Alive

          What does it mean to live? How come people who are walking and breathing, eating, and drinking still feel like the #walkingdead ? My mind was opened when I thought about how the Bible is the best all-time book ever sold with people that read it every year if not multiple times within a year and continually find something new. The same Book with its same content produces something new within us every time we open it to read its material. To call the Bible something that is personified may seem correct to say,  but is wrong. Personification means- attribution of personal qualities; especially :  representation of a thing or abstraction as a person or by the human form. To say that a Book is ALIVE would mean that you are personifying it, but what if it truly was ALIVE? Call me crazy, but this Book, which some have called Eli's, has been said to have living qualities.

          "For the word of God is living and effective  and sharper than any double-edged sword,  penetrating as far as the separation of soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It is able to judge the ideas and thoughts of the heart."               - Hebrews 4:12 HCSB

          "Lord , Your word is forever; it is firmly fixed in heaven."                - Psalm 119:89 HCSB

          With God's Word living like this we now have the standard of what it means to be ALIVE. In the first chapter of the book of John we are told that the Word became flesh and dwelled among us. The Word that became flesh is known as Immanuel, God with us, Jesus, The Savior of the world!!! Jesus is ALIVE and this is the reason why our souls desire to go to heaven.  It isn't so that we can just escape suffering and pain. Nor is it to see our loved ones and be free from the eternal flame of hell.  While these things are great, they cannot satisfy our longing to live eternally. God's Word is good for teaching, training,  rebuking,  and correcting what seems to be every aspect of our lives whether it be relationships, our character, different ministries,  activities,  callings, responsibilities,  you name it.

          Studies even show that words can affect our brain development, which relates to how we behave and live. This article talks about how brain development is hindered when hurtful and destructive words are spoken. When words of life are spoken we grow physically healthy. It intrigues me how words can affect our biological make up. How can we speak live into people without the living Word of God?

          So let's get down to the point.  If that be true, then are we ALIVE? Is your relationship with God active or does it come ALIVE when you decide to activate it? Is your preaching according to the life of the Word or to dead opinions? What about your marriage, parenting,  prayer life, reaching the nations, ministry,  equipping the Saints,  and getting to know God and His Son Jesus.

You Were Made For This

"Shining in splendor pure and forever enduring the Glory of God"

These lyrics have been stuck in my head for a week. Students got back for the fall semester and for Global Awakening we had Matt Papa and his band lead worship. Before his last song he began talking about God's glory. He said that we have to continually place ourselves before Him so that we can behold that glory. He likened it to his love for classical music. This music is an art that enlightens the brain and causes it to work. Some people don't like it but would rather choose Kanye and Kesha's music, which is mere entertainment.  To place one of these fanatics in front of an orchestra playing Smetana's The Moldau conducted by Herbert von Karajan, would cause them to leave within seconds driving off to the new Yeezus album. Their brain is not prepared to endure that level of activity. I find myself not prepared to endure God's glory a lot.

This morning around 5am Matt Papa's song was featured on our birthing playlist right at the moment that my wife was making way for our first son, Micah Zane, to enter into the world. Near the end of the song Papa has none other than John Piper speaking on God's glory. Man it is POWERFUL! There is a time that Piper say that we were "made for this" (displaying God's glory). At that moment my wife lifted her finger after hunkering down, as to say, "Yes Lord, I was made for this!" 

Micah was born at 5:20am this morning at the Charleston Birth Place in SC. We decided to go natural in the water, no epidural!!!! Women were made to display God's glory in that and Julie knocked out of the park. She was in labor from 8:29pm-5:20am and we did not see the midwife until 11:30pm. All of the pain that Julie had to endure was surpassed by the birth of a son, our bundle of joy.

Thank You Father for this inheritance.  Please give us the grace to raise him in the way that he should go so that when he is old he will not depart. May we display Your glory so that as he beholds it, he too will become more and more like You. We love You. In Jesus name. Amen.

Desiring God

What the wicked dreads will come to him, but what the righteous desire will be given to ⌊them⌋. (Proverbs 10:24 HCSB)

How does this happen?

Trust in the Lord and do what is good; dwell in the land and live securely. Take delight in the Lord , and He will give you your heart’s desires. Commit your way to the Lord ; trust in Him, and He will act, making your righteousness shine like the dawn, your justice like the noonday. Be silent before the Lord and wait expectantly for Him; do not be agitated by one who prospers in his way, by the man who carries out evil plans. (Psalms 37:3-7 HCSB)

The wicked flee when no one is pursuing ⌊them⌋, but the righteous are as bold as a lion. (Proverbs 28:1 HCSB)

Remembering your tears, I long to see you so that I may be filled with joy, clearly recalling your sincere faith that first lived in your grandmother Lois, then in your mother Eunice, and that I am convinced is in you also. Therefore, I remind you to keep ablaze the gift of God that is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God has not given us a spirit of fearfulness, but one of power, love, and sound judgment. (2 Timothy 1:4-7 HCSB)

As we keep Jesus ablaze within us, delight in Him, commit our ways to Him, desire Him and the things that He desires, live by the Spirit that He has given us of power, love, and sound judgement, our desires will be given to us. This means that we have to spend time with God and get to know Him. We cannot read things and allow our culture to impose on His truths, but instead truly desire what He desires and this is in all aspects of our lives.

As we see the desires of The Lord and those burn in us to want to be a part of You doing that, He says yes because in Jesus everything is yes. When we commit that action to Him we can watch Him act. It's effortless almost like in Ephesians 2:10

For we are His creation, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time so that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:10 HCSB)

We will also see this as well:

A gift opens doors for a man and brings him before the great. (Proverbs 18:16 HCSB)
Do you see a man skilled in his work? He will stand in the presence of kings. He will not stand in the presence of unknown men. (Proverbs 22:29 HCSB)

Christ will shine through us like the dawn and the noonday. The reason why men will give glory to our Father in heaven, as said in Matthew 5:16, is because that's Who they see working through us. It's not me nor you working but God having His will through us.

Then Jesus replied, “I assure you: The Son is not able to do anything on His own, but only what He sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, the Son also does these things in the same way. (John 5:19 HCSB)

Jesus was committed to the Father and in like manner out desires must become like His. This is what it means to be a Christ follower, a little Christ, a Christian.

So what's holding you back from desiring Jesus as doing what is good? God gave us His Son, which enables us to get to know Him, doing good works, eternal life, and ultimately His presence. Jesus is our Life Source and apart from Him we are incapable of doing anything that has eternal value. Our validation comes from Him and it begins at the relationship level and our commitment there with Him. It is not hard for you to accept Him.

Listen! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and have dinner with him, and he with Me. (Revelation 3:20 HCSB)
If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. One believes with the heart, resulting in righteousness, and one confesses with the mouth, resulting in salvation. (Romans 10:9, 10 HCSB)

Love y'all and desire God

In His Presence

So the Lord rejected all the descendants of Israel, afflicted them, and handed them over to plunderers until He had banished them from His presence. When the Lord tore Israel from the house of David, Israel made Jeroboam son of Nebat king. Then Jeroboam led Israel away from following the Lord and caused them to commit great sin. The Israelites persisted in all the sins that Jeroboam committed and did not turn away from them. Finally, the Lord removed Israel from His presence just as He had declared through all His servants the prophets. So Israel has been exiled to Assyria from their homeland until today. Then the king of Assyria brought ⌊people⌋ from Babylon, Cuthah, Avva, Hamath, and Sepharvaim and settled them in place of the Israelites in the cities of Samaria. The settlers took possession of Samaria and lived in its cities. When they first lived there, they did not fear Yahweh. So the Lord sent lions among them, which killed some of them. The settlers spoke to the king of Assyria, saying, “The nations that you have deported and placed in the cities of Samaria do not know the requirements of the God of the land. Therefore He has sent lions among them that are killing them because the people don’t know the requirements of the God of the land.” Then the king of Assyria issued a command: “Send back one of the priests you deported. Have him go and live there so he can teach them the requirements of the God of the land.” So one of the priests they had deported came and lived in Bethel, and he began to teach them how they should fear Yahweh. (2 Kings 17:20-28 HCSB)

Do we live in a way that says, without words from our mouths, that we fear The God of the universe? In our preacher's teaching does he show us how to fear The Lord?

The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, turning people away from the snares of death. (Proverbs 14:27 HCSB)

For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. But how can they call on Him they have not believed in? And how can they believe without hearing about Him? And how can they hear without a preacher? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: How beautiful are the feet of those who announce the gospel of good things! (Romans 10:13-15 HCSB)

If there is no true reverence for God, then how will the message you preach carry any weight? Will the spiritual affections of your hearers be aroused that they may believe in their heart? Is He your best friend that you have a good time with or is He Lord and King coming back to judge the world? Myth or reality?

To save lives from the snares of death fear The Lord and teach people how to fear Him.

May God bless and keep you

Behind The Times

Trying to catch up for time lost on The Blogger


My wife is a blog queen and has been blogging for quite some time now. I have a friend who has even invited me to be a guest blogger on his site, yet I stick to my pen and pad (that's right, old school baby). My mind has slightly changed since reading an article by Dr. R. Albert Mohler Jr., president of Southern Seminary. The article is called A GOSPEL IMPERATIVE-CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP IN A DIGITAL AGE.

It shares some of the history about technology and some shocking facts like, "In many parts of the world, more people have access to a mobile device than to a toilet or running water." That fact hit home for me especially when we travelled to the deserts Ethiopia and witnessed this firsthand.

So how did this article get me on board to blog before my wife or good friend?

It may sound bad, but Dr. Mohler talks about the gospel imperative in the digital age and how information can be uploaded faster now than ever before and in some of the most remote places of the world. That peaked my attention, because the Word of God has more reason to not be chained and can get out faster all the way to the most unengaged of places. We are to spread the gospel so that people will be able to call on the name of Jesus and be saved.

The gospel imperative also challenged me in my thinking. I have Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts, but barely use them. People get bored with me because it takes forever to post something, shouts out to Bryan Williams lol. This blogging, though, is something that I could stream to those accounts quickly and share with the world the good news about Jesus Christ.

Have you used social media or does it use you?

Dr. Mohler, Jon Abercrombie, Bryan Williams, CSU fam, tweeps, Facebook cronies, my instas, the most gorgeous woman to step foot on this planet PT my wife, and my First Love, thank Yyou all for helping me to step up and speak up.

To God be all the glory forever and ever Amen.

--Eli