Attack your Faith

Attack your Faith At the beginning of summer, before my friend Paige left for Germany, she told me of the church she attended near Northwestern. It is led by one of NWC’s chapel coordinator’s/pastors (Drew Shepp)’s wife’s father, Paul. I didn’t think much of it at the time because I already was attending another house church with some college friends. 7/6/12 I received a vision/dream that was later revealed to be prophesy. In the dream part, I saw that at my house my family, my friend Paige and I just ate a home-cooked meal. (She had just come back from Germany working with Steiger for missions over the summer). She talked about her experience as we ate. Then, as we were cleaning the dishes, she talked to me about finding a certain people group near where she lived in Germany and she had the desire to go back there and spend the rest of her life with them. This was a marvelous discovery for her and she was very excited. Next I told her that I received a picture from God and didn’t quite figure out what it meant. I could describe it perfectly because I have a pictographic memory. It was a field somewhere in a dry place with mountains in the background. There are some types of valley flowers and lots of tall grass. Also, I can see this cloud in the upper-left corner of the picture that looks calm and fluffy, but in distance towards the mountains it twists into a funnel cloud as if there are storms forming ahead. There is a dirt road with wheel tracks in the opposite, lower-right corner. The tracks lead around a small hill in the foreground of the picture. Paige interpreted the picture and told me not to focus on the flowers, grasses, and the cloud, but to focus on the road. 8/17/12, 5 AM God called to me in a dream. He called me back as a warrior for His sake. He said to me, “Attack your faith.” I saw before me a bookshelf as if everything in my life was a book, and each thing was being tested by fire. This is just like the end times with the final judgment. It was like God’s hand was hovering over the books and the ones that were not worthy, He called some by name, would fall from the shelf. Others would remain, which reminded me of the sturdy rocks at the end of a waterfall. He said to me to claim men for Him. I have called and prayed to Him to be Lord of my life again. He will surely lead me. I feel a fire inside me. It feels like I have been put into action, ready to do anything. He told me to put on the full armor of God each morning. He asked me again to memorize Scripture and He would place me in a church soon. This is because I felt lost in my house church and felt I wasn’t getting fed in more essential ways. 8/31/12 Friday Driving the shuttle around 4pm, I got a text from Paige that she wanted to ride in the van and chat. We caught up with each other briefly, and she also told me an amazing story. While she was over in Germany at the time I had received the vision/dream, that week her team was dedicated to listening and giving prophesies. Since she was on a media fast, she could not get back to me until the end of the week to reply to me what happened over there. She told me that she had told her teammates of my vision and they were all excited at what God had done in multiple places. What is also amazing is that she told me that she actually has the ability to interpret pictures sent by God. 9/1/12 Saturday Working at ACE Hardware in Arden Hills, a man came in and talked to my coworker. I approached them and caught some of the end of their conversation. I overhead some words like “Northwestern College” and “house church.” It seemed like the man had invited my friend to something, and I saw him hand my coworker a business card. He started talking to me, and we each realized something unique. I said I attend Northwestern, and he also gave me a card. I now knew that this was the pastor of Paige’s church, the house church near school. I was excited to find out exactly when and where it met. I told him quickly before he left that I knew Paige and that we had talked in the shuttle van to briefly share her experience.

Don’t play “Deer in the Headlights” with the Devil’s Schemes

The enemy—-Satan and his demonic allies and authorities—- “prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). He is like a hunter that has his bait and weapon set on you. A dedicated hunter uses the best tools for the destruction of his target. This includes crafting weapons, laying traps, using bait (which may even be the scent of desire), and he plans his attack very thoroughly. Unlike real hunters that usually go for a “kill shot,” where only the minimum use of ammunition is used, the Devil may kill you slowly over your life like a poison weakening your might. He is crafty, no matter how he comes at you. These schemes are not in the physical realm, although illness is certainly a tool against you, but “we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12). Do not be surprised by this deadliness, as an unaware deer’s expression (“caught in the headlights”). Learn your weaknesses, which are the key points the Devil will attack you from. Live in the Spirit, which is not only where the “spiritual forces” live but also where God lives. This means dying to the flesh and putting on the Armor of God (see Ephesians 6:10-17). Also, you are not alone. Everyone is in the war, and your brothers and sisters need as much support as you do. Come at each other’s side and aid, to whatever weaknesses (targets) they wear, understanding that we are all wounded by others and ourselves. In the fight, Brian

People are like Fruitcakes

Yes, another analogy lesson. As I was driving home today, I thought of an interesting one. I just got done with my Comp 2 class at Century College where I had to write a paper on Glengarry Glen Ross and wrote on the "everyday man." I summed up man to have the same desires in life. Then, I was thinking on the measure of a man's life. I thought about how the times in his life he is working through things and at the end of his life he is well rounded. This led me to think of how a man's life is like bread. As with any cooking, it starts with ingredients. Also, with any family recipe, the ingredients aren't exactly measured but are put in to the level that the maker desires. Mixing and beating come eventually, and the dough stretches, folds itself over, and even tears. Other ingredients, like fruit and nuts, are added to create character, texture, flavor, and design. Then, the lumpy mass is put in the cooker. The dough rises and hardens, is set aside to cool, then consumed or sent as a gift. I pondered on what it meant to be stretched and even torn in the process of becoming something. I think I am in this process of life right now, where I am not comfortable that my thoughts, actions, and even personality change rapidly like in a rainstorm. I question almost everything I've ever believed in. This troublesome phase passes and eventually everything will settle. The fruit and nuts in our life create flavor and define our uniqueness. We acquire them along the way and are mixed in our life somehow. So, to some these ingredients can either define them as essential road-marks/milestones, or they can look at them as places of regret. Your life is made up of them, regardless your views.

Re-post from Facebook Notes 3 (The REAL God)

I thought I would pass this post along from my Facebook from a couple of years ago. Since this fits in with this blog I thought I would put it in a more respectable place. Enjoy and comment! just who is he?? to Christians, he's the reason for living. to others, he's the source of everyone's problems. to many, he is a mystery that some believe that no one will understand. now in this note, i will not try to define who he is...exactly...by putting him in a box or laying out rules that he follows. this will just hopefully help you understand who he is (at least, to me. i do not have the authority to do that... it is my duty, as Prof DeRouchie has explained, to make him more relavant). where do you find him that you might know him better? who do you talk to? really, who can you trust? that is the ultimate question. if you feel that you can't talk directly to him, you may feel like talking to someone that you do trust. and that's fine, it makes you feel comfortable and will probably make you more open to talking about things. for me, he talks to me not necessarily directly, but thru things. these can be people (indirectly), nature, and His Word. that's probably the main source, other than him directly. i haven't devoted myslelf to daily devotions on my own yet, but i've gotten what i've needed in the past from what i have had to read for class. and i thank God for providing me the schools where that was required. really, the teachers that have impacted me have brought me to where i am today. and NO it wasn't brainwashing or strict in any way. it was merely encouragement to study on my own, with them as guides, or in an analogy, shepherds. surely Christianity has been whitewashed to some people, to me i can call that haveing your parent's faith/religion or the equivilent. once it becomes your own, it truely becomes a faith. there are some great examples in the Bible about the nature of God. and not just who he is, but what he's done. some are strikingly tangable and physical. one that should come to mind is in Genesis where it says God walked with them in the garden of Eden. wait, read that to me again please? he actually walked with Adam and Eve?? huh? and what about when he spoke to people. did he speak to them in their hearts, or thru people speaking? well, the Holy Spirit wasn't in the hearts of the people yet, so it wasn't from within. and sometimes, it was just the person and God. so that means he actually spoke to them. and also within the tabernacle/temple. God's presence, the Bible says, was filled them in the Most Holy Place. filled. it was alive, shining, POWERFUL. he led the Hebrews/Israelites thru the desert by way of a cloud in the day and a pillar of fire by nightime. and how about the most physical example, Jesus? God in the flesh. thru him he did wonderful miracles...why? wasn't it more than healing people? i think it was ultimately to show God's glory, not what could be done by miracles, but why he did them. by themselves, they are what many people call them, magic tricks. so why did he do them? not only to show the people his power, but to show his care for everyday people...not even, because the people he healed were people like widows, lepers, prostitutes...less than everyday people. this is because he came to save the sick, the lost, because sick people need a doctor, not healthy people. so who is he (once again...to me)? the ultimate analogy that He even uses in the Bible is that of a father and son. truely evident in the picture of God the Father and Christ the Son, and i am a brother to Christ and a brother to the brothers and sisters in Christ. and no, this is not the human father that is found on earth. i've always heard stories of families without a father. i've never known what that's like because God has truly blessed me with a great one. so it's easier for me to picture having a father in heaven because i have one on earth, and the one in heaven is perfect while my biological father is the same as all of us: sinful. but anyways, in this beautiful picture of father and son, he lets me grow up to be a man. in my other note "A Christian Man" i explain some traits that real men should have, and that the Father fulfills. this picture has subcatagories or (i guess subanalogies, maybe making up a word), such as a shepherd to his flock. i could make up notes on each of them, but i'll just explain this one because i like it the most. a good picture of this analogy is found in Psalms 23. as a shepherd with us as his sheep, he makes us lie down in green pastures, beside still waters. he restores our soul and guides us on the paths of righteousness. his rod and staff comfort us (?). goodness and lovingkindness follows us all the days of our lives. aaaahhhhh. paradise, no? what a picture. only one problem, one that i've exposed: the rod and staff comfort part. whaaat? what does that mean? i'm sure i'll get to this in higher detail some other time because i'm starting to get off topic. so just to summarize, they comfort us because it's like he puts limits on our paradise. his rod/staff holds us back from danger, like how a real shepherd would get a grip on the necks of the sheep if they wandered off. my God is my Father, my Shepherd, and my God. as my dad, he guides me in righteousness and keeps me on a good path. he looks out for me, wants to know where i am, wants him to say that i love him. he protects me from danger and keeps me safe from harm. as my personal shepherd, he lets me bask in blessings that i don't deserve as a stupid, wandering sheep. i get to eat green grass, drink cool, still water, but i've got bruises from his staff on my neck from when he tried to stop me from entering myself into danger. sometimes i fought back and lost sight of him by running away. like all who have gone astray, he waits. he waits. he doesn't wait patiently, i think. if you lost something precious, you wouldn't say "gee i wonder where i put that thing. hopefully it will turn up." no! you say "where did i put that? i want it with me now! i'm going to look for it." he looks desperately for his lost sheep. he calls to them, even if he has to do it miracurously. anything to get back what he has lost. who is your god/God? do you picture him as an old man on a throne, whooshing bolts of lightning for those nitcompoops who keep skrewing up; a cloud that brings constant storms in your life, bringing more rain for you to complain about; a judge, perhaps with a double edge sword, ready to smack you down the next time you sin? these are examples of the wrong fear of God. (haha, there's another note.) my God sits on the throne of heaven, bringing order to the world in the universe, holding the stars in place...but personal enough to notice that one other creation is praying to him. one little thing. because all that he has made besides me (well all other humans...) doesn't matter to him, ultimately. if a sparrow falls, he knows about it...but how much more does he care about you when you fall? isn't he big enough the LORD of your life, but also small enough to be as personal as a husband?

Re-post from Facebook Notes 2 (Men)

I thought I would pass this post along from my Facebook from a couple of years ago. Since this fits in with this blog I thought I would put it in a more respectable place. Enjoy and comment! Saturday, July 12, 2008 at 12:29am · this is a note to all Christian men, some of whom are listed (sorry if you aren't on the list, i'm not judging you if you aren't somehow "man-quality"...it's just men i view as leaders in just being good Christian men). this is how a man acts, thinks, and lives: like Christ, for we are brothers in Him and He is our brother (...and sister, and mother, and friend...) - does not give up, but knows exactly when to quit - knows love, all of its types, and expresses them in their right contexts - shys away attention to himself - seeks the best end for all - is: loyal, trustworty, strong, encouraging, a peacemaker, - does not play with a girl's/woman's heart - admits his fears, but trusts in the Lord - knows "...the way, the truth, and the life..." - would give up his life for those he loves - can be open with other men about hardships - respects authority, even when it goes against his wishes - is a leader to somebody - here are some things to ponder: - pain is weakness leaving the body - what is strength? true strength makes you unbreakable, power gives you authority, but love ends wars. power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. - endurance means not giving up, and it is a lifestyle not a token. it's a goal taken up daily, just like your faith in Christ - there is a time for everything under heaven - there are NOT two types of people: Christians and non-Christians, there are two types of sinners: forgiven and unforgiven -a mercenary is an excellent fighter and survivor...for no cause but himself. a warrior is one who is loyal, and earns greater respect. as a merc, you die alone and with no name. as a warrior, you saved by your band of brothers and others would die for your name and your cause. i read this quote in the book a friend gave me, Boy Meets Girl: Say Hello to Romance: "The world cries for men who are strong--strong in conviction, strong to lead, to stand, to suffer. i pray that you will be that kind of man--glad that God made you a man, glad to shoulder the burden of manliness in a time when to do so will often bring contempt." Elisabeth Elliot "we few, we happy few, we band of brothers; for he today that sheds his blood with me shall be my brother...and gentlemen in England, now a-bed shall think themselves accursed they were not here; and hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks that fought with us." - Henry V at Agincourt "You cannot lead these men unless you are prepared to do what is necessary to defeat evil." Ra's Al Ghul, Batman Begins. (it's out of context but still a good quote) "it is an honor to be wounded in the service of the Lord." - Rick Joyner "beauty is not only a terrible thing, it is also a mysterious thing. there God and the Devil strive for mastery, and the battleground is the heart of men." - Fyodor Dostoyevsky "the place where God calls you is the place where your deep gladness and the world's deep hunger meet." - Christopher Fry here are some verses for all you men (from my NIV and my NASB Bibles). these are mainly specific to men...of course there are other verses that could be shared, but these picked from my all favorite verse stash: OT-------------- -Genesis 15:6 "Then he believed in the LORD; and He reckoned it to him as righteousness.” -Exodus 18:21 “Furthermore, you shall select out of all the people able men who fear God, men of truth, those who hate dishonest gain; and you shall place these over them as leaders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens.” -Deuteronomy: 1:30-31 " 'The LORD your God who goes before you will Himself fight on your behalf...and in the wilderness where you saw how the LORD your God carried you, just as a man carries his son, in all the way which you have walked until you came to this place.' " 8:5-6 "Thus you are to know in your heart that the LORD your God was disciplining you just as a man disciplines his son. Therefore, you shall keep the commandments of the LORD your God, to walk in His ways and to fear Him." 23:14 "Since the LORD your God walks in the midst of your camp to deliver you and to defeat your enemies before you, therefore your camp must be holy; and He must not see anything indecent among you or He will turn away from you." -Joshua 6:12 "The angel of the LORD appeared to him and said to him, 'the LORD is with you, O valiant warrior." -1 Samuel 10:10b "and the Spirit of God came upon him mightily, so that he prophesied among them." 13:14b "The LORD has sought out for Himself a man after His own heart..." 16:7b "...for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." 16:18b "...a mighty man of valor, a warrior, one prudent in speech, and a handsome man; and the LORD is with him." -2 Samuel 7:28-29 “ ‘Now, O Lord God, You are God, and Your words are truth, and You have promised this thing to Your servant. Now therefore, may it please You to bless the house of Your servant, that it may continue forever before You. For You, O Lord GOD, have spoken; and with Your blessing may the house of Your servant be blessed forever.” -Job 28:28 "...and to man He said, 'behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.' " 38:3a "Now gird up your loins like a man." 40:10 "Adorn yourself with eminence and dignity, and clothe yourself with honor and majesty." -Psalm 21:2 "For you have given him his heart's desire; you have held back nothing that he requested." 119:9-11 "How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according to Your word. With all my heart I have sought You; do not let me wander from Your commandments. Your word I have treasured in my heart, that I might not sin against You." 45:3-4 "Gird your sword upon your side, O mighty one, clothe yourself with spelndor and majesty. In your majesty ride forth victoriously." -Proverbs: 1:5 "A wise man will hear and increase in learning, and a man of understanding will acquire counsel." 4:23 "Above all else, guard your heart, because it affects everything you do." 24:5 "A wise man is strong; yea, a man of knowledge increaseth strength." 31:30 "Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the LORD, she shall be praised." *(31:10-31 is your kind of girl, men) 19:21 "Many plans are in a man's heart, but the counsel of the LORD will stand." 20:24 "Man's steps are ordained by the LORD, how then can man understand his way?" 27:17 "Iron sharpens iron so one man sharpens another." -Ecclesiasties: 7:12 "For wisdom is protection just as money is protection, but the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the lives of its possessors." 9:1 "For I have taken all this to my heart and explain it that righteous men, wise men, and their deeds are in the hand of God. Man does not know whether it will be love or hatred; anything awaits him." 9:9 "Enjoy life with the woman whom you love all the days of your fleeting life which He has given to you under the sun; for this is your reward in life and in your toil in which you have labored under the sun." - NT---------------- -Acts 28:31 "Boldly and without hindrance he preached the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ." -Romans 12:9-10 "Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves." -Romans 14:15-16 "If your brother is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your own eating destroy your brother for what you consider good to be spoken of as evil." 1 Cor 7 is a good chapter on marriage (or lack thereof): -v.7a "Nevertheless, each one of you should retain the place in life that the Lord assigned to him and to which God has called him." -v. 27 "Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be released. Are you released from a wife? Do not seek a wife." -v. 32-33 "But I want you to be free from concern. One who is unmarried is concerned about the things of the Lord, how he may please the Lord; but one who is married is concerned about the things of the world, how he may please his wife..." -2 Thes. 2:13 "But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth." -Hebrews 12:4-14 "You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin; and you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons, 'my son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor faint when you are reprooved by Him; for those whom the Lord loves He disciplines, and he scourges every son whom He receives.' It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? But if you are without discipline, of which all of you are partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits, and live? For they disciplined us for a short time and as seemed best to them, but He disciplines for our good, so that we may share His holiness. All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness. Therefore, strengthen the hands that are weak and the knees that are feeble, and make straight paths for your feet, so that the limb which is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed. Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord."

Re-post from Facebook Notes 1 (Slumdog Millionare)

I thought I would pass this post along from my Facebook from a couple of years ago. Since this fits in with this blog I thought I would put it in a more respectable place. Enjoy and comment! Sunday, July 12, 2009 at 12:38am hi it's late, i'm tired, mostly, but i just got done watching Slumdog Millionare and couldn't sleep besides thinking about some deep things. i'll revise this tomorrow or whenever... it's a story about a young man from India that comes from the slums, eventually gets on Who Wants to be a Millionare? and wins the jackpot...miracurously all of the questions are easy because the answers have been given to him in his quest to find another orphan girl named Latika. anyway, it was hard to see the movie because he had gone thru so much pain and sacrifice just to be with her again...it was an odd love story. but the movie got me thinking about the realities, specifically, of India. my sis has been to India and worked as a missionary there. i think i saw, thru the movie, what she saw. it was hard to see, and i'm sure she can relate. just like a lot of places, especially the US, God is lost. he's replaced by other gods. and He's all we really need. we look for all the traits that he has in other things, even if we have to make up fake gods to worship. but it's all right there. so, watching the movie, one part of me agrees (with my mom that said it outloud) that that's no place that i'd want to be. why? because it's so horrible for living. but the other part, the part of me that has given over my life so that i don't have control, wants to be there because serving the least of these is like serving Jesus. and we're called to exactly that. so instead of looking for countries that sound nice to live in, or creating a bucket list of places to visit, don't plan where you'll go because that plan will always be replaced by God's plan. live your life the best you know how, and God will show you where he has called you. now, i think my calling is on the countries of Germany and Russia, because i love learning their languages, and especially about how lost God is in those countries. everyone can relate to God because they are all searching for him in their own way. and besides, people that think they have it all figured out, which is not the majority of the pop of Russia, would be more open to the Gospel. it was like a horror story listening to one break-out chapel at NWC about Russia...just the facts. they are dead...they are losing their population, trust, hope, everything. it's cold, no electricity, idk about water, the gov't runs most everything. i bet it's illegal to be a Christian. now Germany. i've had a sem of the language/culture, in highschool. i loved it. i mean the movies were from the 80s-90s so they had German rap! rock on. anyway, it sounds like a nice place. but i'm sure it's like everywhere else, and i bet it looks a lot like America. i think i could reach the teenagers... they don't like their parents, they find God in whatever gets them feeling good, the earth is all we've got so lets drink our pains away and our fill of love... yea. but God is alive and eager for anyone any age to come back to him...just like the 99 sheep that are good little sheep and one that runs off cuz it sees something shiny over in the desert...which btw is all of our testimonies. the Gospel is simply this: we are witnesses to the Good News. it doesn't matter if we win someone over, or if we should even worry about how it comes out and how we think we could win a debate. does a witness practice in a mirror? notecards?? no. God is great, just because he is, and the fact that he DIED just so he could keep this wretched people that turned away from him just like all the rest that died in the flood.....isn't getting around. why not? "if we are the body, why aren't his hands healing...?" because we are focused on the problem and not Him to take us out of the well that we fell in. He didn't have to do it, and it doesn't make sense, but i guess that's love.

He Remains the Same

I feel awesome. I can tell you a few reasons why. I know that I have a place to belong in this world, in fact probably a few places. I know I have a family that loves me, friends that enjoy my company, and customers/strangers that enjoy being helped by me. I know that I can count on them as I promise to do the same. I may not always realize them, but deeper in my heart, deeper than my fear of not knowing this, I can count on them. You cannot buy that, it is earned and learned. It takes trust, faith, diligence, patience, and love. I will not always have a reminder of it, but I will always have it deep down. On the other hand, I know that harsh trials come along at all times and occasions. It is how one deals with these that makes or breaks them, that strengthens or weakens them. Sometimes a blessing comes out of it, just before it, or even at the same time or continuously through it. I have had plenty of these so far in my walk of life and faith, but there will be so much more of them ahead. Just in the last few weeks I have had the roughest part of my life's journey: I finished up what will have been the hardest semester of college (and possibly ever of school) while having two part-time jobs and under the most stress I have ever had up to this point. I also managed to get sick twice (once with a cold of coughing and sneezing which is decreasing yet persisting even now, and then with a bacterial infection that left my whole system out of whack--digestive, immune, also my sleeping and eating were greatly affected.) I am having trouble finishing classes on time and it is proving difficult to arrange all of this. I still have two classes that are required to take in order to graduate, and one is the prerequisite of the other so that is even more confusing. Anyway, that is all to say that I have come on top of those challenges. As I recently posted on Facebook, that was a hard time for me yet I came out strong: I didn't even realize I was taking 18 credits (with 2 jobs on the side) and actually INCREASED my GPA (cumulative, my semester GPA sky rocketed from last sem.) I also can tell you that this has all come upon me by a power greater than me, greater than I could ever have on my own. I have no one greater to thank than God. This is what gives my happiness. I know that regardless of my situation, He loves me the same. There are blessings and curses, opportunities grasped and withheld, times to gather up and times to bring down, YET HE REMAINS.