December 23, 2008
Why is everyone married when they’re like 20 years old? I don’t like this. I don’t date anyone because I’m way too independent and get frustrated. I’m a really nice person (usually) but I just don’t do well with close-knit relationships…maybe someday, but right now I just can’t do it.
Anyway, I was just expressing my frustration in the fact that everyone is married 
November 6, 2008
In the midst of all the grumbling about the election, why do I hear some blasting their fears, worries and concerns from their soapbox, as if that will do any good at all?
As Christians, we are to respect our authority, but we are to vote as God guides us, not based on our own opinions. SO, whether or not we are in agreement with the views and ideas of the man who is now set to be the next president of the United States of America, all we can do is pray for God to give him wisdom & guidance and that he will follow God, turning to Him for divine leadership in all decisions being made from the most powerful seat in the world – the seat of the president of the United States of America.
Many are saying that Obama’s winning is the beginning of the revelation of the anti-Christ; I am not in a position to speak about that, but I can say this: God gave freewill to all humans, right? Well, I believe that we can POSTPONE things like the coming of the anti-Christ and even Christ’s second coming, but only through prayer and obedience to God.
Now then, in pursuit of maintaining a perfectly balanced political representation on this blog, I will speak theoretically, based on what I am hearing from those around me…If Obama is not the candidate that God has chosen for this position, why did he win? If God truly did not desire for this man to become our next president, then why on earth would God allow him to do just that? By God giving us free will and the freedom to ultimately choose our own destiny based on our decision, He has given us the power to affect the world. If God wanted another candidate to become president, this means that Christians did not fully listen to God and follow His leading in their voting. If everyone would have followed the leading of God in voting, the candidate that God wanted to become president would have won. If the wrong man won, the way I look at it is, God is sitting up in heaven looking down and saying, “If that’s what you really want…If you really want him as your president, FINE.” So, that said, we need to stop whining if we are disappointed about the election, because God knows who is going to win before it happens and really, we are the ones who decided who would win.
This is basically how it will play out when the rapture of God’s children takes place. God always allows us to have and exercise our free will, but He also allows us to live in the mess we’ve made and deal with the consequences of our decisions, but he always sends a warning. What happened in the days of Noah? The people were being dumb, doing bad things, so God said, “Alright then, you’ve made these choices and you can do that, but if you don’t straighten up I’m gonna kill you.” They didn’t listen, so God drowned them all except Noah’s family, who were obedient to God. What went on in Sodom & Gomorrah? The people were being creepers and again, God let His people know ahead of time that the whole place was gonna be toast if they didn’t quit being stupid, BUT, the creepers kept on creepin’ and *POOF* God toasted them.
I’m tellin’ you, each day we are getting closer and closer to the end of the world and everyday things are lining up for God’s plan to take place. The looser we get in our standards, the looser we get in our beliefs and our morals and our decisions, the further away we drift from God and the less we listen to His voice – the closer we get to the end. It’s going to go down just like it did in the stories mentioned above; God is going to say, “Okay, this is the world you have created for yourselves; these are the decisions YOU have made and I have honored your freedom of choice. So now, you can just live in the mess you have made for yourselves. You’re free to live in the chaos and turmoil you have brought upon yourselves and MY earth because that is what you chose; that is what YOU wanted.” Then, His people that have remained obedient and faithful to HIM will be taken out from the scum and filth of this world.
To be honest, I don’t want to die now. I don’t want to be raptured away right now. Although I may not want to stay here and experience the rapid decay and decline of this nation’s standards and morals, I refuse to pray for Jesus to hurry up and come because that is a selfish prayer to pray. There are millions upon millions of unsaved souls that will, without someone telling them about Jesus, be lost forever when the end time does come, and for me to ask to be removed from this mess and plucked out – that is just absurd. In all things, we should pray the hardest prayer of all – we should pray for God’s will to be done. After all, in the Lord’s Prayer where we are given a format to apply to all of our prayers, Jesus says to the Father, “Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.” In all things we should not request the hand of God to swoop down and rip us out of here, but we should ask Him to let His will be done in our lives, no matter what the cost.
I am far more willing to lose my life telling someone about Jesus in some unreached part of the world than to die in bed as a shrivelled-up, old man! So, as the end of the world draws increasingly nearer, join with me and pray this prayer:
“Father, I lift up the United State of America to you. I lift up President Bush, as well as our soon-to-be president, Barack Obama. I ask for wisdom and guidance for both of them in their decisions and their daily walks with you. I pray that your will is done in this nation, this world and in my life. I ask that you give me opportunities every day to lead more people to you and teach them about your love. I thank you for all that you are doing in the world and I know that everything is in your hands and not one thing happens without you knowing about it. Bless our nation, our leadership, and your people this day and always - in Jesus’ name – AMEN.”
September 30, 2008
What do you think our main goal is as Christians? I think it is to let the love of Christ eminate through us so strongly that it makes the people around us want to come to Him. Mark 16:15 says, “Go into ALL the world and preach the good news to ALL CREATION.” So, what would you say it is that really draws people to us? What’s the real kicker that makes people want to drop the lives they’ve come to know, just to be like us? In my opinion, the most extreme thing is the power that we have. Yes, we have love and joy and peace and patients and the whole tree of fruits of the Spirit, but we also have awesome, unbelieveable power through Jesus Christ and this power is supposed to show.
I believe that one of the main reasons that Christianity is in a downward tailspin in many areas of the world, even here in the U.S., is that people are letting their God-given power die. It’s just like a house whose occupants neglect the electric bill; the power gets shut off - it gets disconnected from the source and this place that was once full of light and life grows dark and empty. I don’t know about you, but if I was given the choice to go into a dark, empty place or a place that’s full of light and love, I would pick the latter. But just like this, if we don’t stay connected to our power supply, that is Jesus Christ, we allow our power to get shut off and we become dark and powerless.
In Mark 16:17-18, Jesus says, “These signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people and they will get well.” This is AWESOME power and it is ours to claim if we are willing to plug in and get connected to our power supply!
People today who have let their lights go out – who have let their power get shut off by falling for the lies of the enemy – are claiming that these signs that Jesus spoke about were only for the disciples; they say that they aren’t relevant in our world today. When I read this, I don’t see any disclaimers or fine print that says, “While Supplies Last,” or “This offer expires ________.” These things are promised by Jesus and they are still valid today. “The Word of God cannot return void.”
Romans 8:35 says, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?” What this is saying is that when we go through hard times, God still loves us just the same and we are still just as full of His power as we are when things are going great! To exercise our rights as believers, we need to SPEAK LIFE into every situation in our lives and the lives of the people around us.
I used to pray for God to do this or do that, but I remembered that God promised that whatever we asked for in His name would be done. His Word also says that our tongue holds the power of life and death. The same power that came forth from the mouth of God that formed the earth and all that’s in it has been given to us…So now when I pray, I don’t just simply whine and beg for God to do things or move my mountains; I speak life into things and say that it has already been done. I speak to the moutains and they can’t stand because of the power that is in me through my God! Now I say, “Thank you, God, that you have already done this for me…it is already taken care of…it is in your hands now.”
The very same power that raised Jesus from the dead is in our hearts through the Holy Spirit that was given to us and we have the ability to release it into the very atmosphere around us by our words! By speaking to our situations in the name of Jesus, we are claiming victory before the battle even begins. On our own, we are powerless – we are nothing. But if we plug in and turn on to Jesus, we have the power to illuminate the darkest night and overcome any circumstance. Just like in Psalms 107:20, we too can “send the word that heals and delivers.”
The Bible says we are MORE than conquerors through Jesus Christ. A conqueror is a very powerful person, but we are MORE than this with the power of Jesus! So whatever you’re going through, just remember – You have more power, more favor and more strength than you know when you simply speak to your circumstance and claim your power in the name of Jesus!
ROMANS 8:37-39 “…in all these things we are MORE THAN CONQUERORS through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor ANYTHING else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
September 30, 2008
“Huperupso” – a Greek word meaning “to exalt supremely.”
This morning we had another time of ministry with Pastor Sarah and her teachings from Philippians. I thought I would give you a little lesson in Greek (which is all from Sarah, as I am far from a Greek scholar), as well as a little bit of my own spin on Philippians 2:9-11.
The Greek word “Huper” is where we get our English word “Hyper,” which means heightened or above. “Hypo” means below or under; hyperactive means above normal activity, while hypoactive means below normal activity.
In Phillipians 2:9, where Paul says that God exalted Jesus to the highest place, the word “huperupso” is used, meaning that Jesus was exalted above-above, double high, not only to the highest place, but above the highest place. That’s why He always does “exceedingly, abundantly above all we could ask or think,” because He is above it all already!
When you or I think of “to the highest place,” what do we think of? A mountain? A treetop? A skyscraper? Maybe even an airplane cruising through the highest place you can go. That’s our perspective, our point-of-view. Think for a moment if you were God and you lived in a place that is high above what we could ever see – above the clouds, above the atmosphere, above even outer space – what would your idea of the “highest place” be then? It would be above where you are; it would be higher than the highest.
So Jesus was literally lifted high above not only our world and problems, but high above everything there is, even heaven. Lucifer or Satan was thrown out of heaven because he wanted to be exalted above the throne of God; he even said that he would be exalted above God, so he got kicked out and sent to the lowest place. Jesus is above the highest place and the devil is below the lowest place. That’s why he’s under our feet and we have authority over him, because Jesus, the one who is above the highest place, is in us and with Him we rise above everything that comes against us.
Jesus was also given the name that is above every name, so that means that whatever you’re struggling with can never be higher than Jesus if you keep Him first in your life and lifted up. Jesus said if we lift Him up, He’ll draw all men unto Himself. Through these hardcore times of economic stress and panic in our nation, if we keep Jesus lifted up, people will see that difference and see the peace that we have and He, through us, will literally draw all men unto himself. The attacks of the enemy can not exalt themselves above the name of Jesus because HIS name is ABOVE every name. The Bible says that at the name of Jesus, every knee will bow, in heaven, on earth and under the earth, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord – BECAUSE – no one can deny the power in the name of Jesus.
July 29, 2008
Last night I went into the hills to pray and reflect on the love of God. I found myself sitting on a rock on the side of a canyon and with tears in my eyes, wondering how Jesus must have felt when He sat there on the mountain the night before He would die, looking down over the city of the people who, though He loved them, had rejected Him and would hand Him over to be crucified. Sitting there, looking out over the city as the sun went down behind the magnificent Rocky Mountains, I couldn’t help but think of the pain that He must have felt…the lonliness that He was feeling, even to ask His Father why He had been forsaken. It was amazing to me how close to God I felt there at that moment when I tried to see things through the eyes of Christ. I tried to feel things with His heart.
I am humbled by the fact that this man, though more powerful than any other, would willingly give up His life just for me – so that I could be saved and live my life to please Him. I pray that I would have the mind of Christ, because what kind of thoughts must He have had to have been willing to die for us? He must have had the purest thoughts, full of love, compassion and forgiveness. I pray that I would have these thoughts everyday in every situation with everyone that I come in contact with.
When someone says to me that they don’t believe in God – that they don’t believe that a man could die and rise again 3 days later – I can’t help but wonder where their heart is. Even if I couldn’t feel the very tangible evidence of Christ in my heart that I do, I believe that I would be willing to follow any man who would submit Himself to the most humiliating and cruel punishment and execution just to say He loves me. He did this just so I would know that He loves me. How could anyone reject Him? How could anyone deny His truth or mock His name? How could you refuse the love that is so readily available if you just acknowledge that He is who He is?
I would ask one question to anyone who would refuse my Jesus – Would you die for what you believe in? Jesus believed in what His Father sent Him here to do. If Jesus had not really risen from the dead just like He said, then tell me why the very men who denied even knowing Him just 3 days earlier would later give their lives and die the death of a martyr for the gospel of Jesus Christ. They did this because they saw Him again! It wasn’t the end of Jesus when He was buried in that tomb in Jerusalem. Jesus got up and is alive today! These men who were ultimately executed for their faith, had once denied that they even knew Jesus for fear of being killed, but why would they, after His death, suddenly claim that they do know and love and support Jesus? They saw Him again. Jesus is not dead, He is alive.
July 28, 2008
So, Friday I went to work at my old office. It was odd, because now that I’m away from there, you see just how it was when you were there, from an outsider’s point-of-view. Even though I’ve only been out for like 3 weeks, being in ministry everyday opens your eyes to so many things that you never saw before. Let’s just say, I love everyone there, but I’m grateful to be out.
Then I went and met the animals I’m gonna be babysitting next month when I house-sit. That should be fun. I’ve never really done that before, but I think it will be good. Saturday I slept in a little bit; I should have gone to CityPrayer, but I was sooo tired. I went over to Pastor Travis’ garage at about 12:30 to help my buddy, Aaron Malone, work on his motorcycle…we drove around for a while looking for parts and returning some un-needed items. It was smoking HOT that day…like almost 100 degrees. Then we went and met Nate and Keanon at Anthony’s Pizza for dinner and we got a pizza almost bigger than the table. It was MASSIVE! I couldn’t believe it…it was falling off the pizza pan it was so huge. That made me sick later. I decided to be an elderly person and go home after that. They went and watched some movies, but I just went home, slept a little, read the Bible and watched The Secret Window. That was odd…but what do you expect with Johnny Dep?
Sunday I went to church at 7:30AM for band practice and then I went home. We grilled some steaks and made them into kabobs with yellow squash, portabella mushrooms and onions. We had corn on the cob and sweet potatoes too…very good! Then I tried to take a shower and my shower head exploded water everywhere, so that was a botched attempt! I went to small group at about 6:45 PM and Bridgette got slammed by a baseball to the arm. Aaron tried to kill her. Haha…at least it didn’t hit her face. Then they lost the ball under the bushes and sent her under there to get it. Of course, a spider was crawling on her so she proceeded to FREAK OUT and exhume herself from among the foliage. lol
Small group was good. Lance Landry led it and it was about having a foundation with God. We did that and then some of us went to Evan’s place to watch The Illusionist, but it took like 47 hours so I didn’t get home until after 1:00 AM and had to be up at 6:30. Ugh…oh well, I really didn’t even see the movie because I slept on the floor most of the time.
I think that’s the whole weekend update, so HAPPY TRAILS!
July 24, 2008
Well, it is raining 7 kinds of crazy outside, but that’s ok – I think this state was about to burst into flames, so the wetness is good. Meanwhile, work is never going to end. I’ve been here since 7:30 and, while it’s been an eventful and busy day, I’m ready to leave! You know why? Because I’m going to BUFFALO WILD WINGS tonight and it’s boneless night!! YES!
I was slightly amused today by Hosh, Pastor Aaron and Carlos trying to move a desk out of the back of a truck and into PA’s office…the real kicker is, when they got it in there, it wouldn’t fit! Oh, so sad. But FUNNY! La-ti-da-di-da….I’m bored. I shouldn’t be, cause I’m working as I write, but I need brain stimulation!
The coffee had grounds in it today, which almost caused me to vomit. I’m one of those weirdos that can’t eat oranges because the white stuff freaks my mouth out, so grounds in the coffee did not please me. Um, it’s blazingly hot back here, so I think I’m going to take my alotted 15 minute break now and get some air.
Until next time, signing off – I’m Alex P. Keaton. Good day. 
July 23, 2008
How’s it going? Today is Wednesday, which means that I only have one more day to work because I work Monday through Thursday! YES! Haha…looking forward to Catalyst tonight; last week was awesome and I hope this week is even better.
Our team from El Salvador is coming back tonight and the Ethiopia people will be heading home on Saturday and I’m excited to hear the reports.
I’m gonna go now, but remember the verse in Timothy – “For God did not give us a spirit of fear, but a spirit of power, love and sound-mind.” Just be strengthened and know that you HAVE DA POWER!
July 22, 2008
I’m excited today because I get to leave an hour early from work! I have comp. time for running our India Promotional Booth on Sunday, so I’m excited.
I really have no agenda for today…maybe after work I’ll try to be productive and go to the gym, but then again, maybe not. Haha…decisions, decisions. Either way, I’m still excited to get home in time to watch both episodes of the Simpsons tonight!
Meanwhile, I forgot to mention that we saw Batman or Dark Knight or whatever they call it, anyway, we saw it on Saturday and it is AWESOME. The Joker was totally troubling and it’s sad, you can’t even tell it’s Heath Ledger. I think he’s gonna win some kind of award for this, even though he’s dead.
Well children, have a great day and I’ll let you know if anything exciting happens!
July 21, 2008
One day I found some coins in a pile of dirt. It looked as if the coins had been through a fire and covered with sut and dust. As people who have been through the fire of our lives here on this brutal planet, we are just like those coins. Our worth is not reduced because we are covered with dirt and ashes from our past – from our sin. You can take those coins, clean the dirt off and they are worth just as much as they were before they got into the mess that they were in. As humans, when we are covered in the shame and dirt of a life gone wrong, the filth of our sinful pasts – It’s the blood of Jesus that we need to clean us up and make us brand new, revealing our true worth and glory. When we ask Jesus to forgive us and to make us brand new, He comes in and washes away all of the dirt and makes us shine with a light that is the glory of God. His word says, “Behold, I am making ALL things new.” Why be discouraged when…you can SHINE!
