Christian Life
Reflection
I know it's cliche, but I truly can't believe another year has gone by so quick. My New Year's resolution for 2006 was to commit to a Bible reading plan. I chose a yearly plan called "Blended" and finished it yesterday and it has been very rewarding.
I remember early on when starting my daily reading, the enemy was attacking my faith and causing seeds of doubt to appear in my mind. The enemy only seems to attack when you are committing to The Lord and moving forward in your relationship to Him, otherwise he is content to let you be idle and lukewarm.
But I pressed on, prayed for renewed faith and The Lord brought me through that dark time. Now my faith is stronger than before and I have a renewed understanding of The Lord. For anyone who has not started a daily Bible reading plan, I strongly urge you to consider it.
My commitment for 2007 is to start another reading plan. This one is called "Chronological" and you read through according to the time the passage is referencing. For instance, Genesis is interrupted by Job and the read through the Gospels in parallel. My wife, Monika, has committed to reading through this plan with me. I am very excited about the year to come and reading through this interesting plan with my wife.
I also want to slow down a bit and allow God to speak to me -- in my reading and in my everyday life. I know I often feel so rushed and overloaded that I push aside the most important things. I also want to commit more time to prayer. The time that I speak to God is so vital to a Christian and it's an area that I very frequently neglect.
I pray that, God willing, at this time next year I can write about how I kept my commitments for 2007 and my relationship with Jesus has grown by leaps and bounds. Happy New Year!
Evangelism
I was watching my favorite evangelist, Ray Comfort, the other night and he drove home a great point. When sharing the gospel of Christ with unbelievers most of us tend to use the happiness that Christ can bring to us as a 'selling point' for Christianity. Not only can this be misleading, but it may result in their eternal damnation.
Are Christians happier than non-believers? In general, they probably are. But when we commit to take up Jesus' cross, we are also committing to sharing in his suffering. A follower of Jesus will almost undoubtedly experience suffering, pain and sadness -- maybe more than their non-believing counter-part.
Christ did not promise us an earthly life completely void of pain. But, through Jesus, we have the hope of an eternal life that will not have any suffering. It's not necessarily the here-and-now that causes a Christian to be joyful, it's the hope of the future and the peace that comes with knowing that God is in control of everything and that we are his children.
While watching Ray doing street evangelism, I realized that telling people about how happy Jesus can make them may back-fire. What is they are already happy? What if they have a life surrounded with everything that brings them joy? As Christians, we know that these treasures are fleeting, and can be gone in the blink of an eye. Their joy is built on shaky ground. But they are happy, and maybe, some Christians they have seen have not been so joy-filled.
As the sprit leads us, it may be more effective to minister to their sinful nature. Ray has built his entire ministry upon preaching about God judging us by the law. If people don't realize their guilty of a 'crime', it won't make any sense to them that they will have to pay a penalty.
Ask them if they've ever told a lie, stolen anything, looked at someone with lust. When they answer yes, you can share with them God's law that he holds us to. They will realize that by God's standards we are all sinners, lying, adulterous, thieves. Ask them how God will judge us on judgment day.
By God's standards, the law, we are all guilty, worthy of punishment. But God made a way for us to avoid his judgment. He became a man, bore our sins and dies on a cross to pay the penalty for our sins. He suffered and dies so we won't have to. To accept his offer, all we have to do is accept him - believe and repent!
Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.
Romans 5:1-5
Enough said...
The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray. Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.
1 Peter 4:7-11
What will you do with it?
For those of us who know the Lord, who have been forgiven and saved, we owe a lot to the One who has saved us. Our lives once had no meaning, no purpose beyond temporary physical gratification. Now that we have heeded the calling of our Lord Jesus Christ and accepted Him into our lives, we have a greater purpose.
With salvation comes hope and peace - and a price. Jesus gave His life on the cross as payment for our sins. In turn, we are called to give our lives to Jesus. It's a small price to pay when you consider what our lives were before - hopeless and void of purpose. But, despite this, it's all too easy to become caught up in this world and lose site of heavenly goal.
I struggle with living for myself. My flesh tells me that I deserve to be entertained and have certain luxuries. But I know that my life is not my own and as I let Jesus take control He leads me down a more selfless path, a path of self denial, where His will reigns.
There are so many people suffering, people who don't know and have never heard about Jesus Christ. Not that knowing Jesus doesn't mean the suffering will stop, it means that if you suffer, it pales in comparison to the hope we now have as children of God.
I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed.
Romans 8:18-19
Knowing that I was saved from a reckless path of destruction to the great hope I now have, I must constantly remind myself not to become complacent, or become too absorbed in the things of earth. I must set my eyes on heaven, and the things of heaven, and the will of my Heavenly Father.
For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.
Hosea 6:6
Kenya Update
Monika has been safely back from Kenya, Africa for a couple of weeks now. The mission was a success as they ministered to many AIDS afflicted people throughout the slums of Kenya. I believe the team-member's lives were touched as much as those they went to minister to. Many thanks to everyone who supported them in prayer! God is good.
I made a mini-movie (about 5.5 minutes) of the footage from the trip, you can download it here. If you plan to watch it more than once, please download it to your computer. This will save bandwidth usage on my web host as this is a very big file (45 MB)
No God, No Peace. Know God, Know Peace
As a child, and into my young-adult years, I had a fear that dictated my life. It started at a very young age and, in one way or another, grew to envelop most of my everyday life.
It was a fear of death. I didn't necessarily fear the act of dying, it was more of fear of not existing anymore. I remember thinking about being dead and then trying to grasp the idea of 'dead forever'. I tried to imagine how long eternity was. I would imagine one hundred, one thousand, one million years - all the tiniest speck of the never-ending eternity.
I suppose it seams silly now, trying to grasp eternity in relationship to time is impossible. But, the thought of being dead forever scared me in such a way that I couldn't deal with thinking about it. It was such a deep-down fear that, as I got older, I started using drugs to numb my mind. I wanted to surround myself with as many distractions as possible to keep my mind from thinking about the inevitable. It worked to some degree, but the thoughts of the eternal still surfaced from time to time.
By God's grace, He called to me in the midst of my self indulgent life style and I responded. At that point I knew the hope and peace that can only come from a relationship with our Creator. He has a plan for us and it is not to spend eternity any other place that with Him, in His Kingdom.
Often times I can become complacent and forget about the fearful life I used to lead and the byproducts that manifested through that lifestyle. But, when I reflect on the hope and peace I now have, I realize what an awesome place that is to be - in the arms of our Lord.
Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.
Romans 5:1-2
Monika's Kenya Mission Trip
On May 17th my wife will be leaving on a two week mission trip to Kenya, Africa. I would like to petition all of your prayers for the team; please pray for protection, opportunities to share God's love and anything esle the Spirit leads you to.
Please read her following support letter for more information on the trip.
Children are precious in the eyes of Christ and they are the future of our world. God has opened a door for me to share the love of the Father with his special children! I'm writing to share with you that I'm blessed to have the opportunity to be part of a mission team that is going to Africa.
Calvary Chapel Saint Petersburg is sending a short-term mission team to Nairobi, Kenya to support missionary Lori Ogle with SIM (Serving in Missions) working with children's outreach programs. This includes caring for children affected by AIDS in their communities, orphanages and hospitals.
After seeking the Lord's will, I believe He has confirmed that He does want me to take part in this trip. I love serving the Lord and His people as it is truly a privilege and an honor. I am looking forward to this trip with eager anticipation as it is my first involvement with a mission trip.
The team will be leaving on May 17th and returning on May 30th. Our team very much needs and welcomes your prayers. Please pray for the Lord to give us wisdom, unity, strength, and that He will guard us with His shield of protection during our travels and while in Kenya. Please ask the Lord to prepare our hearts to minister to the people of Kenya. Lastly, I ask for prayer that the Lord will lead our entire trip and that we will be responsive to His call.
My friend
I had a good friend, Steve Bresnahan, whom I met about 23 years ago, I was 14 then. We were both Atari computer hobbyist and met through online BBS systems. I got to know Steve very well as we hung out often. He was always the nicest person, always eager to help anyone, especially the down-cast people of life whom most people only ignored.
Eventually Steve couldn't deny a feeling of the Holy Spirit pulling on his heart. We didn't talk about it much because I wasn't very receptive to his news - I was still pretty rebellious and into the party lifestyle. Over the next couple of years we saw less and less of each other as our lives had less in common. But I did try to stay in touch. Eventually I didn't know how to find him anymore.
About nine years ago I found the Lord - the same Lord whom I know Steve had dedicated his own life to serving. After that point I had tried on many occasions to track Steve down many times- unsuccessfully. I truly wanted to share with him the good news.
I tried again last Tuesday night as something with computers reminded me of him again. This time I was able to access some Pinellas County public records relating to his estate. Upon examining them I saw that it stated he was deceased. My heart skipped a few beats. I then searched through the Saint Petersburg Times newspaper archives and found his obituary stating his death about ten years ago. I couldn't believe it.
I found Steve's father's name in the obituary and was able to do a Google search and then found his e-mail address. Steve's father confirmed his death.
Here is the message I received:
"[Steve died in an] Auto accident. I suppose you know Steve worked with the homeless in Florida. There was a woman that he had helped get an apartment. She needed money and the day it happened, he went to work, picked up his paycheck, cashed it and took her some money. On his way back to work a van broadsided his car on the driver's side. The impact severed an artery to his heart and although they worked on him in surgery for hours trying to save him, it was too late. I'm an atheist, but Steve was a born-again Christian. If you believe the story in the New Testament about the Good Samaritan, then doing what he did was just about a guarantee of instant sainthood. The people I met in Florida at his memorial service all seemed to act as if they believed that. Even for an atheist, stuff like that strikes me as pretty cool. "
I have been grieving the loss all week. Although it happened a decade ago I am still in disbelief. I always looked forward to sharing with Steve the good news of my salvation and talking with him about our experiences. I suppose we may get to talk in our new lives.
The whole thing seems so surreal and I can't stop thinking about it. Especially the fact that he was in the middle of an act of being such a servant to the Lord's people - like he always had done. The world has suffered a tremendous loss indeed.
There are many lessons to be taken from this experience - some of which I'm sure I haven't fully realized yet. The foremost being, we truly don't know what the Lord has dictated for our lives from one second to the next. We should live our lives as if we believe that.
I can't help but wonder why the Lord would allow Steve, a true servant, who always sacrificed his life for others, to be taken like that. I don't know. I wish I did. Does God allow the enemy to physically harm us? I know the enemy strongly attacks those who are following the Lord's will. I know from my own experience that when I am getting closer to God, doing the right things - that's when I feel Satan's presence. But can he actually interact physically with us? I suppose so...
As a memory to Steve I wanted to post his obituary here:
BRESNAHAN, STEPHEN CRANE, 35, of Clearwater, died Friday (Dec. 13, 1996) at All Children's Hospital, St. Petersburg. He was born in Newark, N.J., and moved to Clearwater in 1995 from Dunedin, where he had lived for several years. He worked as a pager programer for Air Touch Paging and was associated with the Refuge Ministry in St. Petersburg. He served as a volunteer with the Street Ministry of Homeless Christian Community. Survivors include his mother, Anmarie (Bresnahan) Souza, Clearwater; his father, Dr. Daniel Bresnahan, Bloomfield, N.J.; and a sister, April Russo, Belleville, N.J. Gee and Sorensen Funeral Home, St. Petersburg.
We are all Misionaries
He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.
Mark 16:15
Jesus' great commission was that His disciples were to preach the good news about the Kingdom of Heaven to all of creation. All of us who are believers in Christ, are also His disciples. By the words of Jesus himself, we are called to preach the gospel to all who do not know the truth.
Proclaiming the gospel may not be an easy task. It leaves us open to disappointment, embarrassment and ridicule, but it is our calling. I was recently challenged by a statement from the outspoken street evangelist Ray Comfort that went something like this:
"Would you witness more often if you were paid a thousand dollars each time?"
Think about it. Would you?
I know I would. It's obvious what that tells me. I would put the love of money before the fear of God. This life is temporary - God's Kingdom is everlasting. Any joy from possessions gained or hurt felt from the rejection of our peers, will be gone before we know it, but the bliss that will come from obeying our Lord's calling for our lives will be felt for eternity.
This thought puts things in perspective for me. Although it may not help my fear of speaking to strangers about my faith, it does motivate me into wanting to put my faith into action regardless of my fears.
I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.
Romans 1:16
Growing through Attacks
Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
James 1:2-4
Have you ever prayed for something that you were almost too scared to ask for? I have. Like asking God to increase my faith. This is a request that He is guaranteed to grant. It is also a request that will put you in a situation that you will have to rely on your faith if you are to do God's will.
I have recently asked for increased faith. Soon after my petition, I began to be attacked on a daily basis. As my strength began to diminish, I realized that the enemy was working through people around me -- trying to tear me down. Knowing that this is an opportunity to use my faith and is, in fact, just what I asked for, helps me to stand strong.
A big part of me wants to be vengeful and retaliate against those who I feel are deliberately wronging me. But knowing that God's will is for me to 'love my enemies' and remain even-keeled through tough situations, helps me to reflect Christ through these situations. It is very hard to do, but I know that relying on God's strength will pull me through and in the end -- will increase my faith. Please pray for me!
Nicaragua Video
I created a short video from the footage of our Nicaragua mission trip. It is my first attempt at using Adobe Premiere Pro. The video is nothing fancy but I wanted to post it for anyone interested in checking it out. It is almost 35MB so be prepared for a big download. Let me know what you think.
The video is HERE. Enjoy!
What works for me
As of today, I have stayed committed to the Bible reading plan and caught up from my late start. It's working out so well, in fact, that I wanted to share the new reading practices I've developed.
First off, I used the blended, Bible in a Year plan. The website from the previous entries is great because I can access the plan I chose from any Internet connected computer and to see what passages I am supposed to read that day. It even highlights the current day you are on.
Then I use BibleGateway.com to display the passages I am to read. For instance, I can type 'Genesis 1-3' into the search box and only those passages will be displayed. You even type 'gen.1-3', or filter down to particular verses, like 'gen.1:1-7'.
BibleGateway.com has many other Bible search features, like having dozens of different translations that you can instantly switch between. It also has links to the footnotes in the text you are reading so you can simply click on the footnote link, read the footnote, then click back and you are right back in the flow of the scripture. This is very helpful.
After displaying the passage, I simply tap control+ a couple of times in Firefox (you are using Firefox as your browser, right?) on the keyboard and the text becomes large on the screen. I can then sit back and read the passage. Surprisingly, this has been working out very well for me. It's comfortable but not so much that it makes me sleepy. And it is very easy to read.
This is what works for me and I just wanted to share it. God bless!
Belated New Year Resolution
After a very inspiring church service tonight I have decided to make a New Year resolution after all. The Pastor had mentioned speaking to a person recently who was excited to have kept their resolution from the previous year. Their commitment was to read through the entire Bible in 2005.
I felt like if there ever was a resolution worth keeping this is it and I decided to make the same commitment myself. I am getting several days worth of a late start so I will have to spend extra time at first to catch up.
I came right home from service and did a Google search on 'bible reading plans' which, of course, returned a plethora of web pages. The first one, 'Back to the Bible', has several interesting choices for Bible reading plans, plus a lot of devotionals and other motivating spiritual information.
I have decided on the 'Blended' reading plan which gives you both the old and new testament each day. I may separate it further between morning and night. Please pray that I do not become distracted and that I will fulfill my commitment.
God is in Control
Prayer works. When I am felling angry at someone or about something I can give it to God and he will take my anger from me.
Sometimes I harbor bad feelings. Whether or not the anger is justified I feel like I have the right to feel this way. Often, I do not want to be relieved of this feeling because it is my way of showing that I am hurt. But, I know this will keep me from being as close to The Lord as possible and He convicts me of this through my conscious.
When I get down on my knees and honestly pray for my God to take these feelings from me and heal me of my contempt, anger, bitterness or what other ill feelings I may have, usually by the time I arise, He has done just that!
God is good. He listens to and answers our prayers according to His will. Praise God!
Holy Hip-Hop
Lately I've been experiencing an increasingly growing appreciation for contemporary Christian music. For the most part it's not for the music I hear on the Christian radio stations or at church, but rather for hip-hop.
I'm the last person that I would have ever thought would like this genre but at this point in my life where many worship songs are not speaking to me, I find that the rap and hip-hop groups preach the gospel in a very full and un-watered down way.
There are some very talented artists out there in the Christian community right now. All genres seem to be becoming more refined and professional sounding. The sad truth is that many are also selling out to become popular in the crossover community. I have found many bands on Christian labels that have watered-down lyrics. With many of them, if you weren't informed beforehand you wouldn't even know they were Christian. This doesn't seem to be the case with Christian Hip-Hop.
With my new iPod and ever increasing mp3 collection on my computer I've been focusing lately on building an inspirational music library. Where my ears seem to be falling mostly are on the classics and hymns with their heart felt lyrics and moving music and also on hip-hop with the deep lyrics preaching the full gospel. Don't get me wrong, I still like a lot of stuff in between -- just not as high of a percentage in the other genres.