Crazy, Nutty, and Saved...

I've been thinking lately about the time period in which Jesus lived...I know, random... But hey, when you have ADD that tends to happen...(Attention Deficit Disorder for those who are undereducated, or go to JCC...Wait, I do...) Anyways...I was reading something about the Disciples and how radical they were to follow Jesus, and it hit me...You would have had to be almost completely off your rocker to follow this dude...I mean, come on...All he did was say, "Follow me..." or "I will make you fishers of men..." Fishers of men? If someone today heard that they would laugh in his face...Something had to have moved in these men who would later be called disciples......The stuff Jesus was preaching at the time (30-33 A.D.) was not exactly in line with most people's beliefs...Most didn't exactly think Jesus was the messiah...Jewish tradition says that the messiah will come as a great king of the people and be powerful...Not some dude in a plain robe and the son of a carpenter...So it kind of makes it that much cooler that some dudes just left everything and followed Jesus...That's kind of how I feel it is today...I mean, who gives everything they have (possession, money, their life perhaps) to someone they can't even see? Shoot, at the least the disciples could see the dang guy...(small joke)...Today, it's basically against any common sense I hear about...The world keeps telling me I need money, fame, and no problems to have the perfect life...Well I say that I will go in blind and rely on Jesus if it means I get to live forever...I just want to realize that what I am doing is completely nuts and I love every second of it...I pray that God never lets me water down His glory, grace, and mercy...I hope that you never ever let go of this crazy, awesome, out of this world thing you have inside of you...Thank you God so much for blowing my life into pieces and putting me back together how you want...

"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me."
Galatians 2:20

Are There Any Left Who Haven't Kissed The Enemy?

I don't know if I can take it anymore...Every week it's someone new...Before I get into it, I first have to say that I know I screw up everyday, and that no sin is greater than any other...All I have chosen to do I guess is concentate on a few of them...Anyways, I hate alcohol, weed, and whatever euphoria they bring...I really hate to be vocal about this, but it has been bothering me for so long that I just have to let it out...There are so many people I have known that have had an impact in my life for Christ, and so many people who I have looked up to as a Christian or had as a friend...Problem is, a friken lot of these people have done or been apart of anything and eveything I have ever known to not be involved with being a follower of Christ...So many people have gone off to college and become partiers...I really don't want to sound critical, because I known I friken screw up with other things, so if you don't like what I'm saying, please stop reading...It just hurts inside to see so many people close to me get into drinking...I mean, did God not say "Do not get drunk on wine." Ephesians 5:18......"Ok" I've been told by some people..."But I just drink socially to be around people that I could maybe even share God about..."Well that's cool, if you're 21...I know people hate laws and stuff, but God did say to respect the laws of man...Hey, aren't Chrisitans supposed to be an example of Jesus in the world? I know He drank wine, but never got drunk, and they didn't have a drinking age then...But it's not the technicalities anyone should be looking for to get by...If the world thinks alcohol represents something bad, then why present that image to them if you are alive in God? Why even want to be apart of something that will not bring you closer to God? Back to the old permissive/beneficial thing...It's not beneficial at all, and even borders the permissive line at times...I probably sound like a jerk and narrow-minded Christian...But I do love everyone that I know that may party and stuff...It's not them I hate, it's what they get into...Never will I ever love anyone less for screwing around with alcohol and drugs...I mean, shoot, I sin in different ways other people may hate as much as I hate alcohol...Maybe that's why it hurts so much to see people I know get into this...Because I love them...Christ loves them too, so really in the end, my opinion doesn't even matter...


Is there nothing left now?
Nothing left to sing
Are there any left who hasn't kiss the enemy?
Is this the New Year or just another desperation?

Does justice never find you?
Do the wicked never lose?
Is there any honest song to sing besides these blues?

And nothing is okay
Till the world caves in
Till the world caves in

Switchfoot- "The Blues"

Beat Myself Down...

Ever done something (sin) and felt like complete crap after? Ever felt like you just really didn't want to talk to God because you didn't feel like He would listen? Like you weren't worthy? It sucks...Problem...all of these feelings of guilt and remorse and crap are completely the opposite of God...(Satan for those slow ones :) This dude named Lucifer loves it when we keep drifting back into sin because it honors him...The devil loves it when we run from God when we need God the most...It's when we are at our lowest that God picks us up....If you are a Bible follower, then check out Isaiah 40:29- "He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak." A lot of people (me a lot of the time) feel like if they screw up over and over, or miss some devotions, that they can't go to God until they feel better about themselves...I am not saying that is it ok to just miss devos or sin c0nsciously all the time, but it is wrong to think that you can't come to God with your problem all the time every time. Maybe God has this plan for you that He needs you to be ready for...There is no way that you can do that when you are too busy beating yourself up over something that happened a few days ago...If you really asked God for forgiveness and meant it, He forgave you...God is that amazing, all the time...Why then, can you not forgive yourself? It's almost like saying that God's grace is not good enough for you...It's the realization that we are not perfect and that we will screw up, while still trying to do everything we can to be like Jesus...It's this realization when The we come full circle on the power of God and how much He cares for us...

A Storm Overcome...

Y'all know the story about Jesus calming the storm? If not, check out Luke 8:22-25...Anyways, remember when the disciples woke him and yelled out "Master, Master! We're going to drown!" Now, most people would consider this a prayer...After all, that's what talking to God is...They were in trouble and went to God, and he calmed the storm...Isn't that what we do? A storm comes and we pray to God for help...Funny thing though, when the storm settles, Jesus rebuked his disciples: "Where is you faith?" He said...Where is your faith? What the heck? Then again...Jesus did say that they were going to the other side...Did they think that He was lying? If Jesus says you're gonna make it, by gol you're gonna make it...Pretty sure He knows more than any of us...The disciples forgot that God is bigger than the biggest storms...Good sermon stuff right there...So, shoot...Where is our faith supposed to be? In God's promise to get us to the destination He has determined? Had something like this story happened to someone today, it would be considered a success story...We prayed in a desperate situation, and God delivered us...Good testimony material... But hey, a thought here...What if Jesus was trying to teach the twelve see the world from a new perspective: God's kingdom...As followers of Jesus they could have bent nature's rules too...When we walk in harmony with God, there is power to overcome anything...When I actually see myself as God does, and I know God's purpose and intention, mindblowing things happen...That's really what Jesus is offering to us...A chance to see the world from His eyes...Once we experience the power of God that fills every crevice, crack, and fiber in our body, we no longer bow to any of the world's idols...We grow in love; not in a selfish way, where we say "It's all about me"...But in a biblical way, where we say "It's all about God" (Thanks Rick)...

(Help with this blog came from Buck-Naked Faith by Eric Sandras, p.115-117)