past-blogs

How to write a blog when your mind is empty

Tue, 14 Jan 2014 17:04:35 +0100

How do you write a blog when you have nothing on your mind and it still be worth reading? Easy! You just start talking about Jesus! Did you know that His Name alone carries power? Did you know that just talking about Him makes you happy, fills you with health, draws you nearer to God, empowers you and fills you with passion? Yes! He is incredible! Praise the Lamb that was slain! The innocent, pure, spotless blood that was poured out on our behalf. The righteousness that was imparted to us in exchange for our sin! The murdered Son of God that defeated hell and the grave once and for all! The Word who became flesh and came to rescue us on Earth when we couldn't reach it to Heaven!

This life is amazing

Sat, 21 Sep 2013 11:13:10 +0100

Wow. Can't even begin to tell you all that's been happening in my life! My job is getting more demanding and more exciting every day. I love it. I am willingly and passionately devoting more time and energy than ever before. I can feel myself stepping into my calling and coming alive. It's wonderful. Last weekend, I made it victoriously through another busy Sunday only to find out as I was pulling out of the parking lot that my grandma had just passed away. I say pass away not because it's more pleasant or polite, but because she didn't die. I once heard someone say "Christians don't die, they just take a quick nap." Grandma was ready for heaven. She had planned her funeral to the letter 15 years ago! My grandparents have been visiting their own headstones for a while and have often found flowers, haha! With an already busier work week than usual, I got a last minute flight to Arkansas to be with my family and perform the eulogy. A loved one going to heaven is a celebration for most people, but not when it's your wife of 61 years. Poor grandpa has been taking it pretty hard. It's not easy to watch a 92 year old man weep tears of sadness. Fortunately he had his 2 daughters, son-in-laws, and 5 grandchildren to help comfort him. Under the circumstances, it was so good to spend time with family I don't see often. I think it was grandma's last trick to get us all together.

I wasn't completely prepared the night before the funeral service, but my heart was at rest. That night I had a dream: in the dream it was already the next morning and I was about to speak at the funeral. I still wasn't prepared so I just tried to say whatever the Lord was putting on my heart in that moment. I spoke eloquently; every word was perfect. I woke up, and wrote down the words. That marks the 3rd time in my life the Lord has shown me exactly what to say (in a public speaking context) in a dream the night before. The actual service went really well, just like the dream. I believe it honored grandma, a woman who's passion for the lost to be saved was rivaled by few.

I flew back just in time to start getting ready for a weekend retreat I am taking the youth group on tomorrow morning. After that I will help with the Sunday night class we do at our church. Hopefully I will have a few minutes to go to the driving range since I am playing in a big golf tournament on Monday! All the while I am learning to love the sweet and beautiful Mary Fincannon. What an honor it is to be in an amazing relationship with her. She is unbelievable.

Busy, but full of abundant life. I wouldn't have it any other way! I must say that I have experienced more favor the last 30 days than ever before. If you know me at all, you know that is a big statement since I have experienced rich, dramatic, unmerited favor over the course of my entire life. It's time like these when it's easy to get caught up in the whirlwind and not take time to just sit at the feet of Jesus. I am tired and I still have work to do and I am waking up quite early tomorrow morning. But I am not going to miss this moment. God wants to minister to my heart and I am going to let Him.

-John

Hanging out with Jesus

Mon, 21 Jan 2013 16:18:44 +0100

by John

It is so good to hear people talk about Jesus. Even if you already know all of the information, it still builds your faith and refreshes your spirit. That's why sermons are so good to listen to! There is one sermon that stands out among the rest as the most influential in my life. It was about 6 years ago at a men's retreat in the NC mountains by a man named John Hobbs. He taught me that our relationship with God was all about "the process." He taught me how to enjoy God in the mundane: boring or trivial tasks that we do every day. He taught me that where we were going wasn't as important as who we were going with. He taught me that goals are good, but that my primary goal should be, "Am I walking with Jesus right now? Am I too focused on the future that I am not enjoying Jesus right at this moment?"

It changed my life forever. Here is something along the same lines that John Hobbs posted on Facebook just a few days ago:

My prayer for the New Year is for deeper intimacy with my Lord Jesus and a greater sensitivity to my Father's Heart. As we begin this year at Liberty with 21 one days of fasting, our goal is to know Him, to seek His Face, His Heart, His Will, His Way---thus to walk in a way pleasing to Him. Our desire is for intimacy! Mary Herring was about 65 when I met her. She was a former missionary and had returned to Raleigh to "hang out with Jesus!" Strange language for an older missionary lady--maybe not! She taught me many things but most of all she spoke to my heart about intimacy. Mary loved the winter Olympics and especially ice dancing. Her routine was to "hang out" each evening with Jesus. One evening she simply took time to watch the ice dancing and afterwards felt guilty, so she said "Jesus, I am so sorry I took time away from our time together---He said, 'Mary, I enjoyed watching that with you, and if you noticed how those dancers moved together--that's how I like to move with you.'" That's the oneness God desires---the intimacy that is available to us if we will seek Him with our whole hearts. Don't you want it---let's pursue Him and let the Holy Spirit draw us to that place that was designed just for us. Let's move with our Father's Heart and His Love as the Body of Christ in this realm to transform this world and see the Kingdom of Our God revealed and manifested every where we go. Going to be an amazing year ya'll!!!! Love Ya!!

John Hobbs

How to make your heart happy

Wed, 10 Oct 2012 18:56:27 +0100

by John

I often envision an old man lying on his hospital bed, knowingly approaching death. The man is looking back at his life as a whole. What does he see? Is he thinking about specific memories? Is he grinning about his successes or feeling guilty about his failures? Is he wishing he could go back in time and do things differently, or is he ready to go?

I don't know. I am not the old man yet. I am uncertain of what my thoughts will be like, even though I have a pretty good idea ;)

Whenever I think about the old man, my mind always lands at the exact same place. If there is one thing I know for certain, it is what the old man is not thinking about. Here are a few thoughts that don't cross his mind:

“I wish I had played more video games.”

“I wish I would have made time to watch Revolution every Monday night back in 2012.”

“I can't believe I didn't spend more time checking Facebook.”

First of all let me say that these are all good things. I love video games, TV, and Facebook, but the Lord has been speaking to me about the desires of my heart. I really only have a good day when I feed my heart what it is hungry for.

My heart is hungry for God. I have tasted and seen that the Lord is good, and now nothing else will do. Nothing else can ever fulfill my longings and desires. I must abide in Him. I must spend time with Him. I must realize He is always with me. I must acknowledge how good He is. I must let Him in. I must let Him love me.

More specific desires flow from that place. Would you like to hear some of mine? Here are some desires the Lord gives me; here are some things my heart becomes hungry for:

spend time with my grandfather
express love to my family
have the best youth group in the world
keep a clean house
be on time everywhere
be nice to people
wake up early
exercise

Doesn't that sound like religion? Doesn't that sound like rules and regulations? It's not! There is a difference between feeling forced to do something and unlocking the true desires of your heart.

“I won't waste another day on trivial vices.”

A word from T

Mon, 27 Aug 2012 15:17:44 +0100

By Tavitris

The Holy Spirit is waiting to release you into the greatest adventure of your life. He desires to build His Kingdom here through releasing the dreams and passions which He has placed in your heart. Adults come alive and fulfill the dreams of your childhood and young men and women receive the vision from above that will transform the future. The wildest desires of your heart are waiting to be fu

lfilled by the lover of your soul, Jesus Christ. This is just my personal opinion but I believe that the reason for all the stuff currently trending today is centered around a nautical theme may be due to the Spirit trying to awake to explore the unknown in an epic adventure, be fearless, love at all cost, and dream the impossible. Stay thirsty my friends.

Jesus

Mon, 27 Aug 2012 15:18:06 +0100

by John

I wanted to write a new blog today. But my brain was stuck so I decided not to. And then I realized that my brain wasn't stuck at all, it was just at rest. So I changed my mind again and decided to blog.

This is the only thought I can muster up today....

"Jesus"

Best blog I have ever written.

Click here for the story behind this painting.

A conversation with God.

Fri, 06 Jul 2012 14:09:03 +0100

It is 2:30 AM. Our protagonist is awake. His mind is frantically being attacked by worries of the upcoming day, enough so to keep him from sleep. His soul is not at rest. His body is in pain, but not as painful as the knowledge of knowing that the bodily pain will increase to the eventual point of vomiting.

[John stumbles out of bed and goes to the bathroom.]

[God enters stage left], but only for effect, since He has never left the protagonist's side.

John: “God, what the heck? I feel miserable. What is going on here?”

God: [Exaggerating for effect] “You ate only doughnuts today.”

John: “And that philly cheesesteak.”

God: “Yes, you are correct. The point I am trying to make is your body requires nutrients. They are often found in foods like fruits and vegetables.”

John: “Ok, so I deserve to be sick because of my eating habits.”

God: “Pretty much.”

John: “Dang... Well, can I still be healed.”

God: “Oh of course. That goes without saying. But I will say it. You are healed. Go back to bed and rest.”

Our protagonist returns to bed. He fully believes the Word of the Lord, but still brings a trashcan just in case. He lays down, and goes through his physical and mental checks. There is no sign of physical pain anywhere in his body.

John: [Thinking to himself] “Awesome. Now only if I could get al of these worried thoughts out of his head.” [His mind is now blank]. “Wait, where did they all go?” [He searches for the thoughts, grasping into emptiness as if trying to find something to worry about. He finds only one thought] “I wonder what happens at the end of Crocodile Dundee.”

Our protagonist slowly fades away as he thinks about wrestling dangerous animals and saving beautiful women. He is at rest.

God exits stage right, unsuccessfully trying to hold in a laugh. The nearby angels all break out into laughter. God and the angels laugh until they cry in John's room. Another angel comes in with a banjo, another with guitar, and then with a violin. God and all the angels sing and dance as angels continue to pour in, each with a new instrument.

God: “SHHHH- everyone shhhhhh... He's waking up. Actually, give me some soft background music.” [Kneels beside John, runs his fingers through his hair, and kisses him. God rests His cheek on John's and whispers in his ear] “Good morning, son.”

When something good comes out of something bad, did God put the bad thing there on purpose?

Wed, 13 Jun 2012 21:37:53 +0100

by John

When something good comes out of something bad, did God put the bad thing there on purpose?

This is a very common belief among believers, but should not be. It is not in God's nature to give us anything bad (Matthew 7:7-11). Here 2 reasons why people believe this:

There is no one better than God at taking an ugly situation and making it beautiful. The Bible is full of stories of redemption. He can make a bad situation so remarkably good that we sometimes have a tendency to assume that He put it there for that reason.
We have a problem with the idea that God's will often DOES NOT happen. I know for a fact that is not God's will for me to jump over my cubicle wall and punch Matt Blair in the face. But I could do it. Is it God's will that orphans are starving all over the world, or that young girls are being forced into human trafficking? No, I am undoubtedly sure that none of that is God's will. It is obvious that God's will doesn't happen all the time because Jesus told us to pray that it would happen more (Matthew 6:9-10).

Here are 2 very important principles that will help make this more clear:

We live in a fallen world. The Bible characterizes Satan as the “prince of this world (John 12:31). Satan's personality is to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10). The bad things in life come from him. The good gifts come from God (James 1:17). Wait, there's more! Jesus' death and resurrection have given us authority over Satan! He doesn't have the right to dictate our lives anymore! We now have the ability and the power to live according to the will of God. Who is going to share that news ( Does the term “Good News” ring a bell?) with the orphans and the girls being trafficked?
God is much more creative than we are. He is not racking His brain trying to think of a way to bless us that doesn't involve hurting us first. He created us for the purpose of being loved. It is in his nature to bless us and love us unconditionally. “But John, what if you broke your arm and went to the hospital and fell in love with the nurse and ended up marrying her?” God is smarter than us! He is better, and more creative! Don't you think He could orchestrate a meeting between my future wife and I at the grocery store! That reminds me... I need to buy more Gatorade. Maybe I'll meet my wife today!

There are a lot of questions and “what ifs” that could arise from this topic, which is not a bad thing. But it is important to never stray from the truth. Here are a couple truthful statements:

God is good. His plans for you are good. He doesn't want to harm you. If something bad has happened to you, it is because we live in a fallen world. We don't live in heaven. But now you know that you have been given the ability to bring heaven to earth, and to rise above any scheme the enemy could try to hurt you with. (Jeremiah 29:11) (Mark 16:15-20)

Let's Do This!

Tue, 05 Jun 2012 20:13:07 +0100

By Ethen Wilson, 8th grade student

There are many guesses on the how the Earth was created. But I'm here to tell you the truth! The earth was sculpted, the canyons were dug, the oceans were filled, and the grass was planted by the one true Creator of the universe! The one said "let there be light" and there was light in. Geneses 1:1 it says: In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth! The problem is most people don't believe without seeing. Scientists are saying "Hey there was one point in time where the earth was covered in water," ya guess what that was called the flood! "Hey there appears to be a large boat on this rock." ...Hey guess what that's called Noah's Ark!! God performs miracles every day! Not just physically but in people's hearts and their minds and their soul! Have you no faith at all! God gave His one and only Son to die on a cross for the sins WE committed and was willing to do so to save US! At any point He could've asked to be saved. But NO- His deep, amazing, unforgettable love for us conquered it all!! He faced demons, tests, and trials but he stood firm in God! Can we not do the same? The word Christian means "little Christ;" we were put on this earth for a purpose: to spread His love and mercy!! To show the world their Father who only wants to love on them and protect them!! We are God's soldiers and with Him we are always prepared for battle! People doubt and are sometimes nervous about telling others about him let me tell you this verse: I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me! (Phillipians 4:13) He is always by your side ready to help you! To comfort you! And there is nothing to be ashamed of at all!! Be a light to everyone!! Show them that you have God as your father! Show them His unmistakable love for you!! There is nothing wrong with being unique!! Be the person who stands out! Be the one in class, or at work, or in the car that is showing God's love who is helping others when they need help! 1 Pet 3:15: But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.

Don't hesitate when asked about the Lord; dive deeper into the person's heart; be a light in every dark corner!!

Friends, neighbors, teachers, pastors, children, teens, adults: we may be different in age but God has given us the authority to heal, to comfort, and to show love to others who don't know him! Nothing can stop you and nothing can get in your way. Yes we can run into walls in the flesh, but in spirit those walls will crumble at the feet of Jesus!!!

Now rise soldiers of Christ!!! Rise with a Battle cry! We ARE victorious!! We ARE the sons and daughters of the ONE and ONLY God!!!

The power of doubt

Tue, 29 May 2012 19:00:51 +0100

by John

I was recently reunited with my best friend, Martin Ivey, who just finished his completed 2 years at BSSM in Redding, California. Martin and I set out on a mission to help motivate each other to get in shape. To stay in normal human form, Martin and I require large amounts of physical activity since most of our diet revolves around Mike and Ikes, Sun Drop, and Fruit by the Foot.

I have always been moderately active; so I am in a little bit better shape than Martin. Because of the slight disparity, I run the loop while Martin rides a bike next to me. He has to ride slow, but it is one mile per hour fast enough to actually be considered “exercise.”

When Martin rides near me, I run faster and more easily. I noticed it the other day when I told him, “Usually I'm not able to do this.”

We were running and riding the other day when Martin started rambling out crazy notions. Something about how there “wasn't a bike lane” and how “it would hurt to get hit by a car.” I would have vocalized my emotions but I was too busy gasping for more humid air. So Martin turned and took another route that would meet me on the other side.

As soon as he left, I got tired. I started to notice how tired my legs were and how loud my breathing was. I instantly realized exactly how far away the finish line was and how much pain it would take me to reach it. When Martin left, I suddenly had options to choose from. I could keep going, I could slow down, or even stop or give up.

When Martin was beside me, I had no idea that those options even existed. My mimd, heart, and physical body were only aware of one possible outcome: running with Martin. Since that was the only scenario I knew, it was incredibly easy and enjoyable.

Fortunately, unlike Martin, the Bible says that God will never leave you or forsake you because of what Christ did for us on the cross. BUT, we have the choice to forget that God is with us. We can completely ignore the presence of God in our lives. We have control over opening and closing the gateway to doubt into our lives.

Life is sometimes like running the loop. Don't get too caught up in the destination if it keeps you from enjoying the process. Don't give doubt an inch in your life. And keep your eyes squarely on Martin... I mean God.