No Partiality

I want you to think of this thought throughout the entire post:

Someone or something can influence you but cannot add anything to you. 

There are people everywhere you have influence. The POTUS has influence over billions of people. The president of your university or college has influence over thousands of people. Pastors have influence over hundreds of people. Professors have influence over a hundred people or so. Your coach has influence over your team. Your parents have influence of your family.

It is good to have an influence over people, it usually means that you are doing something right and that you are in a position of leadership. If you have influence you have definitely made in impact on people or society. Whether someone has influence over the entire country or a family, influence is influence.

Think about the people who influence you. I bet those people are some of your favorites. You enjoy listening to them talk, you enjoy seeing how they act, you enjoy interactions with them because people of influence are usually what we want to become. I believe we all have andesire to have influence.

There is one common thing about people who have influence. They can influence you and have an impact on your life but they can't add anything to you.

Picture this, you are at church listening to a sermon about serving others. It's a wonderful sermon and it's a sermon that you were able to pay attention to and be attentive to the entire time. (those are the best) The pastor may say some encouraging words to really make you think about serving others, but the desire or conviction that we feel isn't coming from what the pastor said. The desire we feel and the conviction we feel comes from the Holy Spirt.

Another example, I watched a movie called Poverty Inc. a couple weeks back. This movie was about poverty and they way we should look at it all over the world. It was an excellent movie that really made me think about a lot of things I have never really thought about. That movie had influence over me but didn't add anything to me. The conviction I felt didn't come from the movie, but from the Holy Spirit.

With these examples, the influence was great! God definitely puts people in our lives to influence us. I have no doubt in my mind. If those people weren't influencing us, then we wouldn't think about the things that we think about. Does that make sense? People of influence, make us think, and the Holy Spirit is what adds.

Where did this come from? Paul writes in Galatians 2:6: "And from those who seemed to be influential (what they were makes no difference to me; God shows no partiality)-those, I say, who seemed influential added nothing to me." 

Paul understood that influential people didn't add anything to him. Just what I talked about above. Influential people weren't changing Paul's heart. The gospel of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit were what added things to Paul and what changed his heart.

Paul reminds us that God doesn't show partiality to those who have influence. Partiality is defined as: unfair bias in favor of one thing in person compared with another. God isn't going to show you favor because you have influence because God understands that we can't change people/we can't add anything to people. Only God can do that!

We can be influenced, but not changed by people. The Holy Spirit changes us, and our hearts. Everything is the work of God. The gut feelings we get, the fire we feel in our heart, that comes from God, not others. That deep down feeling is the work of the Holy Spirit. I can promise you that.

I encourage you to have a desire to have influence with the mindset not to add something to a person, but to influence them and to get them thinking in a positive and encouraging way or to confront them and to get the thinking in a way where they realize they have to change.

So I Say it Again

Saying things two times vs. one time usually means that it is something that is very important. If a professor talks brings up an assignment twice it is probably more important that something that would be brought up once right? Think about sitting in church listening to a sermon, when a preacher has a main point the preacher usually says the same thing over and over again right? Now, think about those things that your parents say to you over and over. If your mom tells you to make your bed when you wake up in the morning than you should probably make your bed in the morning. If you have been told once in your life to make your bed, then you probably don't make your bed.

I hope that you get my point here in what I am trying to say.

I just started reading the book of Galatians and I am super excited about it. I am going to give you a little intro about the book of Galatians just so things make a little more sense to you. Galatia was a Roman province in central Asia Minor. Paul traveled there on each of the three journeys he made to spread the message about Jesus. The Galatians received both Paul and his gospel announcement warmly. But later some people Paul calls agitators came and challenged Paul's leadership as well as the foundation of his teaching. So Paul wrote to answer the threat to his status as an apostle and to reaffirm the core message that faith in the Messiah is the basis of membership in God's new community. Paul insists that the gospel that was preached was not of human origin...rather, received by revelation from Jesus Christ. Paul was very compelled to share this revelation that he has. The main argument that Paul had was that the Gentiles did not need to be circumcised. Paul closes by emphasizing the main theme of his letter once more: Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is the new creation.

I hope that background on the book of Galatians really helps you understand some of the things that I share, not only in this post, but in future posts involving the book of Galatians.

In Galatia there were some people who becoming quick to desert the one who called them to live in the grace of Christ. Paul was astonished by this. He couldn't believe that people were turning to other ways rather than the gospel of Christ. I picture this being much like things are today. We can read the truth right in the bible but there are still so many people out there who don't believe it. It's sad to think about. There are hundreds of millions of copies of the bible and there are still so many who don't believe, or they choose to believe in other things.

I believe that sometimes, people base their beliefs on pleasing people. If you come from a family who isn't rooted in Christ, or you have friends who aren't rooted either, you might do what they do to please them since they're your family and your friends. Don't get me wrong you can be in that situation and be rooted in Christ. That is totally possible.

We just get in the habit of pleasing people. Whatever it takes to make others happy, we have a tendency to do. That can be both good or bad. We get caught up in seeking the approval of humans rather than the approval of God. I am guilty of that for sure. It's definitely easier said than done. Before God became number 1 in my life, I wasn't good with this at all. For me, what others thought about me or fitting in was more important. I knew God was always going to be there, I just didn't have him at the top of the list.

So what is being said again?

I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel-which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God's curse! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God's curse! Am I trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ. (Galatians 1:6-10) 

I underlined what Paul said twice: "If anyone is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God's curse!" There is a lot of importance in this since he said it twice. If we are preaching ant other gospel other than the gospel of Christ, we all be under God's curse! I don't know about you, but I don't want to be under God's curse.

I really liked what Paul says when he finishes that passage.  "If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ." Have you ever thought about that before? If we live our whole lives trying to please people, that is not being a servant of Christ. Being a servant of Christ is sharing the gospel and loving people like Jesus. Are we doing those things? It sounds like there are two options. Preach another gospel and be cursed? Or preach the gospel and be a servant of Christ. Sounds like a no brainier to me.

I hope this passage encouraged whoever read it tonight. I hope that it was clear and made sense as well. If you can take away one thing, take away that when something is said more than once, it is most likely very important. There is only one gospel, and one Jesus Christ. Don't get caught up in Satan's schemes of thinking that getting the approval of humans is what's most important.

So I say it again!

Quick to Worship?

I want to start this post be defining the word 'worship.'

Worship: the feeling or expression of reference and adoration towards a deity

This post today is to get you thinking about something you might not usually think about. I want you to think about this question:

What does it take for you to worship God? Or in other words, what does it take for you to express or feel adoration towards God? 

This idea came from reading scripture that I have read many times in my life before. As I was reading it, this idea hit me out of nowhere and I loved it.

It actually comes from the Resurrection story. I wrote in my journal that the way this idea came from this passage is something you might not have ever thought of when you read the Resurrection story. I know that I have never thought this until today.

The Resurrection 

Now after the Sabbath, toward the down of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, and he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you." So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. And behold, Jesus met them and said, "Greetings!" And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshipped him. Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me." (Matthew 28:1-10)

What stood out to me more than anything is that when Jesus appeared and said, "Greetings!" they came up to him and took hold of his feet and worshipped him. This scene is incredibly powerful. I am sure a lot of people would have reacted this way. But the thought that came to me while I was reading is what causes us to worship God? Do we have to wait for a miracle to happen? Do we have to see a prayer answered before we worship God? I think it is a pretty fair question to ask and a fair thought as well.

I know for me, I really used to struggle with the concept of being quick to worship. This quick to worship idea is kind of like being optimistic and seeing the light in all things. If you know me fairly well, I would like to think that you see me as a positive person. I strive to be a positive person in all that I do! Positivity is something that is noticed and is a direct representation of your heart. Something bad could happen to me, but why dwell on that? It might suck, it might hurt, but why should something bad affect every other aspect of my life?

Maybe for you, there might be a lot of difficult things you are going through. I guarantee that if you make a list, you can come up with more positives. If it helps, make a list!

Why all this talk about positivity and what not? I believe we should always be worshipping God through the things we say and the things that we do. No matter what we are going through. There is always something that we can be thankful for. I believe that too often we wait for a miracle to happen or something that is just good. All good and perfect things come from God.

When I hear somebody talking about how terrible their day is going, I always like to ask this question, "Did you wake up this morning?" Good and perfect things happen the second you wake up every single day.

I challenge you to worship God through it all everyday. Don't wait. If we wait it could be too late. God is good. Life is good. Get in a habit of saying those two things and your mindset and outlook will begin to change.

Imagine a life where we are quick to worship...

Sleeping in Gethsemane

Do you ever read stories in the bible and they don't make any sense to you. Or have you read certain verses before and they just seem to never make sense. No matter how hard you try to think about them or how badly you want to understand. I believe that we aren't meant to understand everything all of the time. I could read a verse right now and have it not make sense, and then I go through something this week, and I come across the verse and then it makes sense. It's funny how God works sometimes.

This morning I came across a passage in Matthew that I have read through many times throughout the years and I never fully understood it. This morning, when I was reading, it finally made sense. 

You probably saw the title of this post and thought it was a little weird. Mostly likely because you've probably heard about Jesus praying in Gethsemane, not somebody sleeping in there. 

I will try to tell this story to the best of my ability. During Jesus's last days on earth, he was doing a lot of foretelling of what was to come. The end of Matthew covers the signs of the end of the age, the abomination of desolation, the coming of the Son of Man, nobody knowing the day or hour, the final judgment, the plot to kill Jesus, Judas betraying Jesus, the passover, the Lord's supper, the betrayal and arrest of Jesus, and Peter denying Jesus. 

So yes, there are a lot of significant stories I just listed off. Right in between the Lord's supper and the betrayal and arrest of Jesus, Jesus goes to the garden of Gethsemane to pray. One of the coolest things about this is that while everything was going on, Jesus was able to step away and pray. Imagine having that intuition. When everything in your life seems to be falling apart and then being able to step away and pray. That isn't how most people think when times are rough. Imagine being Jesus and knowing you are about to be betrayed, arrested, and killed. Yet, he was able to go to the garden and pray. 

What in the world actually happened in Gethsemane? Jesus decided to go there to pray, and he said to his disciples, "Sit here, while I go over there and pray." While Jesus was talking to peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be very sorrowful and troubled. I believe the reality of everything was starting to sink in as the day approached. So Jesus said to them, "My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me." Jesus must have really been in a very sorrowful spot if he felt the need to be watched over. Jesus then went on a little further and he fell on his face and prayer, saying, "My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will." So after this prayer, Jesus came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And he said to Peter, "So, could you not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." So, I find it so interesting to me that Peter fell asleep while Jesus told him to watch over him while he prayed. Was he really that tired to give into temptation like that? I love when Jesus says, "The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." I love that because there is so much truth in that. The spirit is always willing. Our flesh is just so weak. Over and over again we run into that problem. No matter what, the spirit is always willing. We just have a certain weakness to us and it is our flesh. After this all went down, Jesus went away to pray again and his prayer was, "My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done." And again, after the prayer he found them sleeping. Then Jesus went away for a third time, saying the same prayer again and then he came to the disciples and said to them, "Sleep and take your rest later on. See, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us be going; see, my betrayer is at hand." 

To me it seems like Jesus is a little disappointed that the disciples gave into temptation when their time with Jesus was winding down. They new that the time was winding down and they were still weak. I think this story can be lesson for us all. For only God knows the day and the hour. He wants us to be ready when that time comes. So I encourage you to be ready. Be strong in your faith. Don't be the one who isn't ready when that day comes and don't be that one who is spiritually asleep. 

Front row Christians

This might seem a little lame, but one of my biggest fears throughout my entire life has been the fear of sitting in the front row at church. I don't know why, but it has always scared me. I think there is a common misconception that if you sit in the front row everybody just stares at you. Me being tall, sometimes I do get a little self-conscious when I stick out like a sore thumb. Concerts and church are two settings where I sometimes get a little self-conscious. I usually feel bad for people behind me because they can't see over me, and I know everyone can see me. 

I think of every concert that I have been to at church back home. Whether it's my family I go with or my friends, they always want to sit as close as possible. No matter which concert it is, the next day when we go back to church, I hear it from everyone how they saw me at the concert. I just think to myself..."come on...the concert wasn't for me it was for the people on stage!" I have even been accused of my head being right in the way of where the lead singer is standing. It's all good though! It really doesn't bother me too much.

Where does a fear of sitting in the front row at church come from? Maybe some of what I just talked about. Maybe a fear of what others think. The front row just isn't a very popular place at some churches. Usually the back rows fill up first. Part of the reason I usually want to get to church a little early is so I don't have to sit in the front. Yes, that sounds terrible. But it's the truth. It's tough! We think that it is scary up there! 

The church I attend up here by school, Harvest Bible Chapel, they have it figured out. They don't let the back rows fill up until the rows up front are filled up first. They clearly do it because there are a lot of people that attend each Sunday and that is what orderly works best. I don't think they do it so you sit closer. It just helps with the flow. It's something so small, but so unique in so many ways. I know when I think of church back home, the first 4 rows are totally empty! It's like a ghost town. 

Today I got the experience to sit in the very front row at church. I was a little nervous about it. I have yet to see someone in that congregation who is taller than me. I think it's a thing for tall dudes to be aware of where other tall dudes are at. It's like a secret code we have. So I knew that people would see where I was. Walking form the back of the church all the way up the front was pretty intense! You don't realize how far the front is when you have been sitting in the middle to back your entire life. So I finally made it to the front with a couple of my buddies who sit up there every Sunday. 

Once I got up there, it was like a feeling I really cannot put into words. It was like a taste of heaven and how things should be. During worship it is so much louder in the front. You are really close to the worship team and you can hear everybody's voices from behind you. It was powerful. It was like a worship experience that I have never experienced. I think one of the things that made the front row so powerful was that there is no one else in front of you. Yeah, we show up to church, find our seats, worship, listen to sermons, fellowship and leave, that is usually how it goes. But when you sit anywhere else in the church there are always people in front of you. No matter how hard you try to put all your focus on what is going on during the service, you are still going to notice those people in front of you. You are still going to think about those people in front of you. It honestly makes it harder to focus. Sitting in the front, there wasn't any of that. It was me, my buddies beside me, and God. Nothing else in between. My focus wasn't on the people around me or in front of me, my focus was directly on the worship and the sermon, or in other words, directly on God.

I am not writing this to tell you all that you need to sit in the front row. That would be almost hypocritical because I have sat in the front row once. I am writing this with the thought of that is how things should be. We shouldn't care what other people around us think at church. We shouldn't care about the way other people do things. When we go to church our focus should be only on God and not what is around us. Same thing if we aren't in church, who cares what other people think. God is all-knowing. He knows what we think before we even think it. That is what matters. 

To me a front row Christian is someone who isn't above any other Christian or anybody else, a front row Christian is someone who doesn't let the opinions of other and the thoughts of others determine what their lives should look like. It's you and it's God. It's a simple as that. I encourage you with that. I believe this is a taste of what it will be like in heaven someday. Just us, and God. No thought of anyone else but God. This whole front row Christian idea, is what being a Christian is all about. 

I read onetime that fearing what people think about you vs. fearing God is like fearing a mouse vs. a lion. What is a little mouse going to do to you? A mouse is scrawny, small, and has no power. Then a lion, a lion could change your entire life. That is what God does for you. So next time you worry about what others think about you, they're just mice. 

I hope this post was thought-provoking to you. I pray that it didn't sound arrogant, or boastful or like I was grouping Christians. That wasn't the point. The point was to paint a picture in your mind about what church and being a Christian should look like. 

Sitting in the front row today was one of the best decisions that I have made in a long time, because I saw things from a new perspective. I encourage you to make a decision like that in the near future. It's a way that we grow and a way to conquer fear. 

The difficult questions

First off, I am a little bummed out that I haven't posted in two days. Whenever there is any sort of break from classes we have two-a-days for basketball so that is how my days are spent when we don't have class. It's just hard to find time on those days, and I am not just making an excuse, that is normally just how it is.

I am okay with being too busy to post one day, but when I get too busy to post two days in a row, I start to feel anxious. It might sound crazy to some people that I get anxious when I don't write a blog. To some people that feeling might be anxiety, but honestly, to me it's a feeling of soul-longing. My soul longs to spend time in the word, journaling, and then writing a blog post. My soul longs for that fulfillment that I get when I can share what I learn. My soul longs for the growth that can happen everyday. My soul longs.

Today when I woke up, my soul was longing. I was thinking, I have to get up and write something before church. My soul was longing. I couldn't wait any longer to write another post.

I titled this post: "The difficult questions." I want to touch on difficult questions for one specific reason. That reason is that difficult questions lead to meaningful relationships. How many people in your life would you consider yourself to be friends with just because you like to have fun with them? I know for me there are a decent amount of people that I know who I have that sort of relationship with. Now, think about how many people in your life you know on a deeper level. Why do you know those people on a deeper level? Most likely because of the conversations you have with them.

I am not saying it's bad to have friends that you just like to have fun with. There really isn't a probably there. As humans, it's a blessing to have those people in our lives. We all have those friends who we hit up if we want to go to the store, go watch a sporting event, go out to eat with, etc. If you think this isn't you, trust me it is. I promise. It's how we are. We choose who we want to do certain things with. I have friends who I would way rather sit down to get coffee with compared to doing something fun. That is based on the conversations and the type of friendships I have.

Think about the friends who have an extra special relationship with. How did that happen? Like I mentioned above, probably based on conversations that you have had with them. Right! Most of those conversations probably started out with a difficult question. Something you probably didn't want to ask but you did anyways. I think we automatically have this wall put up when we first interact with someone new, and when a difficult question is asked, that wall is torn down. Have you been there before? My intuition tells me yes.

What are some of these difficult questions?

"What do you struggle with?"
"How was your time with your family over thanksgiving break?"
"How can I pray for you?"
"What do you do to strengthen your relationship with Christ?"
"Do you read your bible?"
"What church do you go to?"
"What is one of the things you have learned about yourself this year?"
"What are some of the things you are thankful for?"
"What do you fear?"
"What do you desire?"
"What are some of your gifts?"
"Tell me about your family."

Those are just some of the examples that came to my mind. Difficult questions don't have to be questions that deal with God. Difficult questions are ones that make you think. Difficult questions make you get into your feelings. They're questions that tear down those walls we have built. Difficult questions are a key to a persons heart. When you ask these sorts of questions you build trust with somebody because you are showing that you really do care about them. How often do you get asked one of these questions, and you feel special just because someone asked you? I know for me, I love it! Most people nowadays shy away. That's why it's difficult. Or, most people shy away in person, and then have no problem texting about difficult things ya know?

It's amazing how when certain people are placed into your life, you become inspired by the smallest of things. I encourage you to ask the difficult questions, tear down the wall, share your feelings, and that is when you will make somebody feel treasured. There is so much power in going beneath the surface. Going beneath the surface is when you truly get to know somebody and their heart.

Try it out, I promise you won't regret. I also promise you it's not easy. If you read this post and it makes sense to you, you are going to be placed in a situation today at some point where you have the opportunity to ask a difficult question. It's funny how God works. You're going to be faced with it. What are you going to do? Ask the question or just stick to what is easy? If you stick to what is easy, it's okay. Just ask the difficult question next time. But don't get in a habit of that. It's a battle between meaningful vs. meaningless. Don't give into meaningless. It will be hard, it will make your stomach have butterflies but it's how we form meaningful relationships. Meaningful relationships are a way to be obedient to the second greatest commandment: loving your neighbor as yourself.

Why journal?

Sitting here after reading some scripture, I was stumped on what I was going to write about tonight. I read some really good things in Matthew and in Psalms but nothing really significantly stuck out to me. I was sitting here and was texting back and forth with a special friend about journaling. I just received a text about journaling that really left me speechless. So I was inspired to write a post about the importance of journaling. It's more so significance rather than importance if I am being completely honest with you. There is power in journaling more so than importance.

Before you get to deep into this post, I just want you to know that I am not writing this as a how to journal type of thing. I am just sharing the way that I do it and the way that it works for me with that hope that it encourages you to begin journaling. You don't have to journal like me at all! You could literally journal about whatever you want. You could write about your day, your thoughts, feelings, what happened, funny conversations, what you ate, etc. Heck, I encourage you to journal in whatever way you want too!

Journaling for me is one of the most relaxing and rewarding things that I do. To sit down, with my favorite pen and a nice journal and be able to write down things I am learning about God and myself on a daily basis is incredibly rewarding. It's also extremely peaceful and fulfilling.

So how do I go about journaling?

For me, I have always wanted to get into journaling at a fairly young age. I think when I was a freshmen in high school I had that desire for the first time. I would get a new journal for Christmas or my birthday and I would be so excited to write in it. Each time I would start a new one, I would envision finishing it and being able to go through it and see pages full of my writing. Well, that vision seemed to be pretty far off in the distance. I think I probably started like 10 different journals and I never finished a single one. I honestly didn't really know what to write. In some I wrote prayer requests, in others I wrote down things about my day, etc. Nothing really seemed to work. As a high school freshman, I also was not very disciplined yet. If I didn't feel like writing in my journal I wouldn't do it. I wasn't very good at developing healthy habits like that yet. It seemed like the same thing would happen over and over again. New journal, write 10 pages, new journal, write 8 pages, new journal, 7 pages. I was so terribly inconsistent. But for me at the age, I experienced growth in different ways, it just wasn't through journaling. Even though I wanted it to be. I think we can take something away from that. We have desires to grow spiritually in certain ways, and sometimes those desires aren't quite working for us, but don't give up, someday, those desires could change your life.

Two summers ago, I began journaling on a consistent basis. I finally had a plan figured out. I would read two chapters from two books in the bible and the write about what I had learned. Every journal entry I have consists of six different things to write about.

1. Thoughts
2. Application
3. VOD (verse of the day)
4. Question
5. Prayer
6. Blog

I leave a space in my journal for every one of these things. I write about my thoughts. What did I think about this scripture that I just read through? What stuck out to me? The thoughts section is usually whatever comes to mind when I am reading through scripture. Sometimes, it doesn't have to do anything with what I read in scripture. If I had a rough day or am going through something, I write about how the situation is making me think.

Application is my favorite section to write about. The application section is where I write about what I can take away from the scripture. It's where I ask myself, what I can learn from this. At first, this section was just for me. But once I started to write a blog, it became more of a how can this apply to other peoples lives in ways that they can be encouraged. The application section really gives me a chance to think about what I had read.

The VOD section is where I write down the verses that stick out to me the most or the verses that I am going to use in a blog post. It's a pretty simple thing to do, but for me, I found that when I write down which verses mean the most to me, I find myself being able to engrave those things even deeper into my heart and mind.

The Question section is simple. I write down any question that I have for God. It can be anything. For me, I usually ask about how I can have an impact on people and be of encouragement. My heart is in a place where I want to see others around me grow and succeed so a lot of my question relate to how I can have the most impact.

The Prayer line is also very personal. I recently started another journal where I write out a prayer for the entire day, but in my main journal, I think of the one think that is at the top of my prayer list and that is what I write down.

Lastly, I have a line for my blog title. This might not be very useful for you. But as I journal, that line usually fills up with possible blog titles for the day. It's simple, but can be tricky sometimes, because I like to choose titles that are appealing.

For me, this is how I journal. This is the process that I go through on a daily basis. Sure, it seems lengthy...but it really isn't that bad. Your thing might never be journaling and that is okay. It's not for everyone. There are not many people out there who enjoy spending time writing. Reading the bible on a consistent basis has changed my life and so has journaling/writing. I challenge you if you are feeling dead in the water and really want to jump start your walk with Christ, try to journal. It's hard at first, trust me. But once you get something figure out, everything will change. The key isn't doing something like journaling or reading your bible once in awhile...the key is to being disciplined and consistent to your approach. Once your relationship with Jesus and growth become an everyday thing, your life will change. Anybody can do something a couple times, that's Luke-warm. God does't want Luke-warm Christians, he wants us to be on fire. To me, a daily disciplined consistent walk with Jesus is what it means to be on fire.

So why journal? Imagine the feeling you get when you look back 10 years from now when you read through some of the journals that you wrote in. Think about what it would be like, reading through the lessons that God taught you and the things you learned in the bible and then telling your kids. Imagine the power in that. Imagine reading your first journal entry compared to journal entry 100. Just think about reading how you used to feel about things compared to now. It's a marathon, not a spring. Writing 1 page won't having you feeling satisfied. Stick to it! It's so worth it.

I want to close and encourage you with some of what my special friend said about journaling. This is what inspired me for this post tonight. "And of course, I remember the big things that happen, but it is so fun to write down the little things about your day that you don't think make any difference, because those are the kind of things you don't remember...but those are exactly the kinds of things I never want to forget. The small, seemingly insignificant details of every day life that make up one big life." 

It's honestly quite the coincidence that this verse was on the bottom of my prayer journal tonight.

"You should use whatever gift you have received from the Lord to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms." (1 Peter 4:10) 

God has given you a gifts. I promise you that. I never thought I would be writing as much as I do, and I am going to use that gift to the best of may ability to serve the Lord. Whatever your gift may be, utilize it and serve the Lord.

The wedding feast

When I write any post that is about one of the parables it is very difficult for me. It's like turning a parable into another parable. Parables are one of Jesus's way of teaching things so that when he teaches his content it makes more sense. Whenever I post, I try to make the stories easier to understand as well. So when I write about a parable, it's me trying to make things make even more sense. 

It's sometimes difficult but I hope it makes sense!

What I am writing about today is a parable about what the kingdom of heaven is like. In Matthew chapter 22, Jesus says that the kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding feast for his son. It will make the most sense if I describe the parable the best that I can. 

So the king was in the process of preparing a wedding feast for his son. He sent all of his servants out to call those who were invited to the wedding feast. It's interesting that is how the word got out about the feast. It wasn't like today, where we have the technology to get a hold of anyone at anytime. The servants literally want to invite the guests face to face. Surprisingly nobody came. Again, the king sent other servants, saying, 'Tell those who are invited, "See, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast." The king is pulling out the big guns now. He is trying to make things seem like this is a feast that you do not want to miss! Well, they didn't pay attention to what was being said and they went off, one to his farm, another to his business, while the rest seized his servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them. See this part is tough for me understand. After all this feast was talked up, nobody came, and everything was ignored. The servants were seized and then killed. So the king was upset about this. He was very angry. I would be too if all of my servants were killed. He sent his troops out and then destroyed those murderers and burned their city. Then he said to his servants, 'The wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not worthy. Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you can find.' So the servants went out and gathered all that they could whether go or bad. The wedding hall was finally filled with guests after multiplied failures. When the king came to look at the guests, he saw there was a man who had no wedding garment. The king said to him, 'Friend, who did you get in here without a wedding garment?' The man was speechless. Then the king had his attendants bind him and throw him out into the darkness. Jesus ends this parable by saying: "For many are called, but few are chosen."  

So what does this mean? Jesus said that that kingdom of heaven is like a great wedding feast. A wedding feast is something you don't want to miss. During a wedding feast all of the best most expensive food is usually served. I believe the invitation to the feast is God's invitation for us. God tells us how magnificent the kingdom of heaven is. He invites us and what happens? Nobody came. That is crazy to me. But relevant. How often do we miss out on the signs of God. Think about how often we choose worldly things over Godly things. That is clearly what happened. The people who were invited just kinda shrugged everything off.

So, the king was persistent, just like how God is. the king wasn't going to give up. So he sent the servants out again and then they were all seized. That's terribly sad! God is persistent in his calling of us to worship him so he was not going to ever quit. I picture that second sign we miss as something not so good. It's easy to kinda just shrug up something you hear once, but twice? We shouldn't be missing out on that. It's like when you're sitting in class not paying attention and the professor calls on you to answer a question. Now mind, you. During the first week of class the professor said that participation points will be offered. Hey, you didn't the answer to the question, no biggie. Now there are two things that can happen next. You start to either pay attention so this doesn't happen again, or you just continue to not pay attention. That leads to two outcomes. You either earn our participation points or you get a 0. The king sending out the servants and then being seized is that 0. The people kinda were like screw this, so they seized the servants and then killed them.

Third time is a charm right? Now the king tells the servants to go out the streets and to invite everyone. Not just the good people, not just the chosen people, not just the rich people, but everyone. Whether good or bad, everyone was getting an invite to the party. It was last possible solution. If nobody showed up the first time, and the second time the servants were killed, then what else could happen besides an open invite to everyone? The servants went out, invited everyone and the guests hall was now filled. After three times! How doest that happen? I would expect it to be full after the first time. But that's how the kingdom of heaven is I guess! In all of its greatness, you would think we would all want to be a part of the kingdom of heaven right this moment but that just isn't how it happens. That is what Jesus is trying to say through this entire parable. 

So once the guests arrived, the king came in to look at them. He saw a man there who had no wedding garment. He asked the man how he had gotten in without one and the man was speechless. He didn't know! So the king said this to his servants: 'Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' To me that sounds like a description of hell. Jesus ends with: "For many are called, but few are chosen." Many are called and few are chosen. Everyone is called by God. For we are God's chosen people! It's tough to see that only few are chosen. Right now that just seems how it is. One of the reasons I think God hasn't came back yet is that he has more to choose. There are millions of people out there who have yet to be reached. Millions of people who have no idea who Jesus is. That breaks my heart! Looking at the parable, eventually everyone showed up at the wedding feast but not all belonged. Where is your wedding garment? Have you made the decision to declare that Jesus Christ is your Lord and Savior? That is when you are chosen. Not by the things you do or the things you say. Don't wait until it's too late. That day is going to come, and I hope we don't get to the day of judgment and you haven't made that decision yet. You're either going to hear, "well done good and faithful servant, or get thrown into the eternal fire. Find your garment and make that decision. 

Many are called and few are chosen...are you going to attend the feast? 

Why don't we treat Jesus like this?

How easy is it to put Jesus on the back burner? Are we putting things in our minds above Jesus and our relationship with him? That happens so easily if we think about, it's not like we can sit down and have a conversation face to face with Jesus right now. I can't text Jesus and ask him if he wants to get dinner with me. I can't hit him up on FaceTime later. All of those things I just named our tangible.

What are we doing with Jesus mentally? Where are we putting him? Is he just in the back of our minds? Are we thinking about the plans we have today before we think about Jesus? Is Jesus even crossing our minds?

I feel like a Debbie downer saying those things, but I am just trying to be realistic here. It's so hard to put Jesus in the right place in our minds. Life is busy and we are all consumed by so many things. Which isn't bad, but it's probably how it shouldn't be. I hate to say it but it's hard to prioritize Jesus sometimes because like I mentioned above, I cannot just ask him to hang out with me right now. It's just easier for us humans to prioritize what is right in front of us.

You're probably wondering why I am talking like this. I read the passage in Matthew chapter 21 this morning about the triumphal entry of Jesus. After reading it through a couple of times, it really got me wondering why we don't treat Jesus like this in our minds.

This story starts with Jesus asking the disciples to go into the village, and to find a donkey and a colt. Jesus knows the donkey and the colt are going to be easy for them to find. Jesus tells them to untie them and to bring them to him. He assures them that if anybody says anything to them that they just need to say, 'The Lord needs them.' 

There is a lot of significance in this. Jesus again, knows how things are going to happen and this story fulfills a prophecy. There is also significance in the fact that the disciples were obedient to what Jesus said. If Jesus told us to go to the closest village to untie a donkey and colt and bring them to him, I don't know If I would be totally obedient in that moment. Without their obedience this story never would've happened. 

Next, the disciples brought the donkey and the colt and put on them their cloaks, and Jesus sat on them. Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. As Jesus was passing through, the crowds were following him and shouting, "Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest." When he made it to Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred up, saying, "Who is this?" The crowds replied with, "This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth of Galilee." 

You have this beautiful scene here. Everyone is throwing their cloaks on the ground and branches from trees for Jesus as he is riding through. Jesus marching through a city riding a donkey might not be the most exciting thing ever but there is so much importance to this story. These people were laying down their nice cloaks on the dirty road for him. Just so that they could be walked on by the donkey. This really makes me think..the crowds were doing all of this stuff of Jesus. They were putting him and his needs above their own. 

Where are we putting Jesus again? Are we putting him in the back of our minds? Or are we laying down the things we have in order for him to be known and for him to be the center of all our attention. It's an important part to think about. 

Another thing I like about this story is that the whole city of Jerusalem was stirred up and wondered who this little parade was for. I fully believe with all of my heart when we have Jesus at the top priority in our life, people will ask what makes you different.

That's what I want to leave you with tonight. Where are you placing Jesus and is there a noticeable difference about you because of that?

Refreshment: It's the best time of year

Right now, in this moment in time is one of the very best times of the year. There are two days of classes left and then it is Thanksgiving break. This is the time of year where you start to experience Christmas spirit. Soon, you will start to see Christmas lights every where you go. You'll be able to see Christmas trees in peoples houses when you drive by. Christmas music will be playing everywhere you go. People's moods will start to get merrier. I promise you that. It's fun because most college students are excited to get home and not have classes for the holidays. Two of the very best holidays are coming up and how exciting is that. The excitement should be contagious.

Why am I talking up this time of year? To refresh you and put things into perspective. Although the excitement is upon you, there are a lot of things that are easy to worry about. There are class projects, tests, presentations, assignments, etc. For some reason, most of the professors out there love to give out assignments and tests right before break. We get slammed by school work and then we come back from Thanksgiving break and we got slammed again. After Thanksgiving break, we show up thinking we are only at school for a couple of days, and those two and a half weeks seem like months because of the workload and business.

Apart from the busy crap, this is the very best time of year. Don't let the circumstances you're going through take that away from you. If you start to get stressed, take a deep break and remember that this is the best time of year. Don't get down or discouraged. If you let those small things bother you, you're going to miss out on a lot of happiness.

You don't want to get through the holiday season and realize that you were taking things for granted. In the grand scheme of things, it's that way to live life. Yeah this is the best time of year, but being as blessed as we are, every day is the best day of year. Live with that perspective and I promise you a feeling of refreshment.

This post was specially for those who get easily dragged down by school and the business of life. I encourage you to not let those things drag you down. When you do, you will miss out on a lot of the little things.

Enjoy this time of year my friends, it's the very best.

A Great Inheritance Awaits

I know it's just about Thanksgiving but I want you to think of the anticipation that builds up for Christmas. You most likely know that you're going to get Christmas presents right, and as Christmas day comes closer and closer you keep wondering...what am I going to get? What am I going to get? What am I going to get?

As the grinch would say, we are greedy little gift monsters.

That is besides the point. When we make the decision to give our lives to Christ do you ever wonder what we are going to get when we die? We hear that we are going to get a great inheritance but what does that mean?

In Matthew chapter 19, there is a unique story about a young rich man. This young rich man approached Jesus and asked him what he has to do to get eternal life. Jesus answered with this: "Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments." The young rich man reacts as we probably would. We don't know which ones Jesus is talking about so we ask and Jesus replied with: "You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, Honor your father and your mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself." The young rich man tells Jesus that he has kept all of these commandments and wonders what else he is lacking. Again, this is much like how we would react. Jesus said to him: "If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasures in heaven; and come, follow me." The young rich man went away sorrowful, because he had great possessions. If I had a lot of really cool possessions and were told that I had to give then all away, I would be pretty upset as well. Imagine that. You live a life where you do a fair job at following the commandments and you seem like things are going pretty good for you but you are told that in order for you to have eternal life you have to give everything away. The young rich man probably thought this didn't seem very fair. I don't have a ton of possessions but if I was told I had to give everything away it would be tough. 

This whole time the disciples are right with Jesus and he says to them: "Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enters the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God." Time out. Take a look at what Jesus just said. "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle." Do you know how small in eye of a needle is. I didn't think anything could fit through the eye of a needle and hear we have Jesus saying it's easier for a camel to enter through it then a rich man entering heaven. That is crazy to me. Much like me being astonished by what Jesus said, so were the disciples. "Who can be  saved?" They said. Then Jesus looked at them and said: "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." That makes more sense now doesn't it. Clearly it is impossible for a camel to fit for the eye of a needle but with God all things are possible. It is possible for everyone to get saved. God wants as many troops as he can get.

Peter is wondering what he and the disciples will get for doing all of these things. Much like we wonder right? We make sacrifices and give your lives to Christ so it's fair to wonder what we will get right? We know we will be in heaven, but what are we getting? Jesus replies to Peter with: "Truly, I say you to, in the new world, when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name's sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first." It's time to make our faith our own. Our faith in Jesus shouldn't be our parents faith. It should be ours. It should be yours. It's time to leave the things that cause you to fall into sin. It's time to receive the great inheritance that God has promised us. That great inheritance is a a hundredfold and eternal life. A hundredfold is described as something that is 100 times as much. That's a lot! Most importantly what we get is eternal life. Sometimes I don't know if we are able to wrap our minds around that. This life on earth is only a grain of sand compared to what eternal life is like. What we are blessed to inherit is eternal life with our loving Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 

I encourage everyone to pursue that inheritance. An inheritance like that we can't even wrap our minds around and that is how great it is. Next time you wonder, what do we get? Remember we are getting eternal life. The greatest gift we could ever get. 

Limp into heaven or Walk into hell

Who has ever been tempted to sin? Who has been tempted to sin today? If you answered no, then I question if you are even human. As humans we are tempted to sin every single day. We can't control whether or not we are tempted. It is necessary for temptations to come. If temptations didn't come it would be like we are already in heaven. There wouldn't be a chance for us to mess up. We would be perfect. If we aren't tempted on a daily basis we are missing out on a chance to grow and a chance to practice obedience, and self-control. 

Someday that will be the case and we won't ever be tempted again. Right now, we fight the battle everyday. It's inevitable. We are going to give into it as well. We sin, we are human. It's in our nature to be sinful.

I want you to think of some of the things that cause you to give into temptation. Satan makes things seem like they're going to fulfill you. Satan attacks you at your weakest points. Now, think about those sinful things that you do commit. How do you feel after you give in and have sinned? How do you feel when you loose the battle? For me, it's the worst. You feel broken inside, and like you failed. It's a process that you go through over and over again. We sin, we are forgiven, we sin, we are forgiven, over and over again. 

Have you ever been able to cut off that one thing that causes you to sin/give into temptation? Think about the question....

"Woe to the world for temptations to sin! For it is necessary that temptations come, but woe to the one by whom the temptations comes! And if your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into the eternal fire. And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into the hell of fire." (Matthew 18:7-9)

This passage is fantastic. "Woe to the world for temptations to sin! For it is necessary that temptations come, but woe to the one by whom the temptation comes!"

Woe: great sorrow or distress

There will be great sorrow and distress that will come to the people of this world so that we will sin. There will be great sorrow and distress to the one whom temptation comes. Temptation isn't fun. It's not cool. Temptation is sorrowful and distressful. It's something we don't want to face. Temptation honestly sucks, because it's you at your worst, with an opportunity for you to make things worse. Woe to everyone, because we will all be tempted. 

Now it gets a little juicy. 

"If your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away." 

"If your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away."

If this was the case. I would not have any body parts left. I've sinned in all of these ways. Yet, I still have my body parts. The way I think about it is this. Whatever it is that is causing you to sin, cut those things off. Cut those things out of your life. If we take away the things that make us vulnerable to give into temptation, it'll be way easier to not be tempted by those things. You're going to have to cut some things off. You're going to have to cut some things off that you think make you who you are. It's the price we have to pay. It's what you have to do to stand strong and to stand firm and to be obedient. 

"It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than with two hands or two feet to be thrown in the enteral fire." 

I titled this post based on that verse right there. Do you want to limp into haven or walk straight into hell. It's a choice we have to make. The road is narrow and difficult and few enter the gates. We aren't going to get through this perfectly. We will have bumps and bruises. We will have to rid our selves of the things that cause us to sin. Or you can make yourself vulnerable. You give into temptation. You don't ask for forgiveness. You keep on doing the wrong over and over again. You shut out God from your life and think you can walk the path of this life alone. What you will end up doing is walking straight into the eternal fire. 

Are you willing to limp into heaven? It's better that way. It's worth it! I hope and pray you can understand that it will all be worth it. It's eternal life we are talking about here! Eternal life in heaven praising and worshiping God. I can't wait. 

I encourage you to have non shame in limping. There is no reason to feel shame because you might be a little different. It's cool to have a limp. Remember that. 

A Mustard Seed & your Mountain

I want you to think about this question: Do you have any faith?

In your current situations and circumstances, how much faith do you have in God to help you overcome them? Do you have full and complete faith that you will overcome or do you hesitate and have just a little faith? Do you have a very small amount of faith or no faith at all? 

I learned this morning that even having just a little bit of faith is enough. You probably noticed that I titled this post "A Mustard Seed & your Mountain." Why? How could a little itty bitty mustard seed and a mountain relate? 

My hope with this post is that you can understand how faith the size of a mustard seed makes everything possible. 

In Matthew chapter 17, Jesus heals a boy with a demon. In a very busy setting, a man brought his boy to Jesus and said: "Lord, have mercy on my son, for he has seizures and he suffers terribly. For often he falls into the fire, and often into the water. And I brought him to your disciples, and they could not heal him." The first thing I want you to notice here is that the father of the boy has faith. It took faith for him to approach Jesus in the busy crowd. Heck, we can learn from this father too! He didn't care what others thought, what fueled him was his faith in Jesus to heal his son. How often do we hesitate to do things because we might be worried about what others think? Even if we feel deep down that this is what needs to be done, we still easily hesitate so often. 

After the father of the boy approached Jesus, he answered: "O faithless and twisted generation, how long am I to be with you? How long am I to bear with you? Bring him to me." It seems like Jesus is thinking here, all you have to do is have a little faith and you can't do that. It seems like he is thinking that we should be able to be on our own now. Unfortunately we cannot, because of the little faith we have. Jesus rebuked the demon and the boy was healed instantly. After this had happened the disciples approached Jesus in private and asked why they could not cast the demon out. 

Being me, and being a human, I sit here thinking, how could these disciples cast out a demon. I would've been in their shoes as well. Casting out a demon? Seems like a job only for Jesus not for me. I am sure there are more of you who could agree with that as well. But you shouldn't. That is something someone with little faith would say. So I sit here, writing this, feeling convicted of having no faith. Which is tough. I know I have faith. Then when I think about it, Jesus tells the disciples that all they needed was a little faith. So what does a little faith to them look like? Is their little faith no faith to me? Is there little faith different then the amount of faith I have? I am not sure, it gets me thinking though. 

Here is Jesus's response to the disciples: "Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you." Jesus is telling them that because of their little faith, they couldn't cast the demon out of the boy. Then he tells them that if they have faith like a grain of a mustard seed they can move mountains, and that nothing will be impossible. Do you know how small a mustard seed is? I believe it's one of the smallest seeds in the world and if we have little faith we can have mountains. I find that so encouraging! All we need to have is a little bit of faith. I want to know what mountains are in the way for your right now? I want you to have faith so that you can overcome these things. All you need is a little bit. The amount of power in a little bit of faith is unimaginable. 

Did you catch the end of what Jesus said? "... and nothing will be impossible for you." We hear all the time that we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. It's like everybody's favorite bible verse! Heres the catch, I really didn't know that if we have faith, that nothing will be impossible. Seriously think about that...nothing is impossible when you have faith in Jesus Christ. 

What is wrong with our generation?

Before I get started, I am not trying to rip our generation at all. I am actually not trying to rip our generation for anything. My hope with this post is to spread some awareness of a couple of issues that we have. 

I don't think I could ever write a whole post and have it be all about what is wrong with our generation. I would never do that. One of the problems with our generation is that we are evil and adulterous. We can be so evil. People try to make themselves look good no matter what the cost is all of the time. People can be very mean.  Sometimes people are mean because it makes others laugh and therefore those people establish a clout because they build status over others. 

There is also a problem of selfishness in this generation. Think about when you're sitting in a driveway waiting to be let out onto a busy street, nobody ever lets you out. Eventually someone does, and that's a perfect example of how a majority of people are in a hurry to get where they need to go. This world has a tendency to make us feel like our agendas matter over anyone else's. When there is someone who puts your needs before their own, you feel an overwhelming sense of love right? I think we feel that because it is right and because it is so rare. It's something we don't experience as much anymore. 

I also think of how rare it is to do a random act of kindness for someone. When was the last time you opened your passenger door for a wife, girlfriend, friend? When was the last time you let someone ahead of you in a line for food? When was the last time you let someone pull out in front of you at a busy intersection? When was the last time you told someone that you cared for them? When was the last time you had some kind words for a friend? When was the last time you made a conversation with a stranger? 

An issue that we also have is that we let our current circumstances flood our minds rather than what is more serious. Sitting in the coffee shop this morning I turned to look at the news and the news station was covering the wildfires out in California right now. I watched the news for probably 10 minutes and was in shock about what I was seeing. Hundreds of thousands of people in California are being affected by these fires and are being faced with making decisions right this very moment that could change the rest of their lives. There are people out there who have lost everything they own. What is going on in your life right now? What are you putting an emphasis on that you shouldn't be? Did you have to wake up today and worry about losing everything you own to a wildfire? Honestly, probably not.

 I believe that we make things worse than what they actually are sometimes. I've heard that life is 10% of what happens to you and 90% of how you react. The 10% is different for everyone. Your 10% battle with something might be you dealing with a class that you are struggling with. In certain parts of California, their 10% looks much different than yours. Sometimes we let our 10% turn our minds away from others who have it worse. Think about the 10% of the what the Christians go through in countries where they aren't even allowed to be in.

I will say this though. Heartache is heartache. A breaks up breaks your heart, losing everything breaks your heart, having family issues breaks your heart, having friendship issues breaks your heart. Having health issues breaks your heart. All of those things can cause a lot of heartache. Imagine a world where we understood that. We all know that everyone has struggles of their own but do we live like that? 

So why am I writing about all of these little issues that we have. I came across a passage today in Matthew 16 that I want to share with you. In this passage, the Pharisees and Sadducees came to test Jesus and they asked him to show them a sign from heaven. Jesus then answered them with this: "When it is evening, you say, "It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.' And in the morning, 'It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.' You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but now sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah." (Matthew 16:1-4)

Have you ever heard anyone say: "Red at night, sailors delight. Red in the morning, sailors warning." That is something I have heard my dad say for years. It's actually something that I say all of the time. It's a very true saying too! Really pay attention to it. When the spring and summer roll around again. I am telling ya, when it is red at night, the next day is going to be beautiful. When it is red in the morning, you bet your bottom dollar that there is going to be a storm brewing in.

The fact that Jesus says this is so cool. Jesus is saying that we know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but we cannot interpret the signs of the times? He's like..you gotta be joking right? We can interpret so many other things in this world. Think of the amazing doctors who perform surgeries, the President who runs the country, all of the law enforcement who help enforce laws, the teachers who teach young kids and adults information, lawyers, judges, whatever it may be! As humans created uniquely and special by God, we have so many gifts that we have been blessed with. Yet...we still ask for signs. Do we really have faith? 

I hope you didn't think this post was any sort of bash on anybody, my hope was to spread awareness. 

Defiled People

A defiled person is someone who is spoiled. Not the spoiled where they get whatever they want, but like the type of spoiled... like milk. If you are familiar with spoiled milk, it's disgusting. Did you know that we, as humans can be defiled? I bet that is what one thing you don't want...to be defiled.

So what defiles a person? What defiles a person is what comes out of the mouth. Jesus said this to the disciples: "Hear and understand: it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiled a person." (Matthew 15:10-11) It's not about what goes into the mouth, and it will never be about what goes into the mouth. It will always be what comes out of the mouth. What comes out of the mouth is usually what is on our hearts.

There was some controversy with what Jesus had said. The Pharisees were offended when they heard what Jesus had said. Then Jesus answered with: "Every plant that my heavenly Father has no planted will be rooted up. Let them alone; they are blind guides. And if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit." (Matthew 15:13-14) I love that. Every plant that the Heavenly Father has not planted will be rooted up. Let me tell you, once we make the decision to make Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior we will never be rooted up. This scripture is proof to false things that give us false fulfillment in this life. The things we try to do to quickly pleasure us are on things that can be taken right away from us and rooted up. Christ, and the fulfillment and the Holy Spirit that is in us, never leaves and will never be rooted up. Find some encouragement in that! Jesus is also reminding the disciples to just leave the Pharisees alone. He tells them that they are blind, and when the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit. Again, Jesus is the one and only way.

Peter was still a little bit confused and wanted this all explained in a parable so Jesus explained it in parable. And he said, "Are you also still without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach an is expelled? But what comes out of the mouth proceeded from the heart, and this defiles a person. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone." (Matthew 15:16-20)

I really love how Jesus had the patience to explain this in a parable when the disciples didn't understand what was going on. Jesus is saying that out of the heart, a lot of bad things can come out of, and that is what defiles a person. It's not about what comes in. We can pour all the good things we ever want or need into our mouths and if nothing every good comes out then what is the point? It's like eating when you're already full or eating a huge meal right before thanksgiving dinner. If nothing ever good comes out, you're a defiled person. Like spoiled milk. 

My encouragement with this post is to so encourage you to watch what comes out of your mouth. What comes out is what ultimately matters. It's not always easy. As humans we like to please people, and make people laugh and sometimes in order to do those things, we have to say things out of character. When we say things that are out of character it might be pleasing but it's not everlasting. I challenge you to be the same with all people. Be the same person talking to you friends as you are when you talk to a professor. Be the same person when you talk to your pastor and a coach. It's hard, and might seem impossible, but nothing ever worth it is easy. Start practicing that today and you will become a much more genuine person and things in your life will change for the better. It might not seem like it temporarily but eternally it will matter. I promise. 

Paul wasn't polished

When you think of Paul in the bible what do you usually think of? For me, I think of a stud who was bold in sharing the gospel wherever he went. I think of a man who had absolute trust in God no matter what his circumstance was.

The commonalty of this post is your circumstances. Think about the circumstances you are in today. You might be going through a breakup, you might have had a terrible week at school, and maybe you struggled to do the things you love well. Maybe you lost a loved one, maybe you are beyond mad that the snow is back. No matter what, we are all going through something and face some sort of circumstance. Circumstances aren't necessarily bad either. You could be on cloud nine. You could be coming off of a week where you got A's on all your tests. You could be coming off a week where everything seemed to go your way.

One thing that I can guarantee you is that no matter how bad your circumstances are right now, they probably aren't as bad as Paul's. Paul circumstances were not at all what he had planned. He had been in prison for two years and then the people decided to send him to Rome. While he was on the ship heading to Rome, the ship he was on got into a wreck. Once he finally made it to Rome he was put back into prison. Sucky circumstances right?

One thing that we need to do is be an agent of advancement of the gospel. We need to live for gospel advancement. The first way we do that is through our circumstances.

In Philippians 1:12 Paul writes: "I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel." 

Paul knows that his circumstances suck right now and he understands that what has happened to him has happened so that the gospel can be advanced. Paul's testimony throughout every circumstance was that Jesus is Lord and the Christians in Rome noticed that. They had been hearing Paul's testimony.

Later on in verse 14 Paul writes: "And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear." 

Paul's testimony was affecting the Christians in Rome. They were becoming more confident in the Lord because of Paul's imprisonment. The awesome part is that they were becoming much more bold to share the goodness of God.

No matter what circumstances we are in, we need to let the joy God provides trump worldly pain. The negative circumstances we are faced with can serve as either a catalyst or an excuse. How are you going to let your negative circumstances affect you? You might never know how God will choose to multiply the good through your negative circumstances.

The second way we can be an advancement of the gospel is through proclamation. There was a rise in Rome because of Paul. He had no problem advancing the gospel and then no problem encouraging others who did as well.

Philippians 1:15-18 says: "Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice. "

I've read through this passage many times before but it never really made sense until today. I always thought Paul was a little salty about these other preachers preaching out of selfish ambition but that was never the case. Paul wasn't polished. He didn't speak well, he was a little different then everybody else but the one thing that made Paul who he was was that he followed and lived a bold proclamation for Jesus.

I love the: "What then?" It's like Paul is laughing at this idea. Paul is overjoyed that the gospel is being preached and lived out regardless of who is preaching it. Paul found joy in any sort of gospel proclamation. This is very encouraging. Unfortunately it's kinda easy to from opinions about other churches or ministries. Paul being filled with joy because the gospel was being proclaimed is so encouraging. We need to love other churches and other ministries. Sure we have our differences and disagreements but the one commonality is that Jesus came to save sinners like us. It's like when you see someone diving the exact same car as you on the highway. You most likely have no idea who is driving it, but you still wave because you have the same car. Commonalities strengthen bonds.

There are things that are easier to do as a Christian then others. It can be easy to live a Christian lifestyle. But it's very difficult to actually proclaim the gospel. Think about it though, it can be so hard. That is the most difficult thing to do without a doubt. It's easy to do a lot of other things Christians do when you compare it to proclaiming the gospel. Which stinks to say, it's kind of clunky but it's something we all have to work on. I know that I have to work on it every single day.

The third way to live for gospel advancement is with our lives. Paul's biggest prayer in his life was that he would be faithful to Jesus Christ day in and day out. He was most concerned with honoring Christ everyday. That's what we need to do as well. Who cares what circumstances we are in? The most important thing is that Jesus saves.

Christ needs to be exalted over all.

Paul was never polished during his time on earth and neither are we. We will never be because we cannot be perfect. Some day we will be polished and that is when we take our last breath and we immediately are in the presence of God. How encouraging is that. No wonder Paul had no fear. He knew that when he died he was going to immediately be in the presence of the Lord, he had no reason to fear and neither should we.

Parables. What's the point?

What is the point of parables? Have you ever read parables in the bible and the stories all of a sudden made more sense? That is because that's the point of them. Jesus taught in parables so that we would be able to understand the things that He teaches us. It's a really cool way to do things. If Jesus taught speaking on only His terms and how He understood and how He could teach things, we would not understand. Parables are a great example of how Jesus was the perfect teacher.

I don't want this post to be very long, it's Friday and who wants to read something that is long and wordy on a Friday? 

The best way to write about this post is to show you what the word says. 

"To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand." (Matthew 13:11-14) 

That is the first part. Jesus taught in parables so that we can know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven. Jesus taught us in parables because we cannot see, and cannot hear the things he want to teach us. We can't understand. We aren't capable of understanding that. 

Here is what the prophecy of Isaiah that was fulfilled says: 

""You will indeed hear but never understand,

and you will indeed see but never perceive."

For the people's heart has grown dull,

and with their ears they can barely hear,

and their eyes they have closed,

lest they should see with their eyes

and hear with their ears

and understand with their heart

and turn, and I would heal them.' (Matthew 13:14-15)

Again, this prophecy was saying that we will never be able to understand, and that we will see but never perceive. Our hearts have grown dull on this earth, and our ears can barely hear, and our eyes have been closed. This world causes us to not be able to see or hear, and that is why Jesus had to preach/teach in parables. 

Here is how it finishes:

"But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. For truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it." (Matthew 13:16-17)

Blessed are our eyes, for they see and our ears, for they hear. We see and we do hear. Just not the way that we should most of the time. Think about all of the people who long to see what we seem and hear what we hear, but can't. Be so thankful. When Jesus Christ is your Lord and savior, not everyone understands that. People see that there is something different about you, yet they can't. People want to, but a lot of the time they cannot until they make that decision themselves. 

I hope this post was able to explain why the parables were used to teach us. Parables are super good and an awesome way to teach. Parables help explain things in an easy way to other people. I give silly examples in a lot of my posts so that these biblical stories make more sense. So what's the point? To teach in a simple and understandable manner. 

Deliberate Enrichment: Fruit Trees

Deliberate Enrichment: Fruit Trees: A tree is known by its fruit. I am sure that you have heard that before. Fruit trees are awesome. If you haven't had the chance to eat s...

Fruit Trees

A tree is known by its fruit. I am sure that you have heard that before. Fruit trees are awesome. If you haven't had the chance to eat some fresh fruit off of a fruit tree than you are missing out. Picking fresh fruit from a fruit tree and eating it on spot is one of the most satisfying things to experience. There is just something about it. You know it's fresh and clean and you see right where it came from. It does't really matter to me what type it is...it could be apples, oranges, pears, etc. Bottom line, fruit trees are the best because of what they produce.

In the bible, fruit trees are often compared to people. What we say, and what we do is often compared to producing fruit. Think of the people in your life who are spiritual mentors. They produce fruit. It's evident to you too, that is why they're spiritual mentors in your life, because we want to produce fruit like they do.

A Tree Is Known by Its Fruit

"Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, for the tree is known by its fruit. You brood of vipers! How can you speak good, when you are evil? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. I tell you, on the day of judgment people will account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned." (Matthew 12:33-37)

What comes out of our mouth is like the fruit that trees produce. For out of abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. The current state of our heart directly reflects what comes out of our mouths. Just like a fruit tree, if the roots aren't in a good place the tree won't produce good fruit.

"I tell you, on the day of judgment people will account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned." Every word that we say will be remembered. That is crazy to think about to me because we say a lot of words. I hope that makes you watch what you want to say. Everything will be remembered. Let that really soak into your heart. Sometimes words just seem like words but they go deeper than just that. Our words will be remembered.

By our words we will be justified and condemned. Justified is being declared or made righteous in the sight of God. Whereas condemnation is very strong disapproval. Our words have the power to make us righteous in front of God and can also cause condemnation.

Just like fruit trees that produce fruit, our words can produce fruit as well. I encourage you to watch the things you say and to produce fruit with what you say. Words our powerful and so is the fruit that we produce. Remember what I talked about above, fruit trees are awesome and so is everyone that was created by God.

We are the fruit we produce.

Peace & Rest for the Soul

My Soul Thirst for You

O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you;
my soul thirsts for you;
my flesh faints for you,
as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,
beholding your power and glory.
Because your stedfast love is better than life,
my lips will praise you.
So I will bless you as long as I live;
in your name I will lift up my hands.
My would will be satisfied as with fat and rich food,
and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips,
when I remember you upon my bed,
and mediate on you in the watches of the night;
for you have been my help,
and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy.
My soul clings to you;
your right hand upholds me.
But those who seek to destroy my life
shall go down into the depths of the earth;
they shall be given over to the power of the sword;
they shall be a portion for jackals.
But they king shall rejoice in God;
all who swear by him shall exult,
for the mouths of the liars will be stopped.  (Psalms 63)

Come to Me

"Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lovely in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." (Matthew 11:28-30)

I started with the scripture that I read today because it was perfect for what the past few days have been like. The past few days have been crazy busy. We are in a stretch of our season right now where we have 6 games in 14 days. Which is a lot. 6 games in 14 days means a lot of traveling and a lot of time in the gym. Which I have no problem with at all, I love it. These past few days have also been extra busy because of school. There have been tests and lots of assignments that have been due this past week.  With the combination of a lot of games and a lot of school work I have been extra exhausted.

Waking up this morning, I was really feeling it. I was both mentally and physically exhausted. I needed something and I wasn't completely sure what that was. When I opened up my bible this morning the passages I read are at the top of this post. The scripture was perfect and exactly what I needed to hear.

I love the verses in Matthew. I imagine those who are tired and weary sitting somewhere and just feeling down because they're exhausted and then Jesus coming to them laying his hands on them and telling them to come to Him. That was me this morning. Sitting in the coffee shop preparing to read, feeling exhausted and then I opened up the word and just like that I knew what was going on.

There is something about these two passages that goes deeper than just coming to God so that he gives us rest. It goes deeper than just what you see on the inside. It's about what takes place on the inside.

"Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." (Matthew 11:29)

Jesus is telling us that if we take his yoke upon ourselves, we will find rest for our souls. I love that. "Rest in your soul." There is so much power in those four words. I mean think about it, we talk about resting our minds and bodies a lot but not so much about our souls. It's deep and finding rest in our soul is true rest. When we find our soul at rest, that is when we can be at rest about all other things.

O God, you are my God; earnestly I see you;
my soul thirsts for you;
my flesh faints for you,
as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. (Psalm 63:1) 

"My soul thirsts for you." Don't you love that? Our soul thirsts for God and when we find our soul at rest that is when we will be able to thirst for God. We can have a thirst for God at all times but when our soul is at rest is when everything will make much more sense.

Honestly, that is my encouragement for you today. The source of our peace and where we find rest is God and a very perfect place to find God is time in the word. When life gets busy, crazy, and hectic, we need to turn to God for our rest not other things.

Whether its trying to find out an answer to why you're so tired or anything else, the best place to find that is the word of God. The best way to get answers from the word is to read it with an open mind hoping to find answers.