That I May Know Him

I must admit that I love the ocean. Salty air and the smell of sand bring back many of my fondest memories. Those memories involve riding a catamaran, playing, or swimming in the ocean. Nearly every year from grade school to high school my family went to the ocean. I loved walking out into the water chest deep so that I could swim and play. Early on I discovered something that I should have listened to my mother's warnings about. My mother told me to always watch were I was in the ocean bacause I could drift out further or drift down the shoreline. I remember thinking my mom was crazy so I would just walk out and do my thing in the water. One particular time I looked up from playing and swimming and noticed that I was much much farther out and nothing in front of me was familiar. Paniced, I swam in and staggered around the beach trying to figure out were I was. Nothing looked familiar. Mom was not sitting there watching me. I must have drifted down over a mile and I did not realize...

I have been thinking about my buddy Luke a lot recently. Partly because he just sent me a great text message. He said that he is in IHOP with his friend Chris (who helped him drive everything to Florida) and they were sitting next to Edge from WWE. I responded that he should see if Edge would support he and Sarah. It is a nice thought. Anyway, Luke said something two weeks ago that is still ringing in my soul. It quote that is not foreign to me. But God gripped my attention this time. The quote was by, the British Missionary to China who also founded Heart of Africa Mission, C T Studd. He said, "Only one life, it'll soon be past, only what's done for Christ will last." Those powerful words reverberate in my soul like a pounding gong. I am the king of excuses and time wasting. So, now when I am going about my day C T Studd's words grip me. They shake me. And they refocus me. I am deeply thankful for the great men and women of the past who boldly lived daily in lig...

Last night was deeply encouraging. Luke Sumner spoke to the Student Ministry for the last time before he and his family move to Florida and becomes a missionaries for Agape Flights. First, I need to admit how difficult it will be to see a good friend like Luke (and of course Sarah) leave. I am deeply thankful for Luke's great love for Christ and desire to follow Him alone. I know that God has great things in store for Luke and God will complete those things (Phil. 1:6). Last night Luke spoke from one of my favorite passages in scripture (Ephesians 2:10). This great verse from Paul declares that we are God's masterpiece. As I look closely at my tattered life it is difficult to imagine myself to even be finger paint or paint by numbers let alone a masterpiece in God's eyes!!! But thankfully I do not have to rely upon the messy life I see or the rollercoaster of feelings that I through. If I did rely upon those things I would probably be in a gutter somewhere. That is...

Please pardon the following if it is riddled with errors. I have had something echoing in my head for weeks. And I feel that if I take the time to put it down I may be able to better aticualte it over time. The idea that I am wrestling with is that our beliefs are to be followed by our actions or they are not our beliefs at all. For instance, if I say that I believe that helping the poor is important. And I do nothing to actually help the poor except say I believe we should. Then it is not truly a beleif that I hold. They are infact empty words. If I say that I love my wife and kids and I cheat on her and abuse them then what are my actions saying. Certainly they do not say that I love them. Let's go one step further. If I say that I love Jesus and I follow him. And I live in unrepentant sin (sin that I do not address with God and turn from) and I do not share Christ with others. Then how in the world could I ever claim to be a Christ follower. I would live better unde...