big bi's & big dreams: flexing your vision

No strings attached

2007-04-30T00:49:00.000-04:00

As I was reading in Rob Bell's new book, SEXGOD, I came across this word agape that I have always heard about. In four semesters of greek I have learned about agape and where and how it is used, but as always Rob Bell puts things into a different perspective. Agape is a particular kind of love. Love is often seen as a need, something we get from others. Agape is the opposite. Agape gives. Bell's reading is great because it is challenging, it makes you go deeper than just surface level. But anyways, this may be basic to some but it was profound to me so I figured I would share it.

"Agape.

Imagine a wife whose husband isn't the man she wishes he was. He lets her down, again and again and again. She begins to withdraw, to retreat, and to hold his failures against him. If they are even capable of discussing the problems between them, often she will have a list of things she wishes he did. And so this puts him in an awkward position. If he does the things on the list, she won't know why he's doing them. Because it just comes naturally? Or because he's trying to score points with her? For her perspective, his motives are unclear. And so she develops a scorecard usually subconsciously.

If he's good, she comes near, but if he fails, she stays at a distance. Her affection, he actions, and ultimately her love come conditional. Not agape.

Agape doesn't love somebody because they're worthy.

Agape makes them worthy by the strength and power of its love.

Agape doesn't love somebody because they're beautiful.

Agape loves in such a way that it makes them beautiful.

There is a love because, love in order to, love for the purpose of, and then there is love, period. Agape doesn't need a reason."

Agape. It really is a powerful word. This is the word that is used in John 3:16, "For God so loved the world..." Maybe we should practice this, all of us. We should love with no strings attached. We should love even when people don't love us back. We should love others because Christ loves us.

Something more...

2007-04-26T16:41:00.000-04:00

As I was reading through the Bible tonight I noticed something new. It is not something that I have never read but it is a new concept that I have never really thought about. I am reading through John and I was reading about the Jews and the Pharisees. They had seen everything that Jesus had done. They had heard about his miracles. I mean he had healed people who couldn’t walk, he had healed the blind and he even raised a dead man named Lazarus back to life. The funny thing is these people wanted nothing to do with Jesus. They were looking past him, they were looking for something more. Something that was better than what they had seen because Jesus just didn’t seem to fit their mold of, “Savior” or “King of the Jews.”

The interesting part about this is I believe we do the same things. I cannot tell you all the stories I have heard about how God spared somebody’s life, or how God really “got their attention”, or how God took something away from somebody so they could really see him and then their lives could be further from that truth. When I hear these things I feel like at some point these people have had a one on one experience with the maker of the universe, the creator of this whole thing. There is something they have experienced that is not normal and to say it best supernatural.

In John 11 & 12 the Pharisees and some of the Jews are ticked at Jesus. They are thinking to themselves, this guy is not the Messiah but he keeps acting as if he is and doing a lot of actions and saying a lot of things that are blasphemous. They are mad that people are actually starting to believe him and follow him. But these people have it all wrong. They are missing the point. They don’t get it. They keep looking for this king who is going to be a political figure, who will save all the poor from their oppression, who will fix all the diseases, who will make the government run more smoothly and so on and so forth. The thing is they are looking in the wrong directions.

And there lies my exact point that I am trying to make. As I mentioned earlier, I have talked to so many people about their lives and about what they have been through. When people tell me that God has “got their attention” but yet they still keep living the same crap, it seems like they are just looking for something more. They are just like the Pharisees and the Jews, looking for something more. Searching in so many areas and coming up empty because they have somewhere forgotten about the encounter they had with Christ. Christ “got their attention” for a reason, but that has faded away,

Into something

We take

For granted.

God “gets our attention”

And we just walk away.

It seems dangerous. It seems like a bad situation to put ourselves in, but it happens all the time. We become Pharisees, we become Jews, have you ever been there yourself? Do you know someone who has been there? Have you ever encountered God and then walked away? Have you ever had God “get your attention” and you just take it for granted?

To be quite honest, there is nothing more. There is nothing more than Jesus Christ. When he has “got our attention” and had an encounter with us we don’t need to look any further. There is a reason why we have come in contact with our maker. The reason is because we need to change, we need to recommit, or we need to get serious. It is going to be different from person to person. I don’t know what it is. There are so many things it could be but Jesus Christ is the something more that we all need to look towards.

But as we think about this, as we think about what God has done in our lives let’s be open. God help us in our search for you. Help us to never think that we need something more. Help us to always know that you are the something more we are looking for. Help us to never be like those Pharisees and the Jews who saw all that you had done and still were looking for something more.

When We Forget to Flee...

2007-04-24T01:38:00.000-04:00

This was one of my sermons that I preached. I just wanted to put this on here just in case it could help somebody find freedom through Christ. Sexual immorality is a widespread thing and not just concentrated in one age group or people group. I hope in some way this can help somebody.

Today I want to talk about something relevant. I want to discuss something that pertains to every single one of us in this room at one level or another. I want to talk about sexual immorality. This is one of the least talked about areas in the church but it is one of the areas where we, as followers of Christ, struggle the most. When we hear the words, sexual immorality, by default things of this world begin to pop up in our head. We think to ourselves, I can’t believe he or she did that or I can’t believe I did that and the thoughts just go on and on. And we begin to think about all the times that we have been or acted in a sexually immoral way. A lot of times this can be painful.

The church emphasizes fleeing from sexual immorality, with good reason, because that is what it says in 1st Corinthians 6:18. Of course fleeing is the best choice, but that is not always the result because we live in a fallen world. But what happens if we put ourselves in a trying situation one too many times? What happens if we slip up with our boyfriend or girlfriend? What happens if we take the mouse and click onto one more page than we should? That is something that we don’t focus on a lot. I don’t think we forget to talk about it, but talking about sexual immorality is uncomfortable. It is not the easiest thing to talk about so therefore it gets swept under the rug. Sometimes it seems we focus so much on fleeing but forget to think and realize that there will be times when we fall. So we have to be prepared for those times. We have to know how to get back on our feet and continue to pursue Christ.

Today, I don’t want to focus so much on fleeing although I hope that happens I want to talk about how we can get back on the right track even after we have fallen. Satan loves to make us feel unworthy, he loves when we feel like we don’t deserve to live for Christ and do his work. Satan loves to use sexual immorality to fuel his fires and hold us back. Today I want to tell you a couple of ways that we can tell the enemy that although we have fallen, he is not going to hold us down.

Read Micah 7:8-10

First off, I want us to notice that though we have fallen our foe will not have fortune. Yes I know that is a mouthful, but it is the truth. God promises us that. We have to realize that we are not always going to abide by the command to flee. Ever since Adam and Eve fell in the garden we have always struggled with this problem called sin. That is exactly what sexual immorality is. It is a sin. We need to know that this is not a disease or some awful thing that cannot be talked about. Accountability needs to be in place, confession needs to happen so that we can rid ourselves of the guilt and conviction that comes along with sexual immorality. It is so important to know that we can talk to others about our problems and face Satan in spite of our bad decisions. This scripture is powerful and we should use it when we are in battle with our enemy. In verse 8 it says, “Do not gloat over me, my enemy!” When we say this we are saying yes I have fallen, yes I missed the mark this time but you will not boast over my sin. It reminds me, the worst is when you are watching a basketball game and it is a hard fault battle and then at the last second the opposing team hits a three pointer at the buzzer and wins the game. They not only win the game but they rush on to the court and rub it in to the home fans. That is just a small example of what God does not allow Satan to do. Even when Satan wins he is not able to boast if we are children of God.

The next part of the verse shows us that we have hope. It says, “Though I have fallen, I will rise. Though I sit in darkness, the Lord will be my light.” God is promising that if we are a child of God then there is no sin, including sexual immorality that will separate us from His love. We may lose a battle, but we will not lose the war. If we fail to follow the command to flee from sexual immorality we have to remember that God is not done with us. He does not want us to just hang up any opportunity to serve Him and walk away.

It is true that our foe will not have fortune over us but it is also true that when we rise out of this sin our redeemer, Jesus Christ will restore us fully. We may go through times where we feel like we are being punished for our sin but we have to realize that sometimes we may deserve it because we have sinned and that is what it says in the first part of verse 9. But this is only for a time and all the while we know that God is on our side. God is going to be there for us, when we call on him he is going to forgive us and restore our relationship to whole.

When we accepted Christ as our Savior we know that our sins, past and present are taken care of. God’s grace extends from the time of our salvation to the end of time, but we must not take it for granted. We shouldn’t go on sinning so that grace can increase but we should celebrate in the fact that we are forgiven and that we no longer live in condemnation. If we take God’s grace for granted then we find little preciousness in what Jesus Christ did for us on the cross. Don’t misunderstand me. I am not saying that we should just live on cheap grace, but what I am saying is that when we fall and when we come up short God’s grace is their to cover us. God will not allow our enemy to triumph over us. He will see that the enemy is trampled under our feet and that we ultimately win the war. We can look at Satan during times of guilt and conviction and say with confidence that our Lord has our back and there is nothing he can do about it.

Battles against the enemy are best when they are won. Although Satan may try to take a few battles he will never win the war when we have Jesus Christ. God is on our side, Jesus died for our sins, even sexual immorality. For some of us that may be hard to believe but for others we need to embrace it and realize that we can’t throw our life away because of previous sexual sin.

Today if you want to write a letter to the adversary telling him that we will not be defeated by sexual sin. This is something that we can keep with us to remind us that even if we do fall that Satan will not triumph over us and we will rise again.

God Bless and hopefully I will be back soon!

No promises...

2007-04-20T01:21:00.000-04:00

Ok, before I get started I just want to say that there are no promises that I will be on here blogging for any length of time! That is my disclaimer. Ok, I feel better, had to get that off of my chest. Seems like everytime I say im back I post two blogs and then I am gone for 2 months or way longer. Anyways, I just have a little bit of time before I gotta tell my girl goodbye...sniff...sniff. Thats crying by the way if you didn't get that one. She is heading to Indiana to be in a wedding and I am heading to Montgomery to play some baseball. So we will be roughly 12 hours away from each other. That is a long distance weekend.

I want to blog occasionally for one reason and that is to put good thoughts either from me(which will be rarely) or other people(which will be most of the time) on the computer because my mind is not good enough to remember them.

Todays thought is from a book I am reading. It is called The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader by John C. Maxwell. The past chapter that I read is about courage and it really struck home.

In the Daily Take-Away section it says this:
A nineteenth-century circuit-riding preacher named Peter Cartwright was preparing to deliver a sermon one Sunday when he was warned that President Andrew Jackson was in attendance, and he was asked to keep his remarks inoffensive. During that message, he included these statements: "I have been told that Andrew Jackson is in this congregation. And I have been asked to guard my remarks. What I must say is that Andrew Jackson will go to hell if he doesn't repent of his sin." After the sermon, Jackson strode up to Cartwright. "Sir," the president said, "if I had a regiment of men like you, I could whip the world."

That is crazy. What a man of courage. I pray that one day I will have half the courage that Peter Carwright had to stand and boldly proclaim the truth no matter who is listening.

Your life make a difference? 'Cause his does!

2006-08-07T11:19:00.000-04:00

Greetings from Hudsonville Michigan. I just thought that I would blog a little bit because it has been so long since I have done so. Anyways, I am reading this unbelievable book right now. It is probably the most inspiring book that I have ever read. I mean I havent read like hundreds of books, but the two or three that I have read this is the best one. No, but seriously, this book is titled, "Don't waste your life" and it is written by John Piper and it is amazing. I had heard a lot of great things about John Piper in the past, but I just started reading this book two days ago and I cant put it down. This book has caused me to think a lot about people who arent wasting their lives. A lot of names keep popping into my head, but there is one that sticks out to me. No he is not a preacher, philosopher, doctor or anything outrageously amazing, but he is amazing to me. His name is Jason Wagner.

From the time I was little I have looked up to this guy. He has always been the person who I wanted to be just like. I mean for goodness sakes look at our cars, they are almost identical. The music I listen to, the clothes I wore, the shoes I bought, yep you guessed it, at one time or another they were and still are influenced by my big brother. We always got along except when he would hold me down because he was bigger than me or when he would make faces at me, neither of those were very godly at all, but we have grown up a little since those days...haha.

I know I probably just got a few aww's, but im ok with that. In case anyone doesnt know Jason Wagner is my brother. He's not just my brother, he is my best friend. I mean I can talk to this dude about anything. It doesnt matter, when nobody else would understand I know he would and even if he doesnt hes willing to listen. I have never seen a more disciplined person in my life. I mean come on hes 24, happily married, house, 3 cars, beautiful wife, great job. I mean I am not saying this to boast about worldly things, but to just show you his discipline and what God has blessed him with in result of this discipline.

Everytime I talk to my bro he is telling me about a new book that he is reading. Im not talking about once a month, im talking about once a week and sometimes hes reading two or three books at a time. These arent self help books or books on how to make a lot of money or anything like that, they are books that sometimes I am required to read for ministry and other books that are just helping him learn more about Jesus Christ so that he is equipped and ready to tell others about his amazing grace. It blows me away. It boggles my mind. It makes me realize how awesome he is. But not only does it do these things it inspires me as well. When I hear he is reading a book, I want to read it. When he learns something in the Bible and tells me about it, I am quick to research it and learn about it too. It is an awesome relationship that we have to inspire and feed off of each other.

On my brothers myspace page it asks him who his heros are and I am the first one listed. I mean if you guys have older siblings or younger siblings you know how huge that is. It is definately one of the greatest honors I have ever received in my life. But what I want to tell him is that he is my hero for his dedication and life that he has chosen to live to honor God and make much of Jesus Christ in his every day life. It will definately be eternally heard and I am so proud of him. I mean I dont know how much that means to him coming from someone who is only 2o, but whether it means a lot or not that is the way I feel. I am proud of him in so many ways.

I was talking to my dad the other day and I told him, there will be no need for me to study for a message or anything like that in the future because my brother knows so much about the Bible that I can just give him a call and he will tell me everything that I need to know about my topic.

I have just recently seen another huge oppurtunity and blessing come Jason's way because of his discipline and fervor for Christ. He has been offered what I would call a worship leader (he calls it lead worshipper because he doesnt want to be made much of, but to see Christ glorified in what he does) at Reedy Fork Community Church a new church plant in Browns Summit, NC. Which by the way is pastored by an amazing man of God and his passion for Christ is second to none in anyone that I have ever met. But anyways, back to Jason, he didnt know at first if that is where God was leading him, but after much prayer and seeking after God's will he realized that God was moving him there and he was going to have to follow. I am so pumped for him for this oppurtunity that has come his way because he is so full of God and this is going to give him an awesome oppurtunity to just start spilling over onto others.

Oh yeah, I think by now Jason owns stock in Lifeway and Family Christian Bookstores because about half of his pay check is spent in one of the two of these stores buying resources and music to just continue in helping him grow. I could go on and on and on about this guy because I love him to death. He spurs me on and encourages me to be the man of God that I try to be even though I fail so many times.

Its an honor to be able to tell people that he is my brother because they know what kind of guy he is. They know that he is a man of his word, a man of integrity, kind, serving, diligent and so many other things the list could go on and on. But right now I just want tell him thank you for the being the older brother, rolemodel and man of God that he is because it IS noticed and appreciated.

TWENTY NINE in one day?!?!?

2006-06-28T15:35:00.000-04:00

I was just sitting here and thinking about an awesome song. I just got back from District Conference and this song was about the only song that I liked. Not that its all about me or it really matters what I think, but this was just my observation. The song is a pretty popular song and it is very powerful as well. The name of the song is "How Deep the Father's Love For Us". It is awesome. The words of this song will blow you away and make you think about how much Jesus Christ must have loved us when He paid the ultimate sacrifrice on the cross. And thinking about Christ and the cross I start thinking about the overwhelming proof and reassuarnce that Christ was not just some average joe.

Still people dont believe the death of Jesus Christ on the cross was anything more than just the death of a average "good" man. Well this couldn't be any further from the truth. Let's just think about one aspect of why Christ dying on the cross was more than just a normal man dying. The one aspect that I want to talk about is the fulfilled prophecies that occurred on that day. More Old Testament foretellings were realized during the crucifixion than on any other day.

TWENTY NINE different prophecies, the earliest prophecy dating back 500 years were completed on the day of Christ's death. Guys, I don't think you heard me correctly. TWENTY NINE different prophecies were fulfilled and the youngest prophecy fulfilled was 500 years before Christ's death. Do I need to repeat it again? I hear a resounding NO! Numbers like these stagger even the best statisticians and give some mathematicians what feels like a knock out blow. There is a man named Peter Stone and he is a mathematician and he estimates that the probability of just EIGHT prophecies being fulfilled in one LIFETIME, not on ONE day like this...

***Cover the state of Texas two feet deep in silver dollars. On one dollar place one mark. What is the probability that a person could, on the first attempt, select the marked dollar? Those are the same odds that EIGHT (not TWENTY NINE) prophecies would be satisfied in the life of one man.***

This is amazing to me. I would be willing to bet (if I was a betting man) that if you haven't heard this statistic before that it amazes you too. How could I ever not believe in something with so much proof and in someone (Jesus Christ) that has radically changed my life. There is no way I could ever turn away from Him after what I have seen and felt. I know its not all about feeling, but man it feels good to be close to God and be in His will.

If there is one thing I know...

2006-06-25T17:21:00.000-04:00

In life there are not many things that we can be really sure about. I know it is sad to say, but things change, people change, situations change, plans change, nothing ever is constant in our life. I have heard it said that the only thing constant in our life is change and that is not joke. A little over three years ago my walk with Christ was a joke. Some of you might think that it still is, but I think we know better than that or atleast I do. On that topic it seems like SOME people never really change their view of you. I was at a concert the other night for a couple of small bands and these words stuck out to me the lead singer sang, "It seems even my next to kin, cant even see my future, they just see my sins." Wow thats a pretty crazy, but true statement. Not just kin, but friends and other people that were "friends". Anyways thought that was a cool tidbit. Then two years ago I graduated from high school and I had no clue what to expect. Now just three years after my walk with Christ got serious I am interning in a church and getting unforgettable experience in an unbelievable youth ministry. God has rocked my world and blessed me to intern in a church that cares so much for me and invests so much time and energy into me. But its crazy, this semester I am entering in to my 5th semester of college and I will be a JUNIOR, dude time flies by.

Well nothing in this life is ever constant. Right?!? Well, if there is one thing I know, it is that there is one thing constant and that is JESUS CHRIST!!! Isn't that something to be happy about? I just wanted to share a quote with you guys that I thought was awesome from a book I have been reading by Max Lucado. The book is titled Next Door Savior and it is an amazing book I would reccomend it.

***Max says, Make no mistake, Jesus saw himself as God. He leaves us with two options. Accept him as God, or reject him as megalomaniac. There is no third alternative. Oh, but we try to create one. Suppose I did the same? Suppose you came across me standing on the side of the road. I can go north or south. You ask me which way I'm going. My reply? "Im going sorth." Thinking you didnt hear correctly, you ask me to repeat the answer. "Im going sorth. I can't choose between north and south, so I'm going both. I'm going sorth." You can't do that, you reply. You have to choose. "OK" I concede, "I'll head nouth." Nouth is not an option you insist. It's either north or south. One way or the other. To the right or to the left. When it comes to this road, you gotta pick.
When it comes to Christ, you've got to do the same. Call him crazy, or crown his as king. Dismiss him as a fraud, or declare him to be God. Walk away from him, or bow before him, but don't play games with him. Don't call him a great man. Don't list him among decent folk. Don't clump him with Moses, Elijah, Buddha, Joseph Smith, Muhammad, or Confucius. He didn't leave that option. He is either God or godless. Heaven sent or hell born. All hope or all hype. But nothing between.***

Guys, we have to believe in something. It is not enough to believe that Jesus Christwalked the earth and was real because that doesn't take much faith at all considering there is more proof that Jesus Christ walked on this earth than Alexander the Great. Thats pretty unreal and it seems like it proves a point. An ordinary man doesn't walk around and constantly heal people and perform miracles. This man is not ordinary at all he is God-man, he is Jesus Christ!

1-1 count is better than 0-2...trust me.

2006-06-24T12:49:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was a pretty cool day. I got to go out with my mom here and there and every where. It was a special kind of day because I havent gotten to do that in FOREVER because of my internship, busy schedules, college, etc. So anyways we were out for the first time shopping together in a long long time. We went to Four Seasons mall and about every where else in Greensboro that you could possibly imagine. But anyways, I got something from yesterday that I thought I would share with everybody who reads this. I like being in a 1-1 count much better than I do an 0-2 count.

Yeah I know you are probably thinking, what in the world happened yesterday at the mall that would make you think about being in a 1-1 count rather than an 0-2 count. Whether it is baseball or the game of life I have now realized that it is much better to be in a 1-1 count rather than an 0-2 count. Let me explain...

Just as soon as I walked in the mall yesterday the at-bat in the game of life began. Let me preface this story with the fact that I have been trying to get out of my shell once again (one that I have been in for over 6 months now) and tell complete strangers about Jesus Christ and what he has done for me. I mean to talk to my friends about Christ is one thing, but to talk to a complete stranger makes me a little nervous or lets say a lot nervous. Well, as soon as we walk in my mom mentions she needs to stop by the ladies room and relieve herself (number one of course). Anyways, while she was in the restroom there was an older man sitting in some chairs and he was waiting for his wife, daughter or somebody to get done in the bathroom as well. I was challenged, a little voice said talk to that guy and tell him about Jesus Christ. I was like uhhhh, not right now, we just got here, we might end up talking for hours and I am ready to shop 'til I drop with my mom. Well needless to say, I walked away from this oppurtunity to tell this man about the greatest thing that has ever happened to me and my disobedience could have been his last chance to hear about Christ...

Steeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrriiiiiiiiiikkkkkkkkkkeeeeee ONE the count is now 0-1

This stuck with me for the first little while I was in the mall and im glad it did. I started thinking and remembering quotes from pastors that I had heard in previous sermons. Things like, "God only entrusts us with what we show that we are trustworthy to have" and "God is not going to put people in our paths to share Christ with if he knows that we arent going to do it anyways". These quotes started popping up in my mind and I honestly believe this was the Holy Spirit inside of me saying, "Kenneth, you missed that chance, but please show me that I can trust you with other chances that you may have in the future." I was ready for the challenge or atleast I thought I was for the moment.

So me and my mom went on shopping and of course I totally forgot about the whole incident, but it wouldnt be too long before I got my reminder. We finished up shopping and we were going back through JC Penny and we both remembered that I had to get some dark dress pants to wear for our special July 4th service at Shady Grove that is on June 25th...hmm...thats a different story in itself, but hey its going to be awesome though. Well I pick out the pants and I send my mom off in the houseware section because by this time I have to use the bathroom (number two, yeah I apologize, but I speicified earlier so I had to here too, haha) not to mention the same bathrooms where I missed my chance earlier and went 0-1 in the count. Phew, I walked around the corner and there was nobody there, honestly I was relieved I was like ok im good, no pressure. Boy was I wrong, by the time I got done I walked out and what do you know, there was a man sitting there. To make things crazier this man was about the same exact age as the guy before and my first thought was, Wow! God you really have a sense of humor to watch me suffer like this..haha. But it was my chance and I knew it was, there was no mistaking it. But to make things worse I call my mom and ask her where she is because I AM STILL RUNNING FROM THIS CHANCE!!! Sometimes I can be really stupid, really really really stupid. But guess what?!? God works in mysterious ways and she was still waiting for someone to ring her up for the pants that I had to get so there was my open door and again, I knew it. So I sit down two seats from this guy and I am feeling so awkward because here is this 20 year old sitting down beside this 70-something guy and I have no clue how to initiate this conversation. But, I asked him the most obvious question, "Are you waiting on someone?"...heres your sign...I know I know, but that is the only way I could think to initiate the conversation. But to bring the conversation into a shorter version I finally asked him if I could ask him a question and there was no objection so I went for it. "Sir, do you know Jesus Christ as your personal Savior" and his answer was a resounding, "Yes sir" and at that time I almost did a back flip right there from that chair.

Baaaaaaaaalllllllllllllll ONE the count is now 1-1

Guys, I bring this story to you and write for an hour on it because I truly believe we have to be careful with the oppurtunities that God gives us. I am not saying that I am a saint or I am the head Christian hancho because if you read a little earlier I blew my first chance that I had and barely took the second oppurtunity that God gave me. Lets not keep inside us the best thing that has ever happened to us. In Colossians 4:5 it says, "Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every oppurtunity." Lets not be ashamed and share the message of Christ everywhere we go in action and in speech!

HAND UPDATE: I finally took swings off of a tee yesterday and it was pretty painful, but that is not unexpected because I did have a daggum bone taken out just a little over a month ago.

INTERN UPDATE: This past week I was head hancho, master splinter, zac morris, whatever you want to call it, I was the head man at Shady Grove Wesleyan Church in the youth department because Derik was in Brazil. I got to teach Sunday School and I spoke on Wednesday night so it was a blast and I am looking forward to when I get my on ministry because it is going to be awesome. God is good and I cant wait to share more with everyone later. PEACE OUT!

Untitled...

2006-06-03T22:47:00.000-04:00

I just wanted to share this poem with you guys that I wrote a couple of weeks ago. You might think that it is written like a fourth grader or maybe even younger than that, but the words to this poem are exactly how I feel when I let my heavenly Father down. I really haven't thought of a title yet so if anyone wants to leave a comment and let me know what they think feel free to do so.

Sin, why even bother
I just continue to hurt my Father
My plans continue to fail
I just hammer another nail
I really fight to be pure
But it seems I will never find a cure
Everytime I seek His face
I just end up in need of His grace
I will continue to follow his way
No matter the price I must pay
I try and I try and I try
But my faith someitmes seems like a lie
Father help me always to seek you will
No matter how bad I may feel
God I give my life to you
Because I know that your promises are true
Father before you I fall face down
So that one day I will receive my crowns
Not for my selfish pleasure
But so I can give you my treasure
You are the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords
And you have paid a debt that I could never afford

Yep, thats it! Feel free to post a comment and I would encourage you to do so because I want to know what people think about it. That's it for today, hopefully in the near future I will have some more interesting things to blog about!

We have the Golden Ticket so let's share it!!

2006-06-02T14:46:00.000-04:00

I know it has been like 34334654 days since I have last posted, but I want to get back into blogging more often because it helps me put my thoughts into words. Moving on, I had some thoughts today that I wanted to share...

Wow this summer has been a whirlwind so far to say the least. And it has only been a couple of weeks. In the past couple of days I have been totally blown away with what has happened in the news. It is crazy to see that in a town as small as Central, South Carolina where I attend college someone can be strangled to death with their own bikini top. This world is so fallen that it is not even funny and it is coming more and more real to me every single day. It also tears me up inside to hear of the Cerat and VanRyn girls from Taylor Universtiy whose identity had been switced for five weeks and the Cerat parents were mourning the loss of their daughter when in actuality their daughter was just coming out of a coma. Now, the VanRyn family has to come to grips that their daughter has died, but all along they believed she was making strides to get better. It is such a heart wrenching story. A grandma is being charged today with keeping her 13 year old grandson in a dog kennel in an area just big enough for him to roll over. This has been going on for a THREE year period. Yet another rediculous story. The only time he was able to come out was for school and rarely for anything else. And to top it all off in Indianopolis last night a man killed a family of seven. Three generations of a family were totally wiped out because this man decided he would take their fate into his hands and end all of their lives executionary style. What disturbs me the most is their were three children: 5, 8 and 11. It sure takes a real man to kill kids that young. Sorry for the sarcasm it really just hacks me off. As I am writing this I am awaiting a press conference to see who this psycho guy is who killed the girl down in Central, South Carolina. My girlfriend is down their working at Southern Wesleyan University where we attend and that makes me even more sick to my stomach just to think of her being anywhere near this freak. I would love to be their for her and comfort her and protect her, but I am 3 and 1/2 hours away and that is not an option at this point.

I know this is a pretty grim post so far, but it has become so painstakingly real to me that this world is depserately in need of a Savior. There is no peace treaty, no laws, nothing that can change the direction of this world other than Jesus Christ. I wish that I could get on Fox News and get the same publicity that all these stories are getting and just break down the gospel and tell people that their is a hope and that hope is Jesus Christ. All morning I have been watching the news (I know I know you guys are probably like you are such a loser, well you hit the nail right on the head) and the same things have been cycling over and over and OVER. But I was just thinking what if I could just have the oppurtunity to share with people about Christ in the same fashion that all this news is spread nationwide and even worldwide. What would happen? Anything? I know it would, it would have to because I know how powerful the Holy Spirit is! Maybe that idea is far fetched, but I like to think about stuff like that sometimes, ya know?

I want to challenge everybody that reads this to tell one person about Christ today and what he has done for you. Seriously, lets get out of comfortable and easy Christianity and make a difference in this life. That is the ONLY way that this world will ever change. If we step up to the plate and tell people about Christ (I am definately preaching to myself right now as much if not more than anyone else because I have done an awful job with sharing my faith lately) and people begin to be saved then this world will be changed. There is no other option. I mean if these people begin to meet with Christ on a personal level they can not help but to be a different person, one who was blind but can now see. I think if we as Christians did our job and told people about Christ then this world would be a different place. We wouldn't be overrun with murders, rapes, same sex marriages, homosexuality, etc. Sure, I know we live in a fallen world, but I think Christ would rock this world and change up a lot of things if people started turning their lives over to HIM. I just think about it sometimes, we as Christians have the key to life. It's like Willy Wonka and having the Golden Ticket, we have something so special and so life changing, but we just refuse to share it. I mean we all have friends who are not saved or know people that aren't. As Christians, we have the best thing that their is to offer in this world and we need to let others know about it. Lets step up and step out and tell others about the one who has died for us to set us free!

UPDATE: For those of you who don't know I broke my hand on May 16th swinging a bat. I had surgery on May 22nd to have the hook of the hamate removed from my hand because it was a clean break and it is a quicker recovery to just go ahead and have it removed as apposed to having it casted for 8 weeks to see if the bone would repair itself. Through prayer and discernment me and my family decided it was best to just have the bone removed and go through some rehab to get my strength back in my left hand and wrist. Right now I still have my stitches in and my hand looks like something off of Frankenstein with all the stitches. I can type with my left hand and also carry small amounts of weight. I bought some squishy nerf balls yesterday to start to regain my strength in my hand and pinky and ring fingers of my left hand. I appreciate all of those who have prayed for me along the way and I would ask for you to continue to pray for 100% recovery because I want to be ready to play baseball in the fall.

Christanity Today: Part 2

2006-03-27T00:30:00.000-05:00

This is part two of my last blog...

If we are truly born again and God has washed away our sins, we have to find it within ourselves to show grace or somehow I don't believe we are giving God justice. That somehow people dont deserve our grace, but we amazingly have God's grace which has saved us from what we truly deserve, HELL. Yeah I said it, get over it, we know it's true. God has given us everything, including grace and we can't even show that. Don't get me wrong their are consequences for sins and we have to deal with those, but that is between God and the sinner, not the sinner and other sinners in this world. We are ALL sinners, who are we to think that we are above another, judging ourselves with the hierarchy of Christianity.

We can't get into judging severity of sins. Christ says that we should be careful to judge, because we need to examine our own lives and motives before we judge others. Jesus Christ gives us some biblical advice about what we should do when a brother sins against us or against anyone else. Christ says, we should forgive them seventy times seven times. Or in other words we should never stop forgiving, because Christ doesn't.

I really don't want these blog's to be taken negatively. I just want us, as Christians to realize what is going on. We are called to show people Christ in this world, because he is no longer here in flesh to do it himself. Yes I know he reveals himself in many ways, but he certainly reveals himself through his children to others. In this world when nobody wants to show grace, we have to show it. It is a serious subject and cannot be taken lightly. We need to step up and be God's light and display as children of God we can show GRACE.

Baseball Update: Been a while since an update I know. We are now 20-22, coming of our weekend series. We took 1 of 3 from Faulkner. I played in the second game Saturday and was 1 for 3 with a double and an RBI. I also had a sacrifice bunt. We won the second game on Saturday as well. It seems that we our pitching staff continues to face more and more adversity. We have lost yet another arm, this time to an injury. We are now to 4 full-time pitchers that started off the semester on the staff. Yes I know, this is crazy, but we will play on and continue to win ball games. God is continuing to move on our team and I cannot thank him enough. I also cannot thank 1st Wesleyan of Tuscaloosa for donating Bible's to guys on the team who have re-committed or recently been saved. What has happened this semester is so awesome and I trust and know that God's greatest work is still in the making.

I will post again soon.....until then remember this quote from Perry Noble about SIN,

Sin will take you farther than you want to go...
Make you do more than you want to do...and
Make you pay more than you want to pay...

Christianity Today: Part 1

2006-03-26T22:39:00.000-05:00

This is something that I wrote in December, but I thought I would post it on my blog and one day it has the possibility of being a sermon....

From the earliest of times God has meant for us to live fulfilled lives. He wants more than anything for us to follow after him. Some people seem to think that when Jesus came to earth the whole idea of Christianity changed. Jesus Christ did not come to abolish the law or change the law, but solely to fulfil it. The God of this universe loved us so much that he gave his only son to die a lowly death so that we can have eternal life.

I believe the biggest problem with Christianity today is just like DC Talk said, "Christians who acknowledge Jesus Christ with their lips, but deny him with their lifestyle, that is what an unbelieving world simply finds unblievable." For so long people have watered down true Christianity and it is hard for a non-Christian to look at a Christian and take them or Christianity itself seriously. Just as sad is the fact that Christians have forgotten the whole concept of grace. Yeah, I understand that it is not in our nature to be able to forgive and forget. But lets take a second and think about it, Would God turn his back on the adulterer? Would he turn his back on the prostitute? On the poor? On the person of a different race? Of the pregnant teen? The divorced? Honestly, I believe that is the ones he would have loved the most. God is an awesome and forgiving God and once we ask for forgiveness, he no longer remembers our sin. Maybe we should be a little more like God in this area as well. Maybe we should accept the fact that God has forgiven the person of their sin and we should too and try our hardest to move on.

Everyday we see it, pastors fall and the firs tthing people say is, hypocrite. They do not even take into consideration that he to is human. When fellow Christian brothers and sisters have a moral failure, our first action is usually to lash out and not love. We say things like, "I would NEVER do anything like that" instead of saying, "By the grace of God that is not ME". Instead of making a phone call to check up on the person or stop by and talk with them we take on the holier than thou approach and begin to throw insults and distasteful comments in their direction. It's crazy, as Christians we seem to kick our own people while they are down instead of picking them up and brushing them off. Then for some crazy reason, we don't understand why non-Christians can't fathom the idea of God's grace. They hardly ever see Christians giving it, so they wonder if the whole idea of God's grace is a myth. Lets think about this, is it possible for non-Christians to not be able to see God's grace because of us as Christian's ungrace? This is definately a facet that we as Christians need to begin to mend for the sake of God's glory and for how wonderful and renewing his grace really is.

Where do we find ourselves?

2006-03-22T01:50:00.000-05:00

Yep, believe it or not I am back. I know, it has been a while, but I will try to become more consistent in my blogging. Today's topic has become so relevant to me in the last 24 hours than I believe it ever has before. What happens when everything is gone? What happens when everything that we found dependency in is stripped away? I will attempt to discuss this and try to give a little of my own opinion.

Seriously, what happens when everything is taken away from us? Everything that we have looked to for so long is no longer there. For example, what happens when baseball is done? Your four years are up you are finished with your eligibility and baseball is all of a sudden swept right out of your life. What do we lean on? Do we find another hobby or talent to fill the place of baseball or does our world come crumbling down?

Have we ever thought that God is what our dependency and essentially our identity should and has to be found in. God is what makes our lungs pump air in and pump air out. He causes our hearts to beat and he has the say on when it stops. God should be our beginning and last in everything that we do. We should play baseball to the best of our ability, but remember we can't find our identity in baseball because it will soon be over. We can't find our identity in our bestfriend because they could one day be taken from us before a blink of an eye. We can't find our identity in our boyfriend or girlfriend because what happens one day when they tell us that they don't think that we are the one. It's crazy to think about, huh? What we put so much time into is all too often not what we need to find our identity in. Even for pastors, is our identity found in good sermons or tremendous turnouts? What if that all went out the window, would we look to God in that time and fall back on him and know truly that he is our main source for our identity.

So essentially, a Christian's identity shoud look something like this: Identity = God. Sounds pretty simple, but why is it so hard to do? Now that's where it gets tough. We do not always understand what is going on in our lives, but we have to trust that God is in control. Sometimes we have to let things go or pray very seriously over things if they begin to take our identity.

If we begin to lose our identities to something other than God we really need to step back and make a few adjustments. God should always be number one. That is not always the case in our busy lives, but we need to strive to make sure that happens the majority of time. God is crazy about us and wants us to find ourselves in him and not in some other selfish desire. Our dependency should ultimately be found in Jesus Christ and in no other other place. Cut and dry, their is no in between.

Identity = God

Proactive waiting...tough...huh?

2006-03-14T00:49:00.000-05:00

Well I have been reading the book, In the Meantime by Rob Brendle and it has shown me a few things so far. The book mainly focuses on what we do after our call to the ministry then when we enter the ministry. Brendle has coined the phrase proactive waiting. So many times we find ourselves being called by God and just wanting to tuck our heads and just run run run. I find myself saying that I know God has called so I will just rush forward and get started into some ministry and im sure God approves. While there is no doubt that God approves of ministry there is a definate chance that we can leave God in the dust.

The image pops into my head of a baseball player who steps up to the plate and hits a ball deep into the gap. As the guy runs around the bases he never once peaks up to look at the ball or even glance at the base coach. He knows he has a hit and that is all that is on his mind. He doesn't take the time to think about future actions. He knows he has first base easy, but in his frenzy he forgets to look up and see what the coach thinks about him going to second and now third and wait a minute this guy is headed for home. All the same we do that in our spiritual lives. When we receive our call in the ministry we think it is time to hit the road and never look up. But now I see that putting my head down and running is probably not the greatest way to live.

Although this proactive waiting seems like an oxymoron, it is true. We can effectively live into our calling rather than trying to manhandle God's plan. When we begin to manhandle God's plan we get in trouble. God has plenty in store for us, in his time. We (me especially) have to learn that we will not always receieve God's answers and blessings when we want them. God will send things our way that we can minister in and be effective in, but we don't have to manhandle things and go crazy and think we are already supposed to be pastoring a church or be a missionary overseas if it is not yet God's timing.

Some of us are in the initial waiting stages and some of us are just in a dry period in ministry. We feel like we are in our second term of proactive waiting. Some men who have previously been in ministry are simply not in it anymore. A variety of reasons are the answer. Some are burnt out, some have no choice, some are waiting for God to open more doors, etc. I believe it is the same in the second term of waiting as it is in the first. It is almost more important to remember God's plan in the second term. If we try to manhandle our way back into the church and not wait for God's leading we may be more miserable and more overwhelmed than one could ever imagine.

God's plan will develop if we just allow it time. We have to believe that God is in control and that we are just sitting in the passengers seat. We have to get it through our thick skulls that proactive waiting is effective and we can live into God's plan rather than trying to manhandle it. Stay connnected with God through prayer and continue to seek his will for your life.

It's like free or something...

2006-03-13T01:42:00.000-05:00

Free is a word that everyone wants to hear. Everybody enjoys free things and honestly I don't believe we ever get tired of receiving free stuff. Free is defined as not costing or charging anything.

We have this guy on our team who loves to use the word free in any context imaginable. We are traveling the other week and he looks on the floor of the tour bus and sees a trash bag, he then proceeds to make the announcement, "It's like a free trash bag, to throw our trash in, its like free or something." It seems like an innocent statement but to me it was loaded. So many things rushed into my mind. What in life is really free? In public school some kids may get free lunch, but somebody's taxes paid for that meal. We may think that our bagged lunches on road trips are free, but somewhere in our 20 grand a year to attend SWU that is paid for as well.

I kept dwelling on that question. The only thing free that I could come back to is salvation. Salvation is free. Jesus paid the ultimate and eternal sacrifrice for us all. He cancelled our debts, he paid our fines. When he hung on the cross our debt was paid and we no longer have to worry about that. Honestly, I can't think of any greater gift than for God, the creator of this world to send his only son so that he could die a cruel and despicable death just to save people like me and you. It is unreal to think about.

This song that I have heard at NewSpring and I have heard Newsboys sing says it perfect...

Through You the blind will see, Through You the mute will sing
Through You the dead will rise, Through You all hearts will praise
Through You the darkness flees,Through You my heart screams I am free

Chorus: I am free to run (I am free to run) I am free to dance (I am free to dance)
I am free to live for You (I am free to live for You) I am free (I am free)

I absolutely love that song. It has rocked my world lately. Their is nothing more or nothing less that we can do to get salvation. God has offered it to everyone now all we have to do is accept it. Salvation, which is the best thing that could ever happen to us is free. God is madly in love with all of us and he wants us to just accept his gift and then fall in love with him. There is nothing greater than a relationship with Christ. It is challenging, but I wouldn't trade it for the world.

If this whole post sounds jumbled it's because I am about to fall asleep at the computer and I apologize in advance. Anyways, baseball went well this weekend. We took 2 of 3 from Shorter so we are now 17-17. Just keep the team in your prayers. And I will continue to stay as up to date as possible with my blogs.

It happens to all of us...

2006-03-09T00:53:00.000-05:00

Joy. We love to have it and we all love to feel it. But what is it? Is it something that just happens? Is it something we can make happen? How do we find joy in our lives? It seems so often that our adversary (Satan) loves to try to rob us of our joy. God is the joy giver so I guess that means if Satan wants to be the crackhead that he normally is then he would want to be the joy taker. There is only one problem that Satan has, as Christians we can triumph over him because all we have to do is call on the name of God. He can't handle God. The dark front that he tries to put on is taken away when God comes around because God's light makes his darkness look pitiful. You just can't teach that.

What is it in our lives that Satan loves to nit-pick at. For me it is a mixture of a few things. Satan loves for me to lose my confidence on the baseball field, because when that happens millions of things run through my mind. Satan loves when I get down on myself because then it carries over and I don't feel "smart" enough or "educated" enough in my faith to tell others about Christ (which btw is a lie straight from hell). Lately, he has tried techniques like robbing me of my joy of talking to friends, family and sometimes even my girlfriend. It is so rediculous that the things that God has put in my life for me to enjoy are the same things that Satan loves to rob. It is definately not a coincidence. To be honest with you, I really can't stand Satan. That might be a given, but I just thought that I would go ahead and throw that out there, because just like those t-shirts say, "Satan is a Nerd".

So many times lately I have been taken back to the Sunday School story of David and Goliath (1st Samuel 17). How much do you think Satan tried to attack David? I'm sure he told him lies like, you're not good enough, you're that small talkin' all that smack to a dude that's like daggum nine feet tall. He had to have heard it all. All the lies, all the deception, all of Satan's tricks. The same lies he told him on that day, and i'm pretty sure of this, are the same lies that he tells us to this day. Satan loves for us to feel small, he loves for us to feel defeated before we go into battle, he loves for us to have no confidence and he loves for us to feel like we don't even have a fighting chance to make it out alive.

The sole purpose of this post was to let people know that no matter how many or what lies Satan throws at us, through Christ we can defeat his lame butt and triumph over the crap that he throws at us. In 1st Samuel 17:45 David said, "You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied." This is kind of my example of Satan coming at us. He comes at us in a lot of different areas with a lot of different tools, but his main intention is to rob us and kick us to the curb. The thing is, he comes at us in all these different directions, but we have Jesus Christ and he is trying to defy us so we need to come before him and he will take care of everything. In 1st Peter 5:7 Peter says, "Give all you worries and cares to God, for he cares about what happens to you."

To wrap things up, Satan loves to try to rob us of our joys. It happens to all of us. He's sneaky and sometimes it takes us a while to realize where he is coming from and what he is trying to do to us. It can be frustrating, stressing, trying and many other things for sure. The best thing we can do is just stay in constant focus on Christ so when things go wrong and when we find ourselves being knocked down by Satan then God will be there to take over. All in all, God is the man and if Satan thinks that he can control our lives with the Holy Spirit living in us then he must be smoking something strong.

UPDATE: We lost tonight 10-4. We were leading 2-1 in the bottom of the 7th inning. So it sounds like it got a bit out of control, yeah you're right, it did. But anyways, we are 15-16 now and have games coming up this Friday and Saturday against Shorter College. I'm hitting terrible and have been all season, I would appreciate prayers that I can keep a Christ-like attitude and not get to terribly frustrated with myself during this time. God is still moving on our team and he will never stop. Guys are seeing these new Christians and how their lives are being changed and that is a plus. Continue to pray for that too and I will post again soon.

Because I said so...

2006-03-06T11:02:00.000-05:00

If we all take some time to reflect there are some things that we have always been taught. From the time I can remember I was taught not to question God. It was instilled in me that whatever God's will is will happen and that is that. The consequences were harsh if we questioned God. He may send his wrath and show us that he means business and whatever he says should not be questioned. Roll with the punches, get up when you get knocked down and never think twice because that is God's will and we can't question it. God gives us the same age-old answer that we hear from parents--"because I said so."

Year after year I realize that I want my relationship to be just that, MY relationship with Christ. I don't want to believe because of something that my parents or preachers told me. I wanted to experience this God thing myself and not trust in everything that people feed me. This growing and learning process comes with many things and one of the major things are questions that fill our minds. Questions that fill my mind: How is Jesus God?; How do we know the Bible to be true?; How do I know that I have a relationship with Christ? These are just a few questions that we have to figure out ourselves and then apply them to our walks with Christ or even our walks without Christ for some. I believe God longs for us to question things and go deeper and find truth in what we question in find answers for ourselves. Don't mistake what I am saying here, I am not saying that we can find our own truth because the only real truth is Jesus Christ.

I believe God is looking for people who don't mindlessly sit there and accept whatever comes their way. I truly believe that questions are central to our faith. Rob Bell, pastor of Mars Hill Church says, "A question by its very nature acknowledges that the person asking the question does not not have all of the answers. And because the person does not have all of the answers, they are looking outside of themselves for guidance. Questions, no matter how shocking or blaspehemous or arrogant or ignorant or raw, are rooted in humility, A humility that understands that I am not God. And there is more to know."

I wanted to find examples of Godly people questioning God so I looked in scripture and found a few things...

In the book of Genesis, God tells Abraham what he is going to do with Sodom and Gomorrah, and Abraham comes back with an obvious question of God. He says, "Will not the Ruler of the earth do right?" If we read on we see that Abraham thinks that God is off his rocker and they get into what seems like a bargaining discussion. Continuing on we never see God get mad, he seems to engage with Abraham all the more.
Moses even questioned God. God told him that he was the one who he wanted to send, but Moses didn't want any part of it. In Exodus 4 Moses says that he is not able and the Lord should send someone else, but with each question Moses asks God seems more and more convinced that he has picked the right man.
David, a man after God's own heart questioned God in Psalm 13. He asks God, "How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and day after day have sorrow in my heart? How long will my enemy triumph over me? Look on me and answer?"
Mary, Jesus' mother questioned. "But how can this be? I'm a virgin!"
And let's think for a second, what were some of Jesus' last words? Yep, you are right a question. "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"

Maybe, just maybe by now we are starting to see that it is ok to come before God with questions. We all have questions. Why do good things happen to bad people and vis-versa? Why do mean people get rich? How is the Bible God's word if it was written by men? Wow, we all have questions, good questions and the only way to find the answers is by searching. If we have not come to the realization that Jesus is God and that our life is nothing without him, then God can't ask for anything more out of us then to question and search for the truth. Because I promise you this in any and every search for truth the final answer in every search will end with Jesus Christ and his ultimate sacrifice on the cross for OUR salvation. Salvation is not just for me and you, it is for everyone.

UPDATE: This is a baseball update. We went to Lee this past weekend and won 1 out of 3. We lost friday night in the bottom of the 11th inning 9-8. Saturday we lost the first game 12-2 and then we came out in the second game and won 15-2. I played in the second game on saturday going 1-3 and also getting walked. One guy attempted to steal and was hosed at 3rd (haha, I would say something like that). But anyways, more importantly God provided once again. A guy on the team inspired me to write this blog on questions because he is searching for God and asking many very intelligent questions. I also got the chance to talk to a few other guys and spur some others on. But keep the guys on the baseball team in your prayers and we will continue to follow God's will and take advantage of any oppurtunity given to us. Our record on the baseball team is 14-15 right now and we play tomorrow, Wednesday and a weekend series on Friday and Saturday. I will keep you updated.

Another tidbit not related to this post but I thought it was awesome. Again, coming from Rob Bell...

One of the central metaphors for God and his people thoughout the Bible is that of a groom and his bride. God is the groom; his people are the bride. I like this because it makes the church a "she". We need to reclaim this image.

She's a mystery, isn't she? Still going after all this time. After the Crusades and the Inquisition and Christian cable television. Still going. And there continue to be people like me (and me - Kenneth) who believe she is one of the best ideas ever. In spite of all the ways she has veered off track. In spite of all the people who have actually turned away from God because of what they experienced in church. I am starting to realize why: The church is like a double-edged sword. When it's good, when it's on, when it's right, it's like nothing on earth. A group of people committed to selflessly serving and loving the world around them? Great. But when it's bad, all that potential gets turned the other way. From the highest of highs to the lowest of lows. Sometimes in the same week. Sometimes in the same day.

But she will live on. She's indestructible. When she dies in one part of the world, she explodes in another. She's global. She's universal. She's everywhere. And while she's fragile, she's going to endure. In every generation there will be those who see her beauty and give their lives to see her shine. Jesus said the gates of hell will not prevail against her. That's strong language. And it's true. She will continue to roll across the ages, serving and giving and connecting people with God and each other. And people will abuse her and manipulate her and try to control her, but they'll pass on. And she will keep going.

That last quote rocked my world and got me PUMPED. God is good, all the time and all the time, God is good. Keep on keepin on. Live for Christ and don't ever back down because he will always be there with us!

Happy cookies...

2006-03-03T00:48:00.000-05:00

I just thought that I would take a post and let you guys know that I probably have the best girlfriend in the world. Wait a minute...this just in...yep, she is the best girlfriend in the world. No maybe's or might's she is the best one. I know you guys are probably jealous, but what can I say, I am a lucky guy. But anyways, God has really revealed to me recently that I am extremely blessed to be in my relationship with her.

This girl has it all. She loves Jesus with all heart, mind and soul and she even loves me (that might be the hardest part sometimes). She has a heart for lost people and that is something that is irreplaceable. She is a hardworker and is a very independent woman. Her number one priority is God and what his will is in her life. She is unbelievably gorgeous, long brown hair, big green eyes, beautiful long eyelashes and I will stop there. There are so many more things about her that I could go on and on about.

It seems like everyday she challenges me spiritually. Whether it is asking me questions about scripture or asking me if I have even read my Bible for the day. When things aren't going the greatest for me or I am down on myself she puts things back into perspective. She reminds me how blessed I really am and how much I have to be thankful for. She has been an awesome prayer warrior for me every single day of my life for the past 13 and 1/2 months. I whole-heartedly believe that she is another reason why God is moving so much on the baseball team. She has been in constant prayer for those guys and words can't describe how thankful I am for that. It's crazy when guys come to know Christ she gets just as pumped as I do and that is awesome to have someone to share that with, especially a girlfriend.

I can honestly say that I have the only girlfriend that makes snacks for me on road trips. She makes little snack packs with #44 on them and little notes that remind me of her love. Sunflower seeds, slim jims, crackers, fruit chews, you name it, it's probably in there. She even makes happy cookies or atleast that is what me and my roommates on my road trips call them (Dustin, Maggs and Kellen). The list goes on and on and I am just thankful for everything that she does for me. I am so glad that God has blessed me with a girl that loves the Lord with all her heart and loves me with the little bit she has left over after she is done loving the Lord.

God has really challenged me with something today and that is in Luke 12:48. We have been given so much if we really take time to think about it. Let's give God our all and use everything that he has given us for his glory and honor and praise.

Update: We (the baseball team) will be traveling to Cleveland, TN in the morning to play a weekend series against Lee University. We are 13-13 right now and just got off a 10 game winning streak. Pray for us that we would be safe in our travels and that during our travels life changing conversations would occur and God will continue to move on our team (or His team...never thought of it that way). To all those that read this if you could keep our baseball team in your prayers everyday I would appreciate that so much because God is doing amazing things and I think the best is yet to come.

Belly, Pocket or Easter...

2006-03-02T00:15:00.000-05:00

When we think of lent, what is the first thing that comes to mind? Be honest, is it a belly button, pocket lint, or is it the 40 days that lead up to Easter. Yes I know lent and lint are not spelled the same, but this is my blog so get over it (haha). My first response when I hear the word lent is belly button. I have that problem, ok maybe I am weird for that but I can't be the only one who struggles with it. Yeah yeah I know you dont have this problem, but you know someone who does.

Anyways, now to the more serious and boring section about Lent. Lent is an Old English word for Spring. It is the 40 days prior to Easter excluding Sundays. I have often wondered why in the Bible 40 days is such a significant number. Here are a few examples that I could come up with...
Exodus 24:18 - Moses stayed on the moutain with God for 40 days
Numbers 13:25 - Spies stayed in the land for 40 days
1 Kings 19:8 - Elijah traveled for 40 days
Jonah 3:4 - Ninevah was given 40 days to repent
Matthew 4:2 - Jesus spent 40 days praying and fasting in the desert

HonestlyI have never thought of Lent as being a tremendous deal in my life. It has never impacted me huge spiritually and that may be because I have never taken it too seriously. It seems almost that it has become a fad and that is never what it was meant for it to be. We think of things to give up and almost immediately we make the decision. Little prayer and thought is involved and before we know it we are committed to something that God had little or nothing to do with.

Let's also remember nothing is menial to God. Whether it is candy, soda, TV, Instant Messenger or American Idol, our motives are what truly matters. He doesn't sit on the throne in heaven and get impressed with our lists of sacrifices we have made for him. We don't have to put ourselves in a situation where we are intentionally suffering for him. God knows our hearts and knows if we are willing to suffer for him if the oppurtunity were to come around. We have to be careful daily and remember that our righteousness to Christ is just the same as filthy rags. Not saying it is bad to live for Christ, but our motives and heart should remain solely to live for him and not to impress him. Thats all I got for now, but more is to come...

Oh and by the way, we played a double header today and split with Montreat College. We won the first game 8-4 and then lost the second game 6-4. I was 1-3 and also got walked during the second game. It was an awesome day in the upper 70's so I was pumped to be out on the baseball field. Everyday I am so blessed to be able to wake up and play the game that I always dreamed of playing at the collegiate level. I heard more good news today, last night one of the guys who rededicated his life is alreading sharing Christ with another roommate. I mean it is a complete 180 degree turn for these guys. They are starting to realize what God has in store for them and they are eager to follow him. Another thing, Mitch left me an incouraging message today and told me a verse that has really stuck out to him in the Bible and it was 1st Samuel 12:16(I'm not goning to tell you what it says open the Bible up and check it out yourself, ha) it applies perfect to what's going on in my life and just reminds me of God's faithfullness.

There & Back

2006-03-01T01:50:00.000-05:00

There and Back...such an interesting title for a blog. Im so glad that MTV is so creative and generous enough to give me such an awesome name to give to my blog. We all have our stories and I hope to share mine through this blog. It is an awesome oppurtunity for me to be able to express myself and also keep people updated on things going on in my life. And so as to not waste anytime I will get into a few things that are going on in my life. First things first, God has definately been moving on our baseball team. It is quickly becoming a team where more than half the guys were lost to the point where there are only, I think 8 remaining who haven't accepted Christ. That is obviously a praise. God continues to amaze me every single day. Just Sunday night Davey and I got the chance to lead a guy on the team to the Lord (Scotty). On the same night in the very same room a guy who I have been praying specifically for rededicated his life (Dustin) and I was pumped. I honestly don't know how to describe the feeling. I honestly thought that I was going to run out the door and run about 10 miles, I was jacked. There is nothing greater than seeing guys realize that without Christ there life is worthless and has no meaning. We have seen 5 guys accept Christ within the past month. Now if that don't fire you up then your wood is seriously wet.

On to a similar, but different note. Last night we had a discipleship meeting in Apt Q and the turnout was unbelievable. We have been having this discipleship at 10pm on Tuesday nights for the last 3 weeks. The first Tuesday we had 4 guys in Apt Q. That number has incereased in the past two weeks and by my count we had 12 guys this week and again, I am blown away. We had guys on couches, stools, the floor, the kitchen counter it was awesome. We pray for God to draw these guys to him and then we he does we are shocked. It's sad but true. I want to challenge all who read this to pray, and when we do, pray knowing that God is faithful and that he will answer our prayers in his timing. But that thought is for a later date (I need to stop preaching...haha). It is so unreal to see these guys genuinely loving Jesus. We even had 2 non-Christians in the room who were just soaking in all they heard. These guys have tough questions but Davey, Gavin, Phil, Brett and I try to answer them the best we can and it is a challenge for us as well to apply our faith. But anyways we are not satisfied with 12 people coming to discipleship, we want the whole team! Our prayer is that the whole team will get saved by the end of this semester. Yeah I know what you are thinking, "Yeah right, that could never happen.", well I just want to ask you one question, How big is your God?

I just want to give God all the honor and thanks for what is going on with our team. None of this and I mean none of this could ever happen without his loving kindness drawing these guys to repentance. But anyways, stay on the lookout I will try to post a few times a week.