So at church yesterday this video was presented to everyone. It BLEW ME AWAY, and I just wanted to share this with everyone. Enjoy! Be Blessed!
Monday, April 21, 2008
Thursday, April 17, 2008
I'll take a Venti cup of Faith with Some Sugar in the Raw...
So I went to a single’s ministry last night with Steve Canipe called 97 West. As much as I wanted to come with no expectations, you all probably know that my bar was high. So Steve and I went to meet up one of his friends, which by the way made the night a whole lot better...and we headed to the service. I wondered…is this going to be as strong and as sweet as the original or just watered down with some sugary substitute?
We arrived and I had an instant whiff of familiarity. I had a sense of comfort. I had 20-somethings worshipping God for who He is! After worship, we sat and listened to the Pastor speak about being "salt". He referenced Matthew 5:13 –"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.” He proceeded to say that we needed to love by example. We need to show those who are not saved or even those who are believers, who God really is...by who we are. My neck started to hurt for nodding up and down so much! There were some things I didn't agree with, some things I did, some things that made me question his message and how he was tying it in with scripture. But are having questions wrong? If I have questions about faith does that make me any less of a Christian? It makes me think that I have questions because God allowed me to have them, because the scary thought is to NOT have any questions. An even scarier thought is to think that we know EVERYTHING. Maybe I’m spoiled by having an amazing pastor that knows that we DON’T have everything together and that we need to "figure this whole life thing out together". Or maybe having questions is all a part of everyone's spiritual maturity phase. It makes me wonder sometimes we tend to say we worship God, but we tend to consistently worship the bible. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love reading the Bible just as much as the next person, but what about knowing who God REALLY is and what He stands for…and then emulating THAT. Because I think that when we go up to heaven it’s not that he’ll say, “Well done my good and faithful servant. You effectively answered everyone’s question by referencing it out of scripture.” but I think the reason why he gives us questions is because he wants us to seek out the truth…because that means we are seeking out HIM.
We arrived and I had an instant whiff of familiarity. I had a sense of comfort. I had 20-somethings worshipping God for who He is! After worship, we sat and listened to the Pastor speak about being "salt". He referenced Matthew 5:13 –"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.” He proceeded to say that we needed to love by example. We need to show those who are not saved or even those who are believers, who God really is...by who we are. My neck started to hurt for nodding up and down so much! There were some things I didn't agree with, some things I did, some things that made me question his message and how he was tying it in with scripture. But are having questions wrong? If I have questions about faith does that make me any less of a Christian? It makes me think that I have questions because God allowed me to have them, because the scary thought is to NOT have any questions. An even scarier thought is to think that we know EVERYTHING. Maybe I’m spoiled by having an amazing pastor that knows that we DON’T have everything together and that we need to "figure this whole life thing out together". Or maybe having questions is all a part of everyone's spiritual maturity phase. It makes me wonder sometimes we tend to say we worship God, but we tend to consistently worship the bible. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love reading the Bible just as much as the next person, but what about knowing who God REALLY is and what He stands for…and then emulating THAT. Because I think that when we go up to heaven it’s not that he’ll say, “Well done my good and faithful servant. You effectively answered everyone’s question by referencing it out of scripture.” but I think the reason why he gives us questions is because he wants us to seek out the truth…because that means we are seeking out HIM.
Saturday, April 12, 2008
"DING! You are now free to move about my heart"
So today has been nothing less of yet another day, well with the exception of being in such a crappy mood. In a matter of 7 hours I have managed to put myself in the middle of Blahsville, USA. Have I finally reached my destination or am I going no where fast?
I don't know why so much "stuff" affects me so. I don't know if I "care too much" or if I am "too nice". I have been pondering the thought, "what would happen if I just stopped caring?" I have been here plenty of times due to the different circumstances in my life. I have taken the mentality of "whatever, I don't really care cause as soon as start, something else gets ripped out". As you probably read in some old postings, I have some things in my head that make me either act or think irrationally. yes yes, the ever so evil insecurities. I guess the reason I revert to the "I don't really care anymore Jeff" is so I don't have to deal with the issues I have. In the same sense though, I alienate people when I get in this mindset. I tend to put up the wall of security and start getting pretty comfortable in my little "castle tower of complacency". I don't know. It feels like this smile is starting to wear out its luster. This laugh has started to become just a mere memory. I want to start being real with my feelings with others in all of its glory. Good, bad and ugly.
I don't know why so much "stuff" affects me so. I don't know if I "care too much" or if I am "too nice". I have been pondering the thought, "what would happen if I just stopped caring?" I have been here plenty of times due to the different circumstances in my life. I have taken the mentality of "whatever, I don't really care cause as soon as start, something else gets ripped out". As you probably read in some old postings, I have some things in my head that make me either act or think irrationally. yes yes, the ever so evil insecurities. I guess the reason I revert to the "I don't really care anymore Jeff" is so I don't have to deal with the issues I have. In the same sense though, I alienate people when I get in this mindset. I tend to put up the wall of security and start getting pretty comfortable in my little "castle tower of complacency". I don't know. It feels like this smile is starting to wear out its luster. This laugh has started to become just a mere memory. I want to start being real with my feelings with others in all of its glory. Good, bad and ugly.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Are you kidding me?
I was laying in bed when I got a text from Jen letting me know how much God has been good to her because "He is always there when I need Him." Maybe I didn't get it. I was looking at Francis Chan's site and I ran into a video that really hit me. I talk about God like He's just a normal person, without regard, without the awe He deserves. Our God is AMAZING! I just realized that he is just way out of our comprehension. He made the heavens and the earth and everything in between. I tend to think of myself in my little world and fail to see that there is so much out there that we can't even see! I don't know, I guess I was just blown away at the fact that our God can make such an expansive place as our Universe, but still has the time and heart to love me in all my failures, to care about me in all of my worries and to provide for me in my need. And on top of that He would want to know me? Simply put, all I can say is...
"Wow God"
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