Titus 2:11-14

¹¹ For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. ¹² It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, ¹³ while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, ¹⁴ who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.




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     As we know in just a few short days we will be celebrating Christmas, the coming of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ! As we see in this passage and know from the gospels and our own personal testimonies God sent his grace to earth in the from of his son Jesus Christ who was fully man and fully God to bring us salvation. He came to make his people a new, to create pure and righteous people whose one true love is serving Him at any cost. Often times though we read passages like these and see them as a parent telling us what not to do and our teenage rebellious self comes out and we subconsciously begin to think: Well who is God to tell me what to do? That one though (even if guilty at times) I would still have to say....well.....hes GOD! Duh!
    We tend to see these restrictions on our lives such as: no partying and getting drunk, no sex before marriage, no gambling, etc. as some prudish life style from an old testament God who is not "down with the times". I have heard on many occasions that the bible is out of date and the writers could not have foreseen what life would be like in modern day, and I take it this same excuse has been used in every generation from the publication of the bible. But if we step back and look at these "harsh rules" that we are claiming we begin to see the bigger picture. Just like our earthly parents our Heavenly father knows what is best for us and knows the path each ones of us should be one. Sin is defined as: Deliberate disobedience to the known will of God, or in simplar terms anything that draws us away from God. God HATES sin and LOVES us, so he wants us to have nothing to do with such sinful acts that might distract our attention away from Him. All these modern day problems that we claim the writers of the bible could not of foreseen if actually researched can be solved (and should be solved) biblical. I found out a perfect example of this just this last week while studying the word in regard to an issue to me life.
     Before going into my findings I do need to explain the history behind it for my reader who do not know. I at this time in my life am rooming with my long time best friend Christian. The problem is that Christian is a girl, and is strictly a friend and the relationship is platonic. And without going to much into it, besides the fact I needed a roommate this friend needed to get away from Colorado and start a new life, and just as my aunt and uncle so graciously did for me I wanted to do for her as well. The issue with the situation is that living with a girl outside of marriage is wrong and border line sinful. At first I did not understand why my situation was so wrong, there was no sex...so why would it be wrong. I would never live with a girl outside of marriage if it were in a relationship but this was different. But then I began to search the scripture and pray on the issue. My final answer being: first off sexual immorality is ungodly and wrong. We are called to live a life free of sin and even having the appearance of sin in our lives. By living with a girl it has the appearance that we lived out of wedlock and could possibly be involved sexually. The other part of my answer made more sense, considering most people knew that our relationship was platonic. We are to stay awful from things that might cause another person to fall into sin. Being that I am somebody at church who volunteers, and dare I say looked upon, others might see me living with a female appropriate as long as there is no sex. Others though might not be as strong in the sexual will to abstain from sex and might fall into sexual temptations. And THAT is why it is wrong. Take it or leave it. But for my life, God has a different plan for me, or else this would not have happened.
    We are all called to stand out against the crowd. To live a godly life. God blesses those who do live such a life. We are his children and he is waiting to give us his inheritance. God sent his one and only son to come and die so that we might have eternal life. I think sometimes we need to step back and really let that soak in. For those of us who grew up in the church it becomes a fact, another passing statement of faith that we make. Or at least that's how I feel. I challenge you this week to step back and look at all that God has blessed us with. To look at our lives, are we living that pure life we are called to live? Are we ready to step in front of God with open hands and open hearts not ashamed of the lives we are about to present him? Ask for forgiveness for the transgressions that we have come across in our lives. Please don't read these challenges as if I am trying to sound commanding, these are challenges I also put forth for my own life. Our God is a God of love, but also a just and powerful God. Open your heart to him, let him shake your world.

I pray for you and your walk with Christ.

Confession Entry #2

    The more you study about living a life truly in Christ the harder it becomes. Seems kind of funny, you would think that the more educated you become in something the easier it is. I go through life with these high and lows in my life. I let the enemy in far to often and God in not nearly enough. I let peoples words effect me more then they really should, even if their words from friends and family who are not meant to be hurtful. I fear often times I focus to much on what people think about me more then what the Lord thinks of me. I am not simply talking about how people feel about the way I dress or the way I dance around silly at Kids Klub. I struggle with the approval for the life style that I am trying to lead. As I write this it sounds silly to me that I even struggle with such an issue. I for some reason long to have my families approval for going into ministry, even when some of them are slightly against it. Now please do not get me wrong, I am going into ministry to try to look good to man, or to make my parents love and approve of me more. I know that I am going into ministry to serve the Lord. But I still can not shake when things like my father are so against it.
     On top of these minor struggle I preach so often to so many people that we just need to trust in the Lord and he will provide and the Lord has for me time after time and yet I still struggle with trust. It seems lately that my world finical is falling apart all around me. I know that some how I will get around this, I always do the Lord always pulls me up when I fall I still fear for some reason, And some might read this and tell me, well its normal to fear and worry. I want to be beyond that and above that. I need to get life in check where I do not have these fears. If I am serving the Lord fully it should also be with my fiances and this is the section that I am living one of the most unbiblically.
    I think another things that is weighing so much on my heart right now is my ability to ministry and lead others. I am letting the enemy attack me far to strongly in this field. I feel horribly about a gentlemen calling me from Tims House and I keep avoiding the calling. He wants guidance, prayer and me to tell him Gods way. I should be able to do this, I should not be so bothered by helping. And it is not so much I am scared of talking to people it is more the fact that my elder is coming to me for the Lords guidance. But how can I expect to go into ministry and possibly become a Pastor if I can not mentor. The Lord does not put things into our lives by accident and I know he keeps thumping my on the head I can feel it.
     Theses are my confession I am putting them before you and most importantly before the Lord. Please pray that I can overcome these problems. Please pray that I grow spiritually so that I am able to lead anybody that comes to me. I know the Lords will and that I am called to serve His people. Please pray that I can become strong enough to hold my armor and sword and stand strong against the enemy.

I pray for you and your walk in Christ

Ephesians 1:15-23

15 For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God’s people, 16 I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. 17 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit[a] of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. 18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength 20 he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21 far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. 22 And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.



Thanks Giving. A holiday where people family's come to together in a meal in which we are celebrating our thankfulness. In this passage in Paul is giving his thanks to the Ephesians for their love in the Lord. He has them in his prayers that the Lord might work and move in them. He prays that's God would give them the eyes and hearts to live as they are called to live. He preaches that our Lord is the Lord of all, the he'd of all church's, our savior.
This thanks giving I also give my praise and thanks giving for my friends and silly and everybody else. Often times our holidays are spent with people slaving over a meal, fighting, and awkward moments. But this year I challenge you sand back and appreciate all that God has given us. Look at our families. Our friends. Our jobs and everything in-between. James tells us that we are to be thankful for the good times and bad and that God uses even the worst moments in our life to make His glory known to the world.
This year I am thankful for all that he has done for me. I am thankful for Sammy yelling at the tv playing football. I am thankful for awesome his from Ellie. I am thankful for stupid jokes and B rate movies with Sarah. Thankful for worship with Rachel. Heart to hearts with Uncle Tony. Reality checks with Aunt Karen. Awkward moments with Anna. Loving parents. Amazing new friends from church. My brothers in Christ at Tim's House. Teasing Kris and gets joked back. Lunches with Tim. Spending Fridays with my awesome 1st-5th graders from Kids Klub. And my friends back in Colorado.
This year I got the opportunity to share in a thanks giving meal with my friends from Timothy Ministry. Some of these men have no family's to go home to or anybody to share the holiday with but we're still thankful for all that God has given them. Over the past four months these men became good friends who I look forward to sharing in the Gospel with each Friday morning. I then spend 2 hours cleaning the kitchen, and I would have to say that this has been the best thanks giving yet, worry less about myself and more about my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.
As Thanks Giving comes to an end I give my praise and thanks to God for each of your lives. I hope that God bless you with abundance and with burden. I pay that you open your heart up to Gods will and his blessing. Give thanks to our God for he is good. He is all we need and will always provide.


I pray for you and your walk with Christ.

Genesis 22:1-19

Genesis 22

Abraham Tested

1 Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!”
“Here I am,” he replied.

2 Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on a mountain I will show you.”

3 Early the next morning Abraham got up and loaded his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about. 4 On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. 5 He said to his servants, “Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you.”

6 Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together, 7 Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, “Father?”

“Yes, my son?” Abraham replied.

“The fire and wood are here,” Isaac said, “but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”

8 Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And the two of them went on together.

9 When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10 Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. 11 But the angel of the LORD called out to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!”

“Here I am,” he replied.

12 “Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.”

13 Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram[a] caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 So Abraham called that place The LORD Will Provide. And to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided.”

15 The angel of the LORD called to Abraham from heaven a second time 16 and said, “I swear by myself, declares the LORD, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17 I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, 18 and through your offspring[b] all nations on earth will be blessed,[c] because you have obeyed me.”

19 Then Abraham returned to his servants, and they set off together for Beersheba. And Abraham stayed in Beersheba.


I don't know about you but something my faith in God is not the greatest. It is an act that is easier said then done. Often times I have conversation with people about how life is going and tell them that if they put their faith in God he will always come through, then with some events in life try to go about them without God in mind. And often times, when we do things on our own we are just setting our selves up to fail. God instructs all of us to put our lives into His hands and He will protect and watch over us. He has a funny way of coming through and can see the bigger picture long before we could even imagine it.
During the past week and a half I have been in a bad emotional, physical, and spiritual state. I had gotten in an argument with everybody from my roommate to my family, thinking that what I was doing was right. (See where the I comes into place). I had gotten into a fight with my younger cousin. I was spending less time in Gods word and "just getting by" with my faith. All of these things helped to jump start my underlying depressive syptomns. On top of all of these things I was scheduled to work on Friday which was my times serving God and I was not happy about having to work. With all of these things happening I was putting less and less faith into Gods plan for my life.
God knew from the start that my spiritual life and relationship with Him was being effected on a deeper level and that I needed to be drawn back closer to him. As I sit here on this Friday where I should have been at Kids Klub, I instead was given the opprotunity to emirs myself in the Lord. God has planned my "retreat" away from my duties at church and home months before I could have imagined. Having spent the last six hours reading the bible, listening to sermons, worshiping and praying I realized God was calling me back to Him and used my job to bring me back to Him. If I had been putting my entire faith into Gods plan this revelation would not have come as such a shock to my life.
In this passage in Genesis we see one of the greatest acts of faith in the Old Testament, maybe one of the greatest in the entire bible. Abraham being a man of God yet fully human has his test of faith and even his own rocks of faith. Not thinking that he was going to be able to have a son of his own, his son Isaac was the joy of his life. God has given Abraham the ultimate test of faith, coming to Abraham he commanded that he take Isaac his beloved son and use him as a burnt offering to God. Not being a parent yet I can not imagine the amount of faith Abraham had to even contemplate this command. The next morning, being the man of faith that Abraham is, he prepared his donkeys, two servants and his son Isaac and set out to the region of Moriah. Upon arrival Abraham and Isaac left the servants and went up the mountain God had showed them and began to prepare the alter for the sacrifice. As Isaac helped in the preparation he began to notice that they had forgotten to bring the lamb for the offering and he began to inquire on the situation. His father explained that God would provide an offering for the alter and they continued their preparation of the alter, Isaac caring the wood and knife for this own death.
After the alter was completed Abraham bound and tied Isaac up and placed him on the alter. Now the bible dosnt state this but can you imagine the fear, the thoughts that were swirling in Isaac mind as this was all going on! I can almost guarantee that Isaac was scared out of his mind. As Abraham was just about sacrifice his son and angel of the Lord called out to him commanding him to stop! He acknowledged Abraham for his fear in the Lord and his strong faith in the Lord because he did not withhold his son from the Lord. Abraham then saw a ram caught in the thistle and he caught the ram and used it as a burnt offering to the Lord. Because of Abrahams faith in the Lord the Lord promised him that God would bless him and his decadents would be as nurmous as the stars.
Can you imagine having the faith strong enough to sacrifice a loved one to God? Sure at times our kids, siblings and loved ones bug us to the point we wouldn't mind it but at the end of the day that is a huge leap of faith. This is why Abraham is labeled the Father of Faith, he trusted in Gods plan for Him to such a extent that he would even sacrifice his one true son to the Lord. Luckily for us the Lord has made a promise to us that he will never ask of that magnitude again. Or does He? God sent his one and only son to be a sacrifice for each and everyone us so that our sins would be forgiven and we can have eternal life in the Lord. And although we are not called to physical "die" we are called to die of ourselves and be born again into the Lord. Giving our own lives entirely to Him, who gave up His life for ourselves and our sins. This passage in Genesis is an amazing example of the type of faith we are to be living on a daily bases. Give all of your trust to the Lord.
This evening I was supposed to teach at Kids and had to switch lessons with another leader. This is where God was working even more in my life that is beyond amazing. As I began to prepare for my lesson I will be teaching in two weeks this passage was the one that I will be teaching on. This lesson: one faith in the Lord, the one I was to be teaching, was a lesson that I had to learn on my own first hand. Had I gotten the Friday off I would have had a different lesson to teach and not been impacted like I was tonight. God has a plan for each and every aspect of our lives we just need to trust in Him and His plan. We wants control of every aspect of our lives. Give it to Him! My God is a God of understand, forgiveness, Love, joy and grace. And He wants that for our lives! How crazy is that? That such a powerful God wants to provide for us, who are unworthy of such a love!
Next week...no starting now, I want you to look at your life! Are you putting your faith in God? Do you have somebody who you can talk to about your walk with Christ? Somebody who can hold you accountable? I challenge you to re-read this passage and pray on it, study it, learn from it just like I am. Abraham is a amazing example of the faith we should all have. Try to have faith like his for one week, if it dosnt effect you, email me and we will go get coffee, my treat!

I pray for you and your walk with Christ.

Matthew 7:7-11

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. Seek and you will find. Knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who ask will receive, he who seeks finds and he who knocks the door will be opened. Which of you, if his son asks for bread, gives him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish gives him a snake? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in Heaven give good gifts to those who ask?"



Here in Matthew we see and invitation to seek after God. He wants us to call out for him, but if we never ask we will never receive. God promises to provide for His children, all we have to do is simply ask for His help. Is that not something simply incredible? The God of the universe is willing to provide for us, to help us out throughout life? We must remember though that when asking for things that we are open to Gods will for what he has planned for us in our lives. Often times we pray for things of great material value: better house, better job, more money, etc. When we do not receive the things that we are asking for we get discouraged, often thinking: "God tells us to ask and he will give us what we want, yet here I am still poor and in need.". Instead of focusing on thing like this we need to step back and think: are the things we are praying for going to take us further away from God? God wants to provide for us, to lead us toward Himself, he has a plan for us we just need to be 100% willing to except what that plan may be. We need to ask GOD for it though, the one true God!
Do me a favor say a prayer:
Dear:__insert what ever you make a false idol today (money, possessions, job, family) here____,
please help me I need you more then ever.
Amen

Now give it a week.....were your prayers answered? Is whatever we are putting before God helping you, leading you, answering your prayers? We need to start putting God in control of our lives. Often times we want to be in control of everything, we want full control over our lives, but God tells us he wants us to trust in Him ALWAYS! We will always be there for us, and yes when we are at the very lows of lows He welcomes us with loving embrace but we also wants to to long for him even in the best of times. God is not a pain killer that we take to get the pain to go away every so often, He is our Father. He is the one who died for our sins. Long for him! Search for Him! Discover him! Love Him!

Often times I find myself trying to do things on my own. I have this trust in God that others seem to look down upon, but at the same it is a trust that can been depend 1000 times more. God continuously tells us to trust in Him, and long for Him. Often times now I find myself deep inside my thoughts calling out to the Lord for help. Between trying to figure out the transition into adulthood, home life, work life, bills and everything else that falls in-between Christ tells us that he is the answer to any and all problems. I challenge you, just as I challenge myself to long after God. To have a genuine relationship with him. To trust in him. He is our father.....do we not run to our parents to help us out in any situation that we are thrown into? I know I sure do, I can't tell you the number of times I have gone to my mom and dad or aunt and uncle to help bail me out of a situation, or lead me to where I should be going. Should we not do the same with our Heavenly Father? He are to run to him. He wants us....he loves us....he cares for us. I challenge you this week to look at your relationship with him. Is it what you want it to be. Are you knocking at the door? Are you running toward God? He's waiting for you....

I pray for you and your walk with Christ.

Philippians 4:12-13

I know what it is to be in need, and I known what it is to have plenty, I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, weather living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.



In this passage we see the answer to all of our problems. Often time I find myself saying "Life sucks", "I can never to do this!", "I just don't have enough!". But here we see the answer to all of life's many problems. Through Christ we can have all the strength that we may need. Wether we are hungry, stressed, depressed, worried about money, Christ will help us through all of our problems.
I have gotten to a point of learning that the Lord will always provide when we just put our trust in Him. Out of the 1000 of life lessons that I have learned at living at home with my aunt, uncle and cousins one of the most important ones is: God provides in every aspect of our lives. Granted we are to be proactive in our lives but through Christ we have all the strength that we need to preserver!
As I begin to transfer into that "adult" phase of life I have had to worry about everything from work, bills, rent, money, and the list goes on and on. One of the biggest problems when growing up and moving away from home is money. I got to have to opportunity to help a friend start a new life and get an apartment with my best friends. The problem is that we are on to totally different sides of the spectrum when it comes to trusting in the Lord. As we got two weeks out to the big move, we didn't have an apartment (we thought ours had been offered to somebody else), had $500 between the two of us, her jobs had not gone through, and things were not looking good. Daily phones conversation tended to go like this: "Dude just trust in God it will all work out." "How can I not freak out?!". Although life is stressful for time to time the Lord has a plan, we got the apartment we wanted, acquired more then enough money, she got both jobs she needed and life worked itself out....correction GOD WORKED EVERYTHING OUT!
Although countless times God has provided for all of us, we still have the doubt in our hearts. This week I challenge you, and this may be my hardest challenge, to just trust in the Lord and see where He takes you in life. You may be quit surprised in how much happier you will be in life when you are not stressing over the simple things in life. God will always provide for those who trust in him! Go to him! Run to him! Trust in him!

I pray for you and your walk in Christ

James 2:14-25

What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does noting about physical needs, what good is it? The same way, faith by itself is not accompanied by action, is dead. But someone who says, "You have faith, I have deeds." show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that-and shudder. You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not out ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the alter? Yuo see that his faith and actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And scripture was fulfilled that says Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness, and he was called God's friend. You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone. In the same way, was not even Rehab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to spies and sent them off in different direction? As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.


In this passage we see yet another call to living out our faith physically. We are all called to serve God's people in one form or another. How do we study and preach about feeding poor yet do nothing about it? Faith without deeds is dead. The passage tells us that even the demons believe there is only one God and fear him so what makes us different from them? Christ gives us specific directions on serving His children just as He served us. But just as faith without deeds is dead, so is deeds without faith. Do not atheist perform acts of community service to help their fellow man? We should be doing all of our actions through Christ and to serve Christ.
We are all called to serve Christ and his people. Each of us have a unique calling and need to just stop for a few minutes and listening to what God is calling us to do. People always ask, well how do you know where Christ wants me to go? For me God speaks to me and gives me plans of actions, I know they are God callings because they eat away at me, I know they need to be done, they way on me, like Christ telling me that He gave me these plans for a reason, why have I not began to fulfill them? Stop and take a minute to listen to God and see where He is calling you. There are a lot of people out there who are already living out Christ calling and serving other people! Awesome! Then this post might just serve as a reminder, for others maybe it is a call to arms, to pick up your cross and fulfill your duties. Being Christian isn't just sitting in a building and saying you believe in the Christ Jesus. Being Christian is living a life as Christ lived. It is dying to yourself and your sinful nature and living a life through Him and for Him. Being Christian is serving His people. Christ said "The least you did onto my people the least you did onto me." so go out and serve, finding your calling, obey God and goes where he wants you without hesitation,
I challenge you to take some time out of your week for the next month and find a way to serve Gods people. I will invite you again to help serve at Tims House at Mt Olive on Fridays. It is a great place that mirrors the early churches. It is just one of the many, many, many ways you can give back and serve Gods people. What deeds are you going to preform? Will your faith here on here make Christ except or deny you before our heavenly Father? Just food for thought, we do not know the minute nor the hour that we will be called up, there is not perfect time to start serving, the time is now. Are you ready for it?

I pray for you and your walk with Christ.

2 Corinthians 6:14-18-7:1

"Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? What agreement is there between the temple of the living God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God said: "I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people." Therefor come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing and I will receive you. I will be a father to you and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord almighty. Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God."

In this passage we see our call to stand out amongst the crowd. We are not to be conformers to the society of sin. It ask us a simple question: how can you clump God in with sin? These are not two things that go hand in hand, God hates sin. This fact is plain and simple and is repeated numerous times through out the bible. We are called to purify out lives and our hearts. We are told that we, not a building, not an object, but us are temples of the Lord. If we are to have Christ the Lord in us, should be no be free from sin, would we not want only the best for our God?
We also see other very important, amazing facts in this passage. God tells us that by freeing out lives from our sinful nature we will become His children! We are God children and He is our father, how amazing is that fact alone. So we must therefor rid ourselves of our sinful nature and live in the Spirit.
Our call to live a holy, clean, untainted life free of sin is no easy task. As mere humans this task is impossible. But through the power of Christ nothing is impossible. He guides us, gives us direction on how to follow him and live a life free of sin. We are told though that we need to live a life 100% free from sin, we can not have God up front and a little bit of sin in the back. A great example I heard was while I was a camp counselor at Urban Camp. They preformed a skit where a father made their child brownies that they loved. There was a special ingredient the dad had added and the children guessed and guessed but couldn't figure out what it was, and eventually dad told them there there was just a little bit of dog poop in the brownies. The children were grossed out that there was even just a little bit of poop in the brownies. Now this story might not make sense to the context of the blog just yet but let me explain. Our lives are like the brownies and the dog poop is the sin. (silly I know haha). But just look, just like it is not ok to have even the smallest bit of dog poop in the brownies it is not ok to have even the smallest amount sin in our lives. Just like we would spit those brownies out Christ tells us that He will spit us out of his mouth and disown us before God the father. We are called to die to sin and be born again in Christ. Small things and a few big things I still strongly struggle with. There is still poop in my brownies, and as I grow closer with understanding of Christ and his call for man, I also understand that to have eternal salvation I need to rid my life of these sinful things, so I ask for you prayers.
Is there poop in your brownies? Are you partaking in sinful activities that you know you shouldn't. We are told to always be on the watch for Christ, we do not know how long we have left on earth. We can not wait till tomorrow to stop our sinful deeds we need to act now. I challenge you to challenge yourself with this serious topic. Are you living the life you know you should be? I know I am not and need a seriously spiritual reality check. Do you?

I pray for you and your walk with Christ.

Acts 2:42-47

They devoted themselves to the apostles teaching, and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and good, they gave anyone as they had need. Everyday they meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their numbers daily those who were being saved.

In this passage in Acts we see an example of some of the first Churches. These churches consisted of Christ followers all meeting and devoting themselves to their callings. They all held each other accountable. They were there for each other. They prayed together, they ate together, there was not a single person amongst them who was in need it says. They would meet daily to celebrate Christ, to break the bread together and to pray. These are great examples of what Church should look like.
Often times when we hear the word church we think of the big, pretty building that we attend every Sunday for service. We forget that the church is not the building, the Church is the body of Christ, his people. We need to dig back to the original roots of the church that our brothers and sisters started after Christ death. This past Friday I had the opprotunity to serve the people of Timothy Ministry at: "Tims House". The meeting that I was given the privillage to attend was a great example to me of what church is.
Tims House takes place every Friday and is a place where those who are homeless or in need can come for help. They can come for a meal. They can get help filling out job applications. Most importantly the come together to share the gosple and pray together and for each other. As I sat there watching my new friends talk about their past, and their lives you would think that they would be bitter and angry towards God, but they weren't. They had a sense of joy and understand for Christ that was remarkable. The way they were sharing with each other was great. Although I have only been to one meeting, and know only a glimps of their lives I could sense Christ was amongst them. I continued to hear different stories of how different people were inviting different people to Tims House and that through these invitions people were coming to Christ. God was adding to their numbers daily. Everything that was mentioned in the passage above happened. Let me explain.
As the day progressed people shared the gospel with each other, giving their own interpretation of how that passage applied to their life. We shared a meal together and over that meal their was praise and glory to God and Mrs. Pilar for taking such care and love in preparing their meal. As we prayed the Lord was providing left and right, small miracles were happening. One person got a interview, another person got a call and received the gas money needed to get through their work week. People don't say miracles happen anymore, but just because the seas are parting dosnt mean it's not a miracle and a gracious act of God.
Helping with Tims House was a humbling experience, making me look at my own relationship with God, my life, and Gods people. I challenge you to really read is passage and see what it means to you. Find someone and call or meet with them as often as you can, find out how their doing and if there was anything you could pray for them. I also invite you to come spend some time at Tims House of Fridays. It is at Mt Olive and starts at 10. I know they would love for you to come and hang out!


I pray for you and your walk in Christ.

1 Peter 4:1-11

Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because whoever suffers in the body is done with sin. As a result, they do not live the rest of their earthly lives for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God. For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do: living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing, and detestable idolatry. They are surprised that you do not join them in the reckless, wild living, and they heap abuse on you. But they will have to give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. For this is the reason the gospel was preached even to those who are now dead so that they might be judged according to human standards in regard to the body, but live according to God in regards to the spirit. The end of all things is near. Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray. Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers a multitude of sins offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each of you should use whatever gifts you have received to serve others, ad faithful stewards of God's grace in it's various forms. If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God if anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised though Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen,


All throughout the new testament we see our call for follow Christ. These calls shares all the same central themes ever time. We are to die to sin and be born again through Christ. We are to suffer as Christ suffered, and show our brothers and sisters the same love that Christ showed us. This passage is no exception to the rules. In this passage in Peter we see what we are called to do in a life in Christ. We are told that we are supposed to share the same mindset as Christ did. Christ suffered in body and so should be. Christ never once said that following him was going to be easy, he warned us ahead of time that people will hate you for it, families with have each other put to death as a result. But Christ also tells us of the greatest reward of all which is salvation through him, an eternal life in Christ.
We are called to die to our sinful nature and be born again through Jesus. But to do this we must give up everything, we must lay to rest our sinful lives that we once lived. We will all be judged accordingly to our lives. Christ gives us all the same message, to those who are saved through Christ and to those who choose not to be. We will all be judged accordingly and justly. We are called to give up our lives of partying, and premarital sex. We are called to stop putting our jobs and family before God. We are called to stop lusting after things that we do not need. This is where slot of us get snagged up. We want to live a life in Christ but we do not want to give up the life we are living. We convince ourselves that we can still live through Christ and in Christ and still party on the weekends, and still be living with out boyfriend/girlfriends and sleeping together before marriage. As my religion teacher, Mr. Lenzini, once described it: we want our relationship with Christ to be like a grocery store. We want to be able to walk down the aisle and pick and choose what is the most suiting to us. But this is not the case. A life in Christ is a all or nothing deal. He wants us to fully follow him and not to do it half heartedly.
As you continue through the passage we then see a call to love each other completely. The bible tells us the love covers a multitude of sin. We then see another call to use the gifts and talents that God has given us. We are all gifted in various ways and we are all called to use these gifts to further the kingdom of God and to serve one another. We all have different passions in this world that the Holy Spirit has placed in our heart on purpose. If you were to come into my house you would see 6 different passions for Gods people: Aunt Karen: cancers. Rachel: childrens cancers and illnesses, Anna: Africa, Uncle Tony: music, Me: helping others to realize their God given gifts and how to use them, as well as children's ministry. I'm my house alone you see a perfect example of just a handful of gifts and passions God has given us. Look around your house, what gifts and passions has God put into your family? Pretty cool huh!
We should always be warm and welcoming to each other showing hospitality to each other. We should always be examples of Christ, always showing love and grace. We are called to live a life in Christ every day and not just on Sundays, it is said that Christ is coming and not a single person, not the heavens not the Son himself knows the minute nor the hour but only God himself. We should always be on watch for Christ.
I think this passage is one that effects not just me but everybody. When trying to live a life in Christ it is hard for us to give up the comforts that we are used to. Over the past year I have not given as much time to Christ that he has called me to. He has placed "jobs" in my heart that need to get done that I have not given enough attention to. As I begin to find what it is required to live a life in Christ the more I realized how much more I need to devote to him. And the more I find this out the more the devil attacks my heart and ambitions. It went as far as the devil attacking my dreams of youth ministry. While I was at Urban Camp the devil continued to torment my mind making me think I was not cut out to do children's ministry. I actually heard myself think: you suck at this, why and who could I ever think I was cut out to bring children to Christ. But luckly through my prayers, and the prayers of my friends and family I pushed past those attacks and had an amazing week. With the path I am on I am happy that I have a job that allows me to get the time off to serve him for things such as VBS and Urban Camp. I am even happier to say that I get Fridays off every week (starting next month) to help with the Tims House Ministy and then help with Kids Klub (which I am super excited about ask anybody!) Christ works in crazy ways, we just need to stop for a few minutes to listen. I challenge you to take a few minutes and evaluate your relationship with him. Is it what you are being called to do? Are you using the Holy Spirits gifts to the best of their abilities? Are you showing loving compassion you are supposed to be showng? I know I need alot of work, so I asked for your prayers.

I pray for you and your walk with Christ.

Philippians 1:3-9

I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now,being confident of this, that he who began good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart; for weather I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God's grace with me. God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus. And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ -to the glory and praise of God.

Praises be to God, Christ Jesus and all of Gods holy people! In this passage we see Paul giving praise to the Phillipians for the continual work in spreading the gospel message. He is giving them a blessing that God works through them as the continue to spread the message of Christ. That they may be able to travel with pure hearts not holding fault to those they may encounter. He holds God as his witness that he is sincere in his letter to them, that through Christ they share the same grace.
Do we know others that are constantly out there preaching the gospel, or living a life that Christ calls us to live? Who is that person in your life that you look up to as Christ example in your life? I urge to continue to pray for them, our bothers and sisters in Christ are very important people in our life. These are the people who hold us accountable for our actions, help us to stay on a direction path to God, they are Christ on earth for us. Pray for these people, turn to these people.
In my life there are a few strong Christ filled people in my life that are always there for me and continue to help me through life when I am struggle to always reach for Christ. The first is a friend from Church, the youth pastor, Tim. I have already mentioned him in a few other post so you might already know the significance of this friendship. Although I have only known Tim for a little over a year and a half he was the one who brought me to Christ. He continually checks on my directions in life and pushes me toward God. The second person is my Uncle Tony. When I was growing up I never would have thought that I would eventually be living in his house, or have deep heartfelt conversations with him about Christ. Over the past year I have gotten to know my uncle on a deep spiritual relationship as I opened up to him about my path to Christ, coming to find out we both had a lot of the same struggles. I love to watch him at church as he leads worship for the service and his heart for Christ. One of the strongest things that stands out to me is when he prays. Countless times my Uncle has prayed over me, and each time you feel the Holy Spirit working directly through him. These are just two people in my life that are my spiritual support and without them life would be just a little it harder.
God puts people into your life with a purpose. You never know quite who could walk into your life and how they might shake things up. The Phillipians were just some of the Pauls support in sharing the gospel. Who is your support? I challenge you right now email, Facebook, text or call whoever is Christ in your life right now and just thank them for being such a strong influence in your life. Ask them if there is anything you can pray with them for. These relationship are dire and a special gift from God.

I pray for you and your walk with Christ.

Colossians 4:2-6

Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us too, that God may open a door to our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversations be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.

In this passage Paul is writing to the Colossians while he awaits trials in jail. He is asking for their prayers for himself and others followers of Christ who are sharing the message of Christ. He is urging them to devote themselves to prayer, asking them to pray that the message of Christ might be spread freely and openly. He is also asking that they pray the the Holy Spirit work through him that he will be able to know what to say to those he is preaching. He then goes on to tell the Colossians that they need to make the most of every opportunity because you never know who might be watching. That they should speak to others with grace and understanding.
This request from Paul to the Colossians is something that we can do today. We should be praying for those Christians who are being persecuted today all over the world, just for spreading Christ message. We should be praying for those missionaries who are doing the Lords work every day of their lives. We should be praying for "secret churches" who have to meet privately to share the gospel knowing that if they are caught, they will be put to death. We should also be praying for ourselves that the Holy Spirit works in us and through us, that we may be able to share Christ with those we encounter, and do it in the way necessary to the listener.
We should be making the most of every encounter in life we have, we do not know the impact it may have on others. In high school, with the help of a few friends, I started a group called:A.R.K. It stood for acts of random kindness. If you have ever watched Even Almighty then you will know where I stole the name from haha. But the point of the group was that you never know how one event might effect and change somebodies life. An event as simple as opening the door for somebody could change their attitude for the entire day making their day more productive and positive. Eventually, through the grace of God the group was developed into the high schools community service program. We are told to make the most of every opportunity because you never know what kind of Christ encounter we might have. We do not know with who we will have the opportunity to share the gospel with today. Pray that the Holy Spirit moves in you to share the gospel with somebody you might not of thought of before
I challenge you for the rest of the week to pray, seriously pray for those who are being persecuted for following Christ. Then pray for the Holy Spirit to work through you, moving you to share the gospel with someone, or to be more Christ like. That the Holy Spirit works through you that people might look at you and think, there is something seriously different about the person, I like it, I wonder what it is.

I pray for you and your walk with Christ.

Ephesians 6:5-8

Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. Obey the not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but like slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your hearts. Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not man, because you know the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does, wether he is a slave or free.



In this passage in Ephesians it talks about our attitude while we are at work. We are called to conduct our jobs to the best of our God given ability. As long as the rules of our job are within Christs law, we are to abide by them. We are to be always to do our best, working as if we were working for God. Not only will this give us favor in our employers eye, making us look good, but it also is another was to glorify God. We are called to be examples of Christ and to bring His word to others, and where do we spend the majority of our lives: at work. By working hard at our everyday jobs people will begin to take notice. Remember when receiving praise from those around you we must give the praise and credit to God our Father.
If you want to look at it simply from a human earthly prospective, by always doing your work to the best of your ability, don't you think that this would better your chances for a better position. But that is just one..little...small...kinda wrong way looking at this passage. We should always be doing our best at everything we do in life to glorify God. Our jobs are just one aspect of our life that we need to excel. We are called to be the best son, the best father or mothers, the best at our hobbies and talents to the best of our God given ability.
Another aspect of this passage is the we are servants of Christ. We are slaves to him, and we are to be doings Gods will from our hearts. This is a crazy concept to some of us, slave, who would want to be a slave? Well, as Christians we should be the first ones with our hands up. A slave is somebody who is owned by another person, who have no control of their own life, who owns nothing. We are slaves to God. We are called to give our lives totally and fully to God...every aspect of it. This is a hard thing for us to comprehend, and something I will discuss in a different post more in depth. But we are called to serve our bosses and our Lord, through Gods will, and with Gods will from our hearts.
I like this passage, it is one of my favorite. It I think of it daily as I go through every flight. Remembering that I am working for God and not for man. When the days get tough I know that I am to trudge through. This does not stop me from moaning and groaning about how unhappy I am from time to time though. (Just ask anybody in my house haha) This short coming is something that I need to work on to better myself with God and with my company. Although I already go out of my way for my job to make people's flights just a little bit better, there is still so much that I can improve on.
No matter what profession you are: a flight attendant, nurse, doctor, pastor, bag boy, or whatever you may be doing there we are always to be working for God. I challenge you for the rest of your week, before you get out of the car for work thank God for all he has given you. Then think about your day and what you are going to be doing, and figure out how you are going to do it to best of your ability. Make the rest of this week count.

I pray for you and your walk with Christ.

Confession Entry #1

"Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective."
James 5:16-17


My brothers and sisters in Christ, I come to you with a broken sinful heart. I do not know how many people actually read this but to those of you who do I must confess a grave sin on my soul. It is a struggle I face everyday yet something I am constantly working toward bettering myself. The bible tells us to confess our sins before man and before God not hiding anything, for what is done in the dark will be brought into the light by the Son of God. So before you I confess, and come to you for help, advise, forgiveness and love.
As I continue through my path with Christ I am developing a deeper relationship, but at times feel like I treat him as my dorky next door neighbor who I do not acknowledge at school, yet am best friends with at home. For my church friends, they would never know that I was afraid to freely talk about Christ in front of my co-workers. Although I am not afraid to read my bible around some, or my Jesus self help book in front of others I still struggle with the fact that I am a follower of Christ. When asked am I a Christian I fully acknowledge that I am, but why does it take somebody asking me for them to know? Why is it that I wear my "What for God" bracelet yet at times make sure it is turned so that people can no see? Why am I so worried about what others think of me? I am constantly making the worst sin of all and that is not owning Christ. How can I be an example for my peers if some days I fall like I have? How can I be a vessel for Christ is I have no back bone to support it.
I would like to confess this sin, and my sorrow. I feel like I contently let people down by doing this. I write these blogs, I tell people to trust God and turn to God, yet at time I am a hypocrite and do not follow my own advise. I am sorry for such a two faced "follower" of Christ. I can not explain the hesitance in my life. Growing up with the faith background that I did, we did not voice our faith out loud very often. Christ was not at the center of our lives. It was not until I came to Chicago that I truly began to follow Christ. And with the help of Tim Ophus (and pushing Petes buttons at a bible study ;-D) I found Christ. A real Christ, not just a fact and answers, going through the motion Christ.
I'd like to share a story with you about the Holy Spirit talking to me and giving me direction through another person. Growing up Catholic we had a thing called Adoration. Catholics believe that the bread turns into the body of Christ, and during Adoration the host is present in front of you. This is a time when the living God was there with you, it was one of my favorite things in the world. (Now I have the knowledge that Christ is always present with us, but that's for a different post.) I was in the middle of prayer and the leader of the retreat I was on came up to me, I had never met him, had a single conversation with him, nothing. He began to tell me that during his time of prayer the Holy Spirit had come to him about me and gave him a vision he said: "The Lord sees you as a ship big and strong....but you have no mast, you can not go anywhere." The Lord at that time had already began to shape me to be the disciple I am mention to be. He was telling me that I was to be his ship, his vessel and I was to go places, but without the back bone to support it I will go no where. How cool is it that the Holy Spirit talks to us! God talks to us! But....then....why can I not listen?
So I confess this sin in my life before you and before God. I do not know if others struggle with the same sin. I don't know know if possibly you once did and over came your troubles. But just like in AA they say the first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem. Much is the same through Christ, you are never going to be healed if you do not confess you sins. I pray for the strength to get past this, to be all Christ wants me to be. I do know that through Jesus Christ we can have eternal life. Through Jesus Christ we are dead to sin and born again through him and in him. I pray that I become the vessel that the Lord wants me to be.
If you struggle with this problem, or others and need somebody to talk to, I urge you to find somebody you can confide in. I am always there for you if you are in need. And do not forget: turn to Christ! He is longing for you! Put all your trust and faith in him!

I pray for you and your walk with Christ.

John 21:15-23

"When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me more then these." " Yes, Lord," he said, "you know that I love you." Jesus said, "Feed my lambs." Again Jesus said, "Simon son of John, do you love me." He answered "Yes Lord, you know that I love you." Jesus said, "Take care of my sheep." The third time he said to him, "Simon son of John, do you love me?" Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him a third time, "Do you love me?" He said, "Lord, you know all things; you know that that I love you." Jesus said "Feed my sheep. I tell you the truth, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go." Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, "Follow me," Peter turned and saw that e disciple whom Jesus loved was following them. (this was the one who hard leaned back against Jesus at the supper and he said, "Lord, who is going to betray you?") when Peter saw him he asked, "Lord, what about him?" Jesus answered, "If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me." because of this rumor spread among the brothers that this disciple would not die. But Jesus did not day that he would not die; he only said, "If I want him to remain alive until I return,what is it to you."



In this passage in John we see Jesus calling Peter back to him, it's the same conversation that Jesus has with all of us. He asked Peter three different times if he loves him, and three different times Peter replies "Yes Lord, you know that I love you." Jesus then commands Peter to feed his sheep. Then once again not listening to Jesus, and ashamed he then tries to bring the attention onto another disciple who once denounced Jesus. He tried to even the score by making another look bad, to which Jesus simply replies "What is to you." This to my sounds very funny, but a great answer that we must all remember. I think it sounds funny because I kinda picture Jesus saying it in a New York accent and has a bit of a hard core attitude.
We are all called to feed Jesus' sheep. The conversation that Jesus is having with Peter is the same exact one he has with us on numerous occasions. We all clam we love Jesus, and that we are all followers but are we doing what he is calling us to do? We say we love him, I mean: we go to church, we read the bible once a month, we say a few prayers, we have every David Crowder and Chris Tomlin cd on our iPod (that's about me haha), we volunteer at Feed My Starving Children once a year.....how can we not love him? It sure looks like we do. But Jesus calls us to feed his sheep. When he says this he is not talking about going to the petting zoo and putting a quarter into the machine, getting some pellets and feeding his sheep. He is calling us to bring Christ to all of his people. (Its like this Jesus= bread of life, aka feed....Sheep: Us!) We are all called to bring Christ to the world and take care of his people. It is not enough to just say that we love Christ, we actually have to show our love for him! We are all called to bring Gods glory to the world and each one of us has a unique way of doing it. Not all of us are called to be pastors, but some of us are. Not all of us are called to go to Africa, but some of us are. Not all of us are called to serve the homeless but some of us are. We are called to sereve to Christ and do it to the best of our ability!
We must be careful though not to judge and be condeming when we are serving God. Peter tried to take the attention off of himself and put it on others, and base his relationship with God off of another persons. Jesus simply tells him that, that was none of his business. We are called to serve God's people and to bring the glory of Christ to them, and that's it! No where are we called to judge others, to base our relationship with God on another's, or tell them they are anything but. God calls us to a life of love and servitude. He tells us that when we serve do it with love and compassion not judging anybody, only showing love and forgiveness. I will quote my favorite quote again because it fits everything: "It is the Holy Spirirts job to judge, Gods job to condem, and our job to love!"
Often times we help Gods people because it makes us feel God. I myself am guilty of this from time to time. When we do it because it makes us feel good, it's not about Gods people anymore. Look at the sentence again: "I am doing it because it makes ME feel good. When we serve it should be fully to serve God and his people. I am working my hardest to serve Gods people fully and bring the glory of God to others. Another thing I struggle with is watchig all these great people around me and their faith. I see "Christian celebrities" like Loui Giglo, and Chris Tomlin, or even people at church like my uncle or Tim (sorry guys hope this dosnt emberess you.). And maybe they don't have it together on the inside, I don't know but on the outside they look like they have this great relationship with God and I judge mine off of theirs at times, why can't I have that I think to myself. But Jesus tells us not to worry about them, why are you focusing so much on them, and their relationship with me, you could be using that time to build ours! That is why this is one my my new favorite verses, it's shows us our call, our thump on the head. Jesus saying: "Uhhhh HELLO!! YOU SAY YOU LOVE ME WHY ARNT YOU DOING ANYTHING ABOUT IT??"
I challenge you to spend some time with God today. Alone. Turn everything off (well I love music in the background.). But put a movie on for the kids, send your spouse away, or better yet invite them to spend time with God to. Here's the hard one, TURN THE PHONE OFF (I struggle with turning it off I spend time with God to.) And talk with God, see where your at with him. How are you feeding His sheep? Is your relationship with him sincere? He loves you, but do you really love him. Just take some time with him today, he misses you, youve been far to busy for him this week, he's waiting.

I love you and pray for your walk with Christ.

James 4:13-17

 ¹³ Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” ¹⁴ Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. ¹⁵ Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” ¹⁶ As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil.¹⁷ If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.
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     Let me start off by giving you a timeline of how my life SHOULD be looking right now:

18 years old: Go to College 

18-22 years old: Date a girl, fall in love 

22 years old: Graduate 

23-24 years old: Propose and get married 

25-26 years old: Have a baby 

28-29 years old: Have more babies

30 years old: Full time job 

       But as of right now in my life I live in Chicago, at home, am not going to school, am single, getting by day by day can be a struggle and my timeline is years behind. In todays society we all have the ideal life planned out in our heads. Where we want to be on our life timeline and when we should be there. From early ages our lives are already being planned by our parents. We go to college prep schools, we participate in extra circular activities all to help warp and effect our future. In James 4:13-17 we see that we are spending to much time planning out our own futures and not putting enough trust in where God is leading us. 

   We are told that we are like a mist that appears and leaves just as quickly as it came. Our lives are to short to be stressing out over every little detail in them! Do you realize how much simpler life would be if we put our total trust in the Lord and in his plan?  God tells us countless times that He is always watching out for us and is trying to lead us on His path, but often time we are to busy trying to be in control of our lives. We love to be in control of the wheel and have a hard time letting God take our lives and make of it what we will. 

    We often time think we are in charge of our own lives, and God tells us that this is sinful thinking. When we think we are in charge of our lives we begin to take God out of the equation. None of us know the future we've though we think we might. God ultimately knows the outcome of any action and will protect us from all evils. We need to be willing to put our lives totally in Gods hands, which is easier said then done. 

     I struggle all the time with where am I supposed to be in my life. When I think I know where God wants me to be my mind begins to wander and I fall of the path once again. I need to begin to trust the Lord more, I have gotten better at following my callings but when they become to extreme I panic and back out. I challenge not only myself but also you to spending the next week listening to where the Lord is leading you...and then do it. Life is not about us, it's about God and bring His glory to His people. So lets do it! 

I pray for you and your walk with Christ. 

Matthew 10: 21-42

 ²¹ “Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. ²² You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.²³ When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another. Truly I tell you, you will not finish going through the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.

   ²⁴ “The student is not above the teacher, nor a servant above his master. ²⁵ It is enough for students to be like their teachers, and servants like their masters. If the head of the house has been called Beelzebul, how much more the members of his household!

   ²⁶ “So do not be afraid of them, for there is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. ²⁷ What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs. ²⁸Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. ²⁹ Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care.^[b] 30 And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.³¹ So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

   ³² “Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. ³³ But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven.

   ³⁴ “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. ³⁵ For I have come to turn

   “‘a man against his father,
   a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law—
   ³⁶ a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’^[c]

   ³⁷ “Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.³⁸ Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. ³⁹Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.

   ⁴⁰ “Anyone who welcomes you welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. ⁴¹ Whoever welcomes a prophet as a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and whoever welcomes a righteous person as a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward. ⁴² And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is my disciple, truly I tell you, that person will certainly not lose their reward.”

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     WARNING: IF YOU DO THIS PEOPLE WILL HATE YOU, AND YOU MAY DIE FROM AS A RESULT OF THESE ACTIONS! 

     Human beings love thrills, we bungie jump and sky dive, we do crazy things like run with the bulls and swim with sharks. We love to live life on the wild side, full or risk and sometime even pushing the boundaries or death. Why then are we so afraid to like a genuine Christian faith? Matthew tells us that our faith in Christ should be so strong that families turn against each other, sons against fathers and mothers against daughters. Jesus basically says that He is not coming to bring peace but to shake things up! To truly love Christ your own family must be of less significance and that anyone who loves their own parents more then Christ then they are not worth of Christ. 

      At face value this sounds pretty harsh, how can the God of love tell us that we are not worthy of Him if we love our parents? Before I go on I want you to write a list of the five most important things in your life and number them the 1 being the most important 5 being the lesser. Make this list truthfully, nobody will ever see it...ready...set...go. (1. Family 2. My Faith (God)  3. Friends 4. Work 5. Caffeine). Now look at your list, does it look anything like mine? Chances are that God is not the fnumber one on your, and of He is then awesome!! But when God is not in the center of our being, our number one on our list this is where we run into problems. In Matthew, Jesus gives us a blunt and strict command not holding anything back: love God above all things, or else your are not worthy of God himself. 

      God is not telling us not to love our parents and family in this passage, on the contrary all throughout the Bible we are told to show them extensive amounts of love, but rather not to make family our "god". In todays society we have many false idols that we places in a higher esteem then God. From money to jobs they happen everyday but we never think that our family could be one. God wants all of our love to go toward Him, he is the the ONE and ONLY God. To make your family of greater importance then God is a sin and takes us further away from God. 

      As well as making your family a false god we see the severity, the responsibility and the obligation of becoming a follower of Christ. To follow Christ..TRULY FOLLOW..Christ you must be prepared to live a completely different life then that of those who live amongst us today. A call to Christ is not just sitting a pew for an hour every Sunday then going on our ways. When decide to pick up our cross and live like Christ did you die to this world and die to it very sinful nature. A life in Christ is a life of adventure and risk, going where Christ calls you not being afraid to follow. A life in Christ is the ultimate adventure with the ultimate treasure at the end of its path: and eternal life in Christ and through Christ. Christ commands us to go out to nations and spread the gospel, and to go out and help those who are in need, to reach out bring His glory to this earth...but instead we cut a check and call it a day. But this is not a post about a life in Christ, this is about the results of living a life through Him. 

     A call to follow Christ is so revolutionary, so extraordinary, so ODD that people will not truly understand. Your life style will be so different then that of societies that you will become an outcast. The life style of Christ is so...RADICAL (I stole that from

every book I read so no credit here.)...that people will try to turn you away from it. Which is where we begin to see what Christ is talking about, brothers

will turn against fathers and daughter against mothers. A life in Christ is not normal and it will scare people. Often times when people do not understand something that go on the defensive and that misunderstanding is now an enemy. To live truly and completely in Christ is to live completely for Christ.  As we are called to live a life in Christ we should not be afraid to go where we are called, the Lord tells us that He watches out for even the smallest of sparrows so will he take care of us. God will always protect us everywhere we go and if we hold strong through all our hardship with Lord reward us greatly. 

     I do not write this post to discourage you on your walk with Christ. I am not writing it to make you feel guilty and I am definitely not writing it to say I am on this path and know it all. I can honestly say I struggle with this greatly. If any of my cousins or family were to say they needed me I would be there in a heartbeat but if the Lord was calling me to do something I would debate it to death. I am writing this post though to let you know that this is real. A call to live a life in Christ is not a simple one, we must be ready to die to this world and be born again to salvation in Christ leaving behind the sinful nature we once lived in. I challenge you to seriously look at your life, is it one that is completely for Christ? Are you willing to do everything for Christ and through Christ? Christ call is a serious one but of you are prepared to live the way of the cross our rewards will be great and we will live with eternal life in Christ.

I pray for you and your walk in Christ. 

James 1 1:2-10

 2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,[a] whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. 6 But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7 That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8 Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.
 9 Believers in humble circumstances ought to take pride in their high position. 10 But the rich should take pride in their humiliation—since they will pass away like a wild flower. 11 For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich will fade away even while they go about their business.
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   We all face trials and challenge everyday in life. Depending on the intensity of the problem often times we turn to God in our times of desperation, pleading out to him: "Why God? Why me? Haven't you put me through enough?". In James 1 1:2-12 we are told to not be so troubled with the trials God is putting us through, but rather we should be happy he is putting us through them. Although this concept may seem odd it is through these hardships our faith is tested and completed. 

    Any of us can say that they love and trust God with all their hearts but it is in these times of desperation that we either turn to God or run. James says that through these trials our faith is tested and through perseverance our faith will grow and mature. If we continue to stay true to the Lord and trust in him fully we will that God has a plan for us and that he is contently watching out for us. 

     We are told that is we are in distress that we should ask God for the wisdom and the guidance to overcome the hurdles in life. But we need to be prepared to trust whatever direction God sends us. Often times when I pray for "big, meaningful" things; such as the internship with the Invisible Children, instead of praying to get the position I prayed that my heart would be opened to where ever God was leading me. Although I got the position I turned it down because God was telling me that I had work to do where I was. We need to trust in Gods path for us, when we ask for God's help but are not willing to except it we are double-minded and not sure what we truly want and are showing the Lord that we don't trust in him. 

      I challenge you for the rest of the week to just put your trust in the Lord. Where he leads you, follow him! When you pray for guidance, listen to him! I challenge you to truly trust in the Lord and do not question. God leads you where he wants you to be and will never give you trials he does not think you can face. 1 Corinthians 10:13 says: "Te temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more then you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.". God loves you and will protect you through everything, just trust in him completely. 

I pray for you and your walk with Christ