Slow to Warm Day

Today, I really felt out of it. I believe it was the cold weather compounded by inadequate sleep that left me feeling groggy and unmotivated today. I had many moments today where I just wanted to go home and go back to bed. I gave my feelings and attitude to the Lord though and was able to persevere and be productive at work today. The highlight of my day came when an employee at work told me how much the clients enjoyed the worship I lead on Friday. This was so awesome because this employee was on vacation this past weekend and only knew I did worship because the clients told her. I am so thankful that I listened to the Lord and volunteered to play for chapel this past Friday. It is so wonderful to listen to the Holy Spirit's leadings on your heart and see the many blessings from obedience. My weekend was filled with many of these leadings as I did worship at work, wrote a few songs, prepared a sermon, and delivered it in complete surrender to the Holy Spirit's direction. I even was able to compose a slam poetry style poem explaining the difference between justification and sanctification. I'm sure you find that super cool but it is actually a cool poem. ;) I will try and post it on here soon. I find more and more each day that I can never go wrong following the Holy Spirit's directions on my heart. If only I could continue remember the many blessings of obedience every time the Spirit leads me to do something. I pray that you all have a wonderful week, wherever you are reading this from. I also hope you will follow the Holy Spirit as He leads and sways your heart. Blessings

6 Months Hard Marriage

What if we all were sentenced to 6 months hard marriage before being granted a divorce? Well, that is just what happened in the movie “What Happens in Vegas.” Just think about how this could change our present view of marriage.

I was driving to work yesterday and I heard about a new marriage trend to omit the phrase, “till death do us part” from the marriage vows. It seems that it is becoming more popular to get married with the understanding, “if it doesn’t work out, we can always divorce.” I have read many blogs where people argue that marriage is an antiquated ritual and unrealistic in today’s age but I honestly just believe that all those blogs are convenient arguments that allow a person to escape commitment when things get tough or life doesn’t go exactly how they planned it. I really like the principle of 6 months hard marriage, assuming there is no evidence of abuse within the marriage, before being able to apply for divorce. In today’s age we often choose to run from adversity or struggles instead of figuring out new ways to resolve and overcome them. When we took our wedding vows most of us said for better or worse, richer or poorer, in sickness and health, till death do us part. Why would we even recite those vows if we don’t mean them? Why shouldn’t we fight for these vows, the commitment, and the choice we made in marrying our significant other.

Who knows how many marriages could be saved, how many children could be spared, and how many families could be strengthened through a six month hard marriage requirement before divorce. One blog I read believed it was ridiculous to expect two people to stay married their whole lives. He went on to argue that marriage today has higher expectations of people than any other marriage requirements in history. Sighting longer life expectancy, the requirement of permanent cohabitation, and unrealistic premise that two people can walk the same road their whole life. In the Bible it is made very clear that the process of being married is both a permanent and good union. Maybe the reason we no longer understand the benefits of marriage is because we no longer hold sacred one of the acts that is to be only in marriage. Studies have shown that when someone has sex their first time a chemical bond is created between the person and the sexual partner. Why exactly would this be true if in fact we were not designed to bond to one another? Now can this bond be broken and diluted to the level that many can argue that it is not valid? Sure it can but the question we must ask ourselves is: are we actually settling for a compromised love and happiness instead of holding out for the complete happiness and love we could have experienced in life through a pure marriage and a close relationship with our Lord?

Now to be clear I am not making the that argument that we all have to be married to be happy but in fact that we need to be true to the Bible’s teachings and completely commit ourselves to marriage if we choose to take that path. Also, we should put a full commitment and devotion to our Lord living in purity and with a purpose if we choose not to marry. It is in our best interest to not live compromised lives but ones that are consistent with the principals of biblical purity and marital commitment.

www.realchristianwalk.com

Living Water

Yesterday, I decided I needed to get an edger for my lawn. For those of you who do not know what an edger is, an edger is a device used to cut the excess grass from the lawn along sidewalks, walk ways, plant beds, driveways, roads, etc. For those interested in an edger you have the option of buying a gas, electric, or manual version. The gas and electric are typically $80+ and the manual tools are between $20 and $40. Well, my wife and I are of modest means so I decided to buy the cheaper manual edger to use at my home. After bringing the edger home, I had the excitement of using it. To utilize a manual edger you place the edger next to the driveway then lunge onto the edger, as you would a shovel, to cut the overgrown grass and make a cut line between the driveway and the lawn. The edger I bought is approximately the width of a shovel and has just enough width for your feet to bear down on the tool. After 50 or so times of placing and jumping on the device I am hot, my back hurts, and I need to escape to the safety of my air conditioned home. As I walk in and close the door, I notice I am sweating profusely, my hands are covered in dirt from pulling the cut grass from the driveway, and I feel as though I am severely dehydrated. I choose to hold off on my dire need to rehydrate and decide to wash my hands first. After washing off layers of dirt, I quickly head to the kitchen for that cool crisp bottle of water I so desperately need.

I’m sure by now you are asking yourself what all this has to do with an authentic Christian walk site. Well, as I was drinking my water and lying down to recover, I thought about all the times in my life I had allowed myself to become spiritually dehydrated and exhausted. I had to cool down by washing off the sweat and dirt from my body before drinking the water. If I had just drank the water my thirst would’ve been partially quenched but I still would’ve been sweaty and dirty. Water is used to both cleanse us and quench our thirst. This is also true of our Lord’s living water. Both are necessary to receive the full blessings from the Lord. How often have we missed out on being renewed and refreshed by our Lord because we sought his living water to quench our thirst without allowing him to also attend to the sinfulness and dirt in our lives? In Psalm 51, David lays out what God desires when we come to him. In the Old Testament the Hebrew’s were required to give offerings to the Lord as repentance for sins but in verses 16 and 17 David says this, “For you would not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God you will not despise.” Some of you may be asking what the word contrite means. Contrite means: feeling regret and sorrow for one’s sins or offenses. It is necessary for us to be cleansed by his living water before we can be filled with His living water otherwise we taint the water we are given.

I believe the devil uses our sin and filth to keep us from drinking of our Lord’s cleansing and refreshing water of Life. We try to clean ourselves up before coming to our Lord because we are ashamed but we don’t realize that our God already knows our sins and still has his arms out stretched for us. Jesus said, “If any one thirsts, let him come to me and drink.” John 7:37. In this scripture, there are no requirements for coming to Jesus except being humble and contrite. Don’t let anything in your life keep you away from quenching your spiritual thirst and allowing it to cleanse you of your sin. Don’t let the Devil keep you away from the water Jesus gives, The Lord is always there for you ready and able to meet your needs, to comfort you, and to cover you with His robe of of grace and peace. What is keeping you from drinking in his grace, love and mercy and letting it wash your sins clean and refresh you?
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That Guy

How many times in life do we face challenges and just given up when we were designed to be “That Guy?” For those who do not know what I mean by “That Guy,” I am referring to a conversation in the new movie in the Die Hard series called “Live Free or Die Hard.” In the movie the main character, John McClain, is talking with a quirky computer geek whom he was sent to bring in, Matt Farrell. Well, in the process of bringing Farrell in, a series of catastrophic events happen throwing Washington D.C. into chaos. During the crazy events that ensue John realizes that Farrell is the key to unlocking all that is going on and also the one being targeted because of his involvement. During a lull in the chaos, Matt asked McClane, “why he was trying find the bad guy and fix this situation?” John remarks, “Look Kid, I would love to let someone else do this but there is no one else so I have to do it.” Matt responds, “That is what makes you That Guy.”

How many times are we the ones who just hide in the chaos and troubles we face instead of standing up and fighting for justice and righteousness in the face of seemingly impossible odds. We all can be ‘that guy.’ We all can be the one who says, “I am not going to stand up” in whatever situation you find yourself in. With the Lord, we can do anything and trust that no matter what “Valley of Death” we have to walk through we do not have to fear any evil because we have a God who is in control and with us. In Live Free and Die Hard, John faces many challenges and sustains many injuries in the process of seeking justice but he keeps getting up and continuing on despite the pain. Are you willing to embrace the pain, trust your Lord, and to get up dust yourself off and continue on.

Have you ever noticed that most of the prophets and men of the Old Testament were often ‘that guy.’ They chose to speak the Lord’s truth to the people, to live life’s that were different and often brought them persecution. In the realm of Christianity we are all ‘that guy.’ In Jeremiah chapter 1 verse 5, God said this to Jeremiah, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.” Essentially God told Jeremiah, “your that guy.” Many of us today have the misconception that the only people called to live radical lives for Christ are those who are in ministry or on the mission field. Well not to burst anyone’s bubble, all ministers, missionaries, saints, etc are just regular people who happened to choose God over this world. Jesus wants that from all of us. We are all to be ‘that guy’ for Jesus. Jesus said in John chapter 4 verse 35, “Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the field are white for harvest.” There is no time to waste, we are to live for our Lord now. We are to be, “that guy!” Jesus also says in Matthew 9:37 and 38, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few, therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”

In the words of John Forman, Lead singer of Swtichfoot, “I dare you to move!”

www.realchristianwalk.com

Heart Garage

Today, I got the privilege of cleaning out the dreaded garage. It is always taxing to clean out the garage because you have to make the decision of what is necessary to keep, what is junk, and what needs to be put somewhere else. In my garage it always seems to be a battle between storing stuff in it or being able to fit in both cars. I rarely like to clean it and often times I am fine with letting it stay full of junk rather than cleaning or straightening it up. I find that this is also true in my spiritual life. I have junk in my heart that I know doesn’t need to be there and yet I don’t want to clean it out and I definitely don’t want the Lord to come in and clean it out. Having the Lord come in and clean your heart and soul out is like letting your mother into your adolescent bedroom. There are probably things in your room you don’t want her to discover so it is much easier to keep her out than to seek her help in cleaning it. Also whenever Mom has to clean the room you know that certain precious things will be thrown away because she see no need for them in your room. This is often the same for our Lord. We would rather keep him out and away from the sin and skeletons he may discover in our hearts than to seek his help.

When we take this mindset it always works against us because we will never be able to clean out our heart and soul the way Jesus can. Even if we read all the self help books and take all the classes to improve our life, our karma, or our chi. If you have been a Christian for any amount of time, you probably just asked why I would include Karma and Chi for life improvement. Simple, this is what the world wants us to think about and utilize to improve our lives and to bring more harmony in our lives. Many times when we do not seek the Lord to help us in our daily walk, we begin to turn to other means to help us. Most of the time we don’t even know when we are being influenced by other beliefs and themes. A majority of the movies we watch today are full of either eastern concepts or hedonistic viewpoints. For those who do not know what hedonistic means, hedonistic is the pursuit of or devotion to pleasure, especially to the pleasure of the senses. I’m sure most of you know what movies I am talking about when I mention hedonistic viewpoints. We have to be careful because if we do not maintain a close relationship with the Lord and a devotion to reading and learning the Bible the Devil will deceive us at every corner.

So how is your heart today? Is it loaded with junk, memories, attitudes, sins, and skeletons that don’t need to be there? Maybe it is time to humble yourself and let the Lord come in and examine what you are putting in your heart so together you and our Lord can both work to purify and restore your heart. It is often a difficult, dirty, and humbling job but the results and restoration of your heart will be more than worth the pain of cleaning it out. In Matthew chapter 11, verses 28-30 Jesus said, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. “ Trust him today, he can help you and will gently help you clean your heart. Our Lord is loving and willing. Will you trust him with the dirt of your heart today?

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Survival

Back in October, my best friend and I got the opportunity to take a trip down to Louisville Kentucky and see Bear Grylls. Some of you probably haven’t heard of Bear Grylls, so I will give you a little run down on him. Bear Grylls is the host of a show called Man vs. Wild on the Discovery channel. Man vs. Wild is a survival show where Bear goes out into different harsh environments all across the world and shows survival techniques for different climates, environments, and situations. Well, my friend and I love to watch his show and to go out on our own adventures whenever we get the opportunity. We love hiking, biking, kayaking, and getting ourselves into situations where we have to rely on our skills and our God.

What made the trip even more fun is the fact that Bear is a

Christian and so we really wanted to hear about how his faith guides his day and who Jesus is to him. The night was incredibly inspiring and while we were down near Louisville we just had to do a couple adventures of our own. We had the opportunity to visit Charlestown State park and Falls of the Ohio on Monday. I lived in the Louisville area for almost 10 years so I am very familiar with the area but I had not had the opportunity to check out Charlestown State park when I lived there. It was quite the adventure and though the park has six trails, we spent our whole time on one trail or more accurately near one trail. We are always up for the trail less travelled and are always interested in taking those paths where you end up in new and interesting areas. In our adventure we had the opportunity to cross a bridge built in 1927, swing on a rope over fourteen mile creek, have a go at building a brushwood raft, and explore concrete structures from an old military ammunitions plant. We definitely had a great time and were glad to see the Jeep when we were done. In all the joy of a successful adventure, I decided to celebrate by fishtailing out of the empty gravel parking lot we were in. Of course as I did here comes the park ranger driving down the road. Knowing what I had done was wrong, I drove exactly the speed limit with my eyes fixed straight. We decided it would probably be good to leave after such a thoughtless showing. I learned that we have to be careful to not let a successful adventure cause us to sin or hurt our witness to others in our life. In our joy we have to be sure to protect our witness to others.

Next we went to Falls of the Ohio, which is a park on the Ohio River where a dam and retaining wall system has been installed to allow visitors to explore the river bed that is full of fossils. Sometimes you can walk in the whole area of the park and other times a large section of the river bed is covered by the river as the corp of engineers open and close the dam to regulate the level of the Ohio. I was hoping since there has been a huge drought in the Louisville area that my friend and I would get to walk out and so the whole fossil section but unfortunately the dam was open. We enjoyed walking on the accessible part and enhanced our adventure by going over to where the dam was and checking out the dam and railroad bridge area. We were even able to get so close to the dam that we were only a few feet away from an insane amount of water that was rushing out. It was crazy to think how many tons of water was coming out of the gate. The water actually held its form for about 30 ft past the gate before disseminating and flattening into the river, as you can see in the picture. It was humbling to consider the strength of the concrete walls we were standing next to that were protecting us from the power of the raging river water. Though the water behind these walls could’ve ended our lives in a second, we were safe because of the strength the concrete provided to hold back the water. Do you ever think about the ways our God is protecting us from the authorities, the powers of darkness, and the spiritual forces of wickedness that are all around us each day?

On our final adventure of the weekend, we went to Clifty falls state park. This is a park that I have been to many times and had taken Jono to once before. We decided to take a trail neither of us had taken before to enhance the adventure and survival aspect of the hike. The first part of our hike ended up being a fairly bland yet very tedious hike up a river bed, hence the sleeping log shot. We still had some fun but I was the one who lead us up the river bed because I wanted to see the water falls and thought we were closer to them than we really were. After ten or fifteen bends in the river bed, about mile and a half, we finally decided to turn back and return to the car.

During this hike back I discovered that Jono had not wanted to be on the river bed in the first place and I missed or disregarded his signals indicating this. This river bed was a difficult hike because the river bed was filled with large jagged rocks that are the equivalent of hiking in sand. Each step required careful footing and walking quickly was not easy or an option. By the time we got back to the trail that brought us to the river bed, we were both tired, hungry, and cranky. Jono desired to get back to the jeep by climbing out of the ravine we were in instead of taking the trail available to us. I was already exhausted and had my dog Leah with us. I was afraid that climbing out of the ravine would be to dangerous and was hoping that Jono would realize this and we would just go back to the original trail.

Well, during the process of finding a way out Jono and I got separated and I attempted to climb a part of the ravine to try and reconnect with Jono. While climbing a rocky slope with Leah, I was overcome with the fear that she and I were not going to make it and that I was risking bodily harm or death for both her and I. I made it up the ridge and reconnected with Jono but found out that we had climbed the wrong side and would have to climb down the ravine again and climb up the other side. At this point I had reached my limits and I went off on Jono for deserting me, putting Leah’s life and mine in danger, and for getting us into this predicament. I let my fear and anger control my words and made a situation that was already bad worse. Let’s just suffice it to say that neither one of us was happy in this moment but we both knew what had to be done.

So we proceeded to carefully climb down the ravine together. Then began to climb the other side, which turned out to be much more challenging than the first side. This did not help my anxiety in the least especially since Leah was having trouble climbing this side of the ravine. Jono did a fantastic job to sticking at the task at hand and encouraging me that we were going to make it. We ultimately had to use a rope that we had brought to work together to help me pull Leah up to each new level of the ravine. This was a slow, difficult and scary process. There were a few times I that only the rope was keeping me and/or leah from plummeting down to the bottom of the ravine. Jono was the anchor to me and I was the anchor to Leah. As we continued this system we slowly but surely made it to the top. Jono, Leah, and I finally made it back to the jeep by using teamwork. When we made it back to the jeep we were incredible tired. We both apologized for our part in the struggles we had just experienced and forgave each other for our own shortcomings and words spoken in fear, anger, and frustration in the hike. I learned an important lesson about brotherhood and friendship in that hike. You have to listen to what your friend is really saying, stay together in all circumstances, and trust each other when the going gets rough. I believe all three of these lessons apply to our daily walk with Jesus.

In some ways, our adventure trips are like our lives. Jono and I prefer to take the path less travelled. Sometimes this gets us in perilous, difficult situations and yet at other times we find hidden treasures and views many have never seen. The path less traveled is not always easy. It many times requires a partner so you can watch out for each other. It always requires you to be alert so you don’t get lost and definitely always guarantees a good story and lesson learned. Jesus asks us to take the road less travelled everyday and we have to be careful to follow Him because it is so easy to be led astray and end up in a situation that is perilous. We each have to learn survival techniques in our Christian walk to help us get out of those traps, snares, and dangerous situations the devil tries to lead us into.

www.realchristianwalk.com

Groundhog Year

Have you ever felt like you were living the same year over and over again, spiritually? As we take stock of events of the previous year, you may notice that a trend is developing in your walk. Maybe you had another year where you felt like you were not where you should be in your relationship with Jesus. Maybe your year consisted of moments of closeness with Jesus plagued by long stretches of stumbling, temptations, and an absence of prayer and devotions. If you feel like you’re not going anywhere in your walk and are frustrated, know that you are not alone. Now is the time to change! Now is the time to no longer accept the same haphazard walk year after year. It is time to stand up and change your world and heart for Him. To realign your heart to your Lord, to change the station of your heart from the struggles of the world to Jesus.

In the Superchick song, Cross the Line, the band brings to surface the chilling reality of the lies the world keeps trying to feed Christians today. This song is about living for Christ and not allowing the world to suppress your walk, passion, and love for Jesus. The lyrics are as follows,

Follow the leader, stay in the lines

What will people think of what you've done this time?

Go with the crowd, surely somebody knows

Why we're all wearing the emperor's clothes

Play it safe, play by the rules

Or don't play at all what if you lose?

That's not the secret, but I know what is:

Everybody dies but not everyone lives

I'm gonna ride like I've got the cops on my tail

I'm gonna live my life like I'm out on bail

I'm gonna be out front, gonna blaze a trail

I'm gonna cross that line

Everybody freeze don't step over the line

Don't stand up, they'll shoot down the first one who tries

Try to change the world, they'll think you're out of your mind

Revolutions start when someone crosses the line

They want us to lie down, give into the lie

Nothing has to change, and no one has to die

That's not the secret, but I know what is:

Everybody dies, but not everyone lives

In the movie Groundhog day, Bill Murray’s character has to learn how to live his life to the fullest each day. As Christians, Jesus calls us to live our lives to the fullest for Him in all that we do. This includes reaching out to the people around you and sharing the love and saving knowledge of Jesus with them. It includes helping those in need you encounter each day. It includes delving into the Bible, praying to your Lord, and being active in your church in whatever way you are able.

I have learned throughout my life that I can ask God over and over again to bring me closer to Him but until I become active in obeying His Word and commands nothing will change. To be a Christian requires a willingness to live for the Lord daily; a willingness to reach out to those around you; and a willingness to surrender your own life daily. Do you have what it takes to transform this year into a year of growth and change for your Lord. Happy new year and I wish you blessings, transformation, and a new outlook on serving your Savior and Lord. I pray that you will ‘Live’ this year and consider ‘crossing the Line’ for Jesus.

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