Phone Calls with Jesus

Ok so as many of you know Katie Maze and I have been roommates for the past year (until this whole covid thing sent us home), but before we were even friends I told her that she should work at houseboats last summer and to my surprise she was actually down. Our friendship because of this really started over the phone as we got to know the others voice. Each Saturday night of the summer we would get to sit and talk, if even just for a little bit and tell each other about the previous week, what the next week looked like and how we could be praying for the other. This was one of the sweetest ways to start to get to know someone. I believe it really shaped what our time together this school year would look like and I have been extremely blessed in this. Even though I may not have found out everything about Katie, I was able to catch a glimpse into who she was and how God was moving in her life. I got to know the sound of her voice. Even now as we are all separated from each other I find it so meaningful to talk to people over the phone rather than just through text. Just the sound of someone's voice brings you closer to them and stronger in relationship.

As I look at how I grasp to stay connected to people that I miss getting to see, I am beginning to realize that this is the relationship that God wants me to have with him. He wants me to know the sound of his voice as he knows every single hair on the top of my head. He wants me to come to him and through him as he guides me and fulfills me like nothing else can. He wants me to call him and just chat about my day. He wants to be in constant relationship with me. He is calling me and you by name, now the question is, are we actually going to trust him and follow?

On a side note Katie and I had a bit of fun the other day and if you want a good laugh at our cringy-ness go check out this video! https://youtu.be/f3dbnNMuM3k

Hearing the Good Shepherd's voice through the valley of the shadow of death

Culture Point - DISCIPLINE....
(I Cor. 10:26) - “The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it.”  When you realize that everything that you use or have is an undeserved gift from a gracious creator your countenance more clearly reflects joy, gratitude, and generosity.   Focusing on the fullness of your creator is a daily discipline.  The more you focus on your creator’s fullness, the more you perceive your own emptiness.  As the creator fills the secret, empty recesses of your soul your countenance reflects the creator’s fullness.  Leaders and followers are desperately seeking those who carry on them the fragrance of Christ. So why do so few seem to wear the person of Christ like a garment or perfume?  The challenge is that the fullness of your creator is not something that you acquire.  It is freely and extravagantly given.   What lacks is the discipline and resolve to commune intimately with the creator’s abundance. 

May we discipline ourselves in such a way that we focus on the fullness of the Good Shepherd this week and commune intimately with His abundance.  With camp now being postponed, it could be easy to lose discipline and not follow the Good Shepherd.  I pray more now than ever we hear the Good Shepherd's voice and follow Him through this valley. 

The Stronger Man

The most radical part I found to be true of this sermon was the fact that Jesus, the strongest man, had a demeanor that many viewed as weak right before His death on the cross. The Roman guards (and Satan) were fooled by His lack of retaliation, quietness, and humbleness while He was being scorned at, spit on, mocked, and beaten like a punching bag. But Jesus proved them wrong in thinking they had power over Him, because it is because of His death alone that set all the captives free from evil….He has successfully bound up the strong man!

“These spirits behind human trafficking, drug abuse, prostitution, confusion, etc. are strong but Jesus is stronger than you and you must let the captives go free.” Amen!

I loved being reminded to look through a multidimensional lens in order to live more realistically. If I acknowledge the unseen forces, I can equip myself to fight them off through the power of Jesus. But if I choose to be ignorant, I will continue to be deceived and be a captive of the world’s strongest enemy. Satan is indeed powerful and knows the ways in which I give him a foothold, but I praise The Stronger Man for not letting the devil have authority over me.  

the Good Shepherd

There was something super spiritual about listening to this message while checking cows this morning. The Cal Poly cows have been trained to respond to a call. In order to move the cows to a new pasture, we sit next to the gate and holler, "Come on cows, come on, come on!" All of our herds know that when we call them, we are leading them to a new field where there will be fresher food. When they hear us calling them, they run to the gate that we're calling from. Even the cows know to respond to the herdsmen. In the same way, my response to the Good Shepherd, who blesses us with life to the full, should be unwavering pursuit of relationship. I know that God provides an abundance of life. When I truly believe in what the Lord has for me, I run like the cows towards my Father's voice.

As it heats up, the grass dries out and we start feeding alfalfa. At the beginning of the summer, they get excited and follow any white truck that drives through Chorro because they assume that it's bringing them food. After being disappointed, they begin to recognize our white truck. They learn to differentiate between the good vehicles (the ones with food) and everything else. Similarly, only through repetition can I recognize the Father's voice. Through constant encounters in relationship, I am able to familiarize myself with his voice and follow him diligently. When I am not intentional about following him, I can get confused and listen to the world about what satisfies and how I should be living my life.

What a good reminder to trust in the Father!

The Devil's World?

"The Stronger Man" sermon, in a word, was encouraging to me. Lately, the enemy has been getting to me; and I didn't even realize! If I am being honest, I am struggling to find hope right now. Even beyond my personal complaints, the fact that there currently is no end in sight to this virus and the suffering it causes makes me feel powerless. But this sermon reminded me that it is okay to be powerless, because it's not us, but Jesus who fights evil. I liked how DJ discussed how in the biblical worldview, the 4 dimensions include the 'unseen forces' of evil creatures, but also of the Living God. I am encouraged by the idea that the Lord is working in ways that I couldn't dream of-- He is battling the devil and changing hearts everywhere, even if His ways are unseen to me or beyond my typically 2D worldview.

Stronger than the enemy

Such a powerful message. Through a campus ministry, I did a bible study this semester over Mark, so it was cool to have a more in-depth look at some of the interactions Jesus had with demons.

With the demons inside of children, Jesus had power over them. With the man who could not be bound by chains, stronger than anyone, Jesus had power over him. Jesus is stronger and mightier than any foe we could ever face. There is nothing to fear with Jesus by our side. The world has been infested with evil, but that does not mean that all is lost. "Jesus is the stronger man who comes to the strong man's house and sets the captives free."

Living in this world is going to hit us with some significant struggles from evil. We are NOT strong enough to fight the evils of the world on our own. Jesus saves us, and we must hold him close to us so we can survive.

The Light & The Stronger Man & The Good Shepherd

Hey everyone! I am a bit behind on these blog posts (ya know finals), so I am going to do a catch up post. I hope you are all doing well! 

The Light:

• “Jesus is the light that never goes out.” Wowza! I don’t know about all y’all, but I get so frustrated when a light bulb goes out. Instead of changing the light bulb, which probably takes like a minute max, I leave the dead bulb and adjust to the slightly darker environment. It doesn’t have to be this way! Jesus is the light of the world, and he will never burn out. In the times and seasons of darkness, we just need to fix our eyes on the light that is Jesus. Like a bug drawn to the light, be a person drawn to Jesus! 

The Stronger Man:

• “Jesus binds the strong man.” Another good sermon! Gosh I loved the image this one painted for me in the aspect of the moment Jesus died on the cross, death lost its grip and its power. I’m sure each of us have our own giants, struggles, and battles, but we can rest assured that Jesus is BIGGER and stronger than it all! Yes & Amen! 

The Good Shepherd:

• “He longs for us to trust him with all the uncertainties that lie ahead.” Oh boy, this one hit hard. Being in this crazy time of life with each day bringing new challenges and new unknowns this sermon really hit home for me. Am I listening for the invitation held in Jesus’ voice? Am I trusting that Jesus will come through on his promises? Am I trying to know Jesus more and more each day? While the answers to these questions can fluctuate for me, this strange time of being home with more time than ever has taught me to trust the process. Trust that there is something greater that I cannot see and cannot fathom behind this chaotic and crazy time. Praying that you and I can allow Jesus to radically change us through this season. 

I love you guys & miss you more than ever. Praying some big big prayers for each of ya & the time I hope we can spend together soon. 

-Abby 

The Stronger Man

I wasn't familiar with this parable so it was cool to learn about! I love that Jesus refers to himself as the stronger man who has tied up the strong man and is plundering his house. It's just such a cool metaphor for Jesus defeating Satan. Like he doesn't just defeat Satan and leave- he TIES HIM UP and ROBS his house!! Cue the Mission Impossible theme song.

I really liked at the end of the sermon was DJ was listing a bunch of results of sin and he was proclaiming Jesus' authority over them. I imagined Jesus proclaiming authority over the virus as well. It's so easy for me to feel alone, depressed, and frustrated with the virus and being confined to my house, but Jesus says "In this world you will have trouble but take heart, I have overcome the world!" Jesus is reminding me to find peace and hope in him during this time and to trust that he is bigger than any virus- he's ALREADY overcome death itself! The virus may not magically disappear, but Jesus has the power to heal and to comfort me when I'm lonely or anxious. I can remember that ultimately there is nothing to fear when I have Jesus on my side, because He's already taken out Public Enemy #1.

Jesus, thank you that you are a God who comforts! Help me to hand over my anxious thoughts to you and to receive your peace. Help me to remember that you are in control, even when I can't see it. And thank you for giving yourself up for me on the cross, binding Satan while setting me free! I love you. Amen.

Mission accomplished.

Demons and stuff

Hey y’all. I’m so sorry I’ve been MIA for so long on the blog. These past few weeks have been so overwhelming it's insane, but y’all are all going thought the same things so I’m sure you understand. I don’t know about you guys but personally, as a guy whose love languages are personal time and physical touch this quarantine period has felt extremely disheartening as if I’m completely separated from everything; my friends, my family(even though we’ve all been stuck in the same house for the past 2 months), and God. So, I think its rather funny how this week’s subject is about these struggles. Granted I don’t think DJ could have dreamed up the struggles going on right now but it's funny how God gave us this week’s topic to tell us we are not alone.

            At the beginning of this week’s sermon DJ talks about the supernatural aspect of believing in the devil and the demonic. I thought this was rather interesting as I personally think that the supernatural is really fun. Real-life demons might not be fun but the idea behind what demons were back then and the whole subject just interests me for some reason, I’m weird, I guess. So, I got hooked into this sermon from the beginning. But I think when he listing off the 2 implications, I really started to see how this message was a gift from God this week.

Implication 1(Personal): “We need no longer fear the evil one in his desire to destroy.”

We don’t need to fear what is coming. Though this may be a stressful time between homework, being confined, and worrying about the future we need not worry. God has it all in his hands and has a plan for the future for each and every one of us. Crazy as it is, this is all part of that plan.

Implication 2(Social): “Jesus has given his disciples his authority over the demonic.”

Sadly, I don’t think this means we have authority over any virus. I don’t think that anyone can go out and demand in God's name that the virus disappears and then SNAP it’ll be gone. I also don’t think this means that just because we believe in God, we are immune to catching the virus. I think here what God is saying to me is that the world is out of my control. I don’t control the government, I don’t control the virus, I don’t control overpriced college education, I don’t control my politics teacher that decided that we need to take a quiz and write 2 essays every week to account for not being in person. Pretty much I control nothing. But I can control how I feel. The stress, the depression, the lack of motivation, all the negative feeling the devil is extending to us through this time, I control whether I harbor them and give the devil what he wants or take the power that God has given me and relieve myself of these feeling by handing them over to God.

            So, I just want to close out by reminding everyone that you are not alone during this time, even if it feels like you are. When you feel lost, alone, worried, and/or depressed just remember that that is the devil trying to discourage you and you have the power to battle back. Go read your Bible, go for a walk, call a friend (and if you feel like you want to talk to someone but you feel like you’re going to be a bother, call me I’m always happy to chat). I’m gonna end this with a quick prayer real quick.

Yahweh, thank you for your faithfulness and power. I just ask that during this time you make your hand evident to your people down here on earth. You know the pain and sorrows we are going through down here and I know you weep for us. So, help us have faith, persistence, and hope during this crazy period in our lives. We know you have a plan for us and that everything that’s happening is part of your righteous plans even if we can’t see it at the moment. Allow us to use this experience to grow in our relationship with you and ourselves so that we can continue to be a beacon of your love for others.

Hope to see y’all soon,

-Trevor

The Stronger Man

As always, DJ reminds me to trust in the name of Jesus. Although this time of COVID19 and  quarantine brings about its own unique set of challenges, God has been and is continuing to be faithful. This sermon was a good reminder to me that Jesus robbed the strong man of the power of death. The gospel of Matthew reminds me not to be anxious but to trust in the Lord's provision. The church is a part of God's provision for us; DJ reminds us that it was built amidst hell's stronghold in order to rebuke the powers of darkness. In this season, there seem to be constant reminders of the enemy and the way that he has been trying to use social isolation to divide the church and destroy and tempt. The importance of the gospel is that there is hope and freedom from captivity from these things.

Father God, grant me wisdom to recognize when the devil is tempting me and strength to rebuke him in your name. Thank you for your constant love and provision.

Much love and missing y'all!

Satan has been bound

It was fun hearing DJ talk about Jesus being the stronger man in His own parable because it seems so obvious yet I'be never noticed it. The imagery of the strongman being bound and his house plundered is striking. The owner of the house is taken captive and made powerless, even in his own home. Except in this case, Jesus is not a thief but a rescuer. He took those Satan captured with death, bringing them back to life. And Jesus doesn't just release those He rescues; He protects them. What good would it be to rescue someone if they were just going to be captured again? Luke 11:24-26.

I'm not sure how to respond to the existence of demons. I believe they exist. I don't see how you could explain away Jesus' and His disciples interactions with them. It's not as if science could disprove their existence either when it strictly deals with the observable but we can't find demons. Since our existence is limited to the physical and spiritual dimensions, we can't observe any other dimensions, except what the Bible tells us. I just don't know what to do with this knowledge. How should an awareness of demons influence how I live? Like DJ said, I shouldn't go looking for demons in everything but I shouldn't ignore them either. One of the answers on gotquestions.org about demons pointed out Ephesians 6:10-18 where Paul instructs the church to "take up the whole armor of God" to withstand the "spiritual forces of evil." We can be encouraged by the facts that Jesus has bound Satan and will win and that He has given us armor to defend ourselves against Satan and his demons. We just have to put on that armor.

..

Hey Y'all,
So its kinda been a rough month.
I haven't been blogging um and I am sorry. I am going to be completely transparent. The state of our world has made me go through a whirlwind of scary awakening thoughts about my future. I am terrified about what I will do with my life, and am trying to cling to something that wasn't what I should have been. I have finished school and have taken a step back to look at the past month of stress and anxiety and realized what a huge God we have. I was worried about MY plan and what was good for ME. So I'm back and Im gunna be playing catch up but I miss all of you and can't wait to see you all hopefully very soon.
Blessings, Andra

World View

I really enjoyed this sermon in particular, especially the part about worldview. I think that I am always fascinated by the relationship and tensions that exist between religion and science, and I was super interested that he said that maybe we're not being realistic enough, as that was not a take I had heard before.

He talked about the different dimensions of the secular world being the human element and the natural, physical element, and I think that I kind of subconsciously associate that with being "real" and the extent of the world that we live in. When he added onto that the living, breathing god and the various spiritual entities and forces that exist, I think that that just made a lot of sense to me. I need to revise my definition of real and realistic. I am definitely guilty in my scripture reading to assume that some descriptions of demons or other things that we traditionally don't say are in the "real" world are played up or written in a cultural context. I think that it is good practice for me to think a little bit harder about what I consider to be "real" and what my world view naturally defaults to vs. what it should include.

Living Hope

While listening to this sermon I began to think about the song Living Hope by Phil Whickham. More specifically the chorus and there is this big build section that is super powerful. The lyrics are as follows:

Hallelujah, praise the One who set me free
Hallelujah, death has lost its grip on me
You have broken every chain
There's salvation in Your name
Jesus Christ, my living hope

Then came the morning that sealed the promise
Your buried body began to breathe
Out of the silence, the Roaring Lion
Declared the grave has no claim on me
Then came the morning that sealed the promise
Your buried body began to breathe
Out of the silence, the Roaring Lion
Declared the grave has no claim on me
Jesus, Yours is the victory, whoa!

I have a pretty good feeling that when this song was written, he was looking at this passage that we heard about today. There is something about music that really helps things to sink in for me, it might be the emphasis and the builds on certain words or just the pure fact that it becomes stuck in my head and I spend the rest of the day singing it. Whatever it is, I hope this song sinks in over and over, because this is something that I definitely need to be reminded of fairly often. 

Yesterday as I processed yet another disappointment to come out of this season, I realized that the reason why I am going on this emotional roller coaster of sorts, is the fact that with my mouth I may say that I am trusting God in this and placing my hope in him, but in reality I'm struggling to actually practice this with my heart. For in placing hope in the things that I do and/or won't get to do, I become crushed over and over again when they don't fulfill me. I don't know if anyone else is feeling this with me, but may we remember that the spirit of this virus may be strong, but Jesus is stronger. For in his name there is salvation, authority and power over the evil one. 

the light

Upon thinking about light I was reminded of the image of walking into a dark houseboat at night, turning on one of the lights and suddenly hundreds of bugs swarming to the one light. Why? Because the light is attractive and the bugs long to be near it. In the same way, Jesus the light of the world is attractive; in him we see who God is and who by his grace we can become.

I also appreciated what DJ said about being led one step at a time. It's tempting for me to plan out all the details of my life, but we don't get to have a master plan. I'm reflecting a lot on how the Israelites followed God as a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. When God moved, they didn't know how far they'd move or how long they'd be moving for, they just knew they were supposed to move. And when God stopped, they didn't know how long that would be for either. God was faithful to guide, so they kept following. I have all these questions about what the future will look like, but God gives us Jesus the light to follow and trust right now where we are at. And a personal guide is a far better gift than a step-by-step instruction manual.

The Stronger Man

The Stronger Man......Jesus! 

I love the point DJ made about not being realistic enough.  If we are not living with awareness about these 4 dimensions, then we are not being realistic about life.  I could not agree more! 

I liked hearing the end where DJ named off specific strongholds in our world and then reminded us that Jesus is stronger.  Great timing for a reminder like this in the midst of what our world is experiencing. 

-Reid 

Bioluminescence

Right now, there is Red tide off the southern coast of California and this Red tide causes bioluminescent. People are flocking to the ocean at night to see this glowing phenomenon, and I am too because it’s pretty awesome. There is something about light that is intriguing to humans. Bioluminescence is defined as the production and emission of light by a living organism. So, when Jesus claims to be the light of the world, is He saying he is bioluminescent?

Jesus’ claim is bold, and the implications are great. If we stay close to Jesus, we will not be in the darkness about:

-       who God is

-       who we are as humans

-       what the human predicament is

-       what the will of God is

So, if we follow Jesus, we will know the Father and understand the importance of believing and loving the Father. We will see just how much we need the light to illuminate our hearts and cleanse them so that we can be free from our bondage to sin. We will be okay with not knowing what is next because we will trust in God who knows and wants what is best for us. Abide in Jesus and bear fruit because apart from Him we can do nothing. Abiding in Him leads to change there comes a temptation to turn back to our sin, but we warned to hold fast to God:

“Only be very careful to observe the commandments and the law which Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, to love your God and walk in all His ways and keep His commandments and to cling to Him and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul.” Joshua 22:5

Joshua knows that we are prone to walk away from God and tells us to cling to Him, the Light of the World. Do not go back into the darkness; back into slavery. Keep coming towards the light!  

“Everyone who does evil hates the light and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be expose.  But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.” John 3:20-21

Lord, help me to live in truth and light. Expose the areas of darkness in my heart and free me from my tendency to run back to it.  

Light of the World

When we live in the darkness amidst own selfish ways, it only leads to “confusion, tripping, aimlessness, etc.” and creates an invitation for evil or wickedness to take over. The total absence of light is deceiving, but Jesus makes a powerful claim that He is the only one who can overcome this. I like how DJ explained that Jesus “pierces the darkness because He is the light.” This indicates Jesus is not just a dull candle-like flicker, but rather a bold, eye-catching light. (think: LED colored flashing lights bc it’s always a party when we see Him)

He brings us clarity in what we long to be: someone who lives by faith and trusts his father.

He also exposes us of the terrible truth: we are ruthless sinners.

…but because of His love for us, His light cleanses and heals us. Amazing! He brings form, color, and texture to what we couldn’t see in the darkness; He brings an accurate reality and depiction of what we were hiding behind and who we were hiding from for so long.  

I admire how DJ emphasized that we will never be the light in the darkness, because only HE is capable of providing that. So often I give myself the glory for “bringing the light” by giving this message, or bringing that person to church, or telling this testimony… but reality is, Jesus has been the light all along, not me. I pray I give Jesus the glory and praise He deserves and recognize Him, and only Him, as the light this world needs to live.

One day at a time

This sermon is a perfect one for me right now. I needed to be reminded to take everything a day at a time, and to live each moment in faith. The world is far from what we knew it to be right now, and it is hard to not worry about all of the negative things that can happen in the near future or to grieve the negative things that have already happened. My family has had to say goodbye to two of my dogs in the last month, and on top of everything caused by the pandemic, it just stinks. But I know that I need to keep my eyes focused on the Lord and live each and every day in faith in the one who saved all of us. Jesus did not give a master plan to live a perfect life by. We were given Jesus, and through our faith in Him is where we carry out God's plan. He is brighter than any light we know, he shines brighter even than day. He was perfect because he lived by faith and because he loves.

Inner peace... and inner radiance

Ephesians 5:8
“For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of the light.”

Jesus proclaims that He is the Light of the world, which is so mind blowing because that is such a big promise! He promises that if we follow Him, we will never be in the dark about who God is, what us humans are made for, and that the radiation of His Light will cleanse and heal us.

We used to be darkness when we didn’t know or follow Jesus, but now we are in the light because we know and follow Him. But what does it mean to live as children of the light?

If we were created to be like Jesus and He is the Light, then the verse in Ephesians is confirming and encouraging us to live as Jesus did; loving, trusting, obeying, and giving ourselves away through
Selfless,
Sacrificial,
Servant,
Love!!!