Nick at Night

Matthew Chapter 3 tells of a influential member of the Jewish ruling council, Nicodemus, who came to Jesus at night (Nick at Night, get it!) to ask Jesus questions regarding the radical teachings Jesus had been teaching.

Why did Nicodemus come to Jesus at night...well, it could have been it was a time when not as many disciples of Jesus were around. It could could have been it was the only time he had available to speak to Jesus one-on-one; but probably it was because he did not want to be seen by the other religious leaders of the day, because of the persecution he might receive.

How many of us go to Jesus in secret to address Him with our questions, share with Him our concerns or just to worship Him. We won't pray with others while eating at a local restaurant because we are afraid of the stares we might get. We won't speak to God at work because we will be laughed at or scorned. We won't be Jesus followers at school because we will loose friends or social status. Teachers, scientist, politicians and other professionals are afraid to speak to Jesus during the light of day, because they might loose their jobs; much like Nicodemus probably would have if he had been caught speaking to Jesus in front of his peers.

Instead we come to Jesus at night or in private. How sad we are, when we do that. Are we that ashamed to be Christians? I am guilty of being "Nick at Night" on occasion, and I am embarrassed when I catch myself doing it.

One cool thing about Nicodemus's visit with Jesus that night; It was at that time that Jesus told him, "For God so loved the world, that He gave His one and only Son, so that whoever believes in Him shall have eternal life." God loves us no matter when we come to him, day or night; I just think He shakes His head for us, when we are to embarrassed to share Him with others.

This and That and Miscellaneous Stuff!

Over the past few weeks, I have found it hard to find topics to blog about. Finally, I just decided that I would do a potpourri of various topics until something just stands out.

While driving through the Dallas/Ft. Worth area recently, my wife and I kept seeing the billboards with pictures of people saying, "I am Second!", with the web-site IAmSecond.com underneath. We finally looked this site up. It is a site dedicated to people who are in recovery from various addictive behaviors. These recovering addicts tell their stories about how they realized that they needed God to help them in their lives. By putting God "first" in their lives and putting themselves "second" they are working to overcome their problems and stay on the road to recovery. It is a cool site. I really like the story of Josh Hamilton, who currently plays outfield for my Texas Rangers.

Speaking of the Texas Rangers, baseball season is almost upon us. This is my favorite sport by far of the major 4 (Baseball, Football, Basketball, and Hockey) in the United States. It seems the Rangers are going to have to rely heavily on their young pitchers to step up and perform well. I agree with the Rangers strategy of not "breaking the bank" to sign big name players, and I hope our young guys, with some veteran support can do well this year. If I get to attend any Ranger games live this year, I will have to get a Josh Hamilton t-shirt.

Other news from the baseball front. It seems the ever so wonderful, Alex Rodriguez tested positive for steroid use back in 2003. Well, well, what a surprise! It seems baseball's golden boy did a little juicing himself. What is really sad, because of this recent scandal, one sports writer has resorted to calling the Rangers the worst abusers of steroids in baseball. The nerve of that guy. I am not going to sit here and say none of the Texas Rangers have ever used steroids, but to call them the worst abusers in the league; Come on man!

I refuse to comment on the goings on with our nation's government. If you have read any of my past blogs, I think you know I feel about throwing out billions of dollars to agencies, businesses, and even the common tax payers in an effort to stop the current financial crisis we are in. Hey, I am not about to turn down free money, if it comes my way, but I think we brought this crisis on ourselves by not being good stewards of the boundless blessings God gave us. Throwing more money our way will not help us learn the lessons we need to learn to prevent this from happening again in the future. I guess I commented after all! Sorry!

Sunday, our preacher, gave us an excellent lesson about. "Flying Stand-By!" Have you ever flown stand-by? I have not. People who fly stand-by have to wait to find out if someone else has cancelled a flight or if their will be any unbooked seats on a plane in order to board that particular flight. It creates lots of uncertainties and stress because they do not know if they will be able to board the plane or not. People who have already booked their flights and have their tickets can arrive at the gate with a more relaxed attitude because they know they are going to get on the plane.

As Christians many of us live like we are on "stand-by" when it comes to our eternal salvation. Despite the many promises of God and the gift of Grace through the death of Jesus, many Christians have not accepted God's "free ticket" to get into Heaven. We still believe we have to earn our way into Heaven. We live a life of uncertainty, as if we are unsure if we will get into Heaven or not. Those Christians who have fully accepted the Grace of God through Jesus, can live a life focused on the important things we have to do while still here on this Earth. We can relax (to an extent) knowing we are going to going to live with our King forever. All we have to be concerned about is fighting the battle against darkness and making sure others know that God has give them a free-ticket on the plane to Heaven.

Also just to catch you up on the recent concerns regarding Jamie's health; read her recent blog about what is going on with her health.

Two Good Books to Read

Recently I have read two books that have had a profound impact on my thoughts about "religion" and my relationship with the God of Universe!

The first books is called The Shack by William Young. This book challenges the traditional roles Christians seek to have in relation to God, as well as who God really is and what He expects from His children.

The second book is called Room of Marvels by James Bryan Smith. This book also challenges what you believe about Heaven and a person's personal relationship with God.

Both books deal with the healing of the main character's broken relationship with God. Both books are fairly short in length and easy to read, yet powerful in their messages. I encourage you to read them. They could alter your way of thinking.

IM SAVD

The State of South Carolina is planning to issue personalized license plates for Christians. Some people; however, are extremely upset about this. They are claiming this a clear violation of the "separation of church and state" laws.

I say "Nonsense!" This is the biggest bunch of hooey I have ever seen. Why can't I personalize my license plate. I can put on my plate what college I attended, what sports team I like, semi-vulgar messages in code (such as the title of my blog), but I cannot put my religious preference on my plates. If I pay to have the state print my plate, why can't I put my religious beliefs on my license plate. The state is not forcing me to put a particular religious belief or idea on my car, I am choosing to do so.

I think it is time for Christians to stand up to the government and claim "reverse discrimination". In the interest of not forcing a religious belief on others, the anti-religious folks are not allowing anyone to practice their religion at all.

Go, South Carolina...print those plates. Good for you!

Missing God

During the past few days, I have been trying my best to prioritize a few things. I have made time to fill out job applications. I have made time to focus on my health/physical fitness. I have even made more time to spend with my family; however, I have failed to make time to spend with my Father. You would think I would make time to spend with my Creator, the God of all the Universe, but I have not.

Before I took my current job, I read my Bible, spent time in prayer, and in devotion with God. Now, I barely read what I need to help teach my daughter's Sunday School class. I miss my God. I miss spending time trying to stay in touch with the Holy Spirit and conversing with Jesus. I do pray every morning, but I have yet to make a specific time to read His Words. I am a little lost without my Guiding Light.

I know God is there, even if I don't see Him. I just want to spend about three days refocusing myself to do His will and seek His direction for me in my life. When is the next holiday break?

Why do we run from what we are so desperately longing for?

The past couple of days I have noticed a theme, that keeps popping up in books, movies and in everyday life.

The theme is that "God is relentlessly pursuing us in order to show us his love! Our response it to run away from what we are so desperately longing to have." God offers us mercy, grace, love and eternal life with Him. These are the very things most people on this little planet so desperately want in our lives. Instead of accepting this we tend to run from it. Why?

Maybe we are afraid of seeing the reflection of our ugly, deformed, sinful self. We must come face to face with the fact that we are sinners and have no chance to heal ourselves, no matter what we do.

The book Captured by Grace tells the life stories of several famous folks, including C.S. Lewis, John Newton, and Paul the Apostle, and how they compare their lives as running from themselves and a very loving God, only to find out that when they finally run into God and He captures their hearts, that they finally realize that they have been running from what they have been seeking all along.

I watched the movie Finding Nemo with my family on Sunday. I have seen this movie many times before, but I never caught this particular theme. Nemo is amazed that his father has overcome impossible odds to find him. His father tells Nemo, "Don't you realize I would do anything to find you! I love you!" Hasn't our Heavenly Father done the same thing for us. He went through "Death" to pursue an everlasting relationship with us.

We know that God is there. We know He calls out to us daily to join in fellowship with Him. Why do run? What are we scared of? Are we so afraid of facing up to our own sins? Are we afraid that we are so ugly and scarred that God cannot really want a relationship with someone so sinful? I guess we are. Why don't we just quit running and let God capture our heart? When He does he will transform us into such incredible people, we will start running again. This time running with God in pursuit of others who flee the grace of God, that they are so desperately looking for.

A Little Cartoon Forgivness Please

The local Christian radio station, KVNE, has a day of the week where kids can call in their favorite songs from 7:00-8:00 a.m. It is called, "Loving Kids Thursday." One of the most requested songs is The Cartoon Song by Chris Rice (click here for lyrics). In this song Chris Rice sings about the hypothetical world in which Cartoons could by saved by Jesus and their different and unique ways of singing "Hallelujah!" in celebration. However fun this song is, I have grown disturbed by one of the lines of the song.

The lines talk about the MTV created cartoon characters Beavis and Butthead. According to the Cartoon Song, when it comes to these two very immoral characters, they do not get a chance to sing "Hallelujah" because they are not "saved." Now, I hate the B&B cartoon show as much as anyone, but to not allow the grace of Jesus to cover them is a travesty. These two fellows deserve the grace of God more than many of the other cartoon characters mentioned in the song. If God's grace is not big enough for Beavis and Butthead, then what makes us think it is big enough for us?

I would love to hear an updated version of the song, in which Beavis and "that other guy" realized they too have been granted grace by Jesus, and they get to sing "Hallelujah, He.He.He.He" (that's supposed to be a laugh). I may not be as destructive or bizarre as B&B, but I too plan to laugh my head off when I get to Heaven; not because it is funny, but because it will just be so unbelievable that God chose to love me. I hope I get to sing "Hallelujah" with many other B&B types in Heaven, not just "all those little blue guys."

God, Beth Moore and My Wife

Guess I couldn't find enough to do. (See blog below!)

Just to let you know, I have noticed a big change in my wife, Jamie, recently. She has been "starving" for the Word of God. Recently, one of her largest suppliers has been Beth Moore who has written many books and Bible Study guides based on God's Words in the Bible. She is even has an organization and web-site called Living Proof Ministries, which has a really cool mission statement.

I love the fact that Jamie is striving for and enriching her spiritual relationship with God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. It is something I have always loved about her. She is even attending a weekly Bible study based on one of Beth Moore's lessons. The closer she gets to Jesus, the closer we become in our personal life. I could talk about God with her all day long. (unless of course baseball is on the television)

Another book she is currently reading is called Captured by Grace, which is a very powerful book comparing the life of the Apostle Paul and John Newton, the author of the hymn "Amazing Grace." I have started to read this book as well.

Just thought I would brag a little about my wonderful bride. God has truly blessed me with such a great woman. I love you Jamie!

Movie Review -- The Last Sin Eater

I just finished watching my latest DVD from Netflix. It was a great film called The Last Sin Eater, Directed by Michael Landon, Jr. The movie centers around a groups of Celtic immigrants to the U.S. who live in the Appalachian Mts. These God fearing immigrants brought with them an ancient Celtic belief that they have incorporated into their religion. Much like the ancient Jews had the "scapegoat" in the Bible to carry away their sins, the Celts in the movie have what they call a "Sin Eater." The Sin Eater is a person chosen by lot, to take on the all the sins of the dead upon himself, so that the dead can go to heaven with a clean soul.

Without trying to spoil the movie, I will skip many of the movie's details. What I most liked about the movie was the way a "Holy Man of God" describes Jesus as the true "Sin Eater" who is able to not only take the sins of the dead upon Himself, but he can also forgive and cast away the sins of the living; Thus making all people new and clean from their sins.

I am glad we as Christians don't have to worry about having our sins taken on by another person or having to become the person to take on the sins of others. Sadly this is a burden that many Christians voluntary take on for ourselves. We do not need a Sin Eater in our lives today, we have a Sin Forgiver in the shape of our Savior, Jesus!

This is great family film and I highly recommend it for the entire family.

At What Point Did Jesus Realize He Was the Son of God?

While on Spring Break my wife had us listen to a sermon that a friend of hers had recorded onto a CD. During this wonderful lesson, the speaker brought up the point that Jesus did not always know that he was the Son of God, thus He did not fully realize His mission on Earth until He learned about it later. Hmmmmm?

I was always under the impression that Jesus, from birth, knew who He was and why He was here. The speaker pointed out that if Jesus was truly a man like the rest of us, then when He was born He couldn't have possibly understood who He really was and what His mission was. He correctly stated that Jesus gave up all the "trappings" of being part of the God-Head to become a man, thus His human brain had to develop just like yours and mine did. Wow!!

The speaker said that Jesus' was probably told who He was by His mother Mary. She probably told Him the circumstances of His birth and what the angel Gabriel had told her about Him. Later when the wise men came to visit Him, He was probably introduced to a little more about His true nature. The speaker said, Jesus did not fully realize who He really was and His true mission until he was about 13 years of age, when he went to Jerusalem with his parents for the Passover. It was while He at Jerusalem that Jesus spent some time in the Temple studying with and asking questions with the religious leaders. It was here that Jesus started to research the prophecies regarding who He really was. Being divinely inspired He quickly put together the pieces and discovered the truth about His true Mission in life.

The speaker also pointed out that it wasn't until later that Jesus actually started to perform miracles. The speaker said, that God used this time to mold Jesus' earthly character to best perform what God expected Him to do. After Jesus was prepared and accepted His mission, then the His true power finally came upon Him.

Interesting points. Can you imagine having to try to explain to your child, that you were miraculously conceived, and that you are the Son of God? I'm sure Mary didn't quite understand everything regarding the full nature of Jesus and here she was trying to explain it to Him the best she could. Also can you imagine, from a normal man's point of view, discovering that you were supposed to die for the sins of all mankind? Try to wrap your normal man brain around that one? But if Jesus really was a man like us, He had to have struggled ever so briefly with the reality of what God expected of Him. Even in the Garden before he was crucified, Jesus was still asking God, "Is there another way?" At least Jesus was resolute in doing what God's will for Him was. I on the other hand am still trying to get, 'My own way,' more often that not.

When do you think Jesus realized he was fully God in nature?

Where Will You Choose to Meet God?

This question was asked during the lesson our minister gave last Sunday at our church. The lesson focused on the lives of the three young men in Daniel who choose to go to the firery furnace rather than bow down to the golden statue. (For a similar blog click here)

Our minister put the question to us to see if we fully trusted in our God as being a God who is in control at all times, not just the good times. Many Christians want to and choose to meet God. The problem is we choose to meet God in a place of our choosing. We want to meet God in a place where we don't have to suffer, or a place that makes us feel uncomfortable, or a place in which we don't have to sacrifice anything to get there. In effect we want God to come to us!

Our problem lies in the fact that God chooses where we are suppossed to meet Him. For Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, God wanted them to meet Him in the furnace. God could have rescued them from the furnace but He did not. He wanted them to meet Him in the furnace itself. These three young men, chose to have faith in their God and they choose to go into the furnace to meet their God. As a result God blessed their decision and he saved from the furnace after all.

God has the ability to save us from pain, suffering, death, disaster, disease, poverty, divorce, addictions, etc...but sometimes He chooses not to. Is it because He is mean and cruel? No, sometimes it is because of these painful times in our lives, that we learn the most valuable lessons of all. God sometimes uses the firery furnace to mold and shape us into what He wants us to be. He wants us to choose to meet Him in the fire. Only there will we then open to His power and will for us.

Many of the most powerful and faithful men and women in the Bible suffered because of circumstances allowed to happen to them by God. Moses learned of his true purpose while in exile in the desert. Joseph learned of his true purpose while as a prisoner in Egypt, after being sold by his own brothers. Abraham learned of his true purpose after being asked to move to a foreign land. Paul begged God to remove his "thorn in the flesh" but was told by God, "No" because only by suffering with his "thorn" could Paul truely appreciate his need for God in his life. Jesus himself begged God not to be crucified but instead He fullfilled His purpose by suffering and dying.

To be perfectly honest I have not yet chosen to meet God in the fire. I have "suffered" some because of choosing to follow God, but not to the point of putting it ALL on the line. As God continues to call me to meet with Him, where will I choose to meet Him? Will I again ask God to come to me, or will I become one of the "Furnace People" and choose to meet God in the furnace?

Are You A Dummy? (A Lesson Learned From Charlie and the Chocolate Factory)

By now I am sure everyone has seen the latest version of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory staring Johnny Depp as Willy Wonka. My family and I watch this movie again on television last night and something in the movie just hit me very hard. It made me do a lot of thinking.

The premise of the show, is that Willy Wonka has hidden 5 Golden Tickets among his millions of Wonka Bars around the world. 5 "Lucky" children who find these tickets get prizes, including one prize "beyond their wildest dreams." The first four children who find these tickets are not the best examples of children (or parents for that matter) as far as their character is concerned. The last ticket is found by a young boy named Charlie Bucket.

This young man has character beyond his years. After he finds the ticket he is torn between selling the ticket to people who have offered him money or keeping the ticket and visting the Chocolate Factory of Mr. Wonka. "Our family needs the money for than chocolate," he explains to his family. At this point one of his grandfathers calls Charlie over to his bedside. This grandfather gives Charlie some very wise and sound advice.

He says, "There's plenty of money out there, they print more every day. But this ticket; there are only 5 of them in the whole world. That's all there is ever going to be. Only a dummy would give that up for something as common as money. Are you a dummy?"

God offers us something much more valuable than a Golden Ticket. He offers us Salvation. The Bible tells us there is only ONE way to reach the Father. This is found only through Jesus Christ. The Bible also tells us there is ONE God, Body, ONE Faith, ONE Spirit, ONE true word of God and we have only ONE Soul. Many of us sell this precious and rare gift for worldly things every day. We trade in our eternal life for such common things as money, fame or other things. We must be "Dummies."

Willy Wonka has 5 Golden Tickets, GOD offers us a ONE time gift of LOVE and GRACE, He offered up his ONE Son, JESUS, in order to offer this gift to us. We really would be fools to trade in a chance at eternal life with our FATHER, for something as common as what Satan offers in return.

Fighting Our Way Through the Red-Zone

Comparing Spritual Warfare to a football game is seemingly becoming a manly theme. My Wednesday night men's Bible classes is currently reading a book called, Every Man, God's Man by Stephen Arterburn and Kenny Luck. One of the first chapters compares the struggles men have to being bogged down in the "Red Zone".

For those not familiar with football, the "Red Zone" is the part of the playing field between an opponent's 20 yard line and the End-Zone. It is at this point where some of the most dramatic moments in football take place. The Defense is now protecting their end-zone. They are focused on preventing their opponents from gaining even one more inch. They play tougher here than on any other part of the field. They seem to do even better than their best to keep their oppenents out of their end-zone and scoring points.

The offensive strategy also changes from looking for large gains in yardage to focusing on short yard gains to push past the hardened defense to reach their desired goal, which is their opponent's end-zone. They often resort to trick plays or the use of brut force to push their opponents backwards.

I guess you could compare a man's struggle to become a man of God to playing football. The Bible tells us to put on the armor of God, much like putting on a playing uniform. The Bible gives us strategies and moral guidelines in which to live our lives and guide our families, much like a playbook. It is our manly responsiblity to study the "playbook" and put on our "armor" before we attempt to take on our enemy. Believe me, the enemy has studied our playbook and he knows our battle plans better than we do.

The enemy, however; has convinced us that since he knows God's strategy for us, that we must switch strategies in order to try and trick him. This is just what the enemy wants us to do. What we fail to realize is, that even if Satan does know our playbook, that the playbook will still work against him. Satan has no defense against the Truth, and the Will of God for our lives. It's when we switch to our understanding of the game, that we get bogged down.

The closer we follow the game plan of God, the closer we get to our goal of an eternal life with God. This is our Goal. This is the Red-Zone. Satan's defense and attacks against us get stronger and he will do anything to distract us from following the gameplan set forth by God. It seems we can get no closer to our goal despite everything we try. We get bogged down and many times collapse under the pressure of a battle toughened Satan.

We must stay focused!! We must not give up!! We must remember, we already know the outcome of the game. WE WIN!! God will get us trough the Red-Zone, if we just rely on Him.

As you can tell football is not my sport of choice, so my thoughts may wonder a bit. I still hope you understood my message though. Maybe next time I can use a baseball reference.

Two Thought Provoking Links

Recently I have been introduced to two seperate and very thought provoking links.

The first is called...The Truth Project, which is presented by Focus on the Family. The Truth Project is a Christian based curriculum designed to counter the "lies" told to us by the world and refocus the Believer's faith on "the voice of truth" as presented by God in the Bible. This curriculum is taught to small groups which can be organized in a community near you. Ladybug (my new blog term for my wife) and I are thinking about taking one of these classes.

The second is a link to an upcoming documentary(?) film by Ben Stein, called Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed. This movie was created to openly challenge the Theory of Evolution and Darwinism as scientific theories. After watching the trailer, I am very interested in watching the movie. Speaking from personal experiences, I can say that some Science teachers in the public schools and on the college levels are not allowed to present "Intelligent Design" as a plausable theory of the creation of the universe and man. This is mainly due to possible law suits by radical atheistic or agnostic families who seem to think this would be forcing religion down the throats of their children. They don't seem to care that Darwinism & Evolution have no "smoking gun" proofs to back up their claims as well. To watch a short trailer about the movie click on the above link or link to All Rolled Into One (Ladybug's blog) to watch the trailer and read her take on the movie. For a synopsis of the movie from The Internet Movie Database (IMDB), (click here)

Watch the links and let me know what you think.

Yesterday is Gone So Say Goodbye

As mentioned in a previous blog...one of my favorite Christian music albums right now is Portable Sounds by Tobymac. One of the songs that I have been listening to a lot recently is called Suddenly. The song is about how when a person finally realizes that whatever has happened in the past no longer makes a difference once they truly accept the love, grace and forgiveness of our Savior, Jesus. Here are the lyrics I'm talking about...

"Sometimes in an instant, Sometimes we wait for years, But it comes down to the moment when faith eclipses fear, Your wondering is over the other side is real, You've broken through your mountain moved, And mercy is revealed....And suddenly all of its behind you, And I 'm here to remind you, That yesterday is gone so say goodbye, And finally the skies open above you, And love has truly found you, Now every thing's alive. Sometimes there's nothing left but to believe."

Cool Words huh? The fact is that once a person accepts Jesus as their Savior, all sins from you past are forgiven. Satan cannot use those sins against you to make you feel inferior or unworthy of God's ever present love for you.

In our battle with the Evil One (Satan), we should not focus on the past. We cannot change it. Only Christ can change the past...Hebrews 13:8 tells us that, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and today and forever." We cannot fight battles in the past, but our God can. So let go of your past sins, God can and will forgive the sins of His children who come to Him. Sometimes we are so afraid that our past will come back to haunt us and that our sins will not be forgotten by God. It's a lie we are all prone to believe, but we must let our faith in God overcome that fear. We must act on our faith...not our fears. It is in that moment, that we truly become stronger warriors for God. We are no longer burdened by a load that no longer exists.

Keep your focus on the present. The Here and Now. Don't let Satan and his demons take your focus off what you have to do, "RIGHT NOW". If we take our eyes off our enemy to look back at our past, we are open to attacks from what is right in front of us.

So wave goodbye to yesterday, because it is gone...and stay focused on the present, knowing that we have a future in Heaven, as children of the KING!

Trying to Stay in the WORD

Once again I am facing the age old dilemma of how to stay active in my personal Bible study and reading. I am having trouble finding interrupted time in the mornings, reading seriously at work is almost impossible, afternoons after work would work on some days but not consistently, and nights...well, I'm really tired.

I used to get up about 15 minutes earlier in the mornings to spend a little prayer time and scripture reading, but I have slacked off on that. I should do that again. My days started better and I felt more connected to God, at least until lunch time. I have tried at night, but my selfishness tells me to catch up on the news/sports and the few television shows I choose to watch.

I need to once again, re-commit specific times to spend alone with my GOD. I need to make a priority. My Mission Statement tells what I really want to do with my life, but it's hard for a selfish person like me to "Just Do It, and Stick To It!"

A new men's Bible class is starting next Wednesday, maybe that will help me stay more focused!

My apologies to God for all of this...You really are the most important factor in my life. I just wish my true will would show more in my actions. Please help me, Father, to commit more time to your Words. Your son, a recovering sinner, ME

Thursday Thirteen -- 13 of My Favorite Music Albums by Christian Artists

Here is my Thursday Thirteen post for the week.

13 of Some of My Favorite Christian Music Albums

These Albums are in no particular order and they are just a few of the many Christian Artists and Songs I listen to. If you click on the links you will go to the album's listing on Amazon.com. From there you should be able to scroll down and listen to samples of songs featured on the album.

1. Portable Sounds by TobyMac -- Songs I like off this album are: Made to Love, Boomin', I'm For You, Feelin' So Fly and Lose My Soul.

2. Adoration: The Worship Album by Newsboys -- Songs I like off this album are: He Reigns, You Are My King (Amazing Love) and In Christ Alone.

3. Almost There by Mercy Me -- Songs I like off this album are: I Can Only Imagine, I Worship You, Bless Me Indeed. & Spoken For by Mercy Me -- Songs I like off this album are: The Change Inside of Me, Crazy and Word of God Speak.

4. Casting Crowns by Casting Crowns -- Songs I like off this album are: Voice of Truth, If We Are the Body, Who Am I and American Dream.

5. Speechless by Steven Curtis Chapman -- Songs I like off this album are: Dive, Speechless, The Change, Great Expectations, Next 5 Minutes, Fingerprints of God, Invitation, Whatever and I Do Believe.

6. Worship God by Rebecca St. James -- Songs I like off this album are: Breathe, God of Wonders, Lamb of God, It is Well and Above All.

7. Songs by the late Rich Mullins -- Songs I like off this (Greatest Hits album) are: Sing Your Praise to the Lord, Awesome God, Creed, We Are Not as Strong as We Think We Are, If I Stand, Elijah and Hold Me Jesus. & The Jesus Record by Rich Mullins and Various Artists -- Songs I like off this album are: My Deliverer, Surely God is With Us, Man of No Reputation, and That Where I Am, There You.

8. Worship by Michael W. Smith -- Songs I like off this album are: The Heart of Worship, Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus, Open the Eyes of My Heart, Breath, Let It Rain, Agnus Dei and Above All.

9. Center of My Universe by Michelle Tumes -- Songs I like off this album are: Deep Love, Heaven's Heart, Do Ya, Lovely and With the Angels.

10. Underdog by Audio Adrenaline -- Songs I like off this album are: Underdog, Get Down, Good Life, Let My Love Open the Door, Hands and Feet, It is Well With My Soul and Jesus Movement.

11. Arriving by Chris Tomlin -- Songs I like off this album are: Indescribable, Holy is The Lord, How Great is Our God, Your Grace is Enough, Unfailing Love, All Bow Down and You Do All Things Well.

12. Revived by World Wide Message Tribe (now known as The Tribe) -- Songs I like off this "Greatest Hits Album" are: In My Life, Come All Ye Faithful, Reach For Heaven, Jumping in the House of God and Hallelujah (Praise the Saviour).

13. Veggie Rocks by Various Artist sing songs originally sung by The VeggieTales Characters -- Songs I like off this album are: I Love My Lips, In the Belly of the Whale, The Water Buffalo Song, and every other song on this album.

Dying to One's Self Is Not Easy

It seems the past few weeks or so I have been reading or hearing things that point to the need for Christians to "Die to their former selves and be reborn into their new life with Christ!" At first I was dismissing these "cues" as if to say, "I was baptized and I have repented of my sins. God loves me now and that is that!" I think God wanted me to hear more.

In my Sunday morning class at my church...we have been talking about how you must undergo a severe humbling process in order to turn your life fully over the the will of God. You must give up your own will, not only in mind, but in body, to the will of the Father. Even if the desires to continue in our sinful ways pull hard on our hearts, it's what the body does that shows the true desires of our hearts. We may confess all day long that we want to give up our sins, addictions, and selfish behaviors, but when we continue to choose to wallow in our hopelessness and choose not to act on our faith in God, we are showing that we are still giving in to the desire of our hearts to do what We want to do not what God wants us to do.

I have also been reading a book called "When Heaven Weeps" by Ted Dekker. In it the main character keeps referring to how Christians as a whole refuse to join Christ in His cruel and terrible death in order to show His love to others. He states we are perfectly fine to confess the love of Jesus, but we refuse to get our hands dirty to work to show that love. We say we love others, but if it means pain and suffering for ourselves, we will choose Self over Others every time.

God calls us to die our old self and join Christ in death. It is absolutely necessary to do this in order to fully understand, accept and act upon His Grace. There is a quote from the book that stands out..."Is the death of the will any less painful than the death of the body? Call it figurative if it makes you comfortable, but in reality the death of the will is far more traumatic than the death of the body." " In the death of the body the nerve endings soon stop feeling. In the death of the will the heart doesn't stop its bleeding so quickly."

Giving up our selfish will is hard to do. It's something I myself need to come face to face with. I am scared to death to do it. I have been a Christian for some time, but It's hard to show any tangible evidence of my faith as far as actively loving others is concerned. Recent events in my life have caused me to be much less judgemental when it comes to looking at the sins and actions of others, but I still have a hard time actively loving them.

My New Year's Resolution is to pray that God allows me to die to old self and be reborn a person who is fully capable of loving others the same way that He loves me. I am terrified of how God may choose to do this, but I know it will be the best thing for me. I am ready, I think. Pray for Me!

Who is a God like You?

I have been a Christian for the majority of my natural life. In all the years I have been a Christian I have to honestly say that I have read the Bible from cover to cover only twice (maybe three) time ever. I am just about to finish it for the third (maybe fourth) time. The hardest part of reading the Bible, to me, is reading through the major and minor prophets at the end of the Old Testament. The prophetic language is sometimes hard to understand and it seems very repetitive.

In my most recent attempt at reading through these books, I have tried to look at them with open eyes and with an open mind. What I discovered made me very sad, then angry and then extremely happy. The sad part was reading about the punishment that God was going to inflict on his people if they did not repent from their sinful ways and return to a life of righteousness and relationship with God. The angry part was that despite God's many warnings of what this punishment was, the Israelites and Judeans kept on sinning. I mean God warned them over and over again, that if they would just repent, He would save them. He wanted to show them mercy, but they ignored Him right on up to the point where they were carried away into captivity by their enemies. The happy part was knowing that God loved them enough to delay their punishment until everyone had heard the warnings and had a chance to repent. He loved them enough, that even when the punishment was carried out, He took care of the few who were faithful and blessed them anyway. Wow!

What a God! I think the prophet Micah sums it up best in his book. Micah 7:18-20 says, "Who is a God like you, who pardons sin and forgives the transgression of the remnant of His inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy. You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our iniquities into the depth of the sea. You will be true to Jacob, and show mercy to Abraham, as you pledged on oath to our fathers in days long ago."

God does not want to punish us! He does not want to send any of His children to captivity in Hell! God wanted to show His love for us so much, that He died for us in the form of His Son, Jesus, the Christ. He wants to show us His mercy and grace. He wants us to listen to the warnings. He wants those who have received Him to share the warnings and the good news of Grace to others. I pray that those who deny Jesus and continue to ignore the warnings wake up and accept His offers of mercy before it's to late.

Shouting All The More

Have you ever been in a situation where have called out for help? Did others around you listen to you, did they ignore you, or did they just tell you to "Shut up"? Bartimaeus was a man like this.

Bartimaeus was a blind man, who was a beggar on the roadside outside the city of Jericho. He was helpless and an outcast of society. He was reduced by his blindness to begging for a living. He needed help and needed it desperately. When help finally arrived Bartimaeus seized the moment and cried out for help from the only one who could help.

Bartimaeus heard that Jesus of Nazareth, the Messiah was walking by the very roadside he was at. Knowing who Jesus was, Bartimaeus called out, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" Bartimaeus was calling out for help.

Many people traveling with Jesus rebuked Bartimaeus and told him to be quiet. In other words they told him to "Shut up!" They were hoping he would just go away. They didn't care about him or want to hear about his problem.

But Bartimaeus would not be silenced...He cried out all the more "Son of David, have mercy on me!" He refused to ignored. He refused to let his only chance at help be taken away from him. And it worked! Jesus stopped said, "Call Him."

The determination of Bartimaeus was rewarded...Jesus not only stopped and called him, Jesus asked Bartimaeus, "What do you want me to do for you?" Wow! To have Jesus, God on Earth, personally grant your request is just incredible. Bartimaeus asked for his sight back and Jesus healed him immediately. As a result Bartimaeus became a follower of Jesus with not only cured vision, but a cured soul as well.

Many of us in the world today, need help. We need help with finding jobs, fighting addictions, help in marriages, help with parenting, or any number of problems. We call out for help every day to anyone who will listen. Unfortunately every day we get rejected, or rebuked by the very world we attempt to live in. They will try to silence our cries. DO NOT LET THEM! If the world tries to drown you out, then yell even louder. There is someone who will not only listen to our unselfish cries for help, but they will personally assist in granting our request. Call out to GOD/JESUS. He will listen and He will help!

The story of Bartimaeus can be found in the Bible in the book of Mark 10:46-52.