Flip Side, Two Sides - A Change in Perspective

FIRST PERSPECTIVE: THE HUMAN PERSPECTIVE.

Ryan comes home from a rough day at school. He's exhausted, both mentally and physically. The kids in his English class would not quit making fun of him for his belief in God. In math class, his best friend ditched him as his partner to be with a group of popular kids, and as so many other friends had left him, he felt even more rejected. Even more lonely. With his father in prison, and his mom who-knew-where (for she'd abandoned him and his sister after their father got arrested for first-degree murder), he felt like there was no one left. No one cared. He walks into his room, and sees his Bible on the dresser beside his bed. He picks it up, flips through it, but immediately shakes his head and puts it back down. He wants to give up on God, give up on believing. Everything is falling apart; his grades are slacking, he lost his job for poor performance, and even his sister is out partying all the time, going through boyfriend after boyfriend. There's no hope left. There's no way God could bring good out of any of this. Ryan doesn't understand why God would let this all happen. Surely He didn't love him; after all, why would an all-loving God allow such horrible things to happen? Ryan sits on his bed, and pulls out a rifle from underneath his bed. He considers taking his own life, and after a few thoughts, he makes his final decision.

SECOND PERSPECTIVE: GOD'S PERSPECTIVE.

God loves Ryan. He is His son, and He wants the best for him. He knows everything that's going to happen; He knew it all along. He knew that his dad would go to prison, that his mom would leave, his sister would try to find love and affirmation in relationships, and that Ryan would lose every friend he had. He knew how hurt Ryan would be, how broken he would be, but he wasn't worried about it. Although God knew all the bad things that would befall Ryan, He also knew all the good things. He knew that Ryan had a future. He had called Ryan when he was 16 years old to be a youth pastor; to reach out to those that had been through what he had. To help the needy. The lost. The broken. He had called him to start a ministry that would spread throughout the entire United States, becoming one of the largest ministries anyone had ever known. He was reaching out to Ryan. Trying to talk to him, get his attention. He loved him more than anyone on earth ever could. He was desperate for him, wanted to talk to him. To spend time with him. To love him and affirm him. But Ryan wasn't listening. He was too caught up in his pain, his hurts, his brokenness. God knew that if Ryan allowed Him to, He could fix his heart. Bring healing. Restore his family. Bring friends that would support him in his spiritual walk. God saw the future. And had confidence. He knew what would become of Ryan; the man of God that he would become. God just kept calling his name... and calling... and calling... and calling...

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Ryan had made his decision. He put the rifle down. Back under his bed. Something had clicked inside of him. He heard this small voice, calling his name. "God?" he asked. "Could that really be you?" He soon realized that it wasn't about him. It wasn't about his pain, his hurt, where he'd come from. God could bring healing. God could restore his family. And that was all that mattered. God was in control, and nothing was too big for Him to handle. "God," Ryan prayed. "I'm sorry for giving up on You. You deserve so much more. I want to give my life to You; to fulfill what You've called me to do, no matter what happens. I'm giving my life to You. I may stumble, but I'll get right back up, because You're worth it. You're worth it..." And with that, Ryan got up, left his room, and called his sister. "Hey Megan," he said. "There's something really important I want to talk to you about. Can you come home so we can talk?" And with that, Ryan's mission began. It was time for God to bring restoration to his family, to his friends, to everyone around him. No matter what it took... he was going to fulfill the call that God had given him.

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Ryan would become one of the most well-known pastors in the United States. His ministry grew to 50,000 people by the time he turned 25. His dad had come to accept Christ as his Lord and Savior, his mom finally returned home, and his sister quit trying to find affirmation and security in relationships. His mom and sister also came to know Christ, and many of the kids he'd known in high school came to know Christ as well. God surrounded him with people who would encourage him, and restoration, healing, and freedom was brought to his family. And to thousands more. God wasn't surprised; He'd seen this coming. After all... He was in control. And always would be.

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It's amazing how much God's perspective varies from ours. As we go throughout our daily lives, we usually only look at what's in front of us--what we see, what makes sense, the circumstances we are in, etc. But when it comes to God, He doesn't see things that way. When He sees a homeless man on the street, He thinks, "I love that guy so much; I want to give him a home; see him with hope again." And He could very well make that happen. Why does He let it happen? Well, He could very well ask us the same question. Why do we let it happen? God wants to use us. He doesn't have to; He doesn't need us. But He wants us. He wants to use us to accomplish His plan; not only will it strengthen our faith, but it'll strengthen the faith of others as well. Others will see His love through us. After all, that's what it's all about. God makes Himself known through love, through His creation, through miracles. What are we doing sitting around, letting life pass us by? Sure, we may have a great future, and a great eternity--but not everyone does. Let's make a difference in the world. Let's give God a shot, and see Him move. It's about way more than just us. It's about God, and it's about others. Seeing His love and power in our every day life. No matter what comes our way, no matter how horrible things may seem, He's bigger. He's stronger, He's in control. And with confidence in that promise, we can move on. Move forward. Move forward to the future He has for us... for our time on this earth, and for eternity.

Past and Future

Recently, I got to thinking. Thinking about my dad. For those of you that may not know, he passed away about a year and a half ago in a car accident. I thought of what things were like around that time; the hole that was torn out of my heart, the hole that was torn out of my family--things were never to be the same again. And they haven't. Then I got to thinking, "How have I made it this far? Why am I okay, when I shouldn't be okay?" The answer: God. Without Him, I wouldn't be okay. I'm afraid to know where I would be without Him. He's brought so much healing to me, to my mom, to my brother, to my family--it can't even be explained. It's amazing how far He can take you, when you allow Him to. I've also been reminded lately of God as our lover. Granted, that does sound weird. But it's true. God wants nothing more than to be intimate with us. He wants to love us, bless us, and He wants nothing more than the best for us. More than our parents, more than our best friends. How crazy is that thought--many of us having parents and friends that really care for us, so this thought is definitely mind-boggling. The fact that God loves us more is certainly a crazy thought, and it's something we shouldn't forget. We should never forget how He loves us.

"And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is." -- Ephesians 3:18

I never told you how that "week" went. All I can say is... it was great. Great because I got to see God move in mighty ways. He opened so many doors for me to talk to people, to encourage them, and to simply be there for them. I won't lie to you... it was hard. There was a lot of sacrifice being made, and I didn't think I was going to be able to endure it. Denying yourself of what you want most is definitely difficult. But by God's grace, I made it. Doors were opened, and He moved mightily. I'm forever grateful for the opportunity that I had, and that He drew me closer to Him. I knew then that it wouldn't stop after the week was over; it's continual, it's always going. With everything I have, everything I've got, no matter how difficult things get, I'm going to give God my everything. Because He's worth it. He's worth every minute, every thought, every sacrifice. And I am comforted, knowing that He's there for me. He loves me and blesses me, and He can do the same for anyone else. If He can do it for someone who's worthless, who's got nothing going for them on their own, He can do it for anyone. And He does do it for everyone. He loves every single one of you, and wants the best for you. May you constantly be reminded of His love for you, and allow it to work in and through you... He's so worth it. So, so very worth it.

"For God so loved YOU that He gave His One and Only Son that whomever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." -- John 3:16

One Week

It's pretty crazy what God's been doing in my life lately. He's definitely been throwing a lot of stuff at me (it caught me pretty off guard), but it's been good. I know that He has a plan in all of this, and as great or as tough as it may be, I know it's for my good. And the good of others'.

"Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will." - Romans 12:2

This verse has probably been a theme of my life recently. In all honesty, it's been hard to hear God's voice sometimes--and it's been easy for me to make decisions or think certain things based on my emotions, or what I think God is saying. It's times like this that the enemy likes to come in and mess with your thinking. If he can mess with your thinking, then ultimately, he can mess up all of you.

In the craziness of my life, and after much prayer and consideration, I felt like God was telling me to give Him one week. 7 days. One week to really focus on Him, put all distractions aside, and pursue Him. Go deeper with Him... see what His will is for my life. As hard as the next week will be, I know that I'll make it through it. God gives me the strength to endure anything, and He doesn't allow me to deal with more than I can handle.

So... here goes.

One week.

I have a huge feeling that God's going to speak mighty things, move in mighty ways, and really reveal himself to me, and hopefully I'm not the only one on the receiving end of His movement and blessing. Which, I'm sure I won't be.

That's something else He promised me.

I hope this encourages you. Just know that whatever you're going through, whatever situation you may be in--God is always there, always wanting the best for you, and always speaking. Always moving. We've got to get to a point where we give up our desires, our emotions, our whatever--and let Him take control. Give Him the steering wheel. Can it be tough? Yes. Can people get hurt by it? Sure. But God has all of this in mind. He's not going to let anything bad happen that you can't handle.

Remember that He's worth it. He's worth the pain, worth the sacrifice, worth the waiting.

He's worth it.

He's worth the wait.

God Is Good

My youth group went on what we call an "Encounter" last weekend, and it's basically a youth retreat where God does some crazy stuff. People get healed, our passion and love for Him is stirred up, and overall it's a pretty awesome weekend.

I think for me, what God did in me this last weekend was that he reminded me of His calling for my life, who I am in Him, and He definitely rekindled a passion for Him. All I can really say is, I'm excited for what God's doing at my school. We had over ten kids show up for prayer at lunch yesterday, and that was definitely encouraging. To see kids getting passionate for God and not only see but live out the truth that He's worth it... it's amazing. It's something as a leader that I love to see. That's one of the things that give me joy... seeing kids getting passionate for God. More than some emotion, more than a feeling, more than any temporal thing this world can give. We'll reap so much more when we pursue God and His kingdom; this world won't last forever.

It's amazing how far God's taken me, just in the past couple of weeks. Give Him a chance to do something in you... cause you never know what He'll do, and how great of an impact He can make on you. Not only to change you, but to change others. Change the world.

Ready for Revival

Do you ever have those times were you "randomly" get excited about what God's doing, and you can feel the Holy Spirit beginning to fill you up? I definitely love those moments; in fact, I'm having one of those moments right now.

I like how God is so faithful to us, He's there to meet us wherever we're at, and He, above anything else, loves us. Being a few weeks into my senior year I've gotten caught up in homework, work, and sports, among other things, and to be honest, my prayer life and time in the Word hasn't been that great for the past couple of months. I think it's easy for us to lose the vision that God's given us; lose sight of what He spoke to us and has planned for us. My prayer for myself and for you is that you hold onto the visions and promises that God has given you. Just as He is faithful, we need to be faithful. Faithfulness brings forth fruit.

I know for me personally, I'm more than ready to see revival at my school. With "nothing" happening (in a natural perception), it's easy sometimes to think, "Okay, God, where are you?" But I think we need to quit trying to "find" God, because He's there. It all comes down to His timing, and our obedience and patience, and waiting on Him. I'm not sure when things will start "booming" at my school, but I know by faith that things will get there. People are going to be saved, people are going to be healed, and God's glory will be shown. That's a prophetic statement, and also a promise from God that I know I can hold onto. It just takes one step of obedience at a time... and waiting on Him.

God, Grace, & So Much More

I wasn't quite sure what to title this blog, but God's been speaking a lot to me, and definitely doing a lot in me, and with the new school year having started, I figured it was time to write a new blog. So here goes...

Looking back on this summer, it's crazy to be out on "the other side" of all the difficulties, challenges, and victories I went through, and to see now why God allowed to happen what happened, and to see the drastic changes He did in me. I know one of the biggest things He did in me was teach me to be more dependent on Him. I know how easy it can be to become dependent ourselves, another person, or the world--many of us are financially stable, have both our parents, and are pretty well off. Know my heart when I say this, but some of us don't "need" God.

Crazy thing is... we do need Him. No matter how blessed, provided for, wealthy, taken care of, we are, we need Him. Everything isn't always going to be okay, and some day, we very easily could lose everything to our name: our family, our house, our possessions, our wealth, and so on. We need Him. And despite His not needing us, He wants us. Crazy, eh?

God's been showing me lately what it means to be in a relationship with Him. What it truly means. I read in a workbook called "Expericing God," that "Our relationship with God doesn't come from a quiet time with Him, but our quiet time with God comes from a relationship with Him." I didn't quite understand that until tonight... I spent some quiet time with God, in worship and in prayer, and you know what? I haven't had a decent "quiet time" in weeks--but when I took the time to spend some time with Him, He was faithful to be there. I spent time with Him because I knew that we had that kind of relationship. God doesn't come to us with an agenda, a set of rules, an expectation-- "Well, you have to read your Bible every day, and you need to pray for at least 60 minutes every night..."-- no. God's not like that. He loves us and appreciates any time He can get with us. And since He's always with us, well, aren't we always spending time with Him? Think about it. When you spend time with your brother or sister, for instance, you aren't always doing the same thing. Sometimes you watch TV, sometimes you go out for dinner, sometimes you play catch, whatever--you're not always doing the same thing, and it's not that way with God either. Sometimes you're praying, sometimes you're reading your Word, sometimes you're praying for someone, sometimes you're simply watching TV--and God's right there with you.

So let this be a challenge for you. Spend time with God--bring Him into everything that you do: sports, work, school, homework (yes, it is possible), working out... He's always there. And if you happen to not read your Bible one night, or spend time in prayer, don't beat yourself up. God doesn't. He doesn't put pressure or condemnation on us, so why should we?

We Say That We Want It, But Why Don't Our Actions Reflect It?

Something that just hit me pretty recently (actually like 5 minutes ago), was the realization about myself that in my prayer time, I'll pray, "Lord, I want to know You more, I want to be pure, holy, and I want all that I do to reflect You..." and so on, yet when I have free time to be in the Word, to pray, to simply open myself up to experience Him, rather than do any of those things, I do "useless" things like go on Facebook, text, or other stuff that probably isn't very worthwhile. This kind of reminds me what I wrote about in my last blog about the inward battle we experience: doing things we don't want to do and not doing the things that we want to do.

Some may say that being in the Word, prayer, experiencing God comes by discipline. Some may say it comes by discipline alone. But if we lived our lives, if we based our relationship with God off of solely discipline, then it wouldn't be much of a relationship, would it? It's so much more than that. Yeah, discipline's good, and important... but even more than that, I pray that I'd get into the Word, spend my free time in prayer, opening myself up to experiencing Him in all that I do, out of a love for Him. It definitely seems weird to pray that: "Lord, I want to want You..." but it's a legitimate prayer. We can't love God without God.

The fortunate thing is that even though we're not perfect, God's grace covers us, and He sees us as if we are. And that's the thing that's hard for most if not all of us to understand. We need to see ourselves as He does, see the world as He does... and that's when things will start changing around us.

A Divided Heart

"For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me." -- Romans 7:15-20

Something that I've really been noticing lately is the reality that we have almost two different sides to us--one side, which wants to do what's right, and God's will, and the part that knows God, and the other side that almost seems like a completely different person. It's the part of us that leads us to think things we don't want to think, do things we don't want to do, and takes control of our emotions. I know in my own life it's led to much frustration--an incident occurs that makes me mad, or depressed, or triggers me in some way, and I get mad that my heart's even going in that direction. What's crazy is how it's almost like you can't help it... and that's where God comes in. That's where we have to leave it up to the Holy Spirit to correct us, guide us, and lead us in all truth. We've got to let His love take control of every facet of who we are. And personally, I think this is one of the hardest things to deal with in the Christian walk. Learning to speak out in faith what isn't, learning to give God praise and still have joy even when your life is crumbling before you. It's definitely not a mindset we're used to in this day and age. Most people, and correct me if I'm wrong, but they give into their pain. If they feel sick, what do they do? "Yeah, I'm sick," and they embrace it as a part of themselves. When in reality, that's never been God's will for us. His will has never been for us to be sick, depressed, angry, or in sin.

So I pose a challenge for you... next time you're feeling down, you just messed up, or things just aren't going your way, give praise to God; He's still good and worthy of praise. Doesn't matter the circumstances. And realize the truth... His truth. Even if you just messed up, if you've repented, move on. God does. You are renewed, restored, and made whole. Crazy, eh? Well, it's a process, and one we may never fully get down while we're on this earth. But give it a shot. I guarantee you if you really put your heart into it, God'll come through. He's always faithful to do so.

Weakness = Strength

By the title of this blog, you're probably thinking, "What?! This guy's crazy. How is weakness the same as strength?" Well... it does. When it comes to God, it's the very essence of His grace.

"Each time he said, 'My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.' So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. That's why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong." -- 2 Corinthians 12:9-10, NLT

Make a little more sense now? I know for myself, the whole concept of grace completely messes me up. The fact that no matter how "righteous" we are, we're never more deserving of God's grace than when we were in the midst of our sin and rebelling against God. Weird concept, eh? No matter what you do, you can't earn God's grace. His grace gives you strength in your weakness... and allows Him to reveal His strength and His glory to not only you, but those around you. When your life's going to Hell and you're not giving up, holding on strong and giving Him praise, people around you are going to be wondering, "What's this guy's/girl's deal? Their life's going down the toilet and they're happy? What's going on here?" I'm not saying that you have to be happy all the time, at least not directly. We were made to worship God, to give Him praise. Technically speaking, we're all found guilty--we have no reason to not worship Him. Worshiping Him comes out of the overflow of His love in your heart. It's interesting how this all ties in together, huh? So for now, just ponder over His grace. We'll probably never fully understand it while we're here on this earth, but it doesn't mean we don't have to try. God's always there for us to give us answers, to draw us closer to Him. So what are you waiting for?

To You Alone Lord, Do I Pray

Don't know what's going on
The world is spinning around me
Feeling like I've lost control
Nothing seems to astound me

Those close now seem far away
All I've got left to do is pray
I need to find a way
A way back home, I can't go astray

As hard as it is to get by
I'm not going to sit around and cry
For my God is worthy of all praise
Through the good and bad, the worst days

God, you are so good, so faithful
You never leave my side
No matter what I go through or what troubles I face
I pray that You would take me into Your embrace

Take me Lord, take me in
I want to know You more, much more
I'll put myself aside, my fears, my desires
Fill me with Your Spirit, Lord
Fill me anew and refresh my soul

Continue to be with me, Lord
Don't leave me or forsake me
You comfort me in all pain and anguish
You fight for me when I've got nothing left

I thank You, Lord, for this day
I thank You, Lord that I'm still going the right way
Don't let me be led astray
To You alone Lord, do I pray

Knocked Down & Brought Up

This past week has been literally crazy... and don't worry. I say that in a completely good context. After all, sometimes it takes things getting crazy to bring out the worst in us, so that we can deal with that part of us, and be set back to where God wants us to be.

It's funny how we think that we don't deal with something, we think we're good in that area of our lives, and then we get completely knocked down from that place. Everything we thought we once had gets taken from us, we get humbled, and only in that place of humility are we rebuilt into something even greater. Think about Hurricane Katrina, and all the homes that were destroyed. The storm came through and wiped out millions of houses. In the years since the hurricane as New Orleans has been working towards recovery, would it be reasonable for them to rebuild their homes the same way as they were before? Definitely not. They're going to build them even better, make them stronger, make them tougher.

I've been in a place where I thought I was fine in certain areas of my life. It wasn't until trials came along, and the enemy brought up my past, that I started realizing some things were wrong. Was being in this place wrong? No, not necessarily. I wasn't seeking to do what God had asked me not to do. Simply put, my eyes weren't open to the things set before me. I praise God that He finally revealed them to me, they got dealt with (with the help of some awesome, godly men in my life), and now I'm in an even better place than I was before. I can tell you one thing; I feel even more free now than I did even a week ago. I'm so thankful that God allowed certain trials to befall me in the sense that I got to grow from them, and now I'm an even stronger man of God than I was before. And that's how our relationship with Him works. Ain't that awesome? I definitely think so.

So for now, be challenged. Continually pursue the things of God, and ask Him what areas of your life need work in. Because I can guarantee you, until the day the Lord comes back to take us home, you're always going to have something to work on. You're always going to have to depend on Him, but what's so good about that is that the reward is so worth it in the end. Dependence is not a bad thing. Not when it brings you to a deeper place, a holier place, and ultimately, when it draws you closer to Him.

"More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hopes does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us." -- Romans 5:3-5

A Broken World

I think the more I go through life, the more I get out and see the people of this world, the more I realize how broken people really are. The crazy thing is that while some of us may be turned off and annoyed with peoples' obnoxious behavior, deep down it all comes out of being broken. And God is weeping over every, single one of them. He loves them so much, just as much as He loves those that do know Him and pursue Him with everything that they have. Talk about crazy love, eh? I'm sure if most of us (I can say this for myself) were in God's place, there'd be a lot more people without hope, and there'd be no way they'd be going to Heaven. So it's definitely good that God's the one in control.

I know that God wants to see my school on fire for Him. In fact, I'm proclaiming it right now: This school is going to be set on fire for God. Every last person is going to know Him, is going to see His glory, going to see Him move in mighty ways. God's waiting for breakthrough, waiting for those that do know Him to reach out and do something for Him. God's always ready... He's been ready. So it all comes down to us, those that do know Him. What are we going to do? Are we going to sit, kick back, and relax, knowing that we're going to spend a great eternity with God while many around us are headed towards eternal separation from God? That's definitely not God's heart, and that shouldn't be ours. It's time we step out in faith, step out and reach people whether actually going and talking to them or praying for them. There's power in prayer, and it's the least we can do for those that are broken. It's time. It's time we see this generation saved; it's time to unleash the power of God on this broken world.

Walk By Faith, Not By Sight

Today was yet another day where God proved to be so faithful. It's amazing how He can use us no matter where we're at in our spiritual walk, and no matter what our circumstances may be. What happened today was no different.

Yesterday towards the end of the school day, God started putting someone on my heart, as in to share a word with them (that God had given me). I tried catching the person after school, but after I'd gotten on the bus I realized that they did a sport, so I wasn't able to catch them. For the rest of the day and throughout all of today until I talked to this person, the spiritual warfare got pretty intense. There would be times where I'd get sick to my stomach and nervous, but other times where God's peace would be prominent. This morning was probably the slowest morning at school I have ever had. I wanted time to go faster, so I could talk to the kid--the suspense was killing me. Once lunchtime came around, I prayed, "God, if it's Your will, let me run into him at lunch." As I was walking to the cafeteria, I "so happened" (with God there are no coincidences) to turn just as the kid walked into a classroom. I walked straight there and walked in, and came upon him and his friend eating lunch at a table. I told them "hi" and the kid's friend responded back, but the situation felt kind of awkward so I ended up leaving (don't worry, the story's not over yet). I went to the choir room where a friend of mine was playing the piano, and it had been made pretty clear that I hadn't talked to him yet. In a way she kind of "rebuked" me (in an encouraging way though; don't get the wrong idea, haha), which was what I needed. (I thanked her later for it.) So before I'd even taken one bite of my lunch, I went back to where the classroom was, but I stayed outside and paced for a while, praying as the spiritual warfare continued. Eventually God gave me the courage to go in, so I opened the door, walked in, and said, "Hey, can we talk outside for a second?"
"Sure," he said. So we went outside the classroom and here's where God took over. I won't say what the word was that I got for him, just for personal reasons and privacy. After I got done telling him the word I'd gotten, he responded, "Thanks for the word... I'll be thinking about it."
He walked back into the classroom, and I went back to tell Makayla the good news of what God had just done. The awesome thing about it was that all the doubts and things that the enemy was trying to tell me obviously weren't true. In my head I was imagining what it'd be like if I'd gotten a bad response, but God totally worked it all out for the good. Over the past few days I (as well as many others) have been praying that God would open up his heart, and that he would see God's love above anything else. And I believe that that's what happened today.
I titled this blog "Walk By Faith, Not By Sight" because that pretty much sums up what happened--it took faith and boldness to share God's Word with someone. In the natural, it looked like a bad and awkward situation, but in the spiritual, God knew exactly what He was doing. I believe that a seed was definitely planted, and I can't wait to see what the future holds for this kid. I know that God has huge plans for his life, and it'll just be cool to see what happens. God is good... all the time. All the time... God is good. And to Him be all the glory.

"Let your work be shown to your servants, and your glorious power to their children. Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands upon us; yes, establish the work of our hands!" - Psalm 90:16-17 (ESV)

"So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight." - 2 Corinthians 5:6-7

"The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?" - Psalm 27:1

Father God, I thank You that Your glory was shown today. I thank You that You are still faithful, even when we are not. Continue to move in my life and others' lives around me. Let us be a light to those that may not know You, and let us stand in boldness and in love. Let us love others as You first loved us. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

Time to Celebrate: One More in the Kingdom!

Something really awesome happened today, and if you read the title of this blog, then you'll probably have a pretty good idea of what happened. ;)

Today at school I felt led to do a treasure hunt at lunch, which is where you pray and God gives you words describing someone and/or gives you a word for that person (i.e. "You are going to do mighty things for God and He has a big plan for you." or something like that). So Ashley, Makayla, and I went to one of the practice rooms in the choir room to eat lunch before we did the treasure hunt. While Makayla was playing some worship on the piano and Ashley and I were eating, this girl walked in that's been coming to Youth on Fire for a while. Her and Ashley ended up talking, and before I knew it Ashley was giving her Scripture and started praying for her. Makayla then asked me if I could "flow" on the piano while her and Ashley prayed for this girl. So I started playing various worship songs, and after a few minutes of praying and flowing, the girl ended up leaving. "What just happened?" Ashley asked. "I don't know..." I said, not realizing what had happened. Makayla and Ashley ended up telling me that the girl had gotten saved, and I was like, "WHAT?!" (in a good way). None of us had really quite known "what" had happened, but the girl accepted the Lord into her heart. We all got really excited about this because we've been praying that people would see God's goodness on our high school campus and come to know Him, and this was the first salvation we've seen since we've been doing Youth on Fire. The funny thing was that it wasn't even Wednesday, and it wasn't even Youth on Fire. God caught us by surprise and we had no idea it was coming.

All-in-all, God's glory was shown today. A new daughter entered the kingdom and all of heaven is rejoicing over her. Let this be an encouragement to you; expect God to do things that you don't expect. And I guarantee you that most of the time, it's gonna be something awesome that you'll enjoy even more because you didn't know it was coming. And because God was given the glory. :)

All Consuming Fire...

One of the biggest changes I've seen in me and many of my friends since the Encounter is a new passion, a new fire in us. It's like God rebirthed something that was already there, but at the same time gave us something new. It's a fire that can't really be explained by words we understand... only in the Spirit can you understand God's fire.

I think it's so cool that God instills passion in us. That passion not only helps us draw closer to Him but it also helps us to step out in faith and reach out to others.

"I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire." - Matthew 3:11

When God baptizes us with His fire, it's something that we should hold onto--something that should be treasured and taken seriously. Too many times have we (I myself can testify to doing this many times) allowed our emotions to come into play to where we quit feeding our spirits with His word, His love, and the fire fades away. I personally am tired of going through the same cycle of "retreat, fire, fire quenched, retreat, fire, fire quenched, etc."

"The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field." - Matthew 13:44

Let's make the fire and passion that God's instilled within us like the treasure the man found in the field. Let's not keep it buried, put it away where no one can see it, but pursue it, pursue Him. Our God is an all-consuming fire.

While I Have A Couple Minutes...

I figure I'd write again since I have time. Today at lunch my friends and I are having "Youth on Fire", a ministry where believers get together for encouragement, and to be build up spiritually. I can't wait to see what God's going to do; after we had prayer last night at our church, God gave us a new vision-- a vision that something huge is going to happen. So if you can, just be praying that God rocks it at my high school and that in all things, we give Him the glory.

My Mom Healed, A Friend Encouraged, & God Speaking Through Dreams

Wow. I've got a few testimonies to share already since the Encounter ended, and I'm so pumped for what God's doing; it's awesome. When I was home yesterday evening, my mom was still dealing with a really bad migraine that she'd got after taking a nap. I've prayed for her to be healed before, but she hasn't really been healed any of those times. This time however, very soon after I prayed for God to heal her, she was completely healed. Her migraine was entirely gone and she felt completely better. So that's a huge praise report right there.

Another thing that happened last night was when a close friend of mine called who was (and is) going through a really tough time in their life. As we were talking I prayed that God would speak through me, and that my words would be His words. Shortly after I'd prayed, God gave me Psalm 93 for my friend:

"The Lord reigns; he is robed in majesty; the Lord is robed; he has put on strength as his belt. Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved. Your throne is established from of old; you are from everlasting. The floods have lifted up, O Lord, the floods have lifted up their voice; the floods lift up their roaring. Mightier than the thunders of many waters, mightier than the waves of the sea, the Lord on high is mighty! Your decrees are very trustworthy; holiness befits your house, O Lord, forevermore."

God spoke a lot to my friend, and one thing was that God is mightier than anything he can go through; that God's power, and God's love is bigger than any situation or circumstance. No matter how tough life can get, God is always bigger and stronger than anything that we can endure. A lot of what God spoke to me during the Encounter also came to mind in talking to my friend, such as how God created the human heart with different desires that God wants to fulfill. It was really cool for God to bring me this opportunity to grow, and to give Him glory. I know He's going to move in a huge way in my friend's life, and though it sucks that they had to hit a sort of "rock bottom" for God to show them something important, God is still faithful nonetheless and I know that a lot of good is going to come out of the situation that my friend's going through.

Last night I had an insane dream, and I've never had God really speak to me through a dream, let alone give me Scripture in my dreams, but last night He did. In my dream, my friends Jennae, Ashley, and I were sitting at a table during lunch. Next to us was a table of kids, one of which was an atheist kid that I ran cross-country with and is also in my AP stats class. In my dream, God told me to go speak to him. I was kind of nervous about doing it, but before I knew it, another friend of mine, Amber (who doesn't even go to my school) walked up to that table and said, "Hey guys, I'm really freaked out to do this, but I feel like God has a word that he wants me to share with you." In that instant I jumped up, walked over to the table and told Amber, "I'm so glad you did that, because God told me to speak to them but I was really nervous." She then said back to me, "Here, you can read this then." So I started reading Psalm 105, what God had given her to share (in the dream), and before I even got a couple of lines in, the atheist kid got really mad, and did something to get himself in trouble. He ended up going and sitting down by himself, and I think the dream ended with me going up to him and talking to him.

When I woke up this morning, I read Psalm 105, and it's really good. I shared it during prayer today at lunch, and it kind of gave me a vision and encouraged me as well as my friends that while there weren't many of us showing up for prayer and Youth on Fire (a ministry at lunch on Wednesday's to build up believers), God still had plans for us to take us into the "Promise Land", and while we may not see that in the natural, in the supernatural things were changing and as long as we pursue God wholeheartedly, He'll be faithful just as he was to Joshua and the Israelites, despite having to wait many years to get into the Promise Land due to the previous generation's unbelief in what God had for them.

I pretty much felt like a lunatic today at school... I hardly made it through all of my classes because all I wanted to do was be with God--whatever that looked like. Fortunately, God's with us wherever we go, and we don't have to go to a youth retreat or youth group to meet with Him. Although it is nice to be away from the distractions of the world so we can completely focus on Him. :)

For a bit of encouragement, I'll put some of my favorite parts from Psalm 105:

"Oh give thanks to the Lord; call upon his name; make known his deeds among the peoples! Sing to him, sing praises to him; tell of all his wondrous works!... (v. 8) He remembers his covenant forever, the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations, the covenant that he made with Abraham, his sworn promise to Isaac... (v. 12) When they were few in number, of little account, and sojourners in it, wandering from nation to nation... (v. 14) he allowed no one to oppress them... (v. 43) So he brought his people out with joy, his chosen ones with singing. And he gave them the lands of the nations, and they took possession of the fruit of the peoples' toil, that they might keep his statutes and observe his laws. Praise the Lord!"

An Encounter With God

So... this afternoon I got back from a youth retreat, more formally known as the "Encounter". It's pretty self-explanatory--we spend a weekend away from the chaos of the world and things are home, and give Him the entire weekend to focus on just Him. This last Encounter was my third one, and God was faithful and came through as He always does. My entire outlook on my relationship with Him was completely changed--I know this isn't an Encounter that I'll ever forget. One of the big things that really hit me (in a good way) was something Marques, one of the leaders, said: "If God can bring something great in defeat, He can bring something even greater in victory." What was kind of funny about this is that I was thinking this very question right before Marques had even said it. How true is it though? I mean, obviously, as we are human, we mess up. I don't know about you guys, but one of the ways the enemy's knocked me off of my feet before is in telling me that if I mess up, and do something against God's will, then God'll bring good from it and teach me something valuable. This is true--God works all things for the good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28). But if God can teach us something valuable and do mighty works in us through our losses, how much more can He teach us in our victories? If we're in God's will, and we're fighting the fight, and staying strong in Him, think of how much higher we can go--it only makes sense that God can take us even higher when we're not the ones keeping Him from moving in our lives.

Sorry if all of this is jumbled or doesn't make any sense. It's my first blog, and I learned so much this weekend that it's hard to put everything God spoke to me into words. But for now, be challenged. And next time the enemy tries getting you to mess up or do something out of God's will, just remember: "If God can bring something great from defeat, then He can bring something even greater in victory."