Praying the Prayer

I must admit that I have been very weak when it comes to the discipline of prayer.  Many times I have throw up little prayers to God each day in moments of need but I have been very bad about spending quality time with my Savior and Lord.  I also must admit that many is the time I told someone i would pray for them and I forgot to.  I don't intentionally miss spending time in prayer with the Lord each day and I believe that is the reason i have not been praying each day.  I have not been intentional in my prayer life.  This past few weeks I have been intentionally doing studies on the Bible and prayer.  I want this area of my walk to be transformed and I believe that my lack of consistent prayer life is one of the biggest detriments to my walk right now.

In the Bible, prayer is one of the main indicators of a close relationship with God.  The Old Testament prophets received the word of God directly from praying and seeking God's word for them.  The book of Psalm is essentially a large book of prayers mostly written by David, a man after God's heart.  You could always tell whether a king in the Old Testament was going to be Godly or not when you saw whether he allowed the high places of false god's stand or whether he destroyed the high places and proclaimed the kingdom only for the true God.  Jonah's life was literally spared due to prayer and many others also.  Jesus' ministry is marked by His moments of solitude in prayer, His followers desire to learn how to pray, and the prayers he gave on the cross.  The early church was known for their prayers and Paul's ministry was bathed in and ultimately guided by his answers to prayers through the Holy Spirit.

I think it is safe to say that the Bible puts a high priority on prayer.  Why is this?  Well for starters, prayer is the one way we are able to talk directly to God and receive word from Him.  Through our prayers we are able to both pray for our own provision and intercede for others.  The Bible is clear that many of us do not have because we do not ask.  Why is it that, even though we have direct access to God, and the Bible makes it clear that He wants to hear from us and to answer our heart cries, many of us choose not to pray?  Is it maybe true that most of us wrongly believe, though we would never admit it, that God is looking down on us from a distance (as the popular song written by Julie Gold in 1985 speaks about) and that He is not really able to answer our prayers?

I used to believe that praying was a gift.  Some people had the gift of intense desire to pray and communicate with Jesus and that most people did not have this gift.  The Bible is clear that prayer is not a gift but rather something every Christian should desire to do.  In fact, the Bible goes as far to say that those who don't have a desire to pray may need to check their hearts and make sure they know the Savior in the first place.

If you are like me and have struggled in your prayer life for many years, I hope you will change that today.  Maybe even let your first prayer be, "Lord, grow in my heart a great desire to come to you more in prayer.  Show me in your Word the importance of prayer and how I should pray to you.  Amen."  I highly recommend four points of help that have guided me in my pursuit of a more passionate prayer life.

First, I suggest you flip through the Psalms and when you find a psalm that you can identify with, pray it to the Lord.  Make the psalm your own prayer.  This is a quick a great way to begin praying consistently especially if you don't know what to pray.

Second, while you are praying through the Psalms, I recommend you camp out in Luke 11:1-13 where Jesus' followers ask Him to teach them about prayer.  Take the words of Jesus and apply them to your own prayer life.  Take the model prayer and break it down into what Jesus is saying in each part and then take each part (like glorifying God, Asking for provision, asking for forgiveness, etc) and pray it in your own words.

Third, I highly suggest taking the time to study what the Bible in general has to say about prayer.  There are many devotions, books, and resources on prayer in the Bible.  Also you could use something like www.openbible.info to find scriptures that speak directly to prayer.

Last but not least, I highly suggest you start a prayer journal.  By using a journal, you will be able to see what you have prayed and see how God has answered it.  Also, it is great for writing down all those prayer requests that you receive and then it serves to remind you of those prayer request so that you will never again tell someone you are going to pray for them and then not.

I hope through my own struggle with prayer and pursuit of a more passionate prayer life, your own prayer life might be ignited and/or enriched.  I thank each one of you who read this blog and pray for this ministry the Lord has given me.  I would love to hear and be able pray for any requests you have.  May the Lord bless you and may you gain a closer relationship with Jesus than you have ever had before.

Blessings,

Greg

Restorer of my Soul

I have to admit that I have been avoiding this blog for a while.  I honestly can't tell you why other than I have felt like I have been in a rut for a while.  I am still doing ministry, attending church, and leading chapel every once in a while at work but I have really been running on autopilot lately.  I have felt disconnected and disjointed.

Today was my week to lead chapel at work and I had really been wrestling with doing it.  To be honest, I really didn't want to do it.  I had not picked up my guitar in months and I had no idea what to do.  This morning I was really dragging half because of bad sleep and half because I did not want to face my responsibility.

As I sat in the shower, I mulled over what to do at chapel.  I finally came up with the idea of doing one of the videos from the book Beautiful Outlaw.  I decided to do the video on Trueness.  I decided to take my guitar and a few worships songs with my computer on the way out just to leave the option of doing worship available.  Then, probably for the first time since working at Selah, I decided to take the morning to prepare the chapel service.  I reread the chapter I was doing the video on, I watched the video, prepared questions, and put together a worship set that I even practiced before the service.

All of these things served to align my heart back on my Lord.  After finishing my preparations, I spent sometime in prayer.  It took me time to bring my heart back to where it needed to be fully focused on Jesus.  Once I reached this point, I had to take time to still my heart.  I sat on the porch when I went back up to the house.  The Lord fully calmed my heart through a gentle loving cat.  When the time came to for chapel to start, I was exactly where I needed to be.

Today showed me two things.  First, when you allow your heart to distance from the Lord, the road back takes time.  I had to take time to be prepared for the chapel.  I did not wake up on fire and ready.  It takes a lot longer to restart a fire from a cooling ember than to maintain the fire.  Second, that our Lord is gracious and good.  As soon as I brought my heart back to where it needed to be, He blessed me.  Truly He blessed me even more than I ever imagined He would today.  I could truly see Him moving and felt Him working both through the worship and the lesson in a way I had not seen up to this point in chapel.

I walked into doing this chapel with hesitation and the desire to take a break for a while after it to walking out of chapel filling recharged, reminded, and convicted of who I am and how ministry is part of who I am in Christ.  The Lord reignited my heart today because I open my heart and surrendered again to Him today.  Jesus said in each of the synoptic gospels deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Him.  I submit that this must be done daily because each day we choose whether to follow Jesus or ourselves.

If you have felt distant from Jesus lately, I hope you will take this moment right now to reconnect with Him.  Jesus is good and loving and has been waiting for you to receive Him again.  I hope you will choose Jesus today.  Let Him convict you of your sins, restore you back to right paths, and recharge you in your walk.

Blessings,

Greg iVey

Thank You!!!

Today marks the end of my first year of blogging.  I have learned so many things just by writing this blog.  It has been amazing reflecting on how Jesus is working in my life each day.  I have had wonderful highs in Christ in the past year and great struggles too and yet the Lord has walked with me, my family, and hopefully you through them all.  I want to thank each one of you who have been with me through this journey and I hope that you will continue to be blessed through many more inspired blogs to come.

Please continue to pray for my family as we seek to draw closer to Christ daily and learn how to trust Him with our every struggle including the adventure of being new parents ;).  Also I pray that each of you would continue to pray for us as we seek the Lord's guidance in our calling to ministry and international missions.  We plan to begin working towards paying off debt, working on seminary education, sharing our calling with others, and hopefully raising support to leave for the mission field sooner than later.  Know that I consider each one of you essential in our road to the mission field.  Thank you again so much for the encouragement you have given to me over this past year and I look forward to continuing the relationships that have been built and hopefully will continue to develop.  

Blessings,

Greg

Finding Strength in Hebrews 12

Though it is not running, it was definitely a race ;)

I was talking with a friend today about life and how much it has changed since Sam, our one month old boy, has come.  I mentioned to him how exhausted my wife and I have been lately.  He related a story to me me of a nineteen year old he was doing ministry with who told my friend he was just exhausted all the time.  My friend said he just walked away from the nineteen year old because, like me, he has an infant also and knew that the nineteen year old had no concept of being tired yet.  Isn't it interesting how our perception of certain situations is relative to our experiences?

Before Sam was born, I would've told you that there was just no way I would be able to survive on 5-6 hours of light sleep.  Now I manage with about that much sleep everyday.  I won't say that I am excelling in this current stage of constant responsibility, inconsolable crying, and less than adequate sleep but I am surviving much better than I thought I would.  Isn't it incredible what the human body can endure?  Most of us are fascinated by the Olympics because of the stories of pain and endurance tethered with our amazement that these premiere athletes are able to perform feats no one has performed before.

The Lord has truly designed us to be incredible.  In all this exhaustion and stress, I am learning that there is one thing our bodies absolutely cannot survive without.  That is a relationship and connection with Jesus Christ.  I have found that spending time in the Word has been my greatest source of strength in this past month.  My days in the Word versus my days without the Word are starkly different.  I have peace, joy, endurance, and strength when I take the time to dwell in the Word each day.  Not because of the Word specifically but because of it's ability to help me develop a more intimate relationship with my Savior, Jesus.

I cannot honestly say that I realized or even understood my intense need for the Bible until I reached the point of high stress and shear exhaustion I have achieved with Sam.  In our struggles, we begin to understand our need for a relationship with Jesus.  Most of us cry out to Jesus when we hit the bottom.  Even most non-religious people cry out in prayer during their times of need.  Our souls are crying out for relationship with the creator and unfortunately it takes us hitting rock bottom to acknowledge our great need.

I can honestly say that I am thankful for the hardship I have endured to this point simply because of the great need it unveiled in my heart.  Hebrews 12:1-2 say, "Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,  looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God."  This verse identify our need so well.  We need to lay down our sins and the things that distract us.  We are able to endure all suffering by looking to Jesus, "the perfecter of our faith."  We can completely trust in Jesus because we know we are putting our faith in a God who completely understands suffering and endured through it bringing us salavation.  Therefore, we can also endure all thing through our relationship with Jesus.  

I don't know about you but that gives peace.  It gives strength.  It builds faith.  It gives me what I need to not only survive but to find joy in living each day.  I pray each of you are blessed by this passage and I hope you find strength and endurance today!

Blessings,

Greg  

3 Ways to Take Your Thoughts Captive

My little son deep in thought ;)

2 Corinthians 10: 5b says, "take every thought captive to obey Christ."  I listened to a sermon by Matt Chandler today on this verse and it really got me thinking about the thoughts I allow to enter my mind.  In the sermon I listened to, Matt was talking to college students.  He gave an illustration of how none of them would want their thoughts displayed before the whole assembly because they would be shamed by the thoughts they have.  As I thought about this illustration, I realized that he was completely right.  This was both an incredibly humbling and freeing realization.  


It was humbling because I know there are tons of thoughts that go through my head on a daily basis that I would be ashamed about sharing publicly.  It is incredible how little sin thoughts can pepper our day.  Even as we seek to walk in Christ daily, we each still end up with judgments about people, lusts, material dreams, and sinful desires.  Acknowledging that this is true, is so important in beginning to take each one of these thoughts captive.  We are able to take these thoughts captive by instantly surrendering them to Jesus.  As we continue to do this, He works to sanctify our heart and brain freeing us more and more daily from these thoughts.  


It is freeing because it helps us know that we aren't the only one with sinful thoughts.  These sinful thoughts in your head do not mean your unsaved though it is always good to make sure you have a right relationship with Christ.  All Christians suffer from sinful thoughts to some degree.  We have all thought things that would horrify others around us and even horrify ourselves at times.  Each one of these thoughts are remnants of our sinful flesh.  When we became saved in Jesus, we are instantly justified before God and presented as pure but we will spend the rest of our life being sanctified through Christ, which means we are becoming more and more like Christ daily yet are not a perfect image of Christ yet.  This is why Paul had to talk about taking our thoughts captive because we will each still battle with sin, in some form, on a daily basis.  Through this struggle, we grow in Christ and learn better how to surrender and take captive everything with His help daily.


I have found three things that help me best take captive my sinful thoughts daily.  First, I memorize scripture.  Scripture helps us to identify and battle the sinful thoughts in our head.  Also, scripture keeps our head full of what is right and true and gives our brain less room for the sinful thoughts.  Second, I try to communicate with the Lord constantly.  I don't mean that I am on my knees and praying while forsaking all other tasks, though there is a time and place for this type of prayer, but what I do mean is that I am constantly relying on the Lord for my strength and direction each day.  When I am surrendered to Jesus and seeking His will for each day, I find that my heart will be focused on what is right and true.  Lastly, I confess the sins of my heart to my brothers in Christ and my wife.  By confessing the thoughts and sins I am wrestling with, I am able to kill two birds with one stone.  First, by confessing, I free my heart from the shame the devil tries to ensnare me in through my shameful thoughts.  Second, I receive encouragement and prayer from those I confess to, which helps to strengthen me against allowing the thoughts enter my head again.  


If you struggle with sinful thoughts and words racing through your head and heart, I hope these three lessons learned in my own life will help you walk more in the freedom of Christ daily.  I highly encourage you to get a friend or family member you can discuss your struggles with to help you in your battle against sinful thoughts.  I pray that your relationship with Jesus would be strengthened and that your heart and brain would be more surrendered to Christ daily.


Blessings,


Greg

Floating Far from Shore

About a year ago, my wife and I went on a vacation to Florida with my family.  While there, I had a lot of fun body boarding because of exceptionally large waves due to a tropical storm south of where we were.  I decided to buy a quality board while I was there and had dreams of instantly riding the waves at a professional level.  Though I did have fun and even had a few really good rides, ultimately I spent most of my time getting beat up and crushed by the waves.

I ended up in a lot of trouble on the last day we were there.  I had been riding the waves for over an hour and the waves were bigger than I had ever experienced.  I really was worn out and decided to ride one last wave.  In the process of trying to catch the 'last big wave,' I got swept out by a rip tide.  I knew instantly when I could no longer touch the ocean floor, especially since I am 6'4", that I was in trouble! I had no strength left and don't even want to consider what would've happened if I hadn't bought a board that could support my weight.

As I floated up and down on the waves and watched the shore continue to pull away from me, I must admit that I went into a quiet panic.  In my head I knew that I had to do anything I could to get back to a place where I could touch the bottom and make it back to the shore.  In my desperation, I dropped into a wave that was way to large and very dangerous and ultimately ended up getting raked across the bottom and tearing up both my shoulder and face.  I did make it back to the shore but I walked out in broken and in pain.

If I can be honest tonight, I feel like I am back on my board watching the shore pull farther and farther away.  I am doing everything I can to survive and find direction right now.  I am desperate to get back to that place of peace and strength in the Lord.  I would give anything for a week to recuperate, recenter, and recharge both physically, mentally, and spiritually.  Unlike when I threw myself into a wave that broke me, I am hoping that the Lord will throw me a lifesaver and pull me back to center.

Have you ever felt this way?  Have you ever known where you needed to be and yet you felt like everything was against you and that you weren't strong enough to make it on your on?  Well your in good company because I know many brothers and sisters, including myself, who have been and are there.

I write all of this because I have spent the whole day dwelling on how to get back to the shore.  MY heart has been wrestling with what the Lord is asking me to do and what I am willing to do.  Some of these things are so simple and yet our flesh fights so adamantly against us doing them most of the times.  Here are some of the things the Lord has laid on my heart and I hope they will be helpful to you also.  

First, the Lord has convicted my heart of my lack of love for the Bible.  It seems that I put everything else in my life before the Bible.  My heart selfishly desires rest over God, not realizing that true rest is found in God.  I have a million excuses for why I never get to the Bible and yet none of them override my need to firmly place my life within the Bible.

Second, the Lord has been challenging me on my need of mentors in my life.  I have two wonderful brothers in Christ whom I am so thankful for in my life but unfortunately both of them are hours away from me right now.  The Lord has been showing me my need for a man of God from my church to train and challenge me in my walk.  No matter whether you are a man or woman, you need Christian brother and sister's to come beside you and help give you strength and and guidance in Christ.  I would also recommend finding someone close to your age whom you can walk beside with as accountability partners and someone older and stronger in their Christian walk to train and develop you in your own walk.

Third, though I, especially as a new parent, have a great desire for sleep and downtime, I need to be diligent about spending time fellowshipping with the body of Christ at my church.  The church is where you should grow, mature, and center yourself in Christ.  You should be able to find a group of friends to fellowship in Christ with.  You should feel as though your Pastor is pulling you deeper into a walk with Christ through faithful Biblical teaching.  Most important of all, you should find a ministry to actively serve in.  This is because, as Christians, we are to actively serve for Christ.  If all we do is take from the church, then we will the honor of teaching and serving for Christ.

Please pray for me as I struggle to grow closer to Christ through implementing each of these in my life.  Each of us how areas in our life where we can grow in our walk with Jesus.  We will all go through mountain tops and valleys.  I pray that each one of you will grow closer to the Lord in your daily walk.  Know that even if you feel like I do at time, floating far from shore and desperate, the Lord will always be there to pull you to shore.  Just call to Him and know He will be there for you.  I hope this blog will help your heart and walk tonight.

Blessings,

Greg Ivey  

Cool Waters on a Hot Day

Road to Freedom for Proclaiming Christ in Spain

Our partners in ministry and fellow brother and sister in Christ who are already in Spain preparing to minister to the Basque.  Be sure to read the updates on our you caring site as the latest letter is from them.

This past week my coworker and I felled, trailered, and unloaded over 10,000 lbs of wood.  In order to move that type of weight, my coworker and had to move it one manageable piece of wood at a time.  If when I started work on Monday my boss had brought us to a pile of 10,000 lbs of wood and told me to make sure it is gone before the end of the week, I would've thought he was crazy.  I would have felt like he had given me an impossible task.

For years, I have looked at our debt and other hurtles keeping us from being missionaries to Spain and felt like they were impossible to overcome.  Through the past few years the Lord has been showing me His power to overcome and my need to trust Him.  Just like the wood, the Lord has been showing me that with hard work and perseverance my wife and I will overcome the obstacles before us and make it to Spain.  It is amazing the peace you feel when you begin to put your full trust in the Lord.

Many times we live our lives like everything depends on us.  As Christians, we are to trust the Lord for everything.  This does not mean we are to just sit around and wait for God to clear the way for us but it does mean that we are to move in faith that the Lord is walking before us leading, preparing, and clearing the way He wants us to go in this life.  The main theme of the Bible is that God wants us to put our complete faith and trust in Him.  The Israelites accomplished nothing on their own.  All of their great achievements were through the power of God.  In the New Testament, we see that Jesus chose to come down, live a sinless life, die, and rise again so that anyone who believes in Jesus might have salvation.  Our salvation, is completely dependent on what Jesus did for us because we were unable to save ourselves.  An authentic Christian walk requires each person to fully surrender their heart and life to God.

When we fully understand our need to put all our trust and faith in Jesus Christ, we are able to understand Paul's statement in Philippians 4:13 saying, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."  It has been so incredible to experience the peace I have had throughout this pregnancy process.  I have complete faith that the Lord is in full control of the formation and safety of my baby boy.  Even when my wife and I have faced scares, I have found complete peace in Jesus and His power to protect my little boy.  Through this process, my faith has grown and I have come to the place where I too can trust the Lord to overcome my perceived huge obstacles to leaving for Spain too.

I am now no longer worried about the difficulties ahead because God has called us to Spain and He is capable to meet and exceed all our needs to leave for Spain.  So I am excited to watch the Lord move as my wife and I seek to boldly pursue international missions for Spain.  He has already been moving through the prayer, encouragement, and unexpected blessings.  We have raised $510 on the you caring fundraiser and it felt so good to be able to apply that money to our student loans, knowing that the Lord is going to continue to do even greater things!


Are there any roadblocks in your life keeping you from doing what God has called you to?  Are you using the excuse of money, time, family, comfort zone, or giftings as reasons why you couldn't possibly do what God is calling you to do?  Friends I pray that you will lay down all these worries, obstacles, and doubts at the feet of the Lord and trust Him to provide you with the ability to do what He has called you to do.  Matthew 6:31-33 says, "Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’  For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.  But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."  There are so many verses on faithfulness and the trustworthiness of God my friend.  Check out Open Bible and just write one of these words and see all the verses linked to it.  It is such a great resource when you want to look up topical applications in the Bible.


Friends, we are going to Spain.  I don't know if it will be in a year or in five or more years.  All I do know is that the Lord has called us to minister to the Basque people with my best friend and his wife.  I know that the Lord will be faithful to clear all obstacles in our way if we remain faithful and boldly trust Him.  I know that the Lord is laying on some of your hearts to help us to be able to make it to Spain and possibly even support us monthly while ministering in Spain.  I pray that you would seek His guidance for what He would lead you to do in reference to our calling.  I thank you each so much for your prayers.  We have created a fundraiser through youcaring.com to help us overcome the first obstacle in our way, which is our student loans.  I hope you will check out our fundraiser at Road to Freedom for Proclaiming Christ.  If you can help us, great!  If you know someone else you believe would be willing to help us, please share the link with them.  If all you can do is pray with us as we trust God, wonderful!  Thank you so much for your support through this blog and your prayers.


Blessings,


Greg

To Capture for Christ

I don't know about you but I struggle with keeping my mind fully on Christ.  Every single day is a battle between doing what is right and true and living as the world lives.  My life is a constant battle between wanting to have a deeper relationship with Jesus and wanting to have a place in this world.  There are many times I struggle with living in this world yet not being of this world.  This is especially true when I am in constant contact with non or complacent Christians.  Sometimes my life verse is Romans 7:19 saying, "For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing."

I do not seem to struggle at all when I can be alone or with Christians who encourage me in my walk.  In my time alone, I often am listening to Christian music, sermon podcasts of many preachers whom I respect, or Christian scholar lectures.  I'm sure at this point most of your are saying I need to get a life but the constant influx of scriptures, interpretations of scriptures, and soul affirming music help to keep me centered in Christ.  I constantly crave these times of learning and worshipping Christ.  My soul needs it.  My soul needs Him.


The deepest passion of my heart is to follow Christ in every single aspect of my life.  I want my life to mirror what Peter is talking about in 1 Peter 1:13-16 saying, "Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.  As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance,  but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct,  since it is written,'You shall be holy, for I am holy.'"  When I spend most of my day immersed in Christ, I find that I can do fairly well of living this passage.  


The reality is that most of us are unable to live our lives constantly immersed in scriptural teaching, music, and prayer.  So how do we live for Jesus in those times where we are interacting directly with the world?  Paul says in Romans 12:2, "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect."  When we trust the Holy Spirit to lead our lives, we will notice that He is constantly working to renew our minds.  This verse does not imply that this will be an instant process though because the second part of the verse says you will go through testing to help you discern God perfect will for you.  


Philippians 4:8 helps us better understand what a renewed mind should look like saying, "brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things."  In the process of striving to live Philippians 4:8, we also have to live 2 Corinthians 10:5b saying, "take every thought captive to obey Christ."  By learning to live fully in both of these verses, we begin to take strength when we are surrounded by the world.  


Though I still struggle greatly with living in these powerful verses daily, I can see the Lord continually drawing me closer to Him.  All of these verses ultimately point us to the idea presented in Philippians 4:13, "I can do all things through him who strengthens me."  Philippians 4:13 is the answer to finding complete contentment no matter what situation you find yourself in.  Each day I wake up, I strive to live this contentment in Christ.  Some days are better than others but as I continue to rely on Him, I know He will be faithful to draw me into a closer and more consistent daily walk for Him.


I hope these scriptures will help you to battle waywardness in your daily Christian walk.  I pray that you will memorize and tuck these verses deep in your heart as ammunition against the devil when he tries to pull you into the world's ways.  Take heart Christian for Jesus has overcome the world!  In Jesus you to can walk in strength and boldness daily.  


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.

You Caring

  

O Captain! My Captain!

This life is full of dichotomies.  Life and death. Light and darkness.  Good and evil.  Love and hate. Faith and doubt.  God has been moving in my life in more powerful ways than I have ever known could be true yet at the same time my wife is struggling with doubts commonly faced this past month.  I am humbled by both.  I am humbled by the shear amazingness of God.  I am also humbled at the lack of Christian leadership I have lived in my own home.  The Lord has taught me more about His power, His sovereignty and the necessity of me leading for Him in my home this past month than at any other point in my life.

This month has brought times of great joy, great struggles, great dependence, great wonder, and great submission.  The Lord has exploded my heart with His love and power.  He has given me the ability to explain His love in ways I never knew I could.  He has given me the boldness to share His gospel in ways I never have.  And He has put me in points of counsel I could have never imagined being available to me.

My heart has gained a deep peace in my Lord.  He has so profoundly shown me how He is constantly moving around me that my heart can do nothing but cry out in joy at His grace and love.  I have desired to know Him like this all my life and yet I have been the greatest obstacle to realizing this in my life.  Through everything He has been teaching me, surrender has been the most profound lesson.  He will not move in or through me until I fully surrender to Him.  He has also shown me that I must move first and through my steps of obedience He will move ahead of me.

Many of you have read my wife's blog in the past few days.  From the conversations I have had with others, I have found that it is likely that most of you can relate to the testimony she gave.  No matter how high we have been on the mountain top, we will always experience trials, temptations, struggles, and valleys.  The difference from a shallow relationship with God and a walk birthed from true heart understanding of God is that you can still have true peace and assurance no matter how deep the valley you walk through is when God has touched you at the depths of your soul.  Psalm 23 resounds as complete truth and becomes the anthem of your trust in the great Shepherd when you truly know Him.

I have been so blessed to see the Lord use me to teach and minister to my wife.  I am so thankful for the strength and certainty God has given me during her time of doubts.  God is so gracious to provide strength when He knows another will be weak.  I am so grateful that she is beginning to fight against her doubts and is now coming to a place of submission and peace under Jesus.  My wife and I have so much to learn and the Lord has so much more to teach us.  During our process of considering a calling to the mission field, I hope each of you will pray for us to know the full calling of Jesus on our lives.

I hope that you will come to know a soul changing relationship with God.  I pray that He will move in your life in ways you never truly imagined or even asked Him to.  I pray you come to a place of such surrender to the Lord that your every step is fully relying and trusting in Him.  I pray that your walk will no longer be about what you have been taught or strived to reach but rather a genuine deep, passionate, love relationship with Jesus the bridegroom of our souls.

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.

You Caring

In times of Worry

Have you ever felt like life was speeding by at 1000 mph?  It truly feels like this past eight months has disappeared in a flash.  I can't believe that my son will be here soon.  I honestly do not feel ready, not from a daddy stand point as much but more from a money, organizational, and energy standpoint. In the  past month I have been working overtime to try and earn extra money for the upcoming delivery.  Each night I come home completely spent and there is still so much that needs to be done at home.  We still have not finished the baby room, our house could use a hefty amount of spring cleaning, and my vegetable garden is filled with weeds instead of veggies.

I know everyone keeps reminding me that I don't know what tired is yet but honestly I have to say I have found these comments less than encouraging.  I am looking forward to the arrival of our son and I am looking forward to carrying the mantle of fatherhood.  I truly want to be able to enjoy each precious minute of this time.  I want to be able to drink in the moments of joy that are happening daily.  I want to reveling in the miracle that is taking place in my wife's belly. Honestly though each time I hear, "just wait if you think your tired now," it in no way bring me joy about the coming of our little boy.

Truly though all I can think about each evening is that I am tired.  My body is in constant pain because of the struggles I have with my back, wrist, and tailbone.  Though I sleep at least 8 hours a night, I still wake up tired and in a fog.  I feel like my weekends are over in a flash with minimal amounts of restoration to be had.  To be honest I am struggling.

I am so afraid that I am going to miss out on the precious points of this pregnancy, our baby boy, and life in general because of these struggles.  Though I know it doesn't completely compare, I think about all the times I told my dog no to playing fetch because I was to tired, hurting, or busted wanted time to myself.  I hope that I won't do that with my son.  I truly want to be the best father I can be.  I want to love on him, be there for him, be strong for him, and lead him well but there are times when I wonder if I will or can.

These past few months have been full of me worrying about the future.  Worrying about money.  Worrying about jobs.  Worrying about our boy.  Worrying about church.  Worrying about daycare.  Worrying about our call to missions.  Worrying, worrying, worrying about so many things!  


Proverbs 16:9 say, "The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps."  Matthew 6:34 say, "Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble."  Psalm 31:15 says, "My times are in your hand; rescue me from the hand of my enemies and from my persecutors!"  Jeremiah 29:11 says, "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope."  Through these verses and many more, I am finding peace.  When I spend all my time worrying and fretting about how my life will turn out, how good a father I will be, how everything will get taken care of, I am only focusing purely on me.  When I take the time to saturate my heart in these wonderful verses, I begin focusing on God.  


I was listening to a sermon today while mowing at my job.  One of the verses profoundly touched me saying, "He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man's heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. Ecclesiastes 3:11"  It is not for me to know my beginning or end but to trust God daily to guide me.  I want to fill these longings in my heart with security, money, time, health, and so much more when the only one who can truly satisfy every longing of my heart is God.  In completely relying on Him and leaning on Him, I can find peace and strength for both today and tomorrow.  Through Him, I can conquer all things because He will help me be content in all things and guide me in right paths no matter what struggles I face.


I hope you will put your complete faith in the Lord tonight.  I don't know what struggles you have or what things have been keeping you up all night in worry but I do know that my Lord is faithful to come and bring peace that passes all understanding into your life if you will trust Him.  He truly has prepared our ways and His plans are plans of hope and goodness for us.  If you are in the Lord, you can always trust He will be there for you and provide you everything you need to make it through your struggle.  Though at times I let the worries overwhelm me, I always have His Word to realign, restore, and remind me of His love and truth.


Lord,


In my time of worries and darkness, please shine your guiding light upon me.  I pray that I would always escape into the light of your Word.  Amen 

Blessings,


Greg

Psalm 1

   

Psalm 1  

Blessed is the man
    who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
    nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
 but his delight is in the law of the Lord,
    and on his law he meditates day and night.

 He is like a tree
    planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
    and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers.
 The wicked are not so,
    but are like chaff that the wind drives away.

 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
    nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
 for the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
    but the way of the wicked will perish.

This morning I spent time in Psalm 1.  As I read the passage, I asked myself if I live as a tree planted by streams of water?  Do I live in joy each day trusting the Lord no matter what I face?  Do I consistently live for Christ each day even when I face challenges, trials, and struggles?  Sometimes I feel like the chaff that the wind drives away.  I am so thankful for the grace of Jesus.  He always hears me when I cry out to Him in my moments of struggle.  He, through the Spirit, always provides me everything I need.  

The Lord also spoke to my heart for the part where sinners will not be able to stand in the congregation of the righteous.  Do I live in a way that challenges the sinners and lost around me?  Do I spend time with people who will challenge me when I sin?  We are not to live in a way that judges and condemns everyone around us and yet the righteousness of our lives through Christ should convict the hearts of those around us who do not know Jesus or have strayed far from Him.  

How do you live your life?  Are you the man or woman who walks in righteousness or wickedness?  As you go through your day this week, please keep the truth of this Psalm in your heart.  When you feel challenged by your day, put your trust and faith in the Lord and trust Him to sustain you no matter what you face.    

Jesus,

I pray that I would live my life meditating in the scripture.  May my life be as a tree planted by streams of water.  May I stand firm no matter what trials or struggles come.  May I be faithful.  May I be so bold in Christ that He may convict the hearts of the lost and sinning through me.  Amen

Blessings,

Greg   

Know Truth and Turn to Jesus

This week I have been listening to podcasts by prominent men of Christianity.  I have listened to sermons of John Calvin, Jonathan Edwards, and C. H. Spurgeon.  I have been deeply touched by the wisdom and insight these men had.  I also have been astonished by their ability to speak the truth of the gospel directly and simply.  I have to say that I am quite amazed at how none of their sermons feel old.  Their sermons are just as applicable today as they were then.  I used to believe that we as Christians have it harder than any other generation.  Now I am no longer sure.

Do we have different temptations and struggles than what these men had.  I would say yes and no.  The direct issues we deal with are different and yet the underlying problems seem to be the same.  Today, we deal with homosexuality and the bible, republican vs. democrat theology, and relative truth.  Back then they dealt with Catholicism vs. Protestantism, false vs. real salvation, and biblical truth vs. religious apathy.  If you really think about it these issues are not much different from each other.  The underlying problem for each of these issues is humanity vs. God, absolute truth vs. relative truth, and the teachings of Jesus vs. every other religion and belief system in the world.

Nothing has changed...  Ephesians 6:12 is just as true today as it was in the time of these prominent men and the time of Jesus saying, " For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places."  For those of you who are struggling with this, the fact is that absolute truth does exist and the Bible contains it.  Take the time to read Matthew 24 and see what you think.  I'm guessing you will be able to see how the things Jesus talks about are present today.

Folks we are living in a world at war and the prize is your soul.  You can choose to put your full faith and belief in the historical Jesus and Savior of the world or choose to die and sink into the depths of hell.  These are your two choices.  Death provides a one way ticket and, like an elevator, will only be going up or down.  You might want to read Revelation 12 to begin to get a better picture of what is happening in this world.  It also will help you understand why it is not going to get better till Jesus comes.  The devil is the great deceiver and is out to take as many as he can with him into the lake of fire.

For those of you who believe in Jesus or say you do, I leave you with this thought.  Revelation 12:17 says, "Then the dragon became furious with the woman and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus. And he stood on the sand of the sea."  Though this verse reads like the great beginning to a fantasy novel, it speaks a direct warning to all who are followers of Jesus.  Unlike the message of wealth, health, and prosperity preached by Joel Osteen, the true followers of Jesus can expect to be pursued and attacked by the devil. This may not always present itself as physical or monetary tragedies but I can guarantee that you will face trials, temptations, and attacks against your faith.


Believing in Jesus Christ is to effectively put on armor and go to war.  If you choose to join this battle without putting on armor, don't be surprised when you are wounded.  If you decide to follow Jesus in the shadows or proclaim to follow Jesus without a change in the heart, don't be surprised when you meet Him one day and He say, "I never knew you.  Depart from me."  Becoming a Christian truly is as easy as just turning your eyes to Jesus but by truly turning your eyes to Jesus your heart will begin to change and you will become a new person in Him.  Reading my blog titled Faith or Works may help you to better understand what I am talking about here.  


I know that some of the words and truths in this blog seem harsh but honestly I would rather you be a temporarily offended and truly gain salvation through Jesus Christ than to walk on egg shells, never proclaiming the truth of the gospel to you, and have you go to hell.  Nothing written in this blog or in the Bible is written in hate, judgment, or malice.  All of it is intended to reveal the truth of the sin in your life and your inability to save yourself.  By understanding your need, you can understand what Christ did and choose to give your life to Him.


For those who already are saved, I hope you will take the time to share the gospel with others.  Over two-thirds of our world do not have a relationship with Jesus.  As true followers of Christ, we should want to do everything possible to reach the lost with the gospel.  I leave you with Romans 10:14-15 in the hopes that you will be inspired to share the gospel with those around you.  Paul says, "How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?  And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written,'How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!'"


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