For You Are With Me

Pastor Johnny is a very wise man. Over the past few weeks, he has been preaching through Psalm 23 in our Sunday night services. He made a statement last night that summed up exactly how I felt about the mission trip to Ireland we just took with our High School students.

Pastor Johnny was focusing on verse 4 last night which says "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil." He went on to talk about how that idea of "death" can also be viewed as "darkness." Pastor Johnny said something along the lines of "In verse 3 we saw that God leads us in the paths of righteousness which sometimes means you have to go through a valley of darkness (verse 4). They are intertwined. Sometimes being in a valley of darkness is right where He wants us to be in order to lead us through it to show us that He is with us." That's not word for word...but you get the idea. We all face dark times in our lives, but we have to understand that it is all part of God's plan for us and we are right where we belong. In His grip.

This idea of being in a time of darkness yet being exactly where God wants us perfectly summed up our Ireland trip. Let me explain...

This was BY FAR the most difficult and challenging mission trip I have ever been a part of. Ireland is a very cold and dark country when it comes to the gospel. It's honestly very depressing. I can't tell you how many people I talked to that were either apathetic to the gospel, or felt like they lived a good enough life that IF there was a God then He wouldn't send them to hell, or they just cursed us out and walked away. Heart-wrenching.

Here are some memories that immediately stick out to me:

1. Mark. I spent an hour talking to him with another student on our team. We stopped Mark on the street and asked him where we could get a good cup of coffee and then after talking to him for a few minutes we started to share the gospel with him. Mark asked questions. He listened. He soaked in everything we were saying. You could see the wheels turning in his head. It all made sense. At the end of our conversation he told us that he needed to think about some things before he could make a decision. I prayed with him right there on the street. I presented the gospel again in my prayer. I yearned for Mark to just surrender. After praying with Mark, we found out that we made him 30 minutes late for his class. We offered to buy him lunch and continue talking to him but he had to go. His parting words to us? "Don't worry about making me late. I really needed to hear this. Thank you." I'm still praying for him.

2. Michael. I met Michael through one of our other leaders. Ryan had met him a few days before and he went back and talked to him each day. Michael sells magazines on a street corner. Outside a Catholic church. His best friend? One of the priests from the church. When we asked him about it, he said that he is friends with the priest because the priest doesn't judge him but takes the time to get to know him. I spent about an hour talking to Michael on that street. He told me about his family. He gave me the history of Cork, Ireland. He explained his hesitancy toward religion and the church. His feelings are mirrored by thousands in Ireland. I'm still praying for him.

3. Mormons. I spent an hour (along with a few other people) talking to two Mormon missionaries. It was a tiring conversation. We tried to reason with them as lovingly as we could while still "confronting" them on their unbiblical views. They eventually got fed up and walked away from us. I'm still praying for them.

4. Pro-Homo. I can't, for the life of me, remember this guy's name. It's killing me. A student introduced him to me on the street. We were talking for a few minutes and then he asked me point blank what we believed regarding homosexuality. I explained to him what the Bible said about the issue. I stated very clearly that God sees it as sin, and that God is a forgiving God and the sacrifice of Jesus is enough to cover all sins. He told me that he wasn't gay but that his best friend was bi-sexual. He then continued to inform me that he believes his friend was born that way, that homosexuality isn't a choice, and that God has no right to judge him for that. I then went through the creation story with him showing him how God created human beings as male and female. I showed him how when man sinned and sin entered the world, it perverted things that God had created, even mankind's sexual desires (Romans 1). I then asked him a simple question. "You said your friend is bi-sexual. So that means he CHOOSES if he would rather sleep with a guy or a girl right? Isn't that a choice? His choice?" I honestly said this as lovingly as I could. He got pretty defensive and snapped back "You just want to change him!" I calmly and simply replied "Yes." I then told him "God is a God of life-change. I was a sinner. I was lost. I was headed for eternity in hell. I realized that I couldn't make it through this life on my own. I realized that I needed to make a change. When I surrendered my life to Christ, my entire life changed. It is about change. Every single person who is a Christian has experienced change. A change from death to life." Our conversation continued for a few more minutes and ended shortly after. I saw him later that day talking with some other students in our group. I'm still praying for him.

5. I got the chance to preach on Wednesday night while we were there in Cork. Our team presented a drama, led some worship, and we had a student share her testimony as well. God blessed that night. All glory goes to Him for this next statement. I was told later that night that 5 people gave their lives to Christ after the service. THAT was humbling. God is at work...even in a dark city like Cork.

6. Students. Our students blew me away. They were pretty discouraged after the first day of ministry because of the hard hearts of the people of Ireland. However, with each passing day, the students grew closer to God and to each other. They grew bolder and more confident in their faith. They weren't scared to stop random people on the street or sit next to someone on a park bench and share their faith. I got the privilege of walking around with various students and listen to them share the gospel with those they came in contact with. God used these students to do an amazing thing last week. I think this will be a spiritual marker in many of their lives.

Ireland needs the gospel. DESPERATELY. They told us that less than 1% of the country has a relationship with Jesus Christ. That's crazy. I started off by talking about Pastor Johnny's sermon. We were in a dark place. Ireland. However, I firmly believe that is exactly where God wanted us that week. That really stood out to me last night. God is pretty good at slapping me in the face with His truth.

He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake,

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for YOU ARE WITH ME.

Psalm 23:3-4

Pre-Ireland Video

WATER

The last 10 days with my mentoring group have been incredible. We met last Wednesday night (3/9) for the first time in a while. Normally we meet on Sunday evenings before church but the last 3 weeks we couldn't meet because of mission trip meetings. So almost a month had passed since our last meeting and I desperately wanted to meet with the guys so we decided to get some food after Epicenter.

We went to Arbys and just started talking. I had to apologize to the group for my lack of leadership over the past month and I told them that I took full responsibility for us not meeting. Come to find out, each of the guys was in the middle of a rough week (which made me feel even WORSE). We talked through a number of different situations from quiet time struggles to parents and being bold in their faith at school. After talking through a few things, Trenton said he had something he wanted to share...

That night at Epicenter a message was given about the hypocritical lifestyle we can so easily fall into where we say we love Jesus at church but we don't prove it throughout the week. Trenton realized that night that he had never really surrendered his life to Christ. He's grown up in church his whole life and his dad is even one of the pastors on staff at the church, and he always thought he was "safe." Trenton gave his life to Christ last Wednesday night which we were all excited about. We spent the next little bit celebrating with him in Arbys. He told me before he left that night that he wanted to get baptized as soon as possible.

This week at epicenter we baptized Trenton and one other student. It was awesome.

In the past year, I have had the privilege of seeing 2 guys that I mentor get baptized. Not by my poking or prodding, but because they knew that it was the first step of obedience and that they needed to publicly declare their life change.

I can't tell you how awesome it is to see someone who you invest time and energy into do something like that. I get so excited yet at the same time I'm extremely humbled that God allows me to be a part of the students' lives.

Romans 6:3-5

Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection

Together

Welp. Remember the last time I posted something? About a month ago....where I said I was going to be more consistent with the blog? Isn't it nice to know that somethings never change? Am I asking way too many questions to start off blog post? Whatever...

Ok, so this post is going to be a little different than my usual deal. Over the last three weeks, we have been doing a series at Epicenter called "Together." The first week we combined all middle and high school parents together with their parents in the chapel to hear Dr. Johnny Hunt speak about the need for gospel-centered families. The second week found us listening to Pastor Rick Young teach students important things that they needed to understand about their parents. Last night, Pastor Matt spoke on what parents need to know about their students. It was a great message and you can find it at this link: http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/12739842.

If you don't have 45 minutes to watch it, I'm going to give you a very abbreviated run down of what happened. About four weeks ago we put a piece of paper on every chair in the Warehouse and had the students write down (anonymously) things that they wish their parents knew about them. We took those things and broke them down into categories and Matt discussed these categories last night. These are actual things that students in Woodstock, Georgia wrote down.

I wish my parents knew:

- That ar our age, the most difficult thing to do is "fit in"

- I wish my parents knew they were the most important thing in my life.

- I WANT to be close to my parents

- That I don't know what I would do without them

- They mean a lot to me and I would love to spend more time with them

- I actually like and want to spend more time with my mom

- I need my daddy to love me

- I wish you knew that I am so grateful for you

- My family is everything to me

- I want you to pour into my life

- I am nervous about the future and I need your help to prepare me to survive on my own

- I want your support for my decisions

- I want my parents to know that I love the Lord and I am scared to share with my peers

- I want them to know what scares me

- I want them to ask me about my relationship with God

- I wish we prayed together...I don't know what you're afraid of

- I wish you led me...instead of the other way around

- Listen...THEN give advice

- It's not easy being a Christian at my school

- I'm scared to tell you stuff for fear of being judged

- I know you loved me but I wish you showed it more

- All I ever wanted was to be loved and to have a good friend

- I cut myself nearly everyday

- I have seriously considered suicide

- My mom doesn't know that when I smile...it's all a lie

- I have no self-confidence

- I'm stressed

- We can reach the world even at a young age

- I will do whatever God calls me to do, even if you don't like it

I know that is a lot to take in, but these are the actual cries of students that I come in contact with on a weekly basis. Some of these students come from great homes, and others not so much. Some of these are just simple suggestions, and others are cries of desperation.

I am so thankful for my family. I'm so thankful for parents who love me, who raised me in a Christ-centered family, who forgive me when I make mistakes, for a dad who modeled what it means to be a "man after God's own heart", for a mom who is never ashamed to tell me she loves me and to model what I should look for in a future wife, for a family that is sold-out to do whatever God asks of us even if that means moving halfway around the world to Africa. I'm blessed. I have a picture of the good side of life. It's exactly how I want to lead my family one day. At the same time, hearing these students' hearts breaks mine.

This is nothing new. We are all familiar with broken homes, broken families, abuse, and neglect. My desire is to point students to a relationship with a heavenly Father, to grow daily in my relationship with my Abba Father, and to one day model my earthly father.

Romans 8:15 "The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption tosonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.”

New Kids On The Block

Ok...this title may seem a bit misleading. Actually, it's very misleading.

I haven't posted anything on here since before Christmas and that's fine because I'm pretty sure that we get the days of December 25th through January 1st off from blogging. At least that's what the blogger handbook I purchased for $61.74 said...

Either way, this year is (hopefully) going to be filled with more posts from me. The reason? I'll be looking for my first legitimate, full-time, benefits-included, paying job in three years. I'm headed towards the end of my seminary degree from Liberty University online, as well as the end of my 15-month internship here at First Baptist Woodstock. It's like the circle of life. School and internship end in May. Lord willing, a new job in June.

Therefore, I humbly invite you join me on my quest through the first half of 2011. I will not list out resolutions, but I'll do my best to keep you posted on what God is teaching me through the entire process.

With that being said...I'd like you to meet the New Kids On The Block. The NKOTB refers to my new group of high school guys that I will be mentoring with my remaining time here. It's a group of younger guys compared to my last garrison, but they are solid guys. We met for the first time last night as a group and things went extremely well. I even had a very good conversation with one of the guys after our group was finished meeting.
So here they are. I give their names so you can keep them in your prayers and recall them if I happen to use them in a story of some sort.

Jake White: Probably a bigger Tennessee fan than I am. We click. Huge potential.

Preston Coleman: Stud. Plain and simple. Everyone loves him. Huge potential.

Trenton Dorner: The clown of the group. One of the funniest guys I've met who doesn't have a driver's license...yet. Huge Potential.

Matt Willet: He is a beast. He was in that fateful bus, that I drove, which had to travel 9 hours to Florida with no air. Solid guy. Huge Potential.

Casey Disney: Very funny and infectious laugh. Solid baseball player. Huge potential.

Calvin Hoenstine: The youngin'. The other boys are all sophomores, Calvin's a freshman. Crazy kid. Smart kid. Huge potential.

That's it. Those are the newbies. Keep them in your prayers.

Until we meet again...

Hot Lemonade

Today marks day 3 of my sore throat epidemic. It's weird.

I don't feel bad, I don't have a fever, and I'm not puking.

I am, however, talking about 4 octaves lower than normal, creating my own version of "sign language" to communicate with those around me so I don't have to speak, I am addicted to unhealthy amounts of honey-lemon throat lozenges, and I'm drinking Thera Flu which is basically a name the company came up with to disguise hot lemonade and sell it to ignorant consumers. Yum!

You know what else I'm doing??

Listening.

It's crazy. Because of this sore throat/no voice stage that I'm in, I can't really engage in conversations, I can't laugh, I can't sing at the top of my lungs in my car where nobody else can hear me, I can't teach, I can't share my opinions. I have to just sit...and listen.

I have come to realize how hard it is to actually do that. To just sit and listen. I get so caught up in my life and what I'm doing, where I'm going, who I'm meeting, what I'm studying, and listening to the sound of my own voice, that I forget the importance of listening to God, and to those around me.

I think that's why God has blessed me with this ridiculously low voice and sore throat. I feel like He's trying to get my attention. I've been thinking about this quite a bit this weekend. Driving with the music off and just thinking, meditating, LISTENING. Listening to people at church and pulling the ol' "smile and nod routine" since I can't really comment on anything. Making my prayer time more focused on LISTENING to God, rather than bombarding Him with my selfish self.

It's crazy what a sore throat can make you aware of. The Bible uses the term "listen" 371 times.

Deuteronomy 13:4
You shall follow the LORD your God and fear Him; and you shall keep His commandments, listen to His voice, serve Him, and cling to Him.

1 Samuel 3:10
Then the LORD came and stood and called as at other times, "Samuel! Samuel!" And Samuel said, "Speak, for Your servant is listening."

Psalm 81:13
Oh that My people would listen to Me, That Israel would walk in My ways!

Jeremiah 11:4
Listen to My voice, and do according to all which I command you; so you shall be My people, and I will be your God,'

Psalm 46:10
“Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”

Shhhhhh!! Just listen. You may be surprised by what is right in front of you.

Debunked discouragement

After my quiet time this morning, I discovered a strong desire to blog. It's like the desire to win, without a trophy for successfully doing so...

There is really just one thing that I want to discuss and I'll keep it short and simple.

This week I was facing a little bit of discouragement, nothing major, but it always shows up towards the end of the semester. It's hard for me to pin-point it exactly, but that's beside the point. I don't know about you, but one of the most encouraging things a Christian can hear is that someone has surrendered their life to Christ. That's exactly what happened with me on Wednesday night. After Epicenter, a student who I will get the privilege of mentoring in January, came up to me to tell me about his friend. His friend had never been to church before because his parents wouldn't let him go. This student had been inviting his friend for months, but to no avail. Finally, his friend's parents allowed him to visit Epicenter last week (the first week of our Christmas series, "It's A Wonderful Life") and in his very first experience with "church", he gave his life to Christ.

When I heard this, everything that I was stressed about and discouraged about just faded away. The only way to explain it is that God never ceases to surprise me with His grace. I was so excited. That conversation had been on my mind for the last few days. This morning during my quiet time, I came across this verse:

1 Thessalonians 3:7-8

"Therefore, brothers, in all our distress and persecution, we were encouraged about you through your faith. For now we live, if you stand firm in the Lord.

Paul was writing this letter to the church in Thessalonica and he mentions earlier in his letter that he was fearful that the church would be led away by false teaching, and he was relieved or encouraged to hear a good report from Timothy about their faith.

Hearing about someone else surrendering their life to Christ? That's hard to beat.

I pray that this is an encouragement for whoever stumbles across this blog today...

It's a Wonderful Life (part 1)

So I got a chance to speak last night at Epicenter, which is our Wednesday night High School service and if you have 30 minutes:

http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/11198675

Word Pictures

This past week something hit me. It isn't anything deep theologically, or a new insight on how the church should handle something. In fact, it's pretty simple and I'm just surprised that I never noticed it before...

I'm a BIG David Crowder Band fan. I have all of their albums. I love the creativity they use in their music. I love the fact that they can come up with over 15 amazing songs on a album that just glorify God for who he is. I love the messages found in their songs.

I was listening to the Church Music album for about the 290,778th time this week when this epiphany hit me. In the song "How He Loves", the band attempts to describe how awe-inspiring, how vast, how incomparable, how great God's love is for us. Crazy right? The band paints a picture that our mind and our words can identify with to describe the love of God. Now, as much credit as the band and the original author of the song deserve for this, they don't even begin to scratch the surface of comprehending the love of God.

So I had an idea. I don't know how this will play out, but that's why I love a blog. I can just give it a try. I decided I wanted to go line by line of this song and just dive into what the words are saying. Last time I listened to this song, I had to stop singing because I realized what I was saying. When I really thought about how His grace is an ocean that I'm sinking in...it blew me away.

You've probably heard the song a million times by now, but I challenge you to focus on the words of this song and I hope you grasp how amazing His love is for us, a sinful people.

"HOW HE LOVES"

He is jealous for me: God is jealous for me. The Creator of the universe wants me. ME. A filthy, horrible sinner undeserving of love or mercy. I AM wants me. He wants to gather me into His arms. He wants to hold me, provide for me and protect me. He wants to make me His child. He wants to be my Abba Father. Right from the beginning of this song, we since the desire that God has for us to come to Him through faith. The rest of the song just spells out how strong that desire is...
Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree:,
Bending beneath the weight of his wind and mercy. We are all familiar with hurricanes. Those huge tropical storms with winds exceeding 100 miles an hour and extreme force. We are all familiar with trees. We've all climbed them as kids, sat beneath their shade on a picnic, or carved our initials in them. Put the two pictures together. Every time a news station is covering a hurricane, the cameraman ALWAYS gets a shot of a tree bending over from the force of the wind so much that you think it's going to snap. THAT is an intense picture of God's love for us. God's love is a hurricane and His wind is mercy that has so much power behind it, that we can't help but to give way to it's strength. This is one of my favorite pictures of this song. It's so vivid. Another interesting thing about a hurricane: you can see the effects of the storm even after it stops. All we have to do is open our eyes and look around us to see the effects of God's love and mercy. It's everywhere. You can't miss it.
When all of a sudden,
I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory: This was me a week ago. I had sung this song a thousand times and I never stopped to meditate on the words. Then it me. All of a sudden. I realized just how incalculable God's love is. All of the afflictions of life just vanished in the background of His glory. All the stress from school? Gone. Stress about daily responsibilities? Gone. Stress about what the future holds? Gone. Everything else that I thought mattered in that moment? Gone. All of my afflictions were eclipsed by His glory.
And I realise just how beautiful You are: When was the last time you stopped and thought about how beautiful God is? I understand that a lot of times we use that term to describe (at least in my life) how attractive a girl is. I looked up the term "beautiful" and this is what I found: having qualities that give great pleasure or satisfaction to see, hear, think about or feel; excellent of it's kind; wonderful, very pleasing; satisfying; wonderful; fantastic; extraordinary; incredible. When was the last time we thought about how beautiful God is? When was the last time that we took great pleasure in just thinking about Him??
And how great Your affections are for me: This is where it gets good...

And oh, how He loves us so,
Oh how He loves us,
How He loves us all

Yeah, He loves us,
Oh! how He loves us,

Oh! how He loves us,
Oh! how He loves. : Wow. There is nothing deep theologically about the chorus. It's just a simple phrase repeated over and over. Oh! How He loves us. In my personal translation (although it doesn't fit with the timing of the song): WOW! I CAN'T EVEN BEGIN TO FATHOM HOW MUCH THE ALPHA AND THE OMEGA LOVES ME!!! THIS IS CRAZY!! THE ALMIGHTY GOD LOVES ME!!! HELLO?!?!? DOES ANYONE ELSE SEE HOW RIDICULOUSLY AWESOME IT IS THAT THE ONE TRUE GOD WHO IS SITTING ON HIS THRONE IN HEAVEN LOVES A SMALL AND INSIGNIFICANT PIECE OF DUST IN THIS GIGANTIC UNIVERSE LIKE ME?!?!?! OH! HOW HE LOVES US!!!!!!!!!

We are His portion and He is our prize: Portion literally means "part of a whole." WE are HIS portion. All he wants is for us to be made complete through Him. To be made whole. That's His desire. That ALL men come to Him. And HE is our prize. Not escaping hell. Not a lavish mansion in heaven. Not streets of gold. Those aren't the prizes of salvation. A relationship with the God we have been describing throughout this entire song. THAT is our prize. HE is our prize. I'm fine with that.
Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes: I love this line. So many times we feel like God is sitting on His throne keeping track of all our wrongs and that in turn determines how He views and feels about us. Is God disappointed in sin? Absolutely. But just like the story of the prodigal son in Luke 15, God just wants us to come home. His grace literally draws us into redemption. REDEMPTION. The strongest sense of freedom we can think of. I love how the song says that grace is in His eyes. We literally have to face God, repent of our sin, and acknowledge the fact that we need saving. Then by the grace in His eyes, He draws us into redemption. Freedom. Safety. Home.
If His grace is an ocean, we're all sinking: This is my favorite line in the song. It's so epic. The music builds at this point and it's just awesome. Grace is getting what we don't deserve. As sinful people, we don't deserve His love, His mercy, His blessings, His desire to have a relationship with us. Yet, God is gracious. Basically, if you relate God's grace to an ocean and you were forced to swim the entire length of the ocean, we all know that you would drown. It's impossible to explore and navigate the entirety of that ocean. So it is with God's grace. It's an ocean. Sinking may be a terrible and deadly thing to do in a literal ocean, but in the ocean of God's grace, it the best and most refreshing thing you can do.
And Heaven meets earth like an unforseen kiss: Seriously. When was the last time we just basked in the beauty of God's creation?? When was the last time we looked at pictures from the Hubble Telescope and just marveled at the vastness of God's universe? When we just stop thinking about ourselves and see the majesty of God's creation coming together like a passionate, loving kiss, it should leave us speechless.
And my heart turns violently inside of my chest: I love this picture. A heart turning, and wrestling violently with this realization. The realization of just how great God's love is. This picture makes me think of an epic battle raging inside of us to truly comprehend the beauty of God's love. It's a battle that will continue until we are standing face to face with Him.
I don't have time to maintain these regrets
When I think about, the way He loves us: Why worry? Why stress? Nothing in this life is that important. Not school. Not relationships. Not money. Not power. Not authority. I'll tell you what I'm going to do today. I'm going to bask in the love of my Father and just soak it up.

What about you?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCunuL58odQ

Fruitless Discussion

1 Timothy 1:5-7

"But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. For some men, straying from THESE things, have turned aside to fruitless discussion, wanting to be teachers of the Law, even though they do not understand either what they are saying or the matters about which they make confident assertions."

I was sitting in a large and very slick leather chair at the local watering-hole, known as Dunkin Donuts, yesterday morning when I ran across this passage in my quiet time. It caught me a little off-guard, in a sense, because it dealt with something that I've been hearing a lot about in the past month. I'm not talking about how bad Tennessee's football program is this year...I'm talking about fruitless discussions. Ok....I guess Tennessee can be thrown into that one too.

My point is this: over the past two months or so I have talked to students, answered questions in my Sunday School class and mentoring group, had conversations with Sunday School teachers, and discussions with other believers about a certain topic of doctrine. I won't go into detail about what the doctrine is or what my views are on the topic, because that is not what I want this post to be about.

I have realized through all of these conversations that "The Topic" leads to frustration, hurt feelings (in some cases), more questions and doubts, and ultimately fruitless discussion. The Bible has verses that back up each side of the coin so to say, but honestly, we as Christians can get so caught up into this particular topic that it affects how we interact with the lost world and with each other. It leads into fruitless conversations. I'm not saying that this topic is bad by any means! I'm just saying that there is a time and place for Christians to discuss it and talk about it, but all too often someone will throw the topic out in the middle of a conversation to start a debate. THAT is when it becomes fruitless.

I've notice as well that when the mentioning of the topic turns into a debate on "the topic", everyone becomes an expert. Honestly, we can talk until we are blue in the face about it, but we will never have the definitive answer. Only God knows. During these conversations we tend to push God to the side and try to figure it all out through our limited human knowledge. I love the quote from a Paul Newman movie that says "You oughta stop playin' God, 'cause you're no good at it, and the position's taken!"

I think this is why Paul is so passionate in this chapter to his son Timothy. He warns Timothy about these men who have a passion for teaching, even though they don't understand what they want to teach. They get caught up in fruitless discussion. Paul basically points out that there is really only one thing that matters when you boil it down to the end. We are filthy sinners in need of salvation, and God graciously offers it freely to us. His abundant grace and salvation is offered to all and He exhibits perfect patience in order that more may come to accept His offer.

1 Timothy 1:12-16

"I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, putting me into service, even though I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor. Yet I was shown mercy because I acted ignorantly in unbelief; and the grace of our Lord was more than abundant with the faith and love which are found in Christ Jesus. It is a trustworthy statement deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all. Yet for this reason I found mercy, so that in me as the foremost, Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life.

THAT is what matters. Not the fruitless discussions. Not the debates. Not the judgmental looks or remarks because someone stands on one side of the issue. It's ALL about Jesus. It's all about taking the gospel to the sick and sinful. To those who need it the most. I used to be that way. I just rejoice that I'm no longer in that group.

But my job is to share it. To share the simplicity of the gospel message.

Pure.

Simple.

Video message from Josh

I know it's been a while. That's my fault.

I wanted to do something special to make up for the time I've missed.

Remember my buddy Josh from the previous post? Of course you do.

I recorded his testimony to show at Epicenter and he said I could put it on my blog.

It's too big for Blogger to handle, so you'll have to jump to Youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2irdFb_YFA

A Pittsburgh-like Passion

I know. It's crazy, but true. I'm actually posting twice this week. Yesterday was more of a comical tirade on something I had noticed and I actually got many positive reviews on the post...even from the female gender. Just goes to show that I will never fully understand the female mind :)

Today's post, on the other hand, will be much more serious. If you follow me on twitter (twitter.com/crawdaddy87), you may have noticed over the past few days that I have spent a lot of time talking with a good friend of mine who, sadly, I had been out of contact with for a while. His story is so encouraging to me. We talked for about an hour and a half last night just about everything that God was doing in our lives and where He was leading us. I can't help but catch my friend's passion. Today, I'm going to introduce you to my boy Josh. I'm going to leave his last name out just to respect his privacy (you'll see why later) but I had to share how much his friendship means to me.

Josh grew up in the hood. On the streets. He had a family, but not the traditional family that most of us enjoy. His family was the guys he rolled with day in and day out on the streets of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Josh's dad, brother and sister were and still are deeply involved in the drug scene. Josh grew up in a broken home and lived a life of survival and violence.

The one bright spot in Josh's life was baseball. Josh was an outstanding pitcher whose dream was to reach the big leagues. Then Josh's career took a turn for the worse. He basically threw out his shoulder and had to have surgery. Over the next few months, because of his injury, he lost his scholarship and couldn't play baseball at the school anymore. Unknown to him at the time, this was the beginning of the "turning point" in his life. Josh started looking for any school that would offer a kid recovering from arm surgery a baseball scholarship.

Enter Liberty University.

I remember meeting Josh the first night of my sophmore year (Fall '06). Josh had no idea what he was getting into at LU. He had no idea that it was a Christian school with rules. He showed up to play ball. Needless to say, I can remember Josh standing against the back wall of our first Hall Meeting at Liberty. My good friend Preston was going over the Liberty Way and some things to expect throughout the year, and Josh, with a baseball cap pulled down over his face, was cussing and cutting up in the back. He didn't care. That night after our meeting, I met with Preston and we decided that Josh was going to be our mission field for the year. We knew that God brought him to LU for a reason and that God put him on our dorm for a reason. We knew it was going to be a battle, but our hearts broke for Josh.

We took Josh out to eat. We made sure we talked to him everyday. We invited him to church. We found out that he loved playing NCAA football on the PS2. So the three of us started a dynasty together. We would spend hours on the PS2 just hanging out, talking and ministering to Josh. Josh, once he realized that we were genuinely caring for him, started going to church with us. Josh started asking questions. Then halfway through the first semester, it happened. I clearly remember coming back to the dorm after a day of classes and Josh just walked out of Preston's room. He had a big smile on his face and he said "I did it bro. I just got saved." I went nuts. God blew my mind.

From that point on, Josh was always the first one ready for church. He was now vocal in small groups. He had a desire to study his Bible and learn. HE HAD PASSION. Josh was only at Liberty for that one year. He moved back to Pittsburgh. This week as I've been talking with Josh, I couldn't help but praise God for that one year. All it took was a few months of some guys loving on him and sharing Jesus with him, and his life changed completely.

Josh and I had kept in touch through facebook throughout the years. I would pray for him anytime that I thought about him. I honestly haven't seen Josh since he left Liberty after that year. Since that time Josh has gotten a full-time job in Pittsburgh. He started dating a girl. They got engaged. From the outside looking in, his life was going great.

Josh and I have talked the past 3 days in a row. I've asked Josh what his life has been like since he got saved, and left Liberty. Here's the general rundown (while still maintaining his privacy): his family hated him for getting saved, he got kicked out of his house, he was threatened because of his faith, he's basically been persecuted for his faith. His dad is dying from cancer. He broke things off with his fiance. He's ridiculed at work for his beliefs.

I told him, "Josh, it sounds like you have had your fair share of storms." His response? "Dude. God's got a plan. Yeah things look dark but it's nothing that God won't bring me through. He's in control."

PASSION. FAITH. SURRENDER. These words describe my good friend.

You know what Josh wants more than anything in the world? His family and friends to come to Christ. Ever since he got saved, Josh has been the most outspoken guy I know concerning Jesus. He's constantly sharing Christ with his family. He wants to see his dad get saved. He wants to see his brother and sister turn their lives around and find new life in Christ. He wants his fiance to go on a mission trip. He wants to reach his atheistic friend. He's know as "The Preacher" at his job. AND HE LOVES IT. AND HE LOVES JESUS. Those were his exact words to me last night: "Bro...I just love jesus!"

Wow. That's the passion we all need. I told Josh that he truly embodies Jesus' command in Matthew 5:14-16. "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; not does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, ut on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is heaven."

Josh has challenged me. I told him this last night. Josh has been saved for less than 5 years yet he has more passion for Christ by himself than some churches have altogether. Josh is in a DARK city. There are no churches near where he lives. He doesn't have a fellowhsip of believers to gather with. All he has is his Bible and his relationship with his Savior. But he's a light. And he's not ashamed. I told him that when I get a full time job as a Youth Pastor next year, I'm bringing him in to speak to my students. I'm not kidding.

I want to be more like my boy Josh. I want to embody that level of passion. I want that Pittsburgh-like Passion. Sometimes, I just simply take it for granted. I think I have passion because I work at a church, I speak at FCA, or because I mentor students. Sadly, and honestly, my passion doesn't compare to Josh's.

But that's gonna change.

We all need people in our lives to challenge us. To motivate us. To encourage us. Josh has been a God-send to me. His friendship is invaluable. I'm blessed to know him and call him friend.

For some reason, I've been putting the lyrics to songs at the end of my posts recently. Today is no different. This song, sums it up:

Give Me Your Eyes
By: Brandon Heath

Look down from a broken sky
Traced out by the city lights
My world from a mile high
Best seat in the house tonight

Touch down on the cold black top
Hold on for the sudden stop
Breathe in the familiar shock
Of confusion and chaos

All those people going nowhere
Why have I never cared

Give me your eyes for just one second
Give me your eyes so I can see
Everything that I keep missing
Give me your love for humanity
Give me your arms for the brokenhearted
The ones that are far beyond my reach
Give me your heart for the ones forgotten
Give me your eyes so I can see

Step out on a busy street
See a girl and our eyes meet
Does her best to smile at me
To hide whats underneath

There's a man just to her right
Black suit and a bright red tie
Too ashamed to tell his wife
He's out of work, he's buying time

Give me your eyes for just one second
Give me your eyes so I can see
Everything that I keep missing
Give me your love for humanity
Give me your arms for the brokenhearted
The ones that are far beyond my reach
Give me your heart for the ones forgotten
Give me your eyes so I can see

I've been here a million times
A couple of million eyes
Just move and pass me by
I swear that I never thought that I was wrong
I need a second glance
Give me a second chance
To see the way you've seen the people all along

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5AkNqLuVgY&ob=av2n)

The Less Than Manly Christian Store

What's this??
A post on THURSDAY???
Aaron are you feeling alright?

Have no fear. Everything is well. I just felt..."compelled" to write about a certain topic that I feel needs to be addressed today. It's a topic that has been haunting me for years even though I didn't recognize it until this week. It's something that I've actually avoided, subconsciously, for quite a while. This subject will most likely lose me some points with the ladies. This monstrosity? It's known as The Overly-Feminine, No-Man-Card-To-Be-Found store.
That's right. I'm talking about:

FAMILY CHRISTIAN BOOKSTORE.

Now. Before you get all upset and rush at me like a Florida Marlins 1st base coach over the fact that I just insulted the most popular Christian bookstore on the planet, hear me out.
I was talking with one of the students in our ministry this week and as we passed the store, we came to the conclusion that we just didn't feel like a man when we enter that store. If we need anything from there, we order online and hope nobody sees the package with the store logo sitting on our front step.
Guys, when was the last time you went into that store and came out feeling like a man? I mean, seriously. You can't help but walk into that store and feel multiple man cards being sucked away from you. AND IT'S A CHRISTIAN STORE!!

This store is full of Thomas Kinkade landscapes with random verses from Psalms scrolled out in gold ink, candles with "Bible-themed" scents, there are roughly 38 women's books to every 1 man-themed book, feminite bookmarks, cheesy thank you cards, feel-good verses on candy, and overpriced pictures of a calm and comforting Jesus, fuzzy-wuzzy lambs, or a calm and comforting Jesus holding a fuzzy-wuzzy lamb. Now, yes sometimes we need Jesus to be our Prince of Peace and our refuge in the tough times...

But where are the landscapes of bloody battlefields??? I want Thomas Kinkade to paint a epic portrayal of Gideon and his band of brothers slaughtering fools on the battlefield. I want a picture of Samson ripping a lion in half with his bare hands. I want a picture of Benaiah running an Egyptian through the gut with a spear! I want a picture of David chopping off Goliath's mug with Psalm 58:10 written below it. (For the record that verse says: "The righteous will rejoice when he sees the vengeance;He will wash his feet in the blood of the wicked.") Where are these portrayals?? I'd drop dolla dolla bills like they were hot on a picture of the Battle of Armageddon!

Candles that smell like the "Lillies of the Field?" No thanks. I'll take some MAN-dles. I want candles that smell like a Hittite blacksmith shop. I want candles that smell like the Sea of Galilee. I want to enjoy a nice soak after a long day while reading some C.S. Lewis as the scents of "Israelite Campground" fill my nostrils.

Books? Come on. Depending on the store, the Men's section (like legitiamte books) is confined to one shelf. There are tons of books for men that I would like to see on the shelf. I want more books from guys like Cliff Graham (http://knowthecovering.blogspot.com/) and stuff from Jon Acuff (stuffchristianslike.net). Books that challenge men to stand up and be men. Especially for men who aren't in "full-time ministry." There are tons of books for pastors and church leaders. What about the other men??

Seriously? A bookmark with a lazy river and a peaceful verse on it? No thanks. Give me a book mark in the shape of sword or a battle axe or the jawbone of a donkey. I'd laminate that sucker.

Ok. Now obviously this is meant to be a more humouros take on this tragedy I see in the Christian book store. Ladies need their trinkets and such from this store. Obviously the ladies tend to decorate more of the house so I can see how they would want some more peaceful decorations. But men, it's time to stand up. You need to gear up your man-cave in the Biblical way! The ladies have over run that store! So grab your mammoth swords in the likeness of Eleazar, grow out your beards, gird up your loins and make a stand!!

My Stand

What comes to your mind when you hear the word "SURRENDER"??

Some people may think of war, or the example of someone like General Lee surrendering to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox. Others may think of someone hoisting a white flag to signal defeat. For those who are children of the late-70's and early-80's, you may think of a song by the band Cheap Trick. There are countless images or ideas that pop into our mind when we hear the term "surrender.

The idea of total surrender is something that God has been bringing to light in my life recently. This idea of surrendering to God goes hand in hand with my last post on contentment. Total surrender to God. Total surrender to His will for my life. What does that mean? What does that look like? Does that affect me now?

Before I go any further, I want to clarify one thing. Those examples and images at the beginning of this post are completely different from the idea of surrender in the sense that I'm talking about today. Those first examples of surrender occur when there is no other choice available. Lee surrendered to Grant because he was out of options. People wave the white flag and surrender because there is nowhere left to run or hide. That type of surrender is a last-ditch effort for survival. That type of surrender is a choice made out of fear for self-preservation, and and it's the absolute last choice you want to make. Do you really think that Lee wanted to surrender to Grant? Absolutely not. I guarantee you that he wanted to win that war. He surrendered because he was out of options. He surrendered because his back was against the wall. He surrendered in order to spare his life and the lives of his men. It was the absolute last choice that he would ever consider making.

Now flip it around. When we surrender to God, it should be the foremost decision we make. Surrendering to God isn't a last-ditch effort for survival. Surrendering to God is not deciding to make that choice when you've exhausted all other options and the only thing left is crying out to God. Honestly, that is a picture of a proud man being humbled, not surrender. Surrendering to God, and His will for our lives looks like this: "I wish to lie low before God, as in the dust; that I might be nothing and that God might be all." -(Jonathan Edwards). Surrendering is a conscience choice that we make. A choice to deny ourselves and do what God has called us to do because we desire to be used by Him. I think that is what Paul was getting at when he said:

"For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a slave to all that I may win more. To the Jews, I became as a Jew, so that I might win Jews; to those who are under the Law, as under the Law though not myself being under the Law, so that I might win those who are under the Law; to those who are without law, as without law, though not being without the law of God but under the law of Christ, so that I might win those who are without the law. To the weak, I became weak, that I might win the weak; I have become all things to all men, so that by all means I may save some. I do ALL things for the sake of the gospel, so that I may become a fellow partaker of it." - 1 Corinthians 9:19-23

Paul understood what it meant to surrender to God. He knew that his mission was to deny his wants and desires and spread the gospel to any and all who ears to hear. He didn't care what the situation was, or what the cultural background, or who he was talking to. All he cared about was sharing the truth of Christ. Why??? Because he had surrendered.

Surrendering to God is realizing that it is not about us, but rather it is all about Him. Surrendering to God is voluntarily taking your hands off the steering wheel of life and surrendering COMPLETE control to Him. It's humbling yourself before an Almighty God. Surrender is knowing who is control of your life, and then actually obeying Him.

To use the example of a student that I mentor: Surrendering to God is obedience to the call that He has put on your life. Surrender is obeying God by pursuing a life in ministry even when your parents want you to do something completely different. Surrendering to God is physically seen by those around you, as you TRUSTING God.

I want to end this post with a song. This song has been playing in my head for weeks as I've been digesting this topic of surrender. I love this song and I almost started crying when Matt Tillman sang this the other night at Epicenter. That's a vulnerable statement but I can honestly say it because it's the cry of my heart. I earnestly desire to abandon my own desires and completely surrender to "the One who gave it all." Pay attention to the words of this song and check out the video link for youtube at the end.

"The Stand" -Hillsong United

You stood before creation
Eternity within your hands
You spoke the earth into motion
My soul now to stand

You stood before my failure
Carried the cross for my shame
My sin weighed upon your shoulders
My soul now to stand

So what can I say?
What can I do?
But offer this heart O God
COMPLETELY to you

So I'll walk upon salvation
Your spirit alive in me
This life to declare your promise
My soul now to stand

So what can I say?
What can I do?
But offer this heart O God
COMPLETELY to you

So I'll stand
With arms high and heart abandoned
In awe of the One who gave it all

So I'll stand
My soul Lord, to you SURRENDERED
ALL I AM IS YOURS!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkGLbKV26zo

Contentment In Christ

Contentment. That's an interesting word. It's honestly the term that best describes my life right now, and I'll explain that later. It's a word that Paul uses in Philippians 4:10-13.

"But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at last you have revived your concern for me; indeed, you were concerned before, but you lacked opportunity. Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me."

I love the wording that Paul uses here. The first thing that stands out to me is that being content is a learned trait. Paul says that he has "learned to be content." To me, logically, that suggests that there must have been a time (or times) in his life where he was faced with undesireable circumstances. We see this clearly in Paul's "resume" found in 2 Corinthians 11:16-31. Contentment isn't just a light-switch that you just turn on. It's a process. You have to go through some rough times, times of uncertainty, and times where you are on the polar opposite spectrum of contentment. But through this process, you learn what it means to be content. You learn what it means to be grateful for the things that God has blessed you with whether they are big or small. You learn to be content in whatever circumstances you are in.

Philippians 4:13 is a very popular verse, especially among athletes. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. "I can outrun everyone in this race through Christ who strengthens me. I can shoot better, jump higher, bench more, tackle better, or win more games through Christ who strengthens me." "I can ask this girl out and she will say yes because I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." It's almost like a mantra for immediate success in most people's mind. However, I think Paul's intention for this verse was different when you consider the context. Paul just got finished talking about how he has learned to be content even when he was suffering and then he says "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me." Ultimately, Paul is saying that he can "accept" anything that comes his way. Why? Because he has learned what it means to be content in Christ. He knows that God is going to take care of him and provide for him, so why should he worry? He understood contentment.

I'm at a weird place right now. What's weird is that my life is going faster than a middle school girl's heart rate at the sight of Justin Bieber, yet, I'm happy. I'm content. I see some friends starting new chapters in their life (which excites me), and I see some friends revisiting old "adventures" (which worries me) and I can barely wrap my mind around the fact that I start my last year of seminary in 10 days. Yet, I'm content. This past year has been an interesting one for me, full of whirlwind events, changes and decisions. I've had some rough times, and some great times. Within this last year, I've been at the "bottom of the barrel", on "top of my game" and just about everywhere in the middle. Yet, I've learned to be content.

Trust me, I'm not boasting or bragging. I'm just saying that I believe my God is a big God, and I've got nothing to worry about. I think Job said it best:

"As for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last He will take His stand on the earth. Even after my skin is destroyed, yet from my flesh I shall see God; whom I myself shall behold and whom my eyes will see and not another. My heart faints within me!" -Job 19

The Creator of the universe is the God I serve. Wherever He leads me, whatever circumstances I go through, I know who my Shield and Strong Tower is. Why should I worry when I can be content?

Just another example of God's faithfulness

Ok. So I realized that I promised to post something new on my blog every week...the week before I left for vacation. That is my excuse for being absent last week. Judge me all you want.

A lot has been happening in my life recently. As I just mentioned, I got a chance to go back to Lynchburg last week for a little R&R. It was a very busy week full of seeing close friends, mentors, family members, and water park rides. I've always thanked God for blessing me with awesome friends and family but I never realized how much I under-valued them until this week. You don't fully grasp how much people mean to you until you go 6 months without seeing them and then you are forced to see them all in a span of 5 days. It's tough. I wanted to see so many people, but I knew I had to choose who I got to see in those few short days. During that crazy week, I realized how much God has blessed me with in the area of relationships. Yes, I got to spend more time with certain people, but I was truly blown away with the faithfullness of my friends. I'm not downplaying the importance of other people in my life, I'm just pointing out that seeing and spending time with the people that love and care about me was a breath of fresh air in my (honestly) weary life. It was just what I needed, and God knew it. Just another example of God's faithfulness.

For those of you that have been following my blog/life recently, you know that I've been looking for a car. Well, the day has arrived. Sorta. My dad thinks he has a car lined up for me as long as all the paperwork and transfer with the DMV goes well. This is a HUGE praise. Hopefully within the next few weeks, I will be driving a car that should last me a good while. This is just another example of God's faithfulness.

Things at the church are crazy! After some downtime post-camp, things have kicked back up as public schools started back today. This is going to be a hectic week as we prepare for some changes. This upcoming weekend is our Promotion Sunday where we bump everyone up a grade, introduce new teachers, welcome the new freshman, and basically pull our hair out as we try to place around 500 kids in the right classes. On top of that, we are attempting to feed breakfast to about 400 students this week at various local schools. We are in the process of teaming up with some local Chick-Fil-A's, McDonalds, and Publix to offer breakfast this Thursday and Friday to local high school students as they finish their first week back at school. It's going to be awesome!
Sticking with the internship update, I'm very excited to announce that I have been offered an extension on my current internship. I had a meeting with Matt about 2 weeks ago where he asked me to continue my internship and stay an extra 6 months. Now, instead of ending in December, I will conclude my internship at the end of June 2011. I've prayed about it and talked with my parents about it, and we feel like this is what God wants me to do. When my internship ends, I will have my Master's Degree finished (May) and a more complete resume as I look for a full-time job in Student Ministries. Just another example of God's faithfulness.

So basically to sum it up. My life is crazy. I have no idea where I'm going to end up. But God was, is and will continue to be FAITHFUL. I'm just going to rest in that fact now...

"He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler." - Psalm 91:4

"But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. The Lord is my portion, says my soul, therefore I will hope in him." - Lamentations 3:21-24

Lions and chopped up hearts

So I know it's been a while since I've posted something. I admit that I've been slacking and I am going to change that. Hopefully, I'll be posting at least once a week now. I know...you are so excited that you can barely contain it. It's ok. Let out that scream of pure, undefiled joy. I'll wait...

Feel better? Good. Because here is what God taught me this week.

This past week, I had the opportunity to attend Student Leadership University 101 with a few students from our ministry. I've been to this event before and it is always challenging but there was something this week that really stuck out to me. It wasn't the roller coasters. It wasn't Sea World. It wasn't the AWESOME list of suggested books to read. It wasn't the straight-forward and humorous sessions led by Dr. Jay Strack, Brent Crowe or Chuck Allen. It was a quote in our workbook, that we didn't even discuss.
Now, I love SLU. I'm a big fan and I plan on taking my students to it when I "grow up" and get a full-time job. Also, in their defense, they have a TON of information to cover and I understand that they can't cover it all. But I happened to be flipping the pages when I saw the following quote on a page discussing "quiet times."

"My dear Jesus, my Savior, is so deeply written in my heart, that I feel confident, that if my heart were to be cut open and chopped to pieces, the name of Jesus would be found written on every piece." -St. Ignatius of Antioch

Wow.

After I read this, I immediately asked myself, "Can I honestly say that?" Can I honestly say that my relationship with Jesus Christ, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, the Creator, the Alpha and Omega, I AM Himself, is so deeply written on my heart that I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that if I were to die for Him and you opened me up and chopped my heart into tiny pieces...you would find the name of Jesus Christ on every little piece? Can I, the same guy who slept in this morning because I was a little "tired" instead of getting up at a reasonable hour to spend time with Savior, honestly say that?? Can I, a man that is prone to wander and leave the God I love say that?? I'm ashamed to say "no."
Why not? Because I'm prideful. I care more about what people think (in some areas) rather than totally surrendering to the One who surrendered everything for me.

Obviously, as you can tell, this quote deeply convicted me. St. Ignatius was not saying that we need to be perfect, but rather that every single thing we say, do and think should SCREAM the name of Jesus. There should be no doubt whom our allegiance lies with. I want to make a difference for my King. I want that to be said of me, not for my own edification but rather for His glory. I'm honestly not there yet. But this was a proper kick to the seat of my pants that I need to get it together. Will people say that of me after I die? Will that be said of me if I get the honor of dying for the One who died for me? I'm not perfect, but this is my desire.

I find it interesting, and maybe even slightly ironic, that St. Ignatius was martyred for his faith by being eaten alive by lions in the Roman Colosseum. He was torn to shreds. He was ripped open by lions. His heart may have even been exposed after his body had been mutilated by the lions. Yet he died with the name of Jesus on his lips. On his heart. There was no denying whose side he was on. I pray it's the same for me.

What are we waiting for?

Seriously???

It amazes me that people will stand in line for hours just to get a new iphone. They will stand in line and camp out for days when a new Chick-Fil-A opens up (nothing but love for you CFA!!!). I remember guys at Liberty who would sneak out after curfew just to get a new video game, and then play it until 5AM (GUILTY). That's called devotion. Those people are willing to do whatever it takes and wait as long as necessary to get something that makes them happy. To get something that "satisfies" a desire.

Why aren't we lining up to take the gospel to the nations??? Why aren't we willing to do whatever it takes and wait in line as long as necessary to sign up to get on a plane so that we can take the good news of Jesus Christ to the world? Why aren't we dropping everything around us to take the truth to the unreached? Jesus Christ is the only thing that can satisfy that desire, that need, that hole in our lives, and we are content with just sitting in the comfort of the "American Dream."

I've noticed this a lot now that I'm nearly done with David Platt's book "Radical." You NEED to pick it up. It's a convicting slap in the face. One of the most brutal things that stuck out to me is this: God loves the world. (Duh.) BUT when we say that we have a heart for America and that we are comfortable just supporting missionaries to other nations, just as long as we aren't the ones going. When we admit this, we are admitting to 5% of God's heart...and we are proud of it. SHAME. ON. US.

Now, I'm not bashing the iphone. Heck, if I was blessed with one, I'd use it until it fell apart. I'm not bashing Chick-Fil-A. I love that place! They are a great company with amazing principles that they live by and they are a great example of how Christianity and the corporate world can be "unstoppable." I'm not bashing video games. Sometimes you need to relax and take out some bad guys. I'm just pointing out that our priorities are majorly screwed up. And I'll be the first to admit that I'm guilty of it myself. Whether it's taking the focus off of God and putting it on myself, my desires, my relationships, or my own will. I make mistakes. I sin. The good news is that I've heard the good news. What about the others? What about those in jungles and villages and deserts?

Where do we sign up? Where do we wait in line for hours on end? That's where I want to be...

Leaving for camp!

Hey everyone!
I'll be gone for the next two weeks at summer camp. Please pray. I'll update after I get back.

This week: High School in Cocoa Beach

Next week: Middle School in Cocoa Beach

America's Greatest (yet sadly fictional) Hero...EVER.

Well. I promised this post...and now it's here. After countless hours spent in my sweatpants and after many, many bowls of triple chocolate chunk ice cream...I am now ready to embrace my greatest fear as the reality that it has become.

24 is over.

It's done. Jack Bauer will no longer protect America on Monday nights in the way that he deems best. He will no longer be a rogue agent who gets a shot of adrenaline every time he disobeys a direct order. My Monday nights from here on out will just be another boring night.

Instead of writing about the series finale and how much I'll miss it and all that other stuff, I decided to basically give out awards for the entire series. So without any further ado, The 24 Awards According to Aaron Crawford:

Greatest Hero: Really??? You have to think about this? Next award.

Greatest Hero not named 'Jack Bauer': This is a tough one for me. There are three in the running for this award. Curtis, Chase, and Tony. Curtis will win an award later so I'm knocking him out of this conversation even though I think he was a great character. Chase is a great guy with a lot of potential that only lasted one season. Sadly, one season wasn't enough for Chase to actually shine. He's a great guy but one season isn't enough to compare to Tony's six. Yes, Tony made some mistakes, and for a while we thought he was terrorist, but seriously...he was the greatest second-place agent anyone could ask for.

Best President: This is yet another no-brainer in my opinion. David THE-FREAKING-MAN Palmer. I wasn't sure how much I was going to like David Palmer when we are first introduced to him in Season One, but he is, by far, the best President this show ever had. All the presidents after him were a bunch of weak, easily-swayed, morons. Not David Palmer. Not Mr. Allstate. No, he knew what he was doing. Was he perfect? Not by a long shot. Did he take responsibility for his actions and actually stand up for what he believed in? You better believe it. His death would forever shake the foundation of Jack's world and send him spiraling down a path of despair and pain. His assassination was one of the most unexpected deaths ever...yet it leads me to the next award.

Worst President: Charles Logan. What a rotten, weasel of a man. Seriously, this guy had his hand in just about every bad thing that happened on the show since he was introduced. He was involved in the deaths of President Palmer, Michelle Dessler, and even in the last season with President Hassan. He tried to kill Jack himself on multiple occasions. I couldn't help but wish that he would die every time he appeared on screen. I literally jumped up and down when I saw Jack with a sniper rifle trained on his head in the series finale. I thought one of my wishes was going to come true! It would have...had it not been for stupid Chloe O'Brian. I was disappointed that Logan tried to commit suicide but...what do you expect from a weasel like him? I hated that guy.

Character that the show killed off WAY too early: This was another toss up that I really had to think about. Yes, there are plenty of characters who get killed off early, but only a few make a lasting impact with us as the viewer. Two of these characters are Edgar "The Penguin with a Lisp" Stiles and Curtis "The Man" Manning. This award could go to either character but I have to make a choice. I loved Edgar. He was awesome and I was glad to see someone as smart as Chloe in the tech region. Sadly, he died from a poisonous gas being pumped into CTU. It was a sad day seeing Edgar gasp for breath as the silent clock ended the episode. Curtis on the other hand was just a beast of a field agent. Curtis was a leader and a talented shooter and fighter. He always thought through the situations and to his credit (and death) he stood up for what he believed in. He was one of the best. I was not happy when they killed him off at the hands of Jack Bauer. I felt like he got the shaft just because the writers were trying to instill some "shock factor" at the beginning of a new season. Curtis, you didn't deserve that. That's why you edge out Edgar for this award.

Character that the show took way too long to kill off: Nina Myers. Now, she did present a lot of good material for the show. However, I felt like the writers were dragging her out and allowing her to live just for the sake of drama. Sure she killed Terri at the end of Season One which is the catalyst for all of Jack's actions for the remainder of the series, but she always seemed to escape. She was a professional survivor...that is until Jack Bauer had enough.

Character I couldn't stand from minute one: If you know me personally, then this is a no-brainer as well. Chloe O'Brian. Ugh. I don't even know what to say. I can't think of very many positive things about Chloe. Yes, she stuck by Jack's side all those years and helped him out when nobody else would...but that still doesn't gain her any respect in my book. Ever since I first heard her shrill voice with her sarcastically blunt and annoying attitude, I prayed that she would die. Even though the writers teased us with this situation a few times...she never bit the bullet. You're lucky Chloe. I would have killed you off by some random freak accident in the IT room at CTU. Ugh.

Favorite Leading Lady in Jack's life: Other than Terri, there was really only one other Lady in Jack's life. Yes, he had the pleasure and company of a number of women but only one stood out among the rest. Her name is Audrey Raines. Audrey and Jack had some ups and downs. Things were going great until Jack had to make a decision to ultimately ended Audrey's ex-husband's life. Shortly after, Jack "ceased to exist" and Audrey was forced to move on. Months later, Jack returns from the dead and tries to pick things back up with Audrey. After another season of misery Jack is captured by the Chinese...only to have Audrey scour the globe searching for the man that she loves. Sadly, this ends in her torture and eventual brain-washing at the hands of said Chinese. Jack's ladies never seemed to go out on a happy note. They always ended up dead or in serious injury. But here's to you Audrey. You stood head and shoulders above the rest.

Best Terrorist: This one is tough. I loved the story behind Season Three so I'm going to choose that one as the best. Not only are you dealing with the Salazar's and their Heroine Empire with a little Nina Myers thrown in the mix but you also have ex-MI6 agent Stephen Saunders to deal with. His personal history with Jack mixed in with Jack trying to overcome a drug addiction made this a very intense season.

Best Jack Bauer kill: Man. There are so many and I can't choose...so since Jack Bauer wins the award anyway, I'm just going to list some of my favorites. "The Axe", "The Jugular Snack", "The Hang 'Em High With A Chain", "The Scissors", "The Gutting", "The One Man vs. Russian Secret Service", "The Empty An Entire Clip In A Fool Because They Deserve It" (many occasions), "Neck Snapping Goodness" (many occasions) etc. Basically all of them.

Best Jack Bauer quote: Jack has had many good quotes. Quotes that strike fear into the hearts of terrorists about to be tortured. However, the one I've never forgotten comes at a t time when Jack is at the end of his rope. Audrey is lying in her bed like a vegetable as her father yells and blames Jack for what has happened. Jack wants to take Audrey with him to provide and protect for her despite her father's arguments. After Jack is pushed away he says, "In case you've forgotten, I'm really good at disappearing. And if you try sending someone after us...I'll kill him. I'm pretty good at that too." Talk about chills running down someone's spine.

Jack, you will never be forgotten. Thank you for all that you've done for our country. I freely admit that I have had and always will have a "man-crush" on you. You da man.

Thoughts?? Comments?? What are your picks??