Jesus Person

Table For Two, Please

2010-10-18T15:03:00.002-04:00

It always amazes me of how God deals with each person in their own way. The destination is always the same, but the journey is very unique. And in each of us, there are all sorts of different gifts/talents/abilities. Sometimes it seems like everyone either plays guitar or piano. My mom always wanted me to learn piano… I ended up learned the drums. The other night while at an all night prayer meeting (of which I made it until about 3 am or so), we were at a location that uses some resources of a particular ministry that I don’t necessarily prefer. None the less, hopefully someone is able to still meet God in some form or fashion. There are God given gifts (Rom. 12:3-8), Jesus given gifts (Eph. 4:11) and Holy Spirit given gifts (1 Cor. 12:7-11).

Right now, the ‘church’ is undergoing a major transformation. People are just looking for more. They’re tired of meetings… they’re looking for true relationship and true fellowship. There isn’t necessarily anything wrong w/ meetings. A corporate gather has it’s time and place. But Christianity is about a relationship. A relationship between you and God, you and other believers and you and the world. Some folks won’t even SAY the name of God because they feel it’s not reverent enough for them. And that’s fine per say. It does bother me some when some people are wearing ball caps in a corporate gathering. Especially when that cap has NOTHING to do with God. But I usually let it slide, although I would prefer them take it off at the time. Just like it’s polite to take your hat off when your praying OR during the national anthem. It’s just something done out of reverence for a particular time. So in that aspect, I can understand a little why some may not feel comfortable in saying or printing the name of God or other aspects of His Divine nature.

I for one did not grow up saying Mr. or Ms. and the person’s first name. But when living in the south and parents are trying to train their kids to address me properly, they throw in the Mr. Shawn (for the record, I personally don’t like it). I grew up calling my religious leaders by their first names. Respect is a position of the heart, not just in a title. In my talking with them, my respect and given and shown. And most leaders nowadays just introduce themselves by their first names anyways. So, needless to say, it gets confusing at times. I personally don’t want those of whom I’m ministering to not looking at me because their trying to be respectful. I want to make eye contact with people and show them that they matter to me. I love it whenever people I’m friends with come up and give me a hug.
I’ve personally found over time that the more love you have for someone, respect and reverence comes automatically. But all this to say that I see a different way of the church learning to ‘fight’ a battle: in the Spirit, in a position of son ship, knowing our full authority which is as a child of God. I’m not talking about just having proper theology (which is important), but it’s out a love relationship you have with Jesus.

It’s like there is a difference between saying “I don’t want to watch that particular movie or engage in that particular behavior because of these reasons” and “I can’t watch this particular movie or participate in this particular behavior because my church doesn’t allow it.” The first one is moreso addressing that fact that YOU as someone who is in a relationship with the Lord and knowing it will hurt that relationship that you don’t want to engage in a particular behavior. The second one is rules and laws put on by someone else. I just spent a couple days at a local apologetics conference, listening to various messages about defending the Christian faith. That’s good and well, but sometimes it’s like if you can be argued into the kingdom of God, there is probably a good chance you can be argued out of it.
If you look in the Old Testament, the Israelites were given rules via Moses from God to not engage in certain activities. If you look in the New Testament, Jesus starts to make it more relational. He wants to examine the heart of the person and their motives. That’s because He wants the relationship with the person more than just a list of do’s and don’ts.

One of the most impactful things that has happened for me was to experience the presence and love of God for myself. When you experience God, there is something that happens that goes beyond comprehension. Mere seconds in the presence of Abba Father can do what listening to hours and hours of sermons will never be able to accomplish. Why is it that whenever a child is hurt, the first thing they do is run into the arms of their parents or someone they know loves them?

Authenticating...

2010-10-04T22:36:00.001-04:00

I do a decent amount of work on computers. Whether it's fixing them up for friends or just using them, they can tend to have problems from time to time. And there are quite a few factors that go into that. Such as if they're well maintained or not. Today in talking with a friend of mine, we were talking about just sharing life and what exactly does it mean to be a Christian, or someone who is hopefully 'Christ-like'. But what does that even mean?

The Bible covers a lot of different issues. There are wars and battles, romance, hatred, love and many other things. One thing I noticed is that God doesn't use folks who have it all together necessarily. A lot of the main folks of the Bible had issues. Some of them were murderers or adulterers or had other various forms of problems. And yet, God still used them. (Sweet, there is still hope for me yet :) ).

Some of the buzz words that fly around me a lot are things like revival, prayer, fasting, Bible reading, community, authenticity, life, Holy Spirit ... just to name a few. I have been in more 'church services' in the past few years than some have been in in their life! Sometimes, i just get burned out on meetings, and I just want to spend time with folks. Luckily, it's very Biblical to eat together with food (a lot of times, we call it 'breaking bread' which is just another term for eating together.

I've also done some street witnessing/evangelizing. The idea is is to go out and tell people about Jesus. Usually we'll go to the malls and look for our victi.. I mean people to talk to. I've found a couple things out in my day.

1. Oddly enough, this kind of evangelizing isn't my strong point. I prefer the small group or one on one and discussing issues and really digging into people's lives.

2. There is a right way of doing this and a very wrong way. Some people prefer the all out hell fire brimstone type of preaching, usually done with a bull horn and saying things like "everyone who doesn't believe in Jesus is going to hell", which is a very true statement. This is called the 'turn or burn' approach. But just because it's a good idea, doesn't mean it's a God idea. There is a difference.

I've had it said to me that some people speak or preach in such a way that it sounds like they WANT you to end up in the fiery pit.

So what am I getting at? What I'm getting at is that there is a search going on in many people's lives for truth, love, satisfaction, fulfillment and over all general purpose. People are looking for love. People want to connect with other people. We are made for relationships. Christianity is about relationships. God wants to reconcile us, His Children, to Himself through Jesus. Even the atheist knows John 3:16. God loved us first. (I'm His favorite by the way.) He started it.

Have you ever been in a crowded room and felt very alone? There is nothing quite like being in a crowded room with music blaring and trying to have a nice conversation with someone. Nothing like telling your life story to someone a foot away from you while loosing your voice in the process. Sometimes, I just feel burned out on church meetings. Today I had an AWESOME afternoon talking with a friend from my church body. We talked for probably a couple hours straight I think. We just shared life! Unfortunately, there wasn't food involved (I know, that's breaking the Mennonite 11th commandment). But it was still just sooo very life giving!

Nowadays, there is a lot of talking about what kind of church bodies there are out there. We have bodies that are thousands strong (mega churches) and then there are some that are many a dozen or so (house churches or micro churches) and there are some that are maybe just a couple hundred strong (a typical community fellowship). And there is the difference between church growth and church transfer. But it's about you growing spiritually that makes the difference.

I don't know about anyone else, but I'm looking for the Life of God to be brought out. Sometimes I feel like I have spiritual ADD or ADHD. I just can't sit still for the life of me! You could glue me down to a chair and I'd probably end up just carrying that chair with me as I pray for folks. I can't sit still at times!

Some of my current favorite scriptures are John 14-17, Romans 8, Psa. 42:1-2 and Psa. 84. Just to name a few. I don't know about you, but I'm on this search for authentic Christianity. I'm looking and searching for authentic life in Jesus. You may be messed up as all get out but desiring a change. You may be thinking "yeah, I've got issues to work through, but I'm gonna look to Jesus for the real change." Hop on board and we'll figure this thing out yet. God's looking for open and willing hearts.

Women Serving 'In The Church'

2010-10-04T22:31:00.002-04:00

Does the Bible ever seem to contradict itself at times? Keyword there is “seem”. The Bible is the infallible Word of God. It is complete truth. People all down through time have tried to prove it wrong and have ended up believing in the Word.

I like to ask tough questions. I don’t mean to get controversial, but I do like to get to the bottom of things for myself. Just recently, I threw the question up on Facebook about women in ministry and in preaching roles. For myself, I have sat under some ladies and it was evident that they had studied and what they had to bring is very scriptural. Other times, I was wishing I was back at the sound board and little by little keep turning them down. I’m sitting there thinking “is this going somewhere?” I also know that women like to talk. I know that women can talk for hours and not say a thing.

All this brings up an interesting situation. Because certain verses in the Bible say that women should be silent. But then other verses say that if women prophesy, they have to have their heads covered. Seems a bit contradictory. “Ok, so you can’t talk. But if you do, you need to have your head covered.” It’s like ‘what?!?!’

A large part I think is what do we consider as a ‘church meeting’. I know Sunday mornings ‘we have church.’ First off, people are the church. A building is just a building. You can’t have a meeting without people. Try it and let me know how it works for you. Given the fact that people are the church body, that opens a new can of worms. Because then it’s like ok so when do we decide we’re ‘having church’? Is it just a Sunday morning or given the fact that we are the church, you could almost eliminate women speaking altogether! I’m not advocating that by any stretch of the imagination. But what is going on here?

To be honest with you, I’ve had some downright awesome encounters with God on a road trip in a van! We were praying and singing and people were reading different scriptures…. Is that church? Can you see how the lines would get a little blurry when you take the official meetings idea out of the picture? When you set aside the foul notion of ‘going to church’ rather than ‘being the church’ (quote from Dr. Brown… gotta give credit where it’s due).

I understand that at the time of Paul’s writings, there were certain things going on in the culture whereby he would’ve wrote what he wrote. But if it wasn’t for modern day, why put it in there then? There is a lot about the Bible that I have yet to learn. After graduating Bible school, it seems that the more you learn, the more you don’t know to an extent.

For myself, I see different ladies in the Bible who had leadership roles or positions of authority. Ladies like Deborab, Esther, Priscilla, Pheobe, just to name a few there. And I know for myself, I’ve been taught by some AWESOME ladies who have been able to really speak into my life. They didn’t hold any titles and/or positions, but they were just ladies who were mature in the Lord and I trusted to speak into my life. And their words were on the mark. But it wasn’t in any kind of official setting, but it was just a time of fellowship. So this is stuff that goes on in my mind. Just thought I’d share it w/ you all.

Healing Is In The Blood

2010-10-04T22:28:00.001-04:00

One of the things about Jesus and what He did for us on the Cross is the job of reconciling us to God the Father and restoring us to our rightful place and position in Christ. This morning as I joined a prayer meeting before our church service started, we were praying along the lines of abiding in the presence of God and allowing Him to fill us up. Out of the blue, I started to think about one of the quote that is found on the Statue of Liberty. It reads "Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!" (Or this is at least one of the quotes that is there. There are a few other quotes as well.)

In any case, as I was praying into this, the Holy Spirit brought Matt. 9:12 to mind. It's where Jesus is sitting and eating w/ the sinners and tax collectors (a big no no) and He tells those inquiring about what He's doing that its not the healthy that need a doctor, but the sick. And that He hasn't called the righteous but sinners to repentance.

During this time, I was praying that God would save me and our church from just mere boring services and church meetings. But that we'd be a people marked by the very presence of God. When someone comes in that is messed up, they find a people that want to work w/ them to get them back on track with the Lord. For some folks, this is quick and over in no time. For others, it may take some time.

I don't know about anyone else, but I know of folks who have some messed up lives. Luckily, I personally was spared from a lot of junk, although the Lord is always working on me to refine my character (He disciplines those that He loves.) But I was thinking about the spiritual implications of the above quote and how it applies to the church. America was founded by immigrants. It was founded by those who wanted to start over. It was seen as the land of opportunity. And a lot of that stuff is still the case today. (It's a generalization, I know we have our share of problems and issues. I'm quite well aware of a lot of the junk that happens in the political sector.)

But I was asking the Lord about the implications and what He was showing me. Part of our job as the church is to be like a hospital. We bring in the wounded and we get them cleaned up. We pray with them and look out for them and love on them. My friends list on here includes some interesting characters. But I love it because I'm able to love on people as Jesus did and hopefully I'm representing at least a little bit of the life of Jesus in me.

What was really neat was that later on during the service, during a part where prophetic words are given at times, one of the speakers mentioned the exact same verse above! I was like "wow, the Lord is saying something right now about this..." I knew all of this before, but sometimes, you just need a fresh revelation of it.

God Is Variety

2010-09-14T10:44:00.001-04:00

During my last visit to my parents, I was on my computer and youtubing various videos of different worship songs. At one point in time, I put in “joyful joyful, we adore thee” and I found a version of that song done by a house of prayer in the United States. My mom and sister were in the room and they asked me to turn it up. So I did and just walked off and did some other things for a moment and just let the music fill the house. We all kind of started singing along.

I don’t know about anyone else, but there is just something about the hymns that just hit me every time. There is just soo much meat in them… I listen to some of the modern songs that are sung in a worship service and some of them just seem superficial and lacking any real substance. None the less, I’m sure those songs are ministering to someone somewhere.

But I got to thinking about the various music varieties and even the various sermon varieties out there. I know for myself, I like a healthy mix of both. There are times when in listening to music, I like the softer soaking genre and then there is the time when I’m looking for something more upbeat. Same goes with looking for a message or a sermon. There are times when I’m looking more for like a teaching one and then there’s the time when I’m looking for a really challenging message. One to really get me stirred up and ready to do something.

I find when going to minister somewhere that it’s vitally important to get the Lord’s heart for the people and not just something that YOU think is necessary. The Lord knows what His people need. When we minister out of what WE think is necessary, I can guarantee you it will most likely flop. Sometimes, the Lord puts a burden on your heart and it’s meant to just pray into it. It’s not something that is meant for corporate prayer at the time but it’s just a private thing right now.
Some like to just focus on repentance, which is necessary but that’s all they ever focus on. They never get anywhere else. They never mention about the life and power of the Holy Spirit and the grace that is given to succeed. Others just focus in on worship. Some are very strong in the Word but there is no life in it. Some are all just into the Holy Spirit but there is no grounding in the Word.
All in all, it’s vitally important to see what is on the Lord’s heart and receive from Him to give off to others.

The Intimacy Factor

2010-03-12T18:37:00.001-05:00

I have been in countless church services throughout my life. I grew up in the church. Mainly, the ‘charismatic/Pentecostal’ circles. So believe me when I say I have experienced many different things. I’ve been on foreign missions trips and ministered in various churches in the region where I currently live (Charlotte, NC) and growing up (Lancaster, PA). During these services, I’ve experienced some really awesome things like prodigals coming ‘back home’, the sick healed, the lost finding Jesus. I’ve experienced a lot of interesting ‘manifestations of the Holy Spirit’. Some quite bazaar to your natural mind. All that to say that I’ve been around the proverbial block.

And can you believe that all that stuff really doesn’t satisfy? I mean, all the above is really neat and interesting and it gives you some awesome stories to tell around the dinner table or some awesome conversation pieces. But I don’t think that when I stand before God on Judgment Day, He’s going to be asking about that. I don’t think that it’s something that is of importance to God. Yeah, He’s proud of me for being a son and pursuing Him. But it’s more about a relationship between me and Him that He’s concerned about.

A number of years ago, I was asked to speak at a youth retreat. So in the time leading up to it, I was praying and asking the Lord what was on HIS heart for this event. I wanted to preach a good “revolution” message, rally the troops, that sort of thing. But during the prep time, it just wasn’t coming together. I had a few notes and some awesome compilations I thought would be neat to share. But it still wasn’t coming together. The morning of, I was sitting in a room with two of my friends who came to help minister and the speaker from the previous night, Steve Hoffman. Steve looked at me at one point in time and said “Shawn, these kids have grown up in church. They know all the right things, they know all the rules. But most of them have never had an encounter with God Himself to make a difference in their life.” Those words went like a dart right into my heart.

That morning, the Lord gave me John 15. I quickly read it and knew somewhat of where I was going. We can have all the services we want; you can do all the conferences you want. But when there is no intimacy with the Lord, I wonder at how much of a difference all that is going to make. People nowadays are crying out to be heard. They’re crying out to feel needed and wanted. They’re crying out for relationships! They’re crying out for a depth of a reality! They’re open to the supernatural and wanting to see if the church has anything to offer more than just meetings and hype and a whole lot of talk. I think that many people want to see if we as the church can put actions to our words.

Let me take a step back here really quickly. There is nothing wrong with church services and meetings and programs necessarily. But when that is replacing a true intimacy with the Lord, it gets scary. Whether you attend a small house church or a community church or a mega church, that isn’t the point here. My question to you is do you know the Lord in a deeply personal way? Do you have a life giving relationship with Him? I know that at times its hard to pray and hard to read the Bible. Sometimes you may have those times where you feel like all the prayers you pray and the Bible reading you’re doing isn’t amounting to anything. But it does make a difference. Remember, a relationship takes work. There really is no cookie cutter way for it. There are emotions and feelings involved.

A number of years ago while in Bible school, the leaders decided to shut the school down for a couple days and just have a time of prayer and fasting. I was noticing a difference in the direction of the school and it was starting to concern me just a bit. This school was known for its revolutionary mentality and it seemed like we were getting soft. And then it dawned on me: maintaining intimacy in the church truly is a revolutionary idea! As I said earlier, being in different churches I have seen a lot. All these programs that were in effect didn’t seem that productive. The church was being more influenced by the world rather than the other way around. The saints weren’t being equipped for the work of the ministry. It seemed like a lot of it was a one man show done by the pastor or leader of the church.

I remember one time, I was having ice cream with an elder in a church. I simply looked this gentleman in the eyes and asked “Can you name me one time when you had a life changing encounter with the presence of God?” He sat there for a bit and eventually just shook his head no. My heart broke for this guy. You can have all the proper theology and it’s important to know the Word of God! But is it coming out of a heart attitude that says “I NEED to do this” rather than “I WANT to do this”? Sometimes, the hardest thing to do is take a theological truth and turn it into an experiential reality.

Take this as an encouragement to develop and maintain true intimacy with the Lord. The Bible says that we’ll be known by our fruits. One of the best ways, if not the best, is to spend that time with Him. Since each person is different, it’s going to look different for each and every person. Dig into the Bible and ask the Holy Spirit to show you how to cultivate that intimacy with Him.

Remembering The Wonders Of The Lord

2010-01-17T22:45:00.000-05:00

For New Year's Eve, my church did a little bit of testimony time. And during that time, the Lord was bringing to my remembrance things that He has done for me over the years and the things I have done.

The Lord has been truly good to me over the years... I'm not surprised on that at all. There have obviously been some awesome points and then some things I wish I could go back and change.

But as my testimony goes, (see "The Hardest 18"' for that) I grew up in the church. I would have to give a VERY big thank you to the Krasley's for their servants hearts to take a bunch of rowdy teens down to a youth conference in Pensacola, Florida. I had heard about the Brownsville Revival and decided to go and check it out. My life has never been the same since. But it was during this time that the Lord really started to change things around for me. It was also during this time that I had to make some decisions about future schooling. What kind of school am I going to go to. I decided in the next coming years to first go to Bible school. I ended up @ FIRE School Of Ministry.

I remember after moving down to Charlotte, NC to attend FIRE that FIRE had just moved everyone up from Pensacola to Charlotte. During our first church service, Dr. Brown asked for everyone who wasn't living in Charlotte a week ago and now is to stand up. Almost the whole church body stood up (about 300 people. I can imagine what Moses must've felt like, only he had to move a few more people than what FIRE did). And then FIRE was getting settled in and starting a new school in a new city. The sacrifices that had to be made, but most folks didn't mind. The Lord was doing stuff in our midst, and that's what we cared about.

We had some explosive/powerful classes and church services. But most importantly, the presence of God was in our midst. Sometimes I feel like I'm ALWAYS in transition. Probably because in certain terms, I am. Always being transformed from glory to glory but the Lord keeps changing things, keeping me on my toes. The relationships I've made over time are priceless... wouldn't change it for the world. Having all sorts of varying opinions around keeps one sane and level headed. If there is one thing I've learned in the past couple years: the more you learn about God, the more you realize you know nothing about Him and have more to learn.

If there is one thing I can say that has drastically changed my life is coming into an understanding of who you are as a son or daughter of the King of Kings. When your secure in your sonship with the Lord, trivial things just don't really affect you like they have before. Because you know who your Daddy is and you know that you have full authority to go into the Throne Room at anytime you want and desire. You don't have to wait for someone else, you have access yourself. You can cease your striving and just relax and contend for rest in His presence. A chapter that I have continually go through my mind is John 15. Now, that's just me perhaps. It's different for each person because each person is different.

I've been in mega churches that just seemed dead and I've been in small groups and we started to pray and worship and His Presence just sweeps in. And I've been in mega churches that the presence of God was very evident and small groups that very dead. It's not the quantity but the quality. And quantity doesn't guarantee quality.

These are just a few of the things I think about when Remembering the Wonders of the Lord.

Ministry: What Is It?

2010-01-17T22:43:00.000-05:00

Here are a few links to different pages about it:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_ministry
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ministry

That's just something to get the wheels turning. But what is 'ministry'? I mean, can you be in 'the ministry' and work a job in the market place? Or is it confined to just what preachers do on a typical Sunday morning? I know of folks who are out there on the street corners and they're 'preaching'. They're delivering the Word of the Lord (or so one hopes). I've heard some street preachers and some speakers and they just sound mean. Then I've heard some and what they have to say sounds totally different! But both groups are saying the same thing!

One thing I've come to learn over time is that it's important of HOW something is being presented. When the speakers blood vessels on their neck is bulging out and they're face is bright red, that can be a turn off to some because they sound or come across as mean. I've had people give me messages and it seems like they're yelling right in my face. So I step back and they just follow me. Then I'm like "ok, i'm right in front of you and i can hear you just fine.... you don't have to yell." One of the things that I love to do is listen to a child present the gospel. Usually because they haven't been tainted or hurt by people and their message is just so pure. Speaking out of a wounded heart tends to just hurt others. People can feel the attitude behind what your saying and if its not done in the Holy Spirit, its most likely just going to hurt others.

Now, I personally don't mind open air preaching and speaking in front of others. But some people seriously get sick at the idea of it. And everyone has their method of ministering. Some its out in the public sphere... some its from the pulpit and some its over a cup of coffee/relational evangelism. That's the beauty of the Body; everyone has a different way of going about it. I'd say that as long as your keeping the message right on and your doing what the Lord has called you to do... go for it.

The Great Commission is to go and make disciples. That is ministry as far as I'm concerned. Your making Jesus known. Your going to be dealing with all sorts of issues that come up. Some have been hurt more than others. I'm grateful for different giftings and callings in the church body. You've got the God-given gifts, the Jesus given gifts and the Holy Spirit gifts. And when all work together, it usually gets the job done.

For me personally, my method's have changed over the years. I used to just love to preach a good hard message... and I still do. I like to hear hard messages as well. But as I've noted before, when done in the wrong spirit, it doesn't come off well. Especially when your preaching out of hurt. But more so over time, I've come to value to small group settings. Where you get into the nit and grit with people. And you get into their lives and get deep. I don't mind speaking a hard message, if it's what the Lord wants of me. It's important to always speak on what is on His heart and not just what YOU think is good.

Changing the World, One Person At A Time

2010-01-17T22:41:00.001-05:00

(Posted Dec. 16, 2009 on Facebook)

I was just realizing the other day that it's been about a year and a half since my grandpa died. I was thinking about the legacy that he left to me and what kind of an impact he made on my life. One thing for sure that he drilled into me was servitude.

Just to give a little back ground to his death, the very last thing that he said was to his pastor and it was something to the effect of "How can I serve you right now?" Immediately after that, he grabbed his chest, fell forward on his knees and then onto his front and died. That's at least what i'm told.

So it got me to thinking... what kind of an impact am I making on people's lives? When I leave a room, are people glad i'm gone or are they like "man, i wish that guy would come back, he's fun to be with." Not in some superficial way and man pleasing, meaning just saying things that people want to hear... but am I leaving a pleasant feel with the people I come in contact with? How am I impacting their life? For the better or for the worse?

Being that I'm a 20 something single, I frequently get called on to do the jobs that probably not many others want to do. And that's fine. I don't mind helping out in a pinch. That's what I'm there for. I don't have to necessarily 'check in' with anyone and let them know what's going on with me. Which has its advantages. I can fill in the cracks where needed.

I've been helping out with teaching the Royal Rangers at our church this past year. And it has been a blast! I have loved being able to use what the Lord has given me and mentoring/discipling the younger generation. It's funny because i'm not teaching the children of the guys that taught me. So that really keeps me on my toes theologically. lol.

But I've learned that it's fun to serve! When you're secure in who you are as a child of God, you can serve and not get credit for it and still have a blast. You get in, do the job and get out. And as far as many folks know... it just got done and they're none the wiser! I've once heard it said that if someone wants authority, don't give it to them. But when someone wants responsibility, give it to them with authority. So in that aspect, the Lord has been really teaching me stewardship and having a positive impact on someone's life.

Just For Fun...

2010-01-17T22:38:00.001-05:00

1. What time did you get up this morning? 6:23 am
2. How do you like your steak? Medium well
3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? 2012. (In my opinion, don't waste your time and money on it.)
4. What is your favorite TV show? I like 'Lie To Me'
5. If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be? Somewhere in a suburban area. close to the city and country.
6. What did you have for breakfast? Didn't eat breakfast this morning actually... i usually don't.
7. What is your favorite cuisine? They all have something different to offer... it depends on what I'm in the mood for.
8. What foods do you dislike? Spicy foods
9. Favorite Place to Eat? Usually somewhere reasonably cheap with good food and fellowship.
10. Favorite dressing? Thousand Island i guess...
11.What kind of vehicle do you drive? '94 Geo Prizm. I call it the Teal Tank or Teal Taxi (A story behind both of those...)
12. What are your favorite clothes? Something that covers me... lol
13. Where would you visit if you had the chance? Sooo many places to choose from... I think its easier to say there are few places i would care NOT to visit...
14. Cup 1/2 empty or 1/2 full? full i guess...
15. Where would you want to retire? Retirement? Who said anything about retiring?
16. Favorite time of day? sleepy sleep...
17. Where were you born? Ephrata, PA
18. What is your favorite sport to watch? American football or Soccer
19. Who do you think will not tag you back? ....
20. Person you expect to tag you back first? .......
21. Who are you most curious about their responses to this? umm......I don't know!!
22. Bird watcher? what about them?
23. Are you a morning person or a night person? Lean more towards night but if i get to bed early enough the night before, i can do morning.
24. Do you have any pets? not that i know of... unless you include those dust bunnies that try to hide from me around the house (they think i don't know they're there... but i see them.. lol)
25. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share? not that i know of... unless you know something i don't... I just got a job @ Radio Shack, does that count?
26. What did you want to be when you were little? I think a politician...
27. What is your best childhood memory? Fourwheeling at the cabin w/ the family or traveling somewhere...
28. Are you a cat or dog person? Dog person all the way.
29. Are you married? No, thanks for rubbing it in... (pours some more salt in...)
30. Always wear your seat belt? if i'm not in the car, i'm probably not wearing it...
31. Been in a car accident? yep
32. Any pet peeves? when someone says they're gonna call and then they don't.
33. Favorite Pizza Toppings? mush rooms and extra cheese
34. Favorite Flower? a rose i guess... don't really know flowers all that well
35. Favorite ice cream? Moose tracks
36. Favorite fast food restaurant? Five Guys I guess... don't really know.
37. How many times did you fail your driver's test? once
38. From whom did you get your last email? Facebook i think...
39. Which store would you choose to max out your credit card? Best Buy or Radio Shack or some other electronics store
40. Done anything spontaneous lately? played a game of hacky sack
41. Like your job? i just started it... i guess
42. Broccoli? good stuff
43. What was your favorite vacation? i guess the last time i went to the beach with my family.... there were things about it and i didn't like but oh well.
44. Last person you went out to dinner with? George Burton
45. What are you listening to right now? iTunes library on random. Currently a Third Day song
46. What is your favorite color? Blue
47. How many tattoos do you have? none and i plan on keeping it like that...
48. How many are you tagging for this quiz? dunno
49. What time did you finish this quiz? 6:40 pm
50. Coffee Drinker? yep

RIP Grandpa

2010-01-17T22:36:00.001-05:00

(Posted Nov. 10, 2009 on my Facebook)

It's hard to imagine that it's almost been a year and a half since my grandpa went home to be in the arms of Jesus. I can actually still remember the night I found out and the week that followed. I remember I was crying buckets pretty much all week. Don't get me wrong... I was and still am extremely happy for Grandpa. As far as I or my family knows, he didn't suffer much at all. Or at least he didn't let the family know. And he died while doing one of the things he knew all too well: serving people. I'm grateful that my grandma wasn't there immediately because of the fact that it probably would've scared her really bad.

It was during this time that I learned a ton of how to really console folks. Everyone handles death differently. For those who know the Lord, it's a very joyous and yet saddening thing. It's joyful because you know that the person is with Jesus, their Lord and Savior. Now, obviously for someone who doesn't know Jesus as that, its a much different end. Some people cry a lot and then some you might have to slam their hand in the car door to get a tear. Since we're all unique beings, we all express ourselves differently. And my grandpa's death taught me a lot in how to minister more effectively to people in these situations and in life in general.

Being a guy, when someone comes to me with a problem, my immediate reaction is to fix the situation. I want to right the wrongs. However, that is sometimes the wrong approach. Sometimes, the best thing you can do is just spend time w/ the grieving people. I can tell you this: it helps nothing to put on a false face. It's ok to express emotions. Letting folks deal with the problem at hand is way better than giving them a lecture. Let the grieving one do the talking. That's what i learned. And don't be surprised at what you'll hear. Let the emotions out and let the healing process take place.

Things like this usually aren't a once and done thing. It takes time for healing to take place. I know for myself, i'll be doing fine a lot of the times and then something will happen and a memory comes up. Now for me, I worried more about my family more than anything. It's literally like when you loose someone who used to do everything and suddenly they're not there anymore, others get to step up to the plate. The body gets to be the body and fill in where needed.

I'm soo grateful for my grandparents home church there, New Life Fellowship in Ephrata. They totally stepped up to the plate. For the viewing, they have refreshments for the family and they just opened their hearts to us.

So, I hope this was beneficial to someone out there. That's why I wrote it.

The Hardest 18"

2010-01-17T22:34:00.000-05:00

Sometimes I feel like I don't have much of a testimony. I mean, i grew up in "the church" and i never really had a rebellious phase. I asked Jesus into my heart around 4 or 5 years of age, was baptized in water around 9 and just recently re-baptized in water about a year and half ago. Then I was baptized in the Holy Spirit about 12 years of age. You would think life would just be all fine and dandy after that, right? Man, I wish that was the case...

See, whenever you decided to get serious about your relationship with the Lord, literally all hell comes against you. For some, it's like Murphy's Law kicks into full effect. Because the target that is put on your back just keeps getting larger and larger.

I started out in private school, at a smaller Mennonite school in Lancaster, PA called Lititz Area Mennonite School. My family came out of the Mennonite church was I was about 18 months old (that's according to my mom). And we started going to a local charismatic church called DOVE Christian Fellowship. So, I remember growing up in church and being charismatic, you sometimes see interesting things happening. Nothing like snake handling or things like that, but the Holy Spirit moving and people's physical bodies hitting the ground or shaking or other things like that.

I can remember one meeting, it was the first time I had ever seen anyone 'slain in the spirit' or 'fall out', whatever you want to call it. I was just like "wow, that's... interesting." I was like "shouldn't someone help the person, i think they just fell over..." My parents informed me as to what was going on. And i accepted it because I didn't know to question my folks more about it.

But I can actually remember the night I asked Jesus into my heart. I don't remember the exact date, but I can remember what we were doing. At that time in my life, it was just my older sister Shalyn, me and my younger sister Amber. My younger brother Austin wasn't around yet. But my parents would tuck us into bed and pray with us. This night, my dad just said "if you want to, while i'm praying, you can just tone me out if you want to and ask Jesus into your heart." (Nowadays, i just tone them out without their permission at times.... but that's for another note...) So, I asked Jesus into my heart, to be my Lord and Savior... I wish I would've known better what I was getting myself into. But I was young and naive.

I can also remember the day I was baptized in the Holy Spirit and shortly there after, starting to pray in tongues. We were having a special children's church and they were speaking on the baptism of the Spirit. At the end, they asked for anyone who wants to come up and receive it, to do so. So, I thought "what do I got to loose?" So, I went up, got prayed for, felt really nothing and went back to my seat. They said to just start to pray. So I did. I tried to say a few things, which mainly sounded like gibberish. But at the end, the speaker said "ok, i'm going to close everything out here with a quick prayer." At the end of the prayer, when they said "and in Jesus name, Amen." That's when everything let loose on me. I started to pray in the Holy Spirit! I at first thought it was someone around me, but I quickly realized it wasn't! Later on, I was talking to my parents and they explained to me what happened.

It wasn't until a couple years later, me and my friends started to pray for revival. Now what exactly were we praying for... I'm still trying to figure that out and that was well over 10 years ago. But then we heard about this church in Pensacola, Florida that was experiencing revival. It was called the Brownsville Revival. So, we decided to go down to the youth conference called "Branded by Fire". They weren't kidding. There was a fire of the Holy Spirit there that just charged me. I can remember the first night there, they lined us up in lines to pray for us. This little older lady comes up to me and just puts her fingers to my forehead and says "Lord, Brand him with your fire." Next thing I know, i'm laying on my back looking up at the roof of the civic center we were in. I tried to get up but the Lord wasn't through dealing w/ me. I was glued to the floor and I couldn't move. So, i just laid there for a bit longer until I could move. At which time, my right leg would start twitching sporadically. It wasn't a medical condition at all. It was a manifestation of the Holy Spirit.

That night, the speaker spoke about the Unsanctified Slide. I think everyone left at this point in time and he was just talking to me... or at least that's how it felt. I wish I could fully explain at that happened at the youth conferences, but that would be a novel. Let's just say that the Lord shook the hell out of me... quite literally.

All the while, I was in public school. And I was pulling full time missionary status in the school. I was there to demonstrate Jesus. And despite myself, the Lord STILL used me. All this to say that all these years the Lord has been teaching me and training me how to demonstrate His love to a hurting and dying world. I entitled this the "The Hardest 18 inches" because that is the length between your heart and your brain. I knew all the right things to say and do growing up. But until it becomes a reality in your heart, it's just head knowledge. Now, the Lord can use the head knowledge. But more than anything, He wants your heart. Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. We don't invite the Lord into our minds, but into our hearts.

A part of the calling I feel I have is to awaken a sleeping church. I can do evangelism and reach out to the lost and dying, those who don't know Jesus. But my main concentration is dealing w/ those INSIDE the Body of Christ. If i had to loosely categorize my life, I would say that my giftings lie in the prophetic pastoring and teaching. Yes, the Lord still uses in me in all sorts of aspects. He can do that. But those are the areas that I feel the strongest in.

The Cross, In Light Of The Law Of Grace

2009-10-07T17:59:00.000-04:00

I get into a lot of theological discussions. Some of them are more fun loving and light-hearted; some not so much. Something I was thinking about last night and discussed it with a couple of my friends is the Law of Grace in regards to the cross of Jesus and His suffering and how we should then live. Something important to consider is how do we ride the straight and narrow without going to extremes on issues.

A term that gets thrown around jokingly at times is "Greasy Grace." Basically meaning you can do basically whatever you want and there will always be grace there... just repent and get on with life. The word 'repent' alone seems somewhat a taboo topic. You dare not say that to someone or you might be judging them! :: Gasp:: "Oh no brother, we believe in grace around here. You don't dare mention repent because it might offend someone.." Let me say this: as far as I know, the gospel message is going to be perhaps the most offensive message to some out there.

If you look at the law of Grace, it holds you to a higher standard than the Ten Commandments! It's saying "ok, there is something going on in your heart here that needs to be dealt with." It addresses the root cause moreso rather than just telling you not to do something. Hate your brother? In your heart, you already have done something wrong to him. Looked at someone of the opposite gender with a lustful thought? Guess what... no good there.

It's amazing what happens if you preached repentance in certain churches and/or groups nowadays... "oh my goodness, your a legalist!" "No, actually, I'm just following what the Bible says." Look at the woman caught in adultery in John 8. "Let him who has never sinned cast the first stone." Everyone leaves and then Jesus says "Go and sin no more." He didn't condone the sin but He said "sin no more." I've heard stories from friends of mine who minister in prisons that the harder you rail against sin in prisons, the more whoops and hollers of agreement you get. But it seems like a taboo thing to do in churches across America... that seems a little strange to me....

So what about discipline and grace? Let me put it really simply here: It shouldn't be "I can't go see that movie or participate in the event" but it should be more like "no, I don't want to because I wouldn't enjoy it." It goes from "can't" to "don't want to." Why is that? I think it has to do partly with its about a relationship that you have with someone. And you don't want to do something to that person that will hinder your relationship with them. I believe there is an awesome balance between the reverence of God and His grace. As a matter of fact, I think those two work hand in hand! When you live by grace, you're going to want to be reverent in His presence. That's not to say you always have to be stone cold serious, but in your heart you want to be careful when your in God's presence. You won't want to do something to grieve His Holy Spirit.

Muslims On The Mall

2009-10-07T17:56:00.003-04:00

We left Concord just after 5am and headed towards Washington, DC. We had a couple vehicles go up. Our goal was to simply just walk up to the Muslims attending their prayer gathering in DC and give them a dvd called "More Than Dreams". (check out www.morethandreams.org to see the dvd we were giving away). We separated into teams and we took up different areas. And I was soo proud of the whole team. Everyone did a wonderful job and just displayed the Love of Jesus soo effectively I think. Some of the teams were right on the Mall itself and others, such as mine, were positioned in areas around the mall. I was outside of Union Station in front of the fountain. That way, when the people were coming back from the Mall, they went right past me and into the train station.

My team consisted of myself, Brian Mitchell, Michael Bowman and Evan Smith. Brian got to pray with quite a few folks and we even witnessed some healings during the time. One Muslim guy that needed a cane to walk received prayer and no longer needs the cane (Praise the Lord!) We also gave him a dvd and he promised he'll watch it. There were many 'seeds' planted during this time and i'm just praying and trusting the Lord that our efforts won't be in vain. I've learned that God likes to pull surprises and do things that we never thought possible.

For different events, there are different methods of evangelism. Sometimes, there are times to get on the mike and set up speakers and do preaching like that. Other times, its the relational evangelism. Sometimes you mix them up. Ultimately, you have to ask the Lord what is the best way to do it. Take it on a case by case basis.

I know we had a lot of folks praying for us. Many who I know that they wanted to be there in person but weren't able to. Hey, when your praying for us, your still with us. And honestly, the Muslim community isn't something that is like on my heart and mind all the time. But they're people and Jesus loves them and died for them as well. So, because God wants to see them come to repentance and into right relationship with Him, I'll take time for this special event and do what I can and trust the Lord to bring in the harvest.

One kinda neat thing I witnessed while I was there was Vice President Biden's motorcade went by. We were right outside the Russell Senate Offices and all of a sudden, the cops shut down the road and we asked an officer who was coming and he paused for a second and just said "someone important". Well, about 2 minutes later, Biden's limo, under escort of course, went by. I got a slight quick glimpse of him but perhaps because I didn't vote for him, i was more interested in all the security that goes into protecting him. It did remind me of the movies with all the cops and the Secret Service... my tax dollars at work...

So, after about 14 hours of travel and a couple of hours of handing out dvd's and walking around Washington DC, we'll see what happens. I know I would love to go back up to Washington and play tourist. There is soo much history there and lots of activity.

Also, a friend of mine who was there with me had a few awesome testimonies of the Lord touching some people. I wanted to share them with you.

I prayed for a Muslim man who was really struggling to walk, he had a big brace on his right knee and was leaning heavily on a cane. As I prayed for him in the name of Jesus he said he was touched and felt better and started waving his cane around in the air and he was just carrying it after that, not using it. So Jesus touched him and brought healing to his leg, showing him the truth of who Jesus is.

Had a great witnessing encounter with a Hindu who come to find out lived only 10 minutes from me in Charlotte – talk about divine appointments, here I am 7 hours away from home and I meet someone that lives around the corner from me in Charlotte, so awesome. I gave him my information and one of the DVDs we were giving out and I am hoping to talk to him soon in Charlotte or Concord.

I prayed for another Muslim man who said his leg hurt and then had a great conversation with him about the Torah, the Psalms, New Testament and the Koran. They believe the first 3 are messages from God, but were corrupted by man, but the Koran has not been corrupted by man. I was able to get him to agree that the words of the Bible are true and accurate, but the interpretations of man of the Bible are sometimes inaccurate. Then I was able to get him to look at John 14:6, and how else could that verse be interpreted then Jesus is the only way to eternal life? He seemed to be a little lost at that point, but he really seemed to receive what I was saying and I am praying that he will come to the knowledge of the truth soon.
- Anonymous

Shawn here again... I was right close by as these events actually happened and they really encouraged me as I talked to other Muslims. It was soo awesome to see how the Lord moved while we were there. As we step out, the Lord comes through for us. He is such an awesome Savior!

The State Of The Union

2009-09-24T12:54:00.003-04:00

I think it goes without saying that there are some changes taking place in our nation currently. And many of them are not looked upon with favor by many. Sky rocketing unemployment rates/job loss; a government that has largely lost the trust of the people they're there to serve; children having to deal with things that they shouldn't have to deal with; the family unit being torn apart... etc. You get the point.

I grew up in the public school system. In the public schools, they have a certain curriculum that isn't favorable to the gospel. Now granted, I may have grown up in a highly conservative around. I just picked up a book the other day in the store called "Brave New Schools" by Berit Kjos. I just started it, but it addresses soo many vital ideas that are being presented in school and even in society.

I graduated 3 years ago from FIRE School Of Ministry. They're mandate that they feel the Lord has put on their hearts is to be a training center for the Jesus Revolution. Check them out at www.fire-school.org. I also still attend the church there and service in various outlets. The president of the school, Dr. Brown, has authored several books, two of which I want to mention here because they made a profound effect on me and I want to present them to you, the reader. One is called "Revolution: The Call to Holy War" and the other one is called "Revolution In The Church." Now, I want to mention right away then when we say 'revolution', we are NOT talking about a violent over throw of anything. But we are talking about doing what we can do to make a change in society. Through evangelism, discipleship, prayer, bible study and other things of the like.

One of the biggest things that I personally see that needs to change is the hearts and minds of the believers and disciples of Jesus. I've grown up all my life in the church. Mainly, the non-denominational denomination/charismatic. I've seen the good, the bad and the ugly. One of the biggest things that I have seen is the fact that we need to get our acts together. So often, it seems like church is treated more like a gigantic social club. Now, i'm NOT against fellowshiping with other believers and encouraging one another. But what kind of impact are we having on society? Are we known in heaven and feared in hell? (These are questions I often ask myself). Now, if you've been a friend of mine of Facebook here for any amount of time, you know that I put up all sorts of political stories. It's one thing to sit around and post things about how bad things are, but we have to take it one step further and provide viable solutions to the problems.

Now obviously, our first and most powerful solution is the Good News of Jesus Christ. It's one thing to preach it, it's another thing to live it and walk it out. Let us show the world that we mean business and show them the Love and Truth of Jesus Christ, thus making a truly lasting impact on the lives around us.

The American Teen

2009-08-07T22:39:00.000-04:00

Lately, I've been watching a couple episodes of a tv show online. (If you'll notice, i'm not giving the name of the show because I don't want to come across like I'm endorsing it.) It feels like I'm watching a teen soap opera. There is tons of drama in this show and I'm just glad I didn't involved much with folks like this in school and at the same time, I kinda wish I would've had more friends like this to bring stability into situations. One of the main girls in the show is pregnant (i think she's about 15 or so) and they're all talking about sleeping around or at least making out and dating.... its a lot of drama for me. Sometimes, my heart is just totally broken for this kind of stuff. Another one of the main characters is supposedly the 'good little Christian girl', but its a bad portrayal of one. Granted, that's what the world sees and perceives of it. But when I found out that the 'christian' girl was who the character was to portray, I was just like "oh dear God, here we go..." (but that's what happens when the church isn't being the church and not being an example of living a standard according to the Bible... I'm preaching to myself on that one).

I find it hard to grasp of my identity being in anything but Jesus, but that's just how I grew up. I mean, obviously in this show most of the characters aren't Christians. In any case, I look at society around me and ask for God's heart for the folks around me. Because from myself, I just have no patience. But what about God's heart for these folks? Do we just abandon them or do we befriend them and show them the love of Jesus? Those who have been forgiven much know how to forgive. To those who have been given grace, they give grace a whole lot.

Normally, I wouldn't want to sink a whole lot of time into a show like this. But in a strange way, I feel the grace for it... meaning that I almost feel like the Lord wants me to get something out of it and show me something through it.

But over the past few years, I've been examining my evangelism methods. I used to be one to just boldly say stuff, regardless of many of the repercussions. And there is time and place for that still. I used to love to open air preach, and perhaps I'll be doing more of that someday. But I've come to realize that often times, folks don't feel loved. (I am in no way endorsing a total seeker sensitive thinking here and never addressing issues and never speaking truth, because there is a definite need for it.) But in every situation, grace and wisdom needs to be used. Jesus told the woman at the well to "Go and sin no more." He didn't say "oh, its ok, keep messing around with all these guys and i'll still love you..." He didn't exploit her either. He calmly and gently laid down the law and pointed her to truth.

Also in watching this show, I often times as myself how I would handle this if I were in this situation? I mean, obviously most if not all of these issues would be handled if the folks had any real idea of who Jesus was and all that wonderful stuff. But then they wouldn't have a show. And it makes me very grateful that I know Jesus and gives me a greater burden to make Him known.

The United States is probably one of the greatest nations on this Earth as far as I'm concerned. We have our problems, no doubt. But the Lord has been able to use us in countless occasions in the past to help our nations out. Now, with that comes a great responsibility. It's the responsibility to use what we have properly. Same thing goes for the church: we have to steward God's presence properly... thoughts anyone?

Truth Is Truth

2009-08-07T22:37:00.001-04:00

Sometimes there is no way around it... sometimes, the law just has to be laid down. Sometimes, no matter how nicely I try and tell people something, there is a chance of a bad perception. Sometimes it’s my fault for the delivery, and sometimes the it was just received wrong, by that I mean the person receiving it didn’t get it right. I once heard the line that its better to be understanding than understood. And I try and live by that. But sometimes, no matter how it’s brought up, there is an offense brought up.

My pastoral side sometimes just wants to throw my arm around folks and encourage. And then at times the prophetic side rises up in me and then I know I have to be careful with what I say. I will say this: we as Christians are to be physicians more than cooks. With that said, its also important to say things in the right spirit/attitude and correct manner. You want to deal with each situation as you feel the Holy Spirit directs you.

I have come across a few arguments, they’re called ‘self-defeating’ arguments because followed out logically, the cancel themselves out. One’s like:

1. There are no absolute truths. Response: You sure about that?

2. Well, that’s right for you but not for me. Response: You try telling that to the cop when they pull you over for speeding, doing a 70 in a 55 (a hypothetical situation). When the officer comes up and says “I caught you doing 70 in a 55. And you say “Well, that may be true for you but not for me.” And you speed off… that just won’t work.

3. Well, I grew up in church and I’m a good person… Response: This one is my favorite one. Because it’s probably the most destructive one. In Revelation, the Laodicean church got all out rebuked for having this type of mentality. They thought they had it going for them, but they were spiritually bankrupt. Leonard Ravenhill said once “How is it that the world couldn’t get on with Jesus who was the holiest man ever to live and yet they can get on with you?”

4. You’re being judgmental! Response: thanks for judging me and thus cancelling yourself out. This is an argument that’s seemingly based out of Matt. 7. What that chapter ISN’T saying is that we’re not to use common sense and wisdom from God and make a judgment call when someone does something stupid… like stealing (just an example). What this chapter is meaning is that we’re not to judge the motives of someone’s heart. Check out this article about it http://www.facebook.com/ext/share.php?sid=119940306848&h=rf8ZX&u=IP-HP&ref=mf.

Here’s the deal: Jesus had more grace and compassion on the sinners of the day than the religious folks. The woman caught in adultery, go and sin no more. He didn’t excuse or condone her sin. He judged her with love and compassion.

We also need to get a concept of what love REALLY means. True love is rough at times when it’s needed. Sometimes, loving parents have to kick their kids out of the house for being stupid. And honestly, I have more patience with a outright pagan than I do with someone who CLAIMS to be a Christian, but produces no fruit for it. They don’t know the Bible at all, there is no prayer life… stuff like that.

Sometimes, love means discipline… and yes, I believe in spanking. Spanking done in the right spirit produces fruit. I know, I was spanked as a child (and I continually thank my parents for it to this day.)

Lately, its seems like the church (talking about the body as a whole) is in this huge identity crisis. It seems more like a big social club gathering, and instead of actually addressing issues, we’ve turned a blind eye to it.

A solution to all of this: For one thing, quit giving the Lord lip service. In Jeremiah it says that we honor the Lord with our lips but our hearts are far from Him. We put on a mask and sadly, we can fool a good number of folks. Two: be honest with the Lord and with yourself. Three: it’s time to get the presence of God back into the body. We’ve traded the presence of God for our churchy programs. I’m not against programs necessarily. I teach at our Royal Rangers program once a week at my church. But more than anything, my desire is for the body of Christ to experience the manifest presence of God. Trust me when I say that 30 seconds in the presence of God can and will do the work of hours and hours of sermons/messages. And those messages aren’t a bad thing necessarily. We need good solid Biblical teaching. But just seconds in Daddy’s presence will do the work of tons of sermons.

All of this isn’t really anything new. Most of it was due to recent conversations I’ve had with folks who were very well meaning, and I just wanted to set the record straight on a couple things.

I’m not afraid to necessarily pull ideas from various sources, but just to let everyone know in reading this that the Bible is my foremost authority. I get a lot of concepts and ideas from various sources and everything is taken by to scripture and scrutinized according to Biblical principles. So I welcome your comments but be mindful that I do use discretion and if I feel the comment needs to be pulled, this is my site and I hold that right. But everything will be done in a Biblical order.

I forgot to mention some websites to check out:
www.fire-school.org
www.fire-church.org
http://www.fireonyourhead.org
http://www.fireonyourhead.com/

It's Been Awhile...

2009-07-30T01:00:00.003-04:00

I know, it's been a long time since I've posted anything here. I just haven't been in the mood I guess to post... to take the time and do it just doesn't always happen. And it's not like I don't have anything to say. I have tons to say, but just sometimes putting it into words and then you get to deal w/ the fact that it's sometimes just too painful to think about the stuff... I mean, I could just always post just nice stuff... tickle peoples ears and do all that... but that just wouldn't be me.

Lately, a friend of mine and I have been discussing the possibility of starting up a Bible study w/ a few folks. There is a desperate need for it and people have questions. Primarily, I see a lot of youth that need to be challenged and trained up... I'm not sure what's going on w/ local ministries, but it just doesn't seem to be happening (I told you, its not always the pleasant stuff that I get to write about. If your looking for that, you picked the wrong blog to read...) So, as we continue to pray about it and see if its the timing to do something. My heart soo yearns to see people equipped. I get asked questions a lot and I seem to have fairly decent answers, I guess. Hey, i'm just reading the Bible and seeking God's heart. And He just keeps using me... its not that hard.

Just this past Saturday, our church and other local churches came together to do an outreach to the homosexual community down in Charlotte. We called it God Has A Better Way. Our goal was to reach out and resist. To show the homosexual community that we love them as God does, but we don't love the sin that they're living in (the lifestyle). But we understand that they're struggling and we want to be able to help.

One of my big interests is politics. I realized that my life is involved with probably two of the most controversial topics: religion and politics. Not religion OR politics, but religion AND politics. The last couple weeks at church we were having night classes. We called it the School of Cultural Engagement. We had speakers like Dr. John Rankin, Joe Dallas, Dr. Brown, Frank Turek, Joseph Infranco and Pat Mahoney. Each speaker took a different week and spoke on the topics that they were best at. I plan on buying all six weeks because they were just soo meaty and power-packed, so life enriching. I tried to get notes with each week, but I'm not soo good at taking notes. It's not my strong point.

God is doing something in this 'hour' that is just awesome. He is turning the hearts of His children to Him. There is a holy roar that is breaking out and people are getting hungry for the things of the Lord. They realize that government isn't going to solve the problems and that even the church isn't really providing many answers. But God is and Jesus loves them. So luckily, they're turning to Him.

Story Time!

2009-07-30T00:59:00.000-04:00

Well, since everyone loves a good story, I wanted to share with all of you the time my roommates (Joshua and Jordan Pearson) bungee corded my door shut. I have to tell you that my initial reaction was frustration at first, but after about 5 seconds, I laughed really hard.

The layout of the how my bedroom door is helps out. If you walk direction forward after walking out of my door, you walk directly into the bathroom. And on the right side is the door to the other bedroom here. So all three doors are right close by, giving perfect opportunity for any good jokes. And I gotta hand it to the guys for coming up w/ the idea. They were thinking about seran wrapping my car, which i'm really glad they didn't because that would take a lot of seran wrap and it would take a while to clean up.

So anyways, they normally were getting up like stupid early. I mean, they were getting up before the sun gets up. And more of a night owl... relatively speaking. But the one morning, as they were getting up, i guess they were bored. So Jordan took some bungee cords and connected one to my door with the doorknob and one to the bathroom doorknob. And then he also connected one to the then spare bedroom doorknob. (I'll look into taking a picture of how its set up.) But anyways, so the boys go off to school and i'm yet to get up. At one point in time during the set up, one of the bungee cords had slipped off and made a loud snapping noise. I heard it but thought Jordan was doing something out in the garage, so i just rolled over and fell back to sleep. So I get up (and running slightly late) but I go to open my bedroom door. I open the door and let go of the door knob and the door slams shut. I was like "what the..?" Mind you, I'm still just waking up, so i'm not completely with it yet. But I open the door again and look out and see the bungee cords and I just start laughing. I really wish we could've recorded my reaction, because I would've loved for the guys to see it. I gotta hand it to them.... they did a good job

Guatemala, 2009

2009-06-19T17:59:00.000-04:00

In all my excitement of writing the last note, I forgot to say what we actually did. Our actual idea for the trip was to do a "Champions for Christ" sports camp for the kids. I got to teach a bunch of 6-9 year old kids how to play baseball and soccer.

They weren't too thrilled with baseball, but they loved soccer. I'm not sure if we actually taught them anything in that arena actually. Most of these kids grow up with a soccer ball (or futbol) around. So Monday thru Thursday we did the sports camp. We started off around 9am and went until about 1pm. It may not sound like much, but remember, this is under the Guatemalan sun. But the temperatures were about like Charlotte actually. I was just amazed at my energy levels. I was only getting about 5-6 hrs asleep a night for some reason. Usually, after 2 nights of that, I would've been really tired and cranky and no fun to be around. But there was a real grace for it. And thankfully, all the fields were provided due to an anonymous donor. One of our translators and friends, Rolando, had the hook up for that. So, whomever it was, thanks a ton. Through sports, we were able to teach the kids some valuable lessons in life.

I had to keep reminding myself that they children I was dealing with were 6-9 and not youth. So I had to be really careful when addressing wrong attitudes. I didn't want to just snap at them, but I wanted to find out what was going on with them and give them something to look forward towards. All in all, i think the camp went off pretty well.

After the camp ended on Thursday, we headed up the coast to a coffee plantation somewhere in the Guatemalan hills. The place was phenomenal! It had a great view of a nearby river and cities. We ended up taking a small bus load up. Now mind you, the road to get up to this plantation was not flat by any stretch of the imagination. The bus driver literally had to get a running start up the hill or the bus may not have made it. It wasn't nicely paved roads the whole way up. This is Guatemala after all. No, the incline up the hill was pretty steep. It was probably at least a 45% incline. So we went up to the plantation and spent the night there. We also had a small worship time and water baptismals. A number of folks on our team got baptized in water and then a number of the children did as well.

After leaving the plantation, we went back to the children's home, changed clothes and repacked for a quick overnight trip to Antiqua. That was our sightseeing time. What's a missions trip without a sightseeing time? We hit various markets there and toured the Casa de Santo Domingo.

This is a brief synopsis of my trip to Guatemala. Further details available upon request.

Guatemala 2009, Pt. 1

2009-06-19T17:57:00.000-04:00

I want to start this note off by thanking everyone for their support for me on this missions trip. There was a lot of planning and running around that I did for this trip. It's amazing how much type of administration/ behind the scenes type of stuff goes into planning a trip. Luckily, I'm largely wired for that so to have George, who was the leader of the trip, ask me to do a lot of that was fun for me.

We started getting together and uniting as a team the end of March of this year. We started with Friday nights and then did Friday nights and Saturday afternoon. We would have a Friday night meeting for prayer/worship and take care of admin stuff w/ the group and then do sports training Saturday afternoon. we had to go over the guidelines for baseball and soccer. My family did a lot of baseball/softball and I played soccer. I knew the rules for baseball but not much practical application of it myself. I was afraid to play catch b/c i couldn't catch a baseball very easily. But soccer was always my thing.

So in any case, we would be getting together as a team and start from square one. We even did a Biblical Foundations series which was really fun. Going over just the basics and then building on that. Starting off w/ salvation and then getting into healing and baptism of the Spirit.

It's amazing how unified the team still is! Despite the fact that half of us are from different churches in the area here, the common factor is Jesus! (What a great foundation to build on!) I would often tell the team that even after the trip, I won't be able to forget about them. Which is true to date because thanks to modern technology, we still keep in contact!

So after all the training (sports, Biblical), we set off. We flew out Sat. June 6, '09 @ 6:30 am from Charlotte. All the while, i was even getting to meet the folks who lived down in Guatemala via none other than Facebook. So when I got there, I felt like i knew a lot about them already!

I knew going into this trip that I wasn't going to be doing much preaching at all, but more of just letting Father God love on me and giving me His heart for the children I would be ministering to and just loving on them as Jesus would. I did get to give a brief message the one night to a small village, but it was a quick 10 minutes. And most of them were there to receive food that we were giving out. None the less, myself and George preached for a bit and the team did some hands on ministry. Including praying for an elderly woman and seeing her getting up and walking w/o a walker! Jesus is sooo awesome! (Take that satan... in ur eye!)

I can remember the very first night of arriving at the childrens home where we were staying, we get out of the van and in under 5 seconds, we were surrounded by little kids! I loved it! Hugs all around. These kids didn't care how much we knew, they were just there to receive love from Jesus who loved them! And I was there to freely give it away! The uncle/big brother/future father in me came out! I once heard it said that people don't care how much you know until the know how much you care! I can't tell you how refreshing it was to just hold the kids and just love on them! While we were traveling around w/ the kids, they would just come and sit on your lap and sometimes just fall asleep. It totally broke my heart to think of all the broken homes and lives that these children come from. Some of them were orphans and some of them were probably more like foster kids that had to be taken from their homes b/c of bad child hoods. Just simply saying hello to them really ministered to them. My hat goes off to the volunteers who are there much more full time than we were. I was blessed to be able to help a few of them out w/ some technical difficulties they were having w/ their computers. I figured I have the skill, use it. After all they do, its the least I could do.

And the friendships that I made while being there are priceless! All our translators and everyone who helped out... impossible to forget all of them! We started off w/ a core team and that team just kept growing! By the end of the week, our team doubled in size! Let's see, there was Quikay and Carol (the leaders of Fundaninos (sorry about the bad spelling here folks), Janet, Sonja, Sonia, Carla, Carolina, Sigrid, Ana, Diego, Marco, Rolando, Vivian and Holly. (If I forgot anyone, someone will correct me.) And those are just the folks who were there that were on the team. Some of our team weren't able to go due to financial reasons... Mallory and Michael.

We have just a few pictures of the trip. Only a little more than 3,000 I think. And check out Voyager Expeditions website @ www.voyagerexpeditions.org, we're working on getting things all together. We got a lot of video as well, which we'll be putting that on the website someday.

And thanks to all those who supported me financially and w/ prayer here in the States! As always, its my joy and privilege to represent you and Jesus out there. May you be blessed abundantly.

Cross Dressers Anonymous

2009-05-14T14:31:00.003-04:00

First off, your probably thinking that with the title of this note, i'm going to be addressing issues like the homosexual agenda. And actually, that isn't the case. What I want to talk about in this note is being clothed in righteousness according to the Cross of Jesus and living a life in the Holy Spirit. After going through FIRE, I've come to realize that the more you learn about God, the more you realize how little you actually know about Him.

Lately, I've been mulling over the idea about what is holiness to the Lord, walking uprightly before God and walking in character and integrity. I'm really hoping that some of the following thoughts won't come back to haunt me, but with the way that my life goes sometimes, I won't be surprised.

I've been doing a cover to cover reading of the Bible for sometime now. One verse that keeps coming back to mind is "All our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment" (Isaiah 64:6 NASB). One thing that I'm EXTREMELY grateful for is that there is nothing in, on or around this world that I can do to become righteous, other than accepting Jesus and thereby acknowledging that my life before hand and everything I do outside of Jesus is garbage. It's worthless, trash, rubbish, feces... you get the idea.

I can remember talking with folks when doing street evangelism and I ask them things like "so, do you know Jesus?" Their response: "yeah, I go to church." wow, where did that come from? I couldn't care less whether you go to church. I ask "Have you asked Jesus into your heart?" Their response: "I prayed some prayer when I was younger..." (At this point in time, they start getting fidgety... I usually know where the conversation is going at this point in time.) It's usually at this point in time that I have to start tearing through a lot of religious junk and Christianese. Which is ok, I know the talk well. I know how to dismantle arguments and find out that when someone who is now 20 prayed a prayer at 5 but they're living like a little heathen.

I've personally done a decent amount of counseling and have discovered that so-called "Christians" have no idea what the Bible says and means. Everyone and their cousin knows John 3:16. But so often we have a wrong perception of God's love, mercy, truth, justice.... etc. We think that because God loves us, we can do whatever we want and its all just going to be ok. Luckily, that's not the case. If it were, God wouldn't be true to His word.

In reading through the New Testament, I've noted that Paul thanked God very much for the blood of Jesus that was shed and then said "Hey, check this out: there is a life in the Holy Spirit that God has for each and everyone of us to have! God gives us grace to get rid of our junk and then rely on the Holy Spirit to give us power to live without sin. And He gives us these gifts not only for me, but for you as well and to bring others into a saving knowledge of who Jesus is and what He did. But its because God loves you and He wants the best for you while your here. But you gotta stop doing the stupid stuff (sin) that your doing."

I know for myself, I like hard messages/sermons. I like messages that get under your skin in a good way. When they get you thinking. I'm a firm believer that having a 'good' church is the best counterfeit to having something much better. Because when you have a 'good' church (you know, like all sorts of ministries, but having no substance to it) you totally fake yourself and others out. Spending 1 minute in the presence of God can do what 500 sermons can't do. I've grown up in the charismaniac churches/circles all my life. Got 'saved' at like 4 or something, baptized in water @ 9 i think (I just got re-baptized over a year ago because I wanted to) and then baptized in the Spirit @ about 12 i think. And there are times when you can fake yourself out and think you know it all.

I'm soo grateful that there isn't anything I can do other than accepting Jesus and being a disciple of His that gets me into Heaven. It's not works, but it's grace through faith. As a matter of fact, after graduating FIRE, I took a good little while and pulled back from having to be at meetings (i mean, i kept serving in with FIRE) but I stopped a lot of stuff. I felt I had left my first love. It's only when your clothed in the righteousness of what Jesus paid a price for that makes you any good.

Lately, we've been having these awesome prayer meetings (we might call them slosh meetings b/c we just get 'hammered' or drunk in the Holy Spirit at times). I don't know how to explain them in such a way that might be understood without being there. But these meetings are designed to change our likeness more into Jesus. It's not just to say "hey, we're having really good prayer meetings. you should be there to make us look really good." It's more like "Come and let God touch you so that you can touch a dying hurting world."

Sometime ago, I was speaking at a youth retreat and the Lord directed me to speak directly out of John 15. That's the Abiding in the Vine chapter. And I've been repeatedly going back to that for sometime now. That and Romans 8. (When you've really been touched by the power of God, I believe that one of the fruits of it will be an increased hunger for the Word of God.) It was in preparation for this retreat that I wanted to preach a good call to start a revolution. And while that was good and all, about 2 hours before I spoke, the Lord said "well, that's a good idea, but how about what I want?" That's when He gave me John 15.

In any case, let us continually look to Jesus for our everything. He gave us His Holy Spirit for a reason and purpose. Let's take heed and be clothed in righteousness according to God's standard.

God, gives us grace to walk as You deem worthy.

Some Reflections on Current Happenings

2009-05-08T11:25:00.002-04:00

In writing this, I want to be careful about what I say and how I say it. I'm grateful that I live in a country where we are to have freedom of speech and soo many other wonderful freedoms. Those are in the documents written by the Founding Fathers and they're essentially at the core of what makes America a great nation. But lately, it seems that some of these freedoms are coming under fire. According to some recent articles coming down the pike from our government. It seems that some of my activities and beliefs might be labeled as a 'right wing extremist' or a 'domestic terrorist". Life could get interesting, considering I'm not a supporter of tyranny, I've never once attended any sort of anti-government rallies (I actually have a lot of interest in government, you can ask a lot of my friends about that.)

But I also realize how important it is to pray for our nations leaders. I'm not a supporter of our current nations leaders (I don't support genocide or the homosexual or 'alternative' lifestyle to name a few), but I don't vehemently hate these folks either. I don't support living a lifestyle contrary to the Bible. But I'm not going to force someone into living how I live.

I say all this because I get emails all the time about how ungodly beliefs are continually being forced upon me. I continually get emails about how when I go to the store, money that I'm paying for goods and services is automatically being given to people who do things that I don't agree with. Meaning that un-Godly lifestyles are being ENCOURAGED financially by businesses and governments that I have to use. President Obama has recently lifted a ban on federal funding for overseas abortion. Great, now the money that I would be making is going towards supporting something that I whole heartedly disagree with.

Sometimes, I get into discussions with folks about the issues. And sometimes, it doesn't go too far. Often times, people don't want to talk about it because the picture is just too painful. Could previous generations could've done more to prevent it? Perhaps... In any case, it seems that it is now up to my generation to fix the mistakes.

In any case, I guess you could say that I'm just a little peeved right now at things that are happening. Big Brother is supposed to be representing me, but more and more it seems that he just doesn't care. He's got the power to change things and they're changing things alright... just not how I want them to be changed.

All For The Sake Of A Crown....

2009-04-27T12:08:00.005-04:00

Ok, so Ms. California 2009 was asked a question about same-sex 'marriage' and according to some she answered it right and to some she answered it wrong. She could've just answered it to suit ears and she might have the crown today. But that would've been violating her principles and her beliefs. Some think she should leave her beliefs out of it and answer it to just suit them. But then should wouldn't be true to herself and her moral beliefs.

Another point that I want to raise on here is the name's she was called by the judge later on. I don't think that was very nice of him and it probably hurt her feelings. I think he should genuinely apologize, even if Mr. Hilton didn't agree with the answer. Is that the kind of reputation you want to give of yourself? It doesn't exactly shine well onto the homosexual movement....

For the record, according to me, she went for the right crown and that makes her more beautiful than anything. It may not be a crown here, but its a crown that will last for all eternity.

Christians and Politics... Do They Mix?

2009-04-25T20:43:00.003-04:00

On the right hand side, you'll see a link for a podcast that I recently did with a missionary friend of mine from Peru, Steve Bremner. We discussed the issue of how Christians should handle the political scene. Should we vote? How does God fit into the scene if you are a Christian and you hold office. Enjoy the podcast and I welcome your feedback.

Hope Deferred

2009-03-17T14:27:00.003-04:00

The other night, I was talking w/ my roommates here about how much my trust in leadership has really been kicked around. I'm not talking about just everyday stuff, but I'm talking about big monumental things. I hope and pray i'm the only one who feels like this right now, but a large part of me is just fed up with the lack of a lot of integrity in leadership. Whether its in the church, of which I'm apart of, or in our government, which I follow kinda closely because of my interest in government.

There have been a lot of scandals in the church world nowadays. In the past 40 years especially, a lot of leaders have 'fallen'. They've fallen due to sexual issues, financial issues and other issues. Granted, I know religious leaders are people just like anyone else and they have their short comings. And I have mine so I have no stones to through at that. But one characteristic of it is are we going to learn from those mistakes, or do we sweep them under the rug and act like these problems don't exist. I say all this because frankly, it doesn't help for us to ignore the issues. That only helps in trying to 'win souls'.

One question I ask to people is "How good is your word?" Can your word be trusted, or do you just speak things flippantly and then conveniently forget about them?

In the governmental realm... would someone PLEASE get a clue? We've made some folks into superstars. I don't know if we realize this, but they're in that position to SERVE us. Congress people are there to SERVE us, not have their lives handed to them on silver platters and pay $90 for a meal (that's just an exaggeration). That is an abuse of my tax dollars! I wish we would be able to have easier access to them...

(If you'll note, I didn't give names. It isn't my desire to single folks out, but I wanted to address a principle instead of a person.)

The Myth of Palestine

2009-03-14T11:31:00.001-04:00

I want to start this note off to say that God loves the Arab people just like everyone. Jesus died for their souls as well. I have friends in Arab nations and I know that God wants them more than they could ever want Him. With that in mind, I read a brief article lately entitled "The Myth of Palestine". So I'm going to put it on here for all ya'll to read. Enjoy.

The Myth of Palestine
What happened to the “Palestinian” Empire? Should the “Refugees” have a ‘right of return’? Are the Jews occupying Palestinian Land? Let’s look a little closer at the facts!
In light of the “apartheid” accusation toward Israel over the so-called plight of the Palestinians’ loss of their country to Israeli aggression and ‘occupation’, here are several basic questions that one should be able to answer if, in fact, “Palestine” ever did exist.
1. When was it founded and by whom?
2. What were its borders?
3. What was its capital?
4. What constituted the basis of its economy?
5. What was its form of government?
6. What was the language of the country of Palestine?
7. What was the name of its currency?
8. Choose any date in history – what was the approximate exchange rate of the Palestinian monetary unit against the U.S dollar, German mark, British pound, Japanese yen, or Chinese yuan on that date?
9. Since there is no such country today, what caused its demise, and when did it occur?
10. When exactly was it a proud nation and what was it soo proud of?
11. Here is the most important question of all: if the people (erroneously called Palestinians) are anything but generic Arabs collected from all over – or rather thrown out of – the Arab world, and truly possess a unique ethnic identity that gives them a right for self-determination, why did they never try to become an independent and cohesive group (the PLO terrorist organization) until the Arabs suffered their devastating defeat in the Six Day War – a war they initiated?

There truth is…
- There was never an Arab country of Palestine, and Palestinian-Arabs were never a nation.
- Jerusalem was never the capital of any Arab state or province. (it is not even in the Qur’an).
- In all of recorded history, only one People have ever made a country (others named) “Palestine” a sovereign nation-state with Jerusalem as its capital… The Jews.

(Adapted from “A Japanese Perspective on the Palestinians” www.bridgesforpeace.com. Reprinted from JVT March/April 2006.) May/June 2007 Jewish Voice Today, Pg. 21

Biltmore Estate

2009-03-09T12:30:00.001-04:00

Well, this past Saturday, I was priviledged to go and tour the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC. My parents came into town for a super quick tour (they were heading home to PA from Florida with the Stoner's) and so they decided to stop in and see me and then go to Biltmore).

Biltmore Estate is absolutely huge. I mean, its only 175,000 sq. ft. of a house. It sits on a meager 8,000 acres of property (www.biltmore.com). It is a tourist trap and therefore, everything is really expensive (go figure, huh?). We did the tour in about 2 hours. They have headphones that you listen to as you go from room to room. I had a good time, considering that my parents paid my way. I would go up again though. And do the audio tour b/c you'd probably miss out a lot without them. I mean, your already paying at least $35 to do the tour, you might as well pay the extra money to understand it all.

After doing the tour, we went to the winery and did the wine tasting. I had never done one before, but it was fun. I wouldn't be able to tell you any of the names of wine that I tried, but I did learn that I'm not really missing much by not normally drinking the stuff. I'm not opposed to further drinking of wine, but I don't make it a regular thing in my life. I'll stick w/ Cheerwine and Mountain Dew.

If your into history and like to tour homes and like a lot of walking, I'd recommend you doing the tour. If you don't like any of those things, don't do it. Plain and simple.

The Finger of God

2009-02-17T12:42:00.000-05:00

Last night I saw part of a dvd called "The Finger of God." If you've ever seen the Transformation videos, by the Sentinel Group and George Otis Jr. and you really enjoyed them, the Finger of God is a dvd you should probably look into.

The particular video wasn't necessarily professionally done, but they were very encouraging. They were about areas in the world where people are experiencing supernatural miracles of God. Blind eyes seeing, deaf ears hearing, the dead being raised up again! It was really neat to see. They had stories of the church in China, Mozambique, Bulgaria and a few other places in Europe. Such as someone going into a village, asking to pray for someone who is blind or deaf and this person praying for this person and they get healed! And then the whole village turns to Jesus!

Wait, you mean they got healed and then got saved?!?! Yep! One of the best parts about it was the fact that little children were praying for these people and they're getting healed! There were parts that could've totally offended my precious little pathetic theology (after all, theology is just us trying to explain God. It's good to have proper theology, but at times, God does stuff to just mess with us.).

In any case, the video's were encouraging to see how the Kingdom of God is growing. The Lord is doing some awesome 'stuff' today and its fun to hear the stories and be a part of it.

Forgive All

2009-02-17T12:41:00.000-05:00

The title here kinda says it all.... Have you ever been hurt/offended at something that happened to you in life? Someone say something to you that just rubbed you the wrong way? Or someone told you something and maybe they didn't hold true to their promise? Maybe your a teenager or child and your parents or someone you trusted did something just really wrong to you. Maybe there's a divorce that you were victim to? How do you handle it?

One thing you could do is hold onto that hurt and let it rot in your heart, never forgiving them who have hurt you.

Or you could say "God, I know what this person did to me way wrong. Whether or not they know it (and perhaps you need to just say something to this person/group of people and let them know). But regardless God, I release the hurt and pain that's been caused by this. I choose to not let this build into hatred. I love them and pray the biggest blessing onto them."

Believe it or not, but I'm one who has encountered a lot of hurt in my life. I had things said about me behind my back and all sorts of false accusations leveled at me and misunderstandings. But through all of it, the Lord has always given me the grace to get through and just be like "God, i love and release them."

That doesn't come right away. But over time and through prayer, forgiveness was granted. You're probably thinking "Well Shawn, that's easy for you to say. But have you ever gone through a divorce or been physically/sexually/mentally abused? What about those?"

Your right, there's a lot in life I haven't experienced. And I don't know the pains that that causes people. There are people who have gone through horrendous ordeals in life, and I wouldn't even want to try and imagine the pains they've suffered. But I know of Someone who has. Someone who came to set people free from their bondages that separate them from God. (Yes, His name is Jesus...)

You may have gone through divorces, or been raped or some sort of other abuse. Your not alone. But I do want to tell you that through the grace of God, you can forgive those who have hurt you.

I'll tell you where this is coming from. I don't know about you, but I have days where I just don't want to be around folks. Sometimes, different times for different reasons. But sometimes, offenses just like to get in their. And sometimes, the very people who your trying to get don't understand that and they don't take your help or they misread you and your like "believe it or not, but I'm trying to help." And in that, grudges and bitterness start forming. Then you have to pull back on the reigns and just be like "ok, no matter what they might have thought, I still love them and want the best for them."

It's usually not that easy to forgive all. I know whole books have been written about this very idea. One time, i heard this story from a friend of mine who he was loosing his wife to breast cancer. And he was starting to get mad at God. After all, he was a good and faithful missionary in Asia. And here he's having to deal with this disease! I mean, its like "Hey God, i'm trying to work for you here, could you help me out?!!?" And the one question he got from God was "If you loose her, will you be offended at me?" (Lesson learned in life: When God asks you a question like this, the wrong thing to do is to try and answer it, because its a set up!). In the end, my friend lost his wife to cancer, got remarried and is to this day still serving the Lord.

I just lost my grandpa just a couple months ago. He was faithfully serving God and he just died. He was in his late 70's and he went to his church to help with the viewing of a 17 yr old who had just committed suicide. He went up to his pastor and asked if there was anything he could do to help out. Before his pastor answered him, he fell forward and died. Granted, my grandpa is in Heaven with Jesus, so he had a good turn out. But its in situations like that that you have to wonder at times.

In any case, there were lately some situations in my life that happened and I was hurting. In the end, the Lord was telling me to forgive. It's not easy and not fair. There were probably misunderstandings and preconceived ideas that weren't true. But still, He said forgive. Thank God for His grace. Because I know I can turn to Jesus who dealt with a lot of the same things and probably soo much more, and He still forgave. Even after being nailed to the Cross, He still said "Forgive them Father, because they don't know what they're doing."

Of course, I'm sure that for all 4 of you who are reading this have absolutely NO unresolved issues. If that's not the case, may the Lord extend grace to forgive. It's nothing you can do on your own, you need to fall on His grace and love.

Instant Messaging

2009-02-14T20:29:00.003-05:00

Modern technology really is something neat. It's amazing to think that I can be talking to someone in Asia in a heartbeat and its like they're right down the road from me. Now, in those times, there is jargon that is used and lingo that is tossed around. The following is a link that has a lot of this lingo and the explanation for it.

http://www.instantmessagingplanet.com/public/article.php/3694251

All My Eggs In One Basket

2009-02-05T16:44:00.002-05:00

Everyday, I'm getting emails from groups like the A.F.A and other watchdog groups. Such and such a bill is going through and I need to contact my congressman immediately and voice my opinion.... After a while, I just stop. I thoroughly believe in being active in every sphere of life, but I also believe in praying for those in authority.

I think the next couple of years is a great chance for God to arise and His enemies be scattered. I want to see laws changed to protect the unborn and help the country. But if you get to someone's heart, that's better than legislating. You can only do soo much before you just have soo many rules that someone is bound to snap. What's going on in their heart that makes them want to do what they do?

When investing, its not a good idea to put all your money in one place, but rather, spread it out. It's called diversifying an investment. The Kingdom of God isn't like that. You put your trust in the Lord and stay close to Him and His heart and your 'investment' (life) can't be anywhere safer. You continue to read the Bible and continue to pray (seek God) and your life is taken care of. It may not seem be taken care of like you want it to be, but God's got you.

Let us continue to seek God for change that we can believe in.

Thank You Note

2009-01-29T10:56:00.003-05:00

This video cracked me up. Enjoy it!

Random Facts on Your's Truly

2009-01-26T20:30:00.001-05:00

I originally had this on my Facebook, and I just copied this over to this.

1. I'm guess I'm what you would call 'tech savvy'.
2. I asked Jesus to be my Lord and Savior at a very young age.
3. In the last 6 years, I've lived in 6 different places.
4. I love to travel and minister to folks.
5. I've been to Haiti twice in my life. The first time on a team, the second time because I wanted to go.
6. I got pictures from the top of the London Eye on a clear day (miracles happen).
7. I've read through the Bible at least twice in my life.
8. I don't understand how people can support genocide (abortion) and/or deny the holocaust.
9. I have a niece and nephew who i think the world of. (Love you Jayda and Josiah).
10. I currently drive a '94 Geo Prizm. (The Teal Taxi)
11. I moved down to North Carolina in 2003 to go to FIRE School of Ministry.
12. I've never broken any bones in my body, but I've come pretty dog gone close to it.
13. I dare you to ask me about Jesus and what He's done in my life. :)
14. I was almost killed in a car wreck a couple years ago.
15. I've been to at least 5 different countries in my life: England, Haiti, Canada, Philippines, New York City and Japan. (ok, so NYC isn't another country... just checking to see if your paying attention. Japan was just a layover when going to the Philippines.)
16. I got a tetanus shot in Wal-Mart once. Needles don't really scare me.
17. I've done the drive between Concord,NC and Ephrata,PA more times than I care to remember.
18. I had a stomach tube put in through my nose once at FIRE for class.
19. I like to take walks a lot to listen to music on my ipod.
20. I currently have about 15 gigabytes of music on my ipod.
21. I've never gone water skiing yet... perhaps someday.
22. I have a Mennonite background.
23. I've done customer service type jobs for at least 5 years and really am tired of it.
24. I love moose tracks, chocolate chip cookie dough and strawberry ice cream.
25. I don't really do Starbucks. I can't justify spending that much for coffee.

Reason's to Pray for Obama, Pt. 6

2009-01-16T16:15:00.002-05:00

Some more reason's to pray for the President-elect Obama.

Reason 15: Weakening Gun Rights. Pres. Obama will further undermine the people's Second Amendment right to bear arms and elevate the idea that the state, not the people, has the ultimate power.

If your a gun owner, watch out. Obama wants to take that gun from you and give the power back to the government.

Reason 16: International Taxation. Obama will subject the U.S. citizens to the international taxation such as the United Nations Global Poverty Tax, a new tax to fight global poverty.

I want to see global poverty erradicated as well. But do that without creating more taxes. I want people to WANT to give, not be forced to give. I hate the idea that when I'm working, part of my money is going to support abortion and other things like it.

Reason 17. Economic Statism. Obama will respond to the economic crisis by promoting a statist model for the economy that fundamentally transforms our free-market system into a state-run, European model.

Reason 18. The "Movement" presidency. Obama will continue his 'movement' based political machine that gained him the election and use that movement to change the presidency and push his agenda.

Reason 19. Rise of Liberal Theology. Under the Obama Administration, the theology of the Left will move from the fringe to the mainstream with profound impacts reaching from Capitol Hill to Main Street.

According to Obama, in a statement he uses frequently in his speeches "My individual salvation depends on our collective salvation." Funny, I don't know where that is in the Bible. Could I get some help with that? Since Obama claims to be a Christian, we'll hereby use the Bible as the final authority. No other books! And I've read through the Bible and I don't know where that's at.

Reason 20: Early-Life Experimentation. Under an Obama administration, a brave new world of early-life experimentation will be advanced, resulting in policies that promote human cloning and life-destroying embryonic research.

Obama wants to push for embryonic stem cell research, which by definition necessitates the destruction of human life.

Reason 21: Post-Christian America. Under the cover of promoting 'tolerance', Obama will seek to legitimize moral relativism while disregarding the foundational worldview and principles of the U.S.

How many out there like to be told they can't say certain things. How would you like to be told that you can't tell someone what they did was wrong according to Biblical standards? Because that might hurt someone's feelings and would be labeled hate speech. This is the kind of things we have to look out for.

Let us remember to pray for those who are in authority over us. May God give them wisdom beyond human abilities to lead and guide.

The Love of God

2009-01-09T13:39:00.001-05:00

Editors note: I copied and pasted this from my Facebook account to this. Some folks may not be able to view Facebook if they don't have an account. So, in an attempt to allow others to view this, I brought it here. Aren't I a nice guy?

I want to put this out here for you blogging folks to chew over. There are big disputes, or maybe we'll say 'misunderstandings' of the love of God. Granted, I'm still trying to work this out as well, but I've done a few laps around the sun by now, so I felt my input might be helpful for some.

I've done various street ministry (meaning going to the streets of the city and talking with various folks) and I've done open air preaching at UNCC. It was quite interesting. That certainly has it's place. I was on a team of folks who would go onto the UNCC campus for a time and do open air preaching and just walk around and talk to folks. But sometimes, I question the results of it and its effectiveness. I'm sure there is some fruit to it. Did Jesus do street preaching? From time to time He did. Of course, most of the street ministry He would do is healing the sick and stuff like it. He moreso challenged the religious system of the day. This isn't to say that anyone who does street ministry is wrong or bad. One of my friends from church has a 10' cross and he carries that down the city streets. Talk about a magnet to draw people into conversation.

But I think that one of my favorite techniques of ministering is around a kitchen table or quieter conversations with people, to hear whats going on with them. I would say that much of my theology is a mixture of Arminism and Calvinism. I believe the Lord gives us free will to choose the path we want to go down. He has a path He would like us to go down, but He wants us to choose Him. As far as I see it, extreme Calvinism makes God out to be a sinner and un-Biblical. It makes God to draw us into sin. Which of course He can't do. Theology and doctrine are good, but its really just man trying to figure God out.

I want you to think as judgement/correction/rebuke as this. The Lord disiplines (judges/corrects/rebukes) those He loves. I'm sure there are a few rebuke-happy folks out there. But when its done in the wrong spirit/attitude, its wrong. If and whenever I bring correction to someone, I like to do it one on one. No one else needs to hear it, or at least not at that times hopefully. But then when i get to praise someone for doing something, i love to do that in public. But I've been corrected in the past, and it doesn't feel good at the time. But afterwards, i realize that this person had my best interests at heart and they wanted to see me grow. Whenever my supervisors at work would tell me I'm doing something wrong (and they were right) i would thank them and move on. They were doing that to help me out.

My parents would discipline me growing up. At the time, it didn't feel good. but in the end, they were doing it because they loved me. I know some of you don't believe in discipline because it was done in the wrong spirit. And now whenever you hear the term discipline or Father, you recoil. You had a bad experience. Satan brings condemnation (meaning there is no hope for you). God brings conviction (you were wrong, but there is hope for you yet.)

A lot of time in ministering, I'm dealing w/ folks (young and old) who have a bad perception of God. They think He's a evil task master and just wants to discipline and hurt people. There was abuse growing up and your dealing with that and that's the filter you run it through when you hear Father. Do you realize that that's giving a bad perception of God the Father? God the Father wants the best for you. He has an awesome plan for you and He wants to love on you.... You just have to open up your heart to Him. He doesn't want to exploit you in any way, shape or form. He wants to heal those hurts and give you a correct perception of Him.

Do you realize that you can actually enjoy God? You can enjoy prayer and reading the Bible? God wants for you to enjoy those things! He wants you to enjoy life! God is a Father who wants to love you; He's Jesus who wants a personal relationship with you; and He's the Holy Spirit who wants to empower you to live life to the fullest.

I was just talking about this last night with some of my friends. When a guy and girl first start dating (and hopefully it doesn't stop), he doesn't consider the time he spends with her as something he HAS to do, he probably looks at it as something he WANTS to do. He'll ride his bike miles on end in crazy traffic, with 95 degree temps and humidity like crazy just to spend time with her (ok, so this is all either theory, or at least stories i've heard). But its not like he's dreading the time. He's looking at the end destination.

So I've spouted off for long enough, thanks for taking the time to read this.

Reasons to Pray for Obama, Pt. 5

2009-01-09T13:11:00.004-05:00

Reason 12: New Era of Socialism. Pres. Obama will usher the U.S. into a new era of European-style socialism and big govern't collectivism under the guise of globalism and fairness.

He wants to expand government to the point of controlling the public in a bad way. It sounds well and good, but when someone lazy is getting money from me when I'm working hard, that doesn't sit well with me. I will help someone get the tools necessary to get them back on their feet. But not to reward their laziness.

Reason 13: Government-Run Health Care. Pres. Obama will weaken the world's greatest health care system by pushing a socialized, govern't-run system that increases our tax burden and limits health care choice.

Again, he wants the government to control the decision making, instead of allowing doctors to make the decisions, someone in the government will make the call.

Reason 14: Radical Abortion Agenda. He'll promote the most radical abortion agenda in the history of the American Presidency and he will start by signing the Freedom of Choice act.

He will promote 'abortion on demand' so that a woman doesn't have to deal w/ the 'mistake' (another word for 'pregnancy' according to Obama). Mind you, to show the video of a partial birth abortion would be banned on national broadcast television. It's a procedure where the doctor 'delivers' the baby feet first up to the neck and then inserts a syringe and extracts the brain, causing the skull to collapse and allow the now-dead baby to be aborted. Remember, in an interview when he was asked at what time does the baby deserve rights, his answer was "that's above my pay grade to answer that." Scary? Yeah, I know.

Reasons To Pray for Obama, Pt. 4

2009-01-05T21:13:00.004-05:00

Reason 7: Open Border Anarchy. Despite lack of progress on the double-layer fence, Obama will minimize government efforts to secure our borders while exposing our nation to more illegal, criminal and terrorist crossings at our borders.

Reason 8: Amnesty for Illegal Aliens. There are good chances that Obama will sign into law a plan to give amnesty and taxpayer supported benefits to millions of illegal aliens, launching the largest increase in illegal immigration in our nation's history.

Reason 9: Diminished U.S. Military. President Obama will oversee a reduction in the U.S. military while pursuing a radical agenda of nuclear disarmament as part of an overall strategy that leaves our country more vulnerable to terrorist attacks. He wants to retract everything and disarm our defenses.

Reason 10: Carbon Tax to Save the Planet. Under President Obama, the unproven theory of global warming will be codified into law, costing tax payers billions of dollars and placing an enormous burden on the U.S. Economy.

Reason 11: "Green" Energy Crisis. Pres. Obama will worsen American's energy crisis by rejecting calls for increased domestic oil and nuclear production while promoting an ideological energy crisis that forces costly 'green solutions on society.

Reason's to Pray for Obama, Pt. 3

2009-01-02T12:51:00.002-05:00

I hate war, I really do. I hate the idea of innocent folks dying. But when a nation's leader or a coalitions leader doesn't step up to the plate and do something about inhumane treatment of a society, evil has won. Another reason to pray for Obama is:

Reason 5: Pullback on the War On Terror. President Barack Obama will begin a pullback of U.S. efforts in the war on terror, starting with a quick pullout of Iraq, which will probably only embolden our enemies.

Since 9/11/01, has there been any other terrorist attacks on our soil to the likeness of 9/11? Not that I can recall. We have to get over the desire to have a microwave war and have everything changed overnight. It's just not going to happen. I have no doubt that the Iraqi nation was fed false information about our troops, and therefore, they're going to fight us. But according to many troops, the media isn't letting us know about the schools that have started up and the good things that have happened since our troops went in. And of course, I only know what I'm told by others. So that's why I try and get first hand accounts from our soldiers who have fought.

Reason 6: Liberal Court Activism. Pres. Obama will usher in a new era of leftist judicial activism by nominating only judges who disregard the Constitution in favor of legislating from the bench.

It might pan out that Obama is able to nominate 2/3 of new judges to the bench. Obama believes that the Constitution should be interpreted and should be read in the context of an ever-changing world. In other words: there are no absolutes. We will interpret the Constitution to fit modern day versus interpreting for what it says and means.

Reason's to Pray for Obama, Pt. 2

2008-12-20T16:51:00.003-05:00

In another installment of my "Reason's to Pray for Obama" series, I wanted to hit another couple of topics here. I'm going to skip over a couple of reasons due to my lack of knowledge about them, but I'll at least mention them.

Reason 2 to pray for Obama: Tax Increases for All. Despite campaign rhetoric, President Obama will increase direct and indirect taxation on virtually all American's in pursuit of his stated goals of societal transformation and wealth redistribution. (Taken from the before mentioned pamphlet "Living in an Obama Nation: 21 Way the Obama Presidency Will Impact You and Your Family."

Reason 3: The End of Marriage. President Barack Obama will watch over the end of traditional marriage by pushing a pro-homosexual agenda that includes repealing the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in his first year in office.

In essence, to him, he will start to at least do nothing to stop the homosexual agenda from going forward. Meaning, he won't stand for traditional marriage. But he will at least step aside and let those would decide to ruin the sanctity of marriage being between a married man and woman (being married to each other) and make it accessible to a man and man or woman to woman. But what if it doesn't stop there? Why not do an aunt to a nephew or some other combination? He stated in a letter to the LBGT community that he will as president support the gay community and see to it that their rights are up held.

Along this same line, he wants to make it possible for hate crimes to cover sexual orientation. Ladies, lets just say that your in a public restroom, taking care of business. And in walks a guy! Do you realize that if you were to try and gently say to the misguided man "Um, sir, your in the wrong restroom. The mens is just down the hall (or next door, or whatever the case may be). Do you realize that that could potentially be labeled as hate speech!? I mean, perhaps the guy just feels more feminine that particular day! That's where this is going. Trying to do away with the letter of the law and more along the lines of feelings.

Reason 4: Silencing Conservatives. He wants to utilize the Fairness Doctrine, and the power of the Executive Branch, to silence conservative opposition and deliver a damaging blow to free speech for all Americans.

The Fairness Doctrine is a policy that requires broadcast media to promote "fairness" and "balance". I haven't been on CNN or some of the other major networks in months. I stick w/ FoxNews or WorldNetDaily for my news. The way that some of the major networks spew their stories about blaming Israel for everything is just ridiculous.

Obama says that he is a Christian. Probably like a lot of folks say they're Christians and they know all the right talk. But what are they REALLY like? What am I really like?

Lord Jesus, I come before your throne of grace today, and I life up President-elect Obama to You. Lord, many of his policies I don't agree with. But I still petition you and ask for You to bless him with Godly wisdom in this hour. God, I thank you that while we were still yet sinners, Christ died for us. So Father God, I pray that you would visit him God and give him an encounter with Your Holy Presence and change his life forever more. May he come out of this as a man after Your Own Heart. Amen.

Reasons to Pray for Obama, Pt. 1

2008-12-16T16:26:00.004-05:00

I recently acquired a booklet entitled "Living in an Obama Nation: 21 Ways the Obama Presidency Will Impact You and Your Family". I just started to read this little pamphlet and its very informative. Let me also say again that I DID NOT and COULD NOT in good conscience vote for Obama. But, should everything continue as it may (if his birth was proven to be in the States, which to date is still up in the air and the longer he keeps it confidential and acts like its not an issue just reaffirms my nervousness about him.)

None the less, since i can do little more than continue to pray for him, that is what i shall do, as well as voice concern and raise the issues. This first issue in this book is "Post-American Presidency." In short, according to the booklet, ..."in Obama's post-American world, the U.S. must accept responsibility for the hatred and even terrorism directed at our land. Our wealth makes us responsible for the terrorists' bombs, not the vile ideology of the terrorists." So because someone in Africa is buying our stuff, we're responsible for someone trying to steal it? What? So because your rich, your responsible for someone trying to rob you... interesting.

I'm all for standing up to some bully trying to push people around. And unfortunately, America is seen as much a lot. I guess because we stand up for the little guy at times, we're seen as a bully.

After 9/11, all these countries came to rally around us. But then how quickly we went to do something about it and suddenly, everyone is dropping out. I wish the UN would've done something. They have policies for it. I'm not sure what happened there...

One thing I did like about this is that Obama wants to do something about global poverty. Hey, I got an idea, I know of a lot of missionaries around the world who are fighting this very thing. How about we give them the money and let them do the work or at least let them lead. I know, then everyone cries the false thinking of "separation of church and state..."

So, one down, 20 more to go. There is a lot more to all of this, but in an attempt to not make this into a 20 pg novel, i'm stopping here.

New Happenings

2008-12-06T15:18:00.003-05:00

It's been almost a month since i've last written, i just realized the timing of that now. I've started a new job. I work for an office and do the accounts payable stuff. we get invoices in and put them into a computer.

In other news, my roommate are currently in Israel. I'm extremely happy for them and yet very jealous. It's been a while since I've been out of the country. I miss the travel and getting out to see the sights.

So many things are swirling around in my mind right now. Aside from the fact that I'm not overly thrilled with the latest election results, there are some issues that need to be resolved in the process. Like if the guy is even eligible for the position. It's kind of ironic that he wouldn't even be able to get into the FBI but somehow as of right now, he'll be getting into the Oval Office. A bit scary.

I'm even more scared for the babies that won't survive.

Our Current State of the Union

2008-11-18T21:23:00.003-05:00

One being who is interested in politics, I know that once a year, the President of the United States has a joint session of Congress (that being the House of Representatives and the Senate) and he informs that nation of the current state of the country. On this one, I'm going to somewhat do the same.

Editors note: I don't mean to put others down in this writing, but I do plan on being very direct. This is written moreso for the sake of fellow believers, so this is where the prophet in me is going to come out in play. So please don't take this the wrong way personally, but do be challenged in this.

Just recently, I received an email from a precious brother about the current state of many young teen age girls and many of whom are having sex at a young age. I'm not sure why we're surprised by this. I've been hearing of this stuff for years. Of course, I was in public high school and heard a lot then. Why do I think this stuff is happening? Perhaps its that we're not preaching the gospel from the pulpit.

I honestly don't hear the preaching of the Cross and the Blood of Jesus much from our pulpits. I usually hear a nice little message that really has little effect on me whatsoever. So, first and foremost, I point the finger at myself. God, change my heart. But I'm in many different churches and they honestly seem more like bless me clubs. The message usually sounds more like "what can I get out of it?"

But I watch videos like the one where Ms. Banks is being interviewed by Matt Lauer and I begin to think. A lot of these issues are all wound together. Tyra was partly right in what she said about the parents, but its actually a lot of things. The way the media glamorizes sex and doesn't show the repercussions of the sexual malay that soo many are involved here. So the parents are partly to blame, as well as the media as well as the church.

But also, another point to consider is the fact that the teens also have a major part to play. With everything being covered as it is today, teens also have to be accountable to themselves. We can't just go around and point fingers at everyone, but we have to take personal responsibility for this stuff. Usually this stuff is done because these kids are needing and wanting attention. They're looking for love, unfortunately, in all the wrong places.

Sometime ago, I was asked to speak at a youth retreat. I wanted to preach on a Jesus Revolution... rally the troops. But God laid John 15 on my heart and had me preach from there. Finding ones identity in Jesus and truly understanding what Him going on the Cross is really all about. It's not about what can God do for me, but its "since the Lord has done all this for me, what can I do for Him? How can I know him better?"

Let me leave this topic with some encouragement for you. There is a Godly uprise going on right now. There is a revolution underway. Its a generation, a people who are falling in love with God all over again and doing what it takes to take the gospel everywhere. May God arise and His enemies be scattered...

In other news, coming from Voice of the Revolution comes my next line of thought. Allow me to preface this in saying that my heart and love goes out to the gay/lesbian community. I have absolutely nothing but love for them as Jesus loves myself and them.

But Jesus doesn't love my sin. But I picked this YouTube video up from the Voice of a Revolution about a recent episode that happened with the Justice House of Prayer. Granted, I'm a good 3,000 miles away and I can only report as its been reported to me. But from the video (and I'm not sure who was filming this) but it certainly doesn't look like the victims is the gay and lesbian community. I just wonder what would've happened had the cops not been there.

In any case, we pray for the teens of this nation and we pray for glbt community, as well as many other things.

Tech Support/Customer Service

2008-11-15T17:20:00.002-05:00

I've been doing tech support for a major international hardware company now for just over year. And before that, I worked at Wal-Mart for 3.5 years. I lately felt soo obliged to help the rest of the world in how-to get effective customer help. There are some tricks of the trade that I would like to pass along to the world to help you as the customer out more and help my fellow techies/nerds out.

1. Everyone has emotions and they can be hurt. We're humans too. I understand that when you calling me, you have a problem and issue that needs to be resolved. That doesn't merit you the right to have a lousy attitude and cuss and chew us out for your problems. I'm sorry your computer is acting up, but that doesn't give you the right to yell at us. I've found its much better for all parties involved to act and respond in a calm and collected manner. The tech on the other end of the line is doing their best to understand and handle the situation. Your yelling at them is probably going to hurt you in the end. I understand that you may have a business to run and need to get your equipment up and running again. And I want to be able to help you out. But please remember that a little bit of manners can go a long way.

2. Complaint department. The techie on the phone probably has little to no control over the companies policies. Your whining to them about the stupid policies probably won't help. It will probably feel better for you to get it off your chest, but that doesn't mean it will help your case. There is a good chance that the person trying to help you doesn't like the policies either, but they probably can't say that on the phone lest they want to keep their job. It's better for you as a customer to do this leg work yourself. It's one thing to voice the complaint, its another thing to berate it and demand immediate answers, which probably isn't going to happen.

3. Treat them like a human being, and your probably going to get a lot better help. I'm a people person, and i love to help others out. I can usually tell in the first couple minutes if i'm going to like the person or going to want to accidentally on purposely hang up on them. Usually, when the person is being civil about the situation, I love to bend over backwards and help the person out (even if that means bending the rules a bit in their favor).

Unfortunately, computer problems do happen. Usually anything man makes will break down after a time. It's an unfortunate thing about life. Hopefully, I can be of help to get it working again. Put yourself in their shoes.

Election 2008 recap

2008-11-05T21:32:00.003-05:00

Ok, so our country has just elected our first black man to the highest office in the land, President of the United States. I'm thrilled for Barack Obama that he has made it thus far. And he will probably be a very prayed for president.

I can also honestly say that I'm scared. I'm scared for the unborn babies out there. I'm scared for the possible implications that this could have on our nation. Listen, one of the greatest thoughts that has ever entered my mind is that one day, I will personally stand before a Holy and Righteous God and give an account of my life (this is a quote I saw hanging on someones wall, so I can't take the credit for a quote like this.

But last night, I got a text message from a precious brother in the Lord and it basically said that we need to pray. This isn't a race issue for me. And it's not even necessarily a political party issue for me. Yes, I'm registered Republican and I somewhat hesitantly voted for McCain. However, I'm not looking for a political party to end the woes of the nation. I'm simply registered as I a Republican because I see that many of their issues are closer to that of a Biblical stance. Had it been a black Democratic woman that would have Biblical values and been running that platform, you can believe that I would vote for her.

But, as of today, we will have our first black man as president. Do I agree with his policies and/or religious views? Most likely not. I heard that some folks were making jokes about the segregation and making references to slavery. Folks, that's immaturity and that's not acceptable.

The Bible commands us to pray for our leaders and those in authority over us. I pray that our new president-elect will be blessed with Godly wisdom and that he would surround himself with folks that have God's heart and the countries values as the first and primary goal. I pray for his protection against assassination. I pray that the people of America and the world would pray for him and not disrespect him as they did President Bush.

(It's easy to criticize someone, but its hard to quit whining about something and pray. That isn't to say that she shouldn't speak out about injustice and right the wrongs, but its important on how we go about it.)

Living and Learning

2008-11-02T20:07:00.003-05:00

I don't know about you, reader, but I'm always learning and growing. I'm always looking for how I can grow and mature in my life and my walk with Jesus. I used to play soccer. I haven't played in a league for years. I played right full back or half back. I would usually never cross the mid-line of the field. It wasn't my job really to be up there. If I was up there, it was for a very brief time. If and when the opposite team came into my area, it was my job to get the ball and get it up field and then for the offense to take it and advance it and hopefully score.

One of my main things I do for church is prayer/intercession. Granted, to a certain degree, everyone is to be doing that. But then there are some individuals who are more cut out for it. Just like we're all to do the evangelist, but there are some who that is what they do. They're always hitting the streets and talking to people about Jesus. Now, I CAN do that, I have no problem talking to a complete stranger about life and I frequently get the opportunity to speak with people about stuff. I mentioned to one of my friends who is more socially ept about sometimes how I'd like to get more involved with different evangelistic outreaches at times.

But you know how some people are just more socially capable and some aren't? I'm one that isn't. Some people walk into a room and they're like the center of attention. And then there is me. I'm more support for people like that. That same friend who I mentioned above once said to me the following: "Shawn, don't give up your gift of intercession. It's an important thing. Some are like me and they're ground troops. Others are like you and they're air support. You'll see things in the future and need to radio down to me to warn me. And trust me, it's helpful."

That really spoke to me. The body of Christ is a big body. And there are tons of different gifts and parts in it. There are those who are more loud and then those who are soft-spoken. I once had a roommate that he just had one of those deep booming voices. But he was a gentle giant at the same time and very teachable. But he loved to open air, and he had the lung capacity for it! I've done it once, and I can do it, although not necessarily my forte.

I know for the church, I want to see giftings and callings released and for people to really utilize what they have.

One of the tricks to being prayer support is learning to do it in public in a non scary type of way. When I go with a team, I'm content with being there and praying, but just looking like I'm just going on with life as usual. You may think that's a little deceitful. But if you would've asked me, I would've told you I was praying. I was just doing it covertly.

I remember one time when I was on an outreach team to the local university, UNCC, they had a "coming out day". They had a public forum for those who were admitting they were homosexual to come and publicly say they were. So as a team, we went down and sat and listened to them. After wards, a couple of us got to speak with the organizers of the event. They were astounded at the turnout for the event. It was at this time that we told them that at least half the folks there weren't in support of it, but we just wanted to hear what they had to say.

It's stuff like this that makes go and the world spin. As well as making for a great story to tell.

Pray, Vote and Obey

2008-10-29T20:36:00.004-04:00

I received this email from Bound4Life, and decided to just copy and paste it. Just to let everyone know, I voted for McCain. I don't agree w/ him 100% of the time, but chose the lesser of two evils. I still pray for all candidates and regardless of who gets in, Jesus is still King of Kings and Lord of Lords. His Word endures forever and nothing will change that.

To those who believe that righteousness exalts a nation,

With only a week left until the 2008 election we find ourselves in the eleventh hour of decision. Has everything been revealed that will be revealed? Are there any more last-minute surprises left? Who knows? I submit to you one more time that no further information is needed.

In a recent interview, one of the Vice Presidential Candidates stated that they believed Roe v. Wade was the best we can do in a society as heterogeneous as ours. I don't believe this is true, and neither should you. To suggest this is to say that we knew in 1973 everything we ever needed to know about the baby in the womb and the effects of abortion on women. Plenty of Americans were once content and satisfied with the legal, unchallenged existence of slavery in our nation as well and had squared with the ridiculous notion that a human being could be considered 2/3 of a whole person. History stands in judgment of them because, like it or not, they were wrong. As the nation hurtled toward civil war God raised up righteous voices from His Church to impact a culture that did not treat all men equal. It turned out that God had plenty to say about slavery and the public policy of this fledgling nation. Where would we be today had it not been for the burning men of God like Charles G. Finney who unapologetically coupled the message of the revival tent meeting with the message of abolition?
The moment has come once again for the Church in America to be the razor-sharp edge of divine truth and not the dull blade used to spread the status quo.

For those of you that have worn a Life Band in the last four years I call you to remember it now. For those that don't have a Life Band but believe that the blood of the innocent cries out from our ground I call you to seize this moment. So much is at stake right now in this one election cycle, but nothing is more important than shifting the United States Supreme Court.
You cannot pray for the ending of abortion and promote those who support it.

The Biblical message of "shedding innocent blood" has been taught and preached to more people this year than ever before thanks to GodTV, TheCall events, the 40 Days for Life campaigns as well as many others. This gives us cause for great hope and great sobriety at the same time. I believe God is giving us ample opportunity to align ourselves with Him and His Word, but we will be held accountable for the word we have heard. History will sit in judgment of what we do next.
Yet no poll or pundit can guess the outcome when God breaks in suddenly with answers to the prayers and fasting of His people.

There is no time to delay. Join now with Bound4LIFE and hundreds of thousands that have made the solemn commitment to PRAY, VOTE & OBEY.

PRAY daily for the ending of abortion. America's highest court has made a decree of death, but we make our appeal to an even higher court. The Judge of the earth will see that speedy justice is released to those that cry out to Him day and night.

VOTE for pro-life candidates. Pretty self-explanatory here, but voting is an honor, privilege and duty. Participation on November 4th is NOT optional. The Church must show up to make our voice heard.

OBEY God in however He leads you into works of compassion and justice. It's time for the Church to move en masse to become the answers to our own prayers. Let the spirit of adoption come. We cannot rely on big government programs to solve our problems.

Bound and determined,

Matt Lockett
Executive Director
Bound4LIFE Intl.
contact@bound4life.com

Battle Hymn of the Republic

2008-10-25T17:58:00.003-04:00

Just the other day I received an email with the opportunity to download a free song. The song is called "Battle Hymn of the Republic." I must tell you that I've been playing this song a lot here recently, probably on over kill to a degree. But with everything that is going on right now, it just seems fitting.

I for one am ready for the elections to be over. I'm tired of the mudslinging and both campaigns just coming down on each other. I'm interested in politics and like to keep up with the news. I just voted for this election just the other day.

This election was a tough call for me. I felt like I didn't really have anyone to vote for. I'm registered Republican and I do hold to what probably many would consider conservative Biblical values. There are just a couple of clinchers for me. One of my top concerns is abortion. If we can't defend life, the economy and everything will suffer. I can't vote for someone who doesn't value life or Jesus and traditional marriage.

I understand that there are a lot of other issues out there, why do we always concentrate on abortion and homosexual rights? Why not take on theft or divorce or other issues like that? Tell you what, when we start to hold rallies to support thieves or adulterers, I'll be worried about that then as well. But I gotta tell ya, I have yet to see a rally where they support adultery and theft or divorce. I don't see a whole lot of laws being written to support theft or protecting thieves.

Hear me out on this, I'm a registered Republican, but I have long since put my faith and trust in a political party. Yes, the Republican party has ideals that I feel are closer to Biblical standards. But I put my faith and trust in the Holy Word of God. I put my faith in trust in God and I look to deepen my relationship with Jesus. My voting is just a means to an end.

In any case, I'm ready for the elections to be over and done with. Honestly, maybe having someone in the Oval who wants to jack taxes way up and support gay rights, maybe that will be good for us. Maybe it will wake up a sleeping church. Maybe it will bring us to our knees. I would hate to think that it would take another major attack such as 9/11 (which, by the way, I think we've forgotten it already or it just became too much of a buzz word) to wake us up.

Please understand my heart in why I say what I say (write). It's not to drag anyone or anything through the mud. But I've been around the world and I've seen devastation. I've seen people living in conditions that I wouldn't want my pet (if I ever get one) to be living in. And then to come back and hear the 'problems' that people here 'suffer' with. It just kinda gets to you after a bit. Sometimes, I just wanna tell people to snap out of it. But then I'm reminded that the battle is in the Spirit. And its just manifested in the natural by people who live under oppression. And it's through that that I want to see people be free.

Some May Trust in Wall Street...

2008-10-17T22:51:00.005-04:00

Lately I've been humming/thinking over the tune that I my church used to sing a lot in PA. Some may trust in horses, some may trust in chariots, but we will trust in the Name of the Lord. Some may trust in government, some may trust in wall street, but we will trust in the name of the Lord. I'm sure you know where this is going.

Amazingly, I haven't been watching much of the elections this year. I know who i'm voting for, and that's about it. I know that the Democratic candidate doesn't value life that much and that the Republican candidate does. Friend, if we can't value life, everything else is kind of meaningless. Just to show my colors, I'm registered Republican. Doesn't mean i agree with everything a 'republican' candidate does, but there values seem closer to the Bible. If a Democratic candidate would be holding better values than the Republican one does, then I guess I'd be voting respectively. But I don't know about all 3 of you who read this, but I have learned not to put my trust in government and money, but I put my hope and trust in Jesus and His Word. This is coming from someone who is starting to get involved in 401K and all that good jazz. I'm not against investing wisely, but i just don't want to put my faith and trust in something that will eventually burn and not pass the test of time. If your into investing, now is the time to buy probably and I'd say invest wisely. And if I had more money to invest, I'd be doing just that. I want to save up for the future. But my first goal is pleasing the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Everything else is secondary.

With voting right around the corner, know the issues and what each candidate really stands for. And then get on your knees and ask God what is on His heart. It's nothing really that drastic, just a couple million lives are at stake. I once heard that some folks were voting for a certain candidate b/c they were a good speaker and were very eloquent. That scares me. The Bible warns of flattering speech. I personally get very scared when people just have all these nice things to say about topics. Sometimes it seems we're too afraid to look at the big picture and realize the mess we're really in.

I know, this was one of those really encouraging blogs huh? Sometimes, we just gotta call it like we see it...

Being ready at all times

2008-10-12T17:42:00.002-04:00

Just last nite, i got a call from a friend of mine about a possible ministry trip. He gave me about a 12 hr notice of going to a church nearby to minister. But that's part of being me. and I love that sort of stuff! So after a bit of traveling (about 40 minutes away) and getting there about 10:10 and spending time in prayer, its time to roll. So my buddy preached for a bit and I was able to give a brief exhortation about son ship and some other prophetic words came out.

It's stuff like this that I'm made for. Being a young single guy, I can go a lot easier than others. And we got to pray for people and just love on them. Life is good.

Fellowshipping with the Holy Spirit Pt. 2

2008-10-09T16:03:00.002-04:00

In my last blog, I mentioned about making a theological truth and experiential reality. As I've mentioned before, Christianity is about a relationship you have with Jesus Christ, who is God's Son. It's not just some sort of routine you do necessarily, but it's about a living, breathing relationship.

I've been reading a book called "Surprised By The Power of the Spirit" by Jack Deere. He was a cessassionist who later changed his perspective to believing in the gifts of the Spirit. I want to say this: I believe the Bible is the infalliable Word of God. It is my Rock and from it I get a sure foundation. Whenever listening to anything, sermons particularly, I bounce it off the Word and make sure it stands. I also believe in the Gifts of the Spirit as mentioned about in 1 Cor. 12. And i believe that these gifts, when used appropriately according to the Bible and done in a fitting and orderly way, can be very productive.

I was just reading in it about how he considered his emotions as useless and to just suppress the emotions. He said that it bothered him that when reading the Psalms how it seemed that the writer just bore his feelings to God. I used to kinda do the same thing, being that I would just suppress my feelings. And that's not healthy. I've since learned that its ok to laugh and cry. It's ok to have emotions. It's how those emotions are used.

A friend of mine was telling me that he went to visit a particular church once. And during the worship time, he raised his hands in worship. Later after wards, the pastor came up to him and gently informed him that they don't do that in this church. They do everything by the Spirit, and not by the flesh. My friend was just like "ok... my bad."

Now obviously, I don't agree with that. Now, the other extreme is where you just let everything go. You're just totally run by your feelings. And that's not safe either. I've been in services though where you don't know what's going on necessarily, but there is still order. The Holy Spirit is moving powerfully and there are outward demonstrations of it. And there is a time and place for that.

What am I trying to say? I'm trying to say that there is a place to let your emotions and hunger and passion for God just have at it. When you come into a church meeting, I don't think that that is the time to shut your emotions off and its also not a place to check your brains. There is a healthy combination of them both. There is a healthy way to take a theological truth and turn it into an experiential reality. I can't find anywhere in the Bible where it says that the gifts of the Spirit stopped. Just because we haven't seen them for years is no excuse. And I know that there are folks who have been deeply hurt by the improper use of the gifts. They're not meant to control you and manipulate you, but rather empower you to live a life of Godliness in Jesus.

Life In General

2008-10-05T16:42:00.005-04:00

There has been a lot going on as of late. There are election campaigns in full swing right now, the financial arenas are crumbling as we speak, life in general just seems to be going on a downward spiral towards nothingness. It's amazing how much of our lives revolves around computers and money. Which is unfortunate really. I mean, my current job literally revolves around computers. And when they're not functioning properly, we definitely notice it.

As far as the elections go, I largely stay away from a lot of the media as far as opinion goes. I get a little of the news from certain media outlets, but I look at the lives of the candidates and what they stand for. If they don't respect and care for life, then many other aspects of their lives will follow suit. One of the defining issues will be their moral/spiritual stance. Granted, I usually vote more on the Republican ticket because they're known to be more conservative in their views regarding abortion and religion on the society as a whole.

I want to say that about government and religion mixing, I'm not looking for a Theocracy. As I've said before, that's been tried and it failed. I do however want officials to be going to God and asking the Lord for wisdom and direction in how to govern. I don't want them to be forcing it down others throats necessarily, but an occasional quoting of scripture never hurts.

It does give me great comfort to know that my leaders in Washington D.C. have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Our nation was founded on the Bible and most of the leaders then were men who knew God and had a relationship with Jesus.

As far as Wall Street, why is it that soo much of our lives revolve around those pieces of paper? It's honestly frightening to think that. I'm not against talking about money and dealing with it. It's a great tool to be used. And I want to see people with great financial minds be used in Christendom. But lets not put our faith and trust in our wallets. The economy goes up and down worse than the coolest roller coaster out there (and I love roller coasters). Let us put our faith in God and in our relationship with Jesus. And let's ask God for wisdom to know how to spend the money He's entrusted us with.

Fellowshipping w/ the Holy Ghost

2008-09-29T23:13:00.002-04:00

Every now and then, we have these prayer meetings here at church that are just awesome. Call them what you will, our purpose for them is to have fellowship with God the Holy Ghost. Some verses to think about and meditate on are:

John 7:37 if anyone thirsts, drink. This is a nice theological truth, but yet to be an experiential reality.
Rom. 5:5 God’s love poured out through the Holy Spirit
John 15 Abide in My love and Me
It’s one thing to hear the Word, but its another thing to experience it
We have access to God at all time and we’re seated in heavenly places, and yet He resides in us.
1 Cor. 5:17 Paul says our outer man is decaying, but our inner man is being renewed. (Romans 12:2)
Being a heavenly being, we should be walking around in the presence of God at all times.
Everyone experiences it differently.

Above are some of the notes i grabbed last nite during the meeting. I know they're kinda vague, but if you have any questions, i dare you to ask. And last night at our meeting, we had some new comers. Just kinda fyi, most of our prayers meetings are not just a nice little sit down and think about a nice theological truth, but we like to be more experiential. Perhaps this is some of the reason why I'm honestly bored in church. We go in and sit there and sing a few nice songs and hear a nice message. But in your 'gut', have you ever been like "God, i know there is soo much more of you yet to be had." It's one thing to know ABOUT someone.. you know, like you know how tall they are and what they like and don't like and something you could put in a biography. It's another thing to KNOW someone.

You may be thinking "yeah, but cults/false religions do some of the same stuff that you charismatics do..". There needs to be a theological truth combined with an experiential reality. I was talking with someone a while back about spiritual manifestations. Why do some shake and fall and do all that weird stuff? The short end of it.... I don't know. Perhaps that they were just soo overcome with God that they didn't know what to do. I'm not saying that you have to check your brains at the door when you come into one of these meetings. Matter of fact, I encourage you to bring your Bible and i'm sure the Lord will speak to you through it. Because all of this stuff is meant to bring you closer to the Lord and giving you a desire to get more into the Scriptures. Again, there is a closer connection with a theological truth and an experiential reality.

I was reading a testimony about how a young girl became a Mormon. She said she knew she was 'saved' according to the Mormons when she "felt a burning in her bosom." And experiential reality will not contradict a theological truth. The Holy Spirit will not contradict Scripture. I don't think its possible.

When I was baptized in the Holy Spirit and started to pray in tongues, I had more of a desire to get into the Bible and figure out what its saying. Now, i know that doesn't mean much to some because someone will have a rebuttal to it i'm sure.

God is a Father who wants to love you.
God is Jesus who wants a relationship with you.
God is the Holy Spirit who wants to give you power to maintain a holy lifestyle.

On the Right or Left?

2008-09-24T21:53:00.002-04:00

Ok, much to the chagrin of those who love a good and healthy discussion on politics, that is NOT what the title is addressing. This blog is addressing another topic: my purity ring that I wear on my ring finger. Here is the deal: as of current, i'm still single and i wear a purity ring on my ring finger. It is part of my promise with God to not engage in sexual immorality (not going to have sex) before I'm married. But here is the pickle I've come up against... I've been told by different individuals it goes on different fingers. Some have told me it goes on the right ring finger. Others say that left...

I started wearing it on my left because that's where the wedding band goes and all that good stuff. But then someone said "no, its supposed to go on the right hand." So, i just didn't know if anyone reading this knew the definites on this stuff. I guess ultimately I could and should just ask the Holy Ghost and see what He thinks... but please give me your feedback.

Lakeland Outpouring

2008-09-19T15:40:00.003-04:00

As to date, its been some time since everything happened with Todd Bentley stepping down and dealing with the issues there. I thought I had posted earlier about this, but I guess I didn't. And I guess I'm only posting now because I wanted to give it time and not just post right away.

Whenever things like this happen, it breaks my heart. I think of the families involved and how it's going to effect them. I also think of the implications it will have on the Body of Christ in general. Let's face it, the secular liberal media jumps on these things and just hurts everything more. Not to mention those who had been opposing things like this from the start. Actually, i think sometimes the 'revival police' and those who apparently know how God is going to do what He does better than others actually do more damage than the secular media.

Below are some articles online about the situation and the people who know more about the details of what happened.

Statement and Appeal Regarding Lakeland - Dutch Sheets
Statement By C. Peter Wagner Regarding Todd Bentley

I don't claim to be an expert on this stuff. I have had experiences in the past and have somewhat of an opinion on stuff like this. But ultimately, all I want to do is present a case and allow each person to make a decision for themselves according to the Scriptures. I've never been down to Lakeland myself to experience what was going on there, but I do know a few people who I know to be grounded in the Word and level headed. They came back with good reports.

I will say that they also came back with some reservations and concerns about it, but I didn't give any sort of opinion back because I wasn't there.

All in all, it just makes me re-examine myself and my own life. I mean, you may be able to function to a certain degree ministering to others, but eventually you'll be found out. To all of this stuff, I am reminded of the phrase "let him who has never sinned cast the first stone." That is not to say that I condone what was going on behind the scenes. But I only know what I've been told and from that, I decided to hold to the idea of that what makes me think my opinion matters?

More than anything, I like what Dutch Sheets said about it... that it shows that we as the Body of Christ need to step up and learn from these mistakes. I understand that when you're hungry and desiring for the Lord to move that you'll eat up just about anything. There is a balance for all this. Some people are really freakish about having anyone touch them in the slightest. I've had people pray over me that i later on find out some bad stuff about them. I just plead the blood of Jesus over myself and declare myself clean according the Bible and any sort of spirit that might have tried to get a hold of me.

In any case, through all of this, I'm not going to stop pursuing more of God and pursuing more of the Holy Spirit to invade this Earth. You don't stop pursuing it, you just use wisdom and test it with the Scriptures. For those who say that the Lord can never use people who have messed up, just don't look at some of the individuals that were used in the OT. They weren't perfect, but somehow the Lord used them. (again, that isn't condoning their sin, but i'm just making a point.)

Until later, be blessed.

Two Kingdoms Collide

2008-09-15T22:06:00.003-04:00

I recently read a news article from One News Now about MTV bashing those who hold to abstinence. I can't say as that I'm surprised that that would happen. Guess what everyone... sinners sin.. its what they do. I'm sure that your well aware if you've read my blogs before that I too where a purity ring on my ring finger on my left hand. That ring doesn't stop me necessarily from getting into pre-marital sex. But it moreso my heart and mind saying that i'm not going to mess around like that. When I do get married someday, my wife can rest assured that she is the one and only one that i've ever been with. I was never much of a fan of the Jonas brothers, but perhaps i'll have to look into them more.

After that article, many left remarks. One person stated: "In a nation where free speech is a guaranteed legal right, we have to be prepared to hear from those who do not agree with us. That's just the way it is. MTV has no obligation to apologize to anyone for exercising this right of free speech in the context of what this article says. If people don't like what MTV says or does then they are perfectly free to turn it off. Simple as that." And they're right that MTV doesn't have to apologize for that stuff. As I mentioned earlier, sinners sin. They don't really know better... or they might, but they haven't been saved yet... It's really up to those who profess to be Christians and holding fast to Biblical truth to not endorse stuff like that.

Another person said: "Purity rings are ridiculous. They are about as effective at stopping intercourse as they are at stopping bullets. Abstinence is a mental decisions, and is not something that a ring is going to cause. Wearing the ring is only an outward judgement on everybody else who sees it and may not bee abstinent, further driving them away from the Christian community." I agree partly and I kinda addressed that already. But I'm not trying to judge someone. It's this kind of mentality that says that we shouldn't preach against sin and about the Cross because it might offend someone. Of course the gospel will offend... it points out your wrongs and makes you change.

All in all, it's up to Christians to take a stand for righteousness according to the Bible. Jesus told us to go into all the world and preach the Good News. It's time to get our hands dirty and love these folks into the Kingdom.

It's Been A While...

2008-09-10T21:03:00.006-04:00

Well, i realize that it has been a while since i last wrote on here. It's either been due to time constraints or just that when i get on here, i feel like i don't have much to talk about and/or I just don't know how exactly to put it into words.

Our Own Place
Since FIRE has moved from Pensacola, FL to Charlotte, NC, we have never had our own place. FIRE moved up in 2003, when i started school at the school of ministry. Even before that, when they first started out in 2000 in Pensacola, they didn't have their own place then either... BUT, all of that has changed! When they first moved up here, we were using another churches building (I LOVE AND MISS PASTOR THANT MCMANUS AND EVANGEL WORSHIP CENTER... if your ever in the Concord, NC region, go check them out... they're awesome folks who love Jesus!) Evangel was kind enough to have a team of folks take their own 18-wheeler down to Pensacola and pick up our stuff!

So, for at least 3 years, we had school and church there at their building. Then, in January 2007, we started to meet Sunday mornings at the YMCA building here in town. Meanwhile, another church had graciously given us their building that they were no longer going to be needing. That meant that we had just inherited 7 acres to do with what we wanted! This didn't just happen though, this had been prayed into and everything! I mean, the equity on this property alone is about 2 million dollars (its right next door to the Lowes Motor Speedway track.

So, this meant that we were migrating from Evangel to starting to use our own facilities. But that certainly didn't happen overnight. We had been meeting in the Y for about a year and a half. Notice I said we HAD been meeting there... past tense... PTL!

Sunday, September 7, 2008 marks the first Sunday morning service we as FIRE had in our OWN building! YAY! That means no more getting to the YMCA at 7:30am to set up chairs and set up our facilities. But the whole time we were there, I really felt that the Lord was teaching us stewardship. How were we going to handle renting a place? Were we going to treat it with respect and as our own? Did we leave a good impression on the folks there? Are they sad to see us go?

I can't say how nice it is to have our own place finally. And this past Sunday, I realized that we'll soon be standing room only already!

On another note, if you've been watching the weather lately, you probably noticed that the Caribbean nations have been getting slammed with hurricane after hurricane. I've been getting emails from Terry Snow, YWAM Director in St. Marc, Haiti. He recently sent me some pictures of what its like down there. I would really love to go down there and help with the recovery process. And especially in a nation like Haiti, its not easy. But i've been to a few other countries in my life, half of them were 3rd world nations and i've seen first hand the devastation. I've seen the sights, i've smelt the smells, felt the heat and witnessed first-hand the spiritual atmospheres. Whenever your in these places, you get a better understanding of what life is like. You get out of your nice cushiony idealism, and your faced with reality. Waiting in a checkout line for 15 minutes isn't all that bad (unless if you consider the magazines they have at eye level...) At least you have to go shopping and are able to buy the stuff your purchasing.

On yet another note, i realize that today is the 7th anniversary that our nation was hit by terrorism. Seven years ago today, we were attacked on our own ground. The following is a video i got through my email. I want to say this: I don't like the idea of war and people dying. But something had to be done. The battle that is being waged isn't just a physical one, but its being fought in the Spirit more than anything. So thank you to our troops and their families. And let us continue to hold our nation, our leaders, our Armed Forces up in prayer. And be on the lookout for how you can make a difference in this world for Jesus.

Until next time, your blessed.

Saddleback Civil Forums

2008-08-22T17:07:00.002-04:00

Recently, i received an email from the AFA about the Saddleback Civil Forums. I was watching a few of the videos of Obama, listening to him give the typical 'political' answers (in other words, to me, he didn't answer the questions).

I found this forum really interesting... at least the parts I saw of it. I may not like some of Rick Warren's stuff, but this is one thing I'm cool with (not that that means a lot...). But some folks had a problem that it was in a church. It was in a building that houses a church. Get over it ACLU and all those others who cry over stuff like that.

And obviously, I disagreed w/ most of the stuff Obama said (although, he again never really answered the questions, so i guess I can't really say i agreed or disagreed. I thought he was all about change...? I wish that would mean more than politicians would come out and give us an answer. Right or wrong. But I guess that means turning some people off and losing votes..) i didn't really listen to much of what McCain said.

But one other thing I noted: I'm ready for we as the Body of Christ to arise and instead of being a laughingstock, tackle these issues and quit whimpering in the corner. I'm honestly tired of this stuff being handled with laws passed, but rather lets get to the hearts of people and show them Jesus. Let's show them the love of God and point them in the direction of ALL TRUTH. This means more than just having nice meetings, but rather us being a threat to satan and his kingdom.

So, I don't know about you, but i'm most certainly planning on voting. I think this election year will really prove a couple different things. I think it will wake a lot of folks up to the fact of that its not just up to one man whom we call the president to solve all our problems, but its up to us to pray and seek God and cry out for mercy and pray for our leaders. It's up to us to live out the Word of God and turn to God and forsaking unrighteousness and then the Lord will heal our land. I believe in praying for our leaders and I want to encourage probably all 2 or 3 of you who read this to do your part.

In Reflection...

2008-08-20T13:56:00.003-04:00

I like to read various articles, even articles that I know I will disagree with. I also like to read other peoples stuff to see how other things read. I know that at times, I can come across quite gruff and rough. At times, I can be very confrontational. But I only like to be like that when need be. I recently had someone tell me that they see me in some very tough situations in the future, and yet for me, it won't seem that bad. I love to have discussions with folks, even when they disagree. But I like to be able to agree to disagree on issues. To me, its a mark of maturity. When you don't blow up on people, but you calmly say "I have a differing view point on that." And yet you can be best of friends.

On one of my recent posts, I had forwarded it to a friend of mine. He wrote back and shared his thoughts. They were very interesting. I find that when you have people give you feedback and its not always the nice stuff, it shows you who you really are.

Just fyi, I haven't really been glued to the news lately to follow the elections. I personally disagree w/ Obama and I know I won't be voting for him (check his voting record, he supports genocide and other immoral issues), and I guess if i have to vote for McCain, I will. But neither of them would be my first pick. I would rather have a politician get in there who isn't the slickest with folks, but yet he gets things accomplished. Flattering speech scares me.

That's it for now. Make it a great one.

History Lesson

2008-08-20T13:13:00.002-04:00

A missionary friend in Israel sent me link about the Middle East Peace Conflict. Check it out at least. With that posted, I do want to mention that I know Jesus loves the Arabs and I do too. I want to see them accept Jesus and be grafted into the family of God, loving Jesus. I have many friends in the Muslim countries, and I would love to travel there myself and help in whatever way I can.

I am, however, tired of hearing Israel get picked on. That is why I posted the above link. Let's continue to pray for the peace of Jerusalem and for Muslims come to find peace and eternal life in Jesus.

Cross Cultural Jesus

2008-08-18T21:53:00.002-04:00

And there are the funny emails...

There were 3 good arguments that Jesus was Black:

1. He called everyone brother.
2. He liked Gospel.
3. He couldn't get a fair trial.

But then there were 3 equally good arguments that Jesus was Jewish:

1. He went into His Father's business.
2. He lived at home until he was 33.
3. He was sure his Mother was a virgin and his Mother was sure He was God.

But then there were 3 equally good arguments that Jesus was Italian:

1. He talked with His hands.
2. He had wine with His meals.
3. He used olive oil.

But then there were 3 equally good arguments that Jesus was a Californian:

1. He never cut His hair.
2. He walked around barefoot all the time.
3. He started a new religion.

But then there were 3 equally good arguments that Jesus was American Indian:
'
1. He was at peace with others.
2. He ate a lot of fish.
3. He talked about the Great Spirit.

But then there were 3 equally good arguments that Jesus was Irish:

1. He never got married.
2. He was always telling stories.
3. He loved green pastures.

But the most compelling evidence of all - 3 proofs that Jesus was a woman:

1. He fed a crowd at a moment's notice when there was no food.
2. He kept trying to get a message across to a bunch of men who just didn't get it.
3. And even when He was dead, He had to get up because there was work to do.

Emails

2008-08-18T21:19:00.003-04:00

I often get interesting emails from folks. I just recently some interesting ones from my dad. Now, i want to preface this by saying that i'm not against immigration. This country is built on that. But i am against people coming here illegally and then getting all sorts of preferential treatment and getting money. In any case, enjoy the following email that i received the other day:

Very interesting and thought provoking!!!!!!

This English teacher has phrased it the best I've seen yet
Tomatoes and Cheap Labor CHEAP TOMATOES?

This should make everyone think, be you Democrat, Republican or Independent

From a California school teacher - Cheap Labor

'As you listen to the news about the student protests over illegal immigration,
there are some things that you should be aware of: I am in charge of the English-as-a-second-language department at a large southern California high school which is designated a Title 1 school, meaning that its students average lower socioeconomic and income levels.

Most of the schools you are hearing about, South Gate High, Bell Gardens, Huntington Park, etc., where these students are protesting, are also Title 1 schools. Title 1 schools are on the free breakfast and free lunch program. When I say free breakfast, I'm not talking a glass of milk and roll -- but a full breakfast and cereal bar with fruits and juices that would make a Marriott proud. The waste of this food is monumental, with trays and trays of it being dumped in the trash uneaten.

(OUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK)
I estimate that well over 50% of these students are obese or at least moderately overweight.
About 75% or more DO have cell phones. The school also provides day care centers for the
unwed teenage pregnant girls (some as young as 13) so they can attend class without the
inconvenience of having to arrange for babysitters or having family watch their kids.

(OUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK)
I was ordered to spend $700,000 on my department or risk losing funding for the upcoming year even though there was little need for anything; my budget was already substantial. I ended up buying new computers for the computer learning center, half of which, one month later, have been carved with graffiti by the appreciative students who obviously feel humbled and grateful to have a free education in America.

(OUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK)
I have had to intervene several times for young and substitute teachers whose classes consist of many illegal immigrant students here in the country less then 3 months who raised so much hell with the female teachers, calling them 'Putas' whores and throwing things so that the teachers were in tears.

Free medical, free education, free food, day care etc., etc, etc. Is it any wonder they feel entitled to not only be in this country but to demand rights, privileges and entitlements? To those who want to point out how much these illegal immigrants contribute to our society because they LIKE their gardener and housekeeper and they like to pay less for tomatoes: spend some time in the real world of illegal immigration and see the TRUE costs. Higher insurance, medical facilities closing, higher medical costs, more crime, lower standards of education in our schools, overcrowding, new diseases etc. etc, etc.

For me, I'll pay more for tomatoes. We need to wake up. The guest worker program will be a disaster because we won't have the guts to enforce it. Does anyone in their right mind really think they will voluntarily leave and return? It does, however, have everything to do with culture: A third-world culture that does not value education, that accepts children getting pregnant and dropping out of school by 15 and that refuses to assimilate , and an American culture that has become so weak and worried about 'politically correctness' that we don't have the will to do anything about it.

This makes my blood boil.

CHEAP LABOR? Isn't that what the whole immigration issue is about? Business doesn't want to pay a decent wage. Consumers don't want an expensive produce. Government will tell you Americans don't want the jobs. But the bottom line is cheap labor. The phrase 'cheap labor' is a myth, a farce, and a lie. There is no such thing as 'cheap labor.' Take, for example, an illegal alien with a wife and five children. He takes a job for $5.00 or 6.00/hour. At that wage, with six dependents, he pays no income tax, yet at the end of the year, if he files an Income Tax Return, he gets an 'earned income credit' of up to $3,200 free.

He qualifies for Section 8 housing and subsidized rent.
He qualifies for food stamps.
He qualifies for free (no deductible, no co-pay) health care.
His children get free breakfasts and lunches at school!
He requires bilingual teachers and books.
He qualifies for relief from high energy bills.
If they are or become, aged, blind or disabled, they qualify for SSI.
Once qualified for SSI they can qualify for Medicare.
All of this is at (our) taxpayer's expense.
He doesn't worry about car insurance, life insurance, or homeowners insurance.
Taxpayers provide Spanish language signs, bulletins and printed material.
He and his family receive the equivalent of $20.00 to $30.00/hour in benefits.
Working Americans are lucky to have $5.00 or $6.00 hour left after paying their bills and his.

The American taxpayers also pay for increased crime, graffiti and trash clean-up.
Cheap labor? YEAH RIGHT! Wake up people!

These are the questions we should be addressing to the presidential candidates for either party. 'And when they lie to us and don't do as they say, we should replace them at once!'

To the Chapman's

2008-08-09T12:26:00.002-04:00

First off, Chapman's thanks for sharing this story with the world. What an awesome example of the love that comes only through Christ.

Will Franklin, may the grace of God fill you through and through with this grief. Remember, it was an ACCIDENT! You obviously didn't want this to happen, that's not your heart. From what i hear about you, you are a WONDERFUL older brother. And I know being an older brother myself, the guilt and/or grief you may feel. Remember bro, it was an ACCIDENT!

So why do bad things like this happen to good people? Life happens, I guess. Is it ok to just not have an answer or not saying anything, but just come along side and just let you know that our prayers are with you guys? Sometimes, you just don't have an answer. Weep with those who weep and rejoice with those who rejoice. God's grace on you Chapman Family.

And congratulations to you Emily on your future!

Considerations for the future

2008-08-06T21:53:00.002-04:00

I was just reading an article from MSN about how every year the sexual content of our society is hitting younger and younger ages. The article was entitled "Grade-school Logita: 'So Sexy So Soon'. (As a disclaimer, i do want to apologize for the picture on the very front of it. In my putting this on here, I don't want to come across as condoning that type of dress.) But reading through this, I was thinking about how would I handle these types of situations. I mean, lets face it: you can access just about anything now via the internet.

But for myself, I was thinking about how I would handle these types of situations. With my future more than likely dealing with these types of situations, what would I do? Not looking through my 'ministerial' lens and/or 'adult' lens, but coming at it from, lets say, a secular perspective. There are a lot of messed up families out there. And luckily, I grew up in a good Christian home. To this day, i feel pretty comfortable discussing these issues with my parents and family in general. Then again, I feel comfortable addressing these issues with just about anyone really, to a certain degree. I mean, I can't stick my head in the sand about this stuff. Issues like these are things I'm doing to be dealing with. And of course, I'm going to be going to scripture and pointing people to Jesus in those times.

But other than that, what do you do? I've learned that it's amazing what happens when you just listen to folks sometimes. (When you listen to them, they're more prone to listen to what you have to say and then you get to present some awesome Biblical truths.) But aside from that, i'm amazed and somewhat very shocked at the issues i've had to deal with folks in the past. I mean, what do you tell someone who is 13 and they're parents are getting a divorce?

I forget who I was listening to sometime ago, but he made mention of a situation where one of his daughters at home mentioned about how hurt she was that something happened to her. He said that at first, he was just going to quote a scripture verse to her. But then, he felt prompted to just say "honey, I hurt when you hurt." it was at this time that his daughter came over and gave him a great big hug! Instead of him just throwing out some rhetoric, he first sympathized what what she was going through. But how often do I actually listen to folks and take in what they're saying?

Just reading through this article gave me things to pray through and really get into the scriptures about and really think and ask how would Jesus have responded to this type of stuff? I mean, the things mentioned in this article simply are expressing human emotions and things that people deal with. Unfortunately, its at such a young age.

The thought occurred to me...

2008-08-05T21:15:00.002-04:00

That if i started up a computer class, i mean just teaching the basics, I would be kept super busy teaching/training a lot of folks. The other day at work I was like "ok, why does someone, who knows next to nothing about computers, have a high end complicated system?" I've honestly thought about teaching a class for people to learn computers. Start off amazingly simple and just progress from there. Who knows, I may end up doing something like that some day.

Over the past few days here, I have been tearing down a fence in our back yard. I checked with the Pearson's to see if they wanted it up. They said go ahead and tear it down. So, the only think that remains of it is 3 posts in the back yard. It was time to get some good aggression out... and sweat and manual labor... i feel better now..

RIP Grandpa

2008-07-31T22:34:00.005-04:00

On a completely different note here.... for those of you who have ever lost a close loved one, you can understand the following post more. When i first found out about my grandpa's death, it hadn't hit me truly for a couple days. I found out about it on a Monday night and spent some of that night and the following two days crying off and on. I luckily had the next day off of work and i tried to go in that Wednesday, but didn't last. Then that Thursday I was traveling and doing the viewing. I went right from the airport to the private viewing for the family. I was doing somewhat ok until i got to the private viewing and then I saw my relatives and the tearing started flowing once again. And you know what, I'm glad they did. It was tears of bitter sweetness. Sad that grandpa was gone but happy that he was in Heaven with Jesus. Sad that my family had to go through this (and for someone like me, I want to be able to fix everything). And sometimes the best way to fix this stuff is let the reality of it sink in. Ever have those times where you want to cry but you just can't? I don't know about you, but i get them a lot! it might be my ministerial calling that just having a heart like that. But i can remember monday night when i first heard about it, i couldn't really cry and i don't know why. But right before going to bed, i went and grabbed a hankerchief, when into my roommates room and put my head on one of their shoulders and let it the tears roll. And man did it feel good! (for those of you wanting to know how to console someone in this time, sometimes its just letting them wet your shoulder with their tears.)

But this evening in the mail, i got a letter from my grandma (which, by the way, she had already changed the return address sticker on it by taking my grandpa's name off... proud of you grandma for doing that..) and in it was a poem by someone. It reads as follows: :: clears throat ::

If You Could See Where I Have Gone

If you could see where I have gone, the beauty of this place
And how it feels to know you're home to see the Savior's face
To wake in peace and know no fear, just joy beyond compare
While still on earth you miss me, yet you wouldn't want me there
If you could see where I have gone

If you could see where I have gone and made the trip with me
You'd know I didn't go alone, the Savior came with me
When I awoke, He was by my side, and reached down His hand
Said, "Hurry, you're going home to a grand and glorious land
Don't worry over those you love to I'm not just with you
And don't you know with you at home, they'll long to be here too."

If you could see where I have gone, and see what I've been shown
You'd never know another fear or ever feel alone.
You'd marvel at the care of God, His hand on every life
And realize He really cares and bears with us in strife
And that he weeps when one is lost, His heart is filled with pain
But, oh the joy when one comes Home, a child at Home again

If you could see where I have gone, could stay awhile with me
could share the things that God has made to grace eternity
But, no, you couldn't ever leave once Heaven's joy you'd known.
You couldn't bear to walk earth's paths once Heaven was your home

If you could see where I have gone, you'd know we'll meet some day
And though I'm parted from you know, that I am just away.
So thank you wife, thank you children, for living for the Lord
For encouraging me to love Him, to trust Him and His word
And now that I'm Home with Him, secure in every way,
I'm waiting here at Heaven's door to greet you some sweet day.

Wow, that is one good poem. Everyone grieves differently. As I was back in PA for the funeral, i was talking with a old friend of mine who we used to terrorize the neighborhood there and he said that when they lost a relative of there's, it was actually a celebration of a life they'd lived. And he was completely right. It was a celebration of a life lived. It's just going through the grief of loosing someone, but knowing they're in a much better place.

The Lord holds the future in His hands, and its up to us to stay close to Him to rest in His love for us and to give that away to the world. My grandpa will be very missed. But i'm also happy for him that He is with Jesus.

This is a picture of me and my mom's parents, Grandma and Grandpa Yoder

And this is a picture of my dad's parents, Grandma and Grandpa Landis

A Few Things...

2008-07-31T22:00:00.002-04:00

The idea of abuses has been on my heart and mind a lot lately. I've seen a lot of them you might say. In all my years of being in this mess some call Christianity, i've seen a lot of junk. I've experienced a lot of junk. Maybe/hopefully i'm the only one. Although i'm sure i'm not. I don't know about you, but i've have my fair shut of beat ups in church. Not physical ones, but just drama and things have happened to me personally and my friends. And not of it feels good. And this isn't anything against any one church. This is just to state a fact.

Why do you think God would entrust His children with His bride? I'm sure He knew we'd botch things up... my brother in law has a video on his blogspot of a guy faking being a minister of the gospel. I watched a good bit of it before i almost had to run to the bathroom to throw up. In a lot of meetings I'm apart of, i've seen some weird stuff. Being in the charismaniac/pentecostal/non denom whatever-the-heck-you-wanna-call it circles, weird things take place. And some might say "oh, that's just because they're not preaching from the Bible." Which, in some cases, there is legitimacy to it. But sometimes, that's not the case. I always tell folks "look, i don't care if you get slain in the spirit or whatever, but it's what you do when you get up that i care about."

I have absolutely nothing against guys like Mark Hamill. I believe that they're doing this for very good reason. And some of what he said in there does have a good point. But I've been in the position where i've been slain in the Spirit and drunk and some of that other stuff. And yet I'm coming away with a desire to get into the Word and fellowship with Jesus. Again, things do get abused. And for those reading this and have been abused, i can't apologize enough. But what about the folks who have gone through this stuff and for them they're sincerely seeking God? (In essence, some of what Mark said was calling me a liar and a hypocrite. But listening to him did give me a chance to check up on myself and examine my own motives. And I hold nothing against the man.)

I was just talking with a precious sister in the Lord this evening whom i used to go to school with. Unfortunately, while she was here, something happened to her and she got hurt. It's just not right. The Lord has entrusted us with something so precious like His Bride, i pray that the Lord teach me proper stewardship, that i may be entrusted with more and treated it w/ care.

Beaten by a Stick

2008-07-25T12:05:00.003-04:00

You may have thought that by reading the title of this entry that perhaps I had gotten flogged or something. But that isn't the case... I am writing this because of a part of a sermon I heard lately.

What is it about the preaching of the Cross or the Cross itself that is soo offensive to people? What is it about telling someone that someone was beaten and then hung on a tree (all the while being bloodied and their physical body being mutilated and bent out of shape) and taking this persons sins upon themselves and giving their life as a ransom for many, that is soo offensive and bothersome to many? Is it the fact that this person, Jesus Christ, did this as a way to reconcile the sinner to God the Father? And now this person has a way to not sin but live a holy lifestyle?

In 1 Corinthians, Paul says that "Jews demand a sign and Greeks look for wisdom, but i preach the Cross of Christ and Him crucified." Does that mean that whenever someone asked Paul for advice on something, He just said that Jesus was crucified on a Cross? Because then later on Paul is talking about spiritual gifts and He's baptizing folks in the Holy Spirit. I think (and this is just my opinion in reading the Scriptures and just kinda common sense), but i think He was moreso saying that the Cross is to be the very foundation of the gospel and everything should stem from that.

Jesus dying on the cross and taking my sins on Himself, and thus giving me a way to live a holy and sinless lifestyle is the foundation for Christianity. Repenting of your sins is the way to get in to Heaven. And then once you have Jesus are your Lord and Savior, you can start to live a lifestyle that is pleasing to the Father. Then you get to start to develop and maintain a relationship with Jesus, seeing as how He is your Lord and Savior. And you get to start doing like really cool things. Like praying for folks and seeing people get healed and set free from all sorts of oppressions and diseases. Some might say that we don't need emotional healing because Jesus died for that already. And therefore, once you receive Jesus, He takes all of that away. And some people haven't been through a lot of junk. But some have. And that's where the power of the gospel comes into play at. Through the authority that God has given us through Jesus, we get to make sick people better.

John the Immerser said that he (John) baptizes with water, but that there was one greater coming (Jesus) who would baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. Lately, i've been reading a book called "Surprised by the Power of the Spirit" by Jack Deere. I was just reading a chapter about spiritual abuses. Every church has them. I've noticed in some circles that they emphasize being baptized in the Holy Spirit and praying in tongues MORE than repenting of sins and getting your life right back with God. While i firmly believe in the baptism of the Spirit, that has to be handled properly.

I think that's all for now.

In Pursuit of the Authentic

2008-07-13T15:33:00.004-04:00

So what will authentic church look like? What will a glorious spotless bride look like? To me, its really about what's going on in your life and heart. That's one way of putting it....

While working at Walmart and manning a cash register, you would come across times when people would try and give you fake money. We had those pens that you would take across the money to make sure they were real bills. I never came across money that was fake, or at least not that i knew of.

Just recently, i was talking w/ someone about church (I know, imagine that huh?). There are all types of church out there. There are mega-churches (usually characterized by a church body being 1,000 people or more.) And there are smaller community churches and house churches. Then there are even different brands of churches. There are some that are more dressy and then some that are not. Because there are all different types of people, your bound to have churches that have all different types of emphasis'.

Here is something to think about: there are all different types of presentation, and that's ok. But one thing stays the same: the message.

We're all in the pursuit of something that is real. Who wants something that is fake or stale or dusty or something like that? But we're after something that is, at times, hard to explain. I was talking w/ a relative the other day and mentioned that i have a hard time sometimes in a 'church service'. Not because the preaching might be bad or the music isn't good, but to me it seems like we're vitally missing the presence of God. We have nice programs and nice instruments, but we're lacking something more important: the Guest of Honor.

My heart is for the Body of Christ (The Bride of Christ) to realize her full potential and begin and continue to walk in the anointing she should be walking in. And be walking in the full power she should be walking in.

In most homes, the lady usually likes to decorate the kitchen and living room and other rooms to how she likes it. The guys are usually satisfied the garage. But overall, the dad has final say. The Lord has allowed us as the bride to decorate the buildings, but He gets final say of how things are run.

Identity Theft

2008-07-07T21:36:00.004-04:00

Is it just me or is there like a major problem in this world with identity. It's seems like we don't know who the world we are. Especially Christians! From time to time, I get into Christian bookstores and there are countless books about improving one's identity. Whatever happened to the preaching of the cross? I don't like the idea of self-esteem, it seems its soo much emphasis on yourself. From what i remember of the Bible, Jesus said to take up your cross and follow Him. He didn't say to be all self conscious of your image and be all concerned about stuff like that. Paul said "I die daily." When your secure in your relationship with Jesus, there really isn't a whole lot people can do or say to you. Leonard Ravenhill said that if your intimate with God, you won't be intimated by men. When you know who you are as a son of the Most High God, self esteem issues take care of themselves.

I've read books like Wild at Heart and Captivating... and i have bad days too and i love to spend time with folks. And i like to have a nice appearance. But there seems to be too much emphasis on self, and not enough on the Cross. But sometimes, things just seem soo superficial.

The Bible warns of flattering speech. Matter of fact, i'm uncomfortable whenever i hear 'prophetic words' and they're just all nice speech. Yes, the Lord loves you. But at times, God has to just smack you up side the head. The Lord disciplines those whom He loves. God can not and will not condone sin. He can't.

One passage of scripture i'd encourage someone who may be having self esteem issues or don't know who they are, read and pray through John 15:1-17.

More on Stewardship

2008-07-04T12:44:00.003-04:00

Lately, the Lord has really been putting the idea of properly stewarding His presence properly. Not treating it haphazardly, but having proper respect for it and proper care for it. He reminded me of the story in the Bible where the Israelites were moving the ark and it started to fall and one of the men there reached out to steady the ark so it wouldn't hit the ground (2 Samuel 6) And the Lord struck the man dead because he touched the ark! To our finite minds, we might be thinking "but he was trying to do something good."

I've seen and been around a lot of weirdness in the Body of Christ. It's soo easy to fake Christianity, or at least certain aspects of it. But it's vitally important to always be using scripture as our ultimate authority. I've grown up in the Pentecostal/charismatic circles and am still apart of it. There can be a lot of flakiness at times. But then there can be a lot of good things. I've seen people getting totally duped and tricked all in the name of Jesus. It's very important that we watch our motives for why we do things and also make sure we check what's going on with scripture, so as to not get into error. Are we doing them to make a name for ourselves? What happens if you do a good job at something but get no credit for it?

The Bible tells us to test the spirits and make sure they're of God. I've heard stories where people have faked being a Christian and even preaching! When we don't have a firm hold on scripture and pay attention to what the Holy Spirit is saying, we can get taken.

Here are FIRE, we have services a lot where we're just worshiping and praying. And we can get a bit crazy at times. I tell people a lot I don't care if you fall or shake or whatever, but its what you do after you get up that i care about.

Family Ties

2008-07-02T13:26:00.002-04:00

I was just talking on the phone with a friend of mine and I was relaying some of the stories that happened in PA. Monday night, we all went out for ice cream. The six of us: Dad, Mom, Shay, Me, Amber and Austin. It was fun to go and just get some ice cream. Our family is spread out all over the globe and its a miracle when we all come together.

But this time it really made me more appreciative of my family. The mindset in our culture today is soo anti-traditional family. I'm all for change as well, but good solid Biblical change. I believe the family unit is of God's design. That's why satan is doing everything he can to destroy it.

During the private family viewing time, we all cried together and hugged each other. Sometimes you realize that all the stupid petty differences are just stupid. It's just ignorance and pride and what can i get out of it. That mentality is just flat out annoying.

In any case, my grandpa left a strong legacy. And I know why of his greatest joys was to see his kids and grandkids coming together. And that happened. PTL!

Major Adjustments

2008-06-30T16:37:00.002-04:00

It has been almost a week now since my grandpa died. I found out about it a week ago tonite. Its been a crazy week to say the least. I cried a lot Tuesday and Wednesday. And i'm glad i didn't have to drive up. I wouldn't have made the trip up. I would've been a mess.

In any case, now its time for us to continue right along. I head back down to Charlotte tomorrow and continue on with life. It's going to take some time to adjust to all of this. For those of you who ever lost a relative that was really close to you, you will know how I feel.

One good thing that has happened is the fact that our family has really come together and bonded over it. I've been reciting comforting scripture time and time again and praying a lot. The fact that my grandpa is with Jesus is great consolation. It's just moreso the fact that we have a lot of adjustments to make. God is good and His Word is good.

A Bit of an Update

2008-06-25T18:33:00.003-04:00

I tried to go into work this morning, but didn't make it. Just before i clocked in I went to one of my managers there and tried to explain what was going on, but simply broke down crying. He said go home and take the rest of the week off.

So then i came home and laid down on my bed and tried to fall back to sleep. But that didn't work. I tried to change my flight, but it would've cost a lot of money. So i'll just leave in the morning. In the meantime, i've been packing and trying to eat (not much of an appetite, but doing what i can.) and i was watching some comedy online. I needed some good laughs, instead of crying. So i'll fly out tomorrow morning and be in PA by about 10:30am. I knew i wouldn't be able to do that drive, and i found a good priced ticket out of Charlotte.

I get to do some of the eulogy for my grandpa. They're giving me 5 minutes. I guess they believe in miracles b/c i'll shoot those 5 minutes in a heartbeat. Get me to talk about something I like or enjoy and is on my heart and i can keep going.

I can't thank everyone enough for their overwhelming support doing this time. The Lord had been preparing my heart for some time for this, but it still is hitting me hard. I've been crying a lot the last 30 hours.

The Lord is good and His mercy and love endures forever.
Jesus is King and He is on the throne.

Its important to mourn and get it out. Be blessed everyone.

The Great Cloud of Witnesses

2008-06-23T22:44:00.003-04:00

I just got a call from my parents that my grandfather passed away tonight. He was truly a patriarch of my family and he taught me many great things. He instilled in me a great work ethic. He also spoke some great wisdom into my heart and my mind. Without him, i truly wouldn't be the man of God that i am today. And i literally wouldn't be in the place that i am today. he is truly a man to aspire to be more like, other than Jesus Himself, he truly led a way to Jesus. He truly led by example. He is now looking on from the great cloud of witness cheering me on. He was a man who loved Jesus more than anything and it was out of that they he served with his whole heart. Thank you Jesus for such a great example that you had put in my life, other than You Jesus. Thank you for providing people to look up to and admire. People who walked according to Your Word and Your truth. Praise Jesus for evermore!

You may think "how can you be soo calm at a time like this?!?!" well, for one, the Lord has been preparing my heart for sometime now about this very issue. A number of years ago, the Lord gave me a dream about this.

It's a bitter sweet... my grandpa is with Jesus. I'm jealous. My roommate just wrote a song about it and below is the lyrics.

A Legacy Singing
by Joshua Pearson

I walked down the avenue, when i heart the news
You kept walking, I stared up at the stars
Through a veil of tears, it was as if heaven was saying

Well done my servant, well done my son
You lived well on Earth, now we are one
Welcome to heaven, Your life has just begun

The trees so tall, have left no legacy
Like the one you gave me
I'll remember You always
Till His face with you I'll see
Till then i'm proclaiming

There is a God, There is one Fathers
There is a cause, like no other
There is a power, blood from one Savior
A legacy singing

RIP Grandpa, forever in my heart and mind.

New Attire

2008-06-22T12:54:00.002-04:00

Every now and then, i get a desire to get dressed up. The other day I went to the store with one of my roommates here to get a new sport coat. We ended up at S&K Menswear and they hooked me up. I got a good deal on two new coast, new trousers, two new shirts and a new tie. Here is a picture of me dressed up in one of my new suits.

Lakeland comes to Concord

2008-06-20T14:16:00.002-04:00

This weekend, the regional churches of Concord are coming together to welcome Todd Bentley and Fresh Fire Ministries. I've been helping out w/ it. Last night I didn't get home until about 2 AM. I've been ushering/greetings/all around great guy mainly. There are likes and dislikes for me.

For those who say that he's not focusing on the lost and seeing people come into the kingdom, i'm glad your wrong. In listening to his altar call last night for salvation, i heard the 'repentance' word used a bit. so that settled well within my Spirit.

One of the cons was that when they intro'd Todd, he got a bigger welcome than Jesus. That obviously didn't sit well with me.

I was able to join in on the prayer tunnel and pray for people. Now that was fun! Hehe. For those who don't know what a prayer tunnel is... you line the people up who will be praying for others in lines facing each other about shoulder width apart. Then the people who are getting prayer walk between the people and simply receive. I get more out of praying FOR folks than getting prayer. It's just how i'm wired. They do the prayer tunnels (at church, we call them FIRE tunnels, but its the same concept, just different terminology) a little differently. They actually have two tunnels going at the same time. Todd stood at the front of the tunnel and the folks just went on either side of him. He has two hands so you do two tunnels.

But to start off the night, i was on elevator duty. And i didn't mind doing it, other than the fact that i must've had a badge on me that said "Complaint department". The arena sits about 5,000 people. That quickly filled up. Then the overflow sits another couple thousand was quickly filled up. The totally cool thing was that they said that a couple thousand folks were lined up along the highway praising God! Now thats awesome!!! Sadly, they had to turn many folks away (which i'm not happy about).

But here is something to think about, something for you to ponder over... One thing that i did notice was all the wheelchairs and handicap folks coming in. And one thing that doing elevator duty for me did was giving me a greater desire to seek God for more of Him to pray for folks to get healed. I say its time we stop looking to one man to heal everyone, but for the church (the Bride of Christ) to assert her maturity and power and to perform signs and wonders.

Granted, I do believe that there are folks with a gift for this. But at the same time, it is our job to be doing this. Also, I'm not pointing fingers at any one else other than myself. Even while sitting here writing this, the Holy Spirit is speaking to me as well about my life.

I'm grateful for what the Lord is doing in Lakeland. I'm grateful for what the Lord is doing in the world. He's stirring hearts and lives. He's shaking everything that can be shaken. And my heart is stirred for more of God to take it to a lost and hurting and dying world. He's stirring me and challenging me to be more of a man of my word and a man of His Word and His Spirit. Lately, the Lord has been pointing out areas of my own life that need to be fixed and changed. And if i'm going to be leading others in the future and having influence over them, I need to get my own life in order. I've seen too many ministers and leaders in the Body of Christ falling because of sin. And i need to take the necessary steps to prevent that for myself and my future.

And praise God that the Lord is moving in the world! He's bringing the lost into right relationship with Himself and restoring lives and the prodicals are coming home! PTL!

Well, that's for now. Just wanted to share these things with you all.

Mindsets

2008-06-17T17:30:00.002-04:00

Let's face it, we all have them. We all have stereotypes of other people. A goth, a stoner (one who does marijuana, drug addict) smoker, geek/nerd, skater, beach bum.. the list goes on and on. And in today's American culture, everyone tries to 'not judge', which is just a bunch of baloney.

What brought this to mind? Today i was watching a youtube video of Todd Bentley being interviewed by Fox's Geraldo Rivera. Todd was getting asked about his tattooes and piercings and his financial records and about the healings that were taking place. And Todd had answers for the financial records and the healings that were taking place. To verify them (which I wouldn't mind knowing as well.)

But the funny thing about the whole ordeal was the fact that a secular mindset is trying to figure a sacred thing out. The world is trying to figure out the church. Good luck w/ that one.

I remember when i was in high school and i was talking w/ one of my science teachers about scientific equations. And i was asking about certain chemicals and mixing them up. Her only response was that "You can't do that." And i just pressed it a bit and said 'why not?' To which she responded "You just can't."

I politely said "Doesn't sound very 'scientific' to me. Also in other talks with her about creation vs. evolution, the only response was that 'Scientists just believe that.' Ok, but i'm looking for fact here. I believe something else and that's not being taught... seems a little unbalanced to me. But then again, that's just my narrow minded way of thinking... maybe i should be more 'open minded'.

Just a side note here: the above is coming from someone who's younger sister is going into the medical profession and i fully support her in that. I believe that the Lord gave scientific knowledge for us to discover attributes about Him that we may not have otherwise discovered. I personally don't care for science, but i'm 1 of countless billions.

In any case, we all have mindsets about something or other. How about we get a sports athlete in an interview and ask them about what they're doing w/ the millions of dollars they make a year? Or a movie star or someone else... It seems to me like the people who say don't judge are coming up with all the stereotypes and mindsets of those who they're telling not to judge.

A Fine Balance

2008-06-14T22:30:00.004-04:00

Tonight I got a text message on my phone from a dear brother and friend. And i loved getting the message from him and i'm not tearing it down. But part of it got me to thinking.

I want to preface what i'm about to say by saying that I know that we need to understand that we are loved by God. Jesus showed that to us on the Cross. He willingly went on the cross to show the love of God to the world. But sometimes i have a hard time with how we present the gospel to the world. The Gospel means "Good News".

1. Greasy Grace: By this i mean that God just loves you and He doesn't care what you've done in the past and whatever you'll do in the future. Just receive Jesus and life will be all peaches and roses.

Ok, yes, part of this is cool. Let the past be the past. Jesus does wash all your sins away. And there is a process of sanctification and renewing the mind and there is grace for when you mess up. But i haven't found anywhere in the Bible where it says that the world will love you. Jesus actually said the exact opposite. The world will probably hate us because it hated Jesus first. This doesn't mean we go and be offensive for the sake of being offensive. But when your truly living your life by Biblical standards, there's a very high chance of your having your guts being hated by the world. I remember listening to a message by Leonard Ravenhill. In that message, he said 'How is it that the world couldn't get on w/ the holiest man that ever lived but that it can get on with you?" That phrase hit me like crazy! Where is the repentance message at? Where in our preaching is there the words of taking of your cross and following God?

2. By the Book! Then there is the camp that its just all rules and legalism. That if your not praying 30 hours a day and sharing your faith and doing all this stuff that there is something wrong. This is when it can get into a works mentality. We're saved by grace. It's good to know that its nothing that i can do, but its what Jesus has already done for me. And it's when i accept his forgiveness and love and mercy and grace and i have an understanding of what living a life for Jesus means that i can make an impact in this world.

In all of this, there is a line to be drawn. Ultimately i say, be intimate with God and for the most part other things will fall in line. Cherish His word and Cherish Him. And when you do that, you'll be ministering without even trying it. Because His presence will exude out of you.

Another thing that i was talking w/ some of my friends about tonight was about prophecy and the prophetic gifting. I love and appreciate the prophetic and i truly believe that it is for today. It's also in that i have a high preservation for it. There is a way to handle it and there is a way that you can totally miss it. A few tips is is that you don't prophecy mates, dates and babies (just like around me you don't tease a girl about her weight.. i big no no. the other week in church actually i scolded a younger brother about that. he knew i loved him and he took it well.) but i just have such a high preservation for things of the Spirit and the Holy Scriptures that i can't even watch certain things nowadays. It just seem hollow.

More randomness

2008-06-10T16:58:00.001-04:00

On the political scene, its smear campaign time, which means dig up as much dirt as you can on the person and use it against them. How about praying and asking what the Lord wants? I guess it helps in my case that my man Huckabee is currently not in the running. So that narrows my options down... I can't vote for Obama (he supports genocide aka abortion) and a number of other things that i can't agree w/. And McCain just doesn't sit right with me. I'm not sure what i'll be doing.

Right now around here, its blazing hot. About a hundred degrees outside. I'm not complaining though... i mean, its the south and its summer time. What am I to expect? On Sunday, I dressed up for church. Usually i'll go in khakis and a nice shirt.... looking presentable. Or i'll wear jeans and a nice shirt. But since i went in shorts and a t-shirt last week (we had a church picnic right afterwards), i decided to go the other direction this week. So i got on a pair of khaki pants, a dress shirt and a tie. It was fun. I wouldn't necessarily do it every week, but every now and then, its fun. Then after that, i had a prayer team get together and then i went down to Charlotte for an event that's known as "A Taste of Charlotte". Good times... and food.

More and more people are joining onto the social networking craze. It's ok, but sometimes these things are just more annoying than anything. They're nice in the fact that i'm able to keep in contact w/ folks all over the globe and it feels like they're just right next door. It's annoying in that it seems somewhat largely superficial. Superficial in the fact that you get requests from folks who are you 'friends' and yet you never really hear from them.

I have a gift certificate for $50 to a restaurant somewhere out in Huntersville (about 30 minutes from here.) So we're planning on making it a formal event and getting a few folks together and having some fun. Getting all dressed up and doing and gorging ourselves, meanwhile trying to stay out of trouble. We'll see how well that works since some of the folks who i know are coming are known for their random antics. We shall see...

Petitions

2008-06-04T18:45:00.002-04:00

I don't know about you, but i'm a subscriber to the AFA. I get emails about petitions to sign. And i'll be honest w/ you, i don't sign everyone of them. I either don't have the time or don't feel that its worth it to sign every one of them. I believe in changing the laws and making righteous decrees. I firmly believe that things like that can make a difference. But sometimes that's not always the best way to tackle the issue.

For the past few years now, our church has been taking a very active part in opposing the homosexual agenda and the abortion issue, among other things. And part of that was going to a Charlotte Pride festival (homosexual pride festival). During that time, we had some people who would stand along the sides and hold signs up and just tell folks they're going to Hell for this. which is the truth... but sometimes it needs to be handled the proper way. Who did Jesus hang w/ when He walks the planet? it wasn't the religious leaders. He loved the people into truth. He was very firm too and didn't water His message down. But He laid down His life for the people who hated His guts. He lived in love. Love is not always mushy stuff. At times, its confrontational.

I can remember watching an evangelist on tv one time. During his appeal for people to get right with Jesus, His eyes were filled with tears. Bottom line: if you haven't accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, your destination once you die is Hell. Eternal separation from God the Father for all eternity. I didn't write the rules. I just work at abiding by them. But more importantly, i work harder at pursuing and understanding God's heart for His people.

"If God is soo powerful, why doesn't He just stop people from doing bad things?" Because God wants you to choose Him. He gives you free will so that you can decide you want to turn to Him.

I was talking w/ someone about the difference between the Law of Moses (Ten Commandments) and the Law of Grace. Here is a big difference: Don't commit adultery (10 Commandments) But the law of grace says that if you've looked at someone with a lustful thought, you've committed the act in your heart already... suddenly, the 10 commandments has just gotten easier than the law of grace to follow.

Let's go after the hearts, and their minds will follow.

Gen X

2008-05-31T15:43:00.005-04:00

I know that some of my posts get repetitious. And i know i repeatedly address hot button issues. But for some reason, i like to grab the bull by the horns and just pull. It gives me a good challenge. And once again, i wanted to discuss schooling. For those of you who know me, you know that since 3rd grade, i was in public school. Yes, the big bad public education system. Now granted, perhaps i was in a very conservative area (right next to our high school, was "The Cloister", which is kinda like a community of Quakers lived back in the 1800's i think... i'll have to look into that more later on.. i apologize for my lack of research thus far.)

Also, as a side note, i want to add that i am not a parent as of current date. I've baby sat and spent much time w/ little kids. But i am not a parent so perhaps i don't have room to speak much here. So for those of you reading this who ARE parents, please understand that I am in no way trying to tell you how i think you should raise YOUR kids. That is between you and God. So please take this as from someone who has a heart to reach out to teens and teach and train them in the ways of the Lord. If the Lord has spoken to you about homeschooling and that is what you feel you are to do, by all means GO FOR IT! I most certainly want you to obey God in that.

And granted, i grew up in a very loving family. We talked things over as a family and dealt with the issues as they arose. (Train up a child in the way they should go and they will follow it all the days of their life.)

But in talking with many families, its like everyone is afraid of the public school system. They say their kids aren't ready for that yet... But yet those very same kids are ready to put themselves down in front of a tv screen for hours and play a video game or some movie. I mean, do we want to take over this world or not? I was talking w/ my mom the other day on the phone and she has a couple young ladies there at church that look to her for guidance. And i thought that was great! But i told her that if you ask them what they're dealing with, don't be surprised at what they may tell you. In my years of experience, kids at the age of 12 are dealing with stuff that i didn't have to deal with until i was 21.

Now, i know i have a very confrontational style to me. And i know that at times, i can be very abrasive (that may be an understatement). It's how God made me... lol. I don't mind getting down and dirty and dealing with things in life. And as always, you have to be careful in how you deal with them. Everyone is different. Some people like it very direct and point blank... others not so much. (Can you tell which one I am?) (Even in writing this, i want to choose my words very carefully and notice i'm not using very many exclamation marks at all.)

My main point in all of this is that the schools are a great way to get to kids, in a healthy way (for those of you who DON'T know me, i mean that in a very safe way.) But obviously, i want to be able to get into the schools somehow and show them the love of God. There are countless teens in there that are hurting and need Jesus and often times, just need a friend.

I can remember right after Columbine, there were rumors going around our school that there was going to be a shooting at our school. The day it was supposed to happen, you could've cut the fear with a knife! But I was there and just being me. (I know, scary thought, right...lol.) But i had to go, aside from wanting to be there. If i didn't go, there goes any hope for my witness.

I say its time to put God back in the schools. And parents and teachers are obviously very limited in what they can do. Teach your child and send them in. They're Special Forces. They'll get into places where others can't. It's time to take the high ground.

Well Digging...

2008-05-30T21:58:00.002-04:00

This blog is dedicated to all those who have sewn into the great revivals of the past through tears and travail. May i not drop this torch, but carry on. May what i do in my life make your lives worth the price you paid.

The other day i was thinking about current life. I got to thinking about well digging... i'm going somewhere with this..

As to date, there is a healing revival going on in Lakeland, FL. I wouldn't mind going down, but i haven't really felt the release to go as of yet. I frankly don't care what others are saying about it. I have my own opinions about it. You can't really compare to other revivals (Toronto, Brownsville, Azusa Street) and some others because i don't know of two revivals that are all alike. And i realize that all these revivals were preceded by my prayer and travail and a people getting hungry for something other than just meetings.

I believe that this next move of God will be something soo much more. It will be built on relationships. It will be impacting to the next door neighbors. We can learn from past mistakes...

But i remember about 8 years ago, my friends and i started praying for a revival in our area back in Lancaster, PA. then we heard about Brownsville and headed down there to experience it. It was in the years following that we ran from conference to conference and all sorts of meetings. We wanted to experience God and His presence.

But in the past few years, i haven't been able to attend many conferences. Can't say is that i've wanted to. Reason being: i'm tired of running, i was to dig my own well and see God do something where I'm at. I get tired of church services like you wouldn't believe. Honestly i'm in a mode where i just want to leave unless i'm involved somehow. I frequently get asked to help minister at meetings. And i love to get prayed over by others, but i usually don't 'feel' a whole lot when i'm getting prayed for by others. but its usually just in the times of worship that i most get really touched by God.

I don't have a problem at all with people running to hot spots. Because as i've said before, i used to do all that. But now i'd like to dig my own well here and have people get and get touched and blessed here. I long to see the lost coming into relationship w/ God and the prodicals coming home, seeing the demon possessed/oppressed get freed and all that fun stuff.

But i just want to dig the well here and that way i don't have to keep running. It's not going to be easy probably. You can only run for soo long.

In any case, i just thought i'd put this out there and see what kind of feedback i get.

Lord, grant me the grace to persevere and even when times to rough to look to You to strength and sustenance.

PS- check out my blogspot at shawnman.blogspot.com

N.A.S.C.A.R

2008-05-26T12:47:00.002-04:00

I live in one of the cities where NASCAR is like a god. Not far from my house here is the Dale Earnhardt Memorial Trail. It's where he lived for a good portion of his life. I live about 10 minutes from the Lowe's Motor Speedway and our church has a building down almost literally right next door to the speedway (imagine the backyard bar b que's we could have w/ them...). And yet, through all of this, I wouldn't spend probably more than a day at this place. I'm just not a big NASCAR fan at all! Then again, i'm not a big pro sports fan at all. I'm pro salary caps at $50 annually. I'm sorry, but i don't see the justification in paying someone millions of dollar a year to drive a car around a track or get a ball through a hoop... i just have a hard time w/ the justification of it. To me, NASCAR truly is a Non Athletic Sport Centered Around Rednecks. That isn't to say anything bad about 'rednecks'. Not even sure where that term originated from....

But at least twice a year, here in Concord, NC, thousands of people descend upon the town here to watch a race. The speedway holds around 200,000 people and the grounds around the speedway are filled with visitors. And i've been in there about 2 times thus far. And you can hear the race from miles away. And since i used to work at Wal-Mart, during the time of the race, our beer sales would sky rocket.

Now, in their defense, i would like to mention that most of the race fans were actually some of the most enjoyable people to be around. They were laid back and just out to have a good time. So in that, i did somewhat like having them in town. They came in with their RV's and gave our town business.

But i was talking w/ a buddy of mine on the phone yesterday and he and his family were invited to a race at the nearby dirt track. (The dirt track and the actual speedway are two separate tracks. the speedway itself is where the major races take place and the dirt track are where some of the small ones are at.) But i know from experience that during the times of the race, you don't want to be driving anywhere near the speedway. Now, i will say this: during this time, FIRE does sell parking spots to race fans. so we do capitalize off of it. I'm not talking about $2-3 per spot, i'm talking like a minimum of $15 per spot. I told some of the guys in our church here who are from Canada and technically, they can't officially work. but i told them they should go and buy bottled water and resell it. You could buy a 12 pack of water and then resell it for $1/bottle. And trust me, people will pay it. (not to make a slant against some of the race fans, but some of them might be a little too drunk to know whats going.) ((As i mentioned earlier, these weeks aren't know for their times of when alcohol sales are down, but up.))

Throughout all of this, part of me would love to go and just walk around at the camp grounds down there and get to know people. My heart does break for them. Probably a good portion of them are folks w/o a Savior. This wouldn't be a time when i would just send a group of girls down there to minister, but go with a bunch of folks and just reach out to them. See what types of needs they have. All in all, it would be a great time to go check out the scene and see how we can be the more pro-active as far as Christendom goes.

Life at the monastery

2008-05-20T17:23:00.005-04:00

Picture above: L to R is Jordan, Me and Joshua

Me and the Monks: Joshua on my left and Jordan on my right.

I love to try and pick up interesting titles for these blogspots. The reason i choose this one is because i currently live w/ two younger guys who their father and even them call them "The Monks". They like to live a very simple life. I thought I was conservative. But we frequently joke about that here.

Sometime ago, one of the leaders of FIRE Church, Steve Alt, preached a message here at FIRE about truly being a revolutionary people. I've been thinking about this lately. Our church is called FIRE Church and our school is FIRE School... whenever fire goes through an area, you tend to notice that its been there. It usually leaves a mark. In Steve's message, he made mention that we don't have to be offensive for the sake of being offensive. Simply our message with have a tone to it that can quite possibly do a number of different things.

The other day, i got an email from a very well intentioned relative. They had been reading my blogs and made mention that i seem to have a certain tone about the blogs. it seems that i'm quite critical at times. I wrote back and even called them up. I wanted to get more insight into what they were saying and understand them better. The hard part about writing something like this is you only see the words. When you don't know the heart behind it, it comes out differently. I know at times i come across strong and hard. And sometimes, that is needed. But done in the wrong spirit/attitude, it does come across wrong. but i appreciated the feedback that i got.

1. It would bring conviction. The difference between condemnation and conviction is that conviction brings hope. There is a purging a change that takes place, but overall, the person is edified and changed for the better. To be corrected usually never feels good at first, but in the end, it brings great results.

2. It could very well be misunderstood. In this email that my relative wrote to me, i could easily see what they were talking about. I know that i can come across very strong at times. And its because of that that i try and be very careful in what i say. I know that there is the power of life and death in the tongue. I try and be an encouragement and i also like to bring a challenge and something that brings about change.

Some people may read a book by Dr. Brown and get this impression that this guy is just mean. But once you get to know him, you'd probably be very surprised. I've brought differing view points to him in the past and they were very well received.

3. People will really like it. Something is happening in this day that is just different. The Lord is raising up a remnant to take a stand and see injustice dealt with. In my time at FIRE, i've been apart of countless prayer meetings and traveling all over the world and ministering the gospel. And mind you, i've never really seen a single penny for it coming to myself. And i don't mind that at all. I'm not in this to get paid. I'm in this to expand the Kingdom of God. We can't stick our head in the sand anymore and just ignore the problems in our society. I don't know about you, but i want to leave a legacy that says i took a stand for righteousness. And for each one of us, that's going to look different. For some, that means traveling and preaching/ministering. For some, that means raising kids and having travelers stay with you in your home for a couple days. Each is important.

Hope deferred...

2008-05-13T14:29:00.002-04:00

"Makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life." Prov. 13:12. This the verse that we going through my head and on my heart on Sunday morning. As i've shared in the past about the last few years of my life, God hasn't let this whole thing about revival/revolution go. What will it look like? Who will be 'leading it'? That sort of thing...

But have you ever been let down or, as some might say, you got punked! Meaning you've had a joke pulled on you? Sometimes that how i feel... like i'm getting punked. now for clarification and for probably the 2 people who read this, i'm not giving up on God or anything like that. I don't have a right to be offended with God. For those of you who might think you actually have a right to be offended by God, i'll be bold for a second and tell you to grow up. I'll also tell you that no matter what you've gone through, Jesus can and will touch you and heal you of the hurts from the past.

"but you don't know what happened to me! you don't know how i was abused/neglected/whatever it may be!" your right, i don't. but Jesus does and His arms are wide open to heal you. He won't let you down like you may have been let down before by another human being.

But this past Sunday, as i was at church, i saw one of my old friends who i had gone through FIRE with. And they didn't seem like themself at all. They used to be very vibrant and energetic and going after God and evangelizing and all that stuff. Now, they're sitting there just very still. And it wasn't stillness before God... but it was probably that they had been hurt.

I've been to numerous different churches around the globe. Churches are made up of people and people do things at times that hurts others. I know, i've been in this type of situation. I've been hurt by people in the past. By well meaning friends and something happens and .... oops.

Just a side note, its kinda funny w/ the difference between men and women. Men, if they're mad at someone, they probably won't hide it. They'll just take them out back and beat the tar out of the person and 5 minutes later, they've forgotten all about it. Women let these things fester. And sometimes, the do the worst possible thing about acting like they really like each other! i'm just thinking "take it out back and deal with it already!" i'll go get you some boxing gloves....

But i'm sure that if your a living breathing human being, you've been hurt by someone or something. The worst possible thing you can do is act like nothing is the matter. That's just the dumbest thing! I'm speaking from experience. I wouldn't be soo adamant about something like this unless if i knew it were the truth. A good book i recommend to deal with an issue like this (other than the Bible) is called "The Bait of Satan" by John Bevere. It talks a lot about offenses being built up and hurts and how satan uses them against us.

In my history of counseling w/ people, i tell people to their face to do what they know is the right thing to do. (my thinking is is that if the person is coming to me, the worst thing i can do is just tickle their ears. nope, i confront the issue head on and just take it down.) It's not my job to tickle ears... its my job to get to the root of the problem and deal with the issue. its usually not easy nor fun... but it needs to be done.

I'm talking about this because just recently, i went through a session with one of my friends and i had some hurts from the past that needed to be dug up and dealt with. Granted, for someone like myself, i'm always my own worse critic. I like hard messages that challenge you and correct you. I like to get to the root of the matter and deal with it. Some of you don't... good luck w/ that. Just remember, gossip kills. Spiritual gossip as well... sometimes in talking w/ people, i have the stay vague about issues. The people i'm talking about don't necessarily need to know every detail. If its about me... sure, i'll share it. If its involving someone else though, details are left out.

In any case, satan will use just about anything he can to detract us from going after God. He'll use hurts that happen in church that make us decide to go to another church or avoid church altogether. If you ever find the perfect church, lemme know.

My original idea when deciding to write this was to talk about how at times, we can feel let down by things and that can lead to us dropping the sword and continuing to find in the name of the Lord. Because after the Lord dropped the verse in Proverbs, he directed me to Rom. 12:10-13. Sometimes, life is going to be a journey and its going to be rough. But its what we do with that that determines a lot. Are you going to be mad at God or mad at others? Or do you recognize a need for something more and be fervent in serving the Lord and committed a long haul?

Christianity is more than just attending meetings, its how you live your life. That may be faithful in your local church, and family (divorce is plain wrong and solves nothing) and job. But most importantly, its in loving Jesus and being faithful to him.

I realize that this turned into somewhat of a mini sermon... that wasn't necessarily my intention, but that's how it turned out. take it or leave it and test it.

peace out.

Send the Fire

2008-05-02T14:00:00.004-04:00

Last night at church, we had a night amount of time just crying out to God. I was glad... because that's what i had on my heart to do. I didn't really want to hear another message (i'm kinda tired of hearing messages, although there is a time and place for preaching). but last night while gathered as a congregation to pray and seek the Lord for Him.

I know i mention the word 'revival' a lot on my blogspot. One concern i have is that it was just be a buzzword. And i know a lot of times, churches have a week set aside in the year for a revival. this is a topic that has been on my heart for years. I would probably say for a good 8+ years. A number of years ago, the Lord messed me up in such a way that i can't sit idly by. My heart yearns for a greater depths of the Lord and His working. It may not always feel like it or seem like it, but while on this planet, my heart burns to see Jesus made known.

in any case, my heart longs to see the Holy Spirit 'poured out' upon this earth. Sometime ago, the president of FIRE, Dr. Micheal Brown, wrote what he calls a 'sarcastic prayer for revival'. You have to understand before reading this that this is coming from a New York Messianic Jew.

"Prayer for a 'Nice' Revival"
Not too loud and not too long;
We want a nice revival.
Nothing heavy, weird or wild;
Our first goal is survival.

Make our church grow big, dear Lord;
Give us souls galore!
And bless our new faith budget, God;
That’s what revival’s for!

We’re praying and we’re fasting, Lord;
Please send Your Spirit in power.
And do whatever You see fit --
Just keep it to an hour!

Send the river, send the flood,
Send Your mighty rain.
Send Your glory down, O God:
It will be to our gain.

And now we close with this request;
We pray with heart and soul:
Send a great revival, Lord --
But leave us in control!

“Prayer for a ‘Nice’ Revival,” MLB

I've been in many different services where the presence of the Lord has been, probably what many would consider, unusually strong. Now, part of that bothers me that many might consider it strong. I don't like the idea of being able to play church. That's just boring. But real revival is messy. Forget about keeping the hair nice and combed and keeping the nice face on. It's going to mess you up. Some of you reading this know far better than i do about the reality of that. I've experienced a sliver of what some of you might have.

But last night, it just kinda felt weird. Not like in a bad way, but many are hearing about what's going on in Lakeland, Florida with Todd Bentley. I've watched numerous different viewings of it and his style is a bit different that what i like. But people are getting healed and saved. And their will be fruit from it and that's one of the best ways to judge it. But i went into the meeting last night and was like "God, i'm grateful for what your doing in Lakeland and i would love to go down there. But God, right now i can't. So Lord, do it here. Prepare my heart, mind and life for what your about to do.

May we always be vigilant and test what is going on by the Word of God. Not our own experiences and feelings. But if its a God thing, judge it according to the scriptures. And be careful what you ask for.

Happy Birthday Israel!

2008-05-01T22:20:00.002-04:00

Happy Birthday Israel! And many more! I bless you as a nation and as a people in the name of Yeshua! May you reside in peace and joy.

Israel celebrated her 60th Birdthday on May 8th. Throughout the media we have been reminded how hard these 60 years have been, and how much the people of Israel had to sacrifice in order to have a country of their own in 2008. Many special guests are visiting Israel to celebrate together with us. Thousands of tourists also flooded the country to show their support of Israel and the Jewish people. Leaders of various countries around the world have congratulated Israel on her anniversary. The atmosphere here is special, and it seems that, even if just for a day, many people here have decided to stay away from criticism, voicing dissatisfaction and complaining. It's during these types of celebration that we can say without hesitation - "All Israel are Friends (Comrades)."

The Following are some articles from Dateline Israel, a news briefing i get.

During this special time we would like to share with you a couple of things that were forwarded to us and blessed us tremendously. The first one is a link to the video made 30 years ago, showing a conversation between Barbara Streisand and Golda Meir on Israel's 30th anniversary, with Barbara then singing the Israeli Anthem: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8uPHaioopKM. The second is a power point made especially for Israel's 60th Birthday, which you can VIEW BY CLICKING HERE. (For best viewing save the file to your computer when prompted.)We hope you will be blessed just as we have been with these two exceptional resources.

NIZKOR! WE SHALL REMEMBER AND NEVER FORGET!
By Katy Sorsher Smith

Today I already consider myself as one of the previous generation. At thirty I find that I am completely different - even from those in their early twenties, and truth be told - it really scares me. It seems that we have completely different values, as if we have been raised centuries apart. The younger ones seem to forget faster, and the voices rising up today from every direction surprisingly of the generation older than mine are promoting the growing ignorance of this and Google and MySpace generations.

How quickly does the world forget! How quickly the enemy raises up new opposition to the army of God! I was taught that we should never forget. Today’s generation is taught tolerance and acceptance which is nothing more but ignorance and apathy in my eyes. This self-consumed generation is easily swept by propaganda and words that are pleasant to their ears. You don’t have to search for it what I call 'The Obama Phenomenon' is self-explanatory.

But I am determined to never forget. And not only today, Holocaust Memorial Day, but every day!

My anger is stirred up every time someone even as much as entertains the thought of the severity of the holocaust being exaggerated and so much more when people outwardly and without shame deny it ever happened!

Sadly, these voices are growing louder and louder while the voices of survivors are getting thinner and thinner - as every year less and less of them remain to tell about the horrors of what humanity put them through. But if you've talked to a survivor once in your life, if they let your fingers slide on their skin where the numbers are engraved forever leaving their mark, you will not be able to forget.

The headlines of Israeli newspapers online were filled with anti-Semitism this past week:

Ukraine started selling Hitler dolls, and the manufacturer says they consider them to be in the same category as Barbie dolls! More products like these dolls will follow, depending on the sales. 'The Hitler figurine features moveable arms that enable it to reproduce the Nazi dictator's infamous salute, and consumers are able to choose from a variety of outfits, including "early days Adolf" and "wartime Adolf".’ (Ynet News, 4/26/08)

A Jewish leader in Germany this week suggested that the ban on selling Hitler’s book, Mein Kampf, should be lifted, also saying it should be published and available to everyone online. His suggestions have been, thank God, rejected - at least for now.

To top this, Jean-Marie Le Pen, infamous for his remarks about the Holocaust, now says that gas chambers in Auschwitz and other death camps did not exist, and that the prisoners were merely workers in these labor camps. If I could, I would dare him look in the eyes of a survivor from one of the camps and say that.

How can anyone stay apathetic to these remarks and not speak against them? Well, most of us don’t, even though I think we should. One voice is, of course, just one voice, but if joined together, we will be heard!

However, this generation does not seem to care. Totally consumed by their own desires they simply choose NOT to remember. Well, not only them. We, too, seem to forget, or sometimes bluntly ignore the fact that there are people today determined to wipe off the face of the earth other people they don’t like… We seem to dismiss the fact that a leader openly says he wants to wipe Israel off the map. Do we really think he’s just being misunderstood or is making empty threats?

Will we again remain silent and hide behind “God will have His way anyway?”
We should never forget! We should never allow this again! Our children and their children (should the Lord tarry) should never forget either.

When the alarm sounded in Israel this morning, every person, every student, every child stood silently in Honor of the victims of Holocaust. Let’s remember with them. Let’s remember not just today but every day! Let’s fight the enemy with prayer and intercession for Israel. Let’s petition our Lord and Savior to plea with the Father to fight again for Israel, asking Him what can we personally do.

NIZKOR! WE SHALL REMEMBER AND NEVER FORGET!

Personal Note: There were a few pictures that i couldn't carry over from my email. And another side note... why is it soo much to ask for people to start recognizing Israel and the Holocaust? If they want to deny that, why not just deny the Pearl Harbor or some other major disaster?

Running the Race

2008-04-27T18:24:00.002-04:00

I just got back from a ministry trip in Biscoe, NC. For those of you who don't know where thats at... don't ask me because i don't really know either. It's kind of what you might call a 'po dung' town out there somewhere. Meaning, its a really small town.

In any case, one of my friends here asked me to go w/ him and pray for people. I'm always amazed at how much God uses me, despite who i am. It's like He's saying, "I'm going to use you, despite the fact that i know who you really are..."

So i get there Friday night after driving for about an hour. I go walking into the building and they pretty much got under way right away. So no debriefing for me. I just jump into the mix and see what happens. Later on, i step outside and see that they have a sign on the wall that says "Revival with FIRE School of Ministry". i'm like, 'oh, ok.." (i hate to be critical at this point in time, but you can plan a revival like you can plan a snow storm. I laugh whenever people say "oh, we're having revival at church that week." ok...)

in any case, from what i understand of the end result of the weekend... the Lord really did a deep work at this church. everyone was very thankful we came. which is cool. Personally, i guess i'm used to much more intense times of prayer and worship... but the key thing is is that they were encouraged and challenged.

The Lord was raising up spiritual parents during this weekend. Also, our whole team had to give prophetic words for people in the church there. Now, normally, i don't flow in that type of activity. Personal prophetic words aren't necessarily my field of expertise. But I was more or less put into. So it was time to go swimming... like it or not.

On a side note, i was able to get some four-wheeling in! It was great! My buddy there had a 4-wheeler and he took me out on a trail nearby his house. I somewhat grew up on them so i was like jump on and ride!

PA Happenings

2008-04-18T13:29:00.003-04:00

Well, i'm back in North Carolina by now. I got back last night around 6pm. i think i might have set a personal record for driving back. probably starting out somewhere around 9:15 am or so and getting back to my house here about 5:50 or so. (you may voice your approval or disapproval only if you've ever had to do numerous 8+ hour drives by yourself). i was really proud of my little car... traffic was light and no major traffic blocks.

the trip was good i thought. I was able to get a show at Sight and Sound there. Me and my mom went to see Daniel and the Lion's Den. I've been a couple shows there. They're a bit pricey, but i think that for Christian entertainment, its pretty good. I mean, you'll usually fork out about $40 or more for a sporting event or some other form of entertainment. At least this had solid Biblical elements to it.

I was able to hang out w/ some friends from the past and my family. Sunday night, we had a small family get together. so my mom and dad and younger siblings piled into our recently bought station wagon. me and my brother picked on my younger sister the whole time the way down. it was total fun.. lol.

Wednesday night i was able to go and hang out w/ the youth group from my home church there. they ended up praying for me and bringing some words which were on the mark... i was soo proud of them! it was neat to see them stepping out and praying and prophesying somethings into my life! some of them were just recently Baptized in the Spirit just in September and were exploring some benefits to that! Go for it guys! i'm proud of you.

i was also able to hang out some at our local house of prayer and sit in on a class there and participate in a few worship sets. Things are heating up back there, and its exciting to check it out and see what the Lord is doing. He's awakening His Bride in this hour!

Just a few things...

2008-04-16T10:27:00.002-04:00

I'm currently taking some time off in PA. I had some paid time off at work, so i decided to take it. God seems to be doing some major changes around here. Which is good. It's needed. I was having dinner w/ a good friend of mine last nite and he was telling me that some of the people that he knows and is ministering to are getting kicked out of their house for truly going after God. They're going a different route of their parents and family and they're loosing a lot to follow the Lord. I thought about that and was like 'How would i handle that?'

Right now, we are in an election year. And none of the candidates i can vote for w/ a good conscience. I'll probably be writing in a candidate when it comes time to vote. Here is what i feel is happening: Mostly all the candidates are too liberal. They are all supporting issues that go against what the Word of God says. They all want to make a difference, but not in the right way. Only God can save our nation. A political agenda won't do it. Only getting on our face and asking God for mercy and to walk in His ways will do it. He is giving us free will and He's looking to see how we will choose. He's not a dictator. He's a loving Father who wants the best for His children. And at times that means He pulls back and allows us to see the error in how we handle it and what we'll choose. And right now, i don't think we're choosing wisely.

Of course, there are certain ones out there who have their own agenda. And the bad part about that is is that they may be few in number, but they're at the top. That puts them in control. These individuals want to live a lifestyle that isn't Christ centered and they're putting it on the rest of us. All i can say to that is is to live it up while you can. Because you will be called to account for how you live.

In any case, i'm not happy with how things are going. People want a better society but they don't want to have to turn to God for it. We want all sorts of blessings, but we don't want to have to pay any sort of price for it.

The first place i turn for this to is to examine my own life. What do I need to change? Then, since i grew up in the church and am currently serving in it and feel that the church should be leading out in everything, i look to see what needs changed in there. Sticking out head in the sand over the problems isn't going to help anything. Just 'doing church' really only hurts the problem. It's not easy to tackle issues at times, but it is necessary.

I'm not attempting to be an alarmist in any way. More than anything, i want people to find a peace and rest in the Loving Arms of Jesus. But i also don't want to turn a blind eye to problems that are there. I've had teenagers come up to me and tell me that they're struggling w/ homosexual thoughts and feelings. i simply said "oh really? what can i do to help you get through that?"

The Church of Oprah

2008-04-06T14:58:00.001-04:00

This sounds like Universalism through and through. Everyone doesn't get to Heaven just by being good. There is only One way in and thats through Jesus. If you empty yourself of everything and start inviting spirits in, you are asking for a demonic oppression and possession.

What you should be doing is clearing your mind and life of all sin and asking Jesus to come and 1. Heal the wounds of the past. 2. cleanse you from all unrighteousness. 3. Fill you with His Holy Spirit. That's when you will become a better person. When you start praying to God and start reading the Bible.

It really does sadden me to hear that people are actually speaking this stuff. Some may think that I like to write these things. But I don't. We as Americans have a duty. We have a duty to show the world that, in Jesus, we can make this place better. You may wonder why the world hates Christianity. One of the reasons is is that they associate Christianity with Hollywood. They think that that's what all American Christians are like. Someone once asked me why i think guys like bin Laden and his folks hate us. Probably one reason is is because again, they're putting Christianity with Hollywood.

Folks, we're in a spiritual battle here. Plain and simple. I've been to other nations. I've been to Haiti and seen what a country consecrated to the devil looks like. I've been to the Philippines and seen what it looks like to worship everything under the sun. Being a 'good person' just won't cut it. You have to turn from your sinful lifestyle.

Why does God let bad things happen? Because He loves us enough to let us make our own choices. God isn't a dictator.

Listen, i'm not going to say something like stop watching these daytime shows... you take that up with God. You allow Him to speak to your heart. The tv is just a tool. Just throwing a bunch of rules and regulations at you isn't going to change much. I would rather you say 'I don't want to' versus 'I'm not supposed/allowed to.'

I Salute You....

2008-04-04T20:28:00.003-04:00

Got this in an email and i decided it's worth putting in here. Have you saluted and thanked a veteran lately? To the men and women in our Armed Forces, i salute you and thank you for your time and courage to defend my freedom. My hat is off to you... i once heard it said that there is no such thing as an atheist in a foxhole. May the Lord bless you and may you feel the presence of God and His heart towards you.

Lord, grant our leaders wisdom and understanding as they make decisions, especially during this time.

RIP American Dream

2008-03-28T21:18:00.004-04:00

This blog is going to be one those 'i can't understand the American thinking at times' sort of blogs.

I was reading on World Net Daily about a book that someone just wrote about how Affirmative Action really hurts those its trying to help. One reason i can't stand the idea of Affirmative Action is because it puts you at super high risk. You want an example? with joy...

Let's say your going in for surgery. It's a triple bypass surgery on your heart. So your about to go under the knife. Here's the kicker - the doctor who is going to be performing this operation is second to someone else. And he's not really that good at it, but he was brought in through affirmative action... the hospital had to fill a quota. The doctor is from a minority group. But thanks to affirmative action, they hospital HAD to hire him over someone else who is better... just to fill a quota.

Now, probably the thinking behind affirmative action is to give those who might not otherwise have a chance of getting a job. But seriously, its not the greatest idea.

Its for reasons like this that i don't like affirmative action. It's filling a quota. That's why i don't like the idea. It's meant to make someone feel ok about themself. And i don't have time to get into THAT whole ideology... (like how i don't really like how we're to have self-esteem, rather than knowing who we are as Children of God and knowing our identity in Jesus Christ... but that's for another blog).

All in all, i think affirmative action is total chaos. It hurts rather than help in most cases. Down w/ that stupid way of thinking.

A cool picture

2008-03-26T19:59:00.001-04:00

It's Just A Tool

2008-03-16T18:27:00.003-04:00

Today after church, i went to have some fellowship with some of the families from my church. One of my friends, her family was in town and i wanted to spend some time w/ them. So, i went back to their house to have lunch and just time to chat. During this time, we got into some good discussion. One of the things that was mentioned was the fact that sometimes as Christians, we put rules up for the wrong reason. Let's take the tv for example. For some people, the tv is the devil. All the stuff that's on their is just immoral. So they don't watch. While i respect that way of thinking, i do disagree w/ them. The tv itself isn't the devil, its the fact that it fell into the hands of twisted hearts and minds. The tv itself is just a tool. I once heard the phrase 'Guns don't kill people, people kill people.' A gun or tv in and of itself isn't wrong. It's what you do w/ it that's wrong. If you put a gun on a table somewhere and just watch it, nothing will happen. it will sit there. It's when you pick it up and point it at something or someone and pull the trigger w/ a bullet in it that it becomes bad. Or rather, it's used for the wrong purposes.

I'm not against hunting and watching tv w/ folks at all. It's what your hunting for perhaps or what your watching on tv that is objectionable. I went through a period of about a year or so where i didn't watch tv or movies. It was for that times set aside that i felt God told me not to be involved in that sort of stuff. i wasn't going to put that on anyone else b/c its not for me to do that to people, necessarily.

I grew up in Lancaster, PA. I had lived there for 20 years before moving to Concord, NC to go to FIRE School of Ministry. Back in Lancaster (pronounced 'Lang-kis-ter', not 'Lan-caster'), a big thing in that area is actually the Amish society. Now, there are a lot of myths about them, but i gotta say that i still have a sense of honor about them. A few things i don't really like about them, but at least they hold to their beliefs for the most part.

But a few of the things that they don't like is to have a picture taken of themselves and they don't use guns. They would most certainly be labeled under the category of conscience objector, meaning they'd be morally opposed to shooting someone, even in self-defense. Now, while i respect these traits of there's, i don't agree w/ them. First off, a picture is just a picture. they say it steals your soul. And it very well could. I believe their reasoning in this is for those people who think its just all about them. Every chance they get, they're in front of people and it has to be all about them. That bugs me too. I can't stand those sort of people. But a camera or a gun isn't a bad thing. it's what you do w/ those instruments that can be bad.

Think of it this way. A percentage of people you know are getting into car wrecks. Is that any reason to tell people to stop driving? Or is it time to perhaps train those people how to drive responsibly. unless of course it wasn't their fault for getting in car wrecks... in which case, life just sticks.. but if the wreck was their fault, then decide if more training is necessary maybe or what is the best course of action.

My point in this is is that God called we as Christians to be world changers. it's His desire for us to get out into the world and make a difference. There may be some who are called to be in the business world and make money. Great! use the tool for a Greater Purpose! "yeah, but there's a lot of corruption in the business world." so get in their and change that then. Some may be called into politics some other sphere. Those are great tools! Use them. Who do you think originated those ideas? Don't be afraid to get out there just because there's some problems. But acknowledge those issues and decide to be different.

I've seen lots of corruption in the church... maybe we should stop doing church b/c ministers are falling in sin... (ok, somewhat of a bad example here b/c i don't want people to play church... i'd rather them live like Disciples..) but you get my drift. Acknowledge the problem and decide you'll make a difference.

Pick on someone your own size....

2008-03-11T23:06:00.003-04:00

This evening, i went down to a city counsel meeting at the government center in Charlotte. There is a new "Anti-Bullying" policy that is being voted on. And most of it sounds good! Because most of it is good.... but slipped into the categories of individuals that are being considered is 'sexual orientation'. now, i want to make something very clear here: i am not for homosexual bashing or anything of that nature. i don't tolerate speech like that around me. but included in this bill is the fact that if you saying anything bad about homosexuality, you could be punished!

lets put it into another light... lets say that someone is questioning their gender. they're claiming to be a 'woman trapped in a mans body'. ok, so ladies, lets say your at a restaurant somewhere and you simply go to use the restroom. your in there and suddenly a guy comes walking in! so, after you probably scream like crazy and run out, you go run to the manager of the restaurant and tell them that there is a man in the woman's restroom! when you question the guy, he say's "oh no, you don't understand... i think i'm actually a woman trapped in a mans body."

you might think i'm stretching it here. but this is the exact thing that is taking place as of right now. the sad thing about the night for me was the students. i felt soo bad for the students who got up and spoke from their hearts about their being bullied in school. i wasn't exactly mr. popular in school myself. matter of fact, i was seriously contemplating either homeschooling or private schooling. but after some prayer, i knew i was supposed to stay in public school. how else are we to affect our nation and society if we stay inside our little bubbles?

here's a thought to ponder: we don't need new rules and laws... we just need the correct enforcement of those already in place.

most of the policy was ok. i read it and was like "thats not a bad policy." but then i read some of the categories and i was frightened.

i don't know how to end this. just thought i'd share this w/ the general public.

An Outbreak Has Occurred

2008-03-09T16:15:00.002-04:00

Friday night, one of my roommates here comes into my room when i was getting ready to go to bed. He says with a big grin on his face, "Did you hear what happened today at school?" I said, "No, what happened?" "We didn't have classes today!" At first, i was like 'what do you mean?' Then it dawned on me: The Holy Spirit broke out in intercession! they started praying around 8am and kept going til about 1pm. i was immediately jealous and happy for them at the same time.

The Lord rewards those who seek Him. The Lord pours out into a vessel that is cleaned and wanting and needing a touch from Him. My roommates went on to describe to me what happened. Unfortunately, words can't describe what was going on in my heart. I seriously wanted to start crying out of joy. Luckily, the schools leaders allowed the intercession to takeover and not worry about classes for the day. We're a school and church that is somewhat used to this sort of thing happening. We long to have an atmosphere where the Holy Spirit feels welcome to move about as He so desires.

I've said it before and i'll say it again: the Lord is raising up sons and daughters to take rule and reign on this Earth. The only way to do that is to have people who are used to being in His Presence and know His voice. I'm not talking about having nice church services and living decent lives. This is a Saul/David like scenario. I'm not writing this to necessarily trash traditional style church. But something seriously needs to change. We need to be able to change the method without changing the message. Jesus said "Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand."

Recently, it came down the vine that a church here in the states issued a "30 Day Sex Challenge." i read it and was like "what?!? thats absurd!" I'll stay away from the marrieds portion of that one (considering my current single status) and just hit on the singles end of it. For singles, it was to abstain from sex for 30 days... Whatever happened to the message of Holiness and consecration. Can we not realize that parts of a 'seeker sensitivity' in our 'American gospel' just isn't working? I loathe sitting in on messages and the minister has to dance around issues so as to not offend someone.

But i know for a fact that church as we know it is about to change. I'm not talking about watering down the message at all, but perhaps in how its delivered. A loving parent will at times have to bring correction to their child. It's in how its brought i think that makes a big difference. Is spanking a bad idea? Nope. But it depends in the attitude and the manner of which is delivered. What child likes to be disciplined? as far as i know, none. But the Bible says to not despise the discipline of the Lord, because He disciplines those that He loves.

All this to say that this past week here in the FIRE community, hearts are being stirred. Minds are being renewed and lives are being changed. May we have wisdom so as to know how to steward what the Lord has given, is giving and will continue to give to us His bride.

Bad news sells...

2008-03-06T22:45:00.002-05:00

I don't know about you, but at times, i just can't even watch the news. Everything is just soo depressing. School shootings happening almost every other week, people being bombed out, mud slinging going on everywhere... at times, i'm just like turn it all off and just get away from life.

I think its kinda funny almost how some handle it. We want to immediately start to profile people. Which has its point, in some degree. But when are we going to realize that when you take God out of the equation, life is going to go down the tubes. Sometime ago, i got one of those mass emailings and it was a poem. It goes as follows:

MARY HAD A LITTLE LAMB

Mary had a little lamb,
His fleece was white as snow.
And everywhere that Mary went,

The Lamb was sure to go.
He followed her to school each day,
Twasn’t even in the rule.
It made the children laugh and play,
To have a lamb at school.

And then the rules all changed one day,
Illegal it became;
To bring the Lamb of God to school,
Or even speak His Name.
Every day got worse and worse,
And days turned into years.

Instead of hearing children laugh,
We heard the guns shots and tears,
What must we do to stop the crime,
That’s in our schools today?

Let’s let the Lamb come back to school,
And teach our kids to pray.

I think this kind of sums it up. I grew up in the public high school. Part of me wanted to try out a nearby private school, but one of my friends at church went there and he just told me not to bother. In his words, hypocrisy ran rampant. So i thought about home schooling. But i felt that God wanted me in the public arena for a purpose. So i did. And i'm glad i did. We needed the presence of God in that place. And i was one to carry it.

some of you may look at the public school system and think "its soo ungodly... i don't want my kids in there..". And of course, i'm not a parent yet and i wouldn't ever claim to try and force you to put your child in that environment. But there was grace on me to be there. I would encourage you that if your a parent reading this and you have a child in the public school, talk to them and find out what's going on. See what's on their heart. Do they want to stay in or not...

Yes, i faced a lot of rejection in there. People knew me and knew what i stood for. But i wasn't going to be afraid. Even when there was rumors that there was going to be a shooting at our school. during that time, we came together and prayed and nothing happened. At one point in time, i was very nervous... but i had to stand strong. I told one of my best friends there, "if i bite the bullet, people will come to Christ. don't back down, but preach the gospel. show people a hope in Jesus." he told me the exact same thing.

We can either walk through this world with our head hanging low and our tail between our legs... or we can hold our heads high and look to Jesus and meditate on the Cross and think of the wonders of God and go throughout our day.

I don't know about you, but i'm not backing down, despite all that's going on in the world. if anything, it gives me a greater burden to go for God and advance the Kingdom of God. I've been told that at times, i've had a convicting spirit about me. i didn't even do or say anything! i was just being me! When you live for Jesus, you will face opposition. you will offend people w/o saying anything at all. Because your standing for truth.

So do we cower in the corner when bad things happen? or do we rise up and say "not anymore... this stops now!" and get on our knees and cry out to God for mercy and grace? I'm not advocating to be arrogant and prideful, but i'm advocating that we exercise our faith in God and relationship in Jesus. and proclaim the good news of the redemptive blood of Jesus to the captives.

And we quit trying to make the Jewish people give up there land in hopes of peace talks to stop the bombings. We all know them giving up land isn't going to do anything. It's not going to make the suicide bombers stop. i just had to put that in here... lol. (what can i say, i'm pro-Israel and i'm realistic).

anyways, thanks for reading all of this.. i wasn't expecting it to get this long. but things just kept coming to mind.

Good times

2008-03-04T09:38:00.003-05:00

Sunday night i got together w/ a bunch of my friends here from church to celebrate someone's birthday here. we went out to eat and then went back to someones house to pray. we ended up praying for about 5 hours or so. we started somewhere around 4:30 and had to stop around 9:45pm. good times... it felt soo good. we started off w/ worshipping for a while and then we ended up praying for people. we did some foot washing combined w/ "The Hot Seat." these weren't prayers just like "Oh Lord, bless them..." and done with it. this was reading their mail so to speak and getting deep and rooting things out in their life. whoever said Christianity is boring apparently hasn't been hanging out w/ us...