Do you trust God?

Hey,
It's been a while since I've actually published anything here. I've sat down quite a few time and begun writing something, but it just never got finished for one reason or another. But. I finally got this one up!

This past year has been unique for me in quite a few ways. But there has also been a consistent theme, God working on me to trust Him and release control of my life to Him. I think I can sum it up as the difference between "trusting God" and Trusting God.

Trusting God can be a cliche concept in our modern Christian culture. You hear it in prayer, you hear it in conversation, and you hear it from the pulpit. And I think that, at an intellectual level, most Christians "trust God." But I feel like so many less Christians actually practice what they believe. I know in my life, while in my head, I would say that I trust God in a lot of ways, the way I live my life says something different. And while it may not seem like a big deal in the little areas of life, it really can make a difference when when the storms of life hit. That's when you figure out if you built you're life on the sand of "trusting God" or the firm foundation of Trusting God. Jerry Bridges defines trust as "Trust is not a passive state of mind. It is a vigorous act of the soul by which we choose to lay hold on the promises of God and cling to them despite the adversity that at times seeks to overwhelms us." Trust isn't something you can "set and forget." It's something that has to be constantly monitored. It requires effort on our part. God will always be there, and He can handle any and everything we give to Him.

A few months back i heard a sermon on Matthew 14, where Jesus walks on the water. And paraphrasing the story, Peter sees Him, and says "If that is you Lord, tell me to walk on the water too you!" So Jesus does. And Peter walks on the water. But it doesn't end there. Think about a lake, and think of it first thing in the morning when its like glass. Not a ripple to be seen. Think how easy it would be for Jesus to say to you, "Walk to me on this water", boom, you step on it and you are on your way! But, this lake was anything but glass, it says the boat was getting pounded by waves and the wind was against them. We're talking STORM here! So there Peter is, walking on the water in this crazy storm, and he starts looking around. He sees huge waves, the sails of the boat snapping and tugging, being beat by the wind. And he becomes scared.... well duh! I, like Peter am not perfect, and when the storms of life are around me, I tend to look at them instead of Jesus too. But, Peter knows who is help is in times of trouble, when he begins to sink he calls for Jesus. And Jesus takes his hand, and they walk back to the boat together in the midst of the storm. And that's the other thing, God isn't going to always calm the storms of out life, but He'll always be there to walk through them with us if we are willing to let Him

But that's the catch. We have to give it to Him. God will very rarely come just take our problems from us. He's there. He's willing. He's able. But it take us giving it to Him. Now that may sound like He doesn't care. Which is completely opposite. He's cares more then we can imagine. And because of how much He cares he DOESN'T get involved unless we are willing to release it.

Think about a car. There can only be one driver. Imagine if there were two steering wheels, two gas pedals, two brakes, and two drivers all only controlling one car? It would be a disaster! In the same way with our life, God and I can't both be in control at the same time. It just doesn't work.

This where God has been working on me. At one point I specifically remember Him asking me, "Do you trust me to be in control of this situation" and I said yes. Three times he asked me that, each time I said yes, I wanted Him in control, I wanted Him driving that car. Shortly after He took that situation and changed the direction that the car was driving. And honestly I still don't know where the car is headed. and a few times I've come really close to wrestling the steering wheel out of His hands. But I know this. I know that He is a good God. I know that He loves me more then anyone ever can or ever will I know that he wants whats best for my life more then I do. And if I can trust Him, He will take me to places I can never dream of.

As the title of this blog says "God+Me=God" but that only works if you add God   

PS, these are a couple of awesome worship songs that I have been listening to a lot:
Good Good Father - Chris Tomlin
Head to the Heart - United Pursuit

His Hand

Do you feel stuck
With nowhere to go
Do you feel 
Like you have nothing to show
Your life is racing by
Like you're at a nascar race
And nobody's noticing 
The tears on your face
Do you feel like you've slipped
Right out of His hand
You're lost 
And abandoned
And you've got no plan

But He's here's 
For you
He's walking right beside you 
'Cause He's been there too
There isn't a struggle that he hasn't faced
He looked death in the eye and he finished the race
And He gunna be with you 
Right through to the end. 
So if you're lost and abandoned
And you've got no plan
Reach up beside you
Cause He's holding out
His hand

You or God?

The story of Joseph and his getting some into slavery is often taught as a story about how God "works all things together for good for those who love him." Which is true. But there is another story line that is sometimes is missed. And that is the story of Joseph's trust in God. But not only his faith but how God grew him through trials. Because I don't think before he was sold into slavery he was the most humble guy. I mean he shared two separate dreams about how his family will bow down to him. Being one of the youngest of a large family I get it. I get the idea of wanting to be greater then my older siblings. But I think that God wanted to teach Joseph something. I think he wanted him to experience a lack of control and to rely completely on God. Cause Jacob (his dad) was a pretty wealthy guy. And we see in Gen 37:3 that "Now Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his sons". And even gave him a coat of many colors. He probably had a couple of servants and probably got whatever he wanted from his dad. And as we look at the story, he isn't the one who is out watching the sheep, its his older brothers. He is at home. So this is a little bit of speculation, but I think that Joseph might have been pretty conceited, and a little full of himself. And you know what that means... "God opposed the proud but gives grace to the humble." Now I'm not saying that Joseph was this horrible, awful person who God was going to teach a lesson too. No, that's not the point. He is the point I am trying to make. From our estimation Joseph was a God fearing man. And God wanted to do something great with him. But as will all great people in the bible, God needed them to experience the need. The need for HIM to be the center and their sole reliance. When Joseph went out to check on his brothers, God wasn't like "oh hey i have an idea to humble Joseph" It wasn't a coincidence that Reuben convinced them to not kill him immediately, but to put him in a pit. And it wasn't a coincidence that a caravan just happen to pass them by giving the brothers an opportunity to sell him into slavery. Now this is where the story hinges. Joseph has a choice. He could have been bitter at his brothers, and at God for putting him in that situation. And he had a lot of time to think about it. It was about a 200+ mile journey to get to Egypt from Canaan.
Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt; and Potiphar, an Egyptian officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the bodyguard, bought him from the Ishmaelites, who had taken him down there. The LORD was with Joseph, so he became a successful man. And he was in the house of his master, the Egyptian. Gen 39:1-2
We see what choice the Joseph made. He allowed this time to be a refining time for him. And to allow God to work within him, and when God is working in us he causes up to prosper. Cause God's plans are so much better then anything we can come up with on our own.

Who is going to run your life? You or God?
Your choice...

Frequency, Equalization, and Gardening

As a lot of you know I enjoy running sound. And while I wouldn't call myself great I think I can hold my own. So in the last year or so I have finally figured out just how EQ works in a sound system and how to make it do what you want it to do. So just so that everyone can understand where I am going with this let me give a quick overview of sound frequency. Basically we can hear sound that range from approx 60hz all the way up to approx 16Khz. If you want to know more about it check out this chart:

So back to why I am explaining all this. So the friend of mine who ended up really teaching me about EQ and how to properly use it explained to me a method of "Subtraction EQ." This method is where you find the frequencies that are bad, feeding back, or are not not supposed to be there and taking them out to just leave the good, clean sound of whatever is being played. 

So this week up at camp we were studying John 15:1-17 in our bible studies. That's the passage that talks about abiding in Christ and how He is the vine and we are the branches. And in verse 2 Jesus is talking and says "Every branch that bears fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit." So I was thinking about pruning and I was thinking about subtraction EQ. And I was thinking about how those 2 things were pretty similar when you boiled it down. God takes those areas of our life that are bad, distracting, or are not supposed to be there and cuts them off in the same way that when I heard a bad sound I take it out of the sound mix. Its that refining process that Peter talks about: 

In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
~ 1 Peter 1:6-9   

Depraved Indifferance

I found out about an interested law today. It is called Depraved Indifferance. 

"To constitute depraved indifference, the defendant's conduct must be 'so wanton, so deficient in a moral sense of concern, so lacking in regard for the life or lives of others, and so blameworthy as to warrant the same criminal liability as that which the law imposes upon a person who intentionally causes a crime. " ~Legal Definition

"DEPRAVED INDIFFERENCE TO HUMAN LIFE refers to a
person’s state of mind in recklessly engaging in conduct which
creates a grave risk of death. A person has a depraved
indifference to human life when that person has an utter disregard
for the value of human life – a willingness to act, not because he
or she means to cause grievous harm [to the person who is
killed], but because he or she simply does not care whether or not
grievous harm will result. In other words, a person who is
depravedly indifferent is not just willing to take a grossly
unreasonable risk to human life - - that person does not care how
the risk turns out. Depraved indifference to human life reflects
a wicked, evil or inhuman state of mind, as manifested by brutal,
heinous and despicable acts. It is evinced by conduct that is
wanton, deficient in a moral sense of concern, devoid of regard for 

the life or lives of others, and so blameworthy as to justify the
same criminal liability that the law imposes on a person who intentionally kills." 

~New York Courts

I think Eric Ludy sums it up well:

The Mask

Very few see you without it
It’s something you always put on
It has gotten so natural
We fool ourselves into thinking nothing’s wrong

Deception is the true name of the game
We call it putting a good foot forward
All we are doing is the “right thing”
Thats not true and we know it

What is that symbol of we we are thought to be
Got ripped off showing what we truly are
Could we put the pieces back together fast enough
So that nobody would ever notice

or

Would be allow the One
Who so wants us just to be real
To pick up the pieces of a shattered life
Which is filth to begin with

and to

Mold us
Transform us
Renew us
Restore us

would we

Slowly allow Him to shape us
Not into what we think we should be
Be who He has made us to be
A reflection

Of Himself

Its not about who you are
Its not about what you are
Its not about where you are
Its not about why you are
Its not about how you are

It is about who you are in Him
It is about what you are in Him

It is about where you are in Him

It is about why you are in Him

It is about how you are in Him

In Him
All things are made new

So take off the mask

Let God make you who He wants you to be

Foundations

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and great was its fall.”

So what is your foundation built on? I think we find out what it is really built on when the storms of life hit. Maybe we built on "Money." Or "Success", "Popularity", or the ever popular "Good Deeds." Some of those may be able to handle some rough seas. Maybe even a small storm. But what about the Hurricanes that hit? And trust me, everyone gets a few of those.  Those foundations will NOT stand. 

He only is my rock and my salvation, My stronghold; I shall not be shaken.

There is only ONE foundation that will NEVER move. It can take any storm. Whatever life throws its way, it is always dependable. And the Rock is Jesus Christ. 

But how do you make that your foundation? It's easy. Just use the "Blueprint In Building Life  Excellently" **

Follow that and allow God to do the work and its a foolproof plan for a successful foundation







**Also know as the BIBLE

God's Story

If you had asked me 3 months ago what my summer was going to look like I probably would have told you that I was going to try and get a job with Colorado Parks and Wildlife for the summer. If you asked me 2 months ago I probably would have said that I was going to continue with my job at Mardel and try and get a 2nd job and work as much as I can this summer. Well neither of those things happened. As most of you know I felt God calling me to be a camp counselor at Eagle Lake Camp this summer. So if you asked me a month a ago I would have said that I was going to do that all summer. Well that's not happening either. As most of you know there is this thing happening up in the mountains. We like to call it a "Wildfire." As of me writing this post to the best of my knowledge the camp has only been minorly burned (a few sheds and 1 cabin) but is pretty much fully intact. Praise Jesus! But the decision has been made that we are going to be canceling camp for the rest of the summer. I know that for the ELC leadership staff it was a hard decision to make but I believe that they made the right decision. 

So it has been 5 weeks since I went up to camp. A week and a half of orientation and training. 3 awesome, amazing, and crazy weeks of camp. And a few days waiting to hear what this fire is going to do next. So what does that mean for me? Well there is still some opportunities to do some mobile day camps with ELC (Please be praying that those opportunities open up) So assuming that we can do those I will be helping out with that plus whatever cleanup we can do at camp.

But what is this doing to me on a spiritual level? I would be lying if i said that I have completely been trusting God this whole time. I feel like this is a season that God is taking me and saying "Follow Me" wherever HE is leading me he just wants me to follow. This is not one of my strong suits. I don't mind following other people but I want to know where we are going. How we are going to get there. The route we are taking. What are our contingency plans in case something doesn't work right. I like to have that kind of stuff under control. I feel a little like Abram when God says "Leave you country, your people and your father's household, and go to the land I will show you." That's all the Abram gets. No road map. Just "Follow Me and I will show you the way" So as I am about to be moving on either to something different with ELC or maybe something completely different, my desire is to be following.

And He said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men." Matt 4:19

The Tale of Three Trees

"Once upon a mountain top, three little trees stood and dreamed of what they wanted to become when they grew up. The first little tree looked up at the stars and said: " I want to hold treasure. I want to be covered with gold and filled with precious stones. I'll be the most beautiful treasure chest in the world!" The second little tree looked out at the small stream trickling by on it's way to the ocean. " I want to be traveling mighty waters and carrying powerful kings. I'll be the strongest ship in the world! The third little tree looked down into the valley below where busy men and women worked in a busy town. I don't want to leave the mountain top at all. I want to grow so tall that when people stop to look at me they'll raise their eyes to heaven and think of God. I will be the tallest tree in the world. 

Years, passed. The rain came, the sun shone and the little trees grew tall. One day three wood cutters climbed the mountain. The first wood cutter looked at the first tree and said, "This tree is beautiful. It is perfect for me." With a swoop of his shining ax, the first tree fell. "Now I shall make a beautiful chest, I shall hold wonderful treasure!" the first tree said. The second wood cutter looked at the second tree and said, "This tree is strong. It's perfect for me." With a swoop of his shining ax, the second tree fell. "Now I shall sail mighty waters!" thought the second tree. " I shall be a strong ship for mighty kings!" The third tree felt her heart sink when the last wood cutter looked her way. She stood straight and tall and pointed bravely to heaven. But the wood cutter never even looked up. "Any kind of tree will do for me." He muttered. With a swoop of his shining ax, the third tree fell. 

The first tree rejoiced when the wood cutter brought her to a carpenter's shop. But the carpenter fashioned the tree into a feed box for animals. The once beautiful tree was not covered with gold, or treasure. She was coated with saw dust and filled with hay for hungry farm animals. The second tree smiled when the wood cutter took her to a shipyard, but no mighty sailing ship was made that day. Instead the once strong tree was hammered and awed into a simple fishing boat. She was too small and too weak to sail to an ocean, or even a river, instead she was taken to a little lake. The third tree was confused when the wood cutter cut her into strong beams and left her in a lumberyard. "What happened?" The once tall tree wondered. " All I ever wanted was to stay on the mountain top and point to God..." Many days and nights passed. The three trees nearly forgot their dreams. But one night, golden starlight poured over the first tree as a young woman placed her newborn baby in the feed box. "I wish I could make a cradle for him." Her husband whispered. The mother squeezed his hand and smiled as the starlight shone on the smooth and sturdy wood. " This manger is beautiful." She said. And suddenly the first tree knew he was holding the greatest treasure in the world. One evening a tired traveler and his friends crowded into the old fishing boat. The traveler fell asleep as the second tree quietly sailed out into the lake. Soon a thundering and a thrashing storm arose. The little tree shuddered. She new she did not have the strength to carry so many passengers safely through the wind and the rain. The tired man awoke. He stood up, stretched out his hand, and said, "Peace." The storm stopped as quickly as it had begun. And suddenly the second tree knew he was carrying the king of heaven and earth. One Friday morning, the third tree was startled when her beams were yanked from the forgotten wood pile. She flinched as she was carried through an angry jeering crowd. She shuddered when soldiers nailed a man's hand to her. She felt ugly and harsh and cruel. But on Sunday morning, when the sun rose and the earth trembled with joy beneath her, the third tree knew that God's love had changed everything. It had made the third tree strong. And every time people thought of the third tree, they would think of God. That was better than being the tallest tree in the world.

The next time you feel down because you didn't get what you wanted, sit tight and be happy because God is thinking of something better to give you."

~Edited by Angela Hunt.

Sweetly Broken

We sung this song in church today and I was just reminded how much I love this song. It's a pretty simple song but the lyrics are so true.

One of my favorite lines is: For on it my Savior both bruised and crushed. Showed that God is love. And God is just. 
The implication behind that verse is that God loved us SO much that he poured out His full wrath onto his completely blameless, perfect Son so that we can have a relationship with Him.

Listen.
Meditate.
Worship.
Rejoice.
Give Thanks.

Youtube - Sweetly Broken - Jeremy Riddle

To the cross I look, to the cross I cling
Of it's suffering I do drink
Of it's work I do sing


For on it my Savior both bruised and crushed
Showed that God is love
And God is just


At the cross You beckon me
You draw me gently to my knees, and I am
Lost for words, so lost in love,
I’m sweetly broken, wholly surrendered


What a priceless gift, undeserved life
Have I been given
Through Christ crucified


You’ve called me out of death
You’ve called me into life
And I was under Your wrath
Now through the cross I’m reconciled


In awe of the cross I must confess
How wondrous Your redeeming love and
How great is Your faithfulness

The Greatest Love

< Attention: This is a spoiler alert for Act of Valor. If you are going to see it please don't read the rest of this post until you do. If you do not plan on seeing it or have already seen it then you may continue >

So I had an interesting afternoon. After class I went with some friends to go see Act of Valor(AOV). Now as far as a movie goes it was quite well done. But normally when I watch a movie that has quite a bit of violence in it, as AOV does, it doesn't bother me too much because I know its just a movie. But with AOV it was a little different. There were still a lot of bad guys that got shot. And for the most part the Navy Seals came out mostly unharmed.

Until close to the end of the movie.

There is a scene where there are 4 Seals "sweeping" out a building. (Aka getting rid of bad guys.) They come into a room where there is a bad guy hiding up in the rafters. The guy drops a grenade right into the middle of the room. If it explodes all four team members will probably be pretty seriously hurt. The Seal on "Point" (in the front) who is also the head of this Seal team jumps on the grenade. He takes the blast saving the other 3 members.

The 1st thought that sprang to my mind was John 15:13
Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.

It really got me to thinking. Why did Jesus come to earth? What was his purpose and mission while here. He was on a rescue mission. He came to save us. And the way that had to be done?

He, Jesus, the Only Begotten Son of God. The Maker if the heavens and the earth. The Alpha and the Omega. The Begenning and the End. I AM. He jumped on the grenade for us. He took the full blast and fury of God Almighty's Holy and Just Wrath. "He who knew no sin, became sin on our behalf."

But here is the amazing part.

Go back the the verse from John 15.

Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.
So not only does Jesus, Son of God, Love us. He considered us friends. Yes. You and me. Dirty, rotten, filty-no-good sinners. Friends of God. 

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us
During worship at the MILL tonight I just kept being reminded of the depth, the heights, and just how great His Love is for us. (Yes we sung that song :D)

Just think about that for a while. The Creator and Supreme Ruler of the Universe loves me. And you.

Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
Amen

Trevor's Top Ten Quotes!

Ok so there aren't 10 on the list and they probably are not my actual top 10 but I liked the alliteration so I went with the title (Though it prob should have been something like "Trevor 7 quotes that he happens to like at this particular moment)

So here they are (in no particular order)

- True religion and true philosophy must arrive at the same point. ~ S.S. Smith

- A young man who wishes to remain a sound atheist cannot be too careful of his reading. ~ C.S. Lewis

- A government that robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul. ~ George Bernard Shaw

- “Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on; you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make any sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of - throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were being made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself.” ~ C.S. Lewis

-  I've noticed that everybody that is for abortion has already been born.  ~Ronald Reagan

- A real Christian is a person who can give his pet parrot to the town gossip. ~ Billy Graham

- A word to the wise ain't necessary - it's the stupid ones that need the advice. ~ Bill Cosby

Beauty

A man sat at a metro station in Washington DC and started to play the violin; it was a cold January morning. He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, it was calculated that 1,100 people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.

Three minutes went by, and a middle aged man noticed there was musician playing. He slowed his pace, and stopped for a few seconds, and then hurried up to meet his schedule.

A minute later, the violinist received his first dollar tip: a woman threw the money in the till and without stopping, and continued to walk.

A few minutes later, someone leaned against the wall to listen to him, but the man looked at his watch and started to walk again. Clearly he was late for work.

The one who paid the most attention was a 3 year old boy. His mother tagged him along, hurried, but the kid stopped to look at the violinist. Finally, the mother pushed hard, and the child continued to walk, turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. All the parents, without exception, forced them to move on.

In the 45 minutes the musician played, only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money, but continued to walk their normal pace. He collected $32. When he finished playing and silence took over, no one noticed it. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.

No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the most talented musicians in the world. He had just played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, on a violin worth $3.5 million dollars. Two days before his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out at a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100. 

This is a real story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste, and priorities of people. The outlines were: in a commonplace environment at an inappropriate hour: Do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize the talent in an unexpected context?

If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world playing the best music ever written, how many other things are we missing?


When I read this it got me to thinking. How often do we completely blow past the little glimpses of God's glory that he put out for us to see? Whether its a sunrise, a small flower popping up in the middle of a garden at the beginning of spring or maybe something kind someone say to us. A compliment or a word of thanks that might get missed in our ever busy and hectic world. 


It was funny. I actually read this this morning before I went to work but didn't have time to post it. While at work there were two separate occasions when 2 different 1-ish year old girls smiled at me, waved and said "HI". Now most of you know that I love kids. And both of those occasions brought a smile to my face and joy to my heart. 


Now I say that to say this. When you perceive beauty, stop. Smell the roses as the colloquialism goes. Take those moments to worship the one who made you and who made those moments.  

What was that?

Listen. How many time do we do that each day? My guess is more then you think. Maybe you're at Starbucks and listening to make sure they got your drink right. Or maybe you're on the other side and making sure that you get the customers drink right! Anyway you look at it, listening is not just a every once in a while thing. You are doing it all the time.
Now the listening I'm talking about here is stuff that if you miss something then really no big deal usually.


What about those times when you really need to pay attention? In today's culture do we take time to actually listen to other people? And what about listening to the Holy Spirit?


During this Christmas season it is almost impossible to go anywhere that isn't playing Christmas music. Its on at the store, its on in your car, it on at your house, you have it on your iPod, its EVERYWHERE. Now I would venture to say that it is this way year around. Probably not with Christmas music but the news, the latest podcast, music, or your favorite talk shows. We are inundated with noise! And while none of those things are necessarily wrong per-say, when they are always on we lose a chance to hear something else. That still small voice.
¹¹ So He said, “Go forth and stand on the mountain before the LORD.” And behold, the LORD was passing by! And a great and strong wind was rending the mountains and breaking in pieces the rocks before the LORD; but the LORDwas not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, butthe LORD was not in the earthquake. ¹² After the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of a gentle blowing. ¹³ When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. And behold, a voice came to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”  1 Kings 19:11-13


God wasn't in the great, strong wind. He wasn't in the earthquake. Nor was He in the fire. He was in the gentle blowing. Now when I think of gentle blowing I think of that being in the Colorado mountains next to an aspen grove. And you might not feel the breeze but you can see it moving through the top of those aspens. Not even noticeable unless you are looking for it. I feel like that is the way that God talks to us. Unless you are looking for it, pursuing and seeking after God, you might just miss what He has to say to you.    Now there are other ways that God speaks to you. Through what is commonly known as you "Conscience." For when Gentiles who do not have the Law do instinctively the things of the Law, these, not having the Law, are a law to themselves, ¹⁵ in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them, ¹⁶ on the day when, according to my gospel,God will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus. Romans 2: 14-16


You know what I'm talking about. As a kid did you really need someone to tell you that it was wrong to steal or lie? No, you knew that it was wrong in your heart. And that same conscience "pricks" us sometime as an adult. 
"You really shouldn't run that red light"
"It is really the best use of your time to play video games for 6 hours on end?"
"Haven't you been on Facebook just a little to long???" (Guilty as charged...)
We all have felt that nudge from the Holy Spirit now and then. Sometimes we "listen" and sometimes we just drown it out. 


Imagine if you will, a guy (lets call him... Bob) at work who walks around all day with his really nice, Bose noise-canceling headphones in and his music blasting. Bob doesn't take them out for meetings, phone calls, conversations. Nothing. At the end of the year there is this big project due. So the day before it's due Bob takes out his headphone while everyone else is finishing up last min details, making last min revisions and asks "Hey what do you want me to do?" Do you think anyone is going to answer? He hasn't been listening all along so why should they think that Bob is starting now?
Is that you and I sometimes with God? We are always immersed in everything else and he is trying to talk to us. Tell us whats going on. Tell us "The Plan." But we can't hear anything. And then when we really need to know the plan we quickly pop out of our loud environmental and are like "Hey God I need that plan like RIGHT NOW!" And God's like "I already told you the whole thing..."


I wonder how much we miss cause we aren't listening to God? If you look back at the great men of faith in history, from Moses to David. From St. Augustine to R.C. Sproul. These men had devoted prayer lives. And when I mean prayer lives I don't mean praying for hours on end for every little need they could think of. No, you see prayer is not your monologue to God. Its a conversation with the Creator of the universe. The Alpha and the Omega. The Beginning and End. The Always Has and the Always Will Be. The King of kings! And yet, He cares enough about you to not just listen to your grocery list of needs/wants/desires/ect. But he wants to have a relationship with you. So much so that He sent His own Son to die on the Cross for our sins. If that doesn't impact you then I don't know what will. Doesn't matter how many times you hear that truth. You hear it again and should just be in awe that the one who could have just destroyed us after Adam sinned, and started over. No! He loved us so much and desired relationship again that Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, ⁷ but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Phil 2:6-7 
This is the Christmas story. A story of a God who loved us. A story of one who left all his majesty to come to this earth and be born in a dirty stable. And have a bed of half eaten hay. This is the greatest story ever told. 


So this Christmas season, in the midst of shopping, working at a busy Christian retail establishment, planning parties, going to parties, making food, entertaining relatives, decorating, ect, ect, ect, ect. 
Make time to be silent. To listen. To hear what God wants to tell you. And to thank and worship the One who came for you. 

Long Time, No See

Well hello everybody.
Its been a while since my last post. I have tried to start 4-5 different post but they are all still in rough draft stages. Why you may ask? Well. They just haven't finished themselves yet. I'm sure that a few of them will eventually make the blog someday. But see the way i write blogs is to just kinda type for a while and see what has come out and go from there. Sometimes its bad. Sometimes its awful. Sometimes it works. (those would be the ones you see =D)


So why the hiatus? Well there are a couple of things.


1. This past 2-3ish months God has been really working on me. And I have to say that some of it hasn't been easy. In fact some of it has been downright hard. But I know that He is slowly trying to mold a stubborn me into the image of His Son. And while that is sometimes Un-Fun, there is a verse in 1 Peter that has helped.


So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you have to endure many trials for a little while. These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.  1 Peter 1:6-7 NLT


2. (Though its more like 1b ;D) For the 1st time in my life I have faced intense spiritual warfare. I knew that it existed, like when it says in Ephesians that our battle is not against flesh and blood but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. but until recently this was head knowledge that was "oh ya I believe in that stuff" but figured that it happened to "other" people. 


Let me tell you something. The devil IS a roaring lion. Seeking whom he may devour. And he will NOT give up. Well their may be "cease fires" at times this is the time when your defenses MUST be at their highest. When your defenses are down is when he will attack the hardest.


Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. ⁹ But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world. ¹⁰ After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect,confirm, strengthen and establish you. ¹¹ To Him be dominion forever and ever. Amen. 1 Pet 5:8-11 NASB




So that is what I have been up to. While this time has been some of the hardest of my life, I wouldn't give up what God has been molding me into during these trials.


"To Him be the dominion forever and ever. AMEN!!"

Erasing Hell??

So as most of you know I really enjoy Francis Chan's books, both Crazy Love and Forgotten God. Well he is coming out (releases July 5) with a new book, Erasing Hell. Now I could tell you what the book is about but I'd rather let him do that. And please take the 10 min it takes to watch and/or listen to this video cause what this book is about is more then just hell and whether it exist, ect. But this goes to the core of who we really are as Christians. When we say Jesus is Lord over all do we believe that? Do we believe that God is ACTUALLY a Just God?
Please watch:



Did it make you go hmmm?

See what so many people miss in the debate about hell is the simple fact that there might be people who are going to spend the rest of eternity separated from God. In eternal torment and utter damnation. Doesn't that make you stop? And if it doesn't, shouldn't that be a warning sign for you? The guy at the gas station, the lady at the fast food place, your co-workers, your boss, the person in the car next to you on the road, who among those people are not going to spend eternity in communion with God?

And what are YOU going to do about it?

"Your" Stuff????

The earth is the LORD'S, and all it contains,The world, and those who dwell in it.
Ps 24:1


I'm sure that you have all heard this verse before, but do you actually realize what it is saying? Every in/around/on/contained/happens on the earth belongs to Jesus. 


See if you look at the New Testament we see that Jesus is called "The firstborn of all creation." Now to understand what that actually means we are going to have to look at the Old Testament. If you look at the story of Jacob and Esau (Gen 27) we see how the firstborn was given the blessing of being the heir of his father's estate as well as the fact that the other kids were supposed to serve/worship the firstborn. 


So since Jesus is the "Firstborn" of all Christians then guess what??? (I thought you would never ask...) Our purpose on this earth is to worship and serve our "Older Brother!!" And everything on the earth is actually his and we are just supposed to "take care" of all of it for HIM!!!


So this begs the question. Why are we so selfish when it comes to "Stuff?" Or our time? "Where ever you treasure is, there is your heart also" 


So I challenge you. What is one thing in you life that you just "can't" give up? 


Whatever it is, do whatever it takes to make CHRIST the center of everything you do and everything you are!!

How can you not love Him?

The face that Moses had begged to see—was forbidden to see—was slapped bloody. 
The thorns that God had sent to curse the earth's rebellion now twisted around his own brow...

"On your back with you!" One raises a mallet to sink in the spike. But the soldier's heart must continue pumping as he readies the prisoner's wrist. Someone must sustain the soldier's life minute by minute, for no man has this power on his own. Who supplies breath to his lungs? Who gives energy to his cells? Who holds his molecules together? Only the Son do "all things hold together." The victim wills that the soldier lives on—he grants the warriors continued existence. The man swings.

As the man swings, the Son recalls how he and the Father first designed the medial nerve of the human forearm—the sensations it would be capable of. 


The design proves flawless—the nerve performs exquisitely. “Up you go!” They lifted the cross. God is on display in his underwear and can scarcely breathe.

But these pains are a mere warm-up to his other and growing dread. He begins to feels a foreign sensation. Somewhere during this day an unearthly foul odor began to waft, not around his nose, but his heart. He feels dirty. Human wickedness starts to crawl upon his spotless being—the living excrement from our souls. The apple of his Father’s eye turns brown with rot.

His Father! He must face his Father like this!

From heaven the Father now rouses himself like a lion disturbed, shakes his mane, and roars against the shriveling remnant of a man hanging on a cross. Never has the Son seen the Father look at him so, never felt even the least of his hot breath. But the roar shakes the unseen world and darkens the visible sky. The Son does not recognize these eyes.

“Son of Man! Why have you behaved so? You have cheated, lusted, stolen, gossiped—murdered, envied, hated, lied. You have cursed, robbed, overspent, overeaten—fornicated, disobeyed, embezzled, and blasphemed. Oh, the duties you have shirked, the children you have abandoned! Who has ever so ignored the poor, so played the coward, so belittled my name? Have you ever held your razor tongue? What a self-righteous, pitiful drunk—you, who molested young boys, peddle killer drugs, travel in cliques, and mock your parents. Who gave you the boldness to rig elections, foment revolutions, torture animals, and worship demons? Does the list never end! Splitting families, raping virgins, acting smugly, playing the pimp—buying politicians, practicing extortion, filming pornography, accepting bribes. You have burned down buildings, perfected terrorist tactics, founded false religions, traded in slaves—relishing each morsel and bragging about it all. I hate, loathe these things in you! Disgust for everything about you consumes me! Can you not feel my wrath?”

Of course the Son is innocent. He is blamelessness itself. The Father knows this. But the divine pair have an agreement, and the unthinkable must now take place. Jesus will be treated as if personally responsible for every sin ever committed.
The Father watches as his hearts treasure, the mirror-image of himself, sinks drowning into raw, liquid sin. Jehovah’s stored rage against humankind from every century explodes in a single direction.

"Father! Father! Why have you forsaken me?!"

But heaven stops its ears. The Son stares up at the One who cannot, who will not, reach down or reply.

The Trinity had planned it. The Son endured it. The Spirit enabled him. The Father rejected the Son whom he loved. Jesus, the God-man from Nazareth, perished. The Father accepted his sacrifice for sin and was satisfied. The Rescue was accomplished.


~From Joni Eareckson Tada's When God Weeps

Good Works....

Have you ever heard the idea that "Oh God will have to let me into heaven cause I did all this good stuff on earth"?

Well I can't remember where I heard this but I saw/heard a quote that said something like "Trying to save yourself by good works will never work because the motivation for your good works is simply an extension of you selfishness"

Which is really true. If you true to "earn" you way to heaven, you will fail every time.

"I am the way"~Jesus



Thats all for today. =D