Homestretch

Man, we are so close. I have less than a week of school left, and my freshman year is over. I will be in Jonesboro this summer, and Vienna in the fall. I'm so excited, but I don't know when I'm going to rest. Because that's all I need, is a long rest. My prayer is that God will give me the stamina to finish the semester, give my all in my internship, and in my travels. I can't say much more, because studying and final assignments are calling my name. But God willing I will get good grades on all of these, and finish the year strong. 

andy 

Not Everything is Perfect.

Golf could be one of the most frustrating things in the entire world. You have a great shot, then the worst of your life. And as much as I hate sports metaphors, this one speaks to me. When I play golf, I could have 2 attitudes. The first, is to get angry when I don't play as well as I'd like, or the second, I could realize that I'm not a pro, and just have fun. I normally start out going toward the first, and end up at the second. I just know that my golfing days would be ruined if I didn't keep a level head. 

The same goes for life. It seems like I get so angry sometimes when things aren't perfect. Somewhere along the line of that event, I realize that I need to "take a chill pill," and just let things happen. I just wish that in my life, I could realize that things happen, and deal with them as they come. Perfection is impossible, and no event, speech, assignment, or day, will ever be perfect. We've just got to out there, live life, and make the best of what we've got. 

Everyday Living

I recently been reading through the book of James. This book is filled with advice for the everyday life of a Christian. Today in particular I read chapter 5 verses 13-16. It reads;

"Is anyone among you in trouble? Let them pray. Is anyone happy? Let them sing songs of praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make them well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective."

How many things can we pull from this passage? When I'm in trouble pray, when I'm happy praise the Lord, when I'm sick, ask people to pray for my healing. I'm only going to write about the part that is most potent to me. 

"Confess your sins to each other, and pray for each other..." 

Do we do this enough? I don't think I tell many people other than God what my sins are. And how am I supposed to keep from doing them if I don't have my friends to keep me accountable. I think that is the point, that we need a support system in place to help us with our struggles. No matter what the struggle is, God will forgive you. I don't care if it's homosexuality, lust, greed, or murder. God forgives if you truly are trying to live for Him, but we need to talk about it. 

A couple of friends and I have been trying to keep each other accountable this semester, and we are still learning, but so far it has helped. The great part of accountability is that it keeps you from doing it, because you have another reason to feel guilty. You aren't just accountable to God, you are accountable to someone that you know will ask you how you are doing. Who will be disappointed in you when you have to admit that you failed them. I know it seems rudimentary, but it definitely helps me.

Along with confession comes prayer; praying for yourself and the other people that you are in the fight with is monumental to your growth. If you pray for God to protect you, He most certainly will. Ask God for His guidance for you and your friends in order to become more like Him. Tell Him you are weak, and He is strong. Because I can honestly say that after years of struggles, there is no other way than to rely on God. Considering He is the only reason you don't want to sin in the first place, you should turn to him for help with it. I know it took me years to figure this out, and the sooner you do it, the sooner you will see the tide turn; when that tide turns, you will see more steps forward and less steps back. 

Hebrews 11

Hebrews 11:16, 39, 40 Talks about Noah, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It says, 

"Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them...These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect."

This has got to be one of the most encouraging verses I've read in awhile. It directly states where my "longing" should be. No questions, no way to miss it. I should be "longing for a better country." Normally I use most of my days and concern myself with things of this world, whether that's material possessions, or making myself happy. I don't long for heaven, for full and total communion with God. 

On Tuesday night, I went to a tent revival here at Lipscomb. The speaker said something I'd never heard before, that our goal should be to make Earth as much like Heaven as possible. This is a new thought to me, I've always though that Heaven is so far away, and that this World is so imperfect, that Heaven couldn't/shouldn't be used to compare with Earth. 

Let's combine these two thoughts. If I'm longing for "Heavenly country," and I'm trying to attain "Heaven on Earth," then just think about how much brighter my life would be than it is today. I would attempt to enjoy every second, every gift, and every moment that I have with God. I would live to serve God, and serve others (thanks Jeff Walling and Winterfest). It's been a recurring theme in my life this past year. All of Christianity is rolled up right there, in Matthew 22:36-40    

 "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 'This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."

If I'm doing these two things, God is being honored. If I'm doing these, then I am surely longing for a "better country." I just hope that my mind can be changed to long for that, because like the rest of the verse in Hebrews says, "God had (has) planned something better for us." We just have to be in the right mindset.

-Andy

Pre-Birthday Blues and thoughts on Christmas

I think it goes without saying from the title, that my birthday is coming. I don't know how to say this, but for some reason my birthday always seems to equal, me with bad moods. I think it's because my parents always said things like "it's YOUR birthday Andy, do what you want." For some reason that always meant, throw a tantrum when I don't get what I want. 

I'm not sure if it's the influx of gifts and money that make me this way, or if I just feel that on my birthday (and even the days leading up to it) I am better than everyone else on the planet. Either way, I think that when I get all this "stuff" it makes me a little crabbier, and much less fun to get along with. My guess it is the materialism that appears in me when I start thinking about presents, and things I'm going to buy with MY money. I hate that. I spend all year, attempting to get over materialism, and then for about 2 weeks, I become a shopaholic, selfish, hypocrite. I wish materialism wasn't something I ever had to worry about. It shouldn't be, I have just about everything someone could ask for. 

I feel like materialism, that constant wanting more in life, is just a slap in the face to all the poor people in the world. There are millions of people that live on less that $25 a day. Where as, I am sitting thinking about buying $150 climbing shoes and $50 harnesses... It's lame. 

Another thing I've noticed, is that I don't have this same attitude around Christmas time. Perhaps it's the general holiday cheer, but I just never see this sort of materialism. What it really is that gifts are given and received on Christmas. Like everything sort of equals out, so that you aren't spending more or less on anyone than they are on you. (Although this isn't true in my life, but it will be when I make real money... thanks Mom and Dad) It's just general goodwill all the time, where as this day, my birthday, is centered solely on me. That's where the problem lies. I think I need a few joint birthdays to get over myself...

Andy 

Jesus is my friend?

On Tuesday, I attended a seminar called "Explore." It was an incredible seminar based not on just what cool new thing we can take to youth groups, but the bigger idea of trying to reach kids. That's not the point of my blog today. The point is about what hit me the most from the seminar. 

At one point the speaker asked if we oversimplify Jesus to people. After much thought, I think we do. We say all the time that, "Jesus is my friend." But Jesus is so much more than that, and if we just tell people that, why would they care to believe in Him? People have plenty of friends, why would the want one they can't see? Wouldn't that be called an imaginary friend? 

I over simplify Jesus so much. Even though I know he's more than just a friend to me. He's a redeemer, my refuge, my guide, and most importantly my interceder. We need to reinforce that more.  I think when we oversimplify Jesus, we are demeaning His power and His majesty. Jesus is close to us, but we should also make sure we come to Him in a humble way. Because He created the universe. He has done huge things, small things, and makes everything work. I love Him, and my goal now is to set Him at a higher place in my life. 

I'm not trying to be rude, or act like this isn't something I struggle with either. The point is, I am going to try to lift Jesus up, hopefully you will too. 

Andy

P.S. This is funny. 

Intramural Soccer

So tonight my intramural soccer team had our first game. We got slaughtered, 11-1, but it was so much fun. Now on to the point of all this. Sitting here in my post game soreness, I figured something out. This may sound cheesy or lame, but I'm going to say it anyway. 

I am sore. Why am I sore? Because I'm not in shape. What could I have done for this not to happen? I could have ran ahead of time, and prepared myself physically for the game. Now Spiritually. Why do we feel like we are so drained sometimes? I think it's because we don't practice Spiritual Disciplines. I try to pray every MWF, and I try to have some Contemplative Meditation every T and TR. I just began the later, and I'm not so good at it yet, but I've been told it just takes time. The point is, Spiritually I have never felt stronger, because I talk to God almost everyday. It's a growing process, and I hope that after I master Contemplative Prayer, I hope to add a Saturday ritual. I strongly recommend that if you don't have a Prayer Journal or personal time with God, please try. He's there He's waiting and HE wants to here from you. If you have any questions on how to begin, please ask me, via Facebook, or email. God is good, even if times are bad. 

Psalm 90:11 (NLT)

"Teach us to realize the brevity of life, 

so that we may grow in wisdom."

Andy

My Ministry.

I've been spent the last week, reading 1 Thessalonians. And on Wednesday I read the 2nd chapter. The second chapter, is now my basis for ministry. In verse 3 it explains that I don't need to trick anyone into believing in Jesus, they should believe on their own terms. All that I can do, is give them all of the knowledge and wisdom that I have, listen to God, and hope they hear Him. Later in vs. 8 it says they "Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well." This is a huge part for me, I need to share my life with people. And not in the sense of sharing personal stories in lessons, but truly sharing my life with people. Spending time with them, just having fun or doing anything at all. If I want people to see Christ, I have to show Him to them. That's the only way that my ministry will be effective. I know that I will continue to go back to 1 Thessalonians to keep my view of ministry set on God, because we all know that we can lose sight of things over time. I pray everyday that I can live a life that honors God, and hopefully with the help of this book, my ministry will be another part of my life that honors God. 

A.P.