Preach the Gospel to Yourself Every Day

"So if we want to grow in our love for God and in the acceptable obedience that flows out of that love, we must keep coming back to the Cross and the cleansing blood of Jesus Christ. That is why it is so important that we keep the gospel before us every day. Because we sin every day, and our consciences condemn us every day, we need the gospel every day." Jerry Bridges

The blood of Christ has covered my sins. The only way I can love God is to embrace what He did for me through the cross!

Transformed into His Likeness

"No sin can be crucified either in heart or life, unless it be first pardoned in conscience; because there will be want of faith to receive the strength of Jesus, by whom alone it can be crucified. If it be not mortified (put to death) in its guilt, it cannot be subdued in its power." Robert Haldane

"The cleansing of our consciences from the guilt of sin must precede our efforts to deal with the presence of sin in our daily lives." Jerry Bridges

God's Grace

"God's grace is his active favor bestowing the greatest gift upon those who have deserved the greatest punishment." William Hendricksen

Propitiation

Propitiation in the context of salvation means that which appeases the wrath of God against sin.

How Good is Good Enough?

"Your worst days are never so bad that you are beyond the reach of God's grace. And your best days are never so good that you are beyond the need of God's grace."

As Christians, we often view our standing with God on how "good" of a day spiritually we are having. How good is good enough? We are Christians, but we are also sinners. Christ came to take the punishment and shame we deserved. "Christ has already borne the curses for our disobedience and earned for us the blessings of obedience. As a result, we now look to Christ alone not Christ plus our performance for God's blessings in our lives." In the Old Testament there was the law and believers were counted as righteous based on how well they kept the law. Jesus came to do away with the law and now we have righteousness based on what He did for us on the cross. Christ's righteousness is imputed to us. "The only way we can relate to God is through the blood and righteousness of Jesus Christ." The grace of God is far greater than the guilt of our shame and this frees us up as Christians to not feel condemnation in what we do, but instead feel joy in what God did through His son!

I have had the vivid picture in my head of something my dad said Sunday in his sermon in Mark chapter 12. The picture of Christ walking ahead of the disciples to Jerusalem. The disciples were "amazed" because everyone knew that whatever was going to happen in Jerusalem wasn't going to be good. Jesus knew what was about to happen. For the first time his relationship with the Father was going to be broken, but he was first in the group. He sprinted to become a curse for us.

Overcoming Sin

I haven't posted in awhile due to school and such, but there has been some growth in the past few weeks! I've started a book "How can I change?" for small groups. The book's focus has been about sanctification. I'm not very good at articulating what I read or think most of the time, but God has really given me a mindset that fights off the feelings of condemnation. I understand and have understood that Christ's righteousness was imputed to me by his death on the cross. But there is still sin in my life. His blood covers that, but there should be a change that takes place. I'm not saying salvation by works here, please don't misunderstand me. Here are some things I got from Chapter 3.

"Our union with Christ is dynamic, not static. He has grafted us into a growing relationship."

We died to sin. This doesn't mean that sin is no longer a struggle for us. It does mean that the penalty of sin (death) is no longer a problem for us. Also, we died to the reign of sin. This doesn't mean that we are no longer able to sin because we still do, but it means that we are able not to sin in our union with Christ. In other words, before I came to Christ I was a obligated to sin because of my nature, but because of my union with Christ in his death, I am no longer obligated to sin. I have a desire to not grieve God anymore. There have been several times this week that I have been tempted to sin, but by God's grace, I haven't because of the recollection of these facts in Chapter 3. It's hard for me to have faith at times, but I'm starting to get it. All by God's doing!

Obedience

Do you ever wonder why you feel like you can't hear God speaking his plan in your life? It's probably because you aren't completely focused on listening to him. Or an even scarier reason might be that you haven't obeyed what God has told you so far in your life. If we can't be obedient to things that are straight forward in scripture, how are we to be quiet and hear what God reveals to us when we pray? I need to be more obedient and I need to be still and listen. Amen?

Grace

Every now and then I'll put my macbook on the ground next to my bed when I go to sleep at night. Most nights, I have a glass of water next to my bed too. Last night, I gambled and stuck my macbook 3 feet away from my glass of water on the floor. My cat loves to try to be a person. She'll try to eat food with her paws, she tries to talk, and she tries to drink water out of my glasses. She has knocked over billions of my drinks in the past by trying to drink out of them. Well at 5:30 this morning, she knocked over my 64 oz. drink. I immediately woke up and surveyed the damage. It didn't appear to be too bad as I quickly picked up my computer. There were minimal amounts of water on it. However, when I opened it up, nothing registered! It was a black screen and it was stuck on sleeping. I didn't know what to do. I prayed for God to give me the right heart about the situation. I didn't know if this was his way of saying that my macbook was to much of a prize in my life. I prayed that I would see Christ as my only treasure. My attitude seemed to be pretty good, but I still couldn't get my mind off of me messing up my computer. I stuck my macbook next to a fan and then blow dried it for awhile. 6 hours later my macbook came to life! It is a God thing! He extended more grace than I deserved. This isn't the first time this has happened. God is good. Not because he gives me my wants sometimes, but because he uses things like this to reshape my mind. He is sovereign and can take anything from you in a split second. He should be our one and only treasure.

New Linkin Park Song

The first time I heard Linkin Park was when I was a freshman in high school. All the J.V. players on the basketball team would blast it on the stereo before games. I wasn't big on music back then, but I definitely liked the sound. They played the Jay-Z and Linkin Park remixes along with Linkin Park's regular stuff. The rap/rock mix was so unique. I hadn't heard anything like it before. Eventually I bought the first two Linkin Park albums and quickly they became my favorite band. It took 4 or 5 more years for Linkin Park to come out with a new album. Some members of the band had side projects going on (Fort Minor being one of them). Supposedly, Linkin Park claimed to have a playlist of over a hundred songs, but couldn't decide which ones to put on the new c.d. In 2007, they finally put out Minutes to Midnight. One of the best parts of Linkin Park was the fact that they didn't cuss on their first two albums. However, in Minutes to Midnight, they declared they had more adult themes and lyrics. As it turns out, they cussed in a bunch of the songs on the album. I lost lots of respect for them. Not only that, but the album didn't sound much like the first two albums they put out. I couldn't help but be disappointed. The first single on Minutes to Midnight was called "What I've Done". I really liked it and the lyrics had a pretty good message that you could relate to the gospel. There are a couple of members of the band that say they are Christians.

On my birthday of this year, Linkin Park will release their newest album, A Thousand Suns. I can't say that Linkin Park is my favorite band anymore, but they are probably still in the top 5. The reason I say all of this is because they have released a new single from the upcoming album called "The Catalyst". It is very different! Check it out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bftTUAIVMUQ

It is similar to "What I've Done" in the sense that the lyrics can be related to Christianity. I doubt this is what they intended the lyrics to mean. You'll have to listen to the song first before I can explain my thoughts on how it could be taken one way or the other. Music is up for interpretation by the listener, so I wanna know your thoughts!

Growth

I was reading chapter two in Disciplines for Life and it talks about training yourself to be godly. I believe in God's initiative in salvation. There is plenty of evidence in scripture to support that, but why do I too easily say to myself that my personal growth in God is done completely by him alone? That's foolishness! The truth is God has revealed himself to me and he did make me alive spiritually, there is no doubt about that. I was dead. Dead people can't do anything. As a result of him making me alive, I have a desire to pursue him. That means that I do something with that desire! Take any other relationship in your life. You have to make an effort to talk to the other person, or else there will be no relationship! Relationships are not made by one person. Our relationship with God is not "let go, and let God". We have to read his word, talk to him, listen to him, and be obedient to him.

It's funny when I watch sports and see an amazing athlete and I will neglect to think about how much practice it took for them to get that good. If you want to grow in any area of your life, it takes lots of practice and discipline. As Americans, we tend to say that a person is a natural and doesn't have to work hard to be good at what he or she does. This is ignorance. It takes lots of sacrifice for them to develop their talents.

This quote from Dallas Willard was good:

"The general human failing is to want what is right and important, but at the same time not to commit to the kind of life that will produce the action we know to be right and the condition we want to enjoy."

If we want to grow in godliness, we have to put in the time to grow in this area and ask God for the strength and discipline to do it. That also means, we have to DO it. I pray that the desire of my heart would be to know him more and be obedient to his word.

Radical: Taking Back Your Faith by David Platt

I just finished reading this book. It was pretty challenging and I am not completely sure what to do with it. David Platt challenges you to not live the typical American lifestyle of comfort and convenience. My heart was pricked throughout reading it about how easily I fall into the routine of comfort. The Christian life is the complete opposite. It's a call to die to your flesh. Most people would view suffering as a horrible thing, but really when it is for God's glory it is a gift given to us by God. There were a lot of things that I had heard before in the book. This statement was good though :

"God knows every detail of our lives, and when we step out in faith to follow him, he will show us that our greatest security is not found in the comforts we can manufacture in this world but in the faithful provision of the only one who knows our needs and the only one who is able to meet our needs in every way."

Another challenge that David Platt brings up is to live "radically" for a year. He says only a year, because he wants you to actually live radically so much so that you can't sustain it for more than a year. These are the things he thinks will make a difference in your life if you commit to do them for one year:

1. Pray for the entire world.

2. Read through the entire word.

3. Sacrifice your money for a specific purpose.

4. Spend your time in another context.

5. Commit your life to a multiplying community.

I recommend the book to anyone, especially to those who are tired of sitting around and not doing anything. God has called us to live differently from the world, and this includes making sacrifices. We do not live for ourselves, because it isn't about us. We shouldn't store up short term temporary treasures in this world, because our time here is brief. Instead, we should invest in the kingdom, where there is purpose in sacrificing!

Lately

As we end the month of July, school is drawing near! This year has pretty much flown by for me. I'm almost 21 years old and I am starting UWF and working on an accounting degree. It should be interesting to be at yet another new school. I have been impressed with the front office there so far and how easily things have flowed. Also, football season is coming. I can't help but be a little excited (understatement of the year). But both of these things really aren't the most important to me. I pray that I will treasure Christ above all, because He is the only thing that truly quenches my thirst! Over the past few weeks, He has revealed himself to me through a couple of different avenues. Pray that I will listen to Him and be obedient!

Just Read a Book In 24 hours!

I read Boy Meets Girl by Josh Harris. It was a great book! I highly recommend it! The amount of wisdom that Josh Harris shares is almost overwhelming, but good. I really hope to pursue Christ and never lose sight of Him. I trust God and His sovereignty in my life and I pray that His will will be done in my life. When I focus on God and eternity, every worry or anything that I could possibly be anxious about shrinks. What an amazing God I know!

Exciting!

It's really neat to be able to read a book and for it not to be painful. At times, it is tough for me to read in general. God has been very gracious to me lately as I have been able to read a couple of books without worrying or glancing at what chapter or page I'm on! Praise Him!

Little Mark Is Growing Up...

Lots of changes are coming! Looks like I might have just scored a job at Whataburger. I'm transitioning to UWF starting in August. I have been reading a lot of good stuff lately. I am in decent shape after hiking the Appalachian Trail. I have some good friends of mine that are going off to school in August. It appears God is leading me into a new phase of my life and I am excited to see what He has in store for me. It is going to be different, very much a change in my life. I hope to glorify Him in this transition!

Animals I Saw on the Appalachian Trail

Hiking the Appalachian Trail gave me a great opportunity to see a lot of animals up close. I saw lots of deer! The deer there were pretty fast. They usually ran away as soon as they saw me. However, one time when I was walking the trail, I looked up and a deer was just sitting still and starring me in the face! He was maybe 50 yards away. Then, on my last day of hiking, I saw a big buck and he was even closer! He was only 25 yards away. He sat there and looked at me for awhile. The bugs were bothering him and you could tell because he keep taking his eyes off of me to scratch. He eventually ran away and got bored with me.Also, I saw a little fawn while we were driving one day too. Deer would come up to the shelters and tents all throughout the night. They sometimes seemed unafraid of people, so that was cool.

I saw a lot of squirrels. They are bigger in Virginia than the ones here. They were always a tease. I probably saw a hundred of them. I was always hoping for a bear, but I would turn and look and it was usually a squirrel. On my last day on the trail, I saw a squirrel in the middle of the trail and I just kept getting closer to it. It finally started running from me and I began chasing it. I ended up touching his tail! That was either a slow squirrel or I had some major adrenaline pumping.

I saw all kinds of birds. I don't know the technical names for any of them. They provided natures background music in the woods. Some of the birds sounded likes snakes, monkeys, and frogs. One day, I did see a couple of wild turkeys, so that was pretty cool. The buzzards were amazing to watch when you got to the top of the mountains. They soared with their wings stretched out and they didn't have to flap much. They looked like hawks or eagles. I found myself saying, "waaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr eagle hey!" It should be said that buzzards don't even resist feeding on their own kind. I saw a buzzard with its head completely detached from its body and it looked like another buzzard had been eating it.

Next, I did see a couple of turtles. These turtles were smaller and had hard yellow shells. I saw them quickly try to hide from me.

I did in fact see a bears! Bears were tricky animals to see, because they get away fast. The first bear I saw was when I was hiking uphill one day and I heard rustling of the leaves. We were in a spot that had a lot of green plants grown up, but I did see the back of the bear's head and ears! The next bear I saw was when we were camping the second night out on the trail. I got up to go the bathroom and again I heard something moving, so I shined my flashlight out in the darkness. To my surprise, I saw these two big glowing eyes staring my direction! I am pretty sure it was a bear but it was too dark to confirm. The bear was either coming to try to get our food or eat Sean. I chased the bear off by shining my bright light. The next bear I saw, or bears I should say was when I was staying in a shelter the third to last day. We had already been sleeping for an hour or so, and I heard leaves moving in the distance. I saw TWO things moving and I saw glimpses of glowing eyes again! They wouldn't come closer to the shelter so I never got confirmation that they were two bears, but they stayed there for awhile! Finally, the best thing happened on my last day hiking. I got a full view for however long I wanted to look at him! It was indeed a bear! I was walking along the trail and bam! I heard movement and saw a bear uphill to my right. I yelled to Brian so he would look up too! My yelling startled the bear a little, but he sat down strangely enough. He slowly turned his head to me and looked at me for like 3 seconds! It was amazing. Then, he got up and began to run towards Brian's direction. It was amazing to watch the big creature run parallel in those woods. I'll never forget seeing the bear look at me, it was so cool!

Last but not least, I saw two snakes. The first snake I walked right by without noticing it. It blended in with the ground to me, but Brian and Roger were the ones who told me what I had just passed. It was a pretty small snake in my opinion. The other snake I saw was hiking up the steepest part of the trail for our trip up Three Ridge Mountain. I was hiking up these rocks, and it was really steep and I didn't think there was an end in sight. Suddenly, I saw a black mass shortly ahead of me. Most of the roots from trees stick out on the trail, and they all look like snakes. It was easy to mistake the roots for snakes, but this color could not be mistaken! Plus this snake was coiled up and sitting right in the way of the path! Immediately, I warned Brian about the snake. I probably over-exaggerated about its thickness and length, but I wanted Brian to see! The snake was not slippery looking like all the ones I had ever seen. It was faded looking and had diamond shaped prints all down its body. I took a picture of this snake coiled up and it is on facebook if you want to see it. Since it was in the path, me and Brian went along the outside on the trail (almost falling off the cliff) and avoided the snake. Next, Brian got a huge limb and got the snake to leave the path so the hikers behind us wouldn't get bitten. To our surprise, when the snake moved we saw a huge rattle on the back of its tail! The snake eventually did head up the mountain and away from the path. Seeing that rattlesnake was one of the highlights of the day for sure!

I probably left out some of the animals that I saw. For instance, I saw little orange salamanders on the trail. The animals that I did mention were the ones that stuck out in my mind. It is not every day that you get to encounter these animals. I'm sorry for the poor grammar/randomness of this post, but I just wanted to get my thoughts down.

Back from the Appalachian Trail

The trail was the hardest thing physically/ mentally I have ever had to do! It was great though to accomplish something that wasn't easy. It was a good experience and I definitely needed to get away. I also enjoyed good fellowship on the trip. So now I am back and I am having trouble adjusting back to "civilized" life. I miss the trail in some ways. I miss the exercise, the people, the scenery, the animals, and roughing it. I honestly can see why people go back now. I'll try to post some of my random thoughts about the trip in more detail, but it is hard for me to share the experience. In a way, it is a "had to be there" kind of thing because every moment is a memory it seems like and you don't want to leave out any details. I am so glad I went and I will try to share my journey in the upcoming days.

Well It's Go Time!

I'm off to the Appalachian Trail tomorrow at 3:30 a.m. Fireworks are going off around me, and I can't help but be nervous about forgetting something. I'm all packed up and it seems like I have a lot of stuff. I am excited to get started on the trail. We are going up to Virginia which will be the farthest north I have ever been. I know God has a purpose for me in this trip and I can't wait for all the memories I will make. I'm going to be journaling/ taking pictures as I go, so hopefully I'll be able to blog about the trip when I get home! I'll also be shutting the macbook pro down and giving it some much needed rest. I'll see you guys soon!

First Day of July!

Lots of stuff happening this month! NBA free agency started this morning. It will be interesting to see where all the basketball stars go. Also, I'm fixing to embark on the Appalachian Trail for two weeks. I'm pumped that I get to go do something this summer. I'm looking forward to the challenge that is ahead of me. School will be starting soon and that means football season starts soon! Can't wait!

UWF Orientation

The day started off very early and I was very tired, but I paid 90 bucks for transfer orientation at UWF so I had to go. I heard it was going to be a waste of time and it sure didn't disappoint. My mom was so gracious to me and went and stayed the entire time. I don't deserve someone as unselfish as her and I'm so thankful she went! It was so boring. It poured down rain on our way into the conference center. We escaped the rain and I checked in. They gave me this packet with a bunch of information that wasn't all that informative, but it kept me occupied for the 30 minute wait for the start of orientation. We sat in a room full of people and listened to three four really boring ladies talk and one kind of interesting lady talk. It should be noted that by the second boring lady talking, my stomach was growling big time! I was so hungry and waited to leave. I could tell my mom was way past ready to leave too. Finally, we got to leave and I got my student i.d. card while my mom grabbed lunch in the cafeteria. While in line to get my i.d. card, some people befriended me and started asking me a bunch of questions about myself. I was epically tired but they were just trying to be friendly so I tried to be as social as possible. One of the people was this girl that is transferring to UWF that is from New Mexico! I sure thought that was strange but it was because she wanted to live with her parents one more year and they moved to Pensacola because of the military.

After getting my i.d., I finally got to eat at the cafeteria. They pretty much had everything! I understand why people gain the freshman fifteen at UWF now! I didn't know where to go to get in line so naturally I picked the longest line which happened to be the sub line. I would have switched lines, but this one girl who I met earlier felt the need to tell me her life story. I didn't want to be rude, so I painfully endured listening to her! It was hard. I finally got my food and found my mom and ate. I got a cheeseburger too. It was so good, but that was probably because I was so hungry! After eating, my mom and I went to sign a waiver for a menegitis shot. That should release a hold on my UWF schedule going through and I got my i.d. card earlier, so it was a productive day I suppose.

I'm just glad it's over and now I can relax the rest of the week!

GOOOOOOOOAL!!!

So I just finished watching the USA's last shot at advancing to the next round of the World Cup. I woke up around 8:30 to watch the kick off coverage. Going into the game, the USA just needed to win to advance or for England to draw. The USA got robbed several times on goals with questionable calls, and for most of the game it looked hopeless as England was winning their game. After two hours of watching the game, it went into stoppage time. The officials added 4 minutes to the clock. The USA started their attack and survived a couple of close goals by Algeria. Then, in the 91st minute, the USA got a good pass from Howard (the goalie) and started their attack down field. They got really got close to the goal and shot and missed BUT Landan Donivan rebounded the miss and pounded it into the left side of the goal! After all the time invested into watching the game, I jumped up and started cheering! I felt so happy for our guys! GO USA! If the USA didn't score that goal, then they would have been eliminated from the World Cup. As it turns out the USA won the group with the victory and advances to the next round of the World Cup. This is the first time since 1930 that the USA has won their group!

I Don't Want...

It's official. When I'm all grown up and on my own, I've decided that I don't want two things. These two things are pets and a pool. Let me tell you why. Pets can be expensive and quite annoying. I have spent countless hours cleaning up after my cats and taking care of them. Sure they can be sweet sometimes, but for me it just isn't worth it! As for a swimming pool. Ha! It's so much work to take care of! You have to make sure the water level is right, put the right amount of chemicals in it, vacuum it out, and clean out the basket that filters the water. Those are just a few of the jobs that come with having a pool. I have a greater appreciation for my dad and how well he takes care of our pool since he has left for Hawaii. I'm doing the best I can in his absence. So no pets and no pool for me when I'm on my own!

Tomorrow Morning

I get to drop my parents off at the airport at 6 in the morning. I'm filled with joy just of the thought of them finally getting to have their trip. For years they have dedicated money, time, and stress on young teens off at camp. Finally, they get to have a nice relaxing trip and get to enjoy one another's company! I pray that they would make it safely and that they would have an amazing time. I'm blessed to have two great parents. God has graciously given me so much just by giving me them!

Biking

I went biking for 16 miles today. It was fun, fun, fun! I encountered many yellow flies, two snakes, tons of lizards, and even a little bunny rabbit. I should be pretty sore tomorrow, but I think I could really get into biking. The only bad thing about it is that it makes your butt really sore! Other than that, its really good exercise and it is relaxing. I'll have to do it again real soon!

Stories Behind Auburn Fans Chanting WAR EAGLE!

So when Auburn fans shout, "War Eagle" it is the same thing as saying, "Go Auburn". Like when Alabama fans say, "Roll Tide" when their mascot is an elephant. Here are some stories as to how the War Eagle chant got started:

"War Eagle" is the battle cry of Auburn University. There are several stories about the battle cry, but the most popular myth was originally published in 1960 in the Auburn Plainsman and was conceived by then-Editor Jim Phillips. Phillips told the story of the first time Auburn met Georgia on the football field in 1892 and centered the story around a spectator who was a veteran of the Civil War.

In the stands with him that day was a golden eagle the old soldier had found on a battlefield during the war. He had kept it as a pet for almost 30 years. According to the story, the eagle suddenly broke free and began majestically circling the playing field. As the eagle soared, Auburn began a steady march toward the Georgia end zone for a thrilling victory. Elated at their team's play and taking the bird's presence as an omen of success, Auburn students and fans began to yell "War Eagle" to spur on their team. At the game's end, the eagle took a sudden dive, crashed into the ground, and died, giving his spirit to the Auburn fans. The battle cry "War Eagle" lived on to become a phrase of proud Auburn spirit.

The 1914 contest with the Carlisle Indians provides another story. The toughest player on the Indians' team was a tackle named Bald Eagle. Trying to tire the big man, Auburn began to run play after play at his position. Without even huddling, the Auburn quarterback would yell "Bald Eagle," letting the rest of the team know that the play would be run at the imposing defensive man. Spectators, however, thought the quarterback was saying "War Eagle," and in unison, they began to chant the resounding cry.

Another version of the War Eagle story comes from Indian lore. Legend says "War Eagle" was the name given to the large golden eagle by the Plains Indians because the eagle furnished feathers for use in their war bonnets. The rarest but most historically likely version of the origin of the "War Eagle" cry grew from a 1913 pep rally at Langdon Hall where students had gathered the day before the Georgia football game. Cheerleader Gus Graydon told the crowd, "If we are going to win this game, we'll have to get out there and fight, because this means war." During the frenzy, another student, E. T. Enslen, dressed in his military uniform, noticed something had dropped from his hat. Bending down, he saw it was the metal emblem of an eagle that had been loosened while he cheered. Someone asked him what he had found, and Enslen loudly replied, "It's a War Eagle!" History was made as the new cry echoed throughout the stadium the next day as Auburn battled Georgia.

Another version is that two students shouting at each other at a pep rally said something that was misinterpreted to be "War Eagle" thus the birth of the battle cry.

College Expansion

Well turns out, Texas decided to stay put which means the Big 12 (now there are only 10 teams) is still intact. Nebraska is officially in the Big 10 (which has 12 teams now) and Colorado is in the Pac 10 (which now has 11 teams). Interesting stuff. The SEC had a pretty good shot at adding Texas A & M if Texas decided to leave for the Pac 10. However, Texas stayed put and the SEC didn't over react and played it's cards right. I still say the SEC is the best conference top to bottom although I do have more respect for the Big 1o now that they can have a championship game. That is all for now with talks of expansion, but things could change in the near future. War Eagle!

Mud Pies in the Slum

Why do we settle for mediocrity in the Christian life, yet we live lives of excessiveness in all other areas of our live. Think about it. We would rather overwork ourselves to make more money. Then we say "Work hard, play hard!" so we can have enough money to entertain ourselves to death. We have buffets in which we eat as much as we possibly can and get drunk with as much alcohol as we can consume. This is American culture. Everyone has a passion. We waste our passion for temporary, foolish things. The consequence on wasting your life on hobbies, sports, or whatever it may be is an unsatisfying end. This C.S. Lewis quote comes to mind:

"If we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered to us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased."

Let's turn towards Christ and stop living as if we weren't saved from anything! I pray that I would seek Christ!

A Busy Day in Sports

USC is banned from post season play for two years, will be stripped of scholarships, and vacate wins from atleast 2004 possibly 2005. Tom Izzo (Michigan State Head Coach) is currently being wooed by the Cleveland Cavaliers and is expected to take their head coaching job. Colorado has joined the Pac 10 Conference and Nebraska is expected to accept an invitation to join the Big 10 Conference. This should completely shake up the landscape of college football and we'll start to see a series of mega conferences. This should move college football one step closer to a playoff instead of the BCS. If you care about hockey, the Chicago Blackhawks won their first Stanley Cup in 49 years. Steven Strausburg is the real deal rookie pitcher for the Washington Nationals as he strikes out 14 batters in his first start. Lebron and other superstars could be switching teams in the NBA. Oh and speaking of the NBA, the finals are going on right now between the rival Celtics and Lakers. My thoughts on all of these stories when I get more facts. In the meantime I'll try to catch my breath....

The Lizard

If you are reading this, you probably shouldn't mention this to my mom. But yesterday, I was reading in the living room and I noticed a lizard next to the back door. Now if you know my mom, then you know: #1 She hates lizards and #2 She hates lizards in the house. So, I was just hoping to get this thing out of the house before she found out! This was quite the interesting lizard. He started changing colors to try to blend in with his surroundings. First, I tried to sick my cats on the lizard. In my cats' younger years they had been known to torture an animal or two so I thought this would work. However, now, my cats are old. So naturally they didn't want anything to do with the lizard. Next, I tried to to pick the lizard up and throw him out. But lizards are quick creatures and I wasn't able to accomplish this task. As a result, the lizard went into hiding. I kept this on the dl because my mom wouldn't have been able to sleep knowing there was a lizard in the house. Skip ahead to this morning, and I see the crafty little lizard in the same spot by the door. I quickly act and get a broom and head over to the little guy. The lizard didn't go out without a fight! In fact, he tried to go into hiding again, but I wouldn't allow it this time. I had to move a few bookcases to get to him, but I finally succeeded in sweeping the lizard out of the house! I feel quite accomplished.

Sin

I was reading a little bit of When Sinners Say I Do and it came to my attention that I tend to divide my sins as little sins and big sins. But Harvey makes a good point. All sins are against God, so all sins ARE BIG SINS. It's not that I downplay my sins, it's just that I feel worse about some sin over other sins. I need God's grace! Although by the blood of Christ on the cross I have his righteousness, I still sin. I press on though and ask forgiveness! What a merciful God I serve and what a awesome Savior! We wouldn't need a Savior if we didn't need to be saved from something. Even though I'm justified by God, I still have great sin, and it just increases my need for a great Savior!

Lest Your Deeds Be Exposed

Also while I was cutting the grass today, I noticed a snake in the yard. At first, I got real excited because I had personally never gotten the opportunity to kill a snake before. So I got an axe and made my way to the snake. It was creeping between some trees in our backyard. It looked like it was within striking distance, so I took and swing and before I could breathe again the snake crawled quickly back into the darkness of the trees. I was disappointed, but I knew he couldn't hide in there much longer. So when the snake came out I was ready..... or not! I swung and missed again. The snake crawled back into the darkness. I attempted one more time when the snake came out and missed a third time. I couldn't help but think of the garden of Eden and how the serpent deceived Adam and Eve. God created an evil, cunning, sly, and slippery snake and his creation is perfect. The snake is deceptive and I swung and missed three times, and where did the snake go? He crawled back into the darkness, so I wouldn't kill him. I know I'm going to kill the snake, when he comes into the light.

Cutting the Grass

Today, after I went to the beach, I cut the grass. As I was cutting the grass, I began thinking of of a friend who has recently made some bad decisions that I have fallen into before. I haven't talked with this friend since he went off to school. However, we have shared some good times together and we even went to the Passion Conference a few years back. I'm ashamed to say I haven't talked much about spiritual things with him much at all, but I feel like he has experienced Christ before. I was thinking about rooming with this friend and some other guys I know next year at FSU but I really feel like the Lord was telling me to go to UWF instead. Before God revealed this to me, I visited this friend and I was wondering where he went to church and I was excited to go there on the Sunday before I headed back to Pace. We stayed up really late on Saturday night and into Sunday morning and when it was time to go to church, everyone was left snoozing. I was pretty disappointed in my friend and I had noticed that his priorities were not where I had thought they were. Anyways, I think that was the point where I noticed a change in him, and it wasn't good.

As I began thinking of my friend, I really felt like God was telling me to share some words of encouragement tonight with him. I don't exactly know what I'm supposed to say to him, or if I will even get the opportunity. However, I do know that I will see him tonight. Pray that if the opportunity opens up, that I would be able to speak what God places on my heart and that I would be a light for Christ to this friend.

A Special Night for the Pepsi Guy

So in case you didn't know, I fill the Pepsi machines at Pace High School. I like my job. I like filling machines up with delicious Pepsi products. It gives me a great sense of accomplishment. However, the past weeks have been kind of disappointing. The person in charge of ordering the drinks has left me hanging and has not ordered any drinks for the machines. As a result, the machines have been empty. It brings me great sorrow to think of a kid not getting his daily Diet Sunkist for lunch. Wednesdays are typically big shipment days, so I usually work for a long time on Wednesday nights. To my joy, I finally got a big shipment of drinks today. This afternoon Bethany helped me fill up some machines for an hour. She is such a great sister! Then, after care groups tonight, I went and did two more hours worth of drinks. It is with great pleasure that I can say most of the machines are fully stocked and ready for the students tomorrow at Pace High.

Now this was a special night, but there is more to being the Pepsi guy than one would want to know. I don't like doing drinks while students are present because often kids beg me for free drinks and that is just annoying. Since I don't do drinks during the day, I have to do them at night. This usually means I'm up there all alone in the darkness and creepiness of Pace High School. There are some creepy things that go on behind the doors of Pace when no one is watching. I won't tell the horror stories on this blog post because I can honestly say I have become numb to everything that goes on there at night.

It should also be said that I have befriended the janitors and that we have a good time. That is pretty sad, but they are likable people. I know I wouldn't want to do their job, so I have respect for them.

Tonight, a new memory was added to my collection. I was filling up some machines next to the weight room, when I noticed a huge roach that looked like it was on steroids. Then suddenly, the roach started flying! I thought I was dreaming at first, but then I blinked and it really was flying! I started working a little faster and then I noticed more flying roaches coming towards me. These things were the biggest roaches I had ever seen and I was wondering why there were so many of them grouped together. To make a long story short, I was finished with the machines and was trying to make my way back but the army of flying roaches were blocking me. It was at that point that I decided it was time to release my wrath on the roaches! Crunch by crunch, I killed off the roaches. I felt like Leonidus in the movie 300. I think I even belted out, "THIS IS SPARTA!" It was a satisfying ending to a full night of drinks.

Joy Doubled in the Joy of Another

I've been slowly reading through Desiring God by John Piper and this is a quote from the end of the chapter on love.

"Love is the overflow of joy in God that meets the needs of others. The overflow is experienced consciously as the pursuit of our joy in the joy of another. We double our delight in God as we expand it in the lives of others. If our ultimate goal were anything less than joy in God, we would be idolaters and no eternal help to anyone.Therefore, the pursuit of pleasure is an essential motive for every good deed. And if you aim to abandon the pursuit of full and lasting pleasure, you cannot love people or please God."

Love

Is loving someone always telling them nice fluffy things that they want to hear? Or does it mean saying the hard things for the betterment of the person? When someone rebukes my behavior or tells me the truth, my initial reaction is: "They are wrong!", or "They just don't like me." I later realize the truth that these people speak into my life is good! Although I have a sinful nature, I pray that God would change my heart and make me more receptive to the truth.

Desiring God Chapter 4 on Worship

Here are some really good quotes from John Piper's book on worship. These quotes mean a lot to me in light of where I have been and what I was taught about worship the last year or so. Good stuff.

"Truth without emotion produces dead orthodoxy and a church full (or half- full) of artificial admirers (like people who write generic anniversary cards for a living). On the other hand, emotion without truth produces empty frenzy and cultivates shallow people who refuse the discipline of rigorous thought. But true worship comes from people who are deeply emotional and who love deep and sound doctrine. Strong affections for God rooted in truth are the bone and marrow of biblical worship."

"These are some of the affections of the heart that keep worship from being in vain. Worship is a way of gladly reflecting back to God the radiance of His worth. It is not a mere act of willpower by which we perform outward acts. Without the engagement of the heart, we do not really worship. The engagement of the heart in worship is the coming alive of feelings and emotions and affections of the heart. Where feelings for God are dead, worship is dead."

"It also becomes clear why it is not idolatrous and man-centered to say that our emotions are ends in themselves. It is not man-centered because of the emotions of our worship are centered on God. We look away from ourselves to Him and only then do the manifold emotions of our heart erupt in worship."

"Misguided virtue smothers the spirit of worship. The person who has the vague notion that is is virtue to overcome self-interest, and that it is vice to seek pleasure, will scarcely be able to worship. For worship is the most hedonistic affair of life and must not be ruined with the least thought of disinterestedness. The great hindrance of worship is not that we are a pleasure-seeking people, but that we are willing to settle for such pitiful pleasures."

Since It's About Christ...

As christians we preach the gospel and live out the gospel. What does that mean exactly? Well it does mean having a solid theology and worshipping God in spirit and in truth. However, I have gotten in the ditch of thinking it's all about having a solid theology. Which having a solid theology is important, but what do I do with that theology? Often times, I neglect to love others the way Christ did! How foolish of me! Even though we don't share the same view of God as other Christians and unbelievers, it should not keep us from loving them. I've been reading a few things lately, and I am blown away by Christ when he was at Jacob's Well with the Samaritan woman. I encourage you to read that story again. Jesus constantly preached to people and fellowshipped with others and LOVED people that didn't understand who he was. We can give others grace, because we have been given grace, and we can love because Jesus came to earth and showed us what love really is! If you think you are loving, read the gospels again, because Christ loved better than we are capable of! Pray that I will be more loving in the way that Jesus loved others.

OUCH!

I don't know why I go months in between leg work outs! Today at the gym, I worked out lower body with some squats, weighted lunges, and some calf raises. All I can say is O U C H! I expected my ankle to be sore, but it turns out that my knee is bothering me! Either way you slice it, I have to start working out legs more often to get ready for hiking some of the Appalachian Trail in July. My legs are very shaky already, which is funny because you usually don't feel a good work out until 24 hours after you do it. I'm going to have lots of fun sitting down the next few days!

2004 Auburn Tigers

2004 was the best football I ever witnessed Auburn play in my lifetime. They had it all! Offense, defense, and special teams. They went undefeated and most of the games weren't even close. But, the problem was that Auburn started the season ranked 18th in the polls while USC and Oklahoma were ranked in the top 10. Sure enough, all three teams went through their schedules with perfection. The BCS ultimately chose Oklahoma and USC in the national championship game over a perfect Auburn team that came out of the best conference in the nation. This still puzzles me to this day! Well to make a long story short, Auburn won its bowl game against Virginia Tech and finished the season undefeated. USC crushed Oklahoma 59 to 14 in the national championship game. I wished Auburn would have atleast gotten a shot at USC, but you can't change the past. Or can you? There has been an ongoing investigation that Reggie Bush, the Heisman trophy winner in 2004, and his family received money and were given a house while he was at USC. Because USC cheated, the NCAA is considering stripping USC of the 2004 national championship and Reggie Bush of his Heisman trophy. Guess who gets it if it is taken from USC? Yep, you guessed it! Auburn! Although no one really cares except Auburn fans, it should be noted that the 2004 Auburn team paved the way for future SEC teams getting in the national championship. You see, after Auburn got jipped in 2004, future SEC teams got the benefit of the doubt. In fact, Florida won the national championship with 1 loss seasons, and LSU won with a 2 loss season! I was bitter for a long time, and I still wish Auburn could have played USC for the championship on the field, but you can't go back in time. All I know, is that the 2004 Auburn team deserves a national championship and I hope they are awarded the trophy if USC did cheat. War Eagle!

The past few days

Monday I encountered an intense hail storm. I learned it's best not to drive in intense weather! I think it was like quarter sized hail! I was kinda taken back by it. I couldn't help but think of God's glory and how he created something as intense as hail.

Tuesday was pretty boring, and it ended in watching my Magic lose. It doesn't look good as far as winning the series goes. The Magic are now down 0 to 2 in the series as it goes back to Boston, but you never know.

Wednesday was a bit of a bipolar day. It started out in boredom. For some reason I was tired and had a bad attitude all day. Then I went to care groups at night and my whole attitude changed. I think that was a God thing. Praise God that just a taste of His word can change my heart!

And here I am on Thursday. I slept in and went to the gym for the first time since my injury. I certainly had missed it. I like coming back from an injury. I feel like the cards are stacked against me and I'm trying to come back stronger. My ankle is healing nicely. I'm taking it slow, but there is certainly progress. I can't wait to start back running, racquetball, ultimate frisbee, and basketball! It's only a matter of time.....

How do we share what we believe with people who don't share the same theology as we do?

Does anybody have an answer to this question? I've talked to my dad about it, and I like what he said. He said something along the lines of that we should speak positively of Christ. It is hard to give people grace when they don't see things the same way I do, but I really believe this is an area in my life where I need to grow. Instead of telling others why the way they see things is wrong, I can speak of how gracious God has been to me even though I don't deserve it and how I now have His righteousness and how Christ is my treasure and He alone satisfies. I understand that these words are often cliches in the Christian life, but for me it is real! I pray that I would live out what I believe about Christ in a way that wouldn't draw attention to myself, but instead, would stir other's for craving Him.

For anyone reading this: How do you interact/talk with people about God with people that don't share your same view about God?

Quote from Young, Restless, and Reformed

"The problem with Calvinists is that they go full stream into arguments with others over the sovereignty of God because they think God's glory is at stake..... But arguing over this actually defeats the very belief that God is the one who sovereignly changes hearts and the will. By arguing you prove you don't really believe the things you claim to believe.....Humility acknowledges that we all need sovereign grace in our lives, and this glorifies our God"

I'm so guilty of this! I'm actually worse than this I would say. I don't try to convince people that Calvinism or the doctrines of grace are right to glorify God often times, instead I try to convince them so I will be right. That's so sinful! That in itself is pride. I pray that the words I speak would not be said to lift myself up or to make myself look good, but instead exult Christ and make Him look big. I should look for ways to glorify Christ without pounding my chest in pride. Amen?

Some Good Quotes from Don't Waste Your Life by John Piper

I recently read Don't Waste Your Life by John Piper. I tried to read it several times before, but it seemed over my head. A friend of mine (David Chambers) gave the book to me when I graduated from high school, and wrote a letter saying how much it meant to him. I can see why, because it really challenged me as well. This book definitely gave me a bigger view of God. About half the book is "quote worthy", but here are just a few of them:

"For many people, this is not obviously an act of love. They do not feel loved when they are told that God created them for his glory. They feel used. This is understandable given the way love has been almost completely distorted in our world. For most people, to be loved is to be made much of. Almost everything in our Western culture serves this distortion of love. We are taught in a thousand ways that love means increasing someone’s self-esteem. Love is helping someone feel good about themselves. Love is giv- ing someone a mirror and helping him like what he sees.

This is not what the Bible means by the love of God. Love is doing what is best for someone. But making self the object of our highest affections is not best for us. It is, in fact, a lethal distraction. We were made to see and savor God—and savoring him, to be supremely satisfied, and thus spread in all the world the worth of his presence. Not to show people the all-satisfying God is not to love them. To make them feel good about them- selves when they were made to feel good about seeing God is like taking someone to the Alps and locking them in a room full of mirrors."

"This vision of life holds out to students and young adults so much more than the emptiness of mere success or the orgy of spring break. Here is not just a body, but a soul. Not just a soul, but a soul with a passion and a desire. Not just a desire for being liked or for playing softball or collecting shells. Here is a desire for something infinitely great and beautiful and valuable and satisfying—the name and the glory of God—'Your name and renown are the desire of our hearts.'..........But whatever you do, find the God-centered, Christ-exalting, Bible-saturated passion of your life, and find your way to say it and live for it and die for it. And you will make a difference that lasts. You will not waste your life."

"Christ is the glory of God. His blood-soaked cross is the blazing center of that glory. By it he bought for us every blessing—temporal and eternal. And we don’t deserve any. He bought them all. Because of Christ’s cross, God’s elect are destined to be sons of God. Because of his cross, the wrath of God is taken away. Because of his cross all guilt is removed, and sins are forgiven, and perfect righteousness is imputed to us, and the love of God is poured out in our hearts by the Spirit, and we are being conformed to the image of Christ.

Therefore every enjoyment in this life and the next that is not idolatry is a tribute to the infinite value of the cross of Christ—the burning center of the glory of God. And thus a cross-centered, cross-exalting, cross-saturated life is a God-glorifying life—the only God-glorifying life. All others are wasted."

"The opposite of being shamed is being honored. Yes, usually. But Paul was a very unusual per- son. And Christians ought to be very unusual people. For Paul, the opposite of being shamed was not his being honored, but Christ’s being honored through him. “It is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that . . . Christ will be honored in my body.”

What you love determines what you feel shame about. If you love for men to make much of you, you will feel shame when they don’t. But if you love for men to make much of Christ, then you will feel shame if he is belittled on your account. And Paul loved Christ more than he loved anything or anyone. “Whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord” (Philippians 3:7-8)."

"It is good to work and have. It is better to work and have in order to give. God’s glory shines more brightly when he satisfies us in times of loss than when he provides for us in times of plenty. The health, wealth, and prosperity “gospel” swallows up the beauty of Christ in the beauty of his gifts and turns the gifts into idols. The world is not impressed when Christians get rich and say thanks to God. They are impressed when God is so satisfying that we give our riches away for Christ’s sake and count it gain."

"Forgiveness is essentially God’s way of removing the great obstacle to our fellowship with him. By canceling our sin and paying for it with the death of his own Son, God opens the way for us to see him and know him and enjoy him forever. Seeing and savoring him is the goal of forgiveness. Soul-satisfying fel- lowship with our Father is the aim of the cross. If we love being forgiven for other reasons alone, we are not forgiven, and we will waste our lives."

"What, then, is the root motivation for being a forgiving per- son? “Forgive one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” We are to forgive “as God . . . forgave” us. God forgave us in such a way that infinite joy in his fellowship becomes ours. God is the goal of forgiveness. He is also the ground and the means of forgiveness. It comes from him; it was accomplished through his Son; and it leads people back to him with their sins cast into the deepest sea. Therefore the motive for being a forgiving person is the joy of being freely and joyfully at home with God. At great cost to himself God gave us what we needed above all things: himself for our enjoyment forever. God’s forgiveness is important for one reason: It gives us God!"

Well, I could quote so much more, but at this point I'm just going to urge you to read the book if you haven't! There is so much richness in this book and you are missing out if you don't read it, and you might be wasting your life.

Life on Crutches

One of the bright spots (there aren't many) is that I have something to blog about. I'm starting to get the hang of crutches. I think my wrists and arms are more sore than my fractured ankle. Am I being counter productive? Speaking of being productive, I feel fat, lazy, and helpless! I am so blessed with the people in my life though. I am completely worthless and everyone has helped me get my food, given me rides, and helped me with my job. This is a humbling experience, but I think there is a lesson to be learned here. I believe God wants to show me the importance of serving. I have been shown an unbelievable amount of grace. I only hope that I can serve others when I'm recovered. Also, God is showing me how to receive. Like I said, it takes a toll on my pride to have people do things for me. I have come to realize how prideful I am. Pride is sin. Sin is thinking it's about you, when it's really about God. God has given me everything, and I deserve nothing. That makes Him so much bigger. Pray that I will be able to receive from others and that I wouldn't let my ego get in the way of what God is doing.

Childbirth Has Rights to a 10

So for the Brian Regan fans out there, you've probably heard his joke about the ER. It turns out that I had my first ER experience this morning. From the time I drove in the parking lot, to the time I left the place I was quoting his jokes. Apparently they "have" to ask you a series a questions. One of the questions they ask is "How would you rate your pain?" Of course they have to ask that one atleast three times or else they aren't doing their job. Like Brian, I felt childbirth deserves a perfect 10, so i rated myself a 3. This was probably a mistake. There weren't any other patients in the place and I still waited for over an hour! Live and learn I guess. I think the reason they make you wait so long in the ER is so that everyone won't come up there when they get a tummy ache or a bruise. In that case, I don't mind waiting. Since my ankle looks like an oversized blueberry on steroids, I felt like it was time to get it looked at. Over an hour later, they took x rays and it turned out to be a chip in a part of my ankle. So it looks like I will be out of commission for a couple of weeks. I will be on crutches (I'm horrible at it now) for the time being. I already know I take walking for granted, so this will be a very humbling experience. I feel myself getting very fat even as I type this blog post. All joking aside, I hope I can glorify God in some way going through this experience. He is so good to me!

Midnight Movies

Why would anyone want to stay up so late just to see a movie when it first comes out into the wee hours of the morning? Im glad you asked! It's more of a fellowship thing. The excitement builds for the movie and you actually to enjoy the experience. You get to catch up with people you haven't seen for a long time. In a normal movie, talking is viewed as a felony, but at a midnight movie there is plenty of time to talk beforehand. Another thing about midnight movies is that they show the best previews to peak your interest and you are actually there for the previews and not rushing to get to the theatre in time. At midnight movies, you can actually get your money's worth for the large popcorn and drinks in all the refill trips you make. Last of all, an early morning trip to Waffle House always tops things off right.

Midnight movies attended: (in order) 1. The Dark Knight, 2. Transformers II, 3. New Moon, 4. Iron Man II

Care Group Last Night

Great fellowship, great food, and great fun. These things describe TGI Friday's , but they also describe the first meeting of care groups last night. I am really looking forward to what God is going to work in me through this group. The list of things that we decided on doing from a fellowship aspect is a bit long and might take a couple of years to do! It's exciting to be around people who like to have fun!

Spiritual Anorexia

I've had this thought pop up in my head several times over the last few months. It's the idea of spiritual anorexia. If you take one look at me, you'd see that I'm no stranger to food. In fact, I rarely skip a meal. Sure, there are times when I get very hungry, but those times are always followed by me eating to satisfy that hunger. There is a common analogy that I've heard a few times that compares reading God's word to spiritual food. The Bible is filled with things that build us up in the faith and nourish us. So as believers, we look at the Bible as a type of spiritual food. Some other "spiritual foods" for me would include listening to sermons, listening to christian music, and thinking about everything God has created for his glory. So why is it that I often forget to feed myself spiritual food, but rarely forget to feed myself burgers and fries? I can come up with many excuses, but none of them would describe the joy that I'm depriving myself of. You see, I've come to realize that spiritual food is so much more satisfying than the junk I eat everyday. If I wait until Sunday morning to eat, and that is my only meal for the week, I have missed out on so much and am completely empty. I believe reading books and listening to music that stir my affections for Christ throughout the week really fills me up! In fact, I crave more and get a bigger appetite. I don't want to suffer from spiritual anorexia. I also don't want to be "spiritually bulimic" and not apply what i learn from spiritual food. My prayer is that I would be completely satisfied. And the only thing that is truly satisfying is Christ!

Joining the Blogging Word

Well, I finally started a blog. I think it's important to write down your thoughts and I enjoy sharing my thoughts, so why not start a blog? The purpose of writing my thoughts down is varied. I intend to write about what is going on in my spiritual life, and things that could benefit others. However, I'll post things that are silly and don't matter in light of eternity from time to time.