The most valuable deposit

You've probably made some pretty big deposits in your life that think have a lot of value...but there is one deposit that has made that has more value than any dollar amount.

Think about the feeling you get when you make a pretty significant purchase. It's usually pretty difficult. You worked really hard for that money and all of a sudden you used it all up. Sometimes you don't really worry about it and other times you are filled with a little bit of buyer's remorse.

I want you to think about the most valuable thing that you have ever had to make a deposit for...can you imagine another deposit being more valuable than that? 

"When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession - to the praise of his glory." (Ephesians 1:13-14)

When we believe in Christ Jesus we are marked with a seal. That seal is the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance. Did you know that? How stinking cool is it that we are marked when we believe. It's not a visible mark but a mark that has way more value than anything that our eyes can see. 

I don't know if you knew that or not but there is so much value in you committing your life to Christ. Again - it's the most valuable decision that you could ever make.

To summarize- 

The Holy Spirit is God's seal that we belong to him and his deposit guaranteeing that he will do what he has promised. The Holy Spirit is like a down payment, a deposit, a validating signature on the contract. The presence of the Holy Spirit in us demonstrates the genuineness of our faith, proves that we are God's children, and secures eternal life for us. His power works in us to transform us now, and what we experience now is a taste of the total change we will experience in eternity. 

My challenge for you is to stop putting value on the things that don't have eternal, long-lasting value. We shouldn't ever seek out validation for the things that are not going to last forever. Don't think that the amount of things you have brings yourself value, you have value when you commit your lives to Christ and are sealed with the Holy Spirit. 

A gentle reminder

Think about a time where you recognized that someone was sinning and doing wrong and it really upset you. You were angry, upset and there was a certain amount of disappointment that you felt. 

The one thing I want you to get out of the post is an easy and simple way to confront someone....

"Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted." (Galatians 6:1)

We are called to restore those people who make mistakes in a gentle way. 

Confrontation used to be one of my biggest weaknesses. If someone was doing something wrong I didn't want to upset them because I knew that I wasn't perfect either and that I made mistakes. Then I learned that confrontation is a form of love. I looked at it from their eyes.

Whenever I got confronted it wasn't my friends saying things to bring me down, they wanted to see me succeed and make the right decisions. It was always out of love. It was always gentle. I will always be grateful for the ways that I was confronted. 

Too often anger gets tied into confrontation. Anger comes when we speak before we listen. We are called to not be angry.

When someone sins and we have a desire to confront them, it can be really easy for us to sin through using anger and harsh words. That is why Paul writes to make sure that we are not tempted either. 

It's sometimes easy to fall into the trap of worrying about other people and then forgetting about yourself and the things that you are saying and doing. 

As Christians we are called to live together for the common good. 

No Christian should ever think that he or she is totally independent and doesn't need help from others, and no one should feel excused from the task of helping others. The body of christ - the church - functions only when the members work together for the common good. 

Reflecting on this post today, I want you to think about if there is any brother or sister out there who needs correction or encouragement. If so, humbly and gently reach out to that person, and encourage them with love. 

X press yourselves

How are you expressing yourself I wonder? Are you happy and outgoing or miserable and sad? Do people look at you and see that there is something different about you, or think that you are the same as everyone else. 

I want you to picture this. You are in your favorite sports team's stadium. You are looking at the scoreboard and you see your name up there. The only way to get a point is expressing your faith through love. Do you want to sit and see a blank scoreboard? Or do you want to see yourself with a pint? 

Paul writes this: "The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love." (Galatians 5:6)

This verse really got me thinking. When I thinking of counting, I think of a scoreboard. If everything you did was visible on a large scoreboard, the only thing that would count is you expressing your faith through love...

Having faith in God is believing without seeing. Did you know that you are supposed to express your faith through love? I know that we are supposed to love others but I never really thought about expressing our faith in God through love. 

Expressing faith through love is what gets noticed. Like what I was talking about earlier...when people notice something different about you, it's clear that you are expressing your faith through love. 

I am sure that you can think of some people right now in your life who are like this. No matter what is thrown at them they always seem to be level headed. Nothing seems to get them off track. A couple people come to my mind and I was always so encouraged by them. 

Before I got to this point in my life where I pray that I am that to other people, I was encouraged by those who expressed their faith through love. I remember asking these people why they were always so happy all the time and every time they answered, their answers involved Jesus. 

I've never once heard someone who really has it together and someone I look up to not give credit to God. I am sure there are some people out there who are that way, but I haven't met any of them yet. 

Having faith in God is something that is so powerful that it only makes sense that you have faith out of love. Then you express that faith in a loving of life sort of way.

I encourage you to express yourself. Express your faith in love...that is the only thing that counts.

Before you go to sleep tonight, close you eyes and image yourself in your favorite stadium. Did you get your point today?

Get your point...it's an important one to get. 

The bicycle kid

Being fully of aware of God's presence in my life, lots of times, things stick out and I know that God is trying to teach me a lesson through those things. Or God is using those things that I see to plant a seed for a blog post like tonight...

When I was running this afternoon, I saw this kid on his bicycle recklessly crossing the road. As he sped across he was going to try and hop the curb. I could see it in his face that he was determined to hop the curb because it was going to look really cool. As he approached the curve it was clear to me that he was going way too fast.

He hit the curb, tumbled over, and laughed it off. He had the same smile on his face when he had this amazing idea as he did when he failed and crashed. When he got up, he sped right past me and told me he was okay with an exciting tone in his voice!

I literally thought he was crazy! He just crashed his bike and did two summersaults and laughed it off like nothing happened.

This was really appealing to me. I thought to myself: Oh how easy it was to be as careless as a child. When I was a kid I didn't care how many times I crashed my bike or how many times I spun out rollerblading. I always got right back up and didn't really care that I failed and that people had seen me fail.

As I thought that...it hit me! This was what I needed to encouraged y'all with tonight. Who cares if you fail. Who cares if you mess up. Get right back up and try it again! There is absolutely no need to ever hang your head about anything.

Do you ever wonder why the windshield of your car is so much larger than your review mirror? The future and what is coming is so much greater than what is behind you.

Next time you crash, and whatever that means to you, get right back up. Tell someone that you are okay and try it again!

This might have been a silly post but I believe it is super effective.

Be the bicycle kid. Without a care in the world besides trying again.

Acts:Facts

Are you more concerned with the acts or the facts? Seems like an interesting question right...let me explain.

I will start with an example that most of the people who reads this will understand. Students, I want you to think about the beginning of the school year. Every professor will pass out a syllabus on the first day. It's basically the rules and how the class with function throughout the semester. The information on the syllabus is accurate pretty much every time. As a student you have the ability and have access to that syllabus whenever you want to look at it. It's right there for you at the palms of your hands. Nothing in the syllabus will ever be accomplished without the teacher. The teacher orchestrates how things work out, and dictates how much you actually learn. To conclude this example-the syllabus is good and you need it, but without the teacher, what are you actually accomplishing?

I want you to think about your faith this way. We have the Bible. It's always there for us. It's the truth. Everything in there is 100% accurate and nothing has ever been proved wrong. It's factual information. How many times though do you get caught up in just the facts and not really pay attention to what God is doing in your life?

An interesting thought I might say...

You can pray, read a devotional, and read your bible everyday but until you are actually realizing what God is doing in your life are you even exercising your faith? I challenge my myself with that question all of the time, I have gotten in a really good habit of doing those things, but am I actually growing on a deeper level? Not just a factual one?

Check out these words from Paul: "So again I ask does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you by the works of the law, or by your believing what you heard? (Galatians 3:5)

People still try to get closer to God by following the rules. While certain disciplines and service help us grow, they use not take the place of the Holy Spirit in us or become ends themselves.

The Holy Spirit gives Christians great power to live for God. Some Christians want more than this. They want to live in a state of perpetual excitement. The tedium of everyday living leads them to conclude that something is wrong spiritually. Often the Holy Spirit's greatest work is teaching us to persist, to keep on doing what is right even when it no longer seems interesting or exciting.

Do you understand what I am trying to encourage you with this evening? I want you all to keep doing those little disciples every day and you will become more and more aware of what God is doing in your life. When you intentionally sit down and have Jesus time you are bound to experience the Holy Spirit's presence more and more. God is so real, and I can't put it into words how it feels to know he is always there.

The little things, lead to the big things. With time, with discipline, and with accountability you will live out your faith and be aware of the things God is doing in your life. You might argue and tell me that you don't understand what God wants from you right now...or why things are the way that they are. We were not created to know every answer to every question. There is no element of faith required if we knew everything that was going to happen in our lives. The most important part is understanding that God is right there no mater what. He is there and he is present. We might not understand what is going on, and that is okay.

Understanding and feeling God's presence is a key element to our faith. Without that understanding we are nothing.

Payton Anderson: Guest Post

“We were created to thrive in every season we’re planted in. Whether circumstances live up to our expectations or not, we should be finding ways to honor God through a walk of worship. Change your perspective on purpose and see this season as an opportunity of worship.” 

We fall. We break. We fail. But with Jesus, We rise. We heal. We overcome. 

Recently, I was asked by a friend Luke Fisher, if I wanted to be a guest blogger on his own personal blog. I was hesitant at first because I usually don’t like to talk about much that’s going on in my own life. After some thought, I decided I should do it because I knew exactly what I was going to write about. This may be long, and it may be all over the place so stay with me here. I have a lot that is going on in my life and I have a lot that has been on my mind. I thought of this as a great opportunity to share with others what God has been speaking to me and laying heavy on my heart.   

I recently graduated college this past May from Bethel College (now University) in Mishawaka, IN. I had been there for the past four years playing volleyball and getting my bachelor’s in exercise science with a minor in psychology. I had an amazing experience at Bethel the past four years. I grew a tremendous amount there in my faith, my leadership, my relationships, and just life overall. I met some of the most genuine people. From my volleyball team, to my coaches, to my professors, chapel 3x a week, team bible studies, dorm bible studies, church off campus, my internship, volunteering, living in a dorm, and going to a small christian school in general… I had community everywhere that I went. I was always surrounded by people… people who cared, who had a fire for Jesus, who were intentional about their relationships, who could sit down with you any time of day and talk about faith. Sometimes I think I took all of that for granted. I’m not saying that I don’t have people like that that are in my life now, because I do. I’m just saying that there were so many people all of the time like that, that were constantly around me and with so much structure to my days and weeks. I would have class, chapel, practice, homework, study, bible study, hang out with my team or roommates and do it all over again. I mean, I was with my friends every single day doing what I loved and getting to be surrounded by people who were striving to be like Christ just as I was. Yes, there were some hard times there and it wasn’t perfect, however, I am going to miss Bethel and everything that came with it. I think those are some of the reasons why this transition moving back home for good from Bethel has been kind of tough for me. I don’t have that same community that I had at Bethel and I don’t have that many people my age around me striving for that common goal. I haven’t been home for the fall in over four years. I do love some things about being home, but it has just been weird, I guess. It really is kind of hard to say. 

 With that being said, I really am ready to move on to the next chapter of my life with my fiancé. In June, I got engaged to the love of my life, Ryan. He is amazing, and we have overcome a lot already in the years that we had been dating. We made it through a few break-ups early on and we made it through years of long distance. God definitely brought us back together. I am a firm believer in second chances and forgiveness and grace. We all aren’t perfect and are trying to find our way. We have been there for each other through all of our ugly hard times and I appreciate Ryan so much for putting up with me here recently cause, it has definitely been a lot lol. We are both living at home with our parents right now until we get married next May in 2020. We don’t know where we are going to be living yet and we won’t find out until December. I am currently in the process of applying to Occupational Therapy School and I won’t find out until December if I get in or not. I’m not going to lie, I am struggling with not knowing where we will be or where I will be going to school or if I even get into school and so on….. On top of applying to OT schools right now, I started my first full-time job in June here in New Castle. I am currently working as the wellness assistant in the therapy department at Stonebrooke Rehabilitation Center. I love my job right now and I look forward to going each day. It was definitely meant to be.

I have just felt so overwhelmed and have felt a tremendous amount of anxiety and stress. These past few weeks I wondered what was wrong with me and why I was feeling this way. I wasn’t myself and everyone around me could tell that something was up. I started to think, and I thought of all the change that was happening in my life and realized that it was everything built up into one big giant anxiety bubble. Graduating from college and moving back home, not playing volleyball for the first time in 16 years, starting my first full-time job, getting engaged and planning a wedding, applying to OT school, family stuff going on, getting a puppy, etc. So much change is happening and so many things are going on that sometimes I just sit there for hours not doing anything because I have so many thoughts going on inside my head that I just don’t do any of it. I know a lot of you reading this have a lot on your plate too and some people have it way worse than I do, but this is the most stressful time that I have experienced in my life so far and this is just a lot of change happening all at once. I wanted to tell my story in hopes of helping someone else maybe going through some of the same things that I am. 

I don’t talk about it much, but I have been struggling with anxiety ever since my freshman year of college. It started with me feeling weird and anxious while traveling in cars and planes and getting a panic feeling…. Then it lead to big open spaces, heights, traveling in general… it eventually lead to even my volleyball games, which was awful because I used volleyball as my escape. Every time they would do the national anthem and we had to go out there on the court, I would have to sway back and forth because I had that tingling numb feeling that I may pass out. Every time that I went back to serve I got this panic feeling and it affected my serving. I remember a few games, I had that panic feeling the whole entire game. I would make it through the game and somehow manage to still play well and come out of the locker room and not even remember what happened in the game right after it was over because I was just trying to make it through the game without having a panic attack. I would just break down crying after because I absolutely hated feeling that way, especially feeling that way while playing the game that I love and that was my time to escape from everything else and focus soley on that. Thankfully, I only felt that the whole game a few times… and then finally it lead to constantly thinking about death and dying, having a panic attack because I was thinking about it too much, and now it has come to me thinking the worst that could happen and I absolutely hate it. I remember when it first started happening my freshman year. I would just cry because I didn’t know why I had that feeling. I am thankful that anxiety hasn’t taken over my life completely and doesn’t affect my day to day life to a certain extent. These past few weeks are a different story though. I would say that it has been taking over my daily life. I felt sad for no reason. I would constantly have this annoyed feeling, especially to the people closest to me. My mood swings were at an all time high. I have probably cried these past few weeks the most I have ever cried in my life. I would say I have cried just about every day. Sometimes for no reason… the tears just come out even about the smallest thing. I have been extra sensitive and thinking that people are trying to go against me. My thinking the worst and ‘what ifs’ escalated like no other. I have felt exhausted for no reason and didn’t feel like doing anything. I would get angry at the smallest things or for no reason and then it would lead to more tears. It has been affecting the people around me as well and I think that is what I hate the most because I know this isn’t me. This is anxiety and the enemy trying to take me over. 

Throughout all of this anxiety and stress these past few weeks, I have felt distant from God and the people closest to me. I still have been in the word some, but not near as much as I should. No matter what I tried, I still felt anxious and worried. I still post on my Instagram about my faith because I feel that is a great way in today’s world to spread God’s word and to help others. You never know who may needed to hear that that day. It is also a great reminder for me as well. Social media can be really bad, but it can also be used for really good. It’s all about what you make of it, who you follow, and what you post. Anyways, one of the many amazingly cool things about God is that no matter how far you go from Him, he is always there waiting on you to come home to his arms. It gives me chills thinking about it. He is pursuing you daily and he wants you to do the same for Him. You will never find true and pure joy unless you are staying rooted in Christ. 

We can either let change make us or break us. It’s all about how we respond to change and our circumstances that matters.

One of the main things that I wanted to discuss in this post was change. As I have been saying, a lot of change is happening right now, and it is testing me. But, the cool thing is that no matter what happens in our life, where we live, who is in our life, what we do, what job we get, God is always going to be constant. He is the one that never changes. God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He always will be. In my mind at times I have been like Where are you God or why are you letting this happen? And then I step back and think that He is right here, and he has been the whole time. I was the one who was absent, and I was the one who was letting my circumstances affect me like that. Getting away to a friend’s house this weekend was really good for me because it got my mind off of some things, and it also made me think about some things. Instead of letting my circumstances affect me like this, I need to just be thanking God for what I have and how blessed I am with the people that are in my life. I know that I can’t help my anxiety at times, but whenever I feel that way now I am just going to automatically go into prayer. “Do not be anxious about anything but give everything to God through petition and prayer.” I know that I don’t have anything to worry about because God is on my side and he brings me peace. He brings the fruits of the spirit and that it what I am striving to be. This Payton the past few weeks has not been me. I almost had a panic attack last week from crying so hard, wishing that I didn’t feel the way that I did and why I was like this and why I was being rude to the people who were just trying to love on me. I tried explaining it, but I couldn’t. it was just this knot in my stomach that wouldn’t go away. 

I am done feeling that way. I am done letting my anxiety and stress get the best of me. I am done feeling distant from God. I am done being angry. I am done crying. I am done being sad. I’m not saying I won’t ever feel that way again, because I know I will. We aren’t perfect. But, I’m done letting it affect me the way it has, and I’m done letting it take part of who I am because I know that’s not me. I am ready to take on this chapter full force to the best of my ability. I am ready to be the best daughter of Christ, fiancé, sister, daughter, friend, leader, mentor, and co-worker that I can be. I know those things will still pop up in my life and that it won’t just be a quick fix and that is ok, but as my brother Janson says, it’s all about how we respond. He is so right. God never promised us an easy road. He didn’t promise there weren’t going to be any hardships. He never promised that we weren’t going to have to get out of our comfort zone. He wants us to go through those things because they bring us closer to Him. He wants us to praise him both in the storm and in the good times. He wants us to pursue Him with everything that we have in our body. He wants us to be focused on the things that are eternal, not worldly things. He wants us to overcome with his help because we can’t do it on our own. 

A breath of fresh air

One of the things that I just wrote in my journal was that having a relationship with God leads to a lot of "I kid you not" moments.

Today has just been one of those days were I feel like I was breathing in a lot of stale air. It was a great day up to this point, I just didn't feel as refreshed as I should be. Driving back into town, I called Rachel and was talking with her about that feeling that we both felt today. I told her that we need to figure out how we can start breathing in some fresh air.

As I said that to her, I remember thinking to myself. I bet what I read in my bible this evening will have something to do with a feeling of freshness/fresh air.

We just started reading Psalms together today and check out the first three verses of Psalm 1...

"Blessed is the one
who does not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take
or sit in the company of mockers,
but whose delight is in the law of the Lord,
and who mediates on his law day and night.
That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither - 
whatever they do prospers." - (Psalm 1:1-3)

Talk about a breath of fresh air!

...the one who mediates on God's word day and night is like a tree planted by streams of water...

When I have read this in the past I remember thinking...who in the world has time to read their Bible 24 hours a day! I don't think anybody has the time for that.

I believe once you start reading your bible on a consistent daily basis is when you will be able to mediate on it day and night. In a nutshell that is how my changed. When I became disciplined with reading my bible I was thinking better thoughts, and every day and night I would think about the things I had read at some point in the day. At first, it happened every so often, but now it's daily.

My breath of fresh air comes from Jesus time every day. When my days feel weird, I immediately know what I was missing.

My one thing for you today is to get in the word of God...that is where you will find fulfillment. It's where you will get a breath of fresh air...until you actually do something about it you won't understand what the breath of fresh air is actually like...

~ it's pure, clean, refreshing, everlasting, eternal, powerful and fulfilling ~

Servants of God

When you get out of bed every day what is your mission? Do you have a mindset that you are going to serve yourself, please others, or serve Christ?

There really ins't a bad answer there. The problem begins to arise when your sole purpose is pleasing others. We are called to serve others not please others.

We can't just do things to make other people accept you. We must serve and love on others as Jesus did.

Am I now trying to win the approval of human begins, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ. (Galatians 1:10)

In Galatians 1, Paul speaks harshly to the Christians in Galatia because they were in serious danger. He wasn't afford to say the right things to make them feel happy. I believe that is where we go wrong. We are afraid to confront other Christians just because we went them to still be happy and to like us.

That is what I used to do. When I would talk to others and they would ask me for advice I would often just tell them the things that they wanted to hear. I knew that the things I was sharing with them was truthful, I just shaped my words in such a way that they wanted to hear. That is the last thing that should've been done. I would've been better off not saying anything rather than saying things to please them.

I reached a point in my life a couple months ago where I would tell people how it is. I didn't do it in a mean way, it was out of love and service for Christ.

Have you ever felt convicted before? Conviction is that feeling you feel when you realize that you were doing something wrong, or there was something that you should've been doing. It's not a good feeling. It makes you sick in your stomach.

We are convicted by the Holy Spirit and I believe that we have the ability to make others feel convicted when we are serving others as servants of Christ.

When we serve others as if we are servants of Christ that is when conviction will be felt. That is what God calls us to do. We weren't put on earth to make everyone happy. We can't do that because we aren't perfect. Only God is perfect and the message of Christ Jesus is the only perfect message there is.

When we share the gospel in everything we do that is when we are being servants of Christ.

My one thing for you today is to be a servant of God...not a pleaser of people.

Epilogue:Job

About 50 days ago I started reading the book of Job and if you don't know - Job lost everything that he had. He was one of the wealthiest people in the entire world and lost everything within a couple days. Even though he lost everything, he never cursed God or turned his back on him.

Fast-forward to the last chapter of Job and we read that Job is now wealthier than ever. God rewarded him for trusting him even when he was at his worst.

Job had three friends come and talk to him and all their advice was not truth bearing. God rebukes his three friends for adding to Job's suffering by their false assumptions and critical attitudes.

After the Lord had said these things to Job, he said to Eliphaz the Temanite, "I am angry with you and your two friends, because you have not spoken the truth about me, as my servant Job has. (Job 42:7)

It really sticks out to me that the Lord was angry when they didn't speak the truth. How many times have you tried to bend the truth to make someone feel better or to make yourself look better? My guess is probably many times.

I am here to tell you that makes the Lord angry.

Even if you think what you are saying is helping someone else, if it's not the truth, it isn't doing any good. It's better to not even try to help if you aren't encouraging others with the truth.

I can imagine that Job knew that God was upset with his friends for the false assumptions and advice they were giving him. It would be easy to push them to the side knowing that God was angry with them.

If I found out that my friends were giving me faulty advice, it might be easy to turn against them. That isn't what God wants. The Lord instructed Job to pray over his three friends. When Job prayed for his three friends the Lord accepted his prayer. After Job prayed for his friends, the Lord restored his fortunes and gave him twice as much as he had before.

Are you seeing what is going on here? Job's friends were giving him false advice, and the Lord was angry with them. The Lord instructed Job to pray for his friends and Job was obedient and prayed for them. The Lord accepted his prayer and blessed Job with more than he ever had before.

My one thing for you today is for you to pray for those around you. We are not perfect and we are never going to give somebody perfect advice. The best thing we can do is pray for those around you. Pray for all of those people who give you advice on a daily basis.

Your own best interest

You are your own best interest.

...think about what that means to you....

To me, it means I need to be right with God before I am right with anyone else. It means that I need to make sure that I have it together before I see if those around me have it together. It means owning up to my mistakes and admitting that I was wrong. It simply means so much...

Have you ever been in a situation where you hung other peoples failures over their heads? Or you see trouble coming in someones life and deep inside you hope they experience it?

I can't lie with you, I have been that person before. I knew that I was doing things the right way for the most part and when others didn't, I hated to see them succeed. I was selfish in thinking that I was better than those around me.

When I used to really struggle with this I came across a verse in Romans 14 that says: "As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue confess to God." 

That verse revolutionized the way that I live and perceive others. I wear a bracelet on my wrist that says Romans 14:11 and I wear it every day and I have never taken it off. I wear it as a reminder that everybody will bow before the Lord someday and confess.

We all have things that we struggle with. I have struggles just as much as everyone else does. But remembering that..me, along with everyone else will bow and confess before the Lord someday. I was so wrong to think I was better than other people just because I didn't struggle with the things that they struggled with.

I came across a couple verses in Esther today that talked about something along the lines of that. Haman, an evil character in the story was impaled on his own poll that was fifty-cubits high.
(about 75 feet)

Haman's hatred and evil plotting turned against him when the king discovered his true intentions. Imagine making something for someone else and then it being used on yourself?

Proverbs 26:27 teaches that a person who digs a pit for others will fall into it himself. What happened to Haman shows that often violent results of setting any kind of trap for others.

My one thing for you today is to never think of yourself above anyone else. You mess up just as much as the person you are thinking about in your head right now. Remember that the only perfect human to ever walk this earth was Jesus Christ. Jesus is the message that we are to preach to others every day. Not the message of our broken lives, but the perfect message...the gospel.

Don't get caught digging a pit for others...

Your own chronicles

How often are you getting caught up and stressed about things that are out of your control? I know for me there have been times in my life where I wondered what the heck was going on. Times where it seemed like no matter what I did, I couldn't leap over the hurdle that I wanted to get through.


I think about the injuries I experienced in basketball, and my most recent experience with getting my exam passed. All I wanted was my knee to be heathy and for me to be able to help the team win some games. As soon as I would start to feel better I always seemed to get hurt again.


The point being - there were times where I didn't think I was going to get through something the way that I wouldn't to.


That is where I was wrong. We can't get through anything on our own. I wasn't going to come back from injury on my own strength. The only way I was going to come back was relying on God and looking back at all the things he has helped me get through in my life.


I can promise you that God has never failed you and will never fail you. Look back at your entire life right now and you will most likely discover that God used your difficult times in ways that you could never have imagined.


Sure, there were times where things didn't go our way and that is fine, not everything has to go our way.


When things don't go our way is when we grow the most. How true is that?


When something isn't going my way the first thing I do is pray about it, when things go exactly how I planned I often don't remember to thank God for it or continue to pray. See what I mean? Personally, I grow when things are not going my way because I understand that what is happening is out of my control.


I can control my mindset, how I think and my reactions, but not other peoples.


That night the king could not sleep; so he ordered the book of the chronicles, the record of his reign, to be brought in and read to him. (Esther 6:1)


The king was struggling to sleep that particular night, often like we do as well. The king thought that if he took a look at everything he has done during his reign that it would keep him at peace and then he would be able to sleep.


God is always at work. God is quietly and patiently working throughout your life as you read this right now. The events that happen that come together are not just a mere coincidence; they are the result of God's sovereign control over the course of people's lives.


What are your chronicles? When are you remembering to look back at everything that has fallen into place for you? My challenge to you is next time you become flustered; look back. Remember all of the things that God has always done in your life and how the light has always seemed to shine.

The donkey

God asked Job several questions about the animal kingdom in order to demonstrate how limited Job's knowledge really was.

Towards the end of the book of Job - God is replying to Job. He had all sorts of questions and challenges for him and he was finally replying. 

God was not seeking answers from Job. Instead, he was only getting Job to recognize and submit to God's power and sovereignty. Only then could he hear what God was really saying to him. 

How often does that happen in your life? It feels like you are being faced with things that you don't know how to answer and we easily become frustrated. There is no need to become frustrated when we don't know the answers to the questions that we have. Maybe we don't understand what is going on because God wants us to recognize and submit ourselves to his power and sovereignty. 

We don't know everything for a reason. Would life even be fun if we knew the answers to everything? 

"Who let the wild donkey go free?

Who untied its ropes?

I gave it the wasteland as its home,

the salt flats as its habitat.

It laughs at the commotion in the town;

it does not hear a driver's shout.

It ranges the hills for its pasture

and searches for any green thing." (Job 39:5-8)

We are that donkey. Only God can set us free just like he untied the ropes for the donkey. God gave us a beautiful place to live our lives. Just as the donkey laughs at the commotion in the town, we should do the same thing about the commotion in the world. We shouldn't laugh in a humorous way, but in a way that demonstrates our recognition and embrace of God's power. We roam and search for what is good. The donkey isn't searching for dead plants to eat, the donkey is searching for fresh green plants. Deep in our hearts we want what is fresh and living and good for the soul. 

Next time you don't know the answer to something - don't worry about it. God expects us to not understand everything for a reason. 

86,400 > 10

Most of the time when I write, I base it off the content that I read in my bible that morning. Every here and there a thought comes to my mind that I need to write about because I believe it's something we all need to hear and think about.

Yesterday evening when I was reading this thought came to mind: What if our lives were a direct representations of what we posted on instagram? In other words, what if the things that we posted were the real thing. Not just the best pictures, or the best experiences we have. Imagine this - the couple who fought all morning and then takes a beautiful picture on instagram posts what actually was going on.

 It takes like 10 seconds or less to get a really good picture. There are 86,400 seconds in a day. We base our opinions, thoughts, judgments, questions and concerns off of something that was 10 seconds or less. Think about that! We should not let 10 seconds of someone else's life portray the way that we think about ours.

Instagram isn't always reality my friends. Don't be fooled by what you see on there and don't fool others with the things you say or post. Be real, be authentic, be you. Please don't let what you see on someones page affect your life in a negative way.

Be real and post real things. If things aren't as perfect as they seem, don't be afraid to admit it. It's not the end of the world.

My one challenge to you for tonight is to focus on the 86,400 seconds...not the 10. I hope this small idea brings you all back to reality.

It's a great thing to have the technology that we have today, don't get me wrong. I just never want anyone to be wrongfully consumed by it in their daily lives. Both when it comes to time spent and the way that you let it make you feel.

86,400 > 10

Our governing God

If I were a betting man I would say that it is safe to say our world is a little bit messed up. From top to bottom - from rulers to the homeless. Who really governs us? Do we really know? Sure, there are people that have been elected to rule all over the world but who reigns over all?

God. Our God is governing and sovereign over all.

"The Almighty is beyond our reach and exalted in power;
in his justice and great righteousness, he does not oppress." (Job 37:23)

God's power and might is beyond our reach. The humans on this earth, their power is all very limited compared to the Alrighty's power. Our earthly rulers do have a great deal of power but it's not even a comparison when you look at God's power.

God is sovereign over all of nature and all of our lives. God is in control-he directs, preserves, and maintains his created order.

Although we can't see it, God is divinely governing the moral and political affairs of people as well. By spending time observing the majestic and intricate parts of God's creation, we can be reminded of his power in every aspect of our lives.

Sure, things seem a little corrupt...that is because they are. What matters is that God is all powerful and all loving. He is faithful and will never fail us. I encourage you to remember that today. Don't get beat up about living in a corrupt world. Be thankful for living in a place where God governs and rules over all.

A beautiful word

Our souls and minds need to be refreshed every single day. It is way too easy to forget about the mental recharge that we need daily. It's not healthy to live in a such a way where all we do is wear down our mind.

How do we do that? I believe that one of the ways in which that can happen is by reading things that are beautifully written. In a society where we are surrounded by books about success, leadership, and growth we forget about reading things for fun. 

Reading beautifully written words is flat out good for the soul. 

I came across a passage in Job today that encouraged me to write on this topic. I was encouraged because I haven't really read anything that beautiful written in a couple days and it really stuck out as something that I needed to read. It was refreshing. You know that feeling when you are outside on a hot summer and jump into a cold pool? Or you are hiking to a waterfall and when you finally get close enough to hear the water - you get so excited because the sound is refreshing. 

"He draws up the drops of water,

which distill as rain to the streams;

the clouds pour down their moisture

and abundant showers fall on mankind.

Who can understand how he spreads out the clouds,

how he thunders from his pavilion?

See how he scatters his lighting about him,

bathing the depths of the sea.

This is the way he governs the nations

and provides food in abundance.

He fills his hands with lightning

and commands it to strike its mark.

His thunder announces the coming storm;

even the cattle make known its approach. (Job 36:27-33)

Read through that a couple of times. There is so much power that comes from writing something in such a beautiful and descriptive way. It's simply good for the soul.

My challenge for you for the rest of this week is to read something refreshing. Read something for fun. Take 10 minutes and do it because you want to, not because you have to. 

Be a man like Boaz

As men, I believe that it is easier for us to get off track more than woman. It's easier for us to give into sinful and lustful desires. I believe that our minds are more polluted than most women as well. Apart from lustful desires we have an obsessed with power and recognition in an unhealthy way. It's easy for men to think that is what fulfills them and makes them who they are.

I really don't know why that's the case. It's something that I have always wondered and I believe it's a struggle that all guys go through at some point in their lives. I know that I have gone through it - and to make it through was one of the most rewarding feelings.

Reading through the book of Ruth the past couple of days was really cool. I had never really gotten into a book in the Old Testament and to get a lot out of it was special. The book of Ruth is mainly about Ruth and how even though she experienced a lot of misfortune, she was faithful to God and she played a huge role in the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah.

It was encouraging reading about her and Naomi but that wasn't the main thing that I took away from reading Ruth.

I was encouraged to be a man like Boaz. Boaz was known for a couple of things:

- a man of his word
- sensitive to those in need
- cared for his workers
- responsible and had integrity
- successful and shrewd businessman

Those are a lot of things that I want to be as man. I don't need tons of money, I don't need worldly pleasure, I don't need lots of fancy things, I want to be a man of my word and someone who really cares for people and loves God above all things.

There are a couple of instances where Boaz's character really stuck out to me.

The first time was when we met Ruth was she was gleaning in his field. Ruth was a stranger and came out of nowhere - yet he welcomed her with love and kindness. He made it clear that he wanted her to stick around and didn't want any of his other workers to mess with her. I admire the love he showed a stranger.

The second that really stuck out to me was the way he reacted when he woke up one night and Ruth was sleeping at the end of his bed. Naomi had told Ruth to go to where Boaz was and told her to sleep at the end of his bed and make it known that she was there. Now I would assume Ruth was fairly attractive and Boaz was probably attracted to her based off of the way that he treated her in the fields the first time they met. In the middle of the night when Ruth pulled off the blanket where his feet where at - he reacted in a Godly manner. I feel like most men could have treated that situation very differently, but Boaz was respectful and showed Ruth love and kindness.

The third thing is that Boaz wasn't messing around. He knew that he wanted to marry Ruth. He wasn't  beating around the bush when they first met. He made a decision that he was going to marry her and stuck to that. He was a man of his word and didn't waste any time marrying her.

Lastly, Boaz bought land from her widowed husband in order that his name still be on the land. I find that to be a very honorable decision made by him. How easy would it be for him to think that he was the man now and that Ruth's deceased husband didn't matter. He still cared and respected him and his land.

Boaz was a man who did things in the right way. He never took short cuts. He lived by the rules and laws that were in place. No matter what the case was - he always treated the people that he worked with and others with love and respect. He was honorable and was a solid man of God. A man that I want to be like someday. He loved and cared for people - especially the woman that he married.

Be an honorable God-fearing  man. That is the challenge that I have for all the guys out there who read this.

A beautiful outlook

One of the things I have really been intentional about in my life is loving others - but in reality going deeper than that. I have been intentional about loving others out of respect for the people who love them.

I think when we start to love others with their loved ones in mind it changes the way we love and respect them. Why? When you treat someone with love, kindness, respect, and really care for them - a friendship like that is one that they are going to share and talk about with their parents or close friends.

I remember grabbing lunch with one of my friends dad's this past Spring and he told me that he really appreciates and respects people who love his kids and treat them with love, respect, and kindness.

Those are the things that we need to hear sometimes. When you hear comments like that - you know that you have made some really solid friends. Building up a group of really close friends like that is truly loving your neighbor as yourself and God loves that.

For example - one of the ways in which I love Rachel is treating in and caring for her in a way that her parents and family would appreciate. A lot of the things I say and do for her are out of love and respect for her parents. I love her family greatly too! Not just her.  We set really strict boundaries because I always want to be able to look her dad in the eyes and tell him that I am respecting his daughter greatly.

Loving Rachel a little extra because of the people around her has led to some amazing relationships. If I wasn't intentional about loving her in a way that was showing love to those around her too - who knows if I would be as close to her family and friends. I have a really good relationship with her family and some of her friends because I keep them in mind too.

It's a beautiful outlook when you live a life this way. It provides you with the opportunity to build a lot of relationships and love others. Her cousins have become my friends because of this love...they aren't just cousins.

Why did I write about this topic this morning?

It's all tied back to Boaz and Ruth. Naomi had told Ruth to go to the threshing floor to see Boaz and she was obedient. She went to him and slept at his feet and when she returned, Naomi asked her: "How did it go my daughter?" Then she told her everything Boaz had done for her and added, "He gave me these six measures of barely, saying, 'Don't go back to your mother-in-law empty handed.'" (Ruth 3:16)

I don't want the people I have a relationship with to ever leave a conversation or time spent together empty handed. I want to provide value to people. My hope is that the impact I have on the lives of people is brought back to their loved ones.

That impact comes from having meaningful conversations. Meaningful conversations provide value in our daily lives. Boaz had Ruth bring something of value back to Naomi so she didn't leave empty handed. Naomi was thankful that Boaz had treated her with love and kindness. Value comes from meaning.

I challenge you to find that beautiful outlook and live your lives in that way. I believe that a great reward will come from it. Both on earth and in heaven. On earth you will build more relationships and in heaven I can't even imagine what the reward will be like.

Love others with the intent of loving and respecting those who love them.

Gleaning in the fields

Your reputation follows you wherever you go. Your reputation is formed by those who watch you at work, in town, at home, and in church. A good reputation comes be consistently living out the qualities you believe in - no matter what group of people or surroundings you are in.

In Ruth chapter two, she is introduced to Boaz while she is out working in his field. She was a foreigner so nobody who was out there with her new who she was.

When Boaz noticed Ruth in the field he approached her and said this: "I've been told all about what you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband - how you left your father and mother and your homeland and cane to live with a people you did not know before. May the Lord repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge." (Ruth 2:11-12)

Ruth's life exhibited admirable qualities: she was hard-working, loving, kind, faithful, and brave. All of those qualities gained for her a good reputation, but only because she displayed them consistently in all areas of her life. Wherever Ruth went or whatever she did, her character remains the same.

Is your reputation something that you are proud of? If not - change. Remember this - not everybody is going to love you. We mess up and we make mistakes. Sometimes people don't see past your mistakes and don't believe that you may have changed.

When you are right with God you are right with the others. I believe that sentence to be entirely true.

I encourage you to be consistent in all that you do and you will be greatly rewarded just like Ruth.

Oh baby...Ruth

I want to begin this post by telling you a little story about one of the most influential people that I grew up around...my friend Natalie.

Back when I was homeschooled until 5th grade I had two friends. My brother Jack and my friend Natalie. From the time we first met in Sunday school when we were little kids until senior year of high school she always had an impact on my life.

When I look at the time when I was in high school it was really easy to conform. You wanted to fit in, have lots of friends, and be cool. There was a line that I would never cross but it was close call sometimes. I had really good friends but some of the time I hung out with them because they were really cool in my eyes.

You had a couple groups of people:

- cool kids, know-it alls, athletes, 4.0 students
- cool kids, athletes, solid Christians
- good people, smart, Christians
- solid people, very strong Christinas
- rough around the edges, not really strong in their faith

Those five categories are what it seemed to be like...I liked to be a cool kid, who was an athlete, somewhat smart, and loved Jesus. The issues that I had was that I wouldn't make decisions that were completely honoring to God. The simple way to put it is that God wasn't the number one priority in my life.

You know whose life God was number 1 in? Natalie's. From day one she was never ashamed of her faith. No matter how badly she might have wanted to fit in better. No matter what people said about her. No matter what the case was, she always put Jesus above it all.

I admired her from afar. There were times were I would think she was a little crazy. I saw other things as more important and fulfilling than God. So I really wondered how she could put God above everything that there was.

She seemed to never conform to the world. She was comfortable in her own skin and who she was. She never crossed the line to fit in. Something I had done many times.

I never realized how much of an impact she had on my life until last year.

Why do I share this story?

As believers in Jesus Christ - we know what is to come someday. We are going to die and go to heaven. The path that we travel along the way is where it gets difficult. We are faced with temptations, hardships, struggles, and sorrow everyday. Satan is always trying to deceive us into thinking that the Christian life isn't worth it.

We go through things everyday that might make you question Jesus or why you do what you do. I would bet that if you thought long and hard about it - some people would come to mind who have stuck through it all and have persevered and always kept God first. No matter how difficult life got, no matter how badly someone wanted to fit in, they stuck to their faith.

I bet you can think of someone who is like a Natalie. Someone who had a tremendous amount of faith. If you know some of those people - cling to them! Don't leave their sides.

That is exactly what Ruth did. The book of Ruth is a story about God's grace in the midst of difficult circumstances. Ruth is a book that we should read to be encouraged. God is at work in the world, and he wants to use you. God used Ruth's mother-in-law to bring her to him.

Naomi had recently lost her husband and her sons...

Naomi had two daughters-in-law who had just been recently widowed. There was almost nothing worse than being widowed in the ancient world. You were taken advantage of or ignored. God's law, therefore, provided that the nearest relative of the dead husband should care for the widow; but Namoi had no relatives in Moab, and she did not know if any of her relatives were alive in Israel.

In her selfless attitude, Naomi encouraged the widows to stay in Moab and start their lives over, even if that meant more hardship for her. Naomi was putting her needs above others.

The widows really wanted to go with her, but she was persistent in her answers. She was not going to let them come with her.

Look at what Ruth says to Naomi: But Ruth replied, "Don't urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God will be my God. Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me." When Namoi realized that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped urging her. (Ruth 1:16-18)

I believe we can learn form two people here. First - have strong faith like Naomi. No matter what circumstances were thrown her way she remind faithful. She lost her husband and sons and remained faithful to God. Second - be loyal and persistent like Ruth. As believers we are all technically a family. Families are meant to be loyal to each other no matter what. Ruth wasn't going to let her circumstances affect her loyalty to Naomi. Ruth also was persistent. She stuck right by Naomi and wasn't going to leave her side.

Find your Natalie's, and be persistent when you are going through tough times. You never know who God might bring into your life that you will help bring right back to Him.

Practice what you preach

A lot of people put up a wall when it comes to their faith and what they think of Christians. Why do you think that is?

We can be so hypocritical.  We say we are believers and that everything we do is honoring to God but we don't always live our lives this way. Most Christians know what to say. With reading the Bible comes knowledge and proper things to say. We as humans have the dangerous ability to pretend what we know we are talking about.

You could have someone who reads the Bible everyday and knows it from beginning to end and their lives aren't reflecting this.

As Christians it's easy to talk about ourselves and about how our lives are changed and how we live our lives everyday. The problem that is happening is that nonbelievers watch this from a far and see that our lives aren't reflecting the way in which we talk.

We are missing a pretty big point here....We can't forget about the power, significance, perfection, and grace of God. We are broken people trying to preach to broken people that we aren't. Why would we talk this way? We need to tell other people about how God is all-powerful and loving.

Jesus was the only-perfect human to ever walk this earth. As much as we try to be, we aren't, as much as we want to be, we can't.

We all strive to be the very best for people and that is what we want. We want to be enough for everyone. We see people who have needs, and want to fulfill those needs....We can't fill those needs completely.

This is really cheesy but think of this like macaroni and cheese. God is the cheese you put it. You boil some water really well, put the noodles in, the butter and the milk, and you will just have some decent noodles. What makes that macaroni and cheese delicious and complete? The packet of cheese that you put it in.

We all have the power in ability to impact lives of people to a great extent, but we cannot do it all and when we share who God is we need to not forget that God is the only one who can fill that gap.

Practicing what we preach goes beyond living a life that is honoring and pleasing to God everyday. It's doing that plus making it known that we are not perfect. I read my Bible everyday, I pray, and talk about Jesus and I am not perfect. Only Jesus was perfect and that is what we cannot forget to say.

Why would Christians be inspired by someone who doesn't recognize that they are still broken? I respect people who are vulnerable, and recognize that only God is perfect.

We are pretty great, but not as great as we think we are...practice what you preach my friends. We all need Christ Jesus equally. I don't need Him anymore than the people sitting here in Einsteins. We all need Jesus more than anything.

A handful of witnesses

Paul made three visits to the Corinthians. Meaning that going once just wasn't enough. He needed to go more than once in order to try and save as many people as he could. Paul could've been content going once, but he knew more needed to be done.

In whatever we do in life we have to establish credibility.

Anybody can do something once and do a good job at it. Those who stick to what is difficult and continue to do it over and over again are the people that establish credibility in my eyes.

For example, all through high school and college I loved to work out in the mornings. It was my favorite time to get after it. I rarely worked out alone in the mornings because I enjoyed having somebody with me and helping those around me achieve their goals as well. There had been a handful of guys who would work out with me in the morning once or twice.  On the other hand there were two or three who stuck to it with me everyday. Some of those guys who worked out with my every morning are some of my best friends.

If you have ever tried to wake up extra early in the morning to work, workout, or get things done, it was always easy the first time. The second day was usually more tough, you had in your mind you wanted to keep this up so you got up. The third day is where it was the most difficult to keep it going. The third day was when some of these morning workouts would stop.

My example is just like Paul's. He had to be persistent with what he was doing in order to establish credibility with the people around him.

This is my third visit to you. "Every matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses." (2 Corinthians 13:1)

You can't just show up and do something one time. You can't just be a Christian one day of the week and not do anything the rest. This is about building persistence, good habits, and self-discipline so that in all we do we are glorying and honoring God and loving those around us.

Another way that I look at this is asking myself this question: "How many people are getting to experience my true authentic self?"

I can't just be me around one person and expect everyone to know me the way that Rachel does for example, or my parents, or some of my best friends. I believe that true authenticity is being yourself around more than just a coupe of people.

Paul writes that every matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.

Are there two or three people right now in your life who could sit down face to face with God and tell Him that you are living a life that is honoring and pleasing to Him?

If not- let that motivate you! Get to the point where you know that there are people around you who see that you honor God in everything you say and do. We aren't called to live life for human recognition, but we are called to love. When we are loving others, it will be noticed and that is obedience. Love because God first loved us.