Advertising C28

This is an image of a flyer I posted in my dorm for the Christian Clothing Store C28!

Urbana Missions Conference 2009

Something that I'm really excited about for the month of December is going to the InterVarsity Urbana Missions Conference! The largest gathering of missions organizatio0ns in North America takes place December 27-31 in St.Louis, Missouri - I'm going to be a part of it!

I actually get to attend with my girlfriend, so it will be our first road trip together, which is pretty exciting.

Please be in prayer for us as we are still raising money to attend this event, I think that we probably need about $400 more to be all set to go, so we're about half way there! God bless!

Encouragement from C28

Lately, on browsing through c28.com - a Christian clothing store that reaches youth at the street level - I came across the image to the left.

This image encouraged me all throughout the day that I discovered it because Charles Darwin is a highly respected figure in the science world. Many theories - especially those that say there is no God - were based off of his work.

The reason this image encourages me is because it reminds me that by the end of his life, Charles Darwin discredited his own theories by confessing there is no possible way they can be true. Our God is Mighty - the Wonderful Counselor cannot be ignored - the Prince of Peace reigns in the hearts of the troubled and mislead - the Magnificent Guide brings light to the world. Charles Darwin admitted to this vary thing. "Don't hide your eyes from the Truth . . . Freely confess that JESUS IS LORD!!!"

Salt and Light

We are the Salt and the Light of the earth?

Matthew 5:13-14

"You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden."

It is true as Christians we are the salt of the earth. What is salt for? Salt is used to flavour food. We are used to bring to life those that live in death.

But what happens when too much salt is added?

Salting the earth refers to the practice of spreading salt on fields to make them incapable of being used for crop-growing. This was done in ancient times at the end of some wars as an extremely punitive scorched earth tactic.

According to the Book of Judges (9:45) in the Old Testament, Abimelech, the judge of the Israelites, sowed his own capital, Shechem with salt, ca. 1050 BC, after quelling a revolt against him.

It is a fable that the Romans salted the fields of Carthage after the destructive war against Hannibal, so that Carthage would never again rise to challenge Roman power.

Too much salt renders food tasteless. So this means that if, as Christians, we throw ourselves at non-Christians, they lose their taste for us and for Christ. We must remember to use salt with reserve.

As Christians, we are the light of the world; we are the bearers of the light of Christ to a world fraught with darkness and despair.

But what happens when there is too much light?

As study was done about the effects of too much light on plants. What happens when a plant is subjected to light on a continuous basis? Well, many plants are stunted in their growth. Some plants even shrivel up and die.

What happens when a human receives too much light? SUNBURN!! Everyone knows that if you are out in the sun far too long, your skin will get burnt, which hurts quite a bit.

The same can happen with non-Christians who receive too much of our (Christians) light. They are stunted in their possible growth, or they immediately shrivel up and die (a spiritual death).

Matthew 13: 3-9

Then he told them many things in parables, saying: "A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. He who has ears, let him hear."

Friday Prayer

At Longwood, myself and a wonderful young Christian woman named Neena George - or Neenya - have been meeting with other Christians on campus each week to pray.

I guess this is a lot like the whole "Meet me at the Pole!" thing back in high school; but this really is such a wonderful thing.

Our campus, our state, our country, and our world need prayer. The citizens of this world are in such dire straights as of today, and since all the yesterdays of the past. People are dying, physically and spiritually they are dying. It is up to us to beseech our creator, the Lord God, King of Heaven and Earth, the Alpha and Omega, for help. He is the only one who can save us.

Psalm 65:2 "O you who hear prayer, to you all men will come."

Psalm 143:1 "O LORD, hear my prayer, listen to my cry for mercy; in your faithfulness and righteousness come to my relief."

Romans 12:12Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.

Brothers and sisters, we have not been faithful in prayer, and patient in affliction, and joyful in hope. We have not prayed a prayer for the LORD to listen to. And we have not prayed that men would come to Him.

Now is the time to band together. Jesus Christ is coming soon, this I know in my heart, and we need to pray that when he comes he is received by the multitudes of the earth. We need to pray for our campus, in that we would be a light unto all those here that are lost in darkness. We need to pray for this country and it's leaders; President Obama cannot change the world by himself. We need to pray for this world, because our brothers and sisters in other countries are being martyred, and there are still those who turn deaf ears to our ministries.

We must, we will pray that God fills us with his spirit, and uses us as the tools to change the spirit of this world.

iPod Worship

The title of this blog may confuse you, and if you are a close friend of mine then you know that I meant to confuse you. iPod Worship?

Well, what I mean is that technology as it has evolved (maybe that is where evolution lies, in technology, as surely as creationism lies in all man) so has the worship of God.

Ezekiel 46: 13-14

Every day you are to provide a year-old lamb without defect for a burnt offering to the LORD; morning by morning you shall provide it. 14 You are also to provide with it morning by morning a grain offering, consisting of a sixth of an ephah with a third of a hin of oil to moisten the flour. The presenting of this grain offering to the LORD is a lasting ordinance.

This is how the Israelites worshipped the Lord. Of course they studied the Torah, and sang worship songs at the temple, but in the mainstream this was how one would show their obedience and love to God. But that changed when the Son of God became the eternal lamb of sacrifice, defeated death, and promised to return to vanquish all evil.

Now we worship God is everyway that is plausible, in any place that is suitable. I worship God while listening to my iPod. Therefore I came to the conclusion of iPod worship. What a great way to show God our appreciation for the brains He gave us, which allow us to create such cool electronics like iPods, then to fill it with worship music and jam out to Jesus music wherever and whenever we listen to it?

None better.

Stuck in the Bathroom Stall

Today after class I went to the library and grabbed a computer before the daily rush hit. I logged on, threw my stuff down and headed to the bathroom to empty my nostril passages of the foreign fluid invaders that had taken up residence there.

I was blowing my nose, trying not to listen to the noises coming from the bathroom stall, when suddenly the guy that was in there flushed. Still trying to rid my nose of bogey's, I listened as he began to try his hardest to open the door. Apparently the door bolt would not budge because he started shaking the door, banging on it and throwing his weight against it for all he was worth. I have to admit it was kind of funny to witness it, but I also felt bad afterwards about seeing humour in his trouble.

I began to think about how his inability to escape from his prison relates to our imprisonment by sin.

We live in a broken world, no one is perfect and sin rules our lives with an iron fist. No matter what we do we always managed to mess everything up. Sometimes it can seem like we are hopeless, all the lights are shut off from us and we are locked inside our own prison.

But the beauty of it is that the Lord God, our making and father, has provided us with the easiest escape from all our troubles. He sent his own son to take away our sins, to take our place in that prison. Jesus Christ came and died on the cross so that we may share in his glory and receive salvation and ever lasting life from God, our father. Because of his sacrifice, we are free from our prison!!

Impetuous Youth - Ageless Widsom

What I find quite funny is how inexperienced we are as young men and women. As age finds us, we finally learn how to do things properly. Take for example, catching the eye of a young lady.

Now the way an elder man has done it here on our campus is by use of something small, furry, and cute. He got a puppy. Now that is some pretty basic stuff, except that he planned the right time, in the right place. This man, late forties, early fifties, got this puppy in the Spring time when the sun is shining and the young college girls are out walking and sun tanning. So of course being outside walking this puppy, the girls are attracted his way and BAM! He has captured the attentions of hundreds of girls over a given time.

On the other hand, we have the impetuous young man to consider. This young man sees what the old man has done, and being impatient buys a puppy when he has the money. Unfortunately for his lack of planning, the seasons have turned and it is winter! Cold, bitter winds, sunless days of gloom. Walking this puppy, the young man realises that girls are definitely not immune to cold weather, and while they would love to stop and play with his puppy, they would love more to be inside where it is nice and cozy. In this young man's case, his ill planning and impatient haste is indeed an EPIC FAIL!

I think this easily relates to our relationship with the Lord.

Psalm 37:7
Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.

When we pray, do we pray for instant results? Or do we pray knowing that God will answer in his own time. Do we wait upon the Lord, or do we move ahead with our own plans for short term gains? This is something I struggle with. I can't seem to find patience, in my dealings with others, my relationship with my girlfriend, my school work, my own prayer life. I just can't seem to get a hold of the idea that if I wait I will gain greater rewards for my patience and faithfulness, I believe they go hand in hand.

So I raise a prayer for all of us who haven't learned patience, I pray that slowly but surely they Lord will teach us to be patient.

Doubt

I am glad to be back at Longwood. I love being home, don't get me wrong, but I feel like a stranger or a visitor when I am there. Here at Longwood, where my friends are, my schooling is, my future resides; this is where my home is.

Matthew 14:31

Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. "You of little faith," he said, "why did you doubt?"

Over Christmas Break, I fell out of faith with God. I know that he never lost faith in me, and that he never left me, but I just stopped. What I stopped, I don't know, I just know that that is exactly what I did. I just stopped.

I wasn't feeling the spirit move me in Church, I was singing praises right along with the radio, my prayers were non existent. I had no one that was keeping me accountable; I'm not moving the blame, it is my own fault that I didn't seek help from a friend or relative. I just ceased everything that brought joy in my heart through the spirit. I felt alone, I felt helpless, and I felt like I was cold and falling. I never want to feel that way again. I doubted God; doubted that he could pull me from my empty pedestal.

I prayed and prayed and prayed for help in some way. My heart was stone and I was unmoving in my doubt. Then I realized I wasn't doubting God, that wasn't the source of my faithlessness. I was doubting myself, and I realised there was unanswered for sins in my life that was causing me to doubt myself.

Everyone needs compassion

A love that's never failing

Let mercy fall on me

Everyone needs forgiveness

The kindness of a Savior

The hope of nations

(Chorus:)

Savior

He can move the mountains

My God is mighty to save

He is mighty to save

Forever

Author of Salvation

He rose & conquered the grave

Jesus conquered the grave

So take me as You find me

All my fears & failures

Fill my life again

I give my life to follow

Everything I believe in

Now I surrender (I surrender)

(Chorus:) (2x)

Savior

He can move the mountains

My God is mighty to save

He is mighty to save

Forever

Author of Salvation

He rose & conquered the grave

Jesus conquered the grave

(Bridge:) (2x)

Shine Your light & Let the whole world see

We're singing

For the glory

Of the risen King Jesus

(Chorus)

You're the Savior

You can move the mountains

Lord

You are mighty to save

You are mighty to save

Forever Author of Salvation

You rose & conquered the grave

Yes You conquered the grave

I went to church at home one last time before coming back to school. What I found, through opening my heart to God, laying myself at his feet, allowing him to cover me in grace, mercy, compassion, is that no on, NO ONE, is above all those things. My sins were so great and numerous that the hordes of Ancient Persia seemed as mice to what I've done, but God's grace filled me and washed away everything. God's grace out numbered my sin, his compassion - given for everyone who seeks it - healed me and made me whole.

Mark 11:23

"I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him.

My doubt seemed as great as Mauna Loa, but through prayer and faith, God moved that mountain and through into the ocean.

Almost Finished

I'm really excited because finals week is almost finished. I have one more final to do, and a final presentation in 1 hour 15 minutes. I can't wait to go home, although I sleep on a very uncomfortable futon, but I get to start on my American West class. It consists of watching movies . . . with only one book to read. I'm so excited. I get to watch movies that star John Way, t.v. westerns like Bonanza, and other great movies like Stage Coach, How the West Was Won, Maverick, Support Your Local Sherif, and Blazing Saddles.

Let's just say this is going to be a very interesting Directed Study class. Well, I hope that your Christmas is blessed, and that you and your family prosper.

Matthew 2: 10-11
1When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 1On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh.