New Orleans Mission

So, just a little bit about me real quick. I have never been on any sort of mission trip. I would like to go on a mission trip to New Orleans in a few weeks with our college age group at church but there is something keeping me from doing so. Jobs have been increadibly scarce around here and so I don't have one. Thus finances are beyond low.

So, that being said... I need some money to go help rebuild New Orleans for a few days. I need about $300 total for the trip and that would pay for everything. So if there is any way you can help, whether it be ways to make some fast cash, a donation, prayer, etc, it would be much appreciated.

Thanks!

Obedience...

Romans 6:16

Don't you realize that you become a slave of what you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living.

What are some things that we choose to obey that aren't God? Lying. Sex. Drunkenness. Vengeance. Pride. All of these things are rooted in evil. All of these things ruin the world we live in. All of these things are desires that our flesh longs for. All of the things, they all lead to death. When we choose to obey sin, our lives are dark. When you are a slave to sin, it creeps up in everything you do. Its a disease that will infest your entire life. 


But when we choose to obey God, then our lives are full of the everlasting light that darkness cannot defeat. Being a slave of Christ leads to righteous living. 

So how do we obey? I mean, the simple answer is... you just do it. But if obedience toward God were simple for us, those of us that want to obey Him would always do it. Yet we tend to dis-obey. So there has to be more to it.

I think we have to suffer. Hebrews 5:8 says that Jesus learned His obedience through His suffering. Though I'm still not sure what exactly that means. So we also have to ask God for the wisdom to understand what it means to obey and the strength and will to do so accordingly. We can't just say "I want to be obedient to God" and expect it to happen. We have to have a desire that isn't empty in discipline and principle.


What do YOU think?

Submission Sucks

This is going to be one of those blog posts in which I am extremely honest... again. You've been warned.

I want to follow God whole heartedly. I want to spread His fame all over the world. I want people to know what God has for them and what Jesus did for them. I want for there to be a well-spring of life flowing from within my heart and flooding my life so that others may see the Lord I serve.

I want all of these things, but still I don't trust in God all the way. I mean, I do trust Him. And I do live for Him more than a lot of people in this world. But thats not what He asks of me. I have to give all of myself in order to truly love and trust Him. James chapter 4 says that "if I draw close to God, He will draw close to me." I know this to be true. When I read the word and pray/talk to Him, He does amazing things. And when I don't do these things my life suffers.

See, right now, I put up a pretty large front. I appear to be happy to most people. But on the inside I am a total wreck. I can go from "happy" to angry/sad/down/shut down mode in a matter of seconds over the dumbest things. It has began to effect a friendship and has gone farther than it should. Sometimes, I just write it off as something that happens from time to time. But its become so frequent that I often fear that it is depression.

But here is the thing. I know what the problem is. I don't try to draw closer to God a lot of the time. I don't feast on the flesh of Jesus, nor do I ask the Father for wisdom, knowledge, or even an appetite for the word. all of these things I should do yet I do not. Isn't that silly? Foolish? ABSURD?!

I think it is.

So if you are reading this and have any sort of advice (other than read the word and pray) please share...

 

The Return of the Prodigal Son

Here is a video of Phil Wickham talking about his inspiration for his song "Home".



 I cant tell you how many times I have tried to take God for granted and only be able to finally turn back to The Father. With hind-sight being 20/20, I can see that so often God runs to me. I can only pray that everyday I turn my back on the sinful things of this world and run to God as He runs to me, and becoming more and more in tune with His will and His love.

Building A Community

Dictionary.com has 13 results for the word community. Here are a few.

1. Ecclesiastical. A group of men or women leading a common life according to a rule
2. Joint possession, enjoyment, liability.
3. Similar Character; agreement; identity

How do we make a community here in our group of college-age students at FBC? Shane Claiborne talks a lot about community in his book, and when i try to describe his ideas (or mostly realizations about the early church of Acts) i tend to butcher it and make him sound like a communist. He's not. Or maybe he is, but not the communist that most people think of. Anyway, he talks a lot about coming to the aid of one another. If, someone needs something, then everyone rises to help them. Etc. Etc.

I think that its important to do certain things together in a community. To name a few: Prayer, eat together (when you can), share possessions, and learning as a unit. The group i'm now a part of has shown me the importance of doing these things. The funny thing is, we haven't really eaten together (super bowl sorta counts) nor do we share possessions. And i think thats going to come down to us sharing homes with one another for meals. I think there is so much potential to grow as a unit around the dinner table and to discuss our personal problems with our brothers and sister. Besides, Shane says that he is very reluctant to come speak somewhere if he can't stay in someones house, and i think that is great! He wants to stay with someone and bond with them instead of being alone. Humans aren't meant to be alone.

I just want to grow into this group, and become part of it. I want for it to look on the outside and influence the world with love and for that love to be the love for Christ and the love of others as ourselves. There are people that need us! let's do something to help!