Ah 2012...It's been fun!

Some highlights from 2012

End of the Year Barbecue

Old Faithful Christian Ranch's Bike Gang 

Dress as a professor/staff member day 

Broom ball was one of the best ideas ever. It was so cold and so much fun but it really brought our campus together. 

                                                         

Halloween Party with me being Caesar and Brady dressing up as Stetson. So great!

Captain Hammer and Dr. Horrible photo bomb. 

Chad's Birthday :)

Ultimate Octopus has to be one of the coolest variations of Ultimate Frisbee that I have ever seen. 

Some pretty great people to play flag football with. 

I learned how to brand calves this summer...yea that did not go well for me haha.

2012 has been great. I have laughed, cried, learned, evangelized, and just seen God do some amazing things. I am so excited to see how I have grown so much with my Boise family and I learned a lot from my Pinedale family (but I never want to brand cows again). God is growing me at Boise Bible College and he has shown me favor there. I find that I am more focused on living for God and letting him move through me and those around me. It has been painful but it's a good kind of hurt. 

With that being said, I am super excited for 2013. It's a new year with a lot of exciting new adventures coming up! Who knows where we will be? I hope to be growing and serving God at Boise Bible College with a possibility of serving at Newberg Christian Church this summer? That might change though, God may have some other plan and that is okay to! Maybe you will be serving God through your job or perhaps you will be at school? You might go on a mission trip to another country and fall in love with the people there. You never know what God is going to do. Be grateful for this year but prepare for the next one! Remember God is in control and he has a ton of stuff planned for this year. So with whatever comes up be ready to change and be ready to serve.

Have a Happy New Year!

God's Chisel

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3QCkBL2DfVg

Junk, rubbish, deceitful, angry, lustful, idolater, murderer in my heart, coveting, blasphemer, and any other name you can call me...I fit that description.

When I came to Christ, I felt that it would be easy. I didn't think through the pain and the struggles and the hardship that would come. I knew it was going to be difficult but I had no idea of the struggling that would ensue. With that being said, I was only about 14 or so when I actually came to Christ so I definitely did not have a huge idea.

This video put it best. I hate the wickedness inside me. God is chiseling it out piece by piece and he is growing me more and more but I need to keep growing. Maybe that's where you are at to? Do you hate who you have become? Do you hate what you do to yourself, to others, and to God? Well, I don't have an Oxi-Clean commercial that washes out all stains immediately but I can say this: God will continue to chisel us and shape us. "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me" (Luke 9:23).

If we want to follow Christ we have to give up our very nature...you are not going to do that overnight. It takes time and it takes effort to become the men and women God wants us to be. It's worth everything to me. I want to be a man God is proud to call his son. I want to hear the words "Well done good and faithful servant." Don't you want to hear it to? Then we have to let God take control of who we are.

I feel like God has shaped and molded me so much more then what I used to be. If you looked at the dorky kid who accepted Christ at a camp 6 and a half years ago and you saw me now, I can guarantee you that you would see a changed man. Growing in Christ is one of the most things I have ever experienced. Because I feel like I am letting God down, but as this video says and I believe the Bible supports this as well...we don't support God...he hold us up.

So give yourself over to Christ. Let him chisel out what needs to be chiseled. Take up your cross and follow him today.

Ahhh...Christmas

Christmas Day...for some it is one of the most joyful times of the year and for others it is the most depressing time of the year. This day represents the coming of Jesus Christ the Son of the Most High God. I love what this holiday represents because it the beginning of our freedom in Christ and the great love he has for us! But...this holiday is also one of great sadness. There are going to be 26 empty seats tomorrow evening as families gather together for Christmas dinner in Connecticut. Families that are torn apart by divorce suffer this holiday and people are dying in wars all over the world. Why should we celebrate when there is so much pain? I don't think there is a better answer than what the angel said to the shepherds.

"But the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David, there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord" (Luke 2:10-11 NASB). We have a reason to rejoice in the midst of our pain and our sadness. I am not in any way saying that children's deaths, divorce, or war are not things to be sad over. However, what I am saying is this: This Christmas season, we have a reason to celebrate. It may not feel like it what with all this pain around us or having just suffered through finals week but we have the same reason to celebrate that those shepherds did. A savior has been born.

The prophet Isaiah predicted some 900 years before Christ's birth. "For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; and the government will rest on his shoulders; And his name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace" (Isaiah 9:6) We have a reason to celebrate. No matter what your pain, heartache, addiction, or suffering, Tomorrow we celebrate the day that Christ came to free us from that.

This Christmas season I hope you are encouraged and strengthened by Christ for another year. For those of us that are on break from school, I hope that you become well rested and ready to tackle another semester of school in a few weeks. For those of us that are suffering from the trials of this world, I hope that the Prince of Peace brings you peace. Remember, this is the good news!

Merry Christmas to all!

Discouraged but not Defeated

So, I am going to be straight up with you. This week has sucked so far and it is only Tuesday. I am fighting a cold (the first cold of the semester and on finals week no less) and I have three finals. Two of those finals are Greek and a 2nd Timothy and Titus final so that will be fun.

But, I was praying to God a little bit ago and he hit me with something that I had forgotten. This week is not about finals or passing or failing. They are important but they are not the focus. You see, around 2000 years ago, a young girl from Nazareth was facing one of the most challenging tests of her life. This girl was living a normal life; she was going to be married to a nice guy and raise a family in small town Nazareth...but God changed that. He basically told this girl that he wanted her to bear the Savior of the world. This is a pretty big deal! But Mary's response was the best response anyone can give. "Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word" (Luke 1:38).

God calls people to take on tasks that appear overwhelming or terrifying. He called Noah to build an ark for a hundred years or so and be ridiculed, He called David to face his giant, He called Elijah to stand up to a king, He called Esther to save a nation, and he called this poor peasant girl to bear a Savior. He has called us to the tasks in front of us. For a lot of us right now that is finals. I can guarantee that some of you reading this would rather face Goliath then go and take an exam tomorrow morning. However, God has called us to this at this time and purpose. He has called me to Boise Bible College to prepare myself for ministry where I will face far worse challenges then a final exam.

What I am trying to say is this, if Mary of Nazareth could agree to bear the Savior of the world (as well as have her friends and family reject her, possibly stone her, ridicule her, ruin her family's name, and all that went with being pregnant out of wedlock in those days) then maybe we can put our beard on and take care of the task in front of us. It is going to be a pain. Personally, I am not really looking forward to a Greek Final tomorrow afternoon. That is not exactly my idea of the greatest day ever...but God has called me to it, and I need to say the same words that Mary said, "Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word."

To the Ends of the Earth?

To the ends of the earth? What does that mean for you and me? Do we go out and serve the people in Cambodia and ignore those in our own backyard? Or do we focus on those around us and ignore those without the Gospel in Africa. What does the ends of the earth mean to you?

In the Book of Acts, the apostles have begun the task of fulfilling the Great Commission. In this commission Christ said, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:18-20 NASB). Make disciples of all the nations...that's a huge call for us as believers. How on earth do we even begin to fulfill such a call to serve? Why not just focus on those here at home?

From what I see in the Bible, God has given Christians the great responsibility and joy of spreading his news throughout the world. How can we ignore such a great calling? Some are fulfilling the need in this country and that is great. Others are fulfilling the need in other countries and that is great...but why not both? Why not focus on both our country and other countries? Now I am not saying to give up your entire livelihood and move to Kenya to minister in the slums of Nairobi...but I am not discounting it either. You have a call to serve God and follow him. How are you going to make that call more evident in your own life?

A few weeks ago I had a great opportunity to go to the International Conference of Missions (ICOM). At this conference, I met so many different Christian men and women who were following the call of God both in America and in other countries. They focused on different aspects, this is true, but the unity and purpose of telling the world about Jesus was invigorating. I feel that our focus should be on our home our country and the world. For example the places my ministry should encompass, my Jerusalem is Boise, my Judea is Idaho or Oregon, my Samaria is Wyoming or Utah (No offense to those who love Utah or Wyoming), and the ends of the earth...well its the ends of the earth.

I don't know what the Great Commission is going to look like in every Christians life. However, I do know that the Christian is called to live differently. Keep your heart open to what God says and if he begins to lead that way...don't fight because that is an uphill battle and you will not win. :)

Safe Christianity

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LA_uwWPE6lQ

These past few days have been incredibly weird, even for me. I have so many thoughts and ideas running through my mind and it helps when I type them out so here I am. What is God trying to convey?

I was watching this video by Francis Chan and I find it is so applicable in my own life. So often Christians (including myself) want an easy life laid out in front of them. They want the typical "take your family to church on Sunday, tithe, and maybe give to a missionary" Christianity. Maybe this is just me but I want something more. I want to hear those words, "Well done good and faithful servant" when I die. I think that should be the desire of every Christian. However, the question needs to be asked, "Are we willing to do the footwork?"

Do we love God enough to do what he wants us to do? John the apostle was writing the book of Revelation. Within the first three chapters we see Jesus Christ himself sending a message to seven churches. One of the churches is the city of Ephesus. Now Ephesus was a city that was home to the temple of Artemis as well as being one of the major trade ports of the Roman empire. This made Ephesus one of the most diverse religious centers in the world (Similar to New York or another major city). So the Christian church was battling these false doctrines and doing well by persevering and toiling But Christ had one rebuke, "But I have this against you, that you have left your first love"-Revelation 2:4.

The Ephesians had started out very strong. They were following God and doing his will as can be evidenced by portions of Acts. However, by about 90 A.D. these men and women had lost their love for Christ and he rebuked them for it. Examine yourselves, have you left your first love? Are you clinging to that balance beam as though your life depended on it? If so that needs to change! Are you ready to try something daring? Get out of your comfort zone. But I can guarantee that Christ was not comfortable while he died on the cross. 

I Need A Miracle

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmhNZkyGloc


We all need a miracle. Whether its for physical or spiritual needs, we all have that longing inside of us for something more. Yes, many of us have Christ, but do we truly surrender ourselves to Him? We need a miracle to change our hearts.

I look at my personal walk with Christ and I see just how far I have come over the past year and it thrills me! However, I see the road ahead of me more clearly and I realize just how much farther this road is then I ever anticipated. This road is going to be filled with pain and heartache. It is a road where fear and sorrow will overtake us. Why do we walk this road? Why do some of us walk the road that Christ walked?

It takes a miracle. If I was on the outside looking at true Christians giving their all for Christ I would not be able to explain it myself. However, I can say this. There is nothing more satisfying then following God. A miracle took place the day I left the kingdom of Satan and entered the Kingdom of God. "Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things have passed away; behold, new things have come"-2nd Corinthians 5:17. We are a new creation when we come to Christ, so why do we hold on to our old nature? We are being sanctified and changed as we go but this road we tread is not a sprint but it is a marathon. "Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us..."-Hebrews 12:1.

To all the Boise Bible College students, your time here at BBC is a marathon it is not a sprint. Keep that in mind as some of us are nearing the finish line and some of us are beginning to find the race is a lot longer than we could have ever imagined. Challenge considered? Challenge accepted.

Bless the Lord Oh My Soul

Bless the Lord oh my soul, I'll worship your holy name...

You know, it is nights like these that I feel incredibly unworthy to worship my God. He has shown me such mercy and forgiveness in my life and I continually reject him and want to do my own way. This day is another one of those struggles. Why does God continue to forgive me even though I go my own way? Why does my God continue to love me even though I don't deserve it? I don't know why but I do know that I am grateful.

I feel like David. I know I have grown in my faith and I can see the affect it has had on my life. I love seeing how far I have come! However, I also see where God needs to continues chipping away the old me and it is painful. David cried out in 2nd Samuel 12:13 "I have sinned against the Lord." David committed far worse sins then I have (in my human eyes) but I understand that cry. I have sinned against a God who loves me more then I could even know in so many aspects of my life: Pride, anger, lust, hatred, injustice, gossip, and hypocrisy. He could do so much better then me but he continues to love me. It is one of those paradoxes that I am quite grateful for.

I have realized something incredible though and I continue to learn it. God forgives. The sins that we keep running to are sins that must be cleared out of our lives. In 1st John 1:8-9 it says, "If we say we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

He is faithful and just to forgive us for our sins. This God loves us way too much to leave us the way we are and I do not know about you who are reading this, but my prayer is that God keeps molding and shaping me into his image. "For I am confident of this very thing, that he who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus" Philippians 1:6.

I am confident that God will keep working in me. I want to bend to his will though...not break to it.