2009!

As I sit in the living room with family I have not seen in years in a room that changed over this year, I reflect upon this past year and all that it has brought. 2009 was certainly a year of change - from losing my car to falling in love, getting engaged, moving, two more semesters accomplished and a crazy part-time job - and I learned and have grown so much from it all.

There seems to be something at the end of the year that causes us to look back on what was and look forward to what is to come. It's a very powerful force that causes us to want to change ourselves, our situations, problems, and discover new opportunities. I am excited and look forward to all that 2010 has in store for me, my family, and my wife-to-be Sunnee. Although 2009 was a very tough and changing year for us all, it is encouraging to look back and see God in it all - to be reminded of His goodness and faithfulness in the lives of His children.

I am so excited to get married in 2010, to buy my first house, to accomplish two more semesters at school, to go to Uganda with Sunnee, and to experience, treasure, and enjoy every little moment God gives me to love and be loved. Life is such a blessing and is so fragile. Lord, in this new year, help me to treasure all that you have given me. I hope to seize everything 2010 has to offer!

Breaking Through

It's funny how I get home and eat Top Ramen, but when I'm at school I don't eat it . . . go figure.

I cannot believe this year has almost come to a close; 2009 has flown by! It brought with it a lot of changes. I am hoping and believing for even greater in 2010. Lately, I have been really thinking/hoping/praying for a break through in this season I am walking in. It is very tiresome and I am growing weary. I know I must trust in Him to see me through though. Please pray that with this new year comes the job I have been praying for. I know He is faithful and will work His plan out.

Grandpa and grandma are here visiting for roughly 4 weeks. It is nice having them here and spending time with them; I have not seen them in over a year and a half. It snowed yesterday, as I was on my way home driving from Florida. I arrived here in flip-flops, not the best choice of footwear for snow! I survived though and spent today at church picking up sheep and donkey poop in the hallways. Oh how I love Christmas time! :)

Exam Week

So today I took 3 of my 7 exams. I already took 1 on Sunday the 13th for my Tidewater Community College online math class. My final grade: an 89.18%. I am so heated. Oh well.

Today, I took Accounting, Principles of Management, and Personal Finance (That's my kind of day!!). By Friday evening, I will have another 20 credits under my belt. That means I'll have 86 down and only 42 more to go!! Waa-Hoo!!

So lately Sunnee and I have been looking at houses around Lakeland. There are some seriously good deals down here! Florida was one of the worst states to be hit in the Real Estate bubble burst. I think it was the second or third highest state with foreclosures. Thus, the home prices have hit rock bottom; and with the government extending the $8,000 tax credit into next year, buying a home is a rather appealing thing right now... To be honest, we have seen the Lord in all of this: from making the decision to get married to looking for a home to trying to find jobs in our fields. God is so faithful - let me encourage you, when you trust God and take a step of faith in the direction you know He is calling you, He will show Himself strong on your behalf!

There is one house in particular that I have really been praying for. It's right next to campus and is a steal of a deal. It needs some TLC, but I would be totally willing to put some time and energy into it! I am really praying hard about it. Please stand in prayer with me!

I will drive home Saturday morning (13 hour drive!) to Virginia and come back to Florida around January 8th. Not looking forward to the cold weather but I am certainly looking forward to seeing family and seeing my grandparents whom I haven't seen in almost 2 years!

Update

I seem to have less and less time as time continues; and because of that, my blog suffers.

Quick update: I am taking 20 credits this semester (never again!), leading a freshman mentorship group of 10 guys, preparing to lead a team to Uganda in June 2010, and helping to plan and pay for a wedding. Crazy? Just a little. I am praying for a job for next semester, particularly somehere in finance or accounting. I want to use my education! Looking forward to getting home for Christmas, Grandpa and Grandma will be visiting for a few weeks.

He's Getting Married. He's Getting Marred?

That's right. I got engaged last night to the woman of my dreams. Thank you Jesus for being so faithful and for answering my prayers. More details to come later. :)

Adventure Lesson #1369

Even though we've already learned that women are beyond explaining or understanding, we still attempt to do it anyway. Go figure.

Adventure Lesson #1368

I have come to the realization that women are beyond explaining or understanding.

Hard Hearts

It has been far too long since I last posted on here. My summer has been rather tumultuous. I promise to get back to being regular on here. No one really reads this thing though, so who cares?

Anyway, yesterday evening was my end to a 7-day fast. The Lord really did a lot of plowing in this hard heart of mine; breaking up a lot of rough ground and preparing me for a season of planting. One thing I've noticed is that as we grow older and become more seasoned with "experience," if we aren't careful our hearts can easily grow hard and calous to what they should always be soft towards.

Over the months and years, we allow unchecked anger, hurt, pain, and a plethora of other emotions to take a toll on our hearts. We think, "Oh, I will deal with that later." or, "It's not that big of a deal." But in the scheme of things, it really is. That's one more brick being added to that wall being built in your heart. That's one more issue that Jesus needs to have control of in your life. Allowing those types of things to build up only lets them multiply themselves over and over again. And letting them stay makes it easier for the next one to stay, and the next, and the next. Until you're at a point where you don't recognize yourself anymore and wonder why you feel so far from your Creator.

I'm speaking from experience in this blog. "Guard your heart, for out of it flows the wellspring of life." Proverbs 4:23

Lord, thank you that I'm never too far gone for You to save. Thank you for your continual grace and mercy on my life. Keep my heart pure and tender before you. Give me your heart for the broken and hurting, for the widow, orphan, and down trodden. Keep within me a heart of flesh, like only You can. In Your precious name I pray, amen.

An Excerpt

A man was driving through the country one day when his car broke down. He was in front of a country farmhouse and while someone was working on it, he decided to join an old farmer who was sitting in a rocking chair on the front porch and rocking back and forth, with a straw in his mouth. Just to make conversation the man asked, "Hey, how's the wheat growing?"

The farmer, without any change of expression, said, "I didn't plant any wheat this year. I was afraid there would be a drought."

"Well," asked the man, "then how's the corn growing?"

"Didn't plant any corn either. Afraid there would be too much rain and wash the seed away."

"Well, then, how's the cotton growing?" the man asked.

"I didn't plant any cotton this year. Afraid the boll weevil would come and eat it all up."

The man, somewhat perplexed, finally asked, "What did you plant?"

The farmer leaned back and said, "I didn't plant nothin' this year. I just played it safe."

It is absolutely essential that we become financially literate before we begin taking the risks inherent in investment. The Word tells us that a fool and his money are soon parted. Money without financial literacy is money soon gone.

But "no investment" is nearly as bad as "foolish investment." We've been playing it safe far too long. We have been dreamers to some extent. We've even been a little lazy. Many of us have learned to confess prosperity scriptures every day but we don't actually have a passion to do anything more than talk. We have to eventually do something. I cannot overemphasize the importance of learning what you are doing before you do it but without a passion to act on your knowledge, it is useless. Do something, even if all you are doing is reading some books.

A vision without action is just a hallucination. Action without a vision is random activity. It takes a combination of passion and discipline to accomplish anything. Napoleon said, "Take time to deliberate, but when the time for action has arrived, stop thinking and go in."

From the book Becoming A Millionaire God's Way by Dr. C. T. Anderson

Here in Your Presence

Matt 6:33 "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."

Why does this always seem to be so difficult for us to do? To seek Him first; His Kingdom and His Righteousness. What does that really mean, anyway?

Far too often, we become consumed with the worries of this life. Or to put it a different way, we become distracted. Out of a job with no source of income. Car repossessed. Bills stacking up. Student loans racking up interest. Things don't go the way you hoped, or expected. Relationship problems. Doors close. Everyone and everything is against you. All of these, and more, are merely distractions. Distractions to take us away from our mission: To seek first His Kingdom and His Righteousness.

To seek first His Kingdom means to give your attention to building it. That's what each of us is called to do. How do we build it? Through the Great Commission: Mark 16:15, "He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation." This is the last thing Jesus tells His followers before He ascends to Heaven. Clearly, this is important. It's Christ's charge to His followers! How are you building God's Kingdom, both in your neighborhood and around the world?

To seek His righteousness is to seek Him. To imitate, be, and do everything He is and does. He wants to be sought after. Seek His manifest presence, the Holy Spirit, in your life daily.

Thus, build His Kingdom (witness) and seek His righteousness (be like Him). That's what Jesus tells us to do. And He said that when we do that, He would take care of the rest. So worrying about how to pay your next bill, where to live, or where your next meal will come from are nothing more than distractions that divert our attention away. Stop worrying about the trivial things in this life; we are meant to live for so much more! If you will genuinely seek the Blessor and not the blessing, you will stand amazed at just how well He sticks to the promises in His Word.

Found in Your hands, fullness of joy
Every fear suddenly wiped away here in Your presence
All of my gains now fade away
Every crown no longer on display, here in Your presence
Heaven is trembling in awe of Your wonders
The kings and their kingdom are standing amazed

Now what do you say?

1But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 2At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. 3The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group 4and said to Jesus, "Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?" 6They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.

But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. 7When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her." 8Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.

9At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. 10Jesus straightened up and asked her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?"

11"No one, sir," she said. "Then neither do I condemn you," Jesus declared. "Go now and leave your life of sin." John 8

(emphasis added)

It doesn't matter what the law says, what other Christians say, what others think or act around you; all that matters is what Jesus says. "Now what do you say?" As John 3:17 says, Christ wasn't sent into the World to condemn the world. But instead, to bring conviction. I hope the life of Christ brings conviction into your hearts today. Why? Because condemnation pushes us further from God, while conviction pulles us closer. Are you living a life of conviction?

Jesus, give me the strength to see others as you do. Not to condemn them, but to love them. To confront them in their sin and bring conviction. Help me to see people through your eyes. I pray that I would live a life holy and pleasing to you, one that would draw those around me closer to you. I pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.

Our Gift, not a Goal

From my hero in the Faith, Reinhard Bonnke:

The Holy Spirit is a Gift, not a Goal!

Living in the Spirit does not mean a life of labour and perfectionism, inventing ways of self-denial to gain credit with God. Self-denial may be necessary in our service for God, but sacrifice for the sake of sacrifice is not a means of grace. That has been the error of all ascetics. Neither are we supposed to suggest that we have to struggle to be people of the Spirit, worrying about it daily. Perhaps we want to be known as a man of prayer or a woman of the Spirit. That is Pharisaic. Christ said, “My yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matt 11:30). He would know, for as a carpenter he once made yokes. His yokes did not chafe oxen, nor do they chafe us. And most people can cope with that.It is absurd to be anxiously watching every moment exhausting ourselves trying to be Spirit-filled. The promise is that “the joy of the Lord is your strength” (Neh 8:10). Living in the Spirit we walk with God with a confident bearing, live more easily, and pray more easily. “Keep in step with the Spirit” is the advice found in Galatians 5:25. Remember, the Holy Spirit is a gift, not a goal.

i-Heart Revolution

As you read this blog...

...people in Uganda are dying from famine.

A Karimojong girl enjoys a roasted head of a chicken while at Kikaramoja zone at Masese III village in Jinja district on Tuesday.

Karimojong women waiting for rice donations.

In the Ugandan newspapers today:

Death as famine ravages Uganda

In an interview yesterday, the district Speaker of Amuria, Mr Robert Adiama, said, “There’s famine because of several factors like the drought spell which has hit the district. We actually need food urgently.”

Mr Adiama said the famine has reached a level where people cannot afford three meals a day. “What we need now are ways of helping these people to survive and how they can access seeds for planting,” he said.

Even in cases where the food is available, he added, it has become very expensive for the people to afford. “For example a basin of cassava which was costing between Shs2500 and Shs5000 is now Shs10,000. Not many people can afford,” Mr Adiama said.

The famine is partly a result of the poverty already biting a large part of the population, with 57 per cent saying in a late 2008 opinion poll commissioned by Afrobarometer that they had gone without food at one point in the last year and 55 per cent saying they had gone without water – up from 49 per cent in 2005.
(Daily Monitor)


What are you doing with your life?
"He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these, you did for me.'"

Least of These

Have you ever had compassion on someone you have never met?

That happened to me the other day. As I was sitting in class.

It certainly wasn't the first time something like that had ever happened to me. Nor am I sure it will be the last.

I can remember as a young boy walking the streets of Washington D.C. with my family. I was 10 years old. It was an absolutely magnificent city. Huge historic buildings of great importance were on every street corner. History was written in between the bricks and mortar of the city itself. And intertwined within the historical significance of that city was the mystery and excitement of a new tomorrow.

And as I walked down a city street, I glanced down an alley. Just at that moment, a beam of sun light burst forth through the clouds and shown down on a homeless man. Dirty and scroungy, his beard was matted and grey. Clothes tattered and torn, a spoiled middle school child would have weighed more then he. This man was sitting no more then twenty feet from a soup van from a local shelter that had just handed him a Styrofoam bowl of soup. As the light descended from the heavens upon him, he looked towards the sky and lifted his bowl of soup, with steam rising from it that cold January evening, and gave thanks.

And that did a number on my 10-year old emotions. I began to tear up. And by the time we had gotten to where we were going (to McDonald's to eat) and sat down with our food, I was bawling. My mom thought I was throwing a tantrum about not getting what I had wanted to eat.

Far from it.

Who was I to order whatever I wanted to eat and sit at a clean table? And what about all these people sitting in this restaurant? Did they see that homeless man? Did they care about him? I so badly wanted to take him my food. But not even my parents understood why I was crying.

Why did I feel this way? From that point in time until now, I have been able to diagnose it as a compassionate heart. And sometimes it likes to sneak up on me. Like when I was sitting in class last week.

As we were talking about walking in our spiritual power we have in Christ, I began to reflect on all my trips to Uganda and all that takes places during our crusades. And we talked about demons, sorcery, and psychics. And I started thinking about the psychics of Lakeland.

And I had compassion.

Here they are, bound and held captive, and I am no more then a 10 minute car ride away with an answer that can give them freedom. And so are 3,000 other students. But what are they doing to reach those ladies?

So I wrote a letter to every psychic in Lakeland. Telling them of Christ's love. And the freedom that comes with a relationship with Him. Please stand in prayer with me over those seeds that were planted.

I ask you though - how do people know you're a Christian? Is it because you plaster that title on your car bumper? Is it because you give that title to people when you introduce yourself?

Or is it by the love you show?



"He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these, you did for me.'"

Love

Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians that three things remain: faith, hope, and love; "The greatest of which, is love." As a child, I always wondered why love was the greatest of the three. In Sunday School, I can clearly remember being taught that unless we had faith in Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Savior, we could never go to heaven. And let me tell you, as a kid growing up in church, heaven was my only and ultimate goal.

In fact, when the book series Left Behind was published I got the kids version. Upon reading the first five volumes of the series, I came to a point where I couldn't even sleep at night because I was so scared the rapture would happen during the night and I would get left behind! It was really bad. Whenever I would call my mom or dad and they wouldn't answer, the first thing that immediately came to my mind was that the rapture had taken place and I was left to 'fend for myself. Thus in my mind, faith certainly had to be the greatest of the three.

Yet I clearly remember a little plaque-like wood cut-out in the entry way of my childhood home saying exactly what Paul had written and yet again proclaiming love as the greatest of the three. I asked my mother as to the accuracy of this statement and she only seemed to confirm it, yet I don't remember an explanation to satisfy my curiosity.

Then I began to wonder why hope hadn't made the cut. In Colossians, Paul calls Jesus the Hope of Glory. Jesus himself is referred to as our only hope, yet not even that is greater then love? How could some emotions you feel towards your boyfriend or wife or uncle be the greatest of these three? I wondered this because I didn't know what love was.

Paul goes through an entire list in 1 Corinthians 13 as to what love does, "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered. Love keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always perseveres. Love never fails."

Thus when you tell someone you love them, you should be summarizing your actions not your emotions. If you really love that person, you are going to show it through your actions and not your words. You'll show it by being patient and kind and never being jealous, boastful, proud or rude. You'll show it by keeping their best interests at your heart and by being slow to get angry with them. You'll show it by not remembering what all they've done wrong to you. And God is love. So these are the characteristics or attributes of who God is.

Or you'll at least attempt to do those things. Trust me, I know it can be tough to constantly do all those things with everyone you come across. Yet, Jesus tells us to do it. And he doesn't give us an excuse not to do it. He tells us not just to love God, but to love our neighbor as ourself. Oh how difficult it is to love those who don't love you. Yet, where is the reward in loving someone who loves you? "Even sinners do that." As believers in Christ, we should be known by the love we show. Are you known by the love you show? Will you leave a legacy of love?

Back to my opening statement, love truly is the greatest of the three. Why? Faith is, by definition, having complete trust in something. The Bible clearly says that without repentance of sins and faith in Jesus as our Savior, we cannot enter into eternity with Him. Hope, by definition, is to desire with expectation of obtainment or to expect with confidence. Once we have faith in Jesus Christ, we then put our hope in Him. In the 1 Corinthian chapter on love, Paul tells us that God is love. God is eternal and thus so is love. When we get to heaven, faith and hope will be fulfilled. However, love will be what we bask in for all eternity. Thus love truly is the greatest of the three for it will last for all eternity.

Love: it's so much more then just a word. It's more then just a feeling or an emotion. Love is action. Love is commitment. Love is active and continuous. Love is a decision. Love is eternal. I challenge you to love today. Love someone who doesn't love you. And keep loving them.

The Daily List

Written by my friend, this is just a little of what I strive to be each day:

STRONG. For those I love. Against temptation. Giving. Real. Personal. Convicting but encouraging. Challenging but loving. Outgoing. Knowledgeable. Protector. Spirit-led. One who seeks. One who endures. Patient. Family-oriented. Dependable. Modest. Reserved. Pure. One who speaks life, truth. One who knows and has the the right priorities. One who keeps them. Honest. Content but never satisfied. Observer. Listener. Child-like at times. Moldable. A voice. Firm. Unafraid of the uncomfortable. Adventurous. Accepting. Teachable. Purposeful. Man of prayer. Discerned. Compassionate. Balanced. Servant leader. Sacrificial. Disciplined. Trustworthy. Obedient. Faithful - HOLY.

Savior, Please by Josh Wilson

Savior, please take my hand
I work so hard, I live so fast
This life begins, and then it ends
And I do the best that I can, but I don't know how long I'll last

I try to be so tough
But I'm just not strong enough
I can't do this alone, God I need You to hold on to me
I try to be good enough
But I'm nothing without Your love
Savior, please keep saving me

Savior, please help me stand
I fall so hard, I fade so fast
Will You begin right where I end
And be the God of all I am because You're all I have

Hallelujah
Everything You are to me
Is everything I'll ever need
And I am learning to believe
That I don't have to prove a thing
'Cause You're the one who's saving me


This song has really been my heart's cry this week. What a phenomenal song.

The Two Greatest Comandments

It is so easy to become so busy with what we need to do or get done. Sometimes I find myself at the point where I feel like I'm a hamster on a hamster wheel - where am I really going and what am I really accomplishing? I generally tended to be OK with my busy schedule because it was and is always filled with important and productive tasks that must be done - homework, class time, Student Missions Association work, and a plethora of errands sprinkled in between. But as a follower of Christ, this schedule is wrong; if not to the point of sinful, which I will explain.

Now, this busy schedule is not wrong to have because it hinders us from spending time with God by reading our Bible or spending time in our prayer closet, though these are helpful in our walk with the Lord. So often when I hear a speaker address the topic of our own personal busyness, he will condemn our overly packed schedule because it prevents us from spending adequate time with God. And this is absolutely true, I couldn't agree more. But I really feel it needs to be taken one step further. Our overly busy schedules are wrong because they make us too busy for the people around us. And people are what life is all about. When the Pharisees questioned Jesus as to what the greatest commandment in the Law was, He replied, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest. The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments." (Matt. 22:36-40).

The Bible asks, How can you love God, who you have never seen yet not have love for your brother who you see? What an absolutely powerful verse! As Jesus says in Matthew 25:40, "For what you did to the least of these, you did unto me." When we become too busy for the people around us, we become too busy for Jesus. Ouch. That's uncomfortable to hear. But my schedule is filled with events and tasks that need to be accomplished so that I can more effectively build the Kingdom or things that will help me in my walk with God, you say. I ask you this: How can you truly build the Kingdom without building those around you? Is that not the greatest investment into which we can make - into someone else instead of investing our time into a task? Even if your schedule is full of things that are meant to build the Kingdom, if they hinder you from minstering to others, it's just not worth it. People are the greatest investment you can make.

Yes, people can be mean. People can be rude, insulting, offensive, dirty, and sometimes just evil. But no matter what condition they may be in - Jesus still loves them. He loves you no matter condition you may be in. He equally loves you on your worst day and your best day. We become too busy for Jesus when we pass Him on the street when He's begging for a dollar. For silver and gold you may not have, but you do have something. While in the supermarket, are we too busy to hear the gentle whisper of the Holy Spirit in His prodding of us to speak life into the cashier? Thankfully, Jesus was never too busy for those around Him. Nor is He too busy for you. Instead, He poured Himself in His entirety into not just His disciples but also into the outer fringes of society - the prostitutes and tax collectors.

I pray that God would instill within us a passion for people. A love that cannot be quenched. A love for people to the degree that Jesus had - that He was willing to die on the cross while we were yet sinners. I pray that we would remain sensitive to the Holy Spirit. And lastly, I pray that we would remember that our daily schedules are simply tentative - our ultimate schedule comes from above.

My Drive to Georgia

So as I was driving on Sunday, I was in the middle of North Carolina when I had my heart checked. Wow what an experience. I had just finished listening to a devotional CD and turned on some praise music. It was a nice time to just be quiet and spend some time talking to the Lord. I had the car set on cruise control and the freeway was wide open; people don’t really travel on Sunday mornings. I looked to the side of the road and saw the speed limit sign; it said 65 mph. For whatever reason, despite the fact that I had it set on cruise control, I looked down to check my speed. I was doing roughly 72 – 73 mph, nothing that a trooper would pull you over for. That’s when the Holy Spirit had something to say. Here I had just been praying that God would use me to do great and mighty things for Him and His Kingdom and that I would be like King David – a man after God’s own heart – and He said, if you know something is wrong but you also know that if you do it you won’t get caught, would you still do it? Of course I said, “No Way!” Then He said, yet the law of land states that you are legally allowed to drive 65 mph and no more. Doing 66 mph would be breaking the law! You know in your heart that it is wrong but you also know that you won’t be penalized for going over 1 mph, over even up to 9 mph, yet you still do it.

Then I started to talk back, “But NO ONE does the speed limit! It won’t hurt going a few over! No one will even care!” And He said, yes, but I care. How can you expect to become a man after God’s own heart if you can’t even do something as simple as drive the speed limit? Is that not integrity? To know what is right in a situation, even when no one else knows or cares, and to still do it. For when you are faithful with the little things, I know you will be faithful with greater things. If you can’t even have integrity when you’re driving on the highway in a car you can control, how will you be faithful when the ‘sticky’ issues of life face you that require integrity? I fell under a very heavy conviction by the Holy Spirit and immediately repented and put my speedometer to the speed limit the rest of the trip. I have to say, it was extremely tough for me to do; even big 18-wheelers were passing me on the freeway as I did the speed limit! I got some pretty dirty looks and caused quite a few to get upset with my speed. But if that’s the price to pay for being a man of integrity on the road, then that’s what I’m willing to pay. Besides, I don’t have to answer to them; I answer to God for my actions.

2009

This New Year is going to be a year of change.
What was birthed in 2008 will begin to grow and produce in 2009.
I believe it will be a year of dreaming, yet tangible results.
I have talked with and heard many people over the past weeks who have expressed elation with the closing of 2008.
Many see 2008 as a year of pain, suffering, and loss.
However, 2008 was a year of new beginnings.
Just mull over that for a second.
If you think about that, what step or process is always the most difficult to overcome in a project or something large that is undertaken?
The beginning is always the most difficult step.
Why?
Getting started is always the toughest step because it requires a change from what we have come to acknowledge as routine.
And we are creatures of habit.
Anyway, just a thought on the past year and the new one we find ourselves in.

From here, I want to start sharing what I've been learning. So, here goes nothing.
This note references the book of Haggai.

Although the book of Haggai only contains two chapters and 38 verses, the Word of God is living and relevant to us today. If you haven't read this book for some time, or ever at all, I encourage you to do so.
Firstly what I noticed was that Haggai the Prophet gave the people of Israel - God's chosen people - a word of the Lord; it was to rebuild the Lord's Temple. After giving them this word, here's what followed:
"Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of the Lord their God, and the words of Haggai the Prophet, as the Lord their God has sent him, and the people did fear before the Lord. Then spake Haggai the Lord's messenger in the Lord's message unto the people, saying, 'I am with you' saith the Lord." (Haggai 1:12-13; KJV).
Notice how Haggai first gave the people the order of what they were supposed to do - to rebuild the Temple. It was only after they obeyed the Word of the Lord that the Lord assured them He was with them. When God tells us to do something, no matter what it may be, we should do it even if He doesn't guarantee He will be with us (which you know He's going to anyway). We should obey Him simply because we love Him and want to do what He says. Like the Bible says, "For obedience is better than sacrifice."

Thus, even if the road ahead is not guaranteed, we should obey nevertheless. I pray God grants us the strength to obey no matter the circumstances, to obey because that's what He wants; because "If you love me, you'll do what I say." - Jesus Christ

Secondly, although God does not dwell in earthly shelters, man does create a dwelling for Him. God is among us and within us. However, He tells His people to rebuild His temple. And God says why He tells them to rebuild, "Because while you've run around, caught up with taking care of your own houses, my Home is in ruins. That's why. Because of your stinginess." (Haggai 2; Message).

He then tells them that because of this, that's why there's been a curse on the land and all that it produces. Yet, was the physical temple being rebuilt as important as the Israelites hearts returning to their God? I think not. What I've noticed all through the scriptures is a common theme with God: it's always a heart issue. For God looks beyond the outward appearance of a man and into the heart because the heart is from where all things come (Out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks; guard your heart, for out of it flows the well spring of life.) God didn't really care about those busted up stones and mortar that used to be His temple; he cared about the hearts of His people. In this case, obedience is what God was looking for. He doesn't need a physical dwelling place here on Earth to be among men. He wanted their obedience more than anything. And I believe that if He truly has our hearts, we will willingly care for His house, whatever or wherever that may be.

Does God have our obedience? I venture to say that if He does, then He's already got our hearts.