Another New Year's Resolution?

One guy that stands out to me in the Old Testament is Balaam. Balaam is not your typical prophet; he was a sorcerer and changed his ways when God spoke to him. The change seemed genuine until he told the Moabites how to ruin Israel. The thing about Balaam that jumps out is how he can compare to us today, and even me. Balaam fell away from God because of his greed, he used to be a sorcerer; he was used to getting money for his services getting paid for everything he did. God didn’t pay Balaam and neither did Balak the Moabite king. Balaam didn’t realize that the true reward in obeying God isn’t money but life. As I look back on the year I can identify myself with Balaam, there are a lot of instances where I used my “world vision” instead of obeying God’s commands. We all do this. Balaam’s sin was greed, he was used to being paid with cash for his services and when he wasn’t he returned to his sin. As I’ve said before the world can be like a pair of sunglasses that dim our view, they block in the light of God’s power and love. I never liked those New Year’s resolutions but I am going to make one right here for all of us. In 2009 I am going to try to take off my sunglasses and obey God’s commands. I’ll also do my best to not be like Balaam, and understand that the reward in obeying God is a life with Him and that will outlast the physical benefits of my sin. Balaam didn’t understand God, he didn’t want any part in His plan, he continued with his sin and that led to his death in an Israelite raid. In 2009 I encourage everybody to focus on our true reward, a new life in our walk with God. Hebrews 12:2 “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus.”

GO SOX

Well here's a new gadget that gives the Sox scores for anyone who is reading my blog. Too bad it won't show anything for four months.

Dutch's Life

I wrote a post saying that I have a new blog and I realize I never wrote how to get on it. There are two ways.
1) you can access "Dutch's Life" through my profile
2) or type in the web address http://www.dutchboylife.blogspot.com

Enjoy and Merry Christmas.

Here's a funny picture of my dog

Merry Christmas

Well it’s finally Christmas Eve and almost 2009 (hopefully a better year for the Red Sox, but since the Yankees have got Teixeira who knows). Books have been published and sermons have been given about the night Jesus was born, and in the few posts I’ve written is barely a glimpse of what happened. Christmas is a time when we not only get presents or spend time with family but when we reflect. I’ve been spending a lot of time lately thinking about the year, how I pleased God and also how I disappointed Him. As I said before there’s good news and bad news for us all and I know one thing for certain, there is one gift I will enjoy receiving tomorrow and that is the life that Jesus gives. When Jesus came down here He didn’t just create a new holiday, He did the amazing, the light of God entering our dark world. The thought is so simple, at the creation when Adam and Eve sinned God knew what had to happen and thousands of years later just when the devil thought he’d won God stepped out. There are dozens of ways to phrase this simple sentence but I think the only thing to say to God for what He did is this: Thanks. It is my hope that when we all wake up we can say ‘Thanks’ to God and remember that although we get nice gifts from our family and friends the best gift of all is from our savior Jesus. Also, Merry Christmas.

Not Your Average Joe

One guy that doesn’t get enough credit is Joseph. He like Mary isn’t mentioned much in the Gospel, but unlike Mary he doesn’t get much attention in our culture. All those old Roman paintings you see are of Mary, songs about Christmas mention Mary, and we preach sermons on Mary but where is Joseph? It’s easy to miss him, he’s only mentioned in Matthew and Luke, and from then on we can infer that he may have died as Jesus grew up. Joseph may not be mentioned much but he did play a big part in our savior’s birth. First off Joseph is descendent of King David, Jesus was referred to as the “Son of David” in the Old Testament and there it is right there in the genealogy. Second Joseph was responsible, imagine his surprise when Mary came back from Elizabeth with the visible signs of pregnancy, put yourself in his shoes, you’re going to be married soon and your fiancée shows up pregnant, according to Old Testament laws Joseph had every right to stone Mary. Yet he didn’t, we are told that “Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly” Matthew 1:19. Joseph even before knowing that this was the Messiah being born didn’t want Mary to be publicly disgraced, he didn’t want her to be in trouble, and instead he took some of the shame. Imagine the looks he may have gotten before his marriage as Mary’s stomach slowly grew, and we are told in verse 20 that “An Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said ‘Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit…’” Not only did Joseph take some of the shame from Mary he also believed what God told him and followed his command. I wrote in a post earlier how Mary did what God commanded and here Joseph does as well. We have no idea what kind of father Joseph was to Jesus, all we know is that obeyed God’s command. Joseph continued his faithfulness as he packed up his family and moved to Egypt, another example of his willingness to serve the Lord. Joseph was just a man like anybody else, he was righteous and responsible and the same with Mary, she was an ordinary girl who was about to be married and obeyed the Lord’s command, and when God planned out how Jesus was going to come to earth He knew exactly who to call.

There He Is

I wrote a post about Josh Hamilton a while ago and it occured to me some people might not know who he his so here's a picture of him to the right.

Gospel = Good News

I know this isn’t about Christmas but I had a thought. I was thinking about sin, face it we all sin there is no man who hasn’t. The only one free from sin is God, which leaves us out. We all sin, we all mess up, I’ve sinned today, yesterday, last week, last month, last year… and I’ll probably sin tomorrow. We’ve all sinned, and anyone denying it is lying. Good news is we’re all fallen so that means we’re all on the same boat. But the bad news is that separates us from God. Adam and Eve were cast out of God’s direct presence; they sinned and were sent away from the Garden of Eden, they were separated. The devil was an angel, in fact Satan and all the devils were angels (kind of ironic) but when Satan sinned he was sent to hell and was separated from God. When we sin we are separated, by sinning we build a wall between us and God. Sin is a slippery slope, imagine it this way, every time we sin we add a brick to the wall that separates us, as we go through our day sins pop up in our lives and each one adds a brick. No big deal after a day right? We can still see God can’t we? Well how about a week? A month, let’s say you’re 25 years old how does 25 years worth of bricks add up? Soon our view is like one of those bad views from a hotel all we see is a brick wall. But there’s more good news, imagine that brick wall again, and then KABOOM! A blast of dynamite blows it to bits and beyond that you get that great ocean view you saw on the web. That’s what Jesus does in our lives, He blows them up. He comes into our lives and shakes them so dramatically that the wall between us and God breaks down, we were separated by a gap and God gave us a bridge through the cross. Does that mean after we all become Christians we are sinless? No, we still sin, I became a Christian four years ago and I still sin, but we are forgiven, we are no longer separated from God. Does that mean it’s okay to sin? No, we can still add bricks to the wall and get lost again; God forgives us and want us to change our lives for Him. When I became a Christian my life was turned upside down, I was literally a new person, but I still have some big changes to make and the good news about that is that God helps us make these changes, He gives us the strength to live for Him, but we have to accept first. I guess that’s why they call the Gospel the Good News.

The Season Of Giving

Well Christmas is coming into view and we all know what that means, time off from work, church services and gifts. It happens every year; we wake up on December 25th to find gifts under the tree from our family members. Once December 1st passes and it is “safe” to start thinking about Christmas we all start our lists of things we want, gift cards, DVD’s (I’ve noticed they don’t make VHS’s anymore) books, all sorts of stuff. Gifts are great, I like giving and receiving gifts and even Jesus got gifts from the wise men at His birth, but as with all good things when they are taken to extremes there is a certain danger. I remember while listening to Christmas music on the radio (gotta love Boston’s favorite Christmas songs) I heard an advertisement from some store (that narrows it down), but the ad was about the treasures of the season, and what were these treasures? Handbags, shoes, necklaces (none apply to me). That is the danger, as great as gifts are and as fun as they are to give and receive we can’t let them fog up our view of what Christmas is really about. It’s great to get all sorts of cool stuff but basically that is what it is, it’s stuff. Stuff is great I like stuff, but we can’t let stuff be the base of our lives or happiness, that’s Jesus’ spot. I’ll ask everyone this, on Christmas morning (or with some families Christmas Eve) when you are opening your gifts don’t’ forget the greatest gift of all that we recieved because God loves us so much and because of His grace that on that warm night we all recieved a gift, His son and our savior Jesus.

Sorry

I feel that I must write an apology for the earlier posts, I think I was too harsh in my criticisms on our Christmas symbols so now I’ll try to make the point I was trying to get across clear because I have a feeling it was misunderstood. I am not trying to ruin anyone’s Christmas, I was just trying to analyze the symbols in our culture and find out what their relation to the Biblical account was. There is absolutely nothing wrong with caroling, or Christmas trees, or Santa Claus. I don’t think it’s wrong to have those thing s in our culture, I never did and don’t think I ever will. All my life I’ve had a Christmas tree in my house and I don’t think I’ll stop. The point I tried to get across was although these things in themselves were good they don’t exactly relate to the Biblical account of Jesus’ birth. I don’t think Jesus woke up to hear a fire crackling, or went caroling or received His gifts under a tree. Actually Mary and Joseph were forced to flee to Egypt because Herod was killing all the baby boys. The symbols we have are like strings we tie to our fingers to remember something, they themselves are not what we are to remember but they act as a reminder, or a stand in. The symbolism around Christmas has religious meaning, Christmas trees are supposed to represent the fact that God lives forever and that we in Heaven will live forever, but the Christmas tree is like the string, it reminds us of our savior but it isn’t the main focus. The commercialization of Christmas is a bad thing, if all we do is focus on the strings we’ll forget what we are to remember, but the opposite is just as bad if all we do is focus on what we are to remember we won’t live our lives. I’ll advise anyone this Christmas to have fun and enjoy the break from work and school, but don’t forget our savior, and also even though we receive nice gifts we shouldn’t forget the greatest gift of all, our savior Jesus.

She Listened

One thing always makes me think is Mary. She isn’t mentioned very often in the Bible but there is a key point we can get from her story, she trusted God. Imagine that you are a young girl around fourteen years old (yes she was that young) and you were walking along and you saw an Angel ahead who said you will “give birth to a son… and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end” Luke 1: 31-33. Sometimes we skip over this passage to get on to the “good stuff,” the exciting passages but imagine if that happened to you or someone you know. How would you react? If a friend of mine told me that I’m not sure what I’d think, and neither was Mary; in Luke 1: 29 we are told Mary was greatly troubled, and throughout the conversation she still had doubts but it ended with Luke 1: 38 when she said “’I am the Lord’s servant.’” When God called Mary she was at first troubled she didn’t know what was going on but she set her fears and doubts aside and accepted God’s plans for her. God has a plan for all of us, there may people who think their forgotten by God or to ordinary or boring but God can proves them wrong, He has a plan for everyone. Mary was going to have an uneventful day and God stepped in to make it extraordinary. God can do great things in our lives, amazing things we wouldn’t believe. If someone told me five years ago that I’d be here right now I might not believe them but God proved me wrong. He can do things in our lives but we need to let Him.

What?

As you can see I have another blog called “Dutch’s life” it’s basically a joke that has to do with my dog that I don’t really feel like explaining, At most there will be funny pictures of my dogs, enjoy.

What Really Happened That Night?

I think I’ll start with the easy question which is ‘what really happened that night?’ which was actually in late spring not December. Well there’s the obvious answer, Jesus was born but I think around this time of year we sometimes miss that amazing yet simple fact. The amazing thing is that it’s not just Jesus but God’s son, the savior and that his birth down to the place and time was predicted hundreds of years before (pretty cool). In Isaiah there are tons of prophecies, some about the virgin birth, his name, his lineage, and what will happen to him. The amazing thing is Isaiah gives more description to Jesus’ looks than any of the gospels! But the really amazing thing (at least I think it’s amazing) is the simple fact that God came down to earth. When Jesus was born the Israelites were oppressed by the Roman Empire (but I’m Italian so go easy on them) and the prophets haven’t spoken for about 500 years. Imagine that, you’re used to hearing God’s voice and then a silence, but God does one better, He comes down to earth. Another thing that amazes me is the fact that God stepped down. God in all His glory stepped down to become a human, to live by our “rules.” Jesus felt hungry, thirsty, He grew up, and He felt pain to name a few. Something amazing happened that night, God stepped down to be with us, Jesus came down so that He may die to save us from our sins. That was what happened that night; there were no fancy meals, no trees or wreaths for Jesus. He did not wake up to the sound of a fire crackling and go down to see presents from all His relatives. He was born into a world of sin that was already against Him and His only gifts were from faraway astrologers. An amazing thing happened that night, and thirty three years later on one morning we were given the greatest gift ever.

Wood vs. Aluminum Part 2

I would like to revise an earlier post about the wood vs. aluminum bat debate. I now prefer wood overall, after swinging a wood bat for a few months my swing has cleared up, and I am actually hitting much better than before. Also to add to that I used to swing an ash bat but now I prefer maple, it’s a little more expensive and heavier but it will last longer and I feel that a maple bat gets a little more pop on the ball. And to all those who read my blog, Happy Thanksgiving.

Great Faith

If I could only name a handful of people in the Old Testament that demonstrate great faith Joseph would have to be one of them. Joseph’s story is a long one, it takes place in chapters 37-50, and I don’t really want to write all that (and I don’t think anyone has time to read it) so I’ll summarize. To put it simply Joseph was spoiled, his father Jacob (also used to favoritism) favored Joseph who in return let everyone know it. Joseph had eleven brothers who didn’t like the way he showed off, so they came up with a plan to kill him, but instead sold him to a caravan which led to a life of slavery in Egypt.
There are three events I want to signal out in Joseph’s life that can be used as an example of faith, the first one is in chapter 39. Joseph was working for a man named Potiphar, and as Joseph worked he earned respect and trust. Potiphar had a wife who liked Joseph (in simplest terms) and how did Joseph react? He ran, he separated himself from sin to the point of making an effort to not be around the situation. One day Potiphar’s wife grabbed Joseph and he ran out of her grasp even leaving his cloak behind. That is what we are to do when the devil comes up to us tempting us to sin, we are to run. It may not seem like the macho thing to do, but it is what we are to do. When the devil tempts us we are to get away from the tempter, we are to leave the tempting situation so that our hearts may not be compromised.
After the incident with Potiphar’s wife things went sour. Joseph was in such a hurry that he left his cloak in her hand which she kept for the day and when Potiphar came home she lied and said Joseph attacked her. Potiphar didn’t like that so he threw Joseph in jail. Joseph was sitting in jail when the pharaoh’s cup bearer and baker we sent in. They both had dreams and Joseph interpreted them. Pharaoh had a dream some time later and because Joseph had the reputation of interpreting dreams, he sought him out. Joseph was wrongly sent to prison for who knows how many years. He was accused of a crime he prevented from happening his whole life and from where he was sitting didn’t have much to look forward to. God gave him an opportunity, a chance to be lifted up. All Joseph’s life he was spoiled, and then through the ultimate humiliation was humbled and God looked down and lifted him up.
Joseph rose to a very powerful position and was in charge of food during a famine met up with his brothers. Joseph’s brothers didn’t recognize him and after what seems an endless back and forth Joseph reveals himself. Fast-forward to when Jacob dies and we see Joseph’s brothers afraid that they will be killed and Joseph says one of my favorite verses “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good…” Genesis 50:19. Joseph was in a position to get back at his brothers, but he instead praised God for His plan, and forgave his brothers for what they did.
Sometimes things go wrong, sometimes we are wrongly accused of something we didn’t do, or are treated unfairly and we always sin. But we should look at Joseph as an example of faith; he ran from temptation, accepted God’s opportunity, and forgave his brothers. Joseph was a man of faith and it should in his life. Before we have God in our lives we can be like the younger Joseph, we can be selfish and annoying, but when we accept God in our lives, when we humble ourselves and live for Him amazing things can happen.

White as Snow

One thing that always gets me is God’s unconditional love and grace. The fact that He sees everything we do, every righteous and sinful act is seen by God. From the time we were born on to now God has seen our entire lives, every sin we committed, every time we were dishonest or mean He has seen it all. But the amazing thing is despite this fact He loves us anyway! His love never runs out, His supply of grace never diminishes; He loves us just the same. God forgives us in an odd way we couldn’t understand. While we get angry and “need time to forgive” God never hesitates He never says no, the Bible says “’Though your sins are like scarlet they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson they shall be like wool’” Isaiah 1: 18. Our souls have been stained by sin, big splotches are spread out for God to see, but here He tells us that they shall be as white as snow. Have you ever looked at the snow on a winter morning when the sun is shining on it and walked inside and everything seems dark? It is so bright that we need to squint to look at it; and that is what God can make us, that is what He will do! I am not saying God doesn’t like sin, and am no way saying sin is okay, we are not to sin, and definitely not to use God’s grace as a free pass through life, but we are told that even though we sin, even though we mess up at times we are still loved and treasured by God.

Wood Vs. Aluminum

Well I was doing some research and I saw that there is a huge debate as to whether aluminum bats are better than wood bats. Personally I think wood bats are better. I know we all love to hear a loud “ping” and see homeruns shoot over the leftfield wall, but what is the cost? First off wood bats are better because they teach strong mechanics, you can get a cheap hit off an aluminum bat but a wood bat won’t forgive you for that so it forces you to get a perfect swing. Second aluminum bats tend to create a wide sweeping swing while wood bats force you to conserve energy and have a compact swing. You will get the outside pitch all right but with a big swing you don’t have much of a chance getting the inside pitch. Third wood bats are heavier so they increase your power and bat speed. And fourth, how can you replace the classic cracking sound as the ball jumps off the bat with a hollow ping? Some people use wood bats all the time, or only in training, personally I use my wood bat for training (tee work, BP, drills) and my aluminum bat in actual games.

We Need To Empty Our Glasses

It has occurred to me that I have not written a post on the Old Testament, and for that I am sorry so that’s why this post is on a passage in Genesis, one of my favorite books in the Bible. This is a sometimes looked over passage in Genesis 11 verses 1-9 about the tower of Babel. The story jumps out of a distribution of nations, some people thought it was a good idea to build a large tower and then God scattered them. Why is this here? The key is when one guy steps up with the idea and says “’Come let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the earth’” Genesis 11:4. The people of Babel thought they could reach heaven by piling bricks up, they were proud and thought they could be near or like God, and as we’ve seen with the Pharisees God doesn’t like that. The people of Babel were proud and their descendants the Babylonians were just the same. Well how did God respond to this? He spread them out and confused their language. When we’re proud we walk around as if we don’t need God, as if we’re on top of the world as if in our minds we are our own God. And God can’t use proud hearts; He can’t use a full person. Have you ever tried to fill a glass full of water with water? Well it’s pointless when you pour more water in it pours out because the glass is already full, it’s the same way with our hearts God can’t use a person who is full of plans and ideas, someone who says this is exactly what I want and when, no He needs someone who will seek His kingdom and say “What do you want?” The people of Babel had a plan a way to lift themselves up so they may be exalted but that is a place only God should be in.

Batter Up!

My favorite baseball player has only been my favorite for about half the season, and even before that I’ve never heard of him. What may be surprising is that he is not on my favorite team (but when he’sa free agent the Sox should get him). The guy I’m talking about is Josh Hamilton from the Texas Rangers. Before the past few years Josh Hamilton was stuck in a rut, he was addicted to drugs and very far from God. He was suspended from baseball and from where he was it looked like he had nowhere to go. And now he finished his second major league season with 130 RBI’s, and he’s closer to God than ever. Why am I writing about Josh Hamilton? Because not only is a great baseball player, but also a picture of God’s grace. Before Josh Hamilton was nothing, and then he accepted Jesus, and his life is not only restored but better off that it was back when he was in the minors getting ready for his first major league season (and he broke a record hitting 28 homeruns in the first roun dof the 2008 homerun derby). Before we accept Christ in our lives we don’t have much, and we don’t deserve much either. There is no way we can talk, buy, or work our way into Heaven, the Bible says the wages of sin is death, but then something amazing happened, Jesus came down to become our way into Heaven. We did nothing to deserve it; we didn’t do anything to get God to give us this gift He gave it out of His love for us. “For God so loved the world that He gave is one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life” John 3: 16.

New Addition

Hi, I just added a new thing to the blog, if you look at the bottom of each post you see an envelope with an arrow, this makes it easier to email blog posts to friends/family- I hope it makes it more convenient for you. I also hope you like my tribute to the Celtics, hopefully they will have another great year (especially since the Red Sox lost in the ALCS).

Take The Sun Glasses Off

One of my favorite miracles in the gospel is the one where Jesus walks on water. The most descriptive account is in Matthew chapter 14, verses 22-32. I used to read this story and say “Oh that was cool, imagine seeing that,” but I reflected on it very little, but now I look at it and see it in a different light. To understand where I am going with this you’ll need to imagine yourself in the disciple’s place. Imagine you are in a medium sized sail boat, at night, in a huge storm. You try to sail and row to shore, but the wind and the waves are slamming into the boat, you remember how Jesus calmed the storm and you wonder where He is. Suddenly you see a man walking on the water towards you, walking over the waves as if they were flat ground. The man yells out to you that He is Jesus, and one of the men in the boat steps out and walks towards Him, but once he sees the wind and waves he starts to sink! Jesus then grabs him out of the water and gets in the boat and immediately the storm stops. Well now that I got your attention (you can stop imagining now) I can go on. I sometimes think of the world as a pair of sunglasses to our “faith vision”. The troubles of the world, sin, suffering, money, war, the list goes on and on- they all cloud our view of Christ, they dim His light in our lives. The same thing happened to Peter- the man who got out of the boat. Peter had his eyes on Jesus, He was focused and ready, he wanted to live for his Master. Peter in an act of great faith got out of the boat (imagine getting out of a boat at night during a storm), and walked towards Jesus, but when Peter saw the wind and waves, the troubles of the world, the distractions that block our view of God, he fell through the water. Peter didn’t fall because he simply didn’t believe. He fell because he wasn’t focused on Jesus, he looked at the waves and realized what he was doing, he didn’t trust the love of God and the world dimmed his vision so much that doubt crept into his heart and he fell through the water. When we set our eyes on Jesus, when we wake up and live for Him, nothing can stop us; nothing can separate us from His love. But when we put our “sun glasses” on, we fail to see our savior in our world, we lose sight and begin to fall, and we doubt His love and protection. Though there is chaos and confusion in the world, though there is sin and suffering, we can’t let that dim our vision of the light of Jesus.

GO CELTICS

Ocean Views Aren't That Great

We are at a frightening time in our country, as we face severe economic troubles that are of great concern to everyone; but the greater concern comes from those who find security in their wallets, not their hearts. I was listening to a song “American Dream” by Casting Crowns (great band by the way), but any way it got me thinking. Has anyone built a sandcastle? (If you haven’t you’re missing out on some fun). Sand castles, although fun to build are also tedious to create; once you build the base and the towers and a wall, and a moat, it will often fall apart and crumble to the ground, or the next day you find your creation, your magnificent kingdom gone! Swept away by the sea and wind, all those hours wasted. When we find security in our wealth it can be like that. Life is all fine when you’re building your castle, and when you’re king, but when the storm comes, the wind knocks you down, and when the sea eats you up, you come back the next day devastated to see that your kingdom is gone, and that is when life turns around on us. That is when we see that the walls of a bank are not made of solid concrete but made of sand. Jesus dealt with this when He said “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy…” (Matthew 6: 19) and “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you” (Matthew 6: 33). If we put our security in something that will rust, something that can be lost or stolen we’re left with nothing when a storm comes by, but if we can put our security, our faith, store up our treasure in Heaven then we are truly secure. Money will be either spent or lost, stocks will go up and down, but God’s love and His gift to us will never change, and He will always be there for us.

You Can't Live In Church

I don’t know about you, but I’ve heard the people tell me to stay “constantly in prayer” and “always worship God.”These concepts sounded foreign, like something only monks up on high mountains have time to do. I never knew how live my life solely for God, how to eat for Him, god to school for Him, study for Him, play baseball for Him, how? Well it goes back to the question “what is worship?” To anyone who thinks worship is getting up at 7:00 on a Sunday, driving to a church, singing some songs, and listening to a sermon for an hour I just have to say THAT’S BORING! And it’s not worship. Too often we see worship as watching the Red Sox game. We get in and are hyped up and we sit and watch and leave. NO! Worship should be like playing in the game, being involved, and to do that you can’t sit in a church all day. Church is the body of believers, the body of Christ and worship is what we do as the body of believers. I’ll encourage you to look into your church ministries, mission trips, youth ministries, Bible studies, small groups, praise bands, cooking, even something like handing out bulletins every Sunday. And why stop at Church? Look into your own community: soup kitchens, visiting shut-ins, and that’s not all (who feels this is sounding like one of those infomercials?) any small act, anything that you can do to shine the light of Christ in your community, any act that glorifies God is worship. So I encourage you to be active, to wake up and say “How can I represent Christ today?” to look at everyone as a creation of God and to share the good news with others, that is true worship, and that is how you can “always worship God”.

See Ya In April

Well the Rays finally did it. They finally won; I guess they deserved to win. The Red Sox have fought their way through this season, near half the team was out with injuries: Lugo, Papi, Lowell, Ellsbury, Beckett, Shilling, Wakefield, Drew, Colon, and Ardsma got hurt and were out for at least a part of the season. Maybe if the whole team was healthy (except Lugo) they would have been a first place team and the Rays may have lost to the Angels, I don’t know. All I know (and all Red Sox fans will agree) is that I am happy the Yankees got bumped down to third place in the AL East and out of the playoffs. And I’m also pretty happy that the Dodgers were bumped out because I didn’t want Manny to win anything. Oh well there’s always next year.

GO RED SOX!

I really don’t want to ruin everything for the Red Sox but I will say that that was probably the best rally I’ve ever seen. I mean Big Papi with that three run homer. I was starting to say he didn’t have it anymore, and was more like Big Papa. And then Drew coming through with a two run homer. That was an amazing game. I just hope they can win it on Saturday; Beckett really needs to work on location. He may not have speed but if he can use what he’s got he can hopefully get a win.

Never Alone

I wrote a post in August titled “why does it have to hurt?” and now I’d like to add to it. I came to the conclusion that I don’t know why suffering is in the world, I know as a result of sin and the devil entering the world suffering came a long too, but I didn’t have an answer to the “tough” questions and I still don’t. I will only add this, not as a way to make anyone feel better about themselves, but as a message of hope to those who don’t have any. God understands what we’re going through when we suffer because He too suffered. Jesus went through the agony of having one person literally sell him out and eleven others running away, one of them, the most faithful, denying Him. He then was put on a mock trial, beaten beyond understanding, had His beard plucked out, and was forced to carry His cross to be humiliated in front of the entire city of Jerusalem. He then was crucified on the cross and watched His clothes be gambled away, only to be mocked more by the roman guards. I do not mean to “gross you out” if I did I am sorry, what I am trying to do is show you that when we suffer God understands us because He went through it too. Jesus was killed and abandoned, God watched sitting on His hands as His son was crucified. He understands our pain. When we suffer we aren’t alone, we’re never alone. Through the light and darkness God is never too far away. I don’t know why we suffer, and if anyone who reads this is suffering I’m sorry but there is no “cure all” solution, only an answer, and that is Jesus. I can only say one thing, God loves you, and He knows what you’re going through. One more thing to remember, it is not always the fact that we may suffer, but how we react to it that matters.

He Broke Our Chains

In my writing class we’ve been talking a lot about abstract subjects, one of my favorite topics was morality, and then what a good person is. I’m going to focus on the question of what a good person is. I wrote an essay on this, and because it was over two pages I won’t rewrite it here because you as a reader probably don’t really want to read my essay, and I wouldn’t either but that’s not the point, the point is what is a good person? In my essay I concluded that because morality is God’s law it is good, and if someone were to follow the law he must be good. From that we can conclude that we aren’t good from the beginning and become good (more on this later). But here’s the problem, honestly who has obeyed every aspect of the law? Who here is perfect? Simple answer, no one. That’s Jesus’ point when He talks to the rich man and points out he still lacks something- to think we can be perfect and follow the law at all times is legalism, and definitely not what God wants from us. But then an amazing thing happened, God sent His son down to earth for us. He was put on a fixed trial, and then beaten beyond belief and then died on the cross. We were dead by the law, and then had life through Christ. That is the beauty of what God did to us. Imagine that, if you had to be perfect to get into Heaven, and God graciously lent us a hand and picked us out of the pit. It’s not what a good person is, but what a redeemed person is.

Confused Fan

Some people might wonder why I am not writing a single thing about the ALCS. That is mainly because everything I’ve said that has to do with the playoffs was pretty much wrong. I will say that it doesn’t look to good for the Red Sox, but then again last year didn’t either and look where they ended up. So to prevent further error I won’t start writing until after the series ends. But I do know that the Sox need to win, and to do that they need to play small ball, and they can’t leave guys on base. The biggest problems the Red Sox had this year was leaving guys on base, the bullpen, and relying on the homeruns to score runs. They’ll just need to go out there like last year and play their best.

If You're First You're Last

I’ve been reading “The Weight of Glory” by C.S. Lewis, it’s a great book and if you haven’t read any Lewis books I think it’s worth looking in to, but anyway I was writing about glory. What is glory? Is it being in the paper, on the web? Having a title? Getting an award? What is glory and why is it so appealing to us. Well, to understand glory we must look at greatness. Greatness, at least in my opinion, is a desire in us to be famous or powerful, which is (sorry if I offend you) not necessarily of God but the devil. Why though? Simply because it comes from pride which was the devils sin, and which is why Jesus was so mad at the Pharisees, but that’s another story. Well then is glory bad? Well, we can see glory as Biblical glory, or greatness. Biblical glory is much different than greatness, or as it’s called worldly glory. Jesus has a lot to say about glory, in Matthew during the anointing Jesus replies to disciples saying “’I tell you the truth, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.’” In Mark 10:43 when James and John want the most important places in heaven he says “’Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to be first must be slave of all.’” In Luke 9: 48 Jesus says “’For he who is least among you all- he is the greatest’” Later in Luke 18: 14 Jesus says “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.’” So is glory is not always bad. From the Bible we can see that rue glory, to be remembered or to get a “pat on the back” from God means we have to serve, and be the last. It means to put others first, to care about people before ourselves. Lewis does a great job summing this up saying “The negative idea of Unselfishness carries with it the suggestion not primarily of securing good things for others, but of going without them ourselves, as if our abstinence and not their happiness was the important point” (pg. 1). True glory isn’t being famous or being a hero, or even a martyr, it’s living for a cause, living a life dedicated to the love and mercy of God, a dedication of service to His people, that’s glory. Humility isn’t thinking less of yourself, but of yourself less and God more.

Here are some cool pictures from the ALDS game on Sunday

FInish the Race

As Christians we talk a lot about sin, how to avoid sin, what sin is …. but what I haven’t heard much is what to do when we sin and after. Face it we all sin, we as people are sinners, ever since Adam and Eve we all sin. I have fallen into a great problem, it is the problem of the Pharisees, and is what we now call legalism. Legalism (at least in Christianity) is following the rules, but doing it in the mindset that you are making yourself righteous. I have fallen into this, which led me to detest myself when I sinned and saw myself as a failure before God. I read a passage in James that said we are to have “faith and deeds” and need both, and cannot survive without either, James 1:14-26. I was troubled by that, I as a human am fallen, but have faith, so where does that leave me? I began a legalistic lifestyle, judging myself and others believing that perfection is what we are to be aiming for, unfortunately I did not realize that it is not perfection, but salvation that is our goal. I did not understand the passage clearly, what James was trying to say is you have faith, good, but where are your deeds to back it up? Basically “put your money where your mouth is”, he’s pointing out to the people that if we truly believe in God we will make an effort that we will live out our faith. So I then came to realize that we all sin, and as faithful people we will ask for forgiveness and as faithful people we will work to improve our lives based on God’s law. Improvement is the big word here, the Christian who is satisfied with his lifestyle is far from God, the Christian who says I’m happy where I am at, I’m staying here, we are to keep moving forward in our walk with God, we are to run and finish this race. So when we sin we are not to “beat ourselves up” but pick ourselves up and continue with the walk. I am not saying sin is okay, it is a horrible thing, but we can’t let it get in between us and God any more than it already has.

DIY Surgery

I was reading Mark 9, and came across a strange verse. Mark 9 verse 45-47 says “And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life cripples than to have two feet and be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell.” I hope after reading this no one decides to cut their foot off, and blind themselves (unless for some weird reason they really want to). Jesus doesn’t mean that He wants us to cut ourselves up whenever we sin. He’s making a point of what God wants. He’s saying that God doesn’t want anything to come between us and Him. Jesus is saying that if anything in our lives causes us to sin then it really isn’t worth it. Whether it’s that new CD, or new cable channel, or a certain friend, if it comes in between you and God then I think you should take a moment and ask “is this really worth it?” I am not saying I want everyone to lock themselves inside for the rest of their life, God wants us out there, He wants us to live and experience life, but He doesn’t want us to forget what we’re living for, He doesn’t want us to make Him a lesser priority. 1John says it clearly in chapter 2 verse 15 “Do not love the world or anything in the world.” There is a difference between liking our life, friends, property, job, school, and loving the world. I love my family, I like my school, town, I like watching the Red Sox (especially when they win), I like playing baseball, but it’s when I say I love it, when I love it with the love that is to be solely devoted to God that I need to take my knife and cut it off. Jesus isn’t saying “I want you to be shut-ins with no friends”, He’s saying “If anything comes in between you and Me, then it’s not really worth it.” It’s hard to do this, to examine your life and have to take things out, it’s like losing a hand, but then you ask yourself is a hand worth a heart, I had to ask myself this, but I’ll let you answer that one.

GO SOX

Well the Red Sox are 2:0 now against the Angels, and are taking the series to Boston on Sunday. The Red Sox so far have proven they don’t need Ramirez to crank homers every game to win; they just need the new guys to come through. Jason Bay had a homerun in his first two postseason games ever, a first for Red Sox history, and J.D. Drew showed he didn’t slow down as he got a two run homer to win last night’s game 7:5. The Angels, who were a tough team this year with 100 wins, are continuing to struggle in the postseason, again. Hopefully the Red Sox will win the series and play the winner of the Rays: White Sox series. The White Sox are now 0:2 against the Rays, the Rays were a great team all year, and struggled towards the end of the season, but aren’t showing it now, as they plow through White Sox pitching to their goal, the AL Championship. Josh Beckett will take the mound (hopefully) at 7:17, and if all goes well that will be the last game of the series.

Here are some cool pictures from my mission trip

A Place Called Church

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about the church. What it means to me, what it means to other people, and how it is defined in the Bible. I first really experienced the church about four years ago when I first went to a youth group at the church I now attend. God touched my heart that day, and I was exposed to His love and mercy. Some people (at least kids my age, or in my school) see church as boring and dull! Some people see the church as judgmental, a place where people will spit on you if you go there (sounds gross). Some people believe that they have to “clean house”, and put on a fake smile and pretend everything’s fine. Well here’s what the Bible says about church. In the book 1 Corinthians, Paul talks a lot about the church. In chapter three he tells us there are not to be divisions in the church (the Corinthians had a problem with following different people they were baptized by). In chapter 12 we “are the body of Christ) 1 Corinthians 12: 27. Now who is we? One church, group of churches, the world, one country? The “we” is the church as a whole. This may be surprising (I kind of like to surprise people), the church is not the building down the street, or even the people down the street, it is every believer in the world. We are the church. The building is not the church; it is the people, the body of believers. We are the body of Christ, His hands and feet on earth. It does not matter whether you are Methodist, Presbyterian, Catholic, or Baptist. All that matters is we all believe in God, and our savior Jesus. We are not to divide the church, but unify it. So taking that in, we can get a picture of what the church is, not a building, not guy that gives a sermon, but us as a body of believers. Isn’t it cool that we can say to ourselves that we are unified with people all the way across the world, that we know we are all one family of God’s children? That’s what church is.

GO SOX!

Well they did it, the Sox got into the post season as the Wild Card. Though it wasn’t the grand entrance they had last year, they still made it. The first game is tomorrow against the Angels in Anaheim stadium, with Jon Lester on the mound. I think as long as Lester can keep the Angel offense quiet, and if the Sox put some runs on the board they can win. The most important factor in the post season for the Sox will be the bullpen. Through the year the bullpen has been less than amazing, Delcarmen, Aardsma, Lopez, and Okajima have proven to be good, but have also blown it. Papelbon also hasn’t been the “lights out” pitcher he was last year. The Red sox have been a good team this year, and some offensive players have come through- Casey, Pedroia, Bay, Drew, and Ortiz to name a few. The biggest thing for the Sox this series is to keep the lead, whether it’s 10-1, or 2-1 they need to keep the other teams from scoring, and need to score runs early. One of the biggest problems this season for the Sox is they have been scoring a couple runs in the 1st and then being quiet through the rest of the game. Tonight the AL Central division is being decided as the White Sox play the Twins to see who can enter the post season.

Under Our Radar

I finally got around to writing this post. I’ve been putting off writing this post for a week now, and that is because I do not like the subject I am going to write about. I am going to write about pride, which took me a week to understand and now I think I understand it enough to write about it. To understand pride I had to understand what it exactly is, which in the easiest definition, pride is a sin. Pride I have found is the one sin that everyone commits, and everyone sees in other people but never in themselves. The proud man will say to his friend how proud someone else is, but never how proud they are. It is the humble man who admits his pride. That is one reason why pride is so dangerous; it has a way of going “under our radar”, and a way of finding its way into everyone’s lives. Even I have never taken a look at myself until I read “Mere Christianity” by C.S. Lewis, (it’s a very good book, I strongly recommend it). To explain what pride is it makes it easier to give a visual example, so the best possible example is the Pharisees. Jesus went on a rant against the Pharisees in His “7 woes” Matthew chapter 23. Verse 5 says “They do good things so that other people would see them”, the Pharisees didn’t live a righteous life to glorify God, they only wanted people to say respectable things about them. Verse 7 says “They love people to greet them with respect in the market places and love to have people call them ‘Teacher’” Jesus doesn’t like that, He says we have only one Teacher, and that is God and God alone. Verse 27 says “You are like tombs that are painted white. Outside they look fine, but inside they are full of bones of dead people and all kinds of unclean things.” The Pharisees were so consumed by their outward appearance that they neglected to take care of the inside. They were painted “white” with good deed, but their pride consumed them and they were rotten on the inside. The Pharisees thought they were good, they played by the rules, but they failed to understand what the rules were for, that they were guidelines for a relationship with God, and they enforced them on other people and were proud. But you know what Jesus has to say to pride people? Verse 33 “You are snakes! A family of poisonous snakes” Why does God hate pride so much? I mean what’s the deal here? It’s because pride is idol worship-it’s the worship of self. Pride takes God out of center stage and casts Him to the side, it’s a huge self promotion. When we are proud we worship ourselves, not God, in the proud man’s eyes he’s his own savior. Sadly we as a church do very little about it. There are no “proud men’s” or “proud women’s groups” sins of the spirit are just as real as the physical sins, and sometimes worse. What then is the cure? Humility, bowing down and submitting to God’s will, accepting the fact that we are not perfect, that we need God, and putting Him first is the cure. Pride was the devil’s sin, let’s not let it be ours.

100 pounds 100 miles

Have you ever had to carry something heavy for a long time? Something like a duffel bag, or back pack? Or ever worked for a long time? I remember once when I was in middle school and walked home I had to carry my backpack about three miles in the hot sun. It doesn’t sound that bad, but it was, and there was nothing I wanted to do more than sit down and take a rest, or get a cool glass of water. Our insecurity is like that. Insecurity, the “devils poison” as I call it, it sounds more like a plant name, but I think it is a good description. Insecurity comes from pride (I’ll try to write a post on pride later), and because of that connection it has the ability to cripple spirituality. It can get into your soul and spread like cancer until it changes you inside and out. Where does this heavy burden come from? Well many places, wrong treatment is the basic cause. Maybe you don’t have many friends and you feel bad. Or maybe someone was cruel to you and didn’t care. Or maybe everyone but you has that new thing, or went on that cool vacation. Well that gave you a burden, and insecurity comes into play when we leave that burden there, a “chip on the shoulder” as it is called. I’ve been there, and bless the person who hasn’t. It’s easy to feel bad for yourself, to say “poor me…..” but that is where we should never go. Forgiveness is the cure, to forgive. Forgiveness isn’t letting people walk on you, it’s acknowledging that they sinned, that you sinned, that God forgives all of us, and moving on. To say I forgive you, and months later getting mad over it is to live in the past. Jesus said to take His burden for it is light. Why is it light? Because His burden is one that forgives, one that loves. If we looked at every single person as a creation of God, and looked at them as God does we’d be way better off and a lot happier. This burden can’t be removed or changed by me, or any other person on the earth, it takes you, and God to take your burden off. Jesus died on that cross, and when He did He took your burden upon His shoulders, we aren’t meant to carry this heavy pack, so I say we take the backpack off our shoulders, sit down and take a cool drink of water.

The Hard Road

Living out our faith can be hard. I’ll admit it, the Christian life is not a walk in the park, it can be rough at times. I was reading John 12, and John 12:42 says “But many believed in Jesus, even many leaders. But because of the Pharisees, they did not say they believed in Him for fear they would be kept out of the synagogue.” Not much has changed in the modern times. The leaders wanted to be on the Pharisee’s good side, just like how we want to “fit in”. Whether it is with a certain group of friends, coworkers, or classmates, or just everyday situations we just keep quiet- I’m not passing any judgment, I have kept quiet when I should have spoken up before, it’s just why do we keep quiet? Verse 43 goes on to say “they loved praise from men more than praise from God.” That’s it; the leaders cared more about what the world thought of them, than what God did. They thought more about what people said more than what God said. And that’s tempting! We like to hear good things and think to ourselves, “Oh they might not be friends with me if I say something “religious”.” I’ve been thinking a lot about pride lately, and I believe it ties into this. The leaders were concerned for their reputation, what people thought, what people said- they were proud, which we have found out God doesn’t like. Paul deals with this sin when he says in Romans 1:16 “I am not ashamed of the Gospel”, Paul wasn’t proud, all he could think of was his savior and Lord Jesus. He had no reputation to show before men, but only a life to show God. It’s a tough issue, and once again I am not judging anyone. We all like to be liked, or thought of a good people, we like a positive image, but it’s where that fits into our life that matters. It’s when we value a “good job” from Joe over Jesus that it becomes a problem, it’s a tough issue, but it’s one of those issues that never gets solved unless faced head on, and that issue is pride.

Where am I going?

Well I know I’ve said this before, but I’m hung up on the thought of God doing impossible things that no one expects with His people. Mainly I’m hung up because it’s been happening to me for the past few months, and why shouldn’t I be hung up on it? It’s cool! Recently at a church lunch I spoke in front of a large group of people about the mission trip I went on. I did not see that coming. I also helped teach a small Sunday school class, and was asked to help again, I didn’t see that coming. Four years ago when I was so far from God, not even knowing if my life mattered, I did not see where God would take me, and how He would use me. I thought I was a screw up, a “sinner”, too far away, to “bad” for God to love and use, but I’m glad I was wrong. No one is too far from God; no one is a “screw up”. Yes we sin and are fallen, I would never deny the fact that I do sin, and that sin is wrong. But God still loves us and desires to use us. If we turn to God, if we stop going down the path of sin, and turn back to righteousness, God will use us, and use us to do really cool things for Him. Two months ago I thought I had life figured out, I thought I knew what I wanted to do with my life, what to major in, in college, but now I don’t have a clue, and that is because God is going to take me there. Pride is what keeps us out of God’s hands. It’s kind of like in the previous post, pride kept the Pharisees from Jesus; they thought they were “good”, and therefore too good for God. Don’t think that. Humble yourselves before God, and hold on, because He’ll take you on a wild ride, but He’ll be there with you every step of the way. God can use us, but we’ve got to let Him to.

Are You Sure You're Perfect?

What if I was sick and never admitted it, and instead made fun of the people who were sick? That sounds crazy right? Well that’s how the Pharisees were. They liked to walk around town and act like they were “all that”, and Jesus shows them that they aren’t. I was reading Matthew 9 the other day and I stumbled along this verse “it is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick” Mathew 12. And first looking at that we can say, “Well yeah I knew that” but a closer look tells us more. In the scene Jesus is eating with all the “sinners”, and is being mocked for it by the Pharisees. And Jesus tells them that verse. Now in this verse Jesus is calling them out. Jesus (God) is saying He has no time for perfect people, and why? Because they don’t exist, there is not a person on earth without sin, and to say you are perfect is to lie and be proud. God doesn’t want proud people, He wants humble ones. He wants a broken spirit, a person who is willing to admit their failure and ask for forgiveness. Jesus would have been friends with the Pharisees if they stopped judging others and took a look at themselves, and asked for forgiveness. The church is a hospital for sinners not a health club for saints. People shouldn’t go to church thinking “Oh, I gotta be perfect to come here”, they should think “Well I’m a sinner; I understand that I sin and need help from God, and I’m going to ask for His forgiveness.” God doesn’t want us to be proud and not admit our sin; He wants us to come to Him and seek His mercy. Jesus wasn’t calling the Pharisees perfect, He was calling them proud, and He showed them what they really are: sinners like everyone else. We are all sinners, and God can only use us if we acknowledge that.

I Never Saw This Coming

What did I learn? I’ve written a lot about my mission trip, saying phrases like “I learned that in Mississippi”. But I was recently asked by my church to share my experience during this Sunday’s "reunion lunch", and that made me think about what I learned. Well I know I learned a lot, but I only get five minutes so what can I say. I learned many things, but the most important thing I learned is how God operates. God does not operate on our time, and here’s how I learned that. Three years ago in 2005 hurricane Katrina hit the southeast, and that I believe is where this whole story started. Three years ago I was sitting in my history class room listening to someone from the class talk about how their church went down south to help out in New Orleans (or as they say, it sounds like ‘nawlens’). Well I thought “Gee I’d like to go down and help people, but it would never happen”, but little did I know a different kind of storm was brewing, the “storm surge” of the Holy Spirit in my heart. Three years ago I did not see myself roofing a house, writing a blog, or even speaking in front of my church, that I think is what I learned, and it continues to amaze me, it’s how God can work in our lives. God does an amazing thing- He makes the unlikely likely. He takes a situation and turns it to His plan for us, and when we look back we say “Wow I never saw myself here”. When we take God’s hand and walk with Him He takes us to amazing places. He takes an ordinary man and has him do extraordinary things.

Take Two

I’m going to try to re-explain my thoughts on predestination. My views have changed, and have changed so much that I deleted the earlier post “predewhatanation?” I now believe in predestination. The word is used several times in the Bible, mostly in the New Testament. I do not believe it to the extent that the street preacher did, and I’ll explain why. The street preacher I got in a fight with believed God goes through all the people and decides who can be saved and who can’t. God makes people who go to Heaven and He makes people who go to Hell. I didn’t buy it at all. God would not do such a thing as to make people who will only die. If that was the case why did He send down His son so that “all the nations” may one day believe? Here’s what I believe. I believe before time began even God knew He was going to make us and therefore desired that we may spend eternal life with Him. There it is. God wants us in Heaven, He predestined us to go. Each and every day in some small way God gives us a chance to believe in Him, it’s up to us though to choose our path. People go to Heaven because they snatched at the chance they got; people go to hell not because God wants them to, but because they chose to. Imagine a friend of yours has a party and invites you. They are in control of who is going, it is their desire for you to come, but you can either say yes or no, that I believe is where free will comes in. God wants us in Heaven and He maps out our lives and gives us chances to believe in Him. If I hadn’t become a Christian my whole life (or even family) would have been different, but it was God’s plan for me to become a Christian, and it was God’s plan to get my family where it is. I guess that’s what predestination looks like. I want people to remember that this is a person’s understanding, in no way is this to be taken as the absolute truth. The best understanding of God or His doctrines is like looking out of foggy glasses, we get the idea, but never will we understand all the details.

GO SOX

As you can see I've changed my blog a little. Well I was bored so I decided to get ready for mission SOXTOBER and change it to Sox colors. The Sox have a shot at the playoffs, but they will have to play against tough teams to get into the AL Championship, I'm still sticking with my vote, I think the Angels will make it to the World Series. The Sox did it last year, but this just isn't their year. Hopefully Beckett will pitch tonight as planned and have a good start against the Texas Rangers. No offense to any Rangers fans, but they aren't that good and this should be an easy series.

Squares don't fill up circle holes

You know those squares with shaped holes that kids have? The ones where kids try to put the right shapes in the right holes? You know how a kid will keep trying to fit the square in the circle? He’ll keep trying to fit it in, but the corners don’t fit right, there is still empty space. He may be able to budge it, but it still doesn’t seem right. After a number of tries of several shapes kid eventually puts the circle in the circle. We can be like that, and this may be the only time I’ll say we either are or were like that (even I was like that). Our hearts (not the ones beating in our chest) have a God shaped hole in them. God made each and every one of us with a God shaped hole in our hearts that He waits to fill. As we grow older and as we learn about God it is my hope that we choose to fill our hearts with Him. But sometimes we go through life without God, and as we grow older that hole becomes more evident. The hole become evident because it is what keeps us whole (sorry for the bad pun, but I couldn’t resist and I get a kick out of it). So any way (after I get a laugh) we tend to fill that hole with things. You spend two hundred dollars at the store, it fills you up. You spend two hours washing your car and admiring it, it fills you up. You watch three hours of T.V., it fills you up. But while you’re filling up all that amounts to is a square in a circle, there are empty spaces, at the end of the day you examine yourself and your life and you feel empty. It’s like filling a cup full of ice at the end of the day it melts into half a cup of water. Only God can fill that hole in your heart, nothing else can. You may think everything’s alright but when a storm comes where is your shelter? I’m not saying things are bad, I like my new camera, I like to watch the Red Sox, but I always try to make sure they don’t go into the hole, I always try to make sure they aren’t center stage. An idol isn’t always a statue of a guy with nose rings there are hidden idols all around us. Just remember there is a hole that God fills to make you whole (sorry again for the bad pun). Remember squares don’t fill up circle holes, they only block them.

He's Got a Plan for You

In the earlier post “The Power of Prayer” I said God works not for our own pleasure but for our own good. I’ll elaborate a little. God does care about us; there is no doubt and never a doubt about that. But in caring for us He lays out a plan for us. I am reading the book Don’t Waste Your Life by John Piper. It is a very interesting book, and I encourage you to read it, but only if you can handle it and your no afraid of getting your boat rocked. It makes me wonder if I am wasting my life. I know I have my whole life ahead of me (at least I think I do), but what am I to do with it? How can we live a life that God wants? I think the most basic fundamental and hardest thing to do is to live a life that fully glorifies God at all times. It’s simple, yet hard to do. Why is it hard? Because we often forget to carry it out. I will admit it when I woke up I don’t think I was thinking how I can glorify God over the course of the day. But it gets somewhat simpler. If we wake up and view each day as a gift, each choice as affecting our life then I think we can manage it. The Bible says “Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to glorify God.” 1 Corinthians 10:31. You may be thinking ‘How the heck can I do that? How can I glorify God by eating and drinking?’ And I thought the same thing. To understand that verse you’ve got to know what it means to glorify God. To glorify God is to make Him as much a part of our life as breathing is. How can we manage that? Think about it when you wake up tomorrow, when you eat breakfast, when you go to school or work. If we look at each day as a gift, as a new creation, as a new adventure that only God knows the end of I think we can manage it. If we look at our work as a job given to us, at our coworkers as people we can love as Jesus did, people to share the love of Christ I think we can do it. If we look at each day and ask ourselves “What can I do for the kingdom of God today?” One thing I learned in Mississippi was to ask “What can I do?” “What do you need me for?” “How can I help?” If we can let ourselves be used for His glory, if we can let ourselves be loved and love others. If we can glorify Him I think we can do it. Will it always be easy? No. Will it give us the satisfying sense of joy one finds when he is truly living a life purposeful life for God? Yes. That is what God works for.

Let Us Pray

This is more of a request to you as a reader. As the whole country probably knows there are now a series of three hurricanes coming through the south. I was down there last month to help out with Katrina victims so my request is this. I ask that we may pray that the people in danger of the storm are okay, that the hurricanes aren't too bad, and that the people may recover quickly after the storm.

The Power Of Prayer

The power of prayer is amazing. I pray many times a day, when I wake up, before I eat, before I go to bed and I will admit very few times when I pray I think about what I’m really doing. Sometimes we all can be like that. Very few times do I really dwell on what I am actually doing, and what I am doing is talking to God. Sometimes prayer can seem like a chore, a mandatory action; we do it when we wake up, before we eat. Sometimes we may skip it altogether. But what if when we pray we think about the actions behind the simple action. We are actually talking to God! In Biblical times the Jews needed a priest to act as a go between for them, they couldn’t talk to God, only a holy man could. But at the time of Jesus’s death the curtain separating God from man ripped in half symbolizing the new covenant. We don’t need a mediator; we can go up to our creator any time we want. Just as ordinary communication can be used in many ways so can prayer, and one part of prayer that is usually abused is to ask God for something. Jesus said “ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you” Matthew 7:7. I am a firm believer that God answers prayers, but I also believe that He only answers them on His own time. Prayer is not a magic spell to get what you want when you want it. It is a communication with God, and through that communication we may ask for something, but just like a parent telling a child that they can’t have too many sweets, God will only work for our best interest. God is like a parent, He works for our best interest, not our pleasure. There are many other parts of prayer and if I wanted to write about them all then it could fill a book, one more thing I will say is to read the book of Psalms, it is a collection of open thoughts and prayers and a good place to look at a picture of a true relationship with God. Just as relationships with people build up when we spend time with them the same goes for God. Next time you pray remember this: you’re talking to Him, and He’s listening.

Garbage Smells

In my house we keep the garbage in the garage. Usually it never smells all that bad, but after a while (especially on a hot summer day) it starts to really stink. Every time I go into the garage I smell the awful smell of old food containers, and overripe fruit. We’ll acknowledge the smell and say that the trash should be taken to the dump, but it usually take a while for someone to get the energy to. Our lives can be like that. As life goes on we often accumulate “garbage” such as anger, pride, greed, the list goes on and on. This garbage is sometimes detectible to us, the guy with anger issues will say to himself, “I got a problem, but it’s not that bad, I can fix it later.” As time goes by that garbage starts to reek, the angry man hurts those around him, the greedy man steels, the pride man makes everyone feel inferior. Fortunately we have Jesus for that. In this story Jesus is the garbage man at the dump; He’ll take our garbage, and give us a clean slate. That’s what the cross is all about when Jesus was on that cross He took our sins upon himself so we don’t have to live with them. We may have garbage on our life (everyone does) but we also have Jesus to haul it off and out of our life.

They Blew It!

They blew it! Lester pitched 7 shut-out innings, and Okajima gave up a two run homer to Giambi. Then Masterson loads the bases and Papelbon gives up a single to win the game. They really needed the win, and almost had it. Lester had a rocky start to the game and got back in his old groove and pitched great. The main problem this year has been the Sox bullpen. The new pitchers never really came through, and the old pitchers lost it a little. I guess this isn’t our year.

Can They Do It?

Can they do it? Even though I think the Angels will make it to the World Series, I’m still hoping that the Sox can. Lately since Manny left they have done much better and started to look like a winning team. The question is, is that enough? I have no doubt that they will get into the playoffs, they will at least make it as the wildcard. Lester starts today at 1:05, as he tries to finish the sweep against the Yankees who haven’t really played the same this year. If the Sox can seep the Yankees that will be a big boost into September, and also give them more confidence when they start the series against the White Sox. Hopefully by next week the whole Red Sox lineup will be back and healthy. Lowell is feeling well enough to play, and Drew could comeback Tuesday but won’t. While Drew is out Mark Kotsay will be filling in for Drew in right field. Kotsay has good numbers, this year he batted .289, and has 37 RBI’s making him a solid fill in. As the season winds down every game matters, and it won’t be as easy as it was last year, but it will be interesting to watch.

Some People Have Too Much Free Time.

Some people have too much free time. I’ve seen many people who are obsessed with a certain book of the Bible: Revelation. Revelation is basically a weird book. It is a prophecy given to John about the end of the world. Why people are obsessed with this book, I don’t really have a clear answer, but I do know this, don’t follow their example! I’ve seen many people- T.V. preachers, articles on the web, and my own peers. I’ve heard over and over how “the end of the world is coming”, “Jesus is coming really soon”…. the list goes on and on. What I always say is what Jesus said to us, “therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.” Matthew 6: 34. We are to use the time we have wisely. Jesus didn’t tell us to think about the future, he wants us to live in the present. Too many people fall into the trap of living in their future, and not focusing on the present, or learning from the past. The future is God’s responsibility, not ours. I believe the book of Revelation is a true prophecy given to John, and I do believe it will come true, I am neutral as to whether it comes true in our time. It could or it couldn’t it’s not for me, or anyone else on earth to say. Revelation is an interesting book there is no doubt about that, but we must do our best to read it as it is, a prophecy, and leave it where it should be- in God’s hands. Will it come true? Yes. When? (the answer I wish I heard more often) I don’t know.

Fear but don't be Afraid

Fear, but don’t be afraid, sounds crazy right? In the Bible we are told to “fear the Lord”, yet angels often say “don’t be afraid”. Fear of the Lord is a complicated kind of fear. It does not mean that God wants us to run from Him screaming our heads off - that would be pointless. On the other hand fear of the Lord isn’t just respect, it’s more than that. I was thinking to myself “what then is fear of the Lord, if it isn’t actual fear and it’s not just a sense of respect, then what is it?” Well I think I figured it out. Imagine you’re at the zoo near the lion exhibit, and it’s your job to feed the lion. You walk up shaking a bit, afraid that if you make one wrong move then you’re a goner, but at the same time you admire the lion for what it is. That is fear of the Lord. We must walk up to God, love Him, (we are called to have a personal relationship with Him), but we must remember who He is. When I was in Mississippi I got a great picture of God. We were doing our devotions on the beach and there was this amazing sunset to the west all the colors, pink, orange, purple, blue it was amazing; but to the east there was this huge thunderstorm several miles away we saw huge bolts of lightning flashing between the clouds (it was actually pretty cool to watch). God is like that, the same God that made the sunset made the storm. We are to love Him have a personal relationship, Jesus even called him “abba” which is the equivalent of “daddy”, but we are to revere Him before all other things and show ultimate respect before Him. As C.S. Lewis wrote of Jesus, “safe, of course He isn’t safe, but He is good.”

Rest for the weary

Ever felt like you just want to take a break? Ever wanted a vacation? (especially with the school work around midterms I could use one). Ever wondered where God was in your life? I’ve been there, and it’s a tough place to be. There are times when we are at a road block, where we wonder what we are supposed to do, and are frightened by the future. I’m going through lots of stuff now, and am faced with the question “what do I want to do with my life?” “Where will I go to school?” “What will I study?” The questions go on and on depending on the person, and those are just a few on my list. A while ago I used to just want to take a break from it all, chillax, but with life that isn’t possible. Luckily God is there for us. He calls us “come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon me you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble I heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” Matthew 11 28-29. Isn’t that great, when you are tired, worn out, or just feeling blue, Jesus will give you rest. You’re never alone, when you’re happy or sad, healthy or sick, God is there ready to give you rest.

Have you been to Athens?

Have you been to Athens? I was reading Acts 17, and how Paul went to preach in Athens. Some background info, the Athens were Greeks. Anyway Paul went into Athens to preach the gospel, and got a fairly positive result. But most of positive result was because the Athenians were into the “new thing”. It says it right in the scripture that the Athenians spent their time talking about the latest ideas. Religion to them is more of a fashion statement than a lifestyle. Paul walks through the city amazed that they have so many idols. I’ve seen many people of various faiths like this. They call themselves one thing and act in a different way. God wants Christianity to not be a dry religion, or the latest fashion, but to be a lifestyle that is to be experienced. Before I got serious about my faith, to be a Christian was to be stuck in a never ending ritual, church on Sunday, pray in the morning and at night. Then I realized, that was not Christianity, that was religion. When I became a Christian I realized that there are the same “rituals”, I’ve got the same schedule, but there is new life in it. When I used to look at the Bible it was a big book, now it’s a living history and God’s love letter. Paul was shocked, not at the fact that the Athenians were pagans, but at the fact that to them, religion was external and would fade when something new rolls by. They treated religion like the cell phone that got replaced by the IPhone. Christianity is not meant to be endured, but experienced.

What are you angry at?

What are you angry at? Many people have been led to believe that anger itself is a sin, which is not true. Anger is an emotion and is not a sin, but when taken too far it can become a sin. Just like other emotions, people can sin by taking jokes too far, or fall into sadness and look to the wrong things to feel better. Anyway, anger is not sinful, if you are angry you don’t have to slap yourself and beg for forgiveness, but it’s how you deal with your anger that matters. We are told by James that “man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.” Does that mean getting angry makes you awful? NO! It means that when you get angry and deal with it in an inappropriate way it does not bring about a life God wants for you. People do stupid things when they are angry. Anger when let out of control can turn into violence which hurts others, not always physical, but verbal, mental…. and God doesn’t want that to happen. God doesn’t want other people to get hurt, and us to drop away from Him. The next time you get angry, think “am I glorifying God with my actions, and if I’m not I should calm down and start to”.

That was fun

Well I had a good day. I got two hours of baseball practice in, about an hour and a half of hitting, and a half hour of catching. Aside from doing pretty well, I had the most fun when I caught for a young pitcher who was at the same field. My dad was pitching to me, and I saw the kid and his dad pitching so I said, “why not go over there?” I was slightly nervous (imagine it- a 15 year old nervous of catching for a 9 year old!), but he was the first real pitcher I caught for so I was happy to flash the sign strike inside and get into my stance. The kid was pretty good which I told him, he had good movement, and his location was pretty consistent, he threw wild pitches, but not too often. He also threw pretty fast around 50mph, maybe a little under or a little over, which I told him. The real joy of today other than having a good practice or having fun was that I gave him the joy of hearing he was good by a high school catcher. It’s along the same level of a college player telling me I’m pretty good. So I got to make one little kid happy, and I’ll say this to any Needham baseball players watch out!

Ain't No Mountain High Enough

You know the song, and you can finish singing it if you want, but besides from being in "Remember The Titans" it also applies to this message. I was reading Acts 12, about Peter's escape from prison. As in the other posts about Acts, I've said that the Jewish council did not like the early church and the Christians. So King Herod decides to capture Christians in order to please the Jews. He had killed James and John (they were some of my favorite disciples) and he had captured Peter. He had Peter put in jail to await his trial, and the church was praying for his safety. It was the night before his trial, a night Peter feared could be his last, and an Angel came and told him to get up and led him out of the jail, and he was freed and safe. God will never leave you in danger alone, Peter was going to be put on trial and be killed, but God didn't leave him. Even in the darkest moments God is still working; even in the most trying times God is there by our side; the saddest moment in history, Jesus’ death, ended in triumphant victory as He rose from the dead. God takes no vacations, you may think it's over, or the end of the world but for God it's just the beginning. You're never too far from God to receive his help, cause there ain't no mountain high enough, there ain't no valley low enough.... for God to come to help you out.

Lets Go Sox!

Lets go Sox! I'm hoping that the Red Sox will win tonight, since Bucholz blew the game (that's probably the shortest outing ever!), we really need to win tonight. Byrd lost his last game against the jays, but that was just because the jays had great pitching that night. I hope Byrd can get a win. He is an interesting pitcher, his fast ball is around 86-88mph, and his change up is around 81mph, but he's got some movement, and not many runs were scored against him, so maybe he can get a win. Well hopefully we can beat the jays and stay on top for the Wild Card, cause the Twins are right at us tied for the Wild Card. Good news is the Yankees are back to being really bad being 5 games behind the Sox, and 10.5 games being the Devil Rays.

Why Does it Have to Hurt?

Why does it have to hurt? Why is there pain and suffering in the world? Unfortunately the answer to this question is not completely clear, and no one has ever found a "correct" answer, only God knows. But here's a guess. We can conclude from God's character that He did not create suffering in the world, but suffering invaded it. In the beginning God created a perfect world, but after the fall the world became a “good world gone bad.” But why then, doesn't God just "zap" it out of here? Well to take a line from Batman "why do we fall down Bruce? So we can pick ourselves up again". God is like a father to us, and in that way He lets pain in our lives, maybe so that we may be stronger, maybe so that His plan can be carried out. I learned on my mission trip that Hurricane Katrina was not created, but allowed by God; if there wasn't a hurricane I wouldn't be on the same mission trip, with the same people, and wouldn’t have walked away with the valuable lessons I learned. Also there would be no Lagniappe church, and there would be fewer people who turned to God in response to the storm. Even though terrible things happen, it doesn't mean that God doesn't love us or want to help us. Romans 8:28 tells us that "we know in all things God works for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose." God works for our own good, we do not suffer because of random events, there is always a reason. Am I saying that the person lying on a hospital bed with cancer is being taught a lesson, or being punished? I don't know, and sadly no one knows. But I do know that God lets things happen for a reason.

He loves Us

I'm afraid the recent blog posts have seemed somewhat harsh. So I'm going to talk about God's love and grace. Basically God loves us. The sotry of the prodigal son tells us so. No matter where or how far you've gone God still loves you. Trick question: Who did God love more, Mother Teresa, or Hitler....Answer: NEITHER, HE LOVES THEM BOTH THE SAME! God made us, knows everything about us, and loves us more than we can imagine. He gave up His son just for us, even if there were only one person on earth, Jesus would die just for him. Think about it, how much would you have to love a group opf people to send your only son and watch him be killed, add to that you can stop it any time you want. God loves us, we may not think it, but He does. He loves us no less when we sin, and no more when we are good. If you think youa re to far out of reach, just turn around, and there He'll be, ready to accept you. God loves us, and more than we could ever imagine.

He can use anyone

I am convinced that God can use anyone. I was reading Acts 9, which describes Saul's conversion, and it is proof that it doesn't matter who you are or what you've done God can use anyone. Chapter 9 starts with Paul on his way to Damascus where he is going to imprison the Christians there, and God stops him, and asks him "why do you persecute me?" Then He tells him to "get up and go to the city and he will be told what to do". When Saul gets up he's blind, and out of shock he doesn't eat or drink for three days. Then God calls up Ananias to go heal Saul when he arrives, but Ananias protests to which God says Saul his "chosen instrument". Isn't that encouraging! God can use a man like Saul, a murderer who set out to destroy Christianity and turn him around to build the early church and be one of the first missionaries! Imagine what God can do with you. You just have to trust Him, love Him, and obey His call. I think it's safe to say that a year before Saul's conversion he never saw this coming, and I know instances in my life where I never saw myself doing what I am now. God can use each and every one of us, and it doesn't matter how "far you've gone" you're never too far out of reach of God's love and grace.

Have You Seen Simon?

Have you see Simon lately? As I was reading the book of Acts I came across the story of Simon the sorcerer. The scene is set in Samaria, where Philip had been preaching, healing, and giving out the Holy Spirit to those around him. Then Simon, who was a popular guy in Samaria, walks up and is amazed by what he sees. You see, Simon is a sorcerer, and he thought he was all that until he saw the power of God. One interesting side note is that while Simon has this power it is not from God, it’s from the devil, so that's strike one right there. But Simon sees Peter and John (who were sent there when Samaria accepted the gospel), and he walks up and he asks for the ability to give out the Holy Spirit. Now when I come to this part I'm thinking, "Way to go Simon! Leaving the devil for Jesus", but there is catch to the story. He walks up and tries to hand Peter money, and Peter basically says "Who the heck are you? I don't want your money and you can die with it. You're not good; you are wicked and captive to sin!" The thing is, Simon did not want this power to help others, he just wanted it for himself to make a profit. How many people call themselves Christians, but don't want to help others and instead only seek to help themselves? Have you seen a Simon lately? A "look out for number one" kind of mentality? God doesn't want us to be greedy, He gave us this gift of life so that we may share it with others. Jesus said "no one puts a lamp under a bowl, but puts it on a stand for all to see". We are supposed to go out into the world, and share the good news but if we think we can keep our faith quiet, we may look into the mirror and see some of Simon in ourselves.

Are You like Stephen or Judas?

Are you like Stephen or Judas? Are you like Stephen who was not afraid to share his faith, and not ashamed of his saviour, or like Judas who was disappointed in Jesus and sold him out. There are two types of Christians, Stephens, and Judas's, who are you. Acts chapter 7 tells the story of Stephen's death. During Jesus's life the pharisees plotted against him, and they do the same against the early church, "so they stirred up the people and the elders and the teachers of the law. They seized Stephen and brought him before the Sanhedrin" Acts ch6 v 12. In Chapter 7 Stephen is before the Sanhedrin, and on trial, so he gives a speech. He retells the Jewish history, and then attacks the Sanhedrin saying they killed the prophets, and they killed Jesus, so they started yelling with their hands over their ears, (when I read that I always imagine a bunch of kids with their hands over their ears yelling "lalalalala I can't hear you!). Then the dragged him out to stone him, and all the while Stephen looked up to Heaven and saw Jesus. Stephen was not a worldly man. He was not afraid of his faith even though he knew it could get him killed. He was not afraid of the Sanhedrin, and not afraid to call them out on the wrongs they did. And while he was dying he "looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God" Acts ch7 v55. Judas sold a treasure for a small fortune, and Stephen gave up a life for a new one. Stephen was not afraid, and all his life he was a 'godly man full of the holy spirit", and up to his death all he could think about was his saviour. Who are you? Are you like Stephen who is not afraid to say what he believes, or are you like Judas who hides in the back, and focuses on the world and what little it can offer.

That was a good movie

I saw "The Dark Knight" a few weeks a go, and it was awsome. The specal effects were great, and I think it was even better than "Spiderman". The story was kindof hard to follow, but over all it was great. If you havn't seen it you got to, but see the first movie "Batman Begins" first, or it won't make sense. Now I just have to get my dad to see it.

Why so much?

What astounds me is the various communication methods we have. I mean recently we've got all this computer junk like AIM, Facebook, I remember when it was email and the phone. Back in the day (well way back in the day), there were just people crazy enough to run from place to place to give each other messages, then we got the idea of mail, then email (what does the "e" stand for?), and phones, then cell phones (those come in handy), and now all these computer methods that I'm just finding out about. It's funny how " old fashioned" I am, all my friends are asking me to use Facebook, and I'm still using email! All this stuff, it makes it too complicated, I just need to chill.

We can all act like that

I was thinking about Acts chapter 5 verses 1-11, and how Ananias and Sapphira died, and I thought to myself "isn't that kind of thing 'old testament'". And that may be an "appropriate" first response God did that kind of stuff before Jesus came, but it can't be the only one. Ananias and Sapphira died, but it was because they lied to God, and they lied because they wanted to appear holy. They held back some money from a sale of property and said they gave it all. God is not mad because they kept some money back, all He requires is 10%, but He was mad that they lied to appear more holy. Sometimes I can find myself going around and saying the "right things" to appear "holy" to other people or "important". But that is not what God wants. It was not the greed of Ananias that killed him, it was his lie, it was the fact that he thought he duped God. He thought he could kill three birds with one stone, he gave money to the church, he kept money for himself, and he made himself feel important. We all can get caught in that trap, trying to appear like our lives are completely together and every thing's fine. Trying to show people how close to God you are, when really you're in a spiritual rut. We all are like that sometimes. Our society is so focused on being something you're not, that we don't know who we are. Greed didn't kill Ananias, pride did, and pride is the worst sin of all, it's the worst because when you're proud you won't admit it, and when you won't admit it you'll never see it, but God always does.

How could this happen?

How could the Sox have lost so badly to the Jays? The Jays were a last place team in the AL East, and we lost two in a row. The first game I understand how we lost cause Roy Halladay is a great pitcher, but we had our ace up yesterday, and he gave up 15 runs! With Beckett that just doesn't happen, especially when he is up against a bad team. Also what's with the offense, there will be games where the Sox score tons of runs, and then the next day barely any!

If they could do it, why not us?

If they could do it why not us. So many figures in the Bible have just picked up their stuff to follow God's call, to name a few, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and the disciples. I can't really see where I'm at, and sometimes that can be frightening. Sometimes when you can't see the way, it can be kindof scary- not knowing where you're going, and when God doesn't answer you directly you can get nervous. That's where I am. I'm at a fork in the road, or a crossroads of life, a where do I go now? point in time, which is what I'm asking. The only thing that can really get anyone through is faith and hope. Faith and God, and hope in the place He leads you. WHen you ask "Now what?", ask God, and listen, He won't leave you.

That's weird

Well my friends did it. They got me on michael jackson. I found a CD in my dad's car (why did he have it?), and I downloaded it to Itunes and am listening to it now. As much as I would like to not say it, but it's not that bad, actually some of the songs are pretty catchy, like they would be easy to workout to or run to or something like that.

Where am I going?

Ever had a plan for the day, and seen it fall apart? I guess I thought I had a plan, and that's falling apart. God does a lot in our lives. If we go outside His plan for us, He'll act in some way to bring us back on track. There have been many instances in my life when I tried to vere off, go my own way, and do my own thing. But God, He didn't stand for that. James talks about this in chapter five, he tells us to not plan out our lives, to let God work in them. Ultimately, God has a plan for our lives that will lead back to Him, and His will.

Part Two of the Previous

As the title suggests this is part two in "We All Need Help". This is a second take at the earlier message cause I feel that I now understand it a little better. Basically we all need help. We cannot live out there on our own. The devil wants to get us, and is trying to fool us into believing that we can "rough it". I'll admit it, when I'm tempted to sin I don't always ask God to help me, cause the devil go me fooled. But the truth is we do need help. If you're tempted and you ask for help, God will read it like a SOS call, He'll rush in top help you. 1 Corinthian 10:13 "No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it." Isn't that great. You may think you are some sort of freak, but you're not, that is a lie from the devil. And NO temptation is to strong for you, and God is faithful. When you're in a fix, call to God and ask for help. It's a guarantee He'll be there to help you out, and show you the way out of trouble.