The Experience

Are You Alive

2011-03-10T09:09:00.000-08:00

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

2011-01-14T23:18:00.000-08:00

     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

2010-12-17T21:47:00.000-08:00

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

2010-11-03T20:29:00.000-07:00

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

2010-10-30T22:36:00.000-07:00

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.

Made to Change the World

2010-10-28T17:56:00.000-07:00

Why Are We Christians?

2010-10-27T10:38:00.000-07:00

Have you ever thought of why you are a Christian? I hope you do. I find that when I begin to ponder why I do things or why things are like they are I get two results. I confirm why I do something or why some things are like they are. I understand the reason behind it. I am some what of a logical person, so I like to have reasons why I do something. So, this process helps me discover and define the reasons. The other result I usually gain from asking "Why" is an idea on how to change something.

So why are you a Christian? Is it for the social benefits? For instance, you get to meet new people, you have a network of people that you can constantly be in contact with, and you have people to hangout with. Are you a Christian because going to church helps ease your conscience? Are you a Christian because of your family?

Just maybe, you are a Christian because you have read the word of God. You understand that God truly loves you and cares about you. That he wants to be there for you all of the time. That God is the Creator and the Savior of this world. Even though we don't deserve his love, grace, time, and blessings, he still freely gives them. Maybe, you have felt his presence and nothing in this world compares to it. Maybe, you saw or were apart of a miracle of God.

I challenge you to ponder why you believe what you believe and do what you do. You can find that you may have had the wrong outlook. Maybe, you can even be driven to do more or be better. I love pondering questions and ideas because I strive to be the best I can be. I want to be the best Christian I can be. I don't want to just be a Christian because I have to or that is what I have always done or because it benefits me. I want to be a Christian because I see who God is, what he has done for me, and I want to please him in return.

Romans 12:1-2 (NLT)

¹ And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. ² Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.