commit one, commit them all...

i know it's been awhile since my last post; partly due to my busy schedule and partly due to my own walk (or lack thereof) recently.

but i was reading through james 2 and there is a verse in there that has been weighing on my mind recently.

james 2:10
"for whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking it all."

sin is sin, whether big or small. but God treats them the same, this what makes him fair and just. part of me is scared by this, part of me is thankful for this. as humans, believer or not, we compare ourselves to others. we feel the need to minimize our own sin against others who have "bigger" or "more" sin in their life.

as for me, i sin. i sin everyday. sure, i'm not committing murder everyday, but in God's eyes that doesn't matter. the important thing to remember is to genuinely repent! repent in our hearts to God. ask Him for a clean and renewed heart. if we do this, He will forgive us.

but stop comparing yourself against others, sin is sin; big or small. get back on the bus and start over again. even if it is everyday you fall off, get back on everyday.

what if

what if we lived for each other instead of ourselves?
what if we stopped to say hi to the person who works next to us?
what if we picked up breakfast for the couple across the restaurant?
what if we helped the old lady across the street?
what if we loved as we are loved?
what if we said the last 10%?
what if extended a hand, instead of clenched a fist?
what if acted as we talk?
what if we were the person we claim to be?
what if we read our bible?
what if right and wrong didn't matter, but it was love that counted?
what if we got dirty?
what if prayed to remember what we've learned rather than hoping to learn more?
what if success was not measured by the number of zeros on our paycheck?
what if today was your last day and you didn't even know it?
what if we enjoyed life a little more with the ones we love?

what if we lived as God intended, not as we think we desired?

how would the world be a different place? how would you make a difference with your gifts?

are you a dirty person?!

tonight i had the opportunity to listen to and meet a man by the name of josh riebok. he is an incredible man of God and taught about the good samaritan in a way that i had not heard before. he asked a question that i thought i would pass it along...paraphrased, the question went like this.

What if we got dirty to carry out God's work? Are we a dirty person, willing to get all of the blood and dirt on us, to show God's love for others? Or are we a spotless clean person?

as christians we sometimes claim we show God's love to others. but in the case of the good samaritan, the samaritan bent down, cleaned a man's wounds, picked him up and took care of him for the night. this is God's love. getting down to help people, willing to dirty our "clean" clothes, to help care for those around us.

so i ask you;

are you a dirty person?

messianic prophesies...

first, i would like to define exactly what this is...because, honestly, i didn't fully understand it myself. as far as i can tell and in my brief research, a messianic prophecy is a prediction of the coming of Christ.

i'd like to tell you a quick story about why i learned about messianic prophecies. earlier this week, during my morning prayer and reading of the bible, i was reading zechariah chapter 11. i'm not sure why, but that's where God led me. it's a story of a shepherd who watches over a flock, and God asks the shepherd to feed the flock. but the flock eventually rejects the shepherd and the shepherd. the shepherd was frustrated by the flock's behavior and said, "I will not be your shepherd. let the dying die and the perishing perish. let those who are left eat each others flesh." the shepherd is paid 30 pieces of silver for his efforts. but God tells the shepherd to throw the 30 pieces of silver to the potter...and so he does it.

last night i was at a college service and the pastor mentioned that judah was paid 30 pieces of silver for turning over Jesus. i had heard this before, but now there was a connection. was it a coincidence? or something more? i went and talked with the pastor this morning and asked him if it was a coincidence. he read zechariah 11 and agreed that it was not a coincidence. that the shepherd in the story was a prediction of Jesus' work here on earth to "feed the flock", but was rejected and "paid" 30 pieces for his "efforts."

it was interesting talking with the pastor who explained that the salvation of the "flock" was only worth 30 pieces of silver. as he explained it to me, i could begin to see that zechariah 11 was in fact a prediction of Jesus' work here on earth.

i'm sure that there are a lot more prophecies in the bible. the book of isaiah is full of them. and even Jesus himself said that He came to fulfill the prophesies. but this experience in my life, only makes me want to dive into the bible further and find those correlations. not because i want to be smarter; rather gain wisdom of God's amazing 66 book love letter to His people, so that i may go out with confidence and reach souls. i encourage all of you to do the same...

not even fire...

some time ago, i heard the story of shadrach, meshach and abednego. before hearing the story of these three men, i thought my favorite story in the bible was about gideon. but then i heard about shadrach, meshach and abednego.

i don't remember where or when i heard this story exactly, but i find it to be a true testimony of faith and strength to follow God even when it is uncouth or in the face of danger. the story of shadrach, meshach and abednego takes place in the book of daniel, chapters 1-3. but the most fascinating part of the story is in daniel 3.

in short, the king of the time, nebuchadnezzar, had built a 90' tall statue for all the land to worship. he called for everybody to worship this statue at set times and if anybody did not worship this statue, they would be thrown into a furnace. as they were told, people worshiped the statue, except for shadrach, meshach and abednego. word got back to nebuchadnezzar that these three men were not worshiping the statue as they had been ordered to. so nebuchadnezzar sent for them. nebuchadnezzar asked them if it was true if they had not worshiped the statue as they had been ordered. their answer was one of wisdom, faith and strength.

they said, "nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves to you. if you throw us into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from the furnace...but even if God does not save us...we will not serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up."

WOW! can you imagine standing up to somebody of nebuchadnezzar's status and telling him, "nope, you're wrong. i don't care if you kill me, you're wrong."

anyways, back to the story...nebuchadnezzar was so infuriated by this statement, that he ordered the furnace to be fired to 7 times hotter than normal, and that shadrach, meshach and abednego be tied up to ensure they couldn't escape. the soldiers went to throw the three men into the furnace, but it was so hot, that they died and the three men fell into the furnace. at this moment, nebuchadnezzar jumped to his feet because there were 4 men walking around in the furnace! shadrach, meshach and abednego were walking in the furnace unharmed, no burns, not on fire...and the fourth man in the furnace? that was God.

upon seeing this, nebuchadnezzar called for shadrach, meshach and abednego to come to him. they were completely unharmed. nebuchadnezzar then made a new statement, that anybody who brings harm to these three men would be "torn apart and their house made a pile of stones" because they did not turn their back on God.

i think that this is a testament for how we should live our lives. so often some of us back down because christianity isn't cool...we don't want to be shunned from our society because we believe in a God who is above all things. and yet, shadrach, meshach and abednego were willing to die to prove their loyalty to God. what amazing story!

spiritual blessings and curses...

early on in my rededication to God, i heard a number of people talking about spiritual blessings and spiritual curses. as i had understood it, these blessings and curses are handed down from generation to generation. although i never really bought into the idea, it had piqued my curiosity because my family has struggled with some of the same "curses" from generation to generation.

as i've grown in my faith, i've learned a bit to discern what sounds good and what is biblical. i'm by no means saying that i'm an expert, but i've learned that i need to always refer to the bible and the context in the bible to develop an understanding of what is being said.

so this morning i decided to read a bit in ezekiel...i found chapter 18's subtitle of "God is fair" to be of interest, so i read that chapter. i was reminded of spiritual blessings and curses in this chapter...honestly, something that i had put to the back of mind. and as i read, i was interested by God telling ezekiel about a grandfather, a father and a son.

using the deeds of each of these people God explains how a man's salvation is not dependent upon his father's or grandfather's deeds. in a very brief paraphrase, God tells ezekiel that a grandfather can live right and good in God's eyes and enter into heaven. but his son could be evil and wicked and not make into heaven. furthermore, the son could reject his father's evil ways and live right and good and make into heaven.

does that make sense?

God is telling ezekiel that each man is judged by his own life, not the actions of his predecessors...nor does a man's actions necessarily carry down the family tree into future generations.

this is only part of ezekiel 18, but it was the part that stood out to me most...

conspiracy plot...part deux

in the wake of yesterday's verse, i decided to read a bit of ezekiel today. i don't know entirely why, other than i love the name ezekiel. i opened up to ezekiel 2 and was in awe of what i was reading...not in a bad way, but a good way.

the Lord says to ezekiel in chapter 2:

"human, I am sending you to the people of israel. the nation has turned against me and broken away from me...I am sending you to people who are stubborn and who do not obey."

ezekiel was asked by God to go up "against" the entire nation of israel. God told ezekiel:

"...they may listen, or they may not, since they are a people who have turned against me. but they will know that a prophet has been among them. you, human, don't be afraid of the people or their words. even though they may be thorny branches and stickers all around you, and though you may feel like you live with poisonous insects, don't be afraid. don't be afraid of their words or their looks, because they are people who turn against me. but speak my words to them. they may listen, or they may not, because they turn against me. but you, human, listen to what I say to you. don't turn against me as those people do. open your mouth and eat what I am giving you."

i believe that what God is telling ezekiel is incredibly powerful for those of us living today...if you recall yesterday, i had written about feeling like there are people around me who are trying to do harm to me. but if i just carry these words of God; to stand up, to speak His words and trust in Him, He will take care of me. the result may not be what i am looking for, but like God told ezekiel, they will know that a prophet was among them.

don't get me wrong, i am not saying that i am a prophet. but i do believe that people will know when God is speaking through somebody, or when somebody is speaking from their flesh.

to all those facing opposition and harm from the wolves in our lives, remember ezekiel 2. it's been reassuring to me this morning...hopefully it will comfort you too.

conspiracy plot

this morning i have felt like i'm surrounded by people who could potentially be doing harm to me. i'm not sure if this is intentional or not, but it's a feeling i have nonetheless. i prayed to God to give me wisdom to say the right things; to carry out the right actions.

after praying i flipped my Bible open and it landed on jeremiah 12...this chapter starts off with a great series of questions to God.

"...why are evil people successful? why do dishonest people have such easy lives? you have put the evil people here like plants with strong roots..."

but the Lord answers jeremiah's questions in such a poetic and yet definitive way...

"if you get tired while racing against people, how can you race against horses? if you stumble in a country that is safe, what will you do in the thick thornbushes along the jordan river? even your own brothers and members of your own family are making plans against you. they are crying out against you. don't trust them, even when they say nice things to you!"

later in jeremiah 12, God describes how he will "pull up" the evil and wicked people and "throw them out of their land." He even describes how He will teach these people a lesson, but if they do not learn their lesson, He will "pull it up completely and destroy it." He is talking about a nation riddled with evil people.

God's intent here is to protect His children who already give Him praise; and give the evil children a second chance to proclaim His name.

i think that jeremiah's questions were answered by God. i think that God's answer, though poetic, was very direct in saying that as believers in Christ, we are protected. that He will not let harm happen to us. similarly, i believe God is telling jeremiah; "leave the evil people to Me, I will take care of them. don't worry yourself with these people."

with my feelings this morning, i know that God had me read this passage for a reason. i need to let Him handle anybody who may be trying to harm me...and i just need to trust Him in that.

are we predestined?

lately i have had several conversations with a variety of people who believe that we are predestined by God. in other words, we have already been chosen by God to enter into the gates of Heaven or not. for me personally, i go back and forth on predestination. part of me would like to believe that we are not, but the other part of me says that we are because of some very descriptive verses.

one of these verses is from romans 8:28-29 states:

"For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those He predestined, He also called; those He called, He also justified; those He justified, He also glorified."

ephesians 1:11-12 states:

"In Him we were also chose, having been predestined according to the plan of Him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of His will, in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of His glory."

and perhaps the most powerful statement comes from ephesians 1:4-6:

"For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight. In love He predestined us to be adopted as His sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will - to the praise of His glorious grace, which He has freely given us in the One He loves."

i find these verses very interesting and they lead to a string of thoughts within me. as believers, we understand that God is a fair and just God. He does not play favorites. we also understand that there is nothing we can do to earn salvation. if God were to choose a person's salvation based on works, it would imply that God would have some sort standard of measure, correct? and if there is a standard of measure, we would have to admit that none of us are worthy of entering into the gates of Heaven. we all sin, we will always sin and therefore, we are deserving of Hell!

romans 3:28 says:

"For we maintain that man is justified by faith apart from observing the law."

ephesians 2:8-10 says:

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast. for we are God's workmanship, created in Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."

titus 3:5 also says:

"He saved us, not because of righteous things that we had done, but because of His mercy..."

ephesians 2:10 even backs up that perhaps God had plans for us before we were even born.

so what if we are predestined? what if God has already chosen and known the names of people who will enter into His kingdom and serve Him in Heaven? wouldn't that mean that we really don't have free will?

in my opinion, no. we still do have free will. but God already knows how our life will end up. He will know the moments that we will return to Him, confess our sins, and take up our cross for Him. He knows who we will reach out to, He knows everything...everything!

but we are His tools, He still needs us to spread His word! He still needs us to reach out to others to make it known to them they are called by Him to become His tools here on earth as well.

i haven't completely bought into the idea of predestination, however, in reading a variety of scripture verses, i can't help but think that predestination is a reality.

where is the love?

i've been sitting at the dealership for about 1.5 hours now and have been watching the news channel that is on the television. the current topic of discussion is about happiness...particularly, they are discussing a study that describes the happiness of men vs. women. the study has shown that women are not as happy as men. they have interviewed several people and "gone out on the streets" to get some opinions. but as i watch this segment, i can't help but react.

many of the women they have interviewed have said that happiness is found in career advancement, higher education and the degrees associated with higher ed, and the overall competitiveness with men (a woman trying to make it in a "man's world"). one woman even said that happiness came from working her way up the corporate ladder so she could buy more things to make her happy.

all of this spins into an amazing world of marketing in which we live in. i passed by an ihop advert today that said, "come hungry. leave happy" and i can't help but feel sick by our society's constant drive to find happiness in things. in the case of ihop, i won't be happy unless i have a full stomach. and then i look around and see how obese our society is. consumer goods are no better. marketing would lead us to believe that we won't be happy unless we have the glorious experience of dyson vacuum cleaner or dove body wash.

even in my own life, i suffer from consumerism. i try to rebel against it, saying that "God is all i need." i try, but fail miserably at this. yet, God intends His children to need only Him! in my own life, i am bombarded by expenses and a dwindling bank account, yet i still try to grab hold of the american dream; i still worry about FICA scores and debt-to-income ratios.

why is it so difficult for us to reject what our society sees as "successful" and just rely upon what God will give us. does the Bible not say that if God will take care of the birds in the sky, how much more will He take care of us?

so here i am, listening to a bunch of "experts" describe how we "should" find happiness...and yet, God is not mentioned one bit. what they do mention is that to be happy we should focus on other "things" rather than the "things" we are focusing on. but no mention of God.

what would it look like if we really took action and lived out what God plans for us? what would our lives be if we focused on true happiness in God, rather than temporary happiness in things? to quote a buick commercial, "it's not the new lexus. it's not the new audi. it's not the new mercedes benz."

God as omnipotent...

last night i was at our tuesday night service here at school...overall the message was about joseph and his technicolor dreamcoat. not bad. i learned a lot about the time in Genesis chapters 37-59. but at the end, the young pastor stated this, and it got me really thinking!

"God's plan for us was not to be sinners, but to live here on earth in paradise. He wanted us to be with Him on Earth...He did not intend for us to be sinners."

i was like wow! that's a powerful statement. i wrote it down to think on it, research on it and challenge it. here's why i think this statement is untrue.

1) if God did not intend us to be sinners, wouldn't this mean that God is not omnipresent and omnipotent? if our life is not what God had intended from the creation of adam and eve, does that mean that God was surprised when adam and eve ate the apple? even to another level, wouldn't this mean that we would be able to hide things from God because if His creation did not turn out as planned, then there would be things that God doesn't know. He wouldn't be omnipotent and omnipresent!

now i realize, this a very surface level of challenge. and i wouldn't just challenge a statement, especially one this bold, without some biblical back up. so....

2) there are many references to God's omnipresence and omnipotence. God revealed to isaiah about the coming of Jesus many times.

exodus 9:16 reads "but i have raise you up for this very purpose, that i might show you my power and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth."

deuteronomy 4:37 says, "because He loved your forefathers and chose their descendants after them, he brought you out of egypt by His presence and His great strength..."

in john 13:18, Jesus says, "i am not referring to all of you; I know those I have chosen. but this is to fulfill the scripture..."

and again in john 15:19, Jesus says, "if you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. as it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world..."

reading these passages and knowing a bit about the book of isaiah and the prophesies that have come to be true, i can't believe that God's plan for us didn't go as He had planned. by saying that "God did not intend for us to be sinners" is to admit that God did not have a plan for His creation. it would be like God had to fall back on "plan b" because adam and eve ate the apple. i don't see how this is possible. God knew what would happen. He had to.

Nehemiah

I spent a good portion of today preparing for the lesson I will be giving in church this Sunday and the talk I am leading a discussion on talks of Nehemiah from the Old Testament. I didn't know much about Nehemiah, but as I read about it, I loved something he said.

Nehemiah was being threatened and ridiculed for rebuilding his people's city in Jerusalem. The threats and persecution became very dangerous to the point where on 4 occasions, his enemies tried to lure him out of the city to do him harm. Each time his response was, 'I am doing a great work and so I cannot come down.'


Dieter F. Uchtdorf then expands by saying,

'What a remarkable response! With that clear and unchanging purpose of heart and mind, with that great resolve, the walls of Jerusalem rose until they were rebuilt in an astonishing 52 days.

Nehemiah refused to allow distractions to prevent him from doing what the Lord wanted him to do."

We live in times of great challenges and great opportunities. The Lord is seeking men like Nehemiah—faithful brethren ... He seeks to enlist unfaltering souls who diligently go about the work of building the kingdom of God—those who, when faced with opposition and temptation, say in their hearts, "I am doing a great work and cannot come down."

When faced with trial and suffering, they respond, "I am doing a great work and cannot come down."

When faced with ridicule and reproach, they proclaim, "I am doing a great work and cannot come down."

Our Heavenly Father seeks those who refuse to allow the trivial to hinder them in their pursuit of the eternal. He seeks those who will not allow the attraction of ease or the traps of the adversary to distract them from the work He has given them to perform. He seeks those whose actions conform to their words—those who say with conviction, "I am doing a great work and cannot come down."

I found the talk to be inspirational and wanted to share it with you!

critical thinking...

i know it's been a minute since i posted my last blog here on OWT. but it has been a crazy two months in the pursuit of God's plan for my life...

lately, i've been given the great opportunity to learn, read and hear several people speak God's Word. it has been amazing to learn so much. but one thing that i have noticed in my walk with Christ is this; the older i get and the more mature i become in my walk, the more i dive into the meanings of biblical passages.

for instance, i am now involved in co-leading a small group at our church for 11th and 12th graders...as a result, i need to be up on Bible stories. we are exploring the beatitudes, and this week i get to talk about the 2nd. "Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted." (Matthew 5:4)

when i read this, my first question was, "who am i supposed to mourn for?" i mean, after all, we mourn at funerals, therefore, we should mourn for somebody. but as i researched and studied, i found out that we are to mourn for our sins! God asks us to lament, to anguish over our sins. the result of mourning? going to our Heavenly Father and asking for a clean heart.

the second question i had was, "how will we be comforted?" and again after research and understanding, comfort comes in the form of God's grace. but this can only come after we mourn our since, repent of them, and ask Him to renew us!

so here's what it all leads up to...if we critically look at what we read, we can begin to understand just what God is trying to teach us. because He knows that i would have interpreted this passage as, "if i cry for a deceased relative, i will be given a big hug."

Hearing from God!

So lately I have been struggling a lot with life in general. Mostly just because there is so much going on in our life right now and it is requiring a lot of Faith and a lot of Waiting. I know in my heart that God will always provide, and realize that his provision is not always what we wish it to be but that he knows what is best for us. In this process I have realized I am a bit of a control/planning freak and that I am not as patient as I once thought I was. I have been praying for God to make things happen and continued to freak out until recently I have realized that God is trying to teach me patience through this time in our life and that he has all day to wait for me to be patient and give my issues up to Him. Having had a rough few months my sister and I decided to take a road trip to Prescott for a day and just hang out and look at antiques. On the way there I was talking with her about y revelation that God is teaching me patience and now that I realize this what I was planning to do to try and learn and get through his lesson. I had mentioned to her that I was also frustrated as I have only heard from God once in my life that I can recall and what he told me was amazing but that I get frustrated as I don't understand why I can't hear him. Today she sent me this email.

"Today I heard something that I wanted to share with you. It was about why sometimes we don't hear God's voice while we are going through trials. The saying said "The teacher doesn't speak while the test is given". This reminded her of when she was in high school. God says He will never leave you or forsake you. Even though you cannot hear Him it doesn't mean He is not there in the room with you. That "I" not God determine when the test is over. How do I do this? By praising Him in Joy, Singing His praises, Thanking Him, praying without ceasing and casting out worry and fear!

I have been trying my hardest to do this these last few days and today a break through, Today I finally one piece of the many puzzles I have to put together over the next few months, I received an answer.

Praise God! and I will continue to work in this area of my life to make myself stronger in the areas of Faith and Patience!

I will praise you in the storm!

A Poem to Ponder

M. Louise Haskins:

And I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year:
“Give me a light, that I may tread safely into the unknown!”
And he replied:
“Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the Hand of God.
That shall be to you better than [a] light and safer than a known way.”

I just thought it was a good reminder.

miracle...not miracle whip.

miracles...what are they? and do we see them in our days? we read about them in the Bible. we read about Jesus making blind people see or raising the dead. but do we see them in today's world?

according to my Bible ("the official duct tape Bible" new century version), a miracle is defined as a "'wonderful thing': a great event which can be done only by God's help. miracles are special signs to show God's power." Jesus wasn't the only person who performed miracles; He entrusted His disciples to perform miracles as well...

my wife and i were discussing miracles last night and whether or not they still happen. we see videos of demons being exorcised, we've heard stories from other believers of seeing demons exorcised. but in our own lives, we haven't seen miracles in the capacity like we read in the Bible. my brother-in-law and i were discussing miracles recently as well. we discussed the possibility that perhaps they happen more than we know because miracles don't make the news; evil, death and destruction does.

what if miracles made headlines more than not? would that change our faith? would that lead people to believe that God is here to save our souls? would we be a nation or a world of believers? rather than a nation/world of non-believers. if you've ever had a child you know the miracle of life. and if you've ever had a relative or friend die, you know the miracle of eternal life. sure we all attribute to near miss accidents as miracles. or seeing somebody on the verge of death and make a full recovery as a miracle. but what about healing miracles? what about casting out demons?

as a person who recently experienced a miracle, i can honestly say they still exist. i won't go into details, but i too, believed that miracles happen to others...people who have more faith than myself. but as a child of God, i am no different than anybody else. i'm no less nor no more prone to experiencing miracles than anybody else. God created us all equal. and therefore, He can do whatever He wants to whomever He wants...without showing preferential treatment.

be aware of the miracles around you, be it nature, our children, our families or our friends. you never know when a miracle so powerful from God hits you.

arrogance vs. passion

so today, i was engaged in a conversation with multiple people about Jesus and pastors; specifically joel osteen. i've heard quite a bit about joel lately and some opposing viewpoints about his way of preaching and teaching. so i became curious. i even showed 3 videos on my facebook that explored joel's "people focused" messages versus paul washer's "God focused" messages. being a fan of pastors like mark driscoll, paul washer and john piper (who's style is very different than joel's) i began to wonder why is that 7 million people are drawn to joel's sermons every week (this would include his television audience). i made a statement/asked a question why do people watch this man when it appears that he is only preaching what is known as the "prosperity bible"...that God is good; we are good people; and that God will bless us with prosperity and enriched lives if we only follow Him.

needless to say this sparked some heated debate. as it should and as i had hoped. see, i come from a perspective of always evaluating my faith. my biggest fear is blindly following a pastor because they teach what "i want to hear" rather than exploring pastors who may tell me what "i need to hear"...

now, i'm not using this blog to say that joel is wrong or right...or any other pastor for that matter. but what did come to my attention is my attitude. and so i thought, "there is a fine line between passion and arrogance." i'm on fire for God; i believe there is an urgency in the world to spread God's Word to as many people as possible, because we do not know when Jesus will come again.

by definition, arrogance is stated as such:
"offensive display of superiority or self-importance; overbearing pride"

likewise, passion is defined as such;
"any powerful or compelling emotion or feeling, as love or hate; a strong or extravagant fondness, enthusiasm, or desire for anything"

so in my search and in my observation, some of my comments may have come off as arrogant...whereas, i saw them as passionate. as a child of God, the last thing i want to do is mislead or disrespect people. similarly, i expect this out of the pastors, who are called by God, to reach people. i fear that people worship pastors and think God is the gravy on top of the mashed potatoes. that they go to church to hear a man speak and miss the message.

i'm not sure all of this makes sense...and i'm definitely not trying to create any more division in the church than there already is. i don't think any one person or pastor has it right. but as my brother-in-law stated, the only shepard who had it right was Jesus. ultimately, i cannot judge, for that is His job. i can only ask and continue on this journey, persuing God's Word as He has intended it. i will fall, i will meet people who are more versed in the Bible than i. i will meet people less versed than i. but it is not for me to judge...and therefore, "there is a fine line between passion and arrogance."

a Christian atheist?

so recently, i've had a stream of thoughts running through my mind about atheists. i've been watching a lot of videos on youtube from pastors like john piper, paul washer, mark driscoll and the likes. most times, there are comments from non-believers who state that God doesn't exist or that He doesn't care about them or they question how christians could believe in something that they don't see. i've also been thinking about the phrase "hope and pray"; a phrase we use so freely in our society...used by believers and non-believers alike.

where am i going with this?

to make the statements that these non-believers are making leads me to see that they are admitting that God does exist. by saying, God doesn't exist, you're first admitting that there is a God...otherwise, wouldn't they say that there is no "supreme being" that exists? i mean, afterall, atheism is the belief that there is no existence of a supreme being. so to use the word, God, means that somebody recognizes God does exist. i know this sounds confusing...but think about it...to admit God, is to admit there is God.

this continues on to the phrase "hope and pray". we use it in reference to our families, our sports teams, our favorite nascar driver, etc. but if we think about it, who are the non-believers hoping in? who are they praying to? to say that a non-believer "hopes and prays" is to admit that there is God.

i suppose the biggest hang up for non-believers (besides some legalism in the church) is that they don't "see" God. but after reading hebrews 11 this morning, the Bible clearly makes a point.

hebrews 11:1-2 reads like this:
"Faith means being sure of the things we hope for and knowing that something is real even if we do not see it. Faith is the reason we remember great people who lived in the past."

this chapter in hebrews, goes on to list numerous people in the Bible who walked by faith alone! moses, noah, gideon, samuel, sarah and abraham, isaac, and on and on...in a world where we put so much "faith" in what we see, perhaps we should explore true faith in what we don't see!

i would challenge any non-believer to examine why God has permeated our society so incredibly much...why they use phrases like "hope and pray" ...why they admit to God, but don't believe in Him. and if the best answer a non-believer can come up with is, "well, it's just a saying." then perhaps, a re-examination of their belief system is in order.

harsh? perhaps. but even God gets angry sometimes (do i need to remind you of the flood?)...

DWYL

so lately, i've been noticing a recurring theme in my life...DON'T WASTE YOUR LIFE. this thought has invaded every aspect of my daily existence. it ranges from the music i listen to, where much of the message is about taking advantage of every day to follow God, do His will and to spread His Word. the screen saver on my phone reads, "don't waste your life...God created us to live with a single passion to joyfully display His supreme excellence..." i recently attended a concert with lecrae, flame, tedashii, trip lee and sho baraka (all christian hip hoppers); the tour name was "DWYL"; and acronym for don't waste your life. it has permeated my reading of the Bible. it has invaded my thoughts...

this morning i read the book of titus (it's a short one), but the message is abundantly clear. titus 2 talks about following the true teaching of God...to not waste your life by being angry, drinking too much wine, indulging in the flesh, etc. john 15:16 talks about going out and producing fruit in our Father's name. luke 12:15-21 (also in the song "don't waste your life" by lecrae) talks about saving up for things in this world to rest easy, when the reality is that our soul may be required from us tonight!

even one of my favorite pastors, john piper, wrote a sermon called "don't waste your life"...a song from tedashii called "make war" features a clip from john piper. piper states that he hears christians "murmuring about their imperfections" instead of making war on the sin in our lives. what this means is that rather than wallowing in what we don't have, be thankful for what we do have and rise up against satan. rise up against sin. rise up against this world and know that we will have a much better life if we follow Christ.

it has been truly inspiring to realize that God is pounding this theme into me, day after day, week after week, month after month for the past several months. it's time to get up off our couches, to stop clicking the mouse, to stop watching tv and shift to reading His Word, spreading His Gospel, doing His will, fight against the evil that has taken over our culture...because, tonight, your soul may be required of you and how will you answer to your life in God's presence?

A Story I Love.

Some years ago, President Gordon B. Hinckley told “something of a parable” about “a one room school house in the mountains of Virginia where the boys were so rough no teacher had been able to handle them.

“Then one day an inexperienced young teacher applied. He was told that every teacher had received an awful beating, but the teacher accepted the risk. The first day of school the teacher asked the boys to establish their own rules and the penalty for breaking the rules. The class came up with 10 rules, which were written on the blackboard. Then the teacher asked, ‘What shall we do with one who breaks the rules?’

“ ‘Beat him across the back ten times without his coat on,’ came the response.

“A day or so later, … the lunch of a big student, named Tom, was stolen. ‘The thief was located—a little hungry fellow, about ten years old.’

“As Little Jim came up to take his licking, he pleaded to keep his coat on. ‘Take your coat off,’ the teacher said. ‘You helped make the rules!’

“The boy took off the coat. He had no shirt and revealed a bony little crippled body. As the teacher hesitated with the rod, Big Tom jumped to his feet and volunteered to take the boy’s licking.

“ ‘Very well, there is a certain law that one can become a substitute for another. Are you all agreed?’ the teacher asked.

“After five strokes across Tom’s back, the rod broke. The class was sobbing. ‘Little Jim had reached up and caught Tom with both arms around his neck. “Tom, I’m sorry that I stole your lunch, but I was awful hungry. Tom, I will love you till I die for taking my licking for me! Yes, I will love you forever!” ’ ” (The Atonement: Our Greatest Hope by President James E. Faust)

I love this story! It never ceases to touch my heart. The parallel between the boy in need is so compelling and real. We NEED our savior! We need someone to help us and when we allow him to take the "licking" for us, we are forever indebted to him. Just thought you'd like to hear a wonderful parable!

a letter...

dear God::

i know that you can see all that i have done, all that i have thought and all that i have spoken. but somehow, i think that i can hide things from you. Lord, i'm a fool to think that there is some deep, dark spot in me that i can keep hidden from you; but i still think that.

knowin gall of that, i still need to tell you that i have sinned. i have turned against you; i have kept quiet when your name should have been spoken. i have been given opportunities to do Your work Lord, and yet i felt that it was not my time to carry out Your will. who am i, Lord to determine when the time is right to do your will?! how naive must i be to think that i have control over this life. who am i, God!?

Lord, why do you take me back despite all of this? why do you keep finding people who will pour their lives into mine to ensure that i remember that you are right there with me? i'm a two-faced, blasphemous, no-good sinner. and yet, You still love me. You still draw me near to You...You still pick me up, dust off my clothes, pat me on the back and encourage me to move forward in You.

Lord, i am nothing without You. i hope that You can forgive me for all that i have done. for cussing you out. for desecrating your name. Lord, please have mercy on this sinner. please change my heart so that when i get to the gates of heaven, You can say "well done, good and faithful servant."

with love,
me

it's about the life, not the lifestyle!

so today i rambled to a friend of mine about christians and the "mold" we fit into from the world. it started with a comment from a 3rd party about being christian and liking things of this world...not like cars, money or houses, but an object; a symbol. so that got me thinking...

...i've said it again and again that we are in the world, not of the world. but that doesn't mean that we have to change who we are. just what we value. the instances i gave are these. i have a tattoo that has a tiki god on it. now to very devout christians, i could be considered a fake christian or that i idolize something other than God. similarly, i love cars and motorcycles. how does this tie together you might ask?

it goes a little something like this, yes i have a tiki god permenantly inked onto my arm. but that doesn't mean that i worship it, that i pray to it or that i even boast about it. it means that the tiki is part of a whole scene that takes up half of my arm. it means nothing to me; it has no significance other than the fact that it reminds me of my surfing days and love of the tropics. it does not take away from my love of our Savior.

likewise, with motorcycles and cars. i have always loved them. they are a passion; an interest. but i don't spend my weekends invensting into car culture at hot import nights looking at eye-candy and listening to inappropriate music. same with motorcycles...i'm not going to become a member of the hell's angels 6 days a week and go to church on the 7th.

it's all about what we value. john piper said that all of this life is given to us to show the world that it is not our treasure; rather, we are given this life to show that God is our treasure. so does it really matter if we look rockabilly, look hip hop, or have interests that could be considered non-christian? no. i see them as worldly interests that can be used to preach God and what Christ has done for us. afterall, if we surrounded ourselves with believers and everything that we "should" surround ourselves with (according to old traditions), how would we ever reach souls that need to be saved?

set an example...

lately, as i've been reading the Bible, i keep coming across God's desires for us. and what i've found is that God intends His children to be examples for the rest of the world. He tells us that we should do good deeds, conduct ourselves in a Godly way, to seek His wisdom and to not do wrong against others. these seem like such basic tenets for life. but yet, we struggle with these directives at various points in our lives.

this morning i was reading the book of titus. and paul explains to titus how he should choose elders to promote God's teachings. but then i came across this, titus 3:14 and it states:

"Our people must learn to use their lives for doing good deeds to provide what is necessary so that their lives will not be useless."

i've also been listening to a john piper sermon where he states that the greatest tragedy and fear is that he doesn't live his life to the fullest...that he does not want to live a wasted life (actually, the sermon is title 'don't waste your life')

in reading God's Word, i can see that this is so true. God blessed us with gifts; not necessarily monetary gifts, but gifts of grace, mercy, love, etc. so that we may go out into this world and be examples of God's love. i keep coming back to the thought that when i get to the gates of Heaven and i am asked "did you do the most with the gifts I gave you?" i can't help but think that is my motivation...i want to carry out God's plan with the gifts He gave me. we all have different gifts and i encourage all of us to use them for Him.

in this world, but not of this world...

lately, i feel like i need to be rejecting the ways of this world. the feeling is so strong, that i was discussing this with my wife last night. i'll paraphrase it for you; i told her that, i could care less about the house we live in, the cars we drive, the furniture we sit on. i believe these are things that are getting in the way of our relationship with God. and it's not just random thoughts, i seem to hear this in the music i listen to and the pastors i talk with. there seems to be a very overt movement toward the rejection of the society that surrounds us...so as i flipped through the Bible this morning, i came across 1 peter 2:11-12.

it states:
"Dear friends, you are like foreigners and strangers in this world. I beg you to avoid the evil things your bodies want to do that fight against your soul. People who do not believe are living all around you and might say that you are doing wrong. Live such good lives that they will see the good things you do and will give glory to God on the day when Christ comes again."

God makes no bones about His children and their role in this world. we are "foreigners and strangers"...what does this mean? by definition, a foreigner is a "person from outside one's community" and a stranger is "a person who is not a member of the family, group, community, or the like, as a visitor or guest"...

...i particularly like that God is telling us that we are merely a "visitor or guest" of this world. He knows that our time here on earth is short and that we will not be a part of it forever. we are here for only a short time. we are his children and we will return to our Father, after this life is over!

i find it so interesting to be a believer of Christ in this world; because we are not of this world. we have to face so many temptations, sins, and evil; yet we must rise up against it and be models of Christ. i think that God knows this isn't an easy task, but as i heard some where at some time, "it won't be easy, but it will be worth it."

but that's not what i want God...

so this weekend, i had an awesome time with my family in a small town of about 3000 people. the pace of life was slow and the everybody knew everybody in this town. it was awesome, it was everything that my wife and would want to experience for ourselves and for our children.

at one point, i asked God, "why did you call me to urban ministry? this is the life i want to live; slow, modest, friendly, safe." but God quickly answered, "no, I don't want you to live a life of obscurity. I am calling you to a life to be bold and spread my Word. I am calling you to reach a group of people and have given you the desire, the talents and the faith to reach those who are lost in the city." He also told me that no matter what, if i follow the life He wants me to lead, i will be happier than the life i want to lead. God and i had some "intense fellowship" this weekend, but i knew that He has called me to minister to those in urban areas; despite my own desires. and as we all know, God will win 100% of the arguments we take up with Him.

so i ask you, are you avoiding God's plan for you because it's not what you think you want?

blessed sinner...

i've been thinking a lot about my own life lately. particularly, since i've become a bit more diligent about reading the Bible, following pastors, indulging in prayer and writing this blog. i've become critical of myself because i'm spreading His Word, yet struggling with sin in my own life. i feel like an uneducated pharisee. a hypocrite. how can i share His unending love, His unconditional grace and mercy; and still sin so much!

but i have hope. see, as much as i sin, the more i read and pray and spread His Word, the more i'm being pulled away from my sin. and this is true for everybody! the more God becomes a part of who we are and we let Him into our hearts, the devil's grip on our lives is loosened and broken. i sort of see it like a movie, where the devil is hanging onto a building edge and i am standing over him, stepping on one finger at a time, forcing him to lose grip of the building he is hanging onto. but this is a very slow process and the hope is that the last finger i step on will come at the end of this life, as i enter into the kingdom of God. and the devil will fall, never to be near me again.

as believers in Christ, we are called to be in the world, but not of the world (a very good friend of mine told me this over some awesome carne asada tacos recently). it is a struggle for us (believers), because the devil's temptation is constantly around us. we see it on the tv, in music, in our friends, in advertisements, in strangers, everywhere! but i urge you, all of us, to continue to dive more and more into His Word, so that we may shove the devil out of this world and our lives bit by bit by bit. and as we do this, more and more people will see how awesome our lives can be with God in it...think of it like a pyramid scheme. it started with one man (Jesus), spread to thousands, who taught thousands, who taught thousands, and in 2000 years Christ has reached nearly every corner of this globe because people spread His Word.

the proof is in the pudding...

lately, as i've begun to realize that my ministry in life is to reach out to the non-believers and to a generation of youth who is surrounded by sex, drugs and evil. i love that God is using/is going to be using me to do His work. this excites me.

one thing that i have been playing over and over in my mind is "how do i explain that Jesus did die for us and that we will be risen to our Heavenly Creator as well?" God has been telling me to read 1 Corinthians 15. so this morning i cracked my duct tape Bible and began reading. my question was answered so quickly!

1 Corinthians 15:12-17 reads like this...
"Now since we preached that Christ was raised from the dead, why do some of you say that people will not be raised from the dead? If no one is ever raised from the dead, then Christ has not been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is worth nothing. And also, we are guilty of lying about God, because we testified of him that he raised Christ from the dead. but if people are not raised from the dead, then God never raised Christ. If the dead are not raised, Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raise, then your fatih has nothing to it; you are still guilty of your sins."

now, i'm trying not to buy into a logical explanation of God and Christ. however, this makes absolute sense! think about! Our faith and salvation revolves around Christ dying on the cross, bearing all of our sin, and rising to Heaven to sit at the right hand of His Father! If Christ didn't exist or if He wasn't raised our whole foundation would be null and void!

earlier in 1 Corinthians 15, paul writes that Jesus was seen by peter and the 12 apostles, then by 500+ believers and then by james and then by himself. remember thomas? Jesus told him to put his finger in the nail holes and the spear hole in his side! hundreds and hundreds saw Christ after His resurrection! and we know that Christ did die, for the Bible tells us so. we know that He was buried in a rich man's tomb! all of this is in the scriptures!

therefore, we can safely say that, as believers, we will be raised after our death to be with our Heavenly Father as well!!!!

it's all about me...

...or is it?! this weekend i had a nice drive to tucson and all of which took place before noon. as i was heading down the I-10 through ahwatukee, i could help but notice a number of billboards that said "it's all about you", "we're here for you", or "shortcut to the good life". while i was reading these billboards, i was listening to a john piper sermon and he was preaching that life is NOT about us, but for the glory of God.

how oxymoronic!

anyways, this has weighed heavily upon me the past three days and i can't help but become disturbed that we feel there is a "shortcut to the good life" or that we "deserve" worldly goods, just because we live here on earth. i have found that in these times (not just bad, but good economic times of recent) that we have become extremely selfish. and it is interesting that the bad economic times that have come as a result of selfishness and greed, is also everybody elses fault and not mine.

what is selfishness? by definition it is, "The quality or state of being selfish; exclusive regard to one's own interest or happiness; that supreme self-love or self-preference which leads a person to direct his purposes to the advancement of his own interest, power, or happiness, without regarding those of others."

God DOES NOT call us to this sort of life. no where in the Bible does God say, "keep to yourself, promote yourself, live for yourself, do as you want to do!" but the ways of the world, the advertisements, the self-help books, the talk shows are all about how to achieve the life that WE want! to be happy with OURSELVES! to find OUR purpose in life! this is the complete antithesis of God's plan for us.

think about it!

in james 3:16-18, it is stated:
"Where jealousy and selfishness are, there will be confusion and every kind of evil. But the wisdom that comes from God is first of all pure, then peaceful, gentle, and easy to please. This wisdom is always ready to help those who are troubled and to do good for others. It is always fair and honest. People who work for peace in a peaceful way plant a good crop of right-living."

i can't say this any better...

i was thinking about what to write this morning...but after listening to this, i could not help but realize that i cannot say it any better...

this is from john piper...a pastor who i have been listening to recently and i'm amazed at his passion and his compassion.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-WZslRmfJU

persecution...

so today i saw a video that i found quite disturbing...i won't go into the details of the video, because i think that on the whole the topic of the video was irrelevant. but what i found so disturbing was the train of thought one person had with regards to the christian faith. even further there was a post by a person in response to the video who believed that christians are "ignorant" and believe in "archaic" ways of thinking.

as a christian, this infuriates me. i find it so disturbing that society is constantly trying to remove God and faith from nearly every aspect of living. WHY!? so i decided that the comments from the video and post lead me to read about the persecution of christians.

and then i came across this...1 corinthians 4:12-13

"We work hard with our hands for our food. When they hurt us, we put up with it. When they tell evil lies about us, we speak nice words about them. Even today, we are treated as though we were the garbage of the world - the filth of the earth."

as christians we have been persecuted since long before Jesus' death on the cross. but through time we have always stood strong in the belief that Christ will come again and lift us up to heaven.

but as i see the world now, there are the beginnings of a serious chasm in society. there seems to be less and less of a middle ground. believers are becoming stronger in their faith. and non-believers are becoming strong in their ways. so what are we to do?!

2 corinthians 6:1-10 states...
"We are workers together with God, so we beg you: Do not let the grace that you received from God be for nothing. God says, 'At the right time I heard your prayers. On the day of salvation I helped you.' I tell you that the 'right time' is now, and the 'day of salvation' is now. We do not want anyone to find fault with our work, so nothing we do will be a problem for anyone. But in every way we show we are servants of God: in accepting many hard things, in troubles, in difficulties, and in great problems. We are beaten and thrown into prison. We meet those who become upset with us and start riots. We work hard, and sometimes we get no sleep or food. We show we are servants of God by our pure lives, our understanding, patience and kindness, by the Holy Spirit, by true love, by speaking the truth, and by God's power. We use our right living to defend ourselves against everything. Some people honor us, but others blame us. Some people say evil things about us, but others say good things. Some people say we are liars, but we speak the truth. We are not known, but we are well known. We seem to be dying, but we continue to live. We are punished, but we are not killed. We have much sadness, but we are always rejoicing. We are poor, but we are making many people rich in faith. We have nothing, but really we have everything."

i know that is a lot of reading. but God tells us to go out and produce fruit. as a new generation of kids are coming into this world we must reach out to them and help reshape the future of this world.

nobody has to be lost forever, but as christians we have the blessed, unavoidable and difficult task to face people who will mock us, throw "stones" at us and try to discount us.

signs...

today i was driving down 19th avenue and passed a car wash with a sign out front that read, "my boss said i needed to put something on the sign. so there."

i laughed at the sign but as i turned down my neighborhood street, i came across a few thoughts, but most prevalent was this...this person did something, as minimal as they could (though witty) to abide by his/her bosses wishes. it reminded me of our walk as believers in Christ.

do we go to church once a week to "fulfill" our duties? do we say we're going to pray for a friend in need, but then "forget" about? only to pray for them as we walk up to them?

God calls us to live for Him and for Christ with all that we are. not just 10% or 90%, even. but 100% of who we are and how we live should be for His glory. if we are not living 100% for God, why? where are our priorities? money? job? lifestyle? friends? family? where?

for myself, i know that i need to evaluate this question for myself. because i believe that if we are only "putting up a sign because God said so", then we are not fully utilizing His plan for us.

i once heard this statement, "when you get to heaven and God asks you, 'did you do the most you could with the gifts that I gave you?' how will you answer His question?"

examples...

as i began my day and got on with my tasks in front of me, i forgot that i hadn't caught up on today's scripture reading...i try to read in the morning to help me through the day. i flipped through the new testament waiting for something to stand out. something did.

in my Bible, there are subheadings that describe some of the verses...i came across 1 Corinthians 7:17-24. the subheading reads "Live as God Called You"...seeing this grabbed my attention as i've been praying a lot about the life God is calling me to and those around me.

verse 17 reads..."But in any case each one of you should continue to live the way God has given you to live-the way you were when God called you."

later in chapter 7, verses 19 and 20 read like this; "...The important thing is obeying God's command. Each one of you should stay the way you were when God called you."

this has got me thinking about the way God has created us. i'll use myself as an example (not because i want to brag, but rather make an example of myself)...in 1986 i was exposed to hip hop; i'll never forget the new sound of Tone Loc. his raspy voice and seductive lyrics were like the ocean, mesmorizing. i hadn't heard hip hop prior to this, but this was new, gritty and exciting. i never grew out of hip hop, despite numerous attempts and condensending remarks from those around me. my love of hip hop evolved over the years and now includes 4 of the 5 "legs" of the lifestyle: 1) mc'ing or rapping, 2) dj'ing, 3) graffiti and 4) fashion (the 5th is breakdancing, which i appreciate but cannot do).

as i've come to evolve in my faith, particularly since getting saved, i've realized that God still uses my love of hip hop to reach out to a new generation of believers. with the hip hop culture becoming mainstream, i believe God is using my love of hip hop to proclaim His glory. God didn't ask me to change my music, the way i dress or the art i do. He asked me to use it to reach out...to produce fruit (as stated in John 15:16).

i've also evolved in my love of hip hop. God is showing me that i can still immerse myself in the hip hop culture, but a better hip hop culture. holy hip hop. my interest in artists like eminem, dr. dre, snoop dogg, atmosphere and others has turned to interest in christian artists like grits, lecrae, trip lee, shai linne and others. these are artists that i can play at church and not feel ashamed of the music i listen to.

so what's the point?! if i gave up my love of the hip hop lifestyle, God may not have been able to use me as He wants to reach out to others. so i beg of you and ask you to see who you are and how God is able to use you for His works.

God bless!

rejoice and be obedient

so lately, i've been trying to be obedient as possible to what God has to say to me. sometimes this is reaching out to others, pushing my own comfort zone or reading scriptures He wants me to read. i can't help but notice a change in my life...for the better. WAY better! when we step out of our worldly ways and listen to God, things change in us, because of Him. as believers, this is the most amazing thing. this is how He intends us to live. lately, He has asked me to read Phillipians 4 and Act 2 over and over again. i've spent the last 2 weeks reading only these two scriptures...why? because i'm human; i don't get God's message the first time. so what do these scriptures say?

Phillipians 4: 4-9
"Be full of joy in the Lord always. I will say again, be full of joy. Let everyone see that you are gentle and kind. The Lord is coming soon. Do not worry about anything, but pray and ask God for everything you need, always giving thanks. And God's peace, which is so great we cannot understand it, will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

Brothers and sisters, think about the things that are true and honorable and right and pure and beautiful and respected. Do what you learned and received from me, what I told you, and what you saw me do. And the God who gives peace will be with you."

Acts 2: 25-28
"...I keep the Lord before me always. Becasue He is close by my side, I will not be hurt. So I am glad, and I rejoice. Even my body has hope, because You will not leave me in the grave. You will not let your Holy One rot. You will teach me how to live a holy life. Being with you will fill me with joy."

today, i heard another verse that i had to find out what it said...

John 15:16

"You did not choose me; I chose you. And I gave you this work: to go and produce fruit, fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you anything you ask for in my name."

if this isn't as clear as crystal about God's plan for us, i don't know what else is...

God bless!

Father's Day

I saw a really good video on YouTube that is appropriate for Fathers Day this week and wanted to share it with you.

when God moves through you...

yesterday at church i had the most amazing experience...i won't go in to all of the details, partly because the discussions were very personal. but at church, we've been addressing the issue of teens and sex and how all of it relates to God's desires for us. it has been an awesome 6 weeks of study; 6 weeks that has taught this old man a thing or two as well.

at the end of the service yesterday, the leaders were asked to stand at the front of the church to pray for any teens that may come up. i went up as asked and was closely followed by a flood of teens, who needed a leader to reach out to. a leader to pray for them. during this prayer time, i had the opportunity to minister to 3 different teens and our pastor. i told myself that i'm not a prayer warrior and don't have the first clue what to say. but that didn't matter, God spoke through me to these kids to help them. my fears quickly subsided, and the prayers over these kids flowed like water. i also had the chance to pray over our pastor...i have a great amount of respect for him and what he is trying to do to a generation of teens.

in the end, i was so moved by this experience that God entrusted me to that i too was crying like many of the teens there. God was not only with me, but the 6 or 7 of us up there to pray for more teens than there were leaders. when we allow God to do what He will in us, not only do we get to help others, but we learn a thing or two ourselves. God wants to work through us, but all to often we think we have it under control...what a missed opportunity.

i would encourage all of you to step out and let God in. you'll be amazed at what happens and the joy you'll experience.

obedience and prayer

yesterday i was enjoying a nice iced black tea, sweetened with vanilla and a splash of milk with a good friend of mine. this friend is a man in Christ, so i trust him with some of my most personal issues. we were discussing a topic that i feel God has been leading me towards and after about 30 minutes, my friend asked if he could pray for me...right there in starbucks!

i say all of this to express my amazement in people who are unashamed of God. to me, it takes a lot of courage to pray for somebody in a public place. to lay hands on them and audibly pray for them...when we listen to what God is asking us to do, we see results. we see God's love, grace and mercy.

it is so easy for us to bury God's desire for us out of fear of embarrassment or awkwardness. but God is talking to us and through us for a reason. for all i know, my friend's prayer over me was not intended for me, but for some observer in starbucks who may not know Christ.

listen and obey...He knows what He's doing.

A Good Thought to Ponder

I am preparing for my church lesson that I will give this Sunday, and I found these words so inspired:

"Our challenges, including those we create by our own decisions, are part of our test in mortality. Let me assure you that your situation is not beyond the reach of our Savior. Through Him, every struggle can be for our experience and our good (see D&C 122:7). Each temptation we overcome is to strengthen us, not destroy us. The Lord will never allow us to suffer beyond what we can endure (see 1 Corinthians 10:13).

We must remember that the adversary knows us extremely well. He knows where, when, and how to tempt us. If we are obedient to the promptings of the Holy Ghost, we can learn to recognize the adversary’s enticements. Before we yield to temptation, we must learn to say with unflinching resolve, “Get thee behind me, Satan” (Matthew 16:23).

Our success is never measured by how strongly we are tempted but by how faithfully we respond. We must ask for help from our Heavenly Father and seek strength through the Atonement of His Son, Jesus Christ. In both temporal and spiritual things, obtaining this divine assistance enables us to become provident providers for ourselves and others."

I thought there was so much wisdom in those words. How thankful I am to know that The Lord will not try us above what we are able to handle.

God works in mysterious ways...

after a few days in *blah* mood and walking around the house today quietly asking for direction from God, i feel a sense of upliftedness (is that even a word?!). God works mysteriously in our lives, though i can't point to anything directly for the mood change, i know that God was quietly listening to my pleas for help and guidance. i really have felt like the devil's grip these past few days has been strong, but just taking the day to beg God for help has been a mood changer.

God works like this in all of us...He gave us free will to come to Him in our times of need. God wants us to rely on Him and how can we rely on Him if he doesn't give us the free will to do so? imagine if we didn't have free will to love and serve God. what would life be like? would we walk through life half-heartedly loving God? would we even look for His purpose in us?

i'm not sure if i can put this into words, but i'll try. i believe God cries and gets angry when we don't follow Him. at the same time, when we turn to Him, i think he cries tears of joy and smiles and embraces us with open arms. i think that God would much rather have this rocky relationship to have those moments in time when we clearly display our need for Him. as opposed to a lifetime of His children half-heartedly loving Him because we have to.

friends...

think about all of the people you surround yourself with....think a bit longer...okay, now think about how many of those people you can truly depend on to help you in times of need. how many will listen to you into the late hours of the evening to hear your problems? how many will you listen to their problems into the late hours of the evening?

as a married person, i know that my wife is one of those people. but i have a VERY small group of people i know who will genuinely listen to me, and more importantly, be honest with me. we have a relationship built on honesty, trust and love. even my guy friends. think about how important it is to have these people in your life. did you tell these people how much you appreciate their love and support?

Jesus had his 12 disciples that He confided in, that He wept with, that He grew angry with, that He loved. to be Christ-like would be to have these same type of relationships in our lives. sure it's good to know people and you can be around "friends", but hang on to those who you are there for and those who are there for you.

how do you see God?!

i once heard a sermon that suggested how we relate to God is how we relate to our earthly father. i reflected on this for many days; and the truth is, i did see my relationship with God in a similar fashion as i see my relationship with my dad.

my dad, though he definitely loves me, is stern, distant, and has a hard time showing his love. i often saw this as how God was with me. i felt like God was 1,000,000 miles away, He only scolded me and i would see His wrath all around me. i didn't feel loved by God...true, unconditional love.

it was an eye-opener when i came to this realization. God is not my earthly father, He's different. God loves me and shows me He loves me everyday! in all honestly, i can feel His love around me. He speaks to me, He scorns me, He embraces me. though, i still have to work at understanding how God can love a sinner like me. but overcoming the comparison of my earthly father and my heavenly Father, has changed my relationship with God immensely.

so how do you see God?

have you ever noticed?!

have you ever noticed how different we are from Jesus?! outside of the fact that He was perfect and God made flesh, have you ever noticed just how our behavior can be so different than His?!

here's what i mean. as Christians, particularly new Christians, we surround ourselves with those who are Christians. we tend to ditch our friends who don't follow Christ, in favor of those who do. we tend to stray away and mock the un-saved because they aren't like us...but if we're really to live like Christ, we would do the opposite. though he had the 12 disciples, Christ surrounded himself, not with the scribes and pharisees, but with tax collectors, prostitutes, gentiles, the lepers...in essence, He was around the "scum" of the earth. He refuted the pharisees and scribes and all they stood for. why?! because they were arrogant about their righteousness. they were not God-like, as they claimed to be.

in another example, Christ cried. the Bible even states that "Jesus wept"...but somehow we feel that we are too "good" to cry. wouldn't this mentality suggest that we are "stronger" than Jesus?!

so why do we turn our backs to the homeless? to the prostitutes? to the drug dealers/users? to those who are un-saved? if we were to truely live like Christ, we would embrace these people and bring them to Him...after all, how can we save a saved person?!

Was that a commercial for a kids meal?!

so my wife and i were watching tv after a long day and as we were waiting for the commercials to come to an end, Burger King's newest commercial came on and there was the king with a bunch of booty poppers. for those of you who don't know what booty poppers are, they are girls in tiny shorts or tight jeans shaking their butts. now, i understand it was supposed to be a parody of sir mix-a-lot's song "i like big butts" and i know it was about sponge bob square pants. however, does a 5 year old need to see this?! i'm not so much outraged as i am concerned that such a suggestive ad would be used to entice our children. don't we have enough sexual inuendos in advertising for adults? and doesn't "teen" shows allude to sex enough because the actors are in their 20s and not 15 like they are portrayed? so now we've got to target the pre-teen stages with sex...wow!

what next?! handy manny will be makin' out on tv with a girl? or maybe a show where dora the explorer finds out she's gay! where does it end?! don't get me wrong, i have friends who are gay and though i don't approve of the lifestyle, it doesn't mean they aren't people either.

What's in it for me?!

i was reading jeremiah 29 this morning because of a "sermon" i heard yesterday. specifically, i was interested in jeremiah 29:11 which reads as this, "For I know the plans I have for you, " declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." but verses 12 and 13 follow it up with this, "Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all of your heart."

i think all too often we, as all humans, are trying to find our "purpose" in life. i just saw a billboard for dr. phil yesterday for his show last night, "Reinvent yourself." he's not the only one. look in the bookstore, look online, look in the yellow pages...there are countless resources out there that deal with finding our purpose in life and getting closer to being the person we want to be...but i may suggest that one book alone will give us the true answer that we are looking for; The Bible.

i mean, if Jeremiah 29:11-13 doesn't tell us exactly what God has in store for us, then I don't know that any other source out there could compare. the ironic thing is that this isn't the only verse...there are many more where God states that He has a plan for us and if we just put our wants aside, He will give us everything we need (want is a different thing altogether). on top of all of this, we get Heaven in the end. if we follow the dr. phils of the world, what will we get?!

blessings...

my wife and i had the opportunity to reflect back on our 4+ years together yesterday. it's amazing how many good times we've had and how many struggles we've had as well. we know that we take advantage of each other, but at the same time, we know we build each other up. we understand each other. when you find somebody like this, the joy and love you experience is amazing. i can honestly say that i wouldn't feel this way if i was with anybody else. God put us together for a reason.

in the midst of our series at church dealing with sex, i can't help but reflect on how much stronger my relationship with my wife would be if i hadn't had sex before marriage. i mean, sure it's socially acceptable, but if people only knew how this dramatically affects them when they find "the one", i believe we wouldn't engage in this behavior. i've come to understand over the past 3 weeks of this series, that God encourages us to wait for a reason. the heartaches, the headaches and the challenges that have to be overcome are difficult ones and without God in my life, i would honestly say that i probably wouldn't be married now.

but i am so thankful that my wife and i have God in our lives. though we're not perfect in our faith, He is definitely the glue that holds us together. i'm not saying that God is the only reason i'm staying married. that's not it at all. but He sure makes dealing with some of the struggles bearable. and He also helps us enjoy the good times and remember that this is what marriage is all about. two people who genuinely love each other. who take the time to communicate. who take the time to care.

Nick Vujicic

Wow this man is such an inspiration. What an amazing spirit God has blessed this man with. Imagine how different this world could be if we all had a spirit like him.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4uG2kSdd-4

JP shared this video with me today and it made me cry, Ifelt so ashamed of myself for everytime I complained about, pretty much anything, this man makes me want to be a better person, to appreciate every day and everything that I have and to do my best to not complain when things aren't exactly as I think they should be. As well as to do my very best everyday to not judge others and to be the best person I can be everyday and never give up on my dreams.

Psalm 37

A friend of mine mentioned Psalm 37, verse 4 in our Bible Study last week. I had to immediately find the verse and read it for myself..."Delight in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart."

As I've thought about this verse for the past 3 days, this morning I decided to read all of Psalm 37. What amazing Psalm! As Christians, we are "in the world" but are not meant to be "of the world." God clearly outlines his plans for the people of this world and for His followers.

The wicked/people of this world who prey on the righteous and do whatever it takes to make money, earn status, and be envied by their peers will become no more. God uses those words, "they will perish", "they will be no more...you will look for them, but they will not be found." WOW!

But God specifically states that the righteous, His followers, will inherit the land. They will stumble, but not fall, because God's hand will hold them up! How often do we think we've fallen, when in reality, all we've done is stumble?! Is it Satan that is convincing us that we've fallen and we cannot get back up??? I believe so.

All the more reason to tuck into God daily and try to follow His word. The more we press into God, the "easier" it is to get through the tough times. Kind of makes you wonder why we stray, huh?!

Standing Tall in the Face of Opposition

Last week, I had a lot of free time with my wife and daughter out of town. I took this opportunity to really delve into the Bible. I didn't know what to read; so I prayed about it. God told me to begin reading the book of Nehemiah.

A little bit of background is necessary at this point...for about 2 days, I was facing a lot of opposition from people around me. They were questioning my motives, my values, my respect and even laughing at me because of where my life is taking me. Now back to the story...

I began reading Nehemiah and how he went to Jerusalem to rebuild the wall that surrounds the city. Many of the lords and kings around the city were laughing at him, they were preparing to mount attacks on the city again to discourage Nehemiah and the citizens of Jerusalem. Oh how this story related to me at that moment! But Nehemiah persevered. As the wall was completed, the lords and kings accused Nehemiah of motives that he stated were untrue. He stayed strong in God's request of him to rebuild the wall. He stood up to the governors and told them that they were wrong in their actions toward the people of Jerusalem.

In the face of all of this opposition, Nehemiah stayed strong to God's request. Imagine the obedience!!!!

I'm only about 7 chapters into the book of Nehemiah, but I believe that God is not just talking about a wall and a man and some foes. He is talking about us as people. We face naysayers everyday. People who want to bring us down so that they can stand tall. But if we tuck into God, if we stay strong in Him, if we stand up for what is right; He will take care of us.

Where Will You Make Your Stand?

There is a talk I heard years ago by President James E. Faust entitled "Where Do I Make My Stand?" that made a significant impression on me. I heard it at a stressful time in my life and I have gone back to it and reread it several times over the years. The overall message of the talk states "To find happiness and joy, no matter what comes, we must make our stand unequivocally with the Lord." The peace and insight bring tears to my eyes and warmth to my heart every time I read it. I wanted to share some of the insights he gave in the talk:

In an increasingly unjust world, to survive and even to find happiness and joy, no matter what comes, we must make our stand unequivocally with the Lord. We need to try to be faithful every hour of every day so that our foundation of trust in the Lord will never be shaken. My message is one of hope and counsel for those who may wonder about the seemingly unfair distribution of pain, suffering, disaster, and heartache in this life. Some may ask:

“Why was I born with physical or mental limitations?”
“What did I do to deserve this heartache?”
“Why did my father have to suffer so much following a cruel, disabling stroke? He was such a righteous man and always faithful and true to the Lord and His Church.”
“Why did I have to lose my mother twice—once to the ravages of Alzheimer’s disease and, secondly, to death? She was such an angel.”
“Why did the Lord let our little baby girl die? She was so precious, and we loved her so much.”
“Why hasn’t the Lord answered our prayers the way we wished?”
“Life isn’t fair. We know some people who have done some very bad things, and yet they seem to have everything they want or need.”
Dr. Arthur Wentworth Hewitt suggested some reasons why the good suffer as well as the wicked: “First: I don’t know. Second: We may not be as innocent as we think. Third: … I believe it is because He loves us so much more than He loves our happiness. How so? Well, if on a basis of strict personal return here and now, all the good were always happy and all the bad suffered disaster (instead of often quite the reverse), this would be the most subtle damnation of character imaginable..."

"So where should each of us make our stand? As we demonstrate our devotion to God by our daily acts of righteousness, He can know where we stand. For all of us this life is a time of sifting and refining. We all face trials...In our time we are going through an increasingly difficult time of refining and testing. The tests are more subtle because the lines between good and evil are being eroded. Very little seems to be sacred in any of our public communication. In this environment we will need to make sure where we stand all of the time in our commitment to eternal truths and covenants."

"As we live on earth we must walk in faith, nothing doubting. When the journey becomes seemingly unbearable, we can take comfort in the words of the Lord: “I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will heal thee.” Some of the healing may take place in another world. We may never know why some things happen in this life. The reason for some of our suffering is known only to the Lord."

If you are interested in the whole talk, you can get to it HERE.

Eye opening moment

Though I've heard the story of Christ's death and resurrection process 100s of times in my life, I don't think it ever really set in until I read about it again last night. I'm in the process of reading the book, "Vintage Jesus" by Mark Driscoll. He gave a pretty vivid description of what Jesus went through. He describes the various stages of the crucifixion process...and he described it as such.

"A crucified person could hang on the cross for days, passing in and out of consciousness as their lungs struggled to breathe..."

In reference to the scourging that would have preceeded the crucifixion, "Jesus' hands would have been chained aboe his head to expose his back and legs to an executioner's whip...At the end of some straps were heavy balls of metal intended to tenderize the body...Some of the straps had hooks made of either metal or bone that would have sunk deeply into the shoulders, back, buttocks, and legs of the victim..." and "...sunk deeply into the tenderized flesh...rip the skin, muscle, tendons adn even bones..."

"Jesus then had a crown of lengthy thorns pressed into his head...blood began to flow down Jesus' face, causing his hair and beard to be a bloodied matted mess...Jesus' robe was then used as the pot in a gambling dice game."

At the site of the crucifixion, "...they pulled Jesus' beard out - an act of ultimate disrespect in ancient cultures..." On top of all this, Jesus had "...five to seven inch, rough, metal spikes driven into the most sensitive nerve centers on the human body...Jesus was then lifted up, and is cross dropped into a prepared hole, causing his body to shake violently on the spikes...Some victims would become so overwhelmed with pain that they would become incontinent and a pool of sweat, blood, urine, and feces would gather at the base of their cross."

WOW! I couldn't even fathom what I was reading. I knew that the crucifixion was painful, but I didn't even understand the pain that took place outside of the nails in His hands and feet! Immediately, I felt an overwhelming sense of remorse for everything I have done in my life because He went through all of this for me! For you! For all of us!