Ok guys, I'm posing a suggestion to you guys, and please be honest. A couple days ago I decided I was going to walk up to Target to pick up some of my medications...you know, rather than take the bus or bike or...whatever. Anyway, I was walking over the I-205 overpass at dusk and I thought to myself, "this would be a fantastic place for a video blog."
So, I'm putting it up to you guys, what do you think? To those of you guys who enjoy reading what I write here, would you enjoy a video just as much?
PLEASE, PLEASE comment your answers!!! Thanks!
Thursday, March 21, 2013
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
An Old Message.
Hey guys, I know it's been awhile since I've written anything, and I'm deeply sorry to those who follow avidly. I've been fairly busy at school this semester and have had little time to sit down and write. Today I would like to talk about a message I'm sure I've mentioned before, however, it is one that is nevertheless important to remember: we must think outside of the box.
As Christians, we often find ourselves content in daily ritual. Wake up, go to school/work, come home, eat, sleep, repeat. On weekends we "mix it up" by attending church. Is this good though? Yes, getting plugged into a church is very good. By plugging into a church we are able to build ourselves up as Christians by feeding into a family of Christ, essentially extending our family in God. We build relationships under Gods roof and allow ourselves Gods grace through people. This being said, should we allow ourselves to sit idly in ritualistic living?
Should we allow ourselves to become content in our daily lives? I think not. Don't get me wrong, I love the norm as much as the next guy, but are we called to be content? In the gospel, Jesus gives us a commission, a great commission to go out into the world and make disciples in his name; does that sound like a command to stay within the box? Jesus prevailed in obliterating the norms in which his twelve disciples lived by simply asking them to follow. Everything they thought possible was turned upside-down by Jesus as he taught them the message of God.
We are called to emulate Jesus through our actions, I am here to say that I don't think this should be restricted to extending mercy to others. I'm not telling you to stop extending grace as Jesus did, only to think farther outside of the box. God does not work within our realm of understanding, so why should we continue to think within a box that attempts to limit our God? Be imaginative. Be spontaneous in the Lord. Follow God wherever He may take you, even if you don't think you ought to go to said place. As I previously said, God does not work within our understanding, so how can we continue to believe that we are more right than He? How can we possibly know the outcome when we can't even understand the creator?
Men and women, boys and girls, I tell you now as Jesus told his disciples over two thousand years ago, go into the world and make disciples. Go into the world and follow God, follow His word, for only then will you feel pure, uninterrupted joy. Be creative, imagine the unimaginable, FOLLOW GOD ANYWHERE! GO!
As Christians, we often find ourselves content in daily ritual. Wake up, go to school/work, come home, eat, sleep, repeat. On weekends we "mix it up" by attending church. Is this good though? Yes, getting plugged into a church is very good. By plugging into a church we are able to build ourselves up as Christians by feeding into a family of Christ, essentially extending our family in God. We build relationships under Gods roof and allow ourselves Gods grace through people. This being said, should we allow ourselves to sit idly in ritualistic living?
Should we allow ourselves to become content in our daily lives? I think not. Don't get me wrong, I love the norm as much as the next guy, but are we called to be content? In the gospel, Jesus gives us a commission, a great commission to go out into the world and make disciples in his name; does that sound like a command to stay within the box? Jesus prevailed in obliterating the norms in which his twelve disciples lived by simply asking them to follow. Everything they thought possible was turned upside-down by Jesus as he taught them the message of God.
We are called to emulate Jesus through our actions, I am here to say that I don't think this should be restricted to extending mercy to others. I'm not telling you to stop extending grace as Jesus did, only to think farther outside of the box. God does not work within our realm of understanding, so why should we continue to think within a box that attempts to limit our God? Be imaginative. Be spontaneous in the Lord. Follow God wherever He may take you, even if you don't think you ought to go to said place. As I previously said, God does not work within our understanding, so how can we continue to believe that we are more right than He? How can we possibly know the outcome when we can't even understand the creator?
Men and women, boys and girls, I tell you now as Jesus told his disciples over two thousand years ago, go into the world and make disciples. Go into the world and follow God, follow His word, for only then will you feel pure, uninterrupted joy. Be creative, imagine the unimaginable, FOLLOW GOD ANYWHERE! GO!
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Lion Sightings: bringing the gospel to the people of Portland.
Our Mission:
The church is simply a gathering of two or more people in the name of God. Our hope is to build a roaming church of Portlanders who strive to worship God in joyful exuberance. Our desire is not to take from those churches already established in Portland, but rather to bring the church to the people. We wish naught but to show the loving joy of Christ through music and words.
Christ didn't just call us, he commissioned us to go out into the world and make disciples in His holy name. That is our ultimate goal. We hope to excite the name of God in people and feed them the word of the Lord as He feeds us.
Our prayer is for God to flow through our music. We pray that people feel the ultimate heart of worship and that that sparks a fire within them that drives a curiosity to find Christ. Worship is not something to be experienced by only those who find the church, but should also be heard and felt by those to maybe do not know Christ. Our heart is to let the heart behind worship be seen upon our shoulders as we lay down our follies and worries to the Savior and share His heart with the people of Portland.
The church is simply a gathering of two or more people in the name of God. Our hope is to build a roaming church of Portlanders who strive to worship God in joyful exuberance. Our desire is not to take from those churches already established in Portland, but rather to bring the church to the people. We wish naught but to show the loving joy of Christ through music and words.
Christ didn't just call us, he commissioned us to go out into the world and make disciples in His holy name. That is our ultimate goal. We hope to excite the name of God in people and feed them the word of the Lord as He feeds us.
Our prayer is for God to flow through our music. We pray that people feel the ultimate heart of worship and that that sparks a fire within them that drives a curiosity to find Christ. Worship is not something to be experienced by only those who find the church, but should also be heard and felt by those to maybe do not know Christ. Our heart is to let the heart behind worship be seen upon our shoulders as we lay down our follies and worries to the Savior and share His heart with the people of Portland.
The heart behind Lion Sightings is to literally bring the church to the people rather than relying on the people to go to the church. The primary medium of Lion Sightings mission will be music, but we also need help with prayer and general evangelism ministry. It's a simple idea with large ramifications. The idea is for a group of musicians and a prayer group to go into downtown Portland and "stir things up" by (hopefully) bringing about a curiosity in people to know who Christ is and eventually bring lives to him.
We hope to stir a God driven revival in Portland through this and simply get people interested in who Jesus was and is. This broken city needs the love of Christ and that is all we hope to show them.
We hope to stir a God driven revival in Portland through this and simply get people interested in who Jesus was and is. This broken city needs the love of Christ and that is all we hope to show them.
THANKS GUYS!
Monday, February 4, 2013
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
My Zombie Apocalypse.
As I awoke today, I found first that my desk lamp wouldn't turn on. My only thought was that maybe the bulb simply burnt out and that I should replace it. I still wanted light in my room however, so I moved over to the room lights to turn them on. Upon flicking the switches I found that the lights would not turn on. That is when I noticed that I could not see the hallway lights beneath my door as per usual. I opened the door. What confronted me was the velvet darkness of the hallway and the power outage I had yet to find out about.
I had only one thought in my angst before returning to a normal mind, "CRAP! The zombie apocalypse happened and no one woke me up!!! Frick..."
I had only one thought in my angst before returning to a normal mind, "CRAP! The zombie apocalypse happened and no one woke me up!!! Frick..."
Friday, January 4, 2013
My 2012!
Hey guys!
Sorry this is a bit late, but I just wanted to thank you all for the great year I've had personally and for making this blog a success! Thank you all and may Christ be with you!
P.S. This just a little, cheesy video I made to sum up the year. I hope you like it!
I've Crossed the Danger Line.
For those of you who don't know, I'm a musician and for about a year now I've been writing music. While writing lyrics lately I've noticed an ongoing theme: the lies and lust of the world; how nothing here is real. When I realized this theme--being used to simply writing down lines as they come to me-- it troubled me, why would I be writing about such a depressing theme?
These thoughts plagued me for awhile until I realized that I've been missing something--or should I say someone--else for awhile as well. You see, I've been home on break from school, and in my time here I've been for the most part alone aside from my grandma and brother. I've been away from the God filled atmosphere that has become my home at Multnomah, left to fend for my own, in a matter of speaking.
Now, don't get me wrong, I am not saying that my home is not a God filled environment, or that God is somehow less present here than at school. What I'm saying is that over the last few months I've gotten used to being in a place where God is mentioned in nearly every conversation, a place where the purpose is to live and learn in a God driven environment. So, coming home I've been forced to rely on my own troubled devices to stay with God, no longer being told by teachers to read my bible.
Before God I was a distraught creation, always fighting with people, and getting into things I shouldn't. Though, when I found God these things either lessened or went away completely. As my relationship has grown with Christ, I've required more and more of Him to go on day by day. Needless to say, I've become to reliant on others to continue my growth in Christ; I've crossed the danger line.
This is an area you never want to enter. Yes, if you are being mentored or discipled by someone, some reliance is to be expected, but it should never interrupt your life with Jesus away from that person. WARNING! This is not an article telling you to become self-reliant in your spiritual growth! This is, however, a post telling you to become reliant on the Savior for your growth. Christ wants to stay near you, and He will run the worlds length to catch you before you fall. You know what this takes, right? Prayer. No matter the circumstance, if you pray, God will answer for He answers all prayers. If you keep contact with Christ, you will feel a passion within you grow white hot until you can't survive unless you drink in His holy word.
So, if you leave here with anything, please leave with this: Jesus loves you more than all worldly objects. His love for you is unending and unknowable. He will sprint, full-tilt all 24,901 miles (or 40,075 km if you're reading outside of the US) just to catch you before you fall. All you have to do is pray and He'll be by your side.
These thoughts plagued me for awhile until I realized that I've been missing something--or should I say someone--else for awhile as well. You see, I've been home on break from school, and in my time here I've been for the most part alone aside from my grandma and brother. I've been away from the God filled atmosphere that has become my home at Multnomah, left to fend for my own, in a matter of speaking.
Now, don't get me wrong, I am not saying that my home is not a God filled environment, or that God is somehow less present here than at school. What I'm saying is that over the last few months I've gotten used to being in a place where God is mentioned in nearly every conversation, a place where the purpose is to live and learn in a God driven environment. So, coming home I've been forced to rely on my own troubled devices to stay with God, no longer being told by teachers to read my bible.
Before God I was a distraught creation, always fighting with people, and getting into things I shouldn't. Though, when I found God these things either lessened or went away completely. As my relationship has grown with Christ, I've required more and more of Him to go on day by day. Needless to say, I've become to reliant on others to continue my growth in Christ; I've crossed the danger line.
This is an area you never want to enter. Yes, if you are being mentored or discipled by someone, some reliance is to be expected, but it should never interrupt your life with Jesus away from that person. WARNING! This is not an article telling you to become self-reliant in your spiritual growth! This is, however, a post telling you to become reliant on the Savior for your growth. Christ wants to stay near you, and He will run the worlds length to catch you before you fall. You know what this takes, right? Prayer. No matter the circumstance, if you pray, God will answer for He answers all prayers. If you keep contact with Christ, you will feel a passion within you grow white hot until you can't survive unless you drink in His holy word.
So, if you leave here with anything, please leave with this: Jesus loves you more than all worldly objects. His love for you is unending and unknowable. He will sprint, full-tilt all 24,901 miles (or 40,075 km if you're reading outside of the US) just to catch you before you fall. All you have to do is pray and He'll be by your side.
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