BECAUSE!

"Therefore putting aside all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander,"

1st Peter 2:1

When we become Christians not everything is the same. It's a huge moment in the life of a person...ya know only the biggest thing ever passing from death to life. Kinda a big deal :) . But seriously things need to change in our lives as well! Not to earn our salvation but BECAUSE of our salvation. Peter is telling us what marks a believer to the world is taking things in my life that that were in it before I was a Christian and taking them out. They no longer belong there BECAUSE of my salvation, BECAUSE of what Christ did for me and BECAUSE it's no longer me who lives but Christ who lives through me. Not only are we called to remove things but like David who had some mad Harp skills it's never bad to put disciplines in our lives that teach us self-control. Replacing the bad with the good BECAUSE of how good God is in our lives. It's Romans 12:1 living our lives as a living sacrifice. Meaning we analyze our lives like the priest's analyzed the sacrifices back in the day. Inspecting every part of my life to conform it to honor the God of the universe BECAUSE of what He did for me in spite of myself!

It's just one of those things....

"A crowd was sitting around Him, and they said to Him, "Behold, Your mother and Your brothers are outside looking for You. Answering them, He said, "Who are My mother and My brothers? Looking about at those who were sitting around Him, He said, "Behold My mother and My brothers!"
Mark 3:32-34

I should not have looked at the Israel photos from GCBI. Maybe it was Beauty and the Beast that I watched or who knows but man after looking at those photos my heart hurt. The family that we had at GCBI was one of the greatest things that has ever happened in my life. Maggie, Erin, Chelsea, Doug and Tommy(even though Doug and Tommy were from the past) Are seriously my brothers and sisters. The love that I have for these people is in fact overwhelming to me. I'm not a very "emotional" guy but thinking about those guys brings me to tears. Funnier even is the something that Pastor Randy said to me on graduation which was "to soften". It's something that I have been working on but it's more obvious now than ever than I have become a baby concerning these people! It was sparked by seeing Erin last night in the GCBI building. It was just one of those things that was awesome. I can't even put it in words how much these people mean to me, it's kinda scary. I haven't seen Elijah who was basically my roomate all year since him and Doug left for NC and it sucks. Those two people are my brothers. Relationships that are overwhelming. Our family has been separated for the summer and then some and it's crazy to look back on all the fun we had. It was the Greatest year of my life hands down. Maggie and Erin are in town but Chelsea, Lige, Dougy, Tommy are all gone. Yes temporarily but still.....them being gone sucks. To not be able to walk down the hall and talk to Doug or roll over and make fun of Lige's sheets sucks. Not being woken up by Tommy attacking me in my bed or being made fun of by Erin stinks. Not getting to talk thug to Maggie or having Chelsea's ending comment "Dear So and So........words.....Love Chelsea" is nuts! In retrospect these are some of the things that I took for granted all the time and now that my family isn't here it's sad. Maybe I suck at processing things....I am still trying to process Israel but man....I miss GCBI a lot. Everyone is doing great and I understand that it was just a time in life but still.....I'm not the greatest with words that's pretty obvious but it hit my like a ton of bricks looking through photos how much those people mean to me. How much not having them in my life everyday sucks even though I love everything God is doing in my life.

I don't know what this is about other then trying to adequately put into the words how these people have effected my life how great the year was that I got to spend with them. It was an honor to live with them, an honor to enjoy life together, an honor to get to know some of best people I've ever met and an honor to call them brothers and sisters. My life is better for having known them, my walk with the Lord is better because of them and my heart is better for being able to love them. Thank you guys, you mean the world to me and I can't even use the right words to describe how much I love and appreciate you!

P.s.- I feel it's safe to say you would have never heard me say this out loud. lol Softening is a work in process though!

H-E-L-P, we all need it.

"As they were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed Him. And two blind men sitting by the road, hearing that Jesus was passing by, cried out, "Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!" The crowd sternly told them to be quiet, but they cried out all the more, "Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!" And Jesus stopped and called them, and said, "What do you want Me to do for you?" They said to Him, "Lord, we want our eyes to be opened." Moved with compassion, Jesus touched their eyes; and immediately they regained their sight and followed Him."

Matthew 20:29-34

In Matthew there is this small story that really resonated with me on a level it never had before. It's a powerful image of the power and love of Christ and the courage of these two men. In Mark 10:46-52 and Luke 18:35-43 it's recorded as one man named Bartimaues receiving his sight though Matthews job was to remember the words of Jesus so it's one person's account all in all it's story resonates the same.

It says in the verse 29-31 a large crowd was following him but it seems clear with their actions that they were not necessarily following Him with their hearts. They show up everywhere in every walk of life we are in. It's the people that want the perks of being a Christian but none of the responsibility of being a surrendered follower. They look good but in their heart they are empty and cold. The amazing piece of this story is these followers needed to cry out too! we all need to be like these blind men at one point in our lives! We need to come to a point in our lives and realize that WE can't do anything to help ourselves but HE can!

I admire these men crying out for Jesus as I think in our lives as Christian we listen to others too much in how we worship or reach for God. These men were told to shut up basically and sometimes as a Christian when I confronted with something in my life that basically tells me to shut up regarding Christ, I do just that. Not these men! When the world is telling them to shut their face the cry out EVEN MORE! Their desire for God went beyond other peoples opinion and what the world was telling them to do.

As a Christian I have to realize that when the world is talking, and it always is as loud as it can, if I start listening to it I can't here what Christ is saying. As a Christian my focus and all Christian's focus need to be on the one whose voice saved me from this world. I need to ignore the worlds voice in what I should do, what success looks like, and what the world wants me to be just as these men did!

These men desired for their eyes to be opened and thats what happened. Not only in a mere physical sense but more importantly in a spiritual sense. I know that these men were not just talking about their vision but also their heart's because Jesus was moved with compassion by them. Jesus saw the brokenness of these men and their surrendered hearts. These men knew that they needed Jesus and they couldn't fix their eyes or their seperation from God but that "The Son of David" could! They got their sight and followed Him. They put on the right glasses, saw the right path to follow and followed the One who knew the way. These men put on the eyes of God and took the path that Jesus took.

God fixed these men's hearts and eyes and he can do that in my life as well but first I need to be willing to forget what the world says and be willing to cry our whole heartedly to Him.

Tempting isn't it....

"Blessed is a man who perseveres under trail; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him."

James 1:12

Temptation. It's something that we all struggle with on a daily basis whether we realize it or not. It can be as simple as things we should eat or drink and as big as that thing you shouldn't be watching. Temptation itself isn't a sin that's clear as Jesus himself was tempted. It's not a sin to be tempted in this world in fact God knew it was going to happen. The battle ensues when we are tempted....what are we to do?

FOCUS on the big picture. The reward that is waiting for us is beyond belief my mind can't fathom how amazing it will be to stand in the presence of the creator of the universe and just worship Him. Temptation is hard to run away from because let's be honest....most of the time sin feels good. No one would do it if it didn't feel good and I don't know if you've noticed but apparently sin is quite popular. The problem is that the sin that "feels good" at the time will only last so long. It's a short term gain for long term pain, while resisting temptation will equal blessing and reward. No one is in heaven right now saying "man I wish I gave into that temptation". It's funny Levi Lusko, who I'm a huge fan of, went over this and equated it to beer commercials and others. When we see these commercials we see these people happy and looking great all the time. We don't see overweight men and all the other consequences that alcohol can lead to.

Thats the enemy's game cover the hook with the bait. Once you attack the bait you get the hook as well. God's desire for us is to be holy not always happy but when we resist temptation it results in both in God's time. The happiness that God has in store for those who endure temptation is beyond our greatest dreams and ideas. It's worth it to live for Christ if you believe who he says he is.

"We know Love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren."

1st John 3:16

Love. The single most powerful thing in my life. It's very easy almost simple to take the love of God for granted. Yea yea yea God loves me ok whatever. It's the power of His Love that makes me want to live for him everyday. It's the power of His Love that makes everything in this world seem small and insignificant. It's the power of His Love that makes trials in my life something to have joy in like James talks about rather than complaining. He is the only one worth living for because his Love for me. The main purpose though is that his Love can't just be about me though it's about what He did for me. My life can't be about me....ever....He died in a public setting so I could not only live for Him publicly but also when no ones watching. He has shown us what Love is and our lives are called to reflect that Love. Love isn't a word and it can't be a word it's the way of life that we called to live.