Category: Personal

Personal posts to me

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Hanging by a Moment!

Christmas break is coming to a close. I go back to school tomorrow. I’ve spent the last day of my vacation reading “This Present Darkness“. I’ve liked all of Frank Perettis other books, but I never thought it’d be like this one. This book is awesome. I’m a slow reader so it takes me a while to read long books … I only got about 115 out of about 370 pages down, but the book is awesome. It’s making me think a little more about the importance of prayer in a way I’ve never thought about. I know prayer is important, but I guess I’ve never saw, thought, or know how important.

The past week or two has been awesome. I can’t explain why, because I don’t know why. I’m more content about things, purhaps. I’m not sure.

Living Water Worship Center made a reading list for the church of scriptures to read through each month so that, by the end of the year, all of the New Testement will be read. There are also two memory verses each month, of while I’ll be trying to memorize, but I’m bad at memorization. Maybe there’s no excuse though. I am trying though. Last night I read from Matthew 1 to 10, it was a great read. I highlight parts of the text I feel is good to re-read later … so last night I highlighted too much. Good read.

I’ve been trying to fix a few things with MinistryTalk.com as of the past few days. I got a little done, but I’m out of ideas for now, sadly. Hopefully I can figure something I can do with it. Hopefully Tim is able to help out some too.

So anywho … I leave everyone with this awesome video found over here. Enjoy.

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Yawn

I’m so tired, but I can’t go to sleep.  So I’m just sitting in my bed trying to do something instead of lay here just trying to go to sleep.  I hate it when that happens … but it happens.  I’ve been thinking about a lot of things today, and really putting it all down is hard, because I’m not sure how to explain it.

Anyhow …

Our friends from Georgia are over visiting.  There wasn’t much going on today, for me anyway.  I probably need to do something productive, which I do sometimes, but sometimes it’s hard to find something to do.  I need a job, but I want to work here in Tallassee because anywhere else just wastes more of my time (when I get off work, I want to go home … not wait 45 minutes and then be home).  I’m thinking about just trying to get a job where my sister works, but I’m not sure I’ll do that just yet.  I’ve just been praying for something to open up … I’m really out of ideas.  All I can do is prayer and have faith, and so that’s what I’m going to do.  God will never fail me.

I watched Remember the Titans tonight (because it came on TV).  We have the DVD, but when we moved the disc became bent, it’s very strange.  None the less, it won’t play anymore.  I almost got half of it to copy, but I could never get the entire thing to copy, so I guess it’s just a loss.  The movie is one of my all time favorites though.  The moral of the story is great, it’s based on a true story, and it’s pretty clean.

Ah, I got a hair cut the other night … finally.  I was starting to have some really long hair, haha.  It’s still much longer than how I use to have my hair, though.  I thought I wouldn’t like it, but turned out diffrent.  Boring, I know.

Well, that’s about all for tonight.  I’m supposed to go to the church tomorrow at 10a.m.  Oh, this reminds me, my church is having a “commitment Sunday” (where you commit to the church, as it doesn’t take membership).  I’m honestly not sure what I’m going to do.  I’m committed, however, I also am committed to my other church.  They offically open their doors on Easter Sunday, so I’ve got some time to pray about it.  As of now I’m not a member of any church (“offically”) nor am I “offically” committed to a church (although I did say I was committed to my other church, though the length of that commitement I didn’t specify).  Right now I think I may just leave it that way, however I’m committed to both — meaning if they ask me to do anything I’ll do it.  I believe this is the way it may stay.  Only prayer will tell.

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Being Seperate

This will be short. I’ve got to get up early tomorrow. After reading the book on holiness, I’ve been thinking more and more about things I’m doing that may be sinful and that must be stopped. My mom let me read something by John Bevere, from his newsletter. The topic — holiness. I’ve heard, read, and saw some things that are happening within the church … and change is coming. It’s going to be a “you’re for me, or your against me”, nothing in between. Lukewarm will no longer be thought of as Christians. I want to get rid of every sinful thing in my life that I’ve let just sit there (while maybe not even realizing it); I want to know God. I’ve yet to clean out a few of my games (which most don’t seem too bad), but I’m thinking about tossing all but maybe two or three (if that). If it’s of the world, directly or indirectly against God, it’s got to go. I’m going to start dedicating one to two hours each day to God. Two hours 24 minutes — that’s ten percent of each 24 hour day. One hour 36 minutes — that’s ten percent of each 16 hour day (which is really about the length that I’m awake each day). I guess my question is this: is 10 percent of each waking part of the day too much to give God … even after all he did for me? I’m going to dedicate ten percent of each day this next week to God.

My church is having a prayer walk soon … I’m kinda excited about it. I’ll probably post more on that later though. It’s time for bed now.

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I Did it Because …

And then there’s some excuse. Sunday night was another one of the “special Sundays” where church was at my house. My mom brought up a good point that I had really had not thought about, and that is: trying to justify our sin. That may seem like it’s an okay thing to do … until we see in the scripture how large of sin it really is. I’m going to focus on King Saul for a minute; God gave Saul specific orders in First Samuel 15 that Saul was to “go and completely destory the entire Amalekite nation” (verse 3), which was a nation known for their guerrilla terrorists who lived off of raiding other nations. Saul went out and did part of what he was commanded to do. He left the better of the livestock alive, when God had said that everything had to be destroyed. When Samuel confronted Saul about this Saul stated that his “troops brought in the best of the sheep and cattle and plunder to sacrifice to the LORD” (verse 21). Then Samuel said one of my favorite quotes in all of Scripture:

“What is more pleasing to the LORD: your burnt offerings and sacrifices or your obedience to his voice? Obedience is far better than sacrifice. Listening to him is much better than offering the fat of rams. Rebellion is as bad as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as bad as worshiping idols. So because you have rejected the word of the LORD, he has rejected you from being king.”

1 Samuel 15:22-23 NLT (emphasis added)

I don’t know if Saul was really planning on offering those as sacrifices, but what is evident is that he used an excuse for his sin. There was no fear of the Lord there — he was therefore rejected as King.

How many times do we travel on the highway over the speed limit and then we try to justify our sin with, “everyone else is doing it” or “people will get mad at me for going slow”. What if we really believed what Paul said in Romans 13? “Obey the government, for God is the one who put it there. All governments have been placed in power by God. So those who refuse to obey the laws of the land are refusing to obey God, and punishment will follow. For the authorities do not frighten people who are doing right, but they frighten those who do wrong.” (verse 1-3a NLT) I’m definatly not saying I go the speed limit at all times — however, I do always try to. And honestly, there is no justification for going over the limit. If you see a state trooper and you’re frightened (and thus slow down and tick the people going the speed limit off) then obviously you’re doing something wrong — you’re sinning. Of course, this isn’t fun to hear because we, as humans, don’t like going slower than the limit … it means it’ll take us 2 more minutes to get to work or school. Even if you’re speeding to get to church … there is no excuse.

I wanted to share that because I thought about it earlier today, and I wanted to expand upon it.

I went, for a third time to see The Chronicles of Narnia. I do believe it’s the first movie I’ve saw three times in the theater. Honestly, I want them to make as much money off the movie as they can — not for Disney’s sake, but as a statement of the type of movies people are really interested in seeing. Also, I found it interesting that at a 1:00pm showing it still had a pretty large crowd — after almost a full month after it’s release. I’ve still yet to read the books, although I am planning on doing so sometime soon.

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This is It

It’s the new year. There’s so much ahead of this year, and I can’t wait to be a part of it. Already a lot has happened since my last post last year. On New Years Eve my mom and I went to a Prayer and Worship service at Living Waters Worship Center, it started at 11PM. I know without a doubt in my mind that there was nothing else I could have done that night that would have equalled that particular event. The FIRST person I talked to, the first thing I did in 2006 was worship the God whom I love! There wasn’t ANY other thing I would have rather been doing. “Our God is an Awesome God” was the song by which we were worshipping to when the new year rolled around.

After I posted my last entry about music, my friend Tim took it further and said he’ll be watching no more TV. I watch very little TV as is, but I’ve decided to make a new habbit in the movies and TV I watch. I watch mainly the news, History Channel, or “Without a Trace”, so there’s not much I can cut out there. However, from this point forward if a TV show or movie that I am watches comes to either a sex scene, a part that uses God’s name in vein, or a part which directly offends me or I even have a hint that it may offend GOD — I’m walking out, cutting it off, or returning the video. I believe as a nation we’ve become desensitized by what’s really going on. We no longer place a high price on sin, the verses that says if “you do anything you believe is not right, you are sinning” (Romans 14:23, NLT) are like yesterdays news. No one is believing it, no one is living it. I’m tired of it, and I’m no longer supporting it. I’ve pretty much limited all movies that I watch anyway, but I’m going further — I’m not going to be desensitized. There’s an awesome song by Jonah33 called “Desensitized” that I recommend everyone listen to. We need to remember, “the man who has doubts…about eating, and then eats [perhaps because of you], stands condemned…” (Romans 14:23, Amplified, emphisis added).

I just got done with a book by Henry Blackaby titled, “Holiness“. At about 100 pages, it’s one of the best books I’ve ever read. I’ve noticed a review on Amazon states that “the work will appeal to a limited audience” (AudioFile), while I dislike the review, I think I can agree on this. If in any way it appeals to a “limited audience”, it is because people are too afraid of being offended. I’ve never read a book that was more true and up front about this nations church situation. Parts of it may not be fun to read simply because it might mean that you’ve got to give up something you’re holding very close. The truth of the matter is this: in order to follow Christ we must fear him. This book explains why it’s important and how to do it. The great people you read about in the Bible — they understood this. Today, many of us have lost it. The book is a must read.

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A New Years Resolution?

In less than four hours it’ll be 2006. A lot has happened this year. Now a new year must begin. I’m glad 2005 has left. 2005 has been the best year I’ve had in Tallassee since I moved here almost four years ago, and I’m hoping 2006 will be even better.

Now comes a little New Years Resolution. I’ve honestly never really remember making one (that I really intended to keep), but maybe I’m wrong. By the end of 2006 I will: be speaking more, worshipping GOD much more freely, believe what God has said about me, have some friends (and a girlfriend that exceeds everything on my list), and finish reading the Bible (actually I think that may have been an old resolution, but I’m going to finish everything I’ve yet to read). That’s my list, not too long, but not too short either.

I think those speak for themselves, so I’m going to leave the list alone for now. I’ve been thinking more and more about something: secular music. It’s something I don’t like at all. Maybe it’s too deep for some people to understand, but there’s a reason to why I don’t like it. Speaking from a Christian stand point, the majority of the lyrics in non-Christian (secular) songs are against morallity. When we make the decision to become a Christian, things have to change. This includes music. Then there’s the: why? Why we should change our music style is because of the lyrics. Some will say they can “relate to the lyrics”, which is understandable — for a non-Christian. Most secular songs should not be “relatable” for Christians — especially single (unmarried) Christians.

There are some okay songs written for married people in the “secular” arena. Spoken has some awesome lyrics relating to relationships (see “Wind in My Sails” and “Sleep Well Tonight“). The good thing about these songs, though, is that it doesn’t really have to be directed to a wife … because it’s not talking about sex or anything else. Then there are songs for people having relationship trouble. BarlowGirl has a song called, “I Need You to Love Me“, and while it’s not directly related to “relationship” trouble, it’s an honest song written directly to God.

Secular music puts you in the center — sex is about you, drugs make you feel good, women are objects, men are untrustworthy (although, sadly, this is true a lot of times). With Christian music — God is number one, sex is not about you, women are sisters, men are spiritual leaders. These are the reason why secular music is not fit for a Christian.

There are many awesome Christian groups out there. Sadly, the good groups seem to be overlooked, with some not as good being “propelled” — even in the secular world. There are many good Christian bands out there, yet very few ever see light outside of the Christian music industry (unless they comprimise to some extent). Generally, I’ve found those that have “crossed over” tend to produce worse content (I love the old Switchfoot, dislike much of the new). Am I really trying to just make a case for Christian music? Maybe. Moreover, though, I’d like to see Christians listenings to Christian music. Why? Life is all about God, singing about some girl your whole life is seriously on the verge of insanity. I’m going to forever love, cherish, and honor my future wife — I’m not, however, going to worship her, use her for sex, or anything else.

That’s where I stand on that issue. The music I relate to most is Praise and Worship music, and the truth be told, that should be the music all Christians should relate to most.

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Biblical Truths

I’m not sure where to begin tonight. I’ve been doing a lot of diffrent things lately. I’ve watched several movies over the past few weeks. I’ve actually got out of the house some (outside of school). There’s be a lot going on. There is one thing, though, that’ve I’ve missed. Biblical truthes. I’ve missed it for too long now. Over the past several days I’ve been listening to some messages from my old church on the subject, and they’ve helped me understand a lot of what I’ve been missing. Take Hebrews 13:5 (Amplified): “He [God] Himself has said, I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support.” I’ve went far too long without really believing these truths, or even know they were there, that I’ve bought into lies the enemy has told me about myself. The truth of the matter is that God will never fail me. God loves me, he’ll never forsake me. He’ll be with me until the day that I die. The Lord earnestly waits to be gracious to me (Isaiah 30:18, Amplified).

A few months ago we had a Wednesday night message on this at my church, but for some reason, while I got it, I missed it. I did use the handout that night to find me some scripture refrences though. I’ve printed me out a little list (as I recommend everyone else who reads this do, as well). I’m going to make a point (some sort of effort) to study these and become familure with these passages of scripture. I’ve attached mine here, if anyone is interested in printing it out. All are from the Amplified Bible unless otherwise noted (by the NLT, which is New Living Translation). The Amplified Bible made things a lot more clearer, so that’s why I used it in most cases.

Tonights service at church was about the Alter of Incense. It ended up being almost all about prayer in the end though, which is good.

I rented a movie tonight, Serenity.  It was a pretty good movie.  Really the main thing I had a problem with the “ability” River (character) had in the story (a psychic).  The movie wasn’t that bad in other aspects, though.  In some ways the movie had a good theme and message attached to it, though.

So that’s my life as of right now all in an encapsulated nutshell … or maybe it ain’t.  It’s still a little bit though.  Now it’s time to get to studying these truths.  I’ll probably be posting some sort of New Years resolution (actually several), of which I hope to make and keep, in the next few days.  Learning Biblical Truths just happens to be one of them.  I may just make a full length post for each.