Moved...

God has really touched my heart through the writing of a man named Oswald Chambers. Many of you probably know him for his writings in "My Utmost for His Highest" and today God touched me through the daily reading for December 29. Wow. This is something I have really been working through in my life right now. What about you?

When God, by His Spirit through His Word, gives you a clear vision of His will, you must "walk in the light" of that vision ( 1 John 1:7 ). Even though your mind and soul may be thrilled by it, if you don’t "walk in the light" of it you will sink to a level of bondage never envisioned by our Lord. Mentally disobeying the "heavenly vision" ( Acts 26:19 ) will make you a slave to ideas and views that are completely foreign to Jesus Christ. Don’t look at someone else and say, "Well, if he can have those views and prosper, why can’t I?" You have to "walk in the light" of the vision that has been given to you. Don’t compare yourself with others or judge them— that is between God and them. When you find that one of your favorite and strongly held views clashes with the "heavenly vision," do not begin to debate it. If you do, a sense of property and personal right will emerge in you— things on which Jesus placed no value. He was against these things as being the root of everything foreign to Himself— ". . . for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses" ( Luke 12:15 ). If we don’t see and understand this, it is because we are ignoring the underlying principles of our Lord’s teaching.

Our tendency is to lie back and bask in the memory of the wonderful experience we had when God revealed His will to us. But if a New Testament standard is revealed to us by the light of God, and we don’t try to measure up, or even feel inclined to do so, then we begin to backslide. It means your conscience does not respond to the truth. You can never be the same after the unveiling of a truth. That moment marks you as one who either continues on with even more devotion as a disciple of Jesus Christ, or as one who turns to go back as a deserter.

Wow.

I Will Not Be Silent...NO!

So, I was reading through the Christmas story in Luke 1 and 2. (Well I guess the real Christmas story isn't in Luke 1 but the story of Elizabeth and Zechariah are there.  Elizabeth and Zechariah are the parents of John the Baptist whom God gave the honor of preparing the way for Jesus here on this earth!  Man...what an awesome thing to be blessed with that kind of honor! 

Before John was born though, his father Zechariah had a prophecy that he shared.  He began to speak of the coming of Jesus and what that would mean for mankind!  But in his prophecy he said one thing that really stands out to me:  "We have been rescued from our enemies so we can serve God without fear, in holiness and righteousness for as long as we live." Luke 1:74-75

It's pretty awesome that we who know Jesus have been rescued from our enemies (sin and death) and we can serve God without fear because Jesus overcame death and sin and now offers forgiveness and eternal life in heaven for all who believe!  There is nothing to fear in Jesus because Jesus has overcome fear for us.  Jesus has become our righteousness because He lived a perfect life.  So the prophecy Zechariah gave about Jesus is truth that we can stand on!  Jesus connects us to God and allows us to serve Him without fear and with holiness that Jesus covers us with when we believe and call on His name!  Not just for today and tomorrow but for as long as we live!!!!  That is a blessing that I praise God for!  I do not have to fear coming before God because when God sees me, he actually sees Jesus' righteousness!  All because I believe.

So here is my question:  Since we have been rescued from our enemies and can serve God without fear, in holiness and righteousness for as long as we live, what is holding YOU back? 

Jesus is for ALL who will believe, not just for some... Are you ready to be set free today?  Are you ready to tell others about a God who loves and has given it all for them?  Are you ready to tell them without fear...because God is in control and we have overcome all fear through Jesus... Are you ready to enter heaven with friends of yours that are in heaven because of you?  Are you ready?

Blogged with the Flock Browser

The Emerging Church or Jesus' Church?

Mark Driscoll really hit the nail on the head with this video.  I know there is a lot of question about the "emerging church" out there and this video is just an amazing resource of information from a guy who was there since the beginning.  Mark states exactly what I know about the emerging church and he is in the same place I am.  I really appreciate his careful preparation and teaching about a subject that is very controversial for the Big "C" church!

Blogged with the Flock Browser

A Thought From The Movie 300

In the movie 300 King Leonidas (Gerard Butler) says something that I find pretty interesting. He was leaving to fight a war against Xerxes, a Persian, for the freedom of Sparta and Greece, when on his way to battle was met by some Arcadian soldiers. The leader of the Arcadians said that they had come to fight alongside Leonidas and the Spartans for the freedom of Greece. Leonidas looks over the large group of soldiers and asks one of them, "Soldier, what is your occupation?" The soldier responds "I am a potter." He asks yet another "Soldier what is your occupation?" He responds "A sculptor." And one more Leonidas asks "Soldier what is your occupation?" "A blacksmith, sir." The solider responds. Leonidas looks at the leader of the Arcadians and says "It seems, today, that I have brought more soldiers than you!" Leonidas had 300 soldiers that had trained for their whole life to be warriors. He knew that his group of men could out fight the 1000's of men the Arcadians brought.

I thought that was an interesting scene because I have been thinking a lot lately about focus. When we focus on one thing or a very small number of things in our lives we will find our lives to be very successful in those areas. As a follower of Jesus, I have been given spiritual gifts and if I don't develop those specific gifts and use them for Jesus then I am not going to be the most effective I can be. I have a gift that someone else doesn't have. Others have gifts that I don't have. That is what makes the body of Christ, the church, so powerful. Each of us contributes to the body in specific ways that no other person can contribute. So wherever God has you right now, use the spiritual gifts He has given you to bring glory to God and advance His kingdom! When we focus on what God has given us right now, I believe He will honor that and begin to open new doors for us to focus and serve. Even in ways we might not think or imagine!

Just a thought.

Blogged with the Flock Browser

For Those Of You Who Think the Bible Is Boring

For those of you who think there is nothing at all exciting in the Bible, check this passage out from 2 Kings 9:30-37.

The Death of Jezebel An Evil Queen

   

   ³⁰ When Jezebel, the queen mother, heard that Jehu had come to Jezreel, she painted her eyelids and fixed her hair and sat at a window. ³¹ When Jehu entered the gate of the palace, she shouted at him, “Have you come in peace, you murderer? You’re just like Zimri, who murdered his master!”^[a]

   ³² Jehu looked up and saw her at the window and shouted, “Who is on my side?” And two or three eunuchs looked out at him. ³³ “Throw her down!” Jehu yelled. So they threw her out the window, and her blood spattered against the wall and on the horses. And Jehu trampled her body under his horses’ hooves.

   ³⁴ Then Jehu went into the palace and ate and drank. Afterward he said, “Someone go and bury this cursed woman, for she is the daughter of a king.” ³⁵ But when they went out to bury her, they found only her skull, her feet, and her hands.

   ³⁶ When they returned and told Jehu, he stated, “This fulfills the message from the Lord, which he spoke through his servant Elijah from Tishbe: ‘At the plot of land in Jezreel, dogs will eat Jezebel’s body. ³⁷ Her remains will be scattered like dung on the plot of land in Jezreel, so that no one will be able to recognize her.’”

God said that her body would be like crap on the ground!!!  All because she lived an evil life, promoted evil through her actions, and openly tried to destroy God's followers!  God is so Holy that he can't even be in the presence of sin let alone put up with it.  PRAISE GOD FOR JESUS!  Because with out his sacrifice on the cross and forgiveness of my (and anyone believes in Him and calls on the name of the Lord) sin, I would be like crap laying on the ground too!!!!

Blogged with the Flock Browser

Big Daddy Weave Rocks

Sam and I went to a concert tonight featuring Francesca Batistelli, Big Daddy Weave, and Newsong.  Man, Big Daddy Weave rocks.  I have always known that, but hearing them live for the first time was amazing.  I got to talk to Mike Weaver (Big Daddy Weave) after the show.  What an awesome, laid back dude.  He loves Jesus and his song writing is absolutely God driven.  The Spirit of God is on this man and his band.  I also talked to his brother Jay Weaver.  Jay and I and my wife all talked for about 20 minutes or so.  5 minutes on the music business and 15 minutes on Disney World.  Turns out, He loves Disney as much as Sam and I do.  (And that is a lot!) Every time he gets a chance he takes his family and goes.  Jay was awesome to talk to.  Calm and laid back just like his brother...Jay is the bass player in the band, and man he is tight.  The whole band rocks.  They are so tight, and yet they live several hours from each other except for two of them.  That brings back memories of life on the road for rehearsal with LJ.  It was really great to talk to them and get to know them.  Big Daddy Weave has been one of my favorite bands of all times.  I can't wait to see them and talk to them again.  PS...They are awesome worship leaders.  I was a bit disappointed, though, that they only had 6 songs in the entire show... :(  I want to see them lead a whole worship concert!  Ok I am done.  Big Daddy Weave's Website  (More to come tomorrow on their recording techniques...very interesting...gives me much hope!

Blogged with the Flock Browser

Trying Flock

 I have been thinking there was a really good aggregator out there that could bring together all the social media applications into one bright and shiny program.  So, I began the search.  I came across flock, created by Mozilla (Firefox), which seems to be pretty neat!  In fact, I am writing this blog right in the Blog editor from the browser.  This is really cool.  Flock let's you update Facebook, Twitter, blogs, and any RSS feeds you may have all from one place, all while surfing the web.  Pretty cool.  I haven't used it enough yet to say whether it is stable but so far it is really impressive.  More to come as I get familiar with Flock.  You can download it here!

Blogged with the Flock Browser

TOBY TO THE MIZACC!

Tonight we are taking students to go see TOBYMAC AND RELIANT K! WOOT! WOOT! We are going to have such a blast! Maybe we'll see you there!

New Blog Style, New Post

So here we go on a new blog adventure. I am going to attempt to blog consistantly this time around and I am going to focus on truth as the driving force of the media you will find on this page. Like it or not, it doesn't matter what you believe...it matters what's true. Think about that for a minute. More to come later!

It Has Been A While

I know it has been quite a while since I blogged! Life has been crazy busy lately, but I thank God for each and every step! I just got back from a Mission Trip to Guadalupe, Mexico! We worked at Tapestries of Life. Tapestries has been been building an orphanage in the Chihuahua Desert for 10+ years, completely built by the church! I am so pumped that God allowed me to be apart of that! How awesome that is! I will blog more about the trip later this week! God is so good! It was amazing to see his awesome power put an amazing building, but more than that ministry, in the middle of the desert! Wow!

Praise God!

Update!

Our fears have been relieved by Jesus and He alone! My father doesn't have cancer in his brain! The doctor's actually said that the area where he thought the cancer would be was actually smaller than normal, which is a good thing!!!! Praise Jesus! I know there was a lot of prayer going up for my Dad and I am so thankful to God for hearing those prayers and touching my father.

You see, here is the miracle: My Dad's grandfather died from a brain tumor that metastasized. My Dad's dad died from a brain tumor that metastasized to his lungs. So the next logical step to think was that my Dad had a brain tumor that was metastasized or metastasizing! But praise God nothing was found in that area! That is a good thing! The doctors are still looking for reasons why some of the levels in my Dad's blood are low, but we trust that it will be an easy find and fix because God has touched my Dad.

God is good...all the time. Aww Yeah!!!!!!!!!!

Please Pray for my Dad!

Please pray for my father who is going to get test results tomorrow about whether or not he has a tumor in his brain and if so if it is malignant or benign.  Pray that 1st there is no tumor because God has removed it through his mighty power.  Pray 2nd that if that is not God's will that the tumor will be benign and able to be removed quickly and easily!  I believe that God can heal my father.  I believe that if it is His will, He will do it.  Show your glory Lord!  In Jesus name.  

Thank you to all who have been and will continue to pray!

Brad

So Happy!

Hi everyone!

I am so happy to be back and ready to roll! God is doing awesome things at New Life and at Relevant and I am pumped for what He is going to do! I will be back to blogging regularly as I now have time to do so. I need to always make sure I listen to God and what He wants for me. Not what I "think" He wants for me. How do you do that? Prayer and reading His word. As well as WAITING on Him to answer. I will no longer rush into "opportunities" without really seeking His direction!

God is astonishing.

More posts coming soon!

Ready For A Challenge?

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,506849,00.html

Click the link above to read a study that was just completed that researched the faith base of American culture. Many people do not believe in anything! And those who do believe in something do not believe in a God who cares about them and their needs, just some "higher power". How lost are we going to remain? The Barna group just published a very discouraging number regarding those who hold a Biblical worldview. The story was introduced with this paragraph:

If Jesus were to ask, “Who do you say I am,” the question He famously asked his disciple Peter, He would be disappointed by some of the answers He’d receive from contemporary Americans.

The number of those who were found to hold a Biblical worldview in the total number of adults being represented in America is a startling 9%. HELLO??? That should be like a huge smack in the face! It is no wonder the US is experiencing distress, anxiety, and failure. When God is not at the center, there can only be chaos and confusion! If Jesus were to come back right now, I feel that he might say "Hey Church, wake up and do your freaking job!" Just as his disciples fell asleep at the watch, I sense that the church, at large, has fallen asleep at the wheel and is about to crash!

We need to wake up and walk with God putting Him first and watch what He does on our behalf. God will never live among people who reject Him and will never bless those who turn their face away from Him. If we (the church) would wake up and follow the direction of God's leading, you would not believe how much the economy would grow. You would not believe how victorious, in all areas, we would be. Most importanlty you couldn't stop the amount of people being saved from Hell because God would be the one working among us!

Where God leads, we need to follow. When God directs, we need to listen. When God calls, we need to act. I believe that God is calling right now... what will your response be?

It starts with each of us. If we truly believe that God sent Jesus to die on a cross for our sins, are forgiven through the His blood shed on the cross, and have the promise of eternal life with God in Heaven through the perfect life Jesus lived then we should desire to live for God for what He has done for us! Let's get real in our relationship with Him. Put Him first in all we do. Let Him lead. After all, he was the one who designed and created everything, including financial systems. Wherever God's people live for Him there is peace and order. Wherever they shy away there is pain and loss. Let us live for God. Let us put Him first. Let the church change that 9% to 100%. Let the church rise up and reach those who have not heard of the saving grace of Jesus. Let the church do its job. When that happens look what the blessing will be:

Leviticus 26:3-9 (NLT)
3 “If you follow me and are careful to obey my commands, 4 I will send you the seasonal rains. The land will then yield its crops, and the trees of the field will produce their fruit. 5 Your threshing season will overlap with the grape harvest, and your grape harvest will overlap with the season of planting grain. You will eat your fill and live securely in your own land.
6 “I will give you peace in the land, and you will be able to sleep with no cause for fear. I will rid the land of wild animals and keep your enemies out of your land. 7 In fact, you will chase down your enemies and slaughter them with your swords. 8 Five of you will chase a hundred, and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand! All your enemies will fall beneath your sword.
9 “I will look favorably upon you, making you fertile and multiplying your people. And I will fulfill my covenant with you. 10 You will have such a surplus of crops that you will need to clear out the old grain to make room for the new harvest! 11 I will live among you, and I will not despise you. 12 I will walk among you; I will be your God, and you will be my people. 13 I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt so you would no longer be their slaves. I broke the yoke of slavery from your neck so you can walk with your heads held high.

We will need to pray for even more workers to go out into the world!!!! So let us rise up and follow our great and glorious God. He is calling...what will your response be?

Planing Retreat Day 3

I know, I know...what happened to day 2... well, so much amazing planning happened that I was so beat to update you all. This has been an amazing time of planning, site development, and awesome fellowship together! I have learned so much that I didn't know about each staff member and it has just been an amazing time of challenge to determine God's direction for our church!!! What an awesome experience this has been. I can't thank God enough for this opportunity to be serving at New Life right here and right now!

There has been so much planning and strategic vision casting for the future of New Life that to write it all down on here would take up 10 pages (and we aren't even close to done)! Praise God for his amazing leadership this week. Thanks for praying and keep praying as we continue to plan and develop the plans of our mission strategy and short, mid and long term goals and objectives!

Today we developed the rough draft of our site plan, building plan, and outside design of the building. Praise God. This building has no wasted space and it will be the most amazing tool God could ever possibly allow us to develop to reach the Saxonburg and region for Jesus! I can't wait for you all to see what has been developed. (Pat Morgan was our architect and he was the most humble and amazing man I could have ever expected to work with. He has designed so many churches and today he helped us to make our building the most efficient and effective it could be! What an amazing dude. He is going to Juarez tomorrow on a mission trip so please pray for his safety, especially now as Juarez is very volatile with drug wars!)

This is ridiculously awesome!

Peace.

This Week

So this week the ministry staff is on a retreat in Colorado Springs Colorado so that we can focus all of our attention on prayer and planning for New Life!  We will be intensely planning for the direction of New Life strategically for the next few days, months, and years.  We will be tearing apart every detail of our ministry and asking the tough questions.  We will be setting goals and objectives and honing our ministries so that we can be the most effective we can be at reaching people for Jesus!  Please pray for us as we seek God's direction in each specific area as well as our big picture planning.  Pray for us as we each take time to pray for you all and the many who are not yet a part of New Life.  Pray that God will speak to each of us and lead us into the power of planning in the Spirit.  Pray that God moves in the most awesome ways as we step out in faith, knowing that God has called us to retreat, plan, and act!  Pray that the end result of this week will be changed lives for Jesus.  That we will see a building at 127 Knoch Road as a result of people coming to know Jesus and growing up in Him!  Pray, Pray, Pray!  I will update daily with the amazing things God is doing! 

Friday Update

This week's Friday Post comes from "My Utmost for His Highest" by Oswald Chambers. Think about what is being taught in this short devotional. Can you completely put your eyes on Christ without worry?

February 27, 2009
The Impoverished Ministry of Jesus
Where then do You get that living water? —John 4:11
"The well is deep"— and even a great deal deeper than the Samaritan woman knew! ( John 4:11 ). Think of the depths of human nature and human life; think of the depth of the "wells" in you. Have you been limiting, or impoverishing, the ministry of Jesus to the point that He is unable to work in your life? Suppose that you have a deep "well" of hurt and trouble inside your heart, and Jesus comes and says to you, "Let not your heart be troubled . . ." (John 14:1 ). Would your response be to shrug your shoulders and say, "But, Lord, the well is too deep, and even You can’t draw up quietness and comfort out of it." Actually, that is correct. Jesus doesn’t bring anything up from the wells of human nature— He brings them down from above. We limit the Holy One of Israel by remembering only what we have allowed Him to do for us in the past, and also by saying, "Of course, I cannot expect God to do this particular thing." The thing that approaches the very limits of His power is the very thing we as disciples of Jesus ought to believe He will do. We impoverish and weaken His ministry in us the moment we forget He is almighty. The impoverishment is in us, not in Him. We will come to Jesus for Him to be our comforter or our sympathizer, but we refrain from approaching Him as our Almighty God.
The reason some of us are such poor examples of Christianity is that we have failed to recognize that Christ is almighty. We have Christian attributes and experiences, but there is no abandonment or surrender to Jesus Christ. When we get into difficult circumstances, we impoverish His ministry by saying, "Of course, He can’t do anything about this." We struggle to reach the bottom of our own well, trying to get water for ourselves. Beware of sitting back, and saying, "It can’t be done." You will know it can be done if you will look to Jesus. The well of your incompleteness runs deep, but make the effort to look away from yourself and to look toward Him.

House MD vs. Jesus RLC (Real Life Changer)

I really like the TV show House. Why do I like it? It is intriguing. Houses character intrigues me. I wonder to myself, how many people are actually like house in the world? People who get so caught up in their own intelligence and arrogance that they are unwilling to change because they think that what they are can never get better. In the latest episode of House at the end House says "This is the only me you get." He was referring to making a "change" that if made would have taken away the pain in his life and brought him peace. Instead he decides to neglect that change and live, by choice, in pain and suffering trusting only in himself and no one else.

I implore you, do not be like house. If you are living in pain and suffering there is a change that you can make. That change is found in Jesus Christ. Jesus came to take on our sin and defeat it so that we can be in a right relationship with God! Jesus came that we might have peace not suffering. That we may be found forgiven and justified before God not thrown out and condemned. That we may have eternal life in Heaven and not Hell. Yet, when I read the news I am blown away by so many people who get caught up in themselves (all over the world) and cause needless pain and suffering!

We humans are given to the disease of sin. Jesus is the only remedy for that disease. Jesus shows us how to do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God. (Micah 6:8) Jesus brings peace through salvation. Jesus gives hope through forgiveness of sins. Jesus is the only bridge between us and our creator God! This isn't the "only me you get". There is a new "me" waiting to be discovered and continually developed in following Jesus. So I implore all of us to not get caught up in the self-reliant culture of House and get caught up into self-less reliance on God.

The Relaunching of www.LiveRelevant.com

I just wanted to let you all know that I am working on redesigning LiveRelevant.com! It will become more of a facebook style webpage! There will be information on there as to upcoming events, studies we will be doing, and the cool thing: it will become a blog style page to keep you all informed and up to date! There will be twitter links, facebook links to an RSM group, there will be opportunities for you to share the page with friends as well as there will be links to other ministry resources for you all to check out! There will be opportunites for you to connect directly to RSM staff for prayer needs etc. via the webpage...you name it, it is coming to LiveRelevant.com! I will be relaunching the page next week so be ready for some new exciting stuff! And remember please check LiveRelevant.com to keep up to date and get you CONNECTED with what is going on with Relevant Student Ministries!!!

Would The Real Man Please Stand Up...

God has been teaching me a lot lately about what a real man looks like. More than that God has been teaching me what a real leader looks like. I have been attending Men's Fraternity sessions that our church has been providing and I can honestly say it has made a huge impact on my life as a young man. I am kind of an odd ball in the group as I am the only person under the age of 25 at this particular session. At the same time, I am so blessed to sit in a group of older men and hear their struggles and what God is teaching them about their lives right now. I am so thankful for this opportunity to learn from these men and their past failures and successes! I am also thankful that they are willing to share about themselves and the things God is teaching them right now that they wish they had known when they were my age. Wisdom comes from this group like a rushing waterfall. I am totally thankful for this experience.

I want to share four things that every man needs to learn. Please understand that this is my personal take on these four points. These four points come straight from the life of Jesus who was the ultimate man and ultimate leader! In the session we compare Adam from Genesis to the second Adam, Jesus. This comparison leads us to these conclusions of what Biblical manhood is all about.

1. Reject Passivity. Adam was passive when he stood beside Eve as she ate the apple and thus was cast out of the garden and caused sin to enter into the world. Jesus rejected passivity and stood firm on the reward that God had for Him. When he was tempted in the desert, Jesus never gave in because He knew what God's plan was--to save the world through him! Jesus knew that his actions would save the world as long as he didn't disconnect from God and from his duties here on the earth. Jesus was never passive. He never let anything slip. He was always active in changing lives for God!

2. Accept Responsibility. Adam blamed Eve for the action that was committed in the garden. Jesus shows us that responsibility must be ours. If we are not responsible for anything then nothing would ever get done. We are responsible for the way we treat our wives. We will be held accountable before God for the way we served Him. God has given us each gifts and we will be held responsible for how we use those gifts for Him. More than any of this, if Jesus is the center of our lives then we are responsible for showing Him to the world through the way we live!

3. Lead Courageously. Adam was afraid of God. He hid from him in the garden after the apple had been eaten. Jesus lead without abandon. He knew God's purpose and plan and he went all out in making sure that that plan was accomplished. How much more effective would we be if we just lead courageously trusting God to direct us, stepping out in faith, knowing that He is in control? I know one thing, God is looking for people who will be obedient to His calling!

4. Remember the Reward. The reward is heaven and filling it up with others! Teaching others about Jesus is the most important thing we can ever do in our lives. Living out Jesus to others follows suit. Jesus promised that all who believe in Him will have eternal life! The reward is in heaven, not here on earth. Remember that being a true man/leader is to model your life after Jesus and remember that the reward comes from rejecting passivity, accepting responsibility, and leading courageously is Heaven and it being filled with people that we together have brought to Jesus!!!

Be a real man. Too many men let life pass them by while they stand on the sidelines. Too many men don't accept responsibility for the way their children yearn for a real father but wouldn't work on a marriage to be that father. Too many men are full of fear and don't rely on God to make them courageous in their actions. Too many men have forgotten or don't know the reward that comes from being a real man...let the real men stand up and be counted. And let them go and lead other men to Jesus the true man and leader!

A Snippet from This Sunday's Message!

God’s desire is not for us to be condemned but for us to commune with Him! In the story we heard earlier, God’s desire was not for those who are “in” to act like they have it and no one else can get it. God’s desire is for those who are “in” to go “out” and find more people to come “in” until the whole world is “in”! God wants everyone to commune with Him. Let’s take a look at the word Commune. What does that mean? Well dictionary.com gives these definitions: Commune-–verb (used without object) to converse or talk together, usually with profound intensity, intimacy, etc.; interchange thoughts or feelings. To be in intimate communication or rapport: to commune with nature. As a noun it means the interchange of ideas or sentiments. God wants us to reach out to the gothic man so that He can commune with God. God wants us to reach out to those we are uncomfortable reaching out to because if we don’t do it, then who will?
When we commune with God we begin to find out his character, His passions, His attributes, and to be with Him daily. When we commune with God we begin to think and act like Him. Think about this: Have any of you ever had a best friend? Maybe that best friend is your neighbor you grew up with, your wife, your accountability partner.
Have you ever caught yourself acting like they act? Laughing like they laugh? Saying what they would say? That is the kind of relationship God wants us to have with Him. To know Him so well that we act like Him, make decisions like Him, make his desires our desires!
It is easy to get distracted by our lives. We must MAKE time for God every day until our time with Him becomes as natural as breathing. You know, God doesn’t just watch and listen from 7-7:45 AM He watches and listens all day every day for all of history! He is just waiting for us to make a commitment to follow Him with our whole lives 24/7/365/Eternity! When we commune with God our lives will never be the same! But the thing we must never forget is that we cannot commune with God without Jesus. Jesus is our way, our truth, and our life (John 14:6). He was the only one capable of living a sinless life and becoming a sacrifice for our sins (John 3:16); that when we believe in Him we are given the righteousness that He has so that we can be in a right relationship with God.
When we commune with God every day, people will see a difference in us and desire what we have. Think about the promises that come with knowing God and living every day with Him: Assurance of eternal life, peace, financial stability (God owns everything so money means nothing to Him), forgiveness of our past, acceptance, unconditional love, He is jealous for us, He is our father, He gives us purpose in this life, He gives us special talents and abilities to be used for Him. More than that we are communing with the God of creation, of the entire world! And these are only a few! In this one and only instance I believe that God would say it is OK for a person to covet what a neighbor has: A daily, living, breathing, and growing relationship with Himself. The cool thing is God offers this to us freely. When we live in a right relationship with God people will be drawn to Him through us. So anyone can be a part of God’s family. All you have to do is believe in Jesus and live for Him!

Amazing Insight from Oswald Chambers! (From My Utmost For His Highest)

Are You Listening to God?

They said to Moses, ’You speak with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die’ ` —Exodus 20:19

We don’t consciously and deliberately disobey God— we simply don’t listen to Him. God has given His commands to us, but we pay no attention to them— not because of willful disobedience, but because we do not truly love and respect Him. "If you love Me, keep My commandments" (John 14:15). Once we realize we have constantly been showing disrespect to God, we will be filled with shame and humiliation for ignoring Him.

"You speak with us, . . . but let not God speak with us . . . ." We show how little love we have for God by preferring to listen to His servants rather than to Him. We like to listen to personal testimonies, but we don’t want God Himself to speak to us. Why are we so terrified for God to speak to us? It is because we know that when God speaks we must either do what He asks or tell Him we will not obey. But if it is simply one of God’s servants speaking to us, we feel obedience is optional, not imperative. We respond by saying, "Well, that’s only your own idea, even though I don’t deny that what you said is probably God’s truth."

Am I constantly humiliating God by ignoring Him, while He lovingly continues to treat me as His child? Once I finally do hear Him, the humiliation I have heaped on Him returns to me. My response then becomes, "Lord, why was I so insensitive and obstinate?" This is always the result once we hear God. But our real delight in finally hearing Him is tempered with the shame we feel for having taken so long to do so.

This Is Great!

Check out this devotional which was sent to me from Pastor Chris. It is a really good insight into a sometimes confusing passage of God's Word! Thanks Chris!

New for Old
by John Fischer

Jesus once warned against trying to patch an old garment with new cloth or put new wine into old wineskins. In the case of the garment, the new unshrunk piece of cloth will tear away from the rest when the clothing is first washed. And in the case of the wineskins, the new wine will be too acidic for the old skins and they will burst. New wine and new skins need to grow old together. I used to wonder about exactly what this meant. I'd heard it taught as being related to new methods of sharing the Gospel and pretty much left it at that. Recently I found something new. I found out that Jesus told this story right after being criticized for hanging around tax collectors and sinners at Matthew's house. When the religious leaders (Pharisees) questioned Jesus as to his choice of friends, he promptly replied, "I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners." (Matthew 9:13) Which translated meant, I didn't come for you; I came for them. And shortly after that is when Jesus is suddenly discussing garment repair and proper wine storage. Here's what I think. I think that little piece of advice was meant for the Pharisees. It was meant to announce to them that God was now going to usher in a new thing entirely. Jesus did not come just to fix religion. He did not come to patch up the Old Covenant. Nor did He come to pour new life into it (new wine into old wineskins). He came to do something entirely new. And in order to “get it” you can’t come in through the existing door. The standard framework of thinking about God and religion will forever prevent us from being able to understand and partake in something new -- what Jesus came to establish.
Therefore, Jesus is pleased to start with people who have no preconceptions of God and how to please Him; they just know they’re messed up. That’s all Jesus wants. He doesn’t want the religious sacrifices of “good” people. He wants the entire lives of people who know they are sinners and failures so he can begin something entirely new with them—new clothes... new wine... new skins. Now all this should come as terribly good news to anyone who knows he or she is not a good person. That's precisely the point. Jesus didn't come for good people; He came for sinners. This isn't a remodel; it's a total makeover.

Dreaming Bigger

Our leadership retreat this weekend was awesome!  I can't express how blessed we were to have Pastor John Nuzzo from Victory Family Church in Cranberry TWP, PA come and speak to us.  He challenged us to not please man, but to be true to the vision God has given us for New Life.  What an exciting challenge.  More to come on the retreat soon!

Brad

New Friday Posts

Hello Everyone!

I know it has been a while since I have posted "regularly", but I just want to share with you that I will be restarting the "Friday Posts"!  I am going to be sharing a devotional with you all each Friday to encourage and challenge us to Press On towards the prize of following Jesus.  I will no longer be doing the Friday PODcast but instead will be doing the monthly Relevant PODcasts with special guests from Relevant Student Ministries.  I will also be posting updates for all of you students out there who maybe wondering "What is Relevant Student Ministries" all about?  You can check us out on the web at www.liverelevant.com and here at Brad's Blog.  I will be posting updates, news, and special event listings both on this page, twitter, and our web page.  I hope you will all take advantage of checking out the web pages to keep in touch.  I will be launching a Facebook group for RSM soon.  Please feel free to shoot me an email or you can comment below!  May you truly reach your goals of 2009 as we all seek to press on towards the goal of going deeper with Jesus this year.  God bless and see you all soon!

Brad