Nightmare for a Keyboard Player

Most of you are familiar with the band Delirious from the UK. Lead singer Martin Smith makes a small mistake that ruined the moment...or maybe it helped a bit!

one talented drummer

I thought that I have seen it all...I was wrong.  This is hilarious!

Dreaming

If I were to ask you, "What are your dreams?" what would your answer be?  Seriously, what is the first thing you think of when you hear that question? 

I don't have a ton to say about this subject but I was driving in the car the other day and had a deep thought, at least for me.  Here it is....

If you can put a money amount to your dreams then you are not dreaming big enough.  There may be a heavy price tag that comes along with your dreams but the cost may be your time, energy, faith, endurance and willingness to suffer, living for your dream and possibly dying for your dream. 

I believe that God has called us to be content with material things but discontent with spiritual things.  Bill Hybles calls it our Holy Discontentment.  God has created us to bring himself glory.  He is the one who gives you dreams and usually they are dreams that will bring him glory.  A good question to test your dream is "Is this a God dream or a me dream?"  If you can accomplish it on your own without faith then usually it is too small.  God wants us to dream BIG and see HIS will be done. 

Here is a man that dreamed big.  Maybe this will inspire you.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today!

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

I'm Living A Lie, Now What?

How would you feel if one day you found out that everything you believed in and lived for was a lie?  What if one day, or over time, you start believing something different and it does not match with what you have lived?

I was watching a documentary on Ellen Degeneres the other day (one of the funniest ladies in the world) who is openly a lesbian.  I'm not sure if she has always felt this way but she has been a lesbian for at least most of her life.  She has based her life around this belief and it dictates her decisions.  Because she faced tragedy and persecution over the course of her life she has grown very firm in her beliefs.

Now, this is just an example, what if one day she opened up the bible to Romans 1:24-28 and God convicted her that homosexuality is wrong?  How hard would it be to take back 50 years of your life and say 'I was living a lie'?  For most people it would be impossible.  I'm not sure how I would respond. 

David, in the bible, had a man killed so he could be with the man's wife yet he was considered a man after God's own heart.  Moses killed a man then later wrote the 10 commandments.  Paul orchestrated the killing of Christ followers then later wrote most of the books in the new testament. 

Whether it be a life time of sin or a minutes worth of sin, God wants our hearts.  He cares so much more to our response to his truth than he does the sin.  The moment David was confronted with his sin he pleaded for mercy from God and turned from that sin.  That is what God is looking for, not perfect people but people who will respond to God's AMAZING grace.  What is the grace?  Because of your sin you should be dead but instead God gives you life through Jesus.  He is looking for us to respond to that grace. 

There is a man named Sy Rogers that has an incredible testimony of God's redeeming grace.  He was in the process of doing the surgery to become a women when one God opened his eyes to His love. Twenty plus years later he still deals with the aftereffects of his sin.  For example, you may see him and wonder if he is a man or a woman.  When he talks it is with a very feminine tone but after you hear his testimony you will understand why.  Here are a couple of videos that you might find interesting. 

Sy Rogers Testimony
Sy Rogers on Temptation

Side note, it would be so cool to be on the Ellen Show one day talking to her about this.  Maybe even do a song and dance. Maybe rap with her and win a prize!

God Is...

The words that we pray usually never change who God is but I have found many time that it changes who I am.  It is always good to start your prayers off with praise and adoration.  Here are some words that might help you in your prayer time, trying to express the best way we can, who God Is.  This is one simple form of praise!

Maker, Provider, Hope, Unsearchable, Powerful, Splendid, Outrageous, Generous, Righteous, Indescribable, Just, Keeper, Savior, Justifier, Redeemer, Shelter, Unshakable, Owner, Center, Bread, Present, Spirit, Counselor, Jesus, Beginning, End, Solid, Mighty, Dependable, Breath of Life, Never Ending, Friend, Father, Protector, Beautiful, Life Giver, Glorious, True, Restorer, The Way, Unique, Forgiving, Alive, Close, Ageless, Listening, Defender, Able, Sustainer, Light of the World, Timeless, Enthroned, Ruler, Satisfier, Constant, Christ, Mysterious, Worthy, Lord

Take a breath......there is more.....

Plentiful, Fresh, Marvelous, Reigning, Knowable, Interesting, Joy Giver, Majestic, Gracious, Victorious, Living Water, Always, Limitless, Adventurous, Plentiful, Heavenly, Genuine, Pure, Real, Aware, Enough, All knowing, Organizer, One God!

I hope this helps you and lines you up to his truth!

Here is my worship CD pick for this blog.  Paul Baloche sings great songs filled with lots of great truth!

When Jesus Couldn't do Miracles

Most of my life, I have viewed God as if he can do whatever he wants at any time and however He likes.  That is what makes this passage of scripture interesting because God didn't do what He wanted to do in this situation.

Mark 6:1-6
Jesus went to his hometown and, just like all the other towns, he wanted to do great miracles and point people towards the father.  He had a great time of teaching and some people were amazed but most people were offended because he was a home town boy.  He was the one who use to fix their roofs, make their furniture, pick him up from school when his mom couldn't, change his diaper as a baby, etc...

Why should they listen to this guy?  Why is he any more special than us?

So here is the result of their view on Jesus, "He could not do any miracles there."  It didn't say that he "would not" but he "could not."  This means that something was restraining him from doing miracles.  I believe it was due to the lack of honor the people had towards Jesus.  They did not respect him enough to believe he could do miracles or even believe the truth that he was speaking.  Their arrogance got in the way of God doing what he wanted to do.

This got my mind going.  Why do we not see miracles like we hear about in other countries?  I know many great men of God that experience God's crazy healing power on a daily basis in 3rd world countries but can't heal headaches when they are in America.  I think it has to do more with the attitude of the people more than it does the messenger.....  Oooooh, that might have offended you a little.

Jesus was a sinless, perfect man and yet he could not great miracles where he was not honored.  The lack of honor, of course, was because of the condition of the heart and lack of faith.  I think there is a reason why we are to honor your spouse, children, and leaders.  It seems to be hardest to honor someone that you are close to because you know their flaws and issues yet your honor could be the very thing that helps them to be the person God wants them to be.  Honor the people below, beside and above you and watch God do the impossible!

Oh yeah, the picture is my daughter Lydia.  It has nothing to do with this blog but I couldn't find a picture of Jesus being rejected in his hometown!

Here is a good book by John Bevere that I recommend if you want to learn more.
Honor's Reward: How to Attract God's Favor and Blessing

All About My Trip to Brazil and Argentina

I encountered the most amazing people while visiting Brazil and Argentina.  As I said in the previous blog, we had a great first day in Brazil.  Pastor Geoff was able to preach on Saturday morning and night and we saw around 30 people come to faith in Christ.  He was able to speak strait to the heart to people who have been doubting God and gave his testimony of how he became a Christian out of a Jewish background.  I was also able to lead worship during one of the services alongside the Brazilian worship team.  That was scary and crazy but I had a great time.

The church in Brazil is in such a strategic location.  It sits across from the largest soccer stadium in the country and they are hosting the opening game for the 2014 World Cup.  This is key church to what God is doing in Brazil so continue to pray for them.  Maybe we can get a team together and join them for the World Cup.

After spending 3 days in Brazil we traveled to Buenos Aries, Argentina.  We worked closely with a strong church that oversees multiple churches in the region.  Pastor Geoff was able to preach on Monday night to the church leadership for the network of churches and I was able to speak on Tuesday night to the worship leaders, singers, musicians and dancers.  They had over 180 leaders attend when I was able to speak and it was so encouraging.  I spoke about how we were created to Worship a living God.  After I was done speaking I really felt like I needed to talk about purity for a moment so I was able to speak about the dating relationship I had with Rachel.  As soon as I began talking about this everyone's ears poked up and I got their attention very quickly.  The response time was amazing at the end.  Everyone wanted prayer and then we celebrated with a crazy worship time.

I have been asked to come back and do more teaching on relationships and purity.  That is a really big need for the young people in Argentina.  I think that would be a good idea because the food was incredible!

There was one funny thing that happen in Argentina.  During the praise time they had people who were dancing and people who were waving flags in the front of the worship center.  Because it was such a small place, one of the flag girls hit me in the hand.  It was an accident but it was one of the funniest moments of my entire church experience.  I thought it was great!

Thank you so much for your prayers.  God truly is amazing and I know he has opened some great doors for us in the future!