Music...Thank God...

I must thank God for music everyday...I just can't get over how it can affect you so much...It makes me want to do things I would not do in a quiet room (mostly because of my ADD) but I will just go nuts and head bang to some hard stuff, or bob and sway to the feel good stuff...Music does something to me...It makes me want to be the person I never thought I could be and I truly believe God uses music as a median to speak to us, as well as something we can communicate to God with…I’m in a worship band and I like to play my guitar anytime, and I know those are times I feel closest to God…The times I can just feel the music flowing through my soul into worship…The times I don’t give a rip what I look like or what people think of me…I know sometimes I let music become a god in itself, and that is something I have to work on, but I really love those times of pure spiritual movement that come with music…So, as personal advice, next time you feel moved with music, don’t stall, just let it all out…You will find that it was well worth it…In the words of Kevin Young of Disciple, “Everyone, worship God in your own way…”

Let the moshing begin again…

Worship = Wonder

Once again, Donald Miller (author of Blue Like Jazz) produces yet another thought provoking, mind-blowing view of Christianity…I love getting my mind blown :)… So, there is this chapter called Worship: The Mystical Wonder, it’s like chapter 17 I think…But anyways, it basically plays along the idea that worship is more than just getting up and singing to God with certain songs picked out by the band or singer leading worship…Rather, it’s anytime you realize that the “Wonder of God happens right above our arithmetic and formula. The more I climb outside my pat answers, the more invigorating the view (sunset, sunrise), the more my heart enters into worship.” That got me thinking about all the times I sit outside and look at the stars at night…A frequent in the summer at bonfires…There is just something about the stars that just shuts me up…I am staring at things a heck of a long way away in a universe that is way bigger than my mind can comprehend….There are things out there that never will be found and places never searched, all the while I get to look at it in wonder, and worship God for it all, thanking Him for creating my insignificant, tiny self on this tiny earth and giving me eternal life along with it…Wait for it…Yep, my mind just blew… :) Besides…the stars are just freaking cool looking, and when you throw some shooting ones in with the Northern Lights, it makes for one heck of a night…(true story)…
I think a lot of the time no one lets go of the pat answers to explain things and such…I think people, including me, try to “chart God on a grid” and have a correct answer for why he does what he does…Not enough time is spent just sitting in awe of Him and letting your mind run over all the things He did, does, and will do forever…And I won’t even go into how “forever” blows my mind…Really, we must realize that God is in control of everything, no matter how hard it is to understand that…One of the best quotes ever in the chapter… "There are things you cannot understand, and you must learn to live with this. Not only must you learn to live with this, you must learn to enjoy this."
I think this is my main struggle at the moment, just letting go of the way I want to explain things and understand them, and just let awe, wonder, and praise fill my entire being and realize God is one huge dude....

I Want A Faith Like That...

Lately I have been all over the place spiritually...I really have let Satan get a hold of me and let me slip on the small things and then progress to bigger things…Let me tell you, it sucks…And when I get down sometimes, I throw in some music to try and feel better, which by the way, is something that only temporarily fixes a problem, (not a recommendation for use as a problem fixer)…Anyways, I threw in Jonah 33 and went to really one of the only songs I know by them, “Faith Like That”…As I listened to the words, it hit me that I really have not been in the right mind…I haven’t been longing for the right things…The song talks about wanting to be like the first Christians, the first followers of Jesus, the ones who completely gave all they had, gave their lives for something they realized was and is bigger than themselves…I long to have that mindset…I want to be sold out for Christ and have his love and power permeate through my pores…I don’t want to be able to hide from the one thing in me that is so powerful and huge that anyone who sees will believe…I know in a way I am sitting here whining about my own little spiritual battle, and I’m wallowing in my sin and feeling sorry for myself…I know there are starving children in Africa who need the love of Christ (high five Jerm) and who need someone to love on them and make them feel like they are someone…So, it seems like I am in my own little shell just rolling around and not getting anywhere…Non of this is good, of course, because it is a lie from Satan that I should dwell on my sins and beat myself up for them…All I have to do is give all to God and so completely trust his every move and judgment that I no longer question life and its meaning…I no longer fall back into petty sin…I only move forward…Basically, I want to have the faith of old…the faith that does not question…the faith that only reflects God and who He really is…

I Have heard about the days of old
About the men who followed You
And how they saw the Supernatural
And became the chosen few

So I come before You now
Tearing off my earthly crowns
For this one thing I have Found

I want Faith Like That
To see the dead rise
Or to see You pass by
Oh I, I want Faith Like That
Whatever the cost
I'll suffer the loss,
Oh I want Faith Like That

:Jonah 33- "Faith Like That"

Something in this world is broken...and we are supposed to hold our palms over the wounds...

There is something wrong in this world…There is something that tells us its okay when its really not…There is something that tells us to run from hope…There is something that tells us not to trust in the one things that is constant, the one thing that has been and will be forever…No matter how far you try to run from truth, it hits you like a ton of bricks…One day you are sitting there contemplating what all of it means and why anything happens, and the next minute you realize that there is a reason for everything…You begin to see that it all fits like a puzzle, hard to see the end result at first, but the farther you go, the more your goal becomes visible…The more you feel like a person with a purpose…You see that there are so many people that hurt and are lost just like you were and still are at times…Your heart breaks as it hits you all at once that this world is lost…So…what are you going to do about it?

Changing...

So this weekend I went down to Huntington to see Abe and met some sweet people and toured a pretty cool college…On Sunday I went with him to his church that is above a coffeehouse called Springwater…The pastor has dreads, is in his twenties, and wears jeans…He’s my hero…:) What he talked about though, was even cooler…He was talking about Paul in his letter to the Corinthians…about how some people were what Heath (the pastor) called scholarly Christians, or they were the Christians who lived out their faith my their deeds and works…They did not separate their deeds and works…Heath talked about that fact that there are people who just sat around and talked about the Bible and what certain things meant, and there were those who found answers by living out the life Christ said to…They served the people, obeyed God wholeheartedly, and had no possessions, everything was everyone’s…Problem with all this is, it really is no different today…So many people talk Christian, walk Christian and act Christian, but in their heart, God has no place. Funny thing is, no matter if I know it or not, I am that hollow Christian a lot of the time...I throw God on the side burner and try to get through the day on my own...Most of the time it works, another funny thing...But it's those times that you just let God take over and run it all that life seems complete and worth getting up in the morning for..Sorry if I make no sense, thoughts are just flying around...

...jake

Faith...

Faith…what a word....Anyone can have faith in anything, a god, a friend, a pet…But the faith that is forever is faith in God…Sounds like a Sunday school pat answer right? Of course…funny thing is, it’s so true and obvious that sometimes people look over it and go their own way. In Blue Like Jazz, Don Miller says the thing about Christian faith is that you believe it and don’t believe it at the same time…It’s the thing that I love about it…You can try to explain to someone why you believe what you believe, but sometimes its harder than stale bread because either you chicken out or you realize the Christian faith is a huge mystery. I’m not saying this is an excuse for failing to share your faith with someone, because explaining how much of a mystery it is really could interest someone…Now if what I have just said makes little or no sense, its understandable. ADD and a tired brain will have that affect. J In essence, what it comes down to is realizing there is something greater than anything we see, hear, or touch. There is something out there that our minds cannot comprehend, no matter how hard we try. God created it that way. He wants us to understand what we need to, and keep the rest a mystery, which is what is so awesome about believing in Him. You keep going and growing and you never reach the end, at least here. What I have come to realize is that God can blow your mind everyday if you just look at the sun, stars, nature, and maybe someone you love who God has put in your life. For that moment, if never before, you believe with all that you have, and hope you become everything He intended you to be.


"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see."
Hebrews 11:1

Blue Like Jazz...Beginning...

So I started Blue Like Jazz for the second time, and this time I’m going to write some stuff as I go…thoughts…ideas…heart-felt movements…You know, the good stuff, just being real and going from deep inside…Any one who has read the book and feels a need to correct or comment on me, please do so, as I am no genius… :)
At the beginning, the author, Don Miller, is mostly giving an overview of the first twelve or so years of his life, how in childhood God was more the boss of things like commandments and strict about things, instead of someone you could relate to and talk with. Miller then goes into how religion is something you can hide behind, something that waters down what really is going on. The feeling of having to redeem yourself keeps nagging at you…Anyone can walk around inside religion and miss the fact that God is a person, a Being with thoughts and feelings. It waters Him down to an idea. The term Miller uses for God like that is a slot machine, a “set of spinning images that dolled out rewards based on behavior and perhaps, chance.” This God will provide relief for immediate guilt and a sense of hope that your life will get organized. This pretty much is me most of the time. I simply pray for forgiveness, thinking it will all work out and the slot machine will spill out tokens of goodness. Miller says this is more like superstition than spirituality. What happens is that every time a good thing happens, it’s God, and every time a bad thing happens, you kneel in prayer, pulling the lever again. It’s really easy actually, because you never have to talk to this God and it won’t talk back…“But the fun never lasts.”

Grace...

Grace...a word that is thrown around a bit... I think maybe Christians sometimes they are the only ones who get this insane gift from God...Never did Jesus treats anyone as unequal, which is almost the complete opposite of how most live today...What He did say to Paul in 2 Cor is that His grace is sufficient for us, for His power is made perfect in weakness...Weakness, something we all have in one form or another...No matter how hard we try we seem to always fall back into something because of weakness...
Have you ever stopped and actually thought about grace from God? I really tried a few times and it went kind of nowhere…I could not wrap my head around the fact that the creator of us, our body, mind and soul, loves us, no matter what we do. And by us I mean everyone. No one is discriminated by God’s love, not by their looks, actions, or thoughts. For all the crap we do and say, I really don’t see how He finds it in His heart to forgive us for everything, with no strings attached. I use and abuse God for His forgiveness, only coming with desperation and a heavy heart most of the time. And he is right there to say, “Hey, you screwed up, but, you’re just in luck. I have this thing called grace that will repair and mend any hole in your heart and fill it with Me. Dude, don’t you see? The stuff you keep doing will only keep tearing it open and bleeding out. Just put your trust in me man, and it will work out somehow, you’ll see.” Now, I can’t speak for God, but hey, everyone has their own way they talk to God and hear His voice. (My favorite part :) All in all, I really have to say God blows my mind everyday…All I have to do is take a peek and concentrate on what he doing in my life and the lives around me…
Random I know…but it’s the only way to live…

So it begins...

Well, here it is...my first post...Never done one of these before...But we are just gonna go with it and hope for the best...Hope that if you read it you put some comments down and rip into me if need be...But we shall see where it goes... :)