Change…Part 1

Part 1 of 2

Who loves change?

I must say, I certainly do…without change I would go crazy.

If I didn’t have the promise of school starting at the end of August, Summer coming the following year, or Spring showing creation that there is in fact still life after a long winter, I wouldn’t want to be here!

But couldn’t the seasons in themselves be a routine? Spring comes after winter, summer after spring, fall after that, and then start all over again…so if it isn’t the seasons what keeps the change coming?

Maybe it is the change in the attitude people have towards life? Well not to be pessimistic but unless something or someone changes a person they usually don’t change by themselves. So what is it?

I think there is only one real answer. The Bible says that, “God is the same yesterday, today, and forever”…He never changes, but what if He started out as always bringing new things? “Behold I make all things new” Jesus says this in Revelation. I know, I know, He is speaking about the new heaven and new earth, but seriously Jesus changed everything when He came to earth.

I can only come to the conclusion that He makes all things new in our daily lives!

I believe this is why deep down every man or woman loves change. They were never meant to get stuck in a routine, living out life doing the same thing, day in and day out. Every person has a secret thrill they want to have before they kick the bucket. They seek these out, because they long for something outside the daily rituals they are dissolved into, they are sick of the sealed envelope of life sending them off with a blank letter inside, they want meaning.

They look to sex, drugs, alcohol to find thrills. They go on safaris, bungee jump, skydive, etc. any thrill they can think of to escape the fact that their life has been deemed…gasp…boring…gasp! They don’t even know that they will never find meaning, not will they ever fill the envelope with something worth reading till they find a writer and some ink.

So the writer is God…but who, what, or where is the ink?

You Need An Attitude Adjustment!

You have an attitude!

When you jump up and down ’cause it is your birthday, or when you cry ’cause you didn’t get your way, or when you simply lay in bed and listen to the latest Owl City CD. You laugh, cry, yell, and cringe. You always have an attitude. We all do!

My biggest problem is when someone tells me I am wrong I get really ticked. I sometimes yell and get angry, or I just simply shut off. I find that the first is sadly more usual than the second. I tend to hurt people more than I want to, I say something offensive and then I find myself apologizing soon after.

I don’t defend these attitudes at all. I actually am repulsed by them. I wish that the world was just sunshine and rainbows all the time. I wish the world had no injustice, sad tears, anger, or fear. But sadly these are reality. So what is the solution?

Well, simply put it’s Jesus!

He is the answer. We all have days or even minutes we wish we could take back. But we can’t. We have to keep looking forward. But how do we make sure the same thing doesn’t happen again? Again it’s simple, we have to place Jesus back into our heads. We go to Church and Youth Group and we fake our way through the services. We act like we love God and put Him above all else. But when we get through the weekend and monday comes around we forget all the promises we make to Him on Sunday. It’s almost as if we never spoke them at all.

We need to get Jesus back into our heads throughout the week!

Our attitudes are powerful. They can change the atmosphere of an entire room within seconds. We are never free of them. We have tried to control them throughout our lives but have failed miserably. Usually when we fail we succeed in hurting someone close to us. We try to stay happy all day when inside we are actually angry. One day, we let out our anger on someone that is close to us and they get hurt.

We need to get the mindset that only Jesus can help us change our attitudes.

Realize that I didn’t say help us control our attitudes! I said change our attitudes. Jesus doesn’t want us to mask ourselves and be fake around people. He wants us to show who really are but he want that to be changed person through Him.

So what do you say? Is it time to stop being fake and let Jesus change everything inside you including you attitudes?

Pride: True or False

Why are you prideful? Are you prideful? Am I just swinging a bat missing completely?

What if I said that some prideful people were just covering up their low self-esteem. Some of you may say it’s foolishness to say such a thing. Prideful people are proud of themselves, they are completely self-absorbed. Some of you may say I’m nuts but bear with me for a second. I am known to be a touch on the prideful side, okay, quite a bit on the prideful side.

Let’s take a ride into the past. Shall we? About a two years ago I was one of those people who thought they weren’t good enough. I would lay in bed at night thinking that I had come up short in various areas. To keep people thinking I was okay I put on a face to show people I thought highly of myself, sometimes too highly. While people thought I had it together, in my mind I thought I was a wreck.

I then went to Dibor, which is a leadership school that teaches you how to be an all out man or woman of God, a warrior for Christ. While in Dibor I was challenged to believe what the Word of God says I am. The word of God says I am victorious, I am a Prince, and I am an Heir to the Throne. How can I believe these things and still think that I am not good enough? God began changing my DNA and how I think about myself.

Now I error on the side of being to prideful in a real sense. The sense that I think I am better than everyone else. I think that my Scottish roots play a part in that. Now it is a daily thing for God to suppress me and to show himself through me. Isn’t it funny how that happens? We get out of one thing just to fall into another.

As people we put so much stock into what other people think of us that we often miss the real opinion we should care about, that is Jesus. I cared so much that other people would see me as strong that I would put up a false bravado. I now care very little about what people think about me in comparison of what God thinks about me.

How about you? Are you truly overly prideful? Or are you just setting up a false bravado?

Screen Generation.

Seven years ago Facebook changed the way we interact with one another. Six years ago YouTube began to transform the way we view the world. Eight years ago Google started a new way to find what you want to know. Four years ago the iPhone changed the way we use our cellphones.

Today in America we rely on technology.

Whether we are riding in our cars listening to Facebook updates in our new Chevy, or in our home watching some idiot hit himself on YouTube, or even sitting in the bathroom texting our best friend about plans for the day. We can’t live without it.

This is not a bad thing. from Franklin with electricity, to Edison with the lightbulb, or Bell with the telephone. Men all through history have constantly been finding things to improve or discover.

Why should we expect different from this generation?

Some religious people actually believe that the advancement of ourselves is a bad thing, for an extreme example, the Amish. They have actually cut themselves off from technology as a whole. They hold to the fact that the Bible states that. “We as Christians should be in the world but not of it.”

On the other side however there are men like Bill Gates the founder of Microsoft and Steve Jobs the CEO of Apple, that state that without these advancements we would never improve as a society.

There are however people in the middle like Lauren King a mother of three who says that there is such thing as being over reliant on technology. We need to control ourselves and our time. She thinks that it is bad when one of her kids doesn’t know how to read a map because the GPS in her car always tells them where to go.

I tend to side with Lauren. We need to watch how much we use technology. We need to step away from relying on technology and instead, use it as a tool of self betterment.

In our world today kids have killed themselves or other people over video games. We have become a society that is absorbed in technology and letting it rule us, instead of using it, as an aid to furthering ourselves. We must evaluate ourselves and see if we are addicted to the technology, or if we still have control over our usage. If we are addicted, we need to have enough strength to step back and take time off from such things as; Facebook, Google, YouTube, and even *gasp* the  iPhone.

When we decide that we have had enough, that we are not held down by this technology, maybe God can start showing us how to use it to better our society for Him. We are so self-absorbed by what we want and need, instead of what He wants, hence the names; FACEbook, MYspace, YOUtube, and iPhone. We can’t even bear the thought of actually being without these things even for a moment.

When will we start crying out for a change? Not be a generation of screen watchers but be a generation on fire for what is right and moral in God’s eyes. To not care so much about what your friends are saying on Facebook or the newest app on your iPhone. But care more about what the Word of God says and how it applies to your life.

It is time for this generation to shout a battle cry! For us to actually live up to the name of World Shakers.

When will we divert your attention from a computer screen to the real live person who is going to die without you telling them the truth about Jesus? When will we start using the  technology around us to further His truth and love?

Hope

“When was the last time you felt at the end of your rope? I haven’t blogged in a while. This isn’t because I forgot or anything, it’s because I didn’t want to blog. I felt that my words weren’t worth anything. I was going through a time where I felt that I wasn’t making an impact on anyone’s life. I started drawing further into myself. I secluded my soul and felt demoralized. I had little if any motivation.

During the summer I made my schedule as busy as I could so that I didn’t have to face myself. I upped my work hours by 100% and tried to make plans to be out with friends almost every day.

I tried reading my bible but got nothing out of it.

I tried worshiping but found I had no will to sing.

When youth group started up in September Pastor Christopher spoke a message entitled Praying Like Lions. He spoke about how we pray like pansies. We don’t chase after or stalk our prey, instead we are lazy and half-hearted. He spoke how sometimes all we need to do is pray harder to get that last push.

After hearing that message I decided it was time to pray. Some may think that to pray is elementary and I agree. I should have thought to pray way before anything else. I cried out to God and although I don’t think that yelling is the only way to pray (God himself spoke to Elijah in a still small voice in a soft wind), it worked for me. God started to change my thoughts. In that moment he gave me a heart for what was right and a heart for people who I couldn’t ignore.

During the weeks following that message there were plenty of hardships. As I pressed into God the enemy pressed into making me stumble.

At first he tried lust, which I must admit worked plenty of times in the past; this time however it failed. He even tried drinking and drugs which to me is easy to decline.

In the beginning of September I started talking to an amazing young woman. She quickly became my best friend, and we talked all the time. I had told her everything I was going through and she constantly encouraged me to dive deeper into God.

Our friendship was just that; a friendship. There was no want for anything deeper on either side. We shared a lot in common, including much of our personalities.”

Sadly, our friendship was cut short when Danielle Westlake passed away in a car accident on 11-18-2010.

I don’t the devil any credit for taking Danielle away he didn’t have the power to do that. I also don’t blame God for it, he is far to loving for that. The only thing I can blame is our sinful nature. We brought sin into a perfect world, that caused imperfection. That is why bad things happen to great people.

But that is a different subject altogether.

The enemy took this opportunity to push me into depression. He started saying that I should have saved her, that I could have been in the car and helped her if I cared more. The worst part is that I believed him. I started on a downhill slide I couldn’t get off. I started blaming myself for not being with her, for not making sure she didn’t drive.

Months have gone by since that beautiful friend left us. But I think of her everyday.

It wasn’t until last week I decided to take an hour and give it to God in worship. I had a 2 hour break between classes, so why not?

I went into my awesome church sanctuary and blared the worship music to the point that I couldn’t hear my own voice. Jason Upton was on shuffle and on came the song Fly. (For those of you who have never heard the story behind Fly I encourage you to watch this video.) Angels actually sing with Upton in the recording, and as I began singing and heard the enemy say “Shut-up! You betrayed your friend! How dare you try to sing with angels!

I cried uncontrollably believing the lie that I had failed my best friend. Then I heard Upton singing “You have been set free/You have been set free/Nothing, nothing, nothing/No weapon could ever hold you/Fly.”

I have never heard God say anything so clearly, and I still don’t know if it was just my spirit man or God himself, but I heard, “I love you Daniel, Let Danielle be with me, I’ll keep her safe until you get here, It wasn’t your fault.”

When the God of the universe tells you it isn’t your fault, I think he knows.

Now I wasn’t weeping because the tormented me with sadness, but I was weeping because I was free!

Since then I have had new chances to know who God really is, and a new prospective on his heart. I don’t claim to be perfect; that would be foolish. Instead I find perfection in the One who is perfect: Jesus Christ. He has given me hope in the darkness, strength in my weakness, comfort when I’m weary, and shelter in the storm.

The desert is never a fun place to be, but when you’re finally out of it you’re indeed made strong through God.

I once had it prophesied over me that “You are like the stone in David’s sling, David only needed one stone to take down Goliath. Just like David, God only needs one stone to take down giants. Daniel you are God’s one stone. With you he will take out giants.” I didn’t believe that when it was first said but I believe it now. God can do anything through me.

I don’t know where I heard this quote or if I made it up, but I love it all the same.

“When one is stripped of all else and must search himself, how many excuses will he come up with before he sifts through the darkness inside him?”

I plead with you do not wait to sift through your darkness. God is ready to take you through it, just reach out and grab His hand. Get through it now rather than later.

Daniel Silent?!?

Have you ever wondered what it’s like to just enjoy the presence of God? Instead of always bringing a list of things you need or want from God, you just enjoy meeting with him and being with him. Well God has really started to challenge me in this saying “Daniel when will you stop coming to me looking for what you can receive from me and instead begin to just want to be in my presence.” I heard one of the greatest ideas from a message by Jason Upton I have on my iPod. I had heard it before but this just gave me an even deeper knowledge of the idea. In the message Jason says that he was with a Pastor and the Pastor was praying over Jason and he said “Be still and know that I am God. Be still and know that I am. Be still and know. Be still. Be. For B is the beginning of Beginning, it is the beginning of Belonging, it is the beginning of Beautiful, and B is the beginning of Beloved and you are my Beloved.” How great an idea that is to just be still and know that He is God. Or to just BE in his presence. I don’t think I am quite to the point where I just Be in God’s presence but I definitely think I am getting closer and I can’t wait to be there. Another thing by Jason Upton is his song In the Silence is slowly becoming my favorite song in the season I am in. The chorus is quite easy and it just goes “In the Silence, You are speaking. In the Quiet, I can feel the fire, And it burning, Burning deeply. Burning all that it is that desire to be silent, In me.”  So if I could leave you with one thing it would be to simply Be Still, Be.

Will You?

This is just something that God gave me during our worship session on Friday morning.

Will you make Me your everything?

Your every thought?

Your every action?

Your every desire?

Will you allow me to transform your life?

I am you Savior, your Friend, your Daddy.

But I want to be more

I want to be your Lord

I want your all and I won’t relent until I have it

Will you exalt Me above everything else?

Will you hold Me as Holy, as consecrated

And as the most precious thing you possess?

Will You?

Only you have the answer, I will not fail to recognize it ——

So come on, take my hand

Let Me take you to new heights with Me

This is the Summon. How will you answer?

Well that is it. Hope it speaks to you. I know it spoke to me.

What are you going to order?

This was the line my mom used when we surprised my brother in a McDonald’s in China. We flew out to Chengdu where my brother is living for 9 months just to surprise him and be with him for 2 weeks. While I was there we did some fun stuff like went to some awesome chinese restaurants, played Call of Duty on a ghetto X Box, and set off completely legal fireworks in the middle of any street we wanted. The coolest thing though I have to say is when I was sitting around an apartment full of people whose main goal was to share the good news with Chinese people. But here they were playing board games and just laughing and having fun in an absolutely freezing apartment. That picture right there made me think of how that must have been how the early church was. A group of people whose sole desire was Christ but who lived together and just loved each other, of course they had their differences but they put them aside for what really mattered, that was loving God and loving people.

During this trip I was mainly in a great mood but when a situation caused by me arose it really made me search myself and find out what was the real mood of my heart. As I searched I realized that I could put up a face all I wanted but sooner or later without dealing with the issues going on deep in my heart then soon the face would shatter. Well the face broke and a glimpse of who I really am came through and I hated what I saw. God started to challenge me to let it shatter and let him give me a clean heart, a renewed spirit, and higher thoughts. Well lets just say right now I am raw and that what you see is what you get. I know I aint perfect but I am trying and I am real.

It was crazy how God showed himself so faithful on the trip not just in the spiritual realm but also the physical. In the spiritual He was faithful to show up in a tiny hotel room in China when I was hurt and when I was just sick of hurting others. A cool story of how he showed himself faithful in the physical happened on the day we missed our connecting flight in Beijing. Since it was the airlines fault they put us up in a hotel for the night. Well funny thing is when we got to the hotel the ladies at the desk who spoke very little english and our driver had no idea what was going on. Well in walks Linda a God send if I have ever met one. She comes walking up and while booking her own room sees our dilemma and in perfect english asks us what is going on. When we explain she then turns to the person at the desk and in perfect Chinese translates and within 10 minutes we have our luggage in our room. We had also found out that the hotel had bought our dinner but the menu was all in Chinese. Linda was happy to help and came to our room to translate the order and call down to the front desk to order. We found out from her that she was an English teacher and was only there for one night then she was on her way to another city. Later we joked that we wouldn’t be surprised if we later found out that Linda was in fact an angel. I guess I learned something for myself this trip that I have always been told but guess I just needed to see it myself and that was that God can and will show himself through in any situation as long as it is open to Him.

Boston Baked Beans Anyone?

What is the deal with Boston Baked Beans? I have just returned from a mission’s trip to Boston, Massachusetts. While we were there we did some awesome evangelism work. We set up a Prayer Station where anyone who had a prayer request could come up and we would pray for them. We also gave out free hot chocolate and just blessed people. Another thing we did was went to bus stops and actually talked to people one on one using tracks to break the ice but mainly just tried to show them that someone cared. Anyways back to before, on Sunday we went to a church and in the back they had some coffee and candy. One of the kinds of candy was something called Boston Baked Beans. Now I work at Bob Evans and we sell these there and people are always telling me how much they love them and how good they are, I figured I would give them a try. In short they were terrible. I can describe the taste like the after taste of a peanut M&M but without the chocolate taste. It was a like a peanut taste but there was not peanut to be found in the candy. They looked like hot tamales and the people who raved about them were quite deceiving. So to wrap up the trip lots pf God moments but quite possible tasted the worst candy on the planet.

For Better or For Worse?

Change is a part of life that cannot be avoided. Change is  always happening, whether it be for better or for worse. For example, I work out for an hour each morning and without me telling them, my muscles grow. On the reverse side if I did not work out no matter what I wanted, my body would deteriorate. Also, on the spiritual side I feed my spirit by reading the Bible and worshiping, with these I learn how to really follow the path that has laid out for me. On the flip side, if I decide to not listen to God’s instruction to read the Bible and worship my spirit will slowly start swerving and end up following the wrong path altogether. Change is something that cannot be avoided. I was asking myself the other day, Am I taking the right steps to make sure I am changing for the better? As I thought deeper into this and really searched my insides I realized that my life went in stages. Sometimes I would be all out and crazy for God and no distractions. Other times I would let things get in the way not always big but nothing that deserved the spotlight in my life. Such as sports, girls, friends, even something as simple as food. I decided to challenge myself to make a conscious decision to think often about how I am changing, is it for better or for worse?