The Deep Healing Waters of Jesus

I started my day like any other.  I woke up, got ready for work, and arrived on time.  I had plenty of things to do today and spent the morning trying to take care of the many tasks on my roster.  As the morning continued to slip away, I decided to go down to the kitchen to get some water.  I noticed worship music gentling calling from the living room.  I drank my water and continued to work on the tasks I had inside the house.  I passed the living room multiple times as I checked the furnace filters, the thermostats, and changed some light bulbs.

As I went past the living room, I noticed that more people than usual were attending the worship chapel and each person was doing something different as they enjoyed the music and connected with Christ.  Each time I passed the living room, I felt a draw to join in.  I frequently join in the chapel sessions but not the worship sessions.  So i continued my work trying to ignore the longing that was compelling me to join.

After about 20 minutes of attempting to ignore the desire of my heart, I decided to quietly slip into the living room, sit down, and write in my notebook as I enjoyed the worship album playing in the room.  As I sat down and began to write, a flood of emotion flowed from my heart.  My heart began to pour out onto the notebook in the form of a prayer.  I had not talked with God for a few days maybe even a few weeks. It was time and my heart knew exactly what I needed to say.

My heart had been drawing me to join the worship.  My heart had been longing to reconnect with my Lord.  The Holy Spirit knew my need though I myself had not perceived it or maybe worse had been running from it.  To help deepen and explain the significance of today, I want to explain my daily routine at work for the past few weeks.

I have spent quite a lot of time outside mowing, trimming, weeding, mulching, and so much more.  During this time, I put on my headphones, which are hooked up to my iPhone, and listen to podcast sermons from pastors I respect and admire and Christian music I enjoy.  I have probably listened to over 30 hours of sermons in the last week on Jesus and walking an authentic Christian life.  Now I can't say that I didn't not pray or speak to God in conviction during some of these sermons but I can say that I did not humble myself and give to God all I had been holding in my heart.  The silence of my blog recently has spoken to this condition in my heart.

When I sat down in that worship, I finally took the time to connect with where I was with Christ and was able, through the Holy Spirit, to identify my desperate need to reconcile with Jesus and lay my burdens, worries, and struggles down before Him.  As I sat there quietly in the back of the living room, I was able to truly pour out my broken and contrite heart before the Lord.

The Lord helped to facilitate my healing even further through my best friend, Jono, who spoke even deeper into the need of my heart through the daily texts we share.  I opened up and confessed also to my best friend and accountability partner the state of my heart and my need.  We both dove deeply into our desires to serve and live passionately for Christ.

Through this whole process, I found a peace I have not felt in a while.  I was able to breathe deeply and fully in the certainty and joy of Christ.  I could feel the Lord reconnect my heart into Himself.  I could feel my heart submit to His reign.  The rest of my day has been filled with the peace and joy of knowing that I have a God who knows my heart's need so much better than I do.  I can rest in the knowledge that my Lord will lead me to still waters whether I know I need them or not.

Where is your heart with Jesus tonight?  Have you been listening to all the Christian songs, reading the Christian books, intently enjoying the Christian sermons, and living a good looking Christian life and yet still finding your heart distant from Jesus?  Sometimes we can cover over exactly what we need by filling our lives with all these things and yet not humbling ourselves before the Lord.  Have you laid your heart, your sins, and your burdens at the feet of Jesus tonight?  Don't hesitate to do it tonight.  The cool waters of our Lord are abundant and sweet!  Don't resist the call of the Holy Spirit who is drawing you to make your path straight tonight.  Dive in my brother and sister.  Dive in.

As a closer, I would love to hear from you about how the Lord has drawn you to himself recently.  I would love to hear ways that you connect with Jesus daily.  I would love to here how the Lord used this blog to restore your heart today.  Feel free to comment on the blog or on my Facebook account.  I would just love to be able to share in the many way Jesus has spoken to, blessed, and uplifted each of my readers.

Blessings,

Greg

My wife and I feel an intense calling on our lives for missions and full-time ministry.  We have created a fundraiser to help us overcome one hurtle to us being able to go to the mission field.  I pray that you will take a moment and check out this link.  I thank you for your consideration and ask that you seek the Lord's guidance in considering contributing to this fundraiser.  Thank you.

http://www.youcaring.com/fundraiser_details?fundraiser_id=3437&url=roadtofreedomforproclaimingchrist

Word of God Speak

Though I am involved in ministry and write this blog, there are many times I have nothing to say.  I have learned recently that sometimes my best words are the ones I don't say.  Much of my life has been spent with me speaking first and listening second.  This method is neither biblical or helpful to those around me.  At my job, I get a lot of opportunities to work completely on my own.  A majority of my day is spent without human interaction and I am learning that for the most part I don't mind.  

With this warm winter and early spring, I have been struggling to keep up with the landscaping at my job.  I have practically spent everyday since the middle of march mowing, trimming, pruning, weeding, and preparing the property for spring.  During this time, I have been listening to a lot of podcasts by preachers I respect and preachers of old that the preachers I listen to respect, if that makes sense ;).  I have been blessed and challenged deeply by the words of these men on many different biblical passages.  Each day I have the opportunity to listen to at least 5 sermons or lectures on some aspect of the Christian life.


During my time of listening to these Godly men, I have found that I have less and less to write on this blog.  I think part of it has to do with the fact that I feel like there is so much about the Bible I do not know.  In speaking more than I listen, I have misspoken more times than I can count.  I am learning that I have to be so careful with the words I choose to use when speaking about the Bible and my savior Jesus.  I never want to distort His words or His image.  I only want to speak words that can be used by Christ to impact both the Christian and non-Christian.  

I find the more I learn about the Bible and Jesus the more I want to be careful what I say.  Some verses that are extremely sobering to me and are teaching me to weigh my words carefully are: Whoever guards his mouth preserves his life; he who opens wide his lips comes to ruin.  Proverbs 13:3.  Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.  Colossians 4:6.  I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned. Matthew 12:36-37.    


So tonight I ask that you pray that each word I write on this blog would be from God.  I may not write as much as I have before because I want to be careful in what I say.  Please know that I fully intend to continue this blog because I feel that Jesus has led me to write it but I want to make sure I am writing what he lays on my heart and not just writing to write.  I thank each one of you for the support you have shown to this blog so far and I look forward to continuing to write for Jesus.  I hope this blog sees each one of you well.  


Blessings,


Greg

My wife and I feel an intense calling on our lives for missions and full-time ministry.  We have created a fundraiser to help us overcome one hurtle to us being able to go to the mission field.  I pray that you will take a moment and check out this link.  I thank you for your consideration and ask that you seek the Lord's guidance in considering contributing to this fundraiser.  Thank you.

http://www.youcaring.com/fundraiser_details?fundraiser_id=3437&url=roadtofreedomforproclaimingchrist

A Weekend to Remember

I have to say that I had one of the most amazing weekends this week.  I truly couldn't have asked for this weekend to go more smoothly or be more impactful.  My weekend started out with Mel and I attending a marriage conference hosted by the church we are attending.  I truly couldn't have guessed how much more connected and apart of our church I would feel after attending this conference.  I really feel quite honored to have so many new friends and be given the opportunity to get to know each person in a real way through the conference.  The speaker was also truly wonderful and I hope that I can't take the words he imparted and infuse them into my daily marriage life.

I was also incredibly convicted this weekend by the words of the speaker at the marriage conference.  There are definitely some areas in my marriage that could stand to be improved.  Finances would definitely be the main one.  My wife and I have struggled financially ever since our first day of marriage and I believe that it has been due to my lack of discipline and unwillingness to make the difficult choices when it comes to budgeting and cutting expenses.  I really saw how these actions have affected our marriage and how getting this area under control could help us achieve the goals we have for ourselves and our marriage.  I repented of my sin in this area because I was not truly trusting the Lord with the money, possessions, and tools He has given us.  Mel and I are now going to be more proactive about budgeting together and holding each other accountable in our financial decisions.

Saturday evening, one of my best friend's, Mike, came up and hung out with Mel and I.  We had a great time hanging out and catching up Saturday night and going to church on Sunday morning.  The real fun together began Sunday afternoon when Mike and I removed an old rickety fence from the back yard.  I have to say that I was incredibly grateful for the strength of a marine while carrying out that task.  After ripping out the fence, we both were ready for a much deserved nap before our big night.

The real reason my friend came up was to attend a Switchfoot concert on Sunday night.  Mike and I have now seen four Switchfoot concerts (three together).  It is something we have both enjoyed doing together over the years.  This time we had the opportunity to meet the band and that was pretty cool.  On top of that, I have to say that this concert was, bar none, the most incredible Switchfoot concert I have attended to date.  It was so much fun!  We truly enjoyed singing at the top of our lungs to each and every song.  Some of Jon's songs are so powerful and I truly felt like I was in a worship concert at times as I sang out to Jesus through the conviction of certain songs.

After the concert was over, Mike and I found out that Jon Foreman, lead singer of Switchfoot, was going to be performing an after concert at a little cafe up the street.  I have to admit that directly after the concert was over I felt like I was in a bubble.  I am pretty sure I have some hearing loss from last night, which is of course a prerequisite of a great Christian rock concert ;).  Anyways, after our ears recovered, Mike and I proceeded to go to the cafe to see Jon perform alone on an acoustic guitar. When we arrived to the cafe, Jon was already surrounded by a large crowd of people.

Mike and I got as close as we could and relished in the beautiful songs he sang but there was something different about this concert because Jon was singing his own music and not Switchfoot's.  As he sung, I noticed that his lyrics were even more overtly Christian than the lyrics from his band.  The songs He sang were new to me and felt like they were the witness of who he is in Jesus.  I got to hear and see his heart last night.  In attending all of the concerts I have for Switchfoot, one of my greatest desires has been the desire for Jon to stand up and give his witness and boldly speak out for Christ.  In that intimate after concert, I got to see his heart and soul.  It was there that he was able to share his heart and passion for Christ overtly.

There are so many times in my own life where I feel like I have failed Christ as I am critical of areas in my life I could have been more overt for Him.  Last night, the Lord showed me that what matters is how my heart shines in both my big and small moments of life.  If I truly live Christ in all areas of my life, then He will be boldly shown in even the most normal parts of my day.  My witness for Him lies in the authenticity and passion of my heart.  He showed me this in multiple ways this weekend through the conviction of how I spend my money, through how I act when I am around strangers, and through the heart of a man who happens to lead Switchfoot and yet is first and foremost a follower of Jesus Christ.

Thank you Lord for the blessings of sight.  Thank you for how you gently teach me more and more each day.  As I look back and see how much You continue to transform who I am to who You are, I am humbled and encouraged.  Thank you for never giving up on me and continually teaching me how to thrive and not just survive.  Amen

Blessings,

Greg

My wife and I feel an intense calling on our lives for missions and full-time ministry.  We have created a fundraiser to help us overcome one hurtle to us being able to go to the mission field.  I pray that you will take a moment and check out this link.  I thank you for your consideration and ask that you seek the Lord's guidance in considering contributing to this fundraiser.  Thank you.

http://www.youcaring.com/fundraiser_details?fundraiser_id=3437&url=roadtofreedomforproclaimingchrist

Iron Sharpens Iron, Men

Tonight, I write a challenge to all men.  I challenge you to step up into the roles God has laid out for you.  Men it is time we begin to walk in purity and lead for Christ in our daily lives.  I believe it is incredibly important to be able to share an accountability partnership with another brother in Christ.  No matter who you are, I know you struggle with sin, temptation, and being the man God has called you to be in some way or fashion.

As in the relationship Jonathan and David shared, men are to count on each other, trust each other with their life, and be able to count on the other to help them through their struggles.  The phrase, "no man is an island" is so true.  Other examples of men working together to strengthen each other in times of struggle and empower each other to reach the world for Christ, is displayed in both the disciples and the many colleagues Paul had.

There is nothing like being able to spend one on one time in Christ with another brother.  My accountability partner and I love to go mountain biking, hiking, kayaking, and tackling essentially anything outdoors and adventure related.  During our time of adventure, we also get opportunities to check on our brother's heart, walk, and life.  There are so many things that God has taught each one of us that we are able to share with each other.  Many times though we promise to pray for the other trusting that the Lord will work through each struggle we face.

When men choose to make a commitment to develop a relationship of iron sharpening iron, an opportunity to change the world is formed.  When you have the support of a mentor, accountability partner, and/or brother in Christ, you can trust that you will be able to overcome anything this world can throw at you because of your relationship with Christ and partnership on earth.  There truly is strength in numbers and strength in shared experiences.

I know we as men tend to keep to ourselves and avoid any possibility of having to be open or vulnerable, especially with another man.  I hope, as men of Christ, we can humble ourselves enough to realize we need the help of other brothers in Christ to excel in reaching the world for Christ.  If you have any questions about how to do this, where to start, or why a partnership like this is worthwhile, feel free to email or comment me.  I would love to talk with you and share what I have learned through my own accountability partnership.

Here are some other great articles on accountability partners:

• Christian Accountability
• Men of Integrity
• Pure Intimacy

Blessings,

Greg

My wife and I feel an intense calling on our lives for missions and full-time ministry.  We have created a fundraiser to help us overcome one hurtle to us being able to go to the mission field.  I pray that you will take a moment and check out this link.  I thank you for your consideration and ask that you seek the Lord's guidance in considering contributing to this fundraiser.  Thank you.

http://www.youcaring.com/fundraiser_details?fundraiser_id=3437&url=roadtofreedomforproclaimingchrist

A World Where I Belong

My greatest desire for my life is to be a good husband, son, father, brother, friend, and most of all follower of Jesus Christ.  One stanza from the song Where I belong by Switchfoot sums up my desire for this life best, saying:

And on the final day I die
I want to hold my head up high
I want to tell you that I tried
to live it like a song 

And when I reach the other side
I want to look You in the eye
And know that I arrived
In a world where I belong

 See this world is not my home and I understand that.  I long so desperately for the day that I will once again become whole and stand before Jesus.  Until that day comes my greatest desire is to serve Him well on this earth.

I want to share Him with the whole world.  I want to take my family and spend the rest of our lives shining a light into the darkness to this world.  I know I am completely saved by faith and nothing else and yet every step I take till the day I am restored and reunited with Jesus is an opportunity to extend His kingdom.  I want to honor Him with my lips, my actions, and my thoughts.

Jesus would've still been walking this earth in His resurrected body two thousand years ago.  He was still lifting up, empowering, and preparing His followers for what was to come.  He was preparing them to receive the Holy Spirit, the Helper, so that they would be able to accomplish the task before them.  Because of Jesus coming to this earth, pouring His life into the twelve disciples, teaching, dying, rising again, ascending to heaven, and leaving the Holy Spirit then, we are able to know the truth of the gospel that sets us free from the curse and receive the Holy Spirit in our hearts now.  Don't waste another second with this world when you could be living sold out for Jesus!  I pray that on the day you die you will be able to hold your head up high and know that you arrived in a world where you belong.

Here are some relevant Verses to Jesus' resurrection for reference and study:

• Acts 1:1-9
• Mark 16
• Matthew 28
• Luke 24
• John 20

Blessings,

Greg

My wife and I feel an intense calling on our lives for missions and full-time ministry.  We have created a fundraiser to help us overcome one hurtle to us being able to go to the mission field.  I pray that you will take a moment and check out this link.  I thank you for your consideration and ask that you seek the Lord's guidance in considering contributing to this fundraiser.  Thank you.

http://www.youcaring.com/fundraiser_details?fundraiser_id=3437&url=roadtofreedomforproclaimingchrist

Heart Gardening 101

My garden right now is a wreck!  I have not tilled it, prepared it, or even planted it for this season.  It is filled with a grand assortment of weeds and mostly overtaken by dandelions.  In order for me to have any hopes of fresh fruits and vegetables in my garden this year, I am going to have to put in a large amount of hard work to get it back into the shape it needs to be in for planting.  I have quite a job ahead of me and I have been avoiding it for the last couple weeks because I know I am going to be exhausted, aching, and dirty once I am done.

My garden was not always this way.  For the past few years I have done a good job of preparing it for planting and successfully gathering quite a bounty.  I know what my garden is capable of producing and I can instantly remember all the wonderful sights, tastes, and smells from my gardens of years past.  I long for my garden to be like the years before but know that accomplishing this task will be both challenging and worth while.

Sometimes our own lives are like my garden.  We have great times of fruitfulness and bounty and then other times where we let ourselves go.  There have been many times that the garden of my heart has been desolate and filled with the weeds of sin and the world.  Sure, I still had a fruit or vegetable plant here or there but none of them produced what they were capable of and some even where snuffed out by the weeds surrounding them.

Each day is an opportunity to prepare, care for, and cultivate our soul.  We are given the choice to plant the seeds of wisdom from the Bible in our hearts or the seed of sin.  We can choose to shine the light of the Holy Spirit on our heart, which will bring growth and nourishment, or we can cloud our hearts with things that don't matter and have no eternal value.  We can water our hearts with Jesus' living water or starve our hearts by filling it with the tainted waters of the devil, which may appear clear and pure and yet will always leave you wanting and leave you needing more than when you started.

Are you on a path that will produce the fruits of the Spirit in your heart or is your heart being strangled and tangled in an abundance of weeds?  Jesus spoke of the parable of the sower in Matthew 13:1-23.  In this parable He talked about some seed falling on the path and being scavenged by birds, some falling on hard ground and being scorched by the sun because they had shallow roots, some falling amongst the thorns and weeds and being choked out, and those that fall on fertile ground.  Of the seeds that fall on fertile ground Jesus said that some seeds would produce thirty, some sixty, and some even a hundred times what was planted.

As I consider my own garden, I have learned that how I take care of it determines the harvest I have.  I have to provide good soil, proper water, a proper amount of sun, and even make sure that the plants don't get over crowded by weeds and similar plants.  There is so much more that also contributes to the bounty of my garden and much of it depends on my input into it.

In my blog last night i spoke about Faith or Works, in this parable Jesus shows how they go together.  The seed that falls on fertile soil is given life and you will notice that Jesus did not talk about the seed produce nothing.  The life is faith and is what you are saved by but the produce is the works that are created through your life and faith.  I hope you will allow the Lord to prepare your heart today.  There is so much blessing in the fruits He will create in your life.  Paul speaks of the fruits of the spirit in Galatians 5:22-23 saying, "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control."  May you see these wonderful fruits in the garden of your heart and in the example of your life this year.

Blessings   

Greg

My wife and I feel an intense calling on our lives for missions and full-time ministry.  We have created a fundraiser to help us overcome one hurtle to us being able to go to the mission field.  I pray that you will take a moment and check out this link.  I thank you for your consideration and ask that you seek the Lord's guidance in considering contributing to this fundraiser.  Thank you.

http://www.youcaring.com/fundraiser_details?fundraiser_id=3437&url=roadtofreedomforproclaimingchrist

Faith or Works?

Faith or Works?

As I sat on the mower and mowed most of the property at my job today, I thought about faith and works, which our Christian community as a whole seems to struggle with.  Depending on who you talk to and what type of Christian faith they have been raised in, you will get a whole variety of answers about being saved in relation to faith and works.  Some say that faith alone without any other change in the person's life is all that is necessary to go to heaven.  Some say believing in Jesus is important but your works are what get you to heaven.  Some will say that being a good person is the only thing that matters.  You will even hear from time to time someone say that neither faith nor works matter because God is too loving to allow anyone to perish.


I am always perplexed by the shear magnitude of interpretations people can come up with utilizing the same Biblical text as their evidence.  In a world that is highly resistant to the idea of absolute truth, the world's contention is that each person is right to have and believe their own truth.  I personally believe the Bible wasn't created so we could all find our own separate truth and way to heaven.  I believe God created the Bible through men as a way for us to know the one way to eternity in Heaven.  Though many would disagree with this statement, I believe the Bible is perfectly created as a instruction manual on how to live life with God and for God allowing us to find complete joy and peace in God.


The main passages dealing with being justified in Christ through faith or works are as follows:  

• For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. Romans 3:20
• For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law. Romans 3:28
• For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” Romans 4:3
• And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness. Romans 4:5
• You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. James 2:24
• For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead. James 2:26

These verses represent the battlegrounds for many Christians who argue for why they are right about their belief on either side of the faith or works argument.  The problem with this is that James in no way refutes what Paul says in Romans.  He just adds to Paul's argument about justification.  James is not arguing against being justified by faith.  He is only saying that in being truly saved your genuine faith will produce works.  This can be seen as James speaks about true faith and fake faith in the full passage of James 2:14-26.

As I was thinking about this concept, the Lord laid on my heart an example of what James is talking about in terms we can understand.  Say I told my wife I love her and yet did not show my love in anyway.  I refused to encourage her, want to get to know her, have any desire to hang out with her, or allow her to get close to me without being repulsed.  On top of all this, I spent time hanging out with other girls, hugging everyone else I met, giving people praise, and always jumping at an opportunity to hang out and get to know other people.  

Now on the other hand, I tell my wife I love her and spend the rest of my life trying to learn new ways to show her.  I love spending time with her and learning about each facet of who she is.  I am happy to take the time to craft a wonderful expression of my love.  I am more than willing to announce my love for my wife on the nearest mountain top or park bench.  When people look at us together they can see how passionately in love I am with her.  


Though I said I loved my wife in both scenarios, which one do you truly believe to be real love?  The works are not what makes my love true but are in fact evidence of my true love.  It is in my actions that the love within me is visible to others.  So what James was talking about at the end of chapter two is the difference between saying you have faith and living your faith.  The works do not save you but they are a natural out crying of the genuine faith you have.  When you have true faith just like when you have true love, you just can't keep from living out the implication of this glorious belief inside you.


So just as Paul says in Romans you are indeed justified by faith alone but as James expounded upon your true faith will indeed produce works in your life.  So I ask you today.  If you profess to be a follower of Jesus and have faith that Jesus indeed is the savior who came to this world lived, taught, died, and rose again, can you see natural culminations of works in your life as an outpouring of this faith and love you have towards Jesus?  If not, I hope you will take some serious time to examine whether you truly know or have faith in Jesus at all.  If you discover that your faith indeed is genuine, then never let the devil keep you from living your faith daily.  If you discover that you have never truly known Jesus, I hope you will take a true leap of faith today and allow the Holy Spirit to work a true change in your walk and heart.


Blessings,


Another good resource on this topic is Are we Justified by Faith (Romans) or Works (James)?.  In the article on Carm.org the author goes much deeper in explaining the issue than I can.  

My wife and I feel an intense calling on our lives for missions and full-time ministry.  We have created a fundraiser to help us overcome one hurtle to us being able to go to the mission field.  I pray that you will take a moment and check out this link.  I thank you for your consideration and ask that you seek the Lord's guidance in considering contributing to this fundraiser.  Thank you.

http://www.youcaring.com/fundraiser_details?fundraiser_id=3437&url=roadtofreedomforproclaimingchrist

Passion

Passion, which finds its origins in the Latin word Pati, meaning to suffer, speaks of an intense uncontrollable urge or desire for something.  The Passion of Christ is, in my opinion, one of the most applicable and relevant historical accounts in human history.  We all will live our life with a passion for something whether it is media, people, history, life, death, love, hate, money, family, and the list can go eternally on. We were built to be passionate beings.  We were built to be consumed in our lives.  If by nothing else, this should be evident in the many religions, political parties, and fanatical associations that exist in our world.

Jesus was passionate about doing His Father's will and making a way for us to be with the Trinity for eternity.  He chose to live a life of meager means where he was hunted, misunderstood, and ultimately preparing humanity for His untimely death and miraculous resurrection.  Jesus understood the dangers of His choice.  He knew exactly what was at stake as He ministered and prepared the world for what He was about to do.  Jesus humbling allowed and even willing allowed humans to take Him when He was judged, beaten, and hung on that cross.  Jesus is passionate for our souls not because He needs our souls for happiness, contentment, or for power as is portrayed in Wrath of the Titans and so many other Hollywood films. He is passionate for our souls because He loves us and knows that when we become passionate for Him our lives will find perfected joy and contentment.

Our world is passionate about so many things.  Many people in this country alone are passionate about mocking God and blaspheming all the Bible teaches.  They believe that the Bible seeks to rob them of life and bind them into a torturous lie that will end in nothing.  This modern world, like most of human history believes that they know better than God and can create a more satisfying life for themselves on their own.  This is not a new lie but in fact the first lie used by the Devil.  Man fell to this lie at the beginning of man's creation and man is still falling to this lie today.

We have got to drop this lie from our hearts.  This world can never satisfy the massive hole in our hearts.  Can the world help to numb the hole in our hearts for a while, sure.  Can we pursue things that bring us happiness, wonder and joy for a while, sure.  Can we feel peace with our life for a time and yet still not know God, sure.  The one thing we can never do without God though is find complete satisfaction, joy, and peace in all areas of our life both now and eternally.  You can not perfectly fit a round peg in a square hole and you can not perfectly fill a God shaped hole with anything else.  Your heart will always come up lacking and wanting.

It is time that we stand up and live passionately for Jesus as He chose to do for us over 2000 years ago.  He deserves our devotion, our passion, and our lives.  We  need to stand up to passionately follow the Holy Spirit's lead for our lives.  That includes leaving all we know to reach the lost in another part of the world if that is what the Spirit is calling us to.  He is definitely calling each of us to stand up for Him in every part of our life including with our non-believing and believing friends, coworkers, and family.  The Holy Spirit calls us to lay down our worldly passions to embark upon His eternal journey.  On this Easter Sunday will you abandon all the world offers to follow Jesus passionately today?

Blessings,

Greg

My wife and I feel an intense calling on our lives for missions and full-time ministry.  We have created a fundraiser to help us overcome one hurtle to us being able to go to the mission field.  I pray that you will take a moment and check out this link.  I thank you for your consideration and ask that you seek the Lord's guidance in considering contributing to this fundraiser.  Thank you.

http://www.youcaring.com/fundraiser_details?fundraiser_id=3437&url=roadtofreedomforproclaimingchrist