Not so Fast

In the current book I am reading on Fasting, Lynne Baab makes a few really good statements.
She says how Fasting is not about Self-Denial, but about deliverance. She also says: "What is my true Hunger? In what ways am I Satisfying myself to easily with toys and mindless pleasures? What does my Desire for God really look like? "
I had to stop reading when I hit this. What does my desire for God really look like? I dont even know. I am going to have to ponder this. Also about the what is my true hunger? Do I want God or just earthly pleasure. I would have to say earthly pleasure because I can touch and feel that. Not that I can't feel God, but it is few and far between.

This was us in Baltimore for a wedding. My wife is so Hot, even though she is a foot taller than me in those heels.

Our Wedding

Well this was a time to remember, but we sledom do. Why do we forget the reason that we said I do. I think I am more in love with Rachel now, that I was a year ago. She is so wonderful.

With or With out you

I read a Devotion from Steven Furtick at http://www.oneprayer.com/blog/post/37766745 He made a comment about how we make Vague prayer request, like God Be with me.
Well in Matthew 28:20 Jesus says 20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

OK maybe I just don't understand. I pray Jesus be with me, so did I somehow skip the End of age, like he is no longer here. If God is in us, and around us, isn't is silly for us to say be with me. We are all the time in him, we just don't always acknowledge it. It would be like saying to the AIR. Air be with me today, I need you. Well first Duh you need Air and Jesus, second air is in us and around us all the time already. We don't have to do anything for the air to be with us, we just have to acknowledge that it is there. I think the same goes for Jesus. We haven't done anything for him to be with us, he is and we just have to acknowledge.

WHO DO YOU LOVE?

I was thinking, you how all the time we say we love GOD, and Jesus. I don't know if this is totally true. I think I am more along the lines of loving the "IDEA of GOD". I mean this is the way I live most of my life, with the "IDEA of GOD". I go to church, I read my bible, I read religious books, and pray. But when you love someone, you are more than willing to sacrifice for them, you are willing to put up with junk from them, you spend as much time as you can with them. But do I do that with God. Well not really, because if I had the opportunity to spend time with Rachel and the boys or sit and play PlayStation do you think I would waste time on that game. I don't think so.

But lets say that I had time to either spend time with GOD or play PlayStation, HHMMMM "well you know, like God is always there and like you know he knows my heart, and well you know he is loving and you know like he knows I need some time to myself".

But lets say that I took that time to myself and put it into deeper bible study, a time of prayer, or maybe even fasting. If i say that I like to sit an veg. on games to like unwind and refresh myself. Well I think Jesus said that he will fill you with the Living Water, so you are never thirsty again. So if I let him refuel me and him recharge me, how much more benefit would it be.

Listen up

I am looking for some new music. I want to hear something that i haven't heard / something a little different then what I listen to. I would love to hear some good World music or really good Jazz.

If anyone has suggestions just comment me.

"A man's got to do what a man's got to do"

A must say that Pastor scott's message was awesome this past sunday. I was in Baltimore and had to listen to it online. http://www.forestparkchurch.com/pages.asp?pageid=41881 The message was very powerful. I will now have a greater view of being MAN, and who Jesus really is.

And to think I always have the view of Jesus as being a cool hip dude with LONG HAIR.

Raining in Baltimore

Went to a wedding in Baltimore this weekend. It was a huge, huge city. THe Wedding was beautiful. The place where it was held was THE BELVIDERE. It was a really nice old building. The best thing was I didn't have to drive through the City, we were on a charter bus. I loved that. I would have never found a parking spot. I was in a suit. Will try to post pictures of that later.

One Prayer

http://www.oneprayer.com/

A couple of churchs that I listen to the messages of Online, are doing this thing called ONE PRAYER. It sounds like something to be apart of. almost 800000 people coming together to hear the same message to focus together on GOD.

I think it is going to be life changing.

Anniversary

Just celebrate being Married to Rachel for 1 year yesterday. It seems like so much longer. It didn't excite me all that much that we have been married only a year. What excites me is I know we have another 50+ years together. She brings such joy to my life. I would have been a miserable soul if not for her. It is so awesome being married to your best friend.

Knowlege of Jesus

2 Peter 1:
5 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7 and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. 8 For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.

OK Peter throws out a lot of things I have to do. I think I only have about maybe 1 and a half of these thing going on. Maybe a little faith, skip down next to Knowledge. But this is a lot of things that need to be learned. I struggle to get these. But they only help me known more about Jesus. That blows my mind. Peter says, master the things, do them more and more, and then you will not be unproductive. What.... Are you serious??

He must have been writing to a tough crowd.
How many Christians need to hear this now? Peter is essentially say, I want you to continue to grow, continue to be like Jesus more and more everyday. I have been around many Christians including myself that have missed or are missing quite a few of these traits. Its not that I want to be selfish, I just haven't come to the place where I am able to completely rise from my flesh.
I want to be like Jesus and when Satan tempts me tell him where he can go shove his temptation, but boy is he sneaky. It slips up on me. Catches me on the blindside, slips up quietly. He is such a punk

So hopefully if I continue to grow as Peter says, I will not be Unproductive, or ineffective.

Mostly In Vain

I received an Email today, one of those send this to a certain # of people and receive a blessing from God. Say this little pray for God to bless you.

To me this seems like we are taking God's name in vain. So now we throw in a little email, a little blip in our daily life, and forward an email that someone forwarded to us. Not that it is thinking of God to click the button to forward. But now people know we are Die hard all out Christians. Wow what a Servant of the Lord you are, the self sacrifice you made by Forwarding an email. It just blows my mind. Is this really advancing the Kingdom of God, because more Christians forward christian emails, than Muslims. I mean for real. When I get to heaven is Jesus going to come over to me and say "hey you remember that Forward you received that talked about me, I noticed you only sent it to 7 people instead of 8. I am sorry but now you will have to spend some time in Hell for not including the 8th person like the email said".

And about praying for Blessing, I am at the point in my life right now, I do not want blessing from God. Would I like him to bless me, maybe but I think and pray that he would Grow me. Make me into a better man than I am. Make me more like Jesus. I enjoy seeing my growth. I am glad that I am not like I used to be. To me that is just what I need, not blessing as in stuff. I am already prideful and somewhat greedy, I don't need for God to bless me with more stuff that I can Squander.