72 Days for Freedom

Tonight marks the start of something very important.

The purpose of the Passion 2012 conference was to open our eyes and our hearts to the problem of slavery. Over 27 million people are a slave right now. We are not okay with this. We are doing something now to end slavery and share Jesus. Passion City Church held an event tonight to help us take the next step to end slavery. Go to the official 72 Days for Freedom web site to 1) sign a petition for Mr. Obama telling him we want to fight slavery as a nation, 2) give money to help rescue, restore and redeem those afflicted by the slave industry, 3) host a screening of the freedom film to as large a group as possible to spread the knowledge of this injustice, 4) pray every day starting tonight for God to move in power and for Him to use you, and 5) a unique way for God to use you to shine His light to the nations and end slavery. This is such a big deal. Let God move you.

Go to http://slaveryfootprint.org to see how many slaves are working to provide you with things you used today.

Pray.

Savannah is here.

What a great day. It is beautiful. I cleaned my room. I listened to the soundtrack from the movie Hanna. Savannah arrived (finally). I went to the grocery store and got a bunch of drink for Lent. I got Fiddler on the Roof from the GT Library. I got a cup with a straw built in, the kind I used when I was a youngster. What a great weekend this is turning out to be. :)

Life is busy.

I have not posted in a while. That may be because I have been super busy recently. The past two weekends I spent leading a D-Now in Conyers, and then training for SWAT (Students With A Testimony) in Athens. I thoroughly enjoy my time spent with D-Now stuff; essentially I just grow closer to Jesus. So that's legit. My weekends from now on are going to be pretty busy. I find it extremely difficult to put care toward my studies when Jesus and His Kingdom are so important to me. Oh well. For just under 2 months, the Lord has taught me about prayer. It is almost disheartening; what am I not getting? These are the important characteristics that every Christians' prayer life should possess:

• constant (Isaiah 62:6-7; 1 Thessalonians 5:17; Luke 18:1-8; Romans 12:12)
• solo (Matthew 6:6)
• yet corporate (Acts 2:42, 12:5)
• desiring God's will - the expansion of His Kingdom (Luke 22:42)

So I need to work on all of those. It's hard to pray constantly and fervently. It's hard to do it on my own. It's hard to do it with friends. It's hard to pray for what should be prayed. I want to get better so I'm asking God (in prayer) to enhance my prayer life.

Valentine's Day - it's over 2000!!!

I looked at my blog and saw that it had 1,999 views. So, I typed this up real fast so someone can read it and get me to 2,000. :) haha

But in all seriousness, let's talk about life. Some of my friends are realizing there is only one way to be content: when you are wholly dependent upon God. Pray they will find their joy and peace again.

I get to lead my first Bible Talk tomorrow. I'm really excited about that. :)

God is good. I'm eternally joyful about that. :)

D-Now

I had a legit blog post about this weekend and my experiences leading my first D-Now, but the whole thing got erased. :'( Ask me in person for some legit stories of God's handiwork.

Love vs. Hate

I've heard it said that since God is love (1 John), God is incapable of hate. This doesn't really make any sense. Paul W., a southern baptist preacher has said that since God is holy and God is love. He must hate; He must hate that which is opposite of Him: sin. He must hate arrogance, false witness, and pride because they are for what Christ was crucified. Jonathan Edwards put it very eloquently:

"And there are some affections wherein there is a composition of each of

   the aforementioned kinds of actings of the will; as in the affection of
   pity, there is something of the former kind, towards the person
   suffering, and something of the latter towards what he suffers. And so
   in zeal, there is in it high approbation of some person or thing,
   together with vigorous opposition to what is conceived to be contrary
   to it."

He uses a lot of pretty words, but here's the gist: If you have an affection (approbation, zeal) to something (God's glory), you must also have a disdain (vigorous opposition) for whatever is opposing it (sin, death). You cannot tolerate sin and also have a reverence for God. It is conceptually impossible. It's like trying to be on Hitler's side and the Jews' side.....you can't. 

As disciples, we are to be a representation of God (Galatians 6:19-20). If we sin, we are giving God an unholy representation of His name. This is another reason why we are to be righteous! Perfect, even (Matthew 5:48)! We will sin, but if you are not seriously brokenhearted because of or opposed to sin, go read your Bible. 

God please break my heart. Send suffering my way if that's what it takes. Mature my faith by allowing me perseverance through trials. Make me a man of God. Amen. 

Savvy Skype Sesh

I got to Skype one of my favorite people ever: Savannah S. She is so awesome (meow). I did not get to talk to Hannah B. though. :/ God is continuing to bless me and provide for me in many ways. Despite the heavy work load and little hours of sleep, I am feeling refreshed physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Maybe so that He can use me to help out my friends when they get exhausted. :)

God, fill me with Your Spirit, use me to help my brothers- and sisters-in-Christ as they keep me accountable as well. Bring trials to strengthen my faith. Amen.

Good Weekend

I had a fun weekend in FoCo. I got to meet Melissa M.'s family more and hang out at their house. I kept to myself mostly and it was a good time to be with God and sit on a very comfy couch. The next morning I ran 3.2 miles and went to church at Browns Bridge church with David F., Hannah E., and her parents. It was cool meeting Mr. Earle again and meeting Mrs. Earle for the first time. The best part of the service was the chance to praise God in music. The worst part was everything else, especially the "sermon." I won't gripe about that here. I came back to Tech and played some Ultimate. It was really fun except I injured my knee and I thought it would just get better, but that hasn't happened. I might have to get it checked out. Life is great and my God is with me, guiding my steps. What a comfort.

God continue to fill me up and lead me to the good works You have prepared in advance for me to do. Bring me to sacrifice everything. Bring me to repentance. Don't allow me to try to bring You glory on my own. It is miserable. Don't leave me. I love You. Amen.

Courageous

Last night was Guy's Night at the BCM on campus. It was legit. We memorized Ephesians 2 which is legit because that chapter is the gospel. Then we watched a movie called Courageous. It was about the spiritual journey of 5 men in a small town in Georgia whom are all officers of the police there. It calls out men to become men of God and the plot was really good. I recommend it. The most interesting part of this story is that I got very near to tears. If you know me at all, you know that I don't cry. It's not that I don't want to, I just am incapable of crying. But one part was...uh really good I guess and I had that crying feeling but no tears came. Oh well. After that, I pray from 12-3 AM on my campus. There were a lot of people going to parties so I had plenty to pray for. It reminded me of how much God had purified my friends and I from our first time at Tech. God is progressing us. :) I woke up and took my car to get an oil change and now I am in FoCo talking about Jesus and studying for two tests. God is great.

Pie ('nuff said)

The last two days have been a blessing. The weather has been beautiful. I got to meet with Hayden and study out the crucifixion of Jesus. That was legit. I hung out with Melissa for almost the entire remainder of the day. I went to a test review session for my test on Monday. I went to Steak 'n Shake with some BCMers. I didn't eat there cuz it's gross. I went to sleep. I went to class. I dressed up. I toured a pie factory and got a lot of free pie. Pie. Yum. I have a lot of studying to do so peace out.

Jesus Calms the Storm

So I was reading a fairly common (and usually misinterpreted) passage in the Bible this morning. In Matthew 8, Jesus and the disciples are on a boat and a storm comes. You probably know the ending: Jesus is woken, not by the storm, but by the disciples crying out in fear of death, pleading for Jesus to save them. Jesus proceeds to still the waters. **NOTE: This is NOT a promise that when you are experiencing a "storm of life" that Jesus will calm it as soon as you pray for help. The disciples knew of the power that Jesus had; He was God, after all. They knew He could save them. Then why in verse 26 did He rebuke them of little faith before He stopped the storm? They had faith in His power, but not in His love. They had fear of their problems. They thought that their current situation would end their life because their God was asleep. Their fear was greater than their faith. That's where they went wrong. God doesn't rest from keeping His followers where He wants them.

When you are in a "storm", don't pray for God to remove it, and don't have fear. Ask God to shine in you despite your circumstances. Ask God to make you more Christ-like.

BAD: FEAR > FAITH

GOOD: FAITH >> FEAR

God give me wisdom and discernment. Send trials my way to mature me (James 1:2-3). You alone are Holy.

Contrast

Last week, life got busy. Before that, I had plenty of free time and nothing was rushed. Now, I barely have time do the things necessary for surviving (hyperbole). School is picking up the pace. I spend lots of time investing spiritually in others. I get little sleep. There are so many events. Worst of all, I'm not being invested in spiritually. At all. Add those up and you get exhaustion.

Actually, I get exhaustion. -__- Awesome.

I need an older man to guide me and bless me with wisdom. I need to learn to say no to some things so I can spend more time on my knees and in the Book. I need to work diligently so I can get to bed on time. I need to learn how to get out of bed. I need prayer and encouragement.

Hmm...I want to retreat hard core.