Time for another weekend

I skipped basketball on Wednesday, so it was good to play today. We did the usual... won one, lost one. We had our review for our last Calculus exam before the final (which happens on Monday). Our teacher actually held us nearly 45 minutes after class was officially over to finish up the review. As much as I don't enjoy staying so long after class, it was a very profitable 45 minutes. Actually, prayers would be greatly appreciated for this because I will not have much study time this weekend with the memorial service. I decided to do the song "Knowing You." It is hard for me to sing a song like that when I don't think he knew Christ as His savior, but I know that the Lord will provide the strength to get through it. He is always good! Bible study was a blessing as usual. I messed up quite a bit in leading worship, but I know God is honored by our messed up praises too. :) Bible study was on the shorter end tonight due to the fact that several people had to go to a concert for the music program. I think everyone was pretty exhausted tonight. Thanksgiving break will be nice!

Just a quick note on something I was thinking about during Bible study. Mr. Babb talked about counting the cost of following Christ. The question is often asked, "would you be willing to die for Christ?" I would say, yes! I am ready to be with Him right now if it is His will. The not so pleasant questions comes when you ask why I do not always live for Christ. If I would be willing to die for Christ, why wouldn't I live for Christ. I would argue that it is much easier to die for Christ than it is to live for Christ. There are so many small things that get in the way of living completely for Christ. Paul urges us to not entangle ourselves with the things of this life, but to run the race that God has set before us (Hebrews 12:1-2). Let us be faithful followers of Christ!

When we see Him!

Today was probably the best day I've had in a long time. I felt pretty well studied up for my sign language test, and I think it went well. On test days, I often push my time in the Word back until after the exam, but I need to stop doing that. I had a good time in the Word this morning. I guess it is all the more motivation to study harder so that I am not cramming early in the morning. I did not get much studying for my physics quiz in, but God was gracious and I aced my physics quiz despite my lack of preparation. Not only that, but my teacher graded my labs and I got 100% on all of those. This was a concern to me because we had not received any grades back, and he has a specific format that he wants all of our lab reports in. God is good! 1 Corinthians 15:10 is so true! It is only by God's grace that I am what I am.

At the end of 1 Corinthians 15, Paul talks about when we are resurrected. Stuff like this really encourages me to keep pressing on in what He calls me to do. We need to keep depending on Christ, because He is the One that brings the victory! Look at the words of the last verse... be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord. Let us be soft-hearted, strong willed christians, because He is our foundation!

But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, "death is swallowed up in victory. O, death, where is your victory? O, death, where is your sting?" The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.

The Light of God's Word

This morning, I wasn't feeling completely well, so I decided that sleep was probably better than playing basketball. I am thankful for a mom that wakes me up for class after I've turned off my alarm. It was one of those mornings where you want just five more minutes of sleep, which results in you falling completely asleep. I really do appreciate her for looking after me like she does. :) This afternoon, I took Christina to Cal baptist for Choral Union. It is rather relaxing to study while listening to over 200 voices singing God's praise. It's awesome! After I got tired of studying for my sign language test, I went to the practice rooms and enjoyed a time of meditating on God's Word, and singing to Him. You may find this strange, but I really enjoy silence. It seems like it is in those times that God speaks the most (or more likely He is speaking all along, and I am not hearing Him because of the distractions around me). I was thinking about the whole memorial service, and what to say or do. God brought these verses to mind.

1 Corinthians 14:24-25
But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or an ungifted man enters, he is convicted by all, he is called to account by all; the secrets of his heart are disclosed; and so he will fall on his face and worship God, declaring that God is certainly among you.

When we shine God's light on the people that are living in darkness, God uses that to convict them so that they WILL fall on their faces and worship God. How amazing is that? I look forward to this weekend. I know that Pastor Tim will do an excellent job of proclaiming God's truth. I am praying that God would do exactly what this passage says in the hearts of many unsaved relatives. They need Christ! I still don't know exactly what I will do or say. Mom thinks I should play/sing a song, but I have yet to come up with a song that seems appropriate. Regardless, pray that God would fill us with His boldness. I was reminded again that there is never too high a price to pay for someone's soul. If you have any ideas for me, let me know.

The Love Chapter

I had a couple unpleasant surprises today at school. The first one was the announcement of our sign language exam on Thursday, the second was the surprised quiz in Physics. I think I did okay on the Physics quiz. I had the right idea anyway, but I still wouldn't call it fun. I forgot to say yesterday that God has provided a wonderful little chapel for the memorial service on Sunday afternoon at 2 pm. Calvary Chapel Bible College has been extremely gracious to us by allowing us to use their facility for free! I still haven't decided exactly what I'll be doing at the service, so if you could pray for God to direct me, that would be great!

I read 1 Corinthians 13 (the love chapter) today. One thing that I hadn't noticed before was the context. Chapter 12 talks all about spiritual gifts, and the importance of using them for the building up of the body of Christ, then chapter 13 talks about the worthlessness of all of these things without love. I often fall into the habit of just reading a familiar passage without really looking at what it really is saying. Today, I was thinking about how amazing it would be to know everything, or have amazing faith. Could you imagine walking on water, or moving a mountain? How about knowing everything that will happen before it happens? That would be pretty incredible, but verse 2 says that we can have all of these things and be worth absolutely nothing if we are missing the key ingredient--LOVE. I need a godly love for the people around me. Loving people like Christ loved them is not an easy thing. Pastor Tim said something on Sunday that really hit me hard. He said something like, "If you only had an effect on one person during your whole life, would it be worth it?" The answer of course is yes, but do we live like this? The eternal destination of someone is such an important thing, and yet I put my comfort before my love for them. Oh, how I wish that I would get past myself and love others like Christ does.

Spiritual Gifts

This morning, I was able to play basketball without having to be done by 7 am. Yay for no class today! Two hours of basketball is a ton of fun, but a bit tiring too. Unlike the last couple times, I was actually making baskets. Warm-up really does help. I did a lot of random running around during the day. My mom gave me money and told me to go grocery shopping. That was something I hadn't done in a while. Lacey (our dog) needed a hair cut, so I took her for that and got some flowers for the garden. This evening, I spent some time with one of my good friends who is moving to Texas as soon as their house is sold. Friends are definitely a blessing from the Lord!

This morning, I read about spiritual gifts in 1 Corinthians 12. When I think about it, there are very few people that are trying to fill in for holes in the body of Christ. I have felt at times that I didn't have any opportunities to serve, but as Pastor Tim pointed out, when we get involved in the lives of others (personal ministry), all of a sudden we realize that we don't have nearly enough time to accomplish all the work that there is. Paul talks about how we are each a critical part of the body of Christ. We must do our part! If part of the body is not working properly, the whole body suffers, so we need to not only do our part, but encourage others as they do their part. Each of us (assuming that you are a christian), has been given one or more spiritual gifts for the purpose of serving others within the body of Christ (the church). I would challenge you to figure out what those God given gifts are, and start using them in every way that you can. It is a great joy to serve the Lord with the gifts and abilities that He has given me. I'm not saying that I always serve the Lord, or that I have some great spiritual gift or talent above what anyone else has, but God does tend to bless those that are obedient to Him. Part of this obedience is making use of what He has given to you. My prayer is that you would find joy in serving the Lord.

True Love for God

The messages this morning was about true love for God. We studied 1 John 2:3-6.

By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. The one who says, "I have come to know Him," and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected By this we know that we are in Him: the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.

Having the "fuzzy-feelings" for God is not always love for God. When those feelings lead to obedience, that is true love for God. Pastor Tim gave us a great definition of love: "Selfish acts on someone else's behalf." In other words, wanting and acting on the absolute best of someone else for their benefit. In order to love God, we must pay careful attention to His Word, and be obedient to it. The word abide in this case literally means "to stay there." Just sitting and doing nothing is NOT abiding in Him! Sin can easily lure us away from God when we become stagnate in our relationship with Christ. Relationships require work, and a lot of it. A relationship with Christ requires work too! This work is pursuing Christ-likeness. There is no such thing as a healthy relationship with God without the pursuit of Christ-likeness. Let us press on to walk worthy of the calling with which we are called (Ephesians 4:1).

Long day

The four of us that were at home went to Cal baptist this morning and played ultimate frisbee. My team got pretty much slaughtered at the end. It was fun all the same. After that, we got some lunch and threw the baseball around a bit, and went to a play that was going on at Cal baptist. To be completely honest, I really didn't care for it. I found several things on the offensive end. I hate to say that when so many people I know have put so much work into this thing. The use of magic to manipulate people is really not appealing to me. Especially since we have been talking about this kind of thing in Bible study. We are not to take part in these things. I realize that it was just a play, but we aren't to have the appearance of evil. I think we need to be especially careful when we entertain ourselves with things that play around inappropriately in the spiritual realm. These thoughts are not healthy. The two things that come to mind off the top of my head are World of Warcraft, and Harry Potter. Both of these are generally accepted amongst Christians, but I would challenge you to consider what kind of things you entertain yourself with. Do these things really not have an effect on our minds? We are to take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. Are we doing this in our everyday lives? Just some things to think about.

Fellowship

I would have to say that Bible study definitely serves as good fellowship. It is an amazing blessing to be with like-minded people that are about the same age, studying God's word, praying, and singing together. It is such a refreshment after a not completely pleasant week (to put it mildly). We sang some Christmas songs tonight. I know, I know, it's not even Thanksgiving, but there are some incredible messages in Christmas songs. I tend to not like Christmas songs because a lot of them tend to be quite empty, but there are a lot of good ones too. I would encourage you to really think about what the Christmas songs are saying when you listen to and/or sing them in the coming month. It is easy to get in a pattern of just singing songs because that's what you do near Christmas time, but take the time to really think about what message is being communicated through the song.

In 1 Corinthians 10, Paul lists out some ways in which God punished Israel for their disobedience. It is easy to look at the nation of Israel and think that we would never do such a thing, but look at Paul's warning to us.

6 Now these things happened as examples for us, so that we would not crave evil things as they also craved.
11 Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.
12 Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall.

We must recognize that we are never so far up that we cannot fall. If you look at Biblical characters and commitment to Christ, I would say Paul is among the top. Look at all the things he suffered for the sake of Christ. It is incredible! If Paul is recognizing that he isn't beyond falling, we are definetely not beyond falling in a major way. We must pursue Christ daily. At the Bible study tonight, Joel said, "There are no big decisions, there are a lot of little one's that make up a big one." I really think he is right! We are making big decisions for our future by the little decisions we make now. It is vital that we live for Christ now!

Encouragement

I was encouraged a great deal by 1 Corinthians 9:23-27 today.

I do all things for the sake of the gospel, so that I may become a fellow partaker of it. Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air; but I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.

For me, this was a sobering reminder that we can be disqualified. I'm not exactly sure what Paul means when he says disqualified, but it is definitely some kind of fall into the flesh. If Paul realizes that he can fall, who are we to think that we are strong in the faith. We must constantly fight the battle of living for Christ. May we kill every hint of sin, and press on to Christ-likeness!

I wrote a song today called "Your Grace is Sufficient."

I’m faced with death again,
Oh Lord, I’ve lost a friend,
You know it’s hard to take,
But I know You’ll help me make,
Much of You, in this hard time I’m going through,
You are always faithful, You are always kind.

Chorus:
So I will sing, of Your mercy,
I will sing, cause You’re faithful,
Even when my heart is broken,
Your grace is sufficient for me.
Your grace is sufficient for me.

Lord, help me to move on,
Now that he is gone,
I know I should press on,
Lord, help me carry on, to make,
Much of You, in this hard time I’m going through,
You are always faithful, You are always kind.

There are many others here,
Who are overcome by fear,
Help them see Your grace,
In the death of Christ, so they’ll make,
Much of You, in this hard time they’re going through,
You are always faithful, You are always kind.

Trials and God's grace

After I got back from my Calculus class this morning, we got a call from my grandma (mom's side). She left a message saying that she had bad news. When mom called her back, she said that grandpa had died during the night. This was totally unexpected. They don't know the cause of death yet, but my guess is it was heart related. He has had several heart surgeries in the past. Regardless, it definitely hit us pretty hard. We are pretty sure that he did not know the Lord. That was the hardest thing for me. I can't explain the emptiness that I feel. It hurts so much to realize that he rejected the gospel. I just want to ask why anyone would refuse such an amazing free gift. I really don't know what to say. How do you respond when someone passes away without trusting in Christ as their savior? It leaves little room for peace.

Having said this, I must trust that this is God's plan and that He knows what He is doing. His plan is always the best plan. We have been blessed by many people already. Mrs. Lovegrove came over right after we found out, and took care of Jonathan while mom was making phone calls--a huge help. Mrs. Babb has also been a great encouragement to me personally--I am clinging to Psalm 46:1. Almost everyone from the Bible study talked with both Christina and I today at Cal baptist. Their love and words of encouragement has overwhelmed me. I know that there are a lot of people praying for us. Prayer is powerful! I am forever grateful for your prayers.

I know the question that you want to ask--"How is everyone doing?" In short, we are doing much better than I would have expected. Mom flew up to Sacramento with her brother to be with grandma, and make arrangements for the services. We are probably going to have the services down here in Southern CA, but I really don't know yet. God was gracious in the fact that mom's last communication with him was an email that said, "I love you dearly." Christina has shed quite a few tears, but I think she is doing fairly well now. We have been keeping Jonathan busy, and he is doing pretty well so far. Dad seems to be doing well, although I'm not sure that it has fully hit him yet. As for myself, God's grace has been sufficient as He promises in 2 Corinthians 12:9. My main prayer request now is that God would be working in the hearts of those that will attend the memorial service. Death causes people to really reevaluate their life. Pray that God would draw people to Himself through this hard time. Pray that God would give me opportunities to share the gospel, and boldness to do so. As the song "People Need the Lord" puts it so well, "What could be too great a cost, for sharing Life with one who's lost?" I don't want to go through this with more relatives. There is great peace when God takes one of His own home, but when someone dies without knowing Him, death does leave a stinger. I am not afraid to die, nor am I afraid of losing someone that knows the Lord. Not that it wouldn't be painful, but there is such an overwhelming peace that comes when someone has lived a life for Him. I want to have this peace for each of my relatives. As of now, I hardly have it for any of them. Please pray for them!

A new bat!

I ordered a baseball bat yesterday afternoon with the free shipping option, and it came this morning! I was quite pleasantly surprised! I am really looking forward to playing baseball again. I went out a couple times this last weekend to practice a bit. I have decided that it definitely helps when mom is watching. I hit 5 home runs out of the 20 pitches that mom watched. Before you are too amazed, realize that this was dad pitching to me, and the field is 20-30 feet smaller than a normal college field. I am more of a base hit person, not a home run hitter.

One of my friends and I had an interesting conversation last night. We were talking about Psalm 27:4-5.

One thing I have asked from the LORD, that I shall seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to meditate in His temple. For in the day of trouble He will conceal me in His tabernacle; In the secret place of His tent He will hide me; He will lift me up on a rock.

The phrase "to meditate in His temple" caught my attention. I have been thinking about prayer and how it is not supposed to be one-way communication. It seems that when I pray, it goes something like, "God, do this... God, do that... God, do this, thanks again." We seem to be so rushed in our prayer life. Sometimes, I just like to lay down and think about stuff, and let God speak. I think the church is lacking in this area. I realize that church time is limited, and the main purposes are Biblical teaching, and fellowship, but I think we miss out on the listening aspect. I think we hinder ourselves when we don't take the time to "be still and know that He is God." He has so much to say in His Word, and yet we are often too busy to really think about what He is trying to say to us. God, help me be a good listener!

Making the most of singleness

We learned triple integrals in calculus today. I must say that they are actually quite fun. I know that calculus is a scary word, but it's not as bad as you think it is. If you haven't tried it, you probably should... you might actually like it.

I studied 1 Corinthians 7 today. Paul makes it very clear that he thinks it is better to remain single. It allows us to focus on Christ, and not worry about a marriage relationship. I don't feel called to singleness; however, if God changes that, I know that He will provide the necessary help to follow His plan with joyfulness. Since I do not think singleness is something I will have forever, I see this passage as an urge to make the most of the time I have as a single. Now is the time for preparation, and growing in Christ-likeness. I must take advantage of the time that God has given me alone with Him. When I get married someday (Lord willing), I will have the responsibility of being the spiritual leader in my home. This means that my service for God in the church is secondary to my service for God in leading my family in His ways. I will take this responsibility with great joy when it comes, but it will change some of my freedom to serve the Lord elsewhere. Since I am not split between leading a family, and serving Him elsewhere, I must press on to do what He calls me to do without delay.

A much needed message

I am really amazed at how God uses others to communicate to me exactly what I need to hear. The message today was a perfect follow-up on what I learned in Bible study. It was on 1 John 2:1-2.

My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin, and if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.

Note that it doesn't say so that you can do better, it says so that you man not sin. Our job is to aggressively pursue holiness. We must not ignore any kind of sin in our lives. The problem is that we have two truths that are very hard to put together. The aggressive pursuit of holiness, and the fact that we will sin anyway. In order to live with both of these truths, we must learn to rest upon the forgiveness of Christ, while not allowing even the smallest sin to be ignored. His mercy does NOT change His justice. I am again in awe of His amazing grace. He is our advocate (defense attorney), and yet He also died for us. We are completely guilty and without hope, and He died so that He could trade His righteousness for our punishment.

I have definitely been guilty of tolerating sin and setting artificial standards for myself. "Everyone does it" is not a good excuse. All throughout the New Testament, Jesus says, "Go and sin no more." Just because it is not possible to live completely without sin doesn't mean that we have an excuse for not aggressively pursing holiness. I have found such incredible joy in this transformation of my heart. I commit myself once again to pursuing God's standards of righteousness.

Grand Prix

This is going to be extremely short since it is so late at night. We had Awana Grand Prix today. All five of us designed cars. God was really gracious, we ended up taking 3 trophies home. Mom received 3rd place design, Christina won 2nd place speed, and I took 3rd in speed. Always losing to my sister (hehe). Actually, my car was a bit on the random side when it comes to performance. I designed it so that my weight would slide down a wire as the car went down the trace. The only problem is that my block of wood was a little bit off, so I only had 3 wheels touching the track. When the weight shifted, it would change which wheels were touching, which caused it to wobble a whole lot. It varied from race to race though. Anyway, I need to hit the sack. More to share tomorrow.

Conviction...

We have been talking a lot about foundational issues in Bible study. I was very convicted tonight about my ignorance of some very direct commands in scripture. Just because they aren't easy things to do, and I will never completely master them doesn't mean that I can ignore them entirely. For example, careless words that come out of my mouth. The other night, we were studying how we know that we have lost our first love. Some of these issues really cut to my heart. I found myself saying, "well, no one is fully obedient to all these things." Justification in my mind is not the solution. I must stop ignoring these small but totally clear things in scripture, and live for Him in the small areas of my life as well as the big. I need God's big hands to soften my hardened heart to the things that I have overlooked or just plain out ignored. I am so thankful that He doesn't give up on me when I fail Him. Great is His faithfulness!

Letting go of results

I'd have to say the one verse that dad has continually pounded into my head is Proverbs 16:1 which says that the plans of the heart belong to man, but the answer comes from the Lord. I am pretty sure that I did quite badly on this exam, but the results are God's. Honestly, I am very glad to be done. I am not stressed at all about it now (my teacher drops a test). I am very thankful for dad's continual reminders that the results are God's. God is good!

1 Corinthians 4:4-5 was a good reminder to me that I need to be very careful when making any kind of judgment.

For I am conscious of nothing against myself, yet I am not by this acquitted; but the one who examines me is the Lord. Therefore do not go on passing judgment before the time, but wait until the Lord comes who will both bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and disclose the motives of men's hearts; and then each man's praise will come to him from God.

God sees the heart, I do not. It also reminds me that I need to focus my full attention on doing things to please God. I think it is safe to say that we all like being complimented. Compliments are a good way of encouraging others in Christ; however, we can become people-pleasers if we are not careful with our response to these compliments. We must use these responses as an opportunity to point people to God. He is the one that gives us life and breath.

A bit stressed

Physics exam is tomorrow. We have a whole lot to know for this exam. My brain has officially transferred all of it's potential energy into kinetic energy, and my brain is a non-conservative energy source (or something like that).

I enjoyed dinner with Christina at Cal baptist today. Usually we eat with other people, but it just worked out that we were alone. It was nice being able to spend some time with her. The choir continues to improve. I sang with them for a little while after getting tired of physics. ;)

1 Corinthians 3:18 really caught my attention today.

Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you thinks that he is wise in this
age, he must become foolish, so that he may become wise.

It is so easy to feel good about myself for learning all these new things, but that is not what God desires. God knows infinitely more than I do. The Laws of physics are only there because He created them. I am very thankful for this humbling reminder. May we grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord, Jesus Christ!

Teach me to love

I found myself in awe of God's love. I kind of let my mind wander as I thought about 1 Cor. 2:9 which says that "... things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and which have not entered the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love Him." I don't know about you, but I can imagine a lot of wonderful things, but God has prepared something far greater than we can even imagine. His love is too amazing for words to describe. I was thinking of the hymn called "The Love of God".

Could we with ink the ocean fill,
And were the skies of parchment made,
Were every stalk on earth a quill,
And every man a scribe by trade,
To write the love of God above,
Would drain the ocean dry.
Nor could the scroll contain the whole,
Though stretched from sky to sky.

What an amazing picture. The ocean filled with ink, the whole sky is paper, everyone writing about the love of God, and still not having enough resources to fully express what His love is like. It really is over-whelming. God, teach us to love how You love.

Studying for physics... again

I have a quiz tomorrow afternoon, and an exam on Thursday in physics. I am not ready for either of them as of now. You know what I'll be doing all day tomorrow. :) All prayers would be greatly appreciated.

Once again, there has been a change to the Verse Memorization Tool. I finally found a free hosting site for asp.net pages. It definitely isn't the fastest hosting site ever, but it's free and easy. http://aspspider.info/VerseMemorization/ If you have any suggestions, I would love your feedback!

I have often thought about Christianity as we know it and wondered what kind of letter Paul would write to us. I read 1 Corinthians 1 today, which talks about Christian unity. I think this is something that Christianity around the world really struggles with. It is very difficult because there are many false doctrines within individual churches, and so we cannot be united with them. I wish that everyone would just stop their ideas and start reading God's Word so that they see what God's ideas are. Why do we always try to cram God into our own ideas? Why can't we read the Word, take what it says, and be obedient? Is it really that difficult? I pray for Christian unity because I know it will not come as a result of our "great" ideas. It will only happen by individual Christians being obedient to God's Word, and encouraging others to do the same.

Discipleship

We learned about discipleship in church today. Pastor Tim gave us a great definition of love: A commitment to the best of another person. The best for every person is always a right relationship with the Lord. True love is helping others find the greatest joy, which comes only from a right relationship with the Lord. According to Philippians 2:4, we are to look out for the interests of others. This means that we need to go out of our way to pay close attention in order to serve others effectively. We are also supposed to encourage others.

Hebrews 10:24-25

And let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.

The Greek word for encouraging is "parakaleo." This same word is used in 2 Cor. 5:20 (urging people to be reconciled to God), 1 Peter 5:12 (giving courage to others), Jude 1:3 (urging someone to contend earnestly for the faith), Rom. 12:1-2 (strongly encouraging others with God's mercy), etc. Sometimes encouragement is extremely difficult. Telling someone that they are going the wrong direction is very difficult, but it is the most loving thing to do! It needs to be done. I pray that God would give me the boldness to stand up for the truth of His word, and make a difference in the lives of others.

I finished an auto-notification system for the Verse Memorization Tool for when the link changes. The link will change, so if you want to have the latest link without having to contact me, please subscribe on the website. http://71.165.189.83:8222/

Moving...

David (one of three elders at church) and his family moved today into a very nice home. Moving is such a long process. It is one thing for us to help him get all of that stuff into his house and garage, but the work has just begun for him. I am very happy for them! :)

Now that I got this verse memorization tool up and running, I am working on creating a small program to notify people when my ip address changes. It would be nice to have a static (unchanging) ip address, but those cost more money. I have been working very slowly (slacking off) on memorizing Romans 12. Verse 10 caught my attention today as I read through it.

Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;

It is easy to be unselfish when our unselfishness is seen by others, but how about the small things when no one is looking? James 4:17 says that it is a sin to not do a good thing that we know we should do. Let's press on to be examples of unselfishness.

Lots of excercise

This morning, I actually got to play basketball without the rush of having to get to class at 7:50 am. It was one of those days that the ball just bounced the right way. I ended up winning all three games. I lost both games last time, so I guess it just goes that way sometimes. After that, I got to go out with pastor Tim and talk about life, and what God is doing--what a great encouragement he is. Then I went to the gym and worked out a little bit for baseball. I figure that I should be getting ready since practices start in December (yay!). This evening I ran around the lake (2.2 miles). I am a short distance person (50 yards sounds like a great race). Honestly, I was almost positive that I couldn't run that far without stopping, but I made it. Bible study was canceled this evening due to a power outage at Cal baptist. I think it was probably best anyway since Mr. Babb has been working 12 hr shifts due to the fires. I am definitely thankful for people like him--that would be exhausting! He can certainly use our prayers.

I finally made a web version of the Verse Memorization Tool. For those of you that don't know about this, Pastor Tim asked me to make a little program for verse memorization. The technique that he finds most effective is taking the first letter of each word in the verse to help you remember, and yet still make you think hard enough to memorize it in a relatively short amount of time. If you are interested, shoot me an email. :)

I read Ephesians 6 today (this is the passage that talks about the spiritual armor). Verse 18-20 caught my attention.

With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints, and pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

The concept of praying at all times in the Spirit seems to be impossible; however, I have found that it really isn't that difficult. When we are focused on God, we are in constant communication with Him. It is a matter of continually communicating to God what my heart condition is, and asking Him to change my heart to desire what He desires. Paul sets a great example for us in wanting prayer for boldness. Here he is in prison, and he is still not giving up. He is pressing on to make the gospel known even in chains! Let us be an example to others with our boldness to proclaim the gospel.

It is Officially Smoky!

All my classes are canceled until Monday. We did not really have smoke this morning. It was above us, but not really in the air near the ground. Now, it has come to ground level and I don't find it too enjoyable. Having said this, I realize that I have absolutely nothing to complain about. There are so many people that have lost almost everything. At Cal baptist yesterday, I got to talk with a friend that lives near the fire. He said that the fire came within 100 feet of his house, but didn't touch his house. Unfortunately, most of his neighbor's houses burned down, but I praise the Lord that his house was left untouched. God is good!

Ephesians 5:15-16 was a much needed reminder today.

Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil.

Honestly, I didn't get much done today. God knew that I needed these verses this evening. I really do need to make better use of my time. I can't say that I wasted my time on anything in particular. I just avoided my responsibilities (homework). It is essential that I am diligent with the responsibilities that God has given me, not only because it is what He commands, but it prepares me for dealing with my future responsibilities as a husband, father, and provider in my home. That seems like such an overwhelming responsibility. It truly will be an act of God if I am ever able to fulfill those roles like my dad does. I need to press on to make the most of the time God has given me (prayers to this end are always appreciated).

No class!

I played basketball this morning... and I think I played just about as well as I ever have, and we still lost both games. I guess it just goes like that sometimes. My calculus teacher didn't show up today. This week has been long, so I really am not complaining about this. I got quite a bit of studying done for physics, but I still have a lot more to do. I took Christina to choral union today and had dinner at Cal baptist, which was joyous as usual. I had my first real (first-hand)MAC troubleshooting experience today. I was always told that everything "just works." Well, this isn't true. Actually, the internet wouldn't have worked if it were not for firefox saving the day (Safari fails life). Anyway, I got the internet working in Ally & Lauren's apartment. They didn't have internet since the semester began, so I'm glad they don't have to go outside and sit on the stair case and hope for wireless to work anymore.

Ephesians 4:14-16 caught my attention today.

As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.

We must press on to know God's Word in such a way as to not be deceived by the constant false doctrine that is thrown at us. When it says that we are to speak the truth in love, I think we are to hit these false doctrines head-on, but do it with Christ-like love. The result of this is growth of the body of Christ. Let's press on to know the truth and then speak it boldly in love!

God is above all

We got an email concerning my great uncle Bert today. The ranch (the mobile home park that he owns) had 47 mobile homes, the office, and the barn burn down in the fire. Needless to say, it is a hard time for them. My prayer is that God would use this to draw them to Himself. When things like this happen, it really puts life in perspective for me. There are so many things in life that really don't matter. Eternity isn't one of them. I got sick the other day from breathing dust all night (I didn't realize all this dust was blowing in and I was breathing it), but it is so minor compared to things that people are having to deal with. I am reminded that God has a purpose for all of these trials. "What man intends for evil, God intends for good."

I was encouraged by these words from Ephesians 3:20-21.

Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.

We have such a powerful God. It gives me such incredible peace knowing that He is able to do far more than I can even imagine. Hope in Christ is the one thing that will never fail. Please continue to pray for hearts to be opened to the gospel, and for people to share it with them.

Fires...

For those of you that were wondering, we are not in any kind of fire danger. God is good! Please keep my great uncle (Bert) in your prayers. He owns quite a bit of land with mobile homes on it, and I know at least some of those burned down. Pray that God would use this time of trials in his life to bring him to Christ. Dad doesn't have to go back to work until Friday which is a blessing. Keep the firefighters and all the families that have lost possessions in your prayers. May God open the eyes of people that have been blinded to things that matter eternally. Praise the Lord that the wind has died down since yesterday. It will be a hard road for many families... and they need God's saving grace. Please pray to this end!

Personal ministry theme

Our theme at church is "personal ministry." It has been a great challenge to me to get out of my comfort zone, and do things for God's glory in the hearts of others. Today, we studied about how we can minister to other believers. Specifically, stages in spiritual maturity... and how the cycle works.

Hebrews 5:11-6:2

11 Concerning him we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing.
12 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food.
13 For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of
righteousness, for he is an infant.
14 But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.
1 Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God,
2 of instruction about washings and laying on of hands, and the resurrection of the dead and eternal judgment.

Titus 2:1-8

1 But as for you, speak the things which are fitting for sound doctrine.
2 Older men are to be temperate, dignified, sensible, sound in faith, in love, in perseverance.
3 Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips nor enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good,
4 so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children,
5 to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be dishonored.
6 Likewise urge the young men to be sensible; in all things show yourself to be an example of good deeds, with purity in doctrine, dignified,
8 sound in speech which is beyond reproach, so that the opponent will be put to shame, having nothing bad to say about us.

Ephesians 4:11-16

11And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers,
12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ;
13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.
14 As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming;
15 but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ,
16 from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint
supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.

When we first become a christian, our spiritual understanding is limited to basics, then we start growing and applying the things we learn (this is where we have to face the problems of our life), then we grow into a mature believer (serving others, having a good solid knowledge of scripture), the last stage is leadership (influencing others, being able to teach). Now we aren't completely in one stage. Even people in the leadership stage will go back to the basics and the application stages. In general, the goal of personal ministry is to get to that leadership stage, and help people in the other stages to get to that stage (or at least be able to teach the basics). Pastor Tim used the analogy of a good coach. A good coach knows what an athletes level of play is, he also knows what the athlete is able to do, and knows what needs to be changed in order to get to maximum performance. We need to be the same toward others.

Men's Bible Study

In our monthly men's Bible study, we are studying about leadership. We are going through a book by John MacArthur called "The BOOK on Leadership" (meaning that it is discussing Biblical truth's about leadership and it's application). Our chapter today was called "How not to be Disqualified." There are so many areas in which we prepare for leadership that I wouldn't have even thought about. We are preparing for leadership at all times, that doesn't mean that it is good preparation though. In order to be a godly leader, we must be an example of Hebrews 12:1-2. We must push aside everything that hinders us, and run the race that God has set before us!

God of Truth

In Bible study tonight, the main point was that we must have a fixed point of reference (God's Word). Mr. Babb used an illustration of a crime scene. When you write out a report of a crime scene, everything is based on fixed reference points. Fixed reference points in the sense of scripture means that we have the Truth, and it will never change. I really appreciate all the work that Mr. Babb does in preparation for this Bible study. Take a look at these passages (I left out a couple because they are almost identical):

Isaiah 65:16 - God of truth.
John 14:6 - Jesus is truth.
1 John 5:6 - Spirit is truth.
John 17:17 - God's Word is truth.
Numbers 23:19-20 - God doesn't lie or change His mind.
James 1:17 - God doesn't change.
2 Samuel 22:31 - God's way is perfect, flawless, and proven.
Deuteronomy 32:4 - God's work is perfect.
Proverbs 30:5 - God's Word is tested.
Psalm 12:6 - God's Word is pure.


What should our response be?
Deuteronomy 4:2
You shall not add to the word which I am commanding you, nor take away from it, that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you.

Simply put, our response needs to be obedience to the one and only Truth (God's Word).

Ready for the weekend

It has been a good week, but I am definitely ready for the weekend. Bible study on Friday nights gives me something to look forward to each week. It is such a blessing! Well, studying for physics is done for the night, and I am ready for some sleep (basketball tomorrow morning).

I love this prayer in Ephesians 1:15-17.

For this reason I too, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which exists among you and your love for all the saints, do not cease giving thanks for you, while making mention of you in my prayers; that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him.

Long, but productive

I played basketball again today after not playing for a couple days. It was a lot of fun as usual (especially since my shot was on today). :) I had calculus class this morning which I actually enjoy to some extent. Overall, it was a very profitable day, I got a lot of studying done for physics during choral union. Eating at the cafeteria with some music students (some of which are in the Bible study as well) was a lot of fun. This evening, I went to a deaf event for my sign language class. We basically talk to deaf people and other students in sign language... it is actually fun. :) I just finished writing my report for that so that I can turn it in tomorrow.

I was encouraged by Galatians 6 today.

7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap.
8 For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.
9 Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary.
10 So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith.

It is easy to get tired of doing good when the majority of other people don't hold to the same standards. This is to be expected, but still can be wearisome. This passage was exactly what I needed today. It is a blessing knowing that our efforts are not in vain, and that we will reap what we sow. Let us continue to sow seeds of righteousness and godliness!

An awesome day!

Today was one of those days that you wish you could repeat over and over again. :) I got plenty of sleep last night due to the fact that I had absolutely no homework to do (the one good thing about exams). I got to spend a good amount of un-rushed time in the Word before my sign language class. After sign language, I still didn't have homework because I had already finished it, so dad and I went to the park and I got to do some hitting practice (I love my dad). I have totally changed some things about my swing, so it took a while to get adjusted, but I am happy with the results thus far. If that wasn't enough fun for the day, I actually got to sit down and read a few chapters in "Shadow of the Almighty" by Elisabeth Elliot. I found much encouragement in these quotes from Jim Elliot.

God is going to give me a specific leading--not when I ask for it, but when I need it, and not until then.

Anything, good as it may be, put before my study of the true and living Word, becomes a snare and I must assiduously avoid such, if the Word is to be my fresh meat every morning.

Rest in this--it is His business to lead, command, impel, send, call, or whatever you want to call it. It is your business to obey, follow, move, respond, or what have you.

I can't tell you how encouraging it is to read something like this! What a great example of faith and obedience! Looking at Jim Elliot's life, he had such a short life, but look at the example that he left for us. His life was not a wasted life. May we be courageous enough to be obedient to Christ at all costs so as to spur others on to obedience as well.

God's goodness

I was intending to cram for my calculus test yesterday, but I was just too exhausted after having been up until 2:30 am working on it the night before. So last night, I worked on it until midnight or so... and my brain just didn't want to work, so I decided to sleep for an hour. I set my alarm for 1 am and woke up at that time still really exhausted, so I set it for 1:45 so that I could study for a couple more hours and then sleep until 6:30. Well, I slept through that alarm... then my 5:20 alarm went off which I also slept through, but I woke up to my 6:30 alarm. I guess I didn't realize how tired I was. Anyway, I crammed for an hour and took the test. I think I did fairly well, despite my lack of preparation time. I would not recommend this method for test preparation, but I am thankful for God's grace and help in comprehending the concepts.

The message yesterday was about Fellowship with God. The focus was on the concept that God is light. Pastor Tim went over three ways that light is portrayed in scripture. Light is portrayed as sight, revelation, or truth (John 8:12, 2 Cor. 4:4-6, 2 Tim. 1:10). Light is also a symbol of purity or holiness (Rom. 13:12, John 3:19-20). Light portrays alertness or awareness (1 Thes. 5:4-6, Psalm 119:105, 1 John 2:11, John 12:35, John 11:9-10). Having said this, we must look at the core of the message found in 1 John 1.

5 This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.
6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth;
7 but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.
8 If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us.
9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

For some reason, we tend to get the idea that there are small sins and big sins. I guess it is true in some ways... consequences are different for different sins. Regardless, we need to see sin as sin. The result of sin is separation from God--loss of fellowship with Him. I think the greatest pain that Christ had upon the cross was separation from God. Why is it that we can sin in small things and not see it as a big deal? I think our consciouses have been dulled by the amount of sin that we see on a daily basis that is not dealt with. Sin doesn't look so good if you put the punishment before it. I think this is a huge problem in our society! We are all given the idea that sin goes unpunished. We are told that life is all about us, and that we deserve [fill in the blank]. We must go back to true fellowship with Christ without the hindrance of ourselves. This doesn't come without work. Take a look at Eph. 5:8-11.

8 for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light
9 (for the fruit of the Light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth),
10 trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord.
11 Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them;

A key part in this is trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. We must fill our minds with God's Word so that we naturally do what is pleasing to Him. Pastor Tim used the illustration of marriage. Marriage is companionship and fellowship (Gen. 2:18, Prov. 2:17, Malachi 2:14). You listen to the other person and find out what they like and don't like and then you act accordingly. You wouldn't expect a spouse to be happy during the weekend after being treated like trash all week long, so why would we think fellowship with God is different? Let us search for those things that please God and act accordingly!

A unique choir concert

I am going to keep this extremely short because of my Calculus exam tomorrow at 7:50 am. Christina had a choir concert at the Dortignac's church (a family with 14 kids... very small church). They actually sang around the people the entire concert. My grandparents came, which was really neat. :) Christina sang a solo, and did pretty well. Before the concert, a bunch of us played volleyball (some of the girls played in high heels). haha Anyway, I want to share some stuff from what I learned this morning at church, but I will have to save that for tomorrow.

A win?!?

Jonathan's team finally won a game (4-2)!!! Jonathan plays defense or sweeper pretty much the whole game and does an excellent job of it. He is quite fast for his age and is constantly pressuring those forwards to make bad shots or stealing it from them and taking it up the outside. I am really impressed.

Dad, Mom, and Christina went to the Awana conference today. I believe dad talked at three sessions. Christina's orthodontist was there and went totally out of his way and ran the slide projector for each of dad's presentations. What a blessing he has been to us!

While they were off at the conference, Jonathan and I went to Cal baptist and played ultimate frisbee. :) Let's just say that not keeping score was a good thing today, but it was a lot of fun! Afterwards, we went and ate lunch in the cafeteria.

I was reading Galatians 4 today and was hit between the eyes by a few verses.

7 Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God.
8 However at that time, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those which by nature are no gods.
9 But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how is it that you turn back again to the weak and worthless elemental things, to which you desire to be enslaved all over again?

This describes our position in Christ. Reflecting on my walk with Christ, I see many times that I have turned back to those weak and worthless things--not living in the reality of my position in Christ as an heir! If Christ died for us to be sons and heirs of God, we should definitely live like children of God. Let us live up to our position in Christ!

Another blessed Friday night

As usual, I was very blessed by Bible study tonight. What an amazing breath of fresh air! We talked about the importance of our minds being changed from the inside out (a complete transformation). Joel shared an interesting thing about the conscious. The point he made is that our conscious is something that motivates us not to do something that we know is wrong, but a big part in this is the knowledge part. Are we filling our minds with truth, or are we losing sensitivity by not heeding to our conscious? The difference comes when the Holy Spirit fills our conscious with the truth of His Word. We need to hate sin like God hates it!

This little section in 1 Peter 1 really caught my attention. There are a couple things that really caught my attention. Take a look at the phrase, "things into which angels long to look." The revelation of the gospel is something that we take for granted, but apparently the angels long to see what we get to see. Maybe we need to reconsider how important it is in our daily life. Another phrase that caught my attention was, "prepare you minds for action... fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ." We really have no other hope than Christ's sacrifice for us. Let us prepare our minds to take action!

10 As to this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you made careful searches and inquiries,
11 seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow.
12 It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, in these things which now have been announced to you through those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven--things into which angels long to look.
13 Therefore, prepare your minds for action, keep sober in spirit, fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
14 As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance,
15 but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior;
16 because it is written, "YOU SHALL BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY."

Life is Good

I must say that life feels better after exams than before. :) It was nice to come home and relax for a bit. God was very gracious and my first class today was canceled which allowed me to have extra study time. As I walked out the door, I didn't think I did well on the exam, but after looking at the problems again when I got home, I think I did okay. Regardless, the results are His. Thanks for your prayers.

I had to pick up Jonathan from soccer practice this evening, and I wasn't planning on going onto the field (I was barefoot), but they weren't finished yet, so I went out there. They were having a scrimmage game... and I so I just had to join the game. My feet are a little bit sore from being stepped on with cleats and stuff, but it was definitely worth the fun.

I was blessed by Galatians 3 today. It is such an awesome thing that we are not saved by our obedience to the law, but rather by His grace through faith (Eph. 2:8-9). I was thinking a bit about verse 27 where it says that we have been clothed with Christ. Our actions should be an exact representation of Christ. Let us press on to be like Him!

24 Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith.
25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.
26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.
27 For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.

Cramming

I am definitely not ready for this physics exam, but I hope to be ready by the time I take it tomorrow evening. I spent the majority of choral union time today making out my "cheat sheet." After a while, the choir split into sections, so I listened to the orchestra for a while, and then played/sang random songs in the practice rooms. I miss the days of spending hours in the practice room playing/singing any song that comes to mind... and spending some time in the Word between songs in the quietness of the practice rooms. :) Good times! Anyway, after choral union, Ally and I went over to see the "Treble-Makers" (Lauren's flag football team made up of all music students). They won 6-0! I was quite surprised... they played very well (several interceptions and good running). By the time the game finished, Christina had finished her voice lesson, so we went over to the cafeteria and ate. I thought this thing was a enchilada, but it was like a bread-ish texture which Christina really didn't like. Oops! She lived though. :) I must continue to cram for my test.

An interesting day

I have to share this funny story from yesterday. The Awana group yesterday was at someones house, and there were a couple families there. One little boy (5 yrs old), found a grasshopper in the back yard garden. What do little boys do when they find grasshoppers? They catch them of course! Well, he got his hand over it, and then it jumped... and he got scared, took his hand off, and it got away. A second later, he comes out of the garden and says with a frustrated voice, "Why do they have to be so jumpy?" We could not stop laughing!

There were a few interesting things that happened today. The main one would be that a lady down the street was attempting suicide with a shotgun (if I'm not mistaken), but the sheriff's arrived in time and stopped her from doing so (I think they ended up shooting her in a non-vital place). If you could keep that family in your prayers over the next several days as they deal with this situation, that would be great! This evening, we only had 2 of us leaders for T&T boys which made for a somewhat crazy night. They behaved themselves relatively well though. :) There is one little boy that I work with that has autism. It is really neat to see him memorizing God's Word! I have been doing my best to try to figure out what works well for him. The other boys don't know about his autism, and so he is often upset when other boys don't treat him how he thinks they should (even if they weren't being mean). For example, he expected all the other boys to wait to say their verses until after he had done his. It is definitely a challenge, but I wouldn't trade it for anything. God's Word will not return void!

I was challenged today by Galatians 1:10 which says, "For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bond-servant of Christ." It reminded me of the reason behind what I do. It is easy to get caught in the trap of being a people-pleaser, but this isn't what God has called us to! We need to be His bond-servants (a lifetime servant by choice).

A couple thoughts

I read this in 1 John 5 today, and found it very encouraging! Trying to be obedient can seem like such a burden, but when we focus on loving God, it really isn't a burden at all, it is a joy! :D

2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and observe His commandments.
3 For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome.
4 For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world--our faith.

I played basketball this morning, it was a lot of fun as usual. This afternoon, I got a call from the athletic director at school saying that he received all my paperwork for baseball. YAY! I got so excited that I watched some baseball technique videos to brush up on stuff, and learned that I can improve my swing (actually, I used to hit correctly until my coach told me to put my back elbow up). Just in case you were wondering... no, you are not supposed to put your back elbow up, but don't dip you back shoulder either. haha Anyways, I am excited about baseball! My first game is at the end of January against none other than San Diego Christian College. :) This evening, I was given the opportunity to lead worship for the high school Awana group which I absolutely love to do! Now I am doing homework once again.

I love Sundays!

As usual, I learned a lot this morning at church. I am going to keep this really short because I have a lot of work to do. Lately, I have found myself really hindered by the discouragement that comes with non-productive days. Even though this wasn't the focus of the message, God used a couple passages to renew my perspective. John 15:11 says, "These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full." This reminds me of the verse that says the joy of the Lord is our strength. What I really need during the not-so-fun times of school is a healthy dosage of the joy of the Lord! Back to homework I go. ;)

Here comes another week

Today, Jonathan tied his soccer game (this is the first non-loss that they've had). I am not one that is impressed often (that's probably a bad thing, but it's true), but I must say that I am very impressed by his playing and all the practicing he does to get better. He is a great example to the other kids on his team. :)

Well, this week is looking like a whole lot of work. I have a Physics exam on Thursday, and three chapters to learn by then. I also have a lot of Calculus homework to do. I think one thing that school does for me that not a whole lot of other things do is teach me to depend on God for strength to press on. It doesn't matter if I feel like doing homework or not, it needs to be done! I need to be constantly reminded of the fact that I need to pursue excellence because God has given me the ability to do so. God has blessed me in so many ways, it would be a shame not to make use of these for His glory. If you get a chance, I could use prayer for diligence and focus this week, and most importantly that God would be glorified in my efforts.

Growing in knowledge... God, help us be obedient!

I am constantly growing in my knowledge of scripture. I find it very exciting to hear things from new perspectives, and how other passages fit into a given topic. This evening at Bible study, we studied the flesh and also the fruits of the Spirit. 1 John 2 and James 4 give a good summary of the world. Cravings of sinful man, lust of the eyes, pride, fights, quarrels, coveting, murder, and evil desires. We also looked at what comes from the sinful nature. I won't take the time to list them. I think almost all of the sinful nature can be put into very few catigories. This is by no means a perfect catorigization, but it would seem that you could put just about any sin under pride and selfeshness. We need to be filled with Godliness, righteousness, faith, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, self control, faith, holiness, compassion, kindness, humility, etc. So, we know that we are full of sin, and we need to be full of righteousness, but how does one change this? Let's take a quick look at Rom. 12:1-2 and Eph. 4:17-24.

1 Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.
2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

17 So this I say, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind,
18 being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart;
19 and they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness.
20 But you did not learn Christ in this way,
21 if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus,
22 that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit,
23 and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind,
24 and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.

Mr. Babb has said a couple times during Bible study that if we feed our flesh more than we feed the Spirit, the flesh is going to win. I am convinced that this is true. We need to have our minds renewed by the Word! In the closure of Bible study, he read some verses from Romans 8 that really put things in perspective. It is so easy to gain this knowledge and not put it into action. Let us drown the flesh in the Spirit!

5 For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.
6 For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace,
7 because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so,
8 and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
9 However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.
10 If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness.
11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.
12 So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh--
13 for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
14 For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.

More work...

Well, it has been a busy week. I am glad that it is almost over, but I have a lot of homework to do. I find it amazing that with the seemingly unending homework, God always pushes me through. God is good!

I thought I'd share a little bit of 1 John 2.

15 Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
16 For all that is in the world, the
lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.
17 The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.

These few verses really put the things of this world under the magnifying glass. We can be so focused on things that don't count for eternity. We need to be "...the one who does the will of God..." Several years ago, I wrote a song based on these verses.

I’ve found so many things to seek for that are of this world,
But they don't seem to matter, when I think about the cross,
Where You poured out Your blood for me,
And the only thing that I can do, is to give you my life,
And to surrender all I have, and to say,

I give my life to You, Lord,
And I give to You my heart,
I give you all my strength, Lord,
And I give you all my praise,
I give my life to You, Lord,
And I give to You my heart,
I give you all my strength, Lord,
And I give you all my praise,
For you are God,
You are God.

Random funny-ness

This morning, my little brother and I somehow got on the topic of forbidden fruit. Anyway, I figured out what the forbidden fruit was!!! It was a watermelon tree! They went to pick one and then one fell,thus the "in the day you eat it, thou shalt surely die", and then God cursed the watermelon tree and said "you must crawl on your belly"... or something like that. hehe Okay, so maybe not the best theology there.

Today, I went and listened to choral union at Cal baptist. They sounded really good! There was one thing that was really funny though! There are a couple guys that are definitely better at instruments than they are at singing (to put it nicely). Not really a big deal because there are like a ton of people in there (like 150 or something). Anyway, it just so happens that these two gentlemen were standing by the door and singing very loudly. It also just so happens that there was a conductors conference thing going on. I kid you not, conductors would walk in the door, hear these guys, and leave! It was about the funniest thing ever to see this happen like nearly 10 times.

On a more serious note, it has been a blessing getting to go to Cal baptist on Wed. to watch choral union, and Fri. for Bible Study. I am overwhelmed by the friendliness of the students (even though I left the school). I miss the theological discussions over lunch, and the fun conversations as well. Going on Wed. evenings has given me a little bit of that back, and I am really thankful for that fellowship. It is a great refreshment!

Pastor Tim is going to start preaching on 1 John, so I have been studying it a bit. Verse 5 of chapter 1 really caught my attention.

This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.

As Christians, we are to be the light of the world. It is so easy to try to blend into the darkness. We don't want to stand out and be called weird, we want to be normal. It is encouraging that God isn't asking us to do something that He hasn't already done. :) God is the perfect example of light. I think of the Christian life as a light that is visible from all directions. As we are disobedient to what God has revealed, we start blocking portions of that light. We may be blocking things like relationships with other Christians, ruining our witness by some act of rebellion to God's Word in the presence of someone that is searching for truth, or even blocking out God's voice to us. Sin does separate us from God, but He is always faithful to forgive us when we confess it (1 John 1:9). It is extremely difficult to try to unblock these areas in our life where we have blocked Christ's light, but it needs to be done! We need to press on and take responsibility for our past actions, and press on toward being the light of the world as He calls us to be.

God is good!

Yesterday turned out to be a good day. :) 3rd John was a great encouragement. Paul says, "I have no greater joy than this, to hear of my children walking in the truth." It puts joy in my heart knowing that God is pleased when I walk according to His truth. Thanks all for your prayers. I'm off to play baseketball... more later.

A difficult day...

Well, I'll be completely honest here. Today definitely wasn't a great day. I woke up later than I wanted to and missed my time in the Word this morning. This was followed by much frustration with little action concerning my lack of commitment to the Word--both in lack of desire to read it, and lack of obedience to it. I honestly got almost nothing done today. My studies were hindered greatly by distractions that I didn't even try to get away from. I had absolutely no desire to read the Word, or do my homework. Just now, I read through 2 John several times just to clear my mind of the useless things that have filled my mind throughout this day of no focus. I find it extremely frustrating that I know that I am to do my best for Christ no matter what I do (Colossians 3:23), and yet I don't do it.

Having said this, it is essential that I get beyond the failures of today, and press on to complete obedience tomorrow. Praise the Lord for His mercies being new every morning (Lamentations 3:21-23)! If you would keep me in your prayers, I would really appreciate it.

Pressing on in the Word

At church this morning, Pastor Tim concluded with a good practical application for pressing on from where we are in our walk with Christ. For me, I feel pretty satisfied with spending a few minutes in the Word, but it can be frustrating at times. He mentioned that for him, the first 10 mins or so tend to be very hard and frustrating, but the next 10 mins are much more focused and clear. For me, it is not often that I spend that much time reading the Word. I'll read for a few minutes, then go back through and study it more deeply, but it is rare that I spend 10 mins reading. So, I plan to make some changes in the amount that I read. After all, it is the most important book!

Tonight was "Go Night". Basically, we take a flier filled with gospel truths, and we are trying to get it out to every home in our city. I would say that we do about 1,000 homes every time we go out (once a month). Occasionally, we get to talk with people if they are outside doing yard work or something. I'll admit, it is definitely out of my comfort zone. It is fun going to all these houses and praying for these unknown people inside as we put fliers on their doors. I had a couple opportunities to talk with people today. The only one that I gave me time to say anything already had a church home, but it was a blessing and encouragement.

A day full of fun...

This morning, Christina and I went to Cal baptist to play Ultimate Frisbee. It was a ton of fun! Christina made several touchdown catches. We were very blessed at lunch! Lunch at CBU isn't the cheapest thing, but they have good food. They only had one cash register on which was only for scanning student IDs. Well, Christina doesn't have a meal plan, and so I was paying and it took maybe 2 mins for the man to get someone to open the other cash register. Because of this "horrible" delay, he only made us pay for one of us. It was definitely a blessing. :)

About yesterday night, we were talking about the opposition we face as Christians. The main verse we looked at was 2 Timothy 3:12 which says, "Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted." This reminded me of Luke 12:11-12 which I read on Thursday, "When they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not worry about how or what you are to speak in your defense, or what you are to say; for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say." The words "when" and "will be" really caught my attention. It is not a matter of escaping these things, it is a matter of pressing on within the circumstances that we are given.

We have had several missionaries come to our church recently, and the persecution we have here is so wimpy (for lack of a better word). I have a tendency to put personal comfort above full obedience. More practically speaking, I naturally prefer to not stand up and speak the truth when I could just ignore whatever it was that I should have taken a stand against. I have one word for living like this: SELFISHNESS! Galatians 5:16 says, "But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh." This really shows me some things about my heart. I am obviously not walking in the Spirit to the point that His desires become my desires. I realize that we will always have our sinful nature on this earth, but all the same, God has given us freedom from sin by His spirit. He gives us the power to overcome any temptation (1 Cor. 10:13). We need to drown out the flesh in the water of His Word! Press on!

Braces?!?

Well, this morning I had an orthodontist appointment (just the normal checkup). When I got there, they decided that it was time for me to get braces once again. So, I now have braces. As not fun as it is, I can already see a lot of change in the 12 hrs of me having them (which is rather cool, and a bit painful). Long story made short, I had braces for about 10 years, then got a retainer to wear at night that was supposed to move my lower jaw forward. My jaw started popping and getting stuck, so I had to discontinue wearing that which lead to my teeth becoming crooked again. They are recommending a jaw surgery which would mean they cut my jaw where my wisdom teeth would be (yeah, I still need to get all 4 taken out at some point), and then add a titanium extension to my jaw on each side. I am thinking right now that if my teeth are straight, I can live with the overbite, but we'll see what happens.

We had Bible study again tonight. I went a little bit early to play tennis with a guy in the Bible study who is also on the tennis team. Worship was quite enjoyable. We talked about temptation and hardship faced in walking with Christ. I'll have to share more tomorrow when I am not so exhausted.

It's almost the weekend!

Many would argue that it is not almost the weekend, but I only have one class on MWF at 7:50 am, so once I finish my physics lab on Thursday evenings, it feels like the weekend. :) Today was one of those rare days where I actually finished the lab way early!
Anyway, I have been thinking about Psalm 29. For those of you that have received emails from me, I often sign them with Psalm 29:2 because it is one of my favorite verses.

1 Give unto the LORD, O you mighty ones,
Give unto the LORD glory and strength.
2 Give unto the LORD the glory due to His name;
Worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.
3 The voice of the LORD is over the waters;
The God of glory thunders;
The LORD is over many waters.
4 The voice of the LORD is powerful;
The voice of the LORD is full of majesty.

I find the beginning of this passage rather unique. What do we have to give the Lord that He doesn't already have? Really, we have nothing to offer but our "filthy rag" righteousness (Isaiah 64:6), and yet we are to give Him glory and strength. Well, if we cannot give Him anything that He doesn't already have, then why do we need to give Him anything? I would argue that it is not only for His glory, but also for our hearts. Paul says in Romans 12:1 that living our lives as a living sacrifice is our reasonable service. I find it so easy to get into a "it's all about me" thought pattern, but in reality, we owe it all to Him!

That was a long tangent to get to the point I was planning on making. I love the words "beauty of holiness" in verse 2. When we get to heaven, surrounded by nothing but holiness, it will be truly beautiful. I love how the rest of the chapter describes God. If you have ever been in a huge thunder storm, it is a bit scary how powerful that bolt is, and the sound that comes off it. If you can't identify with that, have you ever been near a huge waterfall where it is not physically possible to yell loud enough to be heard above the sound of the water crashing down? These are some awesome pictures of God's power, and yet He is infinitely more powerful than these things! May we live beautiful lives of holiness so that we glorify Him!

Another full day

This morning, Pastor Tim showed me how I should be setting my blocks in basketball. :) We played two games (1-1). It was quite a bit of fun.

I am a little frustrated by the lack of opportunity to talk with people in my classes. It is hard to influence anyone without talking with them. I guess 7:50 am class isn't ideal for that (people don't exactly show up early). I guess I need to make it a more central thing in my prayer life.

This afternoon, Christina had practice for Choral Union at Calbaptist. They are singing Handel's Messiah (which I sang a couple years ago). I usually work on homework in the back as they sing, but studying for my sign language test got boring after a while, so I joined in and sang. :) Much fun! There is a intramural flag football team made up of girls from choir, and so a few of us went down to the field and watched them play their game. They played hard, but lost miserably. I can identify (my flag football team didn't win any games last year). I think they still had fun though. :)

I have a sign language test tomorrow, so I better finish up studying. If you get a chance, pray that God would open doors of opportunity for me to show Christ to others. It is difficult to break the ice of casual to serious conversation. I need wisdom.

The week continues

I have been continually blessed by 1 John. It is very practical in the fact that it shows us what real living for God is all about. Take a look at these verses in 1 John 4.

18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love.
19 We love, because He first loved us.

I think it is safe to say that love tends to be a risky thing which involves fear. The reality is that if we loved others as Christ loved the church, we would have no reason to fear. This fear comes when we are focused on ourselves. When we love someone unconditionally with no expectation of being loved back, that is true love. This reminds me of Ephesians 5:22-24 where men and women are given their responsibility within marriage. It would seem like being submissive would be very difficult, but if we as men would love others how we should (as Christ loved the church), I don't think it would be difficult at all for someone to submit to our leadership. Godly leadership needs to be based on the love that is only found in Christ! May we grow to be men and women that lead with love!

Choir concert

Christina had her first choir concert last night. They did very well! Actually, the Male Chorale and New Song (Christina's choir) were about 5 miles away from one another, so we went to the Male Chorale concert for 30 mins, and then saw Christina's choir.

This morning, I woke up at about 4:20 am thinking it was about time for basketball (I play basketball at 6 am on MWF). Maybe it was because dad and I usually leave about the same time and for some reason he left earlier today. His diligence amazes me! Anyway, my alarm went off at 5:20, and I decided that I could sleep for another 10 mins or so. Well, you know what happens when you decide to go back to sleep... I woke up at about 5:55 and was out the door by about 5:58. I must admit, I played horrible basketball this morning. It was pathetic! There was one play where I was passing the ball in, and Pastor Tim faked to the right and then went left... I was already in motion to throw it right, and tried to hold onto it. I ended up bounce passing it to the guy on the other team nice and softly. I am just so glad that wasn't on video. :) It was fun anyway, although I think I did more good for the other team than I did mine.

I had Calculus class this morning. We were doing some physics problems today, so it was nice actually knowing how to do the problems before he taught anything. :) Well, time to study 1 John 3 and do some homework.

California.... and that wet stuff that comes from the sky

Well, we actually got some rain yesterday! It was rather pleasant--running around on the soccer field in the rain (I had to ref Jonathan's soccer game at 8 am). After we got home and had lunch, we had some family time which included playing a game, and worship/prayer time (which is always enjoyable). Since I don't have a lot of homework this weekend, I got to go over to the Sisson's house where Ethan and I played random songs (him on the guitar, and me on his keyboard). Anyway, that pretty much sums up my Saturday.

This morning, we talked about Judaism. It is very sad to see how works based it is (much like Islam and Mormonism). The message was "A Challenge for the Jews - from Jews". We talked about Galatians 2 and 3 where Paul states that we cannot be justified by the Law; therefore, we are hopeless without Christ. Several months back, we did a study on Matthew 5. It really opened my eyes to my narrow-mindedness in which I interpret Scripture. Jesus attacks that artificial standard of "goodness" that we set for ourselves, and shows the heart issues. Pastor Tim gave us an example listing two sets of things: the external things (stealing, killing, committing adultery, etc.), and the internal things (coveting, anger, looking lustfully on someone else, etc.). Jesus was basically pointing out that we look good on the outside, but in our hearts, we are full of wickedness. When Jesus says "be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect", He is basically killing all hope for doing it on our own. Paul also hits on the worthlessness of our "good works" in Phil. 3:2-9. He states in verse 3, "...have no confidence in the flesh..." He then goes on to talk about the fact that he has more reason than any of us to put confidence in the flesh, and yet he counts it loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus! Hebrews 2:2-3 leaves us with the sobering reality that God is always just. The reality is that our righteousness is nothing (Isaiah 64:6, Gal. 5:2-4). Talk about a reason to praise Him for Christ!!!

I liked this equation:
Calvary = 100% X Mercy + 100% X Justice

For me, this was a very practical message. I am praying for opportunities to share this message with people that I am in contact with. This world is so satisfied with personal righteousness as being good enough. May God open their eyes to see the truth!

Bible study

Last night we had Bible study again. It was a blessing as usual. We talked about Gideon in Judges 6-7. It is amazing to see God's sovereignty within impossible odds. Goes to show, God doesn't work based on odds. It's interesting to see when God chooses someone... it really doesn't matter what kind of person they are! God pursues the ones He calls. We need to be faithful and obedient to what He has called us to do, and He will do the rest. One thing that really caught my attention is that at the end of Gideon's life, he falls away from God. Looking at people who have experienced the blessing of God, and great victory and then falling away from God really is sobering. I realize that I don't fully trust God; otherwise, I would obey Him immediately knowing that His way is the best way... yet I try to take shortcuts that are harmful to me and others. We must continually pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness (1 Tim. 6:11). The battle is there whether we are fighting or not. Let's fight!

I Can't Believe that I'm Updating this!

I can't believe I am actually updating this blog. I have absolutely no desire to blog, but several people have challenged me to do so.... and looking back on my old blog posts is quite fun I must admit (even if I did them only because I had to).

I had no calculus class this morning... which I won't complain about. Calculus and physics tests this week made it long enough. :) I went out to eat with my pastor this afternoon. He is such a blessing! God used some unique circumstances to bring us into this new small church that meets at a school. I have been challenged a great deal through the preaching and teaching of Pastor Tim. When I first came to the church, my first thought was.... wow, this is what I've been looking for all my life in a church, but I really don't see opportunities to serve musically (which is what I've always enjoyed doing). Little did I know what God had in store... I am blessed with the opportunity to play guitar almost each Sunday!

Since my last post, I transferred to La Sierra University due to Calbaptist dropping their computer science degree. I really miss the Male Chorale at CBU, but I am confident that I am exactly where God wants me. This semester I am at the community college due to financial aid running out soon. I am quite excited about the opportunities that God has placed before me. Many people in need of the forgiveness found only in Christ... and I have the opportunity all semester long to be with them and hopefully share Christ with them with my words as well as my actions.

Tonight, we have Bible study at CBU. I can't tell you how much of a blessing that Bible study is! A family from our church (the Babb's) started this Bible study last year. It is exciting to see commonly minded college aged people pursing Christ, and taking action! It is another opportunity to lead worship, and I absolutely love doing that (especially when all the people can sing too). :) Well, this is probably going to be the longest blog post I will ever write, but you know... a lot of time has passed between now and the previous post.

Time for calculus homework. :)

Just a quick update...

We just finished Microsoft Access... which I liked. :) Its got a lot of programming logic in it. I am going to be really busy this week because I have 3 papers due, as well as a 10 min speech, and a test, so i don't think I'll be posting on here anymore for the rest of the semester. Check out my webpage sometime www.geocities.com/fly_man100/

Choir Trip Report

I missed this class on tuesday because of the choir trip that I went on to San Jose. I really enjoyed the tour though! :) We sang at two churches, two public schools, and one private school! I think it is really cool that we could sing about God in public schools! The kids seemed to be really responsive to us. We also sang a song in the mall, because santa wanted us to. :) Too much fun! On the way back, we sang on the plane (just one song though). We visited San Fransisco yesterday... and that was cool. I got some cool pictures. I'll probably put them on my website sometime soon... that is once I finish my english stuff. I have to catch up :( oh well....

Choir mini-tour

Yay! Our choir is flying up to San Jose on Monday. It's going to be tough to catch up on what I miss in class, but it should be fun. :) Now to work on Microsoft Access! :D

Choir

I am enjoying choir, although it is quite time consuming! We will be going to San Jose sometime in November... yay! ;) I just wish that I didn't have to miss classes for that because I want to get A's.... and its a lot tougher when you miss classes.