Message to the unbeliever. Wake up call to the luke warm

"I lavish unfailing love to a thousand generations. I forgive iniquity, rebellion, and sin. But I do not excuse the guilty. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children and grandchildren; the entire family is affected-even children in the third and fourth generations." -Exodus 34:7 NLT

~Why would sins affect children and grandchildren? This is no arbitrary punishment. Children still suffer for the sins of their parents. Consider child abuse or alcoholism, for example. While these sins are obvious, sins like selfishness and greed can be passed along as well. The consequences of sin are limited to the the individual family member. Be careful not to treat sin casually, but repent and turn from it. The sin may cause you a little pain now, but it could sting in a most tender area of your life later- your children and grandchildren.

"But God says to the wicked: Why bother reciting my decrees and pretending to obey my covenant? For you refuse my discipline and treat my words like trash... While you did all this, I remained silent, and you thought I didn't care. But now I will rebuke you, listing all my charges against you. Repent, all of you who forget me, or I will tear you apart, and no one will help you. But giving thanks is a sacrifice that truly honors me. If you keep to my path, I will reveal to you the salvation of God." -Psalm 50:16-17, 21-23 NLT

~Just because God is silent, doesn't mean he is condoning sin or is indifferent. Instead, he is withholding deserved punishment, giving you time to repent.

"The Lord isn't really being slow about his proimise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. he does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent." -2 Peter 3:9

~Jesus is waiting for you, BECAUSE HE LOVES YOU. We need to realize our time on earth is short, and it's time to take action. Be ready to meet Christ at any time, even today!

"Because the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief." -2 Peter 3:10

Remember When- "we acted weakly"

Let's take Adams post from yesterday and dig a little further or go somewhere else. Wainwright sparked my thinking and took me back to the thoughts that I would have during those times of sinning, adversity, moments when I didn't understand why after I was already a believer. I look back now and say "I'm glad God is God" (similar to Boyer's quote). So digging into the scripts we go back to Genesis and read that Joseph get's sold into slavery because he was favored by his father and it made his brothers angry (Genesis 37), His masters wife tries to get him in the sack and he declines only to see her lie and have him tossed into the dungeon (Gen 39), then Pharoahs butler forgets about him while he is locked up in prison for 2 years. Adversity? Where is God during this whole thing, I thought He only gives us what we can handle? I'm looking at this situation tapping the mat like "Yo, I'm good, ring the bell, I give in, Uncle!" Jojo (Joseph) goes ahead and hits his brothers with this nugget in Genesis 50:20 "But as for you, you meant evil against me but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day; to save many people alive." What?!!! When I get frustrated, depressed, feel like I'm not catching the breaks you know what I do? I sin, I smoke, drink, watch porn, take actions that follow watching porn, cuss/curse, yell at God saying His mighty name in vain, inflict violence, break stuff, etc... Ya, I said it and it's all true, that is all on my resume. Sure some of it doesn't happen anymore but too much of it still does happen. We really don't believe in the sovereignty of God when we react like this, we don't believe that He has this whole thing mapped out and He is who He said He is (Denny Green style). Ask yourself this, why don't we believe that God have the sqauds best interest in mind at all times? He created this and He is in charge, this is all for His holy purpose, the greatest story ever told, the end is already written, believe in that fact. Remember; Our God is in the heavens, He does all He pleases (Psalm 115:3). We can't allow things to discourage us and lead us to the slaughtering effects of sin. We have to meditate on the victory and our identity being in Christ not this world. I felt one of Adam's best points was that the world is looking at us and how we as christians react to trouble. To the world I say "here is my coke (probably water) and here is my smile" I know where I'm going to spend eternity. Revelation 17:17 makes another example of how everything that happens is under God's watch and He allows it, even Christ's death. Nobody can escape the sovereign control of God, it will get easier when we submit, accept and trust. Blessings, don't mind my spotty topics, blame it on Waino he got me bouncing!

Remember when?

Whats up fellas? Sorry i missed my day (computer was on the fritz), but i figure better late than never.
Remember how life was before we came to know Christ? I do. Sinning was easy...even though i didn't think of it as sin. Porn, bring it on. Getting drunk, not a ton but at least a few times a month. And what about some wacky weed every now and then. I wasn't hurting anybody right. Life was easy man. No need for accountability, just don't do anything stupid enough to get you locked up and your good. No need for prayer, cuz i could do everything myself. Anybody else on here believe that back in the day? Is there anybody else on here that was as lost and searching as i was? Don't get me wrong, i wasn't a bad guy by worldly standards, but how many "good guys" do you know that are heading for an afterlife of agony. Just watch one episode of almost anything on tv and you'll realize how fallen our world is. Sex scenes every episode, super bowl commercials you gotta turn the channel on or tell the kids to turn their heads.....earmuffs. Its only gunna get worse dudes. How much easier is it to yell at the guy that cut you off than to just forgive. Its a tough life we live now, and the entire world is watching us to see if we'll fail.
The truth of being a christian, actually, is life undoubtedly gets tougher after being saved than pre. Trust me, i know. The temptation we face everyday begins to stack up higher and higher until the only thing we can possibly turn to for relief is God. Its not something we cant handle though as God says he wont give us more than we can stand. Or maybe it is more than we can handle just not more than He can handle. Either way, we're protected. 2 Timothy 4:16-22, "The Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed . . . and I was delivered from the lion's mouth. The Lord will rescue me . . . and will bring me safely to His heavenly kingdom." And, we get to live our life with a joy and peace because we know exactly where we'll be living for eternity. As my buddy Blaine Boyer once said "thank God for God!"
sorry for the delay,
waino

The Person of Christ

When Jesus came to earth He took on human flesh. "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us." (John 1:14) In that moment, the second Person of the Trinity took on human form. He became a man. He was fully God and fully man. Jesus is reigning right now as I write this in a resurrected body as the head of the church, His bride.

Now when Jesus died of course His spirit left his body. That is what ours will do when we die, but through the power of the Spirit His body was resurrected and reunited with His Spirit.

What we have to remember is that Jesus is not two separate persons in one body. He is one person with two natures. Once he took on human nature, He never gave it up, while also keeping His divine nature.

Jesus had to become a man in order to represent the human race in His death. His humanity and divinity allows Him to be our mediator between us and the Father. (Heb 2:17)

Jesus did not renounce His divinity on the cross because only God could pay for our sins because the payment required the perfect sacrifice. From Genesis to Revelation, the Bible says that salvation is from the Lord. If the Christ did not die on the cross then redemption was not accomplished.

The view that Todd is advancing is called "Nestorianism." Nestorias was a popular preacher in Constantinople in the 5th century. His view was that Christ was two persons in one body, rather than one person with two natures. Nowhere in Scripture do we see the divine person and the human person talking, struggling against each other, or doing separate things like one dying on the cross while the other leaves. Jesus was a single person acting in wholeness and unity.

This view was declared heresy and in A.D. 451 the church crafted a statement to attempt to solve these problems about the person of Christ, called the Chalcedonian Definition. Here it is:

"Therefore, following the holy fathers, we all with one accord teach men to acknowledge one and the same Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, at once complete in Godhead and complete in manhood, truly God and truly man, consisting also of a reasonable soul and body; of one substance with the Father as regards his Godhead, and at the same time of one substance with us as regards his manhood; like us in all respects, apart from sin; as regards his Godhead, begotten of the Father before the ages, but yet as regards his manhood begotten, for us men and for our salvation, of Mary the Virgin, the God-bearer; one and the same Christ, Son, Lord, Only-begotten, recognized in two natures, without confusion, without change, without division, without separation; the distinction of natures being in no way annulled by the union, but rather the characteristics of each nature being preserved and coming together to form one person and subsistence, not as parted or separated into two persons, but one and the same Son and Only-begotten God the Word, Lord Jesus Christ; even as the prophets from earliest times spoke of him, and our Lord Jesus Christ himself taught us, and the creed of the fathers has handed down to us."

I think this whole debate is a blessing because it has directed our attention to our Savior. Anytime we can clarify who Jesus is, it is a good thing.

Blessings,

Durham

Obeying Authority

Romans 13:1-2 "Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God and those who resist will bring judgement on themselves. 

Obeying your authority whether it be boss, employer, government, etc... it can be hard. We often ask "is this right"? This verse shows that God uses them for His divine purposes. We are called to be obedient to these situations because God has put them there. However we have to prayerfully react to the situation, never in haste. Does anybody ever think about cheating on their taxes? This verse probably will convict us of that thought. 

v4 "For he is God's minister to you for good." uncle sam might teach us a thing or two about obedience. If we don't act in obedience it could be said that we are sinning against God. I don't want that in my life. Here are some other related verses.

Psalm 75:7 "But it is God who judges, He brings down one and exalts another." 

Psalm 115:3 "Our God is in heaven; he does whatever He pleases."

Holy Living

"So must live as God's obedient children. Don't slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires." 1 Peter 1:14 NLT

"So get rid of all evil behavior. Be done with all deceit, hypocrisy, jealousy, and all unkind speech. Like newborn babies, you must crave pure spiritual milk so that you will grow into a full experience of salvation. Cry out for his nourishment, now that you have had a taste of the lord's kindness." 1 Peter 2:1-3 NLT

2 out walk in the 9th... F Bomb. Such an easy way to ruin my witness to every single person watching me pitch. How sad is it of me to think it's even about me at the moment? If anyone believes that on this earth we will not face a consequence for our sin, your sadly mistaken. But Blake, your talking about a little curse word. Your a good guy, that's the devil trying to make you feel guilty. First off, squash the devil temptation card! Since when is small sin looked over or taken lightly? Peter says, YOU MUST BE HOLY! Not try your best to be holy. You must be Holy in EVERYTHING you do. Two out of three games I've cursed out loud. The same guys that see my Jesus cross in my locker see my foul language and must think..."HA, he's such a hypocrite." That really makes me ashamed and extremely guilty. Lord forgive my false witness to others, and wash me clean from my sin. I am a sinner. 

Blake

to please Him not men

Whats up studs? Sometimes when i'm sitting down to write an article I get the writers block. I'll scroll through my Bible looking for something i've highlighted that sticks out or go through old bible study notes. And other times it comes to me easy. This time I felt convicted to speak about our mission....To serve God.
Yesterday, i sat down and wrote an email to my entire contact list just as terry, jules, nolan, hawk, and sam have done. I wrote like two paragraphs and it took me about an hour. I kept searching for the perfect sentence or paragraph that i thought would relay what we were trying to do. In the back of my brain the entire time i kept thinking "man, there are people on here that may not look at me the same." Or "Shoot! Is this gunna offend everybody?" Then it struck me, i wasn't writing that letter for me, my friends, or anybody else on Earth. I was writing for the kingdom and the glory of God. Pow!!! After I realized that the words came flowing. As Christians we are living this life to reflect Gods glory, Gods purpose, Gods plan......for God. Studs, many of us have been given amazing platforms. We are put in positions to lift teamates up daily and be visual evidence of why non believers should convert. Wow, that feels like a lot of pressure. One thing i know is that we will fail if we try to be perfect. But we wont fail if we put our trust in the One who is perfect....Jesus Christ.
Another thing. As i was writing the email last night my wife was reading Acts. In the commentary at the bottom of the page it said that we as Christians should not be discouraged when not everyone reacts positively to our kingdom work. Perfect timing for me to remember that we have an audience of one.
Colossians 3:23-24 (English Standard Version)
23(A) Whatever you do, work heartily,(B) as for the Lord and not for men, 24knowing that from the Lord(C) you will receive the inheritance as your reward.(D) You are serving the Lord Christ.
have a nice day,
waino

Voodoo Child...

Voodoo Child...

A few months ago I was watching a music awards show (Don't remember which one...may have even been a re-run) in which they had someone covering a Jimi Hendrix song. It was Voodoo Child which has a very unique intro...if you've heard it you know what I mean...and I was getting all excited because I'm somewhat of a Hendrix fan. 

The person on stage was nailing it...every note...every sound was exactly the same. It was as if he took Jimi's guitar and sound equipment from Woodstock and put it into a air-tight hyperbaricchamber and preserved it perfectly until this performance. If my eyes had been closed I wouldn't have been able to tell the difference until...he started singing.

This got me thinking...You can take something and replicate it with the most precise attention to detail, but unless you have the touch of the original artist it just isn't the same. Without Jimi, Voodoo Child isn't the same.

How many times do we as Christians try to replicate something that Jesus did and leave out the heart of Christ and it just wasn't the same??? Have you ever tried to help someone out who was in need only to give them some help and still feel like something just isn't right??? Or maybe you fasted for a week and at the end of the week feel like the only thing to change was your hunger...

Unless you have the heart of the Original Artist...then your covers of His music aren't gonna be quite the same...(Isaiah 58 reference)

The Power of Prayer (part 2)

Sup fellas, I am picking back up on this series by overlapping the last paragraph from the previous email. We will get into how to pray and all that jazz in future emails, but for now I still want to focus on some foundational understanding of prayer. I realize that what I am saying may seem a little foreign, but believe me if you can, as time goes on, along with the emails, it will start to become more clear, at least i hope........alright, let's rock
...........But then God did something wonderful and is shown a couple chapters later, He made a promise to the devil in Genesis 3:15. Paraphrased it says the woman that satan used to destroy humanity, God said she shall provide for Me(God) a physical body to enter the earth.

From Gen. 3:15 through the entire OT, a promise is seen of God Himself coming into the earth in a body so that he could be legal on the planet. Take a look in Isaiah 7:14, Isaiah says “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.” Now why does God need a body to enter earth? To protect himself from violating the Law. Because, and we go back to Gen. 1:26, only humans can have authority on earth. The coming of God in a body is to keep His own integrity. So, let’s understand this further. Later on in Isaiah Ch. 9 verse 6, Isaiah sees something else. He says “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”
The child was born, the Son was given, and so the Son was not born. The child was the baby, the body; the Son was Christ; the God. So Mary birthed the child, but God gave the Son…….the body made the Son legal. So, Jesus is the body, Christ is the God. Jesus made Christ legal. Jesus made God legal on earth. Again, so the coming of God in a body was to keep His own integrity. As long as Jesus was on earth, God was legal!
Jesus could only do what He did on earth, not because He was the Son of God, but because He was the Son of Man. Let’s look into this further. John chapter 5 is a chapter that dealt with the healing by the pool. There was a man on a mat as we pick up in verse 6.
When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, "Do you want to get well?" "Sir," the invalid replied, "I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me." Then Jesus said to him, "Get up! Pick up your mat and walk." At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked. (NIV)
The Pharisees persecuted Jesus for performing these miracles, wondering where he got the power, wondering who gave Him authority to perform these works. What Jesus says is very important. Verse 19 through 20 says, Jesus gave them this answer: "I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, to your amazement he will show him even greater things than these.” (NIV)
In other words, this man was healed already in the Heaven, but the miracle could not come to earth because there was no human to give permission for it to happen. So the Pharisees were asking, how did you heal this man? Jesus replied something like, “My Father healed him a long time ago, but the healing couldn’t get to earth." Because why? Exactly, humanly permission.

Now we go on in John to verses 21-22, Jesus says “For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it. 22Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son.” In other words, God in Heaven does not do anything on earth. He gave all the right for that to be done, by the Son. Why? Look at verse 27, Jesus says “And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man.” (underlining mine)
Jesus said the reason why I (speaking of Himself) have authority on earth is not because I am the Son of God (that’s the Christ), but because I am the Son of Man (that’s the Jesus). If I didn’t have a body, I couldn’t do these miracles on earth. In other words, we are needed by God to get things out of Heaven on earth legally. That is why our bodies (and our prayers as you will see later on) are so important. With all the things Jesus did, He went on to say in John 14, “And greater works will you do”. So, He would later go to the Father, leave, become illegal, we on earth have the bodies, so nothing happens on earth without us allowing it to happen. THIS IS WHY PRAYER IS THE MOST POWERFUL ACTIVITY ON EARTH! So prayer is man giving God license to interfere with earth’s affairs. So maybe you can see now a little more clearly why Jesus said “when you pray” or when He said “pray without ceasing”. He knew what our prayers would mean for this earth. Prayers are needed to bring things of Heaven to earth!
I'll end with this. We need to ask God to intervene in human affairs; otherwise, our world will be susceptible to the influences of satan and sin. God will ultimately bring His purposes to pass in the world, with or without our cooperation. He will find someone who agrees with His plans, but when you neglect to pray, you fail to fulfill your role in His purposes. He does not want you to miss out on the privilege. James 4:2 says, "You do not have, because you do not ask God."
dying to myself,
-todd

Satire is good...

Thought this was interesting...I don't want my church to be like this.

20/20 - Eyes Open to More of Him

Numbers 6:25-26 "the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace."
Isaiah 9:7 "Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end."
Romans 5:1 "Therefore since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ."
There you have it, 3 scripts based on gaining Peace. What is peace, ask yourself, write down your definition. We all want it and yet it seems to elude us so many times and feels far from where we are, why? Maybe because we are result oriented, can you relate? It could be a wide variety of things and I will leave that for you to add via a comment after this is posted. But here is my focus... vision, what is your spiritual vison right now, are you seeing things clear, are you seeing what God's will is for your life? Sure it is tough to see the near future and sometimes tougher to see the distant future, but I say it is easier if we adjust our vision. The very end of this story is already written and we are going to inherit the earth, amen? So knowing that we can trust in Him and press in to Him. Trust God and draw closer by spreading yourself out spiritualy, flex your spiritual muscle and push your limits. Pray to be drawn closer so you can see His face (Numbers 6, see above). Seek His face and you will have peace that surpasses all understanding, you will have peace in any situation, He promises that when we seek Him. Push aside the desire to match results and put up good numbers (pertains to all of life). The results are under His control all we have to do is believe in Him and seek His face. Allow this Man named Jesus to transform your thought patterns and slap you with vision that 20/20. I want peace, I'm tired of pushing the plow in the wrong direction. Step up our prayer game and improve that vision.

Father I thank you for loving me, I thank you for being the most wonderful thing in my life, I thank you for knowing this world better than me, improve my vision, help us to seek Your face, give us peace. You are so worthy of our praise! Amen.

Purpose of Prayer - (from Todd's email)

Sup fellas, I want to start a multiple part series on prayer. It should make for good discussions and great growth. Prayer is the most talked about and most common practice of Christians but yet is the least activity that we are involved in because why? They/we don’t get results. So, I want to dive in to the very core of this integral part of our lives. This is all scripturally backed, but I am also pulling mostly from Myles Munroe's "Understanding the Purpose and Power of Prayer." So, these ideas/theologies are not originally mine, but I believe it is something some of us may be missing from our "Kingdom" way of thinking and living.
First, a few questions.....
If God is sovereign, then why should we pray?
If God can do whatever He wishes, then why pray?
If God cannot be affected or influenced by humanity then why pray?
All valid questions for someone who does not know, but the Bible says we are commanded to pray. Jesus never said “if” you pray, He said “when” you pray (Matt. 6:5). We are EXPECTED to pray. So, you are praying, but no answers are showing. You may already know, but if not we will see why as we go on in this series. See, prayer is meant to be answered; otherwise God would not ask us to pray. He would not waste our time, He is too practical for that. Jesus expected to be heard. It says in John 11:41-42 “Father I thank you that you have heard me, I knew that you always hear me.”

So, why does God need/command us us to pray? Without God, man cannot, and without man, God will not. Let me explain this.
Genesis 1:26 “ Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground."
Two words are at the heart of prayer, “let them”. God gave us authority, rulership, and governorship over the earth, He did not say “let us have dominion”, but “let them”. This separates us from God. If He had said “let us” then He would have been included in the activities of earth. God took Himself out of the equation and made us the authority of the planet. God himself was taken out of authority by law, His Word. So here comes a bold statement….whatever happens on this earth is man’s responsibilities. So, all the corruptions of the world are not God’s problem, they are our problem! To the people that ask “if God is love and in control then why does He let this evil happen?”, the previous statement is the answer. Everything we are suffering from, we created. God left the management of earth to us, humans.
Now do not take me the wrong way here. This does not mean that we are diety or equal to God. Adam and Eve could fulfill their purposes only by depending on and communicating with God. Similarly, we can fulfill our purpose only as we are connected to our power source. However, we must recognize God’s high esteem and purposes for us. In essence, God said to man “Let Me rule through you so you can appreciate, enjoy, and share in My governance. The word human is actually a combination of 2 words, “humus” which means dirt, and “man” which is the spirit being (male and female) that God created. God took the spirit man and put it inside the earth suit or “dirt” suit. This is whom God gave dominion over the earth. So, stick with me here, any spirit on earth without a physical body is, according to God, illegal. That’s right, illegal. The only person that God gave legal authority over the earth to is a “human”. That law, God will never violate. Why? Because God is a spirit with no physical body. So, God will never enter the earth without a physical body (but of course He does later on) or without cooperating with us (through prayer as you will see). So, the most powerful creature on earth according to God’s Word is a human.
Still not sold on the whole illegal thing, consider this. Don’t you think that God could have stopped Adam and Eve in the garden? He could have yes, but that would have violated His Word, His law. He saw the impending destruction, but all He could do is watch, and Satan knew that. If God had broken His word then there would be no reason to trust God’s Word ever again. So, if you think about it (and another bold statement i guess), the fall of humanity was a result of God’s faithfulness to His Word.
See, God is as sovereign as His Word. He is sovereign until He speaks, and then He is limited to His Word. The scriptures back this law. God also chose never to violate His Word, and Holiness protects His integrity. So, when He spoke, His Word became law. Psalm 138:2 says, “I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.” (KJV)
The Hebrew word for name is “being”. That’s why when Moses asked God what is your name, God replied “I Am”. Why? Well, the Hebrew concept of name is the thing, for “I Am” means whatever God is at the time. It changes to whatever you need God to become at the time. So when God said I place my Word above my name, He was placing His Word above Himself, so when He speaks, He Himself becomes submitted to whatever He says. Heaven and hell will pass away before God will ever violate His Word, right?
But then God did something wonderful and it is shown a couple chapters later, He made a promise to the devil in Genesis 3:15. Paraphrased it says the woman that satan used to destroy humanity, God said she shall provide for Me(God) a physical body to enter the earth.
We will pick up here next week.
I am only emailing this, I do not know how to post on the blog site, because i am not a member, just a follower, (maybe you have to be invited to join). So if someone could please post it for me, I would appreciate it.
trying to die to myself,
-todd

The Choices That Lead To Surrender

We all make choices everyday some can be more important than others. One of my favorite ideas is to make a decision for the day ("it's going to be a good day") when you wake up and then try to live it out. I have found this to be important in my own life because all to often I will wake up in a bitter mood and carry it through out the day for no good reason (pretty weak if you think about it).
Christy (my wife) and I have been reading through Luke and just last night we came across chapter 6 (v. 20) which is his interpretation of the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:3-12). No coincidence that today I was talking/fellowshipping with a teamate of mine today and mentioned that it was my day to blog and he shared his most recent daily bread which was the beatitudes. So here is my interpretation of what he (Kevin) shared with me.
Luke 6:20-23 "...blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you shall be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh. Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man! Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven;..." ESV
Poor means poor in material things, hunger means physically hungry, weep means mourn over the state of things, and then hate, exclude, revile, and spurning of names are forms of persecution (Acts 5:41, 16:25, 21:13, James 1). What Jesus is saying is that in all these circumstances we have a choice to make and that choice is to surrender it over to God or to grip it and rip it ourselves. We can be blessed by being poor and waiting on the Lord for peace and deliverance. The same can be said for the rest of the Beatitudes. So far in our lives what have we chosen to do? How consistent have we been with those choices and what have we learned?
My stats right now are laughable when it comes to surrender and making the choices to trust God when the situation gets thick/tough. My instinct is to grip it myself and try to beat it into submission like the Matt Hughes of 2006. However my past shows that when I grab the situation myself I rip it and break it and make a mess of it like a little kid trying to handle something fragile. Can you imagine how frustrated God must be with me? But He isn't, He is waiting with open arms more than likely waiting for me/us to ask Him to take the wheel. Have you asked Him to take the wheel lately? Let's make the choice today to trust God in everything and depend on Him for all things knowing how good of a friend He is.

Father, we surrender to You, take the wheel, drive my life like You know how and do it according to Your perfect wheel. We know you didn't think this up last night and so here we trust that You know what is best for us, we love You and praise You, Amen!

In Case You Missed It- "Be Encouraged"

This is from Jackie Farmer a member of the Fellowship
Gentlemen, let me first introduce myself. My name is Jackie Farmer. I had the privilige of meeting Ben in the Dominican this past November. He was talking about your fellowship and I asked if I get your devotions for the High School Baseball team I coach. I would copy your emails into a new one, give the author credit, and send it into what grew into over 100 people. When this became a blog I copied from here becuase teens can be a little lazy. I and a fellow pastor were so inspired we began an email devotion ourselves. Your ministry is reaching an incredible number of people. I just felt God wanted me to let you know. Based upon one conversation in the Dominican here is what I have been praying for:Adam to be able to witness to Skip and he come to know Christ (that is actually on our church prayer list)Each of your careers and healthThe expansion of this blogThe expansion of your ministryKeep up the good work, you may never know just how many lives you encourage, I have one athlete, who wants to live for God becuase of this ministry. Be encouraged.

Hebrews 12

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up..." Hebrews 12:1 NLT

Everyday we walk into the clubhouse we are surrounded by fellow believers and unbelievers. How much gossip goes on in the clubhouse and on the field? Do you find yourself getting in those convo's to come off cool to your teammates? Strip it off. How about when a certain magazine is on the bathroom floor and it's staring you right in the face, and you think it's okay because your in a stall and it's private? News for ya... God is in that stall with you. Strip it off.  When you perform well or are coming off a great season and the media is constantly pumping you up and praising your name... Who do you give credit to? Are you ashamed of Jesus Christ? Are you worried/scared to declare his name to the unbelievers that you encounter everyday? Strip it off.

"And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith..." Hebrews 12:2 NLT

This post is not only a challenge for the people that are reading this but it is a huge challenge for myself. The game of baseball and more importantly the game of life can create a huge amount of fear, worry, and anxiety. Some days are much easier for me to wake up in the morning and be mindful of Jesus and to bare the cross, but the minute I get complacent or drift back to my old self... God is quick to humble my heart. I had an opportunity today to witness to someone and I froze up and kept that Holy Spirit on "mute". I want to confess to you all and repent tonight so I can be washed clean and move forward. God has blessed us with a tremendous platform and how dare we think for one minute that It's not about Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. It's all about him, and he's the reason we are here. 

In Christ's Name,

Blake