It's not going to be instantaneous

Picture this. God answering every prayer you ever prayed. Every miracle that you ever wanted to happen, God performs. Everything you ever ask of Him, he does.

If our faith was instantaneous like that, I don't even know if we could consider that faith. That would make our faith more of an absolute expectation.

You might know God to be a little humorous sometimes. His timing and the way he does things somehow always works out...even when we didn't think that there was any way that it would. I say God is humorous because I can almost look back at my entire life and laugh a little bit about how everything unfolded in a completely different way than I ever expected.

One of the things I can relate this example to the most is my career. When school was wrapping up last Spring I didn't really know what path I was going to take. I just wanted to serve people and make an impact in whatever way that I could.

There were two companies in the finance/insurance industry that reached out to me in the last two weeks of school. The first company that reached out, I was really caught off guard because I never pictured myself in this industry. That company reaching out to me really got me thinking that this sort of career might be the perfect fit...God got my wheels turning.

About a week after this happened, another company reached out. Northwestern Mutual. That is where I am now. When this fell into place I knew it was the perfect fit for me. I was waiting for a second sign from God to show me that this industry was for me, and through constant prayer, it happened.

There is a story in Mark chapter 8 where Jesus restores the sight of a blind man.

When Jesus was in the city of Bethsaisda, some people brought to him a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him in order to restore his sight. Jesus put his hands on the man and asked if he saw anything and the man said this..."I see people; they look like trees walking around." 

Then Jesus put his hands on the man again and he opened his eyes and could see everything clearly.

So why did Jesus touch the man a second time before he could see? This miracle was not too difficult for Jesus, but he chose to do it in stages, possibly to show the disciples that some healing would be gradual rather than instantaneous or to demonstrate that spiritual truth it not always perceived clearly at first.

See how this relates to our lives?

For me, it took two companies in the same industry reaching out. But that isn't the only time. There have been more times than not where God has been gradual in the process. I believe that is a huge key in our daily lives.

Spiritual truth is also almost never perceived clearly the first time. I have to re-read verses in my bible all the time just to try and make sense of them. There are still verses that I don't understand even though I have read them thousands of times. I have faith that someday I will understand them.

If we have the expectation that everything God does will be instantaneous we will often be disappointed. Everything is gradual. My prayer for you is that you begin to be patient in waiting for God to answer your prayers. Be patient in your perception.

From the inside

Something that is "defiled," is usually spoiled.

Did you know that we can be defiled?

"Nothing outside a person can defile them by going into them. Rather is it what comes out of a person that defiles them." (Mark 7:15)

What comes out of our mouths is so incredibly significant and important. As important as it is to have our minds and hearts right, what comes out is even more important. You could have heart of gold but if you say mean things to people and treat everyone like a jerk do you really have a heart of gold?

You might have a heart for serving others. But the words that come out of your mouth when you are around your friends or others doesn't align to what is in your heart then you won't ever come across as someone who has a heart to serve others.

If I don't talk about the things that I write in my blog posts, or my words don't align with the things I write on here would this blog be genuine? Not even close. Nobody would ever read it if what came out of my mouth was totally foolish.

Do you catch what I am throwing you here? What comes out of a person is what truly will define us.

It's like a famous athlete who is booed by the entire crowd. The crowd could be relentless in their pursuit of yelling at the athletes, but that shouldn't ever defile the player. What is being screamed isn't going to defile him or her. If the athlete reacts, yells back, or does something crazy, that is what will defile a person.

Yes, there are so many things in the world that distract us and try to get us off the right path, but that doesn't happen until we let it. It takes faith, and mental strength. It's like we have to shut off the noise.  Internally we have to know and understand what our true purpose is and not let what is external try to work its way in.

I am not trying to preach to you and tell you that as long as we are mentally strong nothing will get us off track. That'd be a little excessive.

The point I am trying to make with this post is that we will only become defiled based off of what comes out of us, not what comes in....I am not going to be spoiled based off of being around a group of people who talk about things I don't want to hear. I will be defiled if I begin to talk like they do.

I encourage you to watch what is coming out of your mouth and watch your actions. Pay close to attention to the things that you do on a daily basis. If you begin to notice that you feel defiled, pray for discernment in everything that you say and do.

Praying for discernment is one of my favorite things to pray for because it reminds me that I need to seek God when it comes to all the decisions I make, the words I say, and the actions that I take.

A lack of faith

I am going to be very brutally honest. The toughest part about my walk as a believer has been a lack of faith from some of those who are closest to me....

I haven't always been on fire for Christ. The desire, and willingness to grow didn't happen until my junior year of college. My priorities up to the point in my life weren't the worst, but God was never first and that showed through some of my actions. When I knew that I was committing these sins I felt bad every time but still continued to do it. The closest people around me knew this too because they were around me and knew almost everything about me.

They knew about the decisions I was making but didn't know how I felt in my heart before, in-between, and after. I struggled to share that because it was such a deep feeling.

When God really started to change my heart and my priorities began to change, I knew that I was done with that old self. I wanted nothing to do with it.

What I struggled with was that the closest people to me, still saw me for my old self...Then when I would get made fun of, or those old times would get brought up I was sick to my stomach. I couldn't handle it. I would totally take myself out of the situation when things like that were happening. It was some of the most helpless situations I had ever found myself in...

The most interesting thing to me was that others (who I wasn't as close to) would perceive me as who I was...not who I had been.

When this was all happening was about the time I started writing my blog and posting it all over my social media. I didn't start a blog to make me look good, I started to to encourage others that the key to fulfillment is simply getting in the word on a consistent basis because that is what I did and it worked.

Getting in the word changed everything about me and people who I wasn't as close to saw that, while those closest never did. I never really understood this because one of the things that really mattered to me was wanting my closest friends to know that I had changed.

This was always hard for me until I read the first couple verses of Mark chapter 6.

Jesus left there and went to his hometown, accompanied by his disciplines. When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed."Where did this man get these things?" they asked. "What's the wisdom that has been given him? What are are these remarkable miracles he is performing? Isn't this the carpenter? Isn't this Mary's son and and the brother James, Jospeh, Judaisms, and Simon? Aren't his sisters here with us?" And they took offense at him. Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his own town, among his relatives and in his own home." He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. He was amazed at their lack of faith. (Mark 6:1-6)

The people from Nazareth, Jesus's hometown, had a lack of faith.

Jesus could have done greater miracles in Nazareth, but he choose not to because of the people's pride and unbelief. The miracles that he did had little effect on the people because they did not accept his message or believe that he was from God. Therefore, Jesus looked elsewhere, seeking those who would respond to his miracles and message.

Jesus said that a worker for God is never really honored in his hometown...or by the people closet to him. But that should never make our work any less important. A person doesn't need to be respected or honored to be useful to God. If friends, neighbors, or family don't respect your Christian work, don't ever let their rejection keep your from serving God.

What exactly was the purpose of this post?

To encourage you that it's okay if the people closest to you don't see the change in your heart. We shouldn't expect them to because they are close to us. It's also extremely important to understand that we are all made new. When God really changes someone's heart, we need to celebrate that and not just remember who they used to be and the decisions that they used to make.

Most importantly, your work is significant no matter who you are around. It's significant because it's the work of the Holy Spirit and the Lord changing your heart.

It's just like the last couple posts I have written. Tell your stories about how the Lord is been merciful to you to everyone...

Tell Your Story

We all have a story to tell and too often we don't tell enough people about it. I believe for those who have Christ ever-present in their life that the Lord has been good to them...in some sort of fashion. I've never really heard too many-believers talk about how the Lord has never done anything good in their lives. 

Think about the moment that you came to Christ and the way that you felt. Think about where you came from and where you are now. Think about that one time that the Lord was so good to you and brought you from the darkness into the light. 

Now have you told anyone that story? Or are you ashamed of who you once were and some of the details? 

On the other hand...you might be a little like me. You don't have a crazy story to tell about how God changed your life or a really intense thing that you have been through and you feel like your story isn't significant...I am here to tell you that anything that the Lord does in anyones life is so insanely significant. 

I have shared this before...but one time I was meeting with a pastor and he asked me to tell him my story and the first words out of my mouth were along the lines of...'I don't really have anything too big that happened to me that led me to Christ, I grew up in a Christian home and have been a believer since a young age.' He stopped me right away and told me to never be ashamed of that story and that there are so many people out there who would trade their story for that one all day. 

My hope with this post today is to encourage you to tell people about your story and how good the Lord has been to you. I guarantee that people will be amazed. 

I don't know why we don't do it more...There is no reason to be ashamed about where you came from and where you are now. People will celebrate that! 

You see it all the time. Stories about the Lord bringing the people with the craziest past to on fire Christians now. It's absolutely amazing! 

I don't know if you have ever heard this story before, but in Mark chapter 5, there was a man that was demon possessed. Jesus was standing off in the distance and the man who was demon possessed ran up to Jesus and fell on his knees. 

Long story short, they asked to be released into these pigs and then the man was free from being demon possessed. 

When Jesus was leaving after this awesome miracle...

...the man who had been demon possessed begged to go with him. Jesus did not let him, but said, "Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you." So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed. (Mark 5:18-20)

There are quite a few lessons from this story that we can learn. 

The first being that the demon possessed man ran to Jesus and fell on his knees. When was the last time you did that when you were really struggling with something? When was the last time that you really laid your heart out to God and told him that you were done being stuck in the rut? 

This man was demon possessed and he had no shame in doing this. Heck, there were portably a lot of people around too and he still had no shame! We should never be ashamed of what sins we have committed or what bad things we have done because Jesus has seen it all and knew that those things were going to happen before we were even born. 

The second and final lesson that we can learn is to tell others what Jesus has done in your life to transform you. Jesus clearly told the man to go tell others how much the Lord had done for him. Those direct words came from Jesus's mouth. Those words are meant for everyone. 

The man did just that and the people were amazed.  They were not focused on the fact that this man used to be demon possessed, they were focused and amazed by the fact that the Lord had mercy on him and saved him. 

Finally, don't be afraid to tell your story. Don't be afraid with what you had to go through for Jesus to really change your life. We are all made new and the Lord is so merciful to us. Share your stories.  You never know who you might encourage with what you have been through. 

Scattering seeds

I believe that one of the toughest parts about being a Christian is really having a desire to spread the gospel, doing something about it, and never really seeing the results or knowing if you made it impact.

No matter what great amount of faith you have in God it's still hard sometimes because we care about the people that we witness to and we want to see them come to Christ.

One of the times I struggled with this the most was two summers ago when I was in China. We had an entire basketball team, and 3 translators packed into a small hotel room in Kunming, China. It was the last night of the trip and we were saying goodbye to our translators and praying over them. We actually said words of affirmation to all of them as well. We loved all our translators to death. They were all believers except for one...Nick. Nick was really growing in his faith during our two week trip. I think we all believed that Nick was going to come to Christ that night. Everyone was crying, praying, and we felt like we were all going to witness it...Long story short, that wasn't the night he gave his life to Christ. He just wasn't ready yet. This made leaving the next day extra hard because I wanted to see Nick again someday and didn't know if I ever would. I remember telling him that I was going to see him someday in heaven when we hugged and said goodbye.

About a month later I get a voice recording text from Nick and he told me that he was now a Christian and was certain that he was going to see me again someday. I remember listening to that message over and over again with a happy heart and tears in my eyes...

You see, in that moment, I felt like we all had this thought in our hearts that we were going to be the reason that Nick came to Christ...But when it comes down to it, people aren't going to understand until they are fully ready themselves.

That is the first major point that I want to make as I write this post this morning.

Do not be discouraged when you don't see results from your encouragement. Jesus tells the parable of the four soils in Mark chapter 4. This parable should encourage spiritual "farmers"- those who teach, preach, and lead others. Farmers will always sow good seed but sometimes not all of it grows the way that they would want it to. Don't be discouraged because sometimes those who do not understand God's truth are simply not ready for it.

God reveals truth to people who will act on it, who will make it visible in their lives. When you talk with people about God, be aware that they will not understand if they are not yet ready. Be patient, taking every chance to tell them more of the truth about God and praying that the Holy Spirit will open their minds and hearts to receive the truth and act upon it.

Productivity is always in God's hand's. We sow the seeds but we are not the ones who make the seeds grow. I think to have that expectation that we can make the seeds sprout on our own is a little extreme...

Which brings be to my second major point of this post.

The final product isn't up to us.

"This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. All by itself the soil produces grain - first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts a sickle to it, because the harvest has come." (Mark 4:26-29)

We are in charge of scattering the seeds all over the place. But whether it is night or day, the seed will sprout and grow and we don't know how...That is what the kingdom of God is like. We scatter the seeds but we can't control whether or not someone comes to Christ. That is all the magnificent work of the Holy Spirit. 

God promises that they harvest will be magnificent-the best fruit ever grown. Your witness may be weak and your efforts may seem to influence to few, but the Word of God is a powerful growth agent. 

Keep your eyes on the great harvest to come and don't let bad soil or weeds discourage you from faithful service and witness. 

No matter how badly we want to see people come to Christ because of the words that we say, we need to remember what Jesus says. It's never up to us. There will be an unimaginable harvest, we just have to help scatter the seeds. 

In a way, this should make things easier for you. Do you think farmers lives would be easier if they weren't the ones who had to harvest all their crops? 100%! Think about all the time they would save and all of the less worry that they would have. 

Keep on scattering seeds and there will be a harvest. I promise and so does Jesus. 

Correcting anger

How many times do you get angry everyday? I want you to really sit and think about that. When you get angry, what are you saying and what do your actions look like? Like anything, you have good anger and you have bad anger.

I've experienced both in my life that is for sure. There have been times where I have been really bad angry and times were I have been good angry. The times that were bad were not the best. I cringe even thinking about those times as I write this post. The times where I have gotten really really angry were experiences that I would take back every time. It was like something took over my body and mind because I had reached a breaking point. 

I write that like I am some sort of crazy person, but there were times where I would get really upset about something and I would show it. One of the times I think back of was a basketball practice during my sophomore year of college. I was out by half court tangled up with one of my teammates in some pointless drill and I was so fed up with him that I elbowed him in the nose and broke it.

There have been times where I was good angry. I was fed up and angry with the people around me but I used that emotion I had in me as motivation. That fuel was also used as motivation to prove others wrong. 

The times where I was the good angry were fine. I was at a point where I knew that I could either go crazy or use the anger and frustration that was built up to better myself. When I choose that route it worked 10 times out of 10 times. It also helped me build self-control. I didn't like getting crazy angry but sometimes that felt better...it was just a matter of being aware of what was really happening when I would experience that rage. 

Just so I don't sound like a rage monster, this anger I am talking about probably happened like 10 times in my life. 

What I hope to challenge you with today is to use your anger for good. Anger isn't necessarily a bad thing depending on how you go about it. You can use it very constructively and that is my hope for you today. 

In Mark chapter 3, Jesus heals a man's hand on the sabbath and there were plenty of people who were not happy about this at all. Especially the religious leaders of the time. Many of those leaders turned against Jesus and became his 'enemies.' They were jealous of his popularity, his miracles, and the authority in his teaching and actions. They valued their status in the community and their opportunity for personal gain so much that they lost sight of their goal as religious leaders - to point people toward God. 

Of all people, the Pharisees should have recognized the Messiah, but they refused to acknowledge him because they were not willing to give up their treasured position of power. When Jesus exposed their attitudes, he became their enemy instead of their Messiah, and they began to look for ways to turn people against him.

"Some of them were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath. Jesus said to the man with the shrived hand, "Stand up in front of everyone." Then Jesus asked them, "which is unlawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?" But they remained silent. He looked around at them in anger and, deep distressed at their stubborn hearts, said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." He stretched it out, and his hand was completely restored. Then the Pharisees went out and began to plot with the Herodians how they might kill Jesus." (Mark 3:2-6)

The Pharisees in this situation were specifically trying to find a reason to accuse Jesus and frustrate him. I bet there have been times in your life where you felt like people singled you out to try and make you mad. This happens all of the time nowadays...

Jesus didn't let that outside frustration get to him and he calmly told the man with the shriveled hand to stand up in front of everyone. This action by Jesus is encouraging as well. Jesus knew that there were people in that room who wanted to see him fail but he had full intentions of healing this man in front of everyone and he didn't do it in arrogant fashion. He was calm, cool, collected, and knew that God had a plan.

Next, Jesus asks a question and nobody responds to him. They were all silent. This angered Jesus because it wasn't a difficult question but he most likely knew that they weren't answering the question on purpose. They kept their mouths shut because they wanted to accuse Jesus and make him act out of character and he never did. 

I can just picture Jesus looking around in anger and distress and telling the man to stretch out his hand and healing him. In front of everyone who was trying to accuse him...but he had no fear and was obedient to God because he knew he had a plan. 

As soon as Jesus had healed the man's hand the Pharisees went out and begin to figure out how they were going to kill him. Now Jesus new this all along. He understood this was all part of the plan, but he did it anyways. 

God has such an amazing plan for each and every one of our lives and we so easily let anger throw us off the amazing paths that we are on. I encourage you to use the anger you have in a way that is obedient to God and encougraing to others. Because you know that there were people in that room who were encouraged by what Jesus had just done even though there seemed to be so many against him.

The next time the world wants you to be angry, encourage everyone with how you handle it. 

What's the bigger picture?

There is always a bigger picture out there. In this world where we can get almost anything we want at a touch of a button...there is a bigger picture. I am pretty sure that the average amount of times people switch jobs nowadays is 5-8 times. That is because everyone expects instant success. Our society has transformed out minds into thinking that just because we can get anything we want instantly think that we are going to be an instant success and as soon as something doesn't work we immediately start looking for another way to find success.

As soon as one bad thing happens, we panic and freak out. We think that this job or career isn't for us. We let one bad thing ruin all the good things.

Happy people see God's perfect picture. So how are you looking at your problems? Are you viewing them from the world's viewpoint? Or God's viewpoint?

If you want to be a happy person, you need to look at every problem from God's viewpoint. Happy people have a larger perspective. They see the bigger picture. When you don't see things from God's point of view, you get discouraged, frustrated, and unhappy.

No matter what is going on our lives, God is always working on his plan for you.

"I want you to know, my dear brothers and sisters, that everything that had happened to me here has helped spread the good news." (Philippians 1:12)

I don't know if you knew this or not but Paul had one really big dream and that was to share the gospel in the city of Rome. At the time, Rome was the most important city in the world. Paul was all set to do this, but God had different plans.

Instead of sending Paul to Rome to preach, God made him a royal prisoner of Caesar, who at the time was Nero.

As a royal prisoner, Paul was chained to a royal guard 24 hours a day for two years, and the guard was changed every four hours. Over the two years he was in prison, he witnessed to 4,380 guards...really let that settle in.

Paul could've had a prisoner-like mindset and just totally shut himself off and not done anything with the situation he was in but he didn't do that. He knew that God had a bigger plan, and that he could see this plan unfolding because he got to witness to many of the guards.

Another thing that Paul did while he was in prison was write. This was when he wrote the books of Romans, First and Second Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians.

We can learn an extremely important lesson here. When things in our lives don't go as planned, we should never get down or frustrated. We need to always remember God's bigger picture.

That is what Paul did and when he was imprisoned he wrote 7 books in the New Testament and he witnessed to over 4,380 prison guards. What are you doing when things don't go your way?

What's the bigger picture?

They shouldn't have to speak

We should NEVER want the people we defeat or do something better than admit to us that they were defeated. Basically, when we defeat our enemies, we should not rely on them to admit defeat just so that we think others know that we won...

I know that seems like a really interesting thought...You would think that you would want them to tell everyone about how you have more power than them. But that isn't the case...

Check this ~

and Jesus healed many who had various diseases. He also drove out many demons, but he would not let the demons speak because they knew who he was. (Mark 1:34)

After Jesus drove out all of the demons he wouldn't let them speak because they already knew who he was..

There are three reasons why Jesus didn't want the demons to reveal who he was.

1. By commanding the demons to remain silent, Jesus proved his authority and power over them.

It wouldn't have been very powerful for Jesus to have the demons speak.

They most likely won't, but imagine if the Browns won the super bowl this year. When they are having their championship press conference, imagine the Browns players asking the team they defeated to join the press conference just so have the other team admit they were defeated...That shows that the Browns didn't have enough validation in who they were as champions.

2. Jesus wanted the people to believe he was the Messiah because of what he said and did, not because of the demons' words.

We should want people to know that Christ is our everything based off of what we say and do. I don't want people to know the type of person I am because of others telling them that. I don't need validation of others to make me feel like a good person. I know that through my actions and my words that I am a man of faith.

I don't ever want to have to imagine myself in a situation where I am relying on others to talk about the type of person that I am...why? People aren't truthful, people lie, words get twisted all around, etc. Who we proclaim ourselves to be through our words and actions are so important. That validates you, not what others have to say.

Think about it like this, 10 people could say that I really am who I proclaim myself to be, and then I proclaim myself to be who I really am. Who do you think might be right here?

Yes, you might be thinking that we could easily lie too, but that isn't the point here. I am talking about being a really solid follower of Christ and not having to rely on others to prove that!

3. Jesus wanted to reveal his identity as the Messiah according to his timetable, not according to Satan's timetable, Satan wanted the people to follow Jesus around for what they could get out of him, not because he was the Son of God who could truly set them free from sin's guilt and power,

Let me ask you this...who's timetable are you on?'

Are you more concerned with the number of people that are following you around or having an impact and sharing the gospel of Christ? Sharing the gospel of Christ is a commitment that you make to God. You should never want the enemy to have to tell others that this is what you are doing because you never need anybody's validation besides God's.

My prayer for you is that the post really made sense to you tonight...we should never rely on our enemies to speak...we should have enough confidence in who we are by our words and actions.

"Jo"

I have been meaning to write about an interaction I had with someone the other day while I was at work...I made up my mind earlier, that today was going to be the day when I wrote about it and then I opened up my bible and what I wanted to write about related perfectly to what I just read. 

When you take peoples orders from behind the counter you always have to ask what their names are so that you know whose order is whose. Nobody ever asks what your name is when you are behind the counter because there really isn't a need. But that happened to me the other day, a gal named 'Jo' asked what my name was and it was so nice of her. Nobody ever does that...

It really got me thinking. Asking one simple question and being different than everybody else can make such a difference in the way that we live our lives. I've taken hundreds of orders and nobody has ever asked what my name was.

I felt so appreciated by this random stranger...what if we just asked what people's names were all of the time....that is really something that we never do. 

Asking a simple question was just the most perfect example of loving a stranger...

Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. (Hebrews 13:1)

When was the last time that you showed love to somebody you didn't really know like you would as a brother or sister? Probably not too often right?

If you keep up with my posts you probably think I talk about little things like this all the time. I am a huge advocate for showing random acts of kindness to people and just simply loving everyone as brothers and sisters. 

All it takes is a shift in mindset and perspective. Have a great mindset. Be thankful for all the people in this world who work so hard to provide for their friends and families. Treat others with a warm smile, kindness and respect. We are all human...One positive, kind, and loving human interaction can completely change someones day. Maybe even their life. We are all going through something and with love and kindness everything could change. 

I challenge you to be challenged by this post today. Go and love somebody as a brother and sister. I promise you that it will be worth it and pay off. The other person isn't always going to show the appreciation for you, but they will most likely feel it. 

Go and be like 'Jo' and you will never have any regrets. 

Run Forest Run

In order for us to run the race that we are called to run we must make sure that we get rid of everything that hinders us and slows us down. What do all runners do before they run in a race? 99% of the time they are going to train for those races because they want to do a good job and they want to be in enough shape to do well.

I hope that most of you have see the movie Forest Gump...if you have, the title of those post makes sense! What was hindering Forest from running? The metal braces on his legs caused him to not be able to run. Forest could hardly even walk with those braces on his legs. Long story short, a bunch of mean kids were chasing after Forest one afternoon and as he was trying to get away he started running and the metal braces just broke right off of his legs!

Forest was so fed up that he make a conscious decision that he was going to try and just run. No matter what limitations there were, he was just going to go for it and the results were incredible!

I believe that we let things in our lives hinder us from running the race the we know we should be running. That's because we are so easily entangled by sin and distractions. Sin wraps us right up and sometimes limits us from being world conquerers.

If I asked you to sit and think about your life now, I bet each and every person who reads this could name some of the things that are holding them back...If I was a betting man I would also bet that deep down each and every one of you has a desire to change and just run the race like we know we should! We all have that desire to do it, there are just some things that hold us back...things that we can't seem to get rid of in our lives...

I am telling you that when you make that decision to go all in, it will be the best decision of your life. To be able to say to yourself that you are never going to let anything hold you back and you're just going to go for it is so powerful!

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:1-3)

In a time where we are so easily distracted and drawn to so many things that we shouldn't, I encouraged you to get rid of all those things that entangle you. If it's social media, stay off of it, if it's the music you listen to, don't listen to that music, if it's the people you spend time with, find other people to spend time with. We are incapable of running the race that was set before us when we are entangled by the things of this world.

If you're sitting here thinking that everyone else has it together but not yourself you are dead wrong! We ALL struggle with something.

Run forest run...

The taste is important

I know that there are many times where i'll talk about getting to experience God's goodness on a daily basis. Which is true. We get to experience that all of the time. I really want to emphasize something tonight as I write this post.

We have the ability to taste God's love....Now what does that mean? It means all sorts of things. 

I know that I don't do this as often. Sometimes it seems like we chase after the experience versus the taste. It's almost easier do that because it takes less effort to experience something vs. actually tasting it. Anybody can go into a nice resutrant just to experience it, but it takes effort and work to order something that you will get to taste. That sounds dramatic but I think it's a valid point. 

Way too often just seek the experience. When we seek the experience, we go after things that we expect to fill all of our needs. You know what...we never find those things either. 

When we taste his love, it makes us better people because we are no longer trying to meet the needs, fill the voids, or heal the hurts with things the world can offer. We have been healed and satisfied by the love of Jesus and no longer put a demand on people or things to give you something you were designed to only receive from him.

Most people, including myself don't think of God this way. I pray that you begin to see God like this and no longer see him as just a God of religion. He is a God of mercy, compassion, and grace-the God who is love. 

My challenge for you as we head into a new week is taste the love that God has to offer. 

Out of this world

I believe that we don't put enough significance on the idea that having faith in God is having faith in something that is out of this world. We all need to have faith that where we are at right now is not our forever home. This earth isn't going to be where we live eternally. It's not even close.

I know I am guilty of this all of the time but its a commonality to experience something super cool on earth and think we will get to experience things like that in heaven. As Christians who have put all their faith in Jesus we don't belong on this earth. We need to celebrate the magnificent power of Christ and the fact that what heaven will be like we can't even imagine...

I was having a conversation with my brother the other day and we were just talking about how there isn't really enough that is celebrated about our lives as Christians. Yeah, we aren't perfect, we sin, etc. But why do we get so down on ourselves all the time. Look at half the worships songs out there, there all about how broken we are...When we focus on how broken we are we forget the fact that we are saved and that a forever with God is on the horizon. We must always live with an out of this word mindset.

As I sit here and write this post I can say with all honesty that there isn't one place on this earth that I would want to spend eternity in. There is always something that is going to go wrong, a need that isn't met, crazy people, etc.

One of the places I think of though is Catalina Island off of the coast of California..that is one of my most favorite places I have ever been. Would I want to spend eternity there? Absolutely not. There would never be anything about that island that could fulfill me the way that God can and will in heaven. I don't care if it's 80 degrees and sunny all of the time. I don't care that it's an island off the coast of California. I don't care how good the food is. None of that will last forever...

So why do we continue to identify places, people, or things to put our faith in when they won't last? We have a mindset sometimes that we belong here...When we begin to shift that mindset, it will be one of the most fulfilling feelings you will ever feel. It's actually more of a longing rather than fulfillment. I long for the day that I get to spend eternity in a place that was promised for me.

"All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were looking for a better country-a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them." (Hebrews 11:13-16)

There is so much to impact in that scripture...

One of the things I want to point out is that we never know if Christ is going to return before we die or not. It could happen in 5 minutes, or 2000 years. We must envision the things that we were promised from a distance and recognize that we aren't meant for this earth. We are meant for what we envision through God's promise...that is an eternal life mindset.

Another thing is that we need to know that there is a country (a whole new land) that is promised for us someday. That land and life is going to be greater than we could ever imagine. It's so far out of the world...

My challenge to you is to live with that mindset. We are blessed to live on this earth right now, and God has put a lot of things in it for our enjoyment but it's not going to last forever. We can never expect to get everything out of this world that we want to. This world is not going to fulfill us but having an eternal life/out of this world mindset will do just that.

The world isn't enough

I struggle really hard when I go 2-3 days without engaging myself in the word. I won't let myself go longer than 2 days because longer than that I really can't handle it.

I titled this post 'the world isn't enough' because I was really feeling that way this afternoon. We had our annual planning meeting in Battle Creek, MI last night and this morning and we were at the Firecracker Casino. It was my first casino experience...Nearly everything that the world had to offer I was exposed to last night and this morning. 

It's not like everyone was going super crazy because that definitely wasn't the case but we were all just around alcohol and gambling. Which is something that people often look to for fulfillment. It was a super fun time as well! I am not writing this post saying that we should never ever drink or gamble anything...I am writing this post to tell you that this world will never be enough...(by the way...I put in $10 and won $31 and went straight to bed)

I laughed harder last night than I have in a very long time. Our office sat around a table last night after the dinner and we had some drinks and just laughed so hard most of the evening. It was so fun to be out of the work space and in a fun location to just hang out and not talk just about work related things. 

It was by far the most fun I had with our Mishawaka office so far. I honestly love every single person that I work with! Every person is so fun to be around and truly cares about you. 

I almost forgot to mention...we had tremendous food both last night and this morning. 

Everything that I just got done describing sounds like it would be pretty fulfilling right? It was to a point..but not even close to being enough. I left today realizing how true it is that fulfillment only comes from God. 

That is what I want all of your to know and understand. I can't imagine a life without God at the center. I went 2 days without engaging myself in the word and I felt like something was totally missing. I knew exactly what it was. My goal for you is to get to the point where you are so engaged in the word on a daily basis that the moment you go without it you know what you are missing. 

Honestly you would think after a little midweek work trip that I would be feeling great but that just isn't the case because I was missing my Jesus time and everything in my life is centered around my relationship with Christ. My prayer...my hope...my everything for you is that your relationships with Christ began to take shape like that...where the moment you know that you are missing something, it's time spent in the word. 

I am telling you with all my heart that if you are trying to find fulfillment from this world, it simply won't ever happen. Only the Holy Spirit will make you feel like you have everything that you will ever need...and that is because that is what the Holy Spirit is and what God provides. 

Drowning in the details

Have you ever gotten so caught up in something that you are totally unaware of what is going on around you? 

I think of the couple months that I spent studying for my test...I was drowning in the details. Every part of me what locked in and focused on one goal and that was passing my test. Because of that I missed out on a lot of the things that were going on around me. There were way too many times that I would turn down an hour break to see my friends, or not workout, not go to church, and even sometimes lose sleep. 

In order for me to pass my test that is what I needed to do but I also didn't do good with the balance that I needed...

We all need balance...

Another example I think of is my work on a daily basis. If I got worried about one little thing that went wrong I would miss out on tons of time that I could be using to schedule more meetings. One of my colleagues gave me that advice today. I was a little anxious about a case going through underwriting and I had spent about 45 minutes this morning reading emails, on the phone, and trying to get this figured out. It turned out that this wasn't really my problem to worry about because I have an awesome team of people around me who are willing to help me, back me up, and be there for me when I need them most. I can't stress how important it is to surround yourself with good people. (that will be a topic for another day)

In the midst of the jumbled mess my colleague just told me to not waste my time on something that I don't have to worry about and that really got me thinking...how much time do we spend worrying about things that we don't have to worry about it? We drown in the details on almost an everyday basis.

Check out this verse that I just read tonight...

"Above the ark were the cherubim of the Glory, overshadowing the atonement cover. But we cannot discuss these things in detail now." (Hebrews 9:5)

I was blown away by this verse when I first read it. When Paul most likely wrote this book the beginning of that verse made it sound like he was about to explain the cherubim in great detail! But he intentionally said that we don't need to discuss those things in great detail right now. Paul was so drawn and inspired by what he was writing about that if he would've wasted time and described everything in great detail the main point might have been missed. 

It's crazy to me how relatable that is to our daily lives! We get so involved in things that we don't really need to be involved in and we forget about our purpose and why we are here. We become way less productive in our daily lives when we drown in the detail. My encouragement for you all tonight is to not drown in the things that you don't really have to drown in. We all have control over where our focus should be and that means we should try our best to focus on what is most important and what will get us where we truly want to go. 

The under appreciated Holy Spirit

I am going to be the first to say that I under appreciate the Holy Spirit. I’ve felt the Holy Spirit ever since I gave my life to Christ but I guess I haven’t really had the best understanding until today. It’s a tough thing to explain, I have an understanding of the Holy Spirit but that understanding and appreciation didn’t click until this morning.

I used to think that our desire to do good just came from our hearts and us naturally wanting to be good people. I felt like anytime I had a desire to read my bible it was only because in my heart I felt like it was the right thing to do and in my mind I really did want to learn as much as I possibly good.

I love people and strive for that connection to build relationships and just be there for someone. I believe that encouragement is a gift that God has given me but I used to think that is just how I am. I love it and that fuels me and makes me who I am but I didn’t understand that the Holy Spirit is always doing that work.

Every time I read my bible, journal, and write a blog post, I feel what I write in my heart. It affects me every time. It’s what I expect to feel. I read and write and that feeling that comes with it will just come.

All of these things that I am talking about are the work of the Holy Spirit. All of those desires that I feel to love others, do good, read, write, encourage, etc. I don’t feel that way because it’s just going to happen. The Holy Spirit is so freaking awesome because that is where all these feelings come from. It’s not me. It’s not me having a good heart or wanting to do good. It’s the Holy Spirit equipping me to do all of those things.

I have that car, the Holy Spirit is just giving me the keys and controlling the pedals, turn signals, lights, mirrors, etc. It’s really a cool way to think about it!

“This is the covenant I will establish with the people of Israel
after that time, declares the Lord. 
I will put my laws in their minds
and write them on their hearts.
I will be their God,
and they will be my people.” (Hebrews 8:10)

It’s up to us to change our hearts in order to let the Holy Spirit in. That’s the first thing that we have to do. Changing our hearts is like giving the Holy Spirit complete control of the car. In other words, it’s giving the Holy Spirit control of our bodies.

If we don’t change our hearts, following God’s rules will be unpleasant and difficult. We will rebel against being told how to live.  The Holy Spirit, however, gives us new desires, helping us want to obey God. With new hearts, we find that serving God is our greatest joy.

My one thing for you is to truly appreciate, admire, and be thankful for the Holy Spirit. Once we give our lives to Jesus the Holy Spirit has complete control. It really gives me chills just thinking about the power of the Holy Spirit as I write this post. I have 0 ability to write like this without the Holy Spirit. Every time I proof read I think to myself there is no way that I just wrote this... I also have 0 ability to do any sort of good, love others, or even love Jesus without the power of the Holy Spirit.

Our first allegiance

In my opinion, allegiance is one of the most powerful words out there. When I hear that word I think of loyalty, authority, and power.

Our first allegiance should always be to God.

“Because of this oath, Jesus has become the guarantor of a better covenant. Now there have been many of those priests, since death prevented them from continuing in office; but because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.” (Hebrews 7:22-24)

We must have allegiance to God because Jesus lives forever. He has a permanent priesthood. Meaning he is able to save completely.

I am not sure how many hundreds of thousands of priests there have been to walk this earth, but none have been permanent other than Jesus.  Our loyalty should always be to Jesus. No matter what advice we are given by anyone...which is difficult. There are a lot of smart people out there who give really good advice and get paid really well to do those things.

Sometimes we listen to people of this world and trust them more than we trust Jesus because we are able to physically talk to them and get answers back right away...I know that might seem like it's way easier but those people aren't going to be around forever. You aren't going to get to spend eternity with them...eternity is going to be spent with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

It's kinda funny because my job is to be one too those people who really help and give advice to others. But my allegiance will always be to Jesus first. Everything that I do I intend it to be God honoring because I know that those values and the principles in the Bible are what will last forever.

The one thing I want you to take from this post is that our first allegiance should always be to God. God lasts forever and because of God we are completely saved. Only God can save you...nobody else has the power to do that. God equips us to help but we don't have that power to do so. We didn't give our lives on the cross so that we can be saved, your consolers didn't do that, neither did your advisors...so why do we trust them and give them more allegiance than Christ? I hope after reading this you give first allegiance to Christ and only Christ.