The wilderness 

Reading day four of the bible plan I’m in, it was talking about how Christ went from baptism to wilderness then ministry. It talked about how there was that time between baptism and ministry that Christ went off into the wilderness. He went out to fast and then was tempted, but I believe that there are times for sure that God lets us go through a time of wilderness before our ministry can start. Depending on how stubborn and how blind we can be, the longer the trip can be.

I know that I went through a few years of wilderness after getting saved and even being baptized. I could say all of the right things and pretend to do all of the right things but my heart was FAR from Him. (Matthew 5:8) I was being an adulterer to God, cheating on Him while He remained faithful to love me. He allowed me to continue to drink and smoke and chase after my flesh in other ways too. He let me fall flat on my face time and time again because He knows that there are times that we have to get to the lowest point before we will look for help. Like always, He is there with His hands out waiting to pick you back up and even carry you if He needs to. 

My wilderness temptations from the devil were not ever responded to with scripture, unless I was trying to bend it to make it match what I needed for the moment. At one point there was something that I was trying to justify and I had backlash from everyone including my current pastor, and so I went to an old pastor I had as a kid to see if he would agree with me. He just pointed me to Romans 12:18 which says “Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone.” It irked me because I just wanted him to be on my side. Then I slowly realized what he was saying.. It ended up being for the best.

God did eventually pull me from the wilderness and put me on the path that I am on even today. I look back and see that each step and each place that I’ve lived, He put me there for a reason, and He moved me on for a reason. I’ve been a part of a lot of really cool ministries over the past 18 years, some just helping out, some starting out and some going to the next level. What I hope I can do is be encouraging to everyone I come in contact with both in and out of church and shine the light of Christ in the deepest pits of darkeness and maybe show someone else how to get out of their own way.. or should I say wilderness..

Don’t forget that because of Israel’s whining and disobedience they got to stay in the wilderness for 40 years.. 

I want to be vulnerable 

So, day three of the bible study / devotional. It talks about the point in Genesis where Adam and Eve were told by God about the tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. It was talking about how it wasn’t an opportunity for God to see if His creation would screw up, it was an opportunity for them to draw in closer and to see if they would just simply trust. There’s that word again “simple”. 

If you ask just about anyone these days if it’s simple to just trust anyone, you would get a resounding NO. There are days where I even struggle with it. It boils down to the times we have let our guard down and trusted someone, and got burnt. Sometimes it’s like match burnt and sometimes it’s like full-body sunburn burnt. Either way it tends to slowly cause a wall to be built to where new people have to go through the ranks in order to be allowed on the same side of the wall as us. 

The problem is that we also tend to build up a wall against God as well. We act like He’s human and that He is going to hurt us. I can tell you from experience that God is not hurtful. He is not out to get your trust and then demolish you. He simply (yes there it is again) wants to love you, and to show you how life with full reliance on Him is the best thing for you.

I know there’s the “then why did so-and-so die, and why are there starving children??” There are usually back stories and consequences from past generations that cause things like that to happen. As far as death goes, there’s a one out of one chance you will die too, at least physically here on Earth. Every person has their time. God assigns that time and while we are here we have choices to make that effect where we go in the end. We have free will to choose God or choose Hell. That’s the black and white version of it. 

What I want to do is like the title says, be vulnerable to God, let Him have my trust, and the control on my life. It’s not an easy thing to do. I’m a control freak and I have come by it naturally, but in order to have a rewarding life here, I have to let God have it and just hang on for the ride. He will put me where I need to be, because He sees the whole picture of my life and what He needs me to be doing, from season to season, till the day He takes me home with Him. You should try to do the same.  Oh and try chicken and waffles, it’s pretty good. 

Your Story

I have started a reading plan on YouVersion bible app by Jefferson Bethke. I thought it would be a good topic to talk about plus it will help me to comprehend and remember what I have read. The first two days have been talking about how this life, and this time on the Earth (even back to Adam and Eve) is part of God’s story. Each person that He created has a small part of the larger story. 

I know God has shown me over the past 36 years of my life that He has me here for a reason, and basically put, it’s to show others His love. 

The second day of the study is talking about how Christ is our tabernacle that came to Earth. God always wanted to just dwell among us, side by side, which is why He came in the garden, and why He had the tabernacle and the temple built. He wanted to be near us, His creation. He sent Christ to come, and now the Holy Spirit resides and dwells within those who have asked Christ into their lives. I love the simplicity of the Gospel. We have a tendency to make it so much harder than it really is. Christ came to save us, so we can spend eternity with Him. He just asks that in return we share that news with everyone. Which brings me back to my first point. Our story, my story, and why we are here. 

There are obviously specifics as to what exactly I should do with the people around me that I influence but it still remains the simplicity of the good news of the Gospel of Christ. 

He came, He loved, He healed, He prayed, He sacrificed. Now it’s your turn (and mine) to do the same.

I’m pitiful

There are way too many bumps in the road to try to keep up with my blog, but it’s now February of 2016 and my goal for this year is to be organized enough to do the things that I’ve been wanting to do. This includes writing and even recording some posts on here. What do I mean by recording? It could be a couple different things. I’ve now purchased a GoPro Hero 4, which means I can record some of my rants, post them to YouTube and then embed them here. It could also mean podcasts coming. That way I don’t have to worry about video editing, just audio! This post is going to be the start of this. Yes, I have redownloaded the WordPress app to my phone so that I can do this. 

A new “what’s going on with me” update will be next. I just wanted to put this first.

You would think..

You would think that being that I have my phone on me pretty much at all times that I would update my blog more often.. But as always, I’ll forget to do it once, then it just snowballs till it’s months later.

I miss doing the interviews but that might be part of why I don’t blog, who knows. Since the last time I wrote, I’ve helped get a ministry started. It’s called the Battleground. We host bands and have teens come in to hear the music and the Word. It’s come together quite well. God has put many pieces together to help us to have an amazing ministry in just a few months. Of course the devil is trying to get his hands all over it in any way he can.. He’s such a punk. We continue to press on and make the best of it and keep our armor on and ready for battle.

I’ll try to keep this going this time, it’s not like it’s difficult. I’m paying for this, might as well use it. Haha.

Suit up.. The battle is ON!