Sunday, August 12, 2012

Christian Love and Wedding Songs Playlist



Below is a collection of Christian loves songs. Great selections for wedding or just setting the mood for a romantic outing. Please comment below if you would like to add to the list. You can listen to this playlist on Spotify just search for Christian Love Songs by Jonathan Deal

When I Say I Do.......Matthew West
How Do I Love Her.........Steven Curtis Chapman
What Love Has Done To Me.......Michael O Brien
God Gave Me You......... Dave Barnes
When God Made You.........New Song
I Will Be Here........ Steven Curtis Chapman
Listen To Our Hearts........ Steven Curtis Chapman
A Page Is Turned.........Bebo Norman
Angel...........Casting Crowns
Somewhere In This World.......Wayne Watson
You Belong To Me........ Michael W Smith
Do You Dream Of Me.......Michael W Smith
I Will Be Here For You......Michael W Smith
The Other Side Of Me.......Michael W Smith
I Will Carry You......Micheal W Smith
By Heart By Soul........ Avalon
God Bless The Broken Road......Geoff Moore
Love Of  My Life....Michael W Smith
Waltz for Jennifer.....FFH
A Little More........Skillet
Wedding Day........Casting Crowns
Follow Love.......FFH




Wednesday, July 18, 2012

The Extreme Makeover / Hiking Edition



I find spiritual inspiration in the weirdest places. Last night while watching the Extreme Makeover Weight Loss Edition. I came to the realization that we spend to much time avoiding the pain of life. We do everything possible to avoid any kind of discomfort. The Lady portrayed in the show I watched Nyla was trying to loss weight but she wanted to call it quiets every time the training became too tough for her. The trainer knew that in order for Nyla to accomplish her goal he had to help her get used to feeling discomfort. Nyla had to accept that pain was part of the process of lossing weight. I can understand that some situations are very tough but trying to design your life so that there is no discomfort is impossible. Eventually, Nyla lost the weight and was glad that the pain made her stronger. This story also reminds me of what God taught me on while hiking. Recently, Me and my brother decided to hike a 12 mile trail at Grandfather Mountain. To be honest with you, I did not know how long my hike would be til I got to the mountain. I had some hesitation about doing the trail because it was 100 degree in the foothills and I did not know how hot it would be on the trail. My brother also revealed to me that he wanted hike, the toughest trails on the mountain. Some of the hiker on trail even thought that we were crazy but determination and need for an adventure ( adventure is always enticing for me) pushed me past my hesitation. It was not long into the hike that more doubt started to sink in and I wonder if I would finish the trail but I learn that if you push past the discomfort that first sets in during a trail, you will find that you can re-adapt and get a second wind to to finish the trail. If you can push past the pain, the doubt, and focus on the goal, it is amazing what you will accomplish. The adventure is always worth chances and risks we take in life. James said it best:

James 1:2-4 Consider it a great joy, my brothers, whenever you experience various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4 But endurance must do its complete work, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing

Below is a short video from our adventure













Tuesday, July 10, 2012

An F bomb Mistake Ruins the Album of one of My Favorite Bands (P.O.D)









Lately, I have been listening to the new P.O.D album  Murdered Love and I have say I am socked to hear P.O.D drop the f bomb on the song I Am. The song is from the point of view of someone searching for Christ but in the midst of the song they drop an F bomb. Here is my question, where is the line that needs to be drawn when it comes to spreading the message of Jesus Christ ? I know that P.O.D does not exactly claim to be an exclusively christian group but they are sold at christian bookstores like family christian. What dissappoints me is that the album is probably one of thier most appartly Christian orientated albums. The songs are great on the album until you get to I Am. Can we justify useing curse words inorder to identify with the lost and reach them for Christ? We do need to be honest but not at the expense of encourageing someones slavery to sin. Christ came to set us free from the slavery of sin he did not come to encourage us to remain a slave to sin. Paul says in First Corinthians 8:9  But you must be careful so that your freedom does not cause others with a weaker conscience to stumble. The members of P.O.D may be forgiven by grace but this does not give them a license to cause others to stumble.The F word on the album is kind of garbled and censored but you can still tell what the group is saying . I have been a big fan of P.O.D ever since there first album and it breaks my heart to see them go and make this mistake. If they would have left out that song from the album, the whole album would reached the world with a positive message.  For more about the album please read the following review.  http://www.jesusfreakhideout.com/cdreviews/MurderedLove.asp

Friday, June 29, 2012

The Holy Spirit our Antivirus










The Holy Spirit acts has our antivirus, therefore we must listen to the Spirits prompts to do a viral scan when the Spirit detects that we have a virus/sin. Hopefully, if you are computer savy, you were able to understand the analogy I just made about how Holy Spirit. Awhile back, while studying for a youth lesson I noticed that my antivirus on my computer was telling me that I needed to do a virus scan. Normally a good program that detects viruses on a computer will require that you do a virus scan periodically or that you update your antivirus program. Usually, I do take the time to run the scan but on this day I didn't have time for the scan I was busy studying. Sometimes while preparing for a lesson, I try downloads from various sites so I can find a program that can run a certain kind videos. Searching for downloads can sometimes get you in trouble because you run into unprotected sites that may contain a virus. Needless to say I found a website that had a virus. Automatically my antivirus program came to life and told me that I really needed a viral scan but I did not have the time or the patience to check out the problem so I ignored the warning that I needed to run the program. After ignoring the problem for awhile the virus started to take a hold of my computer and corrupts my files. The visible signs of the virus infecting my computer put me on alert but it was too late to start the antivirus program the virus was preventing me from running the program. I did however get my computer working again later but I had a to wipe a lot of my work and re-install some of my programs. All was not lost though, the situation taught me a valuable lesson on how the holy spirit act has antivirus for our minds and searches for thoughts that might corrupt or infect our minds. The bible says in 1 Corinthians 2:10

God's Spirit searches everything. In Revelations 2:23 it say the God examines our heart and our minds. Often, the Holy Spirit is telling us what we are thinking or doing is going to leads us down a path to destruction but we ignore the warning and go further down the path. When we constantly ignore the warning of the Holy Spirit we minimize the warning and pretty soon we find out that a virus/sin has over taken our system and we feel powerless to get rid of the virus/sin. Thankfully Jesus has promised to never leaves for sake us, so when we feel overwhelmed by sin, I believe Jesus call us to examine our lives, clean house and get rid of programs/ ways of thinking that might become corrupt again. This helps us clearly see the importance of our antivirus system called the Holy Spirit and heed His warnings.




Thursday, May 24, 2012

Strength and Healing from Romans 8


My new video that uses Romans 8 to bring about strength and Healing. The video includes the song The Hurt and the Healer. Enjoy

Monday, May 7, 2012

Life is a Roller Coaster ( The Ride of Thymoma Cancer)


Life is a roller coaster with ups and downs. The key to dealing with life is not to fool yourself into thinking that you will only experience ups with no downs or only downs with no ups. The only predictable thing in life that we can trust in is a God who says He is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and end, the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. I have learned this lesson the hard way, through experience. Just when I think that life is following a normal course for me something always comes along to rearrange my world. My dad being diagnosed with Thymoma cancer did just that..This condition is a rare cancer that is hard to treat due to the lack of information and lack of doctors who specialize in its treatment. My family was taken off guard. Until you have cancer or have a close friend or family member diagnosed with cancer, you will always naively think that cancer only affects other people. What started out as severe side problems turned into what we thought was small cell lung cancer. The doctors had given my dad no hope of a cure. My dad took several rounds of chemo trying to slow down the progression of his cancer. It was hard seeing dad go through chemo and be weakened by the medicine that was supposed to provide a cure. One of the hardest challenges for me was to be at college concentrating on school work while my family was being attacked at home by this disease. College was to be a time of independence, but it turned into a time of guilt at times because I thought that I should be at home with my family. Cancer always affects the whole family and each member deals with cancer in a kind of second hand fashion. We get the emotional shrapnel that comes from watching our loved one being attacked by cancer. My mom stuck by dad’s side like a warrior and held on through all the storms that came his way. The only sense of sanity that kept me going through these hard times was trusting God was in control and would take care of my family. Often my friends and family at church served as answers to my prayers for strength and comfort. During this time, the roller coaster of my dad’s life seemed to have lots of quick turns and ups and downs. The downs came in the form of my dad’s loss of strength, hearing, and taste. To fix the hearing and taste problem that came from brain fluid leakage, dad went to Chapel Hill to see a specialist. This trip led to other biopsies which led to an up in dad's life. We learned that he did not have small cell lung cancer, but that his tumors were benign. The doctor was still trying to diagnosis what type of cancer my dad had, but we were happy to receive good news, and we wanted to live in that moment.

In life, when the roller coaster starts to go up, this is the time we need to gather all our strength and work on our faith because a ride down the hill may follow along with the sting of the devil’s fiery arrows. The next turn in life brought dad a new diagnosis of benign Thymoma cancer. This cancer was benign but forming a plan of treatment is an experimental and on-going process. The cancer took my dad on a journey through so many kinds of suffering and pain. My dad still had fluid leakage and the doctors had to fix the leak on one side of his head at a time. Each procedure was dangerous and scary, which had us on our knees continually. In the meantime, the medication to treat the problems with his lungs was causing him to go on a depression/prednisone influenced soul searching crisis of life. It was like dad was becoming a new person, and he was leaving behind the old Johnny. Dad was caught in between grieving what he could not do anymore and trying to redefine himself. He was scared to death of losing the essence of what made him Johnny Deal. This idea was scary for me. I saw my dad fight this war of character assassination. It was the stripping of the most influential man in my life. This was the worst part of seeing dad suffer. My dad will always be bigger than life to me. It is a legacy that makes a man, not his physical capabilities. During this time our quiet, do- not-get-too-personal ways were being thrown out the window. Dad would tell me everything about himself: the good, the bad, and the ugly. We examined our father and son relationship in ways that were, at times, traumatic, but I was glad I could have this experience. For me, what dad was going through was hard to take. Dad helped me honestly look at what he was going through. During this time, God showed me that I needed to help dad to see himself as a warrior caught in the trenches of life fighting to survive. No one can dare say that a wounded warrior fighting for a cause is not worthy of respect and honor. I have always wanted to be this honest and open with my dad and this season of life provided the opportunity. During this time, my mom and I helped each other with the hard questions of life. My brother and I acted as comrades talking about the battle that was happening in our lives. My little nephew, Noah, was a healthy distraction reminding my parents of pure, simple joy and laughter. My wife has acted has a sounding board and good listener to my rants about the unfairness of life. Not only did this opportunity happen between my dad and mom but also between my Heavenly Father and me. I needed answers for this hurt in my life, and I was questioning everything I believed about God's sovereignty and goodness. Dad was on a desperate high that was like a version of dad unrestrained. Dad was obsessed with connecting with everyone that crossed his path. This need scared us at times because dad seemed to have no sense of time and would talk with complete strangers about personal topics. In the South, we are very reserved about personal issues, especially when it comes to strangers. Later on, dad would come down from his high and become afraid that he would hurt those around him with his presence reminding them that he was suffering. Recently, dad has gotten out of the house more and started to find more strength out in the community, especially recently at North Catawba Baptist Church. Each season of cancer brought a new season in dad’s life.

The roller coaster of these seasons kept trying to throw mom off the tracks several times, but my brother and she hung on for dear life, and this connection also helped to sustain my faith. I was so scared that the family would start to lose faith. I wanted to get to the bottom of the theology that bad things happen because sin was in someone’s life, and God was teaching a lesson. If this theology was behind my dad's suffering, God and I were going to have serious problems. He would have to help me understand His decision. My whole family was going through this soul-searching time, and this theology was killing our faith. The comfort that God gave me about this theology was that the theology was being used too generally. God does not react the same way with each person. In the Bible, some people suffer as a consequence of their sin, but the suffering was a natural part of the suffering that would come from that particular sin. For instance, drinking alcohol in large quantities will lead to alcohol poisoning. Can God be blamed if the individual would not listen to reason and continued in sin? Often God shouts for us to turn around, but we don't listen and blame him when we get in a bind. Suffering happens to good people, like Job, who obediently followed God. Suffering has no favorites. All will get their turn with suffering. The results of the Fall in the Garden of Eden led to suffering in the world. So all suffering can be traced back to the sin of Adam and Eve. Jesus Christ was not even protected from suffering. Jesus made a way to have peace a midst suffering. Jesus said in this world you will have trouble, but I have come to give you peace. This peace has acted like a seat belt that has held our family through the toughest of times. Through all the storms, my dad has held on to his faith. For my family, holding on to faith has been a battle that has increased our faith. Facing a struggle with faith should cause one to take an honest look at his or her beliefs. Something that has helped me on my journey is to examine the lives of David and Job and how they struggled with God's plans, but came to God with their struggles instead of running away. We must understand that God wants us to be honest in our relationship with Him. My dad still has Thymoma, and the battle is still being fought to find a relief to his pain and a cure for his cancer. Through all this pain, our family has had a community of constant companions who have supported us, cried with us, fought with us, and loved us. Christ and my Dad's love for his friends and family have helped to create a lasting, supportive community. The strength of Christ has helped us to take an honest look at the roller coaster we are on and know that we can gain strength through the ups (good news) and learn to trust through life's downs (bad news).

Below is a video of Dad's story


Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Putting Out the Raging Fires of Life


Part 3 of my testimony will be posted tomorrow

Sometimes all we do in life is put out the small fires around us, while missing the bond fire that is growing out of control in our lives. Lately my manager at Kmart reminded me of an important point. Just, recently I have become the Lead in the Garden Dept at the Conover Kmart. This is a great opportunity with lots of challenges. Kmart is a very fast paced enviroment that demands a lot of productivity in a short amount of time. In the Garden dept, on top of doing customer service, watering is done at least two times a day, all plants have to be priced quickly, stock is bieng put on shevles, and plant trucks can be unloading at any given time. All of these task demand immediate attention. My Manager siad to me the other day you have to take care of the most important task first or else one thing will pill on top of the other and the most important task will never get done. This got me thinking about priority and how we spend time on seemly unimportant things (putting out small fires) and miss tackleing the most important issues of our lives. If we have unhealthy spiritual life and we neglect takeing care our need to connect with God, a raging bond fire will be created in our life. We will spend our days preoccupied with the daily choas that may come our way and never get around to spending time connecting with God. If we do not have the peace that comes with daily walking and talking with Christ, how will we have the peace and gudiance to tackle this roller coaster called life. Do not let anyone or anything distract you from connecting with your Savoir, you need clarity and a clear mind. If you do not have a relationship with Christ today please drop everthing that you are doing and do what ever it takes to concentrate on starting this relationship. Starting a personal relationship with Christ will put into perceptive all other aspects of life. You will be able to rest in the knowledge that you made the most important discision of your life and that you put out the bond fire enableing you to take care of the raging fires of life.

John 16:33“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

A Video of my Favorite Paintings of Art and Christianity

Previously, I discussed Jesus in art and described how little the bible spoke about the appearance of Jesus. I also showed the scriptures that mention his appearance. Today, I decided to post a video I made to show some of my favorite paintings of  the stories in the bible, enjoy. The music in the video is by Rebecca St James.

Post that are coming soon:

My testimony of how God helped me deal with having ADHD

Debunking the myth of all religions are the same that follow same God, watch out Oprah!

Taking on issues hot button issues

Can God be a loving God and a just judge.

Friday, March 9, 2012

A Poem of Insecurity to Security and the Importance of a Spiritual Journal

While cleaning out my storage room today I came across an old spiritual journal of mine. If you have not started a spiritual, I would definitely recommend  you get one. It's funny how I will write something in a journal and read it years later and find that God will use something I have written to minister to me. That what's great about a spiritual journal God can take an entry in a journal and remind what he has done in your life. You can also see how your prayers are answered. There is also a therapeutic quality to writing down your thought, this process will help you get thoughts out of your head and on to paper. When you do this you can pray about these thoughts and leave them in God's hands. This process is especially good if you tend to have a lot of worry and anxiety. Written below is a poem I wrote in my journal years ago but still ministers to me today.

I see you standing there 
Eyes downcast avoiding my stare
What's hiding beneath your exterior
Have your dreams gone awry
Do you wish had wings to fly
Are you looking for a place to cry
Do wish you tried
Please put down your pride
You are not meant to keep that inside
Do you have a secret sin or secret lie
Maybe a secret feeling inside
That wasn't meant to hide
Does love confuse you
Maybe your searching for the meaning of life
You got to get Christ on your mind
So you can clean out your cluttered mind
And sort out all those insecurities inside
Then your eyes will look into mine.



Saturday, March 3, 2012

12 Different Ways to Pray / Talk to God

There are many ways to communicate with God and many reasons to communicate with Him. Do not lock yourself into just one way to talk to Him. If you think about it we have many ways we communicate to each other. We can sykpe, talk, tweet, sign, use body language,email, mail,text and call each other. God designed us therfore, it only make sense that we were designed to commuicate with him sereval different ways.

1. Petition- Bringing a need before the Lord (Matthew 7:7)

2. Confession- Confessing your sins before God (James 5:16)

3. Adoration- Prayer of Praise (Psalm 34:1)

4. Intercession – Prayer on behalf of others (1 Timothy 2:1)

5. Meditation- Being still and Knowing He is God. A prayer in which the individual praying sit's still and waits for God to speak to them. Meditation can also be simply takeing the time to think about God and his promises (Psalm 119: 148). Note: this completely different from the act of meditation associated with other religions in which an indivdual is looking for a spiritual guide which takes them to a place of spiritual enlightment or nirvana . Christian meditation focuses primarily on Christ.

6. Thanksgiving- Prayer of thanks to God ( Psalm 118)

7. Surrender- The point of giving in completely to God ( James 4:7)

8. Flash Prayers- Brief prayers directed at people passing by or people you know

9. Scripture prayer- Using a scripture has your prayer

10. Recited prayers- written prayers that are recited to help formulate a prayer to God

11. Conversational Prayer- Talking to God like a friend

12. Prayer Walking- Meditative prayer used while walking , or intercessory prayer aimed at a particular group of people or cause.

Friday, March 2, 2012

There Are Two Kinds of Works in the Bible ( Don't Confuse Them )


God just gave me some wonderful insight tonight. In the bible the word works is used in two different ways. One usage of the word is in a negative context. This a works done to gain the approval of God. Also the negative usage of works is almost always paired up with the word law. This is the usage of works in the book of Romans. Romans 3:20 Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin. The other kind of works is done has a spirit motivated action. A christian puts his or her faith in Christ, that action prompts their heart to listen to God which inspire them to action, which equals a spiritually prompted action ( Christian Works). This is the works discussed in the book of James. James 2:18 But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds and I will show you my faith by what I do. The trouble with works comes when we do not take the time to put works in right context when we read scripture about works. Getting the two uses of the word works mixed up is the root cause of legalism.

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Excuses We Make to avoid What God has Called Us to Be, Missionaries and Ministers


Have you ever felt like being a missionary is for those who had a divine experience in which God spoke from the heavens and said go to another country and spread the gospel. If you believe the above statement you are likely to believe that being a missionary is for the called elite. In order to debunk this myth we need to redefine the missionary calling. First of all, Jesus gave the great commission to all Christians. No where in scripture can you find Jesus saying that you are to follow me and choose whether or not you will participate in spreading the gospel. When you share the gospel you are performing the acts of a missionary therefore, you are a missionary. Did you know that all christian are ministers?. 1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. There are however missionaries and ministers who are called to minister and share the gospel has their chosen career path or prime source of livelihood. In summary, we are called to be ministers of the gospel. Even though we cleared up the issue of are we called to be missionaries. There are some who will not go outside their community because they feel that some kind of earth shattering divine revelation needs to happen in order for them to go on a mission trip. God does give divine confirmations that we should do something but we often predetermine what a calling looks like. We wait for an audible voice to say "go and do my will" but in reality a calling is an experience that comes in many different ways. Some people hear a small still voice, some have an "ah ha moment" in which God show them how they can be used to share the gospel and some have a moment a conviction after hearing a message or reading Gods word. We must spend time in prayer and actively be looking for how God will reveal His will. Another excuse that can be used is that I am not skilled in ministering. If this is what you think about ministry you need to rethink ministry and broaden your definition. On the mission field local or foreign there are opportunities to use a wide variety of skills to minister. If you do not feel adequate verbally sharing the gospel, you can share the gospel with service ( construction, nursing, cleaning, playing with children). The more you find out about the needs of others the more your definition of ministry will broaden and you will also see more opportunities to minister. There are many mission opportunities out there, short term ( a week or two), long term, local or foreign. To quote Henry Blackaby, " we need to find out where God is working and then join Him on the process".

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Two New You Tube Videos

Hopefully this week I will continue the blog about excuses. Until then here is the latest you tube videos I have created. The first one teaches you how to praise God in hebrew using a short phrase from psalms 136 and the second video show you a trick I learned about reciting the first five  books of the bible while standing one leg. 

Saturday, February 11, 2012

Christian Excuse 5



I don't think I will ever be one of those Christians who will be used by God in a big way. The Christian that are called to do big things for God are preachers, missionaries, Sunday school teachers, and deacons.
  • In order for us to claim the above statement we would have to deny the Holy Spirit's work in our lives. We are examining our potential to be used by God based on our abilities but it is through God's Spirit that we are able to do great things. Jesus did not say, I only want certain Christians to be mature and become more like me. Jesus gave everyone the power to do God's will and to do what is said in the Bible. Do not think that Jesus consider his teachings to be good teachings that only few can follow. Jesus says in John 14:26 that he will send His Spirit to will teach us all things and remind us of His teachings.
John 14:26
But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit —the Father will send Him in My name—will teach you all things and remind you of everything I have told you.

Please: Subscribe or check back frequently for more Christian excuses are coming next week.

Excuses that will be address next week
  • Not everyone is called to be a missionary 
  • We don't need to be contributing to missions when we have so many needs at home.
  • Why do local missions, most people are saved around here anyway and doing local mission is not doing anything big for God.
  • The bible is too hard to understand and only certain people understand what the Bible is saying.
  • I don't give to ministries because they are all about money and that is not of God.
Let Me know if there is an excuse you would like me to mention or address by commenting below.

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

The Top Christian Excuses



Each excuse contains truth but handled the wrong way they become nothing more than excuses.

1. I don't do in your face evangelism, I share Jesus by the way I live. 
  • That's great if people are asking you about the hope you have but do you know how to lead someone to Christ if they ask you how to have a relationship with Christ. How many people are asking about Jesus because of the way you live?
2. I don't share Jesus because that's a personal subject.
  • Jesus is not a secret to kept, he is a light to be displayed to the world. 
  • Matthew 5:15
3. I don't need to go to Church, I can worship Jesus anywhere
  • You can worship Jesus anywhere but we need to be encouraged by fellow Christians and we need to comfort fellow Christians.  The sheep need the flock for protection. Reading the Bible  and following Christ should motivate you to fellowship.
  • Philippians 2:1-4
4. I'am upset with the Church, therefore I will not participate in hypocrisy. 
  • If you are upset with the Church, be the one that helps change the image of the Church. Speak up and be someone who is used by God to be an agent of change.  Just has one person is not the same as a another person, the same goes for the Church. Do not hold a grudge against the Church for something a few churches have done to you.
5. God said do not judge unless you want to be judged.
  • Matthew 7:1 does say this but Jesus didn't say, do not every point out the sin of someone else.  Jesus told us to checkout the sin in our lives and make sure we are not condemning someone for a sin that we have not gotten out of our lives. We need to know the difference between seeing someone commit a scriptural sin in front of us and lovingly confronting them about the sin vs making a prediction about someone's life based on a perceived sin. We are not judges but we are brothers and sisters that lovingly help each other out. 
  • Matthew 7:4-5

Monday, January 30, 2012

35 Ways to Get More Out of Your Bible Reading Time.


  1. Read scripture because you love the inspired author of the Bible.
  2. Read for guidance and strength 
  3. Read about real  love, peace, and Joy
  4. Draw a bible timeline  in you bible (some bibles include a timeline at the beginning of each book) 
  5. Go through the bible with a small group
  6. Insert your name into the scripture you are reading
  7. Turn a psalm into a prayer
  8. Try to draw what is described in revelations.
  9. Imagine the you are one of the character in the bible put yourself into the story.
  10. Memorize scripture 
  11. Post scripture all over your walls
  12. Share scripture on facebook
  13. Do a scripture translation comparison
  14. Do a word study
  15. Study what the scriptures says in Hebrew and Greek
  16. Go to a bible study website, biblegateway.com  mystudybible.com
  17. Get a nice study bible
  18. Read some bible commentary
  19. Have a bible study date
  20. Go to your favorite spot in the woods and read your bible
  21. Get a bible handbook and read a book of the bible
  22. Get a bible dictionary 
  23. Listen to an audio bible
  24. Listen to a bible podcast
  25. Create a skit using a bible story
  26. See if you can turn a Psalm into a song.
  27. Use scripture has inspiration to create art 
  28. Read scripture out loud for the elderly or the visually impaired 
  29. Do a one year bible study
  30. Do a subject study ( Get a concordance and read every scripture about a certain subject)
  31. Read all the words of Jesus
  32. Read all the parables of Jesus
  33. Read some old testament stories and imagine you are reading a script to an epic action movie.
  34. Go through your bible and highlight scriptures that talks about God's character.
  35. Put tabs on your bible using post it notes 


Friday, January 27, 2012

Suggestions for Starting Your Day Out in the Spirit


It is vital that we have some kind of devotion time in the mornings. This is not a matter of having God pleased with you; It's a matter of war. Everyday two epic forces battle to win the rights for your day. Romans 8:12 http://msb.to/Ro8:12 calls these epic forces the flesh and the spirit. When you wake up have you ever noticed that some of the worst fights between families can happen in the morning and if anything is going to go wrong it will happen in the morning? When you start your day beat down or depressed because of what you perceive the day to hold, the results will be a day that will start out in the flesh and possibly end in the flesh . That's why it's important to start off the day in the spirit. Often time we go through our day defeated and then ask God for forgiveness at night, only to find the cycle continue again the next morning. Instead of giving God the first fruits of our mourning, we give him the leftovers of our day. Often at night we are tired and sometimes don't feel like having a devotion. In the morning we are hopefully renewed and ready to take on the day, so it makes sense to give this part of the day to the Lord.

Here are some suggestions for having a time of devotion in the mourning.

1. Pray that God would have the day: Do this before your feet hit the ground.
2. Worship God: Remind yourself of His character, put on your favorite praise song, whatever you do for    worship.
3. Remind yourself of your blessings: Keep an on going list in a journal
4. Pray that God would give you a scripture for the day.
5. Open God's Word: Write down a scripture to encourage you throughout the day.
6. Read a devotional
7. Close in Prayer ( Ask God to reveal to you anything that may tempt you or upset you that day. Ask Him to prepare you to tackle these problems in His strength)

This can be done in 15 to 30 minutes.

Monday, January 23, 2012

Is a White Knight in Shinning Armor Waiting For You?


Recently, I started looking at the women at the well in a whole new way. The next time you read the story of the woman at well ask yourself this question did this woman find her knight in shinning armor. Let's find out, John 4: 7-26

7 A woman of Samaria came to draw water.  “Give Me a drink,” Jesus said to her, 8 for His disciples had gone into town to buy food.

 9 “How is it that You, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?” she asked Him. For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.

 10 Jesus answered, “If you knew the gift of God, and who is saying to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would ask Him, and He would give you living water.”

 11 “Sir,” said the woman, “You don’t even have a bucket, and the well is deep. So where do You get this ‘living water’? 12 You aren’t greater than our father Jacob, are You? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and livestock.”

 13 Jesus said, “Everyone who drinks from this water will get thirsty again. 14 But whoever drinks from the water that I will give him will never get thirsty again—ever! In fact, the water I will give him will become a well of water springing up within him for eternal life.”

 15 “Sir,” the woman said to Him, “give me this water so I won’t get thirsty and come here to draw water.”

   16 “Go call your husband,” He told her, “and come back here.”

 17 “I don’t have a husband,” she answered.

   “You have correctly said, ‘I don’t have a husband,’” Jesus said. 18 “For you’ve had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true.”

 19 “Sir,” the woman replied, “I see that You are a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, yet you Jews say that the place to worship is in Jerusalem.”

 21 Jesus told her, “Believe Me, woman, an hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You Samaritans worship what you do not know. We worship what we do know, because salvation is from the Jews. 23 But an hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth. Yes, the Father wants such people to worship Him. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

 25 The woman said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming” (who is called Christ). “When He comes, He will explain everything to us.”

   26 “I am He,” Jesus told her, “the One speaking to you.”

So, let me ask again did the woman find her Knight? It is obvious that she had thought she had found her knight five times, only to find out he wasn't the one to fulfill all Her needs and move on to the next guy. In the movie Big Fish, there is a scene in the movie where it talks about love at  first sight. Here is the scene .
Reality is that life is more complicating than this scene and  reality often follows. I wonder if the woman at the well thought she had met the man of her dreams each time she married. Lets back the scene up for a moment and look at that moment she met Jesus. There she was sitting at the well getting water when a Jew of all people walks up to her.  Time stands still. He walks up to her and ask for water but she senses he wants more than water. He starts talking about water like it is something she has always wanted. When she asked for the water, this man asked her a question that reveals who she is and makes her feel vulnerable but not in a way to make her want to run away but in a way that makes her thankful that this man knows her unending desires. The man reveals her needs are being met in the wrong way and shows her, her true desire. Her true desire is to be loved unconditionally.  This man Jesus offers His unconditional love. After discovering that Jesus of Nazareth is the long a waited promised messiah she runs through the town and shouts about Jesus' all knowing love through out the town. So did she find her knight in shinning armor, yes she did and His name is Jesus. If we let Jesus, who is chasing after us with an unrelenting love be our unending source of unconditional love. We will find that this love helps us wait on the person God has for us. I waited 33 years to get married and I could not have waited without God's help. If I didn't have God's love pulling me through that time, I might have married someone other than Kendra. Really it was only went I found myself content in God's love was I able to put off my since of urgency and watch God put Kendra into my life.

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Joy Does Come in the Morning, Don't Let the Discouragement of Today Define Your Tomorrows.

Just realized that ever milestone in me and Kendra relationship has an interesting story. Recently me and Kendra worked  a puzzle for our first anniversary. We worked the 1000 piece puzzle for hours trying to get the puzzle done. The puzzle was taking up precious time and becoming an obsession. The puzzle was just about through went we noticed that two pieces to the puzzle were missing. We looked everywhere for the pieces. Today I called Grandma and found out that Grandma had found the puzzle pieces at her cabin where me and Kendra spent our anniversary. I think that God makes ever milestone in my marriage  interesting so that they can  become teaching moment for others. God taught me with this lesson that you may think a situation is hopeless, (we were going to get a new puzzle) but patience will always reveal the truth. This may sound simplified but God has shown me this lesson in more dramatic ways (like waiting 30 years to get married). Joy does come in the morning (Psalms 30:5) don't let today define your tomorrows. Just think of all the instances in the bible where the situation seemed hopeless but God turned the situation around. For example: Jesus being crucified (hopeless situation from the point of view of the disciples) and then His Resurrection ( hopelessness became victory). Look at the situation with Lazarus, or Ester, hopelessness turned into victory.

Monday, January 16, 2012

The Many Faces of Christ


Watch this video.




The Face: Jesus in Art is one of the best documentaries on Jesus and art. The bible gives very little details on the physical appearance of Christ. Throughout the centuries man has tried to construct a visual representation of what Christ looks like. A study of Christian history will reveal that the representation of Christ in Art will reflect the ideal of Christ that dominate during that particular time. For instances, during times of peace Christ represented has beautiful without blemish but during times of war the humanity of Christ is shown with wounds and scares. I believe however that Jesus was blemished physically but what counted to God was that Jesus was internally without blemish (Jesus was sinless). Below I have listed what scripture says about his appearance.

Matthew 28:3
New International Version (NIV)

His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. (Appearance after the Resurrection)

Rev 1:12-16
New International Version (NIV) (Future Appearance)

12 I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, 13 and among the lampstands was someone like a son of man,[d] dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. 14 The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. 15 His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. 16 In his right hand he held seven stars, and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.


Isaiah 52: 14-15 53: 1-3 ( Appearance of the Suffering Servant)
14 Just as there were many who were appalled at him[a]—
his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any human being
and his form marred beyond human likeness—
15 so he will sprinkle many nations,[b]
and kings will shut their mouths because of him.
For what they were not told, they will see,
and what they have not heard, they will understand.
Isaiah 53
1 Who has believed our message
and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot,
and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
3 He was despised and rejected by mankind,
a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.
Like one from whom people hide their faces
he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.

Rev 5:6 NIV
6 Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing at the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders.

There may be other scriptures to describe His appearance but they are few. The interesting thing to draw from scripture is that He is described in different ways depending on the event that is takeing place in scripture. From a suffering servant that has no beauty to attract us, to a resurrected conquering savior with the appearance of lighting, to the slain majestic lamb upon the throne who shines like the sun

Friday, January 13, 2012

This is A nice parable that explains why we need foriegn missions.




This is A nice parable that explains why we need foriegn missions.

by James M. Weber, missionary to Japan
Once upon a time there was an apple grower who had acres and acres of apple trees. In all, he had 10,000 acres of apple orchards.
One day he went to the nearby town. There, he hired 1,000 apple pickers. He told them:
"Go to my orchards. Harvest the ripe apples, and build storage buildings for them so that they will not spoil. I need to be gone for a while, but I will provide all you will need to complete the task. When I return, I will reward you for your work.
"I'll set up a Society for the Picking of Apples. The Society -- to which you will all belong -- will be responsible for the entire operation. Naturally, in addition to those of you doing the actual harvesting, some will carry supplies, others will care for the physical needs of the group, and still others will have administrative responsibilities."
As he set up the Society structure, some people volunteered to be pickers and others to be packers. Others put their skills to work as truck drivers, cooks, accountants, storehouse builders, apple inspectors and even administrators. Every one of his workers could, of course, have picked apples. In the end, however, only 100 of the 1,000 employees wound up as full-time pickers.
The 100 pickers started harvesting immediately. Ninety-four of them began picking around the homestead. The remaining six looked out toward the horizon. They decided to head out to the far-away orchards.
Before long, the storehouses in the 800 acres immediately surrounding the homestead had been filled by the 94 pickers with beautiful, delicious apples.
The orchards on the 800 acres around the homestead had thousands of apple trees. But with almost all of the pickers concentrating on them, those trees were soon picked nearly bare. In fact, the ninety-four apple pickers working around the homestead began having difficulty finding trees which had not been picked
As the apple picking slowed down around the homestead, Society members began channeling effort into building larger storehouses and developing better equipment for picking and packing. They even started some schools to train prospective apple pickers to replace those who one day would be too old to pick apples.
Sadly, those ninety-four pickers working around the homestead began fighting among themselves. Incredible as it may sound, some began stealing apples that had already been picked. Although there were enough trees on the 10,000 acres to keep every available worker busy, those working nearest the homestead failed to move into unharvested areas. They just kept working those 800 acres nearest the house. Some on the northern edge sent their trucks to get apples on the southern side. And those on the south side sent their trucks to gather on the east side.
Even with all that activity, the harvest on the remaining 9,200 acres was left to just six pickers. Those six were, of course, far too few to gather all the ripe fruit in those thousands of acres. So, by the hundreds of thousands, apples rotted on the trees and fell to the ground.
One of the students at the apple-picking school showed a special talent for picking apples quickly and effectively. When he heard about the thousands of acres of untouched faraway orchards, he started talking about going there.
His friends discouraged him. They said: "Your talents and abilities make you very valuable around the homestead. You'd be wasting your talents out there. Your giftscan help us harvest apples from the trees on our central 800 acres more rapidly. That will give us more time to build bigger and better storehouses. Perhaps you could even help us devise better ways to use our big storehouses since we have wound up with more space than we need for the present crop of apples."
With so many workers and so few trees, the pickers and packers and truck drivers -- and all the rest of the Society for the Picking of Apples living around the homestead -- had time for more than just picking apples.
They built nice houses and raised their standard of living. Some became very conscious of clothing styles. Thus, when the six pickers from the far-off orchards returned to the homestead for a visit, it was apparent that they were not keeping up with the styles in vogue with the other apple pickers and packers.
To be sure, those on the homestead were always good to those six who worked in the far away orchards. When any of those six returned from the far away fields, they were given the red carpet treatment. Nonetheless, those six pickers were saddened that the Society of the Picking of Apples spent 96 percent of its budget for bigger and better apple-picking methods and equipment and personnel for the 800 acres around the homestead while it spent only 4 percent of its budget on all those distant orchards.
To be sure, those six pickers knew that an apple is an apple wherever it may be picked. They knew that the apples around the homestead were just as important as apples far away. Still, they could not erase from their minds the sight of thousands of trees which had never been touched by a picker.
They longed for more pickers to come help them. They longed for help from packers, truck drivers, supervisors, equipment-maintenance men, and ladder builders. They wondered if the professionals working back around the homestead could teach them better apple-picking methods so that, out where they worked, fewer apples would rot and fall to the ground.
Those six sometimes wondered to themselves whether or not the Society for the Picking of Apples was doing what the orchard owner had asked it to do.
While one might question whether the Society was doing all the owner wanted done, the members did keep very busy. Several members were convinced that proper apple picking requires nothing less than the very best equipment. Thus, the Society assigned several members to develop bigger and better ladders as well as nicer boxes to store apples. The Society also prided itself at having raised the qualification level for full-time apple pickers.
When the owner returns, the Society members will crowd around him. They'll proudly show off the bigger and better ladders they've built and the nice apple boxes they've designed and made. One wonders how happy that owner will be, however, when he looks out and sees the acres and acres of untouched trees with their unpicked apples.
Original version appeared in Let's Quit Kidding Ourselves About Missions, Moody Press. © 1979 by The Moody Bible Institute. Edited and revised by Howard Culbertson.

Thursday, January 5, 2012

Bible Translations favored by Billy Graham, David Jeremiah and Others

Bible Translations That Famous Preachers Use
(This list was complied by going directly to the websites of these pastors. Although they endorse a certain translation, most preachers uses several different translations.)

  • Greg Laurie- New Living Translation
  • David Platt- New International Version (NIV)
  • Billy Graham- Various Translations (Said he uses NIV when writing articles) (Early Years King James)
  • David Jeremiah - Uses the New King James Version and the Message 
  • Chuck Swindoll - Uses the New American Standard Bible
  • Charles Stanley- New American Standard Bible
  • James MacDonald  - English Standard Version
  • John Piper- New American Standard Bible and the English Standard Version 
  • John Maxwell- New King James Version 
  • Max Lucado - New Century Version 
Observations : It is clear to see that each preacher endorses a different translation. How many different preachers do you listen too and trust? Do you endorse just one version of the bible or many? It would be hard to go with just one translation of the bible because you would have to say that more than one of these preachers are teaching heresy. Each translation has it place in our bible studying and reading. Some translations are better for when you just wanting to read the bible, some are good for bible study, and others are good for preaching. In the end we need to use God and His Holy Spirit has the main source to which  we get our convictions concerning the bible. Prayerfully examine each translation and be open to God so he can show you truth.

This Link may help you sort out the difference between translations  http://www.apbrown2.net/web/TranslationComparisonChart.htm


Monday, January 2, 2012

What is the major factor that shapes your spiritual outlook on life? (What Are You Rooted In ?)

  • Is it Church?
  • Is it your Pastor?
  • Your Parents or Family?
  • The Bible ?
  • Your Denomination? (Baptist, Methodist, Pentecostal, etc...) 
  • Your Friends?
  • Sunday School Teacher
  • God/ Christ/ Holy Spirit?
Our belief system is really a combination of the above factors. Of course one of these factors will become the foundation of our spiritual beliefs. Whatever we rely on the most to determine what we believe will act has a filter to all other influences that are in our lives. Therefore, it is very important to find out what influences you the most. Naturally if I was to ask which of these influences is supposed to be the number one influence in a Christians life? The go to answer for most, will be Christ/God. This is scriptural Ephesians 2:19-20 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. The cornerstone is the most important stone in the building. Without the cornerstone the building would crumble.

However, if examination is made to reveal someones core influential factor the results can be shocking.

The Test
  • A good test to reveal your most influential factor is to think about basically what you know about God. Next,write out a simple paragraph about what you believe about God. Also write out what you know about God's character. Now look at the paragraph and ask yourself how do you know what you believe is true? Ask the following questions:
  • Can you describe a personal experiences with God that backs up your belief? 
  • What Scriptures backs up this belief?
  • Do you test with the Holy Spirit and scripture what your friends, parents,church, denomination, and pastor say about Christ?

When you talk about spiritual things is your conversation dominated by what God has shown you in scripture or is it about what your pastor has said or church believes?
If someone ask you about your relationship with Jesus Christ do you start describing your church attendance or how many times you read the bible instead of giving a personal testimony about how Christ saved you and what he is doing in your life?There is nothing wrong with letting the factors I have described in this blog influence your beliefs. The danger comes when you choose something other than Christ to become the major influence in your life. I understand for new Christians that they may start with a dependency on the Church or other influences but theses influences should serve to help us create personal growing dependency upon Christ. When we are able to put Christ at the center of our beliefs and anchor our roots deep in Christ, we will find all other influences are put into proper perceptive.