followmejohn2119's Blog

The War

followmejohn2119 — Sun, 31 May 2009 13:58:47 +0000

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” Ephesians 6:10-12

I don’t know if you’ve realized, but if you are at war! if you are not a Christian, whether you like it or not you are at war with God Almighty. And if you are a believer and lover of Jesus Christ, you are at war with the flesh that remains in you, the world around you and most of all, the devil. The devil will strive to cause you to sin against the God you love, and we are absolutely powerless to stop him. How do we fight this war then? Well look at the passage of scripture above. It says to “be strong in the lord, and in the strength of his might.” I know for a lot of you (as it is to me at times) this is just a Christian cliché, but please ask God to help you transfer this from head knowledge to heart knowledge. This is so vitally important in our fight against sin, because as I said, we are powerless. We must cry out to God to fill us with the strength to fight, His strength to fight.

Sometimes I feel like my passions for the things of this world are just to strong! Have you ever felt this way? If so please take to heart the words of C.S Lewis. He said, “it’s not that our passions are too strong, their too weak, and that we are too easily pleased with lesser sinful desires, rather than pursuing with great passion our deepest desires.” If you are Christian, you have a new heart! This new heart has deep desires for God. We will desire to get to know Him, to read our bibles, to pray, etc… We will want to love him more. But at the same time, we still have the flesh within us so we will have lesser conflicting desires.

Mark Driscoll has a sermon on the heart, and that is were I got most of this post. I would strongly urge you to find it and listen to it. I know it’s a bit long, but please please take the time to listen to it, and pray that God will pierce your heart with the truth. To get it, go to the iTunes music store, and search mars hill, it’s on the second podcast listed there. Mars Hill Church: Mark Driscoll Audio is the full title of the podcast. Proverbs: The Heart, is the title of the sermon. It’s free, so go listen to it!

For the glory of God

Seth

The Glory of God

followmejohn2119 — Mon, 25 May 2009 03:06:55 +0000

Hey guys, I’m sorry I haven’t been on recently. I have recently woken up from a drifting season of my life. God graciously showed me what was happening and set me on the right track.

I’m not going to say much, because the speaker pretty much said everything, there is to say.

These videos are absolutely amazing. Between these and Douglas’ teaching, I’ve been hit hard with the amazing power and God, the frailty of man, and the fact that we take God for granted so much. He is so majestic and I am so weak. It’s overwhelming. It’s even more overwhelming to know that the God with that much power decided to save us, who tried with all our might to reject Him. Praise God for his merciful and gracious gift. Thank you, Lord.

~Lukas

An Inescapeable List

followmejohn2119 — Fri, 15 May 2009 20:24:52 +0000

Revelation 21:5-8 “And he who was seated on the throne said, “behold, I am making all things new.” And also he said, “write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. The one one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son. But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, the sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”"

I read this again a few nights ago and it really stuck out to me. This list brings everyone under condemnation. I have been cowardly, I have been faithless, I have been detestable, I have been angry, I have lusted, I have made different things idols in my life that don’t even compare to the creator of the universe, and I have lied.

This list is truly inescapable. I can’t get around seeing how filthy I am when I read this list, and it says that these people will burn in the lake of fire. If God left it at this I would be utterly hopeless. But praise God for the first part of this passage. He says “it is done!”

Romans 5:6-8 “For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person–though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die–but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

This is truly good news. If I compare myself to the list in Revelation 21, I will see that I’m not even a good person, much less a righteous person. But then it says, “but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” But God…This shows that I cannot just conjure up my own righteousness. It has to be given to me by God, otherwise I am hopeless.

When I meditate on this, It makes me so much more thankful for Jesus Christ. Because of his sinless sacrifice, God gives me the free gift of righteousness. This kind of love makes no sense to me, but it is wonderful. Because of Jesus Christ, and through him, I can be a conqueror. Because I have been ransomed by the precious blood of Jesus Christ, I no longer have to fear the fires of hell, because just as he has made all things new, he had made me new. “It is done!” Hallelujah!

For the glory of God

Seth

“To Live Is Christ…”

followmejohn2119 — Fri, 08 May 2009 05:48:29 +0000

“For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” Philippians 1:21

God brought this to my mind this morning, and i started thinking about it. These four words hit me like a train. “To live is Christ…” If I ask myself, what does it mean to live, to live life to it’s fullest. The media will tell me that to truly live is to have money, power, popularity, etc… The word of God tells me to live is Christ! If I want to live life to the fullest, I need to cry out to God to give me the desire and power to strive after Christ. I need to cry out to God to make him the center of my life, for Christ to be the center of my life. To live is Christ. To pursue after Christ, to live through and in Christ. He has paid the price for my sins so what else should I do but follow after him with all my heart soul mind and strength. To love him with all my heart soul mind and strength. To live for him so that I may have true life.

“We were buried with him therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the father, we too might walk in newness of life.”

For the Glory of God

Seth

Ps: I’m getting baptized! You all should be there. The baptism is on the 17th.

“The Word of God”

followmejohn2119 — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 13:05:30 +0000

This is something that deeply convicts me every single time I think about it. “The Word of God.” This is a phrase we use referring to our bibles almost every day. But have you ever stopped to think about what you are saying? Think about it! The awesome God that created the universe, our world, you, and me, with words, chose to inspire men by the holy spirit, so that the words of God the Father, the words of God the Son, and the incredible good news of the gospel would be written down. And yet I would rather watch TV than read my bible, I would rather go back to sleep than read my bible, I would rather get on facebook than read my bible. What! How can this be? How can I know what the bible holds, know that studying it is the best way to grow closer to God, know that it has the words of life, and want to watch TV instead of diving into it?! This just shows the immaturity, the pride, and the ungodliness in my heart.

On my youth-group’s spring retreat the guest speaker Dennis Connor asked two extremely heart wrenching questions. He asked “when your mind wonders, where does it settle,” and “when you have free time, do you run to the word?”

If I truly believed that my Bible has all I need to grow closer to God, to crush my pride, to learn how to live a life where I am trying to give God the maximum amount of glory, wouldn’t I run to the word?

“No in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” Romans 8:37

We will never get anywhere on our own strength, it is “through him who loved is.”

For the glory of God

Seth

Don’t Be Afraid!

followmejohn2119 — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 04:41:39 +0000

John 21:19b “..And after saying this he said to him, “follow me.”"

As you probably realized, this is the passage of scripture that Luke and I decided to name the blog after. This is because this is what we are striving to do by the strength of the Holy Spirit, in our lives.

Matthew 9:9 “As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “follow me.” And he rose and followed him.”

Now Matthew must have seen something different about Jesus to just get up and follow him, but he did not know all that we know.

Romans 5:1-2 “Therefore. since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”

Oh my word! Did you see what that said? We; Filthy, ugly, worthless sinners, have been justified! It’s as if we were on trial for every sin we have committed, or ever will commit, and God says, “not guilty.” Not only did Jesus take the blame for our sins, he has made us at peace with the God we’ve sinned against, and has given us access to the unbelievable grace, on which we stand. This is truly awesome. Does this not make you want to rejoice?!

Matthew did not know all of this, and yet he still left all that he had, and followed Jesus. How much more should we give up everything we have and follow after Jesus with all our hearts. If we know this incredible truth, why are we not completely sold out for God. If we know this, why are we not doing everything we in our weakness can do, to get to know him more.

This is something I struggle so much with, so here is what I challenge myself and all of you to do. Trust the one who gave his life to redeem us, and strive after Him, because he will not let us down. Come on guys, let’s not be afraid to give up everything and follow our incredible savior.

Don’t be afraid!

For the glory of God

Seth

“Don’t Waste Your Life.”

followmejohn2119 — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 22:08:25 +0000

There is a song by Lecrae called “Don’t Waste Your Life,” and it got me thinking…

John 14:6 “Jesus said to him, I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

John 20:31 “but these things are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and by believing you may have life in his name.”

1 John 5:12 “Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.

Jesus gave his life so that we could have life in him. He redeemed us with his very blood, so that we wouldn’t have to live an utterly miserable life in bondage to sin. The question I must ask myself and we must ask ourselves is how are we living this life that Christ died to give us? Are we wasting it? Are we frequently and willingly running back to the very thing Jesus set us free from?

I find too often that I will get to the end of a day and look back upon it and find that I have wasted it. But I have hope! I have a Savior who paid the price for my sins, a Holy Spirit living within me that gives me the strength to fight, and a loving father who is so gracious to forgive me when I fall.

“At the end of the day it’s about giving God the maximum amount of glory” -Shai Linne

For the Glory of God

Seth

Just A Thought

followmejohn2119 — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 20:41:22 +0000

Happy Easter everyone! I hope it’s been a good one, I know it has been for me. It is so amazing to see that as I grow in Christ, each one of these holidays that is centered around Christ means more to me every year. I love it!

Here’s a thought that has been on my mind lately. Just one sin is enough for God to damn us to hell! One prideful thought, one selfish desire, one evil deed, just one unkind word is enough. Romans 1:18 says “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men…” And Jesus who never sinned, never felt the guilt sin brings, chose to bare not just one of those sins, but every sin ever committed by God’s elect. He chose to take the guilt and shame of every sin. What can we say but thank you!

“He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” Colossians 1:13-14

For the glory of God

Seth

“The Path”

followmejohn2119 — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 04:37:42 +0000

This is a poem I wrote some time ago. It’s pretty self explanatory, so i won’t say much. I know that it isn’t a perfect analogy, but I hope that God can use it in your life in some way.

“The Path”

Guilt starts crashing in like a tsunami of remorse

Regret that I had strayed from that sure but narrow course

That blessed path that leads me to my great sustaining king

I stumble upon this road with naught but my sin to bring

With impatience and my selfishness I glance from side to side

Observing all the pleasures the other path may provide

Forgetting my goal and passion distraction takes it’s toll

I start to wonder away thinking I have everything under control

I continue my straying lying to myself all the way

Thinking what harm could come of this trekking on through the day

Then darkness starts creeping in taking from me my sight

Yet still my feet keep falling on into the night

Then panic hit me fast like a lightning bolt so quick

I found that I was falling into an enormous pit

When I hit the ground my own scream pierced the air

Then came to me a terrible thought, could I even dare

To go back to the path wouldn’t my King know

How could I go back, how could I bare to show

My face before my King surely he would be angry

He would know what I had done and surely punish me

Then came another thought and I began to cry

I was trapped inside this pit until the day I die

Then out of the darkness I saw a sliver of light

Slowly coming down to me out of the pitch black night

Then I heard a voice what a marvelous sound to hear

It resounded from the walls and I heard the words so clear

The voice was calling my name like it was searching for me

Then I saw the face what a glorious thing to see

Beautiful it was yet terrifying in my sight

It was the face of my King shining with the purest light

Then he spoke once more he said “I forgive you

Yes you have disobeyed, but my love is always true”

He then lifted me in his arms and carried me from the pit

I then looked at myself dirty and covered in grit

He then took me to a stream with water pure and bright

And began to wash away all the filthiness in sight

Then he carried me back to the path where I had gone astray

And reminded me that the path is the one and only way

Then I continued on with less and less stumbling

Because my eyes were set on my Savior and my King

For God’s glory

Seth

The Friday

followmejohn2119 — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 17:13:23 +0000

First I will give you a warning.This video is very grafic.The clips are taken from the passion.

“To the cross I look, to the cross I cling
Of its suffering I do drink
Of its work I do sing

For on it my Savior both bruised and crushed
Showed that God is love
And God is just

Chorus:

At the cross You beckon me
You draw me gently to my knees, and I am
Lost for words, so lost in love,
I’m sweetly broken, wholly surrendered

What a priceless gift, undeserved life
Have I been given
Through Christ crucified

You’ve called me out of death
You’ve called me into life
And I was under Your wrath
Now through the cross I’m reconciled

In awe of the cross I must confess
How wondrous Your redeeming love and
How great is Your faithfulness”

-Sweetly Broken by Jeremy Riddle

Though this is a grafic video, I thought it necessary to post it, it affects me more than a more kid friendly version would. This is an amazing movie, but is one of those that you watch once and then put it away for awhile, because it concentrates more on what Jesus went through for us rather than his resurrection. It seemed like a very good video for today. As I watched this, I was reminded of this fact. Everytime that whip came down and rip the body of this most unblemished and perfect man that has ever been on this earth, I could name each one of the blows that hit him. The first one was when I lied to my parents about how I spent my time doing school in 9th grade. The second one was the time where I got mad at my brother and called him a name and made him really upset. The third: everytime I sat in the circle of guys lead by Jason(and later Jim)and put on a face to be seen as the “Christian kid.” And then the cat of nine tails. The first lash of that whip was when I got up to lead our youth group in worship and never gave a single thought to God. The second, the times that I got mad at “people”, but in reality I just hated the God that made them, the situations I was in, and God himself. My sins were the ringing of those nails being pounded deeper and deeper into his wrists and feet. I did that to the most powerful being ever. The being that keeps me in being by thinking about me. The being that, if He turned his thought from me for a second, I would cease to exist.

Yet, the reason He died was to save me from the eternal death I deserved for doing those things. It wasn’t a grudging sacrifice. He wasn’t forced to. He wanted to. He wanted to suffer,not only the most gruesome death that there is, but being separated from God, which is the worst punishment in existence. The bond between Father and Son can never be as strong as the example that God the Father and God the Son have given us. We can not comprehend that kind of love. Christ was willing to break that link for us. He loved us so much that He was willing to have His Father, who loved Him more than anything, to turn His back on Him. If that doesn’t humble us, then there is no hope for us. He humbled himself, for this stinking, rotting piece of flesh that I am; for someone who reviles His name several times every single day. It doesn’t make sense, because we have never known such love. But now through Christ we do and this should make us humble. This should make us love others to the fullest extent of our ability. And we should PRAISE GOD FOR HIS LOVE, COMPASSION, AND MERCY!!!!!

~Lukas