day fifteen

Well today was full of bumps and bruises literally.  Today was the halfway mark for the fast and I was excited about how far I had come.  I knew that God would give me the strength to complete thirty days and allow me time to recover before going to Greece on my missions trip over spring break.  I was feeling sick yesterday due to the flu and cold going around campus and my roommate has it.  I decided to take a nap and allow my body to get some rest and try and fight off some of the sickness.

As I was taking a nap I fell out of my top bunk and my head slammed on the desk below and I blacked out for several minutes before waking up to having to throw up.  I noticed the huge pain in my head and the goose egg on my forehead that was already swelling up.  My RA told me to call LUPD because they are trained EMS as well and let them decide what to do.  When the officer came minutes later he told me that I needed to go to the hospital and get looked at.  My roommate took me to the hospital and I got a CAT scan and an x-ray which both came back negative...thank God.  I was told by the doctor that it was not just a minor concussion because I did black out for several minutes, but luckily there seems to be no signs for greater concern.

The doctor told me that she did not want to give me strong pain killers because of the side effects caused by them are exactly the signs to look out for after a major concussion like mine.  She did however say because of the great pain in my head to take three extra strength tylenol.  Because she told me to take it every four hours I felt compelled to mention to her about my fast.  I needed her medical opinion about what I should do if I am going to be taking pain killers every four hours on a regular basis for the next several days.  She told me that I did need to come off of my fast.  As upset I was I needed to listen to the council of the doctor.  I was able to actually witness to her about why I was fasting and she was very encouraged and we began to talk about Jesus and the fast that he did.  She was amazed that I had done fifteen days and that I was planning on doing thirty.  As much as she wanted me to continue she told me that I needed to eat food to help give my stomach something to help with the drugs.  

So this is the end of my fast, and my heart aches.  I want to weep, but I know God is in control.  I am trusting God and I know the results from what God has shown me on the fast and it encourages me to make this something I do often.  Prayer and reading have become parts of my lifestyle like never before.

Luckily I love blogging now and will continue to write as often as I can, hopefully daily.  Thank you for your prayers and support.

To God be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

Books I read today:

The Relevant Church - Mike Bickle, Mark Driscoll, and more.

Scripture I read today:

Ephesians 1-4

Verse of the day:

4:12

day fourteen

Isaiah was a man that God spoke to on a regular basis.  He used encouraging but powerful analogies when talking about the "bigness" of God.  I printed off Scripture passages that encourage me on my wall right in from of my desk today.  Here are some of the ones I posted up:

Isaiah 40:28-31

Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.  He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.  He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength.  They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

Isaiah 40:25

To whom will you compare me? Or  who is my equal? says the Holy One.  Lift you eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one, and calls them each by name.  Because of His great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing.

Isaiah 40:12

Who has measure the waters in he hollow of his hand, or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens? Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket or weighed the mountains on the the scales and the hills in a balance?

Jeremiah 29:11

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future."

Zephaniah 3:17

The Lord your God is in your midst, a might one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you with his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.

May you remember today that God has a plan and purpose for you.  May you hear the Holy One sing loudly over you and quiet you with his love.  May you see that he is mighty to save and that he is in your midst.  May you realize how big the LORD is today when you look into the sky and at the mountains.  May you find strength and rest in knowing that he will raise you up and increase your power.  May you fall deeper in love love with the one who holds this universe together in the palm of his hand.

Books I read today:

The Revolutionary Communicator - Jedd Medefind, and Erik Lokkesmoe

Scripture I read today:

Romans 1-5

Acts 4-8

Isaiah 40

Verse of the Day:

Isaiah 40:25

day thirteen

God you never forsake or abandon me.  You never leave me or fail me.  Why?  Why do you continue to lavish your love upon me even when I am far from where I should be.  Why have you not given up on me and walked away.  You should have a long time ago, but for some reason you hang around and say, "This is my son, in whom I am well pleased."  

I do not deserve to be called you son, I do not deserve to be called your friend, but yet you call me son, friend, and beloved.  I would be content with a slave eating the scraps that fall to the dogs but yet you ask me to dine with you and sip your wine.  You clothe me when I am naked, you feed me when I am hungry, and you quench my thirst when I am thirsty and I am not even talking about the physical needs yet.  

You sing and dance over me at night.  You give me dreams and visions.  You give me far more than I could even imagine.  You not only take care of me spiritually, but physically.  When I am sick or have physical problems you come to my rescue as I cry out to you.  When I am sad and depressed you come along side of me and wrap your arms around me.  When I am alone and feel helpless you come walk along side of me and show me that you are always here no matter what.  When I fail you and everyone else around me you ask me to sit in your lap and lean my head on your shoulders.

I need more of you in my life Father.  I am not content with where I am.  I pray that I never find my self satisfied with your Word, and your presence.  I want to continue to grow in knowledge and wisdom.  Cause me to trust you in everything.  Cause me to rely solely on your Spirit and how it leads me.

Teach me to pray O Lord.  Show me how to connect in such a way with Your Spirit that I do not take my foot off the ground to move until I feel you leading me.  I know that You have given me a brain and a heart to use but I want those too to die in the flesh so that Your Spirit will reign and rule over every fiber in my body.

God my prayer for this campus is that You help us to start to be the hands and the feet.  Help us to not only be passionate about the Bible and prayer, but to follow Your instructions and feed the poor, and shelter the homeless, and take care of the widows and orphans.  My prayer is that You let it start with this campus.

God never allow me to be so certain of myself or my future that I forget to let you drive and direct my life.  My prayer is that You continue to drive my every step and hold my hand the whole way.  The day that I start to take over is the day my life becomes a wreck and useless.  I am nothing without you God.  Cause me to keep in the forefront of my mind and heart that I must decrease so that you can increase.

I love you God.  I love you Savior.  I love you Daddy.

Books I read today:

None.

Scripture I read today:

Psalm 119

1 Peter 2

Verse of the day:

Zephaniah 3:17

day twelve

There are days in our lives when nothing seems to go right.  But there are also those days when nothing seems to go right, but somehow when you lay your head down at the end of the night God still gives you a peace that He is in control and that there is nothing to worry about.

I would not call my day rough but rather just long and tiring.  I had friends come up from home to see a concert here at Liberty and I got to give them a tour of the campus.  One of them is coming here as a freshman next year and she is really excited about what God is doing on the campus as I gave them a brief snapshot.  I had people come up from my home church for the weekend to check it out.  I enjoyed helping everyone but as we all know...giving directions over and over again and helping can be exhausting at the end.  I loved doing it and serving them while getting nothing in return, but at the end of the day (especially without having any food to energize you) I was wiped out.  How amazing it is though to share with others about what God is doing on this campus after the amazing days that I have had recently.  I got to share testimonies of lives being changed and transformed.  I talked about the hunger and thirst from the guys on the hall for more of Him and how it is becoming contagious.  Our prayer is for this entire campus to be revitalized and rejuvenated in their spiritual walk.  Our prayer is that as one campus we can unite together and see the world changed and reached starting here in Lynchburg and in the United States and going out into the ends of the world.

I am loving having my brother and cousin here for the weekend.  They bring life back into me seeing young people desire God and to know that there is such hope for this generation and the one after me.

Books I read today:

None. (really busy day)

Scripture I read today:

Acts 12-15

Verse of the day:

Jeremiah 29:11

day eleven

So the weekend is almost here and I am looking forward to sharing it with my brother and cousin who came up for the weekend.  They are so much fun and I am looking forward to sharing the excitement that is on this campus for God.  I hope that it becomes contagious for them and that they experience the hunger and thirst for more of God.  This weekend I am hoping to not only have a great time with them but also grow together.

Today I was reading in Mark about Jesus' responses to the questions he was asked.  I studied his responses and the way in which he spoke to them.  I also studied the next word in my One-Word Study of the Lord's prayer "who".  God is continuing to open my eyes to the simple truths that in every word of this inerrant book.  I look studying one word at a time.  It has its times of frustration (especially with simple words) but God makes it so worth it.

I had accountability with my RA today and we were talking about different things that God is doing on the hall and how excited he is.  We talked about everything from the emotional aspects to the biblical truths and the doctrine behind what is happening.  He is a Biblical Studies major and so we spend a lot of time talking theology and the historical aspects of the Bible.

Today was a re-energizing day for me.  I took a nice nap and threw some softball with my teammates for our intramural team.  Today was a solid study day while still knowing that the Spirit of God is moving mightily and even violently on the hall.  I am still expectant of what he is going to do and prayerful that this only the first of many things to happen.

Books I read today:

The Revolutionary Communicator - Jedd Medefind, Erik Lokkesmoe

The Relevant Church - Mike Bickle, Mark Driscoll, and more.

Scripture I read today:

Mark 7-15

James 1-3

Verse of the day:

James 3:13

day ten

In awe of God's sovereign power I find myself silenced with words, but yet hungry and thirsty in my spirit.  I discover how far I from God's will in my life while others encourage me that I am so far ahead of them.  I see how far I am away from where I would like to be.  I am broken and stripped of any and all pride everyday by seeing God's power moving and knowing that He could use anyone else on this campus, on this hall, but yet He chose me.  I am constantly reminded of the story of Moses while I see the Spirit moving.  Moses felt unqualified though his age, speech, and past but yet God chose to use him and no one else.  God keeps reminding me that there is nothing I do to make him want to use me more or less when it comes to works but rather a hunger and thirst for more of His word and spending time in prayer is what He is truly after.

Today was a unique day.  We did pray and there were more guys that I had never expected to be in there along with other small group leaders that partner with me in leadership on the hall.  So it is exciting to see that I am not the only leader who is participating in this desire for more of him through our times of prayer.  But besides praying again and seeing all that happened in that God taught me a lot on my own today.  I learned that this fast is showing me about what it means to really operate in the Spirit and to trust God in all.  As I talked with a friend of mine earlier today he was telling me that I was not ready for what God is going to do.  He was encouraging me by telling me that I have no idea what I am getting myself into (in a good way) and that for me to just pray and ask God to continue to keep me expectant and ready for what His Spirit is doing.  My friend was telling me that I am about to see something happen on this campus that not many men ever get to see.  Knowing the theological background of Liberty he was telling me how exciting it was to see how the Spirit was moving and how he was showing up everywhere I go.

Today I took pictures of family, friends, and pastors that are close to me and put them on my wall.  I put them there to remind me to pray for them.  My prayer is not only for myself, my small group, or this hall, but my prayer goes out to everyone that I am in relationship with.  I want to see a hunger for more of Him to rise up not only on this campus, but back home in Richmond, at my friend's universities, at churches all across this state.  My expectations are high because of the answer to prayer I have seen in the past few days.  I no longer take prayer lightly.  When I pray I expect God to do something, and I expect to see things happen not only in the physical realm but also the spiritual realm.

I am truly studying prayer right now and taking each word and breaking apart.  I'm doing what Louie Giglio calls a One-Word Study.  For example I am stuck on "Father" in the Lord's prayer and God is showing me so much.  I do not care if it is the word "the" I will study it and I believe that God will show me something I have never seen before.

Books I read today:

The Relevant Church - Mike Bickle, Mark Driscoll, and many more.

Scripture I read today:

Exodus 1-4

Matthew 6

Luke 11

Verse of the day:

Philippians 4:6

day nine

I wish the hunger and thirst that I have been praying for on this hall was evident to not only me but I wish you could see it too in person.  It is incredible to see what prayer and fasting does on this hall.  I am thankful that God has not only given me a heart for prayer about this hall and the guys on it, but that I am getting a chance to see the seeds be harvested.

Tonight was a typical tuesday night.  it was small group night.  the way small group ministry works at liberty is like the image you see.

RD - resident director

RA - resident assistant

SLD - spiritual life director

PL - prayer leader (small group leaders)

PGM - prayer group member (usually 5-6 per prayer group)

This is effective because everyone on campus at liberty is being ministered to and has a CHANCE to be personally disciple and mentored.

Attending prayer groups is not mandatory at all but definitely encouraged and endorsed by Liberty University.  I have five awesome guys and they love the NOOMA videos by Rob Bell.  A lot of nights we will watch one and then have discussion about it.  Some nights the questions go as planned, other nights we get completely off track (which is awesome too).  Tonight we watched the video called "Breathe".  I wanted to something unique and different because of what God had been doing in my life over the past few days and the heart I have for prayer right now and seeing the fruit of it.

After the video was done playing I explained to the guys that I did not want to talk about it, preach, discuss, or anything.  I wanted to pray and let the words in the video along with being lead by the Spirit lead us into a place of intercession.  I told the guys that I did not want to just "pray for the person on our left or right," but really press in and intercede for the needs in our lives, and for the things in our lives that God wants to take from us.  For thirty minutes we prayed all out and as I lead this guys in prayer they just ran with it.  After that I wanted to just spend time praying for each of the guys one by one.  I wanted each of us to all lays hands on one person and pray collectively for his needs, life, and the blessing he is.  So one by one they sat in a chair in the middle of the room and each guy prayed for the guy sitting down and then I would close us out each time.  All five guys prayed and then I would close, and one by one would sit down and we would do it again and again and again.  Finally once the last guy prayed I was getting ready to lead us in a closing prayer and the guys told me that I hadn't gone yet and they sat me down in the chair and prayed a blessing over my life.  The encouraged me so much and spoke life into my Spirit.  I began to cry just knowing that the love I have for each of them was being shown back to me and that my work in their lives over the past 6 months of school has been effective.  After they prayed over me I closed us out in prayer and each of the guys walked out with a sense of joy, peace, and even some were emotional after seeing what God had done.  I walked out more in love, more hungry, more thirsty, and more passionate for what God is doing.  CAN YOU BELIEVE WHAT IS GOING ON?  IS THIS REAL?  I wanted to shout out these questions to everyone in the hall.  I have such excitement right now and it is contagious.  God continues to show up bigger and bigger everyday in a new and exciting way.  If this is the answer to prayer, fasting, and leadership than I have no one to blame but God.  I am so humbled by what he is doing in me, through me, and around me.

Books I read today:

The Relevant Church - Mike Bickle, Mark Driscoll, and more.

Scripture I read today:

Psalm 112-118

Proverbs 25-31

Verse of the Day:

Job 1:1