Thursday, December 25, 2008

His Voice

Over the period of about two weeks I believe that God has been telling me to quiet down and listen for His voice. I believe very strongly that God is actively speaking to His people but we aren't taking the time to listen to what He has to say. The interesting thing is that two days ago I met with my discipleship partner and God has been teaching him the same thing. Not only was it neat that he had been hearing the same thing but it was also a confirmation that it was God telling me that I needed to do this thing. Then just yesterday I was at my friends house and I just happened to see a picture that said: "Take the time to hear God's quiet voice in a world that speaks so loudly."

All this said, I know that God wants to commune with His children in deeper ways. Yet the question is, are we willing to be quiet and take the time to hear Him speak? From now on during my time with Him I'm going to make it a priority to quiet down and listen.

Friday, November 28, 2008

Pray

Christmas break is coming up soon and my time left here in Sebring, Florida is short. Even though I'm ready to leave, I'm still plugging away at my studies and ministries that I'm involved in. Lately, I've been helping out with youth group at the Way Church with Chris Ogden. Most of the kids in attendance there are unsaved, and God has laid a burden on my heart for them. There's a group of 5 that I've been investing a decent deal of time in. I've been trying to build strong relationships with them so that they can see what it means to be a Christian. They're obviously spiritually lost, but I know that I serve a God who works miracles. I'm a walking testimony of how He can change a heart of stone into one that is full of love for Him. I'm trusting and praying that God will move in their hearts and draw them to Him. Whether He decides to use me or someone else is no matter, I just want to see them experience the fullness of knowing Christ.

So if you're reading this blog please shout out a prayer to our Heavenly Father who is in control of all things. Pray that Roberto, Jesse, Joel, Josh, and Adrian will come to truly know the Lord. Yet, remember that it's His will and not our own. Thanks!

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Been A While

It's been quite a while since I've sat down and wrote something on this page. I'm kind of tired of blogging. There's been a lot that has happened in between now and the last post. One of the biggest events was the Men's Retreat in Daytona Beach, Florida. We stayed at an ocean-side resort for two days and had discussions about male maturity. As far as class goes I've been learning a lot of cool stuff. The past couple weeks we have been going through the books of Acts, Romans, and Ephesians. I wish it was possible for me to post some of things I've learned but I don't have enough time in the day to type it. Today we have class at 1:30-4:30 and we are starting 1 Corinthians.

Saturday, October 18, 2008

Fall Ministry Tour

Wow, it's been a long time since I've posted something. I feel like I've been so busy. This month is crammed for me. On the 25th, I'm running a manual labor ministry. This involves organizing kids from other churches to come help work for other families. Also on the 26th, we have the fall festival at Grace Church. I'm running the scooter race and I have to decorate my table for that event.

I write to you from a strangers home in Virginia Beach. For those of you that don't know, I've been on GCBI's fall ministry tour since the 10th of this month. In short, it's time spent travelling from state to state, getting involved in different ministries. This tour has been very interesting so far. We started our tour in Atlanta, Georgia and spent three days there. On our first night we went out on the town. We went to the underground mall and ate at Johnny Rockets. The next day we went to Explorations in Antiquity, a museum which teaches and explains biblical history and customs. It was very interesting to see live models of the tents and buildings that the Israelites used to live in. On Sunday, we went to Northpoint Community Church, after which we went to the International House of Prayer (IHOP). On Monday morning we departed for Maryland. We went to the River Valley Ranch, a summer camp for younger kids. It was definitely one of the most beautiful places I've seen in a while. We spent our whole three days there doing manual labor. We weedwacked, bailed hail, organized, and cleaned. It was fun to get outside and do something with all the energy I had built up. Next was Philly, Pennsylvania. We were at Urban Hope for only a day and a half (Urban Hope is an inner city ministry designed to reach out to the downtown community). The only thing we really did in Philly was help out at a youth event called Rock. Today was spent driving to Virginia Beach and tomorrow we're going to a Korean Church. The tour ends on the 22nd and I'm not sure what we have planned for the rest of the trip. Overall this has been a good experience for me, not only to get away from Sebring but also for bonding with the other team members.

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Dream of the Sword

Over the last two weeks I've been feeling defeated. I've been wanting to go home and have been just plain discouraged.

Last night I had a dream that I was fighting in a battle. I was swinging my Sword like crazy but not doing much damage because it was dull. Because of this I was getting tired out quickly and even discouraged. When I woke up this morning it hit me. I really believe that this dream has spiritual significance and this is my interpretation: I need to have a better handle on the Word in order to fight these spiritual battles. This has to be the reason I've been feeling the way I have been lately.This dream has encouraged me to fine tune my Sword so I can fight with efficiency. Pray that God will help me sharpen my only spiritual Weapon.

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Daniel

Today was a good day. We missed class on Tuesday so we made it up today. We had class from 9:30-12:30 and 1:30-4:30. Daniel was the book of choice and we covered the prophetic portion of it. There were so many facts thrown out and I think I only took in about 5% of the information but that's ok, I got the important concepts. It's so cool to see how God used Daniel to tell about future nations and events that he had never heard of or seen (Daniel 2 and 7). It's reassuring to see this and definitely a good argument for someone who does not believe the Bible.

On another note. If you've been following my blogs you'll know that I've been feeling rather BLUE. Today was a better day for me. I actually just got a new electric guitar and have been playing quite a bit. This is a good therapy for me and has helped me to detach from the chaos that goes on around me at times. Please continue to pray that God will continue to create an even greater desire in me for Him and His Word. Have a super day.

Sunday, September 28, 2008

Crazy Day

Today was by far the most productive and busy day I've had while I've been at GCBI. This morning at 8 am I met a homeless man who was in need of help. He had left Colorado Springs, Colorado to come see his girlfriend in Sebring. A long story short, he ended up getting kicked out of her house, so he had been homeless for two days. He needed a ride to Tampa Bay so he could pick up his check from Burger King. Once he cashed the check he would get a bus-ride to his home town(Colorado Springs, Colorado). I told him that I had other obligations and that I would meet up with him at around 6 pm. I then went to Billy's house and pulled bushes for him. I finished at 9:30 am then went to work at the Campaign for Florida. I started at 10 am and finished at about 3:30 pm. After work I came back, got cleaned up, and took the homeless man(Sam) to Taco Bell. When I sat down he kept asking me if I'd take him to Tampa. At first I told him no, but then I felt like God wanted me to do it. In short I took him. The whole deal ended up well. Obviously God had been working in his heart already and he was willing to get right with God. We had good spiritual conversation and I was able to encourage him. He did end up getting his check and even payed me for my gas. I didn't get back into town until 10:30 pm. On the way back to the institute I stopped by Billy's house again, and we watched Facing the Giants. Now I'm back and ready to go to bed. It's been a good day, and I thank God that He allowed me to do some work for Him.

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Thoughts

I've been thinking a lot lately. Not just thoughts of my financial situations and things going on around me, but more importantly thoughts of spiritual matters. I can't always put a word to what I'm thinking, but I feel it has something to do with if I'm where God wants me to be and if I'm pleasing Him. I often think about my future and get discouraged at times. Honestly, I have no idea where I'm going. I don't want to spend my life doing concrete work, it just doesn't mean anything to me. I want to please God in what I do, but I'm fearful that at the end I'll have threw away my opportunities.

"I know I screw things up all the time, but God please guide me where You want me to be. I understand that life is meaningless without purpose that comes from You. I understand that I can do absolutely nothing without Your power. If You do not lead me where You want me to be, my life will have been a waste. Yet, I trust You with my life. Even though I have these feelings and these thoughts, I stand on Your promises. You are a good God, and You say that I can trust Your character. Don't forget Your servant."

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Standing Stones

Today in class we were talking about how in the biblical time period people used standing stones to mark their property, or mark places where God had done some really cool things in their lives. The way we apply this to our lives is that we need to set standing stones(not literal) at important intervals in our lives. A standing stone for me at this point in my life would be that I'm really confused about my spiritual walk right now. I feel like I know so little of the Word, and that has me down. I don't know where I'm at or where I'm heading, but that's ok because I know God is in control. It will be nice to look back at this blog by the end of the year and see how God has taken me so far beyond my current condition. So I praise God in advance for where He has me now, and trust Him to do His work.

Monday, September 22, 2008

Busy Day

Today was very busy for me. I woke up at 7 this morning and spent time with the Lord. I then ran errands and put some money in my checking account. At 10 Brian and I went to the Hilkert residence and pulled weeds until 12:30. After this I took our trash to the recycling bins. Then I headed back to the Hilkerts and worked until 3. I went back to the institute, got cleaned up, and left to work at the Campaign for Florida at 4. It started raining at 6:30 so I wasn't able to finish my route. I feel like I was able to accomplish a lot today and now it's nice to sit and relax.

Thursday, September 18, 2008

The Book of Ruth

Today in class we covered the entire book of Ruth. I never knew that the main character of Ruth is Naomi. The principle of the whole book is that we need to hold things with an open hand, because when we hold on to things too tightly it hurts when God takes them from us. Naomi held her identity in her family, her dreams, and her future.

Chapter 1

When God took it all from her she was bitter towards the LORD. We see four things in verses 1-5 that God may take from us if He pleases.
  1. He may take away the prosperity of our land. In verse 1 we see that there was a famine in the land. This type of famine means that the land had not received the former and latter rains which are crucial for crop development.The former rains are from Sept.-Nov. The latter rains are during Spring. Since this was the case, Naomi and her family were forced to move from Bethlehem to Moab. Moab is approximately 1,000 ft higher than Bethlehem, therefore it is wetter.
  2. The LORD may take the love of our life. In verse 3 we see that Naomi's husband Elimelech (my God is King) was taken from her.
  3. God may take our dreams. Verse 4 shows that Naomi's sons married Moabite women. This detail is very subtle, but the fact that her sons did not marry Israelite women was a big deal to her. Therefore, her dream for her sons to marry good Israelite women was taken from her.
  4. God may take our future. Verse 5 shows that both her sons died. It's ironic however that her sons were names Mahlon (wasting, referring to a flesh-eating disease) and Chilion (puny). However, her sons represent her future.
In verses 6-13 we see the four reactions of Naomi. You'll see that the reactions of Naomi are probably similar to how we would react in hard times such as this.
  1. She returned to what was familiar to her. In verse 6 we see that she returned from Moab to Bethlehem. Most times when we are deeply hurt we will leave what we aren't used to and go back to what we're comfortable with.
  2. She pushed those she needed away. In verse 8 she tells both of her daughter-in-laws to go back to their homes.
  3. She grieved. Verse 9 paints a sad scene where Naomi, Ruth (friend), and Orpah are grieving together.
  4. She sought validation. In verse 13 Naomi asks questions in such a way that she is seeking validation for her choice to push Ruth and Orpah away.
In verses 14-18 we see how Ruth (friend) is true to her name.
  • In verse 14 Ruth is a crying shoulder for Naomi.
  • In verse 16 Ruth tells Naomi to stop asking her to leave. Ruth has made up her mind that she will stay with Naomi.
  • Verses 16-17 shows that Ruth makes a deep promise to Naomi that she will stick with her until death.
The end of Chapter 1 is important because Naomi comes out with her real feelings. When she arrives to Bethlehem she is met by some people who ask "Is this Naomi?". She says do not call me Naomi (pleasant one), but Mara (bitter). This is a crucial point because now shes being honest with her feelings. The last point I'd like to show is that In the beginning of Chapter 1 we start with a famine and we end with a harvest in verse 22. This represents Naomi's life, right now her life is like a famine, but the harvest foreshadows that things will turn around for her.

Chapter 2

This chapter begins by giving us a glimpse of what God is going to do through Elimelech's kinsman, Boaz (in him is strength). Naomi's real problem was that she had property on her hands, but she could not redeem it by law without a male heir. She could not plant, harvest, or do anything worth while to her property until she had a male heir.

We see in verse 3 that Ruth goes to the fields to glean. In a short while she meets Boaz and he shows her favor by allowing her to harvest in the middle of his field (in those days the owner of the field could only harvest the middle; the outskirts of the field were left for the poor to harvest).

Chapter 3

The main idea of chapter 3 is that Boaz grows a greater respect for Ruth. They become closer and she makes a proposal to him. The proposal is for him to redeem Naomi's property. She does this by going to the threshing floor at night, uncovering Boaz's feet, and putting some of the cover on herself. He then says that he will accept if the closest relative does not redeem her.

Chapter 4

This chapter starts off with Boaz holding a meeting at the city gate. Boaz was actually part of the city council. During the meeting he asks the closest relative if he will redeem Naomi's property and with it he must take Ruth the Moabitess. An interesting fact here is how Boaz trys to describe Ruth as an undesirable asset by making sure to include that she is a Moabitess (he probably did this because Ruth was pleasant and he wanted to be the redeeme).. Had he said she was an Israelite the closest relative probably would have accepted the deal. Boaz ends up redeeming Naomi's property and taking Ruth. Through her he had Obed (the work).

Overview

Is our identity wrapped in the wrong things? For example: girl/boyfriend, money, clothes, cars, material possessions. We need to check ourselves here. If this is the case we need to do an evaluation and ask God to be our identity, because when the time comes that He needs to take those things away it won't hurt as much. Also it will be a chance to glorify Him. God doesn't bring pain without a purpose. If he takes something from you it's becaue He has something better in store. Amen!

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Seeking His Face

The last couple of weeks have been rough for me so I decided to start a fast. Since Sunday night I've been fasting. Not only am I expecting my spirit to be empowered, but I want to know God in a deeper way through this. During this time I'm yielding two things that I really enjoy: food and weightlifting. I want to show God that I'm yielding all areas of my life to Him, not just a few that I don't mind giving up. It's nice to spend time with the Lord during the times I would normally be eating or lifting.