Source of Survival

If you didn’t already know, I didn’t grow up in the church. I haven’t lived anything close to the “American Dream”, and my family, which is full of wonderful people whom I love very much, has been anything but perfect. Not having the Lord in my life as a child made things really difficult, so you can imagine what it was like for me when I finally met my Savior. Although it took a few years for me to really grasp the concepts of Christianity, everything within me held on to the hope I felt the night I walked down the aisle to accept Jesus Christ into my life. Fast-forward to my third year of Bible College and you’ll find that it makes me really sad that the ones who poke-fun at me for being so passionately in love with the church are the ones who grew up there their whole life.

The church isn’t just a place I go to on a weekly basis, it’s the House of God, and for a young man like me, it’s everything. It’s a place for me to spend time with my Savior and thank Him for all that He’s saved me from. It’s a place for me to receive strength so that I can diligently finish the work He’s placed before me. It’s a place for me to grow so that I can become the leader He’s called me to be. Ultimately, it’s a source of survival.

Luke 7:47 – - Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.”

Loving much,

- Joe

God’s Promises: To Trust or Not to Trust?

In case you were wondering, I’ve been going through this amazing devotional by Eugene Peterson called SOLO: An Uncommon Devotional, and I’m absolutely loving it. It’s unlike any devotional I’ve ever gone through. With that being said, I’m sitting here in my amazingly comfortable dorm room doing my devotions when I came across this question: Are we able to trust the promises of God, even if we never end up seeing them? Now that I think about, I’m pretty sure this is the first time I’ve ever been asked this, and just like any other time I get asked a question for the first time, I was forced to think.

My answer: drum roll please………..

Yes.

I truly believe we can still trust the promises of God, even if we never end up seeing them. The beauty of a promise is that it’s a covenant, and we all know how much the Lord is into covenants. In other words, there’s no need to doubt the promises of God because we know that when He promises us something, it’s going to happen. But here’s the tricky part: we have to be okay with the fact that His promise may not come to pass during our lifetime. But this is okay, because the fact that we’re all a part of something bigger than ourselves should give us peace in knowing that if our promise isn’t fulfilled during our lifetime, it would be fulfilled through the hands of the next generation.

I started thinking about all of the promises I believe the Lord has given me and I thought about how sad it would be if the fruit of those promises perished when I was no longer around. I could be wrong, but I like to believe that when the Lord gives us a promise it’s because He has a greater purpose in mind, something we can’t even fathom; something that can’t be fulfilled through the life of one person. Is it possible that when we can’t see the promises of God being completely fulfilled in our life, it should be used as a reminder that we’ll never see the finished work of the promise anyway? I’m very confident with the promises of God over my life, but I’m also okay with the fact that I’ll probably never see the “final product” of His promise. One day my life will come to an end, but the baton will be passed and the promises of God will continue to live through the hands of somebody else, inevitably completing the bigger picture that only He could see from the beginning anyway. 

So yeah, here I am, going through life and seriously loving it. I can live in peace knowing His promises will eventually come to pass while guys like this make me laugh…

Enjoying a life-changing Apple Fritter from Annies Doughnuts and drinking a glass of milk, 

- Joe

Great Is Thy Faithfulness

During work today, I was unexpectedly captured by the presence of God. You know those moments? The ones where you thought you had everything planned out and then out of nowhere your eyes start tearing up and you can’t help but stop everything you’re doing and bask in His presence? Well, yeah, it was one of those. 

Today’s topic: Faithfulness.

The Lord has been so good to me. As most of you already know, I’ve been working for CBC’s custodial team for almost two years now. I know what you’re thinking: Why on earth would you as an American student settle for 20hrs worth of work every week with a minimum wage paycheck?

Obedience.

I started working here at the church because I felt that’s where the Lord wanted me for one reason: To prepare my spirit so that I’ll be able to fully understand what it means to put a lot of hours in for the church and learn how to manage my life while making a very low salary. Because of my work schedule, I have plenty of time to serve the church in other areas besides work. I don’t have a plan B. It’s full time ministry and that’s it. It’s my life calling and one of the few things I never second-guess. Well, with that calling comes the reality that most people in full time ministry don’t get paid a lot of money. They put in a lot of hours and the paychecks usually don’t show it. It’s not the easiest life to live, but if you know without a doubt that’s what the Lord’s called you to do, it’ll be the most fulfilling life to live. So there I was, deep cleaning the Dorm 3 kitchen with not only one of the coolest Indian students, but with one of the coolest Japanese students too. It was great. Anyway, there we were, working away when all of a sudden Great Is Thy Faithfulness started playing from my computer. I completely lost it and got choked up when “all I have needed, thy hand hath provided” came on, and then it hit me; everything in my life has been taken care of since my first shift on the custodial team. Everything. Even when the impossible was coming at me faster than a speeding train, the hand of God has been faithful to me in every way possible.

To be completely honest, I came very close to quitting my job and finding a new one. Nothing made sense anymore. The sun went away and the clouds began to hover directly above my situation. I wanted to quit. As I mentioned a few posts ago, we’re currently in the middle of our annual Faith Harvest season and boy is it stretching! I’ve completely let go and let God. But here I am, almost two years into this journey and doing my best to love every second of it. Has it been stretching? Yes. Do I get frustrated at times? You bet I do! But it’s days like today that continue to give me hope.

With strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,

- Joe

 

Standing at a Crossroad

I realized something today; all of my life I’ve had a desire to do something great for God, but because of that desire, I’ve completely forgotten that while I want to do something great for Him, He has the desire to do something great in me. 

I’ve failed. 

I’m standing at a crossroad right now and it’s forcing me to face a harsh reality; there are certain things in my life that need to change and they need to change quickly. I’ve been completely naive to the fact of how much I’m still allowing the people in my past to affect my future. I’ve become my own worst enemy. So here I am; standing at the crossroad trying to figure out which way I’m going to go. I look to my left and I can see very clearly where that path will take me. It’s not good. It promises growth, yet down the road I’ll find myself looking in the mirror only to see complacency. I look to my right and I can’t see anything, but something deep within me keeps whispering that this is the path I want to take. It’s the path that will require me to erase eighteen years of my life, grab a pen, and start writing again. It’s the path that will require me to place the pen into the Lord’s hands and allow Him to fill in the blank pages. This path is scary; it hurts; yet I don’t really have a choice, I have to take it. 

It’s on this path that He’ll take me out of my comfort zone. If I’ll just be obedient and trust God, He’ll put me in places I could’ve never imagined. I can’t sell myself short by just writing down my dreams on a piece of paper; I need to get down on my knees and ask God to do a great work in me.

“If you are in a relationship with Jesus Christ, you are an explorer whether you like it or not. Once you are called out by God, you are called to move into mysterious, uncertain territories and to begin to live a life filled with risk and fraught with challenges. Sometimes we think that if we leave everything we know, it’s going to get worse from there. But it is possible you’ll never never find greater contentment or joy or exhilaration until you’re willing to give up what you know and what you have for what awaits and exists in the unknown” – Erwin McManus

Choosing the path on the right,

- Joe

Life and The Curveball

Life’s definitely been throwing me some curveballs and it’s forcing me to face some pretty ugly stuff. Stuff that nobody can see, hear, nor necessarily feel. The scary thing is this; I can, and it lurks in the deepest part of my soul. Just when I thought everything was fine, another curveball will come at me, inevitably forcing me to bring out the microscope and examine my heart. How is this possible? I thought everything was fine?

Or so I thought.

I’ve been known to say that I never want to sacrifice the journey for instant success. Well, I’m slowing learning that on this thing called the “journey”, the Lord will tend to reveal certain things at pivotal points in your life. It’s almost as if you weren’t supposed to deal with the problem until He revealed to you that you even had one, and how you respond to that problem, will determine the outcome of something you really care about. Now, I’m not necessarily sure that’s how He works, but that’s definitely how I feel.

Complacency is a scary thing, and often times, it disguises itself as growth. Just when we think we’ve reached the climax of a certain season, life throws us a curveball and we realize how much growing really needs to take place. 

The ball has been thrown. Am I going to hit it? 

I sure hope so…

Through confession I found freedom,

Through humility I found grace,

Through condemnation I found strength,

Through You I found my identity.

Through tears I found joy,

Through time I found the truth,

Through censure I found patience,

Through You I found peace.

Through correction I found integrity,

Through blunder I found wisdom,

Through perseverance I found vision,

Through it all, I’m closer to You.

Lord, I’m amazed…

Living Large

A friend recently asked me if I would be okay if I were poor. I gave her my answer right away, but now that I’ve had a few days to think about it, I don’t think being “poor” is something I’ll ever have to worry about. I’m convinced that our culture has given us the message that if we don’t have a lot of money, we’re obviously poor, and if we’re cruising the streets in a Mercedes Benz, we’ve definitely ‘arrived’. The problem with this mentality is that it’s a horrible way to define whether or not a person is living a “rich” life. I’m learning that no matter what, there will always be more. There will always be something better. If I’m not careful, I’ll fall into this trap and forget to ask myself what really matters. I have to arrange my life around what matters most. 

This is why I’m a “rich” man…

I Love Much

Usually on a Friday afternoon, I find myself laying on my bed reflecting over my life. I have a playlist on my iTunes library entitled “The Power of The Cross.” I made a list of songs that talk about, obviously, the power of the cross. I know I say this often, but I seriously don’t think I can express how much I appreciate the power of the cross and what took place that day.

God is so good. He really is.

So yeah, I just sit there on my bed and reminisce over the good, the bad, and definitely the ugly! Even as I write this, I can’t even describe the amount of peace I have in my spirit. You know that passage in Luke that talks about the woman who’s sins were many, but she was forgiven, so therefore she loved much? I definitely have a reason to love much.

By the grace of God, I’m really enjoying my life. 

Luke 7:47 – - Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.”

The Bench

My Spot

Whenever I come home, I always try to make time for ‘my spot’. Right above my house sits a bench that overlooks the city of Antioch. For me, it’s one of my favorite places to get away from everyone and everything and just sit there. I love reflecting over my life. I love thinking about what the Lord’s saved me from. (Read this to get a better understanding of what I mean) It’s been a great weekend, but I’m ready to get back to the Northwest. I had a great time catching up with my friends and family and as always, attending service at my home church was a blast! My flight to Portland takes off in a few hours and if all goes well, I’ll be back in Portland tonight. Let the good times roll! Oh yeah, driving my brothers truck while listening to Eminem brought back one too many memories. Will the real slim shady ever stand up!? Here are some pics from earlier today. Till next time…

Amazed

I was just browsing through a bunch of old photos that I brought with me from Antioch. I actually forgot I had them but I was glad I came across them. I was taken back as I saw so many photos of old friends and events that took place during high school. I say that because at one point in my life, I thought Antioch was the only city out there for me. I thought the people I knew back then would be my friends forever. Moving to Portland definitely gave me a dose of reality. God is so good. Every day of my life I’m amazed by His grace. The Lord’s presence was so evident during Friday chapel and I couldn’t help but shed a few tears. I’m so thankful for the power of the cross. I’m living the life that I am because of the blood that was shed on the cross. There’s only one way to describe it…I’m amazed.