Day 34

John 17:20-26 ESV

"I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them."

WOAH! that is talking about us. "but also for those who will believe in me through their word..." That is ME! God I thank you for your love and your grace that you give me.

"I come by the blood, I come by the cross" I come by you Lord. "I am the way the truth and the life"  I thank you for showing me the way.

I'm finding it hard to set aside time for you. I get distracted and side tracked with useless things. I find myself wondering, "what is on facebook, who is that that Tom is talking to, Why is Matt so weird, Man I'm tired and my allergies are acting up again... maybe I should have gotten the name brand medication. ..

Create in my a pure heart oh God. Make me whiter than snow.... guide my thoughts make them pleasing in your sight.

Day 33

John 14:18-21 ESV

"I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him."

I will not leave you as orphans.... God thank you for that promise! Thank you for telling us what is going to happen. Thank you for creating us one within you.

God I thank you for those people that in that video, the tribe from Papua New Guinea. I thank you for loving even those people. God you are God! You are sovereign over all. Thank you for loving all mankind. Thank you for giving us and others a change to see your love. Work in those hearts, show yourself to them. Work in our hearts, that we might serve you where we are at and effect the people around us for your glory. Place a burden on our hearts for the lost people of this world. God I plead with you, that you would give a people group to me... that I can pray for, support, and share your love with.

God I thank you for the martyrs who have gone before....who are a testimony of your love. "To live is Christ, and to die is Gain" Help us to take this to heart!

Watch "Mission's Flame" on YouTube

Day 32

Wow God. Thank you for sustaining me today. Thank you for leading me to give you time today, I was really blessed by getting to spend time with you. God be with Megan tonight, help her to rest in you. God I thank you for giving me the opportunity to pray for her tonight! That is just so cool to be able to spend time appealing to you to help my friend. Thank you for hearing my prayers. I know you answered them. Thank you for the assurance that you gave me tonight.

God answers prayers from his people. He even uses prayers from one person to another! How cool is that?

We serve an awesome God! I read about Him washing people's feet this morning. What does it  really mean to stoop that low in today's world? How do we serve people like that?

Day 31

Watch "Bones - Hillsong United - Lyrics [HD]" on YouTube

Well it is getting increasingly harder to spend time with God. Temptations and physical things push themselves a upon me. Everything is calling out for my time, my money, and my life. BUT You are the only one worth living for! You are the only one that can give me life. God I pray that you would open my eyes to this fact. That you would control my every action and would be the focus of every thought of mine.

"Live for Christ and the rest will follow"

Help me to really take this to heart! I need only to follow you.

"Breathe new life into these bones..."

God I need you spirit. "Spirit of the living God, fall a fresh on me!"

Fall fresh Father... When I think of this, I see a plant that is being lightly rained on with the whole air full of mist. The rain is gentle but constant. The plant is also near a stream and there is a fresh smell of mint along with the clean ozone smell of the rain.

God help me be this plant. Mist down upon me and saturate me with your love.

Day 28

"The Lord reigns, let the earth be glad; let the distant shores rejoice. Clouds and thick darkness surround him; righteousness, and justice are the foundation of his throne. Fire goes before him and consumes his foes on every side. His lightning lights up the world; the earth sees and trembles. The mountains melt like wax before the Lord, before the Lord of all the earth. The heavens proclaim his righteousness, and all the peoples' see his glory." - Psalm 97

God you reign. Your lightning was seen today. I'm so glad you show your power to us here on earth. The heavens do proclaim your righteousness! thank you for making it so that when people look up at the sky they can't put into words what they see. They are seeing you in your creation. You are all around. Your intelligence, your power, your beauty.... Thank you for loving beauty and showing us beauty.

Thank you Father for your grace to get through the day... everyday.

Day 27

"Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him...those who obey his commands live in him, an he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us."
- 1 John 3:21-24

God you say if our hearts don't condemn us... well Father my heart condemns me a lot. Please be with my heart. shape it into what you want. God I thank you for never condemning us. I thank you for sending your precious son to die and be condemned instead of us. Jesus, I thank you for taking my condemnation upon yourself. My heart is evil God, please change it to be like yours.

I keep finding it hard to make time.. more like give time, for God. I actually have a lighter schedule than normal this week, but yet I find it hard to sit down and just be with God. I'm a Martha, I often times feel like I can sit down and talk to Jesus later.. right now I would rather ____ you can fill in the blank.

Day 25

Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil, cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. - Romans 12:9-10

Honor one another above yourselves... hm.. yeah failed at that one a lot today.
- I didn't want to take out the trash because someone ELSE had filled it to over flowing and they should have been the ones to take it out.
- I didn't help make dinner because I didn't feel like it.
- I got upset that I couldn't talk tonight with Megan.
- I got upset at Matt for being lazy an always bossing others around

It's just a bunch of selfishness... ME ME ME! That's all I'm looking out for.

- My stomach hurts
- My back has issues
- My finger is being dumb
- I have homework to do..

Honoring and loving someones is not always easy, but it is always the best. God is honored and HIS love is shown to the other person. The aroma of Christ.

God please help me. I am such a selfish person. Please help me to be a servant. One that is willing to take out the trash, to clean up the dishes, to serve my girlfriend. God I need your help. I can't do it on my own. I want to be your hands and feet, even if that means less of me.... less of my life, or my plans. God give me a desire to serve you by serving others.

You are good
You are good
When there's nothing good in me!

Thanks you for being good. For loving me despite me lack of love towards you or others

Day 24

"Streams of tears flow from my eyes, for your law is not obeyed."

Do I really share that anguish? Is his law that important to me? Am I saddened that people on earth are not following and honoring God?

I think that I am more saddened by the people not obeying and sharing in the joy that I have, for their sakes, not for God's. It's all about the Glory and OF GOD! God is worth serving and his glory is worth proclaiming, even if he hadn't promised us eternal life with him. He is still worth it all! Its not about man kind, or the feeling sorry for our fellow man, but it's for God's glory that we proclaim his Gospel!

God help me to remember this. Help me to be more intentional for you with people! God, it is for you and your Glory that everything should be said, done, thought about. Help me to remember this. God I thank you for the blessings that you have showered upon me. Thank you for bringing me into your family. Thank you for calling me SON.

Day 23

Saturday was very restful, I slept for 13 hours, but I felt very unmotivated to read my bible or even to pray. I was very distracted.. not by anything in particular, just by my lazy self.

Still reading through Psalm 119, I'm struck at how the author is always saying "I follow all your law" or "I love your law" or "I have sought your face with all my heart."

I don't think I can say that yet. I don't think that I can confidently say that I follow all your laws or that I seek him without fail. Is that wrong? I thought we were all sinners and that we aren't perfect. How can the psalm writer make such bold statements?

Here again the psalmist says "in the night I remember your name, O Lord. and I will keep your law. This has been my practice. I obey your law."
Really dude? Do you really lay on your bed at night and just sing praises and think about how you can obey the law? Am I just so immature that I often lay on my bed and think about how my day has been, or how I so often lay there fighting temptations? Am I just so stupid and not close to God?

God please help me to understand your ways. I am weak. Help me Father

Day 22

I found that in the busyness, it was easy to cut my time with God short. I never fully cut him out of my day, but he wasn't the focus of my day.

I've been reading through Pslam 119. I love how beautiful this psalm is.

"How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word." - Pslam 119:9

I found this verse so helpful. Spring has come and with it warmth... and with that the clothes come off. It took me by surprise this year, and I felt very vulnerable and tempted often. The Lord is good, blessed be the name of the Lord!!!

Day 20

"I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul." - 3 John 1:2

As it goes well with your soul...

How often I am more worried about my physical body and it's needs and place that ahead of my spiritual body. Even now I'm thinking about how late it is and how much sleep I'm missing out on by giving my hour to God.

"But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified." - 1 Corinthians 9:27

Running in such a way to win the prize.... God help me run. I've always sucked at running. Give me the stamina and the sheer joy of just running for you.

Day 19

And when I think, that God, His Son not sparing;
Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in;
That on the Cross, my burden gladly bearing,
He bled and died to take away my sin.

This is the song we sang tonight. It blessed me so much to sing, and with all my heart and voice. I'm so bless to not have to fear that someone might hear me sing and persecute me for it. So so blessed.

"And this is love,that we walk according to his commandments..." - 2 John 1:6

Love is obeying a set of rules? Or is is walking with You? God sometime the temptations of my heart are so heavy and trying that it seems like I don't love you. What then? Do I not love you? I believe in the scriptures... I believe you when you say "that everyone who has bee born of God does not keep sinning, but he who was born of God protects him, and the evil one does not touch him" - 1 John 5:18

God I thank you for not allowing me to be harmed...tempted and tried, I'm oft' made to wander.. but surely I stand... if God is for us, who can be against us?

God you are all powerful! I thank you that there is no one greater than you.

I thank you for conviction. God convicted me on my pass trip that I need to smile more, and be more intentional about my relationships and interactions that involve people. I found out just how easy it was to forget about these things as I went through my day. I went to the store and totally forgot that about smiling or asking the lady about her day... I was much more focused on me and about my wants and needs.
God help me.... help me smile. I have the greatest joy and more blessings than I can even count, I should be just overflowing with your joy!  I want people to see the light of Christ in me.

Day 8

About 4 years ago I made a memo in my cell phone with the kinda of girl I would want to date....

A girl that…

Puts other before herself and God before that

Who takes things in strides knowing God is in control

I need a girl that is willing to do hard things and doesn’t needlessly complain

A girl that listens to the holy-spirit and follows

A girl that will point me to Christ when I lose my perspective

One that isn’t oblivious and who sees needs

A girl that will support me by encouragement, prayer, and just being there to listen to my problems

A girl that allows me to look out for her, one that wants me to be there for her, allows me to protect

her.

A girl that doesn’t need physical things to be happy

A girl who is gentle toward people and not just me

A girl who takes care of herself, and likes looking nice, but does not let that care get in the way of her

blessing of others.

A girl that doesn’t have to be the center of everything/conversation

One that can be friends with anyone, but not best friends with all

One that will make me STOP and just relax.

God has placed that girl in my life. In Proverbs 31, the second to last verse ends with, "Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised."

Father teach me to love my girl the way that you loved the Church, giving up myself for her. Teach me to show her honor. Help me to fight for her. Help me fight my own self and all of its fleshly desires, selfishness, and pride so that I might better lift her up. God I can't do this. I don't know how to love like this.

Teach me gentleness and kindness. Show me how to bridle my tongue and speak words that point her to you.