UPDATE

So for those of who have been following this blog.  It's been forever since I've posted anything, or if you're just coming across this, to get my most recent blogs go to my new blog Speech Of A Fool. There you'll find the latest and most up to date blogs I've written.

Set Apart

"I like your Christ, I don't like your Christians. They are nothing like your Christ"
-Mahatma Ghandi.
Isn't it true, Christians are supposed to mirror Christ, set apart by actions, words, faith, and purity. Yet many are no different than non-Christians.

Matthew 6:33(a)"But seek first HIS kingdom and HIS righteousness"

Shouldn't that be the goal of a Christian?? To first and foremost SEEK the kingdom of GOD and His righteousness. Many of us get so caught up in our bills, our friends, everything of THIS world. But Christ is not of this world, and yet that's where a most of our attention is. Our hearts need to be for God, and he will supply us with what we need. I invite you today if you haven't, just to pray, ask God into your life, to be your supplier, to help you find yourself in Him. People say to me, "there's something different about you, I don't know what it is?" and stuff like "I wish I could have what you have" and without really knowing what "it" is. When we devote ourselves to God, people start to wonder why we seem to be different from "normal" people.

Jeremiah 1:5(a) "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart."

Christianese

A few nights ago, a student of mine was messaging me, just random conversation. Sad that I'm moving , etc so on and so forth. She abruptly says, "you're religious right?" Now I paused for a moment, I could have gone into the theological aspects of it all, how religion is what's killed people, and how having religion and having God are different things. What comes out of a man's mouth can make him unclean (Matthew 15:10-11). However, getting into all this would invoke confusion, I didn't want that. That was undesirable.

So, I decided, this may be a chance to minister to this girl like I've wanted, God is giving me the opportunity, and I need to take it. At which point I go into a short bit about Jeremiah and the Israelites and how Nebacunezzer is going to oppress them for 70 years, but to not lose hope. For God has a plan, plans for a hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11). And I worked her experiences with ecstasy and other drugs, relationships falling apart into how a plan can work out. We all are going to go through some hard times but there is a future, prosperity. Now she no longer does the drugs, and she even tells others about the dangers of them, her relationships are stronger than ever, and she's continuing her schooling.

This young girl doesn't believe in God, at least for now. As you talk to more people it can shake the foundation, even one person can shake the foundations of many. Martin Luther King Jr is a shining example of that. When the man's house had been burned down with racist groups, he lead his community in a time of prayer and thanksgiving for the companionship of each other and they broke out in Amazing Grace. One man, shook the foundations.

I let this girl now, that even though she may not believe in God, I see God believes in her. And even if you believe in God, but just aren't in a good place with Him, you may not like Him, but He loves you. He loves you so much he sent his son to die on the cross for your sins (John 3:16). He wants you to be with Him, he has offered you life, free of sin, free of temptation, life everlasting, just for having faith in him, He saves you (Ephesians 2:8-9).

So, after some time of conversation with this girl, I didn't bring her to Christ, but there is the seed. And even the mightiest of oaks, grew from the tiniest of seeds. At the end of the conversation I just let her know that God does have a purpose for her, and that even if she doesn't believe it or accept it, God does have a plan, God has her life in His very capable hands.

God is pursuing you, unrelenting. He wants you. And He won't give up until He has you.

ANNOUNCEMENT

Merry Christmas!!

NEW BIBLE STUDIES IN THE NEW YEARS!

First Sermon:Justice

I spent the entire weekend from Friday to Sunday past at a conference called the Pursuit conference. For a period of almost 76 hours, I spent the large majority of it worshiping and praying and finding new paths in God. But that isn't the main focus on this entry.

One of the worship artists brought up a verse in the Old Testament.

Amos 5:23-24

Away with the noise of your songs!!
I will not listen to your harps!

But let justice roll on like a river

righteousness like a never-failing stream

This hits me as a worship leader and a musician. We're always acting like we love Jesus and how awesome he is in church and bible studies, then we go into the world no different. When we love the least in our world, we are loving Him. Yet, we say we love Jesus, but what do we do?? We go home, listen to profain music, watch some television with horrible images, and live our lives for ourselves!!!
We need to stop living our status-quo, mediocre, in the box Christian lives, and Step UP!!!!! Stand up and speak for those who can not! Help those in the worst of times, not just the best of times! Be like Christ, strive for Justice and Righteousness!! In James, chapter 2, it says "as the body without the soul is dead, faith without deeds is dead"

No matter how much you say you love Jesus, no matter how much its in your head. It need to be in your heart, and on your hands.

Check out www.compassion.ca, check them out, sponsor a kid, make a difference. Start something, stand out

Back to Basics

As I move myself deeper into God's word I find I know less and less than what I felt I knew. And as I get deeper I find, the basics start to fade from memory. Over the next period of time I'm going to go back to the basics again. This is also in light of people I've realized that believe in Christ, but really don't have a relationship or understanding of Christ.

First I'm going to jump into the book of John.

JOHN 3:16

For GOD so loved the world he gave his only begotten son, so that all those that believe* in HIM would not perish but have everlasting life.

For GOD so loved the world??

~GOD loves us, he is the lover of our souls, he showed us this when he sent his son to die for us on the cross. HE loves us, in John 15:13 it says "Greater LOVE has no man than this that he lay down his life for his brothers".

so that all those that believe* in HIM

I starred BELIEVE for a reason, in Greek it is 2 words Be Lief. Be-To Live, Lief-According to, In the way that. To believe, be-lief is to live in or according to how Jesus lived.

And in such we would not perish but have everlasting life.

Because GOD loves us, loves his people,he sent his son Jesus Christ to die on the cross, so that those who follow him, and live in Jesus, would have life everlasting.

It really opens our eyes to see this this way. This is the most common verse everyone knows, even non-christians know of this verse. And many use it to justify anything they do. That because Jesus died, we can do whatever the heck we want, and get away with it. Faith alone, nor deeds alone, does not mean salvation. By the grace of God through Faith you are saved, not deeds (Eph:8-9) but Faith without deeds is dead (James 2:26). Truely, like in John 3:16 the path to salvation is in living our lives in Christ Jesus in all matters of Conduct, Speech, and Purity.