Just a thought

In I Corinthians 15 Paul is talking to the church about the end and what it all entails. A verse that stood out to me more than all the others was verse 31 where he says "I day every day- I mean that,..." That really hit me. Do I "die" every day for my Jesus? Do I continually press in regardless of my current situation? Whether I am in a season of joy and peace, or whether I am in a season of pain, sorrow, depression, addiction, whatever? This really challenged me in the fact that I cannot live for tomorrow. At least as my main motivation. I must live for today and the opportunities that Christ gives me to grow spiritually and through that growth, the furthering of His Kingdom and not mine.
I am guilty of the fact that I am not proactively pursuing Him every minute of every day. I want to. I want to be able to live like my life doesn't matter except for how I can live it for Him and His will. He is God. I am not. He is my Father, my friend.
Instead of beginning all my prayers with all that He has done for me, I should begin them with how awesome and grand He is. Praying continual reminders that He is my Healer, my Provider, my Comfort, my Salvation, my Everything. Now that might sound like I would be speaking of all that He has done for me, but I disagree. I feel that it is prioritizing Him as the first, as the one and only. He does all of those things. All I do is receive. It is like the dynamic of His grace and righteousness for us. WE CAN DO NOTHING TO EARN IT!!!! It is all through Him and from Him.
So I pray that I may begin to die daily for Him and those He has called me to serve. I don't want to live a life that from a distance looks good but rather closely examined it is a life of fulfillment and completeness.

It's Been a Long Time, I shouldn't have left you.....

"Without a dope beat to step to. Step to. Step to" Sorry. I couldn't resist repping my girl Aliyah. Anyway.....

Well it has been a while since I have written and thought that I would take some time to catch up. Especially all of you who have waited with baited breath. All 2 of you. Ha ha ha. But seriously.

The Lord has been doing a lot in me the past couple months. Some of it welcomed, most of it received reluctantly. Most recently it has been dealing with the multi site or the Norfolk Campus as I am calling it now. I have reserved the fact that the only way it is going to launch "smoothly" is by God and only God. That doesn't mean that I am to sit on my hind quarters and kick up my feet, but rather let God do His thing through me. WHEN we launch and WHEN it is successful, He will receive all of the glory. I will redirect EVERYTHING towards Him. It is not of my own power but rather by His. He is too big and I am too small. The box that I have kept Him in needs to be ripped open, cut up, and thrown into a fiery furnace. I then need to stop ordering those boxes and storing them for the next big thing. Time and time again God has proven Himself faithful.

I am reminded of Elijah and of the time after God had done miraculous things through him. He finds himself being threatened and running from Jezebel. He is in fear for his life and just runs. God takes him to a place where he calms him down and teaches him some powerful things. One is that he needs to rest. The other is that he needs to stop listening to lies and hear the truth. Next is to listen to the whisper of God's voice. I struggle with this one so much because of the chaos I create by "doing the work of God". I cause so much "noise" that I can't hear God's soft soothing voice. SLOW DOWN AND SHUT UP!!! Finally, after all is said and done I need to get back doing what I am called to do.

I think that we can all relate to Elijah. I know that I can. A lot of what happens is alluded to in my blog title. "Its been a long time, I shouldn't have left you." We get so focused, or distracted, that we lose sight of what God wants. Then before we know it, it feels like an eternity has gone by since we have had a real good God time. So we need to routinely recalibrate.

1. REST

2. TRUTH

3. QUIET

4. DO

May God bless you and keep you. Until next time.

Just a Face in the Crowd

This morning I went to Norfolk for my Friday morning coffee in Ghent. It was the first time in a little over a month. If you are not familiar with my visits to Norfolk. It is just to establish a base there for when we launch the Norfolk campus in 2010. So anyway....it has been a while. I have a tab going which to my discovery only had .48 cents left on it. So I paid my $1.95 for my medium coffee, and proceeded to find a territory that I could claim as my own. I would stake my position and set up shop. Maybe listen to a sermon, observe the locals, or just surf the Internet. Well as I was on my way to grab a seat I recognized a familiar face. Now this face wasn't familiar because I have been going to Elliot's Fairgrounds Coffee Shop in Ghent, but rather it was familiar because I had spent time with this person while stationed on the mighty USS Cape St. George the Navy's finest Cruiser. Just to be sure it was him, I asked his name and sure enough it was SK2 James Gould. Now James wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed, even though owning a MA in business. Also he was kind of an idiot savant when it came to life. He was the butt of many jokes, and sad to say on the receiving end of some of mine. He was a likable guy though. Well past his prime, but serving the country nonetheless. So long story short, to stumble upon him after 5 years of not seeing him had to be a God thing.

We got to talking about life and where each of us is at. He is in the process of getting out of the Navy and moving back home to be near his mother who has been diagnosed with cancer. Also he suffers with an anxiety disorder, and if you met him you would understand why. I don't say that to disrespect him.

While talking I asked him how he remembered me. This of course was after I revealed to him of me being a Pastor. What I would hear next would sadden me but not surprise me. He went onto say that I was not one that he saw as a troublemaker or knew of as getting into trouble. He saw me as a guy who would go to the bars, have a drink, and then go on with my business while in port. He saw me as just a "face in the crowd". Now this to me was all an accurate statement. The thing that saddened me was that I was known more for what I wouldn't do than what I was about. While in the Navy I claimed to be a Christian, but I didn't live it. I told people that I was going to be a Pastor, but I didn't witness to them. I did everything to be just a "face in the crowd". This challenged me!!! But I know that reconnecting with him was no coincidence.

I have a picture of him and I in a bar in Turkey. I would often look at that picture and wish that I had been nicer to him, or that I would have stood up for him. But how could I have? I was just a face in the crowd. I had at one point wrote off that time of my life. But the kind of God we serve didn't. He kept it tucked hidden away until the moment that I would best be ready for it. Until today.

James and I talked for 2-3 hours about life. About everything from religion, politics, the economy. About each other. I was able to be that person that was able to share my love for the Lord. I was able to look at him and be accepting of him despite his eccentricities. I was able to shower him with love and compassion. I now have that part of my life back. I am more complete because of that encounter today. That is the kind of God we serve. He takes those "face in the crowd" parts of our life and transforms them into God moments. Only He can do that. Only He can restore us to where we want to be.

So if you are living in those "face in the crowd" seasons of life, have faith and know that God can bring everything full circle when He is ready. Just give it to Him and He will do it. Sometimes He needs to do more in us before He can do more through us.

Give Me Faith....

My title is the title of a sermon series from Steven Furtick at Elevation Church in Charlotte, NC. It is a series that addresses what I feel every Christian struggles with. Is my faith strong enough? Is my faith real? Is my faith something that can withstand the fire? For me lately, I have been in a lull where I am just going day to day and have not really had the umph that I would like in my walk. Of course it is self induced, but more importantly I have chosen to bow to the idols in my life that is brought on by the "music" surrounding me. In Daniel 3:13-30 it is the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. The king, I'll call him King Neb, has issued a decree that when the music is heard all will bow and worship the 90ft idol that he has constructed. As the story goes on we see that the three men do not bow down and that the consequence of this is to be thrown into a firey furnace. This was a direct result of their "disobedience" to this earthly king, authority, decree, accepted way of life. And because of this their faith was tested. The scripture goes onto say with their response they stated three things: 1. They did not recognize the enemy by name. They did not give respect to the force behind this issue. 2. They did not have to defend their faith. This was not their job to put time and energy into doing so. Thier actions spoke for themselves. 3. They had an attitude about their faith that stated that even if the Lord didn't deliever them they would not bow because they had their convictions of only serving the one true God. I know for me recently that the trials of my faith have been a refining fire. I, unlike the three guys, have a little smoky flavor. But I know that I have not been consumed. This is for me to grow and for my faith to go to the next level. We need to know that EVERY trial is an opportunity for us to be refined. And just as they were delivered from the flames so too will we be, because Christ is with us in those times. "Look!! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth, looks like a son of the gods." God is always with us. We just need to know that the trials in our life aren't meant to burn us but rather refine us.

Relax (Don't Do It)

Frankie Goes to Hollywood said it best, but if you are anything like me you are just too busy. Work 9-5, Monday through Friday. You have something planned every night of the week. Whether it is business or pleasure and then when it is time to sit and relax something comes up and you have to do it. This is just the society that we live. A 24/7 mindset. 3-6-5 lifestyle. Why are we that way? Is it beneficial to us in our relationships, our own personal time, our physical health, or how about our spiritual health?
I think that the enemy has done a great job of creating distractions in our everyday lives that take away from all of this. Some would not be so bad, but once again our mindset is to have everything now and in our hands. This would explain midnight showings of the hottest new movies or if you are a video game nerd like me, the midnight releases of a new video game (I will be there at the release of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2; just saying). It is not just this. It is with releases of iPhones, Black Friday, Green Tuesday and whatever other color day that has a massive sale. My point is we need to not be so eager with what the world says we should have or what we should do. This is seen not just in getting stuff. It is also seen in the mindset of workaholics. As a workaholic we have to be working on the something all the time. Whether it is for a deadline, overtime, or cleaning the house. We have to always be doing something.
But the Bible says something contradictory. It is one of the ten commandments. Honor the Sabbath and keep it holy. Rest. Relax. Take a break. I like this quote from Rob Bell. It was actually from one of his tweets. He said: "On the Sabbath we live as if all of our work is done-even if it isn't." That is some great stuff. Even if there is a huge pile of laundry or if there is one last addition to that project we need to rest. What it says by taking rest is that you are more important than the work or the busyness. The truth is that you are. God knows this and thinks this. This also brings scripture true in your life. In 1 Corinthians 6:12-20 Paul is talking about sexual immorality and to abstain from it, but in the scripture he says that "Everything is permissible by me, but not everything is beneficial" This can apply in the area of work. Just because you can doesn't mean you should. The end of that passage goes on to say "you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body." We need to honor the Lord with our bodies and our time.
Take a break once a week. It will be hard at first, but if you make it a priority you won't be disappointed.
Exodus 20:10-"Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Work six days and do everything you need to do. But the seventh day is a Sabbath to God, your God. Don't do any work—not you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your servant, nor your maid, nor your animals, not even the foreign guest visiting in your town. For in six days God made Heaven, Earth, and sea, and everything in them; he rested on the seventh day. Therefore God blessed the Sabbath day; he set it apart as a holy day."

Our Ministry: Is it like Christ's?

I think about the way that I and the majority of Christians witness to people directly or indirectly, and it has brought me to a conclusion. I am 27 years old and have been witnessed TO a handful of times, maybe 4-5. Now modern day statistics say that there are approximately 224,000,000 Christians in the United States, and I have been witnessed to 4-5 times. Now I am not saying that I am doing any better. As a Pastor I get to witness through my work, but what am I doing in my plain clothes away from the church. What are all of us doing as believers?

I feel that it is because we have not accepted the new covenant that the Lord paid the ultimate price for. The more I think about it, it feels as if the majority of Christians are wandering through life like the children of Israel did. What I mean by that is there is a promise given to us (eternal life), and we are just doing everything we can just to get that promise. While instead the new covenant which fulfills the old covenant should require us to live how Jesus lived rather then how a bunch of nomadic people lived. We too many times are waiting for God to give us the next opportunity rather than make our own with God's direction. Jesus ate at sinners' homes. He hung out with hurt and sick people. Maybe we take the scripture in Romans 12:2 TOO literal and we separate ourselves from anything and everything that could possibly lead us astray. Maybe I want more for my walk. Maybe I want people to look at me and see Jesus rather than see someone that is weak and is leaving it all to God. God gives us the power to do all these things. Through Christ this power is given.

I guess what I am saying is that we need to have lives that reflect Jesus rather then a life that is aimless in wandering with a "pillar of smoke" leading us to the "promise land." I want to be a Joshua and a Caleb, who had the spirit of the Lord in them when they said that they could take the land. I don't want to be the other ten that were punished with death. Because in the end if we lived our life like that there will be a yearning or desire to have wanted to do more, and that will feel like death.

So may we look to Christ and how He DID ministry, with boldness and courage!! Let us not be fearful of man. Let us take the land the Lord has given us. Let us know that it is Him that gives us the strength to do these things and it is not of ourselves. Let our ministries be like Christ's!!

Step Into The Light

In John 3, Nicodemus comes to Jesus at night or in the darkness and proceeds to tip toe around the fact that he believes in who Jesus says He is; the Son of God. Nic then goes on to ask questions of Jesus, not to trip Him up, but rather to get to the bottom of it. He basically states that He must be who he says He is by the miracles He performs, but how can he be sure that He is? Jesus then talks about being "born again" and that no one can enter heaven unless they are. "This is of water and Spirit." This is with an encounter or experience with the character and person of Christ. You can see all the miracles in the world, but unless you encounter Him you just won't know Him. So many Christians are not living as they born again because for some they have either not had that encounter with Christ, or they have reverted back into the darkness and they just cant feel it anymore. Christ also goes into other difficulties that people let get in the way. Jesus says that if He speaks to people of earthly things and they don’t believe how will they believe in heavenly things. So many people get hung up on the earthly things i.e. age of the earth, creationism vs evolution, big bang, etc; They let this consume them and prevent them from seeing the spiritual side of it all. They aren't just willing to believe which leads into the most well known scripture in the Bible: John 3:16. But I like the verses to follow; how He talks about condemnation. The way to be free from it is to just believe. But I think that "to believe" in anything is simple, it is knowing that it is true that is the difficult part. I can believe that my football team is going to win a game, but knowing that it is true is difficult for me to hold on to. This is different from believing in Christ. We can know what He says is true by the evidences in our life, IF, we are obedient to His word. IF we are in the light.

Verse 19 goes onto say that Light came into the world but men loved darkness instead of light because of their evil ways. There is almost security in the darkness. You can't really see what is going on and in turn other people can't see what you are doing. People are afraid to come into the light because of fear that their ways will be exposed.

Maybe this is why Nicodemus came at night and in the dark. Maybe he didn’t want people to see what he was doing. Getting closer to the light, having an encounter with Christ. But Jesus is so smart in the fact that Nic was where he was at. You see, Christ knows where we are all at, and as He concludes with Nic He simply says that "whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God." This is a positive twist on exposing us gently to show people God's love and grace. He isn't like one of my children who tattle on the other with hopes of disgracing us, but rather as a loving parent that shows us our faults and that He loves us in spite of them. This is an encounter or experience with Him. This is the safety and comfort of the light.

So I urge you to step out of the darkness and into His light. You are able to see a lot better there.