Who You Rolling With?

In John 10, Jesus spoke to the Jews about The Shepherd and His Flock.  He said, "I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger's voice." Are you listening to the voice of your shepherd?  Is Jesus your shepherd?  Those are questions that we all need to continually ask ourselves.  In times of struggle or confusion, they make all the difference.  Jesus tells us that His sheep follow Him b/c they hear His voice.  Are you obeying your shepherd's commands? If we are His sheep, He will not fail to instruct us. If we are Jesus' sheep, we will also flee from the voice of the stranger, b/c it is not the voice of our shepherd.  Jesus went on to say, "I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."  Again, there are going to be thieves and robbers that try to lead us astray, but if we are Jesus' sheep, we will not listen to them!  This could come in any form, but if Christ is in us, the Spirit will convict us.  We have entered through the gate, which is Christ, and we have been saved.  Our shepherd has come so that we could live abundant lives through Him, and He wants to lead us to that life, however, it is crucial that we LISTEN and OBEY.  Jesus goes on saying, "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.  I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father."  Our shepherd laid His life down for us on the cross!  Are we laying our life down for Him?  We deserve nothing less than death for our sins, but Jesus said, "Nope, Im paying for their sins!"  Why?  B/C Jesus listened to the commands of His father.  Like Jesus, do we desire to know the father?  If so, we are going to lay our lives down, as a sacrifice, for the sheep that are not yet in the pen.  Jesus doesn't need to use us to do this, but He wants to use us.  Walking through life as a living sacrifice, for Jesus, is living life to the fullest.  Is it going to be hard?  Um, Yea!  But the struggle that you encounter cannot even compare to the joy that a surrendered life will bring.  I pray that I can listen to the voice of my shepherd, and that I will sacrifice for the sake of the sheep that have not yet entered the pen.  I don't want to be led by a hired hand, b/c they will only lead me to destruction.  There is one flock and one shepherd, and that is who I want to roll with.  Who you rolling with?

Repentance...

God I come to you out of shear desperation.  I am a sinner in need of forgiveness.  I fall short of the man that I want to be everyday.  My spirit is willing but my flesh is weak.  I pray that you will forgive me for the sins that I have committed against you. Every time I sin against you it is like I am nailing a nail in Jesus’ hand.  I pray that I can submit to your laws everyday, instead of choosing to submit to the flesh.  Convict me when I am wrong, and show me the way I need to go.  I pray that you will constantly remind me that Satan hates me, he only wants me to fail, and he is the father of lies.  I pray that I can see the world through your eyes Lord, and that I will act the way that you call me to.  The world that we live in is dark, and Satan is always looking to pull your children towards him, but I know that your power is stronger than his.  You crushed sin when Jesus rose from the dead.  God I want to completely turn from evil in every way.  I pray that you will continue to pour your love into my life.  Give me the strength to live according to your word, so that I can be a living testimony of it to others.  I ask all of these things in the name of Jesus.  Amen.

Keep Pushin'...Don't Look Back...

Job 22:26-30 reads: “Surely then you will find delight in the Almighty and will lift up your face to God.  You will pray to him, and he will hear you, and you will fulfill your vow.  What you decide on will be done, and light will shine on your ways.  When men are brought low and you say, 'Lift them up!' then he will save the downcast.  He will deliver even one who is not innocent, who will be delivered through the cleanness of your hands."  Job was, without a doubt, going through a pretty tough time in this part of his story.  He had lost his family, his livestock, and he had been struck with many other things.  A friend of his, named Eliphaz, is encouraging him with the words above.  Since this passage came from the Bible, these words are also to us.  As I read this scripture, and many more, I am also encouraged.  In the midst of ministry, many of us get very frustrated.  Many people think that things always go great for Christians, not so much.  Yes we have constant joy that is found in Christ, but life still happens to us along the way.  Fortunately, we always have God’s word to comfort us in our struggles.  As I continue to pour myself out to my students, I get very frustrated at times.  I see very little fruit, even though I give it my all.  This scripture convicted me.  I find my delight in the Almighty and I just need to lift my face to him and pray!  I should continue to fulfill my vow, and know that God hears my prayers.  God is at work even when I don’t see Him working.  The scripture is really encouraging to me where it says, “When men are brought low and you say, 'Lift them up!' then he will save the downcast.  He will deliver even one who is not innocent, who will be delivered through the cleanness of your hands."  WOW!  God is going to intercede in the lives of others, on our behalf.  That is just a kick in the rear for me.  My heart truly breaks for those that don’t know Christ.  I need to live a righteous life, lift others up, and they will be delivered!  I love the promises that in the word of God!  I pray that I can continue to keep pushing toward the goal that is found in Christ Jesus, because the eternal lives of others are at stake.  Are you pushing towards Christ, or are you looking back?

Observing Lent...& Not the Belly-Button Kind...

I think I can honestly say that I legalism is not an attribute of mine, however, I do have a desire to become more disciplined in my walk with Christ.  I have only been passionately following Christ for about three years now, so spiritual discipline is a new thing for me.  I was totally challenged by Mark Batterson's blog on lent.  Check it out!  Anyways, I totally feel like giving up TV for lent would be a plus for me.  I'm not choosing to sacrifice TV because Mark did last year, I chose it because in its place I am going to read through the library of books that I own, in addition to the Bible.  Your Bible or another book is doing no good on your shelf.  I have really grown to love reading because of the learning that I experience.  Before I accepted Christ at 23, the only book I had read  cover to cover was Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.  (You can laugh, I know that is pitiful.)  But now, I am challenged in my walk with Christ through the books that I choose to read.  Do I hold them higher than scripture?  No way!  But I am challenged by the way God uses these authors as vessels to challenge their readers, He has been in that business for a while now.  The authors take different angles and stances on issues, so it intensifies my thought process by reading their books.  Mark says, "Subtraction Plus Addition Equals Multiplication."  You can't go wrong with that.  I need less of myself and more of Him, so I pray that God will show me what He wants me to see during this season of lent.  What are you giving up for lent?

Valentinus Kept It Real...

I know this is a couple days late, but here is the real reason we celebrate Valentine's Day.  We have Valentine's Day because of the fascinating life that a priest named, St. Valentine lived. According to history, Valentinus (the Latin form) was thrown into a dungeon. Although his jailer, Asterius, was not harsh, the priest lived with only the bare necessities. His one comfort while in prison was his friendship with Asterius' blind daughter. She befriended the kindly priest by bringing him food and delivering messages. After a year in jail, Valentinus was summoned to appear before Claudius II. The emperor was so impressed by the young priest's dignity that Claudius attempted to convert him from Christianity to save him from execution.  Valentinus, however, refused and was ordered to be beaten with clubs, stoned and executed. In the last days of his life, Valentinus, through his faith, restored the sight of the jailer's daughter. He also converted Asterius and the girl to his faith.  On the eve of his execution the priest wrote a farewell message to the girl and signed it 'From Your Valentine.' His execution was carried out on Feb 14, 269 A.D in Rome. According to legend, a pink almond tree, a symbol of friendship and affection shared each anniversary of the priest's execution marks Valentine's Day.  Although, thought to be a day for lovers, Valentine's Day is actually a day to profess your love and affection for anyone. It is a time to renew and strengthen the friendships and relationships that are shared with everyone.  Show others the love of Christ.  It may mean you will be thrown in prison and executed, but honestly I don't know of a better way to go.  Personally, to die for my faith would be an honor.

Are You Rescuing Slaves?

There is a well known story in the Bible that took place in Exodus 2.  It is about a Hebrew baby boy that was born to a Levite woman.  The Pharaoh of that time ordered that all Hebrew boys to be killed at birth. (Exodus 1:16)  He feared that eventually the Israelites would out number his people and engage in war against them. (Exodus 1:10)  To save the boy's life she put him in a basket and placed him in the Nile river. (Exodus 2:3)  This boy was rescued from the river by Pharaoh's daughter, and she saw that he was cared for. (Exodus 2:5-9) When the boy grew older, Pharaoh's daughter named the boy Moses, saying, "I drew him out of the water." (Exodus 2:10)  My question is, who have you rescued out of the water, or do you need to be rescued?  The same God that spoke the earth into existence loves every person on this earth, but we are all slaves to sin.  The rapper Trip Lee puts it like this, "The good news is we can be born again, the bad news is we were born to sin."  Ain't that the truth!  So those of us who have been born again have a job to do.  Who do we know that is still a slave to sin?  Moses went on to become a man of God.  God presented the ten commandments to Moses and trusted him to present them to the Israelites. (Exodus 20)How many of us pass a Moses everyday?  God has plans for every person on this earth, and he wants to use us to bring that out of them.  With that being said, my prayer is that we go out daily with the mindset that God is going to use us to rescue slaves...     

Kicks For Christ...

The L.O.T. Project wants to encourage people to give $25 or more to support Kicks For Christ. Kicks For Christ is a shoe ministry that provides new shoes for the kids that we work with. In many cases, these kids have never experienced the reality of getting a brand new pair of shoes. We want to be able to provide that to them. Among other outreach ideas that we have, we think that Kicks For Christ will prove to be a success. Providing new shoes for kids is one way of bridging the gap of trust and communication. We want the kids to totally open their lives up to us so that God can use us to disciple them. For just $25 a kid will recieve a brand new pair of Converse Chuck Taylor’s. Skip going out to eat one night and be apart of changing a kids life. Your prayers and contributions are greatly appreciated!

On the verge...

There is something going on in the upstate of South Carolina.  God is moving in AMAZING ways.  At FUSE* (NewSpring's Youth Group) last night we saw at least 25 students STAND UP and VOCALLY PRAY TO RECEIVE JESUS CHRIST!!!  That is absolutly HUGE.  This is becoming the norm at FUSE*.  Does that mean we are getting comfortable with it?  NO WAY!  FUSE* staff and volunteers are digging deeper than ever, just trying to grasp what it means to be leaders in this movement.  It was also parent night last night and we saw far more parents than expected.  It is like God continues to blow our mind EVERY week.  Students are going to go home and start leading their parents to Christ, they are going to go to school and start talking about what Jesus is doing in their life, and more and more names will be written in the Lamb's book of life.  Why? Because those that are far from the Love of Christ are hungry and are just waiting to find the Hope that Jesus brings, and its just around the corner for many  people.  I am just amazed that I get to be apart of this.  I pray for other people to get involved in this movement, or allow God to start one through you in your community.  We are all the body, so we are all working together for the same thing.  Let EVERYONE you encounter today be affected by the Love that Christ has for them.  It is simple as holding a door, smiling at someone, or being INTENTIONAL in your approach and meeting a need of someone in need.  Bridge the gap folks, be OBEDIENT, and Love your neighbor as yourself. (Luke 10:27) We are on the verge of something HUGE!   Are you going to take the next step?...

The Ragman...

Notice the parallel with Isaiah 42:1-9...

Ragman...

I saw a strange sight.
I stumbled upon a story most strange like nothing my life,
my street sense, my sly tongue had even prepared me for.
Hush, child. Hush now and I will tell it to you.

Even before the dawn one Friday morning I noticed a young man,
handsome and strong, walking the alleys of our city.
He was pulling an old cart filled with clothes both bright and new,
and he was calling in a clear, tenor voice: "Rags!"
Ah, the air was foul and the first light filthy to be crossed by such sweet music.
"Rags! New rags for old! I take your tired rags! Rags!"
"Now, this is a wonder," I thought to myself,
for the man stood six- feet-four,
and his arms were like tree limbs, hard and muscular,
and his eyes flashed intelligence.
Could he find no better job than this, to be a ragman in the inner city?
So I followed him. My curiosity drove me. And I wasn't disappointed.

Soon the Ragman saw a woman sitting on her back porch.
She was sobbing into a handkerchief,
sighing, and shedding a thousand tears.
Her knees and elbows made a sad X.
Her shoulders shook. Her heart was breaking.
The Ragman stopped his cart.
Quietly, he walked to the woman,
stepping round tin cans, dead toys and Pampers.
"Give me your rag," he said so gently,
"and I'll give you another."
He slipped the handkerchief from her eyes.
She looked up and he laid across her palm
a linen cloth so clean and new that it shined.
She blinked from the gift to the giver.
Then, as he began to pull his cart again,
the Ragman did a strange thing:
he put her stained handkerchief to his own face;
and then he began to weep,
to sob as grievously as she had done,
he shoulders shaking.
Yet she was left without a tear.
"This is a wonder," I breathed to myself,
and I followed the sobbing Ragman
like a child who cannot turn away a mystery.

"Rag! Rag! New rags for old!"
In a little while,
when the sky showed grey behind the rooftops
and I could see the shredded curtains hanging out black windows,
the Ragman came upon a girl whose head was wrapped in a bandage,
eyes were empty.
Blood soaked her bandage.
A single line of blood ran down her cheek.
Now the tall Ragman looked upon this child with pity,
and he drew a lovely yellow bonnet from his cart.
"Give me your rag," he said,
tracing his own line on her cheek,
"and I'll give you mine."
The child could only gaze at him while he loosened the bandage,
removed it, and tied it to his own head.
The bonnet he set on hers. And I gasped at what I saw:
for with bandage went the wound!
Against his brow it ran a darker,
more substantial blood-his own!

"Rag! Rags! I take old rags!" cried the sobbing,
bleeding, strong, intelligent Ragman.
The sun hurt both the sky, now, and my eyes;
the Ragman seemed more and more to hurry.
"Are you going to work?" he asked a man leaned against a telephone pole.
The man shook his head.
The Ragman pressed him: "Do you have a job?"
"Are you crazy?" sneered the other.
He pulled away from the pole, revealing the right sleeve of his jacket
- flat, the cuff stuffed into the pocket.
He had no arm.
"So," said the Ragman. "Give me your jacket,
and I'll give you mine."
Such quiet authority in his voice!
The one-armed man took off his jacket.
So did the Ragman -
and I trembled at what I saw:
for the Ragman's arm stayed in its sleeve,
and when the other put it on he had two good arms,
thick as tree limbs: but the Ragman had only one.
"Go to work," he said.

After that he found a drunk,
lying unconscious beneath an army blanket,
an old man hunched, wizened, and sick.
He took that blanket and wrapped it round himself,
but for the drunk he left new clothes.

And now I had to run to keep up with the Ragman.
Though he was weeping uncontrollably,
and bleeding freely at the forehead,
pulling his cart with one arm,
stumbling for drunkenness, falling again and again,
exhausted, old, old, and sick,
yet he went with terrible speed.
On spider's legs he skittered through the alleys of the City,
this mile and the next, until he came to its limits,
and then he rushed beyond.

I wept to see the changes in this man.
I hurt to see his sorrow.
And yet I needed to see where he was going in such haste,
perhaps to know what drove him so.
The little old Ragman - he came to a landfill.
He came to the garbage pits.
And then I wanted to help him in what he did,
but I hung back, hiding.
He climbed a hill.
With tormented labour he cleared a little space on that hill.
Then he sighed.
He lay down.
He pillowed his head on a handkerchief and a jacket.
He covered his bones with an army blanket. And he died.
Oh, how I cried to witness that death!
I slumped in a junked car and wailed and mourned as one who has no hope -
because I had come to love the Ragman.
Every other face had faded in the wonder of this man,
and I cherished him;
but he died.
I sobbed myself to sleep.
I did not know - how could I know? --
that I slept through Friday night and Saturday and its night, too.

But then, on Sunday morning,
I was awakened by a violence.
Light - pure, hard, demanding light -
slammed against my sour face,
and I blinked, and I looked,
and I saw the last and the first wonder of all.
There was the Ragman,
folding the blanket most carefully,
a scar on his forehead,
but alive!
And, beside that, healthy!
There was no sign of sorrow nor of age,
and all the rags that he had gathered shined for cleanliness.

Well, then I lowered my head and,
trembling for all that I had seen,
I myself walked up to the Ragman.
I told him my name with shame,
for I was a sorry figure next to him.
Then I took off all my clothes in that place,
and I said to him with dear yearning in my voice:
"Dress me.."
He dressed me. My Lord,
he put new rags on me, and I am a wonder beside him.
The Ragman, the Ragman, the Christ!

-Walt Wangerin Jr.

Isaiah 42:1-9-

The Servant of the Lord

1 "Here is my servant, whom I uphold,
my chosen one in whom I delight;
I will put my Spirit on him
and he will bring justice to the nations.

2 He will not shout or cry out,
or raise his voice in the streets.

3 A bruised reed he will not break,
and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.
In faithfulness he will bring forth justice;

4 he will not falter or be discouraged
till he establishes justice on earth.
In his law the islands will put their hope."

5 This is what God the LORD says—
he who created the heavens and stretched them out,
who spread out the earth and all that comes out of it,
who gives breath to its people,
and life to those who walk on it:

6 "I, the LORD, have called you in righteousness;
I will take hold of your hand.
I will keep you and will make you
to be a covenant for the people
and a light for the Gentiles,

7 to open eyes that are blind,
to free captives from prison
and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.

8 "I am the LORD; that is my name!
I will not give my glory to another
or my praise to idols.

9 See, the former things have taken place,
and new things I declare;
before they spring into being
I announce them to you."

Entertaining Angels...

Hebrews 13:12 says, "2Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it."  I know that you folks that read my blog are tired of hearing me scream the same thing from on top of my soapbox, but I can't help but notice God constantly putting these things on my mind.  I was reading in Judges earlier and God laid this on my heart.  Manoah's wife was sterile, but the angel of the Lord (Jesus) came to her and said, "You are sterile and childless but you are going to conceive and have a son." (Judges 13:3)  How many times has God laid something on our heart?  How many times has He told us that a blessing was coming our way?  The angel of the Lord (Jesus) continued to to say to Manoah's wife in Judges 13:4-5,4 "Now see to it that you drink no wine or other fermented drink and that you do not eat anything unclean, 5 because you will conceive and give birth to a son. No razor may be used on his head, because the boy is to be a Nazirite, set apart to God from birth, and he will begin the deliverance of Israel from the hands of the Philistines."  Now, I know we are blessed regardless of our faithfulness or not, but are there more blessings for us or for others through us if we are obedient to God?  Im pretty sure the answer is YES! The angel of the Lord was informing Manoah of a future blessing, but the news came with a demand of obedience.  When Manoah heard of this he prayed and begged the Lord that the angel return with instructions of how to raise the son that was going to be born. (Judges 13:8) When God lays something on our heart, do we go to Him in prayer to figure out the specifics?  We should!  As the story continues, God heard Manoah's cry, just like He hears ours, and the angel of the Lord appeared to Manoah's wife again.  She quickly ran to Manoah and said, "He's here!  The man who appeared to me the other day!"  Manoah went to talk to "the man."  He got the same instructions that were given to his wife, and wanted to prepare a young goat for the angel.  But in verse 16 the angel said, "Even though you detain me, I will not eat any of your food. But if you prepare a burnt offering, offer it to the LORD." (Manoah did not realize that it was the angel of the LORD.)  Did you catch that?  Manoah didn't even know that it was the angel of the Lord, JESUS, that he was offering hospitality and gratitude to, but Jesus said, "Offer it to the Lord."  This is what reminded me of Hebrews 13:12.  Manoah had an encounter with Jesus, God in the flesh, and didn't even realize it.  How many times have we had a chance to show a stranger LOVE, through hospitality or humility?  Well Manoah sacrificed the goat to Lord and the Lord did an amazing thing, while Manoah and his wife watched.  (Judges 13:19-20)  God will do something amazing with our lives when we are obedient to His call.  God is ALWAYS faithful to His word, we have to be faithful on our end and we will be AMAZED by what God does.  Jesus says in Matthew 25:40, 40"I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me."  God is all around us!  Everywhere I look I see His face.  How many times do we walk pass Jesus (the least of these) in a day?  We can have a huge impact on their lives if we are obedient to God's call.  We can fall on our faces before God bc of an experience like Manoah and his wife had bc of their obedience, or we can face the reality of Matthew 25:41-43.  I pray that we can be intentional in our approach each and every day.  The people in this world are in trouble folks.  What are we going to do about it?  Are we entertaining angels when we get the chance?