Under Armour

Stop.

Before you read this get your Bible.

I'm waiting.....

Okay. Read Ephesians 6:10-20, slowly.

I love this passage so much and I believe that a large part of Christian's problems come from avoiding this topic, OR intention or not, taking passages like this (ones talking about being a solider) too seriously and becoming a fundamentalist. "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood..." verse 12

The foundation of this text has to begin with verse 10.

"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of HIS might."

My humanity does not like these kind of verses. I like to pretend that I am strong enough, wise enough, experienced enough to handle the world by myself.

I am so silly sometimes.

In our life, every single day, we (The Body of Christ) need to be strong IN the Lord.

Trying to do this on our own will only give us hard and bitter hearts. We will either try to destroy sin our our own and become proud or we will become discouraged and give up (I have done both).

The next thing I want to emphasize is verse 13.

"Therefore take up the whole armor of God"

This speaks a lot to how we need to have a better understanding and experience of God. Having a swallow and narrow-minded idea relationship with God is not putting on the whole armor and isn't going to do you or anyone else any amount of good.

Now, to the meat.

Why is it so important that we put on this armor, so to speak?

The rest of verse 13 gives us the answer, "that you may be able to withstand the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm."

I absolutely love the picture being painted here.

God, even though we chose for ourselves to bring evil into this world by rebelling against His Word, gives us the armor to be able to resist this very same evil.

One last point I would like to make is the bold portion of verse 13.

I love that it says having done all.

God knows that we will never defeat sin (thankfully Christ already has) so He doesn't expect us to! But, He also doesn't expect us to lay down. He wants us to stand, and stand firm!

So just as the company Under Armour boasts "We must protect this house" I pray that we Christians would put on the armor of God, stand shoulder to shoulder, and protect this house.

Your brother in the fight,

Fred

Lord of Glory.

And through all of this, there is nothing, absolutely nothing, no fear, no insecurity, no doubt, no hesitation that will ever, ever stop us. Because we are the sons of the living God, because we are the children of the Almighty, because we are the residents of the Kingdom of Heaven, and we are soldiers in an army of the immortal. And when we speak life, life happens, and when we speak healing, healing happens, and when we speak truth, truth happens. And when we go take what we found to a dead world, we’ll see it come to life again, and when we take what we found to a hopeless world, we’ll see hope come back. We’ll see the heart of our world start beating again, and we’ll see the color come back into people’s faces. Absolutely nothing will ever stop that. Mountains will move before us, and oceans will part before us, and the dead will raise before us. And the world will know that our God is the God that heals, and our God is a God that lives, and our God is a God that loves, and like anything that anyone has ever felt before, because we are fearless, and because we are His hands, and because we are His feet. Forever, and ever. Amen.

Denominations.

When I was younger and less mature I had fallen into the idea of being against denominations, rather I had been lead to believe they were evil, but nonetheless I accepted. I do understand where people come from when they make such statement, just like those who are against "religion" but neither are evil. We are evil. This argument actually sounds a lot like the one Paul addressed when talking about the law, not the topic of today though.

I have now come to realize that denominations are not bad.

In fact, when done right, they are great.

I am proud to be a part of the Southern Baptist Convention.

Why?

Because we are founded.

Founded completely on God's Word.

The SBC wasn't formed to say we are better than anyone else (nor am I claiming such).

I want pause know to make sure you understand I do not care which denomination you belong to. That's your business and as long as we agree on the Gospel, that Jesus is the ONLY means on Salvation and you want to further the Kingdom, then be whatever you please and I'll be right beside you.

Nonetheless, the SBC exists to make sure that the church stays how the church should stay.

They make sure that pastors are preaching the true Word of God.

Sadly, other denominations (some of them) don't have this and therefore churches are falling apart because they are being taught opinions and man's opinion cannot bring life to anything.

I also realize some southern baptist churches are and have fallen through. I don't need sarcasm. I didn't claim it was perfect, because it is ran by imperfect people. We are trying though.

If they existed for no reason other than this, it would be enough, and so it is enough for me.

(They do more than just this, but this is the core and the only point I choose to make).

I am proud to be a part of a body that cares more about the true Word of God than comfort.

Life. It's just a vapor.

Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit"— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that." James 4:13-15

Lately I've been thinking more about this.

The fact that I leave for basic in November has caused this increase, I do believe. I've been thinking about relationships (I am not talking about dating. Shesh). Sure, I wish while I'm gone I could pause time and then return and everything be the same, but that foolish. As bad as I hate to admit it, I know things won't be the same. You can't leave somewhere for 7 or more months and return to the same.

I realize that the closeness I have with many people will be lost or strained.

I hate thinking about this.

But, it has prompted me to move.

Think about it. The Bible tells us our entire life is but a vapor. We're talking 80-100 years. That's a vapor. Then what is a year or even a month.

Those things we convince ourselves we have time to do. Do we really?

Sure, it wouldn't hurt to apply this to schoolwork and such, but my real concern is the Gospel.

Time is scarce.

More than half the world is without the Gospel.

That's more than four billion people.

At least half of those have never even heard the Gospel we adore.

We do NOT have all the time in the world.

Time is not the only thing we have.

We must stop wasting time.

We must move.

We must act.

Radical abandonment.

with all the love I can muster,

Fred

Heart games.

It has come to my attention, especially recently, that some of my tweets/statuses/whatever else have sometimes come across wrong and therefore caused concern for some around me (others could care less and that's fine, too).

I feel I need to clarify a few things.

I am happy.

In fact, I'm ecstatic about life, as I have been since my birth in 2006.

The issue is not happiness, joy rather (different topic, different day), but humanity. Even though I smile almost all the time, especially when around people, I still have feelings.

Though joy contains my heart (I'm still not going to discuss the difference in that and happiness, yet) I still have these nasty feelings. Feelings are not always bad, as it seems I am stating, but they can often be just that. Occasionally I allow my feelings to have more power than they should and thus it leads me to feeling bitter, angry, etc.

I do trust people, not in the ways and depths I used to, but I still do. I promise.

I still love people. Always will.

I still believe forgiveness should run freely in our hearts.

I just have to be transparent sometimes. If I don't my heart gets hard, quickly; so for those times I must let the nasty out, though I promise to try my best to never aim it at any person, ever, be patient with me.

For those who do, you have no need in ceasing to check on me when I do either. It helps more than you know.

I really love you.

Sincerely,

Son of King Jesus

Life and Light.

In Him was life, and that life was the Light of men. And the Light shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not. John 1:4-5

"In Him there is life..." Colossians 3:3-4

*Galatians 2:20 "I have been crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live."

Death, when death to sin, for Christ, equals life because, as verse 4 of John 1 states, "In Him is life."

Light reveals what darkness has hidden and gives life to what darkness has killed (or prevented from growing).

Light escorts life.

The very first thing God spoke into existence, after creating the universe, was light. He again, as stated in the previous post, was laying the foundation in Christ (because light equals life, life equals logos, {The Word} *Psalm 119:105* the Word equals Jesus, and Jesus equals God.

In the beginning God created everything and then gave light and thus life.

We chose sin and rebellion and darkness.

Then, God again gave us the light, and though we still rebelled and even killed the light, He still offers us life in Him.

This post may seem like lots of nonsense and random thoughts. I promise it isn't.

Read both posts, and more importantly read the first five verses of John.

Meditate on it.

I'm trying to point that Christ is everything.

God used Him for His foundation.

Let's do the same.

The Word of God.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. - John 1:1

The first statement in the Gospel of John is in the beginning... He was declaring the absolute power of the Word of God, and that the Word (Greek logos), which we know is Jesus, and God the Father are eternal, because they were both "in the beginning." (verse 1)

This single verse is so packed with information and power.

He states: 1) Jesus is eternal and did not, as some believe, begin when He has His physical birth on earth. 2) The distinct deity of Jesus Christ and God the Father. 3) Both are eternal. 4) That both are in perfect unity together. 5) That God uses The Word to create everything (verse 3 & Colossians 1:16-17)

God chose to establish everything, the earth, the heavens and His Kingdom on the Word (Jesus).

"The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone." Psalm 118:22

Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in the Scriptures: "'The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes?"

Because this is the cornerstone of the foundation God laid it's the first thing John tries to make us understand, and it's the first thing satan himself attacks.

Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God actually say, 'You shall not eat of any tree in the garden'?" And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, 'You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.'" But the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her,and he ate. Genesis 3:1-6

He not only asks in a deceiving form, but then lies and attacks God's word by saying the truth He declared is a lie. Then, in Matthew 4 He does the same thing!

And the tempter came and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread." But he answered, "It is written,'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'"

Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written,

'He will command his angels concerning you,

and

'On their hands they will bear you up,

lest you strike your foot against a stone.'

Jesus said to him, "Again it is written, 'You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.' Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.And he said to him, "All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me."Then Jesus said to him, "Be gone, Satan! For it is written,

'You shall worship the Lord your God

and him only shall you serve."

Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him. Matthew 4:3-11

The Word of God (Jesus Himself and the spoken Word of God we have in our Bible) is the most powerful thing there is. Period.

God used it to created everything.

He used to show us His story of redemption.

Satan even used it to deceive man and attempted the same on Jesus.

If even satan, the one against God used it, then it obviously is powerful.

I share this with you all because I want you to see the power the Word has and I want you all to fall in love with it more everyday.

It is far more than just a book.

Pray for eyes to see and ears to hear.

With love,

the guy trying to figure this out

Impending Death

I don't usually blog this frequently, but as I was staring at the ceiling I was thinking about Africa, as I often do, for those of you who really know me. :)

I thought about being there and serving people. How I long for that day more than words could begin to express.

Then, I thought of something catastrophic.

AIDS.

Or, for the rest of the world, cancer.

I thought about the thousands of stories I've heard of people getting a fatal disease and it radically changing the way they live their life.

They become more generous. They become more compassionate. They love harder and deeper.

Even many people not of the faith follow suit when they see their expiration date creeping closer.

Then, I thought about life.

It really is like that.

Even at 20 years of age, and in relatively good health, my life is short.

I do have a fatal disease that will kill me and even if I had 80 more years to live, that isn't very much time at all.

James 4:14 says,

Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.

We must look at our lives as they are, short, like a vapor even.

I realize time is of the essence and that eternity stands on the other side.

I must not waste time.

I must preach the Gospel.

I must live the Gospel.

I love you all.

Prayer.and.Faith

Yesterday morning, as I was doing my usual morning read I read Mark chapter 11. It begins with Jesus' Triumphant Entry (One of my favorite events to imagine) and goes on to talk about a fig tree. Jesus curses it and then the very next day it's dead as a doorknob. The disciples are just amazed by this (even though they've seen Him feed thousands of people, heal blind people, and even His transfiguration. Silly disciples) But, this is not the point. After this Jesus tells them, "Have faith in God. I tell you the truth, you can say to this mountain, 'May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,' and it will happen. But you must really believe it will happen and have no doubt in your heart. I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you've received it, it will be yours. But when you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins too. Mark 11:22-26

So, yesterday evening I had a mountain in front of me. Someone I dearly care for had one, actually. They explained the situation to me and I instantly begin praying as I walked laps around the mall. Five minutes later they text me back to let me know it had been resolved. I don't want anyone to get the wrong idea. This wasn't a "the boy I like doesn't like me" problem. That is NO mountain. This was a "I have no money for gas or my kids lunch" problem.

Obviously I was overjoyed by God being so faithful, as He always is. But afterwards it really made me think about what I read this morning. What about the times I pray and it isn't granted?

Is it because I didn't have faith and doubted? Is it because I had refused to forgive someone?

Or was it just because God didn't want it to happen?

I realize that all three a possible individually and collectively.

But after yesterday I have made a decision that, to the best of my ability, I will never let the first two be the reason I'm denied a request.

I vow the minute I begin praying to look into my heart and forgive anything I have in my heart and to silence all doubt with the faithfulness and promises of God.

Imagine with me, if you will, the effectiveness of a prayer-life free of doubt and hatred of the heart. The entire Bible speaks of the power of righteous prayers. I want that.

I start today.

I love you all. :)