Nothing Like It

So I realized how much I love being up early and just thinking about the day. It's just awesome to have a cup of coffee, sit at the computer, and think about how great our God is. There is just nothing like it. I'm excited about what He has in mind for the day. I just love starting the day off by submitting it to the Lord's service. I just ask God to take the day and go out in front of me and fight my battles. Our God is such an awesome God that He is perfectly capable of taking an ordinary day and doing something amazing to make it extraordinary. I love to just ponder the goodness and the glory of our God who is at rest on His throne. He looks upon me even at 5:30 in the morning. I just derive so much joy from serving a God who loves me so much that He would take human flesh upon Himself to endure the cross and to defeat sin and death on it's own turf. He has given me freedom that I might live to righteousness and die to sin. It is no longer I who live, but Christ that lives within me. He has given life to my mortal body. I need to constantly keep my mind girded for action and set on the things above where my real life is hidden with God in Christ Jesus. Every day is a continual dying to self and putting on of the character of Christ. I have to choose every single day whom I will serve. Am I going to serve and glorify my God and Savior today, or am I going to be impeded by the flesh and its desire for lust and idolatry. Every day is a battle, but the Lord takes my burdens upon Himself and gives me a yoke that is light and bearable. If I just delight and trust in Him, He will give me the desires of my heart. I was created for his work, his worship, and the knowledge and love of His word. The same word that became flesh and made its dwelling among us. He left glory for the lowest position possible (man) in order to show us glory in the highest. There is nothing we could ever do to merit our own righteousness before such a holy God. However, He is worthy of every realm of our lives to be yielded and offered to Him. He is deserving of wholehearted worship and devotion and I desire to give it to Him out of love for what He has done for me. It is the least I can do, but I yearn to do the most. I love Him and serve Him even though I don't deserve Him. Bless His holy name. It's because of Him that I will Proclaim the good news that is only found in His name. To God be the glory, honor, power, and praise for now and forever. Amen.

Let's Hit the Road

Just got Cydney's car packed up and we're reeady to hit the road bright and early. It was amazing because me and her brother Connor fit the most abundant amount of things into the trunk region of her car that we thought was impossible. We are going to hit the road about six in the morning bright and early. Pray that God would go ahead of us and fight our battles. Pray that He would give us traveling mercies in our drive to Utah. We'll be on the road for about twelve and a half hours. God is good and to Him be the glory. I am so excited about what He has planned for us in Utah. I am also praying that the LORD would use Cydney in a huge way to bring a tremendous amount of light to the University of Utah. We are going to be houses on a hill that can't be hidden or tamed. Love you guys and I thank you for your prayers and love.

Open That Door

So, I have some pretty awesome prayer requests for those of you that are part of the Utah church plant prayer team. I'm so hopeful that God will open up a huge door that will give me the opportunity to move to Utah in the near future. I've applied to many different agencies in the Greater Salt Lake Area and I am hoping to use my Criminology degree to start a career in law enforcement. Right now I am in the middle of things and am not quite sure what exactly is going to happen, but I do know that the LORD is good and works for the good of those that love Him and that have been called according to His purpose. I know that God has given me boldness to share the gospel with zeal, and he hasn't given it to me for no apparent reason. Utah is a big move, but also a worthwhile move in that it is to the glory of God. I am going to Utah on Wednesday the 19Th to help my girlfriend Cydney move into her dorm at University of Utah. Keep her in your prayers as well. It is going to be a huge step of faith and courage to step out of her comfort zone while going to school at the same time and being bold and loving for the kingdom. Also pray for her endeavours in finding a job while she is there as well. I have an interview with the University of Utah Police Department on Friday the 21st and I am very excited to see what will happen there. Pray that God would OPEN THAT DOOR so that I can go onto the mission field full time and be salt and light to the entire state of Utah that is lacking both saltiness and brightness. My internship with Fresno Fire will be over on September 19Th and then I will have no job. I'm just trying to be faithful with the little that I have now so that I can be trusted with much. Pray that our mission team would be prayerful and watchful as the enemy will try to do anything and everything to stop us from going to Utah. The battles have already begun and they will continue to be waged, but thanks be to the Lord Jesus Christ who goes out before us and fights our battles for us, and gives us the victory. He is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. There is none like Him, not even one. Thank you for you prayers and I pray that God would also bless you because of your thankfulness and faithfulness to the brethren. To Him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

The Apologetics of Jesus

So, I started a new book that is awesome. It is called The Apologetics of Jesus by Norman Geisler. It talks about the greatest Apologist who ever lived and that is Jesus himself. Apologetics comes from the Greek word Apologia which means defense. It is used a few times in the New Testament, like in Phillipians 1 where Paul says that he is appointed for the defense, or Apologia, of the gospel. We know that 1 Peter 3:15 commands us to set apart Christ as Lord in our hearts, and to ALWAYS be prepared to give an answer for the hope that we have. This is what Apologetics is aimed at doing; equipping believers for their effectiveness with sharing truth with a world that wants nothing to do with it, for the most part. Since there is no salvation in no one else but Jesus (Acts 4:12; John 14:6; John 10:9), then we should consider the Word going out of the utmost importance. What's a better way to prepare than to learn from the Master Himself, Jesus? That's what Norman Geisler is aiming at with this book.

The first chapter talks about Jesus' Apologetic use of testimony. The passage that he looks at is in John 5. Jesus heals a paralytic man on the Sabbath and this is scoffed at by the Jewish scribes and pharisees. Jesus defends himself by bringing testimony to the table. This is key in a Jewish context because a man's testimony was not very strong in a court room setting without the use of 2 to 3 witnesses (Deut. 19:15). In this particular chapter Jesus brings 5 different testimonies to the table. He talks about his being unified with the father, the works that he does (miracles), the testimony of John the Baptist, the testimony of Moses, and the testimony of the scriptures (OT). The word testify (testifies, testimony) is recorded 10 times. Now lets analyze more in depth each of these witnesses in a more detailed manor.

1. Jesus unified with the Father

The hypostatic union of the father and the son comes out strongly in this text. What I mean by hypostatic union is that Jesus and the father are of one essence or substance but still very distinct in their active role within the trinity. You can read it for yourself below but Jesus claims equality with the father pretty boldly in this passage. He says that His father has been working all this time and that so is He. He also says that the He only does what He sees the Father doing. Lastly, He even claims that the Father has given Judgment into His hands. The father will not Judge mankind, but rather the son. Check out the passage for your self.

17Jesus said to them, "My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working." 18For this reason the Jews tried all the harder to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.

19Jesus gave them this answer: "I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. 20For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, to your amazement he will show him even greater things than these. 21For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it. 22Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, 23that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him.

2. The Works of Jesus

This is the miracle that He did to receive this line of questioning from the pharisees. He gave the ability to walk to a man who has never walked before in His life. If that isn't good enough for the pharisees then I don't know what is. Instead of praising God for such an awesome display of His majesty, they are instead bickering because it was done on the sabbath and it violated their scriptures.

3. The Testimony of John the Baptist

Jesus makes it clear that He doesn't hold human testimony in very high esteem but instead He accepts the testimony of the one who sent Him. The Jews acknowledged John as a prophet of God for a short time, and Jesus makes it clear that John was the one that came before Him, in physical birth and time in history, and he has correctly testified to the truth. John was the voice crying in the wilderness preparing the way for the one to come.

4. The Testimony of Moses

Jesus is bold here in declaring that the accuser of the Jews is actually Moses. This man that they hold in such high regard actually wrote about Jesus. Jesus did not come to abolish The Law given to Moses but to fulfill it(Matt. 5:17).

5. The Testimony of the Scriptures (OT)

Once again Jesus rebukes the scribes and pharisees by telling them they have searched the scriptures for the wrong reasons. They are hopeful in receiving eternal life by the way of the scriptures, however, Jesus adds that the scriptures actually testify of Him and they point to Him.

Lastly, Jesus points out that they do not have the Love of God in their hearts. He even says that they refuse to believe, and it's because they continue to harden their hearts toward truth and instead they suppress it in unrighteousness(Rom 1:18). I encourage you to reread John 5 and see the amazing defense that Jesus provides for His claims to be equal with God. This passage is so encouraging and I pray for boldness and zeal for those who love to share their faith, and reach out to that which was lost, sinners whom are loved by God.

Ungodly Smell

There was one night, about a month ago, after college group that something really funny happened. The only people that were there were Loren, LJ, Brandon Ontiveros, myself, and I think another person, that I can't remember at the moment. We were sitting inside of the Student Ministry Center reminiscing about life, when Loren was telling us about a smell that was lurking in the room across from the boys bathroom. He said that as soon as you open the door to this room, there is a smell that leaps into your nostrils vigilantly, and punches you right in the face. Me, being the stubborn man that I am, decided to put Loren's analysis of this smell to the test. So, I went to the room and prepared myself mentally before opening the door. I'm still preparing myself. Then I went in with guns blazing only to re exit the room due to the most horrific, obnoxious, and rancid smell you've ever smelled in your life. It was like 46 year old blue cheese swirled with human excrement to say the least. We decided that we had to do something about this. So, all of the guys decided to find the instigator of this face-punching odor by locating it within the room. We knew that we had a challenge ahead of us, but it had to be done for the sake of our friends and families, and for the sakes of friends and families everywhere in the world as we know it. That is how much that we love you guys. And, that is where I leave you, and I'll let the videos explain the rest.

Encouraged by the body (of Christ)

So, I realized that everyone of my really close friends has a blog. I was kind of indifferent toward the whole idea at first, but then I folded under pressure. I was checking out Pastor Loren's blog at work and then I started reading all kinds of other people's blogs. I was so encouraged by what other people had to write (mostly Carrie and Kaitlin) that I just wanted to read more and more. It's just so awesome that the LORD uses the words and experiences of brothers and sisters to exhort, encourage, and uplift. I was so blessed to read what everyone else was thinking that I am hopeful that the LORD will use my words to bless another. Created to give Him all of the Glory, Honor, and Praise. Amen.