Think BIG Live Loud

Many of you are familiar of the story about David and Goliath. As I was reminded today of this story I thought about how relevant this story is today.  Because no matter where you are, there has been a point in your life where you were up against a giant that seem to shadow over you.  Most of the time this Giant in our lives is Sin!  But one of the greatest truths in this story is that even though everyone around David saw him as a shepherd boy and Goliath as the victor, David knew who was on his side!  But you and I when we are given this sort of opportunity to defeat what has cast a shadow on us for sometime, we tend to be overwhelmed with of how big the situation and/or problem is.  But what if for once we took on the optimism that David carried?

Everyone around David told him that Goliath was too big to defeat, but David thought he was too big to miss!

As David approached this Giant, he dwelled on how big his God was and realized that Goliath was no match for the creator of the universe.  Because just like David coming from the chosen people you and I are were chosen for the son of God to pay the price on our behalf, so then at that point we became heirs of eternity and Gods kingdom.  When we compare our sin and our problems with the creator and the power in which he bestows, our giants becomes nothing more but an opportunity to defeat and an opportunity to give God the glory in which he deserves.  So as you approach your giant today remember who is bigger, and remember who deserves the worship in which you will deliver to something.  Why not give it to the King of kings, and Lord of lords, the one that brings your only chance of victory.  Today my prayers are with you and your battle, that you too may defeat the Giant!

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Yesterday rain came like a hurricane off the coast here in San Diego, which you may not know this but rain is something we get few and far in between.  But when we do its like God wants it to count!  So during this downpour yesterday I decided it was time to update my acoustic playlist in my music library.  While doing this I thought through my life and about the certain things I am just a sucker for!

Here is my list of the Top 5 things I am just a sucker for(in no particular order):

1) Cheesecake for breakfast(something about the cold sweet taste of a bad decision)

2) A Late night surrounded with friends by the fire and an irreplaceable cup of coffee(I love the honesty that comes with being drowsy)

3) Poetry in the form of a singer/song writer behind a piano or an acoustic guitar(Especially when its raining or over a candle lit dinner, I know I am hopeless)

4) Sunset on a board in the Pacific(surfing is like camping on the east coast there is just something unimaginable in being surround by God and his glory)

5) Passionate Worship( I have not been able to find a feeling that replaces the warmth of being surrounded with people giving their life to a movement through song. God moves people and so does music and when you put them together you will see abandonment defined.)

This Idea was all started while listening to Jon Foreman’s Ep’s and also Sleeping at Last’s album Storyboards check them out!

And spread the word and share with me what you’re a sucker for! Give me your 5

So many times in the christian world we get caught up or tripped up on being right.  We are a faith of  words such as grace, servant, and love until we come across someone who doesn’t feel exactly like we do.  I know some of you want to check out now because you believe I am wrong and that I shouldn’t talk about these types of topics.  But please stay tuned cause this is actually the thought for you!  I began like many of you on a reading plan this year through You Version, and am very thankful for this program for many reasons, but one because of the accountability it offers online as I progress through scripture.  Well tonight as I shuffled through my Iphone, my daily reading brought me to Romans 14.  This chapter is all about how sometimes we believe we are right and that maybe right isn’t even the point.  What an amazing simple thought.

Verses like

Romans 14:13 Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister.

And Romans 14:15 If your brother or sister is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy your brother or sister for whom Christ died.

Verses like these make “right” seem so silly and “light” seem so much bigger.

Now I am not saying that you should run around this world on egg shells because you may offend someone and cause them to stumble.  And on the flip side you shouldn’t toss out every perception that comes your way because you don’t agree with it.  But there is a balance there and I  believe it goes something like this:

If we all live a life that is more concerned with making Jesus famous than being right, then we just might all get along and do what we were created to do in the first place, to GLORIFY GOD.

You will never master the art of getting along with every human being on this earth, but you can accept the fact that Jesus accepted you when you were undeserving and clearly unacceptable and He did so as an example of how we should accept others when they may seem undeserving.

Stop being right and start being a light!

Acts 1:4-5 “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about.  For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

As I read this verse in my daily reading I thought for a second about the anticipation the apostles must have had.  It is somewhat overwhelming to think these men(the apostles) had given their lives to a man who claimed to be the Savior of the world.  They walked with Him, they ate with Him, they even wore the dust from his trail because they followed so intently trusting in the adventure that came with another day.  But then they saw him brutally murdered… The man they trusted and followed was taken and crucified for a crime he did not commit.  He always spoke of His life as a life he lived to die, but I believe deep down in the apostles hearts they didn’t want to believe this part of the truth.  No one wants to believe their hope can be taken from them.  So the story goes Jesus died and rose again and was eating with his apostles and he makes this statement,

“Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about.  For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

Holy Crap!  Can you feel the tension in this statement…what anticipation they must have felt!  And that is what I feel is something we are missing in our “Christian Faith.”  The “unheard of anticipation” of God’s miraculous work in our lives.  We are somewhere caught between the death and resurrection holding on to hope that behind closed doors, and hush hush, we are really struggling to hold on to.  And Jesus is trying to tell us, wait the story is not over yet!  Look whats to come.  And if you are missing the anticipation of what God has in store for you next then you are missing out on life!  Today I pray and hope that we all at some point fall on our faces and beg God to rock our worlds, and to do something that only he can do through us.  And I pray we reignite the tension in our lives for Jesus Christ…because my friends the story is far from over and God is up to something in this world, and he has chosen you to be apart of it!

About a month ago Kelly and I went out to eat with some friends, and as we left the restaurant we passed by a guy who stood at the edge of a wooded area who was clearly homeless.  So I pulled the car over cause we had some left overs that would inevitably get lost in our refrigerator and this poor guy looked as though he had not eaten for days.  So as I approached this man he began to weep and as I handed over the food and waters he pulled me in for a hug he needed more than I.  He began to tell me what it was like in the war and how he learned the survival skills there that he needed to survive here.  I couldnt believe the words he saying but what really captivated me was the cracks and scars on his hands.  I couldnt help but to wonder how many people pass this man on a daily basis, and even further how many of those people are believers.  It is beyond me to even understand how we let people, human beings sleep on our street corners and most of us have a room in our houses that we don’t even use. I am not saying that you are the one to blame, but I am saying you can help to bring change.  Next time you pass someone on the street do something to help their circumstance!  We cant just keep feeding them and placing a band-aid on the problem, we have to help fight this epidemic.  These men and women are someones children, maybe someones brother or sister, or maybe even someones parents, but for sure they too are someone Jesus cared enough for to die a brutal death so that they can have eternal life.  Do you view them as a problem or as Gods beautiful creation?