Kansas City Fall 2009 - One Thing Have I Desired - Part 2

Being marked and sealed during my time with the One Thing Internship at the International House of Prayer.

Kansas City Fall 2009 - One Thing Have I Desired - Part 1

Being marked and sealed during my time with the One Thing Internship at the International House of Prayer.

Georgia Spring 2009 - Back Home, But Not Done - Part 2

Find out what's next for JD's adventure.

Georgia Spring 2009 - Back Home, But Not Done - Part 1

Coming to you straight from home.

Devotional - Psalm 2:11

“Serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling.”

Lord, where is our awe and where is our astonishment? Why don’t we fear and why don’t we cower? I fall into sin so easily, playing into the schemes of the enemy and neglecting the punishment that You bring for disobedience. Why don’t I honor the rod and staff? I have taken grace for granted and have known that it will always be there to catch me. Please don’t let me abuse this blessing. Let me serve You and worship You with a grateful and fearful heart because without You I would be nothing and have nothing. Let me dance and sing without shame, always to honor You.

FYM 2008-2009 Nicaragua

A Year in Review.

Devotional - James 3:5-6

"Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell."

The tongue is a very delicate and extremely powerful tool. So small, yet so destructive. Just like the bit in the mouth of a horse or the rudder of a boat, the tongue is a small part of the body that can manipulate and determine the entire course of a person's life. It can take just a spark to set a forest ablaze, and likewise a simple comment can blast into an explosive argument. Destruction comes in the tiniest of packages, but just the same, praise and encouragement can come from the tongue. It has the power to take life or give life, curse or bless, ridicule or edify. So what will we choose? Will we have a tongue that destroys or lips that lift up? We are free-willed to choose and Christ gives us the power to speak life into others.

Devotional - James 1:13-14

"When tempted, no one should say, ‘God is tempting me.' For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death."

Lord, I thank you for not tempting me and for always providing a way out when temptation comes. Keep me from my own evil desires and from my self-destructive habits. I have been drug away time and time again to find myself naked and ashamed, sulking in my own sinful waste. I become entice by sinful desires, thus giving birth to sin, which grows like a leech feasting on blood, sucking the very life of which it breeds on. The only result is death. Sin is a lonely and dark road of tyranny. It leads to a dead-end of wrath, leaving no hope and only despair. Lord, regret has consumed my mind and my thoughts are plagued by re-runs of past sins. Cleanse my heart, my eyes, my tongue, and my mind. Give me light, give me breath, and give me life - the eternal and the everlasting. Give me You!

Nicaragua/Costa Rica Spring 2009 - An Amazing Adventure

A final send-off from Tamarindo, Costa Rica.

Devotional - 1 Thessalonians 3:7-8

"Therefore, brothers, in all our distress and persecution we were encouraged about you because of your faith. For now we really live, since you are standing firm in the Lord."

Persecution comes because of faith, but faith in Jesus makes it all worth it. We have faith that Jesus came to save, to love, and to redeem. We have faith that there is more to life than just the here and now; more than just the physical realm of space and time. We believe that God created it all and that Christ stands at the center of it all. Our faith in Christ is in extreme opposition to the enemy and one day most likely we will face persecution. It could come in the form of ridicule, torture, or even death. Whatever the cost we must stand firm in the Lord, hold to His Word, and cling to the Holy Spirit. We will endure and because of our faith we will reign with Christ.

Grace Like Rain - Todd Agnew

Another place and another song.

Devotional - Micah 6:8

"He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God."

How simple does God make it to walk in obedience and righteousness. He requires merely three things, although they are easy to understand they are also a substantial task to undergo. The first, we are to act justly in everything we do and every decision we make. The second is to love mercy, embracing compassion and forgiveness for everyone we meet. Lastly, is to walk humbly, lifting up our heavenly Father and serving others. Micah talks about the useless sacrifices we offer to God and asks the reader non-rhetorical questions of what types of sacrifices the Lord is pleased with. He simply states that it is not what we bring to God, but it is how we interact with God. He desires us to live out our faith by our actions, showing the validity of our testimony and proclaiming how God has changed our lives.

Devotional - Micah 4:5

"All the nations may walk in the name of their gods; we will walk in the name of the Lord our God for ever and ever."

As Christians what type of nation are we? We are not bonded by language, ancestry, geography, music, or food; but rather we are united by Christ. Our faith and relationship with our Lord, Creator, and Savior is what makes us a family, a church, and a nation. Other nations walk on works, prayers, lifestyle, and morality; but we walk on Christ's sacrifice and what He did at the cross. We didn't reach our hand out to be saved when we were drowning from a life of sin, but rather Christ reached his hand down to save us. We are forever grateful for this selfless act of love that changed the course of history. Now we can walk confidently in the light, stride boldly in the steps of the Holy Spirit, and fight fervently alongside a nation of fellow believers.

Nicaragua Spring 2009 - Solitude, Survival, and Semana Santa - Part 2

Conclusion of my Easter week and the World Premier of JD vs. Wild.

Nicaragua Spring 2009 - Solitude, Survival, and Semana Santa - Part 1

Three days of solitude and a week of Easter.

Devotional - 1 John 2:1-2

"My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense - Jesus Christ, The Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world."

Thank You Jesus for the sacrifice that You bring. We are children of God and are not under the control of sin. However, when we falter and give into our sinful nature, Jesus Christ, The Righteous One, stands in our defense. It could also be translated that Jesus turns aside God's wrath. He is the vicarious atonement for our sins, so we don't have to be subject to death and separation from God. And he does not only do this for us, but for the entire world. John later goes on to write that we know the Father if we obey his commands. The man who declares to know Him, but does not follow His commandments is hence forth a liar and truth does not live in him. If we are obedient to His word, then God's love is truly made complete in us. This is how we know that we are His. If we claim to live in Him, we must walk as Jesus did. We must see darkness passing and see light shining.

Lead Me to the Cross - Hillsong United

Here is a song to reflect on what Christ did.

Devotional - Jonah 2:8

"Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs."

Lord, what do my hands clutch that I can't seem to relinquish? Reveal to me the idols that I still put above You. I am sorry for trampling upon grace every time I put something before You. May my spiritual act of worship be to incorporate You into everything I do. Break these hands and let them cling to nothing else, but You. I was engulfed by a sea of darkness, surrounded by the deepness of sin, and wrapped up by every kind of wickedness, but You brought me out of this miry pit to take pleasure in You and have life to the full. Let me sing a song of thanksgiving to this wondrous bloody Charity that I have been given and offer to You the only sacrifice I have - my life.

Nicaragua Spring 2009 - Going Full Throttle

A jam packed couple of weeks.

Devotional - 1 Peter 1:13-15

"Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written; ‘Be holy, because I am holy.'"

Let us be active participants in the bringing of God's kingdom on earth, and let us not be passive bystanders. You desire us to take action and not be stagnate. But as we do this let us be self-controlled and strong-willed, not giving into selfish desires or being chaotic in our thinking. We are to be disciplined and obedient, living with a correct frame of mind that is knowledgeable and not ignorant. Let us not go back to our days of youth and immaturity. Lord, You have called me to a life of holiness. Let me embrace this with all my being, not giving in to Satan's sensuous temptations. Grant me pure thoughts, pure eyes, and a pure heart. Cast out darkness and obscurity, and let me revel in the light and clarity. Lord, shine in me, so that I can be holy. I can't do this on my own and I desperately need You.