Hiking with Friends

This Saturday I got to see my really good friends Ethan and Rissa from Cal Bap. Holly and I and Rissa all went to Ethan's house in Fresno and we worked on a puzzle for a while and then went out towards Yosemite and hiked for a couple of hours. It was so much fun. It was so great to see both Ethan and Rissa again. Here are some pics from our adventure that day.

My Favorite Thanksgiving Foods

First and foremost my favorite part of the thanksgiving meal is the golden, flaky goodness that is a crescent roll. These hold a special place in my heart and stomach.
Next on my list of thanksgiving favs is the mashed potatoes. The white, fluffy wonderfulness of these bad boys is just amazing. Cover them in some gravy and man oh man, how can you resist?
Let's be honest here though. What is thanksgiving without stuffing? Now, some of you might say, what is thanksgiving without a turkey, but I would submit to you that the pilgrims didn't have turkey on their first thanksgiving. They did, however, have stuffing, mashed potatoes, and Pillsbury crescent rolls. That is why I feel it is necessary to always have these 3 foods at every thanksgiving meal in order to preserve correctly the tradition of thanksgiving. So there you have it folks. My 3 favorite thanksgiving meal foods.

Mmmmmm

Lemon Bars. I'm kinda a fan. Baking season is upon us. I'm glad my mom loves to bake. It makes me very happy. Baking season hasn't begun in earnest yet, but my appetite has been whetted. I am excited. Oh how I love the holidays!

Hoodie Time

I love the Fall. We have all these trees behind our house that you can see from the kitchen and they are so amazing. There are bright red ones and orange ones and and yellow ones. It is just so cool to see all the amazing different colors. Also, I get to wear sweatshirts now and slippers and make a fire in the fireplace. I think my favorite part of Fall is that my mom starts to bake a lot. She makes pumpkin bread and banana bread and lots of yummy deserts. All sorts of goodness. And I also get to put my flannel sheets on my bed which are soooo comfortable. Pretty much Fall is amazing.

November 4th Election

VOTE TOMORROW...PLEASE!!!!!!

Great Prayers

In the past week I have been challenged anew to look at the way I am praying. It has been good to examine prayer and to continue learning how the Lord would have me pray. Being a man of prayer is something I hope to be characterized by and continue to grow in throughout my whole life. Right now I am reading Good to Great in God's Eyes by Chip Ingram. In it he gives 10 practices that great Christians all have in common. One of those things is that they pray great prayers. So what, exactly does praying great prayers look like? What are some of the characteristics of great prayer?

First of all, they are deeply personal. Great prayer flows out of a passion to know God. The more we love the Lord, the more intimate our prayers become. Great prayers also come out of being broken. When we are broken, we pour our hearts out to Him. We give Him everything and expect everything from Him because we realize at this point that we are and have nothing. We realize that from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. We base our prayers on who He is. Great prayers also champion God's agenda. People who pray great prayers understand God's will for this world and pray His will be done and wish to see His kingdom come.

Great prayers take God seriously. They call upon God's promises and believe them to be true. They believe the nature of God to be full of truth and to be true to His promises and so they call upon that which He has promised to do. Great prayers also require great courage. They "require great courage because they boldly insist, in spite of natural reservations, on what God has said about Himself." When Abraham calls upon God to save Sodom and Gomorrah for the sake of a few righteous he keeps asking God to save them based on the merit of God's character. He knew God would live up to His character and so called upon God to do so. "Great prayers ask the improbable, expect the impossible, and receive the unthinkable."

There is of course much more to prayer than just this, but it has been so good for me to remember who it is I'm praying to and to call upon Him to do the things He has promised to do. I want to know the Lord better everyday, so that my prayers will reflect that relationship. The prayer of faith is rooted in the life of faith. Do we believe? Do we pray great prayers for His glory and our joy?

GRE, Work, and Life in General

Today I took the GRE. For all those inquisitive folk who may be wondering what that is, it is basically the SATs for grad school. It is filled with many big words which even someone of my immense knowledge and vocab had no idea what they meant. It also has lots of fun math problems, which, even if I didn't know exactly how to figure the problem out, I at least had an idea of what it was asking...more than I can say for some of the vocab questions. Anyways, I ended up getting a 650 on the math and a 560 on the vocab sections and someone has to read the two essays I wrote and grade them. If anyone out there can tell me what a good GRE score is that would be awesome, cuz I have no idea if I did well or not.

I am still looking for a permanent job, although I have found temporary work for the past couple of weeks. I have been working with a geologist whose goes to my church up at an old gold mine building big filters to filter zinc out of the water up there. He is a great guy to work with and for, so it has been a lot of fun. I don't know how long the fun is going to last though, so I'm still praying God allows me to get a job here sometime.

As for life in general, it is good i guess. These past two weeks it seems like most of what I do is work and sleep and just find enough time to get those little things done that you have to do every day. I'm glad to be busy though and making money instead of sitting around all day on my butt. I have also been busy following the election and the debates and stuff. Today I was saying how Obama is such a weasel and my brother Trevor said that he has a much more endearing term that he refers to him as...he failed to say exactly what it was (we were at the dinner table and I'm going to go with it wasn't appropriate at said place and time). All in all I don't like watching the debates because they are so boring and full of lies and half truths, although I thought the saddleback forum was great. Anyways, go McCain!! Well, I gotta go grab my laundry. Peace.

The Scoop

Well, I am still on the job hunt, but I do have work for next week at least. A friend from church owns his own business and needs some help next week and so he offered to have me work for him. I don't have any idea what I am doing, but I'm just glad I get to work. Praise the Lord. Maybe it will turn in to a permanent job or maybe I get to keep looking, but I'm thankful for how the Lord is providing next week.

In other news...well, there isn't really any other news. My life continues to remain pretty uneventful. I'll be sure to keep you updated though when exciting things do happen.

From SE Asia to Now

My friend Rachel pointed out to me the fact that I haven't blogged in quite awhile, so I'm going to remedy that situation now. The highlight of my summer was hiking Half Dome with my brother Trevor and my good friend Holly and her sister Jill and brother John. It was quite the hike...16 miles round trip. It was a ton of fun though and there were more "your mom" jokes than I think I've ever heard. And the view from the top is amazing!! The picture on the top is of us on the cables at the top of the dome and the one below it is at the base of the cables (props to Jill Strand for that pic).


So, that was like the acorn shell version of the story that would take a whole coconut shell to hold. Since Half Dome I have been searching for job with limited success. Not exactly sure what the Lord has for me, but I'm hoping He feels so inclined to make it clear here pretty quick. Life is slightly uneventful when you don't have a job or school to go to, so thus this blog is a little lacking in excitement and great adventures. I hope that doesn't disappoint. Welp, I think that is it for now. Tootles!

Interesting Time of Life

Well, I've graduated, I've gone overseas and shared the gospel, and now the time has come for me to move on with life post-college. The only problem is...I don't know where to go. Yup, pretty clueless right now. Not gunna lie either...it stinks...well kinda. It stinks cuz I feel so helpless but I take comfort in Paul's words from 2 Cor. 12:9-10:

"And He has said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.' Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecuations, with difficulties, for Christ's sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong."

So, in actuality I'm not that bad off. All I have right now is the Lord, and that's not such a bad place to be at...in fact, there is no where else I'd rather be but in my Father's hands. James says that we are perfected through trials. In Psalm 32 David says that the Lord will instruct me in the way I should go. Jeremiah 29:11 says that the Lord knows the plans he has for me. After that he goes on to say that they will seek the Lord and that they will find Him when they seek for Him with all their heart. Lamentations 3:22-25 says,

"The Lord's lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. 'The Lord is my portion,' says my soul, 'thereforeI have hope in Him.' The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the person who seeks Him."

I know that the Lord is faithful. He has proven it time and time again in my life. Deut. 7:9 says,

"Know therefore that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God, who keeps His covenant and His lovingkindness to a thousandth generation with those who love Him and keep His commandments."

So, though I don't know what I am supposed to be doing right now, the Lord does. And my God is a great God and I know nothing is impossible for Him and my "problems" aren't problems for Him. Therefore I rest in the knowledge that the Lord will guide me and lead me on level paths and that in my weakness His power will be perfected. In know that through this He will be glorified and in that will be my joy. So, I wait on Him, as patiently as I can, and pray that I would know Him more clearly and glorify Him more greatly through this time in my life.

Here is my prayer:
Let me learn that the cross precedes the crown, To be low is to be high, That the valley is where you make me more like Christ! Let me find Your grace in the Valley Let me find Your life in my death Let me find Your joy in my sorrow Your wealth in my need That you're near with every breath in the Valley.

SE Asia Recap

Well, it has been five days since we got back in country. It is good to be back home. We had a beautiful view of the CA coast as we were flying in. I saw half moon bay and the golden gate bridge as we flew over the bay area. I was so happy to be home that I jumped and clicked my heels for joy at LAX and got a couple of funny looks for it. I brought home with me many memories and a stomach bug...a nice combo right. It is those memories that I want to reflect on now though.

The trip was hard, but good. The team dynamics were hard for me. I love my team to death and they are all amazing people, but it was hard being with them 24/7 for 3 weeks. I just had a hard time relating with all of them. It was also hard for me to find time alone and just spend good time in prayer and fellowship with the Lord. The trip was also good though. We had amazing translators who were so much fun and made our time so enjoyable. We taught them how to play jenga and sequence and we played these all the time with them. I have now officially played the longest and shortest games of sequence possible and I am the jenga master.

We did many many different things on this trip. We did a couple of different sessions of VBS with different churches. We taught english and we helped with a church youth retreat up in the mountains. We witnessed to muslims on the beaches for a couple of days. We encouraged the missionaries and they encouraged us. We did a little bit of sightseeing as well. We got to go see the largest buddhist temple in the world (which supposedly is one of the wonders of the world and also which you can supposedly see from space...after seeing it I don't really believe either of these claims though:)) I also got to ride an elephant and saw the biggest spider ever (both of which you can see in my picture post).

I also had the neat opportunity one night to work with and encourage this boy and his family. The boy had been in a bad accident and was in a wheelchair. I was able to talk with his parents and just see what exercises they were having him do and stuff and then was able to give them a couple of stretches and exercises for him to do. They kept on asking me how long did I think til he would walk and I told them I wasn't qualified to answer those questions, but I think it was still encouraging to them to have me there and work with him a little bit and just talk with them and affirm some of the things they were already doing with him. It was nice to have my major come in handy for something. :)

Well, that's kinda the trip in overview. Thank you to everyone who was apart of supporting me through money and prayer. I appreciate it so very much! The gospel was made known in SE Asia. Puji Tuhan (Praise the Lord)!

SE Asia Picture Post

Hey Guys. I wanted to post some pictures of my trip. I will follow soon with a recap of the trip once I have a chance to reflect on it and gather my thoughts. Pictures are worth a 1,000 words though right.

This is us up in the mountains at a church youth retreat

This is the team at the beach doing some witnessing...it was rough, but someone has to do it :)

One of the towns we went throughMe scaring the crap out of two little girls as the lion in our daniel and the lion's den skit we did for the kids at VBS

Teaching the kids english at VBS

One of the families we stayed with

Jesus's name was proclaimed to unbelieving muslims on this beach

Biggest spider I have ever seen in my life...this picture doesn't do it justice...it was literally as big as my hand!!! Why on earth would God create that?

I not only got to touch this elephant but I got to ride it...how stinking awsome is that!!!

Super Encouraging

I had a really neat experience the other night. We went to the mall (just the 5 of us bule bule...no translator) to do a little shopping and get some dinner. We also decided to see the new batman movie and so we had like an hour to kill before the movie started and so I was just chilling outside the theater in the mall and this indonesian guy comes up next to me and starts talking to me. At first I can't understand what he is saying because it is super loud, but eventually we get to talking and I can understand most of what he is saying (he spoke pretty good english). We first just kinda made small talk about school and stuff and then out of no where he asks me if I am a christian which was funny because I was going to ask him the same thing in a minute. Well, I say yes, and then I asked him if he was and he said yes. Then he asked me my testimony and I shared that with him and then he shared his with me. Then we started talking about sin and being what they call a KTP (Kaw-Tay-Pay) christian, which is someone who professes Christ but has no fruit and doesn't live like a christian. He asked me if I thought such a person was a christian and stuff. Then he told me he was at the mall with some other people from his church witnessing. It was really neat and really encouraging to get to talk with him about that stuff and it was also great to know that the local people are doing evangelism as well. So, the Lord is at work here in Indonesia and it is SO COOL to have been able to see that!

Fishers of Men

So, I hope you can all appreciate the cleverness of my blog title by the end of this blog. On tuesday we went to a city on the coast and did some "street witnessing." We traveled most of the day and arrived at the beach at about 4pm. We broke into 3 groups and walked along the beach talking with people we ran into and making conversation with them and then directing that conversation to a presentation of the gospel. It is pretty easy to get people to talk with us here because I'm pretty sure about 90% of the people here have never seen a white person. They always stare at us where ever we go. It is kinda funny. Anyways, tuesday brandon and I and our translator were able to talk with a couple of university students who were muslim and a lady and her son who were both muslim and were able to share the gospel with them.

Wednesday we did the same thing. We went to 3 different beaches and broke into 3 groups again and just walked up and down the beaches talking with people and sharing the gospel with them. Tuesday and Wednesday were both neat experiences. It was a little stretching for me beacuse that isn't my personality to just talk to people and share the gospel and then leave never to see them again, but I'm also really glad that people who have never heard the gospel have now heard it. God's Word does not return void. Oh, and just in case anyone was wondering, the Indian Ocean is cold even though we are in the tropics. Go figure.

The next couple of days we are going to be teaching english at a local school and doing who knows what else. Saying plans are tentative here in Indonesia is being pretty generous I think. Please continue to pray for my team and me as we finish out our last few days here. We are leaving thrusday morning. Pray that we would finish strong and stay focused on our tasks here.

The Beat Down

Craziest morning ever! Ok, so here's what went down. We are doing VBS with this church and we pull up to the church and we all pile out of the van and there is this guy sitting on the sidewalk outside the church. He seems harmless enough. We all go inside and are just saying hi to the kids and stuff when the guy outside starts throwing rocks at the church. At first he was like out on the street throwing them but then he got a lot closer. Well, he ended up throwing one through the window and so we get all the kids away from the windows and they are all like huddling in the corner of the room and the rest of us are kinda just sitting there while the pastor is calling the police. The pastor's wife also locks the front door in two places. Well, next thing we know the guy has kicked in the front door and is standing there with a crazy look in his eyes. The pastor's wife runs and slams the door shut and anthony helps her hold it shut against this guy and I go and grab a couple of pieces of PVC pipe to hit the guy with in case he gets in. Meanwhile Brandon takes the girls and all the kids upstairs and Becca and Andrea sing with them and get them calmed down. Well, after a couple of minutes of banging on the door the guy stops and apparently wanders back out to the street, but by this time all the neighbors realize what is going on and they take this guy out. Anthony and I look out the window and we see people throwing rocks at this guy and one guy has a board in his hand and starts beating the guy with it. Next thing we know the dude is unconscious on the street with like 30 people around him waiting for the police to show up and take him away. Talk about a sense of community man. Apparently though that is how they roll here. The people we are staying with said that they had a pair of jeans stolen and the people in the community found out who it was and almost beat the guy to death over a pair of jeans. It seems to keep the crime level down pretty well. Anyway, back to the guy. Anthony and I both think the man was demon possessed because he was way stronger than he should have been. He was about 5'2" and half starved and yet he managed to kick the door in when it was locked and he just looked crazy and he attacked us and the church for no reason, so there is definitely spiritual warfare going on here. Good did come of it though because all the neighbors were hanging around the church and heard us singing and talking about God and stuff, so that was awesome. What seemed bad may really have been a huge blessing. So, just keep us in your prayers as we do not struggle against just flesh and blood.

Tomorrow we are going to be traveling again to another city and doing some street witnessing. We are all excited about this opportunity, but please be praying for the Lord to open the hearts of the people that we talk to and for the preaching of His Word to change their lives.

Bule Bule

That’s what they call us here: bule (boo-lay). It means white man. Our time here has been very eventful already. Dain had to go home because of an infection, Andrea had to go to the hospital a couple of days ago (but is out of the hospital now and is doing much better now), my stomach is torn up, and Anthony’s stomach is beginning to bother him as well. All in less than a week. Despite all this though, we are loving it here. The people are wonderful. They are very very kind.

The past 2 days we have been on a retreat up in the mountains with a church here. It was a really good time. It was a little hard to determine the spiritual atmosphere there since we couldn’t really understand what was going on all that well all the time, but I do believe we were able to impact the kids. During the time there we were split into teams and did activities and went hiking and showed the kids how to play frisbee. We also introduced them to smore’s. They seemed to like them. I definitely ate like 3 and payed for it this morning. My stomach didn’t appreciate that much food with how it is feeling. Oh well...it was worth it. J

Tomorrow, we are going to be doing a vacation bible school for two days with a local church here. Pray that that goes well.

The people here definitely don’t see many white people. We get stared at all the time. Today I had some guy come up and get like 5 inches from my face and just stare at me for a few seconds and then walk away. It is pretty funny, but definitely testing my personal bubble. They don’t really have personal space here, so that is taking a little getting used to.

Prayer requests: Health. Our team is definitely not very healthy as I wrote earlier. Please pray for the Lord’s healing grace upon our bodies. We need it. Focus on God. We are really busy and I am having a hard time finding time to spend alone with Him which I desprately need and want. Pray that I will be able to find that time, and the time that I do have with Him will be blessed and fruitful. Terima Kasih (thank you).

We're Here

Well, I finally made it to SE Asia. We got in at like 6pm last night. I'll be happy not to see another plane for 3 weeks. :) Tomorrow we are going to church, and then after that we will be going to another city to do a youth retreat. Please pray that we will have fun with the kids and be able to show God's love to them. That's it for now...

It's been awile...

Well, seems like I have greatly neglected my blogging duties. I figure it's about time I blogged again for those of you who have been on pins and needles wondering what is going on with me. This weekend I went to Fresno for a Precept Ministries training workshop. I learned a lot. Friday I learned how to structure. This is basically a means to see the flow of thought in a verse, chapter, and book. You break the verse apart by main thought and supporting thoughts and basically diagram them out on a paper. You start with the main thought on the left and put supporting thoughts under the main thought and it flows across the page allowing you to easily see the flow of thought of the author. It also easily brings up questions from the text and easily provides answers to those questions.

Saturday I took a workshop on how to lead a Precept upon Precept course. We learned how to break the lesson apart and learned how to lead a discussion and to come up with questions from the text and the lesson. Then our trainer lead our class as if she was leading her bible study so that we could see first hand how someone would lead a study (for those of us like myself who have never seen a precept study lead before). It was a very educating weekend. I'm excited to see how God uses what I've learned. Well, that's all for now...Oh, and I leave for SE Asia in 8 days.

The Secret of Believing Prayer

Right now I am reading "Believing Prayer" by Andrew Murray and I want to share what He has to say.

"Have faith in God," Jesus answered. "I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours." Mark 11:22-24

The promise of answered prayer is preceded by "Have faith in God." This is where faith in answered prayer comes from. It is only when we enjoy a personal, loving relationship with God Himself that our whole being is opened up to the mighty influence of His holy presence and the capacity will be developed in us for believing that He gives whatever we ask. That is so cool! The better we come to know our Lord, the greater our capacity to believe that He gives us whatever we ask of Him.

When we enter into this living fellowship with God Himself, in the faith that sees and hears Him, it becomes natural to believe His promises regarding prayer. The prayer of faith is rooted in the life of faith. Surely for one who knows his Father well and lives in constant close fellowship with Him, it is a simple thing to believe the promise that He will do the will of His child. Once again we see that when we know our Lord well and live in fellowship with Him, deep abiding fellowship, it is simple to believe that He will answer our prayers.

Learn to believe God, to take hold of Him, to let Him take possession of your life; then it will be easy to take hold of the promise. He who knows and trusts God finds it easy to trust the promise as well. Trust in God, believe Him, offer yourself up to Him completely and it will be easy to believe all that He has said He will do.

O God, I do truly believe in You. I believe You are my Father; I believe in Your infinite love and power. I believe in Your Son, my Redeemer and my life. And I believe in Your Holy Spirit, my Comforter, Guide, and strength. Three-in-One God, I have faith in You. I know and am certain that all You are You are to me, that all You have promised You will perform. Lord Jesus, increase my faith. Teach me to take time to wait and worship in Your holy presence until my faith appropriates all there is in You for me. Let me see You as the strength to accomplish Your will in the world and in me. Let me see Your love that is longing to meet and fulfill all my desires. Let Your love so take possession of my heart and life that through faith I will know You dwelling in me. Lord Jesus, help me, that with my whole heart I might believe in You. Let my faith in You fill me every moment. My blessed Savior, how can Your church glorify you? How can it fulfill the work of intercession, through which Your kingdom must come, unless our whole life is filled with faith in God? Blessed Lord, speak Your Word, "Have faith in God," into the depths of my soul. Amen.

The Close of a Chapter

It has finally happened. I am finally done with school...maybe. The maybe all depends on the Lord's leading and guiding, but for the first time since I was five, I won't be going to school for at least a year. It is pretty exciting. I love school and I love learning, but 16 straight years of it can really get old. :) I am excited for a change of pace and the change that the Lord is bringing about in my life. I am excited to wait patiently on Him while passionately pursuing Him and the things He directs me to do. It is crazy to think that this chapter of my life will be completely over as of Saturday afternoon when I get that fake diploma that they give you til they send you the real one 6 months later (side note...honestly, how can it take them 6 months to print a piece of paper...really now), but I am ready to turn the page and start reading the new chapter that God already has written for me.

No Room for Sin

One of the verses that the Lord has given me as I walk through this life and one that I cling dearly to is I John 3:5-6:

"You know that He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin. No one who abides in Him sins; no one who sins has seen Him or knows Him."

In Christ there is no sin and if I abide in Him, I will not sin. I found a great quote by the Puritan John Owen:

"When someone sets his affections upon the cross and the love of Christ, he crucifies the world as a dead and undesirable thing. The baits of sin lose their attraction and disappear. Fill your affections with the cross of Christ and you will find no room for sin."

How true that is. When we fill our thoughts and desires with Christ, there is absolutely no room for sin. How wonderful this is. Sin loses its attraction and Christ fills our hearts completely with Himself. We are His temple...may His glory dwell therein.

Hearing God

"Teach me to do your will, for you are my God. Let Your good Spirit lead me on level ground." Psalm 143:10

"Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry, and He will say, 'Here I am.'"
Isaiah 58:9a

"And the Lord will continually guide you, and satisfy your desire in scorched places, and give strength to your bones; and you will be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water whose waters do not fail."
Isaiah 58:11

A couple of weeks ago I read a book called Hearing God by Dallas Willard. It was a very illuminating read and only increased my desire to know my Lord more and learn how to listen to Him. I just want to share some of what I learned from the book.

There is a paradox when it comes to hearing God today. This paradox is that most followers of Christ believe that God speaks to them individually, yet there is a great uncertainty in hearing God speak. Not only that, but often our motives for wanting to hear God are wrong. If we are over concerned with ourselves or seeking personal advantage instead of God's glory, it will be impossible for us to find God's purpose for us.

There are some guidelines for hearing from God:

1. God doesn't desire us to be robots, but to be mature people in a loving relationship with Him.
2. God doesn't always enjoy having to explain His will, but enjoys it when we understand and act on His will
3. We need to be in communion with God (practicing His presence with us) to have the proper context in which to communicate with God.
4. Our humanity will not by itself prevent us from hearing God just like it didn't prevent Moses, Elijah, David, or Paul.
5. We must believe that God can speak to us just like He did Elijah or Paul.
6. We need the grace of humility. Ps. 25:9, "He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble His way."

Willard gives 6 ways God addressed people in the Bible:

1. A phenomenon plus a voice
2. A supernatural messenger or angel
3. Dreams and visions
4. An audible voice
5. The human voice
6. The human spirit or "still, small voice"

Willard believes that the primary subjective way (the 6 options above) God addresses us is through the human spirit because it most engages the faculties of free, intelligent being involved in the work of God as His co-laborers and friends. He says that the still, small voice takes the form of our thought, but that these thoughts are not from us. He also points out that God usually addresses individually those who walk with Him in a mature, personal relationship by using the still, small voice. God comes to us in and through our thoughts, perceptions, and experiences.

The Word of God is His speaking and communicating. When God speaks, He expresses His mind, His character, and His purposes. Thus, He is always present with His Word. There is great power in God's Word. We will truly be at ease hearing God only if we are at home with the Word of God, with His speaking throughout creation and redemption. It is through the action of the Word of God upon us, throughout us, and with us that we come to have the mind of Christ and thus to live fully in the kingdom of God. We need to dwell and meditate on the Word of God because it is by doing this that our minds are transformed and renewed and we are able to discern what the will of God is (Rom. 12:2). For the mind that is transformed by the washing of the Word, it is a reliably clear and practical matter to hear God. It is through His Word that Christ removes the old routines of the heart and in their place He puts His thoughts, attitudes, beliefs, and words. He washes our minds and brings clarity, truth , love, confidence, and hopefulness where there once was none. It is in understanding the Bible that we will come to share in His thoughts and attitudes and life through His Word.

Recognizing the voice of God:

We learn by experience to hear God. At first, we must often be helped to detect His voice and His speaking to us, and it is only later that we come, without assistance, to distinguish and recognize His voice. There are 3 points of reference (or 3 lights as they are often called) in helping to determine what God wants us to do:

1. Circumstances
2. Impressions of the Spirit
3. Passages from the Bible

When these 3 point in the same direction, it is usually the direction that God intends for us. The voice of God is not any or all of the 3 lights, but usually comes in conjunction with them. There are 3 factors in the voice of God:

1. Quality- the weight or impact an impression makes on our consciousness
2. Spirit- the attitude or characteristics of the voice
3. Content- what the message says (must be consistent with God's written Word)

If God wants us to know something, He will be both able and willing to communicate it to us plainly just as long as we are open and prepared by our experience to hear and obey. There is, however, no sure fire technique to squeezing out of God what we want to know. Instead, we should live a life surrendered to God, have a humble openness to His direction even when it is contrary to our wants and assumptions, and have experience with the way His word comes to us, and make fervent but patient requests for guidance. It is God's will that we ourselves should have a great part in determining our path through life. This doesn't mean He isn't with us. God both develops and tests our character by leaving us to decide.

Waiting...

It seems as though everything in my life is unknown right now. I'm graduating college in about three weeks and the infamous "what are you going to do now" question is being met with some major eye rollage. I always tell people that I'm not sure. I've come to realize though that what I'm going to be doing is just waiting on the Lord. I don't know what the Lord is going to do with my life, but I'm just letting Him have it all and am learning to wait patiently on Him for His best and His timing in all things. I feel like the Lord is telling me that over the next year things will become a whole lot more clear and He will reveal all I need to know when I need to know it. I am trying to live by Philippians 4:6-7 which says,

"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

I have hope in Christ and I know that He knows all things and that He upholds all things. He is the Alpha and the Omega and there is no one like Him. The Lord says to Job,

"Have you ever in your life commanded the morning, and caused the dawn to know its place that it might take hold of the ends of the earth and the wicked be shaken out of it." OR "Have you understood the expanse of the earth? Tell Me if you know all this." OR "Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades, or loose the cords of Orion? Can you lead forth a constellation in its season, and guide the Bear with her satellites?"

Our Lord is GREAT!!!! Who can compare to Him? That is what I have peace in. That is what I rest in. I abide in Christ and trust in Him. I abide in the Lord of the earth and the creator of all things...to Him be all honor and praise and glory forever. May I ever and always moment by moment abide in Him and find the peace that He gives. Where can I go from His presence and besides, there is no where else that I would rather be.

Southeast Asia

Hello to you who have chosen to support me this summer as I go to spread the name and glory of the Lord in Southeast Asia. I and the rest of my team are very excited about this opportunity that God has given us. As of right now, I don't have a whole lot of new details to share beyond what I already shared in my letter, except that we are putting on a support dinner on April 19th. Please pray that it would be a profitable time of both fundraising as well sharing our vision of our trip and sharing Christ with those who may not know Him already. I would greatly covet your prayers. Here are some ways you can be praying for my team and me.

• Funds- pray for all our funding to come in
• Team Bonding and Unity- None of us are strangers, but that doesn't mean we can't grow much closer and learn how to better encourage each other in Christ.
• The Fundraising Dinner- Pray that the hearts of those who attend would share in the vision of Christ for the lost

Grace

Here's a poem that I thought I'd share:

Unmerited favor, undeserved mercy;
Innocent blood shed for wretches
A criminal given a seat at His table.
What is this you say?
‘Tis grace I tell thee.

Clemency has been granted to those condemned;
A slate dirtied has been covered by blood
Made fit to be written on by the King.
What is this you say?
‘Tis grace I tell thee.

Freely given, graciously received;
What once was black, now white
What once was dead, now alive.
What is this you say?
‘Tis grace I tell thee.

The worst of sinners made righteous;
Dry bones vast beyond all measure
Given new flesh and breathed into life.
What is this you say?
‘Tis grace I tell thee.

A lost sheep brought into the fold;
A blind man is made to see
And a deaf man is made to hear.
What is this you say?
‘Tis grace I tell thee.

My Lord is bruised and broken;
His life given for mine so that
Adam’s sin might no longer hold me.
What is this you say?
‘Tis grace I tell thee.

The Dichotomy of Love for Christ and Love of the World

I LOVE my God! He is absolutely deserving of all my love and commands my love.

Matt. 22:37-38, "And He said to him, 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and foremost commandment.'"

How can I not but give my all to the one who suffered humiliation and beatings and the most painful death known to man so that I might enjoy Him forever and praise Him with all that I am forever. In light of this, how can I love the world and the things of this world? I CAN'T!!!!

1 John 2:15-17 says, "Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever."

The world and Christ are at complete enmity with one another. If I love the world, I am an enemy of God. It breaks my heart when I see my brothers and sisters in Christ who engage in the things of this world...enjoying the lusts of the flesh. Sure, they are tempting, but they lead to death.

John 10:10 says, "The thief comes only to kill, steal, and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly."

While the things of this world may be tempting and seem pleasurable, Satan really only wants to kill, steal, and destroy you through them. The world hates us because it hated Christ and we are in Christ.

John 15:19 says, "If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you."

The world hates Christ and it hates us...how then can we love the things of this world? How can we run to them instead of Christ? We have been crucified and buried with Christ and raised again with Him. We have died to the old self and have put on the new man, which is in Christ.

I was really just thinking about this and the implications of this in my own life. If I truly say that I am a son of God, and that I love my Lord and Savior with my whole heart and all of my being, and if I am truly searching after Him, I can't and won't love the things of this world. Romans 12:9 says that we are to abhor evil and cling to what is good. Abhor is such a strong word. It means "to regard with extreme repugnance or aversion; detest utterly; loathe; abominate." This is how the Lord feels about sin and this is how I am to feel about sin.

1 John 3:5-6,9 say, "5You know that He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin. 6No one who abides in Him sins; no one who sins has sen Him or knows Him. 9No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God."

If I am completely abiding in Christ (as is my desire) I cannot sin. Andrew Murray says this regarding verses 5-6. "He admits sinners into life union with Himself; the result is that their life becomes like His...when the abiding in Christ becomes close and unbroken, so that the soul lives from moment to moment in the perfect union with the Lord its keeper, He does, indeed keep down the power of the old nature, so that it does no regain dominion over the soul." What blessed assurance!! It makes perfect sense. If Christ absolutely abhors sin, and I am abiding in Him, then I must abhor sin as well. If I am filled with Christ, then sin has no place in my life. I can either love my Lord or I can love the things of this world. May we seek to abide fully and only in Christ day by day, hour by hour, and moment by moment, because we are in complete need of Him. May we be so consumed with Christ that we cannot even entertain the idea of desiring the things this world may have to offer.

In His Presence

"In your presence there is fullness of joy; in your right hand are pleasures forevermore." -Ps. 16:11

Where'er Thou art may we remain;

Where'er Thou goest may we go;

With Thee, O Lord, no grief is pain,

Away from Thee all joy is woe.

Oh, may we in each holy tide,

Each solemn season, dwell with Thee!

Content if only by Thy side

In life or death we still may be.

May we long to never leave His presence. May our abiding in Him be constant and our joy full.

Wisdom- Godly vs. Worldly

This post was sparked by my Bible study on Sunday morning at my church. We were looking at 1 Cor. 1:18-31, but this post specifically has to do with what worldly wisdom is as stated in vs. 20. I had some ideas, but I really wanted to see what Scripture had to say about it. And yes, it may look a little long and daunting at first, but most of the post consists of the actual scripture that I pulled from, so unless you are adverse to reading Scripture I would say, stick with it. :)

Figuring out what godly wisdom is turned out to be easier than what worldly wisdom is since verses straight up say "this is wisdom", but I think that, one, worldly wisdom is the opposite of godly wisdom, and so therefore we can see what godly wisdom is and see that worldly wisdom would be the opposite of that, and two, there are some good verses that point to what worldly wisdom is as well. I'll start with what wisdom is and then move to what worldly wisdom is.

Job 28:28 says, "And to man He said, 'Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; And to depart from evil is understanding.'" - Wisdom is the fear of the Lord.

Ps. 111:10 says, "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom." - The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.

Pr. 2:6, 9:10 says, "For the LORD gives wisdom; From His mouth come knowledge and understanding." - It is only the LORD who gives wisdom.

So, wisdom is the fear of the Lord and comes from the Lord. Conversely, the wisdom of the world would be to uphold and value the things of this world and our carnal desires and such and it comes from man himself. Now, verses about the wisdom of the world:

Pr. 29:3 says, "A man who loves wisdom makes his father glad, but he who keeps company with harlots wastes his wealth." - Here it seems keeping company with harlots (valuing and partaking in the carnal pleasures of this world/not fearing the Lord or obeying His commandments) is opposite of wisdom.

Is. 47:10 says, "You felt secure in your wickedness and said, 'No one sees me,' Your wisdom and your knowledge, they have deluded you; For you have said in your heart, 'I am, and there is no one besides me.'" - Her worldly wisdom deluded her and caused her to think "I am, and there is no one besides me." - Basically her worldly wisdom caused her to reject God and think that she was God and there was no one greater than her. She made much of herself and was proud.

Jer. 8:7-10 says, "Even the stork in the sky Knows her seasons; And the turtledove and the swift and the thrush Observe the time of their migration; but My people do not know The ordinance of the LORD." How can you say, 'We are wise, And the law of the LORD is with us'? But behold, the lying pen of the scribes Has made it into a lie. "The wise men are put to shame, They are dismayed and caught; Behold, they have rejected the word of the LORD, And what kind of wisdom do they have? "Therefore I will give their wives to others, Their fields to new owners; Because from the least even to the greatest Everyone is greedy for gain; From the prophet even to the priest Everyone practices deceit." - They were saying they were wise but were rejecting the law of the Lord. They were practicing worldly wisdom. It would also seem that from the last verse that greediness for gain and deceit are also a part of worldly wisdom.

Ez. 28:1-7 says, "The word of the LORD came again to me, saying, 2 "Son of man, say to the leader of Tyre, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, "Because your heart is lifted up And you have said, ' I am a god, I sit in the seat of gods In the heart of the seas'; Yet you are a man and not God, Although you make your heart like the heart of God-- 3 Behold, you are wiser than Daniel; There is no secret that is a match for you. 4 "By your wisdom and understanding You have acquired riches for yourself And have acquired gold and silver for your treasuries. 5 "By your great wisdom, by your trade You have increased your riches And your heart is lifted up because of your riches-- 6 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD, 'Because you have made your heart Like the heart of God, 7 Therefore, behold, I will bring strangers upon you, The most ruthless of the nations. And they will draw their swords Against the beauty of your wisdom And defile your splendor." - I think this is the best example for worldly wisdom out of all the verses. He says it by his wisdom that he has acquired riches and that he is proud and thinks himself to be God. Later he says that the nations will draw their swords against the beauty of his wisdom...the beauty of his wisdom was all his gold and wealth. His wisdom was all about making much of himself and thinking himself God and running after riches and wealth. It says he made his heart like the heart of God because of His wisdom. His wisdom brought about the epitome of pride- thinking you are God.

I Cor. 2:1-5 says, "And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. 2 For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. 3 I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, 4 and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God." - Here Paul says that he didn't come to them with fancy speeches and he wasn't proud and basically that he wasn't trying to persuade them by anything which appeal to the senses or anything that he could do to try to make them like his message, and he did this so that their faith wouldn't rest on the wisdom of men. Well, then, the wisdom of men would think that because what he said sounded good or he looked good or looked like he knew what he was talking about that they should believe it.
James 3:14-17 says, "But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth. 15 This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic. 16 For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing. 17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy." - Wisdom of this world is bitter jealously and selfish ambition. Wisdom from above is the opposite...it is pure, peaceable, gentle, and responsible, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, and without hypocrisy.

Well, there you have it. I hope that you have been educated and edified by reading this.

Thoughts on Prayer

I just finished doing a study on prayer and thought I would post some of what I gleaned from that study.

First, I think it important to understand how and why we are able to approach the throne room of God. Heb. 4:14-16 says, "Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in the time of need." Christ has made it possible for us to enter into the throne room of grace. The temple curtain has been ripped.

Second, in order for our prayers to be effective, we should be living holy lives. James 5:16 says, "the prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective." If our lives are holy, then we should pray believing that the Lord will hear and answer our prayers. Matt. 21:22 says, "And all things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive." James 1:6 says, "But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind."

Third, the Lord gave us a guide for prayer. Matt. 6:9-13 says, "Pray, then, in this way: 'Our Father who is in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.'" This prayer can be broken into 5 parts:

1. Worship- We need to praise God for who He is and what He has done. Honor His great name.
2. Declaration of allegiance- We tell God that we are fully His and we want His will to be done.
3. Petition- We ask of God the things that we need
4. Confession of sin- We confess our sin
5. Request for deliverance- We ask God to deliver us from temptation and evil.

Forth, we should be persistent in prayer. Luke 11:8-10 says, "I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will get up and give him as much as he needs. So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it will be opened."

Fifth, there are certain things which will keep God from hearing our prayers. Is. 59:1-2 says, "Behold, the Lord's hand is not so short that it cannot save; nor is His ear so dull that it cannot hear, but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear." Ps. 66:18, "If I regard wickedness in my heart, the Lord will not hear." James 4:3 says, "You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures." Sin, wickedness, and asking with wrong motives will all keep our prayers from being heard by the Lord.

Sixth, if you are interested you should check out some of these prayers in the Bible and model your prayers after them: 2 Chron. 20:5-12; Neh. 1:5-11; Dan. 9:4-19; Eph. 1:15-19

Mother's Day Card

I know it's a little early for mother's day, but I figured I would just give all you guys out there a head start.  Here is my favorite mother's day card ever...

 Mom, you are the one who brought me to planet earth.  You are the one who suffered through my 24 hour birth.  You're the one who made lemonade for me after I'd come back from play.  I love you mom, so have a wicked nice mother's day!

There it is people...I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.