held captive

We are so easily held captive by the world almost every single day.

I am not saying the world literally captures us and ties us up somewhere, that usually doesn't happen. We are held captive by our minds because we are constantly being deceived by the world. 

It's like driving down a highway in the middle of nowhere...on the left side of the road...you have everything that you have ever wanted...nice clothes...lots of money...the apple store (lol)...and a lot of the people that you want to be friends with based off of popularity...On the right side of the road...it's a little more quiet...you see some of the things that fulfill you...a book store...bibles...small group members...mentors...calamity...peace...a few less people.

We drive down that road daily. We see what we know can fulfill us forever on the right side, and on the left side, we see what will give us some joy and excitement...but only for a brief period of time. The world wants us to go to the left all of the time, because that is what is engraved in our minds...the world teaches us that the most important things can and should happen right away and make us feel a certain way almost instantly! The world says..."come on! come this way! It's easier!" Christ says..."follow me, I will give you rest...I will lead you to paradise."

See to it that no one takes you captive through hallow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ. 

(Colossians 1:8)

wholehearted work

To work in such a way that benefits all those around you...that is what I think of when I hear 'wholehearted work.' It makes me think of someone who is genuinely doing everything they can to help others achieve a certain goal.

Paul worked wholeheartedly for so many people...he rejoiced in his suffering and was persecuted more than we will ever be able to understand. You see...Paul had a goal in mind where he wanted to see all believers mature spiritually. 

I don't suffer any persecution and I wholeheartedly write these post for you everyday. It's great to read and write for my growth, but I do it for everyone else. I don't write these post for my own personal satisfaction. I write for you. I know what it is like firsthand to have my life changed simply because I started reading my bible on a consistent basis. That is all I want for each and every person. 

Coming up in a month or so I will complete my 600th post. The time I put in when I write these is for other people. It's not always easy to do either. Even tonight...I typically write in the mornings, and I had some meetings this morning so I had to wait....when I got home...I so badly wanted to do my own thing...like shower and get ready for bed...but deep down, I knew that I some work to do, and that was to encourage others. 

It's honestly so amazing when you fight through that battle in your head, choose God and see what happens because of that...this post and everything I am writing is because I sat down and opened up my bible tonight..

He is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ. To this end I strenuously contend with all the energy Christ so powerfully works in me. (Colossians 1:28-29)

Paul wanted to see each believer mature spiritually. Like Paul, we must work wholeheartedly like an athlete, but we should not strive in our own strength alone. We have the power of God's spirit working in us.

We can learn and grow daily, motivated by love, and not by fear or pride, knowing that God gives the energy to become mature. 

Wholehearted work always comes from the strength of the Holy Spirit. If I was allowing what my own flesh wanted tonight, I would be showered, in bed, and watching a movie...WE must rely on the Holy Sprit to give us the strength to help love, encourage, and motivate other believers. 

I encourage you all to rely on the Holy Spirit to do wholehearted work...I believe that deep down...we all want to do amazing things...that there is so much untapped potential inside of us...and the only way to get to is his relying on the Holy Spirit.

character

The one thing that we are going to be able to take with us to heaven is our character. We aren't going to be able to take our phones, vehicles, money, gaming devices, etc. You are taking you and that's final.

God is more interested in our character development than our comfort. We have eternity to get comfortable in heaven, so this is the get ready stage. This is the learning stage. This is the warm-up act.

Our character is everything. When I was looking for jobs, the best companies were the ones that would ask me about my character in the interview. With my job now, I grow my business based off people of high character.

Having good character is so incredibly important, I can't stress it enough. Most of the time, the people with the best character are the ones who will have the most significant impact on others. You could have all the skills in the world, but if your character sucks, you really won't have much of an impact.

So how do we build our character to where it would be a good spot to be at?

I believe it's strongly based on our minds and the things that we think about and focus on.

What we put into our minds determines what comes out in our words and actions..

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things. (Philippians 4:8)

Paul tells us to program our minds with thoughts that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy.

From my experience this hard. When I look at my life from a 30,000 foot view, when my mind ins't focused on those things is when I get on social media and spend too much time on my phone. Outside of that, for me, it's really not that difficult.

Think about it this way...I don't like to keep bringing up this example, but think of what has happened the past couple days about Kobe and Gigi. (everyone else involved)  It's horrific. I am heartbroken. Every time I have gotten on social media, it's all that we see. It's great because everyone is sharing their memoirs about these amazing two people...But seeing it so much, makes me think about it more...If I didn't have a smart phone, and just saw the new article pop up on TV, I would've still been heartbroken, but not as badly.

My point with that, is that our minds are consumed by what we fill them with. If we fill our minds with everything that we see on social media, we are going to be consumed by those things. I am not saying that social media is the worst thing ever...with social media, you're literally one click or even one search away from seeing things that we have no need to see. It's crazy! You're one click away from is being useful and one away from falling into sin.

If you have problems with what you are putting into your mind, think about the things that you are putting in there on a day-to-day basis.

Examine what you are putting in your mind through television, internet, books, conversations, movies, and magazines. Replace the harmful input with wholesome material.

Above all, read God's word and pray. Ask God to help you focus your mind on what is good and pure. It takes practice, but it can be done.

It takes a lot of practice. I really can't put it into words, but from the time I started reading my bible consistently, my growth and character just took off! It wasn't like some crazy thing happened...the more time I spent reading it, the more my mind became focused on the things that Paul encouraged us to focus on. It just took time, and a lot of patience. My hope and prayer is for everyone to get to that point.

What we fill our minds with, most of the time determines our character. My challenge to you is to evaluate what your are consumed with on a day to day basis...if it's something that isn't developing your character, it's probably not worth it.

Christian Maturity

Oftentimes when I hear the words 'Christian maturity' I don't think I could ever get to the point. It's something that sounds really serious, and has a lot of significance...I am right in saying that, but we make it way more of a big deal that we ought to.

It's can feel like an unending pursuit.

It seems like to be a mature Christian, you have to understand everything, be an almost perfect person, and never make mistakes. It just feels like it's a hard thing to be able to accomplish. 

We are filled with lies in thinking that we have to know everything in oder to be a mature Christian. 

Only let us live up to what we have already attained. (Philippians 3:16)

Christian maturity involves acting on the guidance that you have already received. We can always make excuses that we still have so much to learn. The instruction for us is to live by what we already know and live out what we have already learned. We do not have to be sidetracked by an unending search for truth. 

We have already attained a lot of knowledge, we just have to act on it. That is what Christian maturity is. Acting on what we already know. 

It's like anything in life, when I didn't obey my parents when I was growing up, there was nothing mature about me. I didn't become mature until I started living in such a way that was honoring and loving towards them.

It's an easy excuse to say that there is too much to learn. There is a ton to learn, and if we had to learn everything to become a mature Christian, we could never do that. Again, if we knew the answers to all the questions that we have, there wouldn't be a need for God. We have already attained so much knowledge. 

My challenge to you all is to live by what you know and have an excitement for learning new things. Christian maturity is living by what we already know. I encourage you on your path to Christian maturity. We are there...we just have to realize it and live out what we have learned. 

the right question?

How can God be good and permit evil?

I believe we too often ask the wrong question when it comes to God and his goodness. Most of the time, bad questions are always ones that can be answered with either 'yes' or 'no.'

We live in a world full of evil and we too often let this evil affect how we view God. Bad things happen all of the time and how often do we sit and wonder if God is still good?

Instead of asking if God is good, we should be asking if he has done good things for us?

When you start asking that, it completely changes the game. I mean if you look at the tragedy that happened yesterday...a lot of people might be wondering how in the world is God still good for letting something so horrible happen?

But if we look at all the good things God did for Kobe and his daughter, and all the other people on the helicopter, we would be able to see that God has done good things in all of their lives.

We are wired to find answers. We have crazy technology to be able to find answers to so many things. If we keep asking ourself the question is God good? We are going to keep finding answers that would show he is and answers that shows he might not be based on outcomes and circumstances of certain happenings.

If we knew all of the answers to everything, there wouldn't be a God.

We need to focus on all the good that God has done in our lives because that is when we know that God is good. Because I promise you that God has done something good for every person.

My challenge to you is to start asking the question 'has God done good things for me?' and you will find out really quickly that GOD is GOOD.

you're where you need to be

I believe that we are all meant to be where we are at right now until God tells you otherwise. 

I have a feeling that a lot of people go through each day wondering why they have the job they have and why they do what they do. I feel like once you get caught up in that, it's a viscous never ending cycle. 

Whatever it is you are doing this very second, I believe that is what you are meant to be doing. 

Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to go to heaven right now...There wouldn't be any more worries, no more pain, no more suffering. Just crazy love for Jesus and for others! Forever and ever! That seems like it would be the more fulfilling option right? 

I actually don't believe that and neither did Paul. 

"For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of your progress and joy in the faith, so that through my being with you again your boasting in Christ Jesus will abound on account of me." (Philippians 1:21-26)

To be with Christ would be better, but not entirely necessary for us right now. We have the opportunity at hand to be very fruitful in our labor. There are so many people out there right now who need us to be good examples to them and help lead them to Christ. 

That is why you are where you need to be right now. No matter what type of job you have or whatever it is that you do...look around at all of the people that you could have an impact on. If you tried to have an impact on at least one person a day, you would never run out of people. 

Where we are at is so incredibly important and we should never take it for granted by wishing that we were somewhere else. 

I understand that there are a lot of bad situations out there. You're where you are until God tells you otherwise. Life is going to change. I can promise you that. We are fortunate enough to be able to make many decisions.

If you are the person in a bad situation right now, I promise that you will get out of it because you are always going to be where you need to be.

My challenge to you is to not take for granted where you are at in life right now. You are all so incredibly blessed and where you are meant to be. Don't forget that! 

God talks to us?

How many times have you felt like God doesn't talk to you as much as you would expect? 

Honestly, I bet it's most of the time. 

Did you know that God talk to us through his word when we read our bibles? 

You pray. You talk to God, and you let him talk to you by reading the bible. That's how you get God's wisdom. 

This is so realistic it's almost hard to believe. It's why certain verses mean different things to different people. The truth is never changed, but the Holy Spirit equips us to understand verses in the ways that we need to.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take. Don't be impressed with your own wisdom. Instead, fear the Lord and turn away from evil. (Proverbs 3:5-7)

I bet if you asked 10 people what they thought that verse meant and told them all to write it down, put their answers in a hat, and draw each answer out one at a time, they would all be different and not one answer would be exactly the same. 

God gets the same message across, but talks to us all differently! 

I really can't stress the importance of getting into reading your bibles. It's why I started writing blogs in the first place. I stunk at reading my bible until the end of my sophomore year in college. I honestly bet that I went a year without reading it outside of church. In all the time I knew that I was missing something. 

When I finally started reading my bible on a consistent basis that is when my life changed because I was learning so many things and God was talking to me everyday! 

I know there are a lot of things in there that might not make any sense. I know that there are books of the bible that are kinda boring. Trust me! I have been there. But God will always talk to you when you read your bible.

You having the ability to understand what you read is God talking to you. It's not you being smart, it's not just easy to understand. Literally anything we read in the bible God is using to talk to us. The entire word of God is God-breathed meaning it was spoken and written for us! \

When you become disciplined in reading your bible that is when your relationship with God will begin to skyrocket. You are investing your time, and God is speaking to you through that! 

What other areas of your life is God speaking to you? I know prayer is one of the other really important ways, but there aren't a ton more. The word of God is the best way to grow and strengthen your relationship with Christ, I promise. 

Next time you read your bible, think of it as God talking to you and things will begin to make so much more sense.

paradise

When Jesus was hanging on the cross before he took he last breath, he said these words: "Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise." (Luke 23:43)

The paradise that is being talked about here is another term for heaven..

After being mocked, ridiculed, accused for nothing, put to shame, and hung on a cross, Jesus knew that he was going to be in paradise.

That is really amazing to me. Nothing worse every happened to anyone else in the history of the world than what was happening to Jesus and he still had faith and remembered that he was going to paradise.

This makes me feel silly. Sometimes if one part of my day sucks, I think that rest of my day might not go well either. We are too caught up in worrying about what little things we experience on daily basis will affect the rest of our day, not our lives.

When I was playing college basketball the past couple years, if I had a really bad practice one day, I had to forget about it, and focus on the end goal, not one bad practice. If I focused on having bad practices over and over, I would fall into a never ending cycle with no long term goal.

You see, everything that happened yesterday, happened yesterday. It's the past. There isn't anything that we can do to change what happened yesterday. Maybe it was a great day, maybe you fell into sin...whatever the case is, it was yesterday and we can't change what happened about it.

We must live consciously day by day, with a forward focus that we will be in heaven someday with our Father.

The forward focus is key. If we don't look forward to that day, we will get thrown into the vicious cycle of not understanding our purpose and feeling horrible for ourselves every time something goes wrong.

I have some things to be really excited for, like getting married in 11 months. I've been waiting for that day my entire life. But the other day I've been waiting for my entire life is the day I will be in heaven for eternity.

I always have that in the back of my mind because I know that I need to have a lot of faith and live in obedient life in order for that to actually happen. So when a day might go horrible for me, I know that I still have something to look forward too. When those days happen, you just have to move your short term focus to the next day and always keep that long term focus on paradise.

My encouragement for you is to be excited for an eternity in paradise and to remember that you have to make a daily commitment to the forward focus.

It shouldn't be as hard as it is, to focus on what our eternity will be vs. how something didn't go our way here, or if we didn't please some people the way that we wanted to.

My plea! Paradise is something to look forward too. Set our focus on that, and you can never be let down by God's promise which lasts forever.

flourishing

Flourish: grow or develop in a healthy or vigorous way, especially as the result of a particularly favorable environment.

Every human being wants to flourish. I feel like flourishing is something that is super in right now. Look at the transition from all these unhealthy restaurants, to healthy ones. There are new healthy options all over the place. You see work out classes, and fitness centers nearly everywhere. There is a desire to be healthy from everyone.

When I hear the word 'flourishing' I think of lots of green plants in a greenhouse. When you walk into a greenhouse, everything is vibrant, green, and constantly growing.

It's hard to put into words, but there is a certain attractiveness to the idea of flourishing.

The righteous will flourish like a palm tree,
they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon;
planted in the house of the Lord,
they will flourish in the courts of our God.
They will still bear fruit in old age,
they will stay fresh and green,
proclaiming, "The Lord is upright;
he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him."

Not everyone will flourish, only the righteous.

To be righteous, you must first have faith in God, and be obedient to him. Righteousness is not just doing good things. You can do all the good things in the world but if you don't have faith, you are not righteous.

On the other hand, you could have all the faith in the world, but if you don't do good things and aren't obedient, you are not righteous.

You have to do both. There is no working around it. To flourish you must have faith and live an obedient life.

The writer of this Psalm saw believers as upright, strong, and unmoved by the winds of circumstances...just like the palm tree. Those who place their faith firmly in God can have this strength and vitality.

My prayer for you it to flourish. Deep down, it's what everyone wants to be able to do. We just don't know how to do it. My challenge for you is a challenge to flourish. Look outside right now, it's cold, the trees have no leaves, the grass is brown...Imagine if we all began to flourish...all sorts of people will be drawn to you and will want what you have.

how do you win life?

One of the most difficult questions to answer in life is 'how do we win?' 

It seems like nobody really knows. Think about all of the books, podcasts, movies, seminars, and motivation speakers that try to give us the secret to winning life. 

There are thousands of those...

Notice there is an important thing I didn't include on that list...usually because it's forgotten about or not at the top...because too often we just don't turn to it. 

- The Bible -

Stand firm, and you will win life. (Luke 21:19)

Those words came straight from Jesus' mouth. I believe that is the answer to the question. 

We win life when we stand firm. 

Stand firm in your beliefs and the word of God. That's what did it for me. If I didn't stand firm in the word my life would be a mess. There would be no stability, I would take L after L after L. I would have no confidence. I would have no sense of security. I would be anxious and uneasy all of the time. Life would stink!

Standing firm leads to consistency. You know how you stand on the beach, right on the sand and the waves crash up against your feet? It's such a good feeling, but you just keep sinking. You are enjoying the moment but at the same time, you're thinking to yourself 'ohh crap' I need to move. 

Now think about the feeling of standing on a dock literally over top of the water. It's sturdy, might be a little shaky sometimes, you might feel the waves splash your feet, but you know that you aren't going anywhere. The dock is going to keep you safe. 

Stand firm on the word of God. It won't be the easiest thing ever, you're going to feel the waves, but at least you know you're going to win life.

My plea to you is to stand firm. I want to see everyone win at life and the only way to do that is to stand firm. 

no limits

I've been wondering when the world will get better and all of the negativity, political unrest, drama, and horrible news will go away. It just seems likes things keep getting worse and worse. It's hard to find good things that are happening because the media is portraying everything to be negative. Quite honestly, there is a ton of negative news out there.

It's why I don't watch it. I feel like every time I watch the news it brings me down.

I am at the point where I am just wondering if it will ever get better?

A thousand years in your sight,
are like a day that has just gone by,
or like a watch in the night. (Psalm 90:4)

A thousand years are like a day to the Lord. God is not limited by time. It's easy to get discouraged when years pass and the world doesn't get better.

Sometimes we wonder if God is able to see the future. But don't assume that God has our limitations. God is completely unrestricted by time. Because he is eternal, we can depend on him.

I believe we let what we are limited by, affect the way that we view things. You can't even compare our limitations to God's because he has none.

I also believe that we are too impatient. We ask God for something and immediately we want whatever it is we ask for. I've prayed my whole life for my future wife, and I didn't meet her until I was 22 years old...I've been praying about having a lifestyle where I can always give glory to God in all that I say and do for years...I didn't really understand what that meant until I was 22/23.

My point with those examples is that God isn't in rush. I picture God up in heaven, watching over each and every person carefully planning out everyones lives. He's taking his time. Our Father, the creator of everything is putting together something special for everyone.

With this post, I pray that you understand that God has no limits on time. He is eternal. We can depend on him forever because that's what eternity is. Why rely on the temporary things this world has to offer when we can rely on what God has to offer that will last forever?

Zacchaeus was a wee little man

Hopefully the title of this post brought back some memories from Sunday school class back in the day. I know when I was thinking of what to title this post, I could not get that silly song out of my head.

You hear the story of Zaccheaus all the time...he was a wealthy and greedy tax collector, Jesus wanted to stay at his home, and then Zaccheaus gave away what he had so that he could find salvation. Most of the time, when you hear this story, you hear about God bringing the worst of the worst to salvation. That isn't the route that I want to take this morning. Sure that's incredibly important, but there are other things in there that can be encouraging.

He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was so short he could not see over the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way. 
(Luke 19:3-4)

Think about the curiosity and excitement Zaccheaus must have had to see Jesus. He literally climbed a tree in a heavily populated area just so he could see him.

Do we have the excitement about Jesus? Or do we want to run and hide because of our sins?

Zaccheaus was about as rotten of a sinner as you could find but he didn't care! He wanted to see Jesus and wanted Jesus to see him. He wasn't worried one bit about the life he had lived. Jesus was there and he was all about it.

When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, "Zaccheaus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today." So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly. (Luke 19:5-6)

Zaccheuas never questioned Jesus. Without hesitation he got out of the tree, approached Jesus and gladly welcomed him.

It's crazy to me how welcoming he was of Jesus into his home. I feel like if Jesus asked me to stay, I would tell him to give me 10 minutes so I make sure everything is more clean and ready for such an amazing guest.

Isn't that what our life is like though? We worry about little things that we shouldn't have to. The world makes us think that everything needs to be perfect. In reality, it can't be. We are all sinners, and there might a little bit of a mess. But when Jesus comes into our lives and we are saved, our chains are broken and we are freed.

The thing that amazes me about Zaccheaus is that he was so obedient to Jesus, despite the lifestyle that he had. He didn't care about the mistakes he's made, his sins, the crowd, etc. He simply wanted to meet Jesus.

One of the other amazing parts about this story is that he gave away half of his possessions before Jesus even asked him to. Who does that? A man looking for salvation I guess.

So what is there to take away from this post?

Jesus does not care about what sort of lifestyle we used to have or maybe even still have. He really doesn't care about our mess right now either. He wants us to become saved and are chains to be broken! The Son of Man came to seek and save the lost.

Be excited about your faith. Seek the Father regardless of everyone else around you.

Lastly, there is no need for questions. When you feel like the Holy Spirit is wanting you to do something, do it. Don't question the life that God has planned for you. When it seems like there is a clear answer for your life, it's probably because that is what God wants for you.

We are too hindered by doubts, this world, and worrying about what other people think. We can learn a lot from Zaccheaus and I hope by reading this post today that you did.

the unjust judge

Persistence might mean many different things to many different people. To persist in prayer and not give up does not mean endless repetition or painfully long prayer sessions.

Always praying means keeping our requests constantly before God as we live for him day by day, believing he will answer.

Persistence always starts with a belief. It's impossible to be persistent in anything if you don't believe in something. I believe that every day we need to be persistent in our beliefs. Whether it's your relationship with God and a belief that he will help you...or a belief that you will be successful someday.

You have to believe. Persistence is just wasted energy when there isn't belief involved.

Jesus tells a parable in Luke 18 about a persistent widow. Jesus told his disciples this parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.

"In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, 'Grant me justice against my adversary.' "For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, 'Even though I don't fear God or care what people think, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won't eventually come and attack me!'" And the Lord said, "Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?"  (Luke 18:2-8)

This parable is awesome...

This widow came to the judge nearly every single day...his answer was always no...over and over again...but finally one day, he was just tired of her coming because he knew that if he didn't grant her what she wanted, he would have to deal with her every single day.

The amount of persistence she showed was very admirable.

The crazy thing is that an unjust judge, someone who feared God and didn't care about what other people thought, responded to the constant pressure. How much more will a great and loving God respond to us?

My challenge to you is to be persistent. Persistence helps people grow in character, faith, and hope.

Identify what your beliefs are and be persistent. If you have a request for God or want something in your life to change, you have to be persistent with it. You can't just pray to God once a week for the things you want.

One of the things that I try to persistently pray for is discernment. I want to make sure that I am always honoring Christ in the things that I say, think, and do. If you looked through my journal, you would see that prayer request over and over again because I know that when everything I am doing is honoring to Christ, that is when I truly feel fulfilled. Nothing else even comes close.

Notice that I said, 'I try' to persistently pray for discernment. It's not easy to be persistent. There are so many distractions that get me thinking about other things all the time. Plus, life happens and usually my prayer request are changing all the time.

I want you to think about one thing that you want to be persistent about. Write it down, and put it someplace where you will see it daily. Pray about it every time you see it, and watch yourself grow in character, faith, and hope.

This isn't not going to work. Have faith that it will, and it will. Our greatest growth comes when we are persistent.

we're required to be thankful right?

There is absolutely no requirement for us to be thankful...sounds weird doesn't it?

God doesn't demand us to be thankful, but it does please him.

In Luke 17, there is a story about Jesus healing ten men with Leprosy.

Whenever someone thought the Leprosy has gone away, they were supposed to present themselves to the priest who would declare them clean. Jesus sent the ten men to the priest and they were healed.

One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus' feet and thanked him-and he was a Samaritan. Jesus asked, "Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Has no one retuned to give praise to God except this foreigner?" Then he said to him, "Rise and go; your faith has made you well." (Luke 17:15-19)

One of the ten men returned to Jesus to thank him. One of ten! That is crazy.

It's possible to receive God's gifts with an ungrateful spirit and we do that way too often. There are way too many things that God blesses me with on a daily basis that I don't even think about being thankful for. To me, thankfulness creates a realization of faith.

When I am thankful for everything that God has done for me, it makes me faith feel real and it simply makes me more aware of how real God is.

Thankfulness allows us to grow in our understanding of God's grace. He then uses our thankfulness and responsiveness to teach us more about himself.

See, being thankful means way more than just being thankful. Thankfulness creates a sense of awareness, responsiveness, and a realization of the work that God is constantly doing in our lives.

My challenge for you is to view thankfulness as an opportunity to grow, not a requirement.

what is God's will for me?

This morning I am going to share with you some thoughts from the devotional I read earlier...

I felt it was worth sharing because of the simplicity and value of the point that was being made by the author..

A question most Christians really wrestle over is 'what is God's will for me.' I feel like most people I know can never really answer this question. Nobody has a specific answer when you ask them this. I bet if you walked around and asked 5 people what they think God's will for them is, that nobody would have a definite answer.

One of the reasons I believe we don't know is because we are too busy worrying about what it is rather than trusting the Father to help us discover what is is.

The Father help us discover his will and the plan he has for us. It's not up to us.

I believe that even when you change your perspective to that, you become more aware of the work that God is doing in your life, and what his will is for you.

8 Ways to Discover God's Will

1. Communion With God Through Scripture (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

2. Circumstances of Life (Romans 8:28)

3. Counsel (1 Timothy 1:5)

4. Conscience (Romans 2:14-15)

5. Common sense (Titus 2:11-12)

6. Compulsion (Philippians 2:13)

7. Contentment (Philippians 4:7)

8. Communication With God Through Prayer (Psalm 119:105)

God is continually deploying his resources on your behalf. He's the one who is using all the ways mentioned above to show you his wonderful will for you life.

Don't be afraid about missing the Father's will or misinterpreting what he's trying to say. He's able to speak to you clearly and will empower you to do whatever he calls you to do.

All we really have to do is pay attention. God is giving us his resources and that is what we have to focus on. There is a lot of power in paying attention to what God is showing us vs. worrying about not knowing what God's will us for you.

When you begin to pay more attention, I promise you will start to figure out what God wants for you in your life.

extraordinary love

A God who tenderly searches for sinners and then joyfully forgives them posses an extraordinary love. This is the kind of love that prompted Jesus to come to earth to search for lost people and save them. This is the kind of extraordinary love that God has for you.

Before we become a believer, God is already after us. God has sought after each and every person when they enter the world.

I forget that sometimes...It feels normal to me that God seeks after us once we become saved, but while we are sinners? That is extraordinary love.

As imperfect humans, we are completely incapable of fully understanding this love that God has for us. It's just that extraordinary.

In Luke chapter 15, Jesus tells the Parable of the Lost Sheep.

Jesus talks about how a shepherd had one hundred sheep and one of them ran off. The shepherd cared so greatly for the sheep that ran off, he left the nitty-nine in the open country. The shepherd was going to do whatever he could to find the lost sheep and when he would find it, they would celebrate.

Jesus told that parable to teach us that there should be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.

God's love for the individual is so great that he seeks each one out and rejoices when he or she is found...

I believe that one of the lessons that we can learn here is that Jesus associated with sinners because he wanted to bring the lost sheep - people considered beyond hope - the gospel of God's kingdom.

God wants us to find the lost sheep and bring them to him...this is one of the hardest things. But Jesus really wants us to associate with sinners because there is more joy when they repent vs. when someone doesn't need to.

I honestly struggle with this a lot. When I am in an environment that I am not necessarily comfortable in, I shut down because I don't want to conform to the ways of the world. But I don't need to do that...

I can be in that environment and be me, and still have fun. I can also still have an impact. I can have an impact by being a little different. When I am like everyone else, and someone is a little different, there is something that usually spikes my curiosity. I don't think that is just a me thing either, it believe it's naturally human curiosity.

We can associate with sinners as long as we don't conform.

It's hard sometimes, but I know that the only people who I care about what they think of me is God and my fiancé. I am going to live a life for Christ no matter what the cost is, and I won't change my ways no matter what. Knowing I will be in heaven someday for all of eternity is way more important to me than fitting in for 2 hours. I care about what Rach thinks because she will be my wife someday! She knows me better than I know myself sometimes. When we are officially married it will be a covenant to God and we will always honor God through this season of engagement and forever through our marriage. I would rather be where we are at right now together, than look back 5 years from now and be like...'what took us so long to get here?'

You never know when Christ is going to return and I don't want to get caught up in making some bad choices and not having a chance to repent before it's too late. Our eternity in heaven is more important than a night of fitting in. Never let a night of fitting in affect eternity.

Yeah, that might sound a little extreme...but you seriously never know. Living a life for Christ is all that matters and the end goal is eternity in heaven.

So what exactly do I want you to get from this?

A couple things...The love that God has for us is extraordinary. Before we were believers, God sought you; and he is still seeking those who are yet lost. The other thing...look for the lost sheep. Associate with sinners, but don't conform to the ways of the world. We will be rewarded for not conforming, I am so sure of it. Lastly, remember that entirety in heaven is the end goal here. Don't let a couple nights of fitting in affect forever.

the great invitation

Did you know that God inviting you to a great feast with him...and he is probably still waiting on you to accept the invitation?

Many people turn down this invitation because the timing is inconvenient.

In the world we live in today, we seem to want the things we can have instantly. We lack patience, because there are so many things that we can do at a touch of a button...

My hope after this post is that you accept the invitation before it's too late. If you don't accept it, there will be a time when God will pull his invitation and offer it to others.

Jesus tells the Parable of the Great Feast

When one of those at the table with him heard this, he said to Jesus, "Blessed is the one who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God."
Jesus replied: "A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited. 'Come, for everything is now ready.' But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, 'I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.' "Still another said, 'I just got married, so I can't come.' "The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, 'Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.' "Sir,' the servant said, 'Go out to the roads and country lanes and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full. I tell you, not one of those who were invited will get a taste of my banquet." (Luke 14:15-23)

The man sitting at the table with Jesus envisioned the glory of God's kingdom, but he did not yet understand how to have a share in it. We too can resist or delay responding to God's invitation, and our excuses may sound reasonable - work, duties, family responsibilities, financial needs, or other reasons.

Nevertheless, God's invitation is the most important event in our lives, not matter how inconveniently, it may be timed.

What does the invitation look like some may ask? No, you aren't going to be getting a letter in the mail or a Facebook invite. I believe the invitation is everywhere. The Holy Spirit is constantly at work trying to get our attention.

It's a constant invitation for us to be drawn towards the kingdom of God. The best way to find it, is simply to be aware. When you become aware of the work that God is doing, everything will begin to make more sense.

Are you making excuses to avoid responding to God's call?

Sometimes we have to do things that we don't want to do, especially when we don't want to do it. My hope for you is to respond to the invitation to the greatest event ever. The kingdom of heaven is an event that you won't want to miss.

a lack of productivity

Being productive is what drives humans to draw more near to their goals on a daily basis. Being productive is good for our minds, bodies, and spirits. Without productivity, I don't know if we would ever be able to accomplish anything that we set out to do.

God won't tolerate our lack of productivity forever.

Jesus actually warns us of this in this parable:

"A man had a fig tree growing in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it but did not find any. So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, 'For three years now I've been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven't found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?' "'Sir,' the man replied, 'leave it alone for one more year, and I'll dig around it and fertilize it. If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.'" (Luke 13:6-9)

In this parable, Jesus pointed out what would happen to the other kind of tree-the kind that took valuable time and space and still produced nothing for the patient gardener..

God gives us his time, blesses us with everything we need, and still so often we produce nothing. No matter how patient God has been to us all of our lives, we still seem too often to not produce anything.

We aren't going to be able to continue to live our lives this way. God won't tolerate it forever. Just like how he told the man who watches over the vineyard to cut the tree down if it bears no fruit.

Have you been enjoying God's special treatment without giving anything in return?

If so, respond to the gardeners patient care, and begin to bear the fruit God has created for you to produce.

Thankfully God is patient with us. I don't want you to think that God is going to bring his wrath on you because you haven't been productive. I just want to create a sense of urgency. I want you to start thinking and doing things in return for Christ before it is too late.

To bear fruit for Christ you don't have to give your left arm. Bearing fruit for Christ is giving him some time out of your day. Praying and being thankful for all our abundant blessings. It's loving people and showing others grace, kindness, gentleness, and respect. It's treating people in such a way that is God horning.

It's like anything in life. The productivity and the discipline we need to have everyday is what will help us accomplish all of our wildest dreams. You can't just be productive one day and expect everything to fall into place, it's going to take a persistent commitment from each and every person.

I encourage you to do those little things, and watch the fruit that you will begin to bear.

sings of hypocrisy

There is nothing worse than be called a hypocrite...

When I really became serious about my faith and made God my number one priority, there were people who would question it. Or use my mistakes as ammunition to bring me down. 

I hated when people would make judgments about me based off of past mistakes. I knew where my heart was, but I was still concerned with the opinions of others. I was hurt because I was giving everything to Christ and nobody seemed to notice. I knew I had changed, and hated when people couldn't see past the old mistakes. Nothing was worse than when I would get insulted for writing a blog...it was like nobody could see the new me. 

I haven't been perfect the whole time I have wrote this either. It's been two years now and almost 600 posts. I bet that every one of those days I have lived since I have started writing I have made a mistake. But, everyone one of those days I knew my heart and so did Christ. 

I was able to get over those mistakes because of God's awesome forgiveness. God sees my heart-not other people. 

I was getting caught up in giving other people the power to look at my heart, when they didn't have the ability to understand it. Why give others the power to do something that they are incapable of? 

There are four signs of hypocrisy that are written about in Luke chapter 12:

1. Hypocrisy is knowing the truth but not obeying it...People can say they follow Jesus but not be obedient to his Word.

2. Hypocrisy is living a self-serving life...People may desire leadership only because they love position and control, not because they want to serve others.

3. Hypocrisy reduces faith to rigid rules...People end up worshipping their own rules and regulations about what they think God wants instead of worshipping God himself. 

4. Hypocrisy is outward conformity without inner reality...People can obey the details but still be disobedient in general behavior. 

I want you carefully look at your life. You are not perfect; therefore, at times an action or behavior might provide the ammunition for someone to label you a hypocrite. However, you must discern your own heart. Consider the signs of hypocrisy noted above and make sure you are not guilty. Then ask God to help you live rightly. 

When you remember that you must discern your heart and not allow others to do it, everything changes. You stop worrying about others, you are more confident, and you are more aware of what God is doing. 

I encourage you to really remember this post. It's so incredibly important to not give other people the power of you. God rules over all. Never forget that. 

 

praising God first

When it comes to a relationship with God, it's really easy to ask good to fulfill our needs before we praise His name...

When we ask God to for things in prayers, our hearts always must be right before we ask. The best way to prepare our hearts is to praise God.

Imagine asking your parents for everything you ever wanted, but never being thankful for them or realizing the work that they put it in to get you those things. Most parents do much for their children in order for them to have the best lives they can give us.

Look at this from God's eyes. He sacrificed his one and only son for each and everyone of you so that we could all be free from sin. That makes me want to praise God before anything that I ever ask from him.

...and we have the nerve to ask God for so many things before we even praise his name....

The Lord actually teaches us to pray...

He said to them, "When you pray, say:
"'Father, hallowed be your name, 
your kingdom come.
Give us each day our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins,
for we also forgive everyone who sins against us.
And lead us not into temptation. (Luke 11:2-4)

Notice the order of this prayer. First Jesus praised God; then he made his requests. Again...praising God first puts us in the right frame of mind to tell him about our needs. Too often our prayers are more like shopping lists than conversations.

I encourage you all to remember that before anything else we need to praise God above all things.

12/27/19 - She said yes

December 27th, 2019 was the best night of my life. I asked the love of my life to marry me.

This post might be a little cheesy but that's okay. I am going to be extremely cheesy in the post because that is how I am and that is the best way to tell the story of our special night....

I'll start with a little bit about the planning process before I get to the night it happened. 

One of the things that Rach wanted when I proposed to her was a time to celebrate with our friends and families. It was the one thing she kept saying over and over again, so I was going to do whatever I had to do to make that happen. 

Around the beginning of November, I had messaged all of her friends on Instagram asking for their phone numbers and telling them about the plans I was starting to make. Rach had told me who she wanted there even longer ago than that and I made sure that I had all of those names down in my phone. 

About a couple weeks after I already had the group message going, Rach sent me her friends names and phone numbers, which was awesome because I was already two steps ahead of her. That was one my main goals when it came to planning this special night. If you know Rach well, you know that she is extremely resourceful and you cannot keep any sort of secrets or surprises from her. She will do everything in her power to figure out what secret you are trying to keep from her.

November 17th is when I asked her parents for permission to marry her. I was so excited for this, and I believed that it was only right that I had both of them there. If I was a mother, I would want to be there for that moment. I asked them at El Pacifico, a restaurant in Ligonier. That is the same restaurant where Rach and I went out to eat the first time I came to her house. 

The next line of business was finding a photographer. I asked my good friend from Bethel, Allie Schweigert, to take the pictures since she lives close to Chicago...she was in.

The other most important thing about the planning process was making sure that the families were there with us. This was such a fun part of it because everyone was so excited for us.

I had all the friends and families invited but didn't have a location picked out yet. This was the hard part. I didn't want a spot where there would be a ton of people around. I knew that Rach wouldn't like that. We don't like to be the center of attention, so I had to be careful about the spot I picked.

I then messaged a family member who lives in Chicago for some help on the spot. She drove all around Chicago and took videos of three spots that would be perfect for an engagement. My favorite video she sent me was the video of the LondonHouse Hotel rooftop...the video was spectacular. 

There were a couple reasons why I knew this spot was perfect....One of Rach's dreams is to go to London. This wasn't London, but it was the LondonHouse Hotel. The rooftop wasn't to crowded either. Like I mentioned before, we don't really like large crowds. Lastly, the view was spectacular. The skyline, river, buildings, and Christmas decorations were everything that Rach would love.

One of the other important details was finding a restaurant that could accommodate the 25 people who were going to be there for dinner. I came across Lou Moulnati's and made reservations there for Friday, December 27th at 7:30. 

December 16th I believe was the date the I finalized all the plans...

December 27th, 2019 - 

We woke up around 6:15 to get ready and leave. We left for Chicago around 7:15 and were so excited for the day that we had planned. 

We stopped and got two pieces of breakfast pizza and two coffees 10 minutes into the drive. A perfect way to start the day!

The drive went super well and we got to Chicago around 8:50. We parked in the parking garage and went to get breakfast from this place called the Goddess and the Baker. It was such a cute spot and we had a really good coffee and a tasty treat. 

After breakfast, we went to see the bean and then ice skated. It was the first time we had ever ice skated together. Ice skating was something that we had wanted to do since last year at this time but we never got the opportunity to do so. 

I had originally thought about proposing while ice skating, but there were way too many people around  and I don't know if I could have gotten down on one knee while ice skating. I wish you all could've seen Rach ice skate! It was her first time and she did so well and it was one of my favorite memories with her that we have had together. 

Next, we went to the Christmas markets in Wrigleyville. But before we did that, we say this Christmas bar called Rudolph's. We went there and split an appetizer and took a ton of pictures because it was beautiful inside! We were so happy sitting in there because we both love anything that is Christmas related.

The Christmas market was a ton of fun as well. We got some mulled wine, and walked around a little bit. My favorite memory from the Christmas market was buying a large ornament with the skyline of Chicago painted on it. That ornament is something that we will always cherish together. 

When we left the market it was about 3 o'clock. I was starting to get a little nervous. When we turned on the road that the hotel was on, my heart started racing because I could see the rooftop, right where everything was going to happen...our check in was at 4:00 and I told Rach that I wanted to be on the rooftop at 4:25 so that we could see the sunset and have a drink. 

I was starting to get super nervous at this point. I was kinda rushing her...something I never do. I was filled with so much excitement and nervousness that I don't really remember what was going on in my head at that point. I just wanted to get on the rooftop in time. 

I've ran out on the floor for many big basketball games before but nothing compared to the feeling of walking out to the rooftop...

When we got to the top of the rooftop, we looked at the view, and talked for a minute or two...then I wanted to take her up to the spot where I was going to propose. 

We walked up the steps, stood at the corner and I was already feeling extremely emotional. I originally was going to read her a letter that I wrote but there was not a chance that I was going to be able to read it without balling my eyes out. I was starting to cry and I had hardly said any words yet. 

I looked Rach in the eyes, asked her if she figured out what we were doing up there and I told her that I was going to love her like no other for the rest of my life. Then I asked her if she would marry me and she said yes! 

As soon as she said yes, we turned around and my friend Allie and her brother were right there recording and taking pictures of the whole thing. While we were taking pictures our families came up on the rooftop as well. 

I had it planned that they were actually all waiting on the other side of the rooftop...

I'll never forget Rach's face when she saw our families coming out on the rooftop together. 

The feeling I felt was like nothing I had ever experienced before. It was amazing how much love I felt for Rach. I really can't put it into words. 

After we took pictures, we sat in the restaurant at the hotel with our families for about an hour and a had and it was such a perfect time to sit there with our families and celebrate our special night together. 

Around 6, we left and went to the chocolate store and while walking to dinner we came across a Friends pop up. This was perfect for Rach and her mom and sister because they are huge Friends fans! 

Seeing the Friends pop up was like the cherry on top. It wasn't planned but fit so perfectly into our night. 

Walking to dinner was freezing. Our walk was only half a mile but it seemed like we walked 2 miles. I was so excited to get to dinner because all of your friends were going to be there and Rach had no idea. When we finally got to the restaurant we walked up the stairs, peeked our heads around the corner and all of our friends were there. It was so special to see all of them and especially for Rach because she hadn't seen some of her friends in months. 

Once we finished dinner we went to another Christmas bar and had a really fun time with our friends, and then when I went to sleep that night, I had never been happier in all my life. 

It was the most perfect, and best night of our lives. 

Also - thanks again to everyone who was a part of our special night. It meant the world to Rach and I that our friends and family were able to be there to celebrate with us. It was a night that we will never forget.  

Fast-forward to the 28th and we got breakfast with my parents that morning in Chicago at the Grand Lux Cafe. Waking up Saturday morning I felt like I had never felt before. I felt like I had grown up so much in a matter of a couple hours. The excitement was so real and it will be for the rest of our engagement season of life.

After breakfast we went shopping with my parents for a little bit and it was super fun. Then we went to the restaurant called Happy Camper. Spending the first day with my new fiancé in Chicago was so surreal. It felt like a dream the entire time.

The Lincoln Park Zoo was the final thing on our list to do during our memorable weekend. We went when it was still light out, we got to see some animals, and the conservatory. As soon as it got dark, we walked around and looked at the amazing zoo lights. It was such a magical night. 

Rach and I want to thank everyone who reached out to us to congratulate us. It means the world to have so many loving and caring people in our lives. 

Here's to forever.