Do or Do Not.

1. Iron sharpens iron. We need to have accountability and prayer with other believers.
2. Practice makes perfect. Start writing. Just grab a favorite pen, some paper, and about 10 minutes of your day. Writing your thoughts, or just writing your prayers can significantly improve your communications with God. If you feel like He isn't getting the message, write it down.
3. Read God's Word.
4. Worship. It doesn't have to be singing. Like in Romans 12, offer your body as a living sacrifice, it is your spiritual act of worship.
5. Be weird. I was reading another bloggers post about how God, Christianity, the Church- we're all weird. If you have the light shining through you people will feel uncomfortable... even those who might claim to be Christians.
6. Love God with all of who you are. Body, mind, soul, spirit, strengths, weaknesses, your words, Everything!
7. Love Everyone. Before you judge remember this: Without Christ you could be with them, or possibly worse.
8. If you don't mean it, don't say it. Simple, if you are uncomfortable saying it, don't say it (if it's not of the Spirit).
9. It's not all about you.
10. Didn't want to finish on 9.

Simple.

Blake J.

Who's It Really All About?

Ever wonder where God was before you came along? I mean besides what is read in the bible or what you've read in history books about these things called "revivals" what has God been doing?

I was kinda thinking about this; after all we've been through the past hundred or so years it's easy to question if God was really keeping His hand over America (or other countries for that matter), or was He just allowing the country to go with the flow while preparing our lives so that a new nation could be birthed?

This may seem like an absurd statement, but think about it. Most of the time we're experiencing God in our lives, or questioning God's presence in our lives, or even wondering where God is in our lives. But what about everyone else?

Are we really that special?

Sure the world seems to be getting worse, but look at all the good that has come in the recent years:

• More people are getting to hear the gospel each day thanks to mission opportunities that are provided to anyone who has gotten the calling (of course, what could stop someone from going on a mission once God has called them?).
• Although Christianity isn't the fastest growing, or most desired religion, you cant help but notice all the youth that are being led out each day to proclaim the gospel.
• Regardless of: the wars, the racism, the highs, the depression, the hate, the failures, the breaks, the holocaust, the pessimism, you can't help but notice: The love, the life, the hope, the acceptance, the rebuilding, the revival, the defining moments, the change, the liberation, the retaliation, the forgiveness, the blood, or the Promise.

So let me ask you this; Who is it all about? Is it cliche' to say, "It's not all about you?" If so I wont say it, I hate being cliche' unless for comical purposes. In all reality I believe no one really believes that everything revolves around them... maybe a good bit of everything, but not Everything.

"He must become greater; I must become less." John 3:30

That should be our thought for today, (if not everyday... actually yeah, make that your thought everyday).

Now, I am not saying we're all losers. We are children of the living God! The same God that gives us strength to take on the harsh reality that is everyday life. The same God that gives us the ability to take on the wolf that comes to blow down our house everyday (steal, kill, and destroy). The same God who gives us the words to say that bring life to others who have yet to hear God's voice in their lives. The same God whose sovereignty we question when things get tough. There are millions out there who have yet to hear the word, we may not be old, but we are definitely not too young!

We will get through it. I mean it's just college, and from what I've seen in the hearts of others out here, I know that God is in control and has a grand plan for everyone in all walks of life.

"Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise."

James 5:13

Blake J.

Today's text was received from the NIV Bible.

(by the way: I love my new best friend Courtney <(") )

Clock's Tickin-

It's been a while since my last post, and I actually changed what I was writing halfway through this one. So expect a new one within the next week!

Every year this world is getting worse, every year we are closer to the end of times. How often do you hear people say things like, "These are just birthing pangs," or "Yep, Jesus will be coming for me pretty soon?" If you live in Christian home, or spend time in church you'll probably hear something like that pretty often.

Think about it. We've seen a lot of bad this past decade, and it only seems to get worse. So it's not surprising that we might jump the gun assuming judgment day will be coming today, or tomorrow, or even next Thursday during your test. But the Bible says we won't know the time, the day, the week, the month, the year, or even the generation of which Jesus will return. I mean just look over the past century. We've had two world wars, a depression, and God knows how many changes in leadership in this country-And that's just THIS COUNTRY! If you throw in the rest of the worlds problems you will start to question why we do still inhabit the earth.

So there has been quite a lot of trouble in the world, and we still haven't seen the end of days. Meaning that it is possible for the world to continue getting worse.

Now this could be taken from a couple of different perspectives- 1) We have a good bit of time to try and better mankind by spreading Christ's message. 2) We have plenty of time to destroy ourselves knowing that eventually we will turn to Christ before Judgment Day. 3) We don't have a lot of time, and we need to go mission crazy trying to reach every soul possible. And finally 4) There aint much time left so let's go down in style, let's party till we die!

or even the ever popular viewpoint 5) eh, who cares? (seriously).

So which viewpoint are you? Do you try to teach the world about the Way, the Truth, and the Life? Or do you try to make the most of life for yourself.

Whoa.

So I've been totally inspired to write today.

It's not that I don't want to write sometimes, its just that most of the time I have too many ideas to choose from and end up not writing at all.

But today is different because I had help on deciding.

In church today my pastor was going over Ephesians 5:18 (do not be drunk, be filled with the spirit verse).

And throughout the sermon he talked about being.. well filled with the spirit. But not in a way we would imagine. The way he interpreted it was that we are not to be drunk with wine (duh) but we do need to be so hopped up on God and His presence in us that people think we're drunk.

And eventually he got to this point in the sermon:

"The normal Christian life is not us living for Christ, but Christ living through us."

That statement blew my mind. It was one of those DUH moments where you think you know it all but then suddenly you find yourself wrong. AND the answer was right under your nose the whole time.

And so my mind just started pumping out ideas, and theories about what it was that made this click so much. But I knew. The spirit was working through me to help me understand such a simple concept (that we find so difficult to grasp unfortunately).

I understood:

We go our whole Christian life trying to live for Jesus. And every time things are bad we go and recommit saying we're going to live for Jesus again. And every time things are bad we go and recommit saying we're going to live for Jesus again (this goes on for a while).

But thats the problem, we think that we live FOR Christ. But we can't! We are trying so hard to be like Jesus by living for Him, and we fail. We can't live like Christ, only He can do that. And only by Him living through us can we accomplish this!

Does that not blow your mind?!

And if this wasn't enough, my pastor then went on to talk about control in our lives for a bit. What I found was funny was how he pointed out God's view on our lives.

"God Im giving you control"

God-"Uh I've had control this whole time, but thanks anyways."

This also made me think, how Little do we MAKE God to ourselves? Think about it. He created everything. He wrote out your life before it began. He is everywhere at once. He is as big or as small as you need Him to be. If you ask YOU SHALL RECEIVE. Santa can't even do that but once a year, and even then he's not that reliable (Im still waiting on a few things to arrive).

The fact is most Christians do not give God the amount of credit he deserves (basically all of it).

So for just a few minutes, whether it be during a quite time or just sitting around, try to imagine God as big as you possibly can. Then increase His size. You'll still come up short. Trying to comprehend God's size and presence can almost certainly make you bow in awe of Him. Just take 5 minutes and try to understand this perfect being whom created you and I and everyone else, and took the time to write out our lives, and still took the time to be with us EVERYWHERE and ALWAYS by living through us!

It's too much to handle in our finite minds. And the more we realize things like this the more easily we can accept the fact that God is in control and that we don't live for Christ, but He lives through us to make us everything we were created to be.

So enjoy your week,

Blake J.

My View From The Bottom

I tend to stretch the limits...

What limits?

All limits.

The view from down here is very depressing. My days are pretty uneventful: I sleep in, work-out, play X-Box, and do some things that are rather questionable.

And yet in all my need for something more, I still question why I need God.... I hear it all the time from my pastor that in a place like Houston, Texas it's hard to Need God. And I believe that to be true because I've experienced it first hand.

I mean, why do I need God? Sure I am saved and I know 100% Im going to heaven, but where is my need?

Im so content with life I scare myself. I sleep in: Something I've never really consistently done my whole life. I work-out: Im in good shape and am confident about how I look. I play X-Box: Im a geek and I love to play video games (unless something better is provided). And then comes the one thing that makes my dream world a nightmare.

Pornography.

---You never really hear people use the term pornography unless they are speaking of it in a down tone. It's one of those terms that only old people would use (no offense old people (by the way, old in my opinion is over the age of 50)). ---

Anyways... Yeah, I struggle with porn. If you're are shocked by this then I really feel bad for you.

Im not the type of person who gets really mad at people because if someone offends me I always think of how that could be me.... And now, it is me. So please before reading any further remove your veil, and realize that what I deal with is normal, and unfortunately for US... normal is bad.

The church today... Teenagers don't communicate their problems enough, whether it be with other teens in the youth, or with our youth pastors, parents, friends, etc.

That is our CRUTCH... As teens we hold onto our darkest sins and secrets because we have pride... Sure we might have our major breakdowns at a summer retreat, or even on Wednesday night.. But how many times after breaking down before God at camp have you later gotten a call from a friend to check on you and make sure everything is still going great???

Oh yeah I've gotten calls from people, but usually its after I've fallen through the black and they notice Im acting different!

I've mentioned this a lot in my past posts, and I'll say it again (maybe with different wording though) we need to have accountability (ok I lied about the different wording)!!!

The way I see it is this... We have our major breakdown, and we go home from camp or youth service, etc. And then within a week or two (maybe three or more for some) we start to slowly spiral down... And once we're back to "normal" (the "n" word) we wonder what happened.. Maybe it was a spiritual attack? Or maybe it was a problem with our fellowship as teen Christians!

The way I see it, Satan doesn't really worry about most teens after they've been renewed (again)... Because for most of us he knows we will slowly sink back into our "n word" lives. He really doesn't even have to look in our general direction, because he is not everywhere at once so he leaves the whole "don't communicate about your spiritual lives" thing on cruise control! That way he can be in other places doing other stuff (its all a conspiracy man!).

And so young men like myself and millions of other CHRISTIANS battle through our daily struggles with porn, drugs, self abuse, and anything else that brings us further away from the Father.

So guys, know that you're not alone. Porn is a completely normal thing in our society, and trying to hide it can be detrimental to just about all aspects of life (especially the longer it has a hold on you).

Girls, Im sorry I don't understand yall too well. But what I do know is that all of yall need to keep each other accountable with the way you act and dress around your Christian brothers.

So here I am, at what seems to be the bottom of a very deep pit. The holy spirit is very far and His voice I can't hear. But who knows, maybe I'll just keep pushing myself down this hole and try to find it's limit (I hate the word limit, it reminds me of Pre-Cal).

When I started this blog I was, in Relient K's words "On the Up and Up" and for a while it was this blog that kept me accountable. But then I slipped... And didn't blog for a while, and then I was good again... and slipped again... And so here I am using this blog for accountability, but in a different way...

I ask that if you're reading this you would pray, not just for me, but for all the men (and even boys) out there who struggle with things like pornography. And also to pray for all teen and adult Christians, that this fog be lifted and we see clearly that the enemy is holding us back not just through temptation, but by SEPARATION as well.

I think it's time we started sharing our thoughts and feelings with each other, because if we stay bottled up we will destroy ourselves.

And if you thought I jumped topics too much in this post, well Im sorry... But I'll revisit something I mentioned in the beginning.....

WE NEED GOD, I NEED GOD. And although we may not always feel a need for God in our lives I can assure you we do. Because I sit here now on the other side of that argument, and my stone cold heart still knows that My Savior has renewed my filthy soul and that I will never be able to run away from that. I am a child of God, I am loved. And although in times like these I question that, my heart knows the truth.

God's thoughts for ME outnumber the sands of this earth, and my thoughts for him recently wont cover the dirt between my toes (metaphorically speaking, my toes are clean), but I know everything is going to be great.

So if everyone would please leave a prayer request in the comment box that would be awesome, and the person who comments after that would pray for you and so and so forth....

Ex: Comment #1 <---

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Comment #2 (pray for that person)

And guys (girls too if you want) check out the site www.xxxchurch.com its a Christian site geared towards helping the world get rid of pornography. It's a great website and the bimonthly email is really great.

So now everyone pick up their phones and call up someone to check on their spiritual walk. I love all of ya and hope yall continue to read my blog posts.

Blake J.

Becoming The Difference

Who Are we?

Matthew 9:37-38

37) Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. 38) Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore to send out workers into his harvest field."

Our goal as Christians is to win souls for the Kingdom. But when we appear to be the same as everyone else, what are we selling? A waste of time? 

It is very hard to be a Christian in America! We have all that we need. How can we teach our friends about a God who forgives and gives us all we need, when we already have it? 

A big difference between us and them is this... We still make mistakes, but we realize the need for Jesus in our lives. But we cannot appear as hypocrites, it is one thing to say you're saved it is another to act it. We know that we're messed up, we know that the only thing that separates us is that we have Christ in us.

We used to be these disgusting, raunchy, lying, backstabbing, gossiping, lustful, greedy, and malicious creatures! But the old has passed away because of our life found in Christ, we have been satisfied! 

But do we still struggle? Of course we do, but because of Jesus' sacrifice we can repent and grow stronger through our failures.

THE PROBLEM: We still try to be apart of this world! We have quenched our thirsts for the things of this world, but we still go back to our old sins like a dog returns to its vomit. And if we go around with the Christian image, but don't show a difference in our lives we have labeled Christianity as a facade.

We try so hard to be like Jesus, but we also want to be accepted by our friends. Jesus said that we would be hated for being different, so we can't act too surprised when we rub people the wrong way with our belief in God and His word.

 Like in John 17,

14) I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world."

Jesus goes on in this prayer to ask for our protection, because he knows that the evil one will want to hinder us. 

Satan wants us to feel comfortable. Do you really think an attack from the evil one would consist of him jumping you in a dark alley with a cape and pitchfork? No, if he scared you, you would most likely want to run straight to God, and he does not want that. Satan wants you to be nice and comfortable, so you have no need for God in your life.

And so millions of Christians fall to the pressure. We want to accepted by our friends, so we do whatever they might do even if it contradicts our faith and morals. We try to impress that guy or girl at the party and end up doing something we might regret, and that would destroy our witnessing opportunities with those that look up to us. We try to be like the other guys, looking at pornography and dismantling our view of women as equals, and desensitizing our minds. We try to be like other girls, who dress in barely any clothing, causing guys to get a wrong view of you, and causing your brothers in Christ to fall to lust and temptation. We try to be like those who drink, trying to escape your pains, and trying to satisfy a thirst that cannot be quenched by anything other than Christ. We lie to our parents so we can stay out later doing something we probably shouldn't be doing. We swear, curse and scream obscenities when we should be blessing, and encouraging others... 

In simpler terms.. We fail. And others watching us fail think, "Why do I need their Jesus, they're no different than me?"  

We will fall, but when we fall we need to be humble, and we need to repent right away. Because if our witness is blown then we have lost everything, and that person may lose all respect for Christians, assuming we are all the same.

Ephesians 2:1-10

   ¹ And you were dead in the trespasses and sins ² in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— ³among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. ⁴But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, ⁵even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ— by grace you have been saved— ⁶and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, ⁷so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.⁸For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, ⁹ not a result of works, so that no one may boast. ¹⁰For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them

We enter into this world spiritually dead........ BUT  NOW  WE  ARE  ALIVE  IN CHRIST, AND  NOTHING  CAN SEPARATE  US  FROM  HIS  LOVE  AND GRACE!

Im hoping this post helped you somehow, and I hope you can share it with others. Thanks for reading!

Blake J.

Things To Read This Summer

Here are a few things you should read (verses, books etc.). 

Acts (whole book)- great way to learn how the church got started, and very entertaining.

1 Corinthians 13 and 14- My favorite chapter (13-Love), and 14 which refers to spiritual gifts.

This Present Darkness/Piercing The Darkness (Frank Peretti)- My favorite books of all time! Talks about the principalities of darkness and the battles we don't see (fictional).

Proverbs (one chapter a day)- Reading a chapter a day in this simple book helps a lot.

1 and 2 Samuel- If you have only heard the stories of David, its time you experienced them in a whole new way. Pay attention to how God hands his enemies to him, and how he hits the slippery slope in 2 Samuel (starting with being away from battle).

The Shack (William P. Young)- Oh boy, this is an amazing book. Totally changes your walk with Christ. Fictional story about a man spending a weekend with God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit (I really wish I could say more).

Dateable (Lookadoo, DiMarco)- Great book on having a relationship with God, and having it reflect into your dating life (basic description).

Every Young Man's Battle (Arterburn, Stoker)- Great book about guys... being guys, and learning how to overcome all the things teen guys go through. Girls should read if they think they understand guys (prepare to have your mind blown!).

Do You Want To Go To The Mountain (Thomas Young)- great book by my pastor, talks about Jesus' transfiguration atop the mountain with 3 of his disciples.

Wild At Heart (John Eldredge)- Grrrrreat book! Being able to understand man, and God's purpose for us. Goes great with Every Young Man's Battle (or Every Man's Battle, same authors). Eldredge uses great examples to show our similarities to God's character (he refers to Braveheart a few times!).

Genesis (whole book)- If for one second you thought you were messed up..... 

1 John 2- Good for guys to read

Ecc. 12- Also good for guys to read.

Epehesians (whole book, esp. ch. 6)- After about a year of hearing sermons from this book... I can tell you it is rather amazing. Put on the Whole Armor Of God!

Job (Whole Book)- This story puts FML to shame. He remains faithful to God through everything, rather than trying to make a funny story out of it (also, when God speaks... whoaaahhhhh super awesome to hear God talk smack!!!)

Romans (Whole book)- Get to know the Romans road.

Most of these books I have read, but I always re-read so don't think Im going to not be reading.... believe me I am stacked with books right now.

Blake J.