Marriage: we have missed the mark

You do not have to look around for very long to see marriages failing everywhere. I am not just talking about outside the "Church" either, divorce rates are exploding everywhere. That does not even include the thousands and thousands of marriages that are dead, but remain together because of loyalty, a noble trait, but a dead marriage none-  the-less. So where have we went wrong? Where did we drop the

Where did we go wrong? To be honest there are so many places I could never cover them all so I/am not even going to try but there are several that burden my heart.  To start off marriage is a covenant not a contract. Marriage has to be more then a formal agreement, or just the next step in the scheme of life. This is happening all around us, it is destined for failure because it has a selfish mindset. A contract can be terminated if things arent going the way you planned, or if you are not happy or if you are not satisfied. Marriage is an oath it fights until it is absolutely beyond repair, which many say is the case. God hates divorce he makes no mistake about it in the bible. In fact there are only a few things where he says it is acceptable and even in these places he does not want us to give up without a fight. Sexual immorality or adultery I with my whole heart believe if yo u can fix it fix it, but if they wont change the lifestyle they made the choice, then that is whwn we are free there. So many of us say we fell out of love, we dont feel the connection, this just is not working. Corinthians 13 tells us love always perseveres and Love never fails, so are we truly Loving. We so easily get snared in the trap of selfishness and look at ourselves and how we could be happier. If only they did this, or that, or would help here, see the problem with that is it will never be enough.

My marriage is far from perfect. I can tell you one thing about my marriage, after being married nearly six years today it is stronger then ever. Everyday we battle. We make the choice we are going to fight for each other. We decided we no longer want to strive for a good marriage, we want a Godly marriage, one that leads by example. So it started with small practical steps become better friends, do things friends do, make sacrifices and do things they enjoy that you dont. Invest in the things that make them happy. Personally I made the decision to become Greater for her, so I can be the best husband I can be. Quit asking for a better spouse become the better spouse. Take the eyes off yourself. The thing about marriage you never get a day off, you cannot afford it. To much is at stake to much is on the line to get lazy. See marriage it is an oath. That day on the alter an oath was made to fight, in sickness and health for better or for worse. Especially in the worse battle fight, exhaust every option, then try again and again and again..... You get the drift?  When things are going well use the forward momentum run with go go go go. Go above and beyond its your time to get ahead of the curve. Put the effort in daily no no no hourly do what it takes. Pour out your heart love unconditionally, serve unconditionally, pray unconditionally, it cannot be ignored. Ya we have missed the mark, but it is not to late.

Battle tested.

There is no doubtEvery man desires an adventure. I have found mine and it is not going away. That is the true beauty of it, every day I can engage in this adventure. That means my life will never be BORING again. I am not going to lie it is so easy to step away, get lazy ad not put in the neccesary effort needed. If it were easy it would not be woth fighting for and it would not be an adventure worth stepping into. I made Jesus my ruler and my savior I accepted him into my heart. That is when my true adventure began.

This week for me personally was one of the greatest weeks I have ever experiencd amd also one of the tougest. Sure does not seem to make sense does it? I promise you it makes perfect sense. It was such a great week for me personally because I stepped into places "Spiritually" that I have never been. My eyes were opened to a new kind of love, a new burdens for his people, a new hunger for obedience, amd a new reverant awe for our Lord. So how could it be one of the toughest? Have you ever heard of the phrase "Mo money Mo problems"? As we get bigger as we learn more we have more responsibilties so naturally it gets tougher, but wait there is more. The moment we start to become a threat to the evil of the world the more we get attacked. The more the world and the flesh try to lie and manipulate us into going back to our old ways and patterns. They want to destroy us everywhere tear us down. That my friends is the battle. Once you step into a life of being Christ like you enter a battle an Adventure.

I am battled tested. I survived and I am strong because of it. we must stand in the truth that God prômises to never give us more then we can handle. God also says that in Mathew 5:10 says blessed are those who are persecuted because of rightousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven". I can stand in the truth that as I battle as I am facing that opression, harrasment and distress; I will inherit the kingdom of heaven. ya I am battle tested and I am ready for the next round. My Story is simpky to give Glory to God's story

We have all played the part of Judas

This is the first blog where I have done anything like this. I am not going to lie I am super excited. It will be contraversial, but my goal is to make you think and ask what if? So when reading this keep that in mind.

Mathew 26:14 says, "Then one of the twelve--the one called Judas Iscariot-- went to the chief priests and asked, what are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you? So they counted out for him thirty pieces of silver.From then on Judas watch for a chance to hand him over." Most of us read this text and think evil evil man, which is probably true but what if it is not that simple. What if it was a man that let where his heart was invested get out of control. It is easy to say money because he received the silver and is known as being the treasurer and was crooked at that. What if it is not that simple. It is debated why he is called Judas Iscarriot there are several debates here. I am going to just touch on one.it is well documented that through the scriptures there are zealots' which more or less, were a political activist group. A group that hated Roman control and wanted to drive them out of Judea. Why is this relevant? Some believe Judas was a sacarii which was a more violent group. So what if Judas being driven by hatred for the Romans thought he could kill to birds with one stone get money and start a riot a political revolution. See Judas npknew Jesus would be put on trial but the Jewish council did not have the power to really do anything. He knew only the Romans had that power. So what if he thought this would finally cause that revolt he so badly desired. Just a thought regardless the bottom line is his hearts desire drove him to evil.

To tell ourselves that we are any different that we are above that is foolish. The reality is we have all played the part of Judas. We have all forsake our Lord for a worldly desire. Our acts of selfishness and greed are just as guilty of nailing Jesus to the cross as Judas.Our hearts are often invested in the wrong places and we forsake obedience to satisfy our flesh. Is that really any different?

If I don't know then how do I go

We have all been at that place where we feel lost, confused or better yet stuck. We have no idea where to even begin. We desire for change and we want to break free. It is so easy to get wrapped up in yourself and look inward. Nothing good can come from this state of mind, infact the only real impact it does have is magnifying the problem.So what can we do? Dueteronomy 4:29 says ”but if from there you seek the Lord your God,you will find him if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul.” Many of us desire for change so we cry out, we pray, we pray harder and we beg.I wonder if what God desires from us at that point is action some sort of effort forward. To truly dive into God not only in that area but everywhere.To truly seek him, to be obedient, to educate ourselves in obedience. To be honest with ourselves to come clean in our story. Then to seek God and what it looks like to conquer that area. To admit that you want and desire that change but don't know how, but to be truly burdened by the desire to obey. So that we may glorify him. Not so we feel better or so we can get it off our mind. So we can bring him the glory. To grind, battle and fight. To give it all that we have and do all that we know. Exhaust all your options. I can promise you one thing if you are seeking the Lord with all your heart and soul you will find him. When you find the Lord he will reveal himself to you and you will hear the promptings of the Spirit. When that happens you have two choices set yourself free or remain captive. The dictionary says when you seek you fight to obtain it. Will you fight?

Oh this is what it looks like

So this past weekend I was able to experience Godly community in a real way. I always thought it was so simple friends that know God, Godly community. Wrong! It is not a noun, it is a verb an action. It is something that needs to be intentional. It is something that does not always flow naturally., we have to teach ourselves. I believe there are different levels the outer rings, the rings then the core. The true core of community is so countercultural.It is never content, it pushes but in a loving way. It lifts others up, it affirms, strengthens, corrects and sometimes carries. It is also something that is mindfuland purposeful. It is headed somewhere it has a direction. It is safe, it comforts it fights for others. It burdens and carries burdens. It is a neccesity one cannot survive without it. Yes I have found my community and we will thrive. We will latch on to each other and move forward hand in hand to where God leads us. See our journeys are all different but it all ends at the same Stories. Yes I experience what it means to live life with others.

perfect driven passion

Im on lunch break and today I have been all sorts of fired up. I know God is working in my heart big time things are coming together. I am just blown away by the thought of obedience and how it coincides woth Love. The thing we must understabd is that obedience is not a to do list, obedience is our guidlines, our instructuons to the Father. Before we can totally understand taht we must Fear the Lord, we must have that reverant Awe. God is in total control and he created ne!!! He designed us so obedience is just doing what we are created for. Before we can love fully and jump into other peoples story, we must obey. God is Love and God says we cant love him outside of obedience. So to fully love others we must obey its clear and simple. That gets me excited because now every day there is something new, something to conqueor. There is always an oppurtunitu to show Love and glorify our Lord. When this perspective hits you the mundane no longer exists. So i now have my perdect driven passion. Love of obedience and obedience out of Love.