A Straight Path

I want to first start off by saying, that some may be offended by truth. But we all do need to seek deeper truth. We need to speak truth even if people don't always like hearing it. The truth is that Jesus is God, who is the only way to God the Father. The Son is the only way to the Father, because the Son bore the sins of those who believe in Him. God also then allows us to receive the Holy Spirit. God the Holy Spirit dwells within us, and begins to work through us. Followers of the true Jesus are given new life, and considered to be "born again". Because God saved us, it should be our joy to worship Him with our lives. The truth is that Jesus is a huge scandal to the world. People hated Jesus. People killed Jesus. And many of His disciples n apostles were willing to follow Christ till death. Yes they offended many people, and caused chaos wherever they went. But they also preached and saved those who would listen. In the same way, i want to live in that same boldness of faith and obedience. People will either be offended by the gospel, or saved for eternity. People that lack a relationship with Jesus Christ, are looking all around for something to live for. And many Christians that know Christ are hiding their light under a bowl. We can't be ashamed of the gospel. How will people know we're Christians if we look and act like everyone else? The evidence that one is a Christian, is that they are still a Christian and bear good fruit. People who are truly justified in Christ, need to continue their walk and do whatever it takes to get into a even deeper relationship with God.

"The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned."
-1Corthians 2:14

Pagans don't want to know Christ. They feel content with how their life is. I have met dozens of people who say "I dont need God." or "I can get through this life without him." People are drowning in water, and are refusing the hand of the lifeguard. Then many will say, "Your God is unjust." And will try to argue attacks on scripture, pull out verses out of context, and do everything they can to refute the message of the gospel. Common beliefs that i've heard are... "Well dont all religions lead to God? I think as long as ur a sincere person, and seem good enough, then thats all you need to do." or "The bible is false because it is written by men. Jesus was just a good man, not God. The bible is too old to be credible." The bottom line is that they really don't want God. The bible doesnt accommodate their preexisting mind set. God showed Pharaoh numerous signs of His authority over man, and yet Pharaoh hardened his heart, and was stubborn in His pride. I would imagine Pharaoh saying "Your not God, I am! Look at my city! I have everything i could ever need or want. I am King! I call the shots! Your ridiculous Moses. I dont need your made up God." Then God also mentions that when He does return, many people will hafta face God's judgement and wrath. God will give just punishment for sins. People will know that God does exist, and that He really is Lord above all.

Being a Christian, means your willing to give up everything for God. It means that you constantly rely on God. That you have a intimate and direct relationship with God. That you would want nothing else but God. There is absolutely no way in which we can save ourselves. Salvation is not something we can gain on our own. We are totally depraved, without Jesus as our Savior. Being a real Christian means repenting of our sins and believing in our hearts that Jesus is Lord. Even if there were no reward in heaven, the joy of knowing the Lord would still make it worth while. But as Christians, we should rejoice in all circumstances and suffering, for our ultimate reward (spending time with God for all eternity) is in heaven. God has prepared a wonderful place, where we can see Him face to face. God isnt just holy. God is HOLY! HOLY! HOLY!!! Can u imagine being completely engulfed in His warm, infinite, eternal, pure and perfect love? Well if you get a small taste of His love, ur gonna want more and more of Him. If you experience His love, you're gonna wanna get as close to Him as possible. For God to love me so much and to call me His child, just completely blows my mind. And what i dont get, is how people could miss out or not even want to get to know Him. I would seriously trade all the marbles in the world for God. He's worth everything, plus a bag of everything. As believers, we need to make sure we're growing in His love and taking at least one step closer to Him everyday.

Another thing ive been wondering for a while is, could one possibly know God without knowing Jesus? Many people consider themselves "spiritually inclined". I dont think people can truly know God, without knowing Christ. Although i think you can have a trust in God, but not really know exactly who He is. I think u can have faith that Australia does exist, even if u havnt actually been to Australia. I think u could know Michael Jordan's stats, height, and home city. But it's completely different to personally know and live with Mike. But can people truly experience God without knowing Christ? I think so. I think God does comfort people, and that perhaps people can come to an understanding that there is a God. But i dont think you can truly personally know Him, unless you have come to Christ. Will God save people from other religions? Im not sure, thats up to God. I know not all people who claimed to be "Christian" will enter the kingdom of heaven. But what about people who say that they believe in God, but deny basic biblical doctrines? I really dunno. No1 truly knows how God will judge His believers. The bible promises over and over that if we confess in our hearts that Jesus is Lord, we will be saved. But is there a salvation for others?

"As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." -Isaiah 55:9

Encouraging others to pursue a closer relationship with Christ is the most productive thing we could do to show God's love. But as individuals, all we need to do is Love God. We need to take hold of God's forgiveness of sins. We are only justified (made right with God) by living in Christ's atonement. Sometimes it gets really tough, because we can't always explain why God does things. He surpasses all understanding because that's how far He is above us. However, He does allow us to see a glimpse of who He is through His Word/Son.

"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' -Matthew 22:36-39
"Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth."
-John 1:12-14

"Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved." -Acts 4:12

"All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and no one knows who the Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him." -Luke 10:22

Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." -John 14:6


This Christmas season ive been noticing two Big M's. No not delicious M&M's. But the strong effects of Media and Materialism. If you know me, then u kinda know that im against worldly stuff. Our Messiah descended from heaven to live IN this world, but not OF this world. In the same way, we need to be relevant to people in our culture, but not follow the mainstream thinking of our culture. I titled this blog a straight path, because we need to be direct and confident in our pursuit. We cannot be walking on a crooked path to Jesus. We need to get our heads on straight, and be careful when we get closer to gray areas. We cannot allow ourselves to become pharisees. God calls us to be Holy as He is Holy. We need to constantly examine ourselves and live with integrity.

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths straight." -Proverbs 3:5-6

In Matthew 5, Jesus gives the sermon on the mount and draws out how we should live. Jesus spoke of the beatitudes and then goes on to call us the Salt and Light of the world. But what good is salt that loses it's saltiness? What good is a light hidden under a bowl? We need a radical reformission. Many people all around the world are praying day and night for a revival. The first fruits of an awaking is prayer. God can win the world all by Himself, but He calls us to be apart of His perfect will. So we need to conform to His word, and start regenerating hearts towards Him. God does all the saving, but tells us to let His love flow through us. We need need need to start to love on people more. We need to smell like the aroma of God, to lead others to God. Jesus already set the example for us. So now we need to do our best to die to ourselves, follow His perfect example and allow the Holy Spirit take over. God tells us not to be afraid to take hold of His promises. We shouldn't be afraid to let our light shine. Lets live as God wants us to live.

"If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self?" -Luke 9:23-25

Inappropriate Media really turns me off. I can't stand watching or listening to such worldly things. Often times our conversations are of worldly things we hear in media. I'll be the first to admit that i have quoted sexual jokes and supported some wrong influences of media. It's funny to the flesh. It's easy to follow the world. But that doesn't justify it. God hates all iniquities of evil. He sits in theaters and breaks down over the fact that we're enjoying movies that disgrace God. Media tells teenagers all across America that it's normal to have this wrong behavior. What are the values in movies? What are children learning from their televisions. Sometimes i just want to throw up over my own fleshy desire of media. No not all media is bad. But you don't have to look very far to witness something that God disapproves of. And let me say it again, I fall into this sin quite often. We're not perfect, but it's important that we strive for righteousness.

My goal is to change worldly conversations into more God-pleasing conversations. As Christians, we should know better. We no longer have an excuse for sinning. Sin often seems harmful. It wouldnt hurt to watch sin. It wouldnt hurt to talk about sin. It wouldnt hurt to talk negatively about someone. And honestly that's how satan works. He tempts us by telling us that sin is alright. It's okay, becuz everyone else does it, its cool, its normal, don't worry about it. God is still convicting me over the influence of media. God says, "Chris, You watch yourself carefully." God hates sin, and so should we.

Walking around the mall, attempting to get some shopping done, I observed how consumed we are by materialism. We have such a value for material wealth. To be straight up, yeah i can be very materialistic. I often fall into, buying nice accessories, because in our society we have such high values of our appearances. We put so much emphasis on what other people think about us. Who cares!

Is it wrong to have stuff? No. But do we really need another pair of shoes, or another shirt to add to our closet? Now days, we have such unnecessary wealth. We dont need all this stuff! Piper says wealth is almost always a curse. We figure, if i just have a ______, then ill be happy. We dont need ipods, expensive cars, big houses, rich jewelry, and other stuff of that nature. We put way too much value on money. The bible warns us over and over again, that this life isn't about finical gain. We really rob God, because it's really God's money. We get so caught up with riches, and over the love of money. Jesus preached more about money n wealth more than anything else. He warns that we can't serve two masters. We can't love both God and money.

Im lastly very upset about how many evangelical preachers have corrupted the prosperity gospel. Many preach about "Word of Faith". That what you desire and speak of, you create. People love hearing books like The Secret, because they are taught to attract what they desire. Yeah it's true.. u do get what u chase after. U chase after money, sure u'll probably be super successful. But to say that God desires all of us to be super wealthy is a heresy. Sure some of these preachers have mega churches, huge houses, have best seller books, and are super seeker friendly. But we need to ask ourselves is this of the Holy Spirit? Wolves disguised as shepherds will lead many astray, and prevent others from walking through the narrow gate. Im so sick of false preaching, that i dont feel like talking about it anymore, lol

A few nights ago i had a dream that mark was on my right, and sara was on my left. We we're sitting at the beach, next to a small wooden house. i wont go into detail, but anyways.. On sunday at church, mark happened to be on my right, and sara on my left. As Waxer was saying the closing prayer, i felt something tremendous rush inside me. I felt like i was receiving some sort of energy flow from mark and sara, that began to fill my spirit up full. I really cant explain it too well, but my heart stopped beating for a few seconds, my stomach got tight, and my insides began to tremble a little. Ive actually had quite a few experiences similar to this before, Where i can actually feel the Holy Spirit moving through me. But because im such an imaginative guy, i cant help but wonder if this is what i was truly experiencing. I always imagine shooting ice beam blast, having element manipulating super powers, and shooting other dbz/naruto attacks. But physically feeling encounters with the Holy Spirit are often too real to say that it's just my imagination.

"We're not called to build empires, we're not called to be accepted, we're called to glorify God." -Paul Washer

A Walk with God

Wow. i am stunned with amazement right now. I just got back from a walk with God. I did some devotions in Job, and basically heard Him telling me to go for a run. So i put on my socks, and rushed out the door, and then went back inside cuz i forgot to take out the trash and grab my keys.. i was just completely excited to go running. I normally go running twice a week, but this run was incredible. It seems every time i sit down with God, i learn a list of stuff. So i jus sprinted home to blog, in hopes that i would retain it all, lol (make sure u read da verses, n not jus pass over them)

LEts start with the meat. Even though the other stuff is pretty cheesy, lol.. okay where was i.. Oh yeah, the biggest thing i learned is NOT to think. I know thats super confusing, because a few blogs ago i sed how important it is to think.

"..Therefore be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray." (1Peter4:7)

Okay so stop thinking....... i said stop thinking......Stop thinking!! ...see your still thinking!! Its extremely hard to clear your thoughts. This is super hard to explain, but i know i experienced it a few times today. It really only happened for a few seconds at a time, but i was able to lose my thoughts. I blanked out, I was dumbfounded, and it was like i didnt know who i was, or like I was no longer myself.

"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." (Gal 2:20)

These few seconds blew my mind away. I felt like i was truly starting to learn what dying to your self was like. My thoughts were gone, and He took over my mind. I was stunned into reality, realizing that everything is rubbish compared to Christ. All you need in life is God. I dont really know how to explain it. The most productive and profitable thing we could do in a day, is spend time with God. One reason God speaks to a lot of people in dreams, is because that's when their minds n thoughts are most relaxed. The more we feed our little heads with knowledge, n love for God, the more we will be able to hear Him while we're asleep. The greater that one seeks God, the more one will find God. The greater that one desires God, the more one will receive from God.

"But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ." (Phil 3:7-8)

Lose yourself. Die to yourself, and be clear minded. Then live by the Spirit. Our spirits our intertwined with the living God. As the Creator, He wanted to be connected to His creation. Let Him take over, Stop thinking, Just love, Be obedient, Do as He leads, Nothing else matters. Dont do what you want to do, Just do what He wants you to do. Sometimes i wish i really were a robot. If i were a robot, I wouldnt think for myself. God would have His complete way with me. I would live completely for Him, and not get in the way of myself. But because we arnt robots, He allows us to make that decision on our own. Will i chase after God? Will i obey Him? Will i live for Him? Whats most important? Do i want Him? Do i love Him?

"So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want." (Gal 5:16-17)

I used to be a wanna-be psychologist. I love psychology. Why? Because i love observing. I'm huge on observation, thinking, pondering, reflecting, questioning, and seeking understanding. Yes sometimes i over think, n take stuff too seriously at times, but today i really learned a lot through observation.

Heres some stuff i observed as i went walking. I observed Birds. Birds stuck out to me like crazy today. I sat in silence, and heard all sorts of chirping, tweeting, and callings. I saw birds pick at the bugs in the grass, I saw them cruising from house to house, I saw them following each other, I saw them flying, i basically saw them everywhere. Then i saw this one bird swoop down from a tree right towards me, as if God were speaking through it. All it did was soar, and glide through the sky, without flapping it's wings. It was glorious. lol.. Sometimes in life we try so hard to fly, we flap and flap and don't allow God to take over. Just trusting that the wind will keep us and guide us, even through the pouring rain.

Ah rain was another thing i observed. I got to take a short nap on the field, as i let the rain drizzle on my face. I heard it gently hitting the grass right next to me. It was a peaceful rain. It was as if God's love we're pouring down all around me. Washing away the filth, and cleansing me. I basically took a shower in God's love. lol, I think a nearby woman in her house was kinda weirded out, because i was jus randomly sleeping in the rain.

I observed dogs. Dogs genuinely smile. Why not? Life is good! People will pick up ur doodoo! Dogs have it good. I met a few dogs, barking at me from their balcony. And observed a man talking to his dog, while walking. I observed a man and his love for his companion.

I observed human interaction. A neighbor said, "Hey im coming over for some of your apple pie tonight!" lol. I also observed a son helping his father move some furniture. And a daughter asking her mother for something to eat. These sons and daughters, will one day be fathers and mothers. Generations will past, people will come and go, but God will remain the same forever.

Lastly i observed God. It's honestly harder to observe the invisible. But you dont have to look very far for Him. He is all around. In the birds, dogs, clouds, trees, rain, wind, and even in people. We can learn so much through just observation. One day will get to observe God with our own eyes, face to face. Wouldn't that be nuts!

"I know that my Redeemer lives,
and that in the end he will stand upon the earth.

And after my skin has been destroyed,
yet in my flesh I will see God;

I myself will see him
with my own eyes—I, and not another.
How my heart yearns within me! (Job 19:25-27)

I did get a few visions, and im still not sure what they mean. I saw the stars, then the world, a sword, and then birds. These were the signs or symbols He choose to reveal to me, and i still need to meditate on it more. Sometimes we dont always have convictions, or realizations when we meditate. But one thing is sure, He restores us when we spend time with Him. It's like recharging our cell phone battery.

"Submit to God and be at peace with him;
in this way prosperity will come to you.

Accept instruction from his mouth
and lay up his words in your heart.

If you return to the Almighty, you will be restored."
(Job 22:22-23)

As i was meditating in stillness, I observed God's wisdom. Our little minds dont even come close to God's surpassing wisdom. I lied down and prayed.. "God........................ Amen." God knows all our thoughts before they are even formed. So we honestly dont need to think, He knows and examines our hearts.

"Where then does wisdom come from?
Where does understanding dwell?

It is hidden from the eyes of every living thing,
concealed even from the birds of the air.

Destruction and Death say,
'Only a rumor of it has reached our ears.'

God understands the way to it
and he alone knows where it dwells,

for he views the ends of the earth
and sees everything under the heavens.

When he established the force of the wind
and measured out the waters,

when he made a decree for the rain
and a path for the thunderstorm,

then he looked at wisdom and appraised it;
he confirmed it and tested it.

And he said to man,
'The fear of the Lord—that is wisdom,
and to shun evil is understanding.' " (Job 28:20-28)

I learned a lot about culture from Driscoll. We do need to be relevant like Jesus was. Jesus didnt stand above culture as the pharisees did. He changed the culture by changing individuals. You see the problem isnt our culture. The problem lies within people's hearts. Sin is the problem. The culture is portraying what vast individuals follow. So in order to change whats on the loud speakers, we need to change the music the band plays. The source is changing individuals, and the solution is being more concerned for others. Today's culture is loud, we have loud cars n motorcycles zooming by, people doing business over cell phones, the loud media and pop music influencing us. We're concerned about our appearances, health, friends, hobbies, careers, and basically concerned for ourselves. When we have spiritually blind people all around us, who are completely lost in darkness. God is calling us Christians to step up our game. We need to share God's love with everyone we meet.

No, Love isn't God. People make good works, love, and spirituality into what God is. Love isnt God, But God is love. Sometimes God expresses His love through being a God of anger, wrath, judgment, and justice. Sometimes the most loving thing we can do, is destroy someone. The cross is offensive. And we can't be tippy toeing around hoping we don't get someone angry. If your neighbor is sleeping in a burning building, the most loving thing u can do is wake them up, and show them the fire. We need to hate sin, and refute religions. Even some Christians think that all we need to do is follow the religion life of it.

Driscoll mentions that we shouldn't jus feed the sheep, and pray for the shepherds. We need to rebuke the swine, shoot down the wolves, and bark at the dogs. Sometimes i hold my tongue becuz i dont want to offend someone. But im starting to realize that we need to tell people the truth, even if they dont want to hear it. God says the sheep will be separated from the goats, and even families will be divided. If we claim to love God, we must feed His sheep, obey His commands, offer our lives as living sacrifices, renew our minds, be holy, pure, blameless and righteous in His sight. Sounds like quite a load to live out. But it's all summed up Matt 22:37, to "Love the Lord your God, with all your heart and with all your soul, and with all your mind." So is my entire heart joyful? Does my soul sing praises? What's on our minds most? Luke 12:34 says "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

Repentance

Today after service we had an epic meeting. Normally we all just pull our heads together, to debrief events, and plan for the upcoming. But today was different. Our youth pastor thought it was necessary to pause for a moment. He basically noticed that everyone is in a busy busy season. Some probably did feel like we were drifting from God, or at least not getting much closer. There was some emotional pain that some of us were experiencing. I dont find it appropriate to get into specifics, but one of our members was really suffering from his sins.

My friend stood up and started to share what had happened to him. He basically shared some sins that he fell into. I could tell that it really took a lot of courage to tell us of the things that he did. I can tell that his guilt was eating him from the inside. He felt miserable for his sins, and was strong enough to tell us specifically what happened. I was blown away by this, because very few Christians are willing to confess their deep sins to another. Our team then laid hands on him, as we began to pray for him.

Our youth pastor then expressed his thoughts, and love he had for the team. Its rare that i get to experience someone expressing their deep compassion. We arnt just a bunch of volunteers doing a youth ministry, we are a body, united in Christ. As Christians we need to have deeper conversations, that expand our outlook on life. We need to not give up meeting with each other, and encourage one another in love. We need to help clothe each other with the armor of God. Prepared, and ready to handle any situation.

This also reminded me that we're all just humans. We all have fallen into sin, and we all fall short. Sometimes we focus n rely too much on ministry and forget to grow in our own relationship with Christ. I was also reminded on how important it is to keep pressing toward God. And how important it is to have joy in the Lord. Christ is not an accessory. God is everything, and without Him we are nothing.

I've been going through a lot of spiritual ups and downs. Lately, there's just too many things on my mind, and i allowed them to consume my thoughts. I became first in my thoughts, and kinda pushed Christ on the side. I lost that extreme desire, and got lazy over devotions. I didn't spend enough time with God. I forgot how to wait in stillness. I forgot how to really pray to Him. I lost intimacy. I took a long break from reading His word, and did what I wanted to do. I gave into my flesh, and was tempted by the world. When it pours down crazy rain (like all this week), we need to carefully drive and slow down. When it rains, our windshields fogs up, we have a hard time seeing, and the roads get swamped with dangerous water. When life gets busy, we need to make sure we slow down and put in extra effort in our relationship with God, otherwise we might fall into a pot hole of water and crash.

Tonight i looked at a paper, which listed all my really evident encounters with God. And i noticed that they all pointed back to prayer. In my life, I encountered God the most, when i was in deep prayer. In many of these past times, i was in rough situations, and pleaded God for His healing. Today was just a huge reminder on how we need to continue to seek God.

Then you will call,
and the LORD will answer;
you will cry for help,
and he will say: Here am I. (Isa 58:9)

But if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find him if you look for him with all your heart and with all your soul.(Deut 4:29)
Another big thing i relearned is that we need to keep up with Repentance. We need to continue to meet up with other believers who will sharpen us. We need strict and consistent accountability. Now days we've become too lazy to keep up with accountability, but it definitely is a must. We need to confess our sins to each other, to help each other grow. But more importantly we need to confess our sins to God. So many salvation messages only preach to believe in God. But in Mark ch1, it says to Repent and Believe. Why would God forgive us of something we arnt even sorry for? Repentance is also part of sanctification, basically saying "Hey God im sorry and sick of my sin, I want nothing more to do with it. Forgive me Lord." We need to see our sins, and be specific in our repentance. Please check out these verses..

Seek the LORD while he may be found;
call on him while he is near.
Let the wicked forsake his way
and the evil man his thoughts.
Let him turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on him,
and to our God, for he will freely pardon. (Isa 55:6-7)

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

Listening to John MacArthur while Mark was driving home one day, MacArthur pointed out Matt 18. Please go look at the chapter. Pastors and leaders often use Matt 18, saying "For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them." They use that to say, hey God's presence is with us if two or tree of us are gathered together. The real meaning of the context is talking about confessing sins to each other. He even spoke of confessing our sins to the church. Sin is a big deal. Sin is man's greatest problem. And yet we try to hide our sins in shame, pretending as if they dont exist.

Heavenly Father, I pray for my friend who is recovering from many struggles. Lift him up from his guilt, and allow him to continue pressing towards you. Its quite easy for us to condemn ourselves, and each other for our mistakes, but i pray that you allow him to forgive himself, and that you would strengthen him through this trial. Lord I pray for my other friends in general. Give them comfort as they deal with a heavy load of stress n worry. Allow them to surrender their loads to you. For we know that in all things you work for the good of those who love you. God i pray for my family. Sometimes we all hide our pain, and our pain gets worst inside. Many are dealing with depression, because of frustrations. Grab their sorrows, and instill your rest upon their hearts. That they would seek you in all things.

Lord, help us to stay connected to the vine. You tell us produce fruit in keeping with repentance. You tell us over and over in the bible to Repent of our evil ways. So Lord, i repent for my sinful pride. I know that you're King above all, Ruler of all universes, Author of life, and yet i still try to write my own story, n do things my way. Continue to work in me Lord. Change my thoughts, change my heart, and change my sinful ways. Ive been slacking in my relationship with you, i've been selfish, and i lost some desire. Please continue to discipline me. Grow the Holy Spirit huge within me, so I can walk in your direction, and not mine. Im sick of my sins and my big headed ways. Your da boss, so remind me to do everything your way. Help me to be obedient, and stir up a greater passion for you. Teach me how to meditate and fall into deep prayer. God i need to be desperate for you. I can't even love you without your help. Take over, and have ur way with me. Thank you God for being our Perfect Lamb, and Perfect Shepherd. Help me to shepherd your people, and help me not to give up meeting with other believers. Open my eyes, ears and heart, and speak to me in whatever way you do. Open up my bad reception, so i can hear your voice clearer. Guide me, lead me, and conform me to your word. Im desperate for you God. Our world needs more of you, so help people to seek you and want more of you. Also help me to pray for others, help me to be broken and hurt over those who are in pain. You hear these cries Lord, and I thank you for being a God of comfort. Help us to see, that whatever we go through, you are still mighty and in charge. I want more and more of you. Continue to build up my admiration, gratitude, desire, and love for you. God, You are just so ridiculously crazy awesome! Continue to pour down your amazing love. Amen.

Fustration

My thoughts were all jumbled up jus a while ago. I was kinda upset, sad and confused. I dont really want to go into details, but lets jus say i have alot of emotions over a conflict. So first i took a nap, to rest off some of the pain, then went to the gym to get out any resentment, then finally went out to walk to my secret place to find rest. This amazing Christian woman saw me sitting down, and apparently she told me that this isnt jus my secret place. Tons of ppl come to take in the peaceful view. So while i got to play with her dog, we talked about life. It was really great to talk about personal things we're experiencing, and jus talk about God to some random person. I think God sent her to help reveal some things to me.

As i sat there on the grass, i realized again, that no matter what happens, God is still sovereign. God will still give us peace and strength even through the blizzards and tornadoes of life. I think she just reminded me how important it is to pray, and let God take control. Yes, these are things we hear over and over, but its been hard for me to actually apply living out what i learn.

In ministry we need to make sure we're doing things right. Yeah no church or ministry is perfect, but its still pivotal to examine areas we need to work on. If we think nothings wrong with our computer, then bugs and viruses will slow down our computer. But if we say hey, maybe we should make sure everything is working properly, that way we can fix any problems. If we dont carefully try to improve areas in which ministry lacks in, then no ones gonna see any problem, and eventually the computer will crash. Im not saying we should focus on the negatives, which can get in the way of ministry, but we should at least consider how we can solve any underlying problems. Avoiding a problem doesnt make it go away. Its super important to see where we're going, and how were doing that.

Im probably not making any sense.T he bottom line is that all we need Jesus. Jesus needs to be the core of our lives, relationships and ministry. Our main concern should be, What would Jesus do? How would Jesus do it? How do we become more like Jesus? How do we love like Jesus? We need to be as close to Christ as possible. We need to be one in His spirit, and live according to His will.

God im going through some rough trials. Ive been condemning myself, and getting in my own way of you. God all i want to do is live for you, but sometimes i have a really hard time. Help me to see clearly. Im so lost without you. God thank you for always being there. Help me to trust you more. And help me to love you more. Take over. Take it all. Im tired of trying to do things my way. Its not about me, its all about You. Everything is about You. I love you Lord, I want more of you, fill me up with your spirit. I surrender all to you. Thank you Lord. Amen.

How Great

Over this past semester, i felt extremely overwhelmed. Ive been tryin to juggle 17credits, Campus Crusades, Epic ministry, bible studies, n while trying to keep up spiritually, mentally, physically, and socially. Brah, my plate is so full, da kine food stay falling off already! I felt like i couldnt invest my 100% into one area. My energy gets split up into all different areas. I constantly have schedule problems, and often hafta be at 2-3 places at one time. I got tired easily. And whenever i was free, i would jus want to knockout. School grades dramatically dropped down hill, connections with friends slowly started to fade, i lost like 15 pounds since summer, i was inconsistent with church n devotions, i had no time for the gym, bball or surf, i encountered some friend conflicts, I wasnt always home to support my mom, and then now God's calling me to more?! I thought adding another high school ministry to the load would jus make my flimsy little plate break. This all built up into one big stress ball and caused me to slowly drift away from God. Finally you break down, you reach your limit, and realize that you cant do everything. You feel like u need cut down in some area, and jus learn to say no to anything more. But den, i found one trick.

K so listen up ppls! heres the big juicy part! This truth is even deeper than the ocean, so i need need need ur sharp attention! No rush, read slow, and really think about these quotes im blogging k? Lately, God revealed some HUGE HUGE HUGE revelations slash convictions of truth to me. I learned a good amount from reading some books and listening to sermons on the radio a lot. And in dis one book, a girl quite simply said..

"If you're in love with Christ on a daily basis, the rest takes care of itself. If your in love with Jesus, you don't have to worry about anything else." -Ichabod Caine

HO SHNIKIES!! All you hafta do is love Jesus!! All you hafta do is love God and the rest will come naturally! We think, "Oh im supposed to pray, Oh i should evangelize, Oh i need to read His word, oh i need to do some good works, Oh i ought to be nice to ppl" But hey.. if ur loving God.. then all that will follow! It no longer becomes what we SHOULD do, or what we NEED to do. It becomes what you WANT to do! And what you LOVE to do! We feel like theres jus so much to do. But really it comes down to, "Hey am i loving Jesus?".

When you love God, admiration, devotion, ministry, praise, evangelism, trust, faith, works, worship, prayer, and humility will all follow. Are u serious?! Is that it?! Yups, all we hafta do is love God. But now how do we truly do that? Well i always go back to how God best demonstrated His love for us.

"We love because he first loved us." (1 John 4:19)

"When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins." (Col 2:13)

"God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." (2Cor 5:21)

And there is no God apart from me,
a righteous God and a Savior;
there is none but me.
"Turn to me and be saved,
all you ends of the earth;
for I am God, and there is no other." (Isa 45:21-22)

Okay most of you already kno da salvation message, and could find dozens of verses on how God pulled us out of death, forgave our sins, and gave us new life. But hey.. didja ever wonder "What if living for Christ, didnt have a eternal reward in heaven? What if there was no heaven, would u still live for Christ?" Driscoll writes..

"After all, even if there were no life after death, the joys of belonging to Jesus during this life would, by themselves, make it worthwhile to be a Christian." -Mark Driscoll

OH SHNAPAZOIDS!! thats so true. Many ppl become Christians not because they want to love Jesus, but because they want the benefits of salvation, and eternal life in heaven. Its like cleaning your room. When i was a little person, my mom used to say "Clean up ur room, and ill give u some money to buy a toy!" Cuz toys are cool. But yeah, in retrospect, it still woulda be worth it to clean my room of all the junk, even if i didnt get a reward at the end. Following after Christ dramatically changes our lives for the better. So we love God for who He is, what He did, and still is doing in our lives. And ya'kno what, I dunno what heaven is really like, but to take a stab at it, id say that in heaven all you'd do is continue to love God even more and more! All you would need, want and desire is being with God face to face. That in Heaven all there is, is God and His perfect love. That jus blows my mind away. hey check out this gnarly psalm..

Your love, O LORD, reaches to the heavens,
your faithfulness to the skies.

Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains,
your justice like the great deep.
O LORD, you preserve both man and beast.

How priceless is your unfailing love!
Both high and low among men
find refuge in the shadow of your wings. -Ps 36:5-7

Okay, so loving Christ is all we need to do.. But it's still easy to get discouraged, tied down, burdened, overwhelmed, overworked, stressed out, and super busy with obligations/responsibilities and with not enough time. We lose sight of Jesus, and stare down at the vast scary ocean we're walking on, and we start to drown. Satan uses all sorts of ways to distract us from Christ. Remember how satan used all the bad stuff to attack Job, but Job never lost his love n faith in God.

As Christians we all know what its like to get discouraged. We feel like, "dang, im not good Christian, im not doing enough, im not doing a good job." We're not perfect, and were not strong enough, But God is. Listening to a sermon, the pastor said..

"Yeah we all feel like we're a looong way from where we should be.. But hey.. We're a looong way from where we were." -Pastor Poncho

The enemy is the one who deceives, condemns and discourages. God never condemns His saints, He builds up, encourages, strengthens, comforts, and empowers. So dont condemn urself or be discouraged when we fall short. We should have full confidence and assurance in Him, knowing we are a new creation, born again, set free from sin, spotless, cleaned, saved, and perfect in His sight. We are reconciled to God the Father, through God the Son, and by God the Holy Spirit. He loves us no matter what, no matter how many times we screwed up, no matter what background we're from, and no matter how dark our past was. He takes us just the way we are, and gives us new life. So strive towards holiness and righteousness. Spur each other on in love and good deeds.

"being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." (Phil 1:6)

"Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." (Romans 8:1)

"Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful." (Hebrews 10:23)

God sees all our struggles. He knows our thoughts. Before a word is on our tongue, He knows it completely. God knows everything we go through. And He's right there with us, every step of the way. Paul wrote..

"But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me." 1Cor 15:10

This shows that His saving grace, also includes His Empowering Grace. He equips us with the ability to accomplish many things. He enables us to get task done. Paul was a very busy apostle, He had a long list of things to do, many places to go and people to see, and yet he knew that because God was with Him, God would get many things done through Him. Yet it was not I, but God in me. God is our source of strength, and in Him we are made strong.

I can do everything through him who gives me strength. (Phil 4:13)

Then i heard Wayne Cordero give a message about the unseen truth. Truth is absolute. There is only one way. Truth is not an opinion. An opinion is like ur favorite song. But if u asked "How many M'&Ms are in this bag, there is only one correct truth. The truths that are seen are temporary, but the truths that are unseen are eternal. Ok so i see a blue car, i can see a brown cow, i can touch this rock, these seen truths are real. But what about love, souls, spirits, and God? These unseen truths have a deeper importance, because they carry on for eternity. So focus on the things that will affect and live on for eternity.

"Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." (2Cor 4:16-18)

"The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." (John 1:14)

God You are sweeter than honey, more ono than a chocolate peanut butter milkshake, stronger than the mountains, better than any riches and what money can offer, more gentle than a butterfly, more fierce than a raging waterfall, more creative than cartoons, better than milk and cookies, more beautiful than music, greater than all the seas, brighter than the sun, and greater than all of human kind. Better than life, and better than everything. For whom do you compare. i would trade everything for you. You are worth every drop of me. Worth more than gold. Worth more than life itself. I want you Lord. I thank you for calling us to just love you. You died for us!? You gave us ur life, and defeated sin for us. You gave it all, to save us. Make us in the likeness of ur Son, Jesus. Teach me to be holy, righteous, pure, obedient, humble, kind, and loving like your Son. Thank you for the gift of the Holy Spirit, that intercedes for us, and works for your glory. Protect us from evil, and discouragement. Empower us to accomplish your will. Pick up those who are broken, heal those who are sick, and be with those who are lonely. Help the blind to see, and the deaf to hear. Just one touch of you will change their life forever. Be close to us, deeper than our skin and bones. May our thoughts be your thoughts. And may we apply all that you teach us. We ask for your strength and boldness. Lead us into the harvest, and equip us to fight the good fight. God i know theres tons of ppl who are sad, lost and feel empty. Turn their frowns upside down, and give them joy and gladness that you are a sovereign King. Find those who are lost in darkness. Reach out to ppl, even if they arnt seeking u. Fill people up with your love, so that ur love can not help but overflow. Help us all to focus on You, and always keep you on our minds. Speak to us as we sleep, be on our dreams and give us peace in ur stillness. Watch over families all around the world. Help us to love on each other, but more importantly help us to love you above all. Be with my mother, and heal any sadness she's going through. Be with my father, soften his heart, and help him to acknowledge you in all ways. Help me to become a better son to them, so that they would start to seek you more. Strengthen all my friends, building them up in discipline, self control, courage, integrity, faith and love. Help me to become a better friend, so that the spirit inside them would continue to grow stronger. God lead families out of suffering and pain, and grant your guidance on them. You are always in control, no matter if families are dealing with divorce, illnesses, depressions, death, parenting, rebellion, arguing, addictions, drugs, anger, or any other problems. So i pray that you would heal any grudges, disagreements, or struggles within families. Grant them peace, and teach them your love. Help us to serve the poor, and learn to consider others better than ourselves. Bring a wave of revival over our country, and our world. May Christians unite in the body of Christ, and make a difference for you. I pray that we would pray more! That we would humbly bring everything to ur feet, and give everything we have to bless ur feet. Thank you for being so sovereign, and so strong to all your promises. Thank you for hearing our prayers. Thank you for saving us with ur mighty hand. Thank you for always loving us, and for never changing, for you are always good and your love endures forever. Amen.