I saw this image and it provided me with a simple reminder that the church is not just a building but the Christians that fill the building up. The church is the person that shows up at the building every time the doors are open. The church is the person who serves in some form of ministry. The church is the person who cleans the building when no one else wants to. The church is the person who teaches others about Jesus. The church is the bride of Christ. The church is made of people. The church is you.

This statement of "being the church" can also serve as a reminder that being a part of the church is not something you can just turn off. This means that in your world and every day life you are still apart of the church. Being a part of the church is not just a club membership or a place we go to but it becomes who we are. That means whether we are in the church building or at Walmart we are still the church. That also means that we will need to show others through our life that we are the church.

So I challenge every person who calls themselves a Christian to not just act like the church or look like the church but to be the church.

True Love

Love. The word "love" seems to have lost its meaning for many people that surround us. Love is often applied to objects as well as experiences. Love can exist for a moment an then be forgotten or even simply taken away. Love seems to be more of an emotion that exists with in a moment for someone that craves something so intensely. However, once the craving has been fulfilled then the love seems to become stale and then thrown away. How has love come to this point? I have asked my self this question and what seems to jump out to me is that love has been replaced or mistaken for passion. People mistake passion for love. The problem with passion is that often it is only temporary and can fade quickly. I believe that is why as Americans we have become driven by the latest and greatest of products available on the market. It seems people are not longer satisfied with anything forever. Products are not even being designed or built to last because they will soon find themselves on a shelf or sold for a better model. This seems to be translating to people and their relationships as well. I believe that is why the divorce rate in America is at an all time high. So what is true love?

My favorite way to describe true love is found in the bible in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7.

 "1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (ESV)

⁴ Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant ⁵ or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;^{[a] 6} it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things."


Love is not easy for us as humans. We have to work at love because it means we have to put the desires and will of some one else above our own. We have to become selfless instead of selfish. God is the perfect way to true love. The bible simply says God is love. He wrapped himself in flesh and demonstrated love in person. He walked this earth and gave his life for us asking nothing in return. That is love.  

I challenge you to simply learn to love as well as to be loved. With Christmas right around the corner and a new year that is rapidly approaching, there is no better time than now to work on love.

Are You Alive

Are you alive? When I ask this questions i am not talking about being literally alive, but spiritually are you alive? Are you active, growing and being productive spiritually? Are you spreading God's love and being a light unto this world? Do you talk to him and read his word consistently? Do you listen for him to talk to you? Do you let God move you and change you? Are you his vessel and are you being used by him?

Are you dead spiritually? Do you feel dry and alone? Are you even able to feel the presence of God any more? Has it been so long since you tried to talk to him or worship him? Did you take him and his sacrifice for granted? Does it really feel better to please this world and yourself than pleasing God? What does eternity hold for you? What do people think about you? How do you feel when you are all alone? Can you go to sleep a night with ease? Do you feel troubled and unrest? Do you feel empty?

Please search you heart and see where you are at with God. I see too many young people that find themselves more dead than alive spiritually. They usually never meant to find themselves there but things that seemed innocent in this world lead them to paths they wished they never followed. I pray that every christian would be careful and aware of your spiritual state every day.

If you have never been a christian then I ask you to consider what God can do for you in your life. I believe you will like what he can do for you!

YOU = Answer

     YOU are the answer. YOU determine how far YOU will go. YOU determine if YOU will be successful or a failure. YOU determine if YOU will see your dreams come true or not. YOU are the only one who can make or break your life.

     God gave us the ability of free will. It is amazing how much we take it for granted and how much power it really holds. I hope that YOU are making the right decisions and heading in the right direction.

     YOU can be your own stumbling block or the gate to your freedom. It is all up to YOU. YOU have to be very careful of being selfish and only doing what YOU want.

     The bottom line is YOU are very important. God cares for YOU deeply, he loves YOU unconditionally, and he wants to use YOU. Everyday counts and everyday presents another day for YOU to be great. I urge YOU to do all YOU can to grow closer to Jesus Christ and to give your everything for his kingdom. YOU are powerful and it is time to see what YOU can do. YOU are the Answer.


Here are 5 things for YOU to do to make sure you are on the right path:

Quality Prayer  = don't just go to prayer to fill out a time limit but get a hold of God. You have to think Quality over Quantity.

Study the Word = Read the bible and understand it. It will show you right from wrong and be your comfort in the time of need.

Know Love = Love God with everything you have, love yourself, and then show God's love to everyone else. That even includes you enemies. (Check: Deuteronomy 6:4-5 & Matthew 5:43-48)

True Sacrifice = Sacrifice to God for real. That means not only when it's easy but when it's hard and even when it hurts.

Intense Worship = Worship God with your life and how you live it. Worship with everything you got in church as well as outside the 4 walls. Make sure you have intense worship sessions in private and not just in church where everyone else can see you. God sees you all of the time.

Romans 12

 ¹I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
 ²And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

Dare to Dream

I dare you to dream. I dare you to dream as big as you can. Dream of all you can accomplish and do for the kingdom of God with his help. I dare you to throw out the thoughts of obstacles that could sink your dreams and instead trust in God. God is BIG and he really can do BIG things. I believe he really just starts where our dreams and thoughts end. So with 2011 around the corner, I DARE you to DREAM and to DREAM BIG.

Ephesians 3:20 (King James Version)

 ²⁰Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,

It's Not Just a Story

I believe sometime we as Christians make a mistake when reading the Bible. Sometimes it is not even on purpose but out of habit. I believe we sometimes read the Bible with a story book mentality. When we read, we really don't consider that the event is more than a story or that the bible contains historical facts and even our own realities. When we read about the nation of Israel, it is historical facts, and what they went through can often represent what we as Christians go through.  In the New Testament, we read of Jesus and sometimes we don't stop and think how he really was God wrapped in flesh and what it would have been like to be with him. We also sometimes read about the disciples of Christ and the miracles they took part in with amazement but with no practicality. I truly believe that we as Christians have the same power of God that lives inside of us and we can make the book of Acts a reality in our own lives. The Bible is more than a book or a compilation of stories. It can be your reality. Do you just read the word or do you live it?


 Hebrew 11:37-40

37 They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented;
 38 (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.
 39 And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise:
 40 God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.

Don't be a Glutton

My pastor so brilliantly explained how, we as Christians, can become hungry for God's word, will, and way. The only way to get hungry is to not eat. Therefore, if we truly want to be hungry for more of God then we have to stop eating and getting so full from the things this world has to offer. We end up getting so full that we have no desire for anything spiritual. How do we get full? We take in so much of the non spiritual things, which is easy to do in this fast pace, media driven life,  and we leave no room for the spiritual things.

I'm not saying we shouldn't do anything unless it is spiritual. I am saying that we just have to have a good balance and make time for our Creator, Savior, Father, and Friend.  We are all busy and can always find an excuse to not read our bibles or pray. However, if you want the hunger and to be fed by God then you have to make time to eat and be hungry when you do.

Colossians 3 

² Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.