This was my devotional for November 8th. i thought it was so good i really wanted to share it. but rather than try and re-write it i figured i would just post the actual text as it was presented and let you form your own opinions... ENJOY!
Nov 8 - My Utmost For His Highest -
The Unrivaled Power of Prayer “We do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered” (Romans 8:26). Be realize that we are energized by the Holy Spirit for prayer; and we know what it is to pray in accordance with the Spirit; but we don’t often realize that the Holy Spirit Himself prays prayers in us which we cannot utter ourselves. When we are born again of God and are indwelt by the Spirit of God, He expresses for us the unutterable. “He,” the Holy Spirit in you, “makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God” (8:27). And God searches your heart, not to know what your conscious prayers are, but to find out what the prayer of the Holy Spirit is. The Spirit of God uses the nature of the believer as a temple in which to offer His prayers of intercession. “… your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit…” (1 Corinthians 6:19). When Jesus Christ cleansed the temple, “… He would not allow anyone to carry wares through the temple” (Mark 11:16). The Spirit of God will not allow you to use your body for your own convenience. Jesus ruthlessly cast out everyone who bought and sold in the temple, and said, “My house shall be called a house of prayer…. But you have made it a ‘den of thieves’” (Mark 11:17). Have we come to realize that our “body is the temple of the Holy Spirit”? If so, we must be careful to keep it undefiled for Him. We have to remember that our conscious life, even though only a small part of our total person, is to be regarded by us as a “temple of the Holy Spirit.” He will be responsible for the unconscious part which we don’t know, but we must pay careful attention to and guard the conscious part for which we are responsible.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Sunday, November 1, 2009
"Closer" - John Mark Mcmillan
Even though ive listened to this song countless times i felt like tonight i really heard the lyrics for the first time. Enjoy.
Closer - John Mark Mcmillan
Come closer, closer to me.
Find me broken, find me bleedin'
cause I need more now than a fairy tale,
a God who lives in a book.
I need Someone real.
So would You come?
Would You come?
If i begged you, would you come closer to me now?
Come closer, closer to me.
Find me broken, find me on my knees,
cause I need more now than philosophy.
Some God in outer space doesn't mean anything to me.
So would you come?
Would you come?
If I begged you, would you come closer to me now?
Would you come?
Would you come?
If i begged you, would you come closer to me now?
Son of David, do not pass me by,
cause I am naked,
I'm poor and I'm blind.
Son of david, don't pass me by,
cause I am naked,
I'm poor and I'm blind.
Closer - John Mark Mcmillan
Come closer, closer to me.
Find me broken, find me bleedin'
cause I need more now than a fairy tale,
a God who lives in a book.
I need Someone real.
So would You come?
Would You come?
If i begged you, would you come closer to me now?
Come closer, closer to me.
Find me broken, find me on my knees,
cause I need more now than philosophy.
Some God in outer space doesn't mean anything to me.
So would you come?
Would you come?
If I begged you, would you come closer to me now?
Would you come?
Would you come?
If i begged you, would you come closer to me now?
Son of David, do not pass me by,
cause I am naked,
I'm poor and I'm blind.
Son of david, don't pass me by,
cause I am naked,
I'm poor and I'm blind.
Friday, July 17, 2009
Proverbs 26:11
As a dog returns to its vomit,
So a fool repeats his folly.
This is an image of life that came into my head as I was driving home from Starbucks tonight. Thank you Pastor Jeff Moore for making me write a sermon on this verse, without that I wouldn’t have had the inspiration for this blog.
God wants us to have the best in life, He wants us to have the best beyond life!
Let’s put it into terms of food because I understand things better with food references.
God is serving up the best meal you can imagine all the time! Maybe it’s a steak dinner, maybe it’s some kinda tofu/vegetarian thingy, maybe its chicken and waffles, whatever the best meal you can imagine. God is serving up that meal 24/7. He yearns for you to have the meal. He longs for you to enjoy the special meal He has prepared for YOU!
So a fool repeats his folly.
This is an image of life that came into my head as I was driving home from Starbucks tonight. Thank you Pastor Jeff Moore for making me write a sermon on this verse, without that I wouldn’t have had the inspiration for this blog.
God wants us to have the best in life, He wants us to have the best beyond life!
Let’s put it into terms of food because I understand things better with food references.
God is serving up the best meal you can imagine all the time! Maybe it’s a steak dinner, maybe it’s some kinda tofu/vegetarian thingy, maybe its chicken and waffles, whatever the best meal you can imagine. God is serving up that meal 24/7. He yearns for you to have the meal. He longs for you to enjoy the special meal He has prepared for YOU!
Yet how many of us settle, or CHOOSE willingly, to eat vomit?
The vomit could have been a good meal to start with, but now it’s just vomit (old food and drink mixed with stomach acids, YUMMY).
The image I got in my head was just that! Every time I am in the presence of God I come away feeling so happy, filled, loved, etc....And I know in my heart that he wants to have that same time with me ALWAYS.
Yet time and time again, when it comes down to it, I seem to choose VOMIT.
Why is that? Is it because the vomit looks good at first? Then when we taste it we realize it’s still just vomit? Is it because we don’t think we have earned the perfect meal? That doesn’t matter because the meal is a GIFT! You can’t earn something that someone is already trying to give you! That’s the point! We just need to receive the gift from our loving Creator.
So I guess my heart behind this is that the next time you have a choice between sin(vomit) and closeness with God(the delicious meal) remember that vomit is GROSS and you will always regret eating it.
I pray that I have painted a graphic enough picture of vomit and linked it strongly enough with sin that when the option of sin arises you will just think of nasty, warm, chunky, runny, acidy, vomit.
-Jesse
p.s. I had a hard time writing this cause at first I got hungry talking about steak, but then I got nauseated eating my steak while thinking about vomit.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
The Low Down or The 411
So here is the deal people! I have stayed away from my blog because I was too annoyed to write about what I had to write about, but here it is.... straight and to the point....
I'm not going to make it to Thailand after all. There were tons of things getting in the way and causing issues.
Ultimately the missionary and the church decided it would be best to cancel the trip and focus on things for the future.
When it came down to it there were just too many things messing up the trip it didn’t seem as though God wanted us to go.
I am sad that we aren’t going, however I am excited to see what God has in store for the future!
If you have further question about the trip feel free to ask.
With that said I will continue this blog as a creative outlet and to start my future of famous writings and thoughts that people will quote years from now ;) (You have been warned) ENJOY!
I'm not going to make it to Thailand after all. There were tons of things getting in the way and causing issues.
Ultimately the missionary and the church decided it would be best to cancel the trip and focus on things for the future.
When it came down to it there were just too many things messing up the trip it didn’t seem as though God wanted us to go.
I am sad that we aren’t going, however I am excited to see what God has in store for the future!
If you have further question about the trip feel free to ask.
With that said I will continue this blog as a creative outlet and to start my future of famous writings and thoughts that people will quote years from now ;) (You have been warned) ENJOY!
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Lullaby
Have you ever fallen asleep during a devotion time? During prayer or reading God's word?then all of the sudden you awaken with a jolt and the guilt ensues. The guilt for mistreating or abusing or wasting your time with God. you immediately makes promises about never doing it again, and about giving God the times when your most awake etc etc etc…
Lets look at what we know of the character of God. Guilt is the last thing he would like us to feel after our time with Him! He is the God of rest, his yoke is light. He is God of the Sabbath, he has provided that same rest from the first Sabbath day to us NOW in this day and time.
God is CONSTANT and we are the ones who are ever changing. God wants us to live in the rest He provides, and yet we don’t allow ourselves to experience that gift.
So what if we change our outlook on the situation. What if when you fall asleep during this most intimate time with your Creator, you view it as a gift from Him, not a mistake by you.What if reading his word and prayer become something that God uses to bless us with rest? He knows how crazy our lives are, he knows we dont take time to rest, he knows we are stressed!
What if falling asleep is no longer your FAULT but God singing you a lullaby and bringing you into His complete rest? The same rest that he provided on the 7th day of creation.
I always feel better after a nap with God…
… I have re-written the end of this 4 times now and each time it gets more complicated. Im just going to end it by stating my original intent on this Blog….
God loves us with a pure love we can’t comprehend on this earth. Let us live in the freedom He has provided and not get stuck up on the little things in life.
-Jetzu
Lets look at what we know of the character of God. Guilt is the last thing he would like us to feel after our time with Him! He is the God of rest, his yoke is light. He is God of the Sabbath, he has provided that same rest from the first Sabbath day to us NOW in this day and time.
God is CONSTANT and we are the ones who are ever changing. God wants us to live in the rest He provides, and yet we don’t allow ourselves to experience that gift.
So what if we change our outlook on the situation. What if when you fall asleep during this most intimate time with your Creator, you view it as a gift from Him, not a mistake by you.What if reading his word and prayer become something that God uses to bless us with rest? He knows how crazy our lives are, he knows we dont take time to rest, he knows we are stressed!
What if falling asleep is no longer your FAULT but God singing you a lullaby and bringing you into His complete rest? The same rest that he provided on the 7th day of creation.
I always feel better after a nap with God…
… I have re-written the end of this 4 times now and each time it gets more complicated. Im just going to end it by stating my original intent on this Blog….
God loves us with a pure love we can’t comprehend on this earth. Let us live in the freedom He has provided and not get stuck up on the little things in life.
-Jetzu
Monday, May 11, 2009
updates
crazy weeks!
So we found out last week that our Trip to Thailand is officially postponed.
The trip has been moved to July 20th. the biggest reason for this was that very few of the team members had the funding and support to make the original date.
Simply... we need more money before we can fly!
I have been so blown away at unexpected kindness and giving from those around me, yet i still have a ways to go. at this point i still need to raise about $1,600.00
Yet i know God works everything out for our own good so I'm not worried about it. I'm sure there is a good reason, that we will never know about, as to why this trip has been more difficult to setup. only our Creator knows the true reason for all things because He is the only one who exists out of time and sees everything happening at once ( or however that works )
Glory be to God in all things and may we live as Christ lived on this earth!
p.s. Jimmy's Diner fundraiser was a great success! more info to come about that.
Also, we have a TGI-Fridays Fundraiser coming up.
Stay tuned!
So we found out last week that our Trip to Thailand is officially postponed.
The trip has been moved to July 20th. the biggest reason for this was that very few of the team members had the funding and support to make the original date.
Simply... we need more money before we can fly!
I have been so blown away at unexpected kindness and giving from those around me, yet i still have a ways to go. at this point i still need to raise about $1,600.00
Yet i know God works everything out for our own good so I'm not worried about it. I'm sure there is a good reason, that we will never know about, as to why this trip has been more difficult to setup. only our Creator knows the true reason for all things because He is the only one who exists out of time and sees everything happening at once ( or however that works )
Glory be to God in all things and may we live as Christ lived on this earth!
p.s. Jimmy's Diner fundraiser was a great success! more info to come about that.
Also, we have a TGI-Fridays Fundraiser coming up.
Stay tuned!
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
this is a test
im planning on just taking my phone with me to thailand and im testing it right now to see if I can update my blog from it. so far so good! this should be a simple way to stay in touch with everyone and keep you all posted on what's going on while im out of the country.
-Jesse
p.s. doesn't look like I can upload pictures =(
-Jesse
p.s. doesn't look like I can upload pictures =(
Monday, May 4, 2009
Potatoes
I feel like my life is a field. Up until this point all i have learned to grow is potatoes. I've gotten pretty good at growing potatoes. Potatoes are important to the entire world as a major food source. In recognition of this importance, the United Nations officially declared the year 2008 as the International Year of the Potato in order to "increase awareness of the importance of the potato as a food in developing nations" and calling the crop a "hidden treasure". This follows the International Rice Year in 2004.
I am in a season of change for my life currently. I'm looking at a lot of things differently then i have before and a lot of my current roles are shifting in the next few months.
Back to Potatoes...
I feel like my life is a field.
Up until this point all i have grown potatoes. that's what i was taught to grow. that's all i have known. I have been harvested and now i long for something more.
God is tilling me.
Tillage is the agricultural preparation of the soil by ploughing, ripping, or turning it.
For so long now all i have known how to grow is potatoes and God wants to plant something new in me. Something far more grand then i could comprehend at the moment.
I feel that Gods wants me to grow a variety of things, strawberries, carrots, blueberries, corn, wheat, beets, rice, oranges, cherries, mango's, green beans, lettuce, water melon, maybe even some hotdog trees!
God is tilling me. In this time of preparation i need to learn from the other fields around me. I need to learn how to grow the things they can grow. I need to learn what it takes to produce other things than potatoes.
Once God is through tilling me for this season of life i will be ready to accept those other crops. Then the harvest will come once again and i will be able to produce the bounty of things God yearns to see from me.
Thank you to all those fields around me for showing me that there are other things to grow than potatoes. Thank you to those that are teaching me how to grow something more.
My apologies to those that grow tired of farming analogies.
I am in a season of change for my life currently. I'm looking at a lot of things differently then i have before and a lot of my current roles are shifting in the next few months.
Back to Potatoes...
I feel like my life is a field.
Up until this point all i have grown potatoes. that's what i was taught to grow. that's all i have known. I have been harvested and now i long for something more.
God is tilling me.
Tillage is the agricultural preparation of the soil by ploughing, ripping, or turning it.
For so long now all i have known how to grow is potatoes and God wants to plant something new in me. Something far more grand then i could comprehend at the moment.
I feel that Gods wants me to grow a variety of things, strawberries, carrots, blueberries, corn, wheat, beets, rice, oranges, cherries, mango's, green beans, lettuce, water melon, maybe even some hotdog trees!
God is tilling me. In this time of preparation i need to learn from the other fields around me. I need to learn how to grow the things they can grow. I need to learn what it takes to produce other things than potatoes.
Once God is through tilling me for this season of life i will be ready to accept those other crops. Then the harvest will come once again and i will be able to produce the bounty of things God yearns to see from me.
Thank you to all those fields around me for showing me that there are other things to grow than potatoes. Thank you to those that are teaching me how to grow something more.
My apologies to those that grow tired of farming analogies.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Jimmy's Diner Fundraiser!
The other day i met with the owner of Jimmy's Diner and he was awesome enough to put on a fundraiser for our missions trip to Thailand! if you visit Jimmy's Diner on Thursday May 7th between 8am and 9pm he will donate a minimum of 15% of the total sales to our trip!All you need to do is tell them that you are there for the "catalyst fundraiser".
So just by eating out, which we do all the time, you can help send me and my team to Thailand!
Please pass this info on to everyone you know! i would love to bless Jimmys Diner with TONS of business and also bless our team by funding our trip! Pass it on!
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Crunch Time!!!
Wow i only have a few weeks to go until i take off for Thailand! still so much to be done. My Head is spinning a bit.
A lot of the different fundraisers we scheduled fell through right before they were supposed to happen. such a big bummer! needless to say the team is short on money for the trip. To top it all off we were just told that if we didn't have the full $3000 before May 17th we wont be allowed to go on the trip!
so its time to get creative!
Ive embedded a video that a good friend of mine made to help raise funds for the trip. I'm sending it out to lots of people so pray for that.
we also have a couple food fundraisers scheduled this week AND a bowling fundraiser.
so please help out by spreading the word on the events as they roll out.
A lot of the different fundraisers we scheduled fell through right before they were supposed to happen. such a big bummer! needless to say the team is short on money for the trip. To top it all off we were just told that if we didn't have the full $3000 before May 17th we wont be allowed to go on the trip!
so its time to get creative!
Ive embedded a video that a good friend of mine made to help raise funds for the trip. I'm sending it out to lots of people so pray for that.
we also have a couple food fundraisers scheduled this week AND a bowling fundraiser.
so please help out by spreading the word on the events as they roll out.
Saturday, April 18, 2009
thoughts...
so im still figuring stuff out for Thailand. preparation for this trip is really making me evaluate myself and things going on around me. the biggest things is simply that i want to rid my life of "clutter". this is driving me to try and sell everything i own and don’t use more than once a year on craigslist.com .
but today i simply wanted to ask 2 questions...
1. Must we repeat the things that have been demonstrated and taught to us by those that went before us, or is there a possibility to change/improve upon those things?
-I was slapped in the face (not in reality a human slap) today when i confronted someone on an issue i have seen with them. after the conversation in which i tried to wipe the speck out of my friends eye i realized that i had a log in my own eye. i was doing the very thing to those people around me that this person was doing, and i had the audacity to criticize him for it!
consider me put in my place.
as an encouragement to all those in internet land that may one day read this, simply take 5 mins and look at yourself very carefully before confronting anyone on anything you think they may be doing wrong!
so back to my question... must i do the things i learned from those around me simply because they are now imbedded in my mind, or may i brake away from the mold and improve upon this situation? the answer i think is to remind yourself that everyone makes mistakes and has weaknesses and you must know your own before you go pointing other peoples out to them. also, you cannot look to those around you to teach you forever, there will be a point in which your goal has to change from "i want to be like that person one day", to " i want to be better then that person one day", to finally "what that person is like doesnt matter because i know what God wants ME to be!"
2. is winning the battle over whats morally right and wrong worth losing your loved ones?
-just finished watching the movie "flash of genius" in this movie a person’s invention is stolen and another group make money off of it. the inventor sues the group and it is drawn out to a 12 year long court case.
through the course of those 12 years this inventor lost his wife and six kids. he also lost a lot of sanity. he pursued this case for 12 years and denied multiple deals offered to him simply because he wanted it stated that he was right and the group was wrong.
while this is very noble, turning away loads of money for the idea of right and wrong, is it right for a person to lose his family over it? well in the end the inventors children come to his side and help him with the case and his wife will actually speak with him, but it doesnt go further than that. also, he wins the court case and he is stated officially as being "right", but there is still immeasurable damage done to his family.
so at what point would you give in?
if your family was on the line and you were fighting a case over right and wrong, would you give in, lose recognition that something had been stolen from you, and keep your family for $100,000?
$250,000?
$1,000,000?
$10,000,000?
$30,000,000?
in the end, what is actually right and wrong in this situation? i dont know, but its something to think about and measure values against.
but today i simply wanted to ask 2 questions...
1. Must we repeat the things that have been demonstrated and taught to us by those that went before us, or is there a possibility to change/improve upon those things?
-I was slapped in the face (not in reality a human slap) today when i confronted someone on an issue i have seen with them. after the conversation in which i tried to wipe the speck out of my friends eye i realized that i had a log in my own eye. i was doing the very thing to those people around me that this person was doing, and i had the audacity to criticize him for it!
consider me put in my place.
as an encouragement to all those in internet land that may one day read this, simply take 5 mins and look at yourself very carefully before confronting anyone on anything you think they may be doing wrong!
so back to my question... must i do the things i learned from those around me simply because they are now imbedded in my mind, or may i brake away from the mold and improve upon this situation? the answer i think is to remind yourself that everyone makes mistakes and has weaknesses and you must know your own before you go pointing other peoples out to them. also, you cannot look to those around you to teach you forever, there will be a point in which your goal has to change from "i want to be like that person one day", to " i want to be better then that person one day", to finally "what that person is like doesnt matter because i know what God wants ME to be!"
2. is winning the battle over whats morally right and wrong worth losing your loved ones?
-just finished watching the movie "flash of genius" in this movie a person’s invention is stolen and another group make money off of it. the inventor sues the group and it is drawn out to a 12 year long court case.
through the course of those 12 years this inventor lost his wife and six kids. he also lost a lot of sanity. he pursued this case for 12 years and denied multiple deals offered to him simply because he wanted it stated that he was right and the group was wrong.
while this is very noble, turning away loads of money for the idea of right and wrong, is it right for a person to lose his family over it? well in the end the inventors children come to his side and help him with the case and his wife will actually speak with him, but it doesnt go further than that. also, he wins the court case and he is stated officially as being "right", but there is still immeasurable damage done to his family.
so at what point would you give in?
if your family was on the line and you were fighting a case over right and wrong, would you give in, lose recognition that something had been stolen from you, and keep your family for $100,000?
$250,000?
$1,000,000?
$10,000,000?
$30,000,000?
in the end, what is actually right and wrong in this situation? i dont know, but its something to think about and measure values against.
Monday, April 6, 2009
Success!
Thanks so much to everyone who donated to my yard sale/fundraiser for Thailand! i think it went great! we ended up raising $300 dollars for my air fair! PRAISE GOD!!! that is a good sized amount to be taken away from the balance owed. thanks to my mom and anyssia and all who donated! the due date is coming up very quickly now though and im getting kinda nervous.
it looks like i will be trying to have a couple more yard sales before we take off for Thailand to try and get the air fair paid off. i will keep you all posted on what i have planned.... stay tuned!
-Jesse
it looks like i will be trying to have a couple more yard sales before we take off for Thailand to try and get the air fair paid off. i will keep you all posted on what i have planned.... stay tuned!
-Jesse
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Yard Sale for Thailand
well im still gathering donations for my trip to Thailand. i picked up lots of stuff and am about to leave for another round of pick ups. all my family and friends have been very generous with their things and it looks like the yard sale is gonna be a great success. only problem is its gonna rain tomorrow so im restricted to saturday. oh well. thanks so much to all who have donated!
Monday, March 30, 2009
YardSale!
I'm having a yardsale this saturday morning at my house. trying to clear out the stuff in my life that is simply clutter and helping keep me from clarity and closeness with God.
I am also using it as a fundraiser to help send me to Thailand. this week i will be collecting anything that has any sort of value, and that still works, from anyone willing to donate. also, in some cases i can pickup the items from their homes.
I am also using it as a fundraiser to help send me to Thailand. this week i will be collecting anything that has any sort of value, and that still works, from anyone willing to donate. also, in some cases i can pickup the items from their homes.
Friday, March 27, 2009
1st fundraiser
well tonight i had my first real fundraiser for Thailand. i think it was a great success! about 11 people came out from a friends church and bowled a couple games at brunswick. we had a blast and also raised money for Thailand, what could be better?
thanks to Myra Camacho for pulling things together and making it happen. thanks to everyone who attended for supporting me on this trip!
thanks to Myra Camacho for pulling things together and making it happen. thanks to everyone who attended for supporting me on this trip!
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Info cards and buttons
I'm at the church working on my info cards and buttons to help raise money for my trip. we are only 2 months away and there is still SO much to do!
the goal is to pass out the info cards to people for donations. once they have the info card they can read this blog and also keep the card in their wallets as a reminder to pray for the trip, the team, and me.
thanks so much for all your support!
the goal is to pass out the info cards to people for donations. once they have the info card they can read this blog and also keep the card in their wallets as a reminder to pray for the trip, the team, and me.
thanks so much for all your support!
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Drama for Thai Mama
In todays mission meeting we talked about planning dramas, skits, and object lessons for the different groups that we will be meeting in Thailand. it will be a challenge to plan these with the little information that we have about the specific settings they will be given in.
that's the great thing about God, He always rewards preparation and i know that He will be able to use everything that we plan and prepare for this trip.
Because i work in children's ministry and am used to working with skits and lessons, i was asked to plan about 3 dramas for the trip.
i have a hard time planning things that involve more than 1 person (myself) but am excited for the experience.
that's the great thing about God, He always rewards preparation and i know that He will be able to use everything that we plan and prepare for this trip.
Because i work in children's ministry and am used to working with skits and lessons, i was asked to plan about 3 dramas for the trip.
i have a hard time planning things that involve more than 1 person (myself) but am excited for the experience.
Before
Catalyst school of ministry is preparing to go on its 2009 missions trip this year to Thailand. There are about 11 of us going this year and we are very excited for a trip different than any of us have experienced!
My name is Jesse and these are my experiences and thoughts before//during//and after the trip.Enjoy!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)