Drowning in a Sea of Tech

      If I didn't have Jesus, the world of technology would swallow me whole. If you don't believe me, let me tell you about my typical day. I wake up at 5:30 am.  I start the morning listening to the news while looking at my phone and scrolling through Facebook as I get ready for work.  At 6:00 am, I'm out the door and in the truck for my 50 minute drive. While driving, I listen to local talk radio. At work, a Christian audio book plays in my head phones.  It is probable that this time is the most spiritual part of my day. While listening to the audio book, I usually get the inspiration to make time with God when I get home.  At break, phone games and more Facebook consume my time.  At lunch, I am on my phone again for about an hour. On the way home from work, I listen to podcasts, By the time the truck pulls into the driveway, I am tired from a long drive and have forgotten about the inspiration to spend time with God. While stepping through the door, I remove my shoes, flip on the TV, and head to the couch.  Television, household duties, and more time on my phone fill the rest of the evening. At the end of the day, guilt invades and sends out reminders that I have not made the most of my day. God seems to be missing from the day.  Thoughts of wanting to do better and get more out of life play on a loop. It is Jesus who summons me go deeper with Him continually.  He shows me that a revaluation of my priorities is in order.  Do you identify with this struggle? The following blogs will be my attempt to find a balance between the technology in my life and following Christ. Hopefully, through this journey, we will both gain some spiritual insight and answer the hard questions that come with searching for and finding that balance.

Issue to tackle

1. Is Tech evil? (Talking about phones gaming and tv)
2. Should we limit our kids technology and do we contribute to the problem of tech addiction?
3. Can we use tech to spread the Gospel or are we just making excuses?
4. Will we be behind the times if we do not keep up with technology and will that hinder our ability to reach today generation?

He Is ( A Poem about Finding all that You Need)

He Is ( A Poem about Finding all that You Need)

He is the deepest desire that you long for
He is the love you have been searching for, the lover you long for
He is the retreat that you need and the giver of the rest you long for
He is the great stress reliever
He is what you were made for
He is what you miss and He can be found
He is the great healer and patience giver
He is what moves you forward in life and helps you not to look back
He is the great forgiver and He helps us forgive others
He is inspiration that inspires great art
He is the greatest that over takes us when you are inspired by the beauty of His creation
He is what you need when you are lonely, depressed, hurting, and looking for purpose
He is all that is good and all that you need
He is Jesus, search for Him and you will find Him , call out to Him and your voice will be heard

Check Out this song

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84LSLk3hfD4

List of Suggestions for Church Website (From the point of view of someone looking for a church home)

Suggestions for Church's that want to grow. Currently I have been looking for a church home.I have been looking on church websites for info. This is a list info I find on Church websites that are helpful.
1. Services Times
2. "What The Church Believes Section" (It is OK if you put a copy of the baptist faith and message but also include a vision statement or mission statement) Do not just tell me your conservative ( explain what you mean by conservative).
3. Staff info page. (Pics are helpful, often a preacher with an inviting smile is helpful)
4. Updated Calendar. (No generic calendar that just have service times) for some reason most church website do not have updated calendars)
5. Driving Directions ( A link to mapquest is nice)
6. Video or Audio of sermons. This lets me get a feel for the service. Very Helpful
7. A Facebook page is helpful because you can read what church members are saying about the church.
8. A what to expect page. Tell me what the church is like, formal, informal, contemporary or traditional.
9. Finally, make sure the website has working links. Too many churches have unfinished websites and nonworking links.

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

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

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

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.