are you cooked?

have you ever seen somebody who just prasies God like crazy then stops praising then prasies again then stops again. its weird seeing that. becuase..we are always supposed to praise god. our purpose in life is to be a living sacrifice of worship. so why do we stop praising? i think its simple. its easy to praise god during the times when life is good and feels like he is standing right next to you. you have a visual proof o what he is doing in your life. and others see the proof too. but what about when times are hard and rough and nothing goes your way? what about when you are given the test by God?
i once heard a pastor say this metaphor and it completly changed my life...really. so here it goes. when someone is cooking in the oven..there is a timer. right?.. ok. well its understood that when that timer goes off..the food is ready..well it should be. BUT YET..even when that timer is off..and its looks ready and good and golden brown on the outside..it is still given a final to see if its ready on the inside. you know when you still a fork in the chicken or the chocolate cake. yea..thats a test. and you know where it checks..the inside..where it matters! wow.. did you get it? check it out..even if you look like on the outside you serve God and you seem as though on the inside you love God..God is still going to test you to see if you truly are his servant. wow. crazy right?! and you know what..maybe your timer is still on..your life is going great! Everything is great! well guess what..sry to burst your bubble..but when that timer is beeping..GOD IS GOING TO GIVE YOU A FINAL TEST.
so...are you cooked on the inside? or do you just look like you are done from the outside? do you really love God in the good times and the bad times? or do you just praise his name when all is good? you might look cooked on the outside..(go to church, have your big bible, lift your hands)..but you cant just look it..you gotta live it!
so..again i ask... are you cooked?

oh yeah..

happy birthday steven. may all your wishes come true. god bless you.

the lost...what should i do?

the craziest thing just came to me. i wasnt sure what i was going to write today. but i think i just recieved a word. today is saturday february 23, 2008. this day may not be big for you or for me..but it is big for one person i know. his name is steven. and today is his birthday. i love this kid. he knows it. he has been my childhood friend since we were in elementary school. we lived down the street from each other for like 10 years. we were really close. time passed. my family moved the neighborhood. news friends. different grades. we sorta lost each other. things would happen every now and then that would reunite us. but from my new perspective..i took that time for granted. this kid went through many things. his life..his friends and most of all...his family. i wont go into details. but this kid went through hell. he was in jail. he was on the streets. i knew it. i didnt do much about it. he chose his path. he knew what he was doing. our church has set a vision this year..for each member to lead one person to Jesus Christ. i didnt know who i was going to bring. i once had a conviction for another childhood friend..but it soon faded. my mother recently told me of how she talked to steven and to make a long story short..he wants help. my heart broke. i am currently searching for him. i dont know how to find him. but God will bring us together..i know it. i love steven too much for him to go to hell. and so does God.

so why do i say this?

this is what i want you to do. a boy once told me to do this on a mission trip 3 years ago and i never understood it or its power until recently. Pray for a PASSION FOR SOULS. I DARE YOU!! as christians we become so burnt out with trying to feed ourselves and worrying about what the church is doing that we completly lose the reason for being a christian..to make disciples of all the nations. pray this prayer and mean it with your heart. i wont tell you what happened to me when i pray this prayer becuase i dont want my experiences to interfere with yours. i want your experience to be fresh. you will see. i pray you will. this my brother will feed your spirit more than any sermon will. a passion for souls. dont be selfish. be like Jesus. i dare you. i challenge you.

my great aunt kelly...

so today i got a chance to drive my aunt kelly to texas city to cash her check. my aunt was just recently saved probably about a few months ago. she has had a hard life with her family and just in general. she has been through more than i can imagine. she is a single mom with 2 daughters of about 20 years and another whom is married. to make a long story short..she has been through hell and back. so as i were driving her today..the whole time she was proclaiming how awesome and amazing God is. everything she said had reference to Him. it was amazing. i was getting goosebumps just listening to her. i couldnt even speak. i just agreed. she was telling me of all the things he has done in her life and what he is still doing now. it so amazing..really. i still amazes me now just writing about it. wow. it makes me feel like i just became a christian and she is encouraging and helping me. ive been been "saved" for about 4 years now....and she a few months. i understand that when you first recieve Christ you have a crazy fresh passion for Him..but wow!! she was telling me how God was speaking to her, how he is lifting her family up...her faith is soo incredible. wow. she told me that since she retired all she does is read her bible and pray. wow. i could literally feel her passion just from her words. wow. i dont even know what else to say..there is so much.

so why do i say this?

as christians we become selfish. we become selfish with our blessings, talents, time and even our faith. we know the bible tells us to go and make disicples of all the nations..but are you really doing that? God is gonna hold you accountable for that you know...think about it. this woman has gone from a poor, stressed out, single mom to a blessed and faithful servant of the great Jesus Christ. she was telling me how she prays for her girls (which i know is wierd) and shares God with them and thier friends!! in fact..thier friends come to her now for mentoring! wow. God is amazing. she sees purpose in life...do you? she has literally been through hell and still thanks God for it..do you? some of us have grown up in a christian home and we complain that we didnt get the type of food we wanted for dinner. this lady wasnt sire where her next meal was coming for her and her family...yet she keeps all her faith in God. and it shows.

so i challenge you..share your story..share your faith..share Jesus. have faith when all falls apart. DONT COMPLAIN. love God..thank him..know he will pull you through..because he will...if you have faith!

the last thing she told me was that her dad used to tell her "boy He sure makes you sweat..but He always pulls you through!" how true is that..

Passion Conference..need i say more?

this past weekend i was forunate enough to attend the Passion Conference held in Dallas, Tx. i was invited by my cousin (Chevy seektruthnow.blogspot.com ) who said it is an amazing event. so i went. honestly, i went with high hopes. i thought God would deal with me in a way that i never thought possible. i wanted that. i was excited. not just because Chris Tomlin and David Crowder were leading worship or Louie Giglio and Frances Chan were speaking..but because i really thought God was break me to my core. i went. i worshipped. i listened. i sought after God wholeheartedly. (my grandpa just walked in my room..he is freakin amazing!) so yea. i did all i felt i was supposed to do to "feel the presence of God." and i did. the confrence ended. i didnt feel any different. just more knowledable of The Word. dont get me wrong i desire that..but i just didnt feel closer to God. has that ever happend to you? i got back home to Galveston around 4 am sunday morning. i had to be at church at 9 am to practice for the 10.30am service. i went to sleep a little disappionted that night. i didnt sleep much. its funny because the next morning i woke up..thank god..and i felt a little different. i wasnt sure what is was..tired? sleepy? hungry? i didnt know. i went to church. i wasnt even tired. i felt fueled and refreshed! i had this crazy ball of energy inside me...and it God inside of me. i could just feel it stirring up the whole time i practiced. i had a passion for jesus like never before. people could see it from the outside because they told me. thats jesus. people were ministered through the praise and worship. thats jesus. it was jesus working. how amazing is God.

so why did i say this?

as christians..many times we try to seek God until we get that mushy gushy feeling inside us and we feel like crying. because that is when God is present!!!!! (sarcastic) .. we forget to just be still and know that God is gonna be got whether you "feel" him or not. we as christians have put limits on God! just becuase we didnt get goosebumps or shed a tear we werent "touched by God." maybe God changes you that way sometimes...but God is pretty huge...i think he has other ways of changing our lives..healing our wounds..mending our souls. but thats just me.

so i challenge you..dont put limits on God. He can speak and move through anything he desires..all you have to do is listen...oh yeah..and dont put limits on the Creator of the universe.

and so it begins...

this is my first blog...ever. i dont know what to say or how to say it. so i dont think i will. at least not today. i feel like im talking to myself. i guess i am until somebody reads this. im eating a pop tart preparing to play guitar at youth service. yuppy (not sarcastic). just to let you know..this blog is gonna be about what goes on in my head during certain times of my life. its not a journal. its the truth. i hope this blog changes your life and your way of thinking forever.

ps...i love jesus christ

i hope you still wanna read...