commission vs. omission

I am reading this book called In A Pit With A Lion On A Snowy Day by Mark Batterson.  I cannot seem to put it down but with my busy schedule I find myself toting it around and reading it before classes, convocation, or whatever so if I happen to get a minute or two to read I pull it out with my pen (gotta be able to mark in it...duh!)

This book is a must read and I encourage anyone who has not read it to read it as soon as possible.  This is a book that will really change your "churchy" perspective on how to be a true Christ follower.

One of the topics he touches briefly on that I fell in love with was this idea of commission versus omission.  A lot of times in churches today and sunday schools we are told about the "don'ts" in being a Christian (don't drink, don't have sex before you are married, don't do drugs, etc.).  Batterson makes a strong statement that we get hung up on the lesser of the two evils if you will.  I completely agree.  Our bigger concern should be the opportunities we miss out on.  Not witnessing, not serving, not putting others first, etc. are things that we just sit back on the sidelines and cheer others on as they take part in the adventurous elements of Christianity.  We have opportunities lying in front of us all the time but yet we never see them or chose not to act.

I was talking with a guy that I disciple and mentor today about this concept from the book and he was blown away.  We began talking about it and then he made this comment, "but it's just how we were wired.  We are too scared to do the wrong thing or 'miss out' on 'God's perfect will.'" He is right.  Our flesh and natural instinct is to ignore or miss out on the things that we probably should be doing.  I replied by referring to what Paul said about beating his body into submission.  We do not ever want our bodies or flesh to determine our decisions or our ability to act or to ignore a situation.  It is flesh and blood, but more importantly it is sinful and selfish.  My flesh and even my heart can be deceptive.  Out of the heart speaks the mouth but what am I feeding my emotions?  Am I hiding God's word in my heart?  Am i memorizing Scriptures?  It is no one's fault but my own.  I am happy that God has been showing me these things now so I can begin to work and submit these things over to Him.  I want Him to wipe away any calluses on my heart and make my heart like baby skin like Keith Green prayed.  I never want to become numb to the uncomfortable lifestyle a Christian SHOULD be living out.

24

tick' tick'...i love the show 24 with the nonstop action and the intensity of Jack Bauer.  I love the fact that the 24 hours of the show can be dragged out for several weeks and episodes and even seasons ( I think they are on season 7 now?).  Regardless 24 hours is a lot.

24 hours in a day.  Sure we could all probably fast 24 hours.  Stay awake 24 hours.  Or do a lot of things for 24 hours.  I have decided to embark on something I have never done before.  I am going to spend 24 hours this week in prayer.  This means that throughout my day I need to pray a little more than 3 hours a day.  I have never prayed this much in a week.  My hope and desire is to spend most of this time per day consecutively.  Meaning, I can pray for thirty minutes here and there and possibly find a way to get it all in.  I want to try and get as much of that time in one setting.  If I have to split it into two sections then that is fine too.  The goal of this prayer movement for me is to capitalize on what Jerry Falwell said so often when referring to prayer.  "All our failures are prayer failures."  God is calling to stop praying like I am just tossing hopeful words to a ceiling.  Prayer is powerful and can be effective if our hearts are aligned with His.  As I fasted I saw tremendous fruit from it both spiritually but also with my physical eyes.  I am not stopping the hunger and thirst I experienced on that fast.  It lives on in my heart and my spirit and will continue over into this 24 hours of prayer this week.  I am praying and expecting God to do some amazing things in my life and the lives I pray for.  God has put an expectation in my mind that if I want to truly see him move I need to start expecting in faith that he will.

I just received the new NOOMA dvd today and guess what it was all about.  PRAYER.  It spoke perfectly to what God has called me on as I support my brother who is fasting right now, and my other brother who is leading youth and students into an intimate relationship with Him.

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