Jesus' blood.

Why do I feel like we are missing the point? 
Not just the urgency of Christ in our lives, but the actual purpose of our lives.

We get so wrapped up in what WE want.
Our future,
career,
spouse,
income,
family,
location.

We make a plan of what we desire our lives to look like, and then politely ask Jesus to come bless it. 
That's not that point!
Why is it so hard for todays generations to give up their plans.
To realize success will bring you no reward.
To understand the depth of this life.

We aren't designed to live a life and bring Jesus along with us.

We were created by God and for God, and until we fully understand that.. our lives will never make sense. 

There is no other purpose to why we are alive. Our plans mean nothing. 

God is our director. He calls the shots.
We just need to be willing to throw away the materialistic dream for something that will last for eternity.


God is too gracious and Jesus is much to great to miss out on.
Why do we continue to try and out smart this God?

We are fools.
We are unworthy.
We are wretched.
Sinners.
Filthy.
Damned.

It's through Christ we are sanctified and through sanctification our paths are made straight.
It's through the salvation the worlds plans for our lives suddenly seem so small.

Don't live your life with small hopes. 
Make a God sized dream and a God sized goal.

But this time: let God get you there.

Be different. Be the change. Take. The. Challenge. 

Understand this: without Christ we are nothing and are damned for eternity. It's only by His blood we can overcome a world so great as ours. 

Because through Christ, we are more than conquers. 

Our God is not dead.

So, I should be studying for my finals. Considering I have a huge one tomorrow. But, as I'm studying for an Old Testament final, was burdened for Christianity. Well actually, I was more burdened for what people think Christianity is.

There seems to be an ongoing war between "Christianity" and the rest of the world. That's solely the fault of the American church as a whole.

Why?

SO many "Christians" think they have a genuine desire for the rest of the world to experience the love of Christ. How do they express that? Trying to make people come into their pue, because apparently those save people. 

SO many "Christians" feel like they have a right to defend God. When someone accuses the Church, they feel like they need to defend the work God does as if He isn't powerful enough to convict on his own. Somehow, we've taken on that "God" role of convicting.

SO many "Christians" work so, so hard to make Christianity seem appealing. Because I mean, if we don't seem like becoming a Christian has made us forever happy, who would even want this?

SO many "Christians" claim to be followers of Jesus. When really, their live shows something that is as far away from Christ's path as you can get. Therefore, giving Christians the reputation of living hypocritical.

There is a war between Christians and the rest of the world because the Church body see's life as this: Christian's know how to do everything right and the world messes everything up.

Who would ever be attracted to that sort of "religion"?
Something, essentially, saying:
Act perfect.
Be happy.
Don't cry.
Judge the lost.
Hold it together.
And then when you sin.. you're obviously not genuine.

You think that may be why Christians aren't making a difference?

It literally breaks me. The Church has lost the intended meaning of Christianity. They have forgot about the time where Christians loved God and loved people only. Where they came and worshipped the God of the universe
unhappy, 
emotional,
judgmental,
falling apart. 

Christianity isn't where you stop doing things of the world.
Christianity is becoming Christ in the world.

Not following some "religion" of made up beliefs and humanistic standards inside of a building.

"The Lord Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy, he is the one you are to fear, he is the one you are to dread, and he will be a sanctuary." Isaiah 8:13,14. 

He.
Will. 
Be.
A.
Sanctuary. 

He is our pue. Not an idea.
We are His church. Not an overcrowded building Sunday mornings. 

"Raise the war cry, you nations, and be shattered! Listen, all you distant lands. Prepare for battle, and be shattered! Devise your strategy, but it will be thwarted; propose your plan, but it will not stand, for God is with us." Isaiah 8:9,10.

Why do we even pretend to battle this God?
There's a battle between "Christianity" and the world. But that they have both lost already.


The battle has only been one through the victory of Christ.




Don't let yourself be apart of a war that is losing.
Be victorious. 

"Oh, death where is your sting? Oh, grave where is your victory? Oh Church, come stand in the light: our God is not dead, He's alive!"

(1 Corinthians 15:55)

Becoming nothing.

Life is hard. 

Life is a process of being afflicted over and over and over and over.. etc. 

But in the middle of the affliction,

in the middle of the addiction,

in the middle of the relationship, the broken family, the death,

have you ever noticed how beautiful Jesus is? 

Yeah, I wouldn't have either. Often times it becomes hard to see Jesus when life is going 'well' (by the worlds standards). When you don't really have anything to complain about, it is difficult to praise the One who blesses. All to often, we get into a habit of simply praising the blessings. 

But what happens when the blessings are gone? I'm not talking about the eternal blessings, because obviously those are just that.. eternal. But I mean the awesome job you had, the one you were sure you were going to marry is gone, your best friend up and leaves, your family breaks, your money is gone, someone you cared about dearly suddenly dies. I'm talking, you have nothing else. 

It's hard to see Jesus through all of it. 

It's hard to see the eternal blessings.

We often hear, "Times of afflictions are blessings in disguise!"

I don't like that. At all, actually. When I am broken and hurting the last thing I want to hear is that everything happens at the right time and it's going to end up being a good thing. 

No. That's dumb. (fyi, if you ever tell someone that.. don't be surprised if they don't want you to see them broken again. Why? Because that's not what they want to hear and you just pushed them away. Truth)

Rather than holding out for the future for the good to come out of the pain, why can't we look now?

I don't mean be fake, you'll hurt yourself worse. 

I don't mean to not grieve, you'll emotionally kill yourself. 

I don't mean be optimistic when the only thing pouring through is natural pessimism. 

I simply mean, be the good. See the good.
What is the good? The beauty in the cross. 

I think we lose sight of how much pain was endured on the cross. A man (granite, it was Jesus) who was fully human was tortured in the most horrific way possible. If I can ever imagine a time where the afflictions seemed unbearable, it was then. Hanging on the cross: vulnerable, broken, hurting, bleeding. 

There is no better time to relate to Christ then we are broken. 

There is no relationship stronger then one that cries together, hurts together, overcomes together. 

That is the good. He is the good. 

Rather than telling yourself it will get better one day. Embrace it. Recognize it. Praise it. Today. 

"I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain the resurrection from the dead."

Philippeans 3:10. 

When you allow yourself to be nothing, Christ becomes everything. 

Life's hard. You will break.

When you do, see the beauty of the cross.
Because let me tell you, it is beautiful. 

When you suffer, will you see the good or become stuck in the negative? 

God is good. He's big. He's powerful.

Allow yourself to become broken from the world, He will overcome the grave with you. 

Don't miss out. He is madly in love with you, as you are. 

Broken.

The world is crushed.

6,971,772,299

That's how many people are in the world today. That is how many broken, hurting, lost, helpless, doomed people there are ing the world. Now. At this point in time. With that many people in the world, why do we get so wrapped up in our group friends. There are 6,971,772,299 other people in this world. 

^ they need hope.

^ they need love.

^ they need purpose & meaning. 

^ they need Jesus. 

Something I have never, ever understood is this: if there are apparently so many Bible believing Christians, why is nothing being done in the world? 

Why is there not the biggest revelation in history happening?

Why is there no world wide revival?

Why is there war all across the nations, when the war was already won?

Can you imagine what kind of work could be done with that many people?

You know what's even crazier? That many people were beat; overcome; crushed; by one guy. 

By one God.

By one Cross. 

The world that hold those 6 billion people has been overcome.Don't miss that. 

He's not only a friend.

He's definitely not your "homeboy."

He's not someone you would hang out with.

He is God.

He is your savior. 

Without Him, you are nothing. I am nothing. This world would mean nothing. 

Don't be deceived. Don't think you're something Christ needs, you need Christ. 

Stop being one with the world. Take up your cross, be one with the Savior of the world. 

"Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple (to be one with me) must deny themselves (stop believing the world) and take up their cross (trust me) daily and follow me (come, I'm waiting)." 

-Luke 9:23

6,971,772,299

                            

                                                           Don't be another one. Be the one. 

Safe.

There is none like You.
No one else can touch my heart like You do
I could search for all eternity long.
And find, there is none like You
Your mercy flows like a river wide
And healing comes in Your Name
Helpless children are safe in Your arms
And there is none like you.

-Shane&Shane

Believe it?


Have you ever thought about what was really done for YOU? 
The literal torment and sacrifice embraced for YOU?
The beauty that hung upon the Cross for YOU?


Sometimes the ignorance seen in the Church today blows my mind. It is crazy to me to think that a group of people can try and dictate what was done on the cross.
Christ 
died 
for 
YOU.


Freedom, hope, purpose, life, love, forgiveness, promises, eternity. 


"Welcome home, the war is over."

Give me Jesus.

"Often, in the business of life, we forget what Christ has done for us. Our eyes begin to drift from the truth, and before we know it, we can believe a thousand lies about who He is and who we are or aren’t. This song was written to remind us who we truly are and what we have because of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ." - Shane Barnard

I think somewhere along the way we've begin forgetting what it means to live out a faith. The Church has all these 'rules' that we are to follow. And according to them, if we do them successfully without screwing up too bad, then we're alright. We're good people. Or, how about the Churches that tell us we have to be 'fine' always, because we love Jesus? And because we love Jesus, we are automatically happy, because that's what Christianity does to you.. it makes you smile. And then one day, if you forget to put up your fake wall that says your 'fine' your just some lost soul that doesn't even know anything about Jesus.

All Churches do this to some degree. They all have their own standard of what Christianity should look like. 

What makes it all a little bit ironic is this: all these rules are designed to help you get to a Jesus that has already broken apart any 'rule' coming down to us. Rather than trying to bring ourselves UP to a standard approvable for Jesus, He came DOWN to us that way no standard was needed at all. 

"For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners." -Matthew 9:13.

When Jesus lived on earth, He went to the people who didn't follow a set of rules. 

He went to the ones who weren't just 'fine.'

Jesus didn't die to encourage the righteous and the 'good people'; He died for the helpless. 

That's why I hate when Churches try and portray themselves as a congregation who is so happy all the time, because according to some materialistic standard that's how Christianity should be. 

That's not how it is at all. In reality: 

We are really, really broken people. 

We are incredibly helpless.

We are lost. 

We are not 'fine'.

And as soon as we, as a body of Christ, can humble ourselves long enough to admit that to the Creator of the world; to the one who's allowed you all access to Him; to the one who is patiently waiting for us to be real.. when we can admit it to him, it's then we begin to experience true joy in the Lord. 

Joy. Not happiness. Joy. (Nehemiah 8)

Passion.

Love. 

Trust. 

Hope. 

We can't experience these things through a surfaced religion that follows a set of rules and fake personas. 

It's not until then, the Church can start changing the world. This world won't change because of tough surfaces, it'll change through vulnerability. 

I'm tired of watching people hurt because of the pride they've grown up with inside of Church.

Break down the walls; the Son of God has already torn the veil. He's waiting. 

"The Curtain of the temple was torn in tow from top to bottom. And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, heard his cry and saw how he died, he said, "Surly this man was the Son of God!" 

Mark 15:38,39.

"Here I am, I'm calling out Father. 

Can you hear me? Can you here me?

I don't wanna go without you.

Here I am, can You talk a little louder?

So I can hear You, I want to hear You.
I don't want to move without You. "

-Shane&Shane

Jesus rocks. 

Livin' in the desert.

There's this thing many of us Christians don’t like to acknowledge: the desert season. When you can do all the right things. Be in Church, read your bible, raise your hands in worship.. but you feel like God’s not there. You feel like no matter how long and you cry out, God’s not gonna show. You feel almost, abandoned and deserted.

Most people, when this happens, are ashamed or embarrassed in a way. They feel like they can’t let other people know where their spiritual life is, because if they do? They are some how disproving their faith in Christ. 

I don’t think that’s how we were designed react within the body of Christ.

So often the Churches today make these people feel like they’re doing something wrong. Like somehow, they aren’t being “Christian” enough.

That’s such a lie. SUCH a lie.

Why?
The Christian life isn’t about the feelings.
It’s about obedience. (Romans 2:13)
It’s about realizing and accepting the sacrifice and the torture on the Cross for US. (John 3:16)
It’s about chasing after Christ with everything in you, even when you don’t feel it. (1 Peter 1:6-9)
It’s about looking around you and seeing people through the eyes of Christ. (Hebrews 12:12)
It’s about lavishing love on people in the times when we don’t feel loved. (1 Corinthians 13:13)

The Christian life was not about always crying during the time of worship: it’s about the one who is making you cry.

Sometimes, God gives us a season where He doesn’t respond purposefully in order to mature us. To test out faith. To build our spiritual life up to be able to withstand any other conflict. 

Just because we don’t feel Him, doesn’t mean He isn’t there.
Just because we can’t hear Him, doesn’t mean He stopped speaking.

Time’s in the desert are going to result in one of two options.

1. A victory in Christ that has already been one because of your faithfulness in times when faith is all you held on to.
2. A lifetime of chasing after something to take the place of the God who destined us for a life a greatness in Him.

How do you overcome? 
You don’t. Christ already has.
As I’m writing this, there’s a group of guys praying together nearby. One of them just prayed:


“Do not give us any desires, until we give everything up.”

Have you given everything up for the cause of Christ?
Or are you trying to chase down a God while hanging onto your own life?


We have no life apart from life in Christ. 
That is why we go through times of being in a desert.

To realize our life in Christ.

"You never saw him, yet you love him. You still don't see him, yet you trust him—with laughter and singing. Because you kept on believing, you'll get what you're looking forward to: total salvation."

-1 Peter 1:8,9

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79055I6o-NQ




See Christ all around you.

A fan or follower?

Have you really ever thought about the difference between a fan or a follower of Jesus? Really though. There doesn't seem to be anything wrong with being a fan of Jesus. And a follower? Aren't we all?

I've come to learn there is a huge difference between the two. Huge.

A fan. A fan is when your favorite football team plays. You're front row, spirited and ready to cheer.
A fan is when you start a countdown to go see your favorite artist live. The dictionary definition is:
Fan (noun) -an enthusiastic devotee or admirer of a sport.

A fan of Christianity?
They go to church. They sing the worship songs. They lead a Bible study. They know their facts.
In the big picture, that doesn't mean anything.

Don't let that be deceiving, anyone can go to church and sing.

Jesus doesn't want us to be a fan.
Jesus doesn't want us to be a noun. He want's us to follow.
See, a fan is just a fan for certain times of a day, month, year.. it's not an ongoing life style.
That would mean, we like the things Jesus does sometimes. Every now and then we get excited about it. We worship Him when we feel like it, other wise it's whatever. When we're happy, we love Him. When our life is difficult, we don't really want anything to do with Him.

That's from hell. 
Jesus doesn't want a "fan." A fan of Jesus, bluntly put, has no set eternity in Heaven.

"If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters- yes, even his own life- he cannot (will not) be my disciple. Anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple." Luke 14:26, 27.

Follow me.
Don't cheer me on. 
Don't come see me. 
Follow me. 

We should be so dedicated and ready to follow Jesus.. nothing else could compare.
In fact, He tells us our relationship with everyone and everything here on earth should appear as hatred compared to love we have in Christ. Harsh? No. Some translations say to "love more." Love Christ more than you will ever come close to loving this earth.

How can we sit back, look at the cross and be okay with just clapping?

The Church today misses this. A lot of 'Christians' across the earth are being led on by false hope and false affirmation. We don't need to hear from a preacher as to what this looks like. Jesus makes it plain and clear. Follow Him.

It's sacrifice. It may mean no friends, no family, no job, no money. It may mean losing your life. It's going to mean hard work. Life style changes. Finding the joy of coming in last. But that is what Jesus expects of us. He expects nothing less than the willingness to give everything up.

That's not a fan.
Jesus doesn't want fans.
Jesus doesn't know fans.


Why waste time cheering Him on when we can be there first hand?
Don't just get in the game. Go through what it takes to get in the game. 

"Any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple." -Luke 14:33

start now. 

Go.

Pause.

I've learned that there is nothing better than the overwhelming presence of Christ.

Nothing. 

He is far better than you will ever be. He is more than you can ever imagine, dream of imagining, try to imagine. He's bigger than your bad day, death, hopelessness, negativity. He's more comforting than money or self satisfaction. He is more than I can begin to describe. He's more than you can begin to understand. He's worthy of us at our worse. He's worthy of worship from every person stuck in the dark. He won't quit. He is promising. He has already won. He has already conquered. 


He has already conquered. Don't miss that. 
We already won.
We have already won.

Why?
Because Jesus is king. 


Dang. 

Finding the lost.

God is incredible.

It literally makes me wanna go crazy. So good. Since I’ve finally been experiencing that for myself these last couple months, I’ve developed the biggest heart the people who don’t know Jesus. Well, I thought I developed it. But I mean, we all have a heart for the lost; it’s just a matter of when we let it take over our lives. Anyways, have you really sat back and thought about what the end of the story looks like for them? Because quite frankly, it’s the most depressing thing. Ever.

A lot of people ask the question, “Well, if someone never had the opportunity to accept or reject Jesus.. then don’t they just go to heaven?” David Platt talks about this in his book, Radical (btw, I highly recommend it. Highly. Talk about a life changer). And it really got me thinking about it. I think that ‘followers of Jesus’ are under this concept that, God knows the people who are gonna end up saved and in heaven know matter what.. so we don’t have to do anything about it. And that, those people who are “the chosen” ones will hear the gospel from a certain someone or something sometime in their life, even if I don’t go tell them. And the church doesn’t do anything to make us think different. 

Okay. First off, do they just go to heaven? No. Paul tells us in Romans that everyone knows God and everyone rejects God. As morbid as that may come across, everyone knows God. Everyone knows of God, whether they have opened up a Bible or not. And everyone, including me and you have rejected God. Trying to say you were innocent, is ignorant. If you’re innocent, then you must be Jesus. And I’m pretty sure no one is.. but the real Jesus. We are dead in ourselves. Everyone. That’s just the hard truth. Now, yes we are saved by grace when we make Him ours and we’re accepted into the Kingdom through Jesus and the cross. BUT, what about those people who really haven’t had the opportunity to accept Jesus? Those people are doomed. Seriously.

Think about that for a minute. The people who have never even heard the gospel preached are going to spend eternity in hell and they don’t even know it yet. 

So why in the WORLD do we as carriers of the name of Jesus; as the only light for the people who are unaware they are in the dark; as the disciples of Jesus; as the people who hold the key to hope.. HOW DO WE DO NOTHING?

How do we only allow ourselves to sit in a pue once a week?

How do we only allow ourselves to pray for those who are ‘called into missions’, but be comfortable watching it from home?

How do we only allow ourselves to do things for us? 

Those are not followers of Christ. You may be an admirer of the Cross, awesome. More power to you. But you are not a follower of Christ. Someone who accepts their role as a follower of Jesus would not accept the fact that there are millions of people around the world getting ready to enter in eternal hell and they aren’t even aware of it. 

Eternal. Torture. Hell.
We are okay with that. 

We are okay sitting in our church every Sunday knowing we’re saved; but yet, doing nothing to let other people in on the amazing love with Christ. We are okay with the thought of keeping heaven to ourselves. And as far as the people who won’t get a chance to hear the gospel? Oh well I guess. 

How does that even happen? 

We’re called to spread the love of Christ. There are so many people in our towns, jobs, neighborhood, country, and world who will never hear the gospel of Jesus preached. They will never have option of making a relationship with Jesus their own. 

The only hope they have is Christ through youuuuuuuuu. YOU. 

It’s up to us. There aren’t in redoes in this. Or, I’ll get them next time. Now is the only next time you’ll have. No, we aren’t going to do it right. Yes, we’re going to miss chances we should have taken. But why wait any longer to start doing something? People are counting on you and me to bring the good news. 

Seriously. The joy of the Lord is so amazing. Don’t let people miss this.

“When I am afraid, I will trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust: I will not be afraid. What can mortal man do to me?” -Psalm 56:3,4

Some people ask me why all my blogs sound the same. 

Why? There is nothing else that matters. There’s one calling. One truth. One hope. One Jesus. That’s why. 

Out of time.

I feel like, there's a lack of urgency in our lives, in every aspect. We often say, "There's always tomorrow." Or, "I'll do that later." I feel like that is where all of the laziness lies in the Church today. Because quite frankly, we don't have tomorrow. Even more than that, we might not have today.

As apart of my last few days in town, I have been really observing and noticing how peoples lives are lived. And I've noticed a common theme: it's pointless. Peoples lives are pointless, usually. People spend they're days sleeping. Or watching impractical movies. Or reading books that are just a waste of time. The people of todays world are just lazy, for lack of better term. And I don't understand it. We have a God who calls us to action on a daily basis, and we would rather say NO to Him and YES to the newest sci-fi?

You know makes me even more confused? These people I'm talking about (the people of the Church) call themselves Christians. And actual followers of Christ. Well, last time I checked.. A follower of Christ gave up everything to literally follow after Jesus. I'm pretty sure wasting time on getting invested in the newest fictional series wasn't apart of the discipleship God intended for us to be apart of. I think it just blows my mind how people rub off God. They say to Him: I like you. I even love. But I'm just not willing. 

Just not willing.

Are you just not willing? If you spend more time watching the Hangover than with the Lord, your not willing. If your conversations are based around the most recent episode of the Bacchleorette, your not willing. If what you desire are things that are not glorifying to the Lord.. you are not willing. 

What if Christ 'just wasn't willing'? What if Christ cared more about his own life then He did for ours? We would be doomed, dead and tortured. So how we can have a fire other than the fire of Christ, doesn't really make sense.

God gives huge passions. He gives huge dreams. He gives huge rewards. For what? Giving Him everything. 

People are afraid to step out in their faith. People are afraid of death and persecution. Rejection. The loss of their family or their health. But I wonder if these people are afraid of Hell. Because the way their living, they're more scared of the worldly chances than eternal damnation. Those things may very well happen, but does it really matter when we're spending eternity with our King?

You wanna know how awesome God is? He conquered the world. He rules the world. Fearing the world is literally pointless. The world is nothing.

David Platt writes in his book Radical, "Satan not only acts within the sovereign permission of God but also ends up accomplishing the sovereign purpose of God. Indeed, this is what the Cross is all about. Satans strategy to defeat the Son of God only served to provide salvation for all sinners. We have nothing to fear, for God is sovereign."

Honestly? That is how good God is. That is how powerful God is. But we don't give Him the time of day.

What if we started living like that? What if every conversation was about the gospel of Jesus because you didn't know if you would get to share it again. What if everyday you solely focused on attaining the heart of Christ, because who knows if your really gonna get a tomorrow.

What if we lived like every new hour was the last one to spread Jesus?

That's exactly how we were created. It's time to take up your cross. Stop being normal. Normality won't make an impact in God's kingdom. Make everything about becoming more like Jesus, whether your comfortability or your own life is at stake. Why? Because your life doesn't matter without the name of Jesus.  

At this point, we have nothing to lose; we're out of time to live any different. 

Stop taking chances.

Jesus doesn't need us.
We don't make Him better. And if we don't buy into the life of the Lord, He will anoint someone else. That is on us. 

In fact, the idea that people even have the mindset that Jesus needs them in order for this story to be complete is astonishing to me. We don't add anything to the way this is going to end up.

Everyone always wants to talk about the grace and compassion and love of the Lord, because it's happy. It gives us an image of such a earth made God. But what about His wrath and destruction and death? Understand something, His wrath is just as real. Just as living. Just as important as any of the 'happy' things.

We are doomed. The wages of our sin is death, (Romans 6) hell, eternal damnation, everlasting suffering, punishment.

We. Are. Dead.

How in the world do we take a God that powerful and clear, and continue to go about our day in utter disobedience to the Lords calling on our lives? Seriously. He means business.

"...I (Jesus) will throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." (Matt 26)

Weeping.
Gnashing of teeth.

Can you imagine?
Yet, we still continue live a meaningless life. Lying, being sexually immoral, getting drunk (btw, yes they drank in the Bible. It is something Biblical. The difference being, the earth has conformed drinking into something to do for the 'buzz.' Getting drunk leads to things that don't bring any glory to the Lord. Eph. 5:18). We still live a life outside of the one the Lord has for us. And the worse part, we are okay with it.

Gods coming back. He can come today, tomorrow morning, on your birthday; and that ^ is how were going to live? We're going to just, "Take our chances." Are you kidding me? 

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but if your living out of Christ.. your eternity is not with Christ. Simple as that.

I think the Church often makes the mistake when talking about the love and grace of the Lord, of not talking about the wrath of God first. If we don't understand our worth without the Lord, how can we ever appreciate what we have in the Lord? If we don't understand where the lost are heading, then how can we possibly have a passion to bring people into the light?

We are all going to be in front of Jesus. Jesus, the one who paid every last bit for us. The only one who can make us of worth and bring us out of worthless. The one who can wipe the stains away. The way who will protect us and keep us from the wrath of God.

Everyone of us will be in front of Him. Lucky for us, he is full of grace. And compassion. Lucky for us, our eternity can be set in Him.


Does that make you want to go insane and tell everyone about Christ? Mmm, yeah. Me too. :)


Know Him. 




Ps. 15 days.

Everything for a reason?

Everyone always says, 'Everything happens for a reason. Wait it out.' But do you ever really believe that? I think that, especially for the people who have grown up in some sort of church, this is one of those things that have been slammed in our heads so many times, it lost all effect. But I wanna take you back to that, I wanna explain how everything does happen for a reason. 

When my best friend passed away a few years ago, the passage from Ecclesiastes was everywhere. It was plastered on everything. It's the time for everything passage, "There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under heaven. He has set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end." (v.1, 9)

Basically saying, there is a time for everything. It's no surprise to the Lord. And you'll see the blessing one day. 

Well, honesty. I didn't like that. I didn't think that God would really know my future, and if He did then how the world did my best friend dying have to do with anything? I just didn't understand it. And as far as I really could wrap my mind around it, I defiantly didn't agree. 

Okay, turning the tables for a minute. This has been the absolute most insane year of my whole entire life. Ever. Ever. And probably, ever. There were suicides, lost relationships, run aways, brokenness; basically, whatever you can imagine.. it happened this past year. But something sorta changed. 

God decided my expectations on the out come wasn't good enough. 

He didn't like what I wanted to happen. He wanted more. 

I just wanted it to stop. I wanted the hurt to stop. Christ, saw more than that. 

And because He saw more, I see more of Him.

What's my point?

If you would have asked me 4 months ago why all those bad things happened to us, I would have had no answer. Now? This is my answer. It's simply a living testimony. It's undeniable. It's not ignorable. It's absolutely unbelievable. 

God took my pessimistic expectations and made them Christ sized. 

All that to say, every thing happens for a reason. Not in a cliche way that you hear everyday.. but everything happens for His reason. 

That reason? Just wait. Because whatever your thinking, Gods going to magnify more than you will be able to keep in.

The reason is more than you will ever contain. 

Be excited. 

:)

Ps. twenty days.

Actual surrender.

When you think of real surrender to the cross, what does that even mean? What does it really look like to give your life over to the Lord?

The Church answer: go to Church on Sunday mornings. Read your Bible everyday. Pray every night. Do those things, and you will probably be good. You should have no problem 'getting into Heaven.'

Most everyone, whether they have grown up in the Church or not, believe this and try to practice it to some extent. Don't get me wrong, these things are great. And they are vital to growing in your relationship with the Lord. But have you ever thought if there is really more than that? Have you ever thought about the fact that no matter what your background may consist of, we are all called to do the same things?

People out of the Church today often say, "Surrender for you and surrender for your neighbor may look different, but they are both chasing after a common goal."

I hate that. 

When Jesus was walking the earth, do you think he ever told people, "As long as you go to Church Sunday morning and worship me, you'll be good! And for you, just read my word once a day, and you'll be saved."?  No, he didn't. Why? Because surrender is not becoming a church go-er. So what's changed? Why, just because were in the 21st century, does Christianity look so much different than it did when Jesus was in body? It does not make sense. 

"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always to the very end of the age." 

Matthew 28:19.

That is as clear as it's gonna get.  

A sunday Christian? No.

Read the Bible once a day? No.

Pray before bed? No.

Tell people your saved, but never back it up? Absolutely not. 

That is not the way were called to live as followers of Christ. We were made for such a greater purpose then to sit in a pue and keep this insane love to ourselves. 

Some people say, "I'm not being called overseas. But bless you for going." Nooooooo. No. No. No. That's not truth. That's not speaking with a heart from the Lord. We are all made with hearts for the nations. Every. Last. One. The difference is, not all of us are going to obey. 

The Lord says to make our earthly relationships resemble hate to the way we are in love with Him. Sell everything we have, give it to the poor.  (Luke 14) 

Why is that so hard to accept?

Let me back up, none of the above is wrong. In fact, I encourage you to find a Church for Sunday morning. And pray to the God of the universe. And no, I'm not saying to get rid of everything you own. But my point? Where on the ladder of your material possessions and people on earth does the call of the Lord fit in? 

We are called to carry His name to everywhere. To everyone. In all areas of the earth. That is surrendering your life over to this awesome King of the world. 

We are called to surrender it all. And believe me, once you do, you will long to spread the crazy name Jesus has entrusted to us. And I don't want you to miss out. 

Too big.

Have you ever really thought about just how incredible the Lord is? I mean just try. Try to think about how huge and powerful. But yet how intimate and affectionate he is. While he is omniscient and omnipresent. It blows my mind. And it should blow anyones mind. In fact, it should do more than just that, it should shape the way you are. Thinking about a God as insane as that one ^.. you shouldn't be the same. However, a lot of us are.

A lot of us go through a day without even taking a double take at what the Lords doing that day. We walk outside and see God's creation all around us, and it doesn't take our minds away from earthly things for more than a second. 

Psalm 46 says, "God is out refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging."

Dang. 

That is a God we keep silent? A God THAT powerful, we don't give him the credit at all during a normal day?

I've always heard in the Church that we are to fear God. We are to fear his power and ability and that is what should lead us to giving our lives over to this Creator. But, what if I disagree with that for a minute? What if that verse shows a God that is not only powerful enough to be feared,  but a God that cares so intimately about us. A verse of security and hope and of comfort. What if that is what led us over to the Lord? Instead of being worried for the state of your salvation, we simply felt loved by the Lord? You feel Gods overwhelming presence so much and to the greatest extent, you have no choice but to live a life for His glory.

Fearing the Lord comes after you have experienced his gift of grace. It's natural and it's effortless. 

I pray for people to see His glory. To walk outside and have no other thought than one to praise His creation. To meet a stranger and see them as someone who the Lord specifically designed.

God is so good. Too good. Too powerful. Too strong. Too perfect for us. He's more than we'll ever know on this side of glory. But, wouldn't it be cool to begin chipping away at that God? Wouldn't it be sorta neat, if that was a God we all started to give our lives to? Yeah, I thought so too. :)

"I will not be shaken, therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will live in hope, because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay. You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence." Acts 2:25-28.

It's not YOU.

Lately, I have been completely taken aback at the glory of Christ. I have been so incredibly broken for the cause of Christ. Broken in a way that makes me long for, and pray for my life to be centered around the glory of God. But in all of this, I have really began taking a backseat in my daily life. I have began just watching people: my friends, my family, my co-workers, strangers; and i've been really in shock at how lives are being lived today.

We, including myself, have been brought up in America to believe that we are the most important people. We have developed our culture and our generation to be the 'ME' generation. Everything revolves around ME: I need a good job, so I can support my family, so I can be comfortable, so I can be fed, that way I will be provided for. I need to get a good college education. I need a car.. You see where i'm going with this. So many times a day we say things like this. It's almost become such a sub-conscience  thought, that it doesn't even bother us any more. And that is the problem. It doesn't bother us.

I can't help but think that this world would be drastically changed for the cause of Christ if our mindsets changed. If instead of being so wrapped up in us, we became saturated with what God wants to do through us for Him.


I have been introduced to several stories lately, where someone didn't think of themselves. Someone took the time, went out of their way to make someone else know they are loved by the King. And to make someone else know that they are being prayed for, the most powerful tool to get to Christ, is being personalized for them. And that act of selfless-ness, as simple as it may be, ended up literally saving a life. Imagine that, when someone obeyed Christ and focused on spreading His glory, His very own creation was saved in the long run. Ironic, I know.

I long for the time when this world will be changed for the love Christ has for us. When every last person follows after Christ and showing His glory among the people, and not following themselves.

David Platt writes in his book, Radical,"God delights in using ordinary Christians who come to the end of themselves and choose to trust in His extraordinary provision. He stands ready to allocate His power to all who are radically dependent on His and radically devoted to making much of Him."

The salvation of the lost are in the hands of us. Turn into a people focused on Him, not yourself. 

Serious love.

I think sometimes  we, as an American culture, lose sight of who Christ is. We have made it comfortable to worship the Lord on a Sunday morning. We have made it comfortable to pray before meals and before we go to sleep. We have made spending time with the Lord something that needs to be penciled in on the calendar. What if things changed? What if, instead of only having the time to worship of Sunday mornings, it was something that we did all dayevery day? What if, rather than prayer being a task, we really understood the power and the strength behind praying to the God of the universe? And, what if we finally understood that it is impossible to escape Gods presence? We don’t schedule a place for the Lord to be. He is there. He is here. He is in you. He is in me. He is all things. The fact that we have completely made Christ into something we think we can handle blows my mind. God’s love is too powerful and too real to be able to keep in a box and only bring out when needed. He is worthy of our lives. He is worthy our worship. He is worthy of every last thing we have. I want, more than anything for people to see the love of Christ. People need to experience the literal love that He has for us. Because when you do? You can never go back. Your permanently in reverence and awe of the God who created you. You’ll never even think about turning back. Spread Jesus. We have more than enough love; start giving some aways. People in the world have never heard the name of Christ. How is that okay?

"Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty. Who was and is and is to come."