Everyday is a Battle

   When you join the Christian Faith, I will just be honest, it is not going to be easy. Although, remember, it is not impossible either. Remember Phil. 4.13 and say to yourself "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." It is important, however, to know that everyday is a battle for your soul in spiritual warfare. God already has the Victory of course, but it does not seem like that every day of your life. There will be times where you may feel God is not near you, or even worse, not for you. There will be times where you feel as there is no way that you can grow in Christ because He doesnt seem to be there. There may be times when you call on the name of Jesus and He not immediately come down on clouds with fire and comfort you. Just know, He IS there!! There is a continual war waging for your soul daily. The good part is, YOU choose who wins in your life. Seeking Christ and TRUSTING in Him no matter what gives Christ reign and victory in your life. Stay persistent.  Yes, it is a daily battle, but through Christ, the victory is won all the time, every time. -AJ

Everyday Rememberance

   Have you ever seen the people who just accepted Christ and are on a fire that lasts about a week? After that, they go on to their old ways, not reminding themselves of what they have just done, or maybe they accepted for the wrong reason. Well, once we establish why we accepted Christ and make sure that the right reasoning is in play, loving Christ because we were made to worship and obey Him and He first loved us, then we must DAILY remind ourselves of God and the Gospel to stay on track. EVERY DAY, we must remember of the Greatest Event of ALL TIME, Christ dying on a cross for the sins of us! Out of that dedication comes a true and pure relationship with Christ. One not based on religion or rules, but one based on the TRUE love of Christ. This gives us the peace of mine of the assurance of Salvation. God saved us and we should remind ourselves of this great fact daily. Us Christians in America seem to lack true dedication. They want to be saved but dont really want to build a relationship. Lets daily remind ourselves of how great Jesus is and what He has done for us. Keeping our minds on things above. -AJ

Which Way to Go?

   The bible doesn't say "Matthew, you should go to Orlando University and study for an MBA", or "Mary, you should buy a 2011 Toyota Avalon from a car dealership in Arizona", or "Mark, you should mary a blonde girl from Canada who's name is Hannah." But, the Lord does guide us. When it comes to right and wrong and general knowledge, wisdom, and understanding, the Proverbs are a great way to grow. In here you will find God giving us tools for guidance through life by wisdom. In the proverbs, this wisdom is absolutely beautiful. And if we want to show others Christ through our actions, quite honestly the Proverbs are necessary. So, God's Word is one way that guidance is provided to us on earth. Another thing that some overlook is that God speaks. Not always through gigantic clouds on mountains with thunder and lightening, but through people, or our spirit, or through a preacher, parent, or by many other means. The thing is, we have to be open to hearing the guidance of God, which takes time. We should be paying attention to what God may be trying to tell us in our lives. Praying, for example, is a good way to do this. If you have a question or need guidance about something, prayer is definitely a good way to go. Just ask God to show, help, and God you and for Wisdom on what to do. He never fails. God guides. -AJ

What are We Truly After

   Everyone has heard of the preacher preaching about hell and basically scaring his congregation into an attempted following of Christ for the fear of what hell is. So then the congregation goes home petrified of hell so they temporarily stop every sin that they know they are doing. They stop cursing, drinking, smoking, etc... And they have no problem whatsoever telling others about their sins and warning them about this horrible place called hell. Hell is real!!! It is a terrible place for those who do not believe and accept Christ. But, that is not what should be the only cause of following Christ. We were made to worship and to obey. Out of the love for Christ because His love for us. Worship and Obey out of love. Most people follow because of the wonderful news of heaven. They go for an alter call at church and say a prayer simply because they hear of the ferocity of hell and the joy of heaven. We dont really care who God is, or what Jesus has done. We take lightly the fact that we are sin and God is love and He sent His son Jesus to die on a cross for all of our sins so that we may meet God and be right with Him in the end of times. We dont care that our job on this earth was to worship and obey Him and that we were made for His glory. We seem to just care about heaven and hell. Well heaven and hell IS real, but the love of Christ should be the factor that moves you to love and follow Him. Because of Him dying and being raised from the dead just for us. Let that be what moves us to be a disciple of His. -AJ

Nutrients for Christian Cultivation

   If you have accepted Christ, you will learn or have learned that it is impossible to stay securely in Him and grow if you do nothing at all to advance your faith. If you dont know already, what you will learn is that it takes fellowship with other Believers, on top of daily staying with the Scriptures and developing your personal relationship, to continue to grow in Christ. That is the purpose for the church. We congregate to grow together in the Lord, knowing that there is no possible way to do this alone. It is true, we can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens us. But God made this Race so that we grow from others (fellowship of believers) to grow closer to Him. We use others experiences and revelations from Christ to get a clearer picture of who Jesus is in our lives and the lives of others. Sometimes, what others go through is the strongest tool for strengthening us. Knowing that, it is also important to realize that our experiences can help others grow if we share them. Our growing in Christ can affect others growth, if we would only share it! So basically, what am I saying? Discipleship is important. No one can say that the disciples of Jesus did not grow from His teachings. The life of Jesus directly affected those whom He discipled. There should be two aspects in everyones life who truly want a continual growth in Christ. One: Getting discipled. We should find someone father along than us to help us grow in Christ. Two: Disciple someone. Maybe a new believer or someone. Use your life to help them grow. This will also motivate you to have your life able of being copied to help someone else grow. So, TOGETHER, lets grow in Christ!

The Ultimate Exercise Video

   Have you ever seen the crazed exercise enthusiast? How about the olympic athletes training for the Olympics? Or how about the football player who has a chance for winning the national championship? Or the body builder who wants to win the weight lifting competition in a few weeks? What do they all have in common? One word: commitment. This commitment is the mental stamina that is such a great tool for the motivation of doing the impossible. Sometimes all it takes is the action of doing something hard once, or at least striving to do so, that gives us the inspiration to achieve what we never have before. All that it takes to get us to the next level. Thats how our Christian walk should be. All it takes at times is the will and desire and attempt to follow and believe that gets us to the next level in Christ. Sometimes, all it takes is actually trying to say no to those things that generally slow us down. This, by no means gives us the excuse to say our sin is ok just because we feel as we tried a little. Our sin is still sin, and is cannot stand in the presence of the Lord Almighty. But it is that persistence, that commitment that the Lord is looking for. Training to seek the Lord DAILY until it becomes our second nature, that is the training that we need to pursue. Burying ourselves in His Word, spending time with Him in prayer, continually reminding ourselves to let the Spirit take control, these are the things that strengthen us. Stay strong and be committed to the Lord. -AJ

All Knees Will Bow

   Going to church does not mean that you are exempt from the wrath of God in the end of days by the form of hell. We have the tendency, adults and youth alike, to think that if we do good, never kill, and go to church, we are fine. But its about time we realize that is just not how it works. The Gospel of Jesus is the ONLY thing that saves you from an eternity of weeping and gnashing of teeth. Realizing that Jesus died, was buried, and raised from the dead, and accepting Jesus into your heart and confessing it with your mouth is the ONLY way salvation is accomplished. An example of something that does NOT work: you go to church. Never accepted Jesus into your heart. You do not stand up for him in your life at all. Jesus says if you deny Him on Earth, He will deny you in front of His Father, and you know this, but you attend church EVERY Sunday and Wednesday. What is the verdict? NOT SAVED. Lets take another case. You are a morally acceptable person. You go to church EVERY Sunday and Wednesday, but you never accepted Jesus. NOT SAVED. My point, lets stop taking the Saving power of Jesus Himself for granted by just going to church and doing good, thinking that will get us into Heaven. It wont. You MUST be saved. John 1.12 states "but for all who received Him, for those who believed in His name, he gave them the right to become children of God". Talk with a Christian or Pastor at a church about accepting Christ. Let Him into your heart because of how much He loves you! Accept Him because you want to love Him like he loves you! That is the only way to true salvation. -AJ

Run With Perseverance

   In today's society, it is incredibly easy to slow down in our Christian walk with all of the distractions that the world has to offer us. Everything from smartphone, to social media have the ability to give us a spiritually apathetic life when it comes to consistently and actively following Christ. The apathy that I am referring to includes but is not limited to, slowly regressing from spending time with God through His Word, slacking up on the guarding of our hearts, minds, and tongues, failure to spend time in prayer, failure to love others as Christ first loved us, inability to disciple others to be more like Christ through our lives, lack of desire to be more like Christ through someone discipling us. What am I saying? The life that leads to knowing Christ is not based on instant gratification (smart phones, social media, internet etc.), but based on perseverance and patience. We live in a world where absolutely everything is in fingertips length. But when it comes to God, we must persevere continually and seek Him without stopping. You cant just access the Kingdom of Heaven like a webpage. You cannot feel sorta bad about sin one time in your life, never accept Jesus, but go to church and think that everything is alright. One must accept Jesus and believe in His name to be saved. And after that we need to seek Him continually, not with one time instant gratification, but perseverance for a personal relationship. Run with Perseverance. -AJ

High Level Security

   I think one of the most overlooked things as a teenager in modern times is the guarding of our hearts. Well start with the obvious, dating. I am by no means against dating or having a girlfriend, but this is only the case if we guard our hearts in the relationship. Looking for the wrong things in the end, not seeking accountability, not being honest, moving entirely too fast are all examples of not guarding the heart in the dating relationship. But lets look at some other common ways in which we dont truly guard our heats daily. Television. What we let into our eyes, hearts, and minds through television can either help us grow or poison us with false gospels such as drugs, sex, money, pride, violence and all other things that are the exact opposite of what Jesus taught on the television. Texting. Why are we so soft in our filters of what we text? It is not Godly to text about things that lead us to immorality. We tend to use the excuse of it just being a text message and no physical harm done, but that is not so. As a man thinks in his heart, so is he. I dont know about you, but I have yet to meet someone who could text without considering the words that they were typing first. One may say they do not mean it, but what they say and text are truly what is in their hearts, whether they want to believe it or not. Conversation. Casual conversation, no matter the location, mean alot. Lets take school for an example. We may want so badly the approval of others that we join, or even worse, start, an inappropriate, ungodly conversation that we no our parents would never approve of. All of these things can corrupt our heart if we do not guard it. How do we do that? Honor all of our relationships, whether that be a friendship or a dating relationship. Be careful of what we view on television. Shows that preach a false gospel will corrupt your mind and heart, whether you want it to or not. Guard heavily our texting and conversation. Think about each word before we say it, using encouragement instead of detrimental put downs. Guard your sexuality. Flee from homosexuality, pornography, and lust. All of these things destroy the heart dramatically. Bottom Line: WITH EVERYTHING: Guard your heart. -AJ

Limited Time

   One of the most important aspects of high school is learning to manage our time effectively. In this economy, most of us teenagers have to work, along with church, school, etc. Managing time becomes extremely important when we factor in that we are not guaranteed another second. We are called, as disciples of Christ, to spread the Gospel to all nations. We need to love our family, spend time with our friends, read the Word of God, study our schoolwork, playing music or sports, eat, sleep, entertainment, etc. So we need to manage this proficiently so that we do not run ourselves into the ground. Managing our time in an orderly fashion is only done by having the correct priorities in our life! God comes first, then family, then friends and school, etc. We like to just look for things and do them to satisfy our time, but that is not necessarily what is wise. We should prioritize in a way that our relationship with God and our family are both satisfied indefinitely. Then we have the time for our friends. And by the way, when we talk about spending time with other people, friends, family etc... FACEBOOK is not the only way to socialize. You would not facebook chat with a boss to ask for a job, we need to take time to talk to other people face to face and really take the time and connect with others. As teenagers, we do everything in our power at times to try and shy away from spending time with people face to face. We text, chat, facebook, etc. Lets connect with people. Taking that extra time and effort would definately help when it comes to spreading the Gospel of Jesus as well. Prioritize your time. Spend it with God, and get to know people. In this, we will love others like never before. -AJ

LOVE

The Message (MSG)

1 Corinthians 13

The Way of Love

 ¹ If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don't love, I'm nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate. ²If I speak God's Word with power, revealing all his mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if I have faith that says to a mountain, "Jump," and it jumps, but I don't love, I'm nothing. ^3-7If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don't love, I've gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I'm bankrupt without love.

   Love never gives up.
   Love cares more for others than for self.
   Love doesn't want what it doesn't have.
   Love doesn't strut,
   Doesn't have a swelled head,
   Doesn't force itself on others,
   Isn't always "me first,"
   Doesn't fly off the handle,
   Doesn't keep score of the sins of others,
   Doesn't revel when others grovel,
   Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
   Puts up with anything,
   Trusts God always,
   Always looks for the best,
   Never looks back,
   But keeps going to the end.  ^8-10Love never dies. Inspired speech will be over some day; praying in tongues will end; understanding will reach its limit. We know only a portion of the truth, and what we say about God is always incomplete. But when the Complete arrives, our incompletes will be canceled.
 ¹¹When I was an infant at my mother's breast, I gurgled and cooed like any infant. When I grew up, I left those infant ways for good.
 ¹²We don't yet see things clearly. We're squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won't be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We'll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us!
 ¹³But for right now, until that completeness, we have three things to do to lead us toward that consummation: Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly. And the best of the three is love.

Fear of Man

   It is so easy for the teenagers of this generation to base our lives off of the approval of others. The car that we drive, the clothing we wear, the language we use, the people we date, the school that we attend, the attitude we show others, the music that we listen to, etc. are generally dictated by the ones we associate with. But, God wants us to base our decisions and lifestyles after Him. This is the true definition of freedom. However, our generation bases our lives of off the lives of other teenagers around us, good or bad, just so that we can fit in. This takes our focus off of what God wants for our lives and puts it on duplicating the imperfect life of another human being in the hopes of being popular or some other reason. Now, it is a good thing to look at certain qualities from Christian lives and learn from them to help grow you spiritually towards Christ. After all, our goal is to imitate Christ in all that we do. So we cannot let the approval of others dictate whether or not we imitate the life of Christ. We cannot let our cultural influences, or anything else get in the way of that. So let us run with perseverance towards fully imitating the life of Christ, striving not to be stopped or even slowed by the approval of man. The fear of man has no power against the strength of Christ. "I can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens me"- Phil 4.13. ALL things includes persuing Christ whether the fear of man is against you or not.

-AJ

"God Will Provide"

This is a re-post of our friends the Cogdill family. It is exciting to see fruit ripen and be harvested to spur on those of us who are casting seed. They didn't wait to put the scripture on the van after everything fell into place, it's been on there through the shaky times as well. Blessings , Dave

Jehovah-Jireh, "God Will Provide"
"Abraham called the name of that place The LORD Will Provide, as it is said to this day, "In the mount of the LORD it will be provided." Gen 22:14 NASB




If you see our van driving through town, you will see this scripture painted on our windows.

The reason we put it on our van was because God provided it. We were in the process of getting out of debt to apply with Wycliffe, so we sold our old van. The money we made off selling it was exactly what we ended up paying for this new van (if you can call a 1999 with 190,000 miles "new").



"So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions." Luke 14:33 NASB

In order for us to get out of debt, we had to sell almost all of our possessions. This was hard at first. The house became empty of everything that held the memories of our past life in this land. But as the floors, cabinets, garage, and closets became empty, our home filled with faith and trust in God, and love for a people and country yet seen. The things that we once held dear were replaced with the greatest possession of all, Christ.

God is not a genie in a bottle providing anything you ask. The fact is, He has already provided all we could ever need in Jesus. He is the treasure. When He becomes really BIG in your heart, everything else seems insignificant - like what kind of house you have, or where you live, or what you wear. Comforts and privileges that are removed hold no value in the light of His mercy and grace. What you once valued turns to filthy rags in the presence of a Holy God.

The American Dream had consumed us. There was no way to carry my cross and follow after Christ (Luke 14:27) when my hands and heart were full of stuff. So I traded a nice van for one covered in scratches and duct tape, a mattress on the floor instead of my beautiful sleigh bed, hand-washing clothes instead of a front-loading washing machine, and eating on a blanket on the floor instead of my grand table for eight. Because I desire a better country and home, that is, a heavenly one. The trinkets of this world no longer appeal to me.

Abraham had waited years for Isaac, his son, who came through the blessings of entering covenant with God. Then to find out God wanted him to sacrifice Isaac. Why? Because it is in the sacrifice and laying everything on the altar of God that He reveals to us His all-satisfying Love. A love that is better than anything we may have to give up. A love worth leaving you home or country. A love that keeps its promises.

By faith, Abraham was willing to lay Isaac down because he knew he would be bringing him back down that mountain. God had already provided for Abraham and Sarah and he knew that He would provide again. Abraham was walking by faith in future grace because of the past grace that God had shown him. I too want to walk in this faith. I will be the alien, the pauper, the outcast in this world because I consider the reproach of Christ greater riches than all the treasures of this world. (Heb 11:26)

Living Proof

Ramzan Manjothi, (we call him Bo) is a participant of the Hope Ministries discipleship program. A new believer in Christ, Bo was a former Muslim and is looking forward to all the ways God has planned to use him. Please click on document to read and be blessed. Dave

Confident Hope

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. Hebrews 10:23 KJV

Hope in the Christian's Life is not wishful thinking. It is confident expectation. Those without Christ may wish things were different and that they knew someone who could change their situation. The believer in Christ is personally related to the Lord of the universe, who is sovereign not only over all creation but also over every circumstance we experience. This is where I see disparity in what should be and what is. So many believers are doing good works and much of what God requires of them but when life comes at them on life's terms they curl up in the fetal position and wine, pout, get angry, and literally become paralyzed and unable to fulfill God's will for their lives. Take it from me who suffered once with the most debilitating anxiety attacks  you could imagine, when the healing stripes that Jesus took for us all are applied to anxiety or other ailments it is removed permanently. Does that mean I don't worry occasionally as the average person does no, but I no longer obsess over things that I have absolutely no control over. I can't afford to, it's life or death and not just this short trial run here on earth but eternally speaking.  We can live in confidence when our hope is in the One who is faithful and everything else is a deceptive lie. When God speaks, He stands by His word to see that it comes to pass. When God speaks a word to you, trust Him completely, for He never deceives His children. If He indicates to you that He is doing something in your life you can be absolutely confident that He will do it. Side-note: I know there will be those who struggle with the terminology of God speaking to them personally (or how can I know which voice is right) but we can save that for another post or through discussion in the comment section due to length constraints. Let me just challenge those who believe to examine the path of your life and ask God to show you where He has influenced or directed your ways. Should we wonder why unrighteous people seem to prosper while righteous people suffer? I do all the time but remember Jesus promised that each would receive a just reward one day but we must choose whether we want a worldly pat on the back or heavenly accolades. Should we wonder if all the effort required to raise God pleasing children will bear fruit when they are older? I do but God promises all throughout the Bible that they will. Should we wonder if the things we have renounced when we became Christians will be replaced by God's blessings? I do but Jesus told us we would receive a hundred times as much of everything intended for us. Our hope is not mere speculation in what God might do. He has given us His word on many areas of life regarding what He will do.                    Blessings, Dave

Recovery perspective - Step 11 tells us there are no secrets or shortcuts to knowing God. Only through prayer and meditation of His word can we improve our conscious contact with Him, revealing the knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.  Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly. Col 3:16

A Highway of Holiness

       A highway shall be there, a road, and it shall be called the Highway of Holiness. Isaiah 35:8 NKJ

The nation of Israel was designed to have a place where other nations of the world would come to worship the true God. The temple in Jerusalem was to be the center from which the good news of God's salvation would spread to every corner of the world. But those who were supposed to be God's people forsook Him and practiced every kind of sin. Rather than being ambassadors for God, they disgraced His holy name. Rather than attracting the nations of the earth to God, they became stumbling blocks to those who were seeking the true God. The Israelites fell so far from God's original intent that He judged them and sent them into exile. Yet God promised that one day His people would be an avenue by which others could find salvation.  While it is true that day exists now it is also very noticeable the amount of hypocrisy that can be found among religious people.  A prideful hypocrite can influence others away from the Lord and towards eternal destruction. A humble hypocrite like myself admits his many shortcomings so that others can see he is not perfect but in pursuit of holiness. Ever know a Christian who was "on fire" for God but always stepping on others feelings, being rude, smug, or just plain lacking the basic fruits of the Spirit? All believers present an opportunity for the revealing of God's plan of salvation. Romans 10: 14-15 (Message) says, " How can people call for help if they don't know who to trust? How can they know who to trust if they haven't heard of the One who can be trusted? How can they hear if no one tells them? And how is anyone going to tell them, unless someone is sent to do it?"  Whenever an unbeliever meets a Christian, they should be face to face with everything they need to know in order to follow Christ. I look at most people I meet as seekers looking to discover their faith, increase it, verify it, prove it, share it, etc... and try not to get distracted by determining whether they are "one of us or not." Sadly, many modern day Christians can be similar to the Israelites of earlier days. So deeply involved with our own sin that we are completely disoriented to God and ill-equipped to direct others to Him. Again, I'm not just speaking of blatant, ugly, sin like anger, immorality, and addiction, but pride, greed, unforgiveness, lack of humility, and such. If our lives our filled with hypocrisy, we may turn people away from God, rather than helping them come to Him. If our lives are filled with doubt or anger, we may impede others from coming to Christ. Our lives ought to be a highway to holiness, providing easy access to God for anyone around us who is searching for him. Ask Him today to remove any obstacle in your life that hinders others from coming to know Jesus and expect the Holy Spirit to show reveal something to you about yourself.                                                          Blessings,             Dave

Recovery perspective - Serenity prayer:  God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.

Week-end verse to ponder and pray on.

And those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.  Gal 5:24 NKJV

Among those who belong to Christ, everything connected with getting our own way and mindlessly responding to what everyone else calls necessities is killed off for good—crucified.   (Message)

Devoted

   This week, we will be talking about devotion. That seems like a term not used enough in our generation for the fear of evaluating what we are actually devoted to. Recently, I attended Student Life Camp in Cleveland, TN and that was the theme. Devoted. So, I decided to point out some obvious and not so obvious devotions we seem to face in our daily lives. Some devotions seen every day in the life of a high schooler are drugs, food, sex, lies, cheating, stealing, cursing, deception, lust, vanity, self worship, self confidence, discrimination, intimidation, self image, good grades, popularity, music, sports, approval, perfection, intimacy, love, independance and so on. Basically, its like my great bible teacher said, "selfishness is the root of our sin, we sin because we love ourselves." I will expand. We sin becuase we are DEVOTED to ourselves. So now that we realize that our devotion is not Christ generally in our day to day life, the question that we face is, how do we make it Christ? How do we "set our eyes upon Jesus?" The answer is simple, realizing how we were forgiven and are forgiven of our sins daily, therefore letting us die to ourselves, showing in our lives that we are not of this world, is a great devotion to Christ. When we realize that this world has absolutely nothing for us,and that our only hope is the eternal full satisfaction of God Almighty himself, we realize how foolish it is to devote ourselves to other things. This thought process along with the Holy Spirit, in turn will empower us to fully and truly devote ourselves to Christ and His work in our lives.

-AJ

Being taught how to fly

This is a re-post from earlier this morning from dear friends of Amy & I, Patrick and Kellee Cogdill who are preparing to move to Africa. No matter where our mission field is all of us can relate to the trust and dedication it takes to be not just readers of the Word but doers.                      Blessings, Dave

Being taught how to fly

“Let me hear Your loving kindness in the morning; For I trust in You; Teach me the way in which I should walk; For to You I lift up my soul.” Psalm 143:8 NASB

When we started down this road over a year ago, the hardest thing I struggled with was TRUST. A year later I am still working this out on a daily basis. I am the poster-child for moderation, safety, and routine. I stray very little from the known, tangible and predictable. Just ask Kellee. So when God began tugging on my heart about missions, He was making a quick cut. No bothering with low-hanging fruit. He went right for the jugular.

Do I trust Him?

Will I give Him my life? Without limits? That is what He requires, right? Can I call Him, “Lord,” and still do my own thing? It doesn’t look that way in the New Testament and I know that in my head, but it is slowly working its way to my heart. To really put feet to it is another thing - like walking away from a good paying job for one that pays nothing, or selling everything and “going to a land I will show you.” Who lives like that?

So I find myself in a completely unknown place right now. Like all the things I ever knew and trusted in were removed and all that is left is God. That’s a great place to be and that’s a scary place to be. It is so hard to let go. Ask Kellee, she will tell you I am the guy who “crunches the numbers.” So to think of no guaranteed paycheck, is a stretch for me. All the little ways I have tried in the past to be in control of my own future or circumstances, but now God is saying, “Trust in Me with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In everything you do seek Me first, and I will guide you.” Proverbs 3:5-6

Oh how I like to lean on my own understanding (and spreadsheets).

But my understanding only sees what is directly in front of me. And it is flawed because I am wrapped in this mortal flesh which constantly seeks its own. God has my full lifetime in perspective. He is shaping my character to be fitting for the eternity we have to spend together.

I had a poster in college that said, “Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.” (Corrie Ten Boom).  Therein lies the key. God is the known in all this. To quote the missionary Karen Watson, “I was not called to a place, but to Him.” When I find myself struggling, I can read God’s promises in the Bible and it breathes back into my heart the reassurance that He is sovereign and He is faithful. I am reminded that it is ultimately not about me – it’s about Him. It’s about displaying His worth to a world that does not know Him and more specifically to people that cannot pick up a Bible and read those precious promises I hold so dear. In the Mara region of Tanzania alone, there are nine language groups whose only access to the Word is what they hear on Sunday in a language not their own (most church is in Swahili, not the local heart languages – the language people grew up speaking and in which they express emotion). Someone described it like, “trying to eat soup with a fork. We can get a little taste, but cannot get nourished.”

So I am gently reminded that I have the Bible in my heart language, the Holy Spirit inside, and Jesus praying for me to the Father – wow, I can live like that!

"When you get to the end of all the light you know, and it's time to step into the darkness of the unknown, faith is knowing that one of two things shall happen: either you will be given something solid
to stand on, or you will be taught how to fly."  --- Edward Teller

May I hold loosely to the things of this world but tightly to Him. (1 Tim 6:7-11) In whatever state I find myself may I be content because that is where He would have me be. (Phil 4:11-12)

Mediocrity

God places much of the burden of what we will become on our response to Him. If we drift away from Him, His call will be to return to Him. He promises that if we will return, He will immediately renew His relationship with us. James 4:8 promises, "If we draw near to God, He will draw near to us." Matthew 7:7 guarantees that, "If we seek Christ, we will find him."  I can't help but think of those who face suicidal thoughts and how often we can't visualize God's character being what His Word says it is. I too ventured to that dark place many years ago and my father unfortunately succumbed to the overwhelming thoughts of guilt, shame, and loneliness ten years ago this October. God's grace and His compassion for others is the reason this blog goes out each day. Much of our Christian life rests upon our response and our desire to experience God to the fullest. Why is it some Christians seem to go much deeper in their walk with God than others? Why have some had such powerful intercessory prayer ministries that have changed the course of nations? Why has God chosen to anoint the words of some so that, when they speak or pray or preach, it is obvious their words are consecrated by God? It is because these individuals have committed themselves to pursue God until His presence is powerfully real in their lives. They have decided to settle for nothing less than a vibrant relationship with God, and He has honored their desire. Anything else is just playing around and is dangerous to our chances of spending eternity with God and being pleasing unto Him. Are we complacent or hungering for more? We need not ever be satisfied with a relationship that is broken by sin and void of the power of the Holy Spirit. Without it, Satan and his worldly control will steal, kill, and destroy. We each have just as much of God's powerful presence available to us as the greatest saint in history. He awaits our response!           Blessings, Dave

Recovery perspective - Step 11 tells us addictive, compulsive, and obsessing minds to seek through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry it out. Colossians 3:16 says, "Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly."

Freedom

After a day of celebrating our earthly freedom and many privileges I am reminded as a believer in Christ that my eternal freedom came with a cost and is subject to the commandments of God. As temporary owners of these bodies, we each have the responsibility to find out what is and what is not good for them. We must exercise discipline with our God-given liberties because there is no value in "freedom" that spiritually cripples believers or causes pain, shame, and guilt. 1 Corinthians 11:1 says, "Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ."  We must stop clinging to our old ways if we are to show appreciation for God's endless mercy and grace. Otherwise our sinful and destructive behavior cheapens what Christ did on the cross. If our eyes and minds are centered on worldly perspectives there is absolutely no reason to live our lives in a God pleasing manner but if we strive for an eternal view, we realize today could be the day we give our final account. Our God is a God of second chances and the day is looming when no matter who you are, what you own, or what your last name is, your knee will bow and your tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord!                                                               Blessings, Dave

Recovery perspective - We must continue to do a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves. Just like we take out the trash every day or so, we need to do so in our personal lives.

Free Will

                                                                                                                             
Today we celebrate our countries independence from Great Britain and most of us will enjoy the many aspects of freedom that derived from that day. Many will not. Our prisons, mental health facilities, and alcohol & drug rehabs are beyond full capacity. Free will has provided most of us with undefined borders of life's possibilities and for others it has meant disaster. The prophet Isiah tells a story of a man with a vineyard on a fertile hill. The man cultivated the ground and removed the stones so that nothing could hinder the vine's growth. He planted only the best quality vines. He built a tower in the middle of the vineyard so he could watch for the wild animals and intruders. He constructed a wine vat so that he would be ready for the ripe grapes. Then he waited. Rather than producing good grapes, however, the vineyard produced worthless ones.Isaiah 5:4 says, "What more could have been done to my vineyard that I have not done in it? Why then, when I expected it to bring forth good grapes, did it bring forth wild ones?" The story illustrates the relationship God and His people. God has done everything necessary for us to produce an abundance of spiritual fruit in our lives. He saved us when we were without hope. He gave us His Holy Spirit to produce fruit in our lives. He removed our sin stain so that we are free to serve Him. We have His Word in numerous translations and access to more Christian books, movies, music, conferences, magazines, and radio and television stations than ever before. There are churches of every size and kind with teachers and pastors to instruct us and encourage us. Most of all, we have direct access to God through prayer. Jesus said that to whom much is given, much is expected. (Luke 12:48) One day God will hold us accountable for all that He has done for us. He will ask us to show Him the fruit of all of His bountiful provision for our lives. What will He find?                                                                               Blessings, David

Recovery perspective - Recovery is more than just ridding ourselves of addictions. It entails discovery of character defects that can derail us from our journey to please God.

Slaves of Righteousness

Prior to becoming a Christian we were slaves, in bondage to sin. Even when we did not want to sin, we were unable to do otherwise. Romans 7:18 says, " For I know nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out." When God saves you, He frees you from sin, but we are still slaves. Bound to righteousness and obligated to do what honors God in every area of our lives. Some live in denial believing that they've been set free by Christ to do as they please. Righteous living is not an option for Christians, it is a mandate.  I can no longer respond to others or my own fleshly desires based on my feelings, I do so out of obedience and reverence to the One who plucked me from darkness. His name is Jesus. Without His Spirit living through me, which requires daily surrender of my own will, I can't begin to live a holy, sanctified life.  Romans 6:18  says, " And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness."        Blessings, Dave

Recovery perspective - Without recovery I will be unable to sustain my focus on Christ. Jesus is my Savior and recovery is a fully loaded tool belt.