not the guys, not being cool, not seeing how far we could push our luck. And more so than that, I don’t even talk or hang out with any of those guys anymore. So what was it all for? Nothing.

You see, I was being negatively influenced. It is way easier to be than you might think. When you’re the lone man out you just want to be a part of the crowd. But what if you surrounded yourself with better company? What if when you were hanging out with the guys you could just be yourself? Don’t get me wrong, we can still hang out with our non-Christian friends. It’s just a matter of us being the influencer. How about we be so vibrantly God-like that people cant help but to be changed.

“Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”
-Matthew 5:16

What if people were drastically changed because of our love for God? I’m not saying that we should be “churchy” or goody-goodies. Just honestly loving people. Just being nice, show grace and they wouldn’t have a problem. Ghandi once said, “I like your Christ, I just don’t like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.” (My paraphrase) WOW! How true is that? We are so unlike Jesus at times. We are not called to be judges. We are called to just love people.

I am not my own

2009-03-02T22:38:00.002-07:00

I heard a great passage that really got me thinking. Lately, I have been looking a lot more into sexual integrity and how to acquire that. I've been reading books, the bible, been a part of a book study. The passage I heard yesterday that got me thinking was this:

"Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body."
(1 Corinthians 6:18-20)

I began thinking about how it says that sexual immorality is sinning against our own bodies. I can literally imagine me poisoning myself. That is what this is. It is poison. Then it says that we are not our own, that we were bought at a price. How mad do we get when we buy something and it just will not work correctly? I recently bought the new Blackberry Storm, and it's a piece of junk! It has a bunch of bugs and quarks, and it's really starting to get on my nerves! Now just imagine dying for someone, and having them dishonor that sacrifice. That is what I am doing every time I do something of that sort. I might as well tell Jesus that what He did for me means nothing to me. I was bought at I price, therefore I do need to start honoring God with my body.

This is a huge issue for guys. Girls too, but guys, we are so much easily baited into this junk. Don't let this rule your life, you can fight it.

Why am I awake?

2009-03-01T23:30:00.002-07:00

I am such a confused kid. I have no idea what to do. Stress is... well, it's stressing me out. I would love to just settle down, and be done with all the junk. It was funny, while I was working Friday morning, I sat down with two couples, both of which were married no less than 50 years. Wow, that's quite an accomplishment! They were all so happy, and I thought to myself "Why can't that be me?". I was thinking I would trade my life for theirs. Even though they're in their 70's and "on their way out" per say, but still. They were so..... happy. I really would like that. It's not that I'm not happy, I'm just not complete yet. And that is definitely something I'm working on. Not necessarily finding a girl, but just being ok with being myself. I am so self-conscience sometimes. I am way too hard on myself. It's not fun to be around myself. I'm guessing that's problematic. Despite everyone advising against it(something I do not wish to get into. Sorry), I keep attempting it. It's not that it's bad, it's just that I continue to get hurt. It's a shame. It could be a beautiful situation. Oh well, maybe God doesn't want it.

I've found that I am a very transparent person. I like that though, I think it shows my authenticity and realness. With me, you know what you're getting. No games, just me. I respect that in people, hopefully you all respect that of me.

I'm tired, it's past my bedtime. Good night, and I'll talk with you all soon.

Be an example

2009-02-16T15:52:00.002-07:00

Have you ever been looked down upon because or you age? How does it make you feel? In 1 Timothy 4:12 is says, "Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity."

I'm hoping to go more in depth in the near future about the six parts Paul describes above: word, conduct, love spirit, faith and purity.

I recently heard something I found interesting and valid. I was told that everybody needs a Paul, Barnabas and Timothy. Basically, it means we all need a mentor, an encourager and someone to invest in. By encourager I mean somebody that is at or around the same place you are in your walk, somebody that can keep you accountable and can ask you the hard questions. A mentor to show you how to do certain things, to show you through their mistakes and to love on you. And finally somebody for you to mentor. It is important to invest time into others lives, just think where you might be had those people not been there for you.

The exclusivity of Christ

2009-02-03T19:37:00.001-07:00

John 14:6 “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

How can we get to heaven? Good deeds? Working hard? Being a really nice person? Thinking God is cool? Know who God is? Having heard of Jesus? No, no, no, no, no and no. All those are nice and stuff, but what does it mean to be saved? Jesus saves. It’s simple. Jesus said it himself, “No one comes to the Father except through me.”

How can we live this out? Jesus gives us two commands, that’s it. Love God, and love people. It’s that easy.

A year of service

2009-01-12T22:21:00.001-07:00

Hello. I’ve been thinking of ways to make 2009 something more than years past. Not being sure of what to do, I decided to just keep living my life and to see what happens. As I was working the other day (I work at Pantano on the maintenance staff), I looked over and noticed a picture of a young boy. His name is Kwesi, which translates into Courage. I fell in love with him as soon as I saw him. He is younger than those in youth, being only 6 years old (don’t quote me on that). I’ll get back to Kwesi.

One thing that I’m determined to do is to be a better servant, not that I am going to do this out of duty, but because I truly want to do so. I’ve determined there are three ways I will be of service; three ways that we’re called to serve. I can’t find the passage to save my life, but I know it’s in there somewhere… But I believe that we’re all called to serve in our faith community (church), in our community (school, neighborhood) and the world.

This past semester I really felt like I was struggling. I feel like I was not putting in 100% and the people around me paid the price; most of all, my small group. I would plan for a lesson 10 minutes before we had group, or sometimes not at all. And as transparent as I am, it showed. The boys shouldn’t have to suffer because of my lack of obedience. (Which reminds me of something I want to post about soon, Obedience vs. Excellence) I am determined to become the man God has called me to be, which is an example and a Godly influence on these young men.

I feel called to bring this up to my small group: I want to challenge them to become servants. And how can we do this? By serving in three ways.

Church: something as small as passing the offering. Or even helping reorganize chairs or pick up pens/pencils.

Community: There are a lot of opportunities to serve in our community. Serve Tucson, roadside cleanups, etc. Maybe even going to Fry’s and grab the shopping carts and returning them to the front. (I’d love to see the faces on the people whose job that is when somebody is doing their job for them!)

World: I was thinking about taking the guys to San Carlos over Spring Break to serve with the Satter’s and all others at A.R.M. (Arizona Reservation Ministries). When we went at the end of the summer, all the students loved it! It’s fun and very humbling and a great place to serve. If you’ve never heard of Compassion, it’s a service where, for only $32 a month you can sponsor a child to help feed, educate and teach them about God! I was thinking that maybe my group could help sponsor Kwesi/Courage. How cool is it, that his name is Courage! To be amongst all those hardships. If the guys and I each brought a dollar a week, that would support him! And how cool would it be to know that we could make such a huge impact on someone’s life like that!

I know that 2009 can be a year of service, and a year in which we could transform our own lives, as well as others. Take the challenge! Be a servant.

A new season

2008-12-05T19:43:00.000-07:00

Tis the season! As the Holiday Season begins I can’t help but wonder. I began to look a bit further into what we’re celebrating. As I investigated, I started seeing that it points back to God. What am I truly thankful for? I can tell you what I’m not thankful for. I am not thankful for things I’ve created. What have I created, you may ask? A bunch of junk! Everything good, everything fun, everything worth experiencing God has created. I created sadness, I created despair. My pride and my sins have created an ability to bring it back to myself. But it is not about me! It’s about glorifying God, and about living to love others well. Let us get back to what I am thankful for. I am thankful for my family. I am thankful for my job. I am thankful for my friends. And ultimately, I am thankful for what God has given me: His son! And so with Christmas around the corner, I want to bring it back to what it is really about. It’s not about this or that. It’s about celebrating the life we’re been given! What are you waiting for? Celebrate!

Are you tired of the mess Christmas has been made into? I am. I want to tell you about something I’ve heard of, it’s called the Advent Conspiracy. It’s just a short video clip, just over two and a half minutes. It may change the way you think about this Christmas. I challenge you to think about it. Here is the link to the video (I’m not tech-savvy enough to put it on my blog).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVqqj1v-ZBU

Who is your God?

2008-10-17T22:15:00.003-07:00

Where do I start? I’m doing great right now. Really, it’s crazy. Lately, I’ve been a bit down. Basically being dumb, lol. Here’s the story, there was this girl. She’s great, beautiful, sweet and most of all Godly! It’s probably been about a year now that I’ve liked her. I know, crazy, huh? It’s not until this past week or two that I realized God doesn’t want me to be with her. And God has given me the peace to be alright with it. Scratch that, more than alright. I’m doing great. Once I FINALLY gave it up to God to show me what to do is when I got out of the misery I had been in. I was always up and down, a bit of a roller coaster. I decided that I needed to give it up to God. I had been praying about it for a long time, but I wasn’t sincere about it. I would pray that His will be done. But I didn’t act as if that’s what I wanted to happen. I’d say I want it, but if He didn’t want me with her, I didn’t care to listen. All it caused was drama and stress.

I’ve been doing a personal study through James and read through the first chapter and it said this, “…he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.” It really hit me, I wasn’t living for Christ at all. All I was doing was Rubbish! From that point, I immediately knew what I had to do: Give it to God, and respect and honor what He told me. Since then, I’ve been doing great.

I’ve been scared that if I were to get into a relationship it may hold me back from what God wants of me. If I’m planning on going out of town for school, I can’t have any hindrances. I think this is God’s way of protecting my heart, and building me up. I am now more excited than ever to get on with my life! Girls really are of no concern to me. I’m wanting to live for God, and that’s it. No longer do I want girls to be my god, no longer do I want sports to be my god, no longer do I want money to be my god and no longer do I want to be my god. God is my God. And it’s to Him I worship.

MS:::PM

2008-08-13T14:45:00.003-07:00

Today will be the first day of Middle School small groups for the new school year!! I'm so excited. I have at least 6 of my boys from last year returning! We're not going to have a bible study today, just ice breakers and get-to-know-yous for the newbies. It should be good fun. This past summer marked one full year on staff! It's been crazy. And this will be my first full year of of having my own group, seeing as I took on my own in January of '08.

The way I see God working through some of my boys' lives is INSANE! One of my boys in particular, Caleb. He's light years ahead of his age (at times, but then his inner-13 year old comes out, lol) But seriously, I love this guy. He has got such a heart devoted for God. And like I told him a couple weeks ago, and as it says in 2 Chronicles 16:9 "For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the Earth to strengthen those, whose hearts are fully committed to him." God has got some HUGE things lined up for this guy. And it's people like Caleb that help inspire me to from with God. I love God teaches us through others.

I can't wait to see what this next school year has to hold! I guess all I can do now is embrace it! Good luck as you stride through your life as well.

End of the Summer

2008-07-31T22:57:00.000-07:00

Wow, it’s been an entire summer. And boy it went fast. Sure was crazy: 8 days in Hawaii, 2 weeks in Prescott, 3 days in Globe, a week of day camp, a couple day trips. And I didn’t miss a thing. I made every event in middle school!! Holy cow I’m tired, lol.

God is amazing!! People always say he works in crazy ways, but wow. It’s so true! I won’t go too much into details but he is so awesome. The past few months have seriously been crazy. They’ve been some of the best and worst days, all in one. I have never felt closer to God, yet there has been so much drama. There have been lot more lately; more than usual. Without sounding arrogant and I hope I don’t but there have been a lot of girls pursuing me lately. It’s really been bringing me down. Honestly, I really don’t want anything to do with girls in general. I take that back, there is only one girl that I would consider spending time with. And currently nothing is happening with that, so there you go: no girls for Dustin. I’m so tired of all the junk in life; I want to move past this stage. I want to be just out of college. Getting into full-time ministry and starting a family. But I also want a pony and we all know that’s not going to happen. I know that God has amazing things for me, and that in His timing it will happen.

School starts here soon. I can’t wait! If you’re wondering why I just said that, I can’t help you. I don’t know what I’m thinking either. I’m just so bored of these long, hot days. School is fun… (Am I going crazy?) I do enjoy learning, just not the hard work to go with it. Here are my classes:
-REL 221: New Testament (3 Credits)
-PHI 101: Intro to Philosophy (3 Credits)
-MAT 182: Trigonometry (3 Credits)
-MUS 100: Guitar I (2 Credits)
-FSS 185: Weight Training (1 Credit)

I’m pretty stoked for NT and Guitar. Other than that, they’re just classes like any other. It’ll be 12 credits overall. Full time.

I need sleep. I’ll try to post more often... bye!

It's Saturday Night...

2008-05-18T00:00:00.002-07:00

...and once again I'm home, alone. I know, I know; I live quite the life! So in like... 5 days from today I will be in Hawaii! That should be fun. Like I stated in my previous blog, things have been very hectic. But it should be fine. I did some landscaping work today with Corey. I made $75 for 4 hours of work. That's $18.75/hr., can't complain! Except that I can complain, LOL. My back is most definitely complaining. There are HUGE knots everywhere and my legs are even more-so rubber-like than before. But it's well worth it... I think. I can't wait to just relax in Hawaii and not have to worry or stress about anything. I'm so tired of people and stuff right now. Honestly, I only care to see like 3 people right now (And if you have taken the time to actually read this then you are one of those 3!!).
I think I almost broke my wrist last night. Corey and I went to Udall and played ball and when I went to dunk it I hit my wrist so hard on the rim that it bruised up and kinda jammed my thumb and stuff. And now it hurts to move my wrist, but it was a sweet dunk! Speaking of sweet dunks, I had this dunk where I took off from like outside the key and went in between like 2 guys. I flew so far! And then I had another where I went up off my right leg and finished with my left hand and then all these black guys were cheering for me. I felt pretty cool! I had more, but that would take too long to write, LOL.
My sister is rubbing my back right now! I haven't seen her in like 3 days. I'm gonna go sit down and talk to her, bye.

End of the Semester

2008-05-10T20:17:00.001-07:00

Things are CRAZY! Honestly, I can not stand school. And people on top of that! If I had a dime for every time people assume something about me I’d be sitting pretty. No more! Seriously people, stop! Funny story, I think I hurt a friends feelings. Did I say friend? I meant to say acquaintance. They just assume that I owe them something. I am free to do whatever I please, and in no way am I forced to try to please them. I’m really not. I’m not going to fake it anymore. What you see is what you see.

I’ve been under a lot of stress lately. With school wrapping up and the anticipation of the summer and everything in mind I am getting very antsy. I hate it. On May 22 I’ll be on a plane to Hawaii and everything will be out of my mind. No school, no girls, no stupid people. Well, maybe girls. LOL. I keep telling myself I don’t need to be in a relationship but it’s been several months since I’ve pursued anything. I think it may be time to start making myself available again. Not that I will be advertising or anything, but I may start looking around. But this time around I need to take a long, hard look at things. I need to take it slow. I just think it’s time.

I got a new job! And it works great around my schedule. I work whenever I feel like it. As little or much as I want to. It’s repairing and replacing auto glass. So if you have a chip, star or crack just let me know and I can get you a deal!

My summer is going to be extremely busy. With going out of town with youth and stuff and working and coaching. I’m busy. Geez, life is crazy. But this is the way it is. I just have to thrive in my environment.

Life & Death

2008-03-16T00:11:00.000-07:00

I watched a movie tonight that felt so real to me. Reign Over Me, starring Adam Sandler and Don Cheadle. It’s about a guy, Charlie Fineman (Sandler), who lost him family in 9/11. He doesn’t want to come to a realization that he’s broken inside. It hurts him so deeply when he does as little as thinks about it. So, he chooses to do what’s the easiest; simply not remember. I am right there with him. I would so easily rather not remember something, rather than live and confront it. Life will hurt us. It’ll bring us down. There’s nothing we can do to avoid it. I am just so scared to confront the hurt because I fear that it will not leave. That’s not a suitable approach; I know that with all my heart. There’s a point where we need to just let go of whatever. We can either continue with life or live in the pain and sadness. I’ll admit it. I’ve lived in the sadness, I still am. I need to move on, I do. But I still haven’t been able to move on. I need help. Someday it’ll be gone. I’ll be able to live as if I had just been born. No worries, no sadness. Simply fulfillment and joy. It’s a heart-issue. Something I must confront with God.

My Aunt Diana died this past week. My mom has been having such a hard time with her. She was basically the only one on her side of the family that spoke with her on a regular basis. Everyone else wasn’t on speaking-terms with her. My mom won’t allow herself to move on. She knows she did everything she could to positively affect my aunt’s life, yet she never gave in. At least not that we knew of. She died, and we have no way of knowing if she was a believer. It breaks my mother’s heart. We both know that she sis all she did but for some reason it’s just not enough. I try to say the words that will help my mom in any way. It hurts to know that not one thing I say or do will or could do anything. Not one thing. I want to be there to support my mom, I do. It hurts me to see her hurt. I just wish there was something I could do.

My aunt left behind her two daughters, Lauren (19) and Thea (15). I feel so bad for them both. The fact that they have to bury their mother at such a young age just doesn’t seem right. Lauren is due to have her first child June 30^th, a girl. My aunt was beyond ecstatic with her first grandchild on the way. But the little girl will never see or meet her late grandmother. I love my cousins so dearly. I just hope they know that, and that we all love them.

Life is so fragile, there’s no time to waste. I’ve had friends die before they ever got there driver’s license. We can’t allow ourselves to live without honoring God. I wish so badly I could share Him with everybody. Death isn’t the worst thing in the world. I truly believe life is to be celebrated. But if a life was spent in an ill-advised manner in which we didn’t honor God and love him, that’s when the sorrow sets in. When I know I’ll never see that person again because they didn’t know the Lord, that’s truly saddening. I guess that’s why I want to get into the ministry. I want to give everybody the chance to get to know God like I do. To live to there fullest. I’ve seen lives both wasted and embraced. And I was so excited to see the one whom embraced it get to go home to heaven. It was truly a celebration. And with the other one it was an emotion-fest. Not that there’s anything wrong with grieving. It’s OK. I just want to know that everything will be alright.

Simplicity, Prayer and Solitude

2008-01-28T22:32:00.000-07:00

The past few weeks I’ve been learning about spiritual disciplines. Of the eight we're going to talk about we’ve covered three; Simplicity, Prayer and Solitude. It is my belief that these three tie in to each other very closely.

Simplicity: In our lives, we find ourselves being consumed with the word around us, wanting more, always feeling discontent; Always having an unfilled craving. Like it says in Philippians 4:12-13, “I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” Whether it be updating your gaming system from a PS2 to a PS3, or getting a new cool iPhone. Our culture has immersed itself in always needing more. And people wonder why they’re in debt? We need to slow down and look around at what we’ve got, what are needs and what are wants. God will provide for us, there’s no doubt. Just trust in him.

Prayer: So many people get caught up in trying to find the “right” words. Well, that’s not necessarily what’s important. Prayer is not a contest; it’s not trying to say what people want to hear. Prayer is a heart condition. It’s what is between you and God. An example I often refer to makes a great point. Relationships, much like ours with God can’t be maintained without constant communication. Any relationship is based off of talk, hanging out and fellowship. So, how can we expect our relationship with God to stay connected without making the effort? This has to be something you do all the time. In 1 Thessalonians 5:17 god commands us, “Pray Continually”. Now, we don’t need to take this in literal terms, but like earlier said, a good relationship is based off of talking. To pray continually is to be updating God, telling him what’s going on in life, and so on and so forth. Prayer is more than just going to God and requesting things. We need to praise God, make confessions, talk to him, update him, and pray for his will to be done. Most people only go to God in times of need, wanting something. Whether it is to heal a loved one, or to help them win their basketball game. God’s will is so much bigger than that. And to pray for his will is what is pleasing to God.

Prayer, however, is more than just the talking piece. You must take time to listen to what he is trying to say. Going back to my analogy, friends will easily feel annoyed when the other person is putting in 100% of the talking. We have to be able to give God a chance to speak into our lives. So, why don’t you take some time to reflect on what’s going on. This brings me to my next topic.

Solitude: Do you ever feel overwhelmed or cluttered? Do the words of God ever not sound clear to you? If so, why not take some time to be alone with God. To just soak in the beauty of his creation and listen to what he has to say. I did that earlier tonight. I went to my backyard and built a fire. As I was out there just relaxing, I read Genesis, and in it I read this, “God made two great lights- the greater light to govern the day and the lesser to govern the night. He also made the stars. God set them in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth, to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness…God saw and that he had made, and it was very good”. As I sat there, looking up into the heavens, and into God’s masterful creation I couldn’t help but smile. Those moments of solitude were more meaningful to me than any other moments of the day before me. I was simply worshiping God by going away from the distractions and spending some time with him. Those moments were very meaningful and at that time, I felt as close to God as I’ve ever felt.

-------------------

These three spiritual disciplines: Simplicity, prayer and solitude tie hand in hand. So, why not take some time to be away from the distractions, alone with God, not worrying about what new hot thing is coming out, what’s the score of the game, anything. Maybe you can take that time and pray. Or to just listen.

Here comes a New Year.

2008-01-06T21:05:00.000-07:00

Well, the New Year has begun. Did you make any resolutions? I didn’t, well at least I haven’t proclaimed any. I may have made some unspoken ones. Like perhaps not to date. That’d be a good one. It’s just too much trouble. Plus, if I’m going to go to school in Missouri in the fall, why start a new relationship before I go. It’d be pointless, unless of course she went to school with me. Which I don’t see anybody around me willing to do that. That and I don’t see myself dating anyone I know. At least, not at this point in time. I’m not ready for any relationships. I’ve determined that even though I feel I’m mature enough, that I’m really not. Also, God doesn’t want me in one. He’s made that quite prevalent. I think I must learn how to be myself, by myself before I can be myself with somebody else.

I think going away will be very beneficial to me. It’ll be a new start, a new life. Not that my current life isn’t working, I just feel like everything is just routine. I need a change. And I believe this is the right move.

So, I guess in a way my New Year resolution is to be a man of God. Listen, be obedient, and love people. Oh ya, and stay away from girls, LOL.

Goodbye

2007-12-28T23:26:00.000-07:00

Goodbyes are never easy. I tried so hard not to have to do it, but I’ve been pushed so hard that it’s the only choice left. So as I trek these not so unfamiliar waters, I’ll try to get it right this time. I thought I had done it last time, but as I can so obviously see I didn’t. But this time is different, I was deeper in. Too deep. I can’t allow myself to get so close without knowing for sure whether or not the person I’m getting to know is who I thought they were. From now on I will guard my heart and not be so open.

For so long I dreamed of the future, the future that hasn’t and never will exist. I was so sure of the dream that I put all things aside to pursue it. Some things I shouldn’t of and now I’m alone because of it. Some of it is my own fault, others I don’t know but it will all be visible when it needs to be.

God will point me to where I need to be when I need to be there. Other petty things are of least concern to me. I’m not living for myself, I’m living for God. I only have one more thing to say:

Goodbye.

Only 4 Days Left

2007-12-21T00:00:00.001-07:00

Well, it’s only four days away from Christmas. The lights are up and the garland is wrapped around the banister, the wreath is on the door and the carols are in the air. What more can we ask for? To not get caught up in the miserable rush of the commercialized glamour. Everything about the season has gotten blown out of proportion. Who can put up the biggest lights, who can throw the best party, who can give the best gifts. It’s ridiculous. Why can’t we simply celebrate the birth of our Christ, the one who’s gift of life and death is the very gift that brought us our salvation. Let’s try to celebrate.

I’ve been getting really discouraged lately. Thankfully, schools out and I quit my job. Everything was just dragging me down. It was hard to function, both socially and physically. I would be gone all day; usually from around 8:00 until 11:00. It was really getting to me, not that at some point in my life I’ll have to do that to support a family and all that. I’m just not quite ready for that yet. I’m about to start coaching basketball next week. I’m going to be the Freshmen Boy’s basketball team at Cienega. My alta mater! I’m excited, but concerned. I no longer have a job so I will have limited income considering I quit my job to do a volunteer at Cienega. My dad’s been giving me a hard time about this, and while I understand his concern, is it not my choice to do that. If necessary, I’ll go get a job but I just want to be able to do this. It’s my life, let me live it.

I cooked dinner for some friends tonight. It was a lot of fun. I had the Miller boys over (Mat and Mark), and then my sister Catherine had her friend Megan over as well. It was a bit awkward because Catherine’s friend Megan was a student teacher in my government class senior year in high school. It’s always weird to see people we see in a position like that are normal too. I cooked my Spicy Penne pasta. It was darn good. I made it with my home-made spicy marinara with spicy Italian turkey-sausage. On the side we had garlic bread and spinach, cranberry, and walnut salad with a balsamic dressing. It had candied walnuts. It was so good. The company was fun, I always love hanging out with Mat. We told stories, ate ice cream and had great fellowship.

That’s the biggest thing missing in my life: some positive male influences. Until recently, I didn’t have time to have any social time. But now that I’m free I want to make sure that I surround myself by positive Christian influences. I really don’t have all too many friends. I consider my self to have one good friend. His name is Corey, but unfortunately he is going to school in Missouri so I haven’t seen him since he left for school in mid-August. We still talk a lot but it’s never the same as being with him in person.

I had two other close friends, but I recently have had a falling out with them. I’m not going to get into any details into what happened but all I can say is that those relationships may never be the way they were. It hurts me inside to see my two longest friendships I’ve had since moving to Tucson are no longer. I hate it, and I think about it daily. I got so caught up in the moment of being in that relationship that I may have made some bad choices. I just feel so lonely not having them in my life. Matt and I haven’t talked outside of classes in probably two months. I’ve known him since 7^th grade. We had been inseparable for years. This past summer we hung out every day; even more than we did when we went to school together. We went to movies, the lake, anything, and everything. And now it’s nothing. It’s killing me. I want to talk to him about it but I don’t know how to. We’ve both gone behind each others back and there’s no excuse. But now neither one of us will budge. I hate it. Jerrica is a whole entire story. I don’t even know where to start. There was something amazing about her. I think I may have given her my heart, and I don’t know how to get it back. We don’t talk, and I don’t know if I really want to talk to her anymore. But how am I supposed to get any closer, better yet my heart back. She may not know it, but she has torn me down. I don’t think she knows how much damage she’s done to me. People don’t see it because I don’t really like to show my feelings, or talk about it because I don’t like to allow myself to open up. It’s too hard because it never seems like they’ll take the time to care or to invest time in my life. I was so deeply hurt by her from the first time we dated several years ago. She had played with my heart too many times. She could never make up her mind whether or not she wanted to be with me. I don’t know if it was something with me or if it was something with her. Regardless, she hurt me. After the third time she told me she didn’t want to be with me I told her that was it. Then two years later I made the mistake of giving her another chance. Maybe not a mistake, but it was ill-advised. I should have just listened to God. After I broke up with Amie, I thought I heard God telling me I needed to be on my own. So, why I decided to do my own thing, I don’t know. I should of listened, not just hear. That’s one of the biggest things I need to work on in my walk. Listening vs. hearing. There is a HUGE difference.

I know that I can do all things through him who strengthens me, as it says in Philippians 4:13. Including forgive my friends and moving on. I love that everything somehow points to God. It’s awesome that whether in light or dark, inside or out there always seems to be a Northern Star. Even in the worst of situations there is something positive. The worst of events could point people to the Lord. An unnamed friend of mine got a DUI a couple of months ago and if it wasn’t for that he wouldn’t be where he is right now; back with the Lord. He began to live for God again. It’s amazing how that works. Even when I’ve gotten in trouble it’s been used as a wake up call for me. It’s God’s way of always being there for me. He epitomizes love and grace.

Just pray for me. I’ve got a lot going on in my life and I don’t want that to be the main focus in my life, God’s got bigger plans with me than to stay caught up in stupid drama. Also, pray about my possibility of going to Central. I’m scared, I don’t know if that’s what God wants of me.

Reflections

2007-12-13T19:19:00.000-07:00

School is finally out!! It took long enough, and to think that was only my first semester of college. Why can’t I just be done and possibly even retired by now? That would be the life. As I reflect on these past few months I’m sure I could have done better. But that is just a part of growing up. I may not know how to manage my time yet, but at least I know that I need to, LOL. Since school has started I’ve seen many changes in my life including seeing people come in and out of my life. A relationship has ended, I started and quit a job, and even started playing the guitar. (Thanks Jesse) This never ending revolving door of life has just begun and either I’m going to get dragged along for the ride or I can jump on a enjoy it. I choose that latter. To end the semester in my writing class I had to write an essay on my growth as a writer, how about my growth as a person?

I really haven’t grown that much. I have put on about five pounds since I graduated. I know, I know, that’s not the kind of growth I’m talking about. I’ve decided to quit worrying about crap. I’m going to let God take over. Because apparently I haven’t done too good of a job with myself.

I got accepted to Central Christian College of the Bible in Moberly, Missouri this past week. I’m super excited. I got a full-tuition scholarship, and have the opportunity to play basketball there. I talked to the coach and he’s very excited about the possibility of me being a part of the team. I’m not sure whether or not God wants me to go there yet so I need to just keep this in prayer. You could pray for me too if you’d like. I really am feeling led to go into the ministry. I’m just a little unsure about the details right now.

I started working out at a new gym. It’s fun, but tiring. I haven’t lifted since I graduated in May. It got a little out of hand, and now I’m feeling the consequences. I’m as sore as I’ve ever been, and it’s no fun. But it’s good that I’m going to start getting back into shape , and hopefully at that the best shape of my life. I’m working out with a good friend of mine, Dave. He’s a personal trainer there and he’s awesome. I met him through youth. He started working with the middle school with me. It’s good times. I’m training for basketball, that’s not fun. I love basketball, but not practicing. I’m just lazy like that.

Advise for the Day.

2007-12-05T11:01:00.000-07:00

Don't think you can change the past to make it like it was. Cause it'll never work out.

Stay away from the girls. They're trouble.

Keeping on the Path

2007-11-30T23:20:00.000-07:00

This life never ceases to amaze me. It’s a natural rollercoaster that shows you what you’re made of. How strong-willed, obedient, and patient we are. None of which I am. Really, what was I thinking? To think my will was above God’s. I’m lucky he’s so compassionate. Otherwise I’d be off in the distance, probably living on the wide path. Thankfully I’m walking the narrow bumpy road. There’s nothing easy about it. A friend of mine was joking about how easy non-Christ followers have. And they do, but when it’s all said and done with who’s got it easy? There are definitely times of clarity and ease, but that’s obviously not the concern.

I’ve been putting some serious thought and prayer into whether or not to go into the ministry full time. There’s a possibility I might move to Missouri to go to Bible College. I’m still unsure of what God wants of me. All I know, and care about is that I’m following his lead. And because of that, He’ll continue to give me strength. Louie Giglio speaks in his “How Great is Our God” DVD about how if we go on the path of righteousness that though it may not be easy, and though there may be hardships and pain that God will always keep us strong. He will always provide enough strength, and that he’ll keep giving, and keep giving, and keep giving. And we’ll never be alone. 1^st Corinthians 10:13 says, “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.”

We’ll always be under his hand of protection so there’s no need to worry. Keep strong, keep on the path of few and we’ll always have a way to be OK.

I Just Don't Understand It...

2007-11-15T23:13:00.000-07:00

How is it that the things we hold closest in our lives are the very things that bring us down? It feels as if our joy arrives from the same source as our pain. I hate it. I really don't know what to do about it. Just pray for me, girls are trouble.

A good friend of mine told me something his father told him a few years back. I thought it was pretty funny.

Girls= Time & Money
The Love of Money= Evil
Therefore, Girls= Evil

Logical? I'll let you decide...

Verse of the day

2007-11-15T00:01:00.000-07:00

Today, we'll be reading from 1 Corinthians 13:4.

"Love is Patient..."

That's all I have to say...

Today

2007-11-14T16:44:00.000-07:00

Have you ever heard people say, "Back in the good old days"? Why do you think that is? For a reason unknown, people dwell on the past as if their best days are behind them. Can you honestly say that you wouldn't go back if you had the chance?

How much time do we spend wishing things were the way they used to be? I used to think if I had the chance, that I'd go back and fix things; to reshape my life. Not anymore. Why not live for the chance to define yourself in the present and throw the old you away. Take pride in the change. Things aren't how they were, and we can't do anything about it.

Rob Bell says it better than I could hope to. He says, "When we're still holding on to how things were, our arms aren't free to embrace today."

Here's my challenge: Live for Today, not for the remembrance of yesterday.

Thank You For...Everything?

2007-11-12T20:51:00.000-07:00

The other day I was talking to somebody I'd consider quite intelligent and he brought up a very good point. Why is it that people always say "Thank You Jesus" or "Praise You Lord, For You Are Good" and stuff like that whenever things are going well in your life. But for some reason when things are going bad it's never the same. I thought it was quite a valid point. Why not say thank you regardless of the circumstances in which you are presented?

People try to live their lives for God, but for the most part from what I can see they only praise him through the good times. Why not praise him all the time? There is a song by Casting Crowns called "Praise You In This Storm" and it addresses the same thing. The course goes like this:

"And I'll praise you in this storm
and I will lift my hands
for You are who You are
no matter where I am
and every tear I've cried
You hold in your hand
You never left my side
and though my heart is torn
I will praise You in this storm"

My goal in life is to love and praise God no matter what happens. So I challenge you to thank God for EVERYTHING. Whether it be positive or negative. Live a life in which we are reflecting God's grace and love for us. I know I sure will try.

I'm going through a storm right now, but I decided not to get caught up in the drama. If it's God's will it will be so, if not He's got something better planned for me and I have to trust that his judgement is what is best for me. Regardless of my selfish pride and wants.

Thank you Lord.

Just another one of those days...

2007-11-10T23:39:00.000-07:00

Do you ever seem to just have one of those days? You know, the ones that seem like they just don't go anywhere near the way you wanted or expected it to go? Ya, today was a bit like that. I take that back, my whole past week has been like that...

Since last Sunday, everything has been out of whack. Do you ever feel like one event has changed everything in the near future? That's definitely going on in my life. If anyone has a time-machine, just call me up and let me know. 'Cause I'd love to get the chance to start things over.

I love how I make my life out to be so crappy. It's not, I just allow myself to feel sorry for myself... A lot. I'm not going to lie, it's pretty pathetic. So where do I go from here? I don't know, I guess I'll just see where life takes me...

A little word of advise...don't do anything I do and you should be good to go...

My Promotions

2007-11-06T23:02:00.000-07:00

If you’ve never heard of the Band Sanctus Real, I’d encourage you to listen to a song on their first album (Say It Loud). The name of the song is After Today. It’s so moving. The words speak, “Praise God He's got a plan and Understanding isn't my place”. Those words are so encouraging in light of my current situation.

On another note, not too far off from this one; if you ever get the chance to watch Louie Giglio’s recent DVD do it. It really puts us into proportion compared to God. Well, as close as we can. It speaks of His unparalleled size and awe. I could write about it for hours. Just watch it!

I guess that’s enough promoting for me, I’m out.

Patience...why wait?

2007-11-06T09:21:00.001-07:00

Time never seems to go at the pace we want it to does it? It’s always a disappointment when what you want isn’t what God wants of you. Maybe disappointment isn’t the right word. For the most part, I can hear God talking to me, telling me what he wants of me but for some reason I don’t really like to listen. Usually, it doesn’t turn out too well. I end up hearing him through the consequences of my actions. Isn’t funny how it all works out?

I recently discovered that working on my own agenda isn’t the best way to go. Not that anything bad happened, but it just didn’t quite work out the way I had hoped. I began to really push something, and not that it is a bad thing, but it’s just not the right time. Patience just is not one of my virtues.

I guess the only thing I can do is wait to see if I gain any. Funny how that works out, huh?

The Original Blog

2007-08-31T01:42:00.000-07:00

More times than not, I find myself in a state of confusion and discontent. And for some reason, it’s a bit comforting. I usually just turn on some mellow music and let my thoughts take me away. The majority of the time I end up focusing on the little things, which distract me from my main focus in life: God.

I’ve really been trying to set my sights on what I know is right, yet as we all know it’s so easy to allow yourself to grow accustom to what the world wants of you. Even while in the comfort of my closest friendships, those of which are said to be rooted in the seed of God himself, I can find myself being pulled away from him. The many temptations of this world are so often appealing to my eyes, which brings a sadness to my heart. Am I supposed to feel guilty about mere thoughts? I know it is said to be of the human “nature”, but is that not just an excuse to try and make you feel better about what you do?

Lately, I’ve been deeply pursuing a more meaningful relationship with God, and as I do, I see myself making many strides towards a more honorable life, yet I can still see myself slipping away into a life of meaninglessness. I truly believe that God is calling me into a life of servitude; whether it’s on a volunteer basis or as a profession, I do not know. The biggest thing is that I need to let him take the reigns of my life and trust that what his judgment is absolute. Yet, why do I continue to question what I know he wants? Is that yet again my very human characteristic, and everyone’s at that, at its peak?

I’m never too sure why I think the way I do. Recently, I found myself being called away from a certain relationship that I will allow to remain anonymous. I felt like God was calling me in a different direction for my life; a direction whose prerequisite for me was to be away from that person. So, as I proceeded to end things with that person, I found myself truly believing that this was my calling. I felt adamantly that the decision I made was honoring to God and that I was at a point where there should be no questions asked. Yet, once again I found myself questioning my actions.

I wish there was an easy way to get ones feelings out, but with every word I type I can feel myself getting more and more anxious; for no logical reason at all. I find myself being very drained and deprived of the necessities of life: fellowship, alone time with God, and maybe just a few moments to just get away. I know I’m just a kid, and that it’ll only get worse but life is really robbing me of what I thought was supposed to be the good years in my life. It may be just a question of my youth, and along with that youth: immaturity. But I know that God has a plan for me.

I will leave you with the hope that even through all that may be questioned, that you find your place in life through him who strengthens you and that through that, you might live a life that resonates God’s love…