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.

Don't be shy.

I really do enjoy comments on my blogs. It lets me know that people read them and find them interesting. Go ahead and try it! Not on this one obvi. I update about once every two days so I don't expect people to read each one, but just check one out every now and then. :)

Allah and Issa

This one is gonna be kinda long. Sorry. But it needs to be shared. 

So this weekend, a church in my neighborhood is hosting a weekend-long event called Jesus In The Qur'an, or JIQ. The purpose of this conference is to inform Christians of the most effective way to minister to and make disciples of Muslims. The things I've learned have radically changed my perspective and blown my mind. I was given a free copy of the Qur'an and plan on finishing it in the next few months. The man who founded this ministry is an incredible speaker and has wonderful stories to tell. I'm so moved by what he said, I don't know what to type or how to explain to you this passion I have to make disciples of all nations. I already wanted to learn Arabic and I already wanted to visit the largest mosque in the southeast (it's next door to me). But, wow! I have such God-given passion and zeal! Thank You, God. I want to meet Muslims and be their friend. 

Simultaneously, a bunch of brothers and sisters came to ATL from Athens and FoCo. They were Bibbling (studying the Bible...ask Dylan C.) and praying. Morgan C. asked me if I wanted to go to a church thing to which she had been invited. I agreed because I love Jesus, because I wanted to hang out with Morgan, and to keep an eye on her. I'll be honest, I was expecting this to be a little sketchy, especially since it started at 11 PM. As soon as I entered the house, I knew this was legit. The first hour or so was intense worship. Since I didn't know any of the words (and no screen with the lyrics), I prayed and read Psalms and other Scriptures. Then for 30-45 minutes we prayed. I asked God to give me just a little guidance as to what I should do for Him this summer, even though I already had some plans. I was on my knees. I had that feeling I get when I'm consumed by the Holy Spirit: burning up yet freezing. "Now the Lord is gonna tell me something awesome," I thought. I waited on Him and He gave me a vision. I was at home and showing my family Scripture and teaching them. By this, I believe God wants me to stay at home letting God's Light shine through me. I was contemplating and I thought that the Lord might use me in my church to speak Truth. I got this desire to just preach all the time! I think that God might be calling me to the Navy but I just wanna preach all the time! Maybe Mason L. will let me lead a youth Bible study. That would such a blessing and an opportunity. It was apparent that the Holy Spirit came to that worship service in the middle of the night. I love God, I love my family, and I love people. 

If you see me on a daily basis, you know that I have learned so SO much from God in the past few weeks. I can talk about some of those things later, but I would like to take a second to talk about marriage. Yea it might get touchy, but Jesus Christ never sacrificed the Truth in all of His compassion. I've observed that in all cultures of the world, marriage is held in high esteem. In fact, it has become an idol to people all over the world, especially Christians. We have this notion that God will put a godly man or woman in our lives and we will find satisfaction. Where is that in Scripture? What I find in Scripture is "Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For His sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ." (Philippians 3:8) I can present more Scripture if necessary, but it all says that God's Name, bringing Him glory, and His affection for us is far greater than anything on this earth. Yes, God did design marriage, but that doesn't mean that it is impossible to be made an idol. I think that sometimes, young Christians open the Bible as if it were a crystal ball or treat God as only an oracle seeking knowledge of the future of their relationship. There is an idea concerning soul mates, or "the one." I don't like that idea either. Since becoming a sincere disciple of Christ, I have started to desire one thing only for my life: to bring His Name glory in all parts of my life (Romans 12:1). I know that if God continues to grow me to become like Christ, He will get glory from me. That's ALL that matters! If God wants me to be single, OK! If God wants to marry this girl or that, OK! I don't care about things like that because God will get glory from me one way or another. I think marriage is holy and a clear picture of Jesus Christ dying for and marrying the church. But I don't think that whom we marry needs much thought. As long as he/she loves Jesus more than you and more than him/herself, and has been given a desire from to become more Christ-like, he/she is fit for marriage. Proverbs 4:23 says "And guard your heart for it is the wellspring of life." I don't think that tis means that we shouldn't alk about spiritual things of people of the opposite gender. I think it means that we should guard our hearts VERY CAREFULLY from idolatry. I think that if brothers- and sisters-in-Christ all desire to be like-Christ, then praying, witnessing, hanging out, and even talking about marriage as friends should be normal. Stop giving so much attention to a relationship if it distracts you from the relationship that saves your soul. 

God be with me and give me words to say so I don't get in the way. I love you. Purify me. Amen.

Have you ever been completely consumed by the Holy Spirit?

Tonight, I knew exactly what it was like.

My roommate, David F. and I were discussing something and two Scriptures were mentioned.

1 Corinthians 10:31. "Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God."
Colossians 3:23 "Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men."

I headed to the dining hall to get some dinner. As I was walking towards the door, I pled to the Lord to use me to make His Name known and to bring Him glory. I walked in and was reminded of the Corinthians verse when I saw the food. I prayed and begged God to give me an opportunity to bring Him glory during my meal. I got some food and picked a table. As I was sitting down, a fellow student asked if he could sit at the table with me. "Of course," I said, silently rejoicing. I knew this was the opportunity for which I prayed. He left to get more food and I prayed, not for my food, but thanking Him for the opportunity and beseeching Him to speak words for me so I wouldn't get in the way, that I could make known the mysteries of my loving Savior. He sat down and I initiated some small talk. His name is Ankit and he's not from around here. He's a CS major. I asked him if he was involved in any orgs & clubs; I'll be honest, I was more excited about him asking me what orgs in which I participate than finding out in what he's involved. Sure enough, he asked. I told him about the BCM, Souled Out, and the Navigators and my faith in God. What a segway. :) We continued to have just a normal conversation asking deep questions and building a friendship. He told me that his aunt was a Christian, so I asked him if the way she lived her life was different than other the life of a normal person.

I mentioned loving other people more than one's self and he said something rather interesting. He said, "I don't think it's possible to do that, to love others more than yourself." I asked him why he thought that and he answered, "I think that human nature prevents people from sincerely doing things for others, people are naturally self-centered." I was so ecstatic to hear such wisdom from someone lost. He has such a realistic view of life. I told him that when you believe in God, that He fills you with the Holy Spirit and that when you do things for others, it's God doing good things through you. He took in every word.

After talking for about 15 minutes, he said, "I don't think it's a coincidence that we ran into each other." I was so joyful. I was in total agreement (Prov. 16:33).

I asked him what his plans for the weekend was and his Sunday was free. I asked if he wanted to come to church with me and he said, "I really really want to, but I'm going to invite my friend." "OK!" I blurted. My ecstasy was exponentially increasing. Hopefully I'll see him on Sunday. I asked if there was anything in his like for which I could pray. He mentioned that he had been really depressed. This is good because he will witness the joy, peace, and contentment that the Lord provides to those who seek Him.

As I headed to the exit, I was shaking. I knew the Holy Spirit was in me. I could feel him in my fingers, even. When I stepped outside, I vocally praised my God for blessing me by allowing me to being Him glory. I was so filled with the Spirit. I was breathing heavily. The Lord has moved tonight. Hopefully I'll see Ankit and Robert on Sunday. :'D

GLORY TO GOD! :D

Long day.

Tonight was the second night of the awesome Perspectives class. It was awesome. I'm too mentally drained to go into detail, but it was awesome. I got to se Brogan today. He's one of my best friends from Summit (2010). He is awesome. We skyped Kara. :) I'm mega tired right now (it's way past my bedtime). I need to go write a lab report -____-

Mission-minded; Christ-like.

Check out this blog my friend Melissa M. showed me! It's really legit! At one point, she explains, "It is within the eyes of the poor that I have seen the most clear image of Jesus." That's awesome! Wanna know why? Check out Matthew 25:34-40!

"Then the King will say to those on His right, 'Come those who are blessed by My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundations of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger and you invited Me in; 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, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry, and feed you, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? And when did we see you a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe you? When did we see you sick, or in prison, and come to You?' The King will answer and say to them, 'Truly, I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me."


The author has of the blog post has it exactly right! It is really refreshing for disciples to read this blog post. :)

God, convict me of helping the helpless. Atlanta is a massive mission field. The harvest is so plentiful. Give me more fellow laborers to reap the harvest with which You have blessed me. Let the pieces fall into place that allow me to be an aid to the needy. I want them to see You; I want them to know You.

Exhausted. Renewed.

I want to be holy like Christ, but I have grown weary. I inadvertently, unknowingly, and subconsciously took the controls of my life from God some time in the past 24 hours. I have suffered physically for it. I am so tired and human. I realized my poor sinful state and asked God to fill me up. He did. I am joyful. I am maturing and growing. Pray as hard as you can that I can become a man of God. God needs more laborers on this campus where the harvest is oh so plentiful. How much more He could use me if He made me a man from the boy I am now! Oh, God, consume me, refine me, purify me, and set me apart. Give me strength to sacrifice all of my existence to your Name.

False Teachers; they aren't only present in the Bible

Many of you have heard of Andy Stanley. He is Dr. Charles Stanley's son and he pastors the second largest church in America. Some of my friends here in Georgia noticed that his sermons weren't sharing the gospel and were more like feel-good, self-help motivational speeches. They are not ok with a man of that influence claiming to speak Truth yet misleading people every Sunday. They went out of their way to find a way to speak with him about their concern, but being a man of his...whatever, they could not get in contact with him. So they decided to go to his service and talk to him there. During his sermon. Right before Andy was about to close with prayer, my friend got Andy's attention and began rebuking him for not sharing the gospel. Immediately, security came to escort him away and Andy waited patiently for him to finish. After he was gone, Andy had something to say. Here is what Andy said and you can insert your own tone of condescending sarcasm, because it was very apparent.

 "There's a theological thread that's super hyper extreme reformed theology. Some of you have heard of this; some of you might be reformed. The idea is every single story in the Bible is about Jesus somehow. I don't believe that. I think that today's story was about Nehemiah because Jesus was like a long time later. So, unfortunately, the radical, reformed people don't like me very much. Sometimes they do wonderful things like that."

Wow let's unpack that for a second. He says that Nehemiah is not about Jesus because He was not on the earth until way later. So that obviously includes the rest of the Old Testament, right? Here are some Scriptures (in the New Testament) that Andy opposed by his statement:

Romans 3:21 "But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the Law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it."
Colossians 1:16 "For by Him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities - all things were created through Him and for Him.
Matthew 5:17 "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them."
John 5:46 "For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote of Me."
Revelation 22:13 "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end."
1 Peter 1:10-11 "Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in then was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories."

And let's not forget all the Messianic prophecies that permeate all throughout the Old Testament i.e. Isaiah 7:14 "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call His name Immanuel." FYI, there are over 100 more verses like that in the Old Testament.

Here is a web site that lists all the Old Testament Scripture that references Jesus and the New Testament Scripture that corresponds with them. :)

So Andy has discredited the purpose and main theme of the meta-narrative that is our Bible. I'm glad my friend rebuked him.

Many good things have happened as a result of this event. Today, Andy preached about discipleship. A few things were off and opposed Scripture, but it was great when it lined up with Scripture. I encourage you to go check it out. And pray for him lots.

I don't want to criticize him to bring myself glory or to make him look bad. I want to highlight the dangers of false teachers and warn of their crippling deceit.

Be A Man (not the kind from Mulan...[stop humming the song...])

I've been listening to sermons and reading the Scripture about how to become a man. One speaker highlighted two specific chapters in the NT that describe manhood; 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1. The chapter in 1 Timothy is written to the young church leader to outline the requirements of a church elder. The speaker acknowledged this and said that all men should strive to look like this. Here is what is mentioned in this specific chapter:

• be above reproach (expression of disappointment or disapproval toward someone
• husband of one wife (or on that road...)
• temperate (moderation or self-restraint)
• prudent (showing care and thought for the future)
• respectable
• hospitable
• able to teach
• not addicted to wine
• not pugnacious (eager or quick to argue)
• gentle
• peaceable
• free from the love of money
• manages own household well
• keeping kids under control with dignity (yea I don't have any of those...hehe)
• If he cannot manage his own household or kids, how can he take care of the church of God?
• not a new convert
• good reputation with non-believers

That's quite an exhaustive list! But the Spirit is within me and making me more Christ-like each day so in 11.5 months I should look a lot more like the above list. :) That's my prayer. That's my goal. To be a man. Now I'll review the chapter in Titus (repeats will be omitted):

• not self-willed
• not fond of sordid gain (immoral gain)
• loves what is 
• good 
• sensible
• just
• devout
• self-controlled

A lot of them were omitted due to repetition. In Jewish culture, if something's significance was to be emphasized, it was repeated. So it's pretty clear what a man looks like. I want to be that!

"God, make me into a man! It's time for me to forsake childish things and abandon boyhood. I want to bring You glory! I want Your name to be known! I want to be mature. God, make me to look like Jesus who is the exact representation of You (Hebrews 1:3). Amen"