The word of God is alive, it’s a spiritual sword that cuts to our hearts and minds, and it’s power leaps off the pages to ignite my heart, look at this scripture for example, Colossians 1:15-20 “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or doninions or rulers or authorities, all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn fromthe dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in himall the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross”

To think that Jesus is the image of the invisible, immaculate, inconceivable, incomprehensible God?!?!?! I must stop and worship, because God didn’t have to send his son, he didn’t have to make sacrifice for our sins, YET HE DID! see scripture points me to Jesus, who point me to the Father, who point me to the cross to showcase His love for me! At the cross I must fall to my knees, all pride has to leave, all ego has to die, all senses of accomplishment must get crushed, and I must bow.

Put scripture up all over your house, put it in your bathroom, put it on your walls, write it in your journals, let the word of God fill up your mouths to the glory of our great God!

Challenge, crush the idol god of comfort in your life. Get outside of your comfort zone. Pray for God to bring broken people in your life. Do a mission trip, go serve in the community, go to soup kitchen, and GET OUTSIDE YOURSELF. Comfort is not the habitation of Christ, he hates it! Lets kill it in our lives and live in adventure, if your life is looking more like a lazy river, than a white water rapid ride, somethings wrong! MOVE!

The coolest thing happened during our orientation, there was a guy named Luke I met back in 2009, my first trip to AFrica, and while we were meeting with Julie, LUKE walked in the door! I thought I would never see this guy again! It was incredible, to re-unite with Him. God is good.

The first kid I met, was Joshua. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WobCx1SwQow So stop right now, and click on this youtube link, or copy and paste it in your browser. If you don’t watch this, you won’t understand any of what i’m saying. This was a blessing to be able to hold this kid, He was full of energy, running around us in circles and playing and going crazy! Love him. He would often look at me and say, “Uncle Joshua, I love you and you are my friend!” lol….love it!

Day 3 was incredible…loved being able to wake up around these kids and do life with them!

I get out of the car to the IDP camp, and we see benches that were sat in a circle under a HUGE shade tree. I immediately started smiling, I mean where in the states can you have church under a tree? I love this. NO buildings, no expensive sound system, just people and room for the Holy Spirit to be all. I played with some kids, who were tentative at first, but soon welcomed us with there beautiful smiles. What a treasure to be with these kids. Was often reminded of Jesus’ parables of the children, and how they represent the kingdom. Incredible.

After hearing the childrens choir, the boys marching, the womens choir, the adults choir, (those people were giving God praise) I got up with an interpreter named John. Right when I started to open my mouth, God reminded me of the story of Joseph. Joseph, got sold into slavery by His own brothers, He had no control. Joseph then got placed in a prison, contrary to his own will, again, he had no control. BUT GOD HAD A PLAN. He could’ve gotten bitter at his brothers, He could’ve gotten bitter at God, but Joseph understood, that God had a plan…maybe He had his doubts, but God always came through. Matter of fact, in Genesis 45, Joseph tells his brothers, “And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for GOD sent me here to preserve life.” WOW, what an incredible scripture. SEE…those people I was preaching too, lost there homes during the eletions, no control. Some of them saw there very family members being murdered with guns and machetes, no control. Then they were forced to leave there homes and flee to some land that was on the side of the road, where the slept in tents for 5 years. I don’t understand it all, but I know this God had a plan for those people. They admitted that before being oppressed, they were about themselves, there land, there food, there work, but now they know how to love each other, and care for each other. Such a beautiful story of redemption.

I’ll never forget bringing the Gospel and hope to these people, under a tree on Jan 1st, 2012. What was awesome was having the support of Cassidy, Jack, and Glen Mitchell…and also Carter and Nathan. Love those guys!

On the way back from church, we stopped and had some Goat, yep, some Goat! At 4:00, we went up to the school and played some basketball with some boys from RVA, afterwards we picked up the team from Texas from the airport…and had the most amazing popcorn before we went to bed!

GREAT DAY!

I really have no motive here, other than, let me just be real and share a few things. There is no other way, that I would want to bring in the new year, than to be in Africa, with orphans who have been abused and neglected. I mean, I can finally say, I’m going to be, “Living the dream”! Please pray for our team, as I really only know 2 people, and I just want to look like Jesus, in everything I say, do, and may my heart reflect His humility! I don’t know if you know about the IDP camps, but I actually get to preach in an IDP camp, these people have been forgotten and ignored, basically the product of a corrupt Kenyan Government…Please pray that I can preach hope and faith to these people! I absolutely pray that God wrecks the place!!!!!!

Can I just challenge you for a minute? Sorry, but it’s kinda my blog…so I guess I can..here goes. Make 2012 about Jesus, I mean all about Jesus! Strive to love like Him, live like Him, serve like Him, look like Him, and respond like Him….all through the POWER of the spirit! Seriously, you and I have lived life on our own terms for WAY to long, WHAT IF, just for one day at a time, we would begin to loose life? Seriously, give more, serve more, love more, wait more, reflect more, and just be all about some Jesus. Read the word for yourself, get to know Jesus for yourself, learn how to listen to the spirit for yourself….and just simply fall in Love with Jesus, because Jesus ALWAYS ALTERS WHERE HE IS PRESENT. HE ALTERS DECISIONS, LIFE CHANGES, SINFUL PATTERNS, WAYS OF THINKING…….Is Jesus altering your life?

For so long I lived as if He didn’t exist, although I claimed to know Him..what a miserable way to life. Thanks be to God, i’m finding life now, because Jesus is my Lord!

Thought: If you always do, what you’ve always done, you’ll always be, what you’ve always been. Change it up, take a risk, fall at the feet of Jesus in helpless humility! I DARE YOU!

Fast forward to now……..

That was the DUMBEST and most ignorant way that I could’ve lived. Looking back, there is no way that I could call myself a follower of Christ. Here is why, because now that I’ve been filled with this AMAZING LOVE of Jesus, I want EVERYONE to experience Him. I want to live holy, so that when I call on my God, He hears me. I want to live holy, so that when I pray for the broken and the lost, God responds to my prayers. I want to live holy so that people see that my God comes through for me, and that He constantly makes His face shine upon me. See sin, is nothing but selfishness and self pleasing, and when we sin, we are creating distance from our God. LISTEN TO THIS DISCLAIMER: CONTRARY TO POPULAR TEACHING, GOD DOESN’T HEAR EVERYTHING AND ANSWER EVERY PRAYER WHEN YOU ARE LIVING ANY KIND OF WAY. READ YOUR BIBLE

Bottom line, do you want to see God move in mighty ways? Do you want to see the unexplainable, undeniable presence of God? Do you want to be swept up in His will, being used to the fullest? Then, “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that y testing you may discern what is the will of god, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Yesterday I was in the car and didn’t get a chance to watch any games, however, I turned the radio on, and the bronco’s were down 10 to 0, and Tim Tebow just fumbled. I admit, I thought the streak was over, and that there was no possibility. Fast forward a few hours, I get in the car after speaking, and I heard, “Tim Tebow has done it again!” Wow, I immediately called my roomate to get the scoop, unbelievable. Lets think about a few things:

#1 There are devout followers of God on both sides of the ball, and God doesn’t love one more than another. So clearly, this is not about Tim Tebow. I cannot measure this guys faith against the next, only God can, so only God knows the hearts of each man….and God can act accordingly

#2 All this, everything on this earth, all of the activity and happenings, are for a purpose, and that purpose is the Glory of God. Guys think about it, God used some men in the bible more visibly than others, and God is a stage setter, He often sets the stage so that people can fall to there knees and see his Greatness, is it safe to say He could be doing this with Tebow? Roy Helu is a follower of Christ for the Washington redskins, Aaron Curry is a follower of Christ for the Oakland Raiders, and there are many more…but this whole “TEBOW” thing, is not about Tebow, it’s about God and His stage setting goodness. He can do things and show us things, and do the impossible, so we can all do what we’ve been doing, shake our heads and say, something is going on, and it’s bigger than us. Yes, God can use a silly game for His glory, love it!

So lets get it clear, God sits in the heavens’ and does as he pleases, doesn’t it make sense that God would show up in the game of football and do something amazing, because we all know, football is an idol, and many people worship it, so maybe God is using this big idol, to show us HIS GREAT BIG SELF! Interesting, I love that God sets the stage for His greatness. He can use you too, right where you are at.