There will come a time...

I believe there comes a time in everyone's life where they must make important decisions, rethink important issues, reshape who they are, and direct who they want to become.

A vision of a question came to me today that I fear may haunt me for a while" Will I look back after experiencing so much and still continue on to advancement in deed and who I am in Christ, will it be a steady upward climb to oneness with christ or will it be a roller coaster? I think in the question, a little bit of perspective on why God uses time so often was gained , He wants us to be a steady never wavering light, only time can show that true character in the heart. But I also gain another question as Elise has already experienced with my God's own personal touch for me. The question is am I truly just going along with God's ride or am I actually taking initative toward perfection. Is it my heart's cry to praise God in literally everything? I know it is not complete yet and I honestly believe and it is so easy for me to say that it will never be. However, that is my soul's cry to be beyond every other man, to pursue Christ as no man has before letting him work through me because that is how I see it as being.

Granted that may sound kinda prideful and God gave me direction with that which involves accountability with an unlikely source. But I mean why would any of us settle for second best for the wavering instead of the solid unchanging thing. We seek it so desperatley good friends that will be available for us in all times, a love that will never fade. I ask why though, why? Why do we settle for this second best crap?

and perhaps you are going to read this and be like let me pray for John, and by all means do I need it, but I point out that it is not in the unchallenged world that we progress to perfection but rather the challenged one where we must fight taking up our crosses daily as Christ compels us to do!

There will come a time when so many things will come...battles raging. But God is in it...every little bit. And I cannot write beyond that for it is not me who pen such words but Christ though me! To Him be all glory.

JG

Caged bird set free

I can't help get the picture of someone setting free a bird, tonight. A bird out of lifted and raised prayerful hands released to freedom. That is what analogy comes to me when I think over what God has done tonight. He has set free this caged bird. And in so doing given me guidance for the next couple miles I am to walk.
I had the oppurtunity to go to a day of the desperation conference down in the springs and the words spoken so simple yet powerful. I feel as if my burdend heart made opaque is somehow begining to come into freedom and clarity of newness because of this revelation of simplicity.
I'm pretty exhausted so most of this will have to wait til my mind is clear and most of the revelations are sure to come as God directs them over the next couple days, I eagerly anticipate and wait for them to be revealed.
For now though I will focus on tonight
The topic of conversation was the bible, I had felt God over the past couple weeks pushing me to a deeper purpose in my reading of the Holy scriptures and also the disciplines that Jesus taught of: fasting, meditating and all those things.
God made me look specifically a couple days ago at what exactley the gospels ended with, almost all four, three focused on the diciples waiting for the holy spirit to be poured into them at pentacost before they did anything. But the gospel of John ends different it also begins differently I should have seen God doing something with the little oddity and that begining starting then, but as always sermons seem to point it out more blunt. John ends in 21:25 "And there are many other things which Jesus did, which if they were written in detail, I suppose that even the world itself would not contain the books that would be written." The meaning of this didn't exactley become apparent til some meditation on it.
The pastor spoke on the bible as I told you before. I saw something in his word choice though that I never seen before. He almost equated the Holy scriptures to the Holy spirit. I never really made the connection that as it talks about in Exodus 15:26 clearly enough " If you will give earnest heed to my voice,the Lord your God, and do what is right in His sight, and give ear to His commandments, and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have put on the Egyptians, for I the Lord am your healer" It spells it clearly that the power we have been looking for in our generaion in the Spirit of God, the understanding of those people past, the writers of the hymns the knowledge David had, it is the word of God that is where true power lies. It lies in the statutes, in the listening, in the choosing. It spells out the ripling of light I have been talking about. Prayer(listening),purity(choice), the Bible(statutes), that is what ripples and will change men around us to pursue God. It is an overflow thing the whole passing of the flame.
It says in John 1:1-5 in the begining was the word and the word was with God and the word was God.He was in the begining with God. All things came into being through Him and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being . In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
There is so much in these five verses but I want to focus on one thing in particular "the word was God." In the greek there are infitudes in the tense which means they are perfect words, as in fullness of the meaning manifested. The word "word" is infitized in the the greek. Was is not a very good translation to tag on the end, It should probably say something to the effect that The Spirit is,was, and will be God, and the the Spirit is was and always will be the Word of God,the spirit is working for sure but only where the word is. The bible is so amazing! In it lies power to defeat Satan( Jesus in the wilderness), the power the saints of old had was the Bible the very words that God inspired in men. We are too far away from Jesus to know and fully comprehend what it might look like power apart from the word of God so we must rely upon it. We must! May the very words God spoke shake this earth in power!!! May they ripple light into a darkness that can't even comprehend it!!! May they come into our hearts and give us the very mindset of Jesus, the very thought process of God!!! Oh how we should desire that above all else!!!
JG

Hymn 231

AWAY with our fears!
The glad morning appears
When an heir of salvation was born!
From Jehovah I came,
For his glory I am,
And to him I with singing return.

Thee, Jesus, alone,
The fountain I own
Of my life and felicity here;
And cheerfully sing
My Redeemer and King,
Till his sign in the heavens appear.

With thanks I rejoice
In thy fatherly choice
Of my state and condition below;
If of parents I came
Who honoured thy name,
'Twas thy wisdom appointed it so.

I sing of thy grace,
From my earliest days
Ever near to allure and defend;
Hitherto thou hast been
My preserver from sin,
And I trust thou wilt save to the end.

O the infinite cares,
And temptations, and snares,
Thy hand hath conducted me through!
O the blessings bestowed
By a bountiful God,
And the mercies eternally new!

Who, I ask in amaze,
Hath begotten me these?
And inquire from what quarter they came?
My full heart it replies,
They are born from the skies,
And gives glory to God and the Lamb.

All honour and praise
To the Father of grace,
To the Spirit, and Son, I return!
The business pursue
He hath made me to do,
And rejoice that I ever was born.

In a rapture of joy
My life I employ,
The God of my life to proclaim;
'Tis worth living for this,
To administer bliss
And salvation in Jesus's name.

My remnant of days
I spend in his praise,
Who died the whole world to redeem:
Be they many or few,
My days are his due,
And they all are devoted to him.

A stern warning

"The popular notion that the first obligation of the church is to spread the gospel to the uttermost parts of the Earth is false. Her first obligation is to be spiritually worthy to spread it. Our lord said"go" but he also said "wait," and the waiting had to come before the going. Had the disciples gone forth as missionaries before the day of pentacost, it would have been an overwhelming spiritual disaster, for they could have done no more than make converts of their own likeness, and this would have altered for the worse the whole history of the western world and had consequences throughout the ages to come."
-Tozer (warfare of the Spirit)

"For ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves( Matthew 23:15)

" Our religious mood is social instead of spiritual, We have lost the art of worship. We are not producing saints. Our models are sucessful businessmen, celebrated athletes and theatrical personalities. We carry on our religous activities after the method of the modern advertiser. Our literature is shallow and our hymnody borders on sacriledge. And scarcely anyone appears to care. We must have a better kind of christianity or we may have no true christianity left at all. Increased numbers of demi-christians is not enough. we must have a reformation."

JG

Refocusing...Calling

I feel called for some odd reason to blog tonight I have to be at work at five and I am simply exhausted from working what will be my fifth day in a row tommorow...but for some reason God is like blog...and I am like okay and I figure things will naturally flow out from that.

But before I begin to string some crazy thing together and get in a mindset of listening to what the spirit wants to speak through me about I want to focus a little section on just that the spirit using me:

For a long time I have been fascinated by how the Spirit does speak through me and how He continues to use me. I got a phone call from my friend the other day wanting to go out and have coffee and spend some time with me, I was just blown away by all that God is doing all around me and using me even in a time of utter darkness and silence to be a bright burning flame and light, I haven't had the chance for about 4 weeks to talk to someone about what God is doing face to face and the eyes of people when they see what God is doing...oh how beautiful those eyes are! The fact we get to be a part of this huge cosmic plan it is so truly awesome...it is as if I am dreaming!

How good it is to be exactley where God wants us to be, emotions laid aside, knowledge laid aside, none but Jesus in this midst. I sit in worship so much as of late, simply delighting in my Lord, and the fact that what he has given me is so much better than anything temporary that I may want to go after in my flesh, I have no desire anymore because what I have seen is so much better. I have a choice but who would ever want to return to where they were? My prayer for all of you reading this is that time would not be your stumbling block but God would act in the way He desires to act in His timing and us delighting in it!

Beyond that I cannot write many more words.

To Collin I wish to write this: How wonderful it is to hear and know in part what God is doing and showing you! I am so excited to converse with you when God so does appoint the time! Know you are in my prayers daily and I thank God dearly for the fellowship we have found in Christ together sharing all of who we are, fears laid aside! I praise God for the radical transformation He is doing in you and how quickly You are pushing on to sanctification! May that never stop God, who has a willing bond-serveant in you, He will do wonderful things through you and I wait to see the knowledge I know now fulfilled! When all is revealed to our brothers and sisters in Christ will we be able to contain the fire that begins, may we nurture it and may we praise the giver of the wonderful flames of living fire!

To Elise I wish to write: Your beauty, how can I not praise? The ways God has knit a thread count between us that has no number because we cannot see how much...but we know in part, and we see in part and that is beautiful. Continue to rely on His timing, as I know you will do! Kindle the flame, keep it centered and true, relying on Jesus soley, He will surely be more than enough.
JG

refocusing...grace & the ripple effect

So let's just say I am really excited to write this one because it's one of those "oh" things where everything seems to have been put into place by , guess who, the big G, the HS and JC. They together create and orchastrate something so beautiful I'm like "woah" that is so cool.shall we....

For a long time I have wondered what happens when all the major sins are weeded out in your life what lies beyond that? What lies within a man who has fully surrended, who has decided to not even be associated with sin! God provided that answer last night personally and for me to share, I had my first glimpse of what empowering grace truly feels like and is. And guess what it has to do with the whole pouring out thing. When one is filled he shows it to the world by good works. It is not forced and never should be but a soul surrendered will be changing the world!!!

I think about the three things which matter in life and will cause a ripple effect. Prayer, God's word, and inversting in the souls of men. And I didn't put it together until last night " WHAT WE DO ON EARTH HAS A RIPPLE EFFECT ON THINGS THAT HAPPEN IN THE HEAVENLY REALMS" What we do here matters big time, never feel you are worthless you must shine bright, because that is what the maker of all good things wants for you, to feel loved and able to make a difference!

One of my favorite verses is Daniel 12:3 " those who have insight will shine brightly like the brightness of the expanse of heaven, and those who lead the many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever!" Until today I never considered the implications of the fact that we should be doing good and never realized me not acceping God's reward in the ripple effect "heaven" was just like not accepting the blessing God wants to give me.( If you didn't know I struggle with feeling worthy in Christ, I AM!!!)

Sorry that was a wonderful sidetrack!

Anyways whenever I think about a ripple effect I think about that verse(Daniel 12:3) and leading people to Christ and the ripple of light that comes forth when we lead people to Christ, how the world is forever changed by that light added to it! I ask this question "why should Bono, Bill Gates etc. be the ones who do the rippling of light ie. good in the world. Why can't it be the church and the followers of Jesus? Why couldn't we sacrifice in passionate sacrifice for those non christians around us, sharing the Father's good love!

Actually I think I am going to go back to the sidetrack...when I think of me being worthless and the redical change God did last night!!! I think of one analogy. A man goes out into his garden picks fruit from a random tree he is not the planter of that tree...how does the man know that is a specific type of tree...he know's it is a fruit tree because it bears apples oranges etc...Without that a tree that is not bearing fruit can not be identified easily as a fruit tree. But hey if you are so full of fruit that it naturally is just falling off and people can enjoy the enjoyment that is fruit, they will know he is a fruit tree.

It says in John somewhere they will know we are christians by our love, they will know we are a fruit tree by our fruit. You get my picture. We need to be like the palm tree in Psalm 92 as strong as the trees in Lebannon, you know what I mean people who study the old testament!

We need to be bearing a lot of fruit and shairng that fruit with others who knows even a guy named issac Newton may sit under your tree one day and become a great man inpart to your fruit! We must bear in mind that none of this fruit as Romans 11:36 talks about comes from ourselves it is a gift of the spirit that is why it is called the Fruit of the Spirit, for from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen!!!

Everything that we have is God's, Everything we do is because of Him, and everything we get for this wonderful things still belongs to Him. But he wishes to bestow it upon us, and if you don't accept, uh why? Your really lame if you don't. I still love you dearly but do it for your own good!

I think I am done, it didn't come out exactley as I thought it would but it never does. Remember one thing from this blog! Everything we do here has a ripple effect...in heaven...in hell...on Earth. as 1 Thessalonians says rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks...do not quench the spirit( don't know what that one means quite yet, I will though! ) , do not despise prophectic utterances, but examine everything carefully, hold fast to that which is good; abstain from every form of evil. Now may the God of Peace Himself Sanctify you wholly and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete without blame at the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ...the grace of our lord Jesus be with you.

yup! Ripple light!!!

JG

Refocusing...Needing some refocusing

I had the oppurtunity to take tommorow off, I decided to do so, I needed sometime to refocus. To refocus on who I am in Christ, who I am apart form Christ, and have a day at most with God and I alone, perhaps I will go hiking or go commune with God in HIs creation or I will choose the quiet of my room and my noise cancelling headphones. I am not skilled to understand what my God has willed what my God has planned for tommorow, we'll see.

I wanted to write to you all concerning this subject of refocusing. I say we do not do this enough. And I ask myself the question along with all of you why in a world where our focus can go so many other ways and we get distracted so easily, why do we not continually refocus our gaze, refocus who we are, refocus so we can be an even greater light than the one that we experience. I think of the illustration of a magnifign glass and how it focuses light. When we begin to focus the light that is eminating from all around us we can start a few fires...I know however when we focus the true light, by reading His word, and communing on Him, forcing our will to be aligned sacrificially giving of ourselves, practicing the disciplines Jesus gave for us to practice, we begin to focus and make a difference.

I was pondering today about what if Elise and I were to say no to God, don't freak out Elise, it will never happen. Say no to the area of being called to missions in SE Asia or whervever he may call us. Would He bless us? IDK The thing is it would bug our conscience until the day we died! We would always have a desperate longing for some change to be done, to be used in some big way so that God may be glorified!

Also in my devotion today I thing God gave some interesting direction from 2nd Thessalonians I feel these words were written for me " We have confidence in the Lord concerning you, that you are doing and will continue to do what we command. May the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the steadfastness of Christ.

I am one of those people if someone believes in me I can do anything but when I feel a downward force pushing me back into discouragment I don't desire to be anything than a bum. I thank God every day for the wonderous thing that is inside of me known as the Holy Spirit who encourages me and since my salvation have not allowed me to fall into pure nothing. I am encouraged each day that within me is the capacity to do just as much as Jesus did and even more, and yes that is biblical "greater works"Most certainly I tell you, he who believes in me, the works that I do, he will do also; and he will do GREATER WORKS than these, because I am going to my Father.
John 14:12

We must refocus though, it is a necessity

(PAUSE)

I just sat and read the past 3 months of what God has done in this life and around me. We must make an account of what Jesus has done, and we must constantly look forward towards the wonderful things to come gaining an eternal mindset but always remembering where we have come from. I wear three things on my hands as markers of where I have been some bad some good. My purity ring is a reminder of all the failures I have made in that area but also the new purity found in Jesus and His blood! A blue climbing rope braclet, to remind me of Nate, a friend who died last summer, and the joy and peace I have in Christ when there should be none. My CREW black braclet, a reminder of high school and all that entails, honesty lack of honesty depth lack of depth etc...

NEways i am going to post this but it will be tweaked at a later date, I am going to bed!

JG

Refocusing...Before the world wakes

I have been waking up before most of the world does and taking time in the car to be still in the early morning hours you know 4:30 AM or so before first light dawns on the world. This morning when no one seemed to be awake and everything seemed so still I found a peace that I really haven't felt in a long time. I went to work well, with a huge smile on my face. I swear everyone was llike what happened to him.

But I think with the prospect that my time table is switched with the rest of the world God is preparing me in a sense to the fact that my timetable is not the world my timetable is His will. To get devotional time when the world is still then being able to go out prepared for the day when it gets chaotic!

I See a lot of whats going to happen next year and WOW WOW WOW!!! GOD IS SO AMAZING!!! And knowing how blind I am now to any pophecy just forcasts that it is going to be so much more amazing than God will ever allow me to comprehend. I am truly captivated. This is where I want to be, I desire to be a sheep guided along by my Shepard!!! I am looking forward to a few events happening this summer one in particular but you will know when that happens I will title it "the event" you will know!!! Beyond that um well lets see.Prayer is offically the most amazing thing ever you should invest sometime in that. The bible is so amazing, you should invest in that. Being guided by the spirit blindly that's pretty amazing too. Being humble that's good too. Beyond that Cali folk I miss you but I like God better, sorry you don't compare. Don't take it personal he's like been my best friend since like I was four we got history!!!

Ooh also with the whole Asia thing my thoughts have always been that it's not going to be China. I was sitting in the food court this afternoon and something dawned on me it was an epiphany of sorts. It was one of those what if God wants me to go to Japan and do what He wants me to do. Then I looked at the fact we have Japanese at school. It is in the area. But who knows my thoughts were just wondering and perhaps maybe not. I'm blind, sorry, God's going to take me wherever He wants me to go. I do not have the answers currently and as my mom says God's 411 is always in the last possible moment rather than early. I think it's a character building exercise, He would know.

Anyways sorry for rambling, ooh one more note. Israel is at war, and Israel is not as big as the orignal land that it was promised by God. What will happen idk all I know is God will never let go of His promises especially for his chosen people! Israel I believe is going to get bigger they are going to grow and become the great kingdom they were originally suppose to be this of course is after a few things happen. Ooh I'm so excited!!!
JG

Arrows

Arrows from skies of blackest fumes
heart broken by this present time
Darkness shifting like the dessert dunes

And I stand, a monolith
and unshakable thing

Do I let these things get in my way
the books I've accumulated
getting in the way of the new day

And I stand, a monolith
and unshakable thing

Tears from mighty heavens
Earthquakes, war, and destruction
all because on the peoples sins

I desire to surrender, falling in love with you
Make me surrender, make yourself surround

And I kneel, face down
This is my desire to do
all the wonderful things
you have for me to do

JG

Refocusing...Grace means Enpowerment

I want to first apologize for the last couple posts, it seems sometimes that us bloggers can get away from meaningful things, from letting God speak through His beautiful wonderful scripture and we can loose sight of the fact that this, all this blogging, it's all about one thing... speaking to God's people and to the unsaved when apart to proclaim Jesus and his work in each of our lives. The importance of it is to tie all the seemingly chaotic things in our lives together to show the creators handiwork in it...

I would like to begin this post by praising God for the wonderful salvation of a new sister in Christ, Elise's mother!!! May we never forget the power & importance of persistent prayer and the workings of a most Holy Spirit!!!

I will also begin honsetly by saying that as of late I have fallen into a problem. I can no longer sit in a sermon and get anything new, maybe it is because of the value I have in direct inspiration from the Holy Spirit but I value devotionals much more over church, this is right because it is about the personal rather than the public. But it disturbs me that my personal has to be so much better than the public I feel two faced oftentimes. Undoubtably before I pin blame on the American church I pin it on myself and search my heart, but I believe and with much searching know for certain the church without the spirit as most of the American church is can do nothing more than mere man can do. That is a huge shame!

Reading a chapter by Tozer the other day and on our focus in things in the church God gave me a brillant insight. A denomination is no much more than the shadow of a man. Think about that for a second. It resides along the same fact that no greater has come from a theology school than the maker of that. A man can only found something lesser than himself. But as it says over and over in scripture the church is to be guided by the spirit and America has some great men and that accounts for all the working and wonders in most of it, but how much greater would it be if it were founded upon the spirit.

It is as Tozer chooses to say the three foundaitonal columns upon which the church is built is three events, the birth, the death, and the resurrection of Christ! To focus on merely one or give more importance to one will create something unhealthy structurally. To focus on the birth will keep christians with a perception of God as a helpless babe, and granted we are sheep in a world of wolves and ferocious creatures but as long as we keep close to our shepard He will protect and guard us! To focus merely on the Cross and the death will keep us teary eyed. To focus on Christ's resurrection that is where our perception becomes perhaps the best, a God of miracles a God who conquers, a God who defies gravity!

And I write this blog to focus on the fact that Jesus Christ, the grace given us, enpowers us not to remain in sin but rather
through His Holy Spirit residing in us. He will keep us on the straight and the narrow as long as we choose to focus on the column of resurrection, the beauty much like a pheonix. Something rising out of ashes to create something even more beautiful. What is coming if we choose this refocusing...something wonderful!

enveloped

There is a place
where few choose to go
a wonderful place

A place of absolute enveloping darness,
yet contradictory to itself
A place of absolute enrapturing light
a reason to fear

A copy has been made
which is just an old copy
we are the new

Copying God's ways
he ceased to learn His ways

but thank God there is marvelous light
enveloped in this ever present darkness
handiwork of Him

Acts 10

read it...reply back with what you see mentioned there by the angel when he comes to Cornelius, and what you don't see mentioned when the angle speaks wink wink!I will reply when I have recieved three answers!
JG

A Church without Purpose & A God Ordaining Something

I am forever amazed, quite astonished at all God can do over the course of twenty-four hours. How He can pursue so passionately and fervently everyone whatever country whatever state, whatever city, no matter where or how they are! I like many others who stand amazed at God's plan, stand amazed because God is real, He is in every nook and every cranny, ordaining things like a madman, calling His people to choices that are for their betterment, and He is orchastrating circumstance to balance perfectly as a sure testamant in pure chaos, this world has seen! I stand amazed and in awe!

I was attempting to get to sleep last night, I couldn't. Thoughts of things going on kept keeping me awake. I was crying, because once again I gathered a glimpse, a treasure amidst the darkness, and realizing that I am so undeserving.

An interesting thing has been happening as my perception of God has been growing! I find myself with an inifinite hole of sin seperating my savior and I. An ever increasing one. I am redeemed and thank God for Jesus, but have neglected the spirit on several occasions and I feared like a selfish child I had so much sin I was undeserving of God's promises. I am Worthy through Jesus and His Spirit! Nothing more nothing less!

God revealed something to me last night that I feel must be shared...we are a church without a purpose. Recently I have had issue praying again, mostly because of my aching body and the spiritual warfare going on there, I pray it is over, but as the spirit continues to gain strength inside of me pain is sure to grip this heart and therefore my body. I do not fear, I embrace what is to come. The power made perfect in weakness!

God told me this late last night" My church is a church without purpose, no direction, and no guidance, I am doing something, something wonderful, wake them up, begin to ask for that purpose to be restored, a direction to be given"
Guys, things are changing the Spirit is speaking listen! Give heed all nations His battle cry is raging, He is coming to our rescue, he is to silence a deadly foe for a 1000 years, that is something!

I ask you to do three things for God today and the rest of your life, pray, listen, and ask this question" what is God doing around me, where does my purpose lie, and to whom does it belong?

JG

What Ever happened

What Ever happened to Angels coming down
cascading down a glorious stairway

God writing on ancient walls
to say you have been weighed

What Ever happened to burning bushes
God saying this is hallowed ground

My heart is too sad to say
vanished are what the ancients thought
we forgot what they did to obey

And why does it seem to be so hard
to hear a God whose glory is renown

What happened to the days of old
when my God spoke so clear

My heart is too sad to say
vanished are what the ancients thought
we forgot what they did to obey

So let us change our ways
so that God may live in this new day
glorious unhindered
a beautiful sound

My God come, surround
be renown

It has been raining all day since last night,it is such a wonderful sound. Driving down to the Mill last night was one rain storm I will never forget, Thunder was pounding all around us and to see the lightening as bright as the sun truly a showcase. God is doing something with this bizarre weather, and with everything I see the dual nature of its purpose and how pathetic satan's atempts are to derail an unchanging God's final plan that he has worked and crafted since longer than he has been around, how foolish!

I am sitting at my computer listening to the wonderful drops falling from the heavens. It seems though that God is healing things and bringing new life as He so wonderfully does. Last night as the rain was pouring I had probably about 6 hours of conversations with people up until 4AM last night or this morning and God healed something that I had messed up because of a lack of honesty on my part. To not tell of what God is doing because of fear of hurting someone that is sin! That is what I learned last night!

God need not be defended because he is unshaking all the same, but we are to boast about out God, to tell to all the nations how good he is.

I heard a sermon once while I was in highschool about goodness, and not necesarily about witnessing to other nations but instead providing for their physical needs just as Jesus did: the necessity to share the goodness that God has blessed us with especially as Americans. But also know that that rediculous quote that if you teach a man to fish he can feed a family but if if you give a man a fish he can only feed himself, it applies! We must be willing to teach men to fish after we have fed them fish! We must lead them to water but not drown them by forcing them to drink to much that they forget to do other necessary things! We must give to each man what he needs from us. Beyond that we are to be providers! Knowing that there is a necessity in it all. We all play a part! We all play a vital role in what Jesus Christ is doing! Some more than others because we have accepted the responsibility that Jesus has given us to do. To do more we must live that radically different life, set apart for Christ! But we must accept the responsibility that God has given to us, this will take several years of prayerful consideration, and all sorts of sacrificial things, but that is what this life is about again. Our lives are about dying to ourselves and letting the Spirit take over, to do anyless we are not going to get what God wants us to get, which is a shame.

Anyways I have been up late two nights in a row so I am off to bed night!

JG

How beautiful it is to just sit here
to be still in my Savior's loving arms
to have the Holy spirit so near

How beautiful it is to be apart
to be unified together in Christ
to have aparant contridiction strike this heart

Jesus, you are my beautiful end
infitude that none comprehend

How beautiful it is to gaze upon Your eyes
to be and be still

Treasures of Darkness

I feel like it has been forever since I got the chance to just sit down and write and think, well kinda, but that knowledge is not for the present! I love the fact that I can do that, that I have enough direction from the last time God spoke to continue on till He speaks again. I like to boast about my God and how he has not given to us darkess but a light that illuminates everything!!!

I will give you the treasures of darkness, and hidden wealth of secret places, so you may know that it is I!- Isaiah 45

I was telling Elise I think last night that this time of silence is a test but it is also a time where God is speaking differently. Many of you have heard the analogy that God is always walking beside you but we don't always realize it because sometimes he is the one carrying us and there is only one set of footprints or something like that. I don't think that is necessarily the case but I think God is doing something different that I haven't interpretted correctly.

What I interpretted was silence was a lot like silence but it is more so like the treasures of darkness Isaiah speaks about. God gives us the oppurtunity in times of silence to find out who we are, I know full well I am a crummy person without Christ, that is a fact, don't try and change my mind! But I think it is also a time that God shows himself to us and moreso what transformations have really been made within us! It also switches things up in devo lives and worship lives to let us understand better who God is apart from the religous ritual we so often fall into! I think all of these things God is doing within me but one thing in particular I have realized as of late.

In regard to the treasures of darkness God is giving me something, far be it form me to know, but he is giving me something that should full well belong to the darkness. That's vague...sorry that's all I got as of yet. I know that this is the reason for all the spiritual attack as of late and why Satan wants me to get into a hole I often get myself into during the summer months. God is giving me something that he also gave the devil. That's sounds dark. Let me explain if I can. Satan although the adversary of our souls is a beautiful creation of Gods. Isaiah is the only book that accounts for the fall of Lucifer. It is my belief at this point that anything that Isaias talks about as darkness is just that belonging to the devil, but also as the Lord is shown throughout Isaiah and through the psalms the Lord makes darkness his covering. God is giving me something inside that darkness that I could not pocess if I were as clearly being spoken to in the same way. Things are changing and thank God they are changing for the better. Hopefully that made some since.

Anyways yah that's all I got it's odd to be so happy and content when everything seems to not be making sense. But that is the cool thing about it I wouldn't want it all to make sense cause then where would all the adventure go? Where would God acting outside of my knowledge be? I would never want my own knowledge to contain a God that is infinite!!! You know the whole fitting a big triangle through a tiny hole, that simply does not work.

Anyways chat with you all later, love you all.

JG

In Need of a Rock Band

So this one time...pretty much. Simplicity is just not working in my worship life as of late. I am in desperate need of a rock band!!! So as I am attempting to record the album that God wants without much direction from Him I find myself screaming how GOOD MY GOD IS!!! Screaming I LOVE YOU!!! Screaming to be heard yet knowing my desperate cry is heard!!! So I need to rock a little as of late, how to do that, um , have no idea but we'll see what unfolds! That's all I got.
Ooh I am debating on whether or not to go to camp for the third week, it would put me down about a hundred bucks in gas money but I think it is worth it we'll see what the job situation is looking like! But I couldn't help feeling today as I applyed at over probably forty stores trying to find a closer to my home job that might give me better hours. I found that all of this pursuit of money pursuit of providing is just refusing to let God be glorified. I mean for crying out loud I am probably going to live in Asia doing mission work, my mission work is in the workplace but WOW!!!! American society it needs a wakeup cry. We'll see what the next couple of weeks unfold to look like, and of course I will try and keep you posted!
JG

From ground level

I have recently been fascinating by taking pictures from the ground. And much like music seems to folow art and the expression there so my art reflects something about the music that is happening in my soul.

Currently and over the course of this summer God has been and will continue to teach me those few things I missed in the foundation of my christianity. Those in which I have had an improper view and an improper frame of mind on certain subjects. In order to do this I must focus on simple things He must start with the foundation work and fix that before anything else can begin to grow and be buillt. We must focus together on the ground and even what lies uderneath it! As I have said over and over again this is difficult because God is very much silent as he has never been before. He is an architect desiging this beautiful thing but he is not giving it to me the engineer the crafter of things to make it work easily etc because he wants it to be beautiful I must lay aside that part of me. I must surrender the planner and crafter I am. For this reason I know he has chose to let me walk in this silence, but if I know anything God is not done...praise be to the fact He will never be.

If anything I have learned this week is that God has lifted us up off the ground we often think, but oftentimes we must go back to the ground and realize that God is so vast we are still on the ground. We must relize that we are carrying eachothers burdens and helping others come into the deep beautifulness that is Jesus Christ! We are a body and everyone needs to play a part for thing to truly get done as God sees it. Salvation is coming and things are changing, what way should we approach this oncoming thing? Who knows? The only thing I know is that Jesus and His vast infitude will make sure things are in line. We must only gain the understanding that we are going to be called unto judgement and the name that is above everyname my blessed Jesus will save us if we have accepted him, but what must happen to us is one thing. We must decide, I want Jesus above all else, I want who He is to be shining forth in me! I want His Spirit to be flowing in a mighty precense around me! I want my God to look and say, I am a man of His own heart one that is beating in rythym with the wonderful chords that Heaven is playing! He must be all that we want He must be our one desire our one pursuit!!!

I was lost but I have found
My world revolves around You
I was far away and now
My world revolves around You

Jesus, my world without an end
No mind can comprehend
Though I keep trying
Jesus, my faith has found Your love
My hope has found its trust
My heart will beat the sound
My world revolves around

Though the sky should touch the ground
My revolves around You
I surrender, You surround
When my world revolves around You

Now my eyes are fixed on You
And I can’t look away
Cause all this heart was made to do
Is to offer highest praise
My praise, praise, my praise

-Revolve( Desperation Band)

Every time I walk away
You are here waiting
And even when I turn my back
You are still saying You love me
You love me

Every time I look at You
The world starts fading
When I hear You call my name
I can't help saying I love You
Yeah yeah I love You

I will never stop chasing
I will never stop running after
You are all I want forever

You are all I want
You are all I want
You are all I want

Chasing
Chasing
Chasing after You

-chasing(Desperation Band)

I am Yours, You are mine
I refuse to be denied
All of You, is my heart’s cry
I refuse to be denied

I’m coming after You
I’m coming after You
I’m coming after You

Though I’m weak, though I’m dry
I refuse to be denied
All my life, a sacrifice
I refuse to be denied

-Refuse to be denied(Desperation Band)

I was far away
But You found me and You made me want to stay
I was falling down
But You lifted me and turned my life around

Now I’ll follow recklessly
And I’ll love You with all that is in me

I am coming back ‘cause
You are coming after me
And I surrender now

When I lost myself
I came alive and You came into me
When I let it go
I realized that You are all I need

-Coming Back(desperation band)

JG

Glistening Wake

Let's just say camp was amazing, I can't get into all of the why but it was amazing!!!


Anyways though I found myself on the banks of the Colorado River this afternoon staring at the glistening water and silently praising my creator king, the author and perfecter of my faith and the wonderful prince (the bringer of peace and joy.) With knowledge of who my God is was and is to be and a heart welling up and tears about to break. I praised my God because behind Himself he has left and will leave a glistening wake, one of infinite beauty and incredible power. One that will shake the very foundations of the waters of this Earth. As Pastor Don always says" Oh Boy" what God has planned how beautiful, it is truly a glistening wake.

But because here I stand as a witness also to the present I will record what has happened this week.

I got the oppurtunity to go to camp something that I did not think I was going to be able to do because I had gotten back from school two weeks before camp started and if I got a job I would not be able to go because the prospect of getting time off, ya right! It came in a different form though, I had the time off from the begining making my own schedule but in order to go to camp I had to miss up an unsure oppurtunity for a promotion, I said in my last blog that I decided to go with the thing that was sure. I am reassured now that the sure thing was the salvation of a boy that I had the oppurtunity and joy of sharing God's love with for the first time.

On that note of leading people to Christ I must say that I am glad I have never had the oppurtunity to pray with someone and they accept Christ right there. Let me explain! It is a necessity to have people leading you but to pray a prayer...a prayer is a personal conversation with God and you alone. It has its place in community but there is a signifigant amount of prayer that needs to be done alone! A person accepting Christ at the least the ones I have seen been succesful are those decesions that are made by the persons themselves. There are definitley beautiful cases where God lets us know we are worth something by letting us share in the blessing that is salvation of others but I think we must ask ourselves what exactley is going to happen to these christians that have walked into a ground that they in part do not want to be in. If we fully want Jesus and all He has for us we must choose Christ and desire that above all else that is what will keep us pure our choices. The Spirit has an infinitley important part but we have not even begun to take hold of this Holy Spirit.

On another note I must record that sitting at a campfire last night sitting down with a man who is so intune with the Holy Spirit that he knows everything that is going on around him yet has enough common sense to know that all knoweldge is not profitable at every single moment for a fallen race. Having the oppurtunity to sit and chat and be so intune with one another that we were one in Jesus there is a place where one minute can change you more than three years of seminary. The words that were spoken last night and the knowledge that I knew he could not know apart from the Spirit of the Holy God( the prince of peace and joy) that is reasurance of things, that is the blessed communion that the saints of old talk about. "Oh Boy" this world is going to be changing !!!

For as I have learned this week and the continuance of a summer of learning those tenants and foundational keys of the christian faith I have learned this week that we will all be brought unto judgment we are cleansed through blessed Jesus but we are judged still as the non believer is to. We as christians must live in the light that sin will be brought unto judgement. All those lukewarm christians out there God I ask he change you cause the judgement you are coming to, I pray you will run with courage toward the plans that God has for you! Judgement is no pretty thing, we as christians know we are unworthy, but why do we act as if there is nothing coming to us in the hereafter there is no blessing that God wants to richly bestow upon us? Why must we act in accordance to what Satan has done and will use? I desire his head be chopped off, and he will be if sin is gone. We must run, and run with fervency...there is a glistening wake that Christ has left behind for us to follow to be on one side will mean that we are moved further away, may we always stay centered in Jesus, for he is the source of power, he is the source of all those wonderful things of which we have a desire. May God richly bless all of us and may we be a pure people, a passionate people, and a praying people.

I have seen that there is peace in the power of the Holy Spirit
I stand amazed from the ground I look up, and I see.
I am infinitley small but infinitley loved and blessed
and a glistening wake I have begun to see


JG