To the youth and faithful brethren at Mesa Baptist: Blessed be the God and Father of the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave up His own Son so that we may have life.
I sit here at 2 a.m. in the youth room of the church with Josh on a quiet Friday night. Just about each week, we take time out of our schedules to have fellowship with each other and pray for you all specifically upstairs. At times, it seems like our prayers become so addicting that we actually end up losing out on much of the sleep we intended to recover. By ditching the comforts of home and taking up our sleeping bags on the couches, it allows us to refocus for the weekend of ministry, and keep our eyes on the One Whom we cannot see, but still love.
With that, a Scripture comes to my mind as I set my eyes on the God I am in love with tonight. In 1st Peter 1:8, the apostle Peter writes to homeless believers (1 Peter 1:1) about Jesus, the friend Whom he followed so dearly with for 3-1/2 years. He exhorts, "Though you have not seen Him, you love Him. Though you do not now see Him, you believe in Him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with joy..."
It is true that I have never physically seen my Savior Jesus. I know His Holy Spirit (who by the way is also a person), and I acknowledge the undeniable experiences I've had with Him throughout my life. But again, I am currently in a place where I eagerly await the initial confronting of my King face to face. This thought was born in me this evening when I began watching a video of United States soldiers returning home to surprise their loved ones around Christmas. Wives, mothers, fathers, grandparents, and children were often confronted by the shocking, unannounced appearances these men had made to their families unexpected. The joy on the faces of these families were "inexpressible", and could easily bring the toughest men to tears in a heartbeat. Before seeing them, month after month and doubt after doubt had passed as each family member wrestled with the thought of never seeing their soldier return home again. Nevertheless, when the day of reuniting came, words were simply insufficient as tears abounded. Take this very thought of awaiting a loved one returning home from war, and consider the "inexpressible joy" we are going to have on that day when we finally get to meet Christ at home.
The song writer does well in the lyrics of I Can Only Imagine when he sings, "I can only imagine what my eyes will see when your face is before me, Surrounded by Your glory, What will my heart feel, Will I dance for you Jesus or in awe of You be still, Will I stand in Your presence, Or to my knees will I fall, Will I sing hallelujah, Will I be able to speak at all, I can only imagine." With this reward in mind, there is no person better living for. Certainly, the day we meet Jesus will be one that we can only begin to imagine.
Please watch the video link below after you are done reading this, and consider your Savior. There will be a day when we meet Him, as He so anxiously awaits us!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJi1v15yhlM
See you Sunday! I love you guys,
Dakota
Saturday, March 16, 2013
Saturday, March 9, 2013
Freedom of Mind
Dakota, a shepherd and leader of the youth at Mesa Baptist, by the will of God in Christ Jesus.
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (Gal. 1:3)
The other day, I woke up in the morning only to hear the obnoxious sound of my red-numbered alarm clock ringing, "rrrrr.....rrrrr....rrrrr." Still with crusties in my eyes, I noticed that I had slept in by 20 minutes later than normal, and was already late to a weekly prayer meeting held amongst some of the faculty at my high school. Agitated by my exhaustion and inability to be awakened by an alarm sitting next to my ears, I quickly got ready and set foot for the rest of my day. Walking sluggishly in to my classroom for my 2nd block class, I became increasingly agitated by the kid in the back of my class who constantly loves to sleep through my lessons and drool on his desk. To the front row, I noticed the typical freshmen girl who can't seem to find the motivation to put away her cell phone.
Although typically a very respectful and energetic class, today seemed like I was making no progress with them. Students were not answering questions or laughing as they normally do at my stupid jokes. No act, show, dance, or standing on the desks to teach would entertain their attention this morning. I thought to myself, "What is wrong with this class today?" and, "How in the world am I supposed to wake them up?"
Moreover, without prayer and reliance upon God, I continued to struggle at grabbing the attention of my kids, and felt guilty at the ineffectiveness of my morning ministry towards this particular group of students. The irony in all this, is that by the end of the hour my kids started asking me questions about my own attitude. They began making comments like, "Mr. Smith you seem frustrated today," or, "Smith, why are you so cranky?" Still, I denied anything was actually wrong with me. I refused a humble attitude and tried to persevere throughout my day with the impatience I had awakened with.
Lunch time had come and I was easily ready for the home stretch of my day to end. Rather than spending valuable time with my students after class to mentor them and invest in their life, I herded them out of the door like cattle in anxiousness to just spend a few minutes by myself. In that free time I began reading a story about a man in a subway station who was on his way home from a bad day at work. When he stepped onto the train, he was enclosed almost shoulder to shoulder next to people like him ready to get home. Already in a state of his "flesh" as he described it, he noticed a man getting onto the train with three of his little children, unable to keep them quiet. The kids began running around, jumping on seats, yelling out with carelessness, and disturbing some of the other passengers on board. Looking around awkwardly, the man noticed everybody else on the train was just as annoyed, and the worst part about it was that this father was doing nothing of any sort to tame his children. Finally, the man agitated spoke up and asked the father, "I'm sorry, but do you think you could try and get your kids under control?!" The father, with his head held against the wall of the train and eyes closed, looked up and said, "I'm sorry. We just came from the hospital, and three hours ago they lost their mother to cancer. At the moment, I'm not really sure to handle it, and it doesn't seem like they do either." With such a surreal moment, the annoyed man acknowledged his imbalanced mindset had immediately changed. Suddenly, his day wasn't considered so rough. His attitude had shifted from one of frustration to that of compassion and grace. Although lost in the moment of his own perspective throughout the day, this restored perspective allowed him to step back and be thankful for the things he forgot to praise God about.
After reading the story, I had a change of heart as God met me in my classroom with tears rolling down my eyes. Before I knew it, I was on my knees in prayer at my desk begging my King for His renewal of my mind-or, a perspective change. At the throne of grace I found comfort.
In this truth, I would like to pose a challenge to the youth at MBC. Often times, our perspective is limited due to the everyday trials of this life. It is much easier to give in to emotions and simply dwell in the hole of self-pity and pout. In fact, it can even become addicting! However, Christ said we are no longer slaves to sin, but instead are to be considered slaves to Him! How much do I allow worries to control my day? How often do I compromise when things don't go as planned? Under what circumstances do I submit myself to complain rather than praise? Indeed, the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life. Regardless of circumstance, Jesus seeks to set us free from the war within us (Galatians 5:16-18). With Christ, we can be encouraged that He is after the maturing of our minds, and that when we most want freedom we actually find that we already possess it.
To our God and Father be the glory forevermore. The grace of the Lord Jesus be with your Spirit. (Phil. 4:23)
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (Gal. 1:3)
The other day, I woke up in the morning only to hear the obnoxious sound of my red-numbered alarm clock ringing, "rrrrr.....rrrrr....rrrrr." Still with crusties in my eyes, I noticed that I had slept in by 20 minutes later than normal, and was already late to a weekly prayer meeting held amongst some of the faculty at my high school. Agitated by my exhaustion and inability to be awakened by an alarm sitting next to my ears, I quickly got ready and set foot for the rest of my day. Walking sluggishly in to my classroom for my 2nd block class, I became increasingly agitated by the kid in the back of my class who constantly loves to sleep through my lessons and drool on his desk. To the front row, I noticed the typical freshmen girl who can't seem to find the motivation to put away her cell phone.
Although typically a very respectful and energetic class, today seemed like I was making no progress with them. Students were not answering questions or laughing as they normally do at my stupid jokes. No act, show, dance, or standing on the desks to teach would entertain their attention this morning. I thought to myself, "What is wrong with this class today?" and, "How in the world am I supposed to wake them up?"
Moreover, without prayer and reliance upon God, I continued to struggle at grabbing the attention of my kids, and felt guilty at the ineffectiveness of my morning ministry towards this particular group of students. The irony in all this, is that by the end of the hour my kids started asking me questions about my own attitude. They began making comments like, "Mr. Smith you seem frustrated today," or, "Smith, why are you so cranky?" Still, I denied anything was actually wrong with me. I refused a humble attitude and tried to persevere throughout my day with the impatience I had awakened with.
Lunch time had come and I was easily ready for the home stretch of my day to end. Rather than spending valuable time with my students after class to mentor them and invest in their life, I herded them out of the door like cattle in anxiousness to just spend a few minutes by myself. In that free time I began reading a story about a man in a subway station who was on his way home from a bad day at work. When he stepped onto the train, he was enclosed almost shoulder to shoulder next to people like him ready to get home. Already in a state of his "flesh" as he described it, he noticed a man getting onto the train with three of his little children, unable to keep them quiet. The kids began running around, jumping on seats, yelling out with carelessness, and disturbing some of the other passengers on board. Looking around awkwardly, the man noticed everybody else on the train was just as annoyed, and the worst part about it was that this father was doing nothing of any sort to tame his children. Finally, the man agitated spoke up and asked the father, "I'm sorry, but do you think you could try and get your kids under control?!" The father, with his head held against the wall of the train and eyes closed, looked up and said, "I'm sorry. We just came from the hospital, and three hours ago they lost their mother to cancer. At the moment, I'm not really sure to handle it, and it doesn't seem like they do either." With such a surreal moment, the annoyed man acknowledged his imbalanced mindset had immediately changed. Suddenly, his day wasn't considered so rough. His attitude had shifted from one of frustration to that of compassion and grace. Although lost in the moment of his own perspective throughout the day, this restored perspective allowed him to step back and be thankful for the things he forgot to praise God about.
After reading the story, I had a change of heart as God met me in my classroom with tears rolling down my eyes. Before I knew it, I was on my knees in prayer at my desk begging my King for His renewal of my mind-or, a perspective change. At the throne of grace I found comfort.
In this truth, I would like to pose a challenge to the youth at MBC. Often times, our perspective is limited due to the everyday trials of this life. It is much easier to give in to emotions and simply dwell in the hole of self-pity and pout. In fact, it can even become addicting! However, Christ said we are no longer slaves to sin, but instead are to be considered slaves to Him! How much do I allow worries to control my day? How often do I compromise when things don't go as planned? Under what circumstances do I submit myself to complain rather than praise? Indeed, the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life. Regardless of circumstance, Jesus seeks to set us free from the war within us (Galatians 5:16-18). With Christ, we can be encouraged that He is after the maturing of our minds, and that when we most want freedom we actually find that we already possess it.
To our God and Father be the glory forevermore. The grace of the Lord Jesus be with your Spirit. (Phil. 4:23)
Monday, March 4, 2013
Prayer for a Godly Desire
"Oh God, do not let me waste my life. Do not let the comforts of this place be more appealing than advancing your kingdom. Do not let my desires be wasted. Do not let my work be wasted, do not let my today be wasted. I want to seize today, but only if it counts, and is not another moment wasted. A day spent walking with you, seeking your command is never wasted. You save me from the longing of comfort, you save me from the American dream. God you save me from my wants, and let me want what truly matters: You."-My long time roommate, Caleb VanSteenwyk
Saturday, March 2, 2013
Phil. 4:8-11 Greek
Γιατί ο Θεός είναι μάρτυρας μου, πώς ποθώ για όλους σας με την αγάπη του Ιησού Χριστού. Και αυτό είναι η προσευχή μου ότι η αγάπη σας μπορεί να αφθονούν όλο και περισσότερο, με τις γνώσεις και όλα διάκριση, έτσι ώστε να μπορεί να εγκρίνει ό, τι είναι εξαιρετική, και έτσι να είναι καθαρή και χωρίς ψεγάδι για την ημέρα του Χριστού, το οποίο συμπληρώνεται με τον καρπό της δικαιοσύνης που έρχεται μέσα από Ο Ιησούς Χριστός, εις δόξαν και έπαινο του Θεού.
Phil. 1:8-11
Philippians 1:8-11-"For God is my witness, how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus. And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God."
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