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!!"
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Thursday, June 23, 2011
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?
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?
Friday, April 29, 2011
"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!!
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!!
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
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
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
Thursday, April 14, 2011
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
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
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Easter
Every year for the past 6 or so years during the Easter season, I have gone to a production that New Life Church puts on called "The Thorn" I'm sure many of you reading this have been to the Thorn sometime. It is one of the highlights of my year. Not only because I love good theater and drama, but because its almost like a refocusing on what Christ did for YOU and ME.
And while I could go on and on about that, there is something else I would like to focus on. A very small part that often goes un-noticed in the Easter story: Read here from Matt 27:15-26
So I'm sure we have all heard of Barabbas. How the crowd picked him over Jesus. But is there something deeper? In the Thorn it is referenced how possibly the 1st person to realize what Jesus was doing was Barabbas. He was supposed to be in Jesus' place. (We aren't specifically told that but can imply it from the text that he was a dangerous criminal and would have possibly been executed) He should have been the one to have been beaten and crucified.
Aren't we are all Barabbas'. We have all done horrible things deserving (eternal) death. But Jesus took our place.
"He who knew NO sin became sin on our behalf"
"By His stripes we are healed"
As we enter this Easter season, While it is nice to think about the grave and the empty tomb let us not forget the price that Jesus paid for each and everyone of us.
THIS is how much he loves us (here is a link to a friend's blog to a post that she did which is really powerful): Forgiveness
And while I could go on and on about that, there is something else I would like to focus on. A very small part that often goes un-noticed in the Easter story: Read here from Matt 27:15-26
15Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to release for the people any one prisoner whom they wanted. 16At that time they were holding a notorious prisoner, called Barabbas. 17So when the people gathered together, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release for you? Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?” 18For he knew that because of envy they had handed Him over.
19While he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent him a message,saying, “Have nothing to do with that righteous Man; for last night I suffered greatly in a dream because of Him.” 20But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas and to put Jesus to death. 21But the governor said to them, “Which of the two do you want me to release for you?” And they said, “Barabbas.” 22Pilate said to them, “Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” They all said, “Crucify Him!” 23And he said, “Why, what evil has He done?” But they kept shouting all the more, saying, “Crucify Him!”
24When Pilate saw that he was accomplishing nothing, but rather that a riot was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this Man’s blood; see to that yourselves.” 25And all the people said, “His blood shall be on us and on our children!” 26Then he released Barabbas for them; but after having Jesus scourged, he handed Him over to be crucified.
Aren't we are all Barabbas'. We have all done horrible things deserving (eternal) death. But Jesus took our place.
"He who knew NO sin became sin on our behalf"
"By His stripes we are healed"
As we enter this Easter season, While it is nice to think about the grave and the empty tomb let us not forget the price that Jesus paid for each and everyone of us.
THIS is how much he loves us (here is a link to a friend's blog to a post that she did which is really powerful): Forgiveness
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