I know

I know I haven't been posting this week and believe me its not out of laziness. Really I'm praying and working through things that really are close to my heart. I don't know exactly when I'll start up again but lets shoot for next week

Yup

My friend Jill posted this once and well it fits perfect for me right now


"sometimes the best thing, is just to talk to God. especially when there is a lot on your mind. not blogging, not speaking, just talking to God. He knows all, and is in control of all, so why not just talk to Him. and believe in His power.
Only God."

“For the Kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power.”
1 Corinthians 4:20

Songs

Psalm 47:1 says "Clap your hands, all peoples! Shout to God with loud songs of joy!" 

This was the verse I read first thing this morning. And to be honest it is what was on my mind all day. For the past week or so singing to the Lord has been something has been uncontainable. The Spirit has really been bursting forth and riling up more joy than I have felt in a while. Some songs play and I literally cant stay still or be quiet! I have to move and sing out! Tonight Chris and I sat out on the porch and sang praises to our God. People passed, smiled at us but kept on their way. Others looked at us with much confusion, it was hysterical to see the puzzlement in their expression. Its nice having a bunch of guys who can play guitar in the house. All I need to do is get a cajon and the band is complete... Oh well I'll just slap my thighs until I get one. "SHOUT to GOD with LOUD songs of JOY!"

Questions

We ask God allot of questions. Here are a few I've been asking here and there-

So where from here God?

Is it time?

Is your answer still to wait?

Where do you want me?

Am I doing this right?

Where am I lacking? 

Am I to go or stay?

I don't think it's bad to ask God questions. Although I think the motive behind the question needs to be correct. I try not to ask questions to complain. Along with that we need to be willing to not have an answer to all of our questions. God does not answer irrelevant questions, sometimes we just need to have faith and wait for His timing and submit to His will. Right now to be honest I'm not getting allot of answers right away to some of these questions but I'm okay with that. I have been asking God for more Love for Him, more Faith in Him, and Knowledge of His Word. Right now I am reaping the benefit of asking for these things that bring me closer to Him. So I'm content with the answers He gives and I wait in faith for the timing of the Father for the rest of the answers to come. God is Good

Ask and It Will Be Given

Matthew 7:7- "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you."

Today

Sometimes we over look God's grace of today. The simple fact that we could go to sleep and awake again in the morning. The simple grace of life. I've just been reminding myself of that today and Just Loving Jesus.

Psalm 3:5 "I lay down and slept; I woke again, for the LORD sustained me."

An Important Verse

I just finished Crazy Love by Francis Chan. I was truly blessed by God's timing with this book. What I mean by that is this book has been a great encouragement to me. All the lessons in this book, challenges about loving God and loving people, were lessons that I was already working through and applying in my biblical life. The lessons and my studies here at Off the Wall have brought me to a place where I have been able to hear the Spirit like never before. Being truly enlightened to His will, and to His love. It was such an encouragement to read and see that I'm on the right path. I know that last sentence can sound prideful but know its not said in pride, its said relief. Relief from worrying if I'm not interrupting things right, to know that I really am living and improving. It truly is amazing to see what God is forming me into. And His Love brings me to tears.

At the end of his book Francis lets things off with this verse 2nd Timothy 4:7-8 where Paul says -

"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing." I think I'm making this my new life verse. A reminder and encouragement of that glorious day to come. I want to be able to truthfully say at the end of my days "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. I put my foot down and stood firm" That would be my greatest honor. 

A Repeating Prayer

"Lord, I know you call me more than simply being in a better place than so & so was at my age. You hold me to a higher standard, You hold me to be like Your Son my Lord Jesus Christ. That my God is my goal."

Through out my life this phrase has been spoken to me "You are is such a better place than I was at your age, I was all over." (referring to my choices and my spiritual life). I know they mean this as a compliment but really why are you comparing yourself to me? My goal is not to be better than others my age, or even better than other people when they were my age. My goal is to live a Christ driven life. That holds no slandered to any man. I am not to be compared to, why compare filthy rags to filthy rags? I know people mean well but that compliment gives nothing to God, it praises me for "my actions" and "my choices." I do not want to rob God from any glory or praise! 

1 Peter 4:11-"whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen."

Darkness

Well for the past week I have been living in this three floor house by myself.. so at night not gona lie this place gets creepy sometimes! So last night as I walked up the stares in the dark on my way to the light switch this came into my head, so after I got what I needed I wrote it down. Just a little poem

Fearless Light

This darkness why must I fear

This fear this darkness

Where dose it come from

It comes not from the Lord

So why do I fear

For I am a child of the light

Sent to illuminate the darkness 

Sent to stand atop a mountain

Sent to shine so bright that all who see have no choice but to look for the source

The source that is my Lord Jesus Christ 

The giver of grace

The giver of light that shines so bright it sends darkness into hiding

   Light that causes darkness to quiver

He the only one worthy of glory

For Him and because of Him I shine

This light no darkness can consume 

So what do I fear

Listen to the Lord your God 

Hear His Holy Spirit

Do not fear

 

Adventure Time With J

So this morning I was going to go running but when I got up it was raining... so I went back to bead. Soon to be awoken by sir Jay pounding on my door. It was a nice surprise to see him. After I invited him in he asked if I would like to hang out today and well HECK YES! I've been in this 3 floor house all by myself! Any excuse to get out and enjoy a friends company I'm taking it!

Any way he took me over to his place and made me breakfast and coffee. This was already a good start. We talked about how each other got connected with Off the Wall and talked about it's potential future. We talked about all kinds of theology and doctrine as well (if you know Jay you know what I'm talking about). After we ate he asked if I would like to go to the airport where he kept his plane and where they repaired and prepared missionary planes. Wasn't about to turn that down so we headed out. After checking the weather we went over to where he stored his plane and he asked if I wanted a ride, its gona be bumpy. Now this was a small 2 passenger single prop plane... I LOVE RIDING IN THOSE THINGS!! You feel everything all the wind and well I'm a bit of an adrenalin junky so the sketchier the better! Now to make things clear there was nothing wrong with his plane, perfect shape and working fully. It was just a small plane on a semi windy day (for my mother who reading this was probably freaking out about the line above here). It was so great to get up in the sky again. This was my third trip in a small plane and I love it every time. There is just something about seeing this place from a higher prospective. not only seeing the beauty but also seeing how small this spot of dirt we all stand on is. It brings a lovely prospective. Well after we landed Jay gave me a tour and we went around looking at all the planes and talking to various people.

After we left there we went back to his place had some humbling target shooting with his pistol (AKA I SUCK AT HITTING A HAND SIZE TARGET WITH THAT THING) he took me home. It was a nice day. I really learned something about Jay today, he really loves sharing his wisdom and knowledge. Really weather it be directions to how to get where, where to buy what, whats going on where, and most of all what he knows about the bible. He loves taking what he has discovered and sharing it with all who will listen. I like that about Jay. Hes someone that I like having biblical discussion with and I love that if its a hard issue he dosent beat around the bush so to speak. I'm thankful for Jay here at Off the Wall as our Biblical training director.

Tony

Today I met Tony, (one of the crazy people who live next door) he came up and wanted to throw the football around a bit. It was pretty cool! Also this was the first time I could understand anything coming out of this guys mouth! lol Normally its just "GWAAAAA MA GOO" and then one understandable word like "gremlin."

This evening a friend texted me and wanted to hang out so when he came we walked down to the coffee shop and walked back to sit on the porch and talk. It was such a nice day neither of us wanted to be inside. Well as we were talking I herd some grunts and sounds coming up behind us. I had a hunch it was one of our neighbors, when it's nice they kinda hang out by their doors. Now you see this made me a little nervous because most of the residents of these apartments next door have mental disabilities(you never know what the cray people gona do.) Well to my surprise it was Tony (didn't know his name yet). He stood there with a slowly deflating old football staring at me. So I asked "You want me to play catch with ya? " He smiled and shook his head and ran back a little ways so he could throw it to me. 

Now like I said earlier I never really had much contact with Tony. Most of the time whenever we see him he was opening his door and yelling impossible to understand words than slamming it and running back into his house. We would see him pacing in his apartment at night sometimes as well when we would come home after dark.  We would just shrug our shoulders and keep on with our day. 

After throwing around the football around a few times he pointed to my friend and made a few more grunts. So I asked "You want my friend to play?" He shook his head yes again and threw me the football. But right after he threw it he went back inside his apartment and left the door open. So me and my friend passed the old pig skin around a bit and a bit of time passed by and we soon realized that Tony was not coming back out. So I got the football and I told my friend that I was going to take the ball back and thank him for letting us play with it. So I went inside and Tony was sitting there is his chair seemingly just waiting. I said "Thank you for letting us use your ball." and then I herd the first understandable sentence from Tony he said "take a seat, sit down." I told him 'I have company so I cant sit and chat right now but I will soon thank you." then I asked "Whats you name?" and he said with a grin on his face "Tony" he said it loud and proud. Then he turned eagerly and asked "whats your name?" and I said "Shaun". I thanked him by name this time then turned and left to go back to my friend. 

It was really cool to meet Tony and I'm interested to see why the Spirit has brought us to together. I'm looking forward to talking to him later. It was a perfect time for applying what I read through today in Crazy Love, it talked about the passage in Mathew 22 about the day of judgement "For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’"(vrs. 35-40) I looked at Tony and tried to see him as Jesus and welcomed him as a stranger. I saw a man seeking friendship and although he looked rough I was not about to turn away when as a believer I bear the image of God. I'm going to try to represent Jesus the best I can to Tony. So if you could would you pray for Tony? I don't think he knows very many people. Looking forward to possibly hearing his story and getting to know him a little more.  

Psalm

Crazy Love by Francis Chan lead me to read this today and just Loved it and made it my prayer 

O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you;

my soul thirsts for you;

my flesh faints for you,

as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.

 So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,

beholding your power and glory.

 Because your steadfast love is better than life,

my lips will praise you.

 So I will bless you as long as I live;

in your name I will lift up my hands.

 My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food,

and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips,

 when I remember you upon my bed,

and meditate on you in the watches of the night;

 for you have been my help,

and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy.

 My soul clings to you;

your right hand upholds me.

 But those who seek to destroy my life

shall go down into the depths of the earth;

 they shall be given over to the power of the sword;

they shall be a portion for jackals.

 But the king shall rejoice in God;

all who swear by him shall exult,

for the mouths of liars will be stopped.

A Day To Yourself

Well today I was all alone. I literally had no human face to face conversation, except my crazy neighbor who sometimes opens his door and yells some form of words at me.... I just smile and wave haha. But yeah besides that no real conversation. It really had me focus my day around prayer. As people came to my mind today I just prayed for them, thanking God for them. Now looking back on my day it kind of reminds me of Paul as he prayed and wrote to all these people and churches. Praying like this has shown me how my love for people is growing along side with my growing love for God.

Today was a nice day full of cleaning, singing, praying, and reading, all by myself. To be honest I didn't think I could sing all these worship and praise songs by my self without just wishing everyone was around to sing with me. But I did and it was joyful.

1st Thessalonians 2-10 "We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit, so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything. For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.

Highs and Lows

I have been on quite the spiritual high the past two weeks or so and it has been really great! But I have noticed I'm goin down a bit. The past few mornings it has been really hard for me to focus on God first thing in the morning and doing my devotions have been a bit harder to get into. I think these lows right after the highs are times where God is testing our faith. I believe like in Job God is allowing tests and trials "And the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?” Then Satan answered the Lord and said, “Does Job fear God for no reason? " I think He dose this to test our faith past the "good" times. I welcome these tests! Lord may I show, or may I see, your greatness through my weakness! I love realizing that God is pushing and testing me, that means He is pushing me to be more like His Son Jesus Christ. Making me better to produce more fruit for His Glory. Realizing that my faith is being tested helps me continue on the right path and have Gods blessing. I know that even if I fail He will use conviction to discipline me and like it's said in Romans "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose." But I think we would all agree that we would rather have Gods blessing than His chastening. Just trying to keep my gaze fixed on the things of the Lord.

Love God, Love the Word, Love people. Remember the goal of being more like Christ Jesus.

Just on Fire

The Lord has just been raising up fire and excitement in me lately! I have been in the Word and my prayer life has improved significantly. I've been reading in Psalm, Peter, Ephesians, Corinthians, Mark, I've been all over!! All of this is showing me how to better Love Jesus, Love people, and Love my community. Being intentional in my relationship with both God and man. Reading about biblical friendship in Ephesians, seeing a poetic expression of the Lords perfect law in Psalm 19. AHHH I LOVE IT! Screaming out worship of our Great and Holy God, and just boldly standing for Him. Having biblical conversation and really enjoying it!

On another note Kony 2012 has been something that I'm feeling a passion for. Kony 2012 is form an organization called Invisible Children, I fallowed them a few years back when they made their first trip to Africa and its cool to see their growth and progress. I have such a passion for the defense and Love of children that this issue really pulls at my heart. So spreading the word about this and doing what action I can.

All of this has just awaken a passion inside and my love for God and my love for people is growing like a fire! God is Good. I'm so excited while writing this so if nun of this makes sense I'm sorry. 

Up and Down

Some days are both mountains and vallies. the day can start off great and rool down hill and possably go back up the mountan. Just got to remember that God is good through all of it. I cant wait to simply bask in His  light and feel the wormth of His shining glory.

Revelation 4:8 .."Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty,

who was and is and is to come!”

  

Awearness to Moving Action

This morning a friend of mine posted a video from Invisible Children called Kony 2012. This video sparked a fire that I haven't felt in a while. It sparked inspiration to how I can do so much more to impact the world and spread the Love of Jesus in so many different ways. Loving Jesus by showing His love to people. Any way it inspired me to do more than I was doing.

One I'm going to spread more awareness of such problems of this fallen world. For one of the enemy's biggest schemes is the evil that is just swept under the carpet unnoticed except by the people directly effected. When I see people who want to do something but just don't know what I want to be able to point them in the direction of a few organizations I support. (Orphan Outreach, Invisible Children, ect.)

Secondly I'm changing/restricting my wardrobe. I am only wearing shirts that I have from things I support or have supported. This includes mission trip shirts, bands I support, organizations I have worked with or supported, ministries ect. I want what I wear to start conversation talking about what I support or the experiences I had working with an organization or group. Spread awareness of these groups and to be a walking billboard for these things I support. Bringing a purpose to even my dress.

Now I have 4 or 5 exclusions I kept but my closet is cleaned out and I think I'm going to dress like this for the rest of my life. Its a small thing but I feel lead to do so. Anything to further inform the world of why I live or do the things I do. I do them to bring glory to Jesus because I love Him. I love Jesus and so I love the people he has created. I will do what I can to help people and to point them in the direction of Christ. There is so much more I want to say but it 1:00am and I do have to get up in the morning so I guess this will have to do. Watch the video and find something or someone to support. Help people help people. I know that sounds funny but do it.

Sometimes

Sometimes you just need to talk to a brother or sister about struggles your having. Admitting that something is trying you and talking about your process of resistance. Sometimes its not even for advice its just to vent and have accountability. Sometimes its just good to get it out to someone. I think its good to talk about the little battles sometimes. Battles that may have only been for a moment or even a few hours. Sometimes these little battles are preparation for a much larger battle in the near future who knows? Sometimes I'm just thankful for a community that I can just grab someone and go for a walk through a snowy night and talk. Talk and have real conversation, conversation that matters, conversation about us and Jesus. 

phone

Well this is my first post from my phone so thats kinda cool. Anyway I'm on a trip with my discipler and a few guys from the ministry and there are two things going on on this trip. One is our regular thing where my discipler go's up and speaks with a possibility of bringing one of us up to give our testimony or a small personal lesson that applies to the topic of the night. Then we have an extra workshop where we are explaining discipleship to youth leaders. Now thats the part I want to focus on. Its really interesting to be in this position. One in this workshop I am the example of a disciple. When explaining situations where things were difficult my discipleship is what these things are being tested. This has been a good reminder on the expectations and all the intentionality behind everything my discipler dose or says. "imitate me as I imitate Christ" as said in 1st Corinthians. Tonight I was reminded why I chose to submit and be discipled by Don Stubbs, because he was the most like Christ that I have seen so when being more like Christ is the end goal its great to have a Christ like discipler.

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Connection

God has blessed me with the ability to stay connected with people. The ability to still communicate and have a relationship with friends in other places. I have realized this in my time away from Michigan and I thank God for this gift. But I realize that with this gift comes responsibility and opportunity. I have the opportunity to share what I'm learning and be a light to them. I have the responsibility to speak biblical truth when they come to me with troubles or concerns. Reading Corinthians has helped me in this, seeing how Paul wrote to the Corinthian church and shared his wisdom and knowledge of truth.

I'm happy and thankful to say that this truth was revealed early in my time here. Although my time here has done nothing but better equip me to do so. Having so many lessons in Corinthians and seeing a form of discipleship from long distance has sown me that I can still have or that I do have an impact in people even if I'm not physically present.

1st Corinthians 1:4  "I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus,"