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