Thoughts on Church

There was something I couldn’t understand for a long time; it was that some people didn’t like to go to church. For me, even when I was young I enjoyed going to church, and now in my life as a young adult it is one of the major highlights of my week. I love my church. I love the people and the fellowship. I love worshipping my God. I love learning more about how to serve the God I love. I mean what is not to enjoy, does any of that sound boring to you? I will admit that sometimes I nod off for a few seconds during a sermon but it is not because I don’t want to listen; It’s because I’m not very good at going to bed and getting enough sleep. I think one of the problems with many churches is that they don’t every get to the really meat. They like to stay in the simple stuff, just have spiritual milk; it’s not possible to grow to the fullness of our spiritual strength on just milk. As Paul says, we have to have solid food. We need to hear about, consider, and wrestle with the deep and tough issues of our faith. We need a deep faith that permeates everything in our life. Our faith should not be limited to Sunday mornings and when we are with certain friends, it should be who we are all the time; it must be our core. I think a reason that many people don’t like church is because their home church is not challenging them. It’s just a surface level faith, and there isn’t a reason to go to a church like that.
Have you ever noticed how emotions are contagious? Say you’re feeling a bit down and you start hanging out with your friend who is really happy, you’ll probably smiling yourself by the time you two part ways. In addition, hanging around depressed people gets depressing… It’s just the way God wired us to rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep. Funerals and weddings are two examples of when we do that. I think that our love for God should be contagious. It should just spill out of us, and sweep other people along. You can think of it as either a rushing river or a roaring fire. Either way if you get close enough it will change you. The things in the path will not be the same after the affect. It should be the same with the Gospel in a person’s life, especially our own life. If we aren’t changed then we probably haven’t been swept away by the flood or burning for the Lord.
Going to church should be like giving a fire oxygen and fuel; it should burn hotter and brighter. When you go to church you need real fuel, sometimes I think church just want to throw a little lighter fluid on the fire; it might flare up for a little bit but it dies down really quick. We need the solid stuff if the fire is going to last. When you build a fire, you may start with small stuff and you may put some lighter fluid on to help it start, but if you want a fire to continue to burn, you have to put in a few logs.


I didn't put verses in here although I sort of referenced a couple. I feel like my post has kind of rambled, but I guess the idea I hope I communicated is that we should be excited about going to church and church should build us up so that we stay strong.

The Lie

I am alone. I am the only one… I am the only one who has been here. I am the only one who has been in this situation. I am the only one who has had to fight this. I am the only one who has had this struggle. No one else has ever been here before.

Many Christians seem to believe that they are unique in their struggles. That no one will understand their problems and they will be shunned. Paul addresses this in 1 Corinthians 10:13 when he tells us, “The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, He will show you a way out so that you can endure.” (NLT) Looking at the first part of the verse we see that all humans experience the same temptations. I have found in my own life that when we start to talk about our struggles with other people they often can relate, sometimes they are going through the same thing, or they have been there. It is an encouragement to know that I don’t walk the path alone, and to know that others have conquered. It gives me hope to others who are still fighting and who have won the fight.

The devil loves to get us cornered and alone, to feed us the lie that we can’t be a part of the rest of the body. We are encouraged in the Bible to be open an honest with each other. James 5:16 says, “Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.” Once we have confessed our sins then our Christian brothers and sisters can lift us up in their prayers. The prayer of God’s people is effective and God does answer prayer. Also in Galatians 6:1 “Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself.” We are called to love and restore our brothers in Christ. We all sin and eventually it will come out, we are not to condemn a person for sinning, but rather pray with that person so that they may be strengthen to walk with Christ. We are the body of Christ, some would say that we are only as strong as the weakest member, but I believe that when all the members work together we are stronger than the strongest member. When we trust in the power of God and work together as the body of Christ we can do all things.

We are never alone. Not only is God always there holding us in His hand but He brings into our lives exactly the right people to help us and walk with us.


I feel like I should have posted this before now but I believe it is better late than never, and God is in control. Also all the passages quoted were taken from the New Living Translation.

The River of Life

It’s been far too long since I have blogged, so first an update about my summer. I have a job, in Tulsa, which is a huge praise the Lord. I am working for True Digital Security and so far it’s been interesting so that is also a blessing. I think that’s what is major that has happened for me, on to the real topic of the blog.

I haven’t written in awhile because I have not felt like God has given me anything to share. But this Sunday during worship I felt like He gave me another picture. So I’m going to share it.

This is my picture as best as I can describe it.
The path of life leads into the middle of the river; it’s a river of blood, the cleansing blood of Christ. But I think it is often easier to walk in the shallows or even on the bank. What I don’t notice is that on the bank the dirt and mud cling to me and soil my robes. I wash my feet in the shallows but I am not completely clean. When the bank becomes rocky and covered in brambles I am forced to make a choice, to wade deeper into the water and swim, or to leave the river and walk inland away from the river of life. As the rocks push me into the middle of the river it deepens and I can no longer touch the bottom. So I begin to swim and I discover a wonderful truth, the current is not rough, it is a gentle current and it lifts me and carries me. It is easier than walking and I am cleansed by it. I know that the current follows the path that I must follow, and I know Who waits for me at the end of the river, because He loves me and shed His blood so I could make it to Him, so I could be clean.

Just some of the meaning I see (maybe you’ll see something different)
When life is easy we think it is easier to get out and walk on our own when we really need to stay and let Christ carry us, and during the hard times we are forced to trust Him to carry us, the river is flowing and even if we walk away, it is still there, we just may have to search hard to find it again, but no matter how dirty we get His blood still cleanses us.

Revelations 1:5b "All glory to Him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by shedding His blood for us." (NLT)

God Bless, Tim

Blood and blank forms

February 28th, 2010

So this last Sunday, I was worship at Bridgeway church and we stared signing the song “Nothing But The Blood.” For those who don’t know the song, the chorus is:

“What can wash away my sin?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus;
What can make me whole again?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus.”

As I was in prayer in the presence of God focused on the words of the song the Lord gave me a picture, or a vision depending on what you want to call it.
What I saw was two forms. They were on brown parchment with lines where words should have been. They were uniform except at the bottom there was a place to sign. I knew that they were contracts but there were no conditions. Two things puzzled me; one why were there two contracts, two why were they both blank. I asked God and felt like He said that one contract was to have my sin washed away and the second was to be made whole again, and the reason that they were both blank was because I didn’t have to do anything.
All I had to do to be wash clean and made new was to sign and accept it. The forms are blank because God is giving it away, and we only have to accept it, He doesn’t require anything. Christ loves me so much that He shed His blood and is giving it away freely if we just accept, but we have accept it we can’t walk away and try to earn it or find it.

As Paul said “we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles.” 1 Corinthians 1:23 (NIV)

Psalm 23... actually 32

The first question I must ask is why am I still awake... Well it's because my sleep schedule is pretty screwed up, but since I'm up I feel the need to blog there are two things I want to blog about but I should sleep so I'm just going to blog about one.

I was able to spend some good time this evening with God and I felt like He told me to read Psalm 23 which is a good Psalm but not the Psalm He actually had for me. As I flipped to 23 in my Bible I noticed Psalm 32, and transposition of 23. I decided that after I read Psalm 23 I would read 32. It is an amazing Psalm. (I know the whole Bible is an amazing book) Psalm 32 was exactly what I needed to hear right now.

Psalm 32 (NLT)
(A psalm of David.)

Oh, what joy for those
whose disobedience is forgiven,
whose sin is put out of sight!
Yes, what joy for those
whose record the Lord has cleared of guilt,
whose lives are lived in complete honesty!
When I refused to confess my sin,
my body wasted away,
and I groaned all day long.
Day and night your hand of discipline was heavy on me.
My strength evaporated like water in the summer heat.
Interlude

Finally, I confessed all my sins to you
and stopped trying to hide my guilt.
I said to myself, “I will confess my rebellion to the Lord.”
And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone.
Interlude

Therefore, let all the godly pray to you while there is still time,
that they may not drown in the floodwaters of judgment.
For you are my hiding place;
you protect me from trouble.
You surround me with songs of victory.
Interlude

The Lord says, “I will guide you along the best pathway for your life.
I will advise you and watch over you.
Do not be like a senseless horse or mule
that needs a bit and bridle to keep it under control.”

Many sorrows come to the wicked,
but unfailing love surrounds those who trust the Lord.
So rejoice in the Lord and be glad, all you who obey him!
Shout for joy, all you whose hearts are pure!

Part of me wants to say how every part of this just spoke to me but I really do need to sleep. So in short, God is so forgiving and I am thankful. :)

some thoughts...

so I'm blogging because I'm not sure where to put my thoughts, let me first say nothing major or life changing has happened.

I am just tired and my emotions are near the surface… So I'm going to write about it?
So right now I'm battling "what ifs'." But right now I'm wondering not if I did something that was stupid or wrong, but if I should have done something… I made a choice and said I won't do that now I wonder if I blew it, if I missed it. Now I'm stuck, for so many reasons, I am in limbo. I don't know what the future holds

I know right now I need to be focused on God and what He is teaching me in this moment. I need to bury myself in His amazingness and hold on to His love and thank Him with trembling for His grace. I need God to be my only source of strength and purpose. I need to fall in love with Him again, and it need to be a choice based not on emotion.

So I really just need to make sure that I am hanging out close to God all the time…

Talking about only helps some, so, the end.

The Forest

the forest... I have wandered in the forest, I strayed from the path, into the leafy undergrowth chasing what I thought I saw there. As I chased that thing, that elusive thing, the creature of wonder and promise, I found it always eluded me. Too late did I understand that it was a lie, just a trick of the forest, there only to trap me. I had run after it because I had thought it to be all that is good but I found that it was nothing but a lie. Then the forest surrounded me and on all sides there was nothing but trees the green of their branches hiding any signs of the path or the rest of the world. The branches that seemed to part before me now catch me and seem to grip me to hold me in that forest that seemed so wonderful, now keeping me from the very things that I need to survive. There is nothing to help me, to give me strength to survive and to grow. I don't know where to go, how to make it out of the forest. Then I hear it, not so much with my ears as with my heart, the voice of Truth it calls me in this direction. I know because it is much different than anything I have heard in this forest, it isn't a lie. The forest is full of lies and traps but the truth pulls me onward and guides me, the forest gives way, it's lies powerless. Finally, I am back on the path. This is a path that starts in the middle of the forest, there is only one way to go. It is an easy path to follow and I know that it leads to where I truly desire. *sigh* As I follow that path I come to a fork. I ask Truth for guidance and I wait. It seems as I wait the forest is reaching out it's leafy fingers for me, trying again to trap me. I know that to walk without knowing the true path will only lead me into a trap again, so I trust Truth and know He will answer, He will lead me to what is truly wonderful. So in the knowledge that I am on the path I wait and the forest cannot reach try as it might.

Romans 8:35-39 (NLT)
Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”) No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Quick Update

So right now I'm in Leadville CO, tomorrow morning I'll be going snowboarding. The last 2 years my family has gone skiing here in Leadville. I have enjoyed skiing and I consider myself to be pretty good as I can ski black diamonds pretty easily and blues are just fun. So my brother and I are going to try snowboarding.

Also I want to say that taking photos has been going pretty well you can see them here: A Year in Pictures

God has been giving me a desire to fellowship with Him more which is good. :)

So tomorrow I'll be hitting the slopes on a snowboard tomorrow morning, wish me luck and pray I don't hurt myself.

My Goals for a new year

So I have decided to actually set some resolutions for this year.

1. I'm going to try to take at least one picture every day this year and upload them to an album on picasa also I'm going to pick my favorite for each week and post it to my blog.

2. As God gives me insights I shall try to post them to my blog as well, hopefully this will be every couple weeks.

3. I want to basically keep all my goals I also set for my birthday

so the goals I set for my birthday are:

1. Read my Bible more
2. Get in better shape by exercising
3. Continually surrender my life to Jesus
4. _________ (I'm not telling because I want to do this without people knowing it)
5. Talk to my family more
6. Break my struggle with sin...
7. Give my heart completely to God and let Him control my love and my desires
8. Let God shape me and the around me not let myself be shaped by he world
9. Go backpacking with Nathan
10. Write down the thoughts and insights God gives me
11. Read some of C.S. Lewis' non-fiction works
12. Acknowledge my gifts and give all the glory to God.

I'm going to insert my picture for the day :)

From A Year in Pictures...

Heaven (a few thoughts)

Originally written down 11-15-2009

I want to start this with an odd thought.

Heaven does not exist.

What I mean by that is heaven is not a place like Oklahoma is a place. It is not a specific point on either the physical or spiritual plane. Heaven is not on the spiritual plane. The spiritual plane is where both angels and demons dwell. What I believe heaven is, is prefect fellowship with God. Since God is everywhere and in everything heaven is not one place. When we fellowship with God we glimpse heaven. The more we fellowship with God the closer we are to heaven. Heaven is not something that we have to physically die to experience. Because of the sin in the world and our lives it is not possible to truly experience heaven here on earth We only get to see a little heaven while we are on earth.

This is on a little different though but I think we will not get to ‘heaven’ until after the end of time and after satan and his forces of evil are defeated. Then there will only be the bliss of God’s fellowship.