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. :)

Mrs. Watkins, if there is such a thing.

Before I really get into this blog I would like to make things perfectly clear. This is not an attempt to woo some lady, or to have people commend me on my values or whatever else they may try. In fact, this blog isn't for any of the readers, if there are any. This blog, is actually for myself. You see, I have standards, and I have made the mistake of compromising on some of those before and it was a lesson I learned the hard way, so if you enjoy this blog, great. But I am writing this for myself to protect my future.

The things a woman must possess in order to have any future with me:

First and foremost, she must, beyond any doubt, be a believer in Jesus Christ. The Greek word for believe in the NT actually implies believe that causes action. My definition is no different. I do not make this rule or live by it to be hypocritical or to place myself above anyone. I do so because it will not work any other way. She must also show fruits that she loves Jesus more than she loves me and must, and as much as one can, show that it will always be that way. If there be any reason to believe she loves or adores me more, or ever will, it will not work. Idolatry is real.

I honestly could stop this post now because when fulfilled the previous statement will cover everything else, but because I feel like it, I shall continue.

She must love to read God's Word. Both as an individual, because she must have her own walk and to read it together.

She must love to pray and know it's true power.

She must love to laugh. I state this because honestly if she doesn't she won't like me and I'll have a hard time liking her. No need for further explanation.

She must not idolize materialistic things. There is nothing wrong with having things that are nice, and I will always provide my family with the things they need, but compulsive shopping and hoarding are major turnoffs.

She need not smoke, not because I believe smokers are hellish people but because: 1) it destroys the body, her's, mine (and possibly the children in the future) 2) It is absolutely in every way a waste of money and God made it very clear that wasting resources isn't good and it's something I will not do. Drugs are completely out of the question. End of story.

She must never feel that she has to work. If she would like to she is more than welcome but her employment will never be required.

She must be willing to relocate, not that I want to be nomadic my entire life but because God may at some point tell us to go somewhere else.

She must sing to me. I don't care what her voice sounds like.

She must expect me to always be chivalrous.

She must be willing to correct me when I need it and willing to be patient when I fail.

She must be the woman described in Proverbs 31.

Mere Christianity- C.S Lewis

But I wonder whether the people who ask God to interfere openly and directly in our world quite realise what it will be like when He does.
When it happens, it is the end of the world.
When the author walks on to the stage the play is over. God is going to invade, all right: but what is the good of saying you are on His side then, when you see the wold natural universe melting away like a dream and something else- something it never entered your head to conceive-comes crashing in; something so beautiful to some and so terrible to others that none of us will have any choice left? For this time God will be without disguise; something so overwhelming that it will strike either irresistible love or irresistible horror into every creature.
It will be too late to choose your side.
There is no use saying you chose to lie down when it has become impossible to stand up. That will not be the time for choosing: it will be the time when we discover which side we really have chosen, whether we realised it or not.
Now, today, this moment, is our chance to choose the right side.
God is holding back to give us that chance.
It will not last for ever.
We must take it or leave it.

Life is a highway.

This morning as I was on my way to work traveling down 45 God hit me with some of the strongest conviction of my life.

Early in the morning most people are coming down 45 headed south, while I and a few others are headed north. Then God compared that to how life is and it blew me away.

There are a small number of us who haven't done better or became smarter or figured life out, but have found a Risen Saviour and have accepted His forgiveness and salvation and are headed in the right direction.

But sadly, for the most part, everyone is headed in the wrong direction.

Here is what breaks my heart: as we go our own way we often don't even notice that there are others heading the opposite direction and even worse, lots of times even the ones we notice, at most we give them a smile or wave.

How can this be?

We see all these faces, even some we know, we are absolutely certain that only One direction is right and we know they aren't going that way and we ignore it.

I pray that you can catch this visual.

If not, try imagining it next time you're riding down the road.

I pray for conviction among Christians for the lost world.

Jesus told us the time is running out.

Matthew 7:13-14

Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.