Is this thing still on?

Hello…? Is anyone still out there? 

I know it’s been a while since I’ve written anything here but life has a very funny way of pulling you in a thousand directions at once. Doesn’t it? I’m not sure if most of you out there know this but on top of my regular “9 to 5’er” job as an IT Analyst for a bank, I also have been actively assuming the role of the IT & Media Director at my church and I have been doing so for for nearly 5 years now. My team and I at the church have recently taken on the task of producing our weekly television show and I now wear the hat of Director, Producer & Editor. So now that all my plates are in the air spinning, just right; what’s next? Can I even handle anything else? I sure can’t but thank God I don’t have to.

This morning as I rolled my office chair up to my desk I realize that I’ve been here at this location and job for a while. When I broke it down it’s actually been; eight years and five months and twenty-six days, give or take a day or two here or there. At first, I was a like “Ugh…Seriously?” but then I truly believe that God reminded of some very interesting things that He has been doing and is still doing.

"The countdown is on!"

In exactly one month, fifteen days, eight hours, 7 minutes and counting I’ll be boarding a plane, along with other members of our production crew, for a 35-hour flight to film headed for Africa!! We’re bound for Lira a city in the Northern Region of Uganda. The Senior Pastor of my church was invited to speak at an annual conference there and has asked that the trip and the conference be captured on video and edited for our television show. Talk about a once-in-a-life-time opportunity!

With the realization that in less than seven weeks I’ll be embarking on this experience I was flooded with a flashback of when I first came back to my Faith in the Lord. I say “came back” but I never really left per se. I had just decided going into ministry work like so many others in my family have just wasn’t for me.  I’ve seen the ugly side of church work and I was sure I didn’t want any part of that for me, or my wife. Even though I wanted nothing to do with church I knew I still believed and that’s what I’ve always called myself “a believer” and not a “Christian”. Did you know that the word “Christian” was first used by the Pagans in Antioch as a derogatory term to describe the ones who followed the teachings of Jesus and that neither Jesus nor his disciples never referred to themselves as “Christians”? Anyway, I digress, sorry. I always knew my path and talents would somehow end up being used by God I just couldn’t see how.

So over seven years ago we started attending the church where we currently attending and swore that we would never get involved. We’d come sit in the service, in the back of course, and then duck out before the right before service ended so we wouldn’t get cornered by all the greeters. Then slowly but surely I started seeing all the needs at the church and I knew that I could help and that’s how it all started. Believe it or not my very first “helping out” task at the church was cleaning the restrooms and because of how my days off at my “9-5’er” job, I was able to faithfully clean these restrooms for two years.

My point is this, I’m by no means perfect or any better than the next guy, if anything I am the least qualified person to be responsible for producing television shows or being deemed a “Media Director” for such a front line ministry. I’ve never had any formal training in the field and there are surely others who can do a job better than I can, but you know what; I KNOW that and that is what amazes me even more. If God can use someone like me I’m sure He’ll be willing to use someone like you.

I say all that to say this, God is so faithful! I never imagined that I’d be involved in ministry at this level nor did I ever imagine that I’d be flying internationally to film for television and for such a great cause; The Gospel! So hang in there, if God uses me, with all my flaws and short-comings, I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that God can use you, but YOU have to be willing. It’s not going to be easy, because I promise nothing about the past 8 years of my life has been easy, but to see how God is changing lives all around me and to know that He allows me to be a part of it and at the caliber that we are reaching; it’s mind-boggling. I am truly in awe and humbled to be able to be a part of it all. If you'd like more information about Fire & Water Int'l Church you can visit us online at www.fawic.org. 

Also, if you could keep me in prayer, as you can see I definitely need it! :) 

Take Care & God Bless,

-E

Relationships

“A man who has friends must be a friend, but there is a friend who stays nearer than a brother.” – Proverbs 18:24 (NLV)

It’s been a while since I’ve taken the time to stop and put my thoughts down but life has a way of pulling us in a thousand different directions and usually when we least expect it most. I last wrote here in June of 2014 and at the time God put it on me to talk about love and now I feel I’m being pressed to dig in and write about relationships, the two very easily go hand-in-hand. Relationships, we all have them regardless if we want them or not. We live in this world and are socially required to interact with people. But to those of us who call ourselves “Christ-Like” (Christians) I want to pose a very important question. Are we really creating and cultivating relationships with our friends, family and even our co-workers that resemble a “Christ-like” love? My own answer to this is a very humbling sometimes.

I know that in the past few months, of which seemed to be whirlwind of chaos at times, I neglected to cultivate some of my own relationships. I also recognize the importance of taking the time (and sacrifice) of cultivating healthy relationships aka making the time. There has to be equal give and take, which I guarantee will be uncomfortable at times. But again, if we desire our relationships to grow we can’t expect to just sit back and not have to do anything. Here’s my “ah ha moment”, are you ready because it’s very deep…It’s not all about me! Earth shattering wisdom I know, but if we all “know” this then why do we hear about and see so many hurting and angry people?

And what is so alarming is that these “hurting and angry people” seem to be more prevalent inside the Church. One would think that this wouldn’t even be an issue with the “churched folk” but the more and more I see the more I begin to realize that somewhere along the line we may have missed it. What happened? I mean one of the foundational teachings of Jesus is to love one another, right? (See John 13:34) So where did we get so far off track? Well through my own experience I can see that busyness and life in general plays a big role and can be extremely detrimental to cultivating authentic and healthy relationships.

So in the end you have to just answer one simple question. Which is; do I even want healthy, authentic relationships? Because if you don’t then you really don’t have to do anything, just sit back isolate yourself and let the good times pass you by. However, if you do desire quality relationships that will last a lifetime then you have to put in the time. Now I know there are many factors that may hinder us moving forward in stepping out and being vulnerable but It all just comes down to what your willing to sow (put in)? (see Galatians 6:7)

I came across this great resource that really drives home, scripturally, what true authentic relationships should look like. If you’re interested in checking it out CLICK HERE.

Take Care & God Bless,

-E

I Love You!

Most of us will say this today to someone. As you leave for work you may tell your spouse or your kids or even your pets, "love ya." It's such a frivolously tossed around phrase sometimes and I often wonder if we really understand what we are saying when we actually say it. Hollywood frat-party movies and television teaches that we say it when we want intimacy as if it's some magical key that will get us everything we need, but that just isn't case. The music industry tells us that "love is all we need" according to Mary J. and The Beatles, but most of this world, myself included, might have a very skewed perception of what love actually is and means.
 

So this morning I was trying to get caught up on some of the books I've left unread and one in particular referenced 1 Corinthians 13:4-7. I can almost imagine that most everyone has heard or read this at one time or another but I want to challenge us today. As you interact throughout your day today or even this week and your find yourself telling someone that you love them. Stop and ask yourself internally, "Am I lovig this person as the Bible says to love?" Honestly if we fail to spend quality time with God (1 John 4:8) there is no conceivable way we can give this kind of love because it does not exist outside of the one who created it (God). So if the love you give doesn't line up with this portion of scripture I question if it is truly love.

Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous, it does not brag, and it is not proud. Love is not rude, it is not selfish, and it cannot be made angry easily. Love does not remember wrongs done against it. Love is never happy when others do wrong, but it is always happy with the truth. Love never gives up on people. It never stops trusting, never loses hope, and never quits. (1 Corinthians 13:4-7).

A great barometer in which you can use to measure the quality of your love is to try reading the above scripture again and everywhere you see word "love" replace that with your own name. Go ahead, try it! Ooo, ouch...right?! Can you honestly say that all the points line up with your actions and how you love? Honestly, there are a few for me that strike a nerve and I know I still have some growing up to do. I think if we're honest we ALL have some growing up to do when it comes to love.

Take Care & God Bless,

-E
 

It's Saturday

(5:15 AM) 

So it's been a while since I've written anything but it’s not for lack of anything happening, on the contrary there has been a lot going. I've been running on mach five trying to get projects wrapped up and to say it’s been taxing on me is an understatement. Anyway that's besides my point. I’m sitting here in my break room at work waiting to start my last 12-hour shift of this week and I just can’t help think of the significance of today.

Today is Saturday, the Saturday that precedes Easter actually. Now I know that our calendar and observance of these "Holy days” may be off or skewed a bit but the fact of the matter is there was a day in history where Jesus' body laid in a tomb. A day when His earthly Mother felt the agony and pain of losing a child and not just losing a child but bearing witness to him being unimaginably tortured, mocked and ultimately killed. If you sit and think on that for a minute this whole Jesus thing, that many today believe is just a story, begins to take on a whole new reality.

I can only attempt to imagine the pain and agony the mother of Jesus felt on the day after she witnessed her son murdered. Anyone who has experienced death first-hand knows all too well the pain that is left in its wake. You’re numb to reality, there’s a sense of disbelief, self-contemplation, and such a sense of loss that you just can't imagine how life is going to look with that person now gone. These same very real emotions and feelings were felt over two thousand years ago by a very distraught mom at the foot of a cross.

Those of us who know the history here understand that Saturday wasn't the final chapter for Jesus and I am eternally thankful for that. But I don't want to jump ahead to Resurrection Sunday just yet. I think it's important to unpack and process the significance of "Saturday", because it’s in the pain and heartache where we can glean understanding and revelation. The pain is real and you yourself may be feeling the pain that life can sometimes inflict on us, but in the end just as the death of Christ was a momentary event, so is your pain.

When I walked through the life-changing events of my older Brother and Grandpa leaving this earth and stepping into eternity, to this day it was the most real, raw, and indescribable set of emotions and feelings I've ever experienced in my life. But you know what? In each one of these situations I looked for God and he was always there. He revealed things to me in His Word and in things around me that I believe I would have never been able to understand without going through this pain.

So today just try to understand that in the process of pain there is hope because it may look very dark and it may feel like "Saturday" will never end but eventually "Sunday" will come.

Take Care & God Bless,

-E

You will have to answer this question.

Read: John 5:24, John 14:6, 1 John 4:3, 1 Corinthians 1:27

I was driving into work today and I had just finished listening to The Daily Audio Bible podcast, which by the way is a great resource for getting into the scriptures on a daily basis, and afterwards I generally just sit in quiet and reflect on what I just heard. Today wasn’t too much different but there was something that that I could feel was just lingering. It was like there is something that needed to be said but I just couldn't put my finger on it. Some of you understand what I'm talking about. So next I just began to talk to God and not in the "thee's" and "thou's" or the "Dear Heavenly Father...." King James church lingo kind of way, but I just started to talk and immediately I could feel what needed to be said. I grabbed my phone and began recording a voice memo because I knew right from the get-go that He wanted me to share this with you. 

Historically speaking do you realize that Jesus was actually here on this earth? Do you even realize that His earthly existence is something that can be archaeology traced back in history? That alone poses a question that everyone has to answer whether we like it or not. Whether consciously or subconsciously we all have to answer this question not just “Christians” or “Church People", EVERYONE. Regardless if you are an Atheist, Agnostic, a Baha'is, Catholic or Christian; the life-changing question that you must answer is this; who do you believe Jesus was and still is today?

The reason why this question is so important and will be answered whether you like it or not is because it demands an answer.  You might say religion is not your thing or that you are a "spiritual person" but we’re not talking about those pacifying terms that are only meant to make us feel better about our bad choices in life. What we are talking about plain and simple is this; what do you believe within yourself about Jesus? This is so important because within the next 50 years or so most of you reading this will be dead or at least very close to your final breath and the answer to this question is literally of grave importance. Just stop and think about that for a minute; in the next 5 decades we, both you and I, will ceased to exists on this planet. That may seem grim or a bit dark but it doesn't have to be.

As I said, one way or another you will answer this question. Some will take a stand and choose to believe what the Biblical and Historical truth is concerning Jesus and others will choose to believe nothing at all but by you making the choice to believe nothing and by your own omission; there in lies the answer to this demanding question for you.

 Take Care & God Bless,

-E