The thoughts and prayers of an ordinary man.

LOVE WILL CAST OUT FEAR!

2012-02-09T08:29:00.004-05:00

Love will cast out Fear

“There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love”
(1 John 4:17-18 (NIV).

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid”
(John 14:27 (NIV).

Jesus gave us his peace that surpasses all of our natural understanding telling us that God is love. It is with His identity in His heart located within each of us that all fears of our imagination and tormenting voices must flee (1 John 4:16). Our Heavenly Father is a jealous Dad who will not allow any idols (fears) in His house (you). Even the power to remove the “tormenting fears” we struggle with daily belongs to God (Psalm 62:11).

How many deceptive voices are counseling your mind?

The fear of:
Death
Loss of job
Change
What others think
What is happening with my children
Concern with family or friends
Darkness
Health
Insecurity
Being a sinner or doing something wrong
Lack of finances
Falsely judged
Insecurity
Correction
Loss of control
__________________ (you fill in the blank)

We have not received the spirit of bondage to these or any other fears; but we have received the Spirit of God allowing us to boldly go before the throne of God calling Him Father (Romans 8:15). God did not give us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a righteous mind (2 Timothy 1:7).

The reason these fears enter our thoughts is not that God wants to condemn us, for there is no condemnation in Christ Jesus who gave us the Spirit of Life and Power. God has allowed these counselors of “fear” to come forth into the light of our awareness (His presence within us) so that the thoughts of our imagination are judged within ourselves allowing the perfect love we have in Him to cast out all our fears. Paul says 1 Cor 4:3-5, “I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. The Lord judges me. Therefore, judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men's hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God” (NIV).

God has allowed your fears and thoughts of the imagination to come forth so that He can reveal to you Christ within yourselves. The kingdom of God is righteous, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. It is not just in word, but also in His power that we manifest His presence through our faith in God. We are not to be afraid or tormented when our thoughts or imagination try to counsel us with “fear,” but to have faith in God that it is our Father’s good pleasure to give us His kingdom today (Luke 12:32).

It is with this understanding that our love, our identity in Christ, is made perfect. There is no fear in love, in God, and nothing is impossible for Him.

God’s perfect love in you will cast out all imagination of thoughts that is made perfect in His love. Bring your concerns and fears before the Lord allowing Him to remove them as He surrounds you with His peace. When we understand the reason that we were made aware of any fear is so that His presence, His love, His life, within you can cast out those “fears” allowing our identity in Christ to be made perfect. It is in this perfection that when others see us, they see their Heavenly Father…for it is Christ in us, the hope of His glory, which is manifested in the earth as the sons of God.

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade-kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith-of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire-may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls” (1 Peter 1:3-9 (NIV).

Building a foundation at home.

2012-02-07T09:56:00.003-05:00

Good morning friends I pray you are all doing well. I'm going to be writing about relationships today. These are some things I have learned and things that I constantly have to put forth the effort to do. Sometimes it's tough but I have realized IT'S WORTH IT! I pray you are challenged today by this blog post. Here we go!

Building a good relationship at home is like building a wall: It’s done brick by brick. And the mortar that holds it together is UNCONDITIONAL, UN-CONDEMNING, UNSELFISH LOVE. The only way you’ll know how good a job you’ve done is when it’s tested by the storms of life. One of the most important keys to succeeding at home is- communication. So:

(1) Become creative. Spend time together as a family. Call your spouse during the day and plan date nights. Send her flowers love on her all the time instead of just one flipping day a week. Treat her like Christ treats us. As for your kids, communication with them is also huge. Build your relationships with your children on a solid foundation. Spend quality time with them instead of buying them whatever they want. Stuff will fade but the time you spend with them will never be forgotten!

The next thing is one that I will say takes work because it’s so easy for it to work its way in to your family time.

(2) Identify communication killers. Internet, cell phones and TV are the worst ones! The average couple spends less than 1 hour a week communicating with one another, and we wonder why the divorce rate is skyrocketing.

(3) Encourage one another at home; build each other up instead of tearing one another down. Differences of opinion are very healthy for building a great relationship with your family members if handled right WITH LOVE. The final one is very important.

(4) Be conscious of how you interact with your family. You may have unwittingly adopted a style of communication. Stop and consider; do you: (a) retaliate- that has a degrading effect; (b) dominate- that has an intimidating effect; (c) isolate- that has a frustrating effect: (d) cooperate- that has an encouraging effect. If you’re in the habit of using any communication style other than a cooperative one, start working immediately to change it. You’ll have to, if you want to build a good relationship with your family. The most important thing when building family relationships is to keep JESUS CHRIST FRONT AND CENTER IN EVERYTHING! I pray this helps you realize just how important building relationships are. I love you all..with love, Jason Ashley

The mind is a terrible thing to waste.

2012-02-06T14:33:00.006-05:00

Hello friends I hope you all are having a wonderful day. I am going to be writing about the mind today. I am convinced that many believers are imprisoned by their own minds, their own thinking. Our thoughts control our emotions our emotions control our actions. Do you ever feel like your stuck? Ever feel beat down, worried, ever feel like you are out of control? I have and still to this day have days where I feel this way. I have days where I feel like pulling the curtains down and covering my head up and don’t even want to get out of bed. If we are honest we all have days like this. However for me and you there is hope and a way we can have a renewed mind and wake up refreshed instead of beat down. Our own logic sometimes puts our mind in chains. I have come to realize that there are things I will never understand about God but I also believe when we allow The Holy Spirit to renew our minds we will understand more. The Holy Spirit working in our hearts and minds can free us from shame, guilt, and whatever else is keeping us chained up within our souls. Scripture has some things to say about the renewing of the mind. Scripture also tells us to set our hearts and minds on things above.

Ephesians 4:23 says that after salvation we are to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. Colossians 3:2 set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 1 Peter 4:7 the end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and self controlled so that you can pray. 1 Peter 1:13 therefore, prepare your minds for action: be self controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given to you when Jesus Christ is revealed. Romans 12:2 do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is-his good, pleasing and perfect will.

So as I read these scriptures many things stick out to me that have to do with our minds. For one the mind is a very powerful thing to waste. Peter writes to tell us to be clear minded which simply means we need to be focused and refreshed in our thinking. We don’t need to have things on our mind that we could have taken care of days, months, even years ago. Is there something or someone you need to have a conversation with today, someone who has hurt you or maybe you wronged someone in some way. Get that off of your mind! Some instances could be taken care of easily or some could take some counseling or therapy. I don’t know your past, present and certainly not your future but I do know the more we have on our minds the more we are weighed down and our thinking gets foggy. Thus we do not think clearly. Peter also says we need to prepare our minds for action, it’s impossible to prepare your mind when it’s completely bogged down. Paul says do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of the mind. So our transformation comes through the renewing of our mind. Renew simply means to refresh or replenish. So I want to say how did we think before we met Christ? How do we think now that we have Christ living within us? Has your thinking changed in anyway or are you still bogged down and lost in your on logic and reason? I can’t answer these questions for you but I have for myself and it has changed the way I think about things, it’s changed how my mind responds to certain situations or circumstances. We are to have the mind of Christ that’s our goal and I am totally convinced this comes through the renewing of our mind. So what you may think today will affect your present and future. Choose to think positive even in the most negative of circumstances. I f you have something on your mind get it off! This is a start, remember it is a process that only the spirit working within you can do but it takes us willing to do our part, whatever that may be. Take a step today to renew your mind! Love you guys I pray that your mind finds rest today, tomorrow and forever. If you need someone to talk to email me at jason198284@hotmail.com and I would love to minister to you or learn something from you. One Love, Jason Ashley

Renewing the mind!!

2012-01-26T13:47:00.003-05:00

Let's get straight to it!!!!

I have found out that when you tell someone that they should have a renewed mind, its like they look at you like you are speaking in Greek or something. Why? Maybe its because most people really don't know what it means to have a renewed mind in Christ Jesus. Or either they have been brain washed by the world for so long that they have started to look like the world, and try to fit in with the world instead of taking the time to spend with God so that they could get that renewed mind.

You see God does not work through conformity. He is looking for evidence of real transformation-transformation that takes place only through the renewing of the mind. When the mind is renewed, you have the mind of Christ. With God's spirit constantly flowing into your spirit you will find that you are becoming more and more like Jesus and by having the mind of Christ you will also have some "I AMness." Scripture records Jesus boldly saying, "I AM the Truth; I AM the Light; I AM the Way. I AM. I AM, I AM." The "I AMness" separates Him from everyone else. He was unique in His birth, life, and resurrection. He did not confirm His life to the customs and traditions of the culture during His life on earth. For example it was against the custom and traditions when He spoke with the woman at the well and healed the sick on the Sabbath.

Likewise, when you have a renewed mind in Christ Jesus. You have the mind of Christ, and you wont do what is not necessarily politically correct or traditional. Having a renewed mind will mean that you will start to walk in the Spirit, and not in the flesh. Why? Because you have a renewed mind in Christ. The Bible says, be in the world, not of the world.
Moreover, the mind is set upon a higher level because we are renewed through our connection with the Holy Spirit. Then each of us can say, "Get the shackles off me. I am breaking out of these chains because I have been transformed by the renewing of my mind." Thus, Satan no longer has control over you because the chains have been broken because you have a renewed mind in Christ Jesus. You have stepped into the world, but you are not conformed to the world. You are transformed by the renewing of your mind, and with the Spirit of Christ connected to your spirit, you are a new creature-an original, which cannot be imitated or duplicated. You are in control of your mind, because you have a renewed mind.

You have victory in your mind, power in your mind, joy in your mind, and you are climbing to higher heights. When you have a renewed mind in Christ Jesus, you can walk in the world but not be governed by the environment and standards of the world. You have been created by God an the world can scrape through all the facade and look at the beautiful, powerful, joyful, you, God's original and new creation.
Why? Because you have a renewed mind in Christ Jesus, and if you haven't got it yet!? You get this renewed mind, through Christ Jesus; His Word, the Holy Bible!
Because if you want to know God, you have to know Jesus, and you cant know Jesus, if you don't know your Bible, and its impossible to NOT have a renewed mind after diligently getting into the Word of God, and renewing your mind! Have a BLESSED day! One Love, Jason

Get him out of the box.

2012-01-23T09:51:00.006-05:00

Good morning to all. I hope you had a great weekend. I pray that this post helps you but also challenges you as it has me. I am going to be getting very personal with you this morning. I fail sometimes to do the very thing I’m going to be writing about this morning! If we were all honest many of us fail to do so.

You see we limit God sometimes! Jesus is bigger than anything, any problem we face, any unexpected bill we get in the mail, any sickness we may encounter or doctor report we may receive that did not go exactly like we wanted it to. So why do we “myself included” limit God in our lives.

In all the gospels we see a very familiar story about a little boy with 5 loaves and 2 fish. You see this boy had little to offer but when put in Jesus hands he made it a lot! We could look at this story in a lot of ways but one that sticks out to me is how little faith the disciples had. They had been with Jesus and seen him heal the blind, lame and sick but when they seen all these people following behind sit on the mountainside in Galilee, they questioned themselves how will we feed all of them. They looked at a problem instead of a solution! Jesus Christ was sitting right beside them probably resting because he had been teaching all day. Scripture says in John 6:9 “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?” The disciples questioned themselves.

This is such a problem in our everyday journey through life. We serve a humongous God and he is all powerful and supreme! So why do we limit him? You see we as believers do the same thing the disciples done. We look at how big our problems are instead of how big God is! We all have done this at one time or another. If you say you have not you probably have a problem with lying. I’m convinced if the disciples had been concerned with feeding there spiritual hunger this problem would not have seemed so big. You see Jesus wanted his followers to seek him for himself, and not for what he could do for them. You see we serve an in control God in an out of control world! We all need to believe that through the lowest of lows we serve the highest of highs! In John 16:33 Jesus said in this life we will have trouble, notice he said we will, not we might! So when a problem comes your way look up and smile Jesus is with you DO NOT FEAR. Joshua 1:9 Have a Jesus Christ filled day! With Love Jason

Digging for dirt or gold?

2012-01-20T14:07:00.003-05:00

I would like to start out today’s post with a question I think we all need to answer. Are you going for dirt or gold? Let me explain. Encouragement is a great thing; we all like it and want more of it. In a very negative world encouragement is hard to locate. It seems like everyone’s out to get dirt on somebody. We see it in Hollywood everyday, it also happens in the workplace and yes even churches all across this country. The fact of the matter is some people would like to see you screw up more than see you succeed. I know it’s sad but these types of people are not happy and they screw up so much they like to see you screw up just to make them feel better. (Pray for these types of people that Christ would change their hearts.) Thank God not all people are like this. There are still people out their willing to look past the dirt to what’s behind it.. GOLD!

You see gold miners often have to drill through tons of dirt to get to 1 ounce of gold. They are determined to find something great. Lets face it we are all not good people, but we all have positive attributes about us. So realize this, we all have gold behind our dirt but often people would rather see your screw ups than your success. Jesus Christ makes no mistakes and when he created you he created something beautiful and he has an incredible plan for your life. YOU HAVE A PURPOSE! So try today to look at the positives in each other; people you work with, family, friends etc. Look past the dirt we all have it and look for the gold we have it also, Gold is far more brighter than dirt!. 1 Thessalonians 5:11 says “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up….” We must encourage not discourage! Encourage one another and smile with love in your heart at someone today. Your smile may be the only one they see all day. With love to ALL. Jason Ashley

Feeling guilty? Let it go today!!

2012-01-17T08:44:00.002-05:00

Good morning friends! I worked on this post for about a week or so. It is my prayer that this blog post encourages you and that if you are battling with guilt that you will give that guilt to God. He will take it from you and set you free from guilt. HERE WE GO! Let your guilt go! If you need a little extra boost to make that happen read this paraphrase of Romans Chapter 8 verses 28-39. Read it slowly, maybe even aloud. If this don't light your fire, you got wet wood! So, what do you think? With God on our side like this, how can we lose? If God didn't hesitate to put everything on the line for us, embracing our condition and exposing himself to the worst by sending his own Son, is there anything else he wouldn't gladly and freely do for us? And who would dare tangle with God by messing with one of God's chosen? Who would dare even point a finger? The One who died for us-who was raised to life for us!-is in the presence of God at this very moment sticking up for us. Do you think anyone is going to be able to drive a wedge between us and Christ's love for us? THERE IS NO WAY! Not trouble, not hard times, not hatred, not hunger, not homelessness, not bullying threats, not backstabbing. Now to God's word Romans 8:28-39. 28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. 29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the first born among many brothers. 30 And those he predestined he also called;those he called, he also justified;, he also glorified. 31 What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, than who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all-how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?33 Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died-more than that, who was raised to life-is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written: "For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered." Psalm 44:22. 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels or demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Paul is very clear that nothing can separate us from the love of God, not even GUILT! In closing I pray for you that you would trust Jesus to free you from any guilt you may be facing. One Love, Jason Ashley

In God we trust.

2012-01-13T16:53:00.002-05:00

Hello! Trusting God is a great adventure. He initially ask us to offer up all that we hold dear and find security in, for the sake of following him. In Genesis 12 we learn this through 2 commands God gives Abram “Leave” and “Go”. Take some time to study Genesis 12 and pay close attention to what God told Abram! Was Abram disobedient or did he trust God enough to just do it? Did he give God the Heisman or did he do as he was instructed? Did he “Leave” and “Go”? Is there an area in your life that you need to leave or is there a step you need to take closer to God? Wrestle with these questions... I did and it rocked me! Enjoy your evening. One Love, Jason

Just walk.

2012-01-07T15:34:00.002-05:00

Haven't blogged in a while. I'ts great to be blogging again. I pray this post helps you in some way. If you have asked God in faith to fill you with His Holy Spirit, you can be confident that He has filled you according to His promise. Now you are able to live everyday walking in the fullness of the Spirit He has given you. The Bible compares people to trees; the way to know a good tree is by its fruit, or by the actions of the person: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control” (Galatians 5:22). God wants every Christian to produce good fruit and has given you the Holy Spirit so that you can live a life like Jesus Christ, one of love and of power.
As a Christian, you must make a continual choice between walking according to the desires of your old self and walking according to the desires of the Holy Spirit. We are told in Galatians 5:16, “Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.” You can learn to walk in the Holy Spirit as you read and obey God’s Word, give thanks to Him in all things, and continually confess yours sins to God and ask for forgiveness. If you want to live your life walking in the Spirit, tell God now that you want Him to teach you. Because it is what He wants for you, you can know that He will do it. One Love, Jason

He's right there!!

2010-09-09T05:06:00.003-04:00

There are times in our lives where as Christ Followers we feel like Jesus is right there with us. There are also times where we wonder "Where God is?". Life is full of high points and low points. Have you ever felt like your on cloud nine? Then just a short time later feel like life is passing you by? Jesus said so many things in the scriptures about our lives as believers. He said we will have trouble in this life and on this earth, but he also said fear not I have overcome the world. Our lives are full of emotion, that's why we cannot lean on our emotions but rather lean on the unchanging word of God. When life is good everything seems to be perfect we throw our hands up and worship him, we serve him more, we feel like nothing can stand in the way of us having joy( By the way it can't, only if you let it.... will it!!). Why is it when things are bad everything in us wants to run away from him? I believe sometimes we could be basing our lives off of emotion instead of reality. Our flesh is crucial that's why it is so important to die to ourselves everyday. It's so important to pick up our cross and follow Jesus everyday, not just when its convenient. Sin is crucial!!!!! TRUTH= Jesus defeated sin on the cross, He said "It is finished" so why at times do we not hold on to that truth when we are in the valley. There is joy in the Lord, unexplainable joy even though sometimes we may not feel like we have it. What is it that steals our joy, leaves us feeling beat down and broken? Where do we turn for answers? How can we change our way of thinking? Those are just some questions I've asked myself when I'm going through the valley. Sometimes we may no get an answer from God. Sometimes it takes us being broken to see whats really important. I have been in ministry for 7 years and I have all kinds of questions. Some I may never have the answers too( That's where I choose to live by faith), others I may have had answered and really didn't want to hear the answer. Whether you have the answers or don't we must choose to follow the truth and Jesus is The Way, The Truth, and The Life! If your going through a valley HE KNOWS! If your doing well HE KNOWS! I pray all of us as Followers of Jesus lean not on our own understanding, lean not on our emotions. I pray we walk in Spirit and in Truth. Realize that we are sons and daughters of the most high God. It's not easy but neither was the cross. Neither is our cross, at times it's heavy. I pray we pick it up and press on, persevere! As I close out this post I want you to know that whether your doing great or if your in a valley Jesus really does love you. Sometimes the best answer is one that we don't want to hear. One Love, Jason.

What is or isn't?

2010-08-31T01:04:00.005-04:00

I write this post as a believer in Jesus that has struggled with forgiving people who have harmed and hurt me in ways you may or may not believe. I'm currently working out some of my own forgiving issues and just thought I would share with you what God is teaching me about forgiveness. I pray this post will shine light on one of the biggest problems we face in and outside the church in this nation and in the world. The church in America and across the world is full of people who have been hurt in some way, shape or form. Whether we were hurt by someone in the church or someone outside of the church it's painful and it can hinder our walk with Jesus. It can also shape and change who we are as Christ Followers in a great way. The issue I will be talking about if you haven't already figured it out is forgiveness. I am convinced that some people have unresolved conflicts toward a group of people or just one person and it has hindered their walk with Christ and it causes pain in their lives everyday. Forgiveness is a tough issue to write about. For some it may not be hard for you to forgive, but for others it may be very hard to let go and just simply forgive the person or persons that have hurt you. For some it may be a deep issue that you have tucked away and tried to forget about without forgiving but that NEVER works. It will ALWAYS resurface until you deal with the issue of forgiveness. Why is it so hard to forgive others? We serve a God who has forgiven us. He sent his son to die on a cross so we would be forgiven and made right in the eyes of God. Therefore you would think that it would not be an issue, but for some it is the very thing holding you back from being who Jesus Christ is calling you to be. So today I want to shine light on what TOTAL forgiveness is and what TOTAL forgiveness is not. I am currently reading one of the best books I have ever read in my life and the title of the book is TOTAL FORGIVENESS and the author is R.T. KENDALL. I encourage you to get this book and let it penetrate your heart and mind. Let it begin to help you work out the very thing or things that could be holding you back from being who you are in Christ Jesus. Jesus said in scripture if you have a problem with a brother that is unresolved to leave the altar and go work it out. So we as believers in Jesus need to work out things as we come across them in life. First lets look at what TOTAL forgiveness isn't. 1) Approval of what they did. 2) Excusing what they did. 3) Justifying what they did. 4) Pardoning what they did. 5) Reconciliation. 6)Denying what they did. 7) Blindness to what happened. 8)Forgetting. 9) Refusing to take the wrong seriously. and finally number 10) Pretending we are not hurt. NOW let's look at what TOTAL forgiveness is. 1) Being aware of what someone has done and still forgiving them. 2) Choosing to keep no record of wrongs. 3) Refusing to punish. 4) NOT TELLING WHAT THEY DID!!! 5) Being merciful. 6) Graciousness. 7) It is an inner condition. 8) It is they absence of bitterness. 9) FORGIVING GOD!!! 10) FORGIVING OURSELVES!!!! As I close I pray that you will take this and dig deeper into your heart and soul and deal with any forgiveness issues you may have in your life. IT'S WORTH IT.... BUT IT TAKES WORK SPIRITUALLY, PHYSICALLY AND EMOTIONALLY!! One Love, Jason Ashley

Kick The enemy IN THE TEETH!!!

2010-08-17T11:13:00.002-04:00

OK so I know on my blog I was doing some writing on some teaching about the Holy Spirit and I will continue doing that in the near future but today Jesus threw me a curve ball and told me to write about something that he has been teaching me through the many weeks of rest I have had. So let's dive in!! Day by day we must, notice I said we... illustrate our commitment to Jesus with a sacrifice that serves OTHERS in the midst of mounting opposition. Anything worth accomplishing requires great sacrifice in the lives of those that want to live out the great commission!! It's not easy as we walk by faith and carry our cross daily. There are times I myself as a follower of Christ want to throw my hands up and say "You know what the hell with it!" but there is something deep inside of me that wants to see people come to Jesus and myself mature and grow as a believer. NEVER NEVER let the enemy overcome who you are in Jesus. You are a child of God who has the king inside of you and with that YOU CAN DO ANYTHING. Step back for a second and just look at Nehemiah, read Nehemiah, heck read Phil. 4:13 YOU CAN DO ANYTHING IN THE NAME OF JESUS! Because there is mighty POWER in the name of our lord. MAKE SURE YOU DO IT FOR THE RIGHT REASONS! We must persevere til the end. Love you all. It is my prayer that you kick the enemy in the teeth and help the big C "Church" RUN UP THE SCORE. One Love, Jason Ashley

Holy Spirit? HIM!!

2010-08-13T10:34:00.003-04:00

This is post #2 on some teaching about the Holy Spirit basically today we are going to look at the characteristics of Him. Let's just dive right in this morning. The Bible teaches that the Holy Spirit is a person. Jesus never referred to "it" when He was talking about the Holy Spirit. In John 14, 15, and 16, for example, He spoke of the Holy Spirit as "He" because He is not a force or thing but a person. Whoever speaks of the Holy Spirit as "it" in uninstructed and perhaps undiscerning. In the book of Romans Chapter 8:16 the King James Version(Which is not the only version of the Bible!!!! Just figured I would throw that in there.) refers to the Holy Spirit as "itself". This is a mistranslation. Nearly all of the newer translations have changed "itself" to "himself". As we look through the scriptures we see that the Holy Spirit has intellect, emotions, and will. Also the Bible ascribes to Him the acts we would expect of someone who was not just a force, but a real person. So let's journey through the scriptures together. This is going to take time and effort on your part, because you have to look up the scriptures. He speaks: (Rev. 2:7). He intercedes: (Romans 8:26). He testifies: (John 15:26). He leads:(Acts 8:29 and Romans 8:14). He commands: (Acts 16:6, 7). He guides: (John 16:13 RSV). He appoints: (Acts 20:28). He can be lied to: (Acts 5:3, 4). He can be insulted: (Heb. 10:29). He can be blasphemed: (Matt. 12:31, 32). He can be grieved: (Eph. 4:30). Clearly the Holy Spirit is a person all of the emotions and acts I just listed are characteristics of a person. The Holy Spirit is not an impersonal force, like gravity or magnetism. He is a person, with all the attributes of personality. But not only is He a person; He is divine as well. We will learn more about how Divine he is in my next post. Oh and just to throw this out there HE IS GOD!! One Love, Jason Ashley

Our needs!!

2010-08-12T11:37:00.004-04:00

Today is the first day of many days I will be writing about what God has been teaching me about the Holy Spirit. I pray as you read and learn with me our lives are transformed and made even more complete through the work of the Holy Spirit that works within us to shape us and lead us into total and complete truth. So here we go...........Man has two great spiritual needs One is forgiveness. The other is for goodness. Consciously or unconsciously, his inner being longs for both. The Spirit of the living God has already given us both we just have to walk in it and live it out day by day. We have to realize that God does not want us to come to Christ by faith, and then lead a life of defeat, discouragement, and dissension. Rather , He wants to "fulfill every desire for goodness and the work of faith with power; in order that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in us" (2 Thess. 1:11, 12). We have to realize as children of God that we have been given the authority and the power through the Holy Spirit to bring Jesus ultimate Glory. I read a quote once that stuck out to me it read like this "I need Jesus Christ for my eternal life, and the Holy Spirit of God for my internal life." As Christians we tend to wait on God or wait on the spirit to tell us something, when we need to realize that the Holy Spirit is waiting for us. We are no longer living in a time of promise, but in the days of fulfillment. Let's live lives that shake a generation. Let's start walking in the POWER and LOVE God has given us as children as Him. I pray this post changes your life. I am currently working on my next post titled "Spirit it or HE?" One Love, Jason Ashley

DJGF EMOTIONS!

2010-08-10T09:32:00.004-04:00

The fourth century theologian Augustine: insights on fear. Augustine teaches that humans are created to love and designed to love. He teaches they are four principal emotions that shape us as we pursue love. They are DESIRE, JOY, GRIEF, and most of all FEAR! John Charles Selner, who studied Augustine and wrote many books on this subject, tells it like this, “Desire attracts us to what we love. Joy accompanies the experience of love. Grief is what we feel when we lose love. Fear is the emotion we experience when we believe we may lose love.” This is so true; I have felt this way many times in my life and as a matter of fact this week. You see pursuing love is an emotional battle. However these emotions can shape us if we let them. So many of us are control freaks. We try to control everything even love when the reality is we need to pursue love instead of trying to control it. I have never been great at this at times I’m sometimes lazy at pursuit. Whether it be planning a date night or just stopping and listening to my wife. You see that’s the secret to a successful marriage listening to your wife. Although I struggle at this from time to time I try my hardest to listen to my wife. That is all women want we as men to listen. If were honest we all struggle with pursuit in some way. Whether it is laziness, fear, or just not making the time to pursue. So do we acknowledge? Or do we ignore pursuit? Is today the very day you try harder to pursue your spouse? I am going to pursue like never before. Remember the four principal emotions that shape us as we pursue love. Desire, Joy, Grief, and Fear let them shape you! Have a Jesus filled day!

LOVE TANK!!

2010-08-09T16:20:00.003-04:00

This is straight from the heart, to the notepad, to the keyboard. I have been on empty several times in my 7 years of ministry and I don't want you making the same mistakes that I have made. I pray that through the power of the Holy Spirit this blog post changes your life. So let's get started!! Luke chapter 8 verses 45-48. In these verses a women reaches out and touches Jesus on his cloak. Though he is in a large crowd he feels this energy comes out of him. He turns and asked who touched me and then an unclean woman fell at his feet and worshipped him. He told her your faith in me has healed you. Then it hit me when you love you get, physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritual depleted. Love takes a lot of energy from you Christ felt this energy leave him in this text. You know you work hard all day. You come home and is it the TV you choose or playing with your kids? Love is tiring at times. However it’s the most important thing in your life! Christ is Love! Sometimes the best thing for us to do is stop and rest. Refill your tank(BE A SELFISH CHRISTIAN AND LET OTHERS LOVE ON YOU) and it will not cost you $2.50 a gallon to do it... Ha! Ha! I look through scripture and I see Jesus rest, He takes a boat across the lake to get away from the crowds. He takes a rest on the floor of a boat. Often He would go to a solitary place. He rested when he needed to rest. See Satan wants us to be so busy and caught up in the motions that we never rest. If you never rest you can’t love the way you should. My question to you, are you on empty? Are you to drained to love the way you should? If so rest its important. Love is everything! Jesus said come to him and he will give you rest. Matthew chapter 11 Verse 28 read it for yourself. Love you all and pray that the LOVE in you is recharged and then released into the lives of others around you. AND IT STARTS AT HOME!!! I would love to hear some feedback and pray for you, so leave your prayer request under comments and I will pray for you..

Wash Da MuDDDDDDDD!

2010-08-02T14:28:00.001-04:00

Good afternoon to all! I just finished a killer workout and some lunch! Today I plan on relaxing and taking some time for myself! I believe quiet time is essential in our walk with God! When I say quiet time I mean complete quietness; no cell phone, no TV, no radio just total silence! This is so necessary it’s amazing how clear you can hear the voice of God when you just get alone with him and LISTEN! Try it! I have been wondering what to blog about today and I was told Character! I usually write all my blogs in advance on paper after alone time with God, but this one is coming straight from my fingers! The title “Why do Christians waver?” I believe it’s because our commitment to stand is not grounded in God’s character, but rather upon the characters with which we are standing or our circumstances. We as believers must be anchored in the God who does not change. Malachi Chapter 3 verse 6 says “I the lord do not change”. You see we can’t base our lives off of emotions and circumstances, we would never be happy! The kind of character you have reflects who you are as a person! You see Jesus is reliable and trustworthy. That is the kind of character he is looking for in his children! If any of you have kids you can honestly say you want them to be reliable and honest with you all the time! It’s the same way with Jesus Christ he expects us to be true to him and to others! Life is hard; no one can say it’s easy. I firmly believe character is important; your word is all you have so when you give it to some one follow through with what you said you would do! Remember your children learn from you! Have a great day! With Love Jason

The Enemy SUCKS!

2010-05-28T09:16:00.003-04:00

Good morning everyone! I would like to talk today about EXPOSING. Nobody likes to here the word Satan but I’m going to be talking about him today. I will be exposing him. Please pay attention to this verse especially the first part. 1 Peter Chapter 5 verse 8 says. "Be self controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour."As I unpack this text it may get very personal, but that’s ok. The first part I think is the most important be SELF-CONTROLLED AND ALERT! You have to be constantly aware of your surroundings and use the knowledge the lord gives you. Some people think they can live like hell 6 days a week and then come to church on Sunday and everything is ok. Newsflash its not, if your doing this you have no self control and you’re using Jesus as a prostitute! Yes I said it a prostitute, you go to him whenever things get hard and turn away when things are great! Sometimes you may do this and be so caught up in the motions you don’t realize it. Others may no they are doing it and really could care less and that’s sad. If you can do this every week and feel no conviction it may be time for a salvation check! We must live in a constant state of repentance and not give the Devil one inch because he can come in and rule your life if you allow him to. A lion is very sneaky and after he has made his kill he will always roar! Why the roar? Is it because he is getting emotional about the kill? The answer is no. Often when a lion makes a kill a pack of scavengers will come up and run him off! You see the lion roars to make everyone think he is big and bad when the truth is he is submissive. So basically he is a wimp with a big mouth! Sound familiar Satan has a big mouth and it’s filled with lies! He will lie to you. He will tell you God does not love you, you’re worthless, you will never make it, etc….. Folks I’m telling you we don’t have to listen to that garbage. We must realize we can keep Satan in proper perspective. He is submissive to God and if God lives in you. You can resist him! You see we are children of the most high and he created us for a purpose. He has a great life already planned for us! You see 1 John 4:4 says, He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. So if you are struggling and Satan is attacking you! Tell him Go to Hell! Jesus Christ is Ruler not you! He will flee! If your on the front lines for Jesus he wants to destroy you more than anyone so always be Self-Controlled and Aware! If this offended you take it up with God he told me to blog about this today and I will be held accountable for what he ask me to do! So get over it and smile! Have a Productive Day! Love Jason

Ever turn your back?

2010-04-21T19:14:00.002-04:00

A Professed Christian who Turns away from the truth and turns His back on Jesus Christ and refuses to suffer for His sake was NOT a True Believer in the first place. A person who Genuinely belongs to Christ may sometimes be Disobedient, but he will Never Reject His Lord. The person who Belongs to Christ continues to Confess Him, to Serve Him, and to Suffer for Him when that is necessary. He does not endure because of his Own Strength but because he is consumed by Christ’s own Spirit, who Never Fails to give sustaining Grace to God’s Children. False Converts— They will put their hand to the Plow of Discipleship, but they will NOT Forsake the Old Life (Matt 7:21-23), Demonstrating that they have Never Received the New. They are therefore Not "Fit for the Kingdom of God," Jesus said, because their Hearts have NEVER been with Him (Luke 9:57-62).

1, 2, 3, ACTION

2010-03-25T10:27:00.004-04:00

What is the Fifth book of the New Testament? The Acts of the Apostles. It is not the thoughts of the Apostles or the ideas of the Apostles. It is the Acts of the Apostles. Why? Because following Jesus is more than thinking or imagining, it is about doing! Actions bring about results. Have you not acted on something God clearly told you to do? Life is short, now would be a great time to ACT like a Christ follower. I pray all who read this love like Jesus, serve like Jesus, and ACT like Jesus. Life is too short to be hesitant, people without Jesus die and go to hell. Let's be the light that Jesus called us to be. Let's make a difference in people's lives. Let's become less so he can become more and more. Love you all!!!!!!

Are you on empty?

2010-03-17T09:51:00.002-04:00

What up everyone? Today during my study time this morning I learned about a story in scripture Luke chapter 8 verses 45-48. In these verses a women reaches out and touches Jesus on his cloak. Though he is in a large crowd he feels this energy come out of him. He turns and asked "who touched me?" and then an unclean woman fell at his feet and worshipped him. He told her "your faith in me has healed you." Then it hit me when you love you get, physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritual depleted. Love takes a lot of energy from you, Christ felt this energy leave him in this text. You know you work hard all day. You come home and is it the TV you choose or playing with your kids? Love is tiring! However it’s the most important thing in our lives! Christ is love! Sometimes the best thing for us to do is stop and rest. Refill your tank and it will not cost you $3.00 a gallon Ha! Ha! .I look through scripture and I see Jesus rest often, he takes a boat across the lake to get away from the crowds. He takes a rest on the floor of a boat during a severe storm. He would often go to a solitary place and get alone and pray. He rested when he needed to. See Satan wants you to be so busy and caught up in the motions that you never rest. If you never rest you can’t love the way you should. My question to you, are you on empty? Are you to drained to love the way you should? If so rest its important not to just you but to everyone around you. Love is everything. Jesus said come to him and he will give you rest. Matthew Chapter 11 Verse 28 read it for yourself. I pray this helps someone out there who is running on empty! Love, Jason

Do you UNDERSTAND?

2010-03-16T08:59:00.002-04:00

Good morning to everyone! Do you ever have trouble understanding things? I do and in this post I will talk about our understanding, verses God’s understanding! Let’s dive right in! Life is full of things I don’t understand…why people hate on other people that are succeeding in life….why my kids do the complete opposite of what I tell them at times, can you relate to that?….why life at times seems so great but at other times it's very frustrating. I can't seem to understand why people do not get along any better than they do, nor can I figure out why special, loving people seem to die young while mean, cranky people seem to live forever. What do you do when you just don’t understand something? Sometimes I think about the fact that I do not even understand why I do what I do, so it is not unreasonable that I sometimes cannot understand why God does what he does. The fact is, there is much in life, much about God himself, much about eternity, that I will never understand. The question I need to ask is, how much understanding does it take for me to trust God. Leaning on our own understanding and on human wisdom instead of trusting Jesus leads to a lifetime of frustration and confusion instead of contentment and joy. God alone is the sole source of all understanding. What a freedom we find when we put aside our demands to understand everything and relax in the knowledge that because he does, we don’t have to. Asking him for understanding is great and we should. In fact, David cries out for it no less than 5 times in Psalm 119 as he pleads, “Give me understanding that I may live.” But the measure of our trust is revealed when we do not understand but are content to know that God does! In other words we TRUST GOD NO MATTER WHAT!! Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge him, and He will make your paths straight.” That is a verse to live by! I pray you have a blessed day and know that someone loves you, his name is JESUS!

Hell No!

2010-03-10T15:12:00.003-05:00

This is what I call good old home cooking straight from the heart. Here we go!! Is arguing causing people to bust Hell wide open? I think it is. Please let me explain! Some Christians and Churches would rather argue amongst themselves than reach out to their communities and reach out to one another. If I were the Devil I would keep Christians arguing all the time. Because if Christians argue people don’t get reached for Christ.You see some arguments I have overheard are about the most ridiculous subjects and most of the time based on man made religion, not scripture. If the Church and Christians would take time to look at what truly matters, think Kingdom Minded and simply open their hearts and doors to the lost Jesus could RADICALLY change the way non-Christians view THE CHURCH as a whole. Race does not matter whether your Black, White, Hispanic, Latino or Green or Orange the truth is color of a person should not matter! We are all God’s children! What a person wears should not matter! If you don’t like what they are wearing you need to realize everyone is different and not every person that goes to Church wears a suit and tie or a skirt and dress. They should be welcome any day, any time, and in any Church! What a person drives, where they live, and who their mommy and daddy are should not be the reason you want them to stay or go! I am the son of a drug dealer and alcoholic that does not mean I am also living that lifestyle. Yes he is in jail and has been for over 15 years, which does not mean I will follow that same path! You see Jesus said come as you are! So why in the HELL would Christians put up a wall and actually think they can say who comes in and who goes out of the Church! The facts are Denominations and man made religion puts people in HELL! The same goes for arguments if we are arguing, people are not being reached! I am not saying that Church leaders and members should never argue that would be unrealistic! Good things can come from arguing, but arguing about some of the things I have discussed in this post could never have a positive impact! DO NOT FORGET…. THE CHURCH WAS CREATED TO REACH PEOPLE FOR JESUS CHRIST AND MAKE HIM FAMOUS! IT WAS CREATED FOR THE LOST! IT WAS NOT CREATED SO CHURCHES COULD TALK ABOUT ONE ANOTHER AND TEAR DOWN WHAT SO AND SO CHURCH IS DOING! WE ARE ALL ON THE SAME TEAM SO LET”S ACT LIKE IT! I will end this post with a question Would Jesus be welcome at your Church? Remember he dressed homely, most scholars say he had long hair, and he hung out with people that the religious despised! That’s the Jesus that changed the world forever! With Love for all Jason

Washing Mudd!

2010-01-08T08:44:00.003-05:00

Good morning everyone. I am going to be talking about being spiritually blind. In John chapter 9 verses 10-11, and also 35-38,39. Jesus has healed a blind man in these verses. I find it funny how the religious leaders demanded the man tell them who done this for him! Anyway that's another story for another time! Jesus said something in this scripture that blows me away. ' I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind!" The last part rocks my world. He is saying we should become blind to our plan and follow his! That's awesome that the creator of the universe would choose us. In this text the miracle is great. Jesus encounters one who has never seen or known light-a blind man from birth- and he gives this man sight and light. After Jesus spit on the ground and made mud, he covered the mans eyes with the mud. What happens next is a sign of how strong the mans faith was. Jesus told him go to the pool of Siloam and wash this off and you will see. So the man had to step up and go! After he washed his eyes he could see i can only imagine the excitement that came over him! He never had to go back to his begging post again! You see in verses 35-38 was the conversion. Jesus gave him a spiritual light also he could now see with his heart. The way to see in this world is a willingness to admit we are blind. The blind man did not argue with Jesus. He acknowledged his condition and his need. He submitted himself to Christ and was OBEDIENT! My question for you is we all have certain things we try to keep in the Dark! What are you trying to keep hid in your life? You see Jesus sees it all you can't hide it from him. Instead of hiding it ask Jesus to take it away and watch him do another awesome and great work! Love you Guys! Jason

Do you HATE God?

2009-10-22T12:24:00.001-04:00

This is a real life testimony of Hatred toward God! This is how some non Christians view Jesus! But most of all for some this is reality! You don’t like the thought of even being a Christian or you hate the word Church! Well how does God feel about all that’s happened to you? The truth is he cares! I pray that everyone that reads this that their eyes are opened believer or not! You may feel like this guy did! I pray for you to let God do a miracle in your life! Ask and you shall receive! Thanks Jason! This really rocked me to the core, reality is a beast! What has God ever done for me? I’ve never killed anyone. I’ve never raped anyone. I’ve never robbed a bank or stolen a car. Yeah – I’ve hurt a few people, but they hurt me first! They deserve what they got! You’ve hurt me, God, from the day I was born. I had no father or mother to raise me. I went from foster home to foster home as though I was just a cheap piece of rubbish. No one ever really loved me. Sandy was the only one who ever really loved me, and you let her get cancer and die on me. God, I hate you so much.You even let Molly get ran over by a car. Remember that, God? Molly was my friend’s pet dog, and Molly loved me more than she loved Sam, her owner. Molly would come over and beg me to pet her and play with her. She was the only one I could really talk to. She was the only one I could really trust. She never turned her back on me like everyone else has. And you let her get run over God. You took my only true friend, and I hate you for that too!Remember that time my mom called me and asked if I would meet her at that restaurant? She wanted to see what I looked like all grown up. I waited there at that restaurant, God, but mom never showed up. She never ever even called back to tell me what happened. I prayed and asked you to have her call me and tell me why she never showed up, but you wouldn’t even have her do that!Sandy and me were good together, God. She had been hurt her whole life just like me. She understood me, and I understood her. We had plans to marry as soon as we could get some money together. When I held her in my arms, I felt like nothing else in the world mattered. My hurt would go away and her’s would go away too. You took that away from me God, and I’ll hate you forever for taking her away from me. Why did you have to let her die?I used to dream that she would come to me at night. I swear I could hear her in my room sometimes, calling my name, after she died. I prayed and asked you to let me see her, but you wouldn’t even let me see her, even though I begged you to. I could feel her there sometimes … I know she was there beside me – but you wouldn’t let me see her. You are so cruel, God.Look at the mess this world is in? People killing people over nothing. People strung out on drugs and killing each other for it. What kind of God are you to make people do things like this? Babies starving in other countries and disease is killing people like no tomorrow. People killing people because of their hatred over religious beliefs and people blowing themselves up thinking that you are going to reward them in heaven for it? This is crazy, God, and I think you are crazy too. You’re crazy, God, that’s what you are – mad crazy!And remember that time I went into that church to talk to you? I really wanted to know if you really are real, or people just believe in you because they need something to believe in. I gave you a chance to prove to me that you are real, and nothing happened. I even got down on my knees and asked you to somehow show me you are real, and nothing happened. Nothing! I don’t think you are real, even. If you were, you would answer me right now. Are you a coward, God, or just think you’re too important to let me know you are real or not? Yet I want you to be real so you can know how much I hurt. I want you to hurt just like I hurt. I want you to hurt worse! I don’t deserve to hurt this way. Why did you let me be born in the first place? Just to hurt like this? You are so cruel and mean. Religious nuts say you died on a cross for my sins. They claim you even rose again and went to heaven after you died. Well, if that is so, why didn’t you let Sandy come back to life? Those religious nuts claim you healed people before you died – why didn’t you heal Sandy before she died? She asked you to heal her, but you didn’t. I don’t think you healed nobody. I don’t think you even died. I don’t think you even existed. You’re just a fairytale lie some religious nuts have come up with so they can get money out of poor people. That’s what I think. So you going to send me to hell for hating you, God? How can hell be any worse than the hell I’ve lived my whole life? I don’t want to live anymore, God. I want to get it all over with because I’m tired of hurting. I’m tired of the pain. I want you to hurt like I’m hurting God. You don’t even care if I hurt, do you God?My child …if you could only see the tears I’ve shed for you since your birth, and multitudes like you. If you could only know how much my heart really aches when people start hating me as much as you hate me. If you really knew …My child … don’t you think I knew the heartache you were going to experience before I allowed you to even be born? Do you think I delighted in knowing the hurt and pain you were going to experience during your lifetime? You are so wrong if you think I delight in such pain. Don’t you think I’m aware of how much evil is on the earth? Do you think I’m blind to it? Do you think I’m going to allow evil to continue forever? No I’m not. I have a plan in motion to take care of evil, and I have promised the people of earth in the holy scriptures that I will execute that plan exactly the way I planned it from the beginning. Stop listening to what others think about the bible, and read it for yourself. Find out for yourself what my plan is to cleanse earth of the evil you see around you.Do you realize I gave you a choice to hate me? To love me? To believe in me or not believe in me? Why would you think I gave you that free choice? Because I wanted to make you miserable? Would you have wanted me to make you a robot, and program you to believe what I, your creator, wanted you to only believe? That’s not love. That is control. That would be every bit as evil as any other evil is. True love allows others to believe what they want to believe, not control what they believe. Suppose I had healed Sandy’s cancer. Would that have caused you to stop hating me? I can tell you it would not have. You have hated me from your childhood because you did not have your birth parents to raise you. You worship hate, if the truth be known. Hate is your god, and you don’t even realize it. You demand your right to hate me, and I have given you that right – that choice. You are given the right to hate me for all eternity, and life doesn’t end after you die. It continues forever. I cannot lie either – if you carry your hate into eternity, there will be no changing it. It will only intensify as will the hurt and pain it brings. Many have surrendered their hate to me and you can too, if you only will make the decision to do so before you die. I can perform a miracle in you that you can’t comprehend right now. I can cause all your hate to die and put an appreciation for life in you that is beyond your wildest comprehension. You will begin to understand things like you’ve never understood them before. You will begin to treasure talking to me and trusting me to work things out in your life like you’ve never known before. I am not lying. I am a miracle working God, because I’m God. Yet I will never force you or anyone else to stop hating me. I will not force you to love me. I have given you the right - the power - to continue hating me, or start loving me.You’ll never learn to truly love me until you allow me to begin to help you understand what my Son accomplished for you on the cross. I realize you don’t want to hear this, but everyone will be judged according to how they responded to my Son dying on the cross for their sins. That was decreed before the foundation of the world. I would be lying to tell you otherwise, and lying is never love.Are you afraid to love me, or is it just more enjoyable to hate me than love me? I reveal myself to those who want to love me and please me, not hate me. I have feelings too -- please know that. The choice is yours, my child. I already know what my choice is. I want to think joyous thoughts about you every moment through eternity. I want you to allow me to transform you into a miracle creation beyond anything you can possibly imagine. I want to set you free from hate and fill you with love for your creator. When you pass from this life to the next, I desire that you look forward to seeing me face to face with eager expectation – not shaking your fist at me and venting more anger and hate. What pleasure will that bring me? What joy for any amount of time will that bring you, when you realize that I will not have anyone in my kingdom who hates me. Those who pass into the next life hating me will go to a kingdom where hate is their ruler. If only you would believe how much I do not want you, or anyone else, to go to that kingdom. You have no idea what anguish of soul is until you are there in that kingdom. I desire to have you in my kingdom, where there is joy forevermore and anguish cannot be. Please, my child, turn from you anger and hate … before it is too late. Please.

Move FORWARD!

2009-10-19T14:31:00.001-04:00

When you placed your trust in Jesus Christ as your ETERNAL Savior, God forgave all the offenses you committed against him, adopted you in his AWESOME family and gave you an inheritance that he, himself, stands guard over in Heaven for you. God also filled you with the presence of the Holy Spirit, who has energized you for special service to God and ministry to everyone your life touches. This makes you special to God both relationally and functionally. Some days if your in ministry you may feel like giving up or like everything you touch doesn’t go as planned! Press on and move forward like Jesus did, carrying the cross wasn’t an easy task either. He could have stopped every time he got spit on, mocked, beaten and just give up, but his Passion to do what only he could do “SAVE THE WORLD” gave him the very strength to keep going! So when the days seem long remember you are a child of the most high and he reigns over everything. There is nothing our God can’t do, I’m living proof! I deserve hell but he shows me mercy, thank you Jesus Christ! To all my peeps I Love each and every one of you remember ONE GOD, ONE LOVE, ONE WAY(John 14:6) with Love for all Jason!

Personal and Ministry thoughts!

2009-10-08T08:21:00.003-04:00

Good morning to all of you out there who may read this! What a beautiful October morning here in South Carolina. I want to just talk about whats going on in my life at the current moment and share some personal things with you. So here we go! As many of you know me and my best friend Matt Beasley started a non-profit ministry called the LOT project about 8 months ago and wow what a road it has been so far. We have seen God move mountains and tear down walls that seemed huge at the time. The one thing that has really rocked my world is the fact that we have a group of people that surround us right now that love God and love people! They are some of the most Godliest men and women I know. The one question me and Matt had when God placed this vision on our hearts was "I wonder who God is going to place in our lives to help us?" Then it was like wow we had so many people wanting to help. God has put what me and Matt call a dream team together, some crazy people that simply follow Jesus Christ and dream big dreams! Let me just go ahead and say this before I continue. I praise Jesus for who he has placed in our lives and we are very thankful for all of you. I was not going to do this but oh well. I am going to list some people who have really bought into the vision and are the ones actually making this thing happen many who have been behind the scenes. Dan and Leslie White and family, Tekedra Blanding and family, Kat Laun and her mom Cathy Spaulding, Andy Gibson, Matts,s mom and dad Mary and Donny Beasley, my wife Amber Ashley, Kerry "BROTHER" Bailey and family, Josh Evans, Hannah Bolt, Brian Narcisse, Josh Cline, Cherie and Shane Duffey, Crystal and Ernie Johns, Sandra Counts and family, Tara Payne, Kelly Anderson, Morgan and Jeremy Cobb, Matt Shulte, Michael Parker, Tommy Cross and family, Matt's Grandparents, Jed and Isaac Aho, Craig Walker, Tabitha Vasalis, Stephen and Elizabeth Carroll, The Wagners, The Coopers, Justins and Ashley Sheffard, All of THE SHOTGUN GUYS, and so many others who give of their time every week to serve the LEAST OF THESE. There is one more group I want to say thank you to and without these people the LOT project would not be what it is. To all of the Newspring Fuse youth that serve every week you guys and gals are awesome and we love all of you, keep following hard after Jesus! You see the one question we had was answered over and beyond what we had ever dreamed. Which leads into my next point when you plant a ministry God will take care of the details just follow him and listen to what he says and do it! Leading a ministry is a hard job but it has a ETERNAL IMPACT! So if God is leading you to plant a ministry just do it and watch God show off! Don't worry about how it will run me and Matt have both been busy, Me with raising a family and working and him with school and also working and it hasn't missed a beat! If ministry ever begins to be about you always being there you would have to ask yourself one question "Is it for you or are you doing it for Jesus?" I am currently taking 8 to 10 weeks off of ministry while me and my wife prepare to have our 3rd child. I am more excited now than I was when we planted the LOT project. Because I know God has placed people in our lives that love God and love people and that this ministry will continue to see growth because we have people that serve Jesus and desire to see change in our communities. I want to praise and thank Jesus Christ for his incredible favor on our lives and thank him for reaching down when I couldn't reach up. Please pray for me and my family while we are getting ready for our 3rd child. Please pray for Matt as he is finishing school and traveling a lot for this ministry. Also please ray for Andy Gibson and Kat Laun as they continue structuring and organizing this ministry. We are a blessed group of people and it's only by God's grace that we get to do what we do! I know this has been a long post but I pray it encourages you. Have a blessed day! Love Jason Ashley

Up or down?

2009-10-08T08:14:00.003-04:00

Have you ever wondered how you can be in such a great mood and then one thing just ruins your day. Or maybe you wake up and nothing seems to be going your way. As Christians we can be so pumped up and motivated. Maybe we just seen a life long friend come to know Jesus, we just led someone to Christ, or even we in our own walk got our world rocked by a life changing message. They are many other things that can set you on fire spiritually! But what do you do when things just seem to steal your joy, take away from your life, or maybe you feel like your running on empty? Lets face it life is a challenge and being who Jesus called you to be and obeying him is very challenging but we have to press on. I'm going to share some scripture with you that helps me when i get down and out! Proverbs Chapter 3 Verses 1-10. 1 my son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart,2 for they will prolong your life many years and bring you prosperity. 3 Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck write them on the tablet of your heart.4 Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man.5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. You can continue this reading of scripture in your bible! I hope this lifts you up and gets you in the 66 book love letter he wrote to us! Have an awesome day!!!! Jason

Church and Comfort!

2009-10-06T08:20:00.003-04:00

Hello! First i would like to say i hope you are having a great day. I'm going to talk about the Church and comfort. The two words should not be in the same sentence. I f you are trying to reach people for Christ you should never be comfortable while doing it! We have to step out of our comfort zone and reach people! For too long the people inside the church have been focused on their wants and needs and not the needs of the lost. The church should be a place where anyone could come, regardless of there clothes, car, hair, where they live or what they have done in there past. Who has the right to criticize a nonbeliever and talk bad about them when they don't know any different. If there is anyone who should feel comfort in the church its the lost. The Church was not created for people to have permanent seats or parking , how dare people act like its theirs. The Church was created for Jesus Christ to be exalted not for congregations to have a Holy huddle! I'm just sharing some very personal views and pet peeves of mine! Its my opinion and I'm not backing down. As far as youth goes here's one thing that burns me up is seeing a graveyard at a church well maintained and always shining, but the kids have to wash cars or sell donuts to go on youth camps. See the big picture is the people in the graveyard are dead and there decisions have been set. The Youth still need to be reached so why spend money on the non-important things! That cemetery will not change the world. However our youth can make a huge impact. As far as the people that don't know Jesus what are we doing to change that.All throughout scripture the teachers of Christ went out into the dangerous parts of town and reached out to them. So why are we not doing that today. You know what bothers me in the time it took to write this blog 100's of people have died without Jesus thus going to hell!!! That should be enough motivation for the Church! Faith does not require your details when God says do it just do it! This has challenged me WOW! man! I hope you get uncomfortable as well! One Love, One God, One Way!Later Jason!

3, 2, 1, ACTION!

2009-10-05T08:34:00.000-04:00

What is the Fifth book of the New Testament? The Acts of the Apostles. It is not the thoughts of the Apostles or the ideas of the Apostles. It is the Acts of the Apostles! Why? Because following Jesus is more than thinking or imagining, it is about doing! Actions bring about results! Have you not acted on something God clearly told you to do? Life is short, now would be a great time to ACT like a Christ follower! Stop having Holy Huddles and start working in the community that’s real effectiveness!!!!

Are you committed?

2009-09-29T19:08:00.002-04:00

Good evening everyone! I read this paragraph in a book one time and what can I say “It challenged me!” It went a little something like this. “We live in a day when there is very little if any commitment to anyone or anything! The reason for these actions is there is very little surrender to anything anymore! You see if I surrender my own needs to the needs of others, then I will find myself committed to their lives! Jesus Christ over 2,000 years ago surrendered his entire life for us…. What would happen if I submitted mine back to him?” As I read this paragraph it moved me and made me self examine myself to see if I was truly committed to Jesus Christ 100% not 99%. My pastor said something one time that challenged me as well. He said a 99% commitment to Christ is 1% to short, its all or nothing! You see self examination is very important, it tells you who you are and where most of your time is spent. I personally believe that we as Christians can’t even begin to realize how much God loves us and how big of a plan he has for our life. I also believe in order for us to have the protection of God we have to be under the authority of God! You can’t live like Hell all the time and be committed to Jesus Christ, it’s just not possible! You know I Love people who commit to be on time and actually are! In other words thank you to all who say they are going to do something and they do it! I believe with all my heart God wants even a stronger commitment to his will for our lives not our own! Let’s face it we screw up and mess up all the time! However we serve a perfect and holy God, thank goodness for that! You know as I think about commitment one thing pops in my mind over and over again! If we can’t commit to the little things how can we commit to the big things! When I accepted Jesus Christ as the payment for my sins and believed in him through faith he put a burning passion in me to reach out to all types of people. Though I may get knocked down sometimes, I’m like Rocky I keep getting back up (with the help and guidance of Christ of course). You see he made a 100% commitment to us so when are his followers going to make the same commitment to him! Jesus said you can’t be both hot and cold he would rather you be one or the other. Being Luke warm he said it makes him sick he would spew you out his mouth! Hey he said it not me! So what are you willing to do to change the way you commit to things in life? The way you commit to Jesus, your spouses, your kids and even doing something you said you would do. Commitment is the most important step in life! If you’re not a Christian and maybe you have been mistreated by a church or a Christian let me just apologize for them! Not all churches and Christians act the same. You see Jesus did not come into the world to condemn it he came to save it! Many Churches and Christians would rather condemn people and have a holy huddle inside the church! They try to lead the church instead of letting Jesus Christ lead! Many times the church splits right down the middle because of a lack of commitment to Christ! So I know how you may feel toward these types of so called Christians but don’t let their actions keep you from believing in Jesus Christ! I’m telling you he is very much alive and he has changed my life tremendously! He is the best! If you call on the name of the lord and believe through faith you will be saved! For those who have gotten offended at this post I don’t apologize, maybe you needed to get offended because you lack commitment! For all you non-Christians I want you to know I love you and want the best for you! Jesus is the best oh yes! Have a great Day with love Jason!

When FEAR turns into FAITH!

2009-09-21T08:29:00.001-04:00

Life is full of challenges. Job security has become a thing of the past. Soaring cost in medical coverage, housing and other basic needs have created an environment filled with opportunities for worry. Problems of every description confront us EVERY DAY of our lives and generate enough pressure to stress out any normal person. There are 2 questions that you need to ask yourself.I did and its incredible the results! 1. What do you do with your worry? 2. How do you handle your fears? The truth is we all worry and fear things that could happen in our lives. Or we are worrying about a situation we have absolutely no control over at all! I personally struggle with worrying about the stupidest things sometimes! If your honest you do to! Lets take a look in scripture at what Jesus Christ says about worrying! Matthew Chapter 6 25-34 wow these verses rock my world. In Matthew 6:27 Jesus says "Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?" The answer is no one! Verse 34 says "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own" Jesus told us plainly do not worry. The one thing that always helps me when I worry is writing down what I'm worried about! If you see it for what its worth its not worth worrying about! Also talking to someone who LOVES you about a problem or just when life happens is great for you as well. So as you journey through your day look up and remember ONE GOD, ONE LOVE, ONE WAY PERIOD!!!!! Love all of you Jason

CHANGE PLEASE!

2009-09-16T08:47:00.002-04:00

Good morning everyone I will be talking about Change today. Pastor Troy Gramling said something that sticks out to me and I would like to share it with you. Change is in the air and happening at record speeds. Many of the changes we face are not within our control, as we have learned in many situations, but how we respond to change can be controlled. This is so true. I like the way Twyman L. Towery compares the stages of change to the stages of grief: DENIAL: Our first reaction is to deny, rather than adapt to and embrace, the change in our life. ANGER: Once we realize we cannot stop the change we become angry that it is outside of our control. If we do not understand where the anger is coming from, we can mistakenly hurt the people we perceive to be initiating the change. BARGAINING: This is an attempt to avoid change by bargaining it away. EXPLORATION: We begin to except that there is going to be change and explore ways to deal with the change. Depression can become a reality during this stage as we give up being able to control the circumstances. COMMITMENT: We except and embrace the change. We begin to see some possible benefits of the change. When I read this it rocked my world. I started thinking about this same mindset people have on Change inside the church. I hear so many people in church talk about other churches and what they are doing! It goes like this: “Did you here what "such and such"church is doing? I can’t believe they are doing that!” It bothers me to hear people focusing so much on other churches, they end up forgetting their on vision for there church. Let’s face it the same things that worked 10 years ago will not work today! We serve a creative God If you don’t think so then look outside. Better yet look at your spouse and your kids! It’s time the church in America gets with it and makes some huge changes. Do not change your church vision, just the way you present the Gospel of Jesus Christ! Make it fun and fresh! We must reach the YOUTH! I believe with all my heart, that should be the focal point in the church! Not the Cemetery or the pointless picking of apples for the Senior Adults! If you just got offended good you needed it. Although Twyman L. Towery was talking about changes in our life. I believe some churches have this mindset about where they go to church. They don’t like change. They make it all about them and the Hell with the lost people! This is my opinion on change within churches, if the Pastor and Staff constantly seek Jesus Christ and put him first in everything Jesus is in control! Jesus said follow him! Are you following him? Does change bother you? Are you making all about you and not Jesus? I know this is a touchy subject and I am not downgrading churches or people. I am simply calling it like I see it! If you get mad great! If you don’t even better! Love You Guys Jason!

Full Follower

2009-09-10T14:53:00.002-04:00

Good Afternoon! We have all played hide and seek as children heck I even play it now with my kids! Today I'm going to teach about hiding from your own beliefs and if you do you can't seek God fully! John 3:1 says "There was a man named Nicodemus...a member of the Jewish ruling council...who came to Jesus at night." The one question I had with this text was, Why did Nicodemus come to him at night? Nicodemus came to Jesus at night because he was afraid that others might learn he wanted to follow Jesus. Many people today try to hide and seek Jesus. Because they are unwilling to stand up for Christ, the rarely have an impact on their world for Christ. Jesus said to Nicodemus that unless he stepped out of the shadows and followed him publicly, he would miss out on the joy of following Christ. Jesus also taught Nicodemus that secret followers never experience the full measure of God's love. Make sure you experience the fullness of following Jesus Christ! Be Passionate!!!! Love Jason

Spectator or Participater?

2009-08-23T22:48:00.001-04:00

I’m going to get straight to the point with this post! If you have accepted Jesus Christ as your lord and savior you are a part of the body of Christ! We all have a gift, my question to you is, are you in the game or on the sideline? I’m not talking about being on the bench either; I’m saying are you being a spectator. Christianity doesn’t need any spectators! It’s just like a football game there are more spectators than players! You see we live in an important time and the world is in a critical state! We as Christians have a very important roll to play! Are you in the game? Are you reaching out to those in need? The body of Christ has an upward reach in worship, an inward reach in our spiritual nourishment, and an outward reach to people who do not know Jesus! 1 Corinthians 12:12 (NIV) says “The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ.” The fact is we are all called to do something. Jesus has trained us and equipped us to get in the game! So today score a touchdown or better yet make a tackle!!!!!!! Have a blessed day! With LOVE, Jason

The Healer

2009-08-17T10:51:00.000-04:00

Jesus asked,
"Do you believe I am able to do this?"
"Yes, Lord," they replied.
"Because of your faith, it will happen."
And suddenly they could see! Matthew 9:28-30
You gotta believe!
"If you study the healing ministry of Jesus in the Gospels,
a recurring pattern emerges —
again and again,
Jesus looked to see if the sick person was showing faith to be healed.
Healing is "according to your faith." Matthew 9:28-30
Jesus had all the faith and healing power necessary, even to heal blindness.
There were no questions, no doubts, in His mind about His ability to heal these two blind men.
The variable was not Jesus' faith,
but the faith of the men desiring to be healed.
And when Jesus had determined that they did indeed have faith in His healing power,
He cured them of their blindness.
This same pattern is seen in the ministry of the apostle Paul.
A lame man was listening to Paul preaching the Gospel.
During this sermon, Paul looked directly at him,
saw that he had faith to be healed
and called out, ‘Stand up on your feet!’
At that, the man jumped up and began to walk". Acts 14:8-10
Did the apostle Paul have the "gifts of healing"? 1 Corinthians 12:9
Apparently so.
But the healing did not occur until the lame man himself "had faith to be healed."
Therefore,
it is urgent that we grow in faith to be healed.
Jesus’ apostles understood the importance of this.
Luke 17:5 The apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith!"
Romans 10:17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Faith grows as we focus on Jesus the Healer.
Acts 9:34 records the apostle Peter ministering healing to a lame man.
He simply said to the paralytic,
"Aeneas,... Jesus Christ heals you."
Matthew 8:2-3 A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said,
"Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean."
Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man.
"I am willing," he said. "Be clean!"
Immediately he was cured of his leprosy.
"I am willing," Jesus said.
Let His own words establish the fact that it is His will to heal!
Psalm 103:2-3 Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits
who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases...
Faith for healing grows as we realize that Jesus has provided
both the forgiveness of our sins and the healing of our diseases.
1 Peter 2:24 ...by his wounds you have been healed.
Faith for divine healing grows as we remember that from God’s standpoint,
healing is already DONE — "You have been healed."
Matthew 8:16-17 "...Jesus healed all the sick.
This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah:
"He took up our infirmities and carried our diseases."
Matthew 4:23-24 Jesus went throughout Galilee
healing every disease and sickness among the people.
Jesus’ will to heal includes YOUR sickness!
He healed "every disease and sickness."
1) Remember that faith comes by hearing God’s Word.
2) Focus on Jesus the Healer.
3) Remember His words to the man who was uncertain about Jesus’ will to heal: "I am willing."
4) Don’t forget the salvation benefits of forgiveness of sins and healing of sickness.
5) Remember that Jesus "took up our infirmities and carried our diseases." Don’t you carry them a minute longer!
6) Any affliction you have can be healed — Jesus healed "every disease and sickness."
7) And thankfully, "Jesus Christ is the SAME yesterday and TODAY and forever". Hebrews 13:8
Jesus healed His people 20 centuries ago, and He is still the same — He will heal you today!" Have an AWESOME DAY! Love you all, Jason

Hand to Hand

2009-08-12T15:32:00.004-04:00

I pray this post rocks you and that it challenges you. A Man died and went to heaven. When he met St. Peter he told him how grateful he was to be in Heaven, but he wanted to know how much better Heaven was than Hell. So he asked Peter to let him glance in Hell for just 10 seconds. That a way he could know just how grateful he could be. Peter said OK. When the man looked in Hell he seen a large table as far as the eye could see filled with the best food he had ever put his eyes on. Then the kicker! He asked Peter why everyone around the table were like bones and very malnourished? Peter told him in Hell they have to eat with 5 foot long chopsticks and you could never get the food to your mouth from the table because of the chopsticks being so long. That’s why they are starving to death. So Peter closed Hell up and began to walk with the man through Heaven. Then he took the man into the Banquet room. In there was the same table with even better food on it. Like Fillet steak, poppy seed chicken, shrimp, crab legs, krispy creme donuts (hot n now) if you know what I mean, you get the picture! But the man noticed something everyone around this table was full and looked very healthy! So the man asked Peter “What do these people eat with?” Peter replied, “The same 5 foot long chopsticks!” So then the man asked Peter “how it was possible for the people in Hell to starve but the people in Heaven to be very healthy. When they used the same 5 foot long chopsticks?” Peter then replied, “In heaven we feed each other from across the table. Those 5 foot long chopsticks work if you are willing to serve one another.” This is just a joke but I think we can learn a lot from it! In our own communities people are starving for things like: Love, Security, Feeling wanted and needed, a purpose just to wake up in the morning. I have a real hard time with this because in my home community we have people who are homeless, hungry, and want to change but can’t seem to find anyone to help them! In America we have so much on the table of opportunity with those same chopsticks trying to feed only ourselves. Reach out today feed someone else. You reap what you sow, if you feed others you to will be fed! I have some question and then I’m closing this post out. Are you willing to feed your community? Is your Church reaching out? We as Churches have a lot of resources and a lot on the table. We must serve; it’s what Jesus Christ said we should do!!!! When people with Passion partner together things get done inside the Church and the Community! I am so thankful that I have the resources and energy to do this very thing within my own community! Thank you Jesus, for everything. It’s my prayer that eyes will be opened through this post and people will begin to feed others instead of themselves! With Love Jason

Giving God your ALL!

2009-08-03T20:19:00.003-04:00

Let me just say before I write anything we at "The LOT Project" give Jesus Christ all honor, all glory, and all praise for what he did through this family's situation. The very fact that he would choose us humbles me as i write this. It all started when I got a phone call at 9:30 pm on a Friday night from a ministry leader here in Anderson. He said "I have a 28 year old single mom who has been in an abusive relationship. She has a nine year old, a 21 month old, and a newborn. She has packed up diapers, wipes, i hamper of clothes, and she is headed to Anderson. That's all she has. She has nowhere to go". He told me that he had called every program and every woman's home in the upstate and that there were no openings anywhere. Then he said something that at the time made my heart scream. He said "You guys are our last hope. Jason, I know you guys can make this happen". So I immediately went to the Lord and prayed "Use us. Have your way with us. Bring your people, together to make this happen." I didn't know how? I didn't know when? I just know Jesus spoke very clear to me and it literally sent chills from my head to my feet. His exact words to me were "I will give you strength, I will give you resources but you are going to have to step up and lead this situation and know that I've got you." I met the mother and the 3 children at Wendy's off exit 19 in Anderson. Seeing those children and that mom in need broke me to the point that I would do anything to help them and that's what I told Jesus! We took them to a local hotel owned by a friend and put them in a room for five days! With some help from other folks we stocked them with food. Then I began looking for a house. I made 1 phone call and boom we had a house. I was told the house needed a lot of work and that if we wanted to redo it we could. So on Sunday we began working on the house. I called all our volunteers, shared the story and they were all in! Many of them dropped everything they were doing, even their jobs (They took days off from work!) and began helping! The Haven of Rest in Anderson replaced the porch. We replaced all the carpet. The bathroom and parts of the kitchen were redone. We painted and boy did we clean. We were able to paint the outside of the home and even landscape the yard! Then came the fun part decorating and moving furniture in for the family. We got the house finished, which only took 4 days (yes I know our God is HUGE!). Other folks were able to fill up the fridge and cabinets with food, cleaning supplies, dishes, pots, pans, Heck everything! It was one of the most fulfilling things I have ever done, but I assure you it was not easy! I learned several things through this. The most important thing I learned however was that God has surrounded our ministry with people that truly LOVE serving our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! We as a ministry are 6 months old and God is doing huge things. That rocks my world! I pray this story encourages you but at the same time challenges you to get out of your comfort zone and trust Jesus to lead you! If it's God"s will, its God's bill. We all do things like this everyday if we unite as one body!!!! Thanks again to all who pitched in to make this happen. This family's life has been forever changed! Check us out on the web @ www.thelotproject.com. We are also paying this family's bills for a year so get on board and help us help others! You can donate online and it's safe and easy JUST DO IT! Love you all through the LOVE of Jesus thanks again to all who helped, Jason Ashley.

Grace Killers

2009-07-28T11:09:00.002-04:00

Yeah, I know the title of this blog seems a little intense already! Have you ever heard the term "grace killer"? I read a book one time and Pastor David Rice talked about the Definition of a "grace killer".This stuck out to me today that's why I’m blogging about it. A "grace killer" is a person that goes to church just to criticize it or try to take away people's joy. That’s sad but it is happening in churches all over this nation. The most common things attacked by these people are Music. We as believers want to worship Jesus and praise him, they however attack the style of music. They say “It’s not traditional” so it will not work and be effective! Wow! They forgot to tell Jesus about this. I believe whatever the music, just worship Jesus and not the music and he can use anything for his glory. These people also attack the Giving within the church. We want to worship Jesus with his money yes I said his money nothing is ours and they want to know everything purchased and try to tell the leaders how to spend it! They love stirring up controversy within the Body of Christ! We want to reach a fallen world for Jesus and they tell us we are doing it all wrong. They simply say this because we don’t do it according to the way they would do it or don’t use the same methods they would use! Last time I checked the Holy Spirit leads us, not man! You see it’s a pattern anywhere there is change taking place and lives being changed for Jesus. These people come out of everywhere trying to destroy the move of God. They don’t realize how deadly this can be. God will not let them get away with these kinds of actions! Grace Killers will fall flat on their faces. They ain't happy so they don’t think anyone else should be full of Joy either! Good news folks keep your eyes on Jesus and forget about these types of people. Life is too short and Hell is to Hot! So tell the world about Jesus and if somebody has something bad to say about you or the way you do it! Dust off your feet and press forward. If you are getting criticized you are doing a great job. Jesus got criticized, beat up, spit on and by the way it was the RELIGIOUS PEOPLE who did it to him! So smile and if you just got pissed off reading this blog, quit "Grace Killing" and criticizing people!

Random

2009-07-19T13:06:00.003-04:00

As I sit here thinking of what to write about my mind and my spirit are in total peace. I think about where I was when God saved me. I think about the friends and family Jesus has blessed me with. I think about the ministry God has placed on my heart and the vision he has given me for The Lot Project. I think about how tough life is at times but I rejoice in the suffering this life has to give. I know my God is huge and he is over all things, he is supreme. I feel so loved by Jesus its unexplainable and I want to LOVE others like he loves me. I think about my Father who has been in Prison for many years and will soon be free. I think about my Wife who is carrying our 3rd child. I think about how she LOVES me and how blessed I am to have her. I think about my 6 year old son who is already serving Jesus and understands what Jesus did for him. I think about my Mom who has sacrificed for me so many times. I think about my best friend who loves me and my kids like we are family. I think about the fact that Jesus gave his life for all. I think about my future and I know God has got me and I know his will for my life will be fulfilled! I pray that this City, this State, and eventually this Nation will be surrendered fully to Christ. I pray that Christians will serve like we should and not question Jesus! HE IS OUR PROVIDER AND THAT'S ALL WE NEED! I LOVE YOU ALL and that was a random post but its what was on my heart and mind!

LEADER or GRUNTER?

2009-07-13T23:20:00.002-04:00

What is the first thing that pops in your mind when you here the word man? Leader pops in my head so here we go launching right in to the post! That's what the man should do is lead the home and family. We look around our falling nation which is still blessed compared to other countries and we see a Crime Rate that is out of the roof, Abortion is at an all time high, Teen pregnancy is climbing as well as drug abuse in our teens. One question, who is really to blame is it the world or is that just the excuse we use for bad parenting. I'm convinced it's the Fathers not being present in there child's life. See anyone can be a Dad but it takes a special person to be a Father. Someone who is at the kids functions and events instead of Mom having to do it all because the Dad had to close on a business deal. Whats more important? Money or your Children's future. For to long the Dads out there have not been leading. The bible reads in (Proverbs) Train up a child in the way he should go and he will never depart from it. That my friend is the truth but in our culture its not happening because the Dads refuse to lead there family. Here are more scriptures to look up about Fathers. Ephesians 6:4, Luke 11:11, Colossians 3:21. Check them out for yourself. I'm not saying there are not Fathers out there trying there best i know of several and i commend you. Do me a favor sometime this week if you are a Dad slow down get in total silence and think about whats important. Let God speak to your heart. If all the Dads out there started leading and being true Fathers we could change this country with one generation. Love you guys O dont forget to check out our new website @www.thelotproject.com

Whats your TEMP?

2009-06-30T21:32:00.004-04:00

Had help from a great friend of mine named James on this post. Good evening friends! I am going to write about temptation tonight so here we go. Luke 4:13 Even when you defeat one temptation, Satan only leaves till a more opportune time which is when you are weaker or a better opportunity to strike presents itself. 1 Corinthians 10:13 No matter what temptation has overtaken you it is common to all man you are not the only one who struggles with it. However it is within human resistance to defeat. God is so compassionate that he will not allow you to be tempted beyond your ability to beat it. But with temptation he will give us the strength and a way to escape. Look at the life of Job. 1 Peter 1:6 We should be glad when we are distressed by temptations it is so the genuineness of our FAITH may be proved. 2 Peter 2:4-9 Even as God spared Noah and his family and saved Lot but destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah he will also rescue his children from temptations. So from now on when you feel overwhelmed by temptations cry out to God with your whole heart and stay on your face in front of Jesus Christ. Jesus is the true example of how to defeat Satan and his temptations. He stayed prayed up and he defeated Satan with his Holy Father's words. So I challenge you to fill up your hearts and minds with God's word. Are you spending time with Jesus daily? Are you running to win? Or are you running barefoot struggling to take your next step. Love you all Jason. Also check us out online @www.thelotproject.com

PASSING IT ON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-06-26T21:19:00.002-04:00

WOW! Its great to be back. I have been taking a blogging break, which is great to do once in a while. I am simply going to just share whats going on in my head and my heart. If you are offended I DON'T apologize. Here we go the other day I received a phone call (Which happens a lot about 130 received a day) and I was disturbed by what I was asked to do. I was told "Jason I just ran into a homeless guy he has no food and he is hungry so I gave him your card" WHAT THE HECK? You mean to tell me you depend on me to do everything? Just because I am a homeless outreach and street minister does not mean I can meet every need!!!!!!! I was not mad or angry in a bad way! I was just disturbed that the person seen the need, had the resources to meet the need and instead of being obedient to Jesus and feeding the hungry the person passed it off on someone else!!!! I truly believe that's the problem in Christian culture...people see needs and instead of meeting them when they have the resources to do so THEY PASS THEM ON TO SOMEONE ELSE!! Ever wonder if that person might have been put in your path for a reason? That's one thing that I love about the church in the book of ACTS they seen a need they met it. No matter what the need was the bible says there were no needy among them!!!! So they set the standard for how we should meet needs on an individual basis and as one body that has many parts. But if the body has missing parts it can not function like Christ intended it too! For too long people have been giving the Lord a half hearted effort! Then we wonder why the Church in America is steady declining!!! IT'S BECAUSE PEOPLE GO THROUGH THE MOTIONS AND DON'T SERVE ONE ANOTHER. People in the church depend on the leaders to do it all when in reality there is only ONE LEADER... THAT'S JESUS CHRIST! We are all commanded to LOVE one another and it's not a suggestion ITS A COMMAND! I will end with 2 questions to ask yourself. Are you serving the needy or passing it along to someone else? Are you serving your home church? I pray in Jesus Holy name that this blog post breaks through to those who read it and I pray for people to have the LOVE Jesus has! Remember ONE GOD, ONE LOVE, ONE WAY!

Building A Team!

2009-06-20T23:34:00.003-04:00

Not sure where I got this but its AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Build the team with God leading the charge and with leadership modeling it!
Build the team with patience, perseverance & self-sacrifice.
Build the team with people who are sold out with you for the greater cause.
Build the team with one person at a time, no matter how long it takes.
Build the team with the understanding that people, leaders will fail..but God will never fail
Build the team with the openness to allow others to lead in area's they are better in
Build the team with the expectancy that we are about creating HOPE for people
Build the team with confidence, motivation & encouragement...momentum is essential
Build the team around the cause, vision.
Build the team around relationships that create community for others to engage & connect.
Build the team through constant prayer for God to open doors to meet the right people.
Build the team with realistic goals and achievable benchmarks..and stick to them.
Build the team with CRAZY-FAITH to believe that one-day it will reach it's full potential.
Build the team with the understanding that "Your Not" the only team on the field. Learn how to Play the game w/ others!
Now if you do these things will your team succeed? Not sure, but find what works and what doesn't for your team and work it the best way you know how!

Random thoughts!

2009-06-13T23:19:00.004-04:00

As I sit here I am in AWE at the fact that my God has chose me to help lead such an awesome ministry. Folks this week has been a roller coaster its been filled with highs and lows. As I look back at it I would not change one thing instead I acknowledge the blessing of being able to serve God another week. Getting to see God move in my life and the lives of others leaves me speechless at times. This week I have been able to start mentoring a man named James. He is one awesome guy who has had ONE HELL OF A LIFE. But on the 14th of May he asked the God of the universe to come into his heart and since that day he has been following Jesus hard. Getting to spend time and mentor this man is an awesome experie bynce for me. Your prayers for him and for me are much needed.....Thanks in advance for them! I am also excited because on Tuesday we can start construction on the Homeless shelter(BUILDING 302) And with the help of some awesome people hopefully finish the lobby within 2 weeks and then start on the bed sleeping areas! Now for some more random thoughts my wife and children are doing great and the baby in my wifes belly is doing great as well, only 4 more months then we will have our 3rd child. My wife and I have decided(mostly my wife) to wait til its born to find out the sex of the baby which is driving me nuts! I WANT TO KNOW NOW! ha ha Well its late and im off to bed lots to do in the morning much love to all of my peeps! and always remember ONE GOD,ONE LOVE, ONE WAY! John 14:6

"REAL TALK" Story 1

2009-06-06T22:21:00.004-04:00

This story from Jasmine is incredible I pray this story rocks your world and challenges you to JUMP OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE!!!!! "Hello. My name is Jasmine Marie Smith. I am 19 years old. I lived on the streets for 3 years. It hasn't always been this way. My mother wasn't a hooker, my father wasn't a drunk. My parents divorced when I was 3. My father died ,when I was 5, in a car wreck. My mother dated many men none seriously until David. She started dating David when I was 13. He moved in with us when I was 14. At first David was really nice. He bought me things. He even went as far as buying me and my mom a new house. But then 6 months after he moved in with us he started beating my mother. He would go to the bar as soon as he came home from work at about 5 and not come home until 1 or 2 in the morning. He would come home and yank my mom out of bed and start barking orders at her. If she didn't do it fast enough he started to beat her. He would beat her until she passed out. Then he would go in get a beer and pass out on the couch. During this time he never touched me. He threatened me but never touched me. I begged my mom to leave him but she kept telling me she loved him and things would get better. She was wrong. They just kept getting worse. About six months after he started beating my mother he started molesting me. He would tie me down and molest me for hours. I told my mother but she didn't believe me. When she asked David he just denied it. This went on for just a little over a year. Then one night he came in and tied me up. But this time was different. This was the first time he raped me. That is when the problems got even worse. He continued to rape me on a nightly basis. About 2 months after he started raping me I found out I was pregnant. I knew who the father was. I didn't know what to do I waited 3 months to finally tell my mom I was pregnant and that David was the father. She called me a slut and liar. She packed my clothes and threw me out. That is when my life on the streets began. The first few nights I stayed in the park across the street thinking she would come for me. She didn't, she still hasn't. Six months after my mother kicked me out I delivered a beautiful baby girl. I delivered her in a phone booth and wrapped her in some of my clothes. I walked the 3 miles to the hospital and dropped her off there. I knew I couldn't take care of her. I knew she needed someone who could but it was the hardest thing I've ever done. I cried the whole walk to the hospital and the whole walk back to the park I was staying in. I had no money, no job, and no roof over my head. I knew I had to find some way to make money. So I started selling my body for money just to get by. I am ashamed now of what I did. I started eating at the homeless shelter and staying in them sporadically. I developed several friendships. The best one was with a girl about my age named Elizabeth. She had a similar story to mine. I remember one thanksgiving we walked together 5 miles in the snow to get a turkey dinner. It was a memory I'll always carry with me. That night was when I met Jordan. He was working in the homeless shelter. He offered to give Elizabeth and me a ride back to the park we were staying in. He took us to our "home". I thought that would be the last time I would see him but he continued to come back. I fell in love with him. He helped Elizabeth and I get jobs. He helped us get in contact with some people who would help us get an apartment so we didn't have to live in the park. He was like an angel. Eventually we started dating. I got pregnant again with his baby. We decided to get married. Six months after we got married I delivered a beautiful baby girl. We named her Ella Grace. My husband and my daughter are my world. Elizabeth moved into the apartment across the hall from me. Not to long after Jordan and I got married she married John. They are expecting there first baby next spring. Our stories have a happy ending but we need to continue to help the needy. Not all stories end this way. That is the reason Jordan and I have started the HTN(Help For the Needy) program. Anybody can make a difference in somebody Else's life if they get out of their comfort zone and just do something."

To My Kids!

2009-06-04T15:03:00.002-04:00

I am not sure of the author.... but I want to be like this for my children. This poem will rock your world. *Just for this morning, I am going to step over the laundry, and pick you up and take you to the park to play *Just for this morning, I will leave the dishes in the sink, and let you teach me how to put that puzzle of yours together. *Just for this afternoon, I will unplug the telephone and keep the computer off, and sit with you in the backyard and blow bubbles. *Just for this afternoon, I will not yell once, not even a tiny grumble when you scream and whine for the ice cream truck and I will buy you one if he comes by. *Just for this afternoon, I won't worry about what you are going to be when you grow up, or second guess every decision I have made where you are concerned. *Just for this afternoon, I will let you help me bake cookies, and I won't stand over you trying to fix them. *Just for this afternoon, I will take us to McDonald's and buy us both a Happy Meal so you can have both toys. *Just for this evening, I will hold you in my arms and tell you a story about how you were born and how much I love you. *Just for this evening, I will let you splash in the tub and not get angry. *Just for this evening, I will let you stay up late while we sit on the porch and count all the stars. *Just for this evening, I will snuggle beside you for hours, and miss my favorite TV shows. *Just for this evening when I run my finger through your hair as you pray, I will simply be grateful that JESUS has given me the greatest gift ever given. *I will think about the mothers And fathers who are searching for their missing children, the mothers and fathers who are visiting their children's graves instead of their bedrooms , and mothers and fathers who are in hospital rooms watching their children suffer senselessly, and screaming inside that they can't handle it anymore. *And when I kiss you good night I will hold you a little tighter, a little longer. It is then, that I will thank JESUS for you, and ask Him for nothing, except one more day!

Offense or Defense REPOST!

2009-05-29T23:44:00.000-04:00

by John Mason.....Never try to defend your present position and situation. Choose to be a person who is on the offensive, not the defensive. People who live defensively never rise above being average. We're called, as Christians, to be on the offensive - to take the initiative. A lukewarm, indecisive person is never secure regardless of his wealth, education, or position. Don't ever let your quest for balance become an excuse for not taking the unique, radical, invading move that God has directed you to take. Many times the attempt to maintain balance in life is really just an excuse for being lukewarm. In Joshua 1:6-7,9 the Lord says three times to Joshua, "Be strong and courageous." I believe that he is saying the same thing to all believers today. When you choose to be on the offensive, the atmosphere of your life will begin to change. So if you don't like the atmosphere of your life, choose to take the offensive position. Taking the offensive is not just an action taken outside a person; it is always a decision made within. When you do choose to be on the offensive, keep all your conflicts impersonal. Fight the issue, not the person. Speak about what God in you can do, not what others cannot do. You will find that when all of your reasons are defensive, your cause almost never succeeds. Being on the offensive and taking the initiative is a master key which opens the door to opportunity in your life. Learn to create a habit of taking the initiative and don't ever start your day in neutral. Every morning when your feet hit the floor, you should be thinking on the offensive, reacting like an invader, taking control of your day and your life. By pulling back and being defensive usually you enhance the problem. Intimidation always precedes defeat. If you are not sure which way to go, pray and move towards the situation in confident trust. Be like the two fishermen who got trapped in a storm in the middle of the lake. One turned to the other and asked, "Should we pray, or should we row." His wise companion responded, "Let's do both!" That's taking the offensive.

NO GOOD WORKS

2009-05-18T08:16:00.003-04:00

John 6:28-29 Then they ask him, "What must we do to do the works God requires?" Jesus answered, "The work of God is this; to believe in the one he has sent." JESUS made a way for us and we could never earn our way into heaven by doing good works. We have to believe in JESUS CHRIST the Son of God through FAITH, that's what saves us. Then we are FREE INDEED! So today live like your a child of God. If you believe in JESUS CHRIST as Savior and Lord you are his and nothing can pluck you from his hands! Let's live everyday as VICTORS AND NOT VICTIMS! Be blessed I LOVE YOU ALL, Jason(I'M IN AWE)

LOVE

2009-05-13T06:31:00.002-04:00

Good morning to everyone reading this and if your not your missing out! Nah just kidding! Today's blog is going to be about LOVE I pray this post changes the way you LOVE your family, your friends and more importantly your God. "Love shows the true character of a man, according to the object which he loves more than anything else: for as is the love, so is the man. According to his love, so might you confidently designate the man. If he is a lover of honour, he is an ambitious man; a lover of pleasure, a sensual man; and if he chiefly love the world, he is a covetous man. If a man loves righteousness, he is a religious man; if the things above, a heavenly-minded man; and if he love Christ with a pre-eminent love, he is a sincere man: "Rightly do they love you.," Song of Songs 1:4.
If Christ has our love, he has our all; and Christ never has what he deserves from us, till he has our love. True love withholds nothing from Christ, when it is sincerely set upon him. If we actually love him, he will have our time, and he will have our service, and he will have the use of all our resources, and gifts, and graces; indeed, then he shall have our possessions, freedom, and our very lives, whenever he calls for them. In the same way, when God loves any of us, he will withhold nothing from us that is good for us. He does not hold back his own only begotten Son, Rom.8:32. When Christ loves us, he gives us everything we need-- his merits to justify us, his Spirit to sanctify us, his grace to adorn us, and his glory to crown us. Therefore, when any of us love Christ sincerely, we lay everything down at his feet, and give up all to be at his command and service: "And they loved not their lives unto the death," Rev. 12:11."

CHANGING LANES!

2009-05-11T08:08:00.003-04:00

Everyone well almost everyone hates the word CHANGE! However CHANGE is not a bad thing. In our culture its sweeping a lot of people by! The world is constantly CHANGING but we as adults don't like to embrace it! Today I'm going to talk a little bit about CHANGE and how if we take the right steps toward CHANGE it can be one of the best things that we can ever embrace. First I am a firm believer that we will never become who God intends us to be by remaining what we are. It's not enough to be open to CHANGE, we need to pursue it. We should not CHANGE to just run from our problems-we should CHANGE enough to solve them. We should not CHANGE our circumstances to improve our life-we should CHANGE ourselves to improve our circumstances. Let's face it the same old things don't work like they used to. If we continue to turn to the same old things we should not expect great results-we should try something new and expect different results. Don't view CHANGE as something hurtful that must be done-see it as something helpful that can be done. In scripture we see James talk about this in the first chapter verses 3-4. "When your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing." Building our character is a slow process; it happens day by day not overnight. Whenever we try to escape the hard times in life we think we are shortening the process when we are actually prolonging it. It delays our growth and it always ends up hurting us worse if we ignore it. So be very open to CHANGE and be very willing to pursue it, CHANGE is a good thing!I Love You all, Jason

Thank You

2009-05-08T14:19:00.002-04:00

In the ministry it is a tough but awesome job and every once in a while we get a simple encouraging letter or even just a sentence to help us along. The day Jennifer sent this to me I was exhausted but her encouragement lifted my spirits! I encourage you to lift your Pastors and staff up on a regular basis! They pour out so much and they need to hear encouraging things to give them more and more motivation to push a little harder! Here is one letter short and sweet that JACKED ME UP! Thank You Jennifer! "Keep it up Jason! I am so proud of you! I remember that it wasn't that long ago you was telling me that you felt God calling you into the ministry but he had not revealed his plans yet.....seems like you are following his will! :-) Thank you for what you are doing to help others! Jennifer Campbell"

Building a foundation at home!

2009-05-04T08:09:00.000-04:00

Building a good relationship at home is like building a wall: It’s done brick by brick. And the mortar that holds it together is UNCONDITIONAL, UN-CONDEMNING, UNSELFISH LOVE. The only way you’ll know how good a job you’ve done is when it’s tested by the storms of life. One of the most important keys to succeeding at home is- communication. So: (1) Become creative. Spend time together as a family. Call your spouse during the day and plan date nights. Send her flowers love on her all the time instead of just one flipping day a week! Treat her like Christ treats us. As for your kids, communication with them is also huge! Build your relationships with your children on a solid foundation! Spend quality time with them instead of buying them whatever they want! Stuff will fade but the time you spend with them will never be forgotten! The next thing is one that I will say takes work because it’s so easy for it to work its way in to your family time. (2) Identify communication killers. Internet, cell phones and TV are the worst ones! The average couple spends less than 1 hour a week communicating with one another, and we wonder why the divorce rate is skyrocketing! (3) Encourage one another at home; build each other up instead of tearing one another down! Differences of opinion are very healthy for building a great relationship with your family members if handled right WITH LOVE. The final one is very important. (4) Be conscious of how you interact with your family. You may have unwittingly adopted a style of communication. Stop and consider; do you: (a) retaliate- that has a degrading effect; (b) dominate- that has an intimidating effect; (c) isolate- that has a frustrating effect: (d) cooperate- that has an encouraging effect. If you’re in the habit of using any communication style other than a cooperative one, start working immediately to change it. You’ll have to, if you want to build a good relationship with your family. The most important thing when building family relationships is to keep JESUS CHRIST FRONT AND CENTER IN EVERYTHING! I pray this helps you realize just how important building relationships are! I love you all, with love Jason

THE CROSS

2009-05-02T10:04:00.003-04:00

Good morning on this Saturday May 2nd 2009. Only 12 more days until my birthday(27 years old)! Write that down! HA HA.... nah I'm just kidding! I want to talk about the cross and what we have through the cross! Jesus Christ died for all of us and through the cross we have 3 things! (1) Reconciliation. "God...reconciled us to Himself." (2) Regeneration. "Having been born again" (1 Peter 1:23). (3) Resurrection. "Everyone who...believes... i will raise him up at the last day" (John 6:40). Thank God for the cross today! I love you all, Jason!

Planning your goals!

2009-04-28T07:45:00.002-04:00

Over the past few years I have learned so much on how to set goals and how to achieve those goals. I found 8 key principles to live by that will help each and every one of us achieve our goals in life. First and foremost it starts with a relationship with Jesus Christ we all need him to guide our steps and light our path. People who set goals accomplish them and people that don't won't accomplish them. With that in mind, build these eight principles into your everyday life. (1) Decide what you want. Of course line it up with scripture and consult Jesus first. "Many are the plans in a mans heart, but it is the Lords purpose that prevails" (Proverbs 19-21). (2) Think on paper. Writing your goals down gives you a visual and allows you to see them and get energized about achieving them. "Good planning and insight....bring.....you honor and respect." Wishy-washy objectives want get you where you want to go. (3) Establish a deadline. Without a definite beginning and ending it makes it easier to procrastinate and that will get you nowhere. (4) Make a list of what you NEED to do. Keep it in front of you all the time, it will give you a track to run on. (5) Convert your list to a plan. Decide what needs to be done first and then do the other things after... like a snowball effect. An organized plan is less stressful than having to carry your goals and ideas around in your head.(6) Act immediately. "Be careful, then, how you live-not as unwise but as wise making the most of every opportunity" (Ephesians 5:15-16). Do something! A mediocre plan that's implemented beats a brilliant one that is not. (7) Do something everyday to move you forward. Build it into your daily life. (8) Have a goal that your willing to devote your life to. Never take your eyes off of that goal. Life is hard at times but through Jesus Christ we can do all things! I pray these steps help you and I pray that you start achieving your goals. I Love you all and you have a wonderful day. Jason

Update on Shelter!

2009-04-25T21:15:00.004-04:00

Just going to post a short update! Today we worked in the shelter all day! We had 7 of our youth come and help clean and pour into the shelter it was AWESOME but we learned patients LOL! Folks its coming together! We are getting the floors done on Tuesday then we can start the interior building process. I'm pumped! God is moving in a mighty way, only he could do what has been done through this ministry! We are seeing life change happen EVERYDAY! We have set a goal for the shelter to be up and operating within 3 months but there is no hurry! We want it to feel like home to all who come in! We will start working out of the shelter within 3 weeks! Building relationships, counseling, therapy, and meeting needs in and around our community! We are so blown away at how big our GOD is! Please I ask you all to continue to lift us up in prayer as we continue to serve our Lord Jesus Christ! Love you all!

CHRIST GETS BIGGER!

2009-04-24T08:15:00.002-04:00

John Piper wrote this post back in March and it moved me just thought I would share it! I pray you all have a blessed day! Here is a simple exhortation that I have been trying to implement in our family:
Seek to see and feel the gospel as bigger as years go by rather than smaller.
Our temptation is to think that the gospel is for beginners and then we go on to greater things. But the real challenge is to see the gospel as the greatest thing—and getting greater all the time.
The Gospel gets bigger when, in your heart,
grace gets bigger;
Christ gets greater;
his death gets more wonderful;
his resurrection gets more astonishing;
the work of the Spirit gets mightier;
the power of the gospel gets more pervasive;
its global extent gets wider;
your own sin gets uglier;
the devil gets more evil;
the gospel's roots in eternity go deeper;
its connections with everything in the Bible and in the world get stronger;
and the magnitude of its celebration in eternity gets louder.
So keep this in mind: Never let the gospel get smaller in your heart.
Pray that it won’t. Read solid books on it. Sing about it. Tell someone about it who is ignorant or unsure about it.
Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel.... For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures. (1 Corinthians 15:1-4)

8 Quarters

2009-04-20T20:26:00.002-04:00

It has taken me 4 days to really grasp what happened at Fuse this past week. We had a kid who came up to Michael our bus owner, driver, and let’s just say he is a modern day Noah! The kid gave him 8 quarters and told him it was all he had and he felt strongly that he needed to give it to the lot project for gas for the bus! Folks this was a very humbling experience to all of us at the lot project. Here is a kid who had only two dollars to his name and he gave it all. You know that reminds me of someone his name is Jesus Christ. He too give it all. I got to thinking how I could get my point across to others through what this has taught me. I don’t want this to sound like I am boasting I am just sharing my passion for what I believe in. I will never apologize for passion because Jesus is my passion. So here we go! I want to ask you all some questions “What if every believer gave it all?” Know seriously what if every believer gave it all? What if every believer had eyes like Jesus? What if every time we see a need we take action to meet that need? What if every time God tells us to do something we did it? Reality is this only 2% of Christ Followers tithe and only .004% gives offerings! That’s sad. It’s no wonder our culture is sucking our kids in! Its no wonder teen pregnancy is increasing! Its no wonder gang activity is at an all time peak! It’s no wonder the Church is decreasing in numbers daily and more church splits have occurred this year than any other year in the history of the church! We as believers need to step it up and start giving Christ our all and not a percentage of our leftovers. I pray that all of us act with a sense of urgency and that all of us are obedient as this 14 year old kid who gave it all. I will end with a question I feel we all need to ask ourselves “Are we giving Christ our lives for him to use or are we giving our lives to money for it to destroy?” No apologies Jason! I Love you all!

True Leadership!

2009-04-17T21:35:00.000-04:00

The true leaders are people who never set out to be leaders. True leaders don't elevate themselves. Instead, the people elevate them. Some young men make a mistake in ministry by forcefully proclaiming that they are leaders. In fact, they love the power; they love to have authority and control over people because their egos get a boost. But they fail to realize that the power is not for them; it's for serving others!(Matthew Barnett said it all in his book "The Church That Never Sleeps" and I think he said it well!) good night!

WORK

2009-04-16T07:48:00.004-04:00

Good Morning to all off you! I pray this very short post will encourage you! In scripture Philippians 1:6 says "Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." So who decides it? Who performs it? Who should your confidence be in? Christ Jesus! I pray today that all of you will be at ease knowing that Jesus who started a work in you will complete it. But we as Jesus Freaks have to listen and obey! Have an AWESOME day and please pray for me and the lot project team as we are taking some big steps of Faith. We all Love you! To my readers no that I Love You so so much and remember DO IT UP BIG TODAY, SPREAD JESUS ANYWHERE AND EVERYWHERE! with much love Jason

Pursue and LISTEN

2009-04-14T08:12:00.002-04:00

What up everybody I pray your morning is going great! I am still in AWE of what God did at my home church Sunday, 322 salvation's wow he reigns! It continues to blow my mind how much he loves us. Today I want to write a short and simple post on listening to others and pursuing the work of God. Here we go. So what does it mean for us to pursue the work of God? I believe one thing that answers this question is we need to grow and beg him for his eyes and ears. We need to see as he sees and listen as he listens. Also we need to serve as he serves especially in our relational world. This is one of the key elements to building strong relationships within our communities and within our close friends. I believe If we want to do the work of God, we need to pay attention to people. We need to notice them and observe them. We need to take time to love on them and celebrate with them as we all go through our daily lives. You see we have the power to delight each other's hearts when we notice and celebrate each other. Encouragement in today's world is hard to find or is it? Are we looking in the right places? Are we depending on people to encourage us or are we depending on Jesus Christ to encourage us? Yeah it makes us feel great when someone comes up to us and pats us on the back and tells us great job, but that encouragement only goes so far. Christ can give us lasting encouragement the kind that never runs out. I Love what the Psalmist wrote in Chapter 91 verses 9-16 it says "1.If you make the most high your dwelling- even the Lord, who is my refuge-10. then no harm will befall you, no disaster will come near your tent. 11. For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; 12. they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. 13. You will tread upon the lion and the cobra;you will trample the great lion and the serpent. "14. Because he loves me said the Lord, I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. 15. He will call upon me, and i will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. 16. With long life will I satisfy him and show him my salvation." I don't know about you but that's some encouragement that will never fade. So I will end with these questions. Is there someone you need to encourage, pay attention to, or serve today? I pray this post encouraged you and I Love you all! Thanks for reading, Jason

Running on Empty?

2009-04-12T21:36:00.002-04:00

This is a repost! I posted it last year and I feel like I needed to share it again. One to remind myself of how important rest is! Enjoy Love you all! What up everyone! Today during my quiet time today I learned about a story in scripture Luke chapter 8 verses 45-48. In these verses a women reaches out and touches Jesus on his cloak. Though he is in a large crowd he feels this energy comes out of him. He turns and asked who touched me and then an unclean woman fell at his feet and worshipped him. He told her your faith in me has healed you. Then it hit me when you love you get, physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritual depleted. Love takes a lot of energy from you Christ felt this energy leave him in this text. You know you work hard all day. You come home and is it the TV you choose or Playing with your kids? Love is tiring! However it’s the most important thing in you life! Christ is Love! Sometimes the best thing for us to do is stop and rest. Refill your tank and it will not cost you $2.00 a gallon Ha! Ha! I look through scripture and I see Jesus rest he takes a boat across the lake to get away from the crowds! He takes a rest on the floor of a boat! He would go to a solitary place! He rested when needed. See Satan wants you to be so busy and caught up in the motions that you never rest. If you never rest you can’t Love the way you should. My question to you, are you on empty? Are you to drained to Love the way you should? If so rest its important! Love is everything! Jesus said come to him and he will give you rest! Matthew Chapter 11 Verse 28 read it for yourself.

Going Deeper

2009-04-08T11:10:00.002-04:00

Good morning to all I am going to be talking about friendship in this post today. Friendship is a key element to establishing great community. Friendship is special and everyone desires someone they can trust and share their lives with. So I am going to start this off with a question. WHAT DOES FRIENDSHIP MEAN TO YOU? I am going to share my personal view on what friendship really means so here we go. I believe that friendship involves a mutual exchange of knowledge, service, kindness, and celebration. I also believe it is a growing commitment among peers to seek and serve each other. Philippians 2:1-11 explains this well. The core of this scripture teaches us to pursue others and sacrifice our own desires and serve others as Christ served us. That goes for friendships as well. We should always listen to our friends and be constantly moving forward in our relationships with them. Offering up our time and ears to them. I had a man tell me one time "We have 2 ears and one mouth for a reason". I believe that to be true as well however, I myself sometimes struggle listening to others. If we would all be honest we all do. I constantly beg Jesus to give me his eyes and ears so that I can listen better and be ready to act on the opportunities he gives me. We all have a choice to build relationships or to let them crumble. I want to encourage you to only listen to people that you know Love You. If we listen to everyone we will be in a constant state of pleasing them instead of pleasing God. I pray this post encourages you but challenges you to go deeper with your friendships and also go deeper with your relationship with Jesus Christ. Read Philippians 2:1-11 sometime today and live by what it says. Remember to establish great community we have to establish great relationships. Love You guys and gals, Jason

Open your eyes!

2009-04-07T09:07:00.001-04:00

Good morning everyone. I am going to be talking about being spiritually blind. In John chapter 9 verses 10-11, and also 35-38,39. Jesus has healed a blind man in these verses. I find it funny how the religious leaders demanded the man tell them who done this for him! Anyway that's another story for another time! Jesus said something in this scripture that blows me away. ' I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind!" The last part rocks my world. He is saying we should become blind to our plan and follow his! That's awesome that the creator of the universe would choose us. In this text the miracle is great. Jesus encounters one who has never seen or known light-a blind man from birth- and he gives this man sight and light. After Jesus spit on the ground and made mud, he covered the mans eyes with the mud. What happens next is a sign of how strong the mans faith was. Jesus told him go to the pool of Siloam and wash this off and you will see. So the man had to step up and go! After he washed his eyes he could see i can only imagine the excitement that came over him! He never had to go back to his begging post again! You see in verses 35-38 was the conversion. Jesus gave him a spiritual light also he could now see with his heart. The way to see in this world is a willingness to admit we are blind. The blind man did not argue with Jesus. He acknowledged his condition and his need. He submitted himself to Christ and was OBEDIENT! My question for you is we all have certain things we try to keep in the Dark! What are you trying to keep hid in your life? You see Jesus sees it all you can't hide it from him. Instead of hiding it ask Jesus to take it away and watch him do another awesome and great work! Love you Guys! Jason

God's Dream

2009-04-06T10:23:00.002-04:00

If you had to answer in a single word what God's dream for human beings is, what would you say? Consider the word community. Community is not a human invention. It is not a mere social phenomenon. Community is God's dearest creation. It is only within community that there is the possibility of knowing and being known, loving and being loved, serving and being served, celebrating and being celebrated. Because God is community-Father, Son, and Spirit in oneness of being-he creates community. It flows from who he is. When God created the first being, he astoundingly declared his creation to be "not good" because it was solitary; so he created a partner. God's supreme achievement was not the creation of solitary man but the creation of human community. However, because of sin, God's ideal of community often seemed to have been lost. Many times, it hung only by a thin thread of hope. If God were a quitter, it might have ended altogether. But over the rubble of failed human community stands the towering form of the cross. The very shape of the cross suggests the two main transactions that were affected through it. The upright post stands for the restoration of our community with God. God reached down from the holiness of his transcendence above, into the abyss of our human need in order to reconcile us to himself, through Christ. It reflects God's forgiving grace extended to receptive sinners. But the vertical trunk itself does not make a cross: it also requires a crossbar. The arms of Jesus were stretched on that horizontal beam, and his servant hands nailed to it. His extended arms reach out from the crossbar to all who want reconciliation with God in order that we may also be reconciled to one another, forming one body in his embrace of love. Perfect community is to be found at the intersection of the two segments of the cross, where those who are reconciled are reconciled together-where we love God with all we have and we love our neighbor as ourselves. It is where we learn to care and share, to challenge and support, to confide and confess, to forgive and be forgiven, to laugh and weep, to be accountable to each other, to watch over each other, to be servants together. It is the place of transformation. Community. It alone will survive from this world into the next. Then God's dream will be fulfilled when the church is eternally united as a bride to her husband in the Savior's embrace of redemptive love. So, will you be a part of building God's dream? Hey guys when I first read this by GILBERT BILEZIKIAN it rocked me to the core and it challenged me! So, I had to post this hoping and praying it would impact your lives and challenge you as believers. Our community needs Jesus and its up to us to reach out. Love You guys and Gals JASON

Update on Ministry

2009-04-05T12:59:00.003-04:00

I want to hit you with a quick update! Ministry went well on Friday we reached out to over 80 people and many accepted Jesus into their lives! We give out food , bags of clothes, shoes, bibles, music, etc.. OK Now for today We had over 25 people on the bus and that's counting 6 new comers from the street! 2 of them accepted Jesus and signed up for Baptism so Praise be to Jesus our Lord! We are constantly seeing the numbers increase each week so Thank You to all our supporters we Love you and want you to know YOU MATTER, YOUR PRAYERS MATTER! We also seen over 35 kids ride the bus to youth group this past Wednesday THAT BLOWS ME AWAY! 5 newcomers and we poured Love all over them as well! Pray for us this week as we prepare to take Jesus Christ to the streets on Thursday! As always PRAISE AND GLORY TO JESUS AND HIS KINGDOM! A special Thank You to Tommy, Matt, Michael and all our other LEADERS you guys and gals make it happen week after week! Love you all Jason.

Values for Spiritual Formation

2009-04-02T19:18:00.003-04:00

THE TEN CORE VALUES FOR SPIRITUAL FORMATION 1. Spiritual transformation...is essential, not optional, for Christ-followers. 2. It is a process, not an event. 3. It is God's work, but requires my participation. 4. It involves those practices, experiences, and relationships that help me live intimately with Christ and walk as he were in my place. 5. It is not a compartmentalized pursuit. God is not interested in my spiritual life; he's interested in my life-all of it. 6. It can happen in every moment. It is not restricted to certain times or practices. 7. It is not individualistic, but takes place in community and finds expression in serving others. 8. It is not impeded by a person's background, temperament, life situation, or season of life. It is available right now to all who desire it. 9. And the means of pursuing it, will vary from one individual to another. Fully devoted followers are handcrafted, not mass-produced. 10. It is ultimately gauged by an increased capacity to love God and people. Superficial or external checklists cannot measure it. WOW now that is good stuff. I have applied this teaching to my life and WOW at the result. John Ortberg taught this in a series about 9 years ago called "The life giving power of community. I hope you enjoyed this post. I felt I needed to share it with you guys and gals. I will be writing alot about community over the next few weeks. So check it out as I update and be open minded about what God might want you to learn. Love you all, Jason

Acts 4

2009-03-30T23:07:00.004-04:00

Acts Chapter 4 (I have 2 questions WHAT IF? we the Church Cared like the first Church Cared? and Loved as they Loved?) Wrestle with that! Unpack that! Just thought I would issue that Challenge to you guys and gals! Love yah Jason

Digging for DIRT?

2009-03-29T23:01:00.002-04:00

I would like to start out today’s post with a question I think we all need to answer. Are you going for dirt or gold? Please! Let me explain. Encouragement is a great thing; we all like it and want more of it. In a very negative world encouragement is hard to locate. It seems like everyone’s out to get dirt on somebody. We see it in Hollywood everyday, it also happens in the workplace and yes even churches all across this country. The fact of the matter is some people would like to see you screw up more than see you succeed! I know it’s sad but these types of people are not happy and they screw up so much they like to see you screw up just to make them feel better! Thank God not all people are like this! There are still people out their willing to look past the dirt to what’s behind it GOLD! You see gold miners often have to drill through tons of dirt to get to 1 ounce of gold. They are determined to find something great! Lets face it we are all not good people, but we all have positive attributes about us! So realize this, we all have gold behind our dirt but often people would rather see your screw ups than your success! Jesus Christ makes no mistakes and when he created you he created something beautiful and he has an incredible plan for your life. YOU HAVE A PURPOSE! So try today to look at the positives in each other; people you work with, family, friends. Look past the dirt “We All Have It” and look for the gold. 1 Thessalonians 5:11 says “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up….” We must encourage not discourage! Let me hit you with a rhyme for one second “You see Jesus is the up not the down. Not the bottom, he’s the top. He’s the left, he’s the right. He’s the go, he’s the stop. He’s the light of the world that never burns out; he’s the author of the book so he knows how it turns out!!!” This rhyme or rap as some would call it is so true. Jesus is the up so look up today. Encourage one another and smile with love in your heart at someone today! Your smile may be the only one they see all day! With love to ALL! Jason

Pharisees

2009-03-28T11:16:00.000-04:00

What is a Pharisee? That’s the question I’m going to answer today. During Jesus Christ ministry on earth (which is still at work today by the way) he seen a person or groups of people that kept God in a box of rituals, laws and explanations. These people believed there was no more to be unearthed, revealed or discovered. It was there way or no way. Spiritual fulfillment that led to no questions, no new mystery, and no new promises. Jesus was very clear he doesn’t like this type of thinking. Thinking brings about action. This type of thinking was and still is hypocritical and lacks Love. Pharisees tried to lock people out of the Kingdom of Heaven basically! Jesus despises this type of attitude. He said in Matthew 23:13 “For you do not go in yourselves, and when others are going in, you stop them” You see Pharisees think its all about them and the Hell with the rest of the world! You see the Kingdom of God is open to all who will accept the free gift of salvation. When I say free I’m saying Jesus Christ paid yours and my penalty through his crucifixion. A Pharisee is not Kingdom minded they are selfish, bitter, and if they can’t get the glory it’s considered wrong!! WOW! Did anyone pop in your mind when I said that? You see the Church was created for the lost and it takes change and staying in tune with culture to reach them. You have to meet the lost where they are! As long as it’s biblical and the truth of Jesus is being proclaimed it’s not up to us to say what goes on or who comes in! Last time I checked Jesus Christ draws man to him, so he is in charge of who comes and who don’t, not a committee or a Pastor or a Deacon. There are Pharisees all around us, inside the Church and some Preach behind the pulpit! I have seen racism taught which is non biblical. I’ve seen Pastors speak against interracial marriage that’s not biblical. Moses had an interracial marriage by the way! You get my point, things get taught inside the church that are not of God and those speakers will answer to God for leading people astray. So don’t put God in a box today! Love you Guys and Gals!

Thanking JESUS!!!!!

2009-03-26T10:10:00.003-04:00

As I sit here reflecting back on my life and looking at what Jesus has did for me I am blown away. As busy as people are in our society I know they don't thank Jesus enough for what he has did for them so this morning do you need to just slow down and Thank Jesus for your many blessings? I am going to Thank him in this post and I pray you Take the time to do the same. I am not being boastful just simply Thanking and Praising God for all he has pulled me through and the many blessings he has given me! Jesus I want to thank you for my salvation. I want to thank you for going to the cross and paying a price I should have paid. All I deserve is Hell! Thank you for caring enough about me to give me a new start. Thank you for my Family, my Friends, my Wife who is so loving, caring and straight forward and most of all SO FREAKIN HOT!!!. Thank you for an Awesome Home Church where the people are as real as they come. Thank you for the staff and volunteers that pour their time and love into the ministry there. Thank you for choosing me to spread your good news throughout this community and beyond! Thank you for your financial blessings in my Life! I've learned in a hard way Money means nothing unless you tell it where to go! Thank you for being in control of my finances. I screwed them up for long enough! Thank you for my 2 Children I commit to raise them for your purpose not mine. They are beautiful and I stay in Awe that you would trust me to raise 2 of your Children! Thank you for this Nation I live in you have blessed it so much may we turn back to you and acknowledge you as Lord. Father please forgive our country for all our wrong doing! Have mercy on us! I pray we turn back to you. We as a country have taken our eyes off of you! We are taken you out of schools, life and everything else! Our country kills your creation everyday with abortion! We are voting for same sex marriage. We are the number one pornography selling nation in the world! Please help our nation and I pray the Church steps up and starts addressing the issues that need to be addressed. We can't change the world but you can Father I pray for REVIVAL to sweep this Nation! I pray that the people inside the Church get involved in their communities and start doing work. I pray that they will quit expecting the Church Staff and Leaders to do it all! I pray your Church will start working as one body and that TRUE UNITY falls upon Churches all over this Nation! Jesus I Love You and Thank You for everything I am blown away that you have chosen to use the modern day lepers to change this world! Father I pray you continue to use screwed up people to advance your Kingdom! To you Jesus I give all the honor and glory! It's in your HOLY name I pray AMEN!

Patience

2009-03-25T08:49:00.002-04:00

"The man who does not learn to wait upon the Lord and have his thoughts molded by Him will never possess that steady purpose and calm trust, which is essential to the exercise of wise influence upon others, in times of crisis and difficulty. – D. E. Hoste" I know its deep but take the time to read it again and let it sink in! Its so true! I pray you have a blessed and productive day for the KINGDOM! Love you guys and gals Jason

Do you deserve it?

2009-03-24T11:02:00.003-04:00

Do you deserve the things you've been handed? The place you were born, the education you were given, the job you've got? Do you deserve your family, your friends, or even your life?
Not at all. “Deserve” is such a loaded word. Most of us don’t deserve the great opportunities we have, or the blessings that got us where we are.
The question shouldn’t be, “do you deserve it.” I think it should be, “what are you going to do with it now that you've got it?" Make an impact in someones life today with what Christ has blessed you with! Love yah Jason!

EXPOSED

2009-03-22T20:46:00.003-04:00

Good evening everyone! I would like to talk today about EXPOSING! Nobody likes to here the word Satan but I’m going to be talking about him today. I will be exposing him! Please pay attention to this verse especially the first part! 1 Peter Chapter 5 verse 8 says. Be self controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour! As I unpack this text it may get very personal, but that’s OK. The first part I think is the most important be SELF-CONTROLLED AND ALERT! You have to be constantly aware of your surroundings and use the knowledge the lord gives you. Some people think they can live like hell 6 days a week and then come to church on Sunday and everything is OK. Newsflash its not, if your doing this you have no self control and you’re using Jesus as a prostitute! Yes I said it a prostitute, you go to him whenever things get hard and turn away when things are great! Sometimes you may do this and be so caught up in the motions you don’t realize it. Others may know they are doing it and really could care less and that’s sad. If you can do this every week and feel no conviction it may be time for a salvation check! We must live in a constant state of repentance and not give the Devil one inch because he can come in and rule your life if you allow him to. A lion is very sneaky and after he has made his kill he will always roar! Why the roar? Is it because he is getting emotional about the kill? The answer is no. Often when a lion makes a kill a pack of scavengers will come up and run him off! You see the lion roars to make everyone think he is big and bad when the truth is he is submissive. So basically he is a wimp with a big mouth! Sound familiar Satan has a big mouth and it’s filled with lies! He will lie to you. He will tell you God does not love you, you’re worthless, you will never make it, etc….. Folks I’m telling you we don’t have to listen to that garbage. We must realize we can keep Satan in proper perspective. He is submissive to God and if God lives in you. You can resist him! You see we are children of the most high and he created us for a purpose. He has a great life already planned for us! You see 1 John 4:4 says, He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. So if you are struggling and Satan is attacking you! Tell him Go to Hell! Jesus Christ is Ruler not him! He will flee! If your on the front lines for Jesus he wants to destroy you more than anyone so always be Self-Controlled and Aware! If this offended you take it up with God he told me to blog about this today and I will be held accountable for what he ask me to do! So get over it and smile! Have a great evening! Love Jason

Never

2009-03-21T10:02:00.002-04:00

I read this the other day and it rocked me to the core! I felt every Christ follower should read this post! I Love You Guys! Never Let the Gospel Get Smaller
March 17, 2009 By: John Piper Category: Commentary
Here is a simple exhortation that I have been trying to implement in our family:
Seek to see and feel the gospel as bigger as years go by rather than smaller.
Our temptation is to think that the gospel is for beginners and then we go on to greater things. But the real challenge is to see the gospel as the greatest thing—and getting greater all the time.
The Gospel gets bigger when, in your heart,
grace gets bigger;
Christ gets greater;
his death gets more wonderful;
his resurrection gets more astonishing;
the work of the Spirit gets mightier;
the power of the gospel gets more pervasive;
its global extent gets wider;
your own sin gets uglier;
the devil gets more evil;
the gospel's roots in eternity go deeper;
its connections with everything in the Bible and in the world get stronger;
and the magnitude of its celebration in eternity gets louder.
So keep this in mind: Never let the gospel get smaller in your heart.
Pray that it won’t. Read solid books on it. Sing about it. Tell someone about it who is ignorant or unsure about it.
Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel.... For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures. (1 Corinthians 15:1-4)

His Will not Ours!

2009-03-19T19:25:00.002-04:00

First for an update on how Street Ministry went today! Let me say I am continually BLOWN AWAY at how God has been moving on the streets of Anderson! This morning we served 15 homeless men breakfast and we spent time with them on the street just sharing our stories! Then I began to teach them on how God does not condemn them but HOW HE LOVES THEM SO SO MUCH! After a message of about 15 minutes my world got flipped upside down! Seven of the men wanted a relationship with Jesus Christ! So we led them to Jesus! Some of them have been enrolled in a local program and a couple others went home to family and friends! Can you say PRAISE GOD! So then we began to talk to gang members and prostitutes and we took some of them out to eat and just listened to them! My heart was broken! Then God moved once more we ended up leading 4 more people to Christ! I am in AWE at how people responded to the gospel today! It was all Jesus and Thank You to all who prayed for us! You ROCK and your prayers strengthen us! Now for my post today its short and sweet but please go deeper and listen to the voice of God! When we seek God's blessing as the ultimate value in life, we are throwing ourselves entirely into the river of His will and power and purposes for us. All our other needs become secondary to what we really want-which is to become wholly immersed in what God is trying to do in us, through us, and around us for His Glory! Enough said I Love You all Jason!

I LOVE YOU!

2009-03-18T13:42:00.002-04:00

What’s up! I know I talk about love all the time but love means a lot to me. We take the most currently used phrase and just say it. Do you mean it? You have heard it thousands of times “I Love You” lets examine something. Jesus said in the book of Luke 6:27 “But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.” The first thing we need to notice is the fact that he said “you who hear me!” So we have a choice to listen? Which is the obedient thing to do or do most of us if were honest ignore it. The second principle is “do good to those who hate you.” Wow now that is a hard one! My point is both of the things I have talked about so far are so hard to do. However if they were not important Jesus would have never said this! As hard as it is we as believers must do the very thing he talks about in this verse. Its amazing the results you get when you do this. We can reach out and love on people who hate us and sometimes they wake up and see you’re a real genuine person and they see Jesus all in you. You see when we do street ministry we get a whole bunch of critics and people that hate us. So we serve those people more than anyone else and I tell you it’s not easy! Jesus said “do good to your enemies” and doing good to them goes beyond words; it takes action and reaching out to our enemies! Jesus commands us to do this very thing! Love is what put Jesus on the cross. He loved us enough to suffer extreme pain for us, physical and emotional. You see he died for his enemies and he said “Father forgive them for they no not what they are doing” wow that’s mercy! We were separated from God and he seen THE WAY to bring about reconnection and peace to our relationship with God. All you have to do is except Jesus and he will give you a love like no other. Maybe you have accepted Jesus and you’re a Christian, but if you’re honest you struggle with loving your enemies and doing good to them. I know I do! Maybe today is the day you write the very people down you don’t like and begin to pray over that list. You will be amazed how this will bring about action in the relationship you could care less about. Pour out love on these people, IT WORKS! “I Love You” is a phrase we really need to understand! It’s more than just something you say all the time it has meaning! Use it with meaning today! That is LOVE! If you don’t have a relationship with Jesus Christ I would LOVE to talk to you about making him your everything! Email me or leave a comment. I will get back to you today! Have a Great Day!

Pastor P said it!

2009-03-17T09:44:00.003-04:00

Good Morning check out this link http://www.perrynoble.com/ and read "Four things I wish someone would have told me" My Pastor said it all in this post and I think we can all relate to this in some way! I was going to write today but this is what God said to post so I did it! I pray for you as you go through your day that you would listen to the voice of God and Pray Big Prayers and Dream Big Dreams! With Love to all Jason!

To the CORE!

2009-03-15T19:00:00.002-04:00

Colossians 1:15-20 (New International Version)
The Supremacy of Christ 15He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. 17He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. 19For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 20and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross. I hope this verse ROCKS YOU TO THE CORE! It blows me away everytime i read it! Praise Jesus Christ whom I LOVE SO MUCH! Anything is possible with Jesus! ANYTHING!!!!!!! I Love You and thanks for reading! Jason Ashley

Standing On What I Know

2009-03-14T09:36:00.001-04:00

BY GREG LAURIE Billy Graham wrote me shortly after and described it as “Christopher’s sudden departure to heaven.”Christopher David Laurie had been walking with the Lord when he departed for heaven so unexpectedly. He had a wife, Brittany; a toddler, our precious granddaughter, Stella; and another daughter to be born that November, Lucy Christopher Laurie. He was art director at our church, Harvest Christian Fellowship, and was growing in his walk with Christ and studying the Bible more than at any other time in his life. In fact, he had recently opened his home for a small-group Bible study that he helped to teach. We were so proud of Christopher and Brittany’s progress in the Lord and how He was blessing them. But our son, so full of promise, was suddenly gone.In our lives here on earth, we will experience pain, grief, sickness and the death of loved ones. It’s depressing, but true. When we’re younger, we don’t necessarily understand this. As we get older, however, we typically experience the death of our grandparents. Time passes, and our parents die. As we continue to age, we know that day will eventually come for us, too, and our children will bury us.As hard as those realities might be, the unexpected deaths are even more difficult.None of us ever wants to bury our children. When this happens, our world seems to crash down around us, and we cry aloud to God.How does God feel about that? When we read the Psalms, we see that the psalmists really “let down their hair” with God. They cried out to Him and emptied the contents of their hearts. In Psalm 42:9-10, the writer says, “O God my Rock … why have you forsaken me? Why must I suffer these attacks from my enemies? Their taunts pierce me like a fatal wound; again and again they scoff, ‘Where is that God of yours?’” (TLB). The psalmist is saying, “Lord, from where I sit, it seems like You’ve forsaken me, like You’re not even paying attention to me.” Then he corrects himself in verse 11, “But O my soul, don’t be discouraged. Don’t be upset. Expect God to act! For I know that I shall again have plenty of reason to praise Him for all that He will do. He is my help! He is my God!” (TLB). I have done this many times in my pain. Sometimes, like a sword, the reality that my son is gone pierces my heart. In despair, I begin to sob, “O, God. I can’t believe this. I can’t handle this pain!” But then I remind myself, My son is alive—more alive than he has ever been before. He’s in the presence of the Lord, and I am going to see him again, before I know it. I remind myself of God’s promises. My prayers are wide-open and honest, but I also remind myself of God’s truth. This is what prayer is. God wants us to cry out to Him. He invites us to do this. There is nothing wrong with bringing our pain, questions and broken hearts to God. David said, “Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge” (Psalm 62:8, NIV). Sometimes we allow trouble, trauma and hardship to cause us to be angry with God. We withdraw from Him and don’t want to talk to Him. My friend, that’s when you need Him more than ever! Cry out to Him with your doubts. Cry out to Him with your pain. He will patiently, lovingly, hear you. He might set your crooked thinking straight as you seek Him, but He wants you to pour out your pain. He loves you! Think of the way Job responded to devastating circumstances. Job not only lost a son, he lost seven sons and three daughters in one unimaginable day. And that was in addition to losing all his possessions and his health! But what did Job do? He cried out to the Lord, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:21, NKJV). Job did go on to question God in the days that followed, saying, “Lord, why?” There’s nothing wrong with asking God why, as long as you don’t get the idea that He somehow owes you an answer. Frankly, God doesn’t owe you or me an explanation. Concerning our tragedy, I, too, have asked “Why? Why did this happen? Why couldn’t it have been me instead of him? I’m 56. I’ve lived enough life. Christopher was only 33. He was a loving husband, father, brother, son, friend. He was walking with God and serving Him. Why did God take him?” I was talking with Pastor Chuck Smith (Calvary Chapel of Costa Mesa) recently, and he said to me, “Never trade what you don’t know for what you do know.” Those words stopped me in my tracks. I asked myself, “Well, what doI know?” I know that God loves me. I know that God loved and loves my son. I know that God loves Brittany, Stella and Lucy. I know that Christopher is well and alive in the best place he could ever be. I know that God can make good things come out of bad. I know that we’ll all be together again—on the Other Side.I know those things. I’m as sure as I can be. So I’m making the choice to stand on what I know instead of what I don’t know. If you asked me, “Greg, why did this happen?” I would answer, “I don’t know, and I don’t know that I ever will. I just know that I need God more than I have ever needed Him in my life.”In times of deep sorrow I sometimes call out my son’s name: “Christopher!” Then I call out: “Jesus!” I have never been so conscious of my utter dependence upon the Lord just to make it through my days. That fact is both heartbreaking and wonderful. I want you to understand something: You can take the hardest things that happen to you in life—the unexpected death of a loved one or the realization that you are going to die soon—and you can know this: God will be with you. Corrie Ten Boom, who survived imprisonment in a concentration camp during World War II, wrote, “There is no pit so deep that God is not deeper still.”For a Christian, death is not the end; it is merely moving from one place to another. It is the transition from earth to heaven. Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26, NKJV). I believe it. I hope you do, too.
Greg LaurieGreg Laurie is senior pastor at Harvest Christian Fellowship (independent/nondenominational), in Riverside, Calif., as well as an evangelist with Harvest crusades. He has written more than 10 books, including "The Upside Down Church." He and his wife, Catherine, are parents of two children and live in southern California.

I believe in you

2009-03-13T20:50:00.002-04:00

As I sit here on my couch typing this post I am Blown Away! Having a relationship with the King of Kings is so AWESOME! I pray everyday to be filled with the PASSION that Jesus was filled with. I pray to see as he See's and for my heart to be broken for the lost like his is. Folks I am so undeserving of his mercy and grace. It's been 5 years ago that I first met Jesus and I have been in AWE every since that day. I get the privilege to serve at the best church in the nation "in my opinion" and I am surrounded by the best leaders in the world. Just to think 6 years ago I was abusing drugs and alcohol. Heck I was abusing pornography as well. I was a pathetic husband and father but still my wife loved me and she never give up on me. My Saviour never give up on me either. He reached down when I could not reach up. He picked me up out of the mud and made me as white as snow. Over the past five years I have learned so much but still I am dying to learn more! The truth is I have no clue what I am doing, I just do as the lord directs me! My heart breaks for the soul out their feeling depressed and oppressed! You don't have to go through life regretting it! You have people that believe in you and Love you! Most of all God Loves you! You may have been told he is out to get you and that is a lie from the pit of hell. He created you in his image, he created you to glorify him. Listen to me and if you don't read anything else I ever write PLEASE read this Satan HATES you, he wants to destroy you and cause you more and more pain. But you don't have to listen to his lies! He is a liar! OK now that I got that out! I encourage you to read Colossians 1 15-20 and meditate on it for a while. Folks I could go on and on but I want I JUST WANT YOU TO KNOW YOU ARE LOVED! To the Critics out there I LOVE YOU TO! I pray for all of you who don't know Christ that your eyes will be opened! I pray for the believer out there who needs encouragement and needs to know what you do does matter. Finally I will close this post with a prayer. "Father Thank You so much Amen" When is the last time you said Thank You to God? Love you guys Jason

Blind

2009-03-12T19:13:00.002-04:00

Good evening everyone! Unleash was off the chain I am so Humbled that I get to be a servant to anyone and everyone! I Love my Church and my peeps. Now let's dive right in to this post. I am going to be talking about being spiritually blind. In John chapter 9 verses 10-11, and also 35-38,39. Jesus has healed a blind man in these verses. I find it funny how the religious leaders demanded the man tell them who done this for him! Anyway that's another story for another time! Jesus said something in this scripture that blows me away. ' I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind!" The last part rocks my world. He is saying we should become blind to our plan and follow his! That's awesome that the creator of the universe would choose us. In this text the miracle is great. Jesus encounters one who has never seen or known light-a blind man from birth- and he gives this man sight and light. After Jesus spit on the ground and made mud, he covered the mans eyes with the mud. What happens next is a sign of how strong the mans faith was. Jesus told him go to the pool of Siloam and wash this off and you will see. So the man had to step up and go! After he washed his eyes he could see i can only imagine the excitement that came over him! He never had to go back to his begging post again! You see in verses 35-38 was the conversion. Jesus gave him a spiritual light also he could now see with his heart. The way to see in this world is a willingness to admit we are blind. The blind man did not argue with Jesus. He acknowledged his condition and his need. He submitted himself to Christ and was OBEDIENT! My question for you is we all have certain things we try to keep in the Dark! What are you trying to keep hid in your life? You see Jesus sees it all you can't hide it from him. Instead of hiding it ask Jesus to take it away and watch him do another awesome and great work! Love you Guys! Jason

Issues!

2009-03-11T09:18:00.000-04:00

Hello! First i would like to say i hope you are having a great day. Im going to talk about the Church and comfort. The 2 should not be in the same sentence. I f you are trying to reach people for Christ you should never be comfortable while doing it! We have to step out of our comfort zone and reach people! For 2 long the people inside the church have been focused on there wants and needs and not the needs of the lost. The church should be were anybody can come, regardless of there clothes, car, hair, where they live or what they have done in there past. Who has the right to criticize a nonbeleiver and talk bad about them when they dont know any different. If there is anyone who should feel comfort in the church its the lost. The Church was not created for people to have permanent seats or parking , how dare people act like its theirs. The Church was created for Jesus Christ to be exalted not for congregations to have a Holy huddle! Im just sharing some very personal views and pet peeves of mine! Its my opinion and im not backing down. As far as youth goes heres one thing that burns me up is seeing a graveyard at a church well maintained and always shining, but the kids have to wash cars or sell donuts to go on youth camps. See the big picture is the people in the graveyard are dead and there decisions have been set. The Youth still need to be reached so why spend money on the non-important things that cemetary will not change the world. However our youth can make a huge impact. As far as the people that dont know Jesus what are we doing to change that.All throughout scripture the teachers of christ went out into the dangerous parts of town and reached out to them. So why are we not doing that today. You know what bothers me in the time it took to write this blog 100's of people have died without Jesus thus going to hell!!! That should be enough motivation for the Church! Faith does not require your details when God says do it just do it! This has challenged me WOW! man! I hope you get uncomfortable as well! One Love, One God, One Way! Later Jason!

Random Mind Racing!

2009-03-08T21:10:00.004-04:00

I am in Awe that's all I can focus on! Street Ministry this week was so Awesome! We reached out to lots of people! It's because of people dedicating their time and money that we were able to feed the hungry, put brand new shoes on people that need them desperately, share the LOVE of JESUS with them and point them in the right direction to get cleaned up! These people are hungry folks! Hungry for HOPE...Hungry for LOVE..and Hungry for the TRUTH! JESUS has been rocking my world through Romans 10 lately as well as the book of Acts! Read Romans 10 and notice the ANYONE and EVERYONE. The believers in Acts met every need that needed to be met in their community, now that's how the current Church should be! We have more technology and more resources but still the Church is not reaching out in their communities like they need to be! I don't understand sometimes but we are not supposed to understand everything! I just know that THE LOT PROJECT through the POWER and LOVE of JESUS is going to pour into our communities until every sheep that's lost is found! We must leave the 99 to find the 1! JESUS did, so should we. This past week another name was added to the lambs book of life and that's what we are all about(LIFE CHANGE). I want to thank all of you who pour into THE LOT PROJECT. There are to many of you to list but you know who you are! This past Wednesday we were able to provide 31 high risk youth transportation to Church and today we were able to bring 17 Street Peeps to Church and that blows us away! I don't deserve any of this I deserve HELL and so do you but JESUS CHRIST died as a ransom for many"Mark 10:45" So to JESUS CHRIST be the glory! Thank You for blessing us so we can bless others. I pray this post encouraged you but challenged you. It was kind of scatter brained but my brain is still running wide open and I am still soaking all of this in! Love You and God Bless You! Love Jason Check out our new site @thelotproject.com.

Broken!

2009-03-07T09:44:00.002-05:00

Scroll down this blog page and click on the top video on my you tube bar! Watch that and let God show you how big and Powerful he is! And that's enough said for today! I'm in AWE...... Street Ministry was Awesome yesterday still thinking and soaking it all in! Love You guys!

WOW

2009-03-05T08:40:00.005-05:00

Wow! Yeah that's how I will start this post! I have been in AWE over the past 3 weeks at what Jesus has did in my life and the life of others! As most of you know I helped start an Outreach for Prostitutes, Drug Attics, and Homeless over 15 months ago! It has been a hard road and a very emotional road! There have been people come to Jesus over and over again! Oh! and that never gets old, we are all about Jesus and Life Change! About 8 months ago I took over as the leader of this ministry and it has been a challenge but a blessing! I am constantly humbled that Jesus Christ would choose me and a small group of others to do this type of Outreach! It went from handing out water in the summer months to feeding the homeless and reaching the types of people our world views as unreachable! So Thank You Jesus for that! So what am I getting at? About 1 month ago I met a Man Of God who had a vision like ours, his PASSION was incredible and from the start I knew God had planned for us to come together! Matt has a heart for high risk teens and homeless as well! I had been praying to Jesus for another leader and some other things like a bus to take people to and from Church on Sundays! Prayer answered Thank You Jesus! Me and Matt began to spend time praying and seeking God's plan for us coming together as one ministry! So we did, we are now "THE LOT PROJECT" Check us out anytime www.thelotproject.com! Last Sunday our first week of rolling the bus out was AWESOME we brought 10 people to church some that had never been before! Then last night we had 23 kids on the bus and 8 kids in the van it was fantastic! We pick these people up all over the place and 99% of them would never even have the transportation to get to church. So why do we do this? because as Christians we are called to serve and we just love serving! I Love bragging on Jesus! He is AWESOME! So streets here we come Greenville, Anderson, Iva, Belton, Honea Path and wherever he sends us we will go! I encourage you to read Romans 10 and pay attention to the EVERYONE and ANYONE! I could go on and on but I have tons of stuff to get finished before Street Ministry in the morning! I want you all to know WE NEED YOUR PRAYERS this would not be possible if we didn't have the support of all of you! I cant name everyone but you know who you are and we are so very THANKFUL for you! God Bless and I encourage you to tell someone about Jesus today! Look in front of you, look behind you and ask yourself, DO THEY KNOW WHO JESUS IS? If you have to think about it then you don't know so ask them! Lead them to Christ for we all know its only through him that we have TRUE LIFE "John 14:6".

Think about it!

2009-03-04T10:46:00.002-05:00

Good morning folks I want to leave you with a short but powerful post for today! Here are two of my favorite quotes! Stop and take time to process them! They will rock your world! People who are crucified with Christ have three distinct marks: 1. they are facing only one direction, 2. they can never turn back, and 3. they no longer have plans of their own. --A.W. Tozer Live as though Christ died yesterday, rose from the grave today, and is coming back tomorrow. --Theodore Epp

When FEAR turns to FAITH!

2009-03-02T20:38:00.001-05:00

Life is full of challenges. Job security has become a thing of the past. Soaring cost in medical coverage, housing and other basic needs have created an environment filled with opportunities for worry. Problems of every description confront us EVERY DAY of our lives and generate enough pressure to stress out any normal person. There are 2 questions that you need to ask yourself.I did and its incredible the results! 1. What do you do with your worry? 2. How do you handle your fears? The truth is we all worry and fear things that could happen in our lives. Or we are worrying about a situation we have absolutely no control over at all! I personally struggle with worrying about the stupidest things sometimes! If your honest you do to! Lets take a look in scripture at what Jesus Christ says about worrying! Matthew Chapter 6 25-34 wow these verses rock my world. In Matthew 6:27 Jesus says "Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?" The answer is no one! Verse 34 says "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own" Jesus told us plainly do not worry. The one thing that always helps me when I worry is writing down what I'm worried about! If you see it for what its worth its not worth worrying about! Also talking to someone who LOVES you about a problem or just when life happens is great for you as well. So as you journey through your day look up and remember ONE LOVE, ONE GOD, ONE WAY PERIOD!!!!! Love all of you Jason

Change or NOT!

2009-02-28T09:12:00.002-05:00

Good morning everyone I will be talking about Change today. Pastor Troy Gramling said something that sticks out to me and I would like to share it with you. Change is in the air and happening at record speeds. Many of the changes we face are not within our control, as we learned on September 11th, but how we respond to change can be controlled. This is so true. I like the way Twyman L. Towery compares the stages of change to the stages of grief: DENIAL: Our first reaction is to deny, rather than adapt to and embrace, the change in our life. ANGER: Once we realize we cannot stop the change we become angry that it is outside of our control. If we do not understand where the anger is coming from, we can mistakenly hurt the people we perceive to be initiating the change. BARGAINING: This is an attempt to avoid change by bargaining it away. EXPLORATION: We begin to except that there is going to be change and explore ways to deal with the change. Depression can become a reality during this stage as we give up being able to control the circumstances. COMMITMENT: We except and embrace the change. We begin to see some possible benefits of the change. When I read this it rocked my world. I started thinking about this same mindset people have on Change inside the church. I hear so many people in church talk about other churches and what they are doing! It goes like this: “Did you here what "such and such"church is doing? I can’t believe they are doing that!” This bothers me to hear people focusing so much on other churches they forget there on vision for there church. Let’s face it the same things that worked 10 years ago will not work today! We serve a creative God If you don’t think so then look outside. Better yet look at your spouse! It’s time the church in America gets with it and makes some huge changes. Do not change your church vision just the way you present the Gospel of Jesus Christ! Make it fun and fresh! We must reach the YOUTH! I believe with all my heart that should be the focal point in the church! Not the Cemetery or the pointless picking of apples for the Senior Adults! If you just got offended good you needed it. Although Twyman L. Towery was talking about changes in our life. I believe some churches have this mindset about where they go to church. They don’t like change. They make it all about them and the Hell with the lost people! This is my opinion on change within churches, if the Pastor and Staff constantly seek Jesus Christ and put him first in everything Jesus is in control! Jesus said follow him! Are you following him? Does change bother you? Are you making all about you and not Jesus? I know this is a touchy subject and I am not downgrading churches or people. I am simply calling like I see it! If you get mad great! If you don’t even better! Love You Guys Jason!

God wants the BEST! "By Pastor Steven Furtick"

2009-02-27T08:46:00.001-05:00

…not necessarily what’s best for ME.
Waiting for the death penalty while shackled to a prison guard wasn’t BEST for Paul.But it was best for the advancement of the Gospel.(Philippians 1:12)
Being beat to shreds on a criminal’s cross wasn’t BEST for Jesus.But it was the only way to procure salvation for those He came to redeem.(Matthew 26:42)
Ultimately God’s best is what’s best for me.
But in the meantime:If what’s BEST for the cause of Christ doesn’t happen to be what’s BEST for ME…am I okay with that?

WOW!

2009-02-25T22:14:00.003-05:00

I AM IN AWE at what Jesus is doing through the ministry of New Spring Church! Check it out @www.newspring.cc!!!!!! WOW Thank You Jesus that I get to be a part of this AWEsome move of God!

Teens and SEX!

2009-02-25T16:22:00.002-05:00

Who ever wrote this knows there stuff! It was emailed to me I HAD TO POST IT! So, how far is too far? Is that a valid question to ask? In a world where sex is seen in every medium and condoms are being handed out in schools, what is a Christian teen to do when confronted with conflicting advice about what constitutes a sexual activity or abstinence? Here are the top 10 lies Christian teens tell themselves when it comes to answering the question, "How far is too far?"
1. Everybody Does ItEverybody? No. Not everybody is having sex. While the media and people in school may make it seem like everyone is having sex, there are just as many Christian teens (and non-Christians, too) waiting until marriage. Doing something just because everyone else is doing it is just giving into peer pressure. It takes a stronger person, or a person backed up by the strength of God, to resist temptation. When you stand up to peer pressure you are actually saving yourself from committing sin while being a good Christian witness to other teens around you.
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2. It's No Big DealSex is a big deal. Ask any Christian teen who struggles with having had sex before. There are a lot of emotions and spiritual struggles that come from having had sex outside of marriage. It is one of the reasons God placed such an emphasis on sex and relationships in the Bible. Sex is a beautiful act that comes out of the marriage covenant, and it means more than just an action.
3. Virginity is a State of Mind Some people use the term "technical virgin" when describing their sexual status. Usually this means that the person has not had a sexual act that involved penetration. Virginity is more than that. Virginity is not a state of mind, but it is the conscious choice to not involve oneself in sexual acts until after marriage. Usually this excuse is used if someone wants to justify participating in sexual activity.
4. Sex and Love are the Same Thing Sex and love are very different, but they are meant to complement one another. If you are in love it does not mean you should have sex. Sex is an act. Love is an emotion. They are very different, and it can be dangerous to mix them up. You should never feel like you have to have sex with someone just because you want to show them you love them. There are plenty of non-sexual ways to show your love to someone.
5. Sex is a Minor Sin Pre-marital sex is sin. Sin is sin. However, it is dangerous to think that sex is a minor or equal sin to all others, because it can put you in a frame of mind to make bad choices. Sexual sin is still a defiance of God, and no sin is acceptable to God. Yes, you can be forgiven, but you will have to live with the sin you have committed, which can be difficult if you are not prepared to deal with sex emotionally.
6. Oral Sex Isn't Really Sex Oral sex is a sexual act. Just because Christian teens are not having sex in the textbook fashion, it is still a sexual act that bonds a man and a woman together.
7. Third Base Isn't a Big DealThird base, also known as "heavy petting," is a big deal, because it can lead to other things. Not only is it a form of sexual action, but it can lead to sexual intercourse. It is very easy for Christian teens to get caught up in the moment and forget about any desire to stay abstinent. Sin is very tempting, and it does not always come with warning or stop signs. Going to Third Base can be a danger zone.
8. My Will Can Overcome Any Temptation God's will can overcome any temptation. If you feel you have the strength alone to conquer any temptation, you are setting yourself up for trouble. Man is known for falling into sin, especially when there is an overconfidence in the self. Christian teens need to keep their eyes on God, and allow God to help set boundaries so they can resist the temptation. The Bible is full of helpful advice when it comes to coping with temptation, and it can be a useful tool.
9. Watching Porn or Masturbating is Less of a Sin Than Having Sex A lot of people believe that pornography and masturbation are helpful in preventing a person from having sex. However, having sex is not just about the act, but it is about the frame of mind. If you have lust in your heart while you are watching pornographic movies or masturbating, then there is sin there.
10. I've Already Had Sex, So It's Too Late for MeIt is never too late. While the idea of "born-again virgin" may seem a little like "technical virgin," it is not the same thing. Many Christian teens that have already had sex choose to act as if they have never had sex and vow to wait until marriage. Having sex is not the end of the world. God is very forgiving, and He smiles at those who return to Him with a desire to do His will. While the temptation for someone who has had sex can be even stronger than the virgin, it can be overcome with God's help. God is waiting to welcome you with open arms.

Young Guns Part 1(Mark Driscoll)

2009-02-24T08:26:00.001-05:00

Mars Hill Church began in the fall of 1996, one week before I turned 26 years of age. At that time, nearly everyone in the church was young. Today, there is thankfully a growing range of ages, though I am admittedly starting to feel old.
I often pray that Mars Hill will not simply be a church that grows old together. Rather, we should seek to always welcome young people, see their lives transformed by Jesus, and encourage them to serve Him wholeheartedly.
In the history of the church, much has been accomplished by Christians who were young. Perhaps Paul’s words to the young Timothy are the most pertinent, “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity” (I Timothy 4:12).
Curiously, throughout church history God has chosen to use young people like Timothy for significant kingdom work. The following are a handful of such examples that have greatly encouraged me and I pray they do likewise for you.
Jonathan Edwards
Jonathan Edwards is the greatest theologian America has ever produced. Additionally, the Great Awakening began in 1734 in his Northampton, Massachusetts congregation with the young people who had drifted away from the church, but suddenly wanted to begin meeting with him about his sermons. Edwards began his life of ministry at the young age of nineteen.
George Whitefield
George Whitefield is the greatest preacher America has ever seen. He preached 18,000 sermons to over ten million people during the Great Awakening. He planted 150 churches in New England, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Maryland. He preached in open air with crowds as large as 30,000 people at a time. Amazingly, he preached to such crowds without a microphone and would cough up blood from the strain on his throat. It is estimated that most Americans heard him preach at least once. His farewell sermon on Boston Commons drew more people than Boston’s entire population and was the largest crowd ever gathered in America at that time. Whitefield began his life of ministry at the young age of twenty-five.
David Brainerd
David Brainerd is one of the greatest missionaries America has ever had. His passion was to convert the Americans Indians scattered throughout New York and Pennsylvania. He traveled more than 3,000 miles on horseback, preaching the gospel faithfully until he died at the age of twenty-nine, after a lengthy sickness brought on by his constant time spent in harsh winter conditions. Brainerd began his life of ministry at the young age of twenty-four.
Methodist Circuit Riders
The Methodist Circuit Riders were devout evangelists who traveled across the country on horseback to lead people to Christ by preaching of the gospel and establishing local congregations of believers. Amazingly, four questions were asked in the selecting of a potential Circuit Rider:
Is this man truly converted?
Does he know how to keep our rules?
Can he preach acceptably?
Has he a horse?
Due to the harsh conditions of living in the woods and traveling on horseback, the average life expectancy of a Circuit Rider was only thirty-three years of age. Most of the Circuit Riders began their ministry while they were in their twenties.

Random Thoughts of EMOTION!

2009-02-23T08:37:00.004-05:00

Well good morning to all I hope you slept well I did! As I sit here in my living room i have a ton of emotions running through my mind! I don't deserve any thing I have! But still Jesus shows mercy and grace toward me, he has made me brand new! Ministry this week was out of this world we talked to prostitutes, drug attics, drug dealers, homeless and gang members. Yeah it was full of surprises. But I must say It was a blessing to here their stories and lead some of them to Jesus! So i want to thank all of you who pray for us and donate to us, you rock theirs to many of you to list but know we LOVE you and THANK you! Yesterday @new spring church was an AWE filled sermon! Seeing people get dunked for Jesus never gets old! Also I love my Pastor Perry Noble he constantly challenges me as a leader and a man HE ROCKS! After the service yesterday I got to tour our new youth facility and oh my gosh i could not quit biting my finger nails just anticipating life change to take place their! Thank you to all who give to New Spring Church its because of you that our kids will have one of the greatest worship facilities in this nation! You know my respect grew for a man yesterday as we were told his story, I can honestly say their was no judgement in my heart toward him just love! He done what so many people will not do HE OBEYED JESUS! So I want you to know I am lifting you up in prayer at this very moment and will continue to do so! I Love You brother! I know this post has been full of random thoughts but I have one more thing! Yesterday we brought over 12 people to New Spring from a local non profit in our area and they were blown away! Thank you Jesus! This week we are looking at filling up a whole bus of folks! Oh Yeah its happening! MY GOD IS HUGE!!! Finally I want to close with one of the most beautiful scriptures in my opinion, that is in the bible! ECCLESIASTES 3 1-8 says "To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven...A time to plant...A time to heal...A time to build up...A time to embrace... A time to gain...A time to speak...A time to love...A time of war, and a time of peace!" So today can you honestly say you have peace in your life through Jesus Christ? No matter your situation in life Jesus is one prayer away and HE IS MY BEST FRIEND AND FATHER(Because God disciplines his children) I Love You guys and gals!

Acting with Urgency!

2009-02-21T12:09:00.002-05:00

Perry Noble posted this a while ago but its so true check it out! And not to mention its Freakin Hilarious as well! There are times in life when action MUST be taken…I had one of those times several months ago…
I had been out and about and was pulling into my neighborhood when I felt something crawling in my pants right around my knee. I thought maybe my mind was playing tricks on me and dismissed it until…
While pulling into my driveway whatever “it” was decided to begin biting me…right around mid thigh!
How did I respond? Well…I didn’t do as many Christians would have done and begin praying about it. I didn’t form a group with other people who had been bitten to discuss the problem. I didn’t try to decide whether “it” had been predestined to bite me OR if it had chosen to…
I responded with urgency!
First of all I screamed like a girl! I am not trying to be crass here…but when you are a dude and something bites you mid-thigh…it is perfectly acceptable to scream!
Second of all I pulled my car into my garage as fast as I could…as I think back I probably barely made it in…our door isn’t the fastest opening door in the world.
Third I LEAPED out of my car and pulled my pants off. (I know–that’s gross, but ANY dude in my situation would have done the same!) I could not find whatever had bitten me earlier…so I just jumped up and down on my pants, hoping to eventually “squish” whatever it was that had VIOLENTLY disrupted my day.
(Lucretia gave me a VERY weird look when I walked inside with no pants on!)
Bottom line…when I was bitten…everything changed. I acted with urgency…I had to, sitting there and being passive was not an option…and doing so could have caused serious damage and pain!
There are times in life when many of us have felt “bitten” by God…nudged in an undeniably divine way that makes us incredibly uncomfortable and forces us to take immediate action. Simply put–I believe that God OFTEN causes us to act with urgency.
You see, if heaven and hell are real (and I believe they are), and people without Christ really do go to hell then we need to act with urgency. Unfortunately, many churches have used “evangelism repellent” to make sure that the “go and tell” bug gets nowhere near them.
When it comes to evangelism Scripture strongly indicates that we should all act with urgency…with passion…with a seriousness like never before. And…this Sunday we will see some incredible and undeniable scenarios of what happens when someone responds to God’s call on their life to take the message outside of the church.
This weekend will be one of those services that could quite possibly go down in NewSpring history as one of the best ever! Trust me when I say we will never forget it!One more thing…I also believe God calls us to urgently respond to things on an individual basis as well. Is there anything He’s asking you to do? Just curious.

Update

2009-02-20T19:54:00.001-05:00

Thank You for all of your prayers! Ministry was very effective today! Praise Jesus!!

Made Brand NEW!

2009-02-20T07:25:00.002-05:00

This is the last post of Cindy Bealls story! I pray it has put HOPE into some of your hearts! JESUS CAN FIX ANYTHING PERIOD! I remember telling my husband many, many weeks after his confession something that he couldn’t believe. We had been walking out our new life the best we knew how. We had embraced our new surroundings and jobs. We had begun to heal. And I told him that if I had the choice to go back to our old life, that I wouldn’t do it. He was pretty surprised to hear me say that. I mean, after all the pain his actions caused me, here I am telling him that I’m thankful that I endured it so that we could have what we have now.
Our pastor, Craig, preached to our congregation at the Edmond Campus about Chris’ confession and told them “we are going to believe God that they will be better than new”. He wasn’t kidding. Neither were they. We are so better than new. We are better than we ever imagined. We are better than anybody thought we’d ever be.
Chris and I are best friends and our marriage is blessed with an increasing passion for each other. (Ahem) We have had countless opportunities to minister to couples and individuals who are walking through similar challenges. (I expect this to increase as I’ve recently finished writing a book of a more detailed account of our journey.) Chris’ son has become one of the greatest blessings to our family. My relationship with his mother is so extraordinary that many jaws hit the floor when I describe it. Chris’ influence and impact at LifeChurch.tv continues to humble him as he never thought he’d ever participate in ministry again. Most importantly, my heart is full. My cup runneth over. I have a man who adores me and isn’t afraid to show it. And my trust in him is growing daily.
There are many things I don’t know in life. I don’t understand algebra. Just don’t get all that abstract math. I don’t get how a heavy airplane can stay up in the sky and not fall to the ground. I know it’s about jets and thrust and stuff like that, but it still doesn’t make sense to me. I wish I knew why innocent people have to suffer. If I did, I’d bottle up the formula to fix their problems and give it away. Don’t know lots of things.
But, here’s what I do know.
According to the Bible, I serve a big God. He created the Universe in less than a week. He formed mountains and scooped out valleys with His hands. He is everywhere, all the time. He can change a heart with the snap of his fingers. He can bring sight to a blind man with some dirt and saliva. He can part a sea and allow his people to cross on dry land. He can make walls fall down with the blast of a trumpet. He can keep a man from being eaten by lions. He can bring forth a child through a virgin. He can turn a Pharisee into a martyr for Christ. He can transform a fisherman into a minister of the gospel. He brings peace that no one can explain. He is truly a remarkable God. My marriage is living proof.
I remember asking God one day how He was going to take this awful situation and use it for His good (Romans 8:28). Tears were streaming down my face and I had no idea how I would survive this. God spoke ever so gently to my heart and here is what He said:
God: Remember when you told me that you would go through anything in order to bring glory to my name?
Me: Uh-huh, sniff, sniff.
God: I’m taking you up on your offer.
Trust Him.
He is faithful and loving and kind and tender and good and miraculous and amazing. He will carry you when you can walk no more and He will strengthen you when you need to make the journey. He is true to His word and will do what He says he is going to do. I promise because He promises and He does not disappoint.

The Project!

2009-02-19T14:08:00.003-05:00

Just got through with a meeting with BeEazy7 oh my gosh Anderson and Greenville watch out! We on a MISSION!

LET THE HEALING BEGIN!

2009-02-19T07:40:00.002-05:00

Here is part for to Cindy Beall Story of Christ restoring her marriage! Tomorrow I will list the final post of her story so tune back in! The morning I woke up to head back to Oklahoma from Texas was the first morning in weeks that peace was upon me. Actually, peace covered me like a blanket and let me tell you, it was well received. While it was only a few weeks in the pit of despair, it felt like a lifetime.
Chris greeted us with open arms and a warm home. He’d spent that week grieving himself and hoping his wife would return to give it another shot. We were about to embark on the most difficult road ever…the road to healing and restoration.
While there were plenty who were skeptical of Chris’ heart, he proved to be the real deal. Many men in his situation might have waited to find a “better” job…one more comparable to his previous one. Chris, on the other hand, only wanted to provide for his family doing whatever was necessary. He began selling 2X4’s at a local home improvement store and did that successfully for 18 months.
It is not by accident that I landed a part-time position at LifeChurch.tv just six weeks after Chris’ resignation. I was around the lead pastors on a daily basis and I’m sure my face was a litmus test as to the condition of our marriage. Not only that, but these amazing men and our congregation, led by our senior pastor, Craig Groeschel, supported and loved us from day one. Many ministers who fall into this type of sin end up next to the curb. Even though it was difficult, my pastor and friend took the narrow road for which I am forever grateful.
Chris began to build back my trust in him. He was accountable to a few and never once got defensive when I needed to share how I felt. As we endured the pain and the consequences of his actions, I committed to God that I would not throw Chris’ sin back in his face. Frankly, I didn’t need to…the man lived in brokenness. And still, to this day, he has NEVER been defensive when I have asked questions or when I tell him I’m hurting. He will tell you that he is willing to spend the rest of his life working to rebuild my trust if that’s what it takes. Isn’t that amazing?
I mentioned that Chris only worked at the home improvement store for 18 months. His length of time there was only cut short by the new role that Craig offered him at LifeChurch.tv. And within a year of his new position there, he’d be leading the same campus where he fell some two and half years earlier. Talk about kicking Satan in the… I’m sorry, did I say that out loud?
We are not at the end. The restoration is progressing, but not over. We still have our days where it hurts. Days where we re-live it when others go through a similar situation. Days where we have to explain to our 8-year old why he has a brother who is not his mother’s child. And the fact that we have an amazing relationship with Chris’ son and his mom is nothing short of a modern-day miracle in itself.Come back tomorrow. More good news is on the way.

2009-02-18T07:41:00.002-05:00

This is part 3 to this story of how Christ can move within a relationship if you get out of his way and let him! My Word From God
I needed to hear from God. The state of confusion that I lived in at this point in my life was extremely overwhelming. Many wise people in my life were telling me that I didn’t have to make a decision right away, but I couldn’t live with that. Something was calling me to get some clarity.
Noah and I journeyed six hours down I-35 to my childhood home in Georgetown, Texas. I needed someone to take care of us. That someone was my mom. Not only did she play with Noah, which allowed me time to myself, but she cooked for us and cleaned up after us and rented movies for us and took us to eat Mexican food. She’s a terrific mom.
But, she also pestered me a little. She was insistent that I go meet with her pastor, Dan Wooldridge. Because I literally had no strength, I didn’t even put up a fight.
I was surprised how comfortable I was in Dan’s presence. A true shepherd, he listened to my story and watched as tears streamed down my face. I practically begged him to tell me what he thought I should do. He did something better. Here’s what he said:
“I would respect you if you felt that you needed to remove yourself from your marriage. What you’ve endured is very hard. But, you are not a fool to stay and be a part of the redemptive work in a man’s life.”
I was and still am absolutely certain that these were the words coming my Heavenly Daddy disguised in a middle-aged Baptist minister’s voice. I knew it immediately. Nearly six years later and I still remember this quote from him…word for word.
And I’m so glad my mother was a pest