It's an Adventure

Do you remember the part of The Lord of the Rings where Frodo and company walk through the woods on their journey, chat about random things all day, make it pretty far, and go to bed that night? Or how about the story of Tom Brady throwing footballs in his back yard with some friends for hours? Actually let me tell you about when I was in college (makes me feel old saying that) and I stayed up until 2am (or later) to finish a homework assignment. The reality is, none of us care about these moments, but that doesn’t mean they weren’t necessary.

Recently I have been overwhelmed with a desire for adventure. I want to satisfy it but I don’t exactly know what to do. I want to go climb a mountain, but in case you were unaware, there aren’t many mountains around Fort Worth. But God told me to live here. So what am I to do? Quick my job and move to Colorado or stay here? Follow God or follow this longing that I think God put inside of me? The answer – yes.

What I’ve come to realize is we can’t go on an adventure without the “dull” moments. Every story has these awesome moments of going through challenges or having breakthroughs or getting revelation, but every story also requires not as high moments. Frodo had some crazy adventures, but I’m sure there had to be some slower moments (and I’m sure he was thankful for them). Tom Brady (disregard any dislike of Tom Brady for the sake of my point) would have never won a super bowl if he had never practiced throwing a football as a kid. I wouldn’t have been offered my first internship in Seattle where I did get to climb a bunch of mountains without staying up late to finish homework. I wouldn’t even be at my current job without doing all of that. Even when you go on a hike you don’t (at least not usually) start at the top. The slow moments are important. They are necessary although they are not as exciting.

My Kayak and Baby Fish

Graduating from Texas A&M I could have worked my way into just about anywhere in the country (except College Station because I tried). I could have gone to Houston and been closer to friends and family and probably made more money. I could have gone to White Salmon, WA, or Raleigh, NC and enjoyed the mountains and have a really cool job. I could have gone to Orlando, FL and been at the beach. But I felt like God told me to move to Fort Worth, TX because He had an adventure for me here. So that’s what I did. It doesn’t make a lot of sense in my own eyes, but God has a better adventure for me than what I can make up. And what have I done up here? I’ve made some friends. I go to work. I attend LifeGroup and church. I guess I do take occasional business trips to California, but it’s mostly pretty plain. I do have a kayak so that’s pretty cool. God told me He would teach me how to fish up here (spiritually that is) and yet I haven’t led anyone in Fort Worth to Jesus. But I believe that God is faithful and that I’m on His adventure whether it feels like it or not.    

Fort Worth LifeGroup

So what’s my point? My point is you’re on an adventure. Although it may not feel like an adventure, you’re still on one. The Creator of the Universe has made you an integral part of his divine plan in an epic adventure in the greatest story that could ever be imagined. Step into it, and do it with the people around you. When you get to a nice comfortable area, don’t set up camp but keep walking. When you see a patch of woods don’t immediately jump off the path and sprint towards them in desperation. Whether you like the more dull areas or you despise them, God has a purpose for them. Jesus didn’t even start his ministry until He was 30 years old. I’m sure he wasn’t sitting at home as a teenager building a chair or something all upset that he wasn’t doing something more exciting. He knew He was just getting ready.  

God has an adventure for you and it never goes stale. There will be mountains and plains, but in the end it all matters that you’re heading towards the right destination. The key is keep your eyes ahead and focus on the goal rather than on your current situation because you never know what’s just around the bend.

So some additional notes: There is nothing wrong with moving to a place where you can go hiking and do crazy fun outdoor adventure things as long as that’s where God has you. Going into His creation or doing some other random exiting thing teaches us about God and it is good. I wish I were writing all of this from the top of a mountain right now. But in my thinking of all this adventure stuff over the past few weeks, I did decide to make a bucket list because why not. Some things on there are kind of ridiculous, but it is a bucket list after all. You can find my bucket list here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1j7KOgwPPfSb_z23hjYOTP-_bLlpEABjTQ7mnCF4RoSg/edit?usp=sharing
Please feel free to read it, add items to it (include your name if you do), and if you want to join me on any of these adventures let me know. I’m free most weekends if you plan ahead and I have no intentions on living adventure alone.

What We All Want

How would you imagine your perfect life? Big house, lots of toys, CEO, party central, amazing spouse? What are the attributes of that life? Adventure, meaning, security? What dreams do you want to come true? We all have things deep down inside that we desire and long for, and the reality is we all want the same thing. If you take all the questions above and boil them down to their roots I believe you come up with two desires: life and love.

Life and love. Life – we want fullness, energy, purpose, good-will, etc. Whether our dream is to be a school teacher, president of the United States, astronaut, or missionary we are trying to satisfy our desire for life. Love – we want meaning, approval, intimacy, safety. We want this unexplainable heart-felt goodness from another and we want to give it back. This isn’t necessarily only in a husband-spouse relationship, but in any relationship. Not even the most introverted person in the world would want to be completely alone forever; everybody wants community. So the real question comes down to this: how do we satisfy these desires?

So the other night I got home with some time to spare on a Friday night (fancy way to say I had no plans) and I had the opportunity to go spend some quality time with Jesus but instead I decided that since I worked hard all week that I deserved a little me time and plopped on the couch and spent some quality time with Netflix. I watched one episode of Agents of Shield (great show btw). It was so good that I couldn’t help but watch another. I scrolled through Facebook a little bit and hope was just welling up in me about how good the next episode would be so I watched another. Looked at Facebook a little more. Still had this need to watch a 4^th episode so I did. I scrolled aimlessly through Facebook AGAIN and although I longed to watch a 5^th episode somewhere inside I mustered up enough self-control to call it quits and went to bed. 

Now after you finish judging me/finish doing the same thing I want you to think about something, did I go to bed satisfied? Did Netflix and Facebook satisfy my desires for life and love? I kept going back for more didn’t I? I just couldn’t get enough! But, the reality is that I couldn’t get enough because I was never satisfied. I kept going back hoping for satisfaction. One episode (which was a great episode) just didn’t satisfy my deepest desires, so maybe another one. The second didn’t? Well maybe a third, a fourth… I scroll through Facebook but really what am I looking for? To find a fun article? To see how other people’s lives are treating them? To see how much more/less satisfied other people are than I am? Netflix, Facebook – I had hope that they could satisfy but in reality they are empty. So as I lay in bed unsatisfied I thought about what makes me satisfied.

Aggie football. Of all things Aggie football must satisfy me. The term “bleed maroon” is an understatement for me. Standing up in Kyle Field waving my flag screaming my head off with 100,000 others must satisfy my desire for life and love. But then we throw a pick, we get behind, make poor play calls, people start leaving the game early, and we lose, or I mean “run out of time”. I’m disappointed, frustrated, still committed and in “love” with Aggie football, but in the moment unsatisfied. Even when we win I do carry a sense of joy but it only temporarily lasts. So I began to think through everything in my life that may satisfy and there is only one thing that every time, consistently satisfies me. His name is Jesus.

When I learn about His goodness, talk with Him about the world, worship Him, His presence does something different in my soul that nothing else has ever compared to. I get this stirring, warmth, joy that wells up inside. When I worship, especially with others, His presence overwhelms me with something that can be found nowhere else and it’s satisfaction.

The satisfaction that is found in Jesus is also ever-increasing. The more I learn about His goodness, the more I understand who He is, the closer I get to Him – the more satisfied I become. You see with the Netflix example I kept going back from lack of satisfaction because I left each time feeling disappointed, with Jesus I go back every time because I’m blown away with the revelation that “whoa! He really is that good! He really does satisfy!”

What’s even more mind blowing is that God can satisfy in every situation. He doesn’t only satisfy when I’m worshiping at church, He satisfies in every situation that I let Him in on. He can satisfy when I’m at work. He can satisfy when I’m cleaning my room. He can satisfy when I’m hunting or playing golf. To be honest, for a while I really didn’t like living in Fort Worth. I had thought about trying to move to a place that I thought I would better satisfy me such as Denver, Orlando, etc, but when 2016 started I decided to trust that God put me here for a reason (he kept telling me to stay here when I would pray) and that His plan was better than mine and I began to thank Him for being in Fort Worth. The more I thanked Him and the more I let go of certain desires and trusted them in His hands the more I was filled with life, hope, joy. I got out of the way and allowed God’s satisfaction to come in. I love it here, but it’s not because I’m in Fort Worth but it’s because this is where God wants me to be. 

Satisfaction is not dependent on your circumstances but rather on your acknowledgement of God. 

What’s even more important that it’s not “Jesus things” that satisfy but Jesus himself. There are a lot of people who show up to church on Sunday and leave unsatisfied. There are ton’s of people who are not excited about spending time with Jesus. Their focus on Jesus related things fills their soil with rocks and thorns and get burnt out, but those who focus on Jesus Himself will be satisfied. Everybody wants this whether they realize it or not. The only reason people don’t want Jesus is because they don’t know Him. “Jesus answered, ‘Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Instead, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.’” – John 4:13-14

The reality is, I can sit here all day and tell you about how much God can satisfy, but it does no good if you leave from reading this and don’t go sit in His presence. Think about your life. Think about the things you do and if they completely satisfy. I’m not saying desert everything you do (it’s ok to watch some Netflix to an extent), but what I am saying is don’t waste your time draining yourself and not filling yourself with Jesus. “Taste and see that the Lord is good” – Psalms 34:8a

Overcome Sin’s Deceitfulness

I recently decided to do a spiritual experiment (I hope that’s an acceptable thing to do) with the purpose of learning to overcome the temptation of sin.

But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. – Hebrews 3:13

When I read this verse, I always assumed that this applied only to the person receiving the encouragement, but I had this thought, “what if that also applies to the person giving the encouragement?” It’s kinda a crazy thought and doesn’t really make sense, but what if? So I decided to give it a try. I took a week and tried to intentionally encourage people every day that I encountered as well as asking God for one person to send an encouragement to.

What I soon realized is that once I had encouraged someone, sin seemed less tempting. I was still tempted by the same things, but I had way less of a desire to do them. They didn’t seem worth it (they’re not!!!). It was easier to say no so sin. And the reason is that the deceitfulness of sin was weakened.

See how sin and temptation works is the devil tries to make us believe a lie. He wants us to believe a lie that this thing is better and worth it. He promises joy, pleasure, fun, and no kick-back, but he never keeps his promise. It’s all deceit. Deceit is defined as the concealment or distortion of the truth for the purpose of misleading. You wouldn’t do it if you knew what sin really was! That’s why it’s so tricky and tempting.

But the beauty is, we not only can refuse to sin for righteousness’ sake, we can break it’s deceitfulness. By encouraging people daily, we begin to somehow see the truth about sin. I’m not exactly sure how it all works, but I know it’s from God and it does work. We are aligning ourselves with God and thus bringing light to everything around us. Sin can’t handle light.

One of the key things that I think prevents Christians from keeping from sin is recognition that we still need God. It can be easy to say, “Jesus broke my chains, so I can hold off this sin”, but the reality is that we don’t have to do it on our own. Jesus did break our chains, and He is still here with us to keep away from sin. I don’t have to do it on my own. In addition to that, we’re not simply choosing not sin or sin, but rather we are choosing Jesus or Satan. You can’t not choose sin without choosing Jesus.

Like I just stated, the reality of overcoming sin is to choose Jesus, and in addition to encouraging one another daily (yes, daily), I want to give some other revelations I’ve recently had that have helped me choose Jesus.

Pray. The line lead me not into temptation but deliver me from the evil one from the Lord’s Prayer is there for a reason.

Spend time with Jesus daily (do all of these things daily). You simply can’t make it without spending time with Him EVERY SINGLE DAY. If I miss a day, even a morning, sin is knocking on my door.

Pray in the Spirit when tempted. Yes, it sounds crazy (read Chasing the Dragon and you’ll understand), but when you pray in the Spirit, you allow the Holy Spirit to speak for you and make your decisions, and He will always choose Jesus over sin.

Don’t be idle. If you find yourself constantly bored spend lots of extra time with Jesus and simple find things to do if you need. When you sit around alone and bored, sin wants to creep up.

Realize it’s not your life anymore. When you said, “yes” to Jesus, you handed your life over to Him. Let Him have it and have the say in what it does.

And again, encourage one another daily. It’s so simple, so good, and does so much for you and others. You overcome sin’s deceitfulness. Your friend’s overcome sin’s deceitfulness. Everyone feels empowered and loved. Encourage one another daily.

If you don’t believe it’ll work, just give it a try.

Y’all are awesome! Thank you so much for taking the time to read this. You are a child of God and an overcomer! Also, read my old post called Sin’s Scale.

Antioch Discipleship School Review

After completing the Antioch Discipleship School, I decided it would be beneficial to myself and to those who may be interested in the school for me to look back over my journey with the discipleship school.

What is the Antioch Discipleship School?

If you are a member of Antioch Community Church, you have probably heard about ADS, but many don’t have a very good definition of what ADS is. In my own words, ADS is a program that puts you into position to encounter Jesus through spiritual disciplines. Essentially, it is LifeGroup on steroids. It is a family of people all pushing each other in a discipleship-type relationship to follow Jesus with every aspect of their lives.

Antioch Discipleship School Website

How Class Looked

Class lasted 4 hours and usually followed the same pattern with some exceptions here and there. Class would start with announcements as well as the sharing of testimonies. Next we usually spent a lot of time in worship and prayer. Following this we would have an amazing teaching from a speaker whether that be one of our leaders or a guest speaker from some other part of the world. After the teaching we would have a short time to sit with the Lord and talk with Him about what we had learned and how we should apply it.

We would also have discipleship for the first half of our class every other week. This involved us getting in our discipleship group and being discipled by a member of Antioch College Station whom had already complete ADS.

In addition to the classes we had, we also had various requirements that we were to complete during the week. This included reading the Bible, spending time with Jesus, fasting, memorizing Scripture, exercising (yes, it was required to exercise), going to LifeGroup, attending church Sunday morning, evangelizing, completing book homework, etc.

My Experience

First off let me say that I would absolutely recommend ADS to anybody. I learned and grew a ton in the Lord. Needless to say, I also want everyone to know that ADS is a challenge.

Starting off in ADS was a bit of a transition for me. Although I was used to a high amount of work from classes, the type of work I was used to involved completing a math problem rather than the requirements put before me. I looked at the requirements and honestly didn’t think it was going to be a big deal, but I soon realized that it took intentionality and discipline. I struggled, especially at first, to go out and evangelize. It didn’t help that many times I would go alone, but it was a task where I had to put myself out there and be obedient to the call of God. Memorizing Scripture and fasting were also challenges for me because, to be quite honest, I didn’t really want to do them. Especially for fasting, I really had no vision for the purpose of fasting. In spending time with Jesus it took me at least a month to have the right attitude that I wanted to spend time with Jesus and not just that it was required. It was something I already did before ADS, but once it became a requirement my mind thought of it as a requirement and it took a little time before I learned to again think of it as a joy.

Although I was transitioning in learning to complete my requirements (and trying to do that in joy), I was loving the teaching. Yes, class did seem extremely long to me, but every single time I heard someone teach I felt closer to the heart of Jesus. My heart was warming and shifting although I didn’t really understand what was happening. We had so many good, deep teachings in such close proximity that many times I felt like I was shotgunned with stuff and only some would stick. Maybe that was their point, to throw as much of Jesus as they could at us knowing that some would stick.

Probably the coolest part of ADS was when I would realize that I had changed. Something would happen and I would think something or react in some and I would realize that my heart was different – it looked more like Jesus. The funniest thing is that most of the time I couldn’t pinpoint when it happened or where it came from. It usually had something to do with a sermon I heard in ADS a few months earlier and hadn’t really thought of since, but a little seed must have secretly been planted and through spending time with Jesus daily it sprouted and bloomed.

So if I’m honest I can’t say that everything in ADS went perfectly. Starting into my second semester I became a little frustrated with ADS due to believing I was treated unfairly with regards to a couple of tardies that I had received. It caused me to have a negative attitude towards ADS and almost caused me to quit. I became annoyed with doing requirements thinking that I was put under chains and that I could do the exact same thing on my own without ADS. But, thankfully, I eventually was able to lay down my rights and realize that Andrew and Heather were great leaders and accepted being under their leadership in joy.

When I started ADS I didn’t really know anyone but Alex Gary in the class. I knew most of the people’s faces, but that was about it. For a long time I didn’t feel as much a part of the ADS family as I had hoped probably due to the fact that I had to miss retreat and that I stayed in a college LifeGroup. But, one day halfway through second semester I remember walking into class and all of a sudden it felt like family. I don’t know what happened, but going to class felt like being with family.

There were times that were hard and there were times filled with joy and tears, but what’s most important is that I am closer to God than I was. I walk with greater confidence, greater love, greater desire. All I want is Jesus.  

A Few Nuggets

Jesus is it. This sounds so simple and corny, but it’s true. Jesus is all I want and need.

I can’t make it without spending time with Jesus daily. If I miss a single day, or even a single morning, I can quickly begin to feel my heart become numb and sin comes knocking at my door.

It’s OK that I’m not there yet. I have a lot to learn and I want to be a lot further along on my journey with Jesus, but it’s a process. I don’t have to be perfect right now.

Book Recommendations

1.     The Final Quest by Rick Joyner– This book is an allegorical-type vision of the spiritual battle that we have going around us as well as an encounter in the judgment seat of Christ. Seriously one of the most impactful books I have ever read.

2.     Passion and Purpose by Jimmy Seibert – I’ve now read this book twice and I’ve cried multiple times while reading it. The stories of the simplicity of following Jesus is incredible.

3.     Money, Possessions, and Eternity by Randy Alcorn – One of the most convicting books I have ever read but definitely something that I needed to hear. It really challenges us to look at our stuff with eternal eyes.

Recommendations to those who want to do ADS

If you are thinking about doing ADS, awesome! I loved it and would recommend it to everyone, but here are a few things to think about and some ways to prepare.

First figure out why you want to do ADS. You need clear motivation and I hope that motivation is to get closer to Jesus, but there are also other training programs you can do, so why ADS? For me, on top of the fact that God told me, was that I could grow in Jesus with my current community. ADS really teaching you how to grow in Jesus in the life that you currently live by working and being in community. It is simple and practical and set me up to continue in the same pattern once ADS was over. I considered the Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry also, which I’m sure is amazing, but my motivation for that was more so to learn to heal people. While their motivation is about Jesus, mine wasn’t. So if you want to be a revivalist, go to Bethel. Intercessor, go to IHOP. Or go to YWAM, Iris, Hillsong, whatever. Just listen to God and have the right intentions.

Start spending time with Jesus daily now. Start setting up your life to do the practical things that ADS requires, which are amazing to do in your life anyways. And with that be prepared to be challenged.

If you do decide to go through ADS I want to encourage you to be super committed to the people in ADS. Give them your all and make them the most important community you have. When y’all work together you will grow faster and make it through challenges smoother. You will have people who understand what you’re going through that you can be vulnerable with. Commit yourself to them.

Please feel free to ask me any questions! I would definitely love to talk to you more about ADS or anything for that matter.

Lastly I just want to honor Andrew and Heather. They are amazing leaders and I am so thankful for them. They are fun, humble, and passionate. It was an honor to follow under their leadership.

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn

Isaiah 61:1-2

They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations.

Isaiah 61:4

Back from England

So I went on a mission trip to Sheffield, England with a whole bunch of my amazing friends here in College Station (22 of us total)! It was an amazing experience and I wish I could have been there longer. Our purpose on this trip was to make the name of Jesus famous and to serve the local church. As most of you know I currently attend Antioch Community Church in College Station, TX, which is part of the Antioch Movement of Churches, and there is also an Antioch church in Sheffield that is part of the movement! We wanted to bless them and their city for a short term trip.

Getting to Sheffield was quite the experience with a flight to London (including a 5hr or so conversation with a Muslim man from Turkey and a lesbian, Catholic lady from Houston about religion on the flight), a delay at customs, a flight to Manchester, and then a train to Sheffield. The city itself is a neat array of beautiful architecture and a meshing of towns. Everything was within walking distance in town and many locals used the public transportation system to get around. Most of the nights we ate dinner at a pub (just a restaurant with a bar basically) because most places in town closed at 6pm including shops and restaurants, or simply because 22 people require a lot of space. The daylight hours were long although it was cloudy most of the time we were there. It was a fun cultural experience learning the different words people used and how people interacted.

Now to get down to the good stuff. Most days we would have team time in the morning at the church, which would include worship and/or a teaching. After team time and lunch we would then head out into the city to proclaim the name of Jesus. We did this a variety of ways, but it was mostly just walking up to people and starting a conversation. Most people in the city of Sheffield identify themselves as atheist with only about 3% identifying as Christian. Because of this most people were opposed to Christianity or any religion because they believed religion was for non-intellectual people. We, however, were able to shake their views a little bit. Going out in small groups we would meet people where they were, in the market or studying on campus (there were 2 university campuses that we visited) and tell them about our passion and about the intimate, personal relationship with Jesus that we have. We were told that most people have high outer walls but low inner walls meaning that it would be hard to start a conversation with someone but once you did it would be easy to go deep. This may have been how it worked for most people; however, I have almost no problem starting conversations with people on the streets.

Every day I would have multiple conversations with people lasting significant amounts of time. I rarely got turned away and people would kindly and intently listen to my heart. Maybe they just liked my accent, but the Word of the Lord was reaching people’s ears. One group me and Shannon talked to loved talking to us so much that we had a difficult time getting away from them so that we could talk to others! Nobody accepted the Gospel, but I know there are a lot of people who’s view of Christianity was shaken and seeds were planted. I really began to understand people’s mindset on religion when I had about a 30min conversation with a man on the street who basically called me naïve person for following religion. He believed that Christianity was made up during the dark ages to make people be more moral and is now only useful in 3^rd world countries. (I hope to write a blog post about this ideology specifically) He kept repeated that I “think I know” things, but I gladly repeated that I “do” know the Truth. He believed my mission was to bring people into my “club” and didn’t like my “offensive” actions that were trying to make me feel better. He was pretty upset that I didn’t know the answers to a lot of things and claimed to know how to obtain eternal life. He may not have left the conversation a Christian, but his beliefs were definitely challenged and I hope he talked about our conversation with his “religious” friend that he was about to go hang out with. One day Kullen, Khira, and me made a sign that said “dream interpretation” and had lots of really fun conversations with people. People would tell us their dream, we would pray and ask Jesus what it meant, and then tell them. We also would have people who were just interested in how we did it talk with us. We were able to show people that God really cares about them and that He does still speak to us!

Others on the team were able to do the same: sharing the love of Jesus to a lost city through relationships, words of knowledge, and anything other way Jesus spoke through them. We have at least one person connected with the church who was looking for community, one Muslim girl who is very interested in finding friends, and I’m believing that so much more is going to happen from the repercussions of what we were able to do! The point is that Jesus’ name was glorified and the city of Sheffield is a little bit brighter.  

During the trip I was also given the honor to give a teaching about community to our team! You can find a recording here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/q0a74j7e8fxvej6/Community.mp3?dl=0

I love my team and I am so thankful that I was given the opportunity to go on this trip with them! Thank you to everyone who helped support us going on this trip! From building some shelves at the church to walking around the city evangelizing to playing on the playground the name of Jesus was proclaimed! Again I love this group of people so much and am so thankful to get to go on one last mission trip with them before I move off. They are a group of world changers whom I call family and they will always carry a piece of my heart. 

Practicals for Studying

In the spirit of finals week I thought I would give some advice to all the studiers out there. Having graduated with a degree in aerospace engineering it has been common for people to ask my why I am so smart. My answer, hopefully to the comfort of many, is that I’m really not that smart, it’s all God. “But you got a ###GPA in rocket science”, yes, but my good grades did not come from trust in God.

In high school I had this mindset that I wasn’t going to worry about my grades, but I was just going to trust God. I had a teacher tell me once “you get everything you pray for”. I had an understanding that God had my back and whether my grades were good or bad that God was going to come through. Bringing this into college helped me tremendously through the years. My freshman year I prayed before every test, “God, if I’m not supposed to be in this major I want to completely fail this class” and I would somehow come out with an A. Many tests I would go into I honestly had no idea what I was doing (ask my friends who were teaching it to me the night before) and by some miracle would come out with an A and would do better than those who were teaching me. On one test I was the only person who got one problem right (and thus the only A) and all I did was draw a picture (remember I’m not an art major, I’m an engineer). Right now you might be thinking, “well, I wish I had that much favor”, but it’s not about favor, it’s about trust. In every test my goal was to walk in the understanding that I believed that God had me there and that God wasn’t going to let me down pass or fail. If He wanted me to be an aerospace engineer, then I would do fine. If He wanted me to make good grades, then I would. If He wanted me to make worse grades and thus have to trust Him more in finding a job, then that was OK to. Regardless of the outcome, if I was faithful with what God was calling me to, then I would be successful.

Now let me make something clear; trusting in God for your grades does NOT mean that you can slack off and not care about your schoolwork. God has called us to be faithful in the little (see the parable of the talents) and He has called us to do everything with excellence as working for the Lord (Colossians 3:23). When we do our part, we can trust that whatever outcome is God’s will. This also applies to our responsibilities outside of studying such as cleaning our room, loving our friends, spending time with Jesus, staying fit, etc. Anything that God has put in your life you need to steward well because they all overflow into each other.

Up to this point you are probably still looking for the practicals, but I needed to give clear vision first. So here are the practicals:

1. Have clear vision to why you are studying. If you believe studying is a waste of time, than you won’t succeed. Even the classes that are non-applicable to what you want to do matter because they are part of your degree plan and need them to get your degree.

2. Have a pocket verse ready. A pocket verse is any verse that can motivate/calm you down. When I go into a test I always write a verse on the back so that when I would get stressed I would flip the test over, read the verse, calm down, and get back into the test. One of my favorites was Isaiah 40:31, “but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”

3. Tithe your studying time. Don’t spend all of your time reading (or playing for Facebook), but also take out time for Jesus. After every 2 hours of studying (120min) take 12min to read your Bible, pray, worship, etc.

4. Know what your distractions are and get away from them. If you know that your 5min study break on Facebook will turn into a 30min study break, then don’t get on Facebook. It is good to take study breaks every now and then (I like to study for 1 hr, take 5-10min break), but have self-control. “For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but of power, of love, and of self-control.” (2 Timothy 1:7 NIV, italics added)

5. Set achievable but challenging goals. Commit to finishing studying a chapter per hour (or whatever goals you make). Goals are good because they motivate you, give clear vision, and make you feel accomplished when you reach it.

6. Ask God for help, but not out of a place of desperation, but out of a place of joy and trust. He has all the wisdom you need, so just ask for it; He’s a good Father.

7. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. It’s sometimes humbling to ask, but we are made to work together. Get help on understanding problems, accountability to study, etc. When studying in a group be clear on your groups commitment and plan to study and the amount of breaks/distractions that are acceptable.

8. Take a walk before your test. It is scientifically proven that people who go for a short walk 30min before their test make higher grades. Take a walk and let God’s peace rest on you. Cramming right before may only stress you out.  

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. – Philippians 4:4-7

Sin's Scale

If your sin is small then your Savior will be small also. 

But if your sin is great, then your Savior must be great. 

– Charles Spurgeon

When I was growing up in church I heard this quote once and it hooked onto me, but not in the right way. You see, growing up in an amazing Christian family kept me walking in the right with only “small” sins that persisted in me. Then, after giving my life to Jesus at a young age, I tried to separate myself from things that entangled, at least the things that were big. My old friends eventually began to party and do all sorts of stuff while I kept back and followed Jesus. I had struggled at times wondering why I wasn’t as in love with Jesus as I thought I should be and then I found this quote that justified my feelings. I didn’t love Jesus as much as some because my sin was small. I would meet people who gave their lives to Jesus who were set free from lives of drugs, alcoholism, adultery, etc and their love for Jesus was greater and more passionate than mine and it’s because they were freed from more sin.

I used to get angry with God almost wishing that I had sinned more so that I could have loved Him more. How could God expect me to love Him as much as these other people? I was the good kid growing up! He didn’t have to work as hard for me. What little I knew. My whole mindset and understanding of this quote was completely wrong.

Years later I have grown in deeper and stronger intimacy with the Lord. Throughout college, with the help of an amazing community at Antioch, my love for Jesus has grown and grown. My hatred towards sin has increased. The amount of times I am disobedient grows smaller and smaller. The “size” of my sins are smaller. Yet, with all of this becoming further from sin I am loving Jesus more. That doesn’t follow the formula of the quote I hated for so long! So what happened? 

I learned that the size of my sin is not measured by the standards of the world but rather the size of my sin is measured by God’s holiness. The more I understand how holy God is, the more I understand how big my sin is. By the world’s standards my sin actually decreased, but the more I perceived God’s holiness the worse my sins looked. Before bad actions were a big sin and bad thoughts were just little sins (if I considered them sin at all). Now, even one errant thought can bring me to my knees in repentance. The little things have now become the frontlines of the battle.

This is why Paul calls himself the “worst of sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15b). From the world’s perspective Paul would have been called the greatest of saints! He gave up his life and started churches all over the world. Yet he calls himself the worst of sinners. Why? Because he understood God’s holiness. The more and more he went after Jesus and His Gospel, he grew closer to Jesus, and the closer he got the more he could see His holiness.

We always hear in church about the fear of the Lord, but to be honest most people (at least I didn’t for a long time) probably don’t really know what that means. They may think of it as fearing hell so they call for grace while clinging to their sin. The fear of the Lord understands how holy God is and how much He hates sin. Too many in the church today have a small savior. We do not believe that the little things are sins. A joking yet rude comment, if it makes enough people laugh, isn’t a sin. Following the girl who walks by with my eyes and lustful heart isn’t a sin. Keeping every dime I own for myself is not greedy but frugal. We justify our sin and believe we are holy. 

We have numbed ourselves and have taken the world’s guidelines for morality and have used it for our own guidelines for sin. This is not meant to be an attack, but rather a challenge for each and every one of us. A challenge to look at God and discover just how holy He is. A challenge to take a step ahead of the world and show how the church isn’t just a place to make people act moral, it’s a place where people look like Jesus which far exceeds simple morality.

So let’s take a step back and look at everything we do with the lense of Jesus. Let us pursue His presence and get a greater understanding of His holiness. When we worship, study the word, spend time in community, we begin to get a greater understanding of God’s character and thus His holiness. Let us have a big Savior. Let’s ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to us our sin and help us overcome it!

As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy." – 1 Peter 1:14-16

Why I'm making a blog

For a while now I’ve felt like God wanted me to make a blog although I don’t know why. I’m not really a writer and it’s just not something that seems like me. I’ve pushed it off but earlier today I’ve started to realize my disobedience. It was already disobedience that I have waited this long to make the blog, but I want to answer God’s calling. So that’s why I made this blog. I want it to be a way for me to share what God is teaching me in my everyday life and hopefully help others learn and grow faster than I did. I want Jesus to be glorified, not me. I in no way claim to be perfect or have perfect thoughts, so take everything said to God and His Word.

So why not start with what I’m realizing today and just being open and vulnerable? I realized that my fear of the Lord is tiny. I may not be doing drugs or murdering people or any other blatant sin, but every single time I disobey even the littlest of His commands I sin. “The fear of God is evidenced in our lives by instant, joyful and whole obedience to God. That is biblical obedience. Anything else is disobedience.” God told me to make a blog probably a week or more ago. I just did today. As I walked around today God told me to talk to random people and I didn’t. At one point I was scared to ask God what He wanted me to do because I didn’t believe that I would do it if it didn’t fit my comfort zone or agenda. I plan my day out on my own accord instead of asking Him. What I’m doing is just trying to make God happy by being responsible and obedient with the big, blatant things, but allowing the little things to still be under my control. I must listen for and obey even the smallest things “pray continually” (1 Thessalonians 5:17).

So what’s my point? My point is that I am called to submit my life to Jesus full heartedly! I want to fear God as I would a Father who wants the best for His son. I want to hate sin as much as God does. I WANT to be disciplined when I disobey God (yes, I am kind of scared to ask God this, but I will because it’s worth it). I want to be faithful in His eyes. I don’t want to care what the people around me think; I just want to care what God thinks. And this starts through a couple of ways.

1) Recognizing the areas of disobedience I currently live in no matter how “small” and repenting of them.

2) Asking God to give me His hatred of sin and asking for his discipline when I disobey.

3) Obeying Him in quick, joyful, and full obedience.

4) Constantly asking God what I should do. This is even when I’m walking from one place to another, when I’m driving what music to listen to (or not), etc.

5) A continual clinging to the cross and filling of the Holy Spirit.

So I get the fear of the Lord, then what? Then I experience freedom. His plan is always right and good. Being obedient is the smartest, funnest, free-est thing that I could possible do. More joy. More love. More life. Lord, help me understand what it means to fear You, and Holy Spirit do it in me