I cant get enough of God

Psalm 63 1-4 Message

1 God—you're my God! I can't get enough of you!
I've worked up such hunger and thirst for God,
traveling across dry and weary deserts.

2-4 So here I am in the place of worship, eyes open,
drinking in your strength and glory.
In your generous love I am really living at last!
My lips brim praises like fountains.
I bless you every time I take a breath;
My arms wave like banners of praise to you

Lord let our eyes be open, always in a place of worship, give us your strength and your love. Let me bless you with every breath I take, father, I will be stong in you...

feeling old...

Next year I will be 27 years old. I do not consider that to be old. However, there are certain things in this life that I either experience or feel that help me realize that I am definitely not in the “young” category.

Check out this list of things that make me feel old. Feel free to contribute and add on to the list.

THINGS THAT MAKE ME FEEL OLD…

- Drinking coffee.
- rent payment.
- How I feel after playing back-to-back baseball games.
- Seeing confusion on the faces of students when I make a “Wonder Years” reference.
- Getting really excited when I hear a Guns-N-Roses come on.
- Saying “I remember watching the original Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves in the theater,” every time I see the trailer for the new Robin Hood movie. Then immediately thinking, “Man, Robin Hood: Men in Tights is a great movie.”
- Having/thinking about retirement, stocks, and investments.
- Ever using the word “portfolio”.
- One word: INSURANCE (health, dental, vision, maternity, life, car, house, etc.)
- Getting up really early.
- Not being able to eat Taco Bell because of what it does to “my system”.
- Exchanging business cards.
- Getting destroyed in the newer video games because I don’t know all of the buttons.
- Thinking everything on MTV is lame and ridiculous.
- Having to print out all my Scripture references during a sermon because I can’t read the small font in my Bible.
- Making a Milli Vanilli or New Kids on the Block joke and getting no response.
- The only trophy I can ever get now is for fantasy football.
- In two years, all the 6th graders in student ministry will have born in the 2000s.
- The fact that I remember Michael Jackson as cool, then creepy, and then cool again.
- Remembering Mike Tyson as an incredible boxer, not a psycho. And having an incredible video game on NES.
- Guys & girls that were in my student ministry are now getting married.
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What are some things make you feel old?

Jesus loves you...

The message of Jesus is as simple and concise as the song many of us learned and sang in preschool: Jesus loves me, this I know.

Me.

You.

Practically everyone knows that little ditty.

But many don’t know its truth and power. The first two words do not inspire a lot of emotion. “Jesus loves.” It is when one gets to the “me,” the “you,” that things get more complicated.

Jesus Loves You.

The all-encompassing “you” means that the love of Jesus leaves no one out.

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Let that sink in. Jesus loves you. With all your issues. With all your mess ups. With all your messiness. With all your quirks. Jesus loves you.

Rest in that fact today.

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First part of this post, taken from…

tears of a pastor...

super funny video, made for 2009 youth convention... enjoy

tomorrow morning...

tomorrow morning I get the honor of speaking at my church... im sooo nervous but so excited. if your in the Fairfield area and want to check it out come on by at 1015 am. Its Assemblies of God youth sunday, its a day set up by general council to honor youth pastors and Youth in the church. My sermon title is "One: what-who-why". for those who care of want to hear it im going to try and record it, maybe I can post it on my blog. anyways if you remember please pray for me, this is my first time preaching to my congregation.

thanks Adam and Eve...

When God created the earth, he made man to have a perfect walking and talking relationship with God. It took all of three pages in my Bible for humanity to screw that up in what is commonly referred to as “the Fall of Man”.

When that happened, Scripture talks about or consequences that resulted from the Fall. For women, God greatly increased the pains while having a baby. For men, God greatly increased the difficulty to grow crops and live off the land. For both, clothes were another result of the Fall because for the first time they realized that being naked was for some reason wrong causing shame and insecurity for the first time.

I have been thinking about this lately because I believe there have been some “unspoken” results from the Fall. Somethings that you and I have to deal with in this fallen world that are here as a result of Adam and Eve eating from that “no-touchy” tree.

One of those unspoken results from the Fall has to be ACNE. Think about it. If I were a betting man, I would put my money on the fact that Adam and Eve probably never had one zit until the day after they ate from the “no-touchy” tree.

This has been on my mind because I have had a pretty tough, extremely busy week that has been filled with stress. I woke up the other day and had a massive zit on my forehead. It was so big, I had to take a picture of it so that I could share the massiveness.



I just turned 26 years old. Seriously, how much longer am I going to get zits? Any readers that are older than me, please give me some insight. I thought this whole adulthood thing took away things like that? No, acne is like the ultimate piece of humble pie. Have you ever thought at a time in your life that “hey, I look good” and “I pretty much am the best things since oxygen”? Then it always seems like the next day (normally a big date, a very important meeting or presentation, the one time of year school professional pictures, etc) there is a huge pimple that is so big you thought it just winked at you when you looked at it in the mirror.

Zits have to be a result from the Fall. So does the SF Giants, rising gas prices, and the WNBA.

What else do you think could be a result from the Fall? It is a fun question to kick around

Jesus sightings...

Have you ever seen those news reports about people who claim to have seen the face of Jesus miraculously appear in random objects?

All you got to do is google “Jesus Sightings” and you will come across some of the most bizarre, yet entertaining stories of people who see Jesus pretty much everywhere. I have recently come across websites where people have seen Jesus in all kinds of places. Check out this website which gives a top ten list of Jesus sightings which includes seeing Jesus in a fish stick, a x-ray, a pancake, a couch, a tailgate, and a tortilla (among others). Other websites have other Jesus sightings in objects such as a tree, a fence, and my personal favorite, a Cheetos Jesus



Most of us tend to dismiss these claims, and we usually enjoy a good laugh at their expense. But this topic brings us a serious question: WOULD YOU KNOW JESUS IF YOU SAW HIM?

Obviously, I am not talking about recognizing the Son of God in a potato chip or a fish stick. Rather, I am talking about knowing Jesus well enough to make him a part of your everyday life.

A large scale study of thousands of teenagers by Abilene Christian University found that “only 28% of churched teens report that they willingly and naturally turn to Jesus for assistance for daily problems.” Being a youth minister, that number staggered me. This study was not talking about unchurched teenagers. This study was talking about the churched teenagers. If that number holds true in the student ministry that I lead, it basically means that for every ten teenagers, less than three know Jesus well enough to count on him daily.

I wonder how or if the number would change if the study was directed towards adults. Would it change? Would it be a greater percentage or a lower percentage? In adult world, we have more education, life experience, knowledge, wisdom, tools, resources, and money to face our problems alone. Adults also tend to carry more pride that limits them from receiving and asking for help during difficult times. Do you count on Jesus daily?

I believe the problem lies in our knowing Jesus because the more we know and learn about Jesus, the more we will count on him daily. It is of utmost importance that each of us continue to grow in our relationship with Jesus and that we continue to pursue intimacy with our Saviour.

Think about it this way: whenever something good, something bad, or something pretty normal happens in your life, you probably have a person you go through everything with. That could be a best friend, a sibling, or a spouse. That person knows everything that is going on in your life and knows you intimately. Why can’t we have that kind of relationship with Jesus.

My prayer for us today is not that we miraculously see Jesus in a Cheetoh or a tortilla, but rather that we reach a level of intimacy with our Saviour where see him in our everyday lives. That we grow in our relationship with Jesus that goes beyond our church walls and beyond Sundays and (if you are a good Christian) Wednesdays.

Pray Philippians 3:8 & 10 (NIV) with me today, “I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord…I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death...”

Freeeeeeeeeedoooooooom...

There are certain things in life that don’t mix. Oil & Water, Shaq & Kobe, Good hair day & Rain, Gasoline & Fire, Microsoft & Works, etc. The list can go on and on.

Another example that most people think do not go together is God & Freedom. In John 8:32 Jesus says, “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” But wait a second. God cannot possibly be talking about freedom, can he? Because he is all about rules and regulations, right?

I don’t know about you, but I grew up thinking that God loved rules. I would go to church and hear about the Bible simply to hear a bunch of do’s and don’ts. After a while, I assumed that he got a kick out of saying “no”.

But think about Adam and Eve in Genesis 2. Adam and Eve were the freest people in the history of the planet. Why? Because they lived in a “one-rule” world and were only given one “Do not…” God said they could do whatever they wanted except eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. They took care of the garden, named animals, multiply, but just don’t touch that tree.

In God’s ideal world – a world that was just the way he wanted it – he only instituted one rule. Adam & Eve were happy in God’s one-rule world until Satan came along and convinced them that they were not absolutely free. Ultimately, in an attempt to reach for absolute freedom, they chose to disobey and rebel against God’s authority. The idea of their decision was that REBELLION brings FREEDOM. What they soon realized was that they LOST their freedom because of their rebellion.

Something happens to us when we become teenagers and it bleeds into adulthood. Somewhere along life’s journey, we begin to believe that freedom is a world without authority. A world without somebody over us. A world without somebody telling us what to do. That is a lie straight from Satan’s lips that will actually rob you of your freedom.

Have you ever known a rebellious teenager? All of sudden, the boundaries and authority that Mom and Dad set up no longer fly. The teenager starts to believe he/she wants freedom. Their desire for freedom causes them to rebel against Mom and Dad’s authority. Does the choice to rebel result in freedom? No, the exact opposite is true. The rebellion leads towards less freedom, not more freedom. A teenager’s most freedom can be found under his/her parent’s authority.

In the same way, God beautifully sets up boundaries and the way life was intended to be lived not to give us a bunch of do’s and don’ts but to help us experience freedom. When we rebel, it leads towards less freedom, not more freedom. When we submit to his authority, we experience freedom.

Maximum freedom is only found under God’s authority.

Say this with me today...I AM SECOND!

Transformation

WARNING: If you have life and this whole “living like Jesus” thing down, you might want to skip this post. If you are the other 99.9% of the planet, continue reading.

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I was reading the introduction to 1 Corinthians in THE MESSAGE, and the first paragraph grabbed my attention. It says…

When people become Christians, they don’t at the same moment become nice. This always comes as something of a surprise. Conversion to Christ and his ways doesn’t automatically furnish a person with impeccable manners and suitable morals.

Yep, it is true. You still get angry and lose your temper after being saved. You still naturally yell out curse words when you hit your shin on the coffee table instead of quoting a passage from Romans. You still are prone to lust if you look too much at the opposite sex. Your kids still tick you off. Your job can still be somewhat soul-crushing. You can still have addictions and strong holds that seem to run your life.

If you fit in the “I am still not perfect, but I love Jesus” category, God gave me a specific word for you today.

Salvation is a one-time event; transforming yourself to be more like Jesus is a process.

Transformation takes time. Transformation takes energy. Transformation takes effort. Transformation takes discipline.

Look at losing weight. It is a process that takes a lot of time, energy, effort, and discipline. It is not sudden or drastic. We turn on the television and see people losing tons of weight in one hour of The Biggest Loser or see how taking pills like Hydroxycut is a quick fix way to lose that unwanted weight. When in reality, nothing short of a lot of time, energy, effort, and discipline will result in true change.

Transforming yourself to be more like Jesus takes the same time, energy, effort, and discipline.

I wanted to encourage you today. If you don’t have life all figured out yet and if you still struggle, it is ok. You are not alone. Salvation is a one-time event; transforming yourself to be more like Jesus is a process.

A New Way to be Human

Why did Jesus come to this earth?

I often ask this question to people. The answer I often receive is so that he could die for our sins so that we could one day be in heaven with God. If that’s the case, why wait 33 years to do it? He could have used his Jesus-powers to morph down to earth one morning and face the cross later that afternoon.

Yes, Jesus came to die for us, but he also came to teach us a whole new way how to live – a new way to be human.

Look at John 10:10 (NIV). Jesus says, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” The Message translates it this way, “I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of.”

If you need an example of the new way to be human that Jesus initiated, look at Matthew 5. Culture said do not murder. Jesus said do not even get angry. Culture said do not commit adultery. Jesus said do not even look lustfully at another person. Culture said when somebody wrongs you, get them back. Jesus said turn the other cheek, give more than what is required, and go the extra mile. Culture said hate your enemies. Jesus said love your enemies and pray for them.

And that is just the tip of the “New Way To Be Human” iceberg.