Cool Praise. God hooked up my Volvo S80

So I'm coming home 2 days ago from an appointment about 45 minutes away from my house. While on the highway, I hear a nice sized smack while going about 60 MPH. I look in my rear view and it looked like I either ran over something or someone threw a show at my car. I blow it off as if it were nothing.

That is until I get home. When I got home, the entire front parking light from my Volvo S80 is missing. I guess the things just decided it was time to leave and find something else to do with its life.

I must say that I was pretty bummed. I don't have the best car in the world, its got a lot of miles and the sun-roof has sopped working; No to mention that I had a similar experience happen with my gas cover last year. Things just seem to like to fly off of my car for no apparent reason.

Then something cool happens. I got a call from a a company that was looking for some some office furniture to furnish 3 offices that they just built. On their way into their office, the walk past my car and I notice them looking at my headlight. Pretty embarrassed, I acted like it wasn't my car. After they come in, we get the talking and they own Tri-City Auto Salvage. Nonetheless, I get an e-mail from the owner who says "I got a 99 Volvo S80 Front Left Parking Light for you, should be delivered in a week. No Charge!"

Praise God who will provide even parking lights. Whats the freakin chance of that?

Dwelling in Psalm 13 (God seems so far from me!)

The entire month of April has been a rough one for me spiritually. In March I did a 30 Days with Jesus where I felt that God was so close and that I was feeling Jesus literally move in my life. I was experiencing victory over temptation, I was experiencing supernatural wisdom and revelation when I was in God's word, I was enjoying the presence of God during corporate worship on Sunday's.

Then April hit. Its been a tough month spiritually. I have struggled to be consistent in the word, although I did memorize all of Psalm 1 this month. I've felt like the word has been harder to understand this month, I felt like Christ has departed, and temptation seems much more attractive than it has in previous months.

I was sharing this with someone this week and he dropped a line to me that I had never though of before. This is what he said. "Those moments when God seems so far are just as Holy and God ordained as the ones when God seems so close."

Psalm 13 says:

How long, O LORD ? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and every day have sorrow in my heart? How long will my enemy triumph over me? Look on me and answer, O LORD my God. Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death; my enemy will say, "I have overcome him," and my foes will rejoice when I fall. But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. I will sing to the LORD, for he has been good to me.

It seems that David has felt exactly what I have been experiencing. Praise God for being so close at the time when he feels so far. Thank you for your promise that you will NEVER leave me or forsake me. Although you see far at times, I know in my heart that you are not far at all. That is your promise to me. (Matthew 28, Joshua 1:9, and many more) One thing I ask and one thing that I seek, is that I could dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life....how awesome would that be. One day it will come. However, for now, cherish the moments when God feels close and trust that he is close when he feels far.

Christ's closeness is not based on our feelings and experiences; but instead on his promise.

Dwelling in Psalm 1

I have been obsessed with the Psalms lately. Every time I pick up my bible, that is the first thing that I go to. Recently I have been meditating on Psalm 1.

Psalm 1

Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers. Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.

There are three huge principles that are in here and they are defining for every believer. They define Gods progressive growth in all of his people in the most accurate way. Then again, why would that surprise me; it is God who wrote the book.

Point 1: Influence

Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers.

Who is influencing you? Is it your husband, wife, friends, or Jesus? You and I do not have an excuse to blame our spiritual state on our church, our friends, our spouse, our schedule, or anyone else except ourselves. Who is influencing you? Who do you need to intentionally pursue in order to connect with Christ and grow in your faith? If your not happy with your relationship with Christ; grow up and do the hard work. Your not a baby who drinks milk; you should be eating meat by now.

Point 2: The Word.

But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.

You will never spiritually grow in your walk with Christ without scripture. Over and Over again, the bible speaks of itself as the one and only way to knowing God in his fullest state. We have got to read the bible in order to know God. And...it is not enough to read it. STUDY IT!! Learn about what God is trying to say in his word. MEMORIZE IT!! How are you supposed to meditate on the word of God when you don't have any of it memorized? How are you supposed to fight sin and Satan without the word embedded in your brain? It takes work; I know. PRAY IT! The bible says to pray according to Gods will. How are you supposed to pray according to Gods will aside from his word? Its impossible.

Point 3: Righteousness by faith alone.

Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.

If you are still working to be Good than you will never be righteous. On your best day God says you are nothing but filthy rags. However, through faith in Christ and what was accomplished on the cross; you can be made righteous and holy. This is good and bad news. Bad because there is nothing that you can do about your spiritual state. Good because you never again have to get down on yourself for not trying hard enough. The goal is not to try harder; instead the goal is to look closer....closer to Christ. Look to him and believe.

Time will tell if your belief is real. Are you growing? Are you convicted of sin? Do you love Christ deeply? Is he beautiful to you?

This Easter 2009

Happy Easter everyone.

About 9 years ago, Easter would have had no meaning to me at all. It was just another day for me to have a off of school or work and maybe get a little candy in a basket. Today, Easter has become one of the most important holidays to me. Everything a Christian believes, hinges on what happened on the day of Easter. Easter is the day that Jesus rose from the dead. Without that day, there would be no Christianity. Personally, my experience with Jesus begun in 2000. It was totally unexpected and very different. I was with a friend and through a series of circumstances, asked Christ into my life. That was the beginning of a brand new life for me.

Over the years I have learned so much about my faith and belief in God. Most importantly, I have learned of the freedom that comes in Christ. Christianity is quite simple and for too long our culture has turned it into a moralistic, dogmatic, fundamental (with no fun) religion, that lacks life, depth, and real love. Christianity is so much more than that. Instead it is a risky, rebellious, love affair with Christ, that propels you to do things that in your right mind you would never do (Such as share your faith or write a company wide e-mail; haha). I am by no means perfect or even a great person, but instead, I am doing all I know to pursue Christ with all my being.

This Easter, I challenge everyone, myself included, to not just let this holiday pass us by as a day off or a family event with a bunny (which the Chewning kids will definitely do), but take a moment to remember what we are celebrating. God came to earth to live perfectly, die horrifically, and rise gloriously, so that we may know him deeply. We all have different views on what the bible is. Some say it is a story, some say it is a book written by man about God, others say it is God's specific word given to us so that we may know him. Nonetheless, we cannot deny that it has been the most influential writings in all the history of mankind. Nothing has more effected our society than the bible.

My favorite part in all of the bible is Colossians 1:13-23 which says:

God has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves (Christ), in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. Christ is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross. Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation- if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven.

Anyway, regardless of what you may or may not believe, I want you to know that I love all of you. I consider all of you very close friends to me, and you've all played a part in who I am today; both personally and professionally. For that, I thank all of you. If you don't have a church that you'll be attending on Sunday, you're all invited to come with me. We go to a great, fun church full of a young crowd. Its up-beat, exciting and real. I'd love for you to join me. Go to http://www.daystarcf.org/ for details and directions. Either way, have a blessed Easter Holiday.

Judas the Betrayer

Read Luke 9

Have you ever wondered about Judas the betrayer? Recently I have. It is crazy when I think about all that he did while he was with Jesus. When you read Luke 9, you will see that Jesus sent him out to preach the good news about Him. He gave Judas power and authority to heal and cast out demons. Judas was sent to be a specific messenger about the Gospel of Christ. That is just crazy to me.

The other thing that is crazy is that Jesus, being fully God and all knowing, prayed to the Father all night when he was picking out the 12 disciples. In other words, he prayed all night to the Father about who to choose and went through great lengths to make sure that Judas was a part of his 12, while knowing full well that he would betray him and hand him over to be crucified for some silver.

How can this be? Jesus literally set himself up to be betrayed and killed.

This just shows the absolute glory of Christ. He was determined to save his people, regardless of the cost. Like the scripture says, he was willing to go through death, even death on a cross. Our God is great. Yet, while we were still sinners and rebelling against God, Christ willingly went to the cross to die so that we may live. That is an awesome testimony of the love, knowledge, sacrifice and glory of Christ.

Do you love him today? I do!

30 Days With Jesus Conclusion

Just wanted to blog about how much I enjoyed my 30 day journey with Jesus. I was faithful and read the texts everyday and learned so much about Christ. The one thing that sticks out more than anything was POWER. Jesus has more power than we can even imagine. he is capable of more than I can fathom.

I was encouraged by my brother-in-law, Paul, to read this scripture and wanted to share it with my blogging world. It has become one of my favorite parts of scripture. Our God is so huge and we are so small. yet, in his bigness, he allows us to know him. that is amazing to me. how great is our God?

Isaiah 40:8-15

8 The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever." 9 You who bring good tidings to Zion, go up on a high mountain. You who bring good tidings to Jerusalem, lift up your voice with a shout, lift it up, do not be afraid; say to the towns of Judah, "Here is your God!" 10 See, the Sovereign LORD comes with power, and his arm rules for him. See, his reward is with him, and his recompense accompanies him. 11 He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young. 12 Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens? Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket, or weighed the mountains on the scales and the hills in a balance? 13 Who has understood the mind of the LORD, or instructed him as his counselor? 14 Whom did the LORD consult to enlighten him, and who taught him the right way? Who was it that taught him knowledge or showed him the path of understanding? 15 Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket; they are regarded as dust on the scales; he weighs the islands as though they were fine dust.