Special Forces Missions

World Water Day PSA from zao water on Vimeo.

This fall I decided to join SFM (Special Forces Missions), a program that is an intense training program designed to train leaders based on a biblical worldview to prepare students physically, mentally, and emotionally for deployments into the world. Since my ultimate goal is to reach the world with the love of God and the truth of what He has done to give us an abundant life I knew this program would be beneficial to be apart of.

The goal is to not only reach people with the power, love, and authority of the gospel, but to bring a tangible demonstration of the gospel. Past teams have dug wells in Africa for clean drinking water, taught hygiene training to help eliminate disease, ministered to government officials, ministered to, prostitutes, and much more.

Here is a link to the SFM website if you would like to check out more info:



http://www.sfmissions.org/index.html

There Is A Voice On The Horizon

I believe that God is opening the doors of opportunity to His Bride to step into societies in the world and be a voice in those places once again. Not a stammering, critical, cynical voice, but a voice of HOPE and LOVE. What more better time for the light f Christ to shine than now? People are so afraid right now and full of anxiety for the future. We have access to the Prince of Peace, my goodness, He lives inside of us... let Him out!

My desire is to see all of the wells of goodness Jesus has placed in my by promise and inheritance come out an BLESS the world. Not bring it to ruin or see it brought to hell. I want to see the radical love of Jesus, who sat with prostitutes & tax collectors, come out again and bring the truth of the nature and character of God out again.

I feel like my generation has only seen a God who is a hypocrite, or an angry tyrant wanting to steal away all their fun. In reality God has so much excitement and so much joy... and His fun lasts beyond 24/hrs.

I also feel like God is working on the church more and more, because once people get saved and truly KNOW Jesus they're don't need that religious junk that turns them into self-sufficient know-it-alls. LOL! I was so one of those types of people at one point, I grew up in the church all my life and thought I was free, when I was so lost in my own self-righteousness. HAHA! Boy do I love Jesus - He's so kind to wake us up from ourselves.

Anyways - God is waking up the church to LOVE again and it's awesome! There will be a corporate cry, a united voice and I'm excited to see it!

Epiphany

Today while brushing my teeth, I was thinking about how frustrating it can be to have 2 extremes of myself; the driven jock business side and the musician deep sensitive side. The two extremes seem to always pull so heavily in opposite directions and I end up getting upset with myself. Today, however, was different. After asking the Lord the why the heck did He makes such a random assortment of me... the thought popped in my head, "maybe I don't have to make the two extremes converge. Perhaps I don't have to have this perfect balance of personality. Maybe I can just be myself, do the best I can, and love the Lord. Maybe I can just let myself BE."

What if we were all just ourselves and didn't try to make ourselves be someone else, something else, more balanced, more calm, more excitable, more reasonable, more. more more...

What if we were just exactly who we were made to be and just rested in that truth. Seriously if we just love God and love our neighbor we fulfill everything God would want us to do and be... love never fails. Why do we make things so complicated, especially in ministry. Love is my ministry and I can do that in any context at any time because Love itself resides in me.

What is Love?

Lately amazing things have been happening to me. I have been so incredibly blessed with opportunities and provisions. The Lord has really taken care of me well. Yet my heart has been aching for something more. My heart literally hurts and aches to know true and genuine love. God is love and so I guess my heart is aching to know God more. His Spirit resides in me and yet sometimes I don't feel as if I really know Him as a friend... my heart has been just yearning for a deeper relationship with God. I decided to post 1 Corinthians 13 via the Message translation because this is the definition of true love as well as a description of who God is...

1 If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don't love, I'm nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate. 2If I speak God's Word with power, revealing all his mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if I have faith that says to a mountain, "Jump," and it jumps, but I don't love, I'm nothing. 3-7If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don't love, I've gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I'm bankrupt without love.

Love never gives up.
Love cares more for others than for self.
Love doesn't want what it doesn't have.
Love doesn't strut,
Doesn't have a swelled head,
Doesn't force itself on others,
Isn't always "me first,"
Doesn't fly off the handle,
Doesn't keep score of the sins of others,
Doesn't revel when others grovel,
Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
Puts up with anything,
Trusts God always,
Always looks for the best,
Never looks back,
But keeps going to the end.
8-10Love never dies. Inspired speech will be over some day; praying in tongues will end; understanding will reach its limit. We know only a portion of the truth, and what we say about God is always incomplete. But when the Complete arrives, our incompletes will be canceled.

11When I was an infant at my mother's breast, I gurgled and cooed like any infant. When I grew up, I left those infant ways for good.

12We don't yet see things clearly. We're squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won't be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We'll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us!

13But for right now, until that completeness, we have three things to do to lead us toward that consummation: Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly. And the best of the three is love.

I look at all these characteristics of love and see two things... I have no idea how to love and I'm not sure I really know how to love others either. It's basically impossible for me to love people in my own strength... BUT it's cool because Christ in me can... He can help me in the places I am most likely to fail because in my weakness He is strong. :)

Transition and Reflection

I'm excited because on June 14th I will officially be graduating from MSU from my first year! :)

Reflection: This year I think had exceeded many years of my life. I've overcome fears, healed people, lead people to salvation, learned to prophecy (which I thought I could NEVER EVER do), lead worship with the best congregational musicians ever (in my opinion), stepped out in leadership, public spoke, overcame discouragement, depression, and anxiety, had so many doctrinal controversies thrown at me and sorted through them with the Lord, helped homeless people, blesses community leaders, traveled all over the east coast, wrote new songs, played bass for the first time, learned new songs, made new friends that I could NEVER forget, dug deeper into who God made me to be, read more books than I ever thought possible, loosened up and had some fun, and so much more...

Transition: I'm really feeling the transition from my first year into the summer. I'm really excited because over the course of working my butt off, getting in shape, and getting deep in the Word I am going to start doing some of my own evangelism.

A group of friends and myself are going to play some secular venues to minister to people in cafes, shoppes, restaurants, and maybe bars to let our lights shine. I want to do mini faith courses each week just to stay in the flow of staying outside my comfort zone as well as sharing God's heart to the world. Being a "minister" is not something to only be done in Bible school or church, I want it to be ingrained inside of my very being. I believe it is and I want it to come out!! lol I also just want to get a small group of people to study the Bible more and pray.

I really feel like this year is going to be an intense time of getting launched into something bigger than I think. I'm already very surprised at the way things have turned out this year. God definitely has a way of leading us in a very adventurous way. Sometimes it really crazy and I think I'm going insane, but I LOVE It because God always comes through and shows me the bigger picture as to what's going on.

In Him I LIVE, MOVE, and HAVE MY BEING!!!

Back to the Basics

I'm finding that one of the most important things to remember in the Christian life is the basis of Christianity; Christ died so I could live. Every time I seem to have troubles it seems that there is something in my thinking/believing that has not fully grasped the truth of either who God is or who I am. It's been helpful to go back to Christianity 101 and remind myself all of the things CHRIST accomplished FOR ME to walk in. It's the TRUTh that sets us free... God's Word and just talking with God always brings me to truth and helps me get the focus off of myself. It's back to the basics for me!

Walking Dead

Today a friend of mine and myself went to the mall to go heal people (yes HEAL them). While we were there I noticed so many people were filled with fear and just low self-esteem. Some wore painted faces of happiness, success, popularity, fortune, and various other things... but when you looked into their eyes they were empty.

Lately I've been asking the Lord to show me how He sees people and how He feels about those who don't know Him yet. Every time I see someone empty or in need my heart breaks with LOVE and compassion. It really doesn't matter what the outside of the person looks like... it's the deep inner parts of the soul that God is after... the very place where the deepest of the deep is; who that person was made to be.

My heart aches to see lives changes and people knowing the true love of Christ Jesus. I really feel like so many have pushed Jesus away without truly knowing His heart of love and kindness for them. A Father's heart of JOY over them, not anger or disappointment. I want the world to know God for who He really is... Love.

I believe that the world is more ripe than ever right now to know God, but they do not want or need anymore dead religion. Religion is what has killed so much of the truth of the nature of God. It is what has confused much of God's people into thinking that God's voice is condemning, angry, perfectionistic, legalistic, and manipulative. I know that the world would absolutely fall in love with God if they knew His peace, His joy, His love, His kindness, His grace, His mercy, and His life. That's what I want the world to know and see in my life; truth. Nothing bugs me more than knowing that someone is living in a lie... it's unjust and is cutting short the fullness of their life that God intended for them.

TODAY is the day of salvation... there is a ministry every day with the people we encounter on a daily basis. The mail lady may have a sprained knee that needs healing... the bagger at the grocery store may be discouraged and could use encouragement... the man at the dealership may be worried about his brother in the hospital... every day we can encourage people and heal them too. No one has to wait for the perfect time or place... TODAY is the day... NOW... it the time!

Why not?

Inspiration

Today was, lets just say one of the rougher days lately. Most often I go to a park or a place with a lot of nature to process through whatever I'm dealing with.

My adventure today was on a wooden swing in a random park where I live. FIghting through the confusion, anger, sadness, and mostly fear I couldn't help but look up. The sky was beautiful blue and the clouds were so puffy and white as they moved pretty quickly across the vivid sky. As my eyes searched over such beauty I saw two birds (hawks I think) soaring so high that they eventually got lost in the clouds. The Lord told me that I was meant to fly; not just flutter around on the earth, but SOAR. God encouraged me that the I am limitless and can indeed soar with the clouds. It was so crazy because air planes were right up there with these birds... how awesome would it be to FLY so FREE so HIGH... no limits.

If God would give a bunch of birds such an awesome capacity for freedom, how much more does He have for us who are made in His image and have His very Spirit swelling inside of us? ? ? ? ?

In the midst of crazy times... God is there to lift us up and fill us up!!

All We Need Is Love...

I just wanted to post this testimony. It really touched my heart and showed me that people are really hungry for a living, tangible relationship with God. WOW!

Amazing Provision

This blog is a testimony of how the Lord has taken care of my every need, even small ones.

So at my time here at Morning Star I have not been working on a regular basis for several reasons. This month I've come down to the nitty gritty. At first I was stricken with fear because I have always been "in control" of my financial situation doing all that I could to make sure everything is paid for (in advance even). I really felt like the Lord wanted me to wait on Him for provision rather than doing things by my own strength. I have to admit there were times of freak out and fruitless job interviews, which normally I have never had a problem getting a job... God's always blessed me with favor. Anyways...

This week and last week I have had several opportunities to receive free meals, free food, and even free Starbucks!! Oh how the Lord knows us all too well :) I even got a chance to go to a Ravi Shankar concert for free with some pretty amazing musicians... AND I got to meet Ravi and his daughter Anoushka.

I'm saying all this not to brag, but to testify that the Lord knows every need we have and He will ALWAYS come through for us. He even throws in special things to let us know that He knows us and loves to bless us.

One thing I learned before this awesome stuff happened, was that during this time God was the only One I could lean on. I had to trust Him, I CHOSE to trust Him. Fear is False Evidence Appearing Real... it's just a LIE from the enemy to keep us from believing God. Fear steals our FAITH, and with out faith it's impossible to please God. If God blessed us because we were freaking out He would be endorsing fear. FAITH... a faith that works by love is undeniable, always accessible, able, and dependable. Faith and love changed the way I viewed God and myself. My prayers changed and the way in which I live has changed. If God can do that for me, He is most certainly able to do it for you!!!

What do you need? Ask... God is a good, good Father! :)

A New Day

OK - I'm finding that much of the church today is very hungry to go deeper and farther in the things of God. I'm seeing that much of the reasoning behind why the church has been difficult to identify to a younger generation is because at times we as people in general can become very comfortable in habit. Don't get me wrong, I believe in being faithful in mundane situations, however I believe that we are at a place in the church where we can begin to explore new things.

I am reminded of how a business I worked for was constantly changing and improving their processes and procedures. They were constantly pushing the envelope to get fresh new innovative and creative ideas to have their business in prime shape. Sometimes I feel like the body of Christ can get "stuck" in a rut because they have not moved on when the Holy Spirit wanted to try something new. God is a FUN God and surely if there are thousands of species of animals, plants, and bugs He has thousands of ideas for creativity in His body. Why do most of us look, act, and think the same?

Now I am in no way shape and form saying that we should be creative apart from the Word of God. The Word is sharper than a double edged sword; it is alive and active and very relevant for today's problems. I believe that the Word will assist in creative ideas and can constantly be a foundation for innovative forward motion in the body. If the Word is alive and ACTIVE then we are to be so too, since the Word Himself lives inside of us.

I find that much of why I have not been open to new things has been because of fear. Fear will keep one from trying something new or stepping out in faith. For example, I am not a big fan of heights at all... however at a camp retreat my school had at the beginning of the year they wanted us to face fears. We had a time of being able to swim in the lake... now there was 2 HUGE pulleys going into the lake and we all had the opportunity to go off it into the lake. At first there was NO WAY I was going to do that because of the immense height in which I would jump off of. To make a long story short, I ended up trying it... not only jumping off this HUGE platform but going upside down!!!! LOL I had one of the most fun times I've had in awhile. God showed me that fear keeps us from going into the unknown, from trying new things, stepping out in something that we might absolutely LOVE.

Fear keeps us in a box. Not only does fear restrict us from growing outside the box, but it is keeping us in a box that is a LIE. Fear is False Evidence Appearing Real. We know that God cannot lie and the father of lies in the devil, therefore staying in a box of fear is letting the enemy win. NO MORE FEAR!

I'm excited to see the body of Christ step out of the religious box of FEAR and into the WORLD in FAITH! We are atmosphere changers, culture shifters, and society shakers. With the Holy Spirit INSIDE of us we have the ability to bring heaven to earth. Innovative ideas to bring supernatural change into a natural world. I believe that in this time of immense change in America God is looking for Joseph's and Daniel's. People who are able to move in His power and authority to CHANGE the places they are in; not by a spirit of religious fear, but by His Spirit of truth, hope, and love.

Ephesians 1 is a great passage to study as well as 2 Corinthians 4.