Nothing Is Set in Stone

It is truly amazing how things change right when you think it's all set. I've experienced a lot of comings and goings of friends, family, and trends in recent years, which makes my realize that not everything is here to stay forever. It constantly reminds me of the frailty and swiftness of life. Just like James says in the Bible, "your life is just a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes." It's humbling and eye-opening when you see it take place in your own life.

A lot has happened recently, but I can't retell it all in one posting without making it super long, so I'll give you the condensed version of it. A couple of weeks ago I started getting fed up with how addicting Facebook got and how it really made my real friendships tarnish. Most of my friendships started becoming cyber-based and I really didn't like that. So after some prayer and thought, I decided to deactivate my account. And I didn't just deactivate it, I also deleted everything off my page and then deactivated it so that it gives the same effect as deleting the entire account, since you can't actually delete an account off of Facebook. And let me tell you, it is such a relief to finally hang out with real people and not have the nagging addiction of getting on Facebook first thing in the day. It's freeing and it also gets me into God's Word a lot as well. It is a change that I enjoy and plan on keeping for sure.

The other big change that happened to me recently is that I switched my major at Trinity Bible College. Instead of going for my Bachelor's in Youth Ministry, I've now redirected my focus on a certificate in Biblical Studies. I have been praying and thinking about where I'm headed in ministry and considering what God is doing and leading me. To be honest, I hadn't really consulted God on my youth ministry decision; just basically followed my feelings and emotions. That was not good on my part and now I'm actually praying hard about it all. God has opened the door for me into this college, so I knew I didn't want to leave it, but I wanted to consider my other options because, honestly, a Bachelor's was biting off more than I could chew. I decided to back off and start small and see where God leads me after that. I'm trusting Him in all this and know full well that His plan will prevail as long as I submit to Him. One thing I know: I want to be in full-time ministry, but the real question is, "where?" That could be anywhere and God has graciously gifted me with abilities that equip me for His service. I want to make sure I use those gifts accordingly for His glory.

As always, I ask for prayers for the Lord's guidance, leading, and wisdom. Lots of changes, which reminds me that nothing is set in stone...except, of course, for Jesus Christ.

New Beginnings

Once again, it is a new year! I have gone through this 20 times and hopefully more! As I have said before on countless occasions, I have gone through a lot of changes in just this past year and I like the looks of it. God truly is molding me into His image and more recently I have been conforming to His likeness.

Lately, I have realized that I haven't exactly been communicating with God like I should be and I am currently changing that! Just think, the Creator of this universe and everything we see (including you and me) has revealed Himself, His plan of Salvation, and His commands on how we are to live in Him all in a book! It's the infallible Word of God and, sadly, not many Christians that I have talked to don't regularly get into it (this includes me). I have asked God for the desire to seek Him and His Word on a daily basis and I have been doing just that! It is truly amazing how He communicates with me through His Word.

As I had talked about in my last post, I still am not sure what to do regarding ministry. My heart yearns for sharing the Gospel with people who otherwise would never hear it, yet, God has opened doors to youth ministry. Right now I'm just praying and praying and praying and praying, continuously seeking God's infinite wisdom, guidance, and leading. I'll continue to walk through the doors God opens and trust that His hand is upon the whole matter :) One thing that frustrates me (and it's because of my own foolishness) is that before I decided to pursue youth ministry, I didn't thoroughly pray about it or actively get into the Word on the matter; I basically went with feelings and desires. That wasn't a good thing and now I'm wondering what's up. Even regarding foreign missions, I'm not following feelings, but God. I still need to experience what it's like out of the U.S. (which, fortunately, I might have an opportunity to go to Guatemala on a short term mission trip in a few months; please pray for me about that). I'm really praying about this whole thing and reading the Word. This time I'm doing what I should have done before. I still ask for prayers from all of you as this is more important than anything else.

The sermon I gave at Pathways went great and I got to talk about the story of Joseph and then tied it into the Gospel message, which was awesome! Thanks for the prayers! I hope seeds were planted :)

I hope and pray that 2012 will be a blessed and Christ-centered year for me and all of you! May God's glory be magnified not only in our words, but also in our actions!

Where's God Going With This?

Well, Christmas is right around the corner and it sure does not feel like it! Maybe it's because the weather is in the high 70's and low 80's during the day. Or perhaps it's because I haven't done a lot of Christmas shopping. Or maybe I have been too busy with school, work, and ministry to even notice. Whatever it is, the same result comes about. But I sure love the Christmas season and I try to enjoy it as much as I can!

I finally got my A.A. degree so now I'm officially done with SPC! It feels great, but it doesn't feel real. It took exactly 4 years to achieve and I got about that much left for my Bachelor's. This will test my patience :P All I know is that God is leading me and my life into full-time ministry. The question is: where? To be honest, I have been trying to figure this out lately. I know that God has given me the passion and burden for youth ministry (and that's what I'm studying right now), but my heart has redirected and I can't quite figure out if it's me or God. Along with youth ministry, I have always had the passion, desire, and burden for foreign missions. The only reason why I didn't pursue it is because God opened more doors to youth ministry than foreign missions. Perhaps that's because I never attempted pursuing foreign missions as well as youth ministry? I couldn't say. I have thought about going into foreign youth ministry, but my heart's desire (as it is tuning in to God's desire) is reaching the unreached and not youth in particular. There are over 3,500 people groups who have never heard the name Jesus Christ and that just kills me. I don't feel like hanging back here in America when many people all over the world are not hearing about Jesus and many Christians are not willing to go out there and share the Gospel. I don't know, maybe this is just a phase or maybe God is truly leading me and I'm actually listening. I just don't understand why I'm feeling this way! I am continuously praying for His guidance and leading and I ask you readers to please pray for me as well. I feel as if I have mistakenly chased my feelings and not God's leading into youth ministry. But as I look at the situation and how everything fell into place, it just seems all too clear that this is where I need to be. As I said, I'm really confused right now. Good thing that it's all in God's hands and not mine :)

I also have the opportunity to give the message to the youth group at Pathways! One thing I failed to do the last two times I did the sermons was to share the Gospel. I regret that. But now, I have the chance again and this time, the Gospel will be proclaimed! I pray that God will work through me and that He will be glorified! Please be praying for that too! It happens on December 28th!

As always, may God be glorified in all things! :)

It's That Time of Year Again

The Christmas season is now upon us. I tell you what, each year is going by faster and faster! Unfortunately, I don't think it matters how many clocks I break, it just won't change anything. Oh well, haha!

I really like the Christmas season. Even though I don't get snow, I still like the cooler weather, the smell of chimneys, and looking around at Christmas lights. The sad thing is, with all those things, we are missing it all. In today's world, Christmas is a time of family, gift-giving, baking, Christmas lights, and, in some places, snow. You might as well call it "Mas season" 'cause there sure isn't any mention of Jesus Christ. I used to not get saddened by this fact earlier on in life, but nowadays it seems to bother me a lot. I'm not saying that that's bad; only that, it seems, God is really changing my heart for sure! It's what Christians go through until the end of the age: sanctification. It's the process of God changing our hearts and our lives; making us become more like Him; preparing us for sharing the Good News about Jesus Christ and what He did on the cross! More and more, my mind is conforming to God's likeness and I start to have the same perspective that He has and the same goals that He has. Nothing satisfies me more than that!

I only have three assignments and one exam left of this semester and then I'll have my A.A. degree! God has faithfully pulled me through the amount of work I have gone through and I trust that He will do the same for the next part of His journey for me during Bible college! I have a lot of work ahead, but I'm remaining faithful to His will!

For those of you who are "waiting for God's will in your life", here's my advice: just move. By waiting, it gives you a reason to not do anything, thus resulting in you thinking that God is just going to, at some point, randomly reveal to you His whole plan for you. That's not how God seems to work (and this is according to His word). In actuality, Satan's using that to immobilize you, to prevent the Gospel from spreading. See what gifts God has given you and then just pray and move in a direction. If God doesn't want that for you, He'll close the door and you can get moving again. You repeat the process until you go through the right door and He'll lead you from there. Think of it like a scavenger hunt: each clue leads you to the next clue until you find the prize. Little by little, God will lead you to the next step until the end. Don't expect a revelation in one sitting; expect a lifelong revelation until the day you stand face-to-face with Him! "God cannot steer a parked car."

Ending One Chapter; Beginning Another

I can't wait for this semester to end! Only a month left and it feels like the speed got slower! It always seems to go that way of course. But either way, I got my big four-page paper for math class (yes, lame, I know) out of the way! That pretty much precedes the end of both my classes because it's not so bad from here on out.

Two weeks ago, I officially signed up and enrolled into my classes at Trinity! So far I got my books (all twelve of them!) coming in the mail and it just gets me more excited about starting! Granted, it is going to be a tough few years ahead of me, but I know that it is going to be so worth it in the end! It's not like I'm taking subjects that mean nothing to me (like algebra). I'll be taking classes that will truly prepare me for my career in youth ministry! I started going through some of my new books, at least the ones that came in the mail. It just made me realize how blessed I am to be going into this career path. God has amazingly provided a great college for me to get the necessary education and training! And it works perfectly for me! I get to keep my job and my car and I still can be involved in youth ministry at the same time! God is so good :)

Right now I'm trying to be a little more social. I'm not much of a social butterfly, but I realize that if I want to be a youth pastor, I really need to get out there and start talking to people. I gotta say, it hasn't been easy, but I think I'll get the hang of it in time. At least I had better!

For all of you reading this, I still desire your prayers for me. I wanna be sure that my heart, soul, strength, and mind is in love with our awesome God! And I wanna also be sure that I put that much effort in loving people as well! Even the people who are unlovable! It's super important. I also ask that you pray that I remain faithful to God's plan and will and that I faithfully step out as He guides and steers me. Pray also that I continue to get into the Word and not just read it, but also live it! I utter the same words as the apostle Paul, "Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."-Philippians 3:13-14

My Passion, My Life

   Sometimes, I am amazed at how life has its "ups" and "downs", but through it all, God never changes. To be honest, I could choose to mope around and be depressed about the negative events that happen in my life, but I find that's not even worth my time and energy (especially compared to the many people in this world who are experiencing worse by far!). All to often, Christians focus on getting their life right and comfortable and rarely spend time thinking about the Great Commission. The Great Commission to them is tithing, praying, going to church, listening to Joy FM, changing their "religious views" to "Christian" on Facebook, and praying before eating (in no particular order). Now I know that this descriptive list kind of seems comical (which it sort of is), but it is also serious because I see many Christians who, sadly, fit this description. I'm not saying that doing all these things are bad (because they sure aren't), but if that is how our lives are determined as Christians, then there is a problem. I, for one, do not want my life to be based on how comfortable it is, but mostly by what I am doing for the Gospel. My main concern is, "how can I spread and/or aid the spread of the Gospel?" I find no other reason for my life than that.

   Last week, my dad and I (after looking over my finances) discovered that I won't be needing a second job in order to afford Bible college for the next 5 years! God is good! He not only provides my needs in general, but most importantly, He provides my needs in order to share the Gospel with the world! These aren't provisions to make my life more comfortable, but to make my life uncomfortable with a much greater vision than the American Dream. I'm looking forward to see where God takes me from here!

   Two days ago, I had the awesome opportunity to go to a homeless-shelter-kind-of-thing, called Pinellas Hope. The homeless people there live in a community of tents, shacks, and (for some) in apartments. It is a pretty sweet ministry and I was blessed to be a part of it! But I have a confession to make: I never wanted to go. That's right, I was selfish and I never went because I didn't want to. I never really knew what to expect, but I thought I wasn't gonna like it. The thing is, even if I didn't like it, does that define whether I should go again or not? No! When being a follower of Jesus, that means you are going to have to do things that you don't necessarily want to do. And you know? I loved it there! All we did is play Bingo and just hang out with the people (and of course we gave them provisions that they needed). Even though that's "all we did", that was huge for the people there! It was such a blessing and I can't wait until next month's trip!

   Recently, I've been learning how to evangelize (effectively share the Gospel and doing it in love). Part of me still has fear and another part of me doesn't quite feel ready, but everyday I pray for an opportunity. Co-workers of mine know of my relationship with Christ and my pursuit of being a youth pastor and many of them have a Christian background of some sort, so there is definitely a "breeding ground" for the Gospel to be shared in my own work place! I just don't want to be afraid of sharing.

   In light of the above paragraph, I do have one more awesome story to share! On Facebook, there is a Christian page I'm a fan of on their called "Teen Jesus Freaks". There's a guy on there that joined only to bash and challenge Christianity. He's an atheist and he demands for the Christians on the page to "prove" the validity of the Bible and the words of Jesus. He is definitely hard-hearted and at enmity with God. I started talking to him on there and gave him some cool facts (scientifically and historically supported) that support the validity of the Bible. The thing is, no matter how many or how good the facts were, this guy tried wiggling around them and finding articles online that "refute" these claims I was making. Long story short, I ended up telling him that no matter what I tell him, he won't believe because his heart is hard and at enmity towards the things of God; that it (Christianity) requires faith, just like atheism does; and I proceeded to present the Gospel to him. I challenged him to read the Gospel of John and read it for himself and left it at that. It was a super long post, so I hope the words penetrated him and I still pray for him today. Oh, and he lives in Germany, which is pretty awesome! People might criticize me for what I did. But you know what? He's a real person just like you and me and is in need of God's saving grace just like anyone else! And I feel I did my part and now it's up to God to go from there :)

   This post doesn't even begin cover everything that has happened between the last post 'til now, but I sure hope this gives you all an idea of what is happening in my life. :)