A prayer for spring

I've realized how easy it is to keep a blog updated when there's nothing going on. Maybe that's why there's an abundance of blogs that are uninteresting (i.e. this one). Life has a way of continuing it's rhythms and cycles as it has always done, so in that way it is predictable, but it's rhythms are still surprising.
This fall completed my junior semester at New Tribes Bible Institute. The last four months have been a whiz that was packed to the gills with classes, homework, church ministry, and a job. I would love to unpack and describe all four of these elements that have been the major part of my life over the last few months but that would take a good chunk of time and much of it would be quite irrelevant to you. I would much rather just answer questions about anything that may be of slight interest.
One thing that has been of great importance to me, and I continue to hold on to this truth, that God is still God. This semester brought on many different challenges and difficulties which took me to a sort of breaking point in some regards. I found that regardless of my situation, God was no less Himself than He ever was. His character did not diminish when mine did.
This semester was quite a challenge as I struggled to find a balance between work and classes and everything else. I figured that more nights were spent sitting at my desk than in my bed in my dorm. In the midst of this, God continued to reveal more of Himself with just as much consistency as ever. He never ceased to be Himself, not even for a fraction of a moment.
I ask for your prayers as I continue on with school in a couple weeks. I'm looking forward to how God will reveal more of Himself as He opens my eyes to His word. I'm praying that my thinking will be transformed by His. I desire to be all about what He's about.

Another Day, Another Dollar

    It's been extremely long since I've posted an update. I have to say, I'd much rather give all of you an update in person.

     It's been almost eight months since I've been in school, and it's been kind of agonizing and suspenceful trying to figure out what God is leading me into. This coming weekend, I should have just enough money in my savings to make a down payment to return to New Tribes for the Fall semester. Only by God's incredible provision is this even close to being possible. I'm extremely psyched to be back in the classroom studying the Word full time. I'm planning to continue working as well this fall as . Full time studying, and working around thirty hours a week will be crazy insane for me as I'm not the most focused person in the world.

     There has been something on my mind since this spring and it's kinda been keeping me going through the summer. It's been so easy to slip into the routine of working everyday, and view every day as the same. There are some days that just kinda blend in together. I've really been trying to spend each day with a pursuit to connect with the presence of my Lord. God's infinite presence is one of the most clearest attributes presented in scripture, and yet, so commonly disregarded. By looking at the way that I respond to this truth, I kinda wonder if I really believe it. If I truly believed that God was present with me, would I make the same daily decisions all the time? Would I still be the impatient, prideful, lustful, judgmental, egotistical guy that I am, if I truly believed that God was completely present with me, and acted on that belief?

      Connecting with the presence of God is living in the relationship with God. Connecting with the presence of God is understanding that God is continually pursuing me, to sanctify me, to set me apart.
Why do I respond to the events in the day as being tedious? Why do I freak out when I can't afford to go to school? Because I lose sight of the fact that God is continually present every single moment. I don't want to treat each day that comes along as "just another day." I don't want to live without the experiential knowledge of God's presence. I want to spend every moment for the rest of my life pursuing this God who is pursuing me.

Mahalo - Thank you

I keep a small piece of orange string tied around my finger to remind me of something. It may be an old-timer practice but it works. The color orange has been identified by many people as the color of freedom. 

check out: How do you wear orange?

I wear this string around my finger to remind myself of the freedom that I have been given through Christ. 

God tells His people five times in the book of Deuteronomy , "Remember you were once slaves in Egypt." In each case, God is using the reminder to motivate them to obey Him. Remembering our bondage should allow us to appreciate our freedom so much more and should motivate us to care for  those still in bondage. 

When I speak of freedom, by no means am I speaking of our American freedoms. Here in our country, the reality is, we are the home of the brave and the land of the people who are in bondage to their freedoms. The very freedoms we glory in, end up enslaving us to the point that it's all we can think of. "Heaven forbid that my freedom of privacy is ever violated." it's not the end of the world. 

I'm talking about the spiritual bondage that we have all been enslaved in. This depraved condition takes over us and enslaves not only what we do, but how we think. Remembering this spiritual condition and the freedom you have received, should motivate us to see others be set free. Remembering the slavery I was once in, compels me to be obedient to Christ's call to reach the world with the gospel. 

Happy Birthday!!

So on Wednesday the 28th of April, I will be 22 years old. Wikipedia describes the number 22 this way:            
Twenty-two is an even composite number, its proper divisors being 1, 2 and 11. 22 is the sixth discrete semi-prime and the fourth in the (2.q) family. With 21 it forms the second discrete semiprime pair.There are 22 letters in the Hebrew alphabet.In Australian rules football there are 22 players on each team, comprising a starting 18, and 4 bench players.

I want to add a passage from scripture that I want to make a reality this year. 

Psalm 22:22, " I will declare your name to my brothers; in the congregation I will praise you."

How cool would it be to constantly have this mindset that "I exist to make God's name known to everyone I come in contact with"? That's what I desire to do for the rest of my life. 

This is what's going on

Hey everyone, I hope Christmas and New Years was enjoyable for you all and a great time of relaxation and fellowship. Christmas break has been really good overall but there’s been a consistent rollercoaster of hopes surrounding going back to school. This past year I’ve been attending New Tribes Bible Institute in Jackson Michigan where I’ve been studying God’s word intensively in their Bible program. It’s been a great time of getting into the word and challenging my thinking and worldview. Last semester was a struggle with finances and I saw God work incredibly to provide the funds that I needed to stay at school. Over Christmas break it’s been an interesting time trying to see how God is working things out. I was offered another position at my job at the Salvation Army here in Jackson that is better pay and more hours, but even with that I still wouldn’t have all the money that I would need for school. So right now the plan is to commute to work from home (maybe do a little couch surfing) and work for the spring and summer and save up and return to school in the fall and finish the Bible program. Please pray that God will work this all out because I have a tendency to try to take control. I’m excited to see how God works things out in the coming months. Love you all. Grace and Peace