Change

America is going down the drain if people dont change; the same is for the church. It is shameful the reputation that some Christians have with the world. The world hates us, and yes it does say in John that that the world will hate us, but it has gone to the point were they accuse us of being hypocrites, and judgmental. First off we are called to Love, in 1 John, it says that if anyone hates his brother but Loves God, is a liar. Also we have people ignoring the great commission, to go out to ALL the nations, yes there are needs here in the US but we also need to go to all the nations. We are called to make disciples in all nations, then baptize them, and then help them along in their new life. We are also called to give everything we have to God, and let him use us. We are called to pick up our crosses and follow him, everyday, not when we feel like it, but all the time.

Now I dont really know what the I am going to say really, what I want to say and let all Christians know will take years, especially to get it in their heads. God has called us to be so much more than we are now, me included. Our biggest calling or one of them is to reach out to the needy, not just the needy in our own town, but also the world. The other is to make disciples; those are two important parts of following God, yes there are many more like Love. This is just the beginning.

Radical is a book by David Platt, I highly recommend it. It has helped me see things in a new light, things I already knew but didn’t take action upon. That statistics are mind blowing, and why? because Christians that can do something aren’t doing anything. They are busy living out the American dream in their lives but with a Christian spin on it. If we are to start living a biblical  life it demands radical change, hence the title of the book.

Now I am going to try to post more posts about this subject of radical change, but dont take my word on it. If you want to get the book radical and read it, and even f you dont want to, well I am telling you to, it is worth it.

Christianity is Not a Relgion

We live in a world of so many religions. All claim to be the one, the one that is the truth. Well there is one that stands above the rest but it doesnt fit in the category of religion. It is prob safe to say that it receives the most mudslinging from anyone. Now you may be wondering what makes it not a religion. If you look at all religions, they all require the follower to do good. Look at Buddhist, they do good to reach enlightenment, pretty selfish to me. Or lets say Islam, they do it to get the virgins, and to put themselves in a good light, they dont even let woman have rights.

Well with Christians, do it not for their own glory, not to get into Heaven, but to bring glory and honor to God. See we dont have to work our way to Heaven because our Savior died to let us in. Not only did he die but he sealed our way to heaven by rising again. We dont have to do anything except allow Jesus to be our savior. We don t do good deeds to bring glory to us, but to God.

Now this is a short post but I was just writing my thoughts

Love

So there is this thing called love, the reason I call it a thing is because its a feeling but also a verb, something you do. You feel it but yet you also do it, so im just going to call it a thing. This thing love is so powerful, but yet this world throws it around like its nothing. One reason I dont like the English language is it only has one word for love, the Hebrews have at least 3 and the Greeks have 4. So in english we can say we love our wife, and we love tacos. Hm comparing your wife and a food. See what I mean? Love is degraded by the English language.

I like the 3 words the Hebrews use for love the most. Raya, Avahah and Dode, (not sure on the spellings). Raya is love between friends, like good friends. Avahah is unconditional love, like the love Christ showed us through his sacrifice. And Dode is physical love, like what should only be between a married couple. The reason I pick these 3 is because you need these 3 in any marriage. They need to be balanced and if they are then it is a healthy marriage.

The saying you marry your best friend is so true. Before you date anyone, you need to get to know them on a friendship level, otherwise you run the risk of getting too much of the other Loves before Raya. And yes it can work out were you meet and start dating cause if you are focused and want it to work you will try to get to know the person you are dating. But doesnt it make sense you need to be able to tell them whatever?  Before moving onto Avahah or Dode, you need to get Raya.

Once you have Raya in your relationship, Avahah will come and this is when Love really starts to show. This is when you will say I love you and mean it. This is when you would do anything for the one that you Avahah. Then there is Dode, this love is anything from holding hands to yes of course sex. Dode needs to be controlled in till marriage otherwise it can compromise your marriage.

The beauty is that when these 3 loves are in perfect balance they become a fire that cant be put out because Love Wins.

If you want more insight to these 3 loves watch this Rob Bell video, he does a really good job  explaining them.

Homeless

I just finished reading a book call Under The Overpass. It was about how the author and one of his friends lived homeless for 5 months. They shared how they were treated by the not homeless people. They got the worst treatment by restaurant employees. Sadly only a handful of Christians helped them and treated them like normal people. This greatly discouraged their faith along the way. But they did encounter people that encouraged them and even was changed by them. In Matthew 25:40 it says The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’ . Also whatever we dont do unto the least of these we dont do unto him. If God is love and we are called to be like Christ then we are called to love. So whats preventing us? our comfort zone? We (even me) need to learn step out of our comfort zones and love those who need it.

Christmas songs

Lately I’ve just been thinking about Christmas songs and how its so sad. Society has taken these worshipful Christmas songs and tried to make them less meaningful. In some ways they succeed, like when a non-Christian sings a Christian Christmas song like silent night, thats a common one. But when you really stop and think about the lyrics of these songs we sing during this time of year you realize how powerful they can be. For example in the song What child is this the line “come peasant king to own him” jesus even as a baby was so great and praise worthy, that a king was like a peasant. That is pretty crazy i would have to say. Also in the song Hark the Herald Angels Sing the line “Born that man no more may die” yes millions and billions of people have died since then but the meaning of that line is Jesus was born to die on the cross for our sins and then defeat death by rising from the dead. This made it so sinful people like you and me can ask for forgiveness, believe in our hearts that He is Lord and be saved and only experience a a physical death. Our souls will forever live with God in heaven, we wont have to experience another “death” separation from God forever. One of my favorite Christmas songs is by Relient K, I celebrate the day
“To look back and think that
This baby would one day save me
In the hope that what You did
That you were born so I might live
To look back and think that
This baby would one day save me
And I, I celebrate the day
That You were born to die
So I could one day pray for You to save my life”
I just love that song so much, the words are so powerful. So if there is one thing you get out of this blog is that Christmas songs are worship songs just as much as any other worship song. It may be seasonal but I hope that next time you sing a “carol” in church that you sing with worship to God just like any other song that is sung in a church. The people who wrote them I imagine wrote the songs with huge reverence to God so i hope when we sing them we can sing them with just as much reverence for God as when they wrote them.

Abram

So what does the character Abram (AKA Abraham) from the bible have to do with me? He may be the father of Faith but, im not going through the same as he did. I am nothing like him. As i said in the previous blog, God told Abram to do some wacky things, to leave his family, take what he has and go to a land that is about to get a famine. And God told Abram, oh by the way, even though you have no kids, im gonna give them this land. When the Famine struck, Abram went to Egypt; God didnt tell Abram to do so. When they get there, Abram tells his 65 year old wife to pretend to be his sister so the Egyptians dont kill him. The Pharaoh hears about Sarai and wants to see her beauty. Pharaoh almost takes her in as his wife, God sends plagues down on Pharaoh and his family. Pharaoh gets pissed and kicks them out. So Abram goes back to Bethel, but this isnt the “promised” land. His nephew Lot is with him and God has blessed them soooo much that Abram and Lo must part because the land cant support them. Abram does one thing that went against the culture of that time. He was the head of the house and he let Lot choose. He told Lot if you go to the right ill go to the left, but if you go left ill go right. Lot looked and saw good crops to one direction, he choose for himself and went that way. The funny thing is that Abram ended up going back to this land, the land of Canaan. the land God told him he would give to his descendants. Abram stuck his neck out, and God provided. He took the leap of faith no one would think to take. This is where it connects to me and even you. God calls us to do his work, and some have to give up everything to do so. But then God provides and you are taken care of. But we need to take that leap of faith in order for God to provide.

A Mystery Of God

So God is unfathomable, we can never understand him. Since we cannt understand him, when he speaks to us, we dont get, he doesnt explain everything, or how hard it may become. We see this in Abraham, but this is when he is still Abram. God tells Abram to go to one place full of Idol worship, his homeland. To leave his family, his land, and at the time, even extended families lived in either the same house or the one next door. God sends Abram over 100 miles away from his family. At this point Abram is 75 and has no kids. God promises Abram that he will make his descendants into a great nation (Israel). When Abram gets to the land on Cainnan, the land of the Cainnanites, another land full of Idol Worship. God tells Abram that he will give his descendants this land, oh and by the way, it has a famine, now go to Egypt. What God told Abram didnt make any sense. There will come a time in everybody’s life that God will tell them to do something that doesnt make sense. I feel like that moment in my life is now, as a senior in high school. The logical thing for me to do is to go to college. To do what my parents want me to do. But I feel God telling me to not go to college for now and go work at this Christian Camp in the Kitchen because they need someone to run it and i have worked in that kitchen for 2 summers, and this makes no sense to me. But this is were faith comes in and helps you. when you have two options and God is telling you to do the one that makes the least sense.

Update

So its been a while since I’ve last posted something. Since then a lot has changed. The last time i posted something i was “dating” one girl but now im dating another. But the thing is that i still care about the other girl because she is my sister in Christ. It is safe to say that i am more mature than the last time i posted something. Not just in a mental sense but also a spiritual sense, my knowledge of Love is just one topic i have broadened my knowledge in. But since April God has opened my eyes to the mistakes I made, mainly the ones I didnt think were mistakes. Now im dealing with what to do after high school since im a senior. well this is a lot shorter than i thought it would be but its just a small little update of things and more is to come

Jesus Christ our Laminin

15He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16For 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. 17He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. Colossians 1:15-17

I know some people try to debunk this fact, they say that the symbol used for medicine. But you know every fact and every theory will have people against it, there will always be someone opposing, its just how it is. Well the scripture that i posted above says in verse 17 that Jesus holds us together, and he does and a protein in our body that is in the shape of a cross holds us together, it holds our tissues and organs, holds our skin, on Youtube you will find videos that try to debunk it of being the shape of the cross, i just dont think they truly dont get the importance, you know the cross was once a symbol of death, and now its a symbol of hope and what our savior, who holds us together was killed on before he rose again. honestly i dont know how atheist can be atheist, i mean the proof against them is so big in number, and the proof for the bible is so big as you can read further on my common objections to Christianity page. but yeah watch the video and leave what you think.

Prophetic Experience

Just tonight (1/23/09) I went to a neighbor’s house and they hosted a guy who has the gift of prophecy and there was a group of people there, and we gathered in the name of the Lord, and the guy Earl Robinson came to speak the words of the Lord. We started out with some worship via a cd player to get our hearts were they should be. He started out all calm saying what God was telling him to they people it concerned, he also told us of two prophetic experiences he had, how something great, something big for the Lord was going to happen in the north east and start in Rhode Island. I was early on, and what he said was a confirmation with things added in that i wouldn’t really think. He said God was showing me as a young preacher full of the presence of God, that i was radical for the things of God. He also said that when i opened my mouth he saw fire come out, the fire of God. He also said that he saw me playing my guitar, he didnt know me at all untill that night and didnt know i played an instrument, he said I was an instrument, and instrument of righteousness, and said that a mentor would come into my life for guitar and also teach me how to be the worshiper I am. The night was just amazing, people were falling to the ground from God working in them, I just cant explain what went on like it really did. It was just an amazing night of prophecy and God doing his work. And what caught me was every time he had a vision or when God would say something to him he would thank God.

Give me a Heart like Yours

Give me a heart like yours
Give me a love for souls
Give me a heart that weeps and cries
Cause so many are gonna die
Cause so many are gonna die without You

Whatever breaks Your heart
Let it tear me apart
Hold me close enough to You
That I am broken
Whatever breaks Your Heart
Let it break mine too

Give me a heart like Yours
Cause mine is unaware
Give me a heart that’s pure as gold
That’s soft as flesh
Where once was stone
-SONICFLOOD

worrying

Arg Parents can be so nagging, i know they want the best for you but sometimes they worry about things to much and come to think about it Jesus tells us in Matthew 6 25-34 not to worry.
“Therefore I tell you do not worry, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air, they do not sow or reap or store away in barns and yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? And why worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘what shall we eat?’ or ‘what shall we drink’ or ‘what shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your Heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own” (NIV)
Why do we worry? that tells us because we dont have enough faith, but doesnt the bible also say in 2 Corinthians 5:7 “we live by faith and not by sight”? so When Jesus tells us not to worry in a way he is telling us to grow in our Faith then we wont have a need for worrying. We will have faith in God we will trust him to provide for us. the reason i am writing this is because today my mom was talking about me and money how i need it to survive, i do need money who can live without it? But my parents worry too much about money and stress over it like no tomorrow and i see them lacking faith in our Father, our Provider, he wouldnt be our Father if he didnt provide for us. So lets put our trust in him as we do our earthly father to provide for us. We talk about, we sing about how great our God is, how awesome he is, how faithful he is to us. Well why do we hear him call us you of little faith and ask us why do you worry, do you not trust me? and if you say yes i do trust you God well show it, show it by how you live, show it by trusting God, by putting your faith in God. Let him lead you, take his hand follow Abraham and take a leap of Faith and you will never be the same, trust me, right now im still leaping and its amazing and its only going to get better, yes i face hardships in life and will but my faith in God will make it easier to make it through them so i hope you take a leap of Faith let God take your life.

He has been so good to me

this past weekend i went to Camp berea for a staff reunion, i was so excited to go because i was going to see Joy. Yes i was really happy to be able to see her and spend time with her because she means so much to me. I set a goal that i wasnt going to cry at the end of the weekend, that i wasnt going to be sad that we saw each other but were then leaving but happy that we got to see each other and happy for the time we spent and what it was and not all that it could have been. I had an amazing weekend, i know it could have been better but i cant find a way how cause im just happy for the time we had, i meet that goal. I wasnt sad (well i was but not as much as i could have been) i was happy for the time we spent together and had to enjoy and did enjoy spending together with each other and everyone else that was there. The crying goal i didnt exactly meet, i did cry but they were tears of happiness and not sadness. We sang a song that made me cry it was saying, you are so good to me but out the whole song that part that made me cry was saying that i couldnt thank you enough for all that you have done for me. It made me cry tears of happiness and thankfulness for God has been good to me and i am so grateful for all he has done for me and even if i said thank you a million gazillion times and still counldnt thank him enough. another line in the song said you gave me Joy, i chuckled inside, he gave me the feeling Joy and a person named Joy, when i look back i see how God provided for me starting way back when i was 14, just the fact that then i said i was going to work at berea in the kitchen and 2 years later actually follow through with it, if i didnt then i wouldnt have meet Joy at all. i am thankfull for that, then for my reasons to go to berea as staff to grow more spiritually, and at the beginning it wasnt really happening , then i meet Joy we just clicked, we would hang out on our breaks and we would just have regular conversations. then they evolved into talks were we would bring our bibles and talk about our spiritual lifes and what God has been doing in our lifes and how he was speaking to us and the one of the best things that i am so thankful for is how God hid Joy’s beauty intill i became closer to God and Joy helped me with that, when i came home from the summer i say a flair that said a womans heart most be so lost in God that a man has to seek God in order to find it, and with us that happened the more i seek God the more i find beauty in Joy, and the more thankful i am to God For everything. Before the summer my life was suffering spiritually in many ways with temptations to do this and that and not going deeper into the word, i had a year filled with problems then almost as if to solve them God puts Joy in my life and it was slow and is still going on but improved my life spiritually. I am so thankful to God for changing my life through Joy and there is now way i could ever forget this past summer because it is part of my testimony, i know i have said this a lot but like i said i just cant say how thankful i am to God for everything. I also cried when i got home after the staff reunion when i started to thank God again for everything and i feel like and have felt like since i started typing this that i am about to cry, God is amazing, he is awesome and everything that you look for in a person and more he will always be there for you in the toughest of times and in the best of times, I have so much to be thankful for and i thank God for that alone. i should probably stop before i write a short book. but i just want to say one more time before i end this Thank you God for everything you have done for me even the things i havent realized you did for me and the things that you will do for me, i love you so much God for you loved me first and i want to love like you do to show the world just how awesome you are

You have been so good to me
You have been so good to me
I came here broken, you made me whole
You have been so good
You have been so good
You have been so good to me

You have been so good to me
You have been so good to me
I came here morning,
You gave me joy
You have been so good
You have been so good
You have been so good to me

How can I thank you
There is just no way
How can I thank you
No way how could I to pay
For your kindness
For your tenderness
For your custom presence here with me

You have been so good to me
You have been so good to me
I came here broken, you made me whole
You have been so good
You have been so good
You have been so good to me

Lord How can I thank you
There is just no way
How can I thank you
No way how could I to pay
For your kindness
For your tenderness
For your custom presence here with me

You have been so good to me
You have been so good to me
I came here broken, you made me whole
You have been so good
You have been so good
You have been so good to me

You have been so good
You have been so good
You have been so good

Drama with Christians

It always bugs my when i here about drama between my friends or hear about drama with people i dont know especially if they are Christians. what i see as the cause of drama with Cristian people is them not focusing on their relationship with Jesus Christ and focusing on their relationship with their friends. Yes you do need to work to maintain your relationship with your friends but focus more on the important one. Friends here on this earth will betray you, will hurt, will forsake you but God he will never do that everything that happens, happens for a reason. And sometimes it may be bad but it might be to bring you closer to God. This past year for my friends has been so filled with drama honestly i started not to care it would have taken way too much of my time my relationship with my Father would have suffered. It pained me not to do anything but it was for the better, the most important thing to me is living a life of worship to God and im not ready to maintain my relationship with Him and deal with teenage drama at the same time. Another i see in Christian drama is a lack of trust in God, they try to fix it by themselves but they cant they need God, they need to trust in God take refuge in Him and He will make things better. A lot of times Drama could be avoided if they went God before it got out of control. I just wish drama didnt exist. When i see drama i want to get involved to fix it but i know my role in fixing it is telling them to trust God, so im telling you now if you are faced with drama then go God he is the best friend anyone could ever have and he wont leave you.

Dating

Christians often argue about dating, it usually is older versus younger and of course the younger want dating but the older (usually their parents) want either courting or no dating till like 18. Well the reason many say no dating is because it has a bad rep from non-Christians and even some Christians. Many see dating as a un-supervised version of courting that some sexual things can happen. That is true but that is because the world has changed it suit them. Jeffery Dean who wrote “watch this” (for guys) and “this is me” (for girls) says in his book for guys that dating is meant to teach you how build relationships with a person of the opposite sex. It is not about the perks the world tells you it is. In a relationship you have a lot of work to do before you are ready for the perks. Guys before going on a date should pray with their date, and if the girl doesnt like it then she is not for you. Also a real BIGGY is that God should be in your dating life, whatever you do with you boyfriend or girlfriend should not dishonor God. God should lead your relationship. I believe for that to truly work and have it be easy the girl should be so lost in God that the man has to seek God in order to find her beauty. Thats what happened to me, I met this girl named Joy and we were just friends in my view she said at the time she liked me. In just a mater of weeks at camp we became really close friends and she helped me in my spiritual walk, i grew closer to God, and guess what the closer i grew to God the more i was attracted to her the more God let me see how beautiful she was on the outside and on the inside. God didnt let me fall in love in till he knew i was ready for it. He had the timing of when we really could have had something he had her leave camp. I believe He did this so we wouldnt rely on each other and not Him. The more i look the more I see God’s gracious hand in this. My friends that live near me have trouble keeping a relationship when they live only a few miles away and Joy and I live 168 miles away and we find it easy because God is in or friendship. I actually think that the distance has helped us build or friendship on God and not each other or ourselves. If you bring God in your relationship he will do amazing things for you if he wants you together. If your going to date learn how to do it God’s way its always the better way

Evil

Many Christians are asked questions like; why is there so much evil in the world?, why is there evil the world? Why would a Loving and caring God let bad things happen to good people? and many more similar to those. well here is an answer to those questions. To answer why there is evil in the world is because adam and eve sinned, when the world was created there was no sin God intended there to be no sin, but God gave us free will, he loves and cares enough for us to give us a will of our own rather than force us to Worship Him and and thats all. But with that free will of ours and and satan wanting us to go against God’s will and us being able to fall unlike God. Satan tempted adam and eve and the sinned bringing sin into this world. Now think about this, why is there so much evil in the world? well first lets think, what is evil? who says whats righ and whats wrong? whats good and whats evil? God does, when an atheist asks you a question like the ones listed at the begining turn the question onto them. Because if evolution was true and there was no God then who or what decides what is good and what is evil? we would but it would vary from person to person. It would become a personal preference. I could say its wrong to kill people but someon else could say its okay and their wouldnt be a person like God who would say who is right  and who is wrong. Their would be no moral rights or moral wrongs everything would be morally neutral. no one can live in a morally neutral world. This also proves that there is a God, what we need to do more is use their attacks against us Christians and us them against them cause half the time they dont think logically so we need to attack back with logic. which gets me going it bugs me soo much when i hear an atheist tell a Christian to think logically when in really they need to think logically, here is a quote from C.S Lewis that makes you think logically: “if the solr system was brought about by an accidental collision, then the appearance of organic life on this planet was also an accident, and the whole evolution of man was an accident too. If so then all our thought processes are mere accidents- the accidental by-product of the movement of atoms. And this holds for the materialists’ and astronomers’ as well as for anyone else’s. But if their thoughs – i.e., of materialism and Astronomy – are merely accidental by-products, why should we believe them to be true? I see no reason for believing that one accident should be able to give a correct account of all the other accidents.” now who is thinking with logic atheist? definetly not you

In the Making- Nevertheless new cd

Neverhtheless’s new cd called “in the making” is such a good cd lyric wise and music wise. I think the best way to talk about each song is to quote Joshua the lead singer for nevertheless

Sleeping in-“We all have certain insecurities that creep in from time to time in our lives. At some point, each one of us will face something that is very difficult, and we will either have the choice to ignore it or face it head on with the strength that only God can give us. This song was written as an encouragement to others to say, first of all, that we all face these trying things, and, secondly, that we can make it through the most difficult of times if we rely on God. We have to decide to stop sleeping in and move forward in God’s grace.” – Joshua Pearson (Nevertheless)

It’s True-If I could only play one song off of the record for people, this would be the song. “It’s True” says that, even though Christians, including myself, have been sinful and misrepresented Christ at times, He is still true and He is good. It is a good reminder that God is the one who puts faith in our hearts in the first place, and we can’t completely mess that up, though try we may.” – Joshua Pearson (Nevertheless)

Cross my Heart-“Everyone feels pressure in their lives. It can be frustrating and even discouraging to feel trapped and pressed to move in a direction that we don’t believe is right. What we have to remember is that God holds the world in His hands, and He can and will make all things like new if we let Him. This includes our own hearts as well.” – Joshua Pearson (Nevertheless)

Its no Secret- This is a simple song that touches on our most basic need of Jesus. We are simply saying that we have tried to play both sides of the fence and handle our own lives, and it always becomes evident that we can’t do it alone. It is no secret to anyone that we need God in our lives every single second of the day.” – Joshua Pearson (Nevertheless)

Rest-Jesus tells us to come to Him when we are weary. He asks us to lay our burdens down because they are too heavy for us. He tells us that He wants to give us true rest. This is a beautiful truth in a crazy fast-paced world where everyone is out for themselves. Jesus wants us to slow down, quit trying to find our own innocence and our own success, and come find rest in Him.” – Joshua Pearson (Nevertheless)

I Need This-“Sometimes things get taken away from us and we begin to realize that we do not have the handle on life that we thought we did. We can’t always see the reason for losing something or someone dear to us, but we must believe that God does have our best interest in mind. Even though we don’t understand, we should believe that it is what we needed all along to become the type of people that we should be.” – Joshua Pearson (Nevertheless)

Longshot- “This is a fun song about a guy trying to convince a certain girl to go out with him. He really believes that she is right, so he gives her all of this silly banter, such as “Someday both of us will die” and “Let me sweep you off your feet” to sway her. Really, it shows just how far a guy will go to get a girl, even if it is a long shot.” – Joshua Pearson (Nevertheless)

Augustine-“St. Augustine, Florida is one of my favorite cities in the U.S. It is old and beautiful, and it is also the city that I proposed to my wife in. “Augustine” is a song that tells a story reflecting on romantic love and the attempt to figure it out.” – Joshua Pearson (Nevertheless)

Topics- Being on the road full time, we hear many stories from kids everywhere. A lot of times, we find that these kids will tell us things that they are struggling with before they would tell their parents or a leader in the church. We need to always encourage honesty and respond to those hurting with love instead of judgment.” – Joshua Pearson (Nevertheless)

When I’m Alone-Sometimes we have people in our lives to depend on, and other times, it seems we have to go through it alone. We wrote this song from the perspective of someone who has lost a person very dear to them. It is in that most vulnerable of times that we are forced to find out who we really are on our own. We are forced to put one foot in front of the other and move forward with total dependence on God, even when we don’t know exactly where we are going.” – Joshua Pearson (Nevertheless)

i Found My Way Back Again-“Life is always full of ups and downs, and sometimes the downs win. I wrote this song after a lengthy conversation with a friend who was in the lowest state that I had ever seen someone. There came a point when he said, “I don’t think I want to live anymore,” and that is a scary moment. The only one who is big enough to grant life to the lifeless, and pull someone out of the deepest hole, is God Almighty. He is always beside us, knocking at our door, but it is up to us to let Him in.” – Joshua Pearson (Nevertheless)

I got these qoutes from Jesusfreakhideout.com, for a link staright to the cd lyrics go to http://www.jesusfreakhideout.com/lyrics/new/title.asp?title_id=969 like i said before the cd is amazing i suggest you buy it. i also really like their first cd and the song Oh Child its the last song on their first cd. Nevertheless is a really good band they are amazing in concert i have seen them 3 times and they have been better than the last time i  saw them each time

Rock The Sound 4

So i went to this concert the bands that played were neverthless, leeland, skillet, david crowder band and then newsboys. Skillet put on the craziest show and loudest but newsboys was best over all in my opinion.  It was such an amazing night nevertheless and leeland had good performances and skillet just put on a crazy show with crazy pyrotechnics, for 2 of the songs they had flames shoot up and being only 7 rows from the front i felt the heat from them it was crazy. But what really made this concert so amazing was the worship during david crowder and newsboys. I had the best worship time since i was at berea, the worship was so powerful newsboys didnt play a song i wanted them to but it still was amazing. they play he reigns, blessed be your name, i am free something beautiful and a few other songs and they did their famous crazy drum solo. david crowder played here is our king, no one like you i saw the light, and more songs i forget.  but what made the worship amazing was i didn’t know anyone that sat next to me cause i bought my ticket after my friends i went with and by myself and i lifted my hands up like i knew everyone there. Usually i don’t really lift my hands in worship unless i feel comfortable and it takes a long time for me to get comfortable with people. For example it took like four to five days of a 7 day camp period to feel comfortable enough to lift my hands in worship. I Felt God telling me tonight that i need to continue my path of being more open about my realationship with Him and not to be ashamed to worship him in public. Leeland while their were playing talked about how worship is not just about singing but about living it out in our lives. It was just an amazing concert man i just cant say just how amazing it was

love can

there is this song on December Radio’ new cd called love can, it is such an amazing song, it reminds you the power of love, there are plenty of songs talking about love how its a verb and all that stuff but this one tells you the power of love and its a really good song here are the lyrics:

What can move a mountain from the place where it stands
What can calm the greatest fear with a touch from its hand
What can turn an enemy to a brother and a friend
There’s only one thing I know
Love can
Love can

What can bring a miracle in a moment of need
What can reach a fallen soul and put him back on his feet
What can say that nothing is beyond its hands
There’s only one thing I know
Yes I know

Only love can heal your broken heart
When it’s all said and done
And you’ve had enough
And only love can bring you off of your knees
And back on your feet, love is all you need

What can build a bridge between a holy God and a sinful man
I know there’s only one thing, only love can
And what can help a lost soul find his way back home again
There’s only one thing I know
Yes I know, yes I know

Only love can heal your broken heart
When it’s all said and done
And you’ve had enough
And only love can bring you off of your knees
I know love can

i love this song sooooo much

Isaiah 40:31

Isaiah 40:31 reads “But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength and soar on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary , they will walk and not be faint”

This verse is on so many merchandise, t-shirts, bookmarks, plaques, pictures, pens, etc you get the point, but those things didn’t bring that verse to my attention. what sis was when i read all of Isaiah 40. At the beginning of Isaiah 40 it says “comfort for God’s people” the reason why i read it was i really needed comfort at the that time. The reason i needed comfort was because i was having a tough time. It was at Camp Berea, the Sunday of the second week of Family in the morning down on the waterfront. the same spot i was the morning before. It was also the first day I had to spend without Joy, who became a really close to me as a Sister in Christ and helped me with little things like a daily devo time and big things like helping me say no to certain temptations, God did so much work to help me through her. Well i was like im not going to cry when she leaves, but i did, i said to myself before she left that it will be okay i will see her again its not the end of the world, but i just cried and when she did leave i just had thoughts like she is gone and im just going to go right back to sinning the same sins as before, not having a daily devo time. but i came through that attitude by telling my self to read my bible, well i didn’t get a chance to till that next morning down at the waterfront watching the sunrise, it wasn’t a beautiful sunrise, there was to much fog but God still showed me beauty in it, and he showed me Isaiah 40, the whole thing was comforting but the verse that really gave me a sense of comfort was Isaiah 40:31, i felt weak and God telling me through his word he who hopes in Him will renew their strength just gave me so much comfort. i actually made it through the day pretty easily, i was surprised how much comfort i felt through out the day and even the week, it was just amazing. That day God not only gave me a spiritual comfort but he showed me how to see beauty in his creation when others dont. The sunrise that morning was really foggy and hard to see the sunrise but the way the fog moved and let the sunrise sneak out for like a minute or so was just beautiful i cant explain it.

that is why Isaiah 40:31 means so much to me another verse i didnt read till another day that is just as comforting is Isaiah 41:10 ‘Fear not, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you. Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’

the best day of my life

this day was the thursday of senior high camp at Camp Berea 07, the speaker was Sam Bought (not sure if thats how you spell it) every single day he gave messages that were just amazing back up with emotion, many times that week he said that he would be honored to die for his beliefs with emotion, he was so close to just breaking out in tears, i needed a speaker like him to hit some sense into me, before that week i was one of those guys that didn’t cry but he showed me a an attitude that i now have, im not afraid to cry. I forget the message that night because it wasnt the message but the person giving it that made me change i realized that i was a person to cold hearted to be a Christian, that night i cried more than i thought i could, i had a small puddle on the ground under me. all i remember of that night is me on my hands and knees crying my eyes out singing how great is our God in tears and then berea staff prayed over me, even though i dont remember everything it was a life changing night i cant really think of words that can describe my change as a person but i am more emotional and have a strong yearn to dig deeper and grow closer to God.

reacent spiritual happenings

The past few months I have grown closer to God than I ever have, in many ways, through people, books, the Bible and even songs. It started at the end of my summer experience at Camp Berea were I worked, when i was there i met this great person who helped me in many ways,they helped me start my daily reading of the Bible that has brought to my attention many amazing Bible verses. Then I read a book called Do Hard things a teenage rebellion against low expectations. It got me so fired up to go and change the world by doing things that teens dont really do. I wanted to do whatever i could to change the world for the better by doing God’s work. There was only one road block, one word that stopped me… HOW? Then Started to read the book Velvet Elvis Repainting the Christian Faith by Rob Bell, it is such an amazing book, before hand i felt a small calling to some sort of ministry I wasnt sure what but after i read Velvet Elvis and it was just amazing. I felt that calling even stronger, not only do i feel a calling to some field of ministry i also like it, I get the best feeling when i help a fellow Christian, I also want to be a youth preacher, because i like giving people a new aspect to look at scripture, thats what Rob bell does a little in his book, he also states that the Bible is like a 77 sided gem, when ever you turn it you see a new face with a new view that makes you see something you have never seen before. And sometimes it takes other people to turn the gem for you and help you come to those realizations. Lately i have been thinking and come to realize that some pagan traditions have snuck in to our way of life (Christianity is not a religion), it use to be a problem that people wouldnt give their money to help the church and people in need, (read Haggai) but now churches add on additions that cost in the millions when there is people that right in the same town that live in poverty. Also it is my opinion that people dresss up on sunday mornings to impress other people, Im pretty sure God doesnt care what shirt we wear with what tie and so forth. The bible even says that God weighs the heart not the earthly appearance. Im not saying dont dress up at all but just dont be dressing up with the wrong reasons. There are so many things that are part of our way of life that if you think about it you will go why do we do this? Like church in sunday, the Lord’s super as only a little snack when Jesus did it with a full meal and other things like that. If you have anything that you wnat to disscus feel free to contact me if i know stuff about i will tell you, if im as clueless as you i will look with you and if you just need someone to talk to im also here for that

Your Name

As morning dawns and evening fades
You inspire songs of praise
That rise from earth to touch Your heart and glorify Your Name

CHORUS
Your Name is a strong and mighty tower
Your Name is a shelter like no other
Your Name, let the nations sing it louder
‘Cause nothing has the power to save
But Your Name

Jesus, in Your Name we pray
Come and fill our hearts today
Lord, give us strength to live for You and glorify Your Name

CHORUS
Your Name is a strong and mighty tower
Your Name is a shelter like no other
Your Name, let the nations sing it louder
‘Cause nothing has the power to save but Your Name

INSTRUMENTAL

CHORUS
Your Name is a strong and mighty tower
Your Name is a shelter like no other
Your Name, let the nations sing it louder
(1st & 2nd endings)
‘Cause nothing has the power to save but

(Repeat Chorus)
(3rd ending)
‘Cause nothing has the power to save but Your Name
(Repeat)

By Anthony Evans