why so serious....

"The calling of a New Testament worker is to uncover sin and to reveal Jesus Christ as Saviour, consequently he cannot be poetical, he must be sternly surgical. We are sent by God to lift up Jesus Christ, not to give wonderfully beautiful discourses. We have to probe straight down as deeply as God has probed us, to be keen in sensing the Scriptures which bring the truth straight home and to apply them fearlessly."

i read this excerpt from My Utmost For His Highest today and thought to my self the deep and harsh truth that lies behind it. on one hand i want to ask for forgiveness from the Father for ever being "poetic" or making the Word of God less than what it is, and i know that i have, but on the other i want to passionately proclaim this life changing truth "fearlessly" like the above paragraph states.

Jesus in Acts 1:8 says, "What you'll get is the Holy Spirit. And when the Holy Spirit come on you, you will be able to be witnesses in Jerusalem, all over Judea and Samaria, even to the ends of the earth." (The Message)

now, i am not a theologian by any means, but i do know some things about the context of words and the meaning lost in translation from the Hebrew/Greek to English. in this verse, the word "witnesses" is LITERALLY translated to the word "martyr". the dictionary describes this word as "a person who is put to death or endures great suffering on behalf of any belief, principle, or cause." im not being a smarty pants here or anything, but im pretty sure that Jesus wasn't speaking hypothetically here. he literally wanted us to suffer for the cause of Christ and lay down our lives so that others may know who He is. so with this truth before us, what do you think is the disconnect in your own life? for me, im not living up to the claim of the gospel in most cases. yes, there are times when i do suffer for the cause of Christ (camp, moving to MS, etc.) but i do NOT do it in every situation of my life. and in fact ill go ahead and claim that my life is a pretty feeble attempt to uphold this claim. do i think it should be done only sometimes? no. do i think that it should be every moment of every day? yes. look at Jesus' life. and you cant say "it's because He is Jesus. He is God." yeah, that may be true, but scripture says that He was in every way a man just like me. but if that one doesnt settle for you, look at the life of Paul and his radical change. or look at the life of Mother Teresa. this total sacrificial life devoted for the cause of Christ is possible and is required of us. Micah 6:8 says, "But he's already made it plain how to live, what to do, what God is looking for in men and women. It's quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbor, be compassionate and loyal in your love, And don't take yourself too seriously—take God seriously."

did you read that? take God seriously. he has taught us and even SHOWN us how to live, and im pretty sure that's what i want to do. and when it comes down to being a witness for Christ, i full heartedly believe that it shouldnt be presented nicely. and by that, i mean not watering it down. the Gospel is the Gospel. it is the life giver. it is repentance. it is forgiveness. it is love. it is the corrector of wrongs. and the hope for all generations. preach it. proclaim it. hold nothing back. if God has penetrated your soul with his Love, then there should be no fear in life, nor fear in death. THIS is the power of Christ in YOU!!

Very Merry Christmas!

Dave Barnes is a phenomenal musician, but i think he is also quite entertaining. enjoy!!

innocence.

tonight i had one of the coolest things happen to me.

i had a baby fall asleep in my arms.

i am playing Joseph in our Christmas program at church and we are using a "real" baby Jesus. his name is actually keaton. but it was so neat to have this child bundled up in my arms with a sense of trust in me to fall asleep.

reminded me of the love that God has for me. and how he wants me to climb up in his arms and find rest. so good.

i'm cold and i need my cell phone.

this past weekend i had an amazing opportunity to serve at the Cobb County FCA Leader Retreat in Georgia. let me tell you that God blew me out of the water.

i actually began this adventure a week prior to arriving at beautiful Berry College (where the deer to student ratio is 8:1, yeah i know, crazy). i began praying intently for the things that were going to be taking place and it is so neat to see the Lord work in me even upon arrival. i just knew that it was going to be an amazing weekend.

my friend Laura Register is actually the one who invited me to serve with them this particular weekend. i was asking her questions about what the weekend would entail and she told me to expect for the kids to be a great example of the "Gimme" generation. these kids had it all. well not all of them, but most of them. she said that they would complain about it being cold and how much they wanted to use their cellular devices. so we coined the term for everything this weekend "Im cold and I need my cell phone." as funny as it may seem, it was actually true.

so i arrived on campus and met up with all of the other huddle leaders for a quick get to know you session and run down of how the weekend was going to go. all of these people knew each other in some way form or fashion, so i was pretty much the new guy. so, i took it upon myself to not make the situation awkward and jumped right in the group. i shared my testimony and it was humbling to say the least. i havent really done that in a long time, and was good to remind myself where the Lord has brought me. we collectively prayed over the weekend, and were dismissed. we moved to our cabins and waited for the kids to arrive.

These are some of the cabins that we stayed in. Amazing get away atmosphere!

well the first two kids in my cabin arrived around 6:00 and that was about it until we all went back to the cabin at 10:00. it was kinda awkward at first because these two kids didnt know how to respond to me and my awkwardness. but i tried to make small talk with them, and i finally figured out that for me to get to understand these middle school boys is to become...well... like a middle school boy. so we poked fun at each other and i made a fool of myself. needless to say that it kinda worked and before i knew it they were talking to me. score one point for me.

we went through worship and had our first session. we were then dismissed to go and have huddle time with our groups. this was basically a bible study, but on this particular night it was for us to get to know our guys. it was fun watching these kids interact with one another, especially since they didnt know each person from the next. we played a few games that i had up my sleeve (snort and look down, look up) they were a hit and we had some good laughs. after that we discussed what was gonna go down and we kinda settled in for the night. and by no means am i telling the truth. lights were out at 11:30 like they were supposed to be, but they didnt stop talking until around 1:30. that was wonderful, but expected. regardless we were gonna get up at 7:00 am as planned.

so i get up at around 6:15 to take a shower and pray (and i couldnt remember the last time i was up for a sunrise but it was neat), but something unexpected, yet very interesting happened. one of the kids was quick to follow me. his name is jack. now i didnt know it at this point in time, but this kid would have the rest of the weekend covered in prayer for him. i prayed for all my kids, dont get me wrong, but the Lord really grabbed my attention on this one....but anyways i get everyone up at 7:00 as planned (it was really 6:52, but who's counting) and we get moving. well our day began with our ceiling caving in on us. yeah, fun times. one of the boys decided to shut a door very gently and sure enough that caused the roof to give ever so slightly. so with insulation everywhere and the light fixture hanging from the ceiling, we got to repack and move to a different location.

You cant tell, but the whole roof is sagging in. Insulation was everywhere!

well the day progresses and we do all sorts of things. we had our morning work outs, quiet time, breakfast, worship, and competition. this is where i will stop in the day to discuss the lovely events of competition. now i will go ahead and tell you that Cobb County is a basketball/baseball hub of sports. and thats about it. but we didnt play baseball, we played soccer, volleyball, ultimate frisbee, and we had to throw in a people pleaser, so we played basketball. it was so fun watching the kids have fun at things they werent use to playing. specifically soccer. i could have easily taken all 11 of my kids down single handedly. but i enjoyed giving them pointers and being a coach again. this is when they started calling me "Coach Daniel" for the rest of the weekend. yeah, it brought me joy, what can i say.

We had such an awesome time playing. Laura dominated in bball and of course I rocked the soccer field!

well after that we went to lunch. now ill pick back up on where i left off with jack. up to this point he had been very aware of my surroundings. not that he followed me around, but i noticed he knew where i was at all times. he would listen to me, even if it didnt make sense. he was very intrigued in what i had to say. now this is when it hit me. he was like one of Jesus' disciples. they were men who hung on Jesus' every word. they followed him wherever he went and tried their best to listen and obey. it was such a simple truth to be revealed. it reminded me of the desire i should have in my own life to follow Christ with the child-like wonder the Jack was displaying. and i knew from that God had some great things in store for jack, but i wasnt quite aware yet, so i continued to listen.

we went through the rest of the afternoon sessions and free time. we all hung out for a while but i finally got a chance to catch up with jack and talk one-on-one. after some guidance from the Lord i discussed with jack the calling the Lord has placed on his life. jack is a natural born leader, and his happy, fun, loving attitude is contagious. now ironically, we were there for a leadership retreat, but like most of us know, as a leader you must learn to follow as well. jack wants to follow. i could see it in his eyes. and i could see the desire of the Lord and his wanting to consume this little 8th grade boys life. i told him that God had great plans in store for him, but he just needed to trust him. i asked him if it was worth it following Christ, and if he had counted the cost. (check here for the details of that discussion). little did i know that this exact same discussion would be held with the rest of the group later in the night.

Me and some of the boys. Jack is the one in the red jacket. Good kids!

we go to dinner, and jack served me. he got my food and saved me a seat next to him. this kid was blowing my mind. well we all eat and the go over to have some worship time. now this particular night of worship was very special. an experience that i had missed having. we sang our little hearts out in praise to our God, and the we listened to our speaker. i knew that the Lord was gonna rock out the evening and i was ready for what He was going to do. the speaker finished up his sermon and gave an invitation. let me tell you the response time was amazing. there were several kids who made a profession of faith. and then he asked the kids to hit their knees in prayer. wow. talk about a beautiful sight. 120 kids on their knees crying out to their Father. so amazing.

Worship!!

we dismiss into our huddle time and we were real with each other. we discussed what it meant to follow Christ. and how sometimes we dont show it. we talked about some of the things that hold us back from sacrificing our whole lives to Christ. and then i had them write those down. we walked down to the fire pit and threw those things in. and we joyfully talked about what Christ did for us on the cross. then we prayed. all of us. it was such a special time. a much needed time. for all of us.

after we finished praying it was snack time before our bonfire time. we all went in to the dining hall and went about our business as normal, but then it hit like wildfire. the huddle leaders began dancing to the music playing. it happened so fast, and the next thing we knew we had everyone dancing and doing the electric slide and such. two of my kids even performed the whole thriller dance for us. i was very impressed.

This was the best dance party I have had in a while!

the night closes out with some awesome confession/testimonial time at the bonfire, and then we all went back to the cabins for the night. all my kids were out by 12 except for 5 of them. those 5 sat beside my bed and we talked. good times were had with a few laughs and we called it a night.

the same pattern occurred from the previous night (aside from the roof caving in) and we dismissed at 11:00. but here is where it gets fun. before my boys left, i had a great time praying with each of them. i challenged them to step up in their faith and never settle for anything. i dismissed them, and was so refreshed from the blessing that all 11 of them were to me.

final challenge of the weekend: "When you got it, you got it. Now GO and live it."

no i dont know if i will ever run in to them again, but im fully aware of the things the Lord did in their hearts this past weekend, and i will continually pray for each of them and their journey's as they walk with the Lord.

miss me much?

thanksgiving break was wonderful. i have so much to be thankful for. family, friends, shelter, food, job, air, hairy legs, etc. the list is endless. but i found something else that i am thankful for that i continually overlook: God's word.

God's word is special. it isnt just something that has been written down for us to follow. it isnt an instructional manual. if it were it would handle the temporary and it would only last until something else better came along that had better instructions. its so much more than that.

this whole revelation came after a good four days of not spending any time in the Word. yeah, ill admit it. it is a big struggle for me to keep on track with doing my quiet times when everything around me isnt as it should be. i like my routine and when it is thrown off in the least little bit, i get sidetracked and dont spend time with my Maker. but these days helped me come to a realization that i needed. i had come to find out that i missed reading God's word. over the course of those few days, i felt like something was off. that i was missing something. that i was missing a piece of me.

God's word IS living and active as it is stated in Hebrews 4. it consumes you to the core of who you are. and until we understand its working power in our lives and in the lives around us, we will see it as just another book. and that isnt what it was created for. understand that now. not later.

this passage helped me understand this truth, and I hope it does the same for you:

"Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. ² Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, ³ now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.

The Living Stone and a Chosen People

⁴ As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him— ⁵ you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.⁶ For in Scripture it says:

“See, I lay a stone in Zion,
a chosen and precious cornerstone,
and the one who trusts in him
will never be put to shame.”

⁷ Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe,

“The stone the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone,”

⁸ and,

“A stone that causes people to stumble
and a rock that makes them fall.”

They stumble because they disobey the message—which is also what they were destined for.

⁹ But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. ¹⁰ Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy."

1 Peter 2:1-10

reminder.

I wrote this post about a year ago and I was reminded of it today....

Romans 6:6-11 says…Could it be any clearer? Our old way of life was nailed to the cross with Christ, a decisive end to that sin-miserable life—no longer at sin's every beck and call! What we believe is this: If we get included in Christ's sin-conquering death, we also get included in his life-saving resurrection. We know that when Jesus was raised from the dead it was a signal of the end of death-as-the-end. Never again will death have the last word. When Jesus died, he took sin down with him, but alive he brings God down to us. From now on, think of it this way: Sin speaks a dead language that means nothing to you; God speaks your mother tongue, and you hang on every word. You are dead to sin and alive to God. That's what Jesus did. (Message)

H-O-P-E.

Pronounced hope.

Hope is defined as a feeling of expectation.

It is the longing for a girl to say yes to a date, or for the right guy to come along.

It is the anticipation of winning the championship game and it longs for the day when grading ceases: the day of graduation.

Hope is the desire for a certain good thing to happen.

Hope is not pointless nor is it founded on childish dreams.

It is the foundation for believing that something good will happen when no good has happened at all.

Hope is certain.

The dictionary says hope is the person or thing that may help or save someone.

Some people hope for things created by man.

Man does surgery.

Man prescribes medication.

Man solves the temporary.

Some people hope for things created by man.

But not me.

I hope for heaven.

Hope doesn’t see the end result,

But it knows that heaven is on its way.

Hope doesn’t worry about what could be.

It sees what will be.

Hope acknowledges the troubles of this day.

It says, “Yes, my life will fall apart right now.”

“Yes, I will get sick and yes people will even hate me.”

Hope says, “It’s okay if I’m unpopular.”

“It’s okay if I’m rejected.”

Because hope looks beyond the here-and-now.

Hope looks to the future.

Hope says, “Today is but a moment.

Tomorrow is forever.”

In fact, my hope is made stronger in these moments of pain.

Because the pain brings perseverance.

And perseverance proves my character.

And my proven character hopes.

It hopes!

Hope is not selfish.

It takes the eyes off self and it looks to something…someone… else.

Hope says, “I am united.”

It sees Christ’s embrace on our lives.

Hope doesn’t worry about letting go.

Because it knows that God is the One holding on.

I hope.

Not in today’s quick answers or in momentary gratification.

I have hope.

I don’t worry.

I hope.

I hope in Him who has promised me deliverance.

I hope in the One who is not a temporary fix.

I hope in the eternal.

My hope has moved me from death to life.

It will take me from this life to one much greater.

My hope is the Lord God Almighty.

His salvation is eternal.

My hope is my coming Savior.

He has revived me.

My hope has convicted me of this.

My hope is both sure and steadfast.

My hope is the anchor of my soul.

lost?

im sitting in Barnes&Noble, one of my favorite locations, and im watching the employees of starbucks. one in particular is making himself known, and not intentionally. he is apparently new. kinda has a grasp of things going on, but not entirely. i went through the line earlier and asked for a cinnamon scone and a glass of ice water. he proceeded to search through the biscotti for my scone and when he couldnt find it, he asked another customer where they were. after i received my scone he gave me some water in a coffee cup with no ice. not a regular plastic cup like normal. then i politely asked for some ice. he asked his boss where the ice was, which funny enough, was right in front of him. he loudly asked if he should grab it out with his hands. and inside me i yelled out "NO!" but i simply laughed it off because im sure in some point in time in my life i have or will do the exact same thing in whatever situation im placed in.

as funny as this is, after i sat down it kinda hit me that this is an example for all of us as believers. we are just like this guy. lost if we dont have any guidance.

the cool thing about God is that He doesnt hang us out to dry when we are lost. even though we are full of sin and mistakes, He still provides a way for us to be led into a righteous life defined by a relationship with Him. and He seeks us out.

In Luke 19, Jesus finds a man by the name of Zacchaeus, and decides that he wants to go to this man's house and eat. now if you know anything about this man, he was a tax collector who usually scammed people for more money then they were supposed to. he was also very disliked among the people in his town. he was lost. he didnt know how to treat people. he didnt know how to show love. it wasnt until Jesus came into his life that he knew how to respond according to how God wanted him to. and when Jesus left him he completely turned around from his evil ways, and followed Christ.

thats what Jesus wants to do with us all. save us because we are lost. we dont know how to act. we dont know how to respond to him. we must look to him for guidance. we must look to the man who lived a perfect life.

just a thought.