Knowing God’s will

Most believers want to know what God’s will is for their lives. Believers study God’s word, pray, and seek godly council to understand the will of God. While these are all great things, Romans 12:2 says that too know God’s will, we must first have God renew our minds so that we no longer conform too this world’s way of thinking. Ephesians 4:17 says …walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind, being darkened in their understanding. When we go through life using our own “understanding,” and when we follow our own lusts, our path is darkened and we can no longer follow the path God has laid for us. However, if, before we seek God’s will, we seek the renewing of our mind, God promises that we will be able to test and approve what God’s will is-his good pleasing and perfect will. Once we have experienced the renewing of our mind, we shouldn’t expect to magically know God’s will instantly. It takes work. We must pray, read God’s word and seek Godly council first. But since our minds have now been renewed, we will now know what is from of the pattern of this world, and what is from God.

Note: I don’t claim any expertise on knowing the will of God. This is just my findings from studying the bible.


Renewing of the mind

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Abstinence from the things of this world

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Godly council

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Finding God’s will

Steven Curtis Chapman Live Out Loud

Rockport update

Last week I had an amazing time with the C.E.F. team in Rockport, WA. We had 20 kids which, for a tiny town… err… village like Rockport is a lot. Monday and Tuesday it rained which made leading game time interesting with having 20 kids in the size of my living room [the chapel there is REALY small]. After the day camp everyday we would do yard work around the chapel for about an hour and a half. Then came supper and after supper, free time. That trip was so much fun.

Next week my family will be heading off for a vacation on the Olympic peninsula so I won’t be able to post then but I plan on getting a couple quality posts done before then.

Gone

This next week my C.E.F. team wil be doing a day camp in Rockport where we will be camping so I won't be around then. I hope to get some good posts in when I get back.

My Testimony

A perfect church attendance record. Knowledge of all the classic bible stories. Conservative parents and a conservative church that both taught me about God from the moment I took my first breathe. But sitting on the couch one day, I knew something was missing. I don’t remember a whole a lot about that day; I don’t even remember the year, though I do think I was about 7. However I do remember sitting, doing not much of anything, and feeling a sure, gripping feeling that I wasn’t whole and that I was separated forever from my creator because of my sin. I looked all around the house for my mom, but couldn’t find her. I remember being near tears by the time that I finally found her outside. I don’t remember my exact word, but I do know that that day I helplessly and joyfully accepted Jesus Christ as my savior and surrendered my life to him.

I was a good kid. I still had my perfect church record. I was obedient [most of the time.] I had my devotion time every day. But about a year ago I realized that my relationship with Jesus was not growing closer. I was satisfied with were I was in life. I had minimized my short comings. I didn’t have a real sudden conviction, but rather over a period over time God showed me that I needed to be constantly “excelling still more.” It’s not enough to read the bible and pray, you have to continually ask God to help you over come your struggles. I guess God is still showing me that.

My testimony isn’t one of someone who was on drugs, but it does have something in common with the drug addict turned Jesus addict – I’ve felt God’s call on my life – and that’s super cool. To know that God has called me, not in some weird, audible way, but in the gripping of the heart, is so cool. A few months ago, I would have told you I had no opinion on the Calvinism vs. Armenian issue [yes, even after pastor’s seemingly never ending series on the subject.] However God has shown me how cool a thing his election and calling is. Well that’s my testimony. What about your testimony? It may not be as cool as someone else’s, but remember, you were called by God. In the grand scope of God’s greatness, it doesn’t really matter what you were saved from, all that matters is where you are going from here.

The Birds trailer (Alfred Hitchcock)

At this moment in time

{9:30, August 9, 2007}

THE MARINERS ARE THE SOLE HOLDERS OF THE A.L. WILD CARD POSSITION!!!

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Busy

Two friends and I where standing in a small hardware store, on a hot day, in a little nothing of a town. We laid our purchases down on the counter and waited for them to be checked out. The cashier looked down at our purchases - a bungee cord, a role of fishing string, and two for sale signs - then looked back up and us, a confused and semi wary look in her eye. As she scanned and bagged the items, she asked, “so what are you boys selling?” “Nothing,” the reply. A moment’s silence. “You boys going fishing?” “Nope.” “Did you find everything you needed?” “No, but we were already told that you didn’t have any motion detecting noise makers.” By the time we left that store I think that poor checker was wondering whether to call the police or just look at the vandalism on tomorrow’s front page. Last week I had a great time with friends over at a music camp in eastern Washington. Besides learning lots of great music and hanging out together, we had fun terrorizing the other campers. Oh, don’t worry, we told the people in charge of the camp about our pranks before we did them. Not because we were worried that they wouldn’t be allowed, but because we wanted suggestions on how to make them better. So we hung wanted posters of the line dance caller all over the school. We bungee corded a guy’s door shut [we knew this guy fairly well] and then relentlessly rang his door bell; then we put up for sale signs on his camper. We also made plans to put beware of dog signs on the restroom doors, but never had time to go through with it.

I got to fiddle camp on Sunday, got home Thursday evening. Left for our churches’ family camp on Friday morning and got home Sunday afternoon just in time to have my Aunt and Uncle from Chicago over for supper. Then it was off bright and early Monday morning for work at C.E.F. I apologize that I haven’t posted here or commented on your guys’ bogs. I’ve just been super busy.

This week we’ve had a pretty big camp. I’m not sure what today’s [Tuesday] numbers were but I believe they were higher than the 65 yesterday. Today I had 18 kids on my team; half of them have no concept of obedience. It’s been very tough knowing how to get through to these kids. No form of discipline seems to work. We take away game time, snack time, video time, still they disobey. I feel like it’s turned into a war of me against the kids and that the kids aren’t really having fun because their always getting yelled at, but yet they’re not willing to change their ways. Please pray for wisdom for me and the other leaders to be able to get through to the kids and pray also for creativity in discipline.