Now, Walk it Out

To walk by faith means that I replace all fear with faith, doubt with trust and despair with hope.  

But, this doesn't come naturally.  I must chose by faithful obedience to believe the promises of God.  The issue is not, will God pull through?  He always pulls through.  The issue is me, who lacks the faith to believe and then walk it. 

True faith is made evident not in the words that fall from my mouth, but in how I act upon the faith that I proclaim.  Do I act upon what I say, then good, but if not my words are a mere smoke screen to the untrusting, doubting heart that doesn't believe God at His word.  

Doing Youth Ministry the Wrong Way....

Sadly, many churches do youth ministry because they feel like they should, not because they are passionate about it.  They push people who have no love for teenagers into leading their youth ministry.  Which causes them to have floundering, poorly attended youth ministries that are not sustainable.  Things go alright for a couple of years and then it eventually comes to a screeching halt and no one understands why.  

They think we just need another pizza party.  Kids don't need more pizza parties.  They need the gospel, lived out in a community of people who love them, are invested in them and who truly care about them.  They need adults who are willing to pour into them, disciple them and point them to Jesus Christ.  

If you're not passionate about it, then please don't do it.  If you're not truly invested in these teenagers, they know that.  They're a lot smarter than we think.  

It saddens my heart when we do youth ministry the wrong way.  These teenagers deserve our best, unto the glory of God.  

Although, I admit we don't do it perfectly we do love young people at Collide Youth Group and are committed to loving on them for the glory of God.  Our greatest desire is that they would experience Jesus Christ within our midst and be forever changed by His love.  

Something more....

Even human heart has a longing and a desire for something more.  

All pursuits apart from the gospel of Christ will only leave our hearts in a continual longing for something more.  Pursue Christ and you'll find that you have immersed yourself in a well that never runs dry and is so deep that you can never reach the bottom.  The more you immerse yourself in the joy of knowing Christ the more your heart swells with hope, peace, purpose and lasting satisfaction.  

Drink from this well and be consumed by the love of God in Christ Jesus.  Watch as your heart starts to be transformed as you get to know the one who created you.  

"Jesus said, I have come that they may have life and have it to the full"- John 10:10

Water: A Source of Life

Jesus calls Himself the living water.  

I need water to survive.

That means, I need Jesus to survive.  

"Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, ¹⁴ but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”- John 4:13-14

To do or not to do more for God?....

To be in ministry does not mean that I try harder at doing more for God.  As if it were about what I do and not about what the Father does. It means that I place all of my hope in the will of God to sanctify me to make me more like His Son Jesus.  It means that I make my number one priority my relationship with Jesus, because if I let that slip I find that my efforts in ministry are backed with nothing but an anxious heart and a over committed life.  

Spend more time with Jesus and less "doing things for God" and watch God pour out His Spirit.  Then you'll see His mighty power do marvelous things through your efforts, but go around thinking you just need to do more for God and watch yourself get discouraged as you hit roadblock after road block as the passion of your heart dwindles, because you have neglected, Jesus, your first love.  

It's the Small Things Really....

Ever get so caught up in the desire for the next big thing?  

You wish your life was more exciting and you don't see the purpose in the normal, hum drum kind of day.  To you, its the mountain top experiences that matter, but our character and integrity show who we really are on the most average of days.  It is what I do with the little that has been entrusted to me that will snowball into greater things in the long term.  

It's the minor details of the most boring day, that if we were to put aside, over the long haul would have grave effects on our life and the lives of others.  

Neglect washing your dishes and before you know it your entire kitchen is full of crusty cheese and sticky spoons.  Don't wash your son or daughters basketball jersey and oh man, they have just become the stinky kid on the team.  And seriously, no one wants to be that kid! It's the little things that we do, that no one notices that show who we really are. It's not the big moments when we get that award or do that great thing in front of a bunch of people.  Who wouldn't want to give their best in that moment?  It's the small, unnoticed things that reveal who we truly are.  

Don't get too caught up wishing for the next big thing, when today has so much to offer you.  Everyday, is a gift from God, therefore, everyday, deserves our very best for the one who created us.  

And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.- Colossians 3:17

The Redo Button

Ever wanted to press the redo button on your life?

Yeah, me too.

I remember when I was in college and the coach called me up to pinch hit in the varsity game.  I was so excited and nervous at the same time, wow this was my chance to prove to my coach that I could compete at the varsity level.

I remember the pitch, it was the perfect pitch, but I cast my hands just slightly and ended up popping the perfect pitch up.  Ugh....I failed.

I went home and thought about that pitch and how I cast my hands over and over again wishing that I could just hit the redo button, have that at bat one more time and take a line drive into left field instead of a pop up.

Many of us live with deep seeded regrets.  My at bat is not that big of a deal, although it stung at the time it doesn't bring me anymore pain, but maybe your regrets do.  Maybe its painful for you daily, because of something that you said to someone or something that someone did to you that caused a tearing apart of a relationship. Maybe it was a decision that you made that caused your life to go a completely different direction and you wish desperately that you could hit he redo button.

If you live your life full of regrets you'll find out that you will become a very unhappy person.  The truth is that our past can imprison us if we let it.  It happens quickly and before we know it we're held captive to what we wish we would have done or said or not said.

We let it define how we enter into new relationships or situations, we put up walls to protect ourself so the same thing doesn't happen again to us.  Or we live in fear of making the same mistake so we risk taking chances and never live with true freedom, but in bondage to our past regrets.

So, how do we get past fear and into freedom from our past?  How do we go about life being ok with our mistakes realizing that they're apart of a bigger plan?

If I could be really honest with you for a moment I have many fears.  I still kick myself for saying or doing things that I know are stupid, but I have come to a greater understanding that my life is not under my control. There is one who wants to heal me from who I once was and wants to make me a new person and free me from the regrets of my past and the ones of my present.

You know,its a funny thing really.  A lot of us want a redo button and that is exactly what Jesus Christ offers for those who would call out unto Him to rescue them from their wrongdoing and selfishness.  Claim Him as Lord, put Jesus in control of your life and in that moment He presses the redo button.  All your sin, gone.  "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow" -Isaiah 1:18.

Then, the transformation starts to begin.  For me, when I began my journey with the Lord Jesus I knew that my life would never be the same.  I knew that something was different about me.

"If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, the old is gone and the new has come"- 2 Corinthians 5:17

Now, ten years later I've seen Jesus heal me of my past regrets and my present ones too.  My joy and hope are found in Him alone.  Yes, my life might be exactly how I would have drawn it up, but I am content in God's plan for my life.  Whenever I try to take control I just make a mess of it anyways.

Want to press the redo button?  That's good.  You need it.  It's ok to admit that you don't have it all together.  In fact, until you do admit that  you need forgiveness because of the ugliness of your sin you'll never truly be made free. Your life was never meant to be lived alone.  We have to come to an understanding that we are a rebellious people.  We want control and we want our own way, but God offers a way for rebellious, selfish people to be made right with Him and have a new beginning.  For we know that "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved"- Romans 10:13

Without a redo button we remain lost in our sin, but Jesus Christ came, lived a perfect life without sin, paid the penalty for sin by satisfying God's wrath on the cross and conquered death proving that He was everything He said that He was and now He offers you a new beginning.  The thing is that you've got to let go of your life.   He's got the redo button, you need His forgiveness, won't you call out to Him?

Jesus said, "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because He has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.  He has sent me to proclaim freedom for prisoners" Luke 4:18