It has been a long time. I mean a really long time since I have sat behind the computer screen and started to write on this blank page. I believe it was like 2011 or something like that...crazy. But, I found myself back on this blog to write on one particular subject that has ate at me for the past few weeks. Christian Movies.
We are all aware that "Christian Movies" for the past couple of weeks have been on the rise. One of the best movies I think I have ever seen was "God's not Dead." Great movie that I would suggest everyone to see, Christian or Non-Christian. I say that primarily because it answers a lot of questions that we find ourselves asking. Am I pushing for the Atheist and the Agnostic to go see the movie? Yes, I am. Not because I want to be a bible beater and beat it into their heads that they need to come to know Christ, thats not how I like to do things. But, I think it is good for the soul to see how other people view things. Do I think Christ is the only way to heaven, absolutely. Even though I don't agree with Atheist and Agnostics, I still have many people whom I consider a friend, that have crazy ideas about religion.
Am I writing this blog to push "Gods not Dead?" It wasn't my first thought when I started typing letters on the computer, it just seemed to have come out that way. What I wanted to come on here and write about is the next movie in line. "Heaven Is For Real."
Over the past few weeks I have been surprised as to the criticism that this movie is getting (I need to first mention this, I have not seen the movie and do plan to view it for myself). As I am scrolling through my feed on facebook, I have seen many people post the video of David Platt and what he had to say about the Books. The video can be found here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wEAko02HD5o
After watching (which I should also note, I like David Platt. By no means am I trying to bash him. Please do not think that) and seeing many post from various people bashing the movie and the people who have seen the movie and enjoyed it....Stop it. There is a couple big things that I wanted to mention. First off, who are we to say that this kid didn't have an out of body experience? Are we this kid, No. Do we know what he seen, No. So, how can we sit in our Lazy Boy recliner and deny what he experienced? Paul mentions in 2 Corinthians 12:2-4:
"I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know—God knows. 3 And I know that this man—whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, but God knows— 4 was caught up to paradise and heard inexpressible things, things that no one is permitted to tell."
Don't be confused, Paul is talking about himself in this instance. Do we sit here and call Paul a liar? No we don't, it's in the Bible. After he gets done describing he mentions, (Jacob Paraphrasing) "that he isn't quite sure what he experienced but God does. Whether in the body or not...God does." I mention that to mention this, God knows what this kid experienced and that is all that matters. If this child really didn't have an experience with Heaven and his father came up with this wild story about it, then on judgment day he will have to stand up and face the Almighty himself. But, we don't need to sit here and judge for ourselves. There is a reason why this book/movie came into existance.
The other side of the conversation is this -- "No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heave -- the Son of Man."--Jesus speaking in John 3:13. I believe that you have to go back to the verse before to get the full understanding as to why Jesus said this, "I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things." The way I take this passage (and by all means you can have different opinions) is Jesus is saying no one has seen what Heaven is all about. And, no one will see what heaven is all about unless you lift up his name and receive him as your Lord and Savior. It starts here on Earth...you will not get a free pass into heaven without believing in Christ.
No one should ever take these books/movies and put them higher than the bible. There is only one living book in this world and it is the Bible. That will never change. Not today, not tomorrow or next week. It will forever be the Living Word. But, these other books that people categorize them as "Christianity" are to be viewed as encouragement during a hard time, challenging us in our faith or learning more about what believe among many other ways.
I will finish off this entry with this thought. Once again it is Paul in Philippians 1:15-18:
15 It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. 16 The latter do so out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel.y 17 The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition,z not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains.a 18 But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice.
The important thing about this movie is this...Heaven is for real and Jesus lives!
Friday, April 25, 2014
Friday, September 30, 2011
The Middle Class Jesus
I know a lot of people have asked me when I was going to write the next blog. I always answered with a simple answer, "soon." The reason why I would answer like that is because I know that God was going to give me words to say...soon. Whether that was going to be a a couple hours later or a couple months down the road, he would 'soon' give me the words to put on this blog. The key factor that I want you to realize is this is not my work. I am not going to try and force words on this blog that are my own to seek out glory to myself.
I was talking with a Brother in Christ a couple weeks ago after church, it has become a weekly ritual that we have lunch. We usually end up eating pizza at Ci Ci's but this week we decided to go to Penn Station and eat the amazing subs that they have to offer. Normal Sunday lunch we will talk about each others week and also about Church. This particular week got deep. Speaking about what God has been showing to us. This is a little snap shot of what we talked about...
You may have clicked on this and wondered about the title "Middle Class Jesus". I am reading "Radical" by David Platt, and he mentions "Middle Class Jesus" in that book. If you want a good slap in the face then read that book. I am on Chapter 3 and I can already recommend it to people as a must read. Back on topic, the reason for the title "Middle Class Jesus" is because I think some people (including myself) have shaped 'our' Jesus into that. To many times today I hear people rationalizing the "Word" (Reminder: I am throwing myself in this pool also. I am not even more Holy than anyone else). Making it to where the Word conforms to them. Hearing/Using sayings like "What God really meant was..." or "I think that God was meaning it like this..." even "It's o.k. for me to do this because Jesus never really said I couldn't". I hate to admit it but...we are rationalizing the Word. What I am afraid of is this, taking Gods words and making them into ours...fitting Jesus into the acceptance as a middle class man. If we believe in 2 Timothy 3:16 "All scripture is God-Breathed..." then why are we arguing with our God. God also promises to us that his word is the same today, yesterday and will be forever. (Hebrews 13:8, Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.) So, if that is true then the words that were spoken into existence a little over 2,000 years ago is still relevant till this day and will not expire. We/I have no argument when it comes to the "word". We need to accept it and take up our Cross and fight the good fight. This is a tough pill for me to swallow, because if satan is good at one thing with me its this. Rationalizing...molding Jesus into a middle class man where everything that I say...he agrees with, or so I am deceived to believe.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7W4I0tQZps <--- Could be the next topic..."Identity"
Much Love,
-JDB
I was talking with a Brother in Christ a couple weeks ago after church, it has become a weekly ritual that we have lunch. We usually end up eating pizza at Ci Ci's but this week we decided to go to Penn Station and eat the amazing subs that they have to offer. Normal Sunday lunch we will talk about each others week and also about Church. This particular week got deep. Speaking about what God has been showing to us. This is a little snap shot of what we talked about...
You may have clicked on this and wondered about the title "Middle Class Jesus". I am reading "Radical" by David Platt, and he mentions "Middle Class Jesus" in that book. If you want a good slap in the face then read that book. I am on Chapter 3 and I can already recommend it to people as a must read. Back on topic, the reason for the title "Middle Class Jesus" is because I think some people (including myself) have shaped 'our' Jesus into that. To many times today I hear people rationalizing the "Word" (Reminder: I am throwing myself in this pool also. I am not even more Holy than anyone else). Making it to where the Word conforms to them. Hearing/Using sayings like "What God really meant was..." or "I think that God was meaning it like this..." even "It's o.k. for me to do this because Jesus never really said I couldn't". I hate to admit it but...we are rationalizing the Word. What I am afraid of is this, taking Gods words and making them into ours...fitting Jesus into the acceptance as a middle class man. If we believe in 2 Timothy 3:16 "All scripture is God-Breathed..." then why are we arguing with our God. God also promises to us that his word is the same today, yesterday and will be forever. (Hebrews 13:8, Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.) So, if that is true then the words that were spoken into existence a little over 2,000 years ago is still relevant till this day and will not expire. We/I have no argument when it comes to the "word". We need to accept it and take up our Cross and fight the good fight. This is a tough pill for me to swallow, because if satan is good at one thing with me its this. Rationalizing...molding Jesus into a middle class man where everything that I say...he agrees with, or so I am deceived to believe.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7W4I0tQZps <--- Could be the next topic..."Identity"
Much Love,
-JDB
Thursday, July 28, 2011
God Speaking
Tonight was another night that I found myself driving at 1 am around Danville. I don't know what it is about driving around my hometown that puts me in a state of thinking, but it did a good job tonight and it was worth every penny of gas that I used. I get way to much on my mind and instead of finding someone to talk to, I just drive and talk to God. I am sure some can relate to this. One of the thoughts that stuck out more than the rest was a recent conversation that I had with a friend...about Gods will and how we know its Him speaking and not our selfish ambition...
First off, I love having conversations with people when it involves questions of wonder about God. The conversation I had with this particular person was one that sticks out above every other conversation I have had because I learned a lot through it myself. So that is where this blog is coming from, I hope this can help you out if you struggle with this like myself.
There is a lot of speculation about God speaking in the world today. A lot of people will complain that they bring their troubles to God through prayer and he doesn't respond. Thus, giving them a reason to believe that God has forgotten about them. Some people can not grasp the fact that God really does answer our questions. Others have trouble deciphering whether or not the answer they feel they have received is that of their own or Gods will. While others will ask and not search for an answer thinking God will bluntly come out and give it to them.
To be honest with you, and I will speak amongst many believers and myself, it can be hard to tell the difference between selfish answers and Gods answers. Speaking for myself and what I want to share with you through this blog is what helps me decide whether of not this is God speaking or myself.
The first thing that helps me decided whether or not God is answering my question or if I am, is how my walk with God is going at that particular time. If my walk with God is slipping then I know that their is a chance that my selfish ambitions are slipping through. The reason why I say this is because if we are fixed on Gods heart and really searching the world for what breaks his heart, by spending time in prayer and fellowship along with reading the Bible then our wants and needs turn into his wants and needs for our lives. But the second that I slip and find myself not searching after Gods heart, I find my selfish ways shining through and not Gods light. When we are after Gods heart, its like we don't have to question whether or not this is Gods will because it all makes sense and fits right into place. You start to see what you can't live without!
The second thing that helps me decide whether or not God is speaking is being willing to hear the two letter word..."no." A lot of people, including myself, will go into prayer and automatically think that what they are asking for will be answered how they want it to be. I would say 99.9% of the time we are not thinking God is going to answer with a "no." The main reason we think this is because we know that God wants the best for our life. And at that moment in time, what we see best for our life is what God is saying "no" to. Its a hard lesson to learn, to know that Gods interest for our life looks far beyond what we can see. The reason why we really need to live by faith and not by sight.
The main thing that we need to do is fix our eyes on the cross. Spend our quiet times praising God though prayer and reading the bible while spending time in fellowship with others. That is when God shows us our plans for our lives.
I know this blog came out of no where but I felt like it needed to be written and sent out. If all goes the way it seems like it is, the next two blogs will be split up. One for the Ladies and one for the Gentlemen. This could get interesting...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJ2_Gg6ka-k
Much Love,
JDB
First off, I love having conversations with people when it involves questions of wonder about God. The conversation I had with this particular person was one that sticks out above every other conversation I have had because I learned a lot through it myself. So that is where this blog is coming from, I hope this can help you out if you struggle with this like myself.
There is a lot of speculation about God speaking in the world today. A lot of people will complain that they bring their troubles to God through prayer and he doesn't respond. Thus, giving them a reason to believe that God has forgotten about them. Some people can not grasp the fact that God really does answer our questions. Others have trouble deciphering whether or not the answer they feel they have received is that of their own or Gods will. While others will ask and not search for an answer thinking God will bluntly come out and give it to them.
To be honest with you, and I will speak amongst many believers and myself, it can be hard to tell the difference between selfish answers and Gods answers. Speaking for myself and what I want to share with you through this blog is what helps me decide whether of not this is God speaking or myself.
The first thing that helps me decided whether or not God is answering my question or if I am, is how my walk with God is going at that particular time. If my walk with God is slipping then I know that their is a chance that my selfish ambitions are slipping through. The reason why I say this is because if we are fixed on Gods heart and really searching the world for what breaks his heart, by spending time in prayer and fellowship along with reading the Bible then our wants and needs turn into his wants and needs for our lives. But the second that I slip and find myself not searching after Gods heart, I find my selfish ways shining through and not Gods light. When we are after Gods heart, its like we don't have to question whether or not this is Gods will because it all makes sense and fits right into place. You start to see what you can't live without!
The second thing that helps me decide whether or not God is speaking is being willing to hear the two letter word..."no." A lot of people, including myself, will go into prayer and automatically think that what they are asking for will be answered how they want it to be. I would say 99.9% of the time we are not thinking God is going to answer with a "no." The main reason we think this is because we know that God wants the best for our life. And at that moment in time, what we see best for our life is what God is saying "no" to. Its a hard lesson to learn, to know that Gods interest for our life looks far beyond what we can see. The reason why we really need to live by faith and not by sight.
The main thing that we need to do is fix our eyes on the cross. Spend our quiet times praising God though prayer and reading the bible while spending time in fellowship with others. That is when God shows us our plans for our lives.
I know this blog came out of no where but I felt like it needed to be written and sent out. If all goes the way it seems like it is, the next two blogs will be split up. One for the Ladies and one for the Gentlemen. This could get interesting...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJ2_Gg6ka-k
Much Love,
JDB
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Make War, remember that?
Here lately, I have been reminiscing back to the idea of "Make War." "Make war" has seriously shown up everywhere. I was reading a book the other night and I'll be darn if in the middle of that book "make war" showed up in it, talking about how we are in a spiritual war. The author pointed out Revelations Chapter 12 to make his point, of which I will touch on. Then out of no where John Piper showed up on my iPod. For those of you who know a little about me, I am a big John Piper fan. What shown up on my iPod was not a song like some would imagine. Rather, a clip of his sermon where he preaches about "making war." At that point I gave in. Went to YouTube and listened to Tedashii song "make war" which is off of the sermon preached by Piper. It doesn't stop there. I was driving home, literally a day after that. Got to Nicholasville and on Air1 a song came on that I had never heard. Here are the lyrics:
My foes are many, they rise against me
But I will hold my ground
I will not fear the war, I will not fear the storm
My help is on the way, my help is on the way
Oh, my God, He will not delay
My refuge and strength always
I will not fear, His promise is true
My God will come through always, always
Troubles surround me, chaos abounding
My soul will rest in You
I will not fear the war, I will not fear the storm
My help is on the way, my help is on the way
Oh, my God, He will not delay
My refuge and strength always
I will not fear, His promise is true
My God will come through always, always
I lift my eyes up, my help comes from the Lord
I lift my eyes up, my help comes from the Lord
I lift my eyes up, my help comes from the Lord
I lift my eyes up, my help comes from the Lord
From You Lord, from You Lord
Oh, my God, He will not delay
My refuge and strength always
I will not fear, His promise is true
My God will come through always, always
Oh, my God, He will not delay
My refuge and strength always, always
After listening to the song, I was speechless. I didn't know what to say or think. Now, I know that I was in the car by myself but usually when stuff like this happens, by myself or not, I start yelling stuff like "Yeah! That's what I'm talking about!" or "Man, God is Great!" and even "Praise God!" followed by vicious fist pumps. I mean come on now, don't act like I am crazy. You know you do the same. But at times I would love to see the faces in the the car next to me if they see what I am doing.
Bringing it all back together, I took all of this as a reminder. Something I believe we all should be reminded of. It is easy to get off track and forget that we are at war. Not just with Satan and his many ways but also with our human bodies and the sin it can produce. We must be on guard at all times, its no joke. Its important because when we are off our guard that is when we are at our weakest and we all know that's when Satan is going to strike full force. Piper mentions in his sermon this: "There is something about war that sharpens the senses. You hear a twig snap or rustling of leaves and you are in attack mode. Someone coughs and you are ready to pull the trigger. Even after days and nights of no sleep, war keeps us vigilant." This is how we should be 24/7!
It seems that today, I see a lot of church's preach the "feel good" of Christianity. Which is fine if that is what God is laying on the Pastors heart to preach but what we have to be sure of is this. That the Christian walk is not all sunshine and rainbows. We have the Love that is not attainable from anything in this world, but rather in our God. He will not leave us nor forsake us and like the song states:
"Oh, my God, He will not delay / My refuge and strength always / I will not fear, His promise is true / My God will come through always, always"
What we need to know is there is another side to the ball game. One that calls for an all out war, like Piper states. This is where Revelations Chapter 12 comes into play. I am not going to state the whole chapter but rather point out the last verses of it (I do however, think you should read that chapter in full to understand where this is coming from). In this chapter it is all about "war". There was a war in heaven and it ultimately ends up with the dragon along with Satan and his army being hurled to earth. It doesn't end there, but rather another war that starts and doesn't end and includes you. We see this in verse 17, "Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to make war against the rest of her offspring-those who obey God's commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus." I promise you this is not made up or I am trying to scare you in any way but rather to show that this is real life and we-are-at-war.
I know this sounds scary to some and others take it as encouragement to fight the good fight. But through and through realize this, Our God is there to fight for us. There is nothing that can defeat our God. Whether it seems that Satan has a foot-hold on you and not letting go or its sin that is creeping up, getting the best of you. He is their to fight for us and with us, it's when we feel that we can fight this war by ourselves that we start losing battles. We need to hold on to the truth:
I know this sounds scary to some and others take it as encouragement to fight the good fight. But through and through realize this, Our God is there to fight for us. There is nothing that can defeat our God. Whether it seems that Satan has a foot-hold on you and not letting go or its sin that is creeping up, getting the best of you. He is their to fight for us and with us, it's when we feel that we can fight this war by ourselves that we start losing battles. We need to hold on to the truth:
"Oh, my God, He will not delay / My refuge and strength always / I will not fear, His promise is true / My God will come through always, always"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hN7L3m9jIcc
Much Love
JDB
JDB
Friday, May 27, 2011
short but full of meaning.
I have fought with this blog for a while now, and I am finally going to give in and just throw it out there for you guys. It was roughly 3 weeks ago, maybe longer that I was attending a meeting for church and in the middle of it God threw this idea in my mind. I was so excited that I told the first person that I encountered which was Leanna in the Library. You can ask her about this statement and she will tell you that it has been a long time since I first talked about it. You may look at it and think, "wow... that's it?" Or you may read this and think, "wow, punch in the face".
I have thought of many different ways that I could possibly tie in a story to go along with this statement like a side dish. But this is the main course and I don't think there needs to be any stories on the side other than the statement.
While being amongst many people with different gifts in the meeting 3 weeks ago. I was thinking about the infinite amount of gifts that God gives us. While thinking about that, I was also thinking about 1 Corinthians 12. After reading that, it was confirmed that I needed to share this. So, here ya go:
"You know how people will say: 'I am trying to find where I belong in the body of Christ?' Well, I don't think its about them finding where they belong. Rather, accepting where Christ is using them."
We all have dreams and we all have aspirations. God knows that, don't for one second think that God doesn't. But what we need to realize is, God's plans for our lives sometimes doesn't equal our plans for our own lives. So many times I sit back and watch people get upset because they are not holding a position in the Church, at Work, or just in life as a whole. As I am asking myself this, let me ask you. Are you fighting where God wants to use you in the Body of Christ at the moment or are you going to let him shine through you no matter the circumstance?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YaPMSUYQmo4
Much Love
-JDB
I have thought of many different ways that I could possibly tie in a story to go along with this statement like a side dish. But this is the main course and I don't think there needs to be any stories on the side other than the statement.
While being amongst many people with different gifts in the meeting 3 weeks ago. I was thinking about the infinite amount of gifts that God gives us. While thinking about that, I was also thinking about 1 Corinthians 12. After reading that, it was confirmed that I needed to share this. So, here ya go:
"You know how people will say: 'I am trying to find where I belong in the body of Christ?' Well, I don't think its about them finding where they belong. Rather, accepting where Christ is using them."
We all have dreams and we all have aspirations. God knows that, don't for one second think that God doesn't. But what we need to realize is, God's plans for our lives sometimes doesn't equal our plans for our own lives. So many times I sit back and watch people get upset because they are not holding a position in the Church, at Work, or just in life as a whole. As I am asking myself this, let me ask you. Are you fighting where God wants to use you in the Body of Christ at the moment or are you going to let him shine through you no matter the circumstance?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YaPMSUYQmo4
Much Love
-JDB
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Talking To The Big Man Upstairs ^
I think it is important for me to point this out before I write another blog. I don't have it all together and I never will. This shouldn't come as a shock to many of you. But, I know that there is a lot of people who read this blog across the States and in different countries around the world and have no idea who I am, just the fact that I am presenting "religious thoughts." I think one of the biggest misconceptions in today's world is the thought that religious leaders (ex: preachers, youth ministers, worship leaders and random Joe's who know the bible back and forth) have it all together and know everything. The reason why I point this out is because I don't want any of my words belong to me on this blog. God gets ALL the glory. Most of the blogs that I write come from experiences where God has shown something to me and the rest God has laid on my heart to share. I would love to talk to each and every person about my blog but I never want someone thinking that because I write this blog I think I am better than the rest because truth is, I screw up a lot and continue to. I am human and am learning through this blog also. You may know but I am now starting to get into the whole twitter ordeal, @jdb407 - follow me. But I seem to do more reading than I do tweeting. The other day I skimmed across a tweet from John Piper a preacher from Minneapolis, "No pastor lives up to what he preaches. If he does, he is preaching too low." That sums it up right there. Now on to the blog.
Lately I have found myself asking God for a lot of guidance. I don't think God has a problem with me asking for that but I began to think a little bit more about it and have come to conclusion that I am sounding very needy. Which made me think about real life. One of the things that really irritates me the most is when you only hear from specific people when they have problems. When things are going good for them they are like a ghost to you but when things are rough and on rocky edges they are by your side asking what they need to do. You can't help but to ask yourself what your role is in their life. Which then leads me to ask, whats the role that God has in our lives? Is he someone that we only talk to when we screw up, need help or a miracle to happen? Or, is he someone that we talk to as if we are in intimate relationship with him? Is God someone that we only talk to when things are bad or is God someone that we talk to through the good, the bad and all the time?
"Come near to God and He will come near to you" - James 4:8
You may argue that having a relationship with God is different than having a relationship with anyone else but I will beg to differ with that. Yes, God knows everything that is going on in our life and he knew it long before we were ever thought of but if he was a God who didn't care about us then he would have sent his son Jesus Christ to this world let him die for our sins and be done with it. Instead, He calls us his children:
"Yet to all who received him, to those who believe in his name, he gave the right to become children of God." - John 1:12
God wants to know every detail about our lives. From the smallest thing that made you happy today to the biggest concern that we may have. God is a Father that will never leave nor forsake us, he is the ultimate Father who shows compassionate love to everyone. God wants to be apart of every aspect in our life and just as important God wants to know all about it with our thoughts and feelings. A true Father wants to know everything that is going on in their child's life, they don't just want to know what they can do to help but to know about their day, how it went and what all they did. So, I challenge you as I challenge myself. Don't just run to God when you are in need or you messed up. But talk to God throughout the day about anything and everything, he really does care and he really does listen!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tj8N5Bj6DE
-Much Love, JDB
Lately I have found myself asking God for a lot of guidance. I don't think God has a problem with me asking for that but I began to think a little bit more about it and have come to conclusion that I am sounding very needy. Which made me think about real life. One of the things that really irritates me the most is when you only hear from specific people when they have problems. When things are going good for them they are like a ghost to you but when things are rough and on rocky edges they are by your side asking what they need to do. You can't help but to ask yourself what your role is in their life. Which then leads me to ask, whats the role that God has in our lives? Is he someone that we only talk to when we screw up, need help or a miracle to happen? Or, is he someone that we talk to as if we are in intimate relationship with him? Is God someone that we only talk to when things are bad or is God someone that we talk to through the good, the bad and all the time?
"Come near to God and He will come near to you" - James 4:8
You may argue that having a relationship with God is different than having a relationship with anyone else but I will beg to differ with that. Yes, God knows everything that is going on in our life and he knew it long before we were ever thought of but if he was a God who didn't care about us then he would have sent his son Jesus Christ to this world let him die for our sins and be done with it. Instead, He calls us his children:
"Yet to all who received him, to those who believe in his name, he gave the right to become children of God." - John 1:12
God wants to know every detail about our lives. From the smallest thing that made you happy today to the biggest concern that we may have. God is a Father that will never leave nor forsake us, he is the ultimate Father who shows compassionate love to everyone. God wants to be apart of every aspect in our life and just as important God wants to know all about it with our thoughts and feelings. A true Father wants to know everything that is going on in their child's life, they don't just want to know what they can do to help but to know about their day, how it went and what all they did. So, I challenge you as I challenge myself. Don't just run to God when you are in need or you messed up. But talk to God throughout the day about anything and everything, he really does care and he really does listen!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tj8N5Bj6DE
-Much Love, JDB
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Lockegee Thought
My xbox 360 has been diagnosed with the red ring of death for about 2 months now (for those who have no clue what I am talking about, it was broke and didn't work). All it has done is sit in my room and take up space until today when I finally had the urge to try and fix it myself. After watching Youtube videos I decided to try what is known as the towel method. Basically you take three towels and wrap up the console very tight. Turn it on and let it "bake" itself for about 25 minutes. After the 25 minutes is up you take off all the towels, turn the console off and let it cool off for 15 minutes. During that time my roommate Shaun was questioning the towel method, almost making fun of it. Not seeing how something like that could fix the problem that I had at hand. Like always, we decided to bet on whether or not we thought it would work. We are boys, and that is what boys do. If the 360 worked then he would have to stay up all night and head to class at 8 in the morning. Long story short, it turned on. Which meant video games at 2 in the morning. After playing a little we had the idea of heading to Lockegee. For those of you who are not from the Morehead area or just don't know what lockegee is, its a big rock that a lot of people go and take in the scenery in the middle of the Daniel Boone National Forest.
My favorite thing to do in Morehead is to go to lockegee. Not just going to lockegee in the middle of the day though. It has to be around 3 or 4 in the morning. The reason why I like it in the middle of the night is the presence of God. I love to sit on top of that big rock and feel that I can throw a rock that will land on the moon, watch shooting stars take off one after another, have weird encounters like little mice walking up to you or feeling the wind smack your face. To me, that is God saying I am BIG! The other reason that I love to visit lockegee when the moon is out is because it is calm. It gives me a chance to think about life and get away from the world. A lot of times I will take trips there just so I can think about something that happened that day or when my "cup" has ran over and I can not take it anymore and just need a time to get away from the world.
Tonight at lockegee, I brought a lot to the table. There has been a lot of stuff running through my mind in the past few weeks that I haven't been able to get out because of the business of life. 2 weeks ago I was in Danville alone, my whole family had gone on vacation to Florida and it was just me at the house. I had 4 days there alone of which I thought I was going to be able to clear my mind of the worldly distractions and think clearly about stuff. For instance, my truck was broken into the last weekend of spring break which was the April 2nd and I still cant find a way to forgive who ever it was who did that. That is something that normally I could forgive in about 2 days but three weeks later, really? Those 4 days turned into work after work after work not thinking after thinking after thinking, what I had intended for it to be. Tonight, I was knocked down to my knees and needed to get away to do some thinking. Lockegee worked out perfect as if God had it planned. As I am spilling everything out to God, I realized that I had forgotten that God has a plan for me. Do we really understand this?! God, the Heavenly father/Alpha and Omega/Everything has a plan for us. I know that God has called me to Youth Ministry but just because he has called me to one thing does not mean that is all of his plans for my life. Sometimes I feel we get to caught up in the worldly distractions like: "Am I making enough money? Am I able to support myself? Am I a stable human being? Am I making the right decisions in life?" To me that is all distractions, "worldly views" so to say. Distractions that take away from our faith. The one thing we should be living by (2 Corinthians 5:7). We need to stop trying to take matters in our own hands and ask a million questions, let God show us the path for our lives! Through the bad and the good, God only allows things to happen so it can give us hope and a future. He is the Author of Life! He is the Author of OUR Life! (Jeremiah 29:11). All God asks for us is our Faith, along with acting justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with him (Micah 6:8). There is no other compassionate love like our God can give us.
There is more to come on this later in the week. I have a lot to throw down, but since it is 5:30 in the morning and I can hear the birds chirping along with thunder rolling. I better go to bed. Thats a snap shot of whats to come.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhW-T4X-YEU
much love,
-JDB
My favorite thing to do in Morehead is to go to lockegee. Not just going to lockegee in the middle of the day though. It has to be around 3 or 4 in the morning. The reason why I like it in the middle of the night is the presence of God. I love to sit on top of that big rock and feel that I can throw a rock that will land on the moon, watch shooting stars take off one after another, have weird encounters like little mice walking up to you or feeling the wind smack your face. To me, that is God saying I am BIG! The other reason that I love to visit lockegee when the moon is out is because it is calm. It gives me a chance to think about life and get away from the world. A lot of times I will take trips there just so I can think about something that happened that day or when my "cup" has ran over and I can not take it anymore and just need a time to get away from the world.
Tonight at lockegee, I brought a lot to the table. There has been a lot of stuff running through my mind in the past few weeks that I haven't been able to get out because of the business of life. 2 weeks ago I was in Danville alone, my whole family had gone on vacation to Florida and it was just me at the house. I had 4 days there alone of which I thought I was going to be able to clear my mind of the worldly distractions and think clearly about stuff. For instance, my truck was broken into the last weekend of spring break which was the April 2nd and I still cant find a way to forgive who ever it was who did that. That is something that normally I could forgive in about 2 days but three weeks later, really? Those 4 days turned into work after work after work not thinking after thinking after thinking, what I had intended for it to be. Tonight, I was knocked down to my knees and needed to get away to do some thinking. Lockegee worked out perfect as if God had it planned. As I am spilling everything out to God, I realized that I had forgotten that God has a plan for me. Do we really understand this?! God, the Heavenly father/Alpha and Omega/Everything has a plan for us. I know that God has called me to Youth Ministry but just because he has called me to one thing does not mean that is all of his plans for my life. Sometimes I feel we get to caught up in the worldly distractions like: "Am I making enough money? Am I able to support myself? Am I a stable human being? Am I making the right decisions in life?" To me that is all distractions, "worldly views" so to say. Distractions that take away from our faith. The one thing we should be living by (2 Corinthians 5:7). We need to stop trying to take matters in our own hands and ask a million questions, let God show us the path for our lives! Through the bad and the good, God only allows things to happen so it can give us hope and a future. He is the Author of Life! He is the Author of OUR Life! (Jeremiah 29:11). All God asks for us is our Faith, along with acting justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with him (Micah 6:8). There is no other compassionate love like our God can give us.
There is more to come on this later in the week. I have a lot to throw down, but since it is 5:30 in the morning and I can hear the birds chirping along with thunder rolling. I better go to bed. Thats a snap shot of whats to come.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhW-T4X-YEU
much love,
-JDB
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