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

Walking In The Grace

The last few days have been pretty difficult to walk through. In so many ways, I’ve completely died to self. During church today however, I received a new revelation of how important the local church is, to me, in my own personal life. For the first time ever, I’m walking through a situation out of want, not need, and it hurts. But here I am, taking it day by day; trusting the Lord knows what He’s doing. After all, a good disciple never questions the hand of God, right? They just continue to walk in the grace, believing that when the clouds go away, the sun will be brighter than ever.

Today, during worship, there was such a sweet presence of God. I didn’t shed any tears, (something I haven’t done in a while) but I came close. It was during this moment that it hit me; for the last two and a half years I’ve completely laid my life down for the local church with the expectation of advancing the kingdom, and that’s what I’ll continue to do for the rest of my life, not because I have to, but because I want to.

Life as I once knew it has completely vanished. My only desire now is to stay in the center of God’s will for my life, because honestly, is there a better feeling out there than the feeling you get in knowing that every day of your life you’re right where God wants you to be, doing what He’s called you to do?  I’m not sure, but if there is, I can’t even imagine how good that must feel! I’ve completely given my life to something so much bigger than myself, and if by the grace of God I’m still alive in fifty years, it’ll be one of the few decisions I’ll never regret.

Walking in the grace,

- Joe

Faith Harvest 08

Well, it’s that time of the year again. Faith Harvest is a season at CBC where we come together as a church, give ridiculous amounts of money, and believe God for the impossible. We had our Super Sunday Night service a few days ago and it was great! Pastor Benny Perez preached a great word entitled It Is Flood Season. Main Point: Don’t focus on the flood taking place, focus on the harvest getting ready to take place. As of right now, I have no idea how I’m going to pay for next semester. I mean yeah, I can sit here and try to put something together, but I honestly have no idea where the money is going to come from. So in a lot of ways I’m entering this Faith Harvest season with great expectation. Does it make sense to work hard only to give most of it away? Nope. Am I completely depending on God for the miraculous? You bet!

Focusing on the harvest, 

- 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…

Homework, Bible Studies, & Tomatoes

I’m sitting in a coffee shop right now. I’ve finished one of two assignments, so yes, this is me procrastinating. There’s a group of ladies sitting off to the right of me and it’s very evident they’re having a bible study of some sort. From the scriptures I heard being read, I’m almost positive they’re going through the book of Ephesians. (you would think a bible college student would know this kind of stuff)  Anyway, I just really enjoyed listening to this woman read the Bible. She could barely read the words on the page and based off the questions she asked her friends, she probably knows very little about what she just read. Despite all of that, it was very evident she’s hungry for more and passionate about the Lord. 

Isn’t that cool? The same God that placed the stars in the sky is right here in this little coffee shop located in Portland, OR meeting the needs of a lady who’s probably had questions all her life. I love how our circumstances never determine how we experience the presence of the Lord. All we need is an open heart. If we have that, He’ll take care of the rest.

Think of it.   

Oh yeah, I almost forgot! I just ate a sandwich that had a tomato in it for the first time in my life! I used to think these little red round things were straight from the devil, now I’m a huge fan!

The Life of a Shepherd

So I was thinking, how is the life of a Pastor supposed to look like? Here are my thoughts…

When one is called into ministry, I truly believe it affects every aspect of their life. In a lot of ways, their life is no longer their own. They’ve made the decision to live their life with a greater purpose, a purpose that inevitably affects the eternal state of many. Accepting the call into ministry isn’t a right; it’s a privilege. The sooner the shepherd realizes this, the sooner they can get to work on how they live their life. 

I’m Thirsty

A few posts ago, I wrote about how I experienced the presence of God in a way that has seriously changed my life. I finally figured out what the ‘problem’ is; I’m thirsty. I seriously can’t get enough of Him. My soul is so thirsty for more of His presence.

” As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.” (Psalm 42:1-2)

Next Chapter…

It goes without saying that God is so good! One year ago I was going through one of the most difficult times in my life but by the grace of God here I am, still standing strong and moving forward in life. I just got back from my school’s kick-off retreat and it was so much fun. In a lot of ways, it was officially the end of summer for me. Ever since I moved back to Antioch for the summer it’s felt like a dream, and between being in Portland and Las Vegas during the last three weeks, it still felt like a vacation. Is life really supposed to be this good? I’ve been on this journey since the summer started. The Holy Spirit has strategically allowed me to experience the presence of God like never before. From the very first sermon I heard, to this past week at our retreat, the Lord has been leading me on an amazing ride.

Character  

It started with my character. Who I am is more important than what I do. If my life isn’t backing up what I stand for then that’s a problem.

The Presence of God

I can do nothing apart from God. The more I try to, the more frustrated I’ll become. I must rely on the Lord to lead me in life and I can never substitute my ‘God time’ with anything else, I have to be disciplined with my devotional life. I recently had the privilege of meeting Bill Hybels and I’ll never forget what he told me. He said, “Whatever it is you do that brings you to the presence of God, keep practicing those things and never stop doing them. Fads and trends will come and go but the presence of God will never change. It’s the presence of God that will lead you through life. 

Application

The only way I’ll see fruit in my life is to actually apply everything I’m learning. For me personally, evangelism is what’s on my heart the most. I want to see people the way God does. I want my heart to break for those who don’t know the Lord.

I’m excited for what’s in store this semester. I’m really looking forward to this next year and I know that it will only get better from here on out. It’s such a great feeling to know you’re right in the middle of the Lord’s will for your life.

This is the end of another chapter in my life.