chillin

I miss writing....!

     I have not written here in like forever! I am so behind. There are so many things that have been going on these past few weeks. Months actually! I don't even know where to start. 

    First, I joined the Harvest Christian Academy volleyball team! Wow, has that ever been a blast. I love playing volleyball and after playing this season and learning so much, I can't imagine what I played like before. (I'm sure some are still wondering what I play like now!) I can't wait to play with some old buddies this summer. At the school, they have been building a brand new complex. It is HUGE! It has seating for like over 1000 people and the floor is the nicest on island. It is amazing. A super big plus is that it is air conditioned too. All of the gyms that we played at this season don't have AC. Here is the link to some pix.

http://photogallery.worthwhile.com/viewalbum.php?position=0&clientid=44&albumid=958 

    Second, a few weeks ago we found out that Mom had cancer again. That was a BIG shock! But, as soon as I heard, I knew everything was going to be ok. For whatever reason the Lord has us going through this, is for His glory and our benefit because we get the chance that many others don't to see Him work in different ways. So many plans have changed already, but I don't really care. Most of you who read this should know that I really don't care that much about plans changing. I think it is actually kind of fun, sometimes. 

     It just shows us that whatever we  plan out for the days ahead, is not always what God  plans out for us. That is a big lesson that I have been learning lately. The things in this world that we think we know or care about or look forward to doing really doesn't matter. What matters most is being in tune with God's spirit and being able to discern His will for each of our lives. He knows the desires of our hearts and if it is in His will, He will honor that. Unless we are confident that we can distinguish His still small voice we have a lot of learning to do. Yes, we can tell when the Lord is speaking to us about some things, but when we get so wrapped up and sidetracked in the midst of whatever may be going on, that is when it is important to know that we can hear Him, so we will be able to rest in His promises when times get harder. 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 is a verse that a friend showed me that really boosted my confidence that we can all get through this time!

     You know, so many people today are so bogged down with stress and worries! It makes me tired just thinking about it! We are human, and sometimes stray from the promises of God's word. That is why we need to only have friends that encourage us in the direction of the Bible in times of need. 1 Peter 5:6-7 is something that they need to read! I think in one of my earlier postings, I wrote something about trusting God. Why don't we? I mean, we say that we are Christians and believe in Jesus Christ, but when it comes time to telling others about Salvation or a trial in our lives we tend to start doubting that He will take care of us? What else does God have to prove to us before we will believe with our whole hearts?! Jesus conquered death, gave us a way to get to Heaven to spend eternity with Him and His Father! Is that not enough for you? 

     We are going to be moving back to the States for the summer. That is news to some of you. But, along with that comes many unknowns. As a guy, I really like to know what is going on and a plan about something! Even if it changes, I need to have something to go off of. Well, the Lord has been showing me that I don't need to have a plan. All I have to do is fully rely on Him. That is all we have to do and if we do that, we get to a point where we feel so helpless, but that is actually the only time where He can shine through us the most! 2 Corinthians 12:10

     There are still many unknowns going into this summer. But, already God has answered many of my prayers as far as plans and working out things with school out here. It is amazing what can happen if we let Him take control! I had a job lined up here this summer to be able to save some money for school. Well, I had to put in my two weeks before I even started! (that's a joke!) Anyways, I started thinking about what kind of job I could get in the States for only a short time that would be able to let me save and spend for necessities. I still haven't come to any conclusion on that yet. But I know God will make a way. He has already! 

     You know how when you take the SAT you enter all of your personal information and preferred schools and stuff? Well, after a while you start getting things in the mail. Most of it is just junk mail. At least that is how it works with me.:) Well, long story short ( this is turning into a book so I thought I had to cut something short..!) back in like February we found out about a scholarship through Continental. Only we found out like 1 day before it was due! I didn't want to fill out all of the info and stuff, but mom insisted. I wrote two essays and with her help filled out all of the good stuff that goes into those things! Well, here it is already May. I haven't heard any response that they even received my application. Until the two days ago. I got a letter from Scholarship Management Services. That was all the letter said on the outside. I thought it was just another membership thingy. I was going to pitch it but for fun I decided to bring it upstairs. I opened it and saw that it was from Continental. It said I was the recipient of a scholarship for this next school year! I couldn't believe it! It is so amazing what God can do for us if we let him.   

     That is just one way that He has answered my prayers. It was so unexpected and yet perfectly timed, I didn't know what to think! We can not do anything, no matter how hard we try, to plan and make things work out. God is the only one who knows our needs and can help in the best way that He knows we need.........side note........That is another area that we kind of lose our trust in God. We think that we deserve or need so many things, but when we ask Him for them and we don't get anything, we think that He doesn't care about what we need. More times than not, we are impatient and want things rather than  need things. If we really spent a lot of time praying about our wants and needs we would begin to realize all of the things that He has provided for us already and don't really need anything else! We are so spoiled. 

 

     Lately, I have been really encouraged by all of the people here at Harvest. They are true lights of Jesus' love! Everyone wants to help in any way they can. I am really going to miss being with so many like minded believers who live totally for the Lord. Yet, I know that during this summer there is a reason that we are going back to the States and the Lord has things for us to learn. I have learned so much and we haven't even left yet! I just have to make sure that I stay open to hear God's teaching and learn from it. Even with what I am learning now, I thought I already knew. Actually, I did "know" some of it. But, implementing it is a totally different story! It really brings the statement "easier said than done" a whole new meaning. 

     Well, tomorrow, or actually today, is our last Sunday before we leave. It is going to be hard saying goodbye to so many friends. But, I am not going to say 'goodbye", just "shoot" or "see ya later". (For all of you Stateside folks, some of you know what I am talking about. For those of you who don't, even though English is spoken out here, it is a whole different dialect! I love it:) Because I know that we will be coming back and if not, then I am resting in the fact that I will see them again eventually. 

      I am not sure what is going to happen in the States, but I do know that God does take care of his children John 10:14. I am resting sure in the promises of God. Are you? 

Isaiah 40:31

     

How would you like to be guaranteed Success?!!

If you knew someone who had the answer to success in life wouldn't you go and talk to them about it? Well the answer is actually found in Joshua 1:1-9! More specifically verses 8-9. Here are the steps in more detail that you have to follow in order to achieve true success. 1. Reject the worlds view of success-(vs. 7) *money, material possessions, popularity, power-Luke 12:15-21 2. Embrace a theo-centric view of success-(vs. 7-9) 3. Pursue God's plan of success A. Take sin seriously-(vs. 2-6) *if you don't kill sin it will kill you-Numbers 33:50-56 B. Treasure the word-(vs. 8) * soak yourself in God's word...see what God wants to teach you in your daily devotions...dwell, meditate, and observe, have a desire to learn more about God and love Him C. Trust in the Lord-(vs. 9) * if you love the Lord and long to know him better, you will surrender your life to him and fully rely on him for everything you may need to fulfill his plan for you.

Do you really trust God?

Why do we worry about our life and what is going to happen in the future? Why don't we believe that God will take care of us and provide for our every need? Is it because of fear? Because, fear is nothing more than False Evidence Appearing Real. Ultimately it is because we don't take Him seriously! When was the last time you read the Lord's Prayer? As a child you probably have recited it a few times, but how about today? When was the last time that you prayed that God's name would remain holy, or that his will would be done here on Earth as it is in Heaven, before asking that he would provide food for you? I think we should all re-evaluate what we really think is more important. Would we rather have our daily bread, which directly relates to us, or would we be concerned for the unsaved who are dying and going to Hell. Why do we not trust in God? Is it because we are afraid we won't get everything that we think we need to live here? If so, we are living for the wrong reasons. Do you really think that the One who made it possible for us to live here wouldn't take care of us? If God can take care of the birds and the flowers of the field, he can surely take care of his people! Life is a treasure from God! He has promised to reward those who are faithful to him with treasures in Heaven. We need to be trying to store up treasures not here on earth but in Heaven, where those who have accepted Jesus Christ as their personal savior will be living with him for eternity. Unless we are fully trusting in God, we are living a life that has no real purpose or meaning. Ask yourself, who are you living for? We need to be living for God and trying to advance his Kingdom every hour of every day. We need to look at our priorities and examine how God said they should be as stated in the Lord's Prayer. We can not do this by ourselves, but only through Jesus. We need to ask Him to help us change and live for him! He promises that if we give ourselves fully to him, solely devoted to advancing his kingdom, he will provide for our every need! You can read about this in Matthew 6.

A lesson from Sunday School

Hey everybody, I just thought that I would take a few minutes to write about what I have been able to learn from the messages at Harvest Baptist Church. Some of these things mean quite a bit to me but I am not sure how much you will be able to understand so forgive me if it is unclear. In Sunday school we have been going over the book of Romans. I know that most people reading this have read the book before but did you really grasp what it is talking about? You probably have a general idea but did you ever pay attention to the way that Paul specifically outlined each verse of each chapter? I have an outline that opens up a new angle to the book. Chapters 1-3:20 explains the condemnation of ourselves and the portrayal of what we are without Jesus Christ. Chapters3:21-8 talks about the gift of salvation. Chapters 9-11 explains the history of the Gospel. Finally Chapters 14-16 goes over the exhortation and tells us how we are to reach others with the Good News of the Gospel! The theme of the whole book is stated in the first chapter, verses 16-17. It says that, "The just shall live by Faith." In this verse just is meaning righteous. Those who have been made righteous shall live by faith. Faith is not just a one time act....it is a way of life. You might not think that we can really be righteous, but it is made possible by the shedding of the blood of Jesus Christ, and only through him are we able to be made righteous before a Holy God. Changing the subject for a minute. A message that we heard on a Sunday morning from an evangelist had the title of, What is Real Salvation. All of us know what salvation is! But do we really live out what God has done for us? I am going to try to briefly explain the main points in his message. Real Salvation begins when God pursues you *We love God because he first loved us-John 6:44 Real Salvation can only happen when you come to grips with your sin Real Salvation occurs when you trust in Christ alone How do you really know that it has happened to you? *Your life changes, and will continue to change *Your desires will change *You will want to reach people with the Gospel So the question is, What are you going to do with what Jesus has given you? Ok. All of that to say this....the first step in changing our life is mourning over our sin. Sin will be punished. Until we realize the damaging effects of sin we will never really be fully thankful for the gift of Salvation. In heaven there are going to be two types of people. First there will be those who say to God, " Thy Will be done", and then the group where God says, " Thy will be done". Which group would you fit under right now? Which group do you want to fit under? The basic problem of the human race is not ignorance of the truth but rebellion against the true God! All people know God exists yet they still choose to rebel against him. The only thing we can do for those people is pray for them. Do you know what it really means to pray? You are probably thinking that we can all talk to God. Yes we all can talk to him but what are we really doing when we are talking to him? We are not being quiet to listen to his voice and instruction! We learned that to pray you must Praise, Repent, Ask, and Yield. So next time you are going to pray take a second and think about your purpose. Are you always asking him to do things for you or only going to him when you need help. Maybe we all need to take some more time to thank and praise God for the things that he has given us. To ask for forgiveness for our sins and to give up our wants and desires and listen to what He has in store for us.