Intensify My View of Sin

John 5:14-15 says, “Afterwards Jesus found him in the temple, and said to him, ‘See, you have been made well. Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you.’ The man departed and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.”

To give some background on what’s going, we see a man that has been infirm for thirty-eight years. We don’t know for sure, but it’s possible that he was born with infirmity. Jesus found him sitting at the pool of Bethesda where an angel would come and stir up the water and whoever got into the pool first would be healed of his or her sickness. This man wanted to get into the water to be healed, but as previously stated; he was infirm and couldn’t get there in time. Jesus told him to take up his bed and walk, healing him of his infirmity.

The Jews see this man carrying his bed and tell him that he is being unlawful by carrying his bed on the Sabbath. The man looks around to find the man that told him to do so, but Jesus was nowhere to be found. However, later Jesus found the man who had been healed and delivered this statement. The man receives this and then goes out and tells everyone else about Jesus and what he had done.

Verse fourteen is pretty self-explanatory, isn’t it? I mean, no one really needs to study Greek to figure this one out. Jesus simply says, “Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you.” If it’s so simple, why do we find it so complicated? We see this theme throughout the Bible, especially in Romans 6. Romans 6:1-2 says, “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?” If you need to look more at this idea, read Romans six; it’s so good!

This idea is so simple, but for some reason, it doesn’t ever seem to register with us. We know sin is wrong, but even after we sincerely apologize for it; we run right back into the heat of it and commit the same sin again. What is with us? Think of a convict who lives in a cell for murder, adultery, stealing, and every other crime you could ever think of. Suddenly, he is set free by the guard with the key. He is let go; no accountability, no house arrest, nothing. However, after a few days he runs back into his cell, asks the guard to chain him up and lock him in.

Yes, we’ve heard this before, but do we understand how stupid this person must be? To be completely real, this man is an idiot! But oh friends, isn’t that us?! Oh God, isn’t that me?! The issue is we don’t see our sin as a prison cell, but instead a getaway, or a cruise. Somewhere secluded where no one will ever know what we do, so we can do what we want. Is this how you see it? When you’re about to gossip or watch porn or do anything that is unrighteous, do yourself about to step into a prison? I know I don’t, but it is!

This morning, or today, or tonight, or whenever you read this. Let this be your prayer; “God, let me see the intensity of my sin. I know to You it is repulsively disgusting, but I don’t share the same vision. Give me that vision. Teach me to see sin the same way You see it.”

This is my prayer today for myself and for you – Forsake All

What Holds You Back?

John 4:28-29 says, “So the woman left her water pot, and went into the city and said to the men, “Come, see a man who told me all the things that I have done; this is not the Christ, is it?” This is such a cool chapter for so many reasons. One chapter earlier, we see Jesus talking to one of the Pharisees and telling him what salvation looks like. Then we see a huge transition in his ministry when he talks to this Samaritan woman.

When he talks to this woman, he is breaking so many social ideals; it’s not even funny. First of all, he, being a Jew, is talking to a Samaritan; the half-breeds. Next, he was talking to a Samaritan woman, which was even more prohibited in the social norms. Even worse than that was that he was talking to a Samaritan woman adulterer. This was unfathomable and we see this upon the return of his disciples who stood and watched in silence.

You have to understand this! It’s the same for us because comparatively we are the same as that Samaritan woman. In God’s eyes, all the good things we have ever done are considered filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6). For God to come down and even talk to us would be considered completely outrageous. It would almost be the same as throwing a diamond into a pile of coals except multiply the contrast by infinity. He should have nothing to do with us, but despite all of His glory, He became flesh and died to spend the rest of everlasting with us.

I want you to note a specific element in the story. We see in verse twenty-eight that she left her water pot. This is something we can easily pass over because there is no big road sign saying “REREAD THIS! IT’S IMPORTANT!” in our Bible; or at least in mine. However, these few words are so significant to the intensity of the message. She understood that this man truly was the Christ, the Messiah, who would teach them all things about worship and communion with God. Because of her comprehension, she understood that she was unclean because of the previous comment Jesus made to her about her husbands. She knew she couldn’t live a life dedicated to God and still “sleep around.”

When she left her water pot, she did two things. First, she showed that her water wasn’t sufficient; she needed something more that only this man could offer. Jesus said in verses 13-14 that He had a source of water that would never let anyone who partakes in it thirst again. When she left her water pot, it symbolized that she was done trying to satisfy herself and that she was ready to run to the arms of Jesus for comfort and complete satisfaction. She stopped resisting and collapsed in the grasp of her Savior. Oh God, how I still continue to fight for my own satisfaction.

She also made the statement that she was going to leave her occupation completely for the sake of the Gospel. If we can imagine a little bit, we can probably guess that she was getting water for her family, just like all of the other women would do. However, we know that she doesn’t have a family, but only a man that she is living with. She was probably only getting water for the two of them to have. When she left the water pot, she symbolized that she was done with what she was doing and that she was going to break off the connections with the man living with her. He probably didn’t get a drink that day and in return left his spirit-filled prostitute.

So what does all of this mean? Does God call all of us to leave our occupation for the sake of Christ? We do see this often with the disciples when they left their nets and previous occupations to follow Jesus around Israel. However, we also see people like Zacchaeus who remained a tax collector but also got rid of all the sin in his life. He gave away half of everything he had and paid back four times the amount to those whom he had cheated (Luke 19:1-10). He made sure that there was no sin in his life that was keeping him away from the pursuit of Christ.

Maybe God is calling you to leave all you have and follow Him, or maybe He is just convicting you of sin in your life that is in the way of your ministry. I run into this almost every day of my life as I am reminded of sin in my life that is hindering my ministry and my relationship with God. Pray for me that I will be able to stand up for righteousness, and I will pray the same prayer for you.

Get rid of all that holds you back – Forsake All

Seek You in the Morning

John 4:39-42 says, “Many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman's testimony, "He told me all that I ever did." So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them, and he stayed there two days. And many more believed because of his word. They said to the woman, "It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed   the Savior of the world."

There is a struggle in this world between hearing then believing and seeing then believing. If you talked to a lot of seniors they’ll tell you that before they go to college they want to make their faith their own. This is a very noble quest, if it indeed is a quest. Some students say they are out to find what they believe but don’t look anywhere, but instead just let life happen to them. They believe that maybe if they become idle than the truth must come and just hit them in the face.

We see this happen to several people in the Bible. We see the hand of God stretching out to His people and we also see Him saying that He truly is the Son of God and Lord of all. Maybe we’re waiting for this. Maybe we can consider ourselves under the banner of “waiting on the Lord.” We are just waiting for the Lord to show up and when He does, then our faith will become our own.

How should we search for the truth? This is how David describes his search for God. Psalm 63:1 says, “You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water.” Can’t we see a huge difference between these two “seeking strategies”? One is an active waiting; reading the scriptures and praying to God so that he may find Him. Understand this not to be a legalistic view on waiting on the Lord. Some will comment on your actions to pursue the presence of Christ and say that you’re trying to please God and find favor with Him. The truth is the battle for your acceptance has been fought and you no longer have to try to achieve the favor of God. Find peace in that.

How are you seeking after the presence of God? What does that look like in “real life”? Maybe it’s reading your Bible or praying or joining a local ministry or being more connected to a church. Not for the sake of gaining the favor of Christ but for the sake of finding the presence of God. I don’t want you to think that God is in one specific place and that everyone on earth is trying to find that place. God is omnipresent meaning that God is everywhere and the search for His presence is longing to be close to Him, to see Him work in our lives.

So today, how can you experience God so that you can believe on your own terms? – Forsake All

Depend on God

1^st Samuel 24:4 says, “And the men of David said to him, "Here is the day of which the   Lord said to you, 'Behold, I will give your enemy into your hand, and you shall do to him as it shall seem good to you.'" Then David arose and stealthily cut off a corner of Saul's robe.”

My father has previously started a Bible Study with our youth group that causes all of us to get into our Bible everyday of the week, and we aren’t allowed to attend the next meeting if we were unable to complete four days of reading our Bibles. It’s been a great accountability plan to get into the Bible everyday. Even though I can’t attend most of the meetings, I follow the reading plan and stay on track just in case I can show up the following week.

We have been going through the book of 1^st Samuel and learning about Samuel, Saul, and most recently David. It’s been great and very enjoyable. Today, we were beckoned to read chapters 24 and 25 of the book and I came across this passage. Things are tense as Saul is directly on the other side of a mountain from David. They are the closest they have been through out this long chase and David has the opportunity to end it.

His men tell him to sneak up behind Saul and take his life. David has the full right to do this, as he has been anointed king and really Saul should be considered his subject. However, David only cuts off a piece of Saul’s garment as proof he doesn’t want to kill Saul. Even later he regrets cutting of the edge of his robe because Saul is the Lord’s anointed. Imagine how his men must have felt. So close, and he let him go. Later David approaches Saul and bows to him and shows him the edge of his garment as a symbol of his intensions. Saul then lets him life as long as he doesn’t destroy his family when David is king.

Think about it; David is on the brink of death. This man that has been seeking his life is now a few yards in front of David and David is in the most vulnerable position possible: a bow. Saul could have taken several steps and had ended David’s life. The whole situation was completely inconceivable. I imagine the men of both David and Saul were thinking, “This is ridiculous. How am I going to explain my absence to my wife now?”

If you flip over Psalm 34, you see David praising God for His deliverance. We also see his dependence on God through this Psalm and through our story. My father wrote in our study notes, “How do you depend on God?” This question scares me a little. The Creator of the universe, Who has made all things and has set things into motion, is in my backseat as jumper cable just incase my car battery needs some help. Isn’t that how it is for most of us?

How do we depend on God? How do we live a life taking steps of faith saying, “God will get me through this situation” or “God will deliver me if I depend on Him”? As many of you know, I auditioned for a ministry team at Liberty University recently and didn’t get on the team. The importance of this audition was, if one was to make it on the team, he would receive a full-ride scholarship to the school. Yeah, it was a big deal. However God must have different plans for me. I ask God, “How can I pay for college now? Do You even want me to attend college? Where do You want me to go and what do You want me to do?”

For me, to live dependant on Christ is for me to sit in the back seat and let God drive me to my destination in the future. For all I know, I could be in Africa or China or Russia sharing the Gospel or a trash man working all day everyday. I have no idea where God wants me, but He doesn’t call me to figure out my own plans; in fact, he discourages it. He says, “Seek me first.” That’s dependence.

How are you living a life dependant on God? – Forsake All

There is Victory

James 4:7 says plainly, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”

It’s been a long time since my last post. Honestly, I have felt distance from God in the sense of not being able to feel His presence. I’m sure often this is the case with most of us. I believe in God and in the presence of God but I just am not experiencing it, and I tend to wonder why. I once asked a pastor at a church I was visiting and he came to me with the question, “Is there sin in your life that you have yet to repent of?”

Well of course there is sin in my life, I mean, I’m not perfect obviously. However, the question was really asking if I had repented of all my sin. To this I answered, “Yeah, I said I was sorry.” Should I really have to do anything else? The blood of Jesus has covered my sins so that I don’t have to be perfected but accept the grace that was given. But does my life truly reflect the grace given and accepted? When I sin it doesn’t.

Romans 6:1-2 says, “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?” This is so true but so radical to modern day thinking. The truth is for my life that I have been saved by grace from my lust, so the fact is I shouldn’t lust any more to reflect the gift given by Christ Jesus and paid for on the cross. But that is not what happens with me, as I still have my issue with lust and struggle with it daily. This is also where grace comes in, but not a grace we can simply sit on. This is to say even though we mess up, we can’t simply sit on the fact that we messed up and carry on messing up. When we mess up, we are to get up and go the opposite way by the grace of God.

This sin in my life, particularly lust, has become more and more of an issue to me and so much more of a plank in my eye as I try to grow closer to Christ. This past weekend was a retreat with the high schoolers in my youth group from my church. This sin was made evident as I sat with a group of guys and contemplated the hold lust has on all of us. However, we have been saved from these chains! They no longer have a hold on us! But God where does this pull come from then?

I met with my group of guys last night and was met with a sense of defeat when it came to lust and other issues. But why do we feel defeated when we know that Christ has paid for our sins? Is it the longing in us for perfection; to struggle no longer with trifles? Is our passion to be completed in the glory of God on His throne in heaven? Quite possibly.

Girls, it’s probably hard for you to understand this issue with the common man, but equate this struggle with yours; why do you run back to it? What makes it draw you in and be captivated by it? Are you frustrated with constant feelings of defeat? Well know this, guys and girls, young and old.

Jesus Paid it All.

Romans 6:14 says, “For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.” You have been set free and the grip of death is no longer over you. But where does the freedom start? The problem is we try to feel free and just live our lives the way we want, but we weren’t set free in the sense that we have no captive. The reason we were freed wasn’t so that we can find out where we are suppose to fit in or do just what we want to do. What are the following lyrics to the old hymn and common contemporary song?
All to Him I Owe.

Jesus has freed us to Himself. This is to say that we have been set free, yes, in order to fall in the role of slavery to Christ and the proclamation of His glory to the entire world. We have been taken from the hold of sin not to roam and be ultimately free but to give glory in all that we do and say. This is our role and this is where we will truly feel free.

So what do we do with sin? What role does it play in our lives? Believe it or not, it actually is used to give God glory in the end. James 4:7 tells us to submit ourselves to Christ. This is what was previously discussed; understanding that we are captives of righteousness (for more questions, read Romans 4-6). Our lives are to be actively lived in a way that choice by choice we give God the glory.

Resist the devil. The devil is also a tool for God to give Himself glory in the end. The devil tempted Jesus in the desert with every type of temptation (Luke 4:17). He uses scripture to resist the devil to show that He has built up such a strong immune system for the devil and his arrows that they literally had no affect on Him. We are to do the same; build up our relationship with God so that when the devil shows up we can resist Him with our knowledge of our call and our purpose: to glorify Christ.

This is all to say that it’s about living an active Christian life, not simply one that wears the title. They call it the Christian walk because it takes active effort to move from our place to where God abides. Don’t feel defeated, for you have been washed by the blood of the Lamb (And I say that to you as much I do myself). These issues are here for your growth and for the advancement of your relationship with Christ and His glory.

Be of good cheer – Forsake All

Tribe of Levi

John 1:5 says, “There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias of the division of Abijah. His wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.” This post is going to be for the thinkers. Even though the conclusion means and says a lot, it’s not going to be super easy to read, so get ready, and buckle up.

This verse talks about Zacharias and his occupation. In the Israeli culture, your occupation was very much who you were or a large part of your identity. We see that he is a priest that is actively serving and making offerings of incense. While he is in the middle of the ritual, Gabriel comes to him and says that he will have a son and that he should call him John. Later the story shows Zacharias’ disbelief and then the birth of John.

Yes, we all know this story I suppose, but there is something significant that we need to see. Think back to Numbers 3. In this chapter, God is setting aside the Levites to serve in the temple. From this point on, anyone who was not a descendant of Aaron could not serve in the temple. We can directly conclude that since Zacharias is a priest serving in the temple, that he is also a Levite. We also know this from the fact that he is from the line of Abijah.

Going back to Numbers 3 again, we see in verse 12-13 that God specifically has taken the Levites for Himself. This passage reads, “Now behold, I Myself have taken the Levites from among the children of Israel instead of every firstborn who opens the womb among the children of Israel. Therefore the Levites shall be Mine, because all the firstborn are Mine. On the day that I struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I sanctified to Myself all the firstborn in Israel, both man and beast. They shall be Mine: I am the Lord.”

Why the Levites? They were just like any other tribe, I mean, they had Aaron and Moses, but they were a pretty regular tribe comparatively. This is exactly what we are about to get to.

So God made the tribe of Levi the firstborn among the tribes of Israel instead of the actual first born who was Ruben. We see this even back to Isaac and Ishmael. Technically, Ishmael was the first-born of Abraham and was suppose to receive the blessing, but since he had Ishmael through Hagar, God considered him ineligible. So God gave Abraham Isaac through his first wife, Sarah. It was God’s will that Isaac would carry on the blessing for the family. Going on to Jacob receiving the blessing even though he was the second one born. And now Levi receives the blessing instead of Ruben.

What was so special about being the first-born? It’s just what God says in verse 13. When the Passover came in Egypt, God told Moses that he would He would set apart for His will all the first-born sons in all of Egypt. He killed all the first-borns unless the house that they lived in had a pure sheep’s blood smeared across the doorpost; this was a sign for the Lord to Passover the house.

Being the first-born is also something that you can’t control. You can’t pick what the child order is, but to us it just happens. However, God is completely in control of the situation. So to say that God has chosen the first-born tribe out of all the tribes shows that there is nothing that the Levites did or will do that makes them worthy to be considered the first-born tribe but it is completely by the grace of God.

Now let’s think about to John. We see that He is born to Zacharias and Elizabeth for a special purpose. In John 1:16-17 it says, “And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. He will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,’ and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” From the beginning he was set apart for great things. There was no choice for John in this. You must understand that. John could not chose whether to be born or not and if he was going to be born, whether he could change families or not. This is what God created John for by God’s grace for God’s glory. John couldn’t escape that.

It’s important to have done all the research we have just seen, because of this conclusion; John was a Levite, traditionally born to take the place of his father as priest. However, God had different plans. Instead, John became the prerequisite for the fulfillment of the prophecies about Jesus. He was essential to the operation, but he was to stay away from the limelight.

One of the things we know about Jesus is that He came to be the High priest for all of us so that we may have a connection and a personal and intimate relationship with God the Father. But John was supposed to be a priest. He was supposed to intercede on behalf of the people. Now this man born in Bethlehem is coming to take John’s position and steal his glory? Yes. That is exactly what happened.

One of the most beautiful verses in the Bible is when John tells his own disciples in John 3:30, “He must become greater; I must become less.” John, himself, stepped down from what was rightfully his to serve God in this way. Since John was called away from his, what would have been, original occupation as a priest to make room for the High Priest whom he knew would wash the sins of all who believed in Him.

So how does this relate to us? I’m not a Levite, nor a first-born. It tells a story about the grace of God and the sovereignty of God. It tells us who God is and gives clarity and even security that our God has all things in His hand and controls all things according to His purpose. Have you ever seen someone paint? When they do, at the beginning of the process you see all these confusing lines and half of the canvas looks like it should be trashed. But then you see the way the painter changes things to make a beautiful picture, and you almost wonder if he magically changed the entire painting because there was no way what he started off with turned into the majestic piece it is now.

How beautiful is the art of our God, forming and designing His people for His purpose and His glory. Before the foundation of the world He knew the plan He had and how John would be a part of it all. It’s just so beautiful.

God is in control – Forsake All

This is Grace

1^st John 1:5 says, “This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.” The great Christian Struggle. Humans, one created perfect, became sinful through Adam and it spread to the whole race of man. Now we are separated from Christ because of our sin. God created the Heavens and they sing of His glory. He formed the sky and their expanse and they sing of His glory. God created us and called us very good, and we turn away. We continue in our sin.

This passage has been huge in my life because of my great struggle. My sin that keeps coming back to me, or maybe it’s better to say that I keep running to it instead. Everyday, it haunts me and reminds me of its presence in my life and every day, I give in… but just a little bit. I keep asking myself, “Why do you keep running back to this?” God wasn’t kidding when He literally said, “As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his folly (Proverbs 26:11).”

A fool repeats his folly… “You don’t understand, God,” I explain. “This sin just won’t go away. It is a part of who I am because no matter how hard I try to change, nothing can rid this sin from my life. I’ve tried praying, reading my Bible, fasting, going to church, leading worship… I’ve done so many great things for You… But this sin is still here to stay.”

But there is redemption.

1^st John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” But what if I don’t feel forgiven? What if my sin is just too much for God’s forgiveness? I don’t feel cleansed from all unrighteousness: in fact I have the same sin come back and eat away at me everyday.

You may be reading this waiting for me to answer all of this: waiting for an explanation for these questions. I have no step-by-step plan to fix these issues or to fully get rid of sin, but I do have an answer. Love God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind (Luke 10:27).

One of my good friend sent me a text today that simply read “Romans 8:28-39”. During a break in-between my classes, I picked up my Bible and read this passage. You may know the first verse by heart, but just in case, Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” It is possible to conclude that the word all really means all. Literally everything will work together for good to those who love God. Why? Because all things work together to glorify God. That is the reason we were created and the reason we live, is to give God glory.

You may be asking, “How does my sin glorify God?” It reminds me of two things.

Luke 7:46-47 says, “You did not anoint My head with oil, but this woman has anointed My feet with fragrant oil. Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.” When we understand the weight of our sin, how are we to respond but in complete worship? Rob, do you understand that your sin and your desires are disgusting to God and for all the things you have done; you deserve to go to Hell and live there for eternity. However, by the grace of God, He has adopted you as a son and given you your inheritance, which is eternal life (Ephesians 1). He has called you forgiven. Son. Friend.

Starfield wrote a song that remains to be one of my favorite worship songs that I’ve been singing in church ever since I started leading worship. The chorus says, “I am just a beggar here at Your door. I am just a shipwreck here on Your shore. I come empty handed ready to see Your life in me changing who I’ve been to who I need to be.” The fact is that we come before the throne of God broken and desolate. Isaiah 64:6a says, “All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags.” If our righteous acts are like filthy rags, then our hope for salvation is completely destroyed. Imagine trying to carry a newborn baby, but being rejected because the newborn believes he can walk. The baby will just failing and failing until finally he learns to surrender to the comfort and love of the Father.

Sin reminds us of who we are. Yes, sin is wrong and we should chase after the Father with all that we are by His grace, but God uses our brokenness to give Him even more glory. God draws us to Himself even though we are dirty and even though we are in no way deserving of His love.

This is grace.

So whatever you’re going through or dealing with, know that God love you and He chases after your heart through everything. Seek after Christ with all that you are and give Him the glory that you were destine to give because the truth is that God, in the end, will receive all the glory anyway, it’s just a matter of you joining in the celebration. Chase after God and let Him consume your desires so that nothing else will become an idol for you. Don’t be carried away by the things of this world or even your “needs”, for Matthew 6:33 says, “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.”

You have been purchased with a price, and sin has no hold over you. Live in it. – Forsake All

Who is like You?

Exodus 15:11 says, “Who among the gods is like You, Lord? Who is like You: majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders?”

The Israelites are cornered against the Red Sea by the Egyptian army who is ready to destroy the whole nation of Israel. They begin to get fearful and start to worry about the likelihood of their survival when Moses says, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still (Exodus 14:13-14).” Then the people were delivered by the grace of God and the parting of the sea behind them.

Moses in the next chapter begins to sing a song about the greatness of God and His deliverance. The irony is that Moses says, “Who among the gods is like You, Lord?” stated in a way as to automatically receive a resounding, “No god is like You, Lord!” from the people of Israel. However, a few chapters later, they begin to worship idols and begin to wonder from following after the Lord. So maybe they should reconsider the song they sang and instead say, “Who among the gods, besides golden calves, is like You, Lord?”

Isn’t this true for us to though? Let’s take a look of some of the songs we sing often in Church.

“Holy Holy Holy. Lord God almighty, early in the morning our song shall rise to Thee.”

“Our God is greater; Our God is stronger; God You are higher than any other.”

“You’re all I want, You’re all I ever needed.”

The list goes on and on…

Look at what we sing. In the Hebrew language, the way they showed superlatives is by repeating the word. So when we sing “Holy Holy Holy” we are literally saying, “You are the most set apart and perfect being worthy of praise.” So yes, we sing this and we do so correctly, for this is who God is, but with out lives, don’t we speak falsity? Our words sing that God is the Holist and most precious Being, but with out lives we say that money, friends, arts, school, and anything else we can imagine is now the most precious thing alive.

My brother once said to me, “Do you really want to know what you love most? Find out what you spend the most time doing.” I would quickly reply while playing my Zelda and Mario video games, “I love God, but that doesn’t mean I have to read my Bible all day or pray all day.” The truth is you don’t, but certainly my heart did not truly love God, as I ought. Even today, there are things that I call more worthy than God. I love money. I love people understanding that I am a cool person. I enjoy the momentary comfort of knowing that I have someone else.

These are my gods. These are the things I bow down to and say, “How great is your name above the earth! My heart longs to be in your perfection.” What are your gods? Who do you serve? Romans 6:20 says that we were slaves to sin, meaning that we serve a god that is not the Lord almighty. However Christ has saved us from being slaves to sin, but then why do we run back to our old masters and ask to be accepted? If God is our master and we are now destined to give Him glory and serve Him, why do we turn from Him and serve our old master? He is no longer our master. He has no shackles on our wrists.

So here we are. We understand what we sing. We sing that we have been saved from slavery to sin into slavery with Christ. We are to proclaim the glory and worthiness of God because He is truly worthy. Not only are we supposed to sing of His greatness but live in the fact of His greatness. This is to say that we are to live in a way that expresses the glory of Christ.

“Truly we were made to praise the Lord.” – Jeremy Riddle.

1^st Corinthians 15:58 says, “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.” – Forsake All

Loving Your Brother

1^st Corinthians 15:58 says, “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.”

Depending on what part of Paul’s letter you read, you can either see the entire book as Paul correcting and reproaching the Corinthians, or you can see it as Paul loving and encouraging the Corinthians. I submit to you that the entire book is about love. This passage above is what the whole book is based on; being steadfast in the faith and always abounding in the work of the Lord. Yes, this comes by a lot of conviction and the realization of sin but it’s all purposed for giving God all the glory and living the best life.

This book has really been relating with me recently since I have been dealing with the situation of my friends choosing the wrong things to do. As a group, we are basically living in sin and not caring. God has recently called my heart to a higher goal, not saying that goal was never before on my heart but now there is more of a push. However, the question has come up; What about the other guys? How do I get them on board?

Paul is dealing with the same issues in this book. He realizes that the Corinthians are not chasing after God and his goal is to change that. There are a lot of different opinions on how to reproach a brother or call a sister out of sin, but Paul’s way seems pretty good. The truth is he does it in absolute and complete love. He reminds them over and over again that he loves them. He reproaches them but also encourages them to do the right thing and live in a way that gives glory to God.

We are called to love God and then others. There is something about just chasing after the singular idea of loving someone rather then trying to pick a specific aspect of love to work on. I mean the strategy of a tightrope walker. He doesn’t try to figure out what specific thing he needs to work on, like which foot to push the rope with or how hard to push or which part of his foot he needs to step on the rope with. He focuses on doing whatever it takes to get to the other side; the finish line. This is also true in our walk with Christ. We shouldn’t focus on trying to read our Bible more, praying more, and going to church more. Instead, we should solely focus on how we can love God the most. Out of this focus will come reading our Bible more and praying more, but if we specific our goals, they become our idols.

The same is also true with loving our friends. We strive to love them and we do whatever it takes to get to that point, even if it means spending time with them or helping them in times of need. The time may come, like it did for Paul, where you need to correct their lives and show them the love of the Gospel and how to live in such a way as to glorify God, but when this time comes up, do it as to encourage and to build up. As for me, when I find myself just trying to love my guys, it seems to be more effective than solely trying to change them.

Last of all, for you. Be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord – Forsake All

Project Faith: Rachel Jaggers

Here is what Rachel said about how God has blessed her in her life.

“My Salvation was solidified when I was saved after several years of doubting whether I was saved or not.

I had problems with my anger and my attitude as a 9-10 year old and God has healed me of my daily struggle with it.

God blessed me with a Church home that would eventually be where I (thankfully) broke out of my shell.

God has been my comforter and source of strength in the past two years. Our house is defective and it has been a source of stress, uncertainty, weariness, and every other negative emotion ever thought up. God has been constant through it all.

God has shown me that it is not the possessions that matter—it is Him.

God has blessed me with a great family. It is expanding now and I am realizing just how awesome it is. My parents are still married, even after 35 years; we all love each other and enjoy being around each other; and my family is big and is becoming bigger currently!

God has blessed me with the opportunity for a great education. I am homeschooled but I am getting a quality education that will help me in the future. Not everyone has this.

God has blessed me with a place to live.

God has blessed out family with no major health problems.

God has blessed me with no major addictions or things like that. My testimony may not sound as great as some people’s because of it but I am so thankful because of it.”

What’s your story? –Forsake All

Project Faith: Eric Bowden

The following comes from a note that Eric wrote to remember all the things that God has done for him.

"God was never more apparent in my life than when I lived in Spain.  Due to various reasons, it was a very difficult and somewhat lonely year, but it was due to the differing circumstances that God was able to reveal himself to me.  The sheer slow-pace of it all allowed me to contemplate the deeper questions regarding the Divine and the meaning of life.  He provided me with numerous books as well as His Word and I could feel his presence shine as I immersed myself in them.  My Christianity turned from a childhood religion to an integral part of my life.

For most of my life I wanted to go to the U.S Naval Academy, and I worked diligently for years to qualify myself to go.  Last year my chances of attending were looking good, almost a sure-thing, as I was merely a few points short of maxing out both the SAT and the physical fitness test.  But as the spring came by, a number of events occurred that made my future less than certain.  Although I initially rebelled at the idea, I really feel like I, for reasons too long to spell out here, didn’t get into the Academy for a reason(as well as giving me some much-needed humility), and that Virginia really is the place for me to be right now.

Last spring, I was constantly ranting about how materialistic most Americans were.  About how all they cared about was having a nice car, boat, or iphone, and how Americans didn’t have enough discipline or self-control to let go of the things of the world.  At the same time, I acquired an obsession with success. I worshiped it for its own sake. I would devour books on it, spending most of my waking hours working to be a success story.  If I was a hypocrite, I didn’t realize it.   It was when I attended Ascend Summer camp up in Missouri with Lakeside Bible church that I began to understand the cognitive dissonance involved. The teachings there and the conversations with Lakeside’s youth pastor Adam Tyson made a big impact on me.  It was the “do everything, even the most trivial things, for the glory of God,”  that tripped my trigger.  I came to realize that my obsession with success for its own sake arose from the same base, sinful source that obsession with physical things came from.  For the longest time, I convinced myself that being materialistic only involved physical, tangible things, but it was that week that everything began to fall in piece.  Through that spirit-filled placed, God revealed that He should be the motivation behind all actions and thoughts. 

My relationship with my twin brother is unreal, even remarkable compared to that of other twins.  Definitely God-inspired.

God gave me the urge to ask my mother to homeschool us. She prayed about it and came to understand that that’s what God wanted us to do.  This was back in 2002, when there was significant pressure not to do so.   While it’s impossible to say for sure, I’m reasonably confident that homeschooling was one of the best things to me for myself in general and faith in particular.

While God has blessed me with a healthy body, I have been injured on occasion (who hasn’t).  Since I attach a significant portion of my worth to my health and well-being, injuries were always tough to deal with.  But it was in those moments when I learned humility, and with humility comes a state of mind that God can work wonders with.  Material hardship sowed the seeds for spiritual growth. I would always come out stronger from injuries.

I am thankful for the great relationships I have with my family and friends, especially for the support and source of inspiration they have given me."

What's your story? - Forsake All

Project Faith: Rob Wegner

   Deuteronomy 8:14 says, “be careful that your heart doesn’t become proud and you forget the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the place of slavery.”

   The Lord brought me near when I was young and I became a Christian by the grace of God, not by anything that I had done.

   God blessed us when we were moving around a lot with amazing friends and kept us safe so that no real harm came to our family. I praise God that He did because of our young family (age 1-7).

   When I came to Texas, God blessed me with more friends and a great church to connect with.

   When we began to adopt my little sister, Johanna, from China, God was gracious and provided all the money that we needed to get her, and without debt. This happened again with the next two Adoptions. However, when we adopted Kali, we didn’t have the assurance we used to have because of loss in certain financial aid. God still showed He was greater than all odds when He provided through Carwashes and Garage Sales. God is good to us!

   God changed my life through a man named “Mr. Bob” and through his death, God called me to be the man I needed to be. Age 12.

   God has been wrecking my heart, changing pride into humbleness, and learning how to love Him above all else… He is still perfecting me, and will until everlasting joy.

   Through all my petty and stupid relationships, God showed that He was the only that truly loved me, more than I could have ever imagined. So long I was deceived that running into the arms another was better than running into the arms of God, but God said that home was still where He was; no where else mattered.

   God was there when I struggled with depression, suicide, and other deadly sins. I have found that He still loves more than I ever thought He could. His forgiveness covers my sin and washes me clean in order for the Wedding.

   When I was sure that God never cared or even loved me, He came and took hold of my eyes, and said, “Son, here I Am.”

   When I was sure that God wasn’t near nor interested in me, He said, “Son, I’m right here.”

   When I tried to make myself clean before trusting in Christ through an intense struggle with legalism, God said, “I Am Perfection.”

   This is just the beginning of all that God has done in my life. He has saved me and every step of the way He has been changing my heart to look more like His.

    Praise God for His love and mercy that I never thought was real, but now I can’t explain any other reason for this life.

   

    If you're wondering what Project: Faith is, be sure to check the link out to find more about it! Once you have discovered what it is, I encourage you to also make a list, kinda like this one! Thanks - Forsake All

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Project Faith

Genesis 24:33 says, “A meal was set before [Abraham’s servant], but he said, “I will not eat until I have said what I have to say.” So Laban said, “Speak on.”

This seems like an odd verse if not put into the correct context. This man is Abraham’s servant that Abraham sent to get a wife for Isaac. Abraham sent his servant all the way back to his father’s household to find a wife for Isaac because he didn’t want Isaac to marry a Canaanite. We see this again with Jacob, Isaac’s son, later on. In this passage, the servant is offered a house for his men, his camels, and himself to stay in and is also offered a meal. However, before he eats, he declares to Laban the things God has done for him.

He goes into a long monologue about how the Lord has blessed Abraham and also how the Lord has blessed him in his journey. He tells Laban the story of how God was watching over him when he came to the spring and prayed. He prayed a specific prayer in order to find the right woman for Isaac, and God answered his prayer word for word. He rejoices later and worships God with his face to the ground. His whole recount of the past events is considered worship for his remembrance of what God has done.

If only the Israelites did the same thing later on in history. We see them trust God, but as soon as something came up to hinder their faith, they lost all hope. Their issue was not being able to remember God and what He had done for them. Today, I think we have the same problem. If we only remembered what God had done for us, I think our faith would be stronger in Him. Why is that?

Why do you trust a chair? Well, it’s probably because you have sat in many chairs. I have a desk chair in my room, and the first time I sat in it, it held me up. Even the next time I decided to sit on it, it held me up even then. Now, every time I want to sit on the chair, I can think about past experiences and say to myself, “That chair has never let me down and has always supported me when I sit on it.” I then learn that I have faith in the chair simply because of past experiences I have had with it.

God has really been pressing this on my heart. I pray that God would give me faith to move mountains, but what am I really asking? God has given me everything I need to have faith, but I just have not seen it yet. I think it’s such an important thing to remember who God is and what He has done for us.

So I beckon you, are you ready to have a stronger faith? Start writing down the things has done for you. If you can’t think of anything anymore, go back into the Old and New Testaments and write all the things He did in all those books. Make a list that you see almost everyday. Memorize the times and experiences where God has come through to save the day. The truth is we are a forgetful people, but if we strive to remember all that the Lord has done for us, I believe our faith in Him and even our love for Him will grow far beyond our dreams.

Remember who God is and what He has done for you. – Forsake All

Want a Revival?

Deuteronomy 10:12 says, “And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you except to fear the LORD your God by walking in all His ways, to love Him, and to worship the LORD your God with all your heart and all your soul?”

How simple is this? All we are called to do is 1. Fear the Lord, 2. Love Him and, 3. Worship the Lord. Now what does this look like? We know that three-step processes are the best, but what does it look like practically? We can discuss ideals all day and still come away as the same people, but that’s not the reason the Gospel happened. Also as a side note, the Gospel has presented since Genesis; it’s not just a “New Testament” thing, but it has been the hope of God’s people since sin entered the world.

“Fear the LORD your God by walking in all His ways.” Wow, this may be a short idea, but the implications are huge. Notice that God doesn’t say, “Don’t do a, b, c…” If God wanted to make a list of “do-nots” He could of and we could have lived life in a manner that said, “Don’t step on that rock!” However, when we take up this life style, we then turn to anything that gives us an answer to any question. For example, if you’re just told not to step on the rocks and thorns, where do you then step? Anywhere else!

It is dangerous to say that we fear God like the way we should fear our parents because the multiplication of the fear is infinitely more extreme. The fear of God comes from the fact that we know that God is holding us up, and if He were for one second to let us go, we’d fall back into sin and be destined for hell as we were first born. Jonathon Edwards says in his sermon Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God that if we were merely to slip, or mess up, we would fall straight into hell to be burned alive. The only thing keeping us up is the grace and pleasure of God (Remember that God does all that He does for His glory and pleasure).

So we fear God, and because of it we obey what He has told us to do in order to glorify Him. Understand that works do not save us from hell but merely the grace and pleasure of God. Because of this work of grace, shouldn’t we owe our lives to Him? I mean, the simple fact that He saved our lives, should we save, or separate, our lives for Him? Shouldn’t we love Him in return? Doesn’t that make sense?

If I could be honest, that has been my prayer, that I’d love God with everything that I am. My life has been don’t step on that rock, and watch out for that one! and I need to focus on the end goal. But man… if only I could truly fall in love with Christ, that’d be just perfect. Think about it. A man whose life is completely dedicated to giving God glory in everything he does. The only man that has ever really done this is Jesus Himself.

Once we truly fall in love with God, I believe, is when we will truly worship in Spirit and Truth. So let that be our prayer. Let us chase after God; find Him where He is. Not to say that God isn’t everywhere, but are we praying and reading the Bible? That is what I think chasing after God is. There is something interesting about how we can chase after God, but the same time, His grace is allowing it. So it’s like we run and chase, but in the end we find out that we have been pulled the whole way… I don’t fully understand but I know this. “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you (Matthew 6:33).”

We were made to love God and that is were true revival starts – Forsake All

Forgiveness to Others

Matthew 6:14-15 says, “For if you forgive people their wrongdoing, your heavenly Father will forgive you as well. 15 But if you don’t forgive people, your Father will not forgive your wrongdoing.”

That’s pretty heavy stuff. I just got back from a breakfast meeting with one of my really good friends. He is having a hard time forgiving some of his close friends and he is thinking about giving up. It’s a hard situation, but then we have to talk about the importance of forgiveness. Or is it important? This passage above makes forgiveness seem pretty important and even crucial. I think we often complain and think that forgiveness is beyond us or it is too hard. I think we need to put our thoughts into perspective.

Jesus had to die for the sins of His people. These people weren’t just okay or not that bad, these people were called his enemies. They declared war against God at birth, destined to lose; they fought and fought against the Creator of the world for a glimpse of pleasure. I wonder if the angels tried to talk Him out of it. Maybe they said, “Jesus, You have us! We worship You day and night without ceasing! Why would You save those who spit in Your face, and even those who say they love You use Your name in vain.” It made sense. But there was a plan for God to show His glory in our redemption.

All of this to say, if Jesus could die for those who crucified Him, we should be able to forgive those who mock or call us names.

I’m not going to lie, it’s still really hard, but I’m glad Jesus had the strength to forgive our sins, or else we would be in hell now and forever. The truth is we cannot forgive those who do wrong to us. It is impossible for us to do anything good because of the strength of our flesh. However, God saved us from our flesh… So what are we exactly waiting for?

This is just another example of humans still living in something they have been freed from. It’s like a prisoner that has been set free, but he lives in his cell because it is the only place he has ever known. There is some sort of comfort in living in sin; it’s what we have always known. We were born in sin and it takes faith to step into the unknown, which is Holiness. Christ has paid the price and forgiven us so that we may take that step into the unknown.

Being like Christ includes being less like ourselves, so forgiven and forget –Forsake All

A Faithful God Deserves Faith

Habakkuk 2:3-4 says, “For the vision is yet for the appointed time; it testifies about the end and will not lie. Though it delays, wait for it, since it will certainly come and not be late. 4 Look, his ego is inflated; he is without integrity. But the righteous one will live by his faith.”

You may be thinking, “Are you serious? Who writes a blog on Habakkuk?” but just stick with me.

If you read the most recent post, there is something called living by faith, and I intended to know what that is. However, every step we take in finding the answers or hints, we must know that our ultimate goal is to love God. If we are ever losing focus of this goal, we are chasing after idols, not matter how spiritual it may look. “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you (Matthew 6:33).” God, we come before You to seek after You. We want to love You more and we ask that You would take our hands and pull us to where we need to be.

Chapter two of this book shows Habakkuk waiting for God, and then the Lord gives Him something to write down. The passage we pulled out is from God talking to Habakkuk saying it is important for him to write down the Lord’s words. He calls the writing down of the vision important so that one may easily read it. Why is this important? God is so gracious.

I fall short of teaching music well. That is, I don’t have the patience to explain again and again the most basic music theory to a student. When I taught drums, I simply told my students to play right, and if they didn’t, I would almost blow up. How deep is the patience of God that He would take time to explain the indescribable in way that we can get it. I could talk to people all day about music theory and other advanced subjects, but it takes humbleness for me to leave the conversation with my fellow intellectuals and teach someone on a lower level. That is exactly what God has done and continues to do for us; He gets on our level and explains in a way that we can maybe grasp a glimpse.

The importance of this is that He doesn’t tell us to have faith in something so far above us; instead, He has left reminders for us to look back to as reference points. He didn’t tell the Israelites to follow Him without showing them that He was indeed capable of doing what He said He would do. He gave sign after sign showing His might a power, and the Israelites had so many chances to look back and have faith that God would continue to provide and guide.

“Though it delays, wait for it, since it will certainly come and not be late.” Though we may not see it now, God still is faithful. Sometimes I wonder what it’d be like to watch someone breathe, but between every breath, they started freaking out and while flaring their arms, and they try to figure out what’s wrong. However, all of this is cured when they take the next breath but after they do, they begin the same process. Isn’t that our life looks like considering Christ?

I think the Israelites leave the biggest example. God parted the Red Sea, which was a pretty big deal, however, if God does not show them something every single second of the day, they begin to freak out. I think Faith is strengthened when we remember the things God does for us. Think about it. If we went through the Bible and wrote down every time God provided or came through for someone, wouldn’t we have a massive list of examples? So every time we feel alone or like God is a million miles away, we can read through what He has done.

If only we could wait. If only we could remember our memories well enough to influence our futures. God has been so faithful, meaning that He has been loyal and has kept up with His promises; don’t we owe Him our faith? Think about it, you don’t have to remind your friend to breathe, do you? I hope not, for if your friend is in good condition, he or she should breath faithfully, without forgetting. Why would you doubt that he or she would breathe if they do it without even thinking because it’s their nature to do it? Why would doubt that an all Loving God is no longer loving? Why would doubt that a graceful God is no longer forgiving? Why do we not have faith in a Faithful God?

“But the righteous one will by his faith.” Of course they will. Look at Abraham. He was considered righteous because of His faith in God. Abraham watched God provide even when Abraham thought he knew best, but when Isaac was born, I think Abraham finally got to thinking more about it. This is meant to be encouraging, because Abraham was older than a hundred years old, so if you don’t get it now… be patience and try to stay alive.

So how do live by faith? We remember Who we have faith. – Forsake All