creator

I was on the facebook group page for Reflect student ministries just updating some stuff (make sure to join or check it out) and came across my name on the side. It simply had my name and next to it was (creator). It made me feel really weird. Me, creator? naw... I am not good enough to be a creator. But then I thought about it again and laughed because the word was lower case and that me feel a bit better. I'm a "creator" not the "Creator."

Random really, but you know. Check out the video, because I bet you have wanted to ask that guys question.
Continue to do well all.

Grace and peace to you all. I hope all those on fall break are enjoying themselves. Praise God for His previsions in our times of need. Praise God for convictions of myself and those of others that convey often what I cannot.

Woke up this morning too depressed and shamed to leave my bed
Cant stand to see my own reflection so I hang my head
feel like a disappointment like the scum of the earth
I'm so hurt I know you see I cant cover my dirt
my souls dying hearts weak and I cant even cry
I'm sposed to run to you but WHY I'm such an evil guy
The sun's shining but for me it's the darkest of days
Try to pretend it never happened but the guilt remains
I leave the house it feels like everybody knows I did it
Feel like they reading my mind and know the sin I committed
Through your blood I'm aquitted but my heart doesnt get it
Oh God I'm desperate for Help cause I'm grieving your Spirit
I couldn't sing in the sunday service, Lord I felt fake
and when they started communion I just made an escape
I'm in need of your grace/ feels like you hid your face
Lord Lead me back to cross and show me my sins erased


Have you made this cry before, have these words been the words of your heart. Be encouraged they are the words of many who follow Christ. These specific words are the lyrics of Christian rapper Lecrae.

I'm so desperate, I can't believe I've sinned against you
Create in me a clean heart (I'm so sorry)
Your mercy is what I need


Continue to do well.

Food for thought, read this letter from a pretty cool man in our mainstream society:


My confession:

I am a Jew, and every single one of my ancestors was Jewish. And it does not bother me even a little bit when people call those beautiful lit up, bejeweled trees, Christmas trees.. I don't feel threatened. I don't feel discriminated against. That's what they are: Christmas trees.

It doesn't bother me a bit when people say, 'Merry Christmas' to me. I don't think they are slighting me or getting ready to put me in a ghetto. In fact, I kind of like it It shows that we are all brothers and sisters celebrating this happy time of year. It doesn't bother me at all that there is a manger scene on display at a key intersection near my beach house in Malibu . If people want a creche, it's just as fine with me as is the Menorah a few hundred yards away.

I don't like getting pushed around for being a Jew, and I don't think Christians like getting pushed around for being Christians. I think people who believe in God are sick and tired of getting pushed around, period. I have no idea where the concept came from that America is an explicitly atheist country. I can't find it in the Constitution and I don't like it being shoved down my throat.

Or maybe I can put it another way: where did the idea come from that we should worship celebrities and we aren't allowed to worship God as we understand Him? I guess that's a sign that I'm getting old, too. But there are a lot of us who are wondering where these celebrities came from and where the America we knew went to.

In light of the many jokes we send to one another for a laugh, this is a little different: This is not intended to be a joke; it's not funny, it's intended to get you thinking.

Billy Graham's daughter was interviewed on the Early Show and Jane Clayson asked her 'How could God let something like this happen?' (regarding Katrina) Anne Graham gave an extremely profound and insightful response. She said, 'I believe God is deeply saddened by this, just as we are, but for years we've been telling God to get out of our schools, to get out of our government and to get out of our lives. And being the gentleman He is, I believe He has calmly backed out. How can we expect God to give us His blessing and His protection if we demand He leave us alone?'

In light of recent events... terrorists attack, school shootings, etc. I think it started when Madeleine Murray O'Hare (she was murdered, her body found a few years ago) complained she didn't want prayer in our schools, and we said OK. Then someone said you better not read the Bible in school. The Bible says thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, and love your neighbor as yourself. And we said OK.

Then Dr. Benjamin Spock said we shouldn't spank our children when they misbehave because their little personalities would be warped and we might damage their self-esteem (Dr Spock's son committed suicide). We said an expert should know what he's talking about. And we said OK.

Now we're asking ourselves why our children have no conscience, why they don't know right from wrong, and why it doesn't bother them to kill strangers, their classmates, and themselves.

Probably, if we think about it long and hard enough, we can figure it out. I think it has a great deal to do with 'WE REAP WHAT WE SOW.'


My Best Regards, Honestly and respectfully,


Ben Stein


Do you agree, disagree let me know.

Well I was really pumped tonight after meeting with the building council, the contractor and architect for the building of the youth center.  That place is going to be awesome!  I am really excited to be a part of such an amazing project that is really going to change the way Calvary does youth ministry.  God has placed me here at Calvary for a reason, a purpose and I am blessed.  I have come in at a pivotal time.  God has great plans for the other youth guy that left this summer and that is awesome.  From my side, it is really awesome to see how perfect God is.  I had been waiting for a long time for God to finally show the place to be.  He is faithful and led me to Calvary.  God wants me at Calvary for many reasons and I really don't know any of them, to be totally honest.  Nevertheless, talk about a pivotal time to come into a new ministry, not to mention my first (own) youth ministry.  I am blessed by the church, but most importantly the Lord of the Heavens, the God of creation knows all things and makes them good.  No matter how hard I could have planned for an opportunity like this at Calvary to be used for what God wants to happen, I could not have put it together.  God knows what is perfect because He is perfect.  That is why I don't know the perfect way for my life or my time, because I am not perfect.  Christ has cleansed me of everything that has kept me from God, Christ cleansed me of myself!  I thought I could do it all by myself, me.  I have died to myself and risen with Christ in His resurrection through my baptism and life.  Praise God from whom all blessings flow.

Continue to do well.  

I was watching Planet Earth tonight on Discovery Channel.  This show has to be my favorite show of all time.  I don't think I have seen anything more amazing, no story, no movie no comedy or anything is more amazing than the awe inspiring glory of the Lord's creation.  

I love to watch what the earth has to show us at any given moment.  I am shocked and amazed by the animals, lands and waters that we find that have produce little of what we thought we knew and just give all those who study another place to find out what that area is all about.  Even more amazing are the animals and places that are so uncommon and hard to understand that we still do not know almost anything at all about them.  For example, the Blue Whale.  I was just amazed at the few facts that we have on that ginormous fish.  They can grow up to 200,000 tons much more than any dinosaur recorded.  There used to be about 300,000 of them in the oceans, but not there is said to be only 3% of that remaining.  They eat millions of krill a day and do it with drinking tons of water and sifting out the food in their stomachs.  It's amazing that the worlds largest animals eats one of the smallest animals.  But here's the cool thing for me, that is all we know.  We don't know where they are going, why they do what they do.  We have no idea what they do for mating or anything like that.  We just know weight and diet.  Another amazing thing to me are the Himalayas.  So huge and so much we haven't seen or know about.  So much mountain to discover new creatures and places.  

All these animals and things just shows, to me the amazing glory of God.  Sure animals have grown over the years to learn what to do and not to do so that they can survive and reproduce (commonly known as adaptation or evolution), but God created all of this!  The Lord is huge, unbelievable, awesome, glorious and the God of all everywhere, every time, anytime, anywhere.  

Watch the video up top and enjoy the glory of God, The Creator.  

Do well. 

Hey, well it's been a couple of days since I've written anything, sorry.  Now that I have moved in, started at the church I hope to be writing more frequently.  I like this blog thing because I can just write whatever and its cool.  I like that.  

I am really pumped for the rest of this year and the first few months in Brownsburg.  I am blessed with an amazing staff to work with, some awesome volunteers that I am excited to hang out with and work with as well as obviously all the awesome students that I have met so far.  I look forward to really spending valuable life experiences with everyone and I hope that we all can make tremendous impacts on each other's lives and make even more of an impact on the town and people of Brownsburg and the world.  

Have a blessed rest of the week and I hope to be begin writing more consistently next week.  

Continue to do well.

Rocks

Hey..

I was just looking at the rocks in my parents landscaping today.  I know maybe odd and random, but I was picking out some of the cool looking smooth ones.  I was thinking while I was doing it, "Why am I looking for the good looking ones to take rather than the ugly, deformed ones?"  

Why do we do that?  Why did I do that?  

How come when we look for something that we want the most, we try to find the best looking, the best performing, etc.?  

I know why.  Because we can't see the potential the ugly, deformed, devastated, unloved, poor and weak ones have.  You know what, it isn't that we can't see the potential, it's that we are unable with eyes of this world.  

Cool thing is this, Jesus, Christ, God chose/chooses those of us who are ugly, deformed, devastated, unloved, poor and weak.  Why would anyone in this world want to do such a thing?(Well at least that is what the world has to say)

Christ came here, to humanity and lived.  However, he did not live the way life had been lived. Christ chose to live with the unlikely followers of a King.  Jesus was proclaiming a new kingdom throughout his ministry.  If you are going to do such a thing in a society where the Roman kingdom was the only kingdom, you needed to have the most powerful and amazing people on your side.  Christ did not necessarily.  Look at his disciples.  Ordinary men, some with a little bit of status in the society, but nothing to promote a kingdom.  

Jesus came and proclaimed a new way of life.  An upside down way of living.  Life is not about you having your best life now.  Life is not about receiving and receiving until you feel "full".  

Matthew 25:35-40, 42-45

"'For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'  Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?  When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you?  When did we see you sick or in prison and go visit you?'  The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'  ...  For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'  They also will answer, 'Lord when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or need clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'  He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'"

God bless.  Do well.