Thursday, July 9, 2009

Goodbye :(

On Saturday....Erica, Elijah, Sadie and I will be leaving Alvin. We are going to really, really miss everyone here. It has been such a rich blessing to us that all of you were in our life.


When I was growing up in Rosebud, I attended a church that was very small. It averaged 25-30 people on Sunday, and that was on a good day. So I never got to experience a youth group. I, along with my brother and sister, went to other area churches for summer series and that really was it. I then went to Abilene and got involved in a college ministry, and got close to some, but not like here in Alvin. Since I never had a youth group or a youth minister in high school.......I had a void in my life that I believe I needed. I needed it to have a close connection with the people in Alvin. And in Alvin, I received that. You all were my youth minister. I learned so much from all of you. All of you were awesome!! Whoever takes over this position, will be very fortunate. Because he gets to know a great group of teens and parents who are committed to God and love to have a good time together.




So I am sad.........


because I will truly miss all of you.



But I am also glad.........


because you left a mark in my life that will never be replaced. You have made my life better. You have been my teacher over the past 4 years. Thank you!!

"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen." Ephesians 3:20-21

Live it,

BB

Fo Rizzle


About three days ago, I had to go to a store and buy some stuff. In paying for the items the cashier pulls out a yellow looking marker and puts a mark across the cash I gave her. I asked her if she had ever been given money that was counterfeit. She replied yes.....all the time. She said the worst case she has seen was a woman who came in with $400.00 worth in 5 dollar bills. So she marked one and it turned a purple looking color. She marked the next one and it also turned purple. So she said that she called her manager over to her register and they found out that every one of her $5 bills were fake....counterfeit. They asked the woman if she knew that these bills were fake and she denied it at first, but later confessed that her husband makes counterfiet money for a job. FOR A JOB!! His profession is surrounded by making something that is FALSE!! A LIE!! It's counterfeit.

When Jesus was talking with the woman at the well in John 4, he makes this statement in verse 23, "Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks."

I italicized the word true above because that word in the Greek language is opposite of counterfeit. In fact the actual meaning is "in every respect corresponding to the idea of being real and genuine." So when Jesus said that God is seeking true worshipers, He is seeking people who worship with 100%.......not holding back anything. Worship in spirit and in truth!

I have made this statement before, but I think sometimes it doesn't sink in enough........this is what we all are guilty of doing.... for example, "I'll fly away, oh glory I'll fly away (in the morning). When I die.........Oh I wonder what I'm gonna do after worship? Or can you believe she said that to me earlier? Or do we have to sing this song, we sing this all the time.
I also wonder if we live our life as a lie. What I mean is we act like a Christian. We wear tshirts that say we are.....we even listen to Christian music......we even go to Sunday worship, but in our hearts and our minds we know that our faith is fake. You can make the decision to be genuine.....100% authentic. Be a true worshiper!!
When we worship in spirit and in truth.......God is seeking us. But you can't be fake or counterfeit. And that is FO RIZZLE!!

Monday, June 1, 2009

Take My Son

Good story I found not too long ago:

A wealthy man and his son loved to collect rare works of art. They had everything in their collection, from Picasso, Van Gogh, to Raphael. They would often sit together and admire the works of art together. When the Vietnam conflict broke out, the son went to war. He was very courageous and died in battle while rescuing another soldier. The father was notified and deeply grieved for his son.

About a month later just before Christmas there was a knock at the father's door. A young man stood in the doorway with a package in his hands. He said, "Sir you don't know me, but I am the soldier for whom your son gave his life......he saved many lives that day. He was carrying me over his shoulder when a bullet struck his chest and died. He often talked about you and your love for art." The young man held out the package. "I know this is not much, and I am not a great artist, but I though your son would have wanted you to have this."

The father opened the package. It was a portrait of his son, painted by the young man. He stared in awe at how the portrait captured the characteristics of his son. The father was drawn to the eyes so much that his eyes began to tear up. He thanked the young man and offered to pay. The young man refused and said, "You could never repay me for what your son did. It is a gift!"

The father hung the portrait over his mantle. Everytime visitors came to his home he always made sure to take them to see this painting before any of the other works of art he had collected.

The father died a few months later. There was to be an auction of all the famous paintings. Many influential people gathered and were excited to see the paintings and waited for the opportunity to bid on these paintings.

On the platform first was the painting of the son. The auctioneer began the bidding. "Who will bid on this picture of the man's son?" The auctioneer told the battle story of the painting and who gave it to the man. There was total silence. Not one bid. Someone in the back shouted, "Bring out the Remembrants or Monets. We don't want to see this picture! We don't care about this man's son." But the auctioneer persisted and asked for $200, then lowered to $100. No one would bid on the painting. The crowd grew angry and yelled, "We did not come to see this painting! Get on with the real bids!" The auctioneer said, "Who will take this painting?"

A voice in the back came from a homeless man, "All I have is $4.00. Will you take that?" The auctioneer exclaimed, "$4.00, who will go $5.00? Anyone?"

"Give it to him for $4.00. Get on with the real auction!" The people were beginning to shout for they did not want to see the picture of the son. They wanted the pictures that would be an investment to their collections. The auctioneer pounded his gavel and said, "Going once, going twice, sold for $4.00." A man in front shouted, "Good, now let's see the masters." The auctioneer laid down his gavel and said, "I'm sorry, the auction is now closed."

"What about the paintings?" the crowd said. "I am sorry, when I was called to conduct this auction, I was told under strict stipulations to auction the painting of the son first. Only the painting of the son would be auctioned. Whoever bought the painting of the son would inherit the entire estate, including the paintings. The man who took the son gets everything."

Much like this story, the person who will take God's son will get everything. The son, the son, who will take the son? Will it be you?

Live it,
BB

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

WE ARE AT WAR!!!!!

I googled "pictures of World War II" yesterday. I got all kinds of pictures. There were pics of airplanes, tanks, Hitler, FDR, and nazi symbols. But the picture that caught my attention the most were ones like this :

It may actually be a little fuzzy, but this pic is of a bank building in Milan, Italy. All over Europe, Africa, and the Pacific battleships were sunk, soldiers died, airplanes and tanks were destroyed. This war took place over several years and involved primarily two opposing sides.

In the same way, this is what is happening to our souls. Destruction is occurring when we let sinful desires rule our hearts. Listen to the words of Peter: "Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul." (1 Peter 2:11)

WE ARE AT WAR!! I am not sure if you know it or not, but your soul is a battlefield. Your soul is just like the beaches of Normandy (D-Day) or the bunkers of Iwo Jima. Satan desires to win your soul. So he uses every weapon (fame, money, girls, etc) to win. And sometimes he wins a battle. That battle takes place in your heart.

I wrote out two questions and 20 multiple choice answers to help you think about where you are in your battle:
Question #1

What best describes your current situation in spiritual battle?
1. In basic training
2. In the mess hall
3. Running from the battle
4. Running to the battle
5. In communication with Headquarters
6. In the latrine
7. Dedicated to my mission
8. A prisoner of war (P.O.W.)
9. Camouflaged
10. Absent without leave (A.W.O.L.)
11. A M.A.S.H. unit
12. Wounded
13. In the trenches
14. Obeying my orders
15. Ready to help other soldiers
16. Practicing my drills daily
17. Military observer
18. Sitting Duck
19 Covert Operations


Question #2

My biggest problems in spiritual battles are: (Explain your answer)

1. I forget my equipment
2. I run away from battles
3. I doubt my enlistment into the army of God
4. Enemy distractions
5. Fatigue (I'm tired)
6. I lose communication with the Commander
7. I don't know my training manual
8. Family road blocks
9. The enemy takes me prisoner to sin
10. I lose focus in the battle
11. I fail to trust the commander
12. Sneak attacks on my faith
13. Sabataged friendships
14. I worry about what others will think
15. Enlisting God's help
16. False intelligence
17. Lack of courage
18. Too many battles at one time
19. Fear
20. Other?_________________________
We all are at war whether we accept it or not. A great thing is that we are at war together and with a Commander who has an awesome stategy. Comment on where you are in this war and we'll strive to help and encourage each other.
"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." (Ephesians 6:12)

Monday, May 4, 2009

Squirm

Over the past 4 weeks, I have noticed something in our new girl. Whenever I hold her, at first she squirms.......a lot. I speak to her and hold her in my arms and eventually she settles down. But she does not do this at all with Erica. At an instant Erica will hold her and she is calm. It's because she is more comfortable with Erica. Sadie has spent countless hours with Erica (a good number of them at 2 am)! Sadie is familiar with her smell, sound of her voice, etc. She squirms in my arms because she is not familiar with me. You know where I am going with this, right?

I wonder how many times we squirm to get out of God's arms or out of His presence because it is just uncomfortable? When He speaks to us we do not recognize His voice (John 10:4). When we come into His presence we talk to others, think more about the hot guy/girl next to us or in our math class, find ways to go to the bathroom, etc. It is all because we are not comfortable with being in His arms. And the only way for us to get comfortable is for us to spend time to get to know Him. Think about it this way. How do you get to know your family? You sit around the dinner table with your family. You go to the grocery store and help you parents go shopping. You go on vacation with your family. Should I continue more with some examples? When we know God we will want to be with Him because of who He is.

James 4:8
Come near to God and He will come near to you.....

Live it,
BB

Sunday, April 19, 2009

Check this Out!

Hey check this video out on youtube and tell me what you think:
Jesus Painting

I want you to think of why did the artist write out the the words first before drawing the face.

BB