My girlfriend Ali and I really enjoy driving together. She has officially declared me her chauffer, so when we have a destination to head to I’m elected captain of the steering wheel. On our ventures we have three ways of occupying the time: listening to music/podcasts, looking at the scenery or having deep intellectual conversations. Being the deep thinkers that we are, we enjoy analogies and similes in describing how to view certain subjects and/or perspectives. By likening objects or activities to ways of life we find it easier to relate to different trains of thought.

We invented a new game the other day while we were journeying back from her parents place to Winona. The way we play is by giving a person a verse or a biblical topic and creating an analogy out of it. Ali was the brains behind this brilliant activity and surprised me by asking me to give an impromptu sermon on the verse typed above. I looked at her in surprise, but quickly put my mind and heart to work forming a unique thought to share. Ali was quite intrigued with what I was coming up with saying and held a slight grin on her face. What came forth from my vocal chords was quite surprising for only thirty seconds of prep time and I wanted to share this thought with you.

An art museum contains many unique and intricate works of inspiration derived from a spark of creativity in an artist. There are many different kinds of art displays. Some artists create very realistic renditions of people, places and things where as others choose the route of abstract expression. One tourist might examine a painting and interpret one message, and another on looker might come away with something completely different. Neither one is more right or wrong then the other, what really matters is what the artist meant.

Faith is like an art museum in that each of us views it with a different perspective. All of us come from different backgrounds, religious practices, schools and family traditions. Every one of those factors creates a perspective that only we can share. God has an eternal depth to His character. There is no way to classify God’s personality type. He simply is Himself. In order to understand God we can’t rely on our own interpretation or even other people’s interpretation, we can only rely on the definition He gives us through His word.

Just like an artist knows the reason behind his creation, God to knows the reason behind His creation. If we stop at where our understanding is limited to, then we will miss the depth of God’s character, for it goes beyond our capability to understand. Proverbs 3:5-6 is a message of urgency. This passage pleads for us to surrender our understanding to God and allow Him to guide our paths, or way of thinking and our faith. One cannot know the truth about a piece of art with out the artist providing an explanation, the same is true for the life we’ve been giving. We can’t possibly understand the road before us with out the creator giving us directions.

That five-minute speech inspired a good conversation between the two of us and impressed upon both of our hearts to step back and look at our perspective on things. How are our thoughts, actions and feelings reflecting our faith in Christ? Do we submit to His understanding or trap the scope of His character in a box so we can contain who God is. As we continued down the highway, our thoughts rolling by like the lines on the road, we were challenged to submit our understanding to God and accept His understanding instead. Hope you enjoyed that snippet from the adventures of Sky and Ali!

“9 I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”

– John 10:9-10

How would it feel to have every bit of dignity, integrity and purity stripped from your very being with out any choice?  What if you were forced to submit yourself to an act against every fiber of your being?  Would you choose to comply or die?  What are you willing to do in order to stand up for what you think is morally, ethically and spiritually right not only in your mind, but your heart?  Are you willing to die?  Or will you compromise yourself?  Will you stand on the sidelines and watch it happen?  Or will you jump into the game and make a difference?

A chord snapped in me the other day when I received an email about a showing of the movie “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” that the university was presenting.  It was part of a rally that the Women’s Resource Center was running to promote abuse, addiction and sexual trauma. The movie is based off a book by the author Stieg Larsson who witnessed a gang rape of a 16-year-old girl when he himself was only 15.  The Author expressed how much he regretted not doing anything to help her.   This book reflected his experience and dealt with a very extreme mystery that consisted of a man who raped many women and killed them, simply for the selfish act of self-gratifying sex.  He was a merciless killer who in the end begged for mercy as he died.  Interesting how that works, we are completely selfish until we get hurt.

As each scene went by and the plot thickened I became disgusted with the perspective of reality that was being presented in a very pragmatic way.  My heart became heavy with the realization that people actually go through the pain of abuse, rape, murder, divorce, and grief while doing their best to maintain a functioning life.  That’s so hard to imagine.  There are open wounds in the hearts of so many people.  College students in broken relationships hungry for a love that won’t disappoint, spouses fighting to remain faithful, children being abused, mistreated and taken advantage of… real people who are just trying to hang on to any amount of life they can!  It literally made me sick to my stomach as I sat there, my eyes soaking in every projected frame of pain.  You may read this next sentence and think I’m weak or hypersensitive, but I ask that you bear with me and hear my heart and perspective on this subject.   I left that movie crying… my stomach was in a knot and I felt like throwing up.  That is how moved it made me.  We are being desensitized to a growing evil that is penetrating our government, our schools, our generation and our very hearts and minds.  Hear me out on this, the world we live in is destined for something far worse and horrific then what I witnessed watching a mere movie if something doesn’t change.

I’m a noticer.  I observe people as I’m walking, sitting in class, driving by them or watching them from across the street.  I am constantly analyzing peoples behaviors, body language, tone of voice and verbal expressions.  No, I’m not a creeper, I just notice.  I’m pretty good at knowing when people are telling the truth, stretching the truth and flat out lying.  That being said, I tend to interpret peoples interactions a lot.  What people react to in a positive and/or negative manner, how people act when they are nervous, scared, excited or angry and the effects those behaviors have on the people around them.  Five days a week I walk across campus on various missions.  Heading to class, going to the cafeteria or studying somewhere, I’m a regularly on the move.  I witness a lot of interactions and it blows my mind how much pain I witness.  Girls walk past me all the time complaining about boys, roommates, jobs, and classes; all the while being overly emotional about every microscopic life issue that has to be solved for them in the next 30 seconds.  The guys that I observe have a lot in common.  They are competitive, tough-wannabes who want to be the coolest, say the most swear words in a sentence and get the most approval.   They are self-serving, ignorant, immature specimens.  Whether you agree with either of those observations is not the point.  The point is the observation itself.  People are in need of something greater then what they can provide for themselves.  So they seek out a way to get what they want and do it.  Sex, drugs, drinking, music, God, Church, religion, hobbies, relationships… when put in the top priority spot they’re all gods.  They are mostly fickle solutions to a problem that no can seem to solve.  Even God has been misrepresented, characterized in a false manner and turned into a god… not honored as THE God.

We’ve all heard the figures on raping, abuse and sexual violence.  1 in 4 girls and 1 in 6 boys will report being sexually assaulted by the time they are 18.  1 in 3 women will be assaulted in their lifetime.  According to the FBI statistics, a rape occurs every 4 minutes!  Approximately every 15 seconds a women is beaten.  Approximately 6 children are abuse and neglected in the US every minute. Over 6 million women a year are the victims of domestic violence in the US alone.  That doesn’t even include other countries!   Whether this is true, or close to the truth, let me put this into a little perspective.  By the time you have read this far approximately 24 women will be beaten, 2 rapes will have occurred and countless sexual abuse crimes will have been committed.  These acts are happening right now as you read this.  At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I’m tired of reading statistics and being shocked, but not surprised and not knowing what to do in order to change those statistics.  These men, women and children could be your sisters, your cousins, your best friends or your future children!  This isn’t right!  These are real people, with real lives, with real pain in a real world that we are REALLY living in!

Sexuality seems to be the general theme for most humor in movies and TV shows and also appears to be the popular menu item for the top charted songs in the US.  Isn’t it such a wonderful feeling to know that our societies next generation are listening to role models that are singing about “going all the way tonight, no regrets” because “I want to feel like I’m the only girl in the world”, oh and I must mention that “there’s a place downtown where the freaks all come around, it’s a hole in the wall, it’s a dirty free for all.”  In case you don’t catch my drift, I’m very sickened by the disgusting lyrics, poor TV content, news burps, popular movies, celebrity items, product sales and cheep, degrading, selfish advertisements.  From my perspective I can’t walk anywhere with out being bombarded with girls who can’t dress modestly, guys who can’t keep their mouth clean and sleazy images screaming for my attention.  What is so great about all those things? Nothing.  Yet, boys, girls, men, women and everyone in between are being fertilized by the poison of greed, selfishness, jealousy and anger.

I’m sure there are great philosophical debates occurring somewhere in the world about the worlds current state and what the solution to our dilemma is.  I’m also fairly confident that many ideas, perspectives and pontifications have been thrown out on the table and then thrown in the trash.  When it all comes down to it, this world is simple.  We are a broken and selfish people living in a broken and dying world who need something to give us life that will endure the mortal time dimension that we exist in.  The answer is simple…. It’s Jesus.  There is only one way to live a life that is rewarding, selfless, satisfying, content, and with out worry and that is a life with Jesus.  God created humans as a mere image of who He was to share His experience.  I have no idea why God created the human race.  It seems like an awful lot of pain, disappointment and anguish to put up with, but I think that my lack of understanding is a result of my lack of knowing God’s powerful love to its core.  It’s NOT simple!

“ 1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” - Hebrews 12:1-3

God loves the abusers and the abused, God loves the rapists and the raped, He loves the assaulter and the assaulted, the master and the slave.  I don’t understand it.  How can a perfect God love such an imperfect creation?  I don’t get how time after time He seeks out the broken reads, the flickering candles and the trampled roses and breathes new life into the world decayed bodies.  I believe in this God who saves, who changes and transforms.  I believe that God is at work in the hearts of His people and that this world is going to be changed by the power of His love.  There is a lot in the society we live in that will manipulate, twist, destroy and decay the character of God, but no matter how hard anyone tried, God’s character will remain untouched and His people will be victorious over death, and over this world we live in.  God offers everyone a chance to surrender their load of sin in His hands and be free from all that so easily entangles us.  He offers freedom!  Take it!  Feel it!  Rejoice in it!

To bring it back to where I started, I will conclude by saying that I think that the direction the mainstream society is heading is dangerous and filled with corruption.  There are so many lies it’s hard to discern what’s real or fake. I haven’t invented a pill, a patch or a drug that can be smoked to cure this problem.  However, what I have discovered is a God that blows any other self satisfying element out of the water.  I am, and will continue to be, convicted of the reality of Christ.  This world has been raped by the devil and the evil that rides in his wake.  God is raging a war of purity and righteousness to claim what is His and what He loves.  I’m on God’s side and am going to stand up and change the world through my life.  I am committed to giving my life to doing what is in my power to keep sexual violence, abuse, addiction, assaulting, and the misrepresentation of God’s name from happening.  It’s not by name that I do it, but in the name of Christ Jesus who went to the cross for my broken heart.

Who’s with me?

“1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform 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 12:1-3

There is a large difference between God-centered prayer and self-centered prayer. God is actively at work in the lives of those who wholeheartedly seek His face. On the flipside, those who don’t seek God in prayer lack an essential part of a devoted relationship with Him. It would be like trying to land an airplane with out communicating to the control tower. If we aren’t communicating to God, who is ultimately in the control tower, we aren’t going to know how to “fly our plane” without crashing into something. A healthy prayer life is one that is developed through earnest conversation with God.

“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” – Romans 5:8

My approach to prayer needs to be more then a “drive-thru” mentality. Drive-thru prayer is essentially listing out our needs, thanking God for taking our order, and expecting fast service and everything we asked for in a nice warm bundle. This kind of prayer is ineffective and selfish. My experience has been that when prayer is focused on me, I don’t feel the least bit fulfilled. God is the creator and we are His creation. He has no requirement to help us, but He chooses to do so in His great love for us. So why shouldn’t our prayer life reflect the amazing blessing of His ever-listening ear, instead of acting like He owes us attention. God-centered prayer is a two way street. When we talk to God, we need to take time to listen to God. Sure God wants to listen to our questions, hear our concerns and take our confession, but I think more then anything He wants to speak with us. That’s our ultimate desire isn’t it? To be answered! God needs our undivided attention and complete devotion in order to speak to us.

God has made it very clear to me that my prayer life is lacking something essential. Something that many of the ancient prophets of the Old and New Testament had buried in their hearts that transformed lives and churned the very ground they walked on. As a Christian, a warrior for Christ, I want to move mountains with my prayer. I want to heal with my prayer. I want my prayer to speak new life into people who have lived their life in complete separation from Christ. In those very sentences though I have done something that prohibits me from doing any of those things. Prayer is not mine. Prayer isn’t about me. Apart from God’s presence in me, I am incapable of speaking to God. It is truly by the power of Jesus Christ alive in me that I can even utter words of praise, thanksgiving and need to the King of Heaven. True prayer is God breathed. If we are seriously aligned with God’s will for our lives then His desires for us will flow through our prayer. God-centered prayer is about His will for us, not our will for Him.

“They entered into a covenant to seek the LORD, the God of their fathers, with all their heart and soul.” – 2 Chronicles 15:12

One of the Old Testament heroes is a man by the name of Asa. Asa was a king that God used to lead Israel out of their idolatry and into a life of devotion to Christ. In the account of Asa’s reign God is very adamant about how He wanted Israel to live. He wanted them to realize that their only hope and salvation could only be found in Him alone. When they came to that realization they entered into a covenant with God to seek Him wholeheartedly. These people were true warriors of Christ. They are an example of how we need to seek God in prayer. We are completely helpless in this world with out God’s guidance and protection. Prayer should be our daily renewal of our covenant with God. Confirming His existence and supreme authority over our life, and confessing our need for His saving grace. God-centered prayer is a renewal of our covenant with God.

As we walk with God through out the life He has blessed with us, there is an essential element that can change the way we live our life. Instead of going from activity to activity and fitting God in between, we need to move from place of prayer to place of prayer. There is such a huge difference in priorities when we move from place of prayer to place of prayer. We no longer find ourselves too busy for God, distracted from His presence or lacking strength because we walk in it continually. My challenge is simply… ask God to show you how to pray. Allow Him to change your heart through seeking Him!

Something God has put on my heart lately is the importance of being prepared.  Being aware of my surroundings, knowing my heart and reacting with confidence to whatever attacks I may be subject to in a day.  The battle we fight as Christians is not one of flesh and blood, but that which is of a spiritual nature.  I don’t believe that we realize even half of what is going in the spiritual realm on a daily basis, but I do believe that God is protecting us from many things that would otherwise overtake our lives.  In the movie, the Karate Kid trains for a tournament.  With us, we don’t know when our battles will be or what we will be fighting against.  However, the first place to look is our spots of weakness.

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”

- 2 Timothy 4:7

This verse has inspired me for a long time.  If there was one thing I want to say on my deathbed, it would be these words.  How can I possibly reach that goal though, if I don’t take a hold of the life I’ve been so blessed with having.  Every day is an opportunity to take God’s hand and learn under His love and authority.

There are many things that the devil tries to distract us with.  Each of us has our own weaknesses. Each of us is blessed with many strengths and abilities.  However, we all have a predisposition of having a weakness.  Some of these weaknesses come in the form of anger, worry, lust, lying, unfaithfulness, cursing… there are so many areas to be weak in.  How can we combat them?

I tend to look at weaknesses as simply areas we aren’t well trained in.  If I want to learn how to do 30 push ups, I shouldn’t spend my time doing sit-ups which I might be a pro at.  Sit-ups will not train me for push-ups no matter how many I do!  The same goes for our faith.  In order to address our weaknesses seriously, the core of the problem has to be taken care of.  It’s very easy to make excuses or avoid admitting a weakness, but it’s worth learning how to be strong.

“Finally be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.” ­ ` Ephesians 6:10

God offers us a way to train ourselves against every attack we encounter.  Think of Him as the master ninja if you will.  There is not a move invented or thought of that God doesn’t know.  In fact, He knows moves that no one will ever know!  In His word He shares many ways we can train ourselves to fight the spiritual battle we pledge allegiance to when we accept Christ as our Savior.  Looking at your self right now, how are you fighting?  Are you going into battle trained to face your opponent, or fighting in an arena that you don’t belong in.  God’s word is sharper than any two edged sword… are you armed with it’s power?

“Whom have I in heaven but you?  And earth has nothing I desire besides you.  My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”

- Psalm 73:25-26

There are many periods of my life when I feel like my hope in Christ is threatened.  Whether it’s fighting to trust God in all circumstances, having faith despite unfaithfulness or repenting after finding myself astray from the narrow road.  There are so many alternative sources of fulfillment and contentment in this world, but what really fills our desires?

God’s power and mighty existence is one of capability.  There is no obstacle that can withstand the mighty hand of God.  We often make feeble attempts to take His plan and remold it to our “wants”, but we arrive at the road to nowhere very quickly.  An observation that I have made through out my faith journey is that God only provides strength to do the things that are apart of His plan.  When I find myself week and weary it’s often because I’m trying to strive toward an earthly reward instead of an eternal reward.  God will not give us strength if we aren’t following Him with a whole heart.  When we look to Him in all circumstances and daily walk by faith and NOT by sight, then we will produce fruit abundantly.

We are imperfect beings.  There is no good in us apart from God’s presence in our hearts.  Our hearts and flesh cry out for life and too often we try to quench our thirsty souls with short-lived fulfillment.  The struggle comes down to eternity.  When we think of God’s reward for us we try and make it something tangible and of this world.  God may bless us with many things in this life, but many of the things we work toward are eternal!  In the midst of trial and persecution it’s hard to strive for something that we have to wait for, we just want out!  However, a patient faith that gains eternity with Christ is better than an impatient faith that spends eternity void of God’s presence.

No matter the situation, circumstance, conversation or position that you are in, God is your portion and will fulfill your hearts desire.  If we step out in faith we will see God’s faithfulness.  When we rely on His strength, we will move mountains in this world.  When we pursue Christ wholeheartedly, we will find more then our minds can fathom.  The Lord is our portion and He DOES satisfy.

One of the greatest experiences in the world to me is seeing the impossible done. I think for the average person there are many events that they would consider impossible or highly improbable of happening. There are many things of inconsequential nature like a rabbit appearing in a hat, time travel and that sort of thing. However, the impossible that I refer to are the “God possible” events. The most impactful experiences I have in my life happen when God does something that I don’t think is possible. I think it’s humorous when we put limits on God and then He throws the ball back into our court and pretty much says… “What next?” There is nothing that God can’t do; there is only a limit to our understanding of what He CAN do. Lately I have really been awakened to how passionate and sincere Paul was about spreading the Gospel of Christ. Paul had confidence in God’s ability to make all things possible. Through Paul’s conviction and deep trust in God’s ability to provide, we can learn a lot about why we need to persevere through life. In the end, no matter what life has thrown our way, our lives will be vindicated.

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A brief history of the word “Gospel”
The word “Gospel” has an interesting history to it. The Hebrew word for Gospel is Besorah. The word Gospel is an invented word of old English origin that is a mixture of the words God & Spel (Gott-spell). God is a Greek translation of Theos, which was a Greek substitute for Elohim. The Greeks used Theos as a name for the Greek god Zeus and because of the perversion of that name, many scholars believed that using Theos to describe Yahuah (God) was the prophesied abomination of desolation. The word “Spel” is a Celtic word that means incantation, speech, spiel, news, message. The word “Gospel” is one of many words we have inherited from dead translators that has really taken on a life of its own. Words like baptism are also in that category. In Mathew the word “Gospel” appears in our translation from the original Hebrew word BASAR ( or Besorah, as defined above), meaning tidings, message, report, or news. The gist of this though is that when Paul is talking about spreading the Gospel of Christ he is referring to the mystery of God’s kingdom. In Romans 16:25-26 Paul ends one of his most famous books by saying:

“Now to Him who is able to establish you by my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery hidden for long ages past, but made known through the prophetic writings by the command of the eternal God, so that all nations might believe and obey Him…”

Paul was preaching the Gospel, the mystery of God kingdom, to those who had not received or yet heard of God’s reign. Keeping that all in mind, think about how on fire Paul was about getting this message out!
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“For to live is Christ and to die is gain.”
– Philippians 1:21

The one thing that Paul understood that a lot of Christians in today’s generation don’t grasp or cling to is the meaning of our faith. Paul didn’t cling to his earthly existence, but took his eternal existence to the limit. When all is said and done what does carrying our cross, loving our neighbor, loving God with our heart soul and mind, suffering persecution, going through trials and pain come down to in our minds? What it all comes down to is spending eternity with God! Many people don’t focus on that enough. If our existence is holding onto this expectation of having a perfect earthly life when we die, then we are gravely mistaken. Heaven isn’t about us; it’s not about all our earthly desires being fulfilled (playing golf, fishing or laying on the beach forever). No! It’s about spending eternity with Christ! Praising, worshipping and loving Him forever! Is that not the most exciting thing to look forward to? If we are not planting those types of seeds, then what do we really desire as a harvest? If our days aren’t filled with praising, worshiping and honoring God, who are we kidding? When do we think this “carrying-our-cross” thing starts… tomorrow? When life gets a little more defined? Once you get a good job? After you get married? If we don’t start today, then will we ever pursue God the way He longs for us to long for Him?

“I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.”
– Philippians 1:20

I love Paul! He is sitting in prison when he writes these words and yet his hope is not daunted, his courage doesn’t falter and his expectations for God’s plan only grow! Paul looks at his surroundings and instead of losing himself in confusion or frustration he doesn’t allow the context of his life to change the message to which God called him to preach. He was in prison and yet he still advanced the gospel and your telling me you can’t spread the gospel because you work in a cubicle or run the cashier? Paul was chained and trapped in a cage. We are free to spread the good news and yet the greatest chain traps too many people. Fear! Make whatever excuse you want, but if we aren’t sharing our faith and living a testimony of what God has done and is doing in our lives every day, then I fear that we are like the fig tree that produced no fruit. Remember what happened to that tree?

“For it is God who works in you to will and to act according to His good purpose.”
– Philippians 2:13

I work in the system administration office at Winona State University. I pretty much do a lot of computer work that involves programming, software configuration and server maintenance. Despite the intense nerdiness of the job I have had a lot of conversations with my boss about my faith. Almost every day at some point when I go into his office to talk to him about something we have a good conversation about life and share stories and experiences. His wife and him are Catholics and it has been really cool to discuss the differences in our beliefs. We agree and disagree on several things, but the point is that we talk about it! Too many times one’s “religious beliefs” are considered this off limit private section of everyone’s life that we shouldn’t talk about for fear of offending someone. Did Jesus offend people? You be your bottom dollar that He did! Did people hate him? You bet! However, more people were in love with Him and more people have been impacted by His life then any other single human being on this planet. Tell me that isn’t worth sitting down and having a conversation with someone about!

“For, as I have often told you before and now say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enable Him to bring everything under His control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like His glorious body.”
– Philippians 3:18-21

Paul had a backbone of steel. He didn’t back down and he wasn’t afraid to risk his life by walking into a risky situation. He knew that where God called him was where he needed to be. His desire was to advance the gospel and he knew that God was going to fulfill that desire at what ever cost! I have not had to endanger myself for the gospel yet, but I have had to put myself in many awkward and risky situations in order to share my faith. I haven’t had to disown my family or give up life long dreams for my faith, but I have been challenged in the decisions I have made so far in life and haven’t always done things the way people around me say I should do them. God has to be first in life. Making a decision against the advice of a lot of people can appear to be a very “self-righteous”, “selfish”, “foolish” thing to do. there are a lot of people with a lot of different ways of thinking about stuff. Amidst the stream of information that people are usually pretty quick to give us, we have to look to God and make our decision based on where He is guiding you.  Not the “latest” statistics or newest book.  Granted there is a lot of information out there that is correct and useful, however, there aren’t a lot of times that God directed His peoples lives by the latests statistics.  It’s been my experience that He goes against them.

I would choose God’s way over any worldy wisdom, experience or advice that anyone shared with me. I only pray that God uses those who surround me to encourage me in His way not the world’s way. That is the type of grit that Paul had in him though. When people tried to persuade him to be safe and live inside the lines, he did the opposite and let God draw new lines. It’s living a life outside of the norm and full of risks that God wants us to step out in. My desire is for you to realize that giving your life to Jesus isn’t a joke. Faith in Christ isn’t fake and it isn’t meaningless. Our lives, if we live them to Christ’s glory, will be vindicated! Our pain will be rewarded, our patience will bare fruit, and our lives will please the Lord in abundance if we only live for Christ and die to gain! God is just and He will free the chained, heal the broken, protect the righteous and vindicate His children! Trust, believe and live!

“In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps” –Proverbs 16:9

I went up north this weekend to my Grandparent’s cabins to help them out on some projects.  One of my favorite things to do is walk out to the end of the dock and sit with my feet in the water.  I have pondered many of life’s trials on the end of a dock.  This weekend I asked God to remind me of how the cabins have changed me.  The one thing He reminded me of this past weekend was stories. On my way home from camp I was hit by a thought while driving through the Twin Cities.  I had my Ipod in, so as not to fall asleep at the wheel, and happened to be listening to “Open Road” by Bryan Adams.  As he was singing, “life is an open road – it’s the best story never told, it’s an endless sky, it’s the deepest sea - life is an open road to me”, I passed a billboard advertising the $20 Million power ball winnings.  On the billboard was the question… what is your dream?  I found myself laughing at the combination of parallel events.  Life is an open road, pursuing dreams and thinking about stories…

I have always enjoyed listening to really good stories. As a kid we used to have “book time” every night.My siblings and I would all crowd around the couch as my mom or dad read aloud the books of our choice. Stories are amazing food for the imagination and impact children in monumental ways. I remember many books that captivated my mind and gave me so many stories to play around with.Sometimes I would spend an entire afternoon reading chapter after chapter to finish a book as soon as I could. As a little kid I enjoyed fiction, but as I have grown a little older Non-fiction interests me more. I can remember listening to stories my grandpa told us about growing up on the farm and taking care of the animals and of course the infamous “walking to school uphill both ways in 4 feet of snow” story. I think real stories are more fascinating to me than fiction because I know they are possible and that they actually happened.  It’s kind of like a small hope that appears when you know it’s true, because maybe someday a story like that will happen to you. Real things and real people are even more incredible to me because when told by the authors of these “amazing tales” they become real and alive in a way that captivates listeners in a different way then words do.

In this life we each have a story of our own that we write with every decision we make. The interactions we have, the words we say and the perceptions we receive all collide and form the pages of our story.So many times though our stories go unread and nobody learns, listens or gains from the story we have spent our lifetime living. I am very inspired when someone shares their story with me, even if it’s only a little bit. I think it’s important that as we live our life, we share our experiences and our trials with people so they can learn. Paul gives us a great example of this!

“We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us.” – 1 Thessalonians 2:8

As he is writing this letter he shares great joy and passion in sharing his heart with those around him. I think this is a great example, because Paul had an amazing story. Being a former Zealot was nothing for him to boast about, but it showed that he had experience in what he was talking about. Zealot is not a word we use in this day and age, but a Zealot could be compared to the modern day Jihadist Muslims.They believe they are in a holy war against the infidel, and people who do not convert or teach against what they believe as the “truth” should be killed in very vicious ways. They believe that they will be rewarded for it! This is what Paul, who used to be Saul, believed.  He even believed he was doing what God wanted and better than anyone else! So as he is sharing this with people, as he is sharing his story think of the impact it must have had! This is not only an example of how we need to share our stories, but also living proof that no matter what sins you have committed God is more than capable of changing us.

Aside from not sharing our own stories I think we can sometimes get caught up in the stories of others and forget about living our own. The other day I was thinking about how we can sometimes get caught up in pursuing someone else’s dream and how much of a distraction it can be. Do we ever take ourselves and place the focus we should be putting on our own lives on the lives of others? I think it’s good to be inspired by the lives of others, but we shouldn’t be so caught up in the lives of others we loose focus on ours. I also think it’s important that we don’t get lost in the “fantastic tail” of the lives of others either. It’s amazing to be apart of someone’s dreams or be apart of an amazing life that God has created. However, we need to make sure that we don’t start feeding on their amazing life when we could be living a life of our own that is equally amazing and unique. We need to take the opportunities God gives us and allow our lives to be changed through the different stories that we can be apart of, but we need to also make sure we are living our own and becoming a story that will change others!

“Where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.” - James 3:16

Another thing that we need to be cautious about is comparing our lives to the lives of others.Comparing stories is something that I have struggled with myself and is not good to get caught in doing.Not only do you put yourself up against, sometimes, unrealistic expectations, but you can also get discouraged. I find that I discourage myself if I go “I wish I could be like that. How come I’m not that good?” The truth is that God has created us each talented at different things in different ways. We all have talents and gifts and even though some people may be “better” at using the ones they have been blessed with, doesn’t mean we aren’t special. We need to look to God and be encouraged knowing that when we seek Him, He will shows us how to use our gifts according to His will and to the best of our ability. Instead of living according to the standard we allow others to set for us, we need to live according to the standard God has set for us! (Ephesians 5:14-17) Not only do we have different abilities and talents, but we also have different experiences in our life.  Some people do amazing things and when we compair them to the things that we do, we don’t always find the comparrison pleasent.  Again, we need to remember to seek God out and remind ourselves that we are going to have our own story and that every decision we make makes our story.  So why not make good decisions so we can have a happy ending and good chapters in our life?

“For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” - Ephesians 2:10

My encouragement is to look at your story.  Who are you? Are you allowing God to write?  Is God completely sovereign over every part of your life or are you still holding on and making excuses?  Make sure that you are living within your own story and not jumping out and into others.  God has an amazing story for you and all you have to do is go to Him and find it! We need to make sure that we aren’t trying to be smarter than God and write our own story.  Everyone thinks they know best… when in reality God is the only one who sees the end result.  Our wisdom will lead to foolishness if we are not allowing God to be the author of your life. What’s your story? Do share!

“Do not deceive yourselves.  If any one of you thinks he is wise by the standards of this age, he should become a “fool” so that he may become wise.  For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight.  As it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness”; and again, “The Lord knows that thoughts of the wise are futile.” - 1 Corinthians 3:18-20

“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” - Hebrews 11:6

Yesterday evening I took a huge leap of faith!  No, really, I’m very serious!  My friend Levi and I decided to go swimming after a run around the Winona lake and the swimming hole as two places to jump off.  The first way to jump is to swing off the rope and fly into the water.  The second way is to climb one of the trees and jump off the branch that hangs over the water.  It took be a bit of coaxing, but I climbed to the top of the tree and jumped a little more than 2 stories into the water!  The moment right before I adjusted my weight to jump I had a thought about God being our Shepherd. I’m pretty sure it had something to do with being on the edge of getting hurt and wanting His protection!  I couldn’t entertain the thought for very long, seeing as I was quickly soaring to the water, but now that I’m on solid ground again this reminder of having a strong shepherd protecting me is really encouraging.

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

A leap of faith is taken with out analyzing the situation.  It’s a rapid trust that sets like instant pudding.  There is a simple ingredient, simple instructions and no trick to it!  You simply hand God your heart, hold on and obey, and before you know it you’re standing on solid ground again (Sorry… no dessert)!  Standing on the end of the branch safely holding on provided a perfect situation to analyze how far up I was.  If I had spent 5 minutes thinking about it, I probably wouldn’t have jumped. I know this may seem like it could be a cliche analogy, but it really can’t get much clearer than this for me.  Faith requires stepping from the known to the unknown.  The steps God asks us to take are usually pretty big and require His help, His provision and His love.  When we try to take those big steps with out faith… it’s like jumping out of a tree onto cement… not water!  We have to put that trust in God’s ability to see more than we can see.  He understands more than we can wrap our tiny minds around and that there is a much bigger plan then just our life!

Climbing the tree before I jumped was scary at first. The steps were these little chunks of 2×4 that had about 8 nails in each one.  They weren’t evenly spaced, they were slippery and there were A LOT of them!  The other people that were there kept encouraging me to keep climbing and eventually I reached the top.  I stood there almost paralyzed for about 45 seconds before I decided to jump.  Once I started falling and my stomach filled with intense excitement I knew it was worth that moment of panic and fear.  I think this totally relates to the steps of faith that God calls us to.  We don’t like the looks of it before we even start taking the step, we get scared and uneasy while taking the steps and then when it comes to the BIG step, we forget all the other steps that God was holding us through and freak out!  However, once we step past that fear our eyes are opened up to the abundant blessings of God’s love for us.  With out that leap of faith in God, we’ll always remain blind to His ways.

“The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
for his name’s sake.” - Psalm 23:1-3

The world offers many providers… healthcare, food, gizmos, toys, lustful interests… too many!  We have to trust the true provider.  Why do we always get cold feet and hesitate to leap into God’s arms?  He is the safest and most secure provider we could put our life on the line for.  There are always going to be moments in life when we are lost and confused, but maybe it’s because were trying to climb up all the wrong trees with NO steps!  Jonah tried running from God, and that landed him in the belly of a whale.  Is it really worth avoiding a leap of faith just to scoot around being uncomfortable? In this day and age, I don’t think any of us can afford wasting our time trying to convince ourselves that we’ll eventually discover another way.  God’s way is the only way.  His pasture is always going to be greener than ours!  His water is always going to bring life!  The Lord is our Shepherd and in Him we’ll never want!  All our needs will be provided for and fulfilled.  A quote by St. Augustine says “Love God and do as you please.” That sounds pretty bad at first, but if we are truly seeking after God then His desires will become our desires and life will be good!  We’ll always be content in what God has given us and we’ll always be striving for His path of righteousness.

“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.” - Psalm 23:4

Leaping into God’s arms takes faith.  It’s not something for the weakhearted.  God’s call to join His kingdom is one that requires a divine strength to withstand all fears, doubts and heights that we are called to.  Most people look at what faith requires and give up because they can’t do it, but isn’t that the point?  Our relationship with God is not one of independence, but DEPENDENCE!  We have to rely on Him for everything!  Is it that hard to let go of our controlling tendencies and give in to a God that loves us?  I dare you to take the next leap of faith that God calls you to.  Open up your arms, don’t look down (look UP!) and jump into the arms of your Father… who loves you, delights in you and provides for you!

Do you every hear a story over and over again and wonder why so many people still find it entertaining or funny when you find it so old and boring?  I wonder how God feels when He tells us over and over again of His love, His mercy and His grace and we treat it like a broken record.  The first few times we are moved and we find hope and strength and follow Him with a steadfast heart.  Then after we have heard it, experienced it and taken of it a few times we get tired and want a new story.  Wow, what a joke.  Getting tired of God?

It is so easy for me to judge others and feel judged.  How many times I find myself looking down at others for the mistakes they make over and over again.  What right do I have to do that?  Do I not deserve the same punishment, the same death they do?  I’m completely covered in sin, I hardly do anything right and there are countless faults I could list about myself.  The amazing truth is that because of who Jesus was and what He did on the cross, my debt (The death I deserve) has been canceled out.  Those who were dirty can now be clean.  Those who have fallen can now stand.  Those who have failed can now succeed.  Those who walked in darkness can now walk in the light.  Jesus Christ brought a revolution, a world changing light that puts to shame all worldly ideals and morals.  We can’t put limits on God and turn Him into a religion, an ideal or a good role model.  He is above all of our worldly attempts to contain Him.  What an amazing story!

It is simply incredible how big of a blessing it is to be apart of God’s story.  I certainly don’t deserve to be apart of it. It’s so hard not to beat ourselves up over and over again because of our constant failure.  When I find myself completely helpless in a situation I always start asking that common 6-year-old question (why??).  Why is life so hard?  Why does bad always follow in the footsteps of good?  Why do I struggle with this?  Why can’t God just fix everything for me?  Why wasn’t Adam allergic to apples?  Wait a second… WHY do I need to know?  I have a faith in a God that is one and complete.  Nothing is outside of Him, nothing can control Him and there is nothing that He NEEDS to explain to me.  I don’t need to know why.  I just need to trust that the reason has a purpose.  God knows why… and I trust His judgment.  We serve one God (Father, Son and Spirit), we have one faith with one baptism and one purpose… to love God.  Love can definitely be broken down into many different things, but the root to all those battle plans in the spiritual war we face is love.

Have you ever tried walking on water?  I did once!  I remember asking God to give me the ability to walk on water and then stepping off our dock into the lake hoping that I would experience what Peter did.  However, instead of a cool stroll across the lake, I found myself swimming.  I wondered why God let Peter walk on water, but not me.  There’s that word again (why).  We always look to God to perform the impossible and do all these big and grand things to prove that He cares. In reality though, all the small things are the foundation to the big things. For example, when a window breaks, most people go and get a new window and replace it.  The cool thing about God is that He doesn’t get a new window.  He doesn’t replace us.  He doesn’t forget about the old window and then put in a new one.  He sweeps up the pieces and puts the window back together again.  He makes pure and complete, what was damaged and torn.  Deep down we don’t really need God to do big miracles; we just need Him to be near us and take care of the little ones.  I don’t need to walk on water physically to know God’s with me, I need to walk on water spiritually and trust in Him.

“Praise the LORD, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name.” – Psalm 103:1

I find myself in many moments where I’m overwhelmed with an intense passion about something.  It’s like every fiber of my being is screaming the same emotion.  It wants to get out, be heard and not be trampled or taken advantage of.  I believe that deep down every one of us has something to say, something to express that too often gets trampled down into a quiet whisper; a whisper that no one hears or pays attention to.  Our faith can be easy to hide in a closet, but what a horrible waste of passion and existence!  We exist to bring glory to God, to honor Him, to be one as a body in Spirit and truth!

“Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.”- John 4:23-24

We can’t let the world take away what is promised to us.  We can’t allow circumstances, struggles, pain, pride or sin distract us from the race we are running.  We may live in dysfunctional families, we may have addictions, we may fight and lose everyday, but God’s grace is never to be taken advantage of in any circumstance.  God’s grace is a gift of beauty and love, not one of excuse and childishness.  We are responsible for the things we do and when we enter a relationship with Christ we become responsible to Him for the things we do, both good and bad.

God is good.  Don’t ever grow tired of sharing that truth!  God is GOOD!  He is amazing!  His story is exciting and worth sharing!  God is so beyond my-self I almost feel silly trying to express how important this is.  There is no way to avoid God’s existence.  He is in us, around us, above us and beyond us.  We can definitely invent fantastic excuses to deny His existence, but He is STILL there.  Life is so hard and I often want to give up and drop down in a helpless heap.  God created me for more than that though.  God created us all for more then most of us are living for.  Why do we stop at being content, why do we live in the comfort zone.  If we really wanted life to the full, abundant and rich in God’s blessings… then we would move out of our comfort zone and enter God’s arena, where the impossible IS possible and lives are changed.  Don’t ever forget God’s story.  We have the opportunity to be apart of it!  Everyday God writes another page in the lives of millions.  We may look at the same old stories around us in boredom, but why not become apart of a story that is never the same? Why not give the pen to God and allow Him to include you in the next page?  Something tells me that once you pick up God’s story… you won’t be able to put it down

“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.”

- 1 Corinthians 9:24-27

“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

The society that we live is constantly looking for bigger, better, faster… NOW!  I have heard this so many times, but the reality is that we all want the latest and greatest gizmo that makes what ever chore or manual labor we do easier and more convenient.  One of the biggest things that people notice about us is the stuff we have.  We can tell if someone is well to do or living on the streets by how they dress, if their teeth are clean and if there are well fed.  It’s not hard to deduce someone’s financial status. There is a saying, “Keeping up with the Joneses” that refers to comparing one’s belongings to others with more.  One of the biggest points of this video was how we have moved from a society of simply having access to basic needs to a society that lives off status goods.  Having the big house, the nice car and the expensive clothes has become a new standard for a lot of Americans.  The roles that media plays in this standard are horrendous and only provide people with more fuel to get even more lost.  Making “happy and content” look like we all need to have things.

I’m not going to lie; having really nice clothes, cool gadgets and a nice car is really awesome.  I would really enjoy having an I-phone, a 72-inch flat screen TV and some sports car, but I also enjoy not having those things.  The values that a lot of people have are based on places traveled, income, things bought and people known.  There is nothing wrong with having stuff, but when it comes to the purpose and drive of life, things can’t even be on the list.  If our life is driven by the stuff we have then we are definitely going to struggle when God decides to “clean out the garage”.

The fact that our lives are becoming more consumed more with things of the world and less things of God is something that I think is serious.  Life isn’t something that can be spent twice, we don’t get a return option, when we reach our last day we get a receipt and the total is either life or death.  If we are more concerned with the world in a selfish way and not concerned with the world in a spiritual way then the total cost of our life is definitely going to be death.  The value of our life doesn’t come from the world; it comes from the creator of the world, the one who gives us value! If we don’t recognize and accept the sacrifice of God’s son who made it possible for us to be worth something then we become worthless.  You want to take a quick test to see the value you are giving to God?  How much time do you spend in God’s word, praying or sharing your faith compared to the time you spend doing things about yourself.  T.V., work, vacation, books, music…. Etc.  If we include God in all that we are doing, then there is never a moment that we AREN’T spending with Him.

The main thing that this video reminded me of is that our faith needs to be genuine and real.  It can’t have all these funky gadgets and gizmos that look cool, but don’t mean anything.  God’s word says that, “Faith with out actions is dead” (James 2:17).  Instead of overspending to receive treasures of this world, we need to love and receive eternal and heavenly treasures.  There is nothing that we can’t do under God’s authority.  Making money is important and it is a huge resource, but we can’t serve two masters.  We have to make sure that the priority in our life is to live and serve God.  We CAN do that with the things we have, we CAN do that with the lives we live and it IS worth every thing we invest.  The world is overspent and under-loved, as lights to the world we need to love more and shine brighter.  My challenge is to step out, love on others more and spend less on our selves.

“Watch out that you do not lose what you have worked for, but that you may be rewarded fully.” – 2 John 8