God is awesome and He is working! We had 11 guys show up to our discipleship group tonight—2 of whom are not saved but God is tugging at their hearts. We didn’t have enough places for everyone to sit! We had guys sitting on the countertop, on the floor, hanging from the ceiling fan, you name it! It was incredible to see that many guys getting together, opening up, and being vulnerable. We talked about what we were struggling with and how we see Jesus working in our lives. I still can’t comprehend the things that Jesus is doing on this team. And it’s all because of prayer. WE have done nothing but be attentive and aware of the doors that God is opening and then point lost people in the direction of Jesus. God is doing it ALL!! HOW BIG IS YOUR GOD cause mine's moving mountains right now!!
Kenneth, Brett, Phil, and I have been on our knees either together or individually every night praying for the salvation of this team and for God to do some amazing changes in these guys’ lives. AND IT WORKS!! Who would ever think that prayer really works?! But seriously, don’t we approach it like that? Jesus says that if we only have the faith of a mustard seed then we can move mountains! The bible also says that God is ready and willing to grant what we ask for IF our motives are right. Now obviously if we ask for a million dollars, or a new Ferrari, or an Xbox360, Jesus knows our motives are pretty much not in the right place. But if we ask for the salvation of souls, especially, Jesus WILL intervene! Jesus wants to save people. He doesn’t want anyone to spend eternity in Hell. And He WILL knock on that person’s heart until they choose to slam the door in His face or invite Him in for a little spring-cleaning!
That’s what this spring is! Jesus is getting out the Mr. Clean and the Scrubbing Bubbles and going to town on this team! It’s awesome to see! KEEP PRAYING FOR US but especially be praying for the guys on the team!
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
Monday, February 27, 2006
Goldeneye, Halo, and Body Armor
This is kind of a long post, but bear with me! Let me start off by telling you about how amazing God is! As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, 2 more guys accepted the Lord last night. That makes 6 guys on the baseball team who have accepted Jesus as their personal savior in the past month. Praise God!
I received a random phone call yesterday from Dustin. He asked me if I could come over and teach him a few things. I was a little confused so I asked him what he wanted me to teach him. His response was, “I just want to know more about the bible.” First of all, how awesome is God? We’ve been praying for these guys for the past year and even more fervently in the past 4 months. God has been working on these guys hearts and it isn’t even taking us initiating conversation. They just see that there is something that we have that they don’t and they want that something. What they don’t know is that something is the forgiveness of sins and the Grace offered only by Jesus Christ.
So Kenneth and I went over to Dustin’s apartment where we had an amazing conversation with him and his roommate Scotty. Both talked about how miserable and empty they felt living the life they were living (by the way I have been praying specifically for these guys to feel miserable until they recognize that they need a savior). Finally the conversation led us to our knees where Scotty accepted Jesus Christ as his savior for the first time and Dustin recommitted his life to Jesus. It is unbelievable how Jesus changes lives!
This all occurred last night. Today I got a chance to talk to Giles and Scotty about spiritual warfare. This discussion got my wheels turning.
I think we often neglect the fact that there is an invisible battle going on constantly around us. For nonbelievers, the battle is between God and Satan (angels and demons) over souls. For believers, the battle is over our Joy. The problem is that we don’t recognize this battle so we don’t know how to take up our sword and fight alongside Jesus.
Ephesians 6:12 points out that “our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” That’s some scary stuff if you really sit down and think about it! Especially if you’ve seen horror movies like The Exorcism of Emily Rose. But the cool thing is that we don’t have to fear this other realm! Because Jesus lives inside of us as Christians, Satan has no power over us if we don’t let him. Now he may try every ploy he can to rob our joy and get a foothold in sin areas of our lives.
Because Satan has no power over believers, we don’t have to be scared, fearful, or obsessed with Satan’s work on this earth. We need to know enough about the enemy to know how and where it is going to strike, but we can’t give Satan too much credit! That ‘s what he wants! If we give Satan more credit than he deserves, we essentially give him power over our lives
It’s kind of like in sports, having a scouting report, or watching films on the opposing team. You want to know about that team—its strengths and its weakness, and individuals in the lineup that can really hurt you if you let them—that way you will know how to defend against those teams, but you don’t want to get away from the fundamentals of YOUR game. If we concentrate too much on what the devil’s work is in this world, we lose sight of the ultimate joy—Jesus’ life changing work in and through our lives!
If we focus on the devil’s work here on earth, we are fighting an uphill battle, a battle where we are trapped in the corner trying desperately to “hold off” Satan’s attacks. Through Jesus Christ’s power we can be fighting on the front lines, leading the way to victory, and engaging the devil in hand-to-hand, OFFENSIVE combat. The worst phrase I have ever heard is “the best offense is a good defense.” Take, for example, The University of Alabama’s football team this past year. Once their key offensive player was out for the year, even the best defense in the country could only take the team so far. Eventually the defense wore down because there was not an explosive, offensive force to counter-attack other teams’ offenses.
EVERYONE here at school plays Halo, and I enjoy playing it once in a while, but my all-time favorite video game is Goldeneye. I love getting the body armor because it takes the other players forever to kill you once you have it. The Bible tells us to put on spiritual body armor—THE ARMOR OF GOD. That way we will be able to not only defend ourselves but we will be able to counter-attack and eventually see victory and freedom in our lives! Check it out for yourself: Ephesians 6:10-18.
I received a random phone call yesterday from Dustin. He asked me if I could come over and teach him a few things. I was a little confused so I asked him what he wanted me to teach him. His response was, “I just want to know more about the bible.” First of all, how awesome is God? We’ve been praying for these guys for the past year and even more fervently in the past 4 months. God has been working on these guys hearts and it isn’t even taking us initiating conversation. They just see that there is something that we have that they don’t and they want that something. What they don’t know is that something is the forgiveness of sins and the Grace offered only by Jesus Christ.
So Kenneth and I went over to Dustin’s apartment where we had an amazing conversation with him and his roommate Scotty. Both talked about how miserable and empty they felt living the life they were living (by the way I have been praying specifically for these guys to feel miserable until they recognize that they need a savior). Finally the conversation led us to our knees where Scotty accepted Jesus Christ as his savior for the first time and Dustin recommitted his life to Jesus. It is unbelievable how Jesus changes lives!
This all occurred last night. Today I got a chance to talk to Giles and Scotty about spiritual warfare. This discussion got my wheels turning.
I think we often neglect the fact that there is an invisible battle going on constantly around us. For nonbelievers, the battle is between God and Satan (angels and demons) over souls. For believers, the battle is over our Joy. The problem is that we don’t recognize this battle so we don’t know how to take up our sword and fight alongside Jesus.
Ephesians 6:12 points out that “our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” That’s some scary stuff if you really sit down and think about it! Especially if you’ve seen horror movies like The Exorcism of Emily Rose. But the cool thing is that we don’t have to fear this other realm! Because Jesus lives inside of us as Christians, Satan has no power over us if we don’t let him. Now he may try every ploy he can to rob our joy and get a foothold in sin areas of our lives.
Because Satan has no power over believers, we don’t have to be scared, fearful, or obsessed with Satan’s work on this earth. We need to know enough about the enemy to know how and where it is going to strike, but we can’t give Satan too much credit! That ‘s what he wants! If we give Satan more credit than he deserves, we essentially give him power over our lives
It’s kind of like in sports, having a scouting report, or watching films on the opposing team. You want to know about that team—its strengths and its weakness, and individuals in the lineup that can really hurt you if you let them—that way you will know how to defend against those teams, but you don’t want to get away from the fundamentals of YOUR game. If we concentrate too much on what the devil’s work is in this world, we lose sight of the ultimate joy—Jesus’ life changing work in and through our lives!
If we focus on the devil’s work here on earth, we are fighting an uphill battle, a battle where we are trapped in the corner trying desperately to “hold off” Satan’s attacks. Through Jesus Christ’s power we can be fighting on the front lines, leading the way to victory, and engaging the devil in hand-to-hand, OFFENSIVE combat. The worst phrase I have ever heard is “the best offense is a good defense.” Take, for example, The University of Alabama’s football team this past year. Once their key offensive player was out for the year, even the best defense in the country could only take the team so far. Eventually the defense wore down because there was not an explosive, offensive force to counter-attack other teams’ offenses.
EVERYONE here at school plays Halo, and I enjoy playing it once in a while, but my all-time favorite video game is Goldeneye. I love getting the body armor because it takes the other players forever to kill you once you have it. The Bible tells us to put on spiritual body armor—THE ARMOR OF GOD. That way we will be able to not only defend ourselves but we will be able to counter-attack and eventually see victory and freedom in our lives! Check it out for yourself: Ephesians 6:10-18.
Sunday, February 26, 2006
Salvation is Here!
God is amazing! Two more guys on the baseball team came to know the Lord tonight! (That makes 6 guys on the baseball team who have accepted Jesus as their personal savior in the past month!) One accepted Christ for the first time and one recommitted his life! It's amazing to see God continuing to answer prayers. I'll explain everything tomorrow, but right now I'm going to try to get some sleep! Jesus Rocks!
Saturday, February 25, 2006
What's the big deal?
I had a couple guys ask me today what the big deal is about cussing? My first thought was, “C’mon, why don’t you ask me an easy one like ‘Who’s this Jesus guy.’” I initially wanted to let them know that they shouldn’t worry about that kind of outward stuff, which brings about legalism, and that they should worry about letting Jesus into their hearts and changing them from the inside-out. While that is true, I began thinking about their questions. They wanted to know what makes a cuss word a cuss word, and to be totally honest, I HAVE NO CLUE. I guess they are words that society has deemed as cuss words, or language that is not appropriate in formal settings, but it doesn’t take us looking very deep to see that our society accepts a lot of crude things coming out of people’s mouths nowadays. The things people are aloud to say on TV or the radio now days are appalling! But I guess I shouldn’t expect less from a fallen world that desperately needs Jesus.
Anyways, I’m chasing rabbits. So I began thinking about these guys’ questions and I began to wonder why these guys on my team ask me questions like, “Is drinking a sin,” or “What does the Bible say about cussing,” or “Is dipping bad?” My initial response to these questions is frustration. In my mind I’m thinking, “Yes it’s a sin but I don’t want to seem like a legalist that throws all these rule and regulations out to you that the Bible says you must follow!” But maybe, just maybe, this is only a STEP in their realization that they need a savior. Let me explain. The Bible says in Jeremiah 31:33 and again in Hebrews 8:10 that God will write His laws on our heart and those laws will be how we are convicted of our sins. If we don’t follow what we know is RIGHT we feel bad. Let Jiminy Cricket, or your conscience, be your guide, right? So maybe these rules and regulations are kind of good, to an extent. The more rules that are laid out for a Christian to follow, the more we recognize that we cannot meet up those rules, and the more we become aware of our need for a Savior.
Don’t get me wrong, Christianity is not about rules and regulations, or standards that you have to try to achieve or live up to. It’s about an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ. The Bible is not a book with a bunch of “thee’s” and “thou’s” and “thou shalt not’s.” It is a book that has the secret to an abundant life and offers the ONLY advice out there on how to live life to the fullest.
If it weren’t for Jesus Christ dying on the cross, we would have no shot at getting into heaven because our salvation would be totally based on what we DO. I don’t know about anyone else but if my getting into heaven was based on my measuring up to a strict set of rules, I would be doomed to suffer the tortures of hell for ETERNITY, because I’m the worst of all sinners. And we all DO deserve hell. But Jesus offers us a FREE gift (admittance to His kingdom for eternity, and the key to our very own mansion once we get there) and all we have to do is accept that free gift and enter into a personal relationship with him. Jesus wants us to be the on the VIP list to the phattest party that was ever thrown.
The truth is the Bible points out clearly that we are to stay away from unwholesome and filthy language. Check it out:
“ Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths. . .”
-Ephesians 4:29
“But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality. . .Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk, or
coarse joking.”
-Ephesians 5:3-4
"For, whoever would love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech."
-1 Peter 3:10
"With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. Out
of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow
from the same spring? My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring
produce fresh water."
-James 3:9-12
The point is that when Jesus takes over your life (which is by far the most fulfilling way to live your life) he changes you from the inside and your outside actions are just a reflection of that inward change. Sciullo just recently received Jesus as his savior and I can tell a remarkable change in him already. Jesus has power-washed his soul and has begun his work at radically changing his life and ROCKING his world with some “head bangin Jesus action.” As you may know, Sciullo used to have the filthiest mouth on the team, but because of the life-changing power of Jesus Christ, his mouth has cleaned up tremendously in just over a week.
Jesus called the religious people of his day “white-washed tombs.” (you know these people—the ones that claim to be “religious” but they do it for show; on the inside they are just as dirty and evil as everyone else; they are typically called HYPOCRITES now days.) Back in Jesus’ times people were buried in actual tombs when they died, as opposed to six feet under the ground like people are nowadays. These tombs were magnificent to look at; they had great architectural design and fabulous detail. But on the inside was just a bunch of ratty, smelly, rotten, dead bones. That’s what Jesus says about “religious people.” Jesus wants to take those skeletons out of your close and give you new life and a hope to live for something greater than yourself. That way you don’t have to walk around with that decaying flesh smell all the time. If you let Him do that I promise you He will rock your world!
Anyways, I’m chasing rabbits. So I began thinking about these guys’ questions and I began to wonder why these guys on my team ask me questions like, “Is drinking a sin,” or “What does the Bible say about cussing,” or “Is dipping bad?” My initial response to these questions is frustration. In my mind I’m thinking, “Yes it’s a sin but I don’t want to seem like a legalist that throws all these rule and regulations out to you that the Bible says you must follow!” But maybe, just maybe, this is only a STEP in their realization that they need a savior. Let me explain. The Bible says in Jeremiah 31:33 and again in Hebrews 8:10 that God will write His laws on our heart and those laws will be how we are convicted of our sins. If we don’t follow what we know is RIGHT we feel bad. Let Jiminy Cricket, or your conscience, be your guide, right? So maybe these rules and regulations are kind of good, to an extent. The more rules that are laid out for a Christian to follow, the more we recognize that we cannot meet up those rules, and the more we become aware of our need for a Savior.
Don’t get me wrong, Christianity is not about rules and regulations, or standards that you have to try to achieve or live up to. It’s about an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ. The Bible is not a book with a bunch of “thee’s” and “thou’s” and “thou shalt not’s.” It is a book that has the secret to an abundant life and offers the ONLY advice out there on how to live life to the fullest.
If it weren’t for Jesus Christ dying on the cross, we would have no shot at getting into heaven because our salvation would be totally based on what we DO. I don’t know about anyone else but if my getting into heaven was based on my measuring up to a strict set of rules, I would be doomed to suffer the tortures of hell for ETERNITY, because I’m the worst of all sinners. And we all DO deserve hell. But Jesus offers us a FREE gift (admittance to His kingdom for eternity, and the key to our very own mansion once we get there) and all we have to do is accept that free gift and enter into a personal relationship with him. Jesus wants us to be the on the VIP list to the phattest party that was ever thrown.
The truth is the Bible points out clearly that we are to stay away from unwholesome and filthy language. Check it out:
“ Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths. . .”
-Ephesians 4:29
“But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality. . .Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk, or
coarse joking.”
-Ephesians 5:3-4
"For, whoever would love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech."
-1 Peter 3:10
"With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. Out
of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow
from the same spring? My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring
produce fresh water."
-James 3:9-12
The point is that when Jesus takes over your life (which is by far the most fulfilling way to live your life) he changes you from the inside and your outside actions are just a reflection of that inward change. Sciullo just recently received Jesus as his savior and I can tell a remarkable change in him already. Jesus has power-washed his soul and has begun his work at radically changing his life and ROCKING his world with some “head bangin Jesus action.” As you may know, Sciullo used to have the filthiest mouth on the team, but because of the life-changing power of Jesus Christ, his mouth has cleaned up tremendously in just over a week.
Jesus called the religious people of his day “white-washed tombs.” (you know these people—the ones that claim to be “religious” but they do it for show; on the inside they are just as dirty and evil as everyone else; they are typically called HYPOCRITES now days.) Back in Jesus’ times people were buried in actual tombs when they died, as opposed to six feet under the ground like people are nowadays. These tombs were magnificent to look at; they had great architectural design and fabulous detail. But on the inside was just a bunch of ratty, smelly, rotten, dead bones. That’s what Jesus says about “religious people.” Jesus wants to take those skeletons out of your close and give you new life and a hope to live for something greater than yourself. That way you don’t have to walk around with that decaying flesh smell all the time. If you let Him do that I promise you He will rock your world!
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