Work of Art

When studying art, you’ll find many commonalities among painters. Generally their best works take the most time. Also, those great works generally didn’t escape being changed. Most times, the thing they start painting changes; they delete something, or completely change another. Pablo Picasso said “Art is the elimination of the unnecessary”.

I’ve heard it quoted many times when somebody asked a great scupltor “How do you sculpt a lion?”. The sculptor responded “I start with a big block of stone, and chisel away everything that’s not a lion.”

We are works of art.

I hope every day Jesus continues to paint my life and sculpt away everything that's not part of Him.

Chances are, if you’ve failed many times, you’re getting ready to be a champion.

Failure = future success.

When we let God paint our life, we won’t understand every stroke of his paint brush. We won’t get every color painted. But we’re a work in progress.

Let God work on you. Let Him erase a few things.

Let Him paint new lines.

Let Him create a masterpiece.

What would happen?

What would happen if every time God called me to pray for somebody, I would?

What would happen if every time God prodded me to worship, I would?

What if I gave my all, every single day?

What would happen?

What if I witnessed to every single one of my classmates?

What would happen if I invited everyone to church that I walked by?

What would happen if I prayed for every sick person I came across?

What would happen if I loved unconditionally?

What if I gave it my all?

What would happen if we didn't judge?

If we asked no questions about race or culture.

If we didn't assume somebody wasn't interested.

What would happen if we were all sensitive?

What would happen if we gave it our all?

What would happen if we sent somebody a text every day to encourage them?

What would happen if we got into....His...text. Every day...?

What would happen if we talked to God as much as we talked on the phone?

What would happen if we had the same convictions we did when we were 10 years old?

What if we gave it our all?

What would happen if everyone respected authority?

What would happen if we all feared God?

What would happen?

Really Saved by Grace

Together.

Linked.

Not Separated.

Down here, we're all on the same level.

We're all saved by grace.

Sinners, saved by grace, that is.

Not those who "used to struggle with sin". Those kind of people don't exist. According to Romans, all have sinned and come short of the Glory of God. That doesn't mean that all used to sin, and there's some that don't sin anymore.

Once we accept the fact that we're human and not perfect, we can begin to live in the grace of God.

Lamentations 3:22-23

It is of the LORD's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.

His mercies are fresh every morning. Not fresh out.

Too many times we rob ourselves of forgiveness because of the unbelief in his love. It's hard to understand, but it's real.

"Real love has changed us. Real hope invade us. You illuminate us. We've got a world to change, they gotta hear His name. Real life is freedom, so now with freedom we will run. Real love. Real life. We'll illuminate." - Gateway Worship

http://tinyurl.com/4dow87w

Nightlights

This is one of the most powerful poems I've ever heard in my life.

Be Thou exalted over my reputation
‘Cause applause is a poor form of soul medication
And I’ve tried it for years but my symptoms remain
Still fretting the day that they’ll misplace my name
Still selling my soul for American fame
Treating the promotion of Jesus like a well oiled machine
Advancing His kingdom just to snag some acclaim
Now, I’m both comforted and haunted that it isn’t just me though
I see a nation of people needing to feed their own egos
Parading status like steeples
Do we not know it’s evil to love ourselves more than both God and His people?
But see, here’s where you turn this poem on it’s head
‘Cause the greatest among us came as servant instead
And You humbled Yourself to the point of Your death
Apparently love for the Father’s glory runs red
So friends, will we point to the Son till our own flames grow dim?
Will our bright lights become merely nightlights near Him?
Words echo once, let them echo again
Be Thou exalted over my reputation

-Jimmy Needham

How You Love

I don’t know, what you saw in me that day
Died for me; sins You cast away
I don’t deserve You love for me so true
regardless of what I say or do



Your love, so hard to comprehend
For the way we treat our family and our friends
We love them for the things that they do
Not because of who they are in You
Lord give me strength from above
To love how You love

Sometimes I can’t see the road ahead
But You let me walk in darkness instead
Then suddenly, You open up my eyes
You pull away the darkness and disguise

Your love, so hard to comprehend
For the way we treat our family and our friends
We love them for the things that they do
Not because of who they are in You
Lord give me strength from above
To love how You love

I pray I would love the ones You do
and I would see through Your view
I pray that I would be made brand new
and my love would be true

Children of Light

Matthew 5:14-16
Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.


I asked some people the question: “If you were a light, what kind of light would be the best to be?”
Here are just a few answers I got:
-One that never dwindles. Who cares how bright your light is if it’s not dependable.
-Revelation 21:23...”and the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it, for the glory of God did lighten it, and the lamb is the light thereof...can I be the lamb?”
-Compact Fluorescent Plug-in with a triple twin tube and a twist and lock. Thanks for asking.
-secretly, i’ve always wanted to be a ceiling fan light. But that’s just secretly.

I got many answers. Some comical, some convicting, some just completely random.
It brought up many good thoughts.

1 Thessalonians 5:5  says: Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.
SO, we are called to be Children of Light.

Question. What kind of light are you?
Are you a flashlight? Only coming out when it's dark outside (trouble arises)?
What about a Christmas light? Only presenting yourself as a true christian at yearly events such as camp, winter youth, etc..?

We are CHILDREN OF LIGHT! When looking at the book of John and 1st John, we can come to a few conclusions:
-God is light, and in Him there is no darkness
-If we have light and walk with Him, we are one with him, and he cleanses us from our sin
-Person that says he is in the light, but hates somebody = living a life in darkness
-Light shines in darkness, and the darkness doesn’t understand it.
-Doers of evil hate light. Doers of Good comes to the light.

Check this out.
Genesis 1:1 says In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. NOT an current action verse. It's a verse that sets up what God is going to do in the next few verses. In verse 2 it states that the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. In verse 3, it then states that God said, Let there be light: and there was light.

So, the first thing that happened was the movement of God's spirit. And THEN God spoke light into existence. When God's spirit moves in us, the light should then be evident! The very next verse, verse 4, states that he SEPARATED the light from the darkness. When God's spirit moves inside of us, not only should 'light' be evident, but darkness should be separated from our lives.

John 11:9-10 says that If a man walks during the day, he doesn’t stumble because he sees the light. But, if a man walks during the night, he stumbles because the light is not in him!
Too many times we get used to living in darkness and blindness. Therefore, we stumble and fall.

So...

How to be a child of light:
-be quick to confess sins
*1 John 1:8

-Be aware of false advertisement
*Isaiah 5:20
*1 Corinthians 11:14

-Read your Bible!
*Psalms 119:105

-Be separate
*Ephesians 5:11

-Spread the light!
*Acts 1:8

Brothers

This post is dedicated to my brother. Corey.

As I write this, I sit in his empty room.
It's different, really.

While reflecting on good times, I am reminded by how much we've been through together. I think about when we both wore fanny packs and thought we were awesome with our 1993 sunglasses. I think about when we argued about who would get shotgun (some things never change).
Know how some brothers are worst enemies? Not true with Corey and I. We're best friends.
I think about times like Jr. Camp, where we did the camp music together, teaching the kids music like they're rockstars.
I remember I remember times when we would sneak out of the house to get taco bell (again, some things never change).
I think about how many songs we've written together. I think about how many church services we've been together. How many times we've played music together. Countless hours spent practicing. Countless songs learned. Countless chords learned.
Corey can write songs like he's a poet, and can play drums like he's Carter Beauford.
I am honored every time I walk onto a platform, stage, or venue with him.
More than a musician, he's a true friend.

I remember times when we cried together until there were no more tears. What we thought was destroying our life, was actually turning us into men of God. I'm not sure who was more of an encourager, but we held each other up.
I remember a time when I would get irritated at him because he was ALWAYS Mario, and I was always Luigi. Good 'ol Nintendo 64. Or the endless games of Mario Kart wars. Or the endless games of Nintendo Madden football games.
Through all these times, I've grown closer to him. He's my best friend.

As I pass into this next phase of my life, I realize how different it will be in the house. He's moved out, into his own place. One of my favorite parts of Sunday mornings was hearing Corey sing in the shower. Just, classic. I know he's moved into the next phase of his life, marriage. Such a great time, I know. It's gonna be amazing to get to be around my future sister in law, Danielle, more and more. I love her to death, and I wish both of them the best in their lives together.

Corey, I love you. And I always will.

The following 10 things are facts of life.

1) Mom will cry when she reads this blog.
2) I don't think we'll ever have a "non-competitive" game of golf in our lives.
3) Your raps will never cease to bring pain to my abdominal region from laughter.
4) I don't care what you say, we won that ping pong tournament in high school. We got the T shirts.
5) You have 3 distinct phone voices.
6) Texting quotes, movie lines, song lyrics, and random junk is the most fun with you.
7) We're weird musicians sometimes. Just. Weird.
8) Your sermon "Carried To The Table" still rings in my ears.
9) You turned me Mac. And I haven't gone back.
10) I love you.

Walk in Love

Reflect God in how you love.

Ephesians 5:2 says "And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us,
and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savor"

I'm gonna be honest here. When I walk into a room, and I smell a really good perfume,
I'm going to look around to see which girl is wearing it. It's attractive.
Girls, when a guy walks into a room and has a very good smelling cologne on, you're going to notice it, right? Right. Chances are, you'll remember him too (or the cologne).

Getting a new cologne is a challenging thing for me. I know what I like, and I stick to it because I know I won't be let down by them. One cologne I will never wear is "Obsession". For some reason, it has always smelled disgusting to me. The mere thought of wearing this cologne makes me cringe, because I know what it smells like without having it right in front of me.

Check this out. Ephesians 5:2 says that God gave himself "an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savor". Maybe it's saying that God gave himself as an offering so we could use His love as a "cologne" or "perfume".
When a non believer is in a room with a Christian, something should be different about the Christian. God's love should be so strong on you that people will notice. People remember you. People remember.......what you're 'wearing'.
Just like the bad cologne, if you poorly represent Jesus and His love, chances are people won't want that in their life. They're going to recognize that name you were wearing and will not want that for themselves.


We must represent the name of Jesus in love. I never want somebody to hear the name of Jesus and instantly think negatively because of something I did. We must represent Jesus like it's the best cologne we own.

Ephesians 5:8. This is what we are.

Reflections

re·flec·tion   
[ri-flek-shuhn]
–noun
1. the act of reflecting or the state of being reflected.
2. an image; representation; counterpart.
3. a fixing of the thoughts on something; careful consideration.

How does one reflect? What does one reflect?
Well, according to Matthew 7:16, one will be known by their fruits. So, what they "reflect" in their life, or by the fruits they produce, they will be known.
So what we reflect in our daily life is the same thing as producing fruit.
The fruits of the spirit are: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control.
Is your life reflecting a patient, joyful person who exudes faithfulness? If not, chances are your reflection is a bit blurry.



I want to aim to reflect Jesus in my life. Salvador quotes it perfectly in their lyrics that read "Lord, let me shine, shine like the moon, a reflection of You".
I want to shine like the moon. Without the sun, we would never see the moon. Likewise, I don't want to shine by myself, I don't want to be anything unless Jesus is shining through me.



At Apostolic Truth Church, SURGE Student Ministries will be starting a series called "What Does _____ Look Like?"
We will look at issues such as faithfulness, holiness, love, christianity, etc. We will be speaking on topics like "What does love look like?", and dig deep in scriptures with the students to find out what true ____ looks like. Fill in the blank for whatever you're struggling with, question, or want to know more about.

This will be the start of Reflections of an Intentional Life.

Last year. This year.

In 2010, an extremely short list of what I did consists of:

Recorded bible verses for bible quizzing
Got about 15 parking tickets.
Learned the ABC's in sign language.
Did shows at four different coffee shops in Appleton.
Went to Florida.
Started teaching piano lessons.
Ran a half marathon
Worked for Yahoo, Inc.
Fell in love with the principles of Dave Ramsey.
Opened for Bebo Norman.
Opened for JJ Heller.
Worked at EAA.
Got played.
Started the youth choir.
Got hired to play piano for 6 hours straight.
Wrote two songs that will never be heard by anyone
Developed a love for insanely awesome christian rap. Lecrae, in particular.
Was a part of a mentoring group called "Jonathan's Project", where three older guys mentored 12 of us younger (18-30) guys.
Had an iPhone 3G, transfered to the iPhone 4.
Synced 4 iPhones, 3 iPods, 1 mp3 player, and an iPad with my phone. Yes, total of 9 devices.
I would like to see how much i spent at starbucks. Hah. That'd be classic. I may do that this year.....


But, most importantly.
I prayed more. I read my bible more. I witnessed more. I developed my own walk with God. I was sensitive to the spirit. I grew through hard situations. I grew through tough times. I grew when it felt like my world was crashing. I mentored young men to grow closer to God. I started a sexual purity group of guys at my church. I accepted the call of God on my life.



In 2011, I want to:
Run the Fox Cities full marathon.
Manage my money better.
Take on more piano students.
Eat more sushi.
Drink less caffeine.
Blog more.
See a miracle.
Read more books. My brother's goal is 12 this year. One per month. That sounds like an awesome goal. Yes, I'll do that.
Buy clothes at thrift stores more.
Write more worship songs.
Go on a missions trip.
Go to California.
Pray more. Every day, to be specific.
Go to more concerts. I'm thinking 10 concerts sounds good for 2011.
Mentor guys more.
Destroy the lines of separation in our youth group.
Pray for somebody in a public place.
Speak to the youth group more.
Grow closer to God than I ever have been in my life.


In general, this is my goal: to be INTENTIONAL. Intentional with the relationships with the people around me, intentional in my personal walk with God... intentional about my life.