The past couple of weeks I have been really sick.  This is not a regular occurrence in my life. I can handle the sick part of being sick. However, I can’t handle the down time of being sick.  Not only was I sick and couldn’t go into the office or go to church; I had no voice for about a week. This proved to be the hardest part of it all.

      During my time of healing, I was under a lot thoughts.  I prayed some, read some, but more than anything I slept.  My thoughts would pour over into my dreams. There were moments I didn’t know if I was awake or if I was still dreaming. It was weird. But through all these thoughts and dreams I found something. It wasn’t until tonight that I had found it. I didn’t even know I was looking for it.  I’m finding myself kinda messed up again. 

     I got home today around 5:45pm.  My house was clean, my dog wasn’t in the mood to play,  and I was really tired. I think I’m still recovering my my ten day sickness. I laid on the couch and was stricken with boredom. You know your bored when you take a shower just to do something. I mean I was bored! While taking an intensely hot shower, God reminded me of some thoughts that I had while I was sick.  The word “adventure” keeps coming to the forefront of my mind. 

     Being sick with no voice really sucks.  My voice was so bad people didn’t even want to talk to me over the phone because it hurt them. While being immobile I found myself wanting to belong to an adventure.  I’ve been in a mode of settlingdown for the past 10 months.  I have a great job that I find fulfillment and joy in.  I own my own home. I’m remodeling or updating it as we speak. I make good money. Enough that I don’t have to live paycheck to paycheck anymore. And I have Lucy;my black lab. Where is my sense of adventure.

     People are drawn to stories like Braveheart, Troy, the Notebook (I know it’s a chick flick but it is a really good story), Armageddon, and many others like because of the adventure. I don’t want to know what the outcome will be. I don’t need to know all the different variables and possibilities. People will often try to push out the passion by showing you all the dangers and the bad things that could happen.  What about the Great things that could happen. The stories I mentioned above were about fictional and non-fictional characters that had passion and didn’t care about what the cost maybe. Or, if they did they found that the cost, however great it maybe, would be worth it. I want an adventure! I want something to fight for; something I could suffer great cost for.

      Tonight God showed me that adventure through the cross.  Have you ever really listened to the words of Jesus. You want to talk about going against the normal and leading with passion.  Look what it cost Him. He was sitting at the right hand of the Father. He created everything that we see and everything that we don’t. He created eternity. Try wrapping your little mind around that. He came down to this earth to die for His creation.  And He calls everyone of us to do the same. That is to die.

      In Matthew chapter 10, if you want to know who I am just read this chapter, Jesus while sending out His disciples tells them to pick up their cross and follow Him.  Do you know what Jesus is saying? He is telling them pick up the suffering, the shame, pain, persecution, and death that is associated with following Jesus. Now there is Joy that surpasses all understanding and blessings that you can even imagine that also comes with following Jesus. But you can’t have one without the other. 

      So my question to you, as it was to myself only a few hours ago, is the cost worth it?  Are you willing to live for something so great and life changing? It requires first that you must die to yourself. You give up the things you want for the things the Christ wants. In return you gain a truly fulfilled life. Jesus also says in Matthew 10 “whoever finds his life will loose it, but who ever looses his life for my sake will find it. Are you ready to give up trying to control your life?  Are you ready to try something different? Why do we continue to go back to the things that don’t work time and time again hoping for a different outcome? Why do we want comfort above adventure? Why do we have to know all the variables and possibilities before we move on a decision? Why play it safe when we could truly live? 

      I worked in physical therapy for six years. Most of the patients I worked with were mature in their years.  I always had one question I would love to ask some of the men. I would ask them what advice would they give a young man in his 20’s.  Nine times out of ten I would hear “Don’t be afraid to take chances”. There were many that would have a look of regret when telling me this. I could see it in their eyes that there was some point in their lives they wish they would have taken a chance. 

      I’m ready for an adventure. I’ll say I’m ready to live an adventurous life.  I’m young single and the only person that has to deal with the consequences is me. What do ya say? Let’s live out the words of Christ. Lets live for the cause of Christ.  I want to love the Lord my God with all my heart, mind and soul. And I want to love my neighbor as myself. I want to serve. I want to give my life so that others may know my God and Savior Jesus Christ. I want to take a chance on people. I want to be optimistic that somethings in life will work out.  I want to dream big because my God is that big. I want to live a life that is worth living. I will not settle for anything less than God’s best.  I’m ready to take a risk at love. I’m ready to do this thing called life.

      What are your thoughts? Are you ready to get off the sidelines and Live? Take a chance. What is one area that God is wanting you to take a chance in? Why are you afraid? Please leave your comments below.  Thank you for reading. Blessings

     First off I would like explain the title.  I placed “porn” in my title because people love to read about controversy or how good people fall. This post is not about porn or its negative effects on the individual or society. Some may see this post as controversial. Some may have just stopped reading because they were looking for porn or was wanting to read about how it destroyed someones life. No, this post is about names.

     There are so many places in the Bible that state that we no longer belong to ourselves. That we were bought and the price was the cross.  So basically the individual has died and we now live for Christ. Jesus when praying to the Father said “Hallowed be Your Name”.  The first and foremost name that matters is Jesus.  On of my favorite verses in all of scripture states this: 

Philippians 2:9-11

⁹Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
      and gave him the name that is above every name,
 ¹⁰that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
      in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
 ¹¹and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
      to the glory of God the Father.

      So in the truest sense of the Word of God our names are nothing in light of Jesus. Isn’t that what we are on this earth to do? To glorify His name.  I think once we begin to think that the names on the back of our jerseys, or even the name of the team we play for, becomes more important than the Name of the Owner/ Creator/ Developer of the team we miss out on the biggest blessings in our life.  That is we get to life our lives out living for the only thing that matters in all eternity.  We get to live for Jesus. 

     Come on people.  Are you sick of a mild dose yet? Are you sure your ready to live like Christ Calls us to? Are you ready to take the power of the Resurrection with the suffering of the cross? You can’t have one without the other. Lets get off of our spiritual overweight selves and become the Church.  I’m tired of only listening and reading the Word. I’m ready to be a doer of the Word.  If we are not living for Jesus then what are we doing here?  If you go to church, serve, and go to sunday school just to check mark your “went to church for the week box”  Please stop calling yourself a Christian. If all church is to you is a social gathering to network and promote yourself then you will get exactly that. Because the more you go to church and hear the Word of God and do nothing with it the more judgment you are dumping on yourself.  Francis Chan is a big reason for this blog. I just agree with him in so many areas. A lot of this is coming from a sermon I heard about a week ago called “even francis can have a bad day”.  But he is right. We need to actually live out our faith.  Live for the Name that is above all others. Die to yourself. You will never be good enough. I think I’m done ranting for the night. Thank you for reading and feel free to leave comments. Be Blessed and Be Light.

     Ok I just feel like I suck at praying. Some people I know are studs when it comes to talking to Jesus. When I hear them I usually stand in awh because they truly connect me with Jesus through their prayer. Allow me to explain. There is this guy who is on the volunteer team I pastor. He is about a foot taller than everybody else  with tattoos and piercings.  Before he opens his mouth you could be a little intimidated by his presence. He is one of those guys, if you didn’t know him, you would not want to run into this guy by yourself in a dark alley. 

     It was time for all of the volunteers to come in and get together to huddle up. The huddle is our opportunity to cast vision, receive prayer requests, build community with the volunteers that serve at one of the experiences. We do five a weekend. Anyway, I ask this volunteer to lead the prayer for the team. He got his pray on!!! He led me in worship through prayer. I was so jealous because I don’t pray as good as he does. But tonight God told me a little something.

     The reason I don’t like to pray out loud is because I’m worried the people that hear it may think the prayer sucked or that I’m not any good at it. Sometimes I’ve thought that people may judge my spiritual maturity by the way I pray. But God told me something tonight. Praying should never be about how good I pray. The Pharisees where people that prayed so that others could hear them. And Jesus frowned on that sort of behavior. If I want to be able to pray in a way that will lead people to the throne of Jesus then I have to life a lifestyle of prayer. Honestly It’s hard to life a lifestyle of prayer.

        Here are some actions steps for the rest of the week.   1) Pray often 2) Take every oppurtunity to pray with someone when God leads you to.  3) Make sure you spend time in quiet so that you can meditate on scripture (memorization)   4) Listen to God when you pray

Readers: What are some things that help you stay on track with your  prayer life?

Built in safety features

I’m trying to get into a good habit. This week, Friday, I started to iron my clothes for the weekend experiences. I got through my two pairs of jeans, button up shirts, and undershirts in just under an hour. I just started to learn ironing and let me tell you there is a reason most bachelors just throw an item in the dryer with a damp cloth. It saves a ton of time!

Anyway, I left the house in a bit of a rush because I was running late to meet some friends for dinner. It was a late night. I get home, do my normal routine. Feed the dog, put up my wallet, keys, change, lock the doors, and go to bed. While I was in my office putting up my wallet and keys, I noticed that my iron had a blinking orange light. I thought how in the world is that happening. Then I noticed that I had left it plugged in the entire time I was gone!!

I’m so thankful to an engineer that came up with an idea that turns off the iron after a certain time if not in use. This is a wonderful safety feature that quite possibly kept my house from burning down. Thank you Mr./ Mrs./ Ms. Engineer.

This brings me to a question. What safety features have we added to our lives that keep us from doing things that could harm us?

For me, I place accountability in my life. I have three guys that I can talk openly about my struggles with various things in my ministry, in my personal life, and even my thought life. I know that I can call these guys regardless of the time of day or night and they will be there for me.

This is the question I want to ask you. Do you think having “safety features” in your life is beneficial? Why is it hard to implement these “safety features”? Finally, do you have “safety features” in your life?

The past couple of days have been really tough. It has been hard to stay focused at work. Every time I feel like I’m hitting that sweet spot and really making headway, something else seems to butt its way into my schedule. But it’s not only my schedule that seems to get overloaded, my thoughts tend to get divide so much there is very little priority of any one thing. This is a major problem. I wish I could say that God is consuming all my thoughts and that I can see Him working in all things. The truth is that I give Him very little priority in comparison to the rest of the things flooding my mind and thoughts.

God always has a way of bring things into clairity. Yesterday afternoon I had my thursday night and Friday planned. I left work, headed to chat with my tax advisor, and only made it half way. Smoke starts to bellow from underneath the hood and my heart sank. You see, I’ve been putting off a small coolent leak for the past couple of weeks now. I guess I thought it would eventually go away by its self. I was wrong. The water pump went out and sprayed the entire engine with coolent. That was not a very pleasent smell.

So, car in the shop = change in plans. Now I have zero idea on what tomorrow is going to hold. I like it. I can think and speculate all day long. But I’m finding that the slowing down is really allowing or forcing me to rest, focus, and depend on Jesus. I’m so glad God loves us enough to grab our attention. Especially when we think we are listening but have our headphones on cranked to 11.

Do you ever have those moments in life where you desire God with your heart and mind but your feet and hands don’t follow? How do you stay clear headed and focused on Jesus?

Hey guys, I know it has been a while since my last post. God has really been bringing my life into focus. I have been all over the place trying to find my niche in my new job, personal life, spiritual life, etc.  Everything is so new and I feel like it has taken me a while to catch up. I’m just now finding my way.

    This blogis now going to be a daily journal of sorts. I find that keeping a journal holds me accountable to staying in the Word and prayer. This blog is going to be my personal sounding board of sorts. So beginning now read at your own risk. Thanks for reading guys. Posts should be coming daily.

    This is a little off subject of my normal post. However, there is nothing closer to my heart at this very moment. Happiness comes from defying odds, denying self and embracing trials.  You see this is where faith comes into play. Jesus didn’t come to make strong men stronger; He came so that the weak can find strength in Him. He didn’t come to live a life that was all about Him. Rather, he denied and humbled Himself and died among thieves. He didn’t come so that we can have a peaceful life with no heartaches. Instead, He said our life could even be harder. 

     We are the underdogs. Our story is that of heroism. We rise from death to adopted sons and daughters of the Living God. I, as Paul, count my life as nothing. I no longer live to satisfy my own needs and desires. I freely give my life to God. There is so much happiness, fulfillment, and excitement here.

     I know that everyday I wake from my bed that I enter a boxing ring. Often I feel unprepared and untrained. I’ll take blows to the body. I can take blows to my head. The hardest blows to recover from are those thrust on the heart. But Jesus is right there taking the blows with me. He is in the corner coaching me, giving me encouragement. He keeps telling me “You’re doing well, keep your focus on Me. You’ll get through this round.” Between rounds He is healing my wounds and giving me rest. He knows exactly what I need to keep going round after round punch after punch.

     The funny thing is that I’ve lost a couple of rounds. But He has never left my corner. He only offers encouragement and allows me to learn from my many mistakes.  What coach would stop coaching in the middle of a fight because a round or two was lost? None! Jesus doesn’t stop coaching. He is with you every round. He is there to make sure you finish strong.

     I am a man whose strength comes from the Lord. I will boast in my weakness. In my weakness He is strong. I will finish victorious! I will defy all odds! I will rise above all negativity! I will finish strong. My body may take a lot of beating from my opponent. However, I have the greatest Physician in my corner. Nothing can stop me. For I am a disciple of Jesus Christ! I’m a man, I’m a leader, and I refuse to live in defeat! I refuse to be knocked out. I have a strong heart. I will endure till I’m victorious!!! Men Finish Strong!

      Why do volunteers volunteer? I’m a volunteer coordinator at the Church I work at. So everyday I’m trying to figure out what it is that motivates a volunteer serve. I would like to think that every volunteer is excited about being Christ to each and every person that comes through our doors. I would love to believe that they understand that by serving the Body of Christ they are playing an eternal part in changed lives. I wonder if volunteers get the magnitude of serving?  Here is what I believe the reality is. I think people start out wanting to volunteer because they feel called and want to be apart of the church.

     But then I think something gets lost in transition. I think their mind shifts from being called and buying into what God is doing in the church to a task oriented mentality.  Instead of sharing in a grand story of salvation it turns into handing someone a bulletin or brewing coffee.

     What if we led volunteers to a different mindset? What if the reason they wanted to serve is to be apart of community. They don’t serve because they feel like handing a bulletin is huge thing; but because one of their best friends greets at a door right next to them.  Hang in here with me for a second. What if by building a small group mentality within a huge team you accomplish an overall atmosphere of community? There are six different areas to our volunteer team. Now if all six areas had their own leaders and were a true team, what would you experience as a visitor walking into a church where all these small groups are serving together?

     A visitor would feel the love and comfort of people being Christ to one another. There is two main words that have been coming to mind when it comes to the volunteer team that I lead. Community and Accountability. If people truly feel like God is using them, because God is using them, and that they have value being apart of a team;  Can you imagineeverything else that will catch fire? People long for being apart of something great. Usually being a part of something means being apart of a team with the same goals and vision as the individual.  Does any of this make sense to anyone besides me?

     I continue to hear these stories of brothers and sisters from different halls being disfellowshipped from their congregations. I’m curious as to the biblical foundation which this practice is upheld.  My problem is with the overall concept.  How can a group of elders pass judgment against a person for committed sin.  Jesus told the Pharisees”those without sin cast the first stone” when making a case for a prostitute. So how is that a body of elders, who are not perfect but sinners, cast stones to individuals that kick them out of the congregation and separate them from fellowship with their brothers and sisters at the hall?  Not to mention, is the Church not likened to that of a hospital for sinners? Then they have the mentality that they have the abilityto tell if a person is “truly repentant” for what they had done to allow a person to be reinstated.  Here’s another thing. This is just my own two cents. What separates sin? Meaning, where is the line of sin and really bad sin.  Some sins are overlooked and not dealt with at all. Now other sins are placed on a much higher level. I’m here to tell you if a body of elders are going to kick people out of the kingdom halls for big sins then they need to throw everyone out for all the other sins. The Bible states that if we are guilty of breaking even one law then we are guilty of breaking them all. We all have sinned and have fallen short of the Glory of God. God doesn’t see different levels of sin. He despises all sin equally. Can anyone show me where there is a hierarchy of sin in the Bible? We need to be showing the world God’s love and Grace. An exclusive club that kicks people out for being, well….people, does not show Gods Grace. It only shows it to be an exclusive cult. I don’t know could someone please bring some light to this subject for me.

10 and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
then your light will rise in the darkness,
and your night will become like the noonday.

11 The LORD will guide you always;
he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land
and will strengthen your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
like a spring whose waters never fail.

12 Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins
and will raise up the age-old foundations;
you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls,
Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.
Isaiah 58:10-12

I first heard this passage from my old roommate Bart Draeger. Then again from Josh Mosby prepairing for our mission trip to Asia. Now my job is to lead 280 volunteers at my church and now these verses are more alive to me than ever before. This is what the “C”hurch is all about.
Where did our thinking go wrong? When did the Church become all about “meeting my needs”? When is the Church going to get that we are here for eachother first, so that others my see the love of Christ in how we interact with eachother, then spend ourselves on behalf of those in need. And if we do, we will have our needs met. Our thirst will be quenched and we will produce good fruit from our “well watered garden”. Lets not think about being comfortable or how great we want our lives to be. But lets remember those that are in need and do something about it. Christ didn’t die on the cross so that we can be comfortable. He told us to pick up our crosses and follow Him. We are to die to ourselves to become Christ to the world. This is living. Be radical. Allow Jesus to change the world through you and truly Live!